The history of painting in Italy, from the period of the revival of the fine arts to the end of the 18th century;

BOHN'S STANDARD LIBRARY.

THE HISTORY OF PAINTING,

VOLUME II.

THE

HISTORY OF PAINTING

IN

ITALY,

FROM THE PERIOD OF THE REVIVAL OF THE FINE ARTS TO THE END

OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY : TRANSLATED FROM

THE ITALIAN OF THE

ABATE LUIGI LANZI.

BY THOMAS ROSCOE.

VOLUME II.

CONTAINING THE SCHOOLS OF NAPLES, VENICE, LOMBARDY, MANTUA,
MODENA, PARMA, CREMONA, AND MILAN.

0cto <ZHittton, rebisefc.

LONDON:

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, CO VENT GARDEN.

1847.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.

HISTORY OF PAINTING IN LOWER ITALY.
BOOK IV.

NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL.

PAGE

EPOCH I. — The old masters 1

EPOCH II. — Modern Neapolitan style, founded on the

schools of Raflaello and Michelangelo . . 16
EPOCH III. — Corenzio, Ribera, Caracciolo, flourish in

Naples — Strangers who compete with them ... 30

EPOCH IY. — Luca Giordano, Solimene, and their scholars 54

UPPER ITALY.
BOOK I.

VENETIAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH I. — The ancients ... ... ... ... 72

EPOCH II. — Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Jacopo da

Bassano, Paolo Veronese ... ... ...128

EPOCH III. — Innovations of the mannerists of the seven-
teenth century. Corruption of Venetian paint-
ing 233

EPOCH IY. — Of exotic and new styles in Venice ... 292

BOOK II.

SCHOOLS OF LOMBARD*.

CHAP. I.

MANTUAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH I. — Of Mantegna and his successors ... ... 325

EPOCH II. — Giulio Romano and his school ... ... 331

EPOCH III. — Decline of the school, and foundation of an

academy in order to restore it ... ... 339

•VOL. ii. a

VI CONTENTS.

CHAP. II.

MODENESE SCHOOL.

PAGE

EpocirT. — The old masters ... ... ,.. ... 343

EPOCH II. — Imitation of Raffaello and Correggio in the

sixteenth century ... ... ... ... 350

EPOCH III. — The Modenese artists of the seventeenth
century chiefly follow the example of the
Bolognese .. ... ... ... ... 360

CHAP. III.

SCHOOL OP PARMA.

EPOCH I. — The ancients ... ... ... ... 371

EPOCH II. — Correggio, and those who succeeded him in

his school ... ... ... ... ... 374

EPOCH III. — Parmese school of the Caracci, and of
other foreigners until the period of the foun-
dation of the academy ... ... ... 410

CHAP. IV.

SCHOOL OP CREMONA.

EPOCH I. — The ancients 419

EPOCH II. — Camillo Boccaccino, II Soiaro, the Campi. . 428
EPOCH III. — Decline of the school of the Campi. Trotti

and other artists support it ... ... ... 441

EPOCH IV. — Foreign manners introduced into Cremona 449

CHAP. V.

SCHOOL OF MILAN.

EPOCH I. — Account of the ancient masters until the time

of Vinci ... 457

EPOCH II. — Vinci establishes an academy of design at
Milan. His pupils and the best native artists
down to the time of Gaudenzio ... ... 47 8

EPOCH III. — The Procaccini and other foreign and native
artists form a new academy, with new styles,
in the city and state of Milan ... ... 508

EPOCH IV. — After the time of Daniele Crespi the art
declines. A third academy is founded for its
improvement ... ... ... ... ... 522

HISTORY OF PAINTING

IN

LOWER ITALY.

BOOK IV.

NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH I.

WE are now arrived at a school of painting whica possesses
indisputable proofs of having, in ancient times, ranked among
the first in Italy, as in no part of that country do the re-
mains of antiquity evince a more refined taste, nowhere do
we find mosaics executed with more elegance,* nor any thing
more beautiful than the subterranean chambers which are
ornamented with historical designs and grotesques. The cir-
cumstance of its deriving its origin from ancient Greece, and
the ancient history of design, in which we read of many of
its e;ixly artists, have ennobled it above all others in Italy,
and on this account we feel a greater regret at the barbarism
which overwhelmed it in common with other schools. Wo
may express a similar sentiment with regard to Sicily, which,
from its affinity in situation and government, I shall include
in this Fourth Book, but generally in the notes.t That
island, too, possessed many Greek colonies, who have left
vases and metals of such extraordinary workmanship, that

* Tn the Museo of the Sig. D. Franc. Daniele, are some birds not
inferior to the doves of Furietti.

f 1 adopt this mode because " little has hitherto been published on the
Sicilian school," as the Sig. Hackert observes in his " Memorie de'
Pittori Messinesi." I had not seen that book when I published the for-
mer rdition of the present work, and I was then desirous that the me*

VCL. II. B

NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

many have thought that Sicily preceded Athens in carrying
this art to perfection. But to proceed to the art of painting
:in Naples, which is our present object, we may observe, that
Dominici and the other national writers, the notice of whom
I shall reserve for their proper places, affirm, that that city
was never wholly destitute of artists, not only in the ancient
times, which Filostrato extols so highly in the proemium of
his " Innnagini," but even in the dark ages. In confirmation
of this,, they adduce devotional pictures by anonymous artists
anterior to the year 1200 ; particularly many Madonnas in an
ancient style, which were the objects of adoration in various
churches. They subjoin a catalogue of these early artists,
and bitterly inveigh against Vasari, who has wholly omitted
them in his work.

The first painter whom we find mentioned at the earliest
period of the restoration of the art, is Tommaso de' Stefani,
who was a contemporary of Cimabue, in the reign of Charles
of Anjou.* That prince, according to Vasari, in passi.vg
through Florence, was conducted to the studio of Cimabue to
see the picture of the Virgin, which he had painted for the
chapel of the Rucellai family, on a larger scale than had ever
before been executed. He adds, that the whole city collected
in such crowds thither to view it, that it became a scene of
public festivity, and that that part of the city in which the

moirs of the Sicilian painters should be collected together and given to
the public. I rejoice that we have had memoirs presented to us of those
<of Messina, and that we shall also have those of the Syracusans and
others, as the worthy professor gives us reason to hope in the preface to
the " Memorie " before mentioned, which were written by an anonymous
writer, and published by Sig. Hackert with his own remarks.

* The history of the art in Messina enumerates a series of pictures
from the year 1267, of which period is S. Placi^o of the cathedral,
painted by an Antonio d' Antonio. It is supposed that this is a family of
painters, which had the surname of Antonj, and that many pictures in S.
Francesco, S. Anna, and elsewhere, are by different Antonj, until we
come to Salvatore 'di Antonio, father of the celebrated Antonello di
'Messina, and himself a master ; and there remains by him a S. Francis
in the act of receiving the Stigmata, in the church of his name. Thus
•<the genealogy of this Antonello is carried to the before-mentioned Antonio
*T Antonio, and still further by a writer called II Minacciato (Hack. p. 11),
although Antonio never, to my knowledge, subscribed himself degli Antonj,
having always on his pictures, which I have seen, inscribed his country,
•instead of his surname, as Messinensis, Messineus, Messsicse.

TOMMASO DE' STEFANI. 3

artiso resided, received in consequence the name of Borgo Al-
legri. which it has retained to the present day. Dominici has
not failed to make use of this tradition to the advantage of
Tommaso. He observes, that Charles would naturally have
invitod Cimabue to Naples if he had considered him the first
artist of his day ; the king, however, did not do so, but at the
same time employed Tommaso to ornament a church which he
had founded, and he therefore must have considered him su-
perior to Cimabue. This argument, as every one will imme-
diately perceive, is by no means conclusive of the real merits
of these two artists. That must be decided by an inspection
of their works ; and with regard to these, Marco da Siena,
who : s the father of the history of painting in Naples, declares
that in respect to grandeur of composition, Cimabue was en-
titled to the preference. Tommaso enjoyed the favour also of
Charles II., who employed him, as did also the principal per-
sons of the city. The chapel of the JVIinutoli in the Duomo,
mentioned by Boccaccio, was ornamented by him with various
pictures of the Passion of our Saviour. Tommaso had a
scholar in Filippo Tesauro, who painted in the church of S.
Restituta, the life of B. Niccolo, the hermit, the only one of
his frescos which has survived to our days.

About the year 1325, Giotto was invited by King Robert
to paint the church of S. Chiara in Naples, which he decorated
with subjects from the New Testament, and the mysteries of
the Apocalypse, with some designs suggested to him at a for-
mer time by Dante, as was currently reported in the days of
Vasari. These pictures were effaced about the beginning of
the present century, as they rendered the church dark ; but
there remains, among other things in good preservation, a
Madonna, called della Grazia, which the generous piety of
the religious possessors preserved for the veneration of the
faithful. Giotto painted some pictures also in the church of
S. Maria Coronata ; and others, which no longer exist, in the
Castello dell' Uovo. He selected for his assistant in his
labours, a Maestro Simone, who, in consequence of enjoying
Giotto's esteem, acquired a great name in Naples. Some
consMerhim a native of Cremona, others a Neapolitan, which
seenu nearer the truth. His style partakes both of Tesauro
and (Hotto, whence some consider him of the first, others of

B2

4 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

the second master ; and he may probably have been instructed
by both. However that may be, on the departure of Giotto
lie was employed in many works which King Robert and the
Queen Sancia were prosecuting in various churches, and par-
ticularly in S. Lorenzo. He there painted that monarch in
the act of being crowned by the Bishop Lodovico, his brother,
to whom, upon his death and subsequent canonization, a chapel
was dedicated in the Episcopal church, and Simone appointed
to decorate it, but which he was prevented from doing by
death. Dominici particularly extols a picture by him of a
Deposition from the Cross, painted for the great altar of the
Incoronata ; and thinks it will bear comparison with the
works of Giotto. In other respects, he confesses that his
conception and invention were not equally good, nor did his.
heads possess so attractive an air as those of Giotto, nor his
colours such a suavity of tone.

He instructed in the art a son, called Francesco di Simone,
who was highly extolled for a Madonna in chiaroscuro, in the
church of S. Chiara, and which was one of the works which
escaped being effaced on the occasion before mentioned. He
had two other scholars in Gennaro di Cola, and Stefanone,
who were very much alike in their manner, and on that
account were chosen to paint in conjunction some large com-
positions, such as the pictures of the Life of S. Lodovico^
bishop of Tolosa, which Simone had only commenced, and
various others of the life of the Virgin, in S. Giovanni da,
Carbonara, which were preserved for a long period. Notwith-
standing the similarity of their styles, we may perceive a
difference in the genius of the two artists ; the first being in
reference to the second, studied and correct, and anxious to
overcome all difficulties, and to elevate the art ; on which
account he appears occasionally somewhat laboured : the
second discovers more genius, more confidence, and a greater
freedom of pencil, and to his figures he gives a spirit that
might have assured him a distinguished place, if he had been,
born at a more advanced period of art.

Before Zingaro (who will very soon occupy our attention)
introduced a manner acquired in other schools, the art had
made little progress in Naples and her territories. This
is clearly proved by Colantonio del Fiore, the scholar of

ANTONIO SOL A RIO.

Francesco, who lived till the year 1444, of whom Dominici
ment ons some pictures, though he is in doubt whether they
should not be assigned to Maestro Simone ; which is a tacit
confession, that in the lapse of a century the art had not
made any considerable progress. It appears, however, that
Colantonio after some time, by constant practice, had con-
siderably improved himself, having painted several works in
a more modern style, particularly a S. Jerome, in the church
of S. Lorenzo, in the act of drawing a thorn from the foot of
a lion, with the date of 1436. It is a picture of great truth,
removed afterwards, for its merit, by the P. P. Conventuali,
into the sacristy of the same church, where it was for a long
time the admiration of strangers. He had a scholar of the
name of Angiolo Franco, who imitated better than any other
Neapolitan the manner of Giotto ; adding only a stronger
style of chiaroscuro, which he derived from his master.

The art was, however, more advanced by Antonio Solario,
originally a smith, and commonly called lo Zingaro. His
history has something romantic in it, like that of Quintin
Matsys, who, from his first profession, was called il Fabbro,
and became a painter from his love to a young girl, who
promised to marry him when he had made himself a proficient
in the art of painting. Solario, in the same manner, being
enamoured of a daughter of Colantonio, and receiving from
him a promise of her hand in marriage in ten years, if he
became an eminent painter, forsook his furnace for the
academy, and substituted the pencil for the file. There is an
idle tradition of a queen of Naples having been the author 01
this match, but that matter I leave in the hands of the nar-
rator of it. It is more interesting to us to know that
Solario went to Bologna, where he was for several years the
scholar of Lippo Dalmasio, called also Lippo delle Madonne,
from his numerous portraits of the Virgin, and the grace
with which he painted them. On leaving Bologna he visited
other parts of Italy, in order to study the works of the best
urtist; in the various schools ; as Vivarini, in Venice ; Bicci,
in Florence; Galasso, in Ferrara; Pisanello, and Gentile da
Fabriano, in Rome. It has been thought that he assisted the
two l.-iat, as Luca Giordano affirmed, that among the pictures
in tho Lateran. he recognised some heads which were in-

6 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

disputably by Solario. He excelled in this particular, and
excited the admiration of Marco da Siena himself, who
declared that his countenances seemed alive. He became also
a good perspective painter for those times, and respectable in
historical compositions, which he enlivened with landscape in
a better style than other painters, and distinguished his figures
by drapery peculiar to the age, and carefully drawn from
nature. He was less happy in designing his hands and feet,
and often appears heavy in his attitudes, and crude in his
colouring. On his return to Naples, it is said that he gave
proofs of his skill, and was favourably received by Golan ton io,
and thus became his son-in-law nine years after his first
departure ; and that he painted and taught there under King
Alfonso, until the year 1455, about which time he died.

The most celebrated work of this artist was in the choir of
S. Severino, in fresco, representing, in several compartments,
the life of S. Benedict, and containing an incredible variety
of figures and subjects. He left also numerous pictures with
portraits, and Madonnas of a beautiful form, and not a few
others painted in various churches of Naples. In that of S.
Domenico Maggiore, where he painted a dead Christ, and in
that of S. Pier Martire, where he represented a S. Vincenzio,
with some subject from the life of that saint, it is said that he
surpassed himself. Thus there commenced in Naples a new
epoch, which from its original and most celebrated prototype,
is called by the Cav. Massimo, the school of Zingaro, as in
that city those pictures are commonly distinguished by the
name of Zingaresque, which were painted from the time of
that artist to that of Tesauro, or a little later, in the same way
that pictures are everywhere called Cortonesque, that axe
painted in imitation of Berettini.

About this time there flourished two eminent artists, whom
I deem it proper to mention in this place before I enter on
the succeeding scholars of the Neapolitan school. These
were Matteo da Siena, and Antonello da Messina. The first
we noticed in the school of Siena, and mentioned his having
painted in Naples the Slaughter of the Innocents. It exists
in the church of S. Caterina a Formello, and is engraved
in the third volume of the Lettere Senesi. The year
M.cccc.xvm. is attached to it, but we ought not to yield

ANTONELLO DA MESSINA. 7

implicit faith to this date. II P. della Valle, in p. 56 of the
above-mentioned volume, observes, that Matteo, in the
year 1462, when he painted with his father in Pienza, was
your g, and that in the portrait which he painted of hiinself
in 1491, he does not appear aged. He could not therefore
have painted in Naples in 1418. After this we may believe
it very possible, that in this date an L has been inadvertently
omitted, and that the true reading is M.CCCC.LXVIII. Thus the
aboTe writer conjectures, and with so much the more probabi-
lity, as he advances proofs, both from the form of the letters
and die absence of the artist from his native place. Whoever
desires similar examples, may turn to page 119 of vol. i.,
and he will find that such errors have occurred more than
once in the date of books. Guided by this circumstance, we
may correct what Dominici has asserted of Matteo da Siena
having influenced the style of Solario. It may be true that
there is a resemblance in the air of the heads, and the general
style, but such similarity can only be accounted for by Matteo
deriving it from Solario, or both, as often happens, imitating it
from the same master.

Antonello, of the family of the Antonj, universally known
under the name of Antonello da Messina, is a name so illus-
trious in the history of art, that it is not sufficient to have
mentioned him in the first book and to refer to him here
again, as he will claim a further notice in the Venetian School,
and we must endeavour too to overcome some perplexing diffi-
culties, to ascertain with correctness the time at which he
flourished, and attempt to settle the dispute, whether he were
the iirst who painted in oil in Italy, or whether that art was
prac tised before his time. Vasari relates, that when young,
afte? having spent many years in Rome in the study of
desi £n,* and many more at Palermo, painting there with the
repi tation of a good artist, he repaired first to Messina, and

* The Memorie de' Pittori Messinesi assert, that at Rome he was
attracted by the fame of the works of Masaccio, and that he there also
designed all the ancient statues. They add, too, that he arrived at such
celel rity, that his works are equal to those of the best masters of his time.
I imagine it must be meant to allude to those who preceded Pietro Peru-
gino Francia, Gio. Bellini, and Mantegna, as his works will not bear
any Comparison with those of the latter masters.

NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

from thence passed to Naples, where he chanced to see a large
composition painted in oil by Gio. da Bruggia, which had been
presented by some Florentine merchants to King Alfonso.
Antonello, smitten with this new art, took his departure to
Flanders, and there, by his affability, and by a present of some
drawings of the Italian school, so far ingratiated himself with
Giovanni, as to induce him to communicate to him the secret,
and the aged painter dying soon afterwards, thus left him
instructed in the new art. This must have happened about
the year 1440, since that time is required to support the sup-
position that Giovanni, born about 1370, died at an advanced
age^ as the old writers assert, or exactly in 1441, as is asserted
by the author of the " Galleria Imperiale." Antonelio then
left Flanders, and first resided for some months in his native
place ; from thence he went to Venice, where he communi-
cated the secret to Domenico Veneziano ; and having painted
there a considerable time, died there at the age of forty-nine.
All this we find in Vasari, and it agrees with what he relates
in the life of Domenico Veneziano, that this artist, after
having learnt the new method from Antonello in Venice,
painted in Loreto with Piero della Francesca, some few years
before that artist lost his eyesight, which happened in i458.
Thus the arrival of Antonello in Venice must have occurred
about the year 1450, or some previous year ; but this con-
clusion is contrary to Venetian evidence. The remaining
traces of Antonello, or the dates attached to his works there,
commence in 1474, and terminate according to Ridolfi in 1490.
There does not appear any reason whatever, why he should
not have attached dates to his pictures, until after residing
twenty-four years in Venice. Besides, how can it be main-
tained that Antonello, after passing many years in Rome
as a student, and many in Palermo as a master, and
some years in Messina and Flanders, should not in Ve-
nice, in the forty-ninth year after the death of Giovanni,
have passed the forty-ninth year of his age? Hackert
quotes the opinion of Gallo, who in the " Annali di Mes-
sina," dates the birth of Antonello in 1447, and his death
at forty-nine years of age, that is, in 1496. But if this
were so, how could he have known Gio. da Bruggia ? Yet if
such fact be denied, we must contradict a tradition which has

ANTONELLO DA MESSINA.

been generally credited. I should be more inclined to believe
that there is a mistake in his age, and that he died at a more
advanced period of life. Nor on this supposition do we wrong
Vasari, others having remarked what we shall also on a proper
opportunity confirm, that as far as regards Venetian artists,
Vasari errs almost in every page from the want of accurate
information. I further believe that, respecting the residence
of A utonello in Venice, he wrote with inaccuracy. That he
was there about the year 1450, and communicated his secret
to Domenico, is a fact which, after so many processes made in
Florence on the murder of Domenieo, and so much discussion
respecting him, must have been well ascertained, not depend-
ing en the report contained in the memoirs of the painters by
Grill andajo, or any other contemporary, in whose writings
Vasa ri might search for information. But admitting this, I
am of opinion that Antonello did not reside constantly in
Venice from the year 1450 until his death, as Vasari insi-
nuates. It appears that he travelled afterwards in several
countries, resided for a long time in Milan, and acquired there
a grt at celebrity, and that he repaired afresh to Venice, and
enjoyed there for some years a public salary. This we gather
from Maurolico, quoted by Hackert : Ob mirum hie ingenium
Venrtiis aliquot annos publice conductus mxit : Mediolani
quoque fuit per Celebris (Hist. Sican. pi. 186, prim, edit.),
and if he was not a contemporary writer, still he was not very
far removed from Antonello. This is the hypothesis I propose
in order to reconcile the many contradictory accounts which
we find on this subject in Vasari, Ridolfi, and Zanetti ; and
when we come to the Venetian school, I shall, not forget to
adduce further proofs in support of it. Others may perhaps
euccoed better than I have done in this task, and with that
hope I shall console myself ; as in my researches I have no
.other object than truth, I shall be equally satisfied whether I
discover it myself, or it be communicated to me by others.

That therefore Antonello was the first who exhibited a per-
fect method of practising painting in oil in Italy, is an asser-
tion that, it seems to roe, may be with justice maintained, or
at least it cannot be said that there is proof to the contrary.
And yet in the history of the art in the Two Sicilies, this
honour is strongly disputed. In that history we find the de-

10 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

scription of a chapel in the Duomo of Messina, called Madonna
della Lettera, where it is said there exists a very old Greek
picture of the Virgin, an object of adoration, which was said
to be in oil. If this were even adm ted, it could not detract
from the merit of Antonello in having restored a beautiful art
that had fallen into desuetude : but in these Greek pictures,
the wax had often the appearance of oil, as we observed in
vol. i. p. 86. Marco da Siena, in the fragment of a discourse
which Dominici has preserved, asserts that the Neapolitan
painters of 1300 continued to improve in the two manners of
painting in fresco and oil. When I peruse again what I have
written in vol. i. p. 86, where some attempt at colouring in

011 anterior to Antonello is admitted, I may be permitted not
to rely on the word of Pino alone. There exist in Naples
many pictures of 1300, and I cannot imagine why, in a con-
troversy like this, they are neither examined nor alluded to,
and why the question is rested solely on a work or two of
Colantonio. Some national writers, and not long since, Sig-
norelli, in his " Coltura delle due Sicili," torn. iii. p. 171, have
pretended that Colantonio del Fiore was certainly the first to
paint in oil, and adduced in proof the very picture of S. Jerome,
before mentioned, and another in S. Maria Nuova. ' II Sig.
Piacenza, after inspecting them, says that he was not able to
decide whether these pictures were really in oil or not. Zanetti
(P. V. p. 20) also remarks, that it is extremely difficult to
pass a decided judgment on works of this kind, and I have
made the same observation with respect to Van Eyck, which
will, I hope, convince every reader who will be at the trouble
to refer to vol. i. p. 84. And unless that had been the
case, how happened it that all Europe was filled with
the name of Van Eyck in the course of a few years ;
that every painter ran to him ; that his works were coveted
by princes, and that they who could not obtain them, pro-
cured the works of his scholars, and others the works of Ausse,
Ugo d'Anversa, and Antonello ; and of Ruggieri especially,
of whose great fame in Italy we shall in another place adduce
the documents?* On the other hand, who, beyond Naples and
its territory, had at that time heard of Colantonio ? Who ever
sought with such eagerness the works of Solario ? And if this

* In the first epoch of the Venetian School.

ANTONE&LO DA MESSINA. 11

last was the scholar and son-in-law of a master who painted
so w<;ll in oil, how happened it that he was neither distin-
guished in the art, nor even acquired it ? Why did he himself
and his scholars work in distemper ? Why did the Sicilians,
as wo have seen, pass over to Venice, where Antonello resided,
to instruct themselves, and not confine themselves to Naples ?
Why did the whole school of Venice, the emporium of Eu-
rope, and capable of contradicting any false report, attest, on
the ceath of Autonello, that he was the first that painted in
oil ia Italy, and no one opposed to him either Solario or
Colantonio ?* They either could not at that time have been
acquainted with this discovery, or did not know it to an ex-
tent that can contradict Vajsari, and the prevailing opinions
respecting Antonello. Dominici has advanced more on this
poini. than any other person, asserting that this art was dis-
covered in Naples, and was carried from thence to Flanders
by Van Eyck himself, to which supposition, after the obser-
vations already made, I deem it superfluous to reply, f

* The following inscription, composed at the instance of the Venetian
painters, is found in Ridolfi, p. 49. " Antonius pictor, praecipuum
Mess ma; suse et totius Sicilise ornamentutn, hac humo contegitur : non
solum suis picturis, in quibus singulare artificium et venustas fuit :
sed et quod coloribus oleo miscendis splendorem et perpetuitatem
PRIMUS ITALIC PICTURE contulit, summo SEMPER artificum studio
celeb ;-atus."

•f A letter of Summonzio, written on the 20th March, 1524, has been
communicated to me by the Sig. Cav. de' Lazara, extracted from the 60th
volume of the MSS. collected in Venice by the Sig. Ab. Profess. Daniele
Franoesconi. It is addressed to M. A. Michele, who had requested from
him t^ome information respecting the ancient and modern artists of Naples ;
and in reference to the present question he thus speaks : " Since that
period (the reign of King Ladislaus), we have not had any one of so much
talent in the art of painting as our Maestro Colantonio of Naples, who
woul 1 in all probability have arrived at great eminence, if he had not died
youn». Owing to the taste of the times, he did not arrive at that perfec-
tion of design founded on the antique, which his disciple Antonello da
Mest ina attained, an artist, as I understand, well known amongst you.
The style of Colantonio was founded on the Flemish, and the colouring of
that country, to which he was so much attached, that he had intended to
go tl ither, but the King Raniero retained him here, satisfied with shew-
ing him the practice and mode of such colouring." From this letter,
whic ti seems contrary to my argument, I collect sufficient, if I err not, to
confrm it. For, 1st, the defence of those writers falls to the ground,
•who assume that the art of oil-colouring was derived from Naples, while

'12 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

"VVe shall now return to the scholars of Solario, who were
very numerous. Amongst them was a Niccola di Vito, who
may be called the Buffalmacco of this school, for his singular
humour and his eccentric invention, though in other respects
he was an inferior artist, and little deserving commemoration.
Simone Papa did not paint any large composition in which he
might be compared to his master; he confined himself to
altar-pieces, with few figures grouped in a pleasing style, and
finished with exquisite care, so that he sometimes equalled
Zingaro, as in a S. Michele, painted for S. Maria Nuova.
Of the same class seems to have been Angiolillo di Roecadi-
rame, who in the church of S. Bridget, painted that saint
contemplating in a vision the birth of Christ, a picture which
oven with the experienced might pass for the work of his
master. More celebrated and more deserving of notice, are
Pietro and Polito (Ippolito) del Donzello, sons-in-law of
Angiolo Franco, and relatives of the celebrated architect
Giuliano da Maiano, by whom they were instructed in that
art. Vasari mentions them as the first painters of the Nea-
politan school, but does not give any account of their master,
or of what school they were natives, and he writes in a way
that might lead the reader to believe that they were Tuscans.
He says that Giuliano, having finished the palace of Poggio
Jfceale for King Robert, the monarch engaged the two brothers

we see that Colantonio, by means of the king, received it from Flanders.
2ndly, Van Eyck himself is not here named, but the painters of Flanders
generally, which country first awakened, as we have observed, by the
example of Italy, had discovered new, and it is true, imperfect and in-
efficient methods, but still superior to distemper ; and who knows if this
were adopted by Colantonio. 3rdly, It is said that he died young, a
circumstance which may give credit to the difficulty that he had in com-
municating the secret : in fact, it is not known that he communicated it
•even to his son-in-law, much less to a stranger. 4thly, Hence the neces-
sity of Antonello undertaking the journey to Flanders to learn the secret
from Van Eyck, who was then in years, and not without difficulty com-
municated it to him. 5thly, If we believe with Ridolfi that Antonello
painted in 1494 in Trevigi, and credit the testimony of Vasari, that he
was not then more than forty-nine years of age, how could it be the
scholar of Colantonio, who, aceording to Dominici, died in 1444 ?
It is with diffidence I advance these remarks on a matter on which I have
before expressed my doubts, and T have been obliged to leave some points
undecided, or decided rather according to the opinions of others than my

THE TWO DONZELLI. 13

to decorate it, and that first Giuliano dying, and the king
afterr.-ards, Polito returned to Florence.* Bottari observes,
that he did not find the two Donzelli mentioned by Orlandi,
nor by any one else, a clear proof that he did not himself
consider them natives of Naples, and on that account he did
not look for them ia Bernardo Dominici, who has written at
length upon them, complaining of the negligence or inad-
vertent error of Vasari.

The pictures of the two brothers were painted, according to
Vasari, about the year 1447. But as he informs us that
Polito did not leave Naples until the death of Alfonso, this
epoch should be extended to 1463, or beyond, as he remained
for a year longer, or thereabouts, under the reign of Ferdi-
nand, the son and successor of Alfonso. He painted for that
monarch some large compositions in the refectory of S. Maria
Nuova, partly alone and partly in conjunction with hi»
brother, and both brothers combined in decorating for the
king a part of the palace of Poggio Reale. We may here
with propriety also mention, that they painted in one of the
rooms the Conspiracy against Ferdinand, which being seen by
Jacopo Sannazzaro, gave occasion to his writing a sonnet, the
41st in the second part of his " Rime." Their style resembles
that of their master, except that their colouring is softer.
They distinguished themselves also in their architectural
ornaments, and in the painting of friezes and trophies, and
subjects in chiaroscuro, in the manner of bassi-rilievi, an art
which I am not aware that any one practised before them.
The younger brother leaving Naples, and dying soon after-
wards, Pietro remained employed in that city, where he and
his scholars acquired a great reputation by their paintings in
oil and fresco. The portraits of Pietro had all the force of
nature, and it is not long since that, on the destruction of
some of his pictures on a wall in the palace of the dukes of
Matalona, some heads were removed with the greatest care,,
and preserved for their excellence.

Wu may now notice Silvestro de' Buoni, who was placed

* In the ducal gallery in Florence, is a Deposition from the Cross,
•wholly in the style of Zingaro : and I know not whether it ought to be
ascribed to Polito, who certainly resided in Florence, or to some other
painter of the Neapolitan school.

14 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

by his father in the school of Zingaro, and on his death
attached himself to the Donzelli. His father was an indifferent
painter, of the name of Buono, and from that has arisen the
mistake of some persons, who have ascribed to the son some
works of the father in an old style, and unworthy the reputa-
tion of Silvestro. This artist, in the opinion of the Cav.
Massimo, had a finer colouring and a superior general effect
to the Donzelli ; and in the force of his chiaroscuro, and in
the delicacy of his contcuirs, far surpassed all the painters of
his country who had lived to that time. Dominici refers to
many of his pictures in the various churches of Naples. One
of the most celebrated is that of S. Giovanni a Mare, in
which he included three saints, all of the same name, S. John
the Baptist, the Evangelist, and S. Chrysostom.

Silvestro is said to have had a disciple in Tesauro, whose
Christian name has not been correctly handed down to us ;
but he is generally called Bernardo. He is supposed to have
been of a painter's family, and descended from that Filippo
who is commemorated as the second of this school, and father
or uncle of Raimo, whom we shall soon notice. This Ber-
nardo, or whatever his name may have been, made nearer
approaches to the modern style than any of the preceding
artists ; more judicious in his invention, more natural in his
figures and drapery ; select, expressive, harmonized, and
displaying a knowledge in gradation and relief, beyond what
could be expected in a painter who is not known to have
been acquainted with any other schools, or seen any pictures
beyond those of his own country. Luca Giordano, at a time
when he was considered the Coryphasus of painting, was
struck with astonishment at the painting of a soffitto by
Tesauro at S. Giovanni de' Pappacodi, and did not hesitate
to declare that there were parts in it, which in an age so
fruitful in fine works, no one could have surpassed. It
represents the Seven Sacraments. The minute description
which the historian gives of it, shews us what sobriety and
judgment there were in his composition ; and the portraits of
Alfonso II. and Ippolita Sforza, whose espousals he repre-
sented in the Sacrament of Marriage, afford us some light for
fixing the date of this picture. Raimo Tesauro was very
much employed in works in fresco. Some pictures by him

GIO. ANTONIO D'AMATO. 15

are :ilso mentioned in S. Maria Nuova, and in Monte
Vergine ; pictures, says the Cav. Massimo, " very studied
and perfect, according to the latest schools succeeding our
Zingaro."

To the same schools Gio. Antonio d'Aniato owed his first
instructions; but it is said, that when he saw the pictures
which Pietro Perugino had painted for the Duomo of Naples,
he became ambitious of emulating the style of that master.
By diligence, in which he was second to none, he approached,
as one may say, the confines of modern art; and died at an
adraiced period of the sixteenth century. He is highly
extolled for his Dispute of the Sacrament, painted for the
Metropolitan church, and for two other pictures placed in
the ] Sorgo di Chiaia, the one at the Carmine, the other at
S. Leonardo, And here we may close our account of the early
painters, scanty indeed, but still copious for a city harassed
by incessant hostilities.*

* In Messina, towards the close of the fifteenth century, or at the
beginning of the sixteenth, some artists flourished who practised their
native style, not yet modernized on the Italian model, as Alfonso Franco,
a scholar of Jacopello d' Antonio, and a Pietro Oliva, of an uncertain
school. Both are praised for their natural manner, the peculiar boast of
that a;^e, but in the first we admire a correct design and a lively expres-
sion, for which his works have been much sought after by strangers, who
have spared only to his native place a Deposition from the Cross, at
S. Francesco di Paolo, and a Dispute of Christ with the Doctors, at
S. Agostino. Still less remains of Antonello Rosaliba, always a grace-
ful painter. This is a Madonna with the Holy Infant, in the village of
Postuuina

16

NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH II.

Modern Neapolitan Style, founded on the Schools of Raffaello and
Michelangelo.

IT has already been observed, that at the commencement of
the sixteenth century, the art of painting seemed in every
country to have attained to maturity, and that every school
at that time assumed its own peculiar and distinguishing cha-
racter. Naples did not, however, possess a manner so decided
as that of other schools of Italy, and thus afforded an oppor-
tunity for the cultivation of the best style, as the students
who left their native country returned home, each with the
manner of his own master, and the sovereigns and nobility
of the kingdom invited and employed the most celebrated
strangers. In this respect, perhaps, Naples did not yield
precedence to any city after Rome. Thus the first talents
were constantly employed in ornamenting both the churches
and palaces of that metropolis. Nor indeed was that country
ever deficient in men of genius, who manifested every requi-
site quality for distinction, particularly such as depended on- a
strong and fervid imagination. Hence an accomplished writer
and painter has observed, that no part of Italy could boast of
so many native artists, such are the fire, the fancy, and free-
dom which characterize, for the most part, the works of these
masters. Their rapidity of execution was another effect of
their genius, a quality which has been alike praised by the
ancients* and the moderns* when combined with other more
requisite gifts of genius. But this despatch in general ex-
cludes correct design, which from that cause is seldom found

* Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xzxv. cap. 11. Nee ullius velocior in pictura
manus fait.

ANDREA SABBATINI. 17

in that school. Nor do we find that it paid much attention
to i-leal perfection, as most of its professors, following the
practice of the naturalists, selected the character of their
heads and the attitudes of their figures from common life ;
some with more, and others with less discrimination. With
regard to colour, this school changed its principles in con-
formity to the taste of the times. It was fertile in invention
and composition, but deficient in application and study. The
history of the vicissitudes it experienced will now occupy the
attention of the reader.

The epoch of modern painting in Naples could not have
commenced under happier auspices than those which it had
the good fortune to experience. Pietro Perugino had painted
an Assumption of the Virgin, which I am informed exists in
the Duomo, or S. Reparata, a very ancient cathedral church,
since connected with the new Duomo. This work opened the
way to a better taste. When Raffaello and his school rose
into public esteem, Naples was among the first distant cities
to profit from it, by means of some of his scholars, to whom
were also added some followers of Michelangelo, about the
middle of the century. Thus till nearly the year 1600, this
school paid little attention to any other style than that of
these two great masters and their imitators, except a few
artists who were admirers of Titian.

Wo may commence the new series with Andrea Sabbatini
of Salerno. This artist was so much struck with the style of
Pietro when he saw his picture in the Duomo, that he imme-
diately determined to study in the school of Perugia. He
took his departure accordingly for that city, but meeting on
the road some brother painters who much more highly extolled
the works of Raffaello, executed for Julius II., he changed
liis mind and proceeded to Rome, and there placed himself
in tho school of that great master. He remained with him,
however, only a short time, as the death of his father com-
pelled him to return home, against his wishes. But he arrived
a new man. It is related that he painted with Raffaello at
the Pace and in the Vatican, and that he became an accom-
plished copyist of his works, and successfully emulated the
style of his master. Compared with his fellow-scholars, al-
though he did not rival Giulio Romano, he yet surpassed

VOL. JI. C

18 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Raffaele del Colle, and others of that class. He had a cor-
rectness of design, selection in his faces and in his attitudes,
a depth of shade, and the muscles rather strongly expressed ;
a breadth in the folding of his drapery, and a colour which
still preserves its freshness after the lapse of so many years.
He executed many works in Naples, as appears from the ca-
talogue of his pictures. Among his best works are numbered
some pictures at S. Maria delle Grazie ; besides the frescos
which he executed there and in other places, extolled by
writers as miracles of art, but few of which remain to the
present day. He painted also in his native city, in Gaeta,
and indeed in all parts of the kingdom, both in the churches
and for private collections, where many of his Madonnas, of
an enchanting beauty, are still to be seen.*

* The style of Raffaello found imitators also in Sicily, and the first to
practise it was Salvo di Antonio, the nephew of Antonello, by whom
there is, we are told, in the sacristy of the cathedral, the death of the
Virgin, "in the pure Raffaellesque style," although Salvo is not the
painter who has been called the Raffaello of Messina : this was Girolamo
Alibrandi. A distinguished celebrity has of late been attached to this
artist, whose name was before comparatively unknown. Respectably
born, and liberally educated, instead of pursuing the study of the law,
for which he was intended, he applied himself to painting, and having
iicquired the principles of the art in the school of the Antonj of Messina,
he went to perfect himself in Venice. The scholar of Antonello, and the
friend of Giorgione, he improved himself by the study of the works of
the best masters. After many years' residence in Venice he passed to
Milan, to the school of Vinci, where he corrected some dryness of style
which he had brought thither with him. Thus far there is no doubt about
his history ; but we are further told, that being recalled to his native
country, he wished first to see Correggio and Raffaello, and that he
repaired to Messina about the year 1514 ; a statement which is on the
face of it incorrect, since Lionardo left Milan in 1499, when Raffaello
was only a youth, and Correggio in his infancy. But I have before
observed, that the history of art is full of these contradict 'ons ; a painter
resembling another, he was therefore supposed his scholar, or at all
events acquainted with him. On this subject I may refer to the Milanese
school in regard to Luini (Epoch II.), and observe that a follower of the
style of Lionardo almost necessarily runs into the manner of Raffaello.
Thus it happened to Alibrandi, whose style however bore a resemblance
to others besides, so that his pictures pass under various names. There
remains in his native place, in the church of Candelora, a Purification of
the Virgin, in a picture ot twenty-four Sicilian palms, which is the chef
d'oeuvre of the pictures of Messina, from the grace, colouring, perspec-
tive, and every other quality that can enchant the eye. Polidoro was so

ANDREA SABBATINI. 19

A ndrea had several scholars, some of whom studied under
other masters, and did not acquire much of his style. Such
was Cesare Turco, who rather took after Pietro; a good
painter in oil, but unsuccessful in fresco. But Andrea was
the role master of Francesco Santafede, the father and master
of Fabrizio ; painters who in point of colouring have few
equals in this school, and possessing a singular uniformity of
style. Nevertheless, the experienced discover iu the father
more vigour and more clearness in his shadows ; and there are
by liim some pictures in the Soffitto of the Nunziata, and a
Deposition from the Cross in the possession of the prince di
Som na, highly celebrated. But of all the scholars of Andrea,
one Paolillo resembled him the most, whose works were all
ascribed to his master, until Dominici restored them to their
righi owner. He would have been the great ornament of this
school had he not died young.

Pclidoro Caldara, or Caravaggio, came to Naples in the
year of the sacking of Rome, 1527. He was not, as Vasari
would have us believe, in danger of perishing through want
at Naples ; for Andrea da Salerno, who had been his fellow-
disci] >le, generously received him into his house, and in-
troduced him in the city, where he obtained many commis-
sions- and formed several scholars before he went to Sicily.
He had distinguished himself in Rome by his chiaroscuri, as
we have related ; and he painted in colours in Naples and
Messina. His colour in oil was pallid and obscure, at least
for some time, and in this style I saw some pictures of the Pas-
sion i n Rome, which Gavin Hamilton had received from Sicily.
In o ;her respects they were valuable, from their design and
inver tion. Vasari mentions this master with enthusiasm, calls
him :;, divine genius, and extols to the skies a picture which
lie pointed in Messina a little while before his death. This
was i, composition of Christ on his way to Mount Calvary,

much captivated with this work, that he painted in distemper a picture of
the Deposition from the Cross, as a precious covering to this picture,
in on.er that it might be transmitted uninjured to posterity. Girolamo
died i i the plague of 1524, and at the same time other eminent artists of
this s hool ; a school which was for some time neglected, but which has,
the labours of Polidoro, risen to fresh celebrity.
C 2

20 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH II.

surrounded by a great multitude, and he assures us that the
colouring was enchanting.

Giambernardo Lama was first a scholar of Amato, and
afterwards attached himself to Polidoro, in whose manner he
painted a Pieta at S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli, which, from
its conception, its correctness, and vigour of design, variety
in attitude, and general style of composition, was by many
ascribed to that master. In general, however, he displayed a
softer and more natural manner, and was partial to the style
of Andrea di Salerno. Marco di Pino, an imitator of Michel-
angelo, as we have observed, though sober and judicious,
was held in disesteem by him. In the " Segretario " of
Capece, there is an interesting letter to Lama, where amongst
other things he says, " I hear that you do not agree with
Marco da Siena, as you paint with more regard to beauty,
and he is attached to a vigorous design .without softening his
colours. I know not what you desire of him, but pray leave
him to his own method, and do you follow yours."

A Francesco Ruviale, a Spaniard, is also mentioned in
Naples, called Polidorino, from his happy imitation of his
master, whom he assisted in painting for the Orsini some
subjects illustrative of the history of that noble family ; and
after the departure of his master, he executed by himself
several works at Monte Oliveto and elsewhere. The greater
part of these have perished, as happened in Rome to so many
of the works of Polidoro. This Ruviale appears to me to be
a different artist from a Ruviale, a Spaniard, who is enume-
rated among the scholars of Salviati, and the assistants of
Vasari, in the painting of the Chancery ; on which occasion
Vasari says, he formed himself into a good painter. Thi»
was under Paul V. in 1544, at which time Polidorino must
already have been a master. Palomino has not said a word
of any other Ruviale, a painter of his country ; and this is a
proof that the two preceding artists never returned home to
Spain.

Some have included among the scholars of Polidoro, an
able artist and good colourist, called Marco Calabrese, whose
surname is Cardisco. Vasari ranks him before all his Nea-
politan contemporaries, and considers his genius a fruit pro-

CARDISCO. 21

<luccd remote from its native soil. This observation cannot
appear correct to any one who recollects that the Calabria of
the present day is the ancient Magna Graecia, where in
former times the arts were carried to the highest pitch of
perfection. Cardisco painted much in Naples and in the
State. His most celebrated work is the Dispute of S. Agos-
tino in the church of that saint in Aversa. He had a scholar
in Gio. Batista Crescione, who together with Lionardo Cas-
tellani, his relative, painted at the time Vasari wrote, which
was an excuse for his noticing them only in a cursory manner.
We may further observe that Polidoro was the founder of a
florid school in Messina, where we must look for his most
able scholars.*

* I here subjoin a list of them. Deodato Guinaccia may be called the
Giulio of this new Raffaello, on whose death he inherited the materials of
his art, and supported the fame of his school ; and like Giulio, completed
some works left unfinished by his master ; as the Nativity in the church
of Alto Basso, which passes for the best production of Polidoro. In this
exercise of his talents he became a perfect imitator of his master's style,
as in the church of the Trinita a Pellegrini, and in the Transfiguration at
S. Solvatore de* Greci. He imparted his taste to his scholars, the most
distinguished of whom for works yet remaining, are Cesare di Napoli,
and Francesco Comande, pure copyists of Polidoro. With regard to the
latter, some errors have prevailed ; for having very often worked in con-
junction with Gio. Simone Comande, his brother, who had an unequivocal
Venetian taste, from having studied in Venice, it not unfrequently hap-
pens, that when the pictures of Comande are spoken of, they are imme-
diately attributed to Simone, as the more celebrated artist ; but an expe-
rienced eye cannot be deceived, not even in works conjointly painted, as
in the Martyrdom of S. Bartholomew, in the church of that saint, or the
Magi in the monastery of Basicb. There, and in every other picture,
whorver can distinguish Polidoro from the Venetians, easily discovers the
style of the two brothers, and assigns to each his own.

Pnlidoro had in his academy Mariano and Antonello Riccio, father and
son. The first came in order to change the manner of Franco, his for-
' rner master, for that of Polidoro ; the second to acquire his master's style.
Both succeeded to their wishes ; but the father was so successful a rival
of h;s new master, that his works are said to pass under his name. This
is the common report, but I think it can only apply to inexperienced
purchasers, since if there be a painter, whose style it is almost impos-
sible to imitate to deception, it is Polidoro da Caravaggio. In proof,
the < omparison may be made in Messina itself, where the Pieta of Poli-
doro, and the Madonna della Carita of Mariano, are placed near each
othe;-.

Stofano Giordano was also a respectable scholar of Caldara, and we may

22 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Gio. Francesco Penni, or as he is called, il Fattore, came
to Naples some time after Polidoro, but soon afterwards fell
sick, and died in the year 1528. He contributed in two
different ways to the advancement of the school of Naples. In
the first place he left there the great copy of the Transfigu-
ration of Raffaello, which he had painted in Rome in con-
junction with Perino, and which was afterwards placed in
S. Spirito degl' Incurabili, and served as a study to Lama, and
the best painters, until, with other select pictures and sculp-
tures at Naples, it was purchased and removed by the viceroy
Don Pietro Antonio of Aragon. Secondly, he left there a
scholar of the name of Lionardo, commonly called il Pistoja,
from the place of his birth; an excellent colourist, but not a
very correct designer. We noticed him among the assistants
of Raffaello, and more at length among the artists of the
Florentine state, where we find some of his pictures, as in
Volterra and elsewhere. After he had lost his friend Penui
in Naples, he established himself there for the remainder of
his days, where he received sufficient encouragement from the

mention
Lord

ion, as an excellent production, his picture of the Supper of our
L in the monastery of S. Gregory, painted in 1541. With him we
may join Jacopo Vignerio, by whom we find described, as an excellent
work, the picture of Christ bearing his Cross, at S. Maria della Scala,
bearing the date of 1552.

We may close this list of the scholars of Polidoro with the infamous
name of Tonno, a Calabrian, who murdered his master in order to possess
himself of his money, and suffered for the atrocious crime. He evinced a
more than common talent in the art, if we may judge from the Epiphany
which he painted for the church of S. Andrea, in which piece he intro-
duced the portrait of his unfortunate master.

Some writers have also included among the followers of Polidoro,
Antonio Catalano, because he was a scholar of Deodato. We are in-
formed he went to Rome and entered the school of Barocci ; but as Barocci
never taught in Rome, we may rather imagine that it was from the works
of that artist he acquired a florid colouring, and a sfumatezza, or lucid tone,
with which he united a portion of the taste of Raffaello, whom he greatly
admired. His pictures are highly valued from this happy union of excel-
lences ; and his great picture of the Nativity at the Capuccini del Gesso
is particularly extolled. We must not mistake this accomplished painter
for Antonio Catalano il Giovane, the scholar of Gio. Simone Comande,
from whose style and that of others he formed a manner sufficiently
spirited, but incorrect, and practised with such celerity, that his works are
jis numerous as they are little prized.

PI8TOJA. 23

nobility of that city, and painted less for the churches than
for private individuals. He chiefly excelled in portrait.

Pistoja is said to have been one of the masters of Francesco
Curia, a painter who, though somewhat of a mannerist in the
stylo of Yasari and Zucchero, is yet commended for the
noble and agreeable style of his composition, for his beautiful
countenances, and natural colouring. These qualities are
singularly conspicuous in a Circumcision painted for the church
delLi Pieta, esteemed by Ribera, Giordano, and Solimene, one
of the first pictures in Naples. He left in Ippolito Borghese
an accomplished imitator, who was absent a long time from
his native country, where few of his works remain, but those
are highly prized. He was in the year 1620 in Perugia, as
Moi elli relates in his description of the pictures and statues of
that city, and painted an Assumption of the Virgin, which
was placed in S. Lorenzo.

There were two Neapolitans who were scholars and assist-
ants of Perino del Yaga in Rome ; Gio. Corso, initiated in
the art by Amato, or as others assert by Polidoro ; and Gian-
filippo Criscuolo, instructed a long time by Salerno. There
are few remains of Corso in Naples, except such as are re-
touched ; nor is any piece so much extolled as a Christ with
a Cross painted for the church of S. Lorenzo. Criscuolo in
the short time he was at Rome, diligently copied Raffaello,
and was greatly attached to his school. He followed, how-
ever, his own genius, which was reserved and timid, and
formed for himself rather a severe manner ; a circumstance to
his honour, at a time when the contours were overcharged and
the correctness of Raffaello was neglected. He is also highly
commended as an instructor.

From his school came Francesco Imparato, who was after-
wai ds taught by Titian, and so far emulated his style, that a
S. Peter Martyr by him in the church of that saint in Naples
was praised by Caracciolo as the best picture which had then
bee i seen in that city. We must not confound this Francesco
with Girolamo Imparato, his son, who flourished after the end
of the 16th century, and enjoyed a reputation greater than be
per laps merited. He, too, was a follower of the Venetian,
and afterwards of the Lombard style, and he travelled to im-
pro ye himself in colouring, the fruits of which were seen in

24 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

the picture of the Rosario at S. Tommaeo d'Aquino, and in
others of his works. The Cav. Stanzioni, who knew him, and
was his competitor, considered him inferior to his father in
talent, and describes him as vain and ostentatious.

To these painters of the school of Raffaello, there succeeded
in Naples two followers of Michelangelo, whom we have before
noticed. The first of these was Vasari, who was called thither
in 1544, to paint the refectory of the P. P. Olivetaui, and was
afterwards charged with many commissions in Naples and in
Home. By the aid of architecture, in which he excelled more
than in painting, he converted that edifice, which was in what
is commonly called the Gothic style, to a better form ; altered
the vault, and ornamented it with modern stuccos, which wero
the first seen in Naples, and painted there a considerable
number of subjects, with that rapidity and mediocrity that
characterize the greater part of his works. He remained there
for the space of a year, and of the services he rendered to the
city, we may judge from the following passage in his life. " It
is extraordinary," he says, " that in so large and noble a city,
there should have been found no masters after Giotto, to have
executed any work of celebrity, although some works by
Perugino and by Raffaello had been introduced. On these
grounds I have endeavoured, to the best of my humble talents,
to awaken the genius of that country to a spirit of emulation,
and to the accomplishment of some great and honourable
work ; and from these my labours, or from some other cause,
we now see many beautiful works in stucco and painting, in
addition to the before-mentioned pictures." It is not easy to
conjecture why Vasari should here overlook many eminent
painters, and even Andrea da Salerno himself, so illustrious an
artist, and whose name would have conferred a greater honour
on his book, than it could possibly have derived from it.
Whether self-love prompted him to pass over that painter and
other Neapolitan artists, in the hope that he should himself be
considered the restorer of taste in Naples ; or whether it was
the consequence of the dispute which existed at that time
between him and the painters of Naples ; or whether as I
observed in my preface, it sometimes happens in this art, that
a picture which delights one person, disgusts another, I know
not, and every one must judge for himself. For myself, how-

MARCO DI PINO. 25

•ever much disposed I should be to pardon him for many omis -
fcions, which in a work like his are almost unavoidable, still
I cannot exculpate him for this total silence. Nor have the
writors of Naples ever ceased complaining of this neglect, and
.some indeed have bitterly inveighed against him, and accused
him of contributing to the deterioration of taste. So true is it,
that an offence against a whole nation is an offence never
pardoned.

The other imitator, and a favourite of Michelangelo (not
his scholar, as some have asserted), who painted in Naples,
was Marco di Pino, or Marco da Siena, frequently before
mem ioned by us. He appears to have arrived in Naples after
the year 1560. He was well received in that city, and had
fiome privileges conferred on him ; nor did the circumstance
of his being a stranger create towards him any feeling of jea-
lousy on the part of the Neapolitans, who are naturally hos-
pital »le to strangers of good character ; and he is described
by all as a sincere, affable, and respectable man. He enjoyed
in Naples the first reputation, and was often employed in
works of consequence in some of the greater churches of the
city, and in others of the kingdom at large. He repeated on
several occasions the Deposition from the Cross, which he
painted at Rome, but with many variations, and the one the
most esteemed was that which he placed in S. Giovanni de'
Fiorontini, in 1577. The Circumcision in the Gesu Vecchio,
where Parrino traces the portrait of the artist and his wife,*
the Adoration of the Magi at S. Severino, and others of his
works, contain views of buildings not unworthy of him, as
he was an eminent architect, and also a good writer on that
art. Of his merit as a painter, I believe I do not err when I
say that, among the followers of Michelangelo, there is none
ivho >e design is less extravagant and whose colour is more
vigorous. He is not, however, always equal. In the church
of 8. Severino, where he painted four pictures, the Nativity
of the Virgin is much inferior to the others. A mannered
stylo was so common in artists of that age, that few were

* These traditions are frequently nothing more than common rumour,
to \vhi h, without corroborating circumstances, we ought not to give credit.
It has happened more than once, that such portraits have been found to
belorg to the patrons of the church.

26 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL EPOCH II.

exempt from it. He Lad many scholars in Naples, but none of
the celebrity of Gio. Angelo Criscuolo. This artist was the
brother of Gio. Filippo, already mentioned, and exercised the
profession of a notary, without relinquishing that of a minia-
ture painter, which he had learnt in his youth. He became
desirous of emulating his brother in larger compositions, and
under the direction of Marco succeeded in acquiring his style.
These two painters laid the foundation of the history of the
art in Naples. In 1568, there issued from the Giunti press
in Florence, a new edition of the works of Vasari, in which
the author speaks very briefly of Marco da Siena, in the life
of Daniello da Volterra. He only observes that he had de-
rived the greatest benefit from the instructions of that master,
and that he had afterwards chosen Naples for his country,
and settled and continued his labours there. Marco, either
not satisfied with this eulogium, or displeased at the silence
of Vasari with regard to many of the painters of Siena, and
almost all those of Naples, determined to publish a work of
his own in opposition to him. Among his scholars was the
notary before mentioned, who supplied him with memoirs of
the Neapolitan painters taken from the archives of the city,
and from tradition ; and from these materials Marco prepared
a " Discorso." He composed it in 1569, a year after the pub-
lication of this edition of Yasari's works, and it was the first
sketch of the history of the fine arts in Naples. It did not,
however, then see the light, and was not published until 1742,
and then only in part, by Dominici, together with notes writ-
ten by Criscuolo in the Neapolitan dialect, and with the addi-
tion of other notes collected respecting the subsequent artists,
and arranged by two excellent painters, Massimo Stanzioni,
and Paolo de* Matteis. Dominici himself added some others
of his own collecting, and communicated by some of h's
learned friends, among whom was the celebrated antiquarian
Matteo Egizio. The late " Guida or Breve Descrizione <li
Napoli" says, this voluminous work stands in need of more
information, a better arrangement, and a more concise style.
There might also be added some better criticisms on the an-
cient artists, and less partiality towards some of the modern.
Still this is a very lucid work, and highly valuable for the
opinions expressed on the talents of artists, for the most part

VARIOUS ARTISTS. 27

by other artists, whose names inspire confidence in the reader.
Whether the sister arts of architecture and sculpture are as
judiciously treated of, it is not our province to inquire.

In the above work, the reader may find the names of other
artists of Naples, who belong to the close of this epoch, as
Silvestro Bruno, who enjoyed in Naples the fame of a good
mast€ r ; a second Simone Papa, or del Papa, a clever fresco
paintor, and likewise another Gio. Ant. Amato, who to dis-
tingu sh him from the first is called the younger. He was
first instructed in the art by his uncle, afterwards by Lama,
and successively imitated their several styles. He obtained
considerable fame, and the infant Christ painted by him in
Banco de' Poveri is highly extolled. To these may be
added those artists who fixed their residence in other parts of
Italy, as Pirro Ligorio, honoured, as we have observed, by
Pius .IV. in Rome, and who died in Ferrara, engineer to
Alfonso II. ; and Gio. Bernardino Azzolini, or rather Maz-
zolini. in whose praise Soprani and Ratti unite. He arrived
in Genoa about 1510, and there executed some works wor-
thy oc that golden age of art. He excelled in wax-work,
and formed heads with an absolute expression of life. He
extended the same energetic character to his oil pictures, par-
ticularly in the Martyrdom of S. Agatha in S. Giuseppe.

Tho provincial cities had also in this age their own schools,
or at least, their own masters ; some of whom remained in
their native places, and others resided abroad. Cola dell'
Amatrice, known also to Yasari, who mentions him in his
life o? Calabrese, took up his residence in Ascoli del Piceno,
and enjoyed a distinguished name in architecture and in paint-
ing, ohrough all that province. He had somewhat of a hard
manner in his earlier paintings, but in his subsequent works
he exhibited a fulness of design, and an accomplished modern
style. He is highly extolled in the Guida di Ascoli for his
picture in the oratory of the Corpus Domini, which repre-
sents the Saviour in the act of dispensing the Eucharist to
the Apostles.

Potnpeo dell* Aquila was a finished painter and a fine
colou fist, if we are to believe Orlandi, who saw many of his
works in Aquila, particularly some frescos conducted in a

28 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

noble style. In Rome, in S. Spirito in Sassia, there is a fine
Deposition from the Cross by him. This artist is not men-
tioned either by Baglione or any other writer of his time.
Giuseppe Valeriani, another native of Aquila, is frequently
mentioned. He painted at the same period, and in the same
church of S. Spirito, where there exists a Transfiguration by
him. We perceive in him an evident desire of imitating F.
Sebastiano, but he is heavy in his design, and too dark in his
colours. He entered, afterwards, into the society of Jesuits,
and improved his first manner. His best works are said to
be a K unziata in a chapel of the Gesii, with other subjects
from the life of Christ, in which are some most beautiful
draperies added by Scipio da Gaeta. This latter artist also
was a native of the kingdom of Naples ; but of him, and of
the Cav. di Arpino, who both taught in Rome, we have
already spoken in that school.

Marco Mazzaroppi di S. Germane died young, but is known
for his natural and animated colouring, almost in the Flemish
style. At Capua., they mention with applause the altar-
pieces and other pictures of Gio. Pietro Russo, who, after
studying in various schools, returned to that city, and there
left many excellent works. Matteo da Lecce, whose educa-
tion is uncertain, displayed in Rome a Michelangelo style, or
as some say, the style of Salviati. It is certain that he had
a strong expression of the limbs and muscles. He worked
for the most part in fresco, and there is a prophet painted by
him for the company of the Gonfalone, of such relief, that
the figures, says Baglione, seem starting from the wall. Al-
though there were at that time many Florentines in Rome, he
was the only one who dared in the face of the Last Judgment
of Michelangelo, to paint the Fall of the Rebel Angels, a
subject which that great artist designed to have painted, but
never put his intentions into execution. He chose too to ac-
company it with the combat between the Prince of the
Angels and Lucifer, for the body of Moses ; a subject taken
from the epistle of S. James, arid analogous to that of the
other picture. Matteo entered upon this very arduous task
with a noble spirit ; but, alas ! with a very different result.
He painted, afterward;?, in Malta, and passing to Spain and

MATTEO DA LECCE. 29

to tli2 Indies, lie enriched himself by merchandise, until turn-
ing t ) mining, he lost all his wealth, and died in great indi-
gence '. We may also mention two Calabrians, of doubtful
parentage. Nicoluccio, a Calabrian, who will be mentioned
among the scholars of Lorenzo Costa, but only cursorily, as I
know nothing of this parricide, as he may be called, except
that he attempted to murder his master. Pietro Negroni, a
Calabrian also, is commemorated by Dominici as a diligent
and accomplished painter. In Sicily, it is probable that
man}' painters flourished, belonging to this period, besides
Gio. Borghese da Messina, a scholar also of Costa, and Lau-
reti, whom I notice in the schools of Rome and Bologna, aud
others, whose names I may have seen, but whose works have
not called for my notice. The succeeding epoch we shalJ
find more productive in Sicilian art.

30

NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH III.

Corenzio, Ribera, Caracciolo, flourish in Naples. Strangers who compete
with them.

ABOUT the middle of the 16th century, Tintoretto was con-
sidered one of the first artists in Venice ; and towards the
close of the same century Caravaggio in Rome, and theCaracci
in Bologna, rose to the highest degree of celebrity. The
several styles of these masters soon extended themselves into
other parts of Italy, and became the prevailing taste in Naples,
where they were adopted by three painters of reputation,
Corenzio, Ribera, and Caracciolo. These artists rose one
after the other into reputation, but afterwards united together
in painting, and assisted each other interchangeably. At the
time they flourished, Guido, Domenichino, Lanfranco, and
Artemisia Gentilescbi, were in Naples ; and there and else-
where contributed some scholars to the Neapolitan school.
Thus the time which elapsed between Bellisario and Giordano
is the brightest period of this academy, both in respect to the
number of excellent artists and the works of taste. It is
however the darkest era, not only of the Neapolitan school,
but of the art itself, as far as regards the scandalous artifices,
and the crimes which occurred in it. I would gladly pass over
those topics in silence, if they were foreign to my subject, but
they are so intimately connected with it, that they must, at
all events, be alluded to. I shall notice them at a proper
time, adhering to the relation of Malvasia, Passeri, Bellori,
and more particularly of Dominici.

Bellisario Corenzio, a Greek by birth, after having passed
five years in the school of Tintoretto, settled in Naples about
the year 1590. He inherited from nature a fertile imagina-

31

lion .Jinl a rapidity of hand, which enabled him to rival his
mast* T in the prodigious number of his pictures, and those too
of a *-irge class. Four common painters could scarcely have
equalled his individual labour. He cannot be compared to
Tint* ret to, who, when he restrained his too exuberant fancy,
was inferior to few in design ; and excelled in invention, ges-
tures, and the airs of his heads, which, though the Venetians
have always had before their eyes, they have never equalled.
CWeaiio successfully imitated his master when he painted
with ear©, as in the great picture in the refectory of the Bene-
dict iites, representing the multitude miraculously fed ; a work
he finished in forty days. But the greater part of the vault
resembles in many respects the style of the Cav. d'Arpino,*
othei parts partake of the Venetian school, not without some
character peculiar to himself, particularly in the glories, which
are liordered with shadowy clouds. In the opinion of the
Cav. Massimo, he was of a fruitful invention, but not select
He i aiuted very little in oil, although he had great merit in
the strength and harmony of his colours. The desire of gain
led I im to attempt large works in fresco, which he composed
with much felicity, as he was copious^ varied, and energetic.
Ho 1 ad a good general effect, and was finished in detail and
comot, when the proximity of some eminent rival compelled
him ..» it. This was the case at the Certosa, in the chapel of
£. ( J Miiuiro. He there exerted all his talents, as ho was excited
to it by emulation of Caracciolo, who had painted in that
pl:u-i a picture, which was long admired as one of his finest
wort s, and was afterwards transferred into the monastery. In
othei churches we find some sacred subjects painted by him in
smal er size, which Domiuici commends, and adds too, that he

* )n torn. iii. of the " Lett. Pittoriohe." is a letter of P. Sebastiano
Rests dell' Oratorio, wherein he says it is probable that the Cav. d'Arpino
imit.ii ad him in his youth ; which canuot be admitted, as it is known
that ( etari formed himsolt' in Rome, and resided only in Naples when an
adult As to the resemblance between them, that applies as well to
other artists. In the same letter Coreniio is called the Cav. Bellisario,
and v me anecdotes are related of him, and among others, that he lived to
the ai e of a hundred and twenty. This i$ one of those tales to which
this v riter so easily gives credit. In proof of this we may refer to Tira-
buscli , in the lite of Antonio Allegri, where similar instances of his ere-
dxilit \ are noticed.

32 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

assisted M. Desiderio, a celebrated perspective painter, whose
views he accompanied with small figures beautifully coloured
and admirably appropriate.

The birthplace of Giuseppe Ribera has been the subject of
controversy. Palomino, following Sandrart and Orlandi,
represents him as a native of Spain, in proof of which they
refer to a picture of S. Matteo, with the following inscription.
" Jusepe de Ribera espanol de la ciutad de Xativa, reyno de
Valencia, Academico romano ano 1630." The Neapolitans,
on the contrary, contend that he was born in the neighbour-
hood of Lecce, but that his father was from Spain ; and that
in order to recommend himself to the governor, who was a
Spaniard, he always boasted of his origin, and expressed it in
his signature, and was on that account called Spagnoletto*
Such is the opinion of Dominici, Signorelli, and Galanti.
This question is, however, now set at rest, as it appears from
the " Antologia di Roma" of 1795, that the register of his
baptism was found in Sativa (now San Filippo), and that he
•was born in that place. It is further said, that he learnt the
principles of the art from Francesco Ribalta of Valencia, a
reputed scholar of Annibale Caracci. But the History of
Neapolitan Artists, which is suspicious in my eyes as relates
to this artist, affirms also, that whilst yet a youth, or a mere
boy, he studied in Naples under Michelangiolo da Caravaggio,
when that master fled from Rome for homicide, and fixing
himself there about 1606, executed many works both public and
private.* But wherever he might have received instruction in
his early youth, it is certain that the object of his more matured
admiration was Caravaggio. On leaving him, Ribera visited
Rome, Modena, and Parma, and saw the works of Raffaello
and Annibale in the former place, and the works of Correggio

* Caravaggio had another scholar of eminence in Mario Minniti of
Syracuse, who however passed a considerable part of his life in Messina.
Having painted for some time in Rome with Caravaggio, he imbibed his
taste ; and though he did not equal him in the vigour of style, he dis-
played more grace and amenity. There are works remaining of him in
all parts of Sicily, as he painted much, and retained in his service twelve
scholars, whose works he retouched, and sold as his own. Hence his
pictures do not altogether correspond with his reputation. Messina pos-
sesses several, as the Dead of Nairn at the church of the Capuchins, and the
Virgin, the tutelar saint, at the Virginelle.

RISER A. 33

in the two latter cities, and adopted in consequence a more
graceful style, in which he persevered only for a short time,
and with little success; as in Naples there were others who
pursued, with superior skill, the same path. He returned
therefore to the style of Caravaggio, which for its truth, force,
and strong contrast of light and shade, was much more calcu-
lated to attract the general eye. In a short time he was ap-
pointed painter to the court, and subsequently became the
arbiter of its taste.

His studies rendered him superior to Caravaggio in inven-
tion, selection, and design. In emulation of him, lib painted
at th-3 Certosini that great Deposition from the Cross, which
alone, in the opinion of Giordano, is sufficient to form a great
painter, and may compete with the works of the brightest
luminaries of the art. Beautiful beyond his usual style, and.
almost Titianesque, is his Martyrdom of S. Januarius, painted
in tho Royal Chapel, and the -S. Jerome at the Trinita. He
was much attached to the representation of the latter saint,
and whole lengths and half-figures of him are found in many
collections. In the Panfili palace in Rome, we find about
five, und all differing. Nor are his other pictures of similar
character rare, as anchorets, prophets, apostles, which exhibit
a strong expression of bone and muscle, and a gravity of cha-
racter, in general copied from nature. In the same taste are
commonly his profane pictures, where he is fond of represent-
ing old men and philosophers, as the Democritus and the
Heraclitus, which Sig. March. Girolamo Durazzo had in his
collection, and which are quite in the manner of Caravaggio.
In his selection of subjects, the most revolting were to him the
most inviting, as sanguinary executions, horrid punishments,
and lingering torments ; among which is celebrated his Ixioa
on tho Wheel, in the palace of Buon Ritiro at Madrid. His
work.s are very numerous, particularly in Italy and Spain.
His scholars nourished chiefly at a lower period of art, where
they will be noticed towards the conclusion of this epoch.
With them we shall name those few who rivalled him success-
fully in figures and half-figures ; and we must not, at the same
time, neglect to impress on the mind of the reader, that among
so many reputed pictures of Spagnoletto found in collections,

VOL. II. D

3'i NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

we may rest assured that they are in great part not justly en-
titled to his name, and ought to be ascribed to his scholars.

Giambatista Caracciolo, an imitator, first of Francesco Im-
parato, and afterwards of Caravaggio, attained a mature age
without having signalized himself by any work of peculiar
merit. But being roused by the fame of Annibale, and the
general admiration which a picture of that master had excited,
he repaired to Rome, where, by persevering study in the Far-
nese gallery, which he carefully copied, he became a correct
designer in the Caracci style.* Of this talent he availed
himself to establish his reputation on his return to Naples,
and distinguished himself on some occasions of competition,
as in the Madonna at S. Anna de' Lombardi, in a S. Carlo in
the church of S. Agnello, and Christ bearing his Cross at the
Incurabili, paintings praised by connoisseurs as the happiest
imitations of Annibale. But his other works, in the breadth
and strength of their lights and shades, rather remind us of
the school of Caravaggio. He was a finished and careful
painter. There are, however, some feeble works by him,
which Dominici considers to have been negligently painted,
through disgust, for individuals who had not given him his
own price, or they were perhaps executed by Mercuric
d'Aversa, his scholar, and an inferior artist.

The three masters whom I have just noticed in successive
order, were the authors of the unceasing persecutions which
many of the artists who had come to, or were invited to
Naples, were for several years subjected to. Bellisario had
established a supreme dominion, or rather a tyranny, over the
Neapolitan painters, by calumny and insolence* as well as by
Jiis station. He monopolized all lucrative commissions to
himself, and recommended, for the fulfilment of others, one or
other of the numerous and inferior artists that were dependent
on him. The Cav. Massimo, Santafede, and other artists of
talent, if they did not defer to him, were careful not to offend
him, as they knew him to be a man of a vindictive temper,

* Among the scholars of Annibale, I find Carlo Sellitto mentioned,
to whom Guarienti assigns a place in the Abbeccadario, and I fur-
ther find him commended in some MS. notices of eminent artists of the
school.

BELLISARIO. 85

treacherous, and capable of every violence, and who
known, through jealousy, to have administered poison to
Luip Roderigo, the most promising and the most amiable of
his scholars.

B3llisario, in order to maintain himself in his assumed
authority, endeavoured to exclude all strangers who painted
rathor in fresco than in oil. Annibale arrived there in 1609,
and was engaged to ornament the churches of Spirito Santo
and Gesu Nuovo, for which, as a specimen of his style, he
painted a small picture. The Greek and his adherents being
requ red to give their opinion on this exquisite production,
•declared it to be tasteless, and decided that the painter of it
did not possess a talent for large compositions. This divine
artis;; in consequence took his departure under a burning sun
for Rome, where he soon afterwards died. But the work in
which strangers were the most opposed was the chapel of S.
Gennaro, which a committee had assigned to the Cav. d'Ar-
pino, as soon as he should finish painting the choir of the
Certosa. Bellisario leaguing with Spagnoletto (like himself
a fierce and ungovernable man) and with Caracciolo, who as-
pired to this commission, persecuted Cesari in such a manner,
that before he had finished the choir he fled to Monte Cassino,
and from thence returned to Rome. The work was then
given to Guido, but after a short time, two unknown persons
assaulted the servant of that artist, and at the same time de-
sired him to inform his master that he must prepare himself
for doath, or instantly quit Naples, with which latter mandate
Guido immediately complied. Gessi, the scholar of Guido,
was not however intimidated by this event, but applied for
and obtained the honourable commission, and came to Naples
with two assistants, Gio. Batista Ruggieri and Lorenzo Me-
nini. But these artists were scarcely arrived, when they were
treacherously invited on board a galley, which immediately
weighed anchor and carried them off, to the great dismay of
their master, who, although he made the most diligent in-
quire s both at Rome and Naples, could never procure any
tidings of them.

Gessi also in consequence taking his departure, the com-
mitte 3 lost all hope of succeeding in their task, and were in
the act of yielding to the reigning cabal, assigning the fresco

D 2

SG NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

•work to Corenzio and Caracciolo, and promising the pictures
to Spagnoletto, when suddenly repenting of their resolution,
they effaced all that was painted of the two frescos, and
intrusted the decoration of the chapel entirely to Dome-
nichino. It ought to be mentioned to the honour of these
munificent persons, that they engaged to pay for every entire
figure 100 ducats, for each half-figure 50 ducats, and for
each head 25 ducats. They took precautions also against
any interruption to the artist, threatening the viceroy's high
displeasure if he were in any way molested. But this was
only matter of derision to the junta. They began imme-
diately to cry him down as a cold and insipid painter, and to
discredit him with those, the most numerous class in every
place, who see only with the eyes of others. They harassed
him by calumnies, by anonymous letters, by displacing his
pictures, by mixing injurious ingredients with his colours,
and by the most insidious malice they procured some of his
pictures to be sent by the viceroy to the court of Madrid ;
and these, when little more than sketched, were taken from
his studio and carried to the court, where Spagnoletto ordered
them to be retouched, and, without giving him time to finish
them, hurried them to their destination. This malicious
fraud of his rival, the complaints of the committee, who
always met with some fresh obstacle to the completion of the
work, and the suspicion of some evil design, at last determined
Domenichino to depart secretly to Rome. As soon however
as the news of his flight transpired, he was recalled, and
fresh measures taken for his protection ; when he resumed
his labours, and decorated the walls and base of the cupola,
and made considerable progress in the painting of his pictures.
But before he could finish his task he was interrupted by
death, hastened either by poison, or by the many severe
vexations he had experienced both from his relatives and his
adversaries, and the weight of which was augmented by the
arrival of his former enemy Lanfranco. This artist super-
seded Zampieri in the painting of the basin of the chapel ;
Spagnoletto, in one of his oil pictures ; Stanzioni in another ;
and each of these artists, excited by emulation, rivalled, if he
did not excel, Domenichino. Caracciolo was dead. Belli-
sario, from his great age, took no share in it, and was soon.

DOMEMCH1NO. 37

afterwards killed by a fall from a stage, which he had erected
for the purpose of retouching some of his frescos. Nor did
Spagnoletto experience a better fate ; for, having seduced a
young girl, and become insupportable even to himself from
the general odium which he experienced, he embarked on
board a ship ; nor is it known whither he fled, or how he
•endod his life, if we may credit the Neapolitan writers.
Palomino however states him to have died in Naples in 1656,
aged sixty-seven, though he does not contradict the first part
of our statement. Thus these ambitious men, who by violence
or fraud had influenced and abused the generosity and taste
of to many noble patrons, and to whose treachery and san-
guinary vengeance so many professors of the art had fallen
victims, ultimately reaped the merited fruit of their conduct
in a violent death ; and an impartial posterity, in assigning
the palm of merit to Domenichino, inculcates the maxim, that
it is a delusive hope to attempt to establish fame and fortune
on the destruction of another's reputation.

The many good examples in the Neapolitan school in-
creased the number of masters, either from the instruction of
the above-mentioned masters, or from an inspection of their
works ; for there is much truth in the observation of Passeri,
" that a painter who has an ardent desire of learning, receives
as much instruction from the works of deceased artists as
from living masters." It was greatly to the honour of the
Neapolitan artists, amidst such a variety of new styles, to
have selected the best. Cesari had no followers in Naples, if
we except Luigi Roderigo,* who exchanged the school of
Bellisario for his, but not without a degree of mannerism,
.although he acquired a certain grace and judgment, which his

* There is a different account of him in the " Memorie de' Pittori
Mestinesi," where it is said that his true family name was Rodriguez.
It is there said that he studied in Rome, and went from thence to work in
Naples, in the Guida of which city he is frequently mentioned. It is
added that, from his Roman style, he was called by his brother Alonso
the alave of the antique; and that he returned the compliment by
calling his brother, who was instructed in Venice, the slave of nature.
But Alonso, who spent his life in Sicily, surpassed his brother in reputa-
tion : and it is a rare commendation that he painted much and well. He
particularly shone in the Probatica in S. Cosmo de' Medici, and the
picture of two founders of Messina in the senatorial palace, a work re-

38 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH III.

master did not possess. He initiated a nephew, Gianber-
nardino, in the same style ; who, from his being an excellent
imitator of Cesari, was employed by the Carthusian monks to
finish a work which that master had left imperfect.

Thus almost all these artists trod in the steps of the
Caracci, and the one that approached nearest to them was the
Cav. Massimo Stanzioni, considered by some the best example
of the Neapolitan school, of which, as we have observed, he
compiled some memoirs. He was a scholar of Caracciolo, to
whom he bore some analogy in taste, but he availed himself
of the assistance of Lanfranco, whom in one of his MS. he
calls his master, and studied too under Corenzio, who in his
painting of frescos yielded to few. In portrait he adopted
the principles of Santafede, and attained an excellent Titian-
esque style. Going afterwards to Rome, and seeing the
works of Annibale, and, as some assert, making acquaintance
with Guido, he became ambitious of uniting the design of the
first with the colouring of the second, and we are informed
by Galanti, that he obtained the appellation of Guido Reni
di Napoli. His talents, which were of the first order,
enabled him in a short time to compete with the best masters.
He painted in the Certosa a Dead Christ, surrounded by the
Maries, in competition with Ribera. This picture having
become somewhat obscured, Ribera persuaded the monks to
have it washed, and ho purposely injured it in such a way
with a corrosive liquid, that Stanzioni refused to repair it,
declaring that such an instance of malice ought to be per-
petuated to the public eye. But in that church, which is in
fact a museum of art, where every artist, not to be surpassed
by his rivals, seems to have surpassed himself, Massimo left
some other excellent works, and particularly a stupendous
altar-piece, of S. Bruno presenting to his brethren the rules
of their order. His works are not unfrequent in the col-
lections of his own country, and are highly esteemed in other
places. The vaults of the Gesu Nuovo and S. Paolo entitle
him to a distinguished place amon^ fresco painters. His

warded with a thousand scudi. His fame declined, and he began to fail
in commissions on the arrival of Barbalunga. But he did not, on that
account, refuse him his esteem, as he was accustomed to call him the
Caracci of Sicily.

FRANCESCO DI ROSA. 39

paintings were highly finished, and he studied perfection
during his celibacy, but marrying a woman of some rank, in
ordei* to maintain her in an expensive style of living, he
painted many hasty and inferior pictures. It may be said that
Cocchi, in his " Ragionamento del Matrimonio," not without
good reason took occasion to warn all artists of the perils of
the wedded state.

The school of Massimo produced many celebrated scholars,
in consequence of his method and high reputation, confirming
that ancient remark, which has passed into a proverb, primus
discendi ardor nobilitas est magistri (the example of the
master is the greatest incentive to improvement). Muzio
Rossi passed from his school to that of Guido, and was chosen
at the age of eighteen to paint in the Certosa of Bologna, in
competition with the first masters, and maintained his station
on a comparison ; but this very promising artist was imma-
turely cut off, and his own country does not possess any work
by him, as the Tribune of S. Pietro in Majella, which he
painted a little time before his death, was modernized, and his
labo irs thus perished. This is the reason that his works in
the Certosa just mentioned, and which are enumerated by
Cre^pi, are held in great esteem. Another man of genius of
this school, Antonio de Bellis, died also at an early age ; he
painted several subjects from the life of S. Carlo, in the church
of that saint, which were left imperfect by his death. His
manner partakes somewhat of Guercino, but is in fact founded,
like that of all the scholars of Massimo, on the style of Guido.

Francesco di Rosa, called Pacicco, was not acquainted with
Guido himself, but under the direction of Massimo devoted
him self to the copying of his works. He is one of the few
artists commemorated by Paolo de' Matteis, in one of his MSS.
whi-)h admits no artists of inferior merit. He declares the
styl 3 of Rosa almost inimitable, not only from his correct de-
sigc, but from the rare beauty of the extremities, and still
more from the dignity and grace of the countenances. He had
in Ids three nieces the most perfect models of beauty, and he
possessed a sublimity of sentiment which elevated his mind to
a high sense of excellence. His colouring, though conducted
•with exquisite sweetness, had a strong body, and his pictures

40 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL EPOCH III.

preserve a clear and fresh tone. These are frequently to be
found in the houses of the nobility, as he lived long. He
painted some beautiful altar-pieces, as S. Tomraaso d'Aquino
at the Sanita, the Baptism of S. Candida at S. Pietro d' Aram,
and other pieces.

This artist had a niece of the name of Aniella di Rosa, who
may be called the Sirani of the Neapolitan school, from her
talents, beauty, and the manner of her death, the fair Bolog^-
nese being inhumanly poisoned by some envious artists, and
Aniella murdered by a jealous husband. This husband was
Agostino Beltrano, her fellow- scholar in the school of Massi-
mo, where he became a good fresco painter, and a colourist in
oil of no common merit, as is proved by many cabinet pictures
and some altar-pieces. His wife also painted in the same
style, and was the companion of his labours, and they jointly
prepared many pictures which their master afterwards finished
in such a manner that they were sold as his own. Some, how-
ever, pass under her own name, and are highly extolled, as
the Birth and Death of the Virgin, at the Pieta, not however
without suspicion that Massimo had a considerable share in
that picture, as Guido had in several painted by Gentileschi.
But at all events, her original designs prove her knowledge
of art, and her contemporaries, both painters and writers, do
not fail to extol her as an excellent artist, and as such Paolo
de' Matteis, has admitted her name in his catalogue.

Three young men of Orta became also celebrated scholars
in this academy ; Paol Domenico Finoglia, Giacinte de'
Popoli, and Giuseppe Marullo. By the first there remains
at the Certosa at Naples, the vault of the chapel of S. Gen-
naro, and various pictures in the chapter-house. He had a
beautiful expression, fertility, correctness, a good arrangement
of parts, and a happy general effect. The second painted in
many churches, and is admired more for his style of composi-
tion, than for his figures. The third approached so near to
his master in manner, that artists have sometimes ascribed
his works to Massimo ; and in truth he left some beautiful
productions at S. Severino, and other churches. He had
afterwards a dry style of colouring, particularly in his con-
tours, which on that account became crude and hard, and he

BERNARDO CAVALLINO. 41

gradually lost the public favour. His example may serve
as a warning to every one to estimate his own powers cor-
rectly, and not to affect genius when he does not possess it.

.Another scholar who obtained a great name, was Andrea
Malinconico, of Naples. There do not exist any frescos by
him, but he left many works in oil, particularly in the church
de' Miracoli, where he painted almost all the pictures
himself. The Evangelists, and the Doctors of the church,
subjects with which he ornamented the pilasters, are the most
beautiful pictures, says the encomiast of this master ; as
the attitudes are noble, the conception original, and the whole
painted with the spirit of a great artist, and with an asto-
nishing freshness of colour. There are other fine works by
him. but several are feeble and spiritless, which gave a con-
noisseur occasion to remark, that they were in unison with
the name of the painter.

But none of the preceding artists were so much favoured
by nature as Bernardo Cavallino, who at first created a
jealous feeling in Massimo himself. Finding afterwards that
his talent lay more in small figures than large, he pursued
that department, and became very celebrated in his school,
beyond which he is not so well known as he deserves to be.
In the galleries of the Neapolitan nobility are to be seen by
him, on canvas and copper, subjects both sacred and profane,
composed with great judgment, and with figures in the style
of I'oussin, full of spirit and expression, and accompanied by
a native grace, and a simplicity peculiarly their own. In
his colouring, besides his master and Gentileschi, who were
both followers of Guido, he imitated Rubens. He possessed
every quality essential to an accomplished artist, as even
the most extreme poverty could not induce him to hurry his
works, which he was accustomed frequently to retouch before
he could entirely satisfy himself. Life was alone wanting to
him, which he unfortunately shortened by his irregularities.*

* I find in Messina, Gio. Fulco, who imbibed the principles of the art
under the Cav. Massimo ; a correct designer, a lively and graceful painter,
particularly of children, excepting a somewhat too great freshness, and a
tract of mannerism. Many of his works in his native country were
destroyed by an earthquake. Some remain at the Nunziata de' Teatini,
where in the chapel of the Crucifix are his frescos, and a picture by him,
in oil of the Nativity of the Virgin.

42 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

Andrea Vaccaro was a contemporary and rival of Massimo,
but at the same time his admirer and friend, a man of great
imitative powers. He at first followed Cararaggio, and in
that style his pictures are frequently found in Naples, and
some cabinet pictures, which have even imposed upon con-
noisseurs, who have bought them for originals of that master.
After some time Massimo won him over to the style of Guido,
in which he succeeded in an admirable manner, though he
did not equal his friend. In this style are executed his most
celebrated works at the Certosa, at the Teatini and Bosario,
without enumerating those in collections, where he is fre-
quently found. On the death of Massimo, he assumed the
first rank among his countrymen. Giordano alone opposed
him in his early years, when on his return from Rome he
brought with him a new style from the school of Cortona,
and both artists were competitors for the larger picture of
S. Maria del Pianti. That church had been lately erected in
gratitude to the Virgin, who had liberated the city from
pestilence, and this was the subject of the picture. Each
artist made a design, and Pietro da Cartona being chosen
umpire, decided against his own scholar in favour of Vaccaro,
observing, that as he was first in years, so he was first in
design and natural expression. He had not studied frescos
in his youth, but began them when he was advanced in life,
in order that he might not yield the palm to Giordano, but
by the loss of his fame, he verified the proverb, that ad
omnem disciplinam tardior est senectus.

Of his scholars, Giacomo Farelli was the most successful,
who by his vigorous talents, and by the assistance of his
master, painted a picture in competition with Giordano. The
church of S. Brigida has a beautiful picture of that saint by
Farelli, and its author is mentioned by Matteis as a painter
of singular merit. He declined however, in public esteem,
from wishing at an advanced age to change his style, when
.he painted the sacristy of the Tesoro. He was on that
.occasion anxious to imitate Domenichino, but he did not
succeed in his attempt, and indeed he never afterwards ex-
ecuted any work of merit.

Nor did Domenichino fail to have among the painters of

COZZA* 43

Naples, or of that state, many deserving followers.* Cozza,
a CjJabrian, who lived in Rome, I included in that school, as
also Antonio Ricci, called il Barbalunga, who was of Messina,
and well known in Rome. I may add, that he returned to
Messina, and ornamented that city with many works ; as at
S. Gregorio, the saint writing ; the Ascension at S. Michele ,
two Pietas of different designs at S. Niccolo and the Spedale.
He is considered as one of the best painters of Sicily, where
good artists have abounded more than is generally imagined,'
He formed a school there, and left several scholars. t

* Gio. Batista Durand, of Burgundy, was established in Messina. He
was ' he scholar of Domenichino, and was always attached to his manner.
Of bis larger works we find only a S. Cecilia in the convent of that saint,
as hi was generally occupied in painting portraits. He had a daughter
calle 1 Flavia, the wife of Filippo Giannetti, skilled in portraits, and an ex-
celle it copyist.

f Domenico Maroli, Onoffio Gabriello, and Agostino Scilla, were the
three painters of Messina who did him the most honour, although from,
bein^ engaged in the revolutions of 1674 and 1676, the first lost his life, and
the other two were long exiles from their country. Maroli did not adopt
the ttyle of Barbalunga exclusively, but having made a voyage to Venice,
and there studied the works of the best Venetian artists, and particularly
of Paolo, he returned with many of the excellences of that great master,
brilliant flesh-tints, a beautiful air in his heads, and a fine style in his
drawings of women, a talent which he abused as much or more than Liberi.
To this moral vice he added a professional one, which was painting some-
times on the first ground, and generally with little colour ; whence his
works, which were extolled and sought after when new, became, when old,
neglected, like those dark paintings of the Venetian school, which we
hav« mentioned. Messina has many of them : the Martyrdom of S.
Plat ido at the Suore di S. Paolo, the Nativity of the Virgin in the church
dell i Grotta, and some others. In Venice there must also be remaining
in private collections some of his paintings of animals in the style of
Bas^ano, as we have before mentioned. Onofrio Gabriello was for six
yea -s with Barbalunga, and for some further time with Poussin, and then
with Cortona in Rome, until passing another nine years in Venice with
Ma x)li, he brought back with him to Messina that master's vicious method
of colour, but not his style. In the latter he aimed at originality, exhi-
biti ig much lightness, grace, and fancy in the accessory parts, and in
rib; nds, jewels, and lace, in which he particularly excelled. He left many
pict ures in Messina, in the church of S. Francesco di Paola ; many also
in 3'adua, in the Guida of which city various pictures by him are enume-
rat< d, without mentioning his cabinet pictures and portraits in private
collections. I have seen several in possession of the noble and learned
Sig . Co. Antonio Maria Borromeo ; amongst which is a family piece with
a portrait of the painter.

44 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH III.

I ought after him to mention another Sicilian, Pietro del
Po da Palermo, a good engraver, and better known in Rome
in that capacity than as a painter. There is a S. Leone by
him at the church of the Madonna di Costantinopoli ; an

Agostino Scilla, or Silla, as Orlandi calls him, opened a school in
Messina, which was much frequented while it lasted, but the scholars were
dispersed by the storm of revolutions, in which they took a part, not with-
out great injury both to the art and themselves. He possessed an elegant
genius for painting, which he cultivated, and added to it a taste for poetry,
natural history, and antiquities. His genius raised such high expectations
in Barbalunga, that he procured a pension for him from the senate, in
order to enable him to reside in Rome under Andrea Sacchi. After four
years he returned to Messina, highly accomplished, from his study of the
antique and of Raffaello, and if his colouring was at first somewhat dry,
jhe soon rendered it rich and agreeable. He excelled in figures and in
heads, (particularly of old men, and had a peculiar talent in landscapes,
animals, and fruit. For this I may refer to the Roman school, where he
is mentioned with his brother and son. There are few of his works in
Rome, but many in Messina. His frescos are in S. Domenico, and in the
Nunziata de' Teatini, and many paintings in other places, among which is
.S. Ilarione dying, in the church of S. Ursula, than which work there is no
greater favourite with the public.

Of the scholars of Scilla, who remained in Messina after the departure
of their master, there is not much to be said. F. Emanuel da Como we
have mentioned elsewhere. Giuseppe Balestriero, an excellent copyist of
the works of Agostino, and a good designer, after painting some pictures,
became a priest, and took leave of the art. Antonio la Falce was a good
painter in distemper and in oil. He afterwards attempted frescos, and
painted tavern scenes. Placido Celi, a man of singular talents, but bad
habits, followed his master to Rome. He there changed his style for that
of Maratta and Morandi ; after whose works he painted in Rome, in the
churches dell' Anima and Traspontina, and in several churches of his
own country, but he never passed the bounds of mediocrity. A higher
-reputation belongs to Antonio Madiona, of Syracuse, who, although he
separated himself from Scilla in Rome, to follow il Preti to Malta, was
nevertheless an industrious artist, and painted both there and in Sicily, in
a strong and vigorous style, which partakes of both his masters. And
this may suffice for the members of this unfortunate school.

To complete the list of the chief scholars of Barbalunga, I may mention
here Bartolommeo Tricomi, who confined himself to portrait painting,
and in this hereditary gift of the school of Domenichino, he greatly ex-
celled. He had notwithstanding in Andrea Suppa a scholar who surpassed
him. The latter learned also of Casembrot, as far as regards landscape
and architecture ; but he formed himself principally on the antique ;
-and by constantly studying Raffaello and the Caracci, and other select
masters, or their drawings, he acquired a most enchanting style of coun-
tenance, and indeed of every part of his composition. His works are as

THE TWO POS. 45

altar-piece which however does not do him so much honour as
the pictures which he painted for collections, some of which
are in Spain; and particularly some small pictures which he
executed in the manner of miniatures with exquisite taste.
Two of this kind I saw in Piacenza, at the Sig. della Missione,
a Decollation of S. John, and a Crucifixion of S. Peter in his
best manner, and with his name. This artist, after working
in Rome, settled in Naples with a son of the name of Giacomo,
who had been instructed in the art by Poussin and himself.
He also taught a daughter of the name of Teresa, who was
skilled in miniatures. The two Pos were well acquainted,
with the principles of the art, and had taught in the academy
of Rome. But the father painted little in Naples ; the son
found constant employ in ornamenting the halls and galleries
of the nobility with frescos. His intimacy with letters aided
the poetic taste with which his pictures were conceived, and
his varied and enchanting colours fascinated the eye of every
spectator. He was singular and original in his lights, and
their various gradations and reflections. In his figures and
drapery he became, as is generally the case with the machinists,
mannered and less correct; nor has he any claim as an imita-
tor of Domenichino, except from the early instructions of his
father. In Rome there are two paintings by him, one at
S. Angiolo in Pescheria, the other at S. Marta ; and there are
some in Naples ; but his genius chiefly shines in the frescos of
the gallery of the Marchese Genzano, and in the house of the
duke of Matalona, and still more in seven apartments of the
prince of Avellino.

A more finished imitator of Zampieri than the two Pos was
a scholar of his, of the name of Francesco di Maria, the

fine is miniature, and are perhaps too highly finished. His subjects, in
unison with his genius, are of a pensive and melancholy cast, and are
always treated in a pathetic manner. He excelled in frescos, and painted
the vaults in the Suore in S. Paolo ; he excelled equally in oils, as may be
seen from the picture of S. Scolastica, there also. Some of his works
were lost by earthquakes. His style was happily imitated by Antonio
Bova, his scholar, and we may compare their works together at the Nun-
ziata de' Teatini. He painted much in oil, as well as fresco, and from hist
placid and tranquil disposition, took no part in the revolutions of Messina,
but remained at home, where he closed his days in peace, and with him
expired the school of Barbalunga,

46 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH III.

author of few works, as he willingly suffered those reproaches
of slowness and irresolution which accompanied the unfortu-
nate Domenichino to the grave. But his works, though few
in number, are excellent, particularly the history of S. Lorenzo
at the Conventuals in Naples, and also many of his portraits.
One of the latter exhibited in Rome, together with one by
Vandyk and one by Rubens, was preferred by Poussin, Cor-
tona, and Sacchi, to those of the Flemish artists. Others of
his pictures are bought at great prices, and are considered by
the less experienced as the works of Domenichino. He re-
sembled that master indeed in every quality, except grace,
which nature had denied him. Hence Giordano said of his
figures, that when consumption had reduced the muscles and
bones, they might be correct and beautiful, but still insipid.
In return he did not spare Giordano, declaring his school
" heretical, and that he could not endure works which owe all
their merit to ostentatious colour and a vague design," as
Matteis, who is partial to the memory of Francesco, attests.

Lanfranco in Naples had contributed, as I have observed,
to the instruction of Massimo, but that artist renounced the
style of Lanfranco for that of Guido. The two Pos, however,
were more attached to him, and imitated his colouring. Pas-
coli doubts whether he should not assign Preti to him, an error
which we shall shortly confute. Dominici also includes among
his countrymen Brandi, a scholar of Lanfranco : collecting
from one of his letters that he acknowledged Gaeta for his
native place. His family was probably from thence, but he
himself was born in Poli.* I included him among the painters
of Rome, where he studied and painted ; and I mentioned at
the same time the Cav. Giambatista Benaschi, as he is called
by some, or Beinaschi by others. This variation gave occasion
to suppose that there were two painters of that name ; in the
same way there may be a third, as the name is sometimes
written Bernaschi. Some contradictions in his biographers,
which it is not worth our while to enter on, have contributed
to perpetuate this error. I shall only observe, that he was
not born until 1636, and was not a scholar of Lanfranco, bat
of M. Spirito, in Piedmont, and of Pietro del Po, in Rome.

* Pascoli, Vite, torn. i. p. 129.

PRETI. 47

Thts Orlandi writes of him, who had a better opportunity
than Pascoli, or Domiiiici, of procuring information from
Angela, the daughter of the Cavaliere, who lived in Rome in
his time, and painted portraits in an agreeable style. He is
considered both by Pascoli and Orlandi as a painter of Rome,
but he left very few works there, as appears from Titi. Naples
was the theatre of his talents, and there he had numerous
scholars, and painted many cupolas, ceilings, and other con-
siderable works, and with such a variety of design, that there
is not an instance of an attitude being repeated by him. Nor
was he deficient in grace, either of form or colour, as long as
he 1 rod in the steps of Lanfranco, as he did in the S. M. di
Loieto, and in other churches, but aspiring in some others to
a more vigorous style, he became dark and heavy. He ex-
celled in the knowledge of painting figures seen from below,
and displayed extraordinary skill in his fore-shortenings. The
painters in Naples have often compared among themselves,
says Dominici, the two pictures of S. Michael, the one by
Lanfranco, and the other by Benaschi, in the church of the
Holy Apostles, without being able to decide to which master
they ought to assign the palm of merit.

Guercino himself was never in Naples, but the Cav. Mattia
Prcti, commonly called il Cav. Calabrese, allured by the
novelty of his style, repaired to Cento, to avail himself of his
instructions. This information we have from Dominici, who
had heard him say, that he was in fact the scholar of Guer-
cino, but that he had, moreover, studied the works of all the
principal masters ; and he had indeed visited almost every
country, and seen and studied the best productions of every
school, both in and beyond Italy. Hence in his painting he
ma y be compared to a man whose travels have been extensive,
and who never hears a subject started to which he does not
add something new, and, indeed, the drapery and ornaments,
and costume of Preti, are highly varied and original. He
confined himself to design, and did not attempt colours until
his twenty-sixth year. In design he was more vigorous and
rolust than delicate, and sometimes inclines to heaviness. In
his colouring he was not attractive, but had a strong impasto,
a • lecided chiaroscuro, and a prevailing ashy tone, that was
well adapted for his mournful and tragical subjects ; for, fol-

48 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH III.

lowing the bent of his genius, he devoted his pencil to the
representation of martyrdoms, slaughters, pestileuce, and the-
pangs of a guilty conscience. It was his custom, says Pascoli,
at least in his large works, to paint at the first conception,
and true to nature, and he did not take much pains afterwards
in correction, or in the just expression of the passions.

He executed some large works in fresco inModena, Naples,
and Malta. He had not equal success at S. Andrea della.
Valle, in Rome, where he painted three histories of that saint,
under the tribune of Domenichino ; a proximity from which
his work suffers considerably, and the figures appear out of
proportion, and not well adapted to the situation. His oil
pictures in Italy are innumerable, as he lived to an advanced
age ; he had a great rapidity of hand, and was accustomed,
wherever he went, to leave some memorial of his talents,
sometimes in the churches, but chiefly in private collections,
and they are, in general, figures of half-size, like those of
Guercino and Caravaggio. Naples, Rome, and Florence, all
abound with his works, but above all Bologna. In the Ma-
rulli palace is his Belisarius asking alms, in that of Ratti, a
S. Penitente, chained in a suffering position ; in the Malvezzi
palace, Sir Thomas More in prison ; in that of the Ercolani,
a Pestilence, besides many more in the same, and other galle-
ries of the nobility. Amongst his altar-pieces, one of the
most finished is in the Duomo of Siena, S. Bernardino preach-
ing to and converting the people. In Naples, besides the
soffitto of the church de' Celestini, he painted not a little ;
less however than both he himself and the professors of a
better taste desired, and in conjunction with whom he resisted
the innovations of Giordano. But that artist had an unpre-
cedented popularity, and in spite of his faults triumphed over
all his contemporaries, and Preti was himself obliged to re-
linquish the contest, and close his days in Malta, of which
order, in honour of his great merit as a painter, he was made
a commendatore. He left some imitators in Naples, one of
whom was Domenico Viola ; but neither he nor his other
scholars passed the bounds of mediocrity. The same may be
said of Gregorio Preti, his brother, of whom there is a fresco
at S. Carlo de' Catinari, in Rome.

After this enumeration of foreign artists, we must now

DISCIPLES OF RIBERA. 49

return to the national school, and notice some disciples of Ri-
bera. It often happens that those masters who are mannerists
form scholars who confine their powers to the sole imitation of
their master, and thus produce pictures that deceive the most
experienced, and which in other countries are esteemed the
works of the master himself. This was the case with Gio-
vanni Do, and Bartolommeo Passante, in regard to Spagno-
letto, although the first in progress of time softened his
manner, and tamed his flesh- tints; while the second added
only to the usual style of Spagnoletto a more finished design
and expression. Francesco Fracanzani possessed a peculiar
grandeur of style, and a noble tone of colour ; and the Death
of S. Joseph, which he painted at the Pellegrini, is one of the
best pictures of the city. Afterwards, however, his necessities
compelled him to paint in a coarse manner in order to gratify
the vulgar, and he fell into bad habits of life, and was finally,
for .some crime or other, condemned to die by the hands of the
hangman, a sentence which, for the honour of the art, was
compounded for his secret death in prison by poison.'"*

* I may insert at the close of this epoch the names of some Sicilian
painters, who flourished in it, or at the beginning of the following, in-
structed by various masters. They were furnished to me by the Sig.
Ansaldo, whose attentions I have before acknowledged, and were trans-
mitted to him by a painter of that island. Filippo Tancredi was of
Messina, but is not assigned to any of the before-mentioned masters,
as he studied in Naples and in Rome under Maratta. He was a skilful
artist, composed and coloured well ; was celebrated in Messina, and also
in Palermo, where he lived many years, and where the vault of the church
de' Teatini, and that also of the Gesu Nuovo were painted by him. The
Cav. Pietro Novelli (or Morelli, which latter however I regard as an
error), called Monrealese from his native place, also enjoyed the reputa-
tion of a good painter and an able architect. He there left many works
in oil and fresco, and the great picture of the Marriage at Cana, in the
refectory of the PP. Benedettini, is particularly commended. He resided
for a long time in Palermo, and the greatest work he there executed was
in t) ie church of the Conventuals, the vault of which was divided into
compartments, and wholly painted by himself. Guarienti eulogizes him
for his style, as diligent in copying nature, correct in design, and graceful
in hi s colouring, with some imitation of Spagnoletto ; and the people of
Palermo confer daily honour on him, since, whenever they meet with a
foreigner of taste, they point out to him little else in the city than the
works of this great man. Pietro Aquila, of Marzalla, a distinguished
artist, who engraved the Farnese gallery, left no works to my knowledge

\OL. II. E

50 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

Aniello Falcone and Salvator Rosa are the great boast of
this school ; although Rosa frequented it but a short time and
improved himself afterwards by the instructions of Falcone.
Aniello possessed an extraordinary talent in battle-pieces. He
painted them both in large and small size, taking the subjects
from the sacred writings, from profane history, or poetry ;
his dresses, arms, and features were as varied as the com-
batants he represented. Animated in his expression, select
and natural in the figures and action of his horses, and intel-
ligent in military affairs, though he had never been in the
army, nor seen a battle ; he drew correctly, consulted truth
in every thing, coloured with care, and had a good impasto.
That he taught Borgognone as some have supposed, it is
difficult to believe. Baldinucci, who had from that artist
himself the information which he published respecting him,
does not say a word of it. It is however true, that they
•were acquainted and mutually esteemed each other ; and if
the battle-pieces of Borgognone have found a place in the
collections of the great, and have been bought at great prices,
those of Aniello have had the like good fortune. He had
many scholars, and by means of them and some other painters,
his friends, he was enabled to revenge the death of a relation and
also of a scholar, whom the Spanish authorities had put to death.
On the revolution of Maso Aniello, he and his partisans
formed themselves into a company called the Band of Death ;
and protected by Spagnoletto, who excused them to the vice-
roy, committed the most revolting and sanguinary excesses ;
until the state was composed, and the people reduced to
submission, when this murderous band fled, to escape the
hands of justice. Falcone withdrew to France for some

in Rome : in Palermo there remain of him two pictures in the church
della Pieta, representing the parable of the Prodigal Son. Lo Zoppo di
Gangi is known at Castro Giovanni, where in the Duomo he left several
works. Of the Cav. Giuseppe Paladini, a Sicilian, I find commended at
S. Joseph di Castel Termini, the picture of the Madonna and the tutelar
Saint. I also find honourable mention among the chief painters of this
island, of a Carrega, who I believe painted for private individuals. Others,
though I know not of what merit, are found inscribed in the academy of
S. Luke, from the registers of which I have derived some information for
my third and fourth volumes (Ital. ed.), communicated to me by the
Sig. Maron, the worthy secretary of the academy.

SCHOLARS OF FALCONE. 51

years, and left many works there ; the remainder fled to
Koine, or to other places of safety.

The most celebrated of the immediate scholars of Falcone
was Salvator Rosa, whom we have elsewhere noticed, who
begin his career by painting battles, and became a most dis-
tinguished landscape painter ; and Domenico Gargiuoli, called
Micco Spadaro, a landscape painter of merit, and a good
painter in large compositions, as he appears at the Certosa,
and in other churches. He had an extraordinary talent too
in painting small figures, and might with propriety be called
the Cerquozzi of his school. Hence Viviano Codagora, who
waf an eminent landscape painter, after becoming acquainted
with him, would not permit any other artist to ornament his
works with figures, as he introduced them with infinite grace ;
and this circumstance probably led to their intimate friend-
ship, and to risking their lives in the same cause as we have
before related. The Neapolitan galleries possess many of
their pictures ; and some have specimens of caprice^ or
•humorous pictures, all by the hand of Spadaro. He indeed
had no equal in depicting the manners and dresses of the
common people of his country, particularly in large assem-
blies. In some of his works of this kind, the number of his
figures has exceeded a thousand. He was assisted by the
-etchings of Stefano della Bella, and Callot, both of whom
were celebrated for placing a great body of people in a little
space ; but it was in the true spirit of imitation, and with-
out a trace of servility ; on the contrary, he improved the
principal figures (where bad contours are with difficulty con-
cealed) and corrected the attitudes, and carefully retouched
them.

( }arlo Coppola is sometimes mistaken for Falcone from their
similarity of manner; except that a certain fulness with
which he paints his horses in his battle-pieces may serve as a
distinction. Andrea di Lione resembles him, but in his battles
we easily trace his imitation. Marzio Masturzo studied some
time with Falcone ; but longer with Rosa in Rome, and was
his best scholar ; but he is sometimes rather crude in his
figi res, and rocks, and trunks of trees, and less bright in
his skies. His flesh- tints are not pallid, like those of Rosa,
as in these he followed Ribera.

E2

52 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH III.

I shall close this catalogue, passing over some less cele^-
brated artists, with Paolo Porpora, who from battles was
directed by the impulse of his genius to the painting of ani -
inals, but succeeded best in fish, and shells, and other marine
productions, being less skilled in flowers and fruit. But
about his time Abraham Brughel painted these subjects in an
exquisite style in Naples, where he settled and ended his
days. From this period we may date a favourable epoch
for certain pictures of minor rank, which still add to the
decoration of galleries and contribute to the fame of their
authors. After the two first we may mention Giambatista
Ruoppoli and Onofrio Loth, scholars of Porpora, excelling
him in fruits, and particularly in grapes, and little inferior
in other respects.

Giuseppe Cav. Recco, from the same school, is one of the
most celebrated painters in Italy, of hunting, fowling, and
fishing pieces, and similar subjects. One of his best pictures
which I have seen, is in the house of the Conti Simonetti
d'Osimo, on which the author has inscribed his name. He
was admired in the collections also for his beautiful colour-
ing, which he acquired in Lombardy ; and he resided for
many years at the court of Spain, whilst Giordano was there.
There was also a scholar of Ruoppoli, called Andrea Bel-
vedere, excelling in the same line, but most in flowers and
fruit. There arose a dispute between him and Giordano,
Andrea asserting that the historical painters cannot venture
with success on these smaller subjects ; Giordano, on the
contrary, maintaining that the greater included the less ;
which words he verified by painting a picture of birds,
flowers, and fruit, so beautifully grouped, that it robbed
Andrea of his fame, and obliged him to take refuge among
men of letters ; and indeed in the literary circle he held
a respectable station.

Nevertheless his pictures did not fall in esteem or value,
and his posterity after him still continue to embellish the
cabinets of the great. His most celebrated scholar was
Tommaso Realfonso, who to the talents of his master, added
that of the natural representation of every description of
utensils, and all kinds of confectionery and eatables. He
had also excellent imitators in Giacomo Nani and Baldassar

GASPAB LOPEZ. 53

Caro, employed to ornament the royal court of King Charles
of Bourbon ; and Gaspar Lopez, the scholar first of Dub-
bis.son, afterwards of Belvedere. Lopez became a good land-
scape painter, was employed by the grand duke of Tus-
cany, and resided a considerable time in Venice. Accord-
ing to Dominici he died in Florence, and the author of the
Algarotti Catalogue in Venice, informs us, that that event
took place about the year 1732. We may here close the
series of minor painters of the school of Aniello,"x' and may
now proceed to the succeeding epoch, commencing with the
historical painters.

* In this epoch flourished in Messina one Abraham Casembrot, a
Dutchman, who was considered one of the first painters of his time, of
landscape, sea-pieces, harbours, and tempests. He professed architecture
also, and was celebrated for his small figures. He was accustomed to
give the highest finish to every thing he painted. The church of S. Gio-
vacchino has three pictures of the Passion by him. Some individuals of
Messina possess delightful specimens of him, though not many, as he
sold them at high prices, and generally in Holland. Hence most of the
collectors of Messina turned to Socino, the contemporary of Casem-
brot ; a painter of a vigorous imagination and rapid execution. His
landscapes and views are still prized, and maintain their value. I do not
rind that Casembrot wholly formed any scholar at Messina. He commu-
nicated, however, the elements of architecture and perspective to several,
as well as the principles of painting. For this reason we find enumerated
among his scholars the Capuchin P. Feliciano da Messina (Domenico
Guargena), who afterwards studied Guido in the convent of Bologna, and
imbued himself with his style. Hackert makes honourable mention of a
Matlonna and Child and S. Francesco by him at the church of that order
in Messina, and he assigns the palm to him among the painters of his
«rd< r, which boasted not a few.

54

NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH IV.

Luca Giordano, Solimene, and their scholars.

A LITTLE beyond the middle of the seventeenth century, Luca
Giordano began to flourish in Naples. This master, though
he did not excel his contemporaries in his style, surpassed
them all in good fortune, for which he was indebted to his
vast talents, confidence, and unbounded powers of invention,
which Maratta considered unrivalled and unprecedented. In
this he was eminently gifted by nature from his earliest youth.
Antonio, his father, placed him first under the instructions of
Bibera, and afterwards under Cortona in Rome,* and having
conducted him through all the best schools of Italy, he brought
him home rich in designs and in ideas. His father was an
indifferent painter, and being obliged in Rome to subsist by
his son's labours, whose drawings were at that time in the
greatest request, t the only principle that he instilled into him

* Cortona had in Sicily a good scholar in Gio. Quagliata, who, in the
" Memorie Messinesi," is said to have been favoured and distinguished by
his master ; and to have afterwards returned to his native country to paint
in competition with Rodriguez, and what surprises me still more, with Bar-
balunga. If we may be allowed to judge of these two artists by their
works which remain in Rome, Barbalunga in S. Silvestro at Monte
Cavallo, appears a great master; Quagliata at the Madonna di C. P. a
respectable scholar. The former is celebrated and known to every painter
in Rome, the latter has not an admirer. In Messina he perhaps painted*
better. His biographer commends him as a graceful and sober painter,
as long as Irs rivals lived ; and adds, that after their death he devoted him-
self to frescos, when the exuberance of his imagination is evident in the
strong expression of character, and in the superfluity of architectural and
other ornaments. Andrea, his brother, was not in Rome ; he is, how-
ever, in Messina, considered a good artist.

f Giordano is said at this period to have copied the Chambers and the
Gallery of Raffaello no lesss than twelve times, and perhaps twenty times

LFCA GIORDANO. 55

was one dictated by necessity, despatch. A humorous anec-
doto is related, that Luca, when he was obliged to take re-
freshments, did not retire from his work, but, gaping like a
you ii g bird, gave notice to his father of the calls of hunger,
who, always on the watch, instantly supplied him with food,
at the same time reiterating with affectionate solicitude, Luca
fa presto. Upon this incident he was always afterwards
"known by the name of Luca fa presto, among the students
in Rome, and which is also his most frequent appellation in
the history of the art. By means like these, Antonio ac-
quired for his son a portentous celerity of hand, from which
quality he has been called il Fulmine delta pittura. The
truth however is, that this despatch was not derived wholly
from rapidity of pencil, but was aided by the quickness of
his imagination, as Solirnene often observed, by which he was
enabled to ascertain, from the first commencement of his
work, the result he proposed to himself, without hesitating to
consider the component parts, or doubting, proving, and se-
lecting like other painters. He also obtained the name of
the Proteus of painting, from his extraordinary talent in
imitating every known manner, the consequence of his strong
memory, which retained every thing he had once seen. There
are numerous instances of pictures painted by him in the style
of Albert Durer, Bassano, Titian, and Rubens, with which he
imposed on connoisseurs and on his rivals, who had more
cause than any other persons to be on their guard against
him. These pictures are valued by dealers at more than
double or triple the price of pictures of his own composition.
There are examples of them even in the churches of Naples ;
as the two pictures in the style of Guido at S. Teresa, and
particularly that of the Nativity.* There is also at the court
of Spain a Holy Family, so much resembling Raffaello, that,
as Mengs says in a letter (torn. ii. p. 67), whoever is not

the Battle of Constantine, painted by Giulio Romano, without reckoning
his designs after the works of Michelangelo, Polidoro, and other great
masters. See " Vite del Bellori," edited in Rome in 1728, with the addi-
tion of the life of Giordano, page 307.

* He painted for the noble house of Manfrin at Venice, the " Fortune,"
taken from Guido's picture, and confronted with the original, it is not
easy to decide which to prefer.

£6 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

conversant with the quality of beauty essential to the works
of that great master, would be deceived by the imitation of
Giordano.

He did not however permanently adopt any of these styles
as his own. At first he evidently formed himself on Spagno-
letto ; afterwards, as in a picture of the Passion, at S. Teresa,
a little before mentioned, he adhered to Paul Veronese ; and
he ever retained the maxim of that master, by a studied deco-
ration to excite astonishment and to fascinate the eye. From
Cortona he seems to have taken his contrast of composition,
the great masses of light, and the frequent repetition of the
same features, which, in his female figures, he always copied
from his wife. In other respects, he aimed at distinguishing
himself from every other master by a novel mode of colouring.
He was not solicitous to conform to the true principles of art ;
his style is not natural either in tone or colour, and still less
so in its chiaroscuro, in which Giordano formed for himself a
manner ideal and wholly arbitrary. He pleased, notwith-
standing, by a certain deceptive grace and attraction, which
few attempt, and which none have found it easy to imitate.
Nor did he recommend this style to his scholars, but on the
contrary reproved them when he saw them disposed to imitate
him, telling them that it was not the province of young stu-
lents to penetrate so far. He was well acquainted with the
principles of design, but would not be at the trouble of ob-
serving them ; and in the opinion of Dominici, if he had ad-
hered to them too rigidly he would have enfeebled that spirit
which is his greatest merit ; an excuse which, perhaps, will
not appear satisfactory to every amateur. Another reason
may with more probability of truth be assigned, which was his
unbounded cupidity, and his habit of not refusing commissions
from the meanest quarter, which led him to abuse his facility
to the prejudice of his reputation. Hence, among other things,
hehasbeen accused of often having painted superficially, without
impasto, and with a superabundance of oil, so that some of hie
pictures have almost disappeared fiom the canvas.

Naples abounds with tbe works of Giordano both public
and private. There is scarcely a church in that great city which
does not boast some work by him. A much admired piece is
the Expulsion of the Sellers and Buyers from the Temple at

LUCA GIORDANO. 57

the PP. Girolamini ; the architectural parts of which are
painted by Moscatiello, a good perspective painter. Of his
frescos, those at the Treasury of the Certosa are esteemed the
best. They were executed by him when his powers were
matured, and appear to unite in themselves all the best
qualities of the artist. Every one must be forcibly struck
by the picture of the Serpent raised in the Desert, and the
throng of Israelites, who, assailed in a horrible manner, turn
to it for relief. The other pictures on the walls and in the
vault, all scriptural, are equally powerful in effect. The
cupola of S. Brigida is also extolled, which was painted
in competition with Francesco di Maria, and in so very
short a time, and with such fascinating tints, that it was
preferred by the vulgar to the work of that accomplished
master, and thus served to diffuse less solid principles ameng
the rising artists. As a miracle of despatch we are also
shewn the picture of S. Saverio, painted for the church of
that saint in a day and a half, full of figures, and as beau-
tiful in colour as any of his pictures. Luca went to Flo-
rence to paint the Capella Corsini and the Ricardi Gallery,
besides many works in the churches and for individuals,
particularly for the noble house of Rosso, who possessed
the Baccanali of Giordano, afterwards removed to the palace
of the Marcheee Gino Capponi. He was also employed
by the grand duke ; and Cosmo III., in whose presence
he designed and painted a large picture in less time than
I dare mention, complimented him by saying that he was
a tit painter for a sovereign prince. The same eulogium
was passed on him by Charles II. of Spain, in whose court
he resided thirteen years ; and, to judge from the num-
bei of works he left there, it might be supposed that he
had consumed a long life in his service. He continued and
finished the series of paintings begun by Cambiasi of Genoa,
in the church of the Escurial, and ornamented the vault,
the cupola, and the walls with many scriptural subjects,
chiefly from the life of Solomon. He painted some other
large compositions in fresco in a church of S. Antonio, in
the palace of Buonritiro, in the Hall of the Ambassadors ;
and for the queen mother a Nativity, most highly finished,
which is said to be a surprising picture, and perhaps superior

58 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

to any other of his painting. If all his works had been
executed with similar care, the observation, that his example
had corrupted the Spanish school, might perhaps have been
spared.'* In his old age he returned to his native place,
loaded with honours and riches, and died lamented and re-
gretted as the greatest genius of his age.

His school produced but few designers of merit ; most of
them were contaminated by the maxim of their master, that
it is the province of a painter to please the public, and that
their favour is more easily won by colour than by correct de-
sign ; so that, without much attention to the latter, they gave
themselves entirely to facility of hand. His favorite scho-
lars were Aniello Rossi of Naples, and Matteo Pacelli della
Basilicata, whom he took with him to Spain, as assistants,
and who returned with him home with handsome pensions,
and lived after in leisure and independence. Niccolo Rossi,
of Naples, became a good designer and colourist in the style
of his master, although somewhat too red in his tints. IB
some of his more important works, as in the soffitto of the
royal chapel, Giordano assisted him with his designs. He
painted much for private individuals, and was considered
next to Reco in his drawings of animals. The Guida^ of
Naples, commends him and Tominaso Fasano for their skill
in painting in distemper some very fine works for Santi Se-
polcri and Quarantore. Giuseppe Simonelli, originally a ser-
vant of Giordano, became an accurate copyist of his works,
and an excellent imitator of his colouring. He did not suc-
ceed in design, though he is praised for a S. Niccola di

* It may be observed, that if he had followers, some of them did not
copy him implicitly. Palomino, although much attached to Giordano,
forsaking letters for painting, when his style was so much in vogue, did
not imitate him servilely, but in conjunction with the style of other dis-
tingu^shed painters of his age ; a good artist, and appointed by Charles II.
painter to himself. This is the same Palomino who has merited the ap-
pellation of the " Vasari of Spain," and whom I have so often cited.
They who are acquainted with that noble language highly commend his
style, which is perhaps the reason that copies of his "Teorica e Pratica
della Pittura " (2 vols. fol.) are so rare out of Spain. But in point of
accuracy, like Vasari himself, he often errs. I fancy that he frequently
adopted traditions, without sufficiently weighing them, which I am led to
suspect from the circumstance that in the scholars assigned to masters,
he is guilty of many anachronisms.

PAOLO DE MATTEIS. 59

Tolentino in the church of Montesanto, which approaches to
the best and most correct manner of Giordano. Andrea Mig-
lionico had more facility of invention, and equal taste in
colour, but he has less grace than Simonelli. Andrea also
painted in many churches in Naples, and I find him highly
com uended for his picture of the Pentecost, in the S.S. Nun-
ziata. A Franceschitto, a Spaniard, was so promising an
artist, that Luca was accustomed to say that he would prove
a greater man than his master. But he died very young,
leaving in Naples a favourable specimen of his genius in the
S. Pasquale, which he painted in S. Maria del Monte. It
contains a beautiful landscape, and a delightful choir of
angels.

But his first scholar, in point of excellence, was Paolo de*
Malteis, mentioned also by Pascoli among the best scholars of
Morandi, and an artist who might vie with the first of his
age. He was invited to France, and during the three years
that he resided there, obtained considerable celebrity in the
court, and in the kingdom at large. He was then engaged
by ^Benedict XIII. to come to Rome, where he painted at
the Minerva and at the Ara Creli. He decorated other cities
also with his works, particularly Genoa, which has two very
valuable pictures, by him, at S. Girolamo ; the one, that
sair t appearing and speaking to S. Saverio in a dream ; the
other, the Immaculate Conception with an angelic choir, as
graceful as ever was painted. His home was, notwithstand-
ing, in Naples, and that is the place where we ought, to view
him. He there decorated with his frescos the churches, gal-
leries, halls, and ceilings in great number; often rivalling the
celerity without attaining the merit of his master. It was
his boast to have painted in sixty-six days a large cupola,
that of the Gesu Nuovo, a few years since taken down, in
coi sequence of its dangerous state; a boast which, when So-
limene heard, he sarcastically replied, that the work declared
the fact itself, without his mentioning it. Nevertheless,
th( re were so many beauties in it in the style of Lanfranco,
that its rapid execution excited admiration.

When he worked with care, as in the church of the Pii
Oj-erai, in the Matalona Gallery, and in many pictures for
private individuals, he left nothing to desire, whether in his

60 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

composition, in the grace of his contour, in the beauty of his
countenances, though there was little variety in the latter, or
in any of the other estimable qualities of a painter. His
colouring was at first Giordanesque ; afterwards he painted
with more force of chiaroscuro, but with a softness and deli-
cacy of tint, particularly in the Madonnas and children, where
he sometimes displays the sweetness of Albano, and a trace
of the Roman school, in which he had also studied. He was
not very happy in his scholars, who were not numerous.
Giuseppe Mastroleo is the most distinguished, who is much
praised for his S. Erasmus at S. Maria Nuova. Gio. Batista
Lama was a fellow-disciple, and afterwards a relative of
Matteis, and received some assistance from him in his studies1.
Excited by the example of Paolo, he attained a suavity of
colour and of chiaroscuro, much praised in his larger works,
as the gallery of the duke of S. Niccola Gaeta, and particu-
larly in his pictures of small figures in collections. In these,
he was fond of representing mythological stories, and they are
not unfrequent in Naples and its territories.

Francesco Solimene, called L' Abate Ciccio, born at Nocera
de' Pagani, was the son of Angelo, a scholar of Massimo.
Early imbibing a love of painting, he forsook the study of
letters, and after receiving the first rudiments of the art from
his father, lie repaired to Naples. He there entered the
school of Francesco di Maria, but soon left it, as he thought
that master too exclusively devoted to design. He then fre-
quented the academy of Po, where he industriously began at
the same time to draw from the naked figure and to colour.
Thus he may be said to have been the scholar of the best
masters, as he always copied and studied their works. At
first, he imitated Pietro da Cortona, but afterwards formed a
manner of his own, still retaining that master as his model,
and copying entire figures from him, which he adapted to his
new style. This new and striking style of Solimene ap-
proached nearer than any other to that of Preti. The design
is not so correct, the colouring not so true, but the faces have
more beauty : in these, he sometimes imitated Guido, and
sometimes Maratta, and they are often selected from nature.
Hence by some he was called il Cav. Calabrese ringentilito.
To the style of Preti, he .added that of Lanfranco, whom he

FRANCESCO SOLIMENE. 61

namsd his master, and from whom he adopted that curving
form of composition, which he perhaps carried beyond pro-
priety. From these two masters he took his chiaroscuro,
which he painted strong in his middle age, but softened as he
advanced in years, and then attached himself more to facility
and elegance of style. He carefully designed every part of
his picture, and corrected it from nature before he coloured
it ; so that in preparing his works, he may be included among
the most correct, at least in his better days, for he latterly
decbned into the general facility, and opened the way to
mannerism. He possessed an elegant and fruitful talent of
invention, for which he is celebrated by the poets of the day.
He *vas also characterized by a sort of universality in every
style he attempted, extending himself to every branch of the-
art ; history, portrait, landscape, animals, fruit, architecture,
utensils ; 'and whatever he attempted he seemed formed for
that alone. As he lived till the age of ninety, and was en-
dowed with great celerity of pencil, his works, like those of
Giordano, were spread over all Europe. Of that artist, he
was at the same time the competitor and the friend, less
powerful in genius, but more correct in his principles. When
Giordano died, and Solimene became the first painter in Italy,
notwithstanding what his rivals said of his colours not being
true to nature, he began to ask extravagant prices for his pic-
tures, and still abounded in commissions.

One of his most distinguished works is the sacristy of the
PP. Teatini, of S. Paolo Maggiore, painted in various coir-
partments. His pictures also in the arches of the chapels in
the church of the Holy Apostles deserve to be mentioned.
That work had been executed by Giacomo del Po, to corre-
spon 1 with the style of the tribune, and the other works
which Lanfranco had painted there : but Po did not satisfy
the public expectation. The whole work was therefore
effaced, and Solimene was employed to paint it over again,
and proved that he was more worthy of the commission. The
chapol of S. Filippo in the church of the Oratory, is a proof
of his extreme care and attention ; every figure in it being
almost as finely finished as a miniature. Among private
housos the most distinguished is the Sanfelice, so called from
the name of his noble scholar Ferdinand, for whom he-

62 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IT.

painted a gallery, which afterwards became an academy for
young artists. Of his large pictures we may mention that of
the great altar in the church of the monks of S. Gaudioso,
without referring to others in the churches and in various
parts of the kingdom ; particularly at Monte Cassino, for the
church of which he painted four stupendous pictures in the
choir. They will be found in the " Descrizione Istorica del
Monistero di Monte Cassino," edited in Naples in 1751. He
is -not often met with in private collections in Italy, beyond
the kingdom of Naples. In Rome the princes Albani and
Colonna have some large compositions by him, and the
Bonaccorsi family a greater number in the gallery of Mace-
rata ; and among them the Death of Dido, a large picture of
fine effect. His largest work in the Ecclesiastical state, is a
Supper of our Lord, in the refectory of the Conventuals of
Assisi, an elegant composition, painted with exquisite care,
where the artist has given his own portrait among ths train of
attendants.

Solimene instilled his own principles into the minds of his
disciples, who formed a numerous school, which extended
even beyond the kingdom of Naples, about the beginning of
the eighteenth century. Among those who remained in
Naples, was Ferdinando Sanfelice, lately noticed by us, a
nobleman of Naples, who put himself under the instructions
of Francesco, and became as it were the arbiter of his wishes.
As the master could not execute all the commissions which
crowded on him from every quarter, the surest mode to
engage him was to solicit him through Sanfelice, to whom
alone he could not deny any request. By the assistance of
Solimene, Sanfelice attained a name among historical painters,
and painted altar-pieces for several churches. He took great
delight in fruit, landscapes, and views, in which he particu-
larly excelled, and had also the reputation of an eminent
architect. But perhaps none of the disciples of Solimene
approached nearer to the fame of their master than Francesco
de Mura, called Franceschiello. He was a Neapolitan by
birth, and contributed much to the decoration of his native
city, both in public and private. Perhaps no work on the
whole procured him a greater degree of celebrity than the
frescos painted in various chambers of the royal palace of

FERDINANDO SANFELICE. G3

Tur n, where he competed with Beaumont, who was then in
the height of his reputation. He there ornamented the
ceilings of some of the rooms which contain the Flemish
pictures. The subjects which he chose, and treated with
much grace, were the Olympic Games, and the Deeds t>f
Achilles. In other parts of the palace he also executed
various works. Another artist, who was held in consideration,
was Andrea dell' Asta, who after being instructed by Soli-
men e, went to finish his studies in Rome, and engrafted on
his native style some imitation of Raffaello and the antique.
"We may enumerate among his principal works, the two large
pictures of the Nativity, and the Epiphany of Christ, which
he painted in Naples for the church of S. Agostino de' PP.
Scalzi. Niccolo Maria Rossi was also reputably employed in
the churches of Naples, and in the court itself. Scipione
Cappella excelled all the scholars of Solimene in copying his
pictures, which were sometimes touched by the master and
passed for originals. Giuseppe Bonito had a good invention,
and was a distinguished portrait painter, and was considered
one of the best imitators of Solimene. He was at the time of
his death painter to the court of Naples. Conca and he
excelled their fellow-disciples in the selection of their forms.
Other scholars in Naples and Sicily,* less known to me, will

* The " Memorie de' Messinesi Pittori " mentions a Gio. Porcello,
who, after studying under Solimene, returned, it is said, to his native
country, where he found the art at an extremely low ebb ; and he at-
tempted to revive it by opening an academy in his house, and diffusing
the taste of his master, which he fully possessed. A still better style of
painting was brought from Rome by Antonio and Paolo, two brothers,
who. fresh from the school of Maratta, also opened an academy in
Messina, which was greatly frequented. They worked in conjunction in
many churches, and excelled in fresco, but in oil Antonio was much
superior to his brother. There was also a third brother, Gaetano, who
executed the ornamental parts. Their works on the walls and on canvas
are to be seen in S. Caterina di Valverde, in S. Gregorio delle Monache,
and elsewhere. There flourished at the same time with the Filocami,
Litterio Paladino, and Placido Campolo, a scholar of Conca in Rome,
where he derived more benefit from the antique marbles than from the
instructions of his master. Both these artists executed works on a very
large scale ; and of the first they particularly commend the vault of the
churoh of Monte Vergine, and, of the second, the vault of the gallery of
the ' enate. Both are esteemed for their correct design ; but the taste of
the second is more solid and more free from mannerism. The above-

64 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

be found in the History of Painting in Naples, which has been
recently published by the accomplished Sig. Pietro Signorelli,
a work which I have not in my possession, but which is cited
by me, as is the case with several more, on the authority of
others.

Some artists, who resided out of the kingdom, we shall
notice in other schools, and in the Roman School we have
already spoken sufficiently of Conca and Giaquinto ; to whom
we may add Onofrio Avellino, who resided some years in
Rome, executing commissions for private persons, and painting
in the churches. The vault of S. Francesco di Paola is the
largest work he left. The works of Maja and Campora are to
be found in Genoa, those of Sassi in Milan, and of others of
the school of Solimene in various cities. These artists, it is to
be regretted, sometimes passed the boundaries prescribed i>y
their master. His colouring, though it might be more true to
nature, is yet such as never offends, but possesses on the con-
named five artists all died in the fatal year of 1743. Luciano Foti sur-
vived them, an excellent copyist of every master, but particularly of
Polidoro, whose style he adopted in his own composition. But his cha-
racteristic merit consisted in his penetration into the secrets of the art,
•which enabled him to detect every style, every peculiar varnish, and the
various methods of colouring, so that he not only ascertained many
doubtful masters, but restored pictures, damaged by time, in so happy a
manner as to deceive the most experienced. A man of such talents out-
weighs a host of common artists.

To these we may add other artists of the island itself, born in different
places. Marcantonio Bellavia, a Sicilian, who painted in Rome, at S.
Andrea delle Fratte, is conjectured, though not ascertained, to be a scholar
of Cortona. Calandrucci, of Palermo, is named among the scholars of
Maratta. Gaetano Sottino painted the vault of the oratory at the Madonna
di C. P., a respectable artist. Giovacchino Martorana, of Palermo, was
a machinist, and in his native city they boast of the Chapel de' Crociferi,
and S. Rosalia, four large pictures from the life of S. Benedict. Olivia
Sozzi, of Catania, painted much in Palermo ; particularly at S. Giacomc1,
where all the altars have pictures by him, and the tribune three large sub-
jects from the infancy of Christ. Another Sozzi, of the name of Fran-
cesco, I find praised for a picture of Five Saints, bishops of Agrigentum,
in the Duomo of that city. Of Onofrio Lipari, of Palermo, there are
two pictures of the Martyrdom of S. Oliva in the Church de' Paolotti.
Of Filippo Randazzo, there are to be seen in Palermo some vast works
in fresco, as well as of Tommaso Sciacca, who was an assistant of Cava-
lucci in Rome, and who left some large compositions at the Duomo and
at the Olivetani of Rovigo.

NICCOLA MASSARO. 65

trary a degree of amenity which pleases us. But his scholars
and imitators did not confine themselves within their master's
limits, and it may be asserted, that from no school has the art
•suffered more than from them. Florence, Verona, Parma,
Bologna, Milan, Turin, in short, all Italy, was infected with
their style ; and by degrees their pictures presented so man-
nered a colouring, that they seemed to abandon the represen-
tation of truth and nature altogether. The habit too of leaving
their pictures unfinished, after the manner of Giordano and
Solimene, was by many carried so far, that instead of good
paintings, many credulous buyers have purchased execrable
sketches. The imitation of these two eminent men carried
too far, has produced in our own days pernicious principles, as
at an earlier period did the imitation of Michelangelo, Tinto-
rotto, and even of RafFaello himself, when carried to an ex-
treme. The principal and true reason of this deterioration is
to be ascribed generally to the masters of almost all our schools,
who, abandoning the guidance of the ancient masters, endea-
voured in their ignorance to find some new leader, without
considering who he might be, or whither he might lead them.
Thus, at every proclamation of new principles, they and their
scholars were ready to follow in their train.

In the time of Giordano and Solimene, Niccola Mas-
saro was considered a good landscape painter. He was a
scholar of Salvator Rosa, but rather imitated him in design
than in colour. In the latter he was insipid, nor even
added the accompaniment of figures to landscapes, but was
as iisted in that respect by Antonio di Simone, not a finished
ardst, but of some merit in battle-pieces.'"' Massaro in-
structed Gaetano Martoriello, who was a landscape painter
of a free style, but often sketchy, and his colouring not
true to nature. In the opinion of connoisseurs, a better
style was displayed by Bernardo Dominici, the historio-
grapher, and the scholar of Beych in landscape, a careful

* Gio. Tuccari of Messina, the son of an Antonio, a feeble scholar of
Barbalunga, although he painted much in other branches of the art, owes
the celebrity of his name to his battle-pieces, which, by the despatch of
his pencil, were multiplied beyond number. They were frequently sent
into Germany, where they were engraved. He had a fruitful and spirited
genius, but he was not a correct designer.

VOL. II. F

66 NEAPOLITAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

and minute painter of Flemish subjects and bamlocciate.
There were two Neapolitans, Ferraiuoli and Sammartino, who
settled in Romagna, and were good landscape painters. In
perspective views Moscatiello was distinguished, as we ob-
served when we spoke of Giordano. In the life of Solimene,
Arcangelo Guglielmelli is mentioned as skilled in the same
art. Domenico Brandi of Naples, and Giuseppe Tassoni of
Rome, were rivals in animal painting. In this branch, and
also in flowers and fruits, one Paoluccio Cattamara, who flou-
rished in the time of Orlandi, was celebrated. Lionardo
Coccorante, and Gabriele Ricciardelli, the scholar of Oriz-
zonte, were distinguished in sea- views and landscapes, and
were employed at the court of King Charles of Bourbon.*
By the accession of this prince, a munificent patron of the
fine arts, wherever he reigned, the Neapolitan school was
regenerated and invigorated; employment and rewards
awaited the artists; the specimens of other schools were mul-
tiplied, and Mengs, who was invited to paint the royal
family, and a large cabinet picture, laid the foundations of
a more solid style,, at the same time improving his own for-
tune, and giving a considerable impulse to art. But the
greatest benefit this monarch has conferred on the arts is to
be found at Ercolano, where, under his orders, so many speci-
mens of sculpture and ancient paintings, buried for a long
lapse of ages, have been brought to light, and by his direction
accurately drawn and engraved, and illustrated with learned
notes, and communicated to all countries. Lastly, in order
that the benefits which he had conferred on his own age
might be continued to the future masters of his country, he
turned his attention to the education of youthful artists. Of
this fact I was ignorant at the time of my first edition, but
now write on the information afforded me at the request of
the Marchese D. Francesco Taccone, treasurer of the kingdom,

* Among the painters of Messina is mentioned Niccolo Cartissani, who
•flied in Rome with the name of a good landscape painter, and Filippo
Giannetti, a scholar of Casembrot, who in the vastness of his landscapes
and his views surpassed his master ; but he will not bear a comparison in
the correctness of his figures and in finishing ; though he was, from his
facility and rapidity of pencil, denominated the Giordano of landscape
painters. He was esteemed and protected by the Viceroy Co. di S. Ste-
fano, and painted in Palermo and Naples.

KING CHARLES OF BOURBON. 67

ly the very learned Sig. Daniele, Regio Antiquario, both of
T/hom, with true patriotic feelings, have devoted themselves
to the preservation of the antiquities of their country, and
are equally polite in communicating to others that information,
for which they are themselves so distinguished. There for-
merly existed at Naples the academy of S. Luke, founded at
the Gesu Nuovo, in the time of Francesco di Maria, who was
one of the masters, and taught in it anatomy and design.
This institution continued for some years. King Charles in
some measure revived this establishment by a school for
painting, which he opened in the Laboratory of mosaics and
tapestry. Six masters of the school of Solimene were placed
tfcere as directors, and some good models being provided in
the place, young artists were permitted to attend and study
there. Bonito was engaged as the acting professor, and after
some time Mura was associated with him, but died before the
professor. Ferdinand IY. treading in the steps of his august
fa<her, has, by repeated instances of protection to these
honourable pursuits, conferred fresh honours on the Bourbon
name, and rendered it dearer than ever to the fine arts. He
transferred the academy to the new royal museum, and sup-
plied it with all requisites for the instruction of young artists.
On the death of Bonito he bestowed the direction of it on the
fir;4 masters, and having established pensions for the mainte-
nance in Rome of a certain number of young men, students in
the three sister arts, he assigned four of these to those students
who were intended for painters ; thus confirming by his suf-
frage to the city of Rome that proud appellation which the
world at large had long conceded to her, the Athens of
Modern Art.

F2

68

BOOK I.

VENETIAN SCHOOL.

THIS school would have required no farther illustration
from any other pen, had Signor Antonio Zanetti, in his highly
esteemed work upon Venetian Painting, included a more
ample consideration of the artists of the state, instead of
confining his attention wholly to those whose productions,
ornamenting the churches and other public places, had all
been completed in the city of Venice alone. He has, never-
theless, rendered distinguished service to any one ambitious
of succeeding him, and of extending the same subject beyond
these narrower limits, since he has observed the most lucid
order in the arrangement of epochs, in the description of
styles, in estimating the merits of various painters, and thus
ascertaining the particular rank as well as the age belonging
to each. Those artists then, whom he has omitted to com-
memorate, may be easily reduced under one or other of the
divisions pointed out by him, and the whole history enlarged
upon the plan which he first laid down.

In cultivating an acquaintance with these additional names,
the memorials collected by Vasari ; afterwards, on a more
extensive scale, by the Cavaliere Ridolfi, in his Lives of tbo
Venetian Painters ; and by Boschini, in the " Miniere della
Pittura," in the " Carta del Navegar Pittoresco," and in
other works : materials drawn from all parts of the Venetian
state — will be of signal advantage to us. No one, it is
hoped, will feel displeased at the introduction of the name of
Vasari, against whom the historians of the Venetian school
were louder in their complaints than even those of the
Roman, the Sienese, and the Neapolitan schools ; all whose
causes of difference I have elsewnere recounted, adding to

ERRORS OP EARLY WRITERS. 69

tlem, whenever I found them admissible, my own refuta-
tions.* These it would be needless now to repeat, in reply
to the Venetian writers. I shall merely observe that Vasari
tx stowed very ample commendations upon the Venetian
professors, in different parts of his history, and more par-
ticularly in the lives of Carpaccio, of Liberale, and of
Pordenone. Let me add that if he was occasionally betrayed
in:o errors, either from want of more correct information,
or from a degree of jealousy or spirit of patriotic rivalry,
which probably may have secretly influenced him in his
•opinions, it will be no difficult task in the present enlightened
period, t to substitute the real names, more exact accounts,
aul more impartial examinations of the earlier professors of
tho school. J

In respect to the more modern, up to whose period he did
nor reach, I possess historical matter, which, if not very
copious, is certainly less scanty than such as relates to many
of the other schools of Italy. Besides Ridolfi, Boschini,
and Zanetti, it includes the historians of the particular cities,
the same from whom Orlandi selected his various notices of
artists ; and among whom none is to be preferred to Signer
.Za nboni for the fulness and authenticity of his materials,
in his work entitled " Fabbriche di Brescia." I am, more-
over, in possession of several authors who have distinctly
treated of the lives, or published other accounts of those wha
flourished in their own cities ; — such as the Commendatore

* Which of the schools, if we except that of Florence, has not cause to
con plain at times of his too evident partiality ? Has he perhaps eulogized
the Lombard school, and the early painters, its contemporaries ? — Ital. ed.

•f It is observed by Signor Bottari, that Giorgio, in his life of Franco,
was too sparing of his praises of Tintoret and Paul Veronese ; and the
sain 3 might be said also of Gambera, and many others, who flourished at
the >ame period, or were already deceased when he wrote. To his opin-
ions have succeeded those of the Caracci, and of many other distinguished
proressors of the art, which may be safely relied upon.

+ There very opportunely appeared, in the year 1800, at Bassano, a
" N Dtizia d'Opere di Disegno " — " Upon works of Design," the anony-
raois production, apparently, of some inhabitant of Padua, about 1550.
It v as published and illustrated by the learned Abbate Morelli, and
cont ains several anecdotes, relating more particularly to the Venetian.

70 VENETIAN SCHOOL.

del Pozzo, in his notice of the Veronese,* Count Tassi of
those of Bergamo, and Signer Verci of the Baesanese artists.
And no slight assistance may also be drawn from the dif-
ferent " Guides," or descriptions of paintings, exhibited in
many cities of the state, although they are far from being
all of equal merit. There is the " Guida Trevigiana," of
Rigamonti, that of Vicenza, printed by Vendramini Mosca,
that of Brescia by Carboni, and that of Verona, expressly
drawn from the " Verona Illustrata " of the Marquis Maffei,
with the still more valuable one of Venice, dated 1733, from
the able pen of Antonio M. Zanetti. To these we may
likewise add that first published by Rossetti, now revised and
improved by Brandolese, abounding with historical memoirs
of the painters of Padua ; and the Guide of Rovigo by
Bartoli, communicating much new and interesting informa-
tion, which serves to point out more accurately certain eras
among the professors of the art, while the same may, in part,
be observed of that of Bergamo, by the Dottore Pasta. Nor
are these all ; for I am not a little indebted to several notices
published in the "Elogj" of Signor Longhi, and in some
of the catalogues of private collections ; besides other anec-
dotes, in part collected by myself, in partt communicated
by my friends, and in particular by the very accomplished
Sig. Gio. Maria Sasso,^: who has already promised to gratify

* The celebrated painter Cignaroli, besides drawing up a complete
Catalogue raisonne, of the painters of Verona, already published in the
Chronicle of Zagata, vol. iii., left behind him MS. notes upon the entire
work of Pozzo, in the margin,

f I have been enabled in this edition, by means of Count Cav. de
Lazzara, to avail myself of a MS. from the pen of Natal Melchiori, enti-
tled, " Lives of the Venetian Painters," drawn up in 1728. The author
is deserving of credit, no less on account of having been himself a painter,
than from his personal acquaintance with the chief part of those whose
lives he commemorated.

J This excellent man is now no more, and his work has not hitherto
appeared. That, however, by the Sig. Co. Canonico de Rinaldis, on the
painters of Friuli, we have received. It embraces a much more correct
and enlarged view of that noble school than we before possessed in the
scantier notices from the pen of Altan. Still he is not always exact, and
he would undoubtedly have written better, had he seen more. At length,
however, we are in possession of the work of Padre M. Federici, in two

VARIOUS "GUIDES" TO THE ART. 71

us with his " Venezia Pittrice," accompanied with designs
of the most esteemed paintings of this school, accurately
engraved.

volumes; relating to the artists of the " Marca Trevigiana," accompanied
by d >cuments ; a work better calculated than the former to satisfy the
expectations of a reader of taste. But, as is generally the case, when an,
author hazards new opinions, we are sometimes compelled to suspend our
assei t to his conclusions.

72

VENETIAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH I.

The Ancients.

IF in the outset of each school of painting I were to pursue
the example held up in the " Etruria Pittrice," of introducing
the account of its pictures by that of some work in mosaic,
I ought here to mention those of Grado, wrought in the
sixth century, distinguished by the name of the Patriarch
Elia, those of Torcello, and a few other specimens that
appeared at Venice, in the islands, and in Terra Ferma, pro-
duced at periods subsequent to the increase of the edifices,
together with the grandeur of the Venetian state. But
admitting that these mosaics, like many at Rome, may
really be the production of the Greeks ; the title of my
work, confined as it is to painting, and to the period of its
revival in Italy, leads me to be little solicitous respecting
those more ancient monuments of the fine arts, remnants of
which are to be found scattered here and there, without any
series of a school. I shall still, however, occasionally allude
to them, according as I find needful, were it only for the
sake of illustration and comparison, as I proceed. But
such information ought to be sought for in other works ;
mine professes only to give the history of painting from
the period of its revival.

The most ancient pictorial remains in the Venetian ter-
ritories I believe to be at Verona, in a subterraneous part
of the nunnery of Santi Nazario and Celso, which, however
inaccessible to the generality of virtuosi, have, nevertheless,
been engraved on a variety of plates by order of the in-
defatigable Signor Dionisi. In this, which was formerly the
Chapel of the Faithful, are represented several mysteries
of our redemption ; some apostles, some holy martyrs, and

FIRST ESSAYS IN THE ART. 73

in particular the transit of one of the righteous from this life,
on whom the archangel, St. Michael, is seen bestowing his
assistance. Here the symbols, the workmanship, the at-
titudes, the drapery of the figures, and the characters united,
permit us not to doubt that the painting must be much an-
terior to the revival of the arts in Italy. But most
writers seem to trace the rudiments of Venetian painting
from the llth century, about the year 1070, at the period
when the Doge Selvo invited the mosaic workers from
Greece to adorn the magnificent temple consecrated to St.
Mark the Evangelist, Such artificers, however rude, must
have been acquainted, in some degree, with the art of paint-
ing ; none being enabled to work in mosaic who had not
previously designed and coloured, upon pasteboard or cartoon,
the composition they intended to execute.

And these, observe the same writers, were the first essays
of the art of painting in Venice. However this may be, it
speedily took root, and began to flourish after the year 1 204,
when Constantinople being taken, Venice was in a short
time filled, not indeed with Grecian artists, but with their
pictures, statues, and bassi-rilievi.* Had I not here restricted
my observations to existing specimens of the art, bestowing
only a rapid glance upon the rest, along with their authors,
I might prove, that from the above period, the city was no
longer destitute of artists ; and was enabled, in the 13th
century, to form a company of them with their appropriate
laws and institutions.

But of these elder masters of the art, there remains either
only the name, as of a Giovanni da Venezia and a Martinello
da Bassano, or some solitary relic of their labours without a
name, as in the sarcophagus, in wood, of the Beata Giuliana,
painted about the year 1262, the same in which she died.
This monument remains in her own monastery of San
Bia^io alia Giudecca, long held in veneration, even after
the body of the blessed saint had been removed, in the
year 12,97, into an urn of stone. There are represented
•San Biagio, the titular saint of the church, San Cataldo,
the bishop, and the blessed Giuliana, the two former in an
upright, the latter in a kneeling posture ; their names are

* Rannusio, Guerra di Costantinopoli, book iii. p. 94.

74 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

written in Latin, and the style, although coarse, is never-
theless not Greek. Probably, that of the painter is also
in the same corner, a picture of whom, a Pieta, has recently
been discovered by the Ab. Boni, who considers him
a new Cimabue of the Venetian art. As it has already been
described by him in his Florentine collection of " Opuscoli
Scientific!,"* I shall not extend my account of it, for the
reader will there find other names, as will afterwards be
shewn, recently discovered by the indefatigable author of
some early Venetian writers, until this period unknown to
history. Among these, are Stefano Pievano, of S. Agnese, a
picture by whom, dated 1381, is described; Alberegno, be-
longing to the 15th century, and one Esegrenio, who Nourished
somewhat later, to which time we may refer two fine and
highly valued figures of holy virgins, not long since disco-
vered, of Tommaso da Modena, and which, from the disputes
they have elicited, have been subjected to experiments at
Florence, to ascertain whether they are painted in oil or dis-
temper— experiments that tend only to prove that this Tom-
maso was unacquainted with the art of colouring in oil.

It was only subsequent to the year 1300, that the names,
united to the productions of the Venetians, began to make
themselves manifest ; when, partly by the examples held out
by Giotto, partly by their own assiduity and talent, the
painters of the city and of the state visibly improved, and
softened the harshness of their manner. Giotto, according
to a MS. cited by Rossetti,t was at Padua in 1306 ; accord-
ing to Vasari, he returned from Avignon in 1316, and a
little while afterwards he was painting at Verona, in the
palace of Can della Scala, and at Padua, employed on a
chapel in the church of the titular saint. He adds, that to-
wards the close of his days, he was again invited there, and
embellished other places with his pieces. Nothing, however,
remains of him in Verona ; but in Padua there still exists
the chapel of the Nunziata all' Arena, divided all round into
compartments, in each of which is represented some scrip-
tural event. It is truly surprising to behold, not less on ac-

* Vol. vi. p. 88, anno 1808.

f See his " Descrizione delle Pitture," &c. p. 19. The learned Morelli
also, in his Annotations to the Notizia*, confirms by fresh arguments the
same epoch, p. 146.

CIUSTO PADOVANO. 75

count of its high state of preservation beyond any other of
hi^ frescos, than for its full expression of native grace, toge-
ther with that air of grandeur which Giotto so well knew
hew to unite. "With respect to the chapel, it is believed that
V isari was less accurately informed, inasmuch as Savonarola,
who has been cited by Sig. Morelli,* relates that Giotto or-
namented the little church of the Arena, capitulumque An-
to'.iii nostri) — *and the chapter of our St. Antony. And, in
fact, in the apartment of the chapter-house, there yet remain
several traces of ancient painting, though turned white with
age. In a very ancient MS., of the year 1312,t there is
mude mention of his also having been employed in Palatio
dmitis, which others suppose ought to be read Communis,
intended to apply to the Saloon, of which I shall shortly have
to give some account.

To Giotto succeeded Giusto Padovano, so called from the
pi; ice of his naturalization and usual residence, being, in
truth, a Florentine, sprung from the family of the Menabuoi.
AN a disciple of Giotto, Yasari attributes to him the very
extensive work which adorns the church of St. John the
Baptist. In the picture over the altar, if it be his, Giusto
has exhibited various histories of St. John the Baptist; on!
th 3 walls are represented both scriptural events and myste-
ri( s of the Apocalypse ; and on the cupola he has drawn a
Choir of Angels, where we behold, as if in a grand consistory,
the blessed arrayed in various garments, seated upon the,
ground; simple, indeed, in its conception, but executed
w:th an incredible degree of diligence and felicity. It is
mentioned in the " Notizia Morelli," that formerly there was
to be read there an inscription over one of the gates — " Opus
J( hannis et Antonii de Padua," — probably, companions of
G usto, and, probably, as is conjectured by the author of the
MS. above alluded to, the painters of the whole temple.
Tiiis would seem to augment the number of the Paduan
artists, no less than the imitators of Giotto, since the works,
already described, are equally as much in his manner as

* Page 101.

•f- This was given to the public by Muratori, with the following title —
" diccobaldi Ferrariensis, sive anonimi scriptoris compilatio chronolosjica
usjue ad annum 1312." — Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, vol. ix. p. 255.

76 VENETIAN SCHOOL.— -EPOCH I.

those by Taddeo Gaddi, or any other of his fellow-pupils in
Florence. The same commendation is bestowed upon Jacopo
Davanzo, of whom I treat more at length in the school of
Bologna. A less faithful follower of Giotto was Guariento,
a Paduan, held in high esteem about the year 1360, as ap-
pears from the honourable commissions he obtained from the
Venetian senate. One of his frescos and a crucifixion yet
remain at Bassano ;* and in the choir of the Eremitani, at
Padua, there are many of his figures now retouched, from
which Zanetti took occasion to commend him for his rich in-
vention, the spirit of his attitudes, and the felicity with
which, at so early a period, he disposed his draperies. At
Padua, there is an ancient church, dedicated to St. George,
•erected about 1377, which boasts some history pieces of St.
James, executed by the hand of Alticherio, or Aldigieri, da
Zevio in the Veronese ; and others of St. John, the work of
one Sebeto,t says the historian, a native of Verona. These,
likewise, approach pretty nearly the style of Giotto, and
more especially the first, who painted also a good deal in his
native place.

To these two, I may add Jacopo da Verona, known only
by his numerous paintings in fresco, at San Michele of Padua,
which remain in part entire ; and Taddeo Bartoli, of Siena,
who has shewn himself ambitious, at the Arena, of emulating
the contiguous labours of Giotto, without attaining the ob-

* Sig. Sasso observed one extremely like it in Venice, with the sub-
scription " Guglielmus pinxit, 1368;" from which he inferred that he
had belonged to the school of Guariento.

f This Sebeto of Vasari appeared so new to MafFei, that he would will-
ingly have substituted Stefano (see Ver. Illust. p. iii. col. 152) ; but
Stefano da Verona, or da Zevio, is a name posterior to these times.
The " Notizia " of the anonymous writer, recently published, says,
that the church of the before-mentioned S. George was ornamented
by " Jacopo Davanzo, a Paduan, or a Veronese, if not, as some will
have it, aBolognese ; by Altichiero Veronese, according to Campagnuola"
(p. 6). It must be observed that Vasari also consulted the latter, or
probably one of his Latin letters to Niccolo Leonico Tomeo, quoting it
several times. (See Morelli, p. 101.) Now in this it was probably
written, " ab Alticherio de Jebeto ;" that is, da Zevio, which was at one
time called Jebetum, and Vasari believed it to be the name of an unknown
painter. Such is the conjecture communicated to me by Sig. Brandolese,
and it appears extremely probable.

MINIATURE PAINTERS. 77

iect in view. Another production of the same period is seen
in the great hall at Padua, reported to be one of the largest
in the world, consisting, as it does, of a mixture of sacred
historic pieces, of celestial signs borrowed from Igino, and of
the various operations carried on during the respective months
of the year, besides several other ideas certainly furnished
by some learned man of that age. It is partly the work,
says Morelli, in his " Notizia," upon the authority of Cam-
pagrjuola, of an artist of Ferrara, and partly that of Gio.
Mire-tto, a Paduan. This recent discovery justifies my own
previous opinions, having been unable to prevail upon myself
to ascribe such a production to Giotto, although it partakes
strorgly of his style, which appears to have spread pretty
rapidly throughout the territories of Padua, of Yerona, of
Bergamo, and great part of the Terra Ferma.

Besides this manner, which may be, in some measure, pro-
nounced foreign, there are others equally observable in
Venice, no less than in Treviso, in the chapter of the Padri
Predicatori, and in other of the subject cities, and these might
more accurately be termed national, so remote are they from
the style of Giotto, and that of his disciples before mentioned.
I have elsewhere pointed out how far the miniature painters
contributed to this degree of originality, a class of artists
with whom Italy, at no time destitute, more fully abounded
about that period, while they still continued to improve by
employing their talents in drawing objects from the life, and
not from any Greek or Italian model. Indeed, they had
alrea ly made no slight advances in every branch of painting,
when Giotto first arrived in those parts. I have myself seen,
in th<3 grand collection of MSS. made in Venice by the Ab-
bate Canonici, a book of the Evangelists, obtained in Udine,
illustrated with miniatures in pretty good taste for the 13th
century, in which they were produced; and similar relics arc
by no means rare throughout the libraries of the state. I
suspect, therefore, that many of those new painters, either
having been pupils of the miniaturists, or induced to imitate
them from the near connection between the arts, attempted to
vie with them in design, in the distribution of their colours,,
and in their compositions. Hence, it is clearly accounted for
why they did not become the disciples, though acquainted.

78 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

with the works, of Giotto, but produced several respectable
pieces of their own.

To this class belongs M. Paolo, whom Zanetti found re-
corded in an ancient parchment, bearing the date of 1346.
He is the earliest in the national manner, of whom there
exists a work with the indisputable name of its author. It
is to be seen in the great church of St. Mark, consisting of a
tablet, or, as it is otherwise called, Ancona, divided into
several compartments, representing the figure of a dead
Christ, with some of the Apostles, and historic incidents from
the holy Evangelist. There is inscribed underneath — Ma-
gister Paulus, cum Jacobo et Johanne Jiliis fecit hoc opus ;
and Signor Zanetti, page 589, observes in regard to it as fol-
lows : — Among the specimens of simple painting, in St.
Mark's, the ball centre of the great altar is remarkable for
several small tablets of gold and silver, on which are painted
several figures in the ancient Greek manner. San Pietro
Urseolo had it constructed about the year 980, at Constanti-
nople, and it was removed to this place in the time of the
Doge Ordelafo Faliero, in 1102, though it was afterwards
renovated by command of the Doge Pietro Ziani, in 1209.
This historian did not discover the inscription which I found
upon it in the year 1782. The artist is sufficiently distin-
guished for the period in which he flourished, although the
stiffness in the design, false action, and expression, beyond
those of the best followers of Giotto, are perceptible, so much
as to remind us of the Greek specimens of art.*
, There can, likewise, be no doubt that a painter of the
name of Lorenzo was one of these Venetians whose altar-
piece in St. Antony of Castello, to which is attached his

* Signer Abbate Morelli, since P. della Valle, has discovered another
painting existing in the sacristy of the Padri Conventuali, at Vicenza,
with this inscription, 1333, PAULUS DE VENETIIS PINXIT HOC OPUS
(Notiz. p. 222). He adds also, two other Venetian painters, with whom
I have enriched this new edition ; the name of one found in a small pic-
ture of the Conventuali, at S. Arcangelo, under an image of the Virgin,
among various saints, dated 1385. " Jachobelus de Bonomo Venetus
pinxit hoc opus." The other, in the territory of Verruchio, on a cruci-
fixion, with the symbols of the four Evangelists, is in the possession of the
Agostiniani, and inscribed 1404 : " Nicbolaus Paradixi miles de Venetiis
pinxit."

NICCOLO SEMITECOLO. 79

nane, with the date of 1358, paid him three hundred gold
ducats, has been commended by Zanetti. Besides, we read
ins< Bribed on a picture belonging to the noble house of Erco-
lani, at Bologna, the words MANU LAURENTII DE VENETIIS,
13C8 , and there is every appearance of his being the author
of 1 he fresco in the church of Mezzaratta, not far from Bo-
logna, representing Daniel in the lion's den, and bearing the
signature of "Laorentius, P." It is a work that bears no
resemblance to the style of Giotto, and appears to have been
completed about the year 1370. It is equally certain that
Niocolo Semitecolo was a Venetian, he having also in-
scribed his name as we find it written upon a TRINITY,
which represents the Virgin along with some histories of St.
Sebastian, still preserved in the chapter library of Padua : —
" Nicoleto Semitecolo da Veniexia impense, 1367." The
work is an excellent specimen of this school ; the naked parts
are tolerably well drawn, and the proportions of the figures,
though sometimes extravagantly so, are bold and free ; and
what is more important to our present purpose, it discovers
no resemblance to the style of Giotto, being inferior in point
of design, though equal to him in regard to the colouring.
Two other painters, whose style betrays nothing of Giotto,
were discovered by Signor Sasso, in Venice, upon the strength
of t wo altar-pieces, to which they had affixed their names.
Upon one, found in the convent of " Corpus Domini," he read
" Angel us pinxit ;"and upon the other, also in the same place,
" Elatarinus pinxit." While on this subject, I ought not to
pass over the opinion of Baldinucci himself, who always ap-
pears to have respected the freedom and independence of the
Ve letian as opposed to the Florentine school, by refusing to
insort the name of a single Venetian in his tree of Cimabue.
He merely maintained, that the Venetian painters had im-
proved their style by the labours of Angiol Gaddi, and of one
An tonio, a Venetian, whom, spite of the authority of Vasari,
he lias declared to be a Florentine, on which point we must
ref< T to what has already been stated in the first volume
(p. 68) of this work. Moreover, he asserts of the same
Antonio, that he took up his residence at Venice, and thence
acq uired the appellation of Veneziano ; but that he took his
departure again, owing to the intrigues of the national pro-

80 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

fessors, as much as to say, of a school formed anterior to his
arrival. And so long anterior was it, indeed, that the whole
state, as well as the adjacent places, abounded not less with
pictures than with pupils, although few of their names with
their productions have survived.*

Among these few is a Simon da Cusighe, who painted an
altar-piece and a fresco, still remaining in his native parish,
situated near the city of Belluno, where there exist memorials
of one Pietro, and other artists of the thirteenth century,
along with some very tolerably executed figures, bearing the
epigraph of " Simon pinxit." To these I add a native of Friuli,
of whom there are no authentic remains beyond Gemoua,
where he painted the fa9ade of the dome, and under a picture
of the martyrdom of I know not what saint, appears his
name written, MCCCXXXII. MAGISTER NICOLAUS POTOR ME
FECIT. To this artist is ascribed, by some writers, that vast
and meritorious production, still in such a fine state of pre-
servation, ornamenting the dome of Venzone, and which
represents the solemn scene of the Consecration ; but its
author is a matter of mere conjecture, founded in this instance
upon the vicinity of the place and time, and resemblance of
manner. There are also Pecino and Pietro de Nova, who

* Among these is counted Stefano Pievano, of St. Agnese, an able
artist, who left his name along with the date, 1381, on an altar-piece of
the Assumption : — a piece in which the Venetian colouring is displayed
to advantage, while the expression, lively and full of meaning, compen-
sates for its inaccuracy of design. Another artist, deserving of being
known, is Jacopo di Alberegno, whose family still remains in Venice, and
who has been ascertained to be the author of a painting without date,
representing the Crucifixion of our Saviour, among various saints.
Tommaso da Modena has also been referred to tke Venetian school, who,
about the period of 1351, produced two Holy Virgins at Venice ; a St.
Catherine, at present in the gallery of N. H. Ascanio Molin, together
with the two preceding, and other rare Venetian pictures of the same
epoch ; and a S. Barbara, belonging to the Abbate Mauro Boni, so
fraught with expression, grace, and power of colouring, as to lead me to
conjecture he had flourished at a much later period, were it not for the
inscribed date. His beginning to be known at Venice is some reason
why he should be referred to this school, if the name of his native
place, de Mutina, did not restrain us from so doing without some further
doubt. The Ab. Boni, who has given us an account of these pictures in.
an article put forth by the Italian academy, was the first to discover
them

THE VIVARINI. 81

employed their talents, during a period of many years subse-
quent to 1363, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, at
Bergamo. But these, like the artist of Padua before men-
tioned, approach very nearly the composition of Giotto, and
possibly might have imbibed such a taste at Milan.*

The splendour of Venetian painting becomes more strikingly
manifest in the fifteenth century, a period that was gradually
preparing the way for the grand manner of the Giorgioni and
the Titians. The new style took its rise in one of the islands
called Murano, but it was destined to attain its perfection in
Yen ice. I first recognised the work of one of the oldest of
these artists, subscribing himself " Quiricius de Muriano," in
the studio of Signer Sasso. It represents our Saviour in a sitting
posture, at whose feet stands a veiled devotee ; but there is
no mark by which to ascertain its age. There is, likewise, of
uncertain date, yet still very ancient, a Bernardino da Mu-
rano, of whose productions Zanetti saw nothing more than a
rude altar-piece. An Andrea da Murano flourished about
the period 1400, whose style, whatever it may retain of
harsli and dry, neither superior in composition, nor in choice
of features, to that of his predecessors, discovers him to
have been tolerably skilful in design, even in regard to the ex-
tremities, and in placing his figures well on the canvas.

There remains in his native place, at San Pier Martire, an
altar-piece painted by his hand, in which a St. Sebastian forms
so conspicuous a figure for the beauty of its torso, that Zanetti
suspects it must have been copied from some ancient statue.
It i£ he who introduced the art into the house of the Vivarini,
his compatriots, who, in a continued line of succession, pre-
served the school of Murano for nearly a century, and who
produced as rich a harvest of their labours in Venice, a$
did the Campi afterwards in the city of Cremona, or the
Prooaccini in Milan. I shall treat of them with bre-
vity, but with such new sources of information as will

* Before their time, however, Bergamo could boast a school of paint-
ing, as witness what Count Tassi adduces in a parchment of the year 1296,
naming a certain Guglielmo, pit tore. It does not appear in what style he
drew. One of his successors, who painted the tree of St. Bonaventura,
abounding in sacred figures, shews himself an artist more rude, indeed,
but more original than either of the brothers de Nova. Of his name we
are, however, ignorant, as he only attached the date of 1347.

VOL. II. G

82 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

at once serve to correct and amplify what has already been
written.

The first among the Vivarini mentioned by historians is
Luigi, of whom a painting at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, has
been cited by them, which represents our Redeemer bearing
the cross upon his shoulders. The work has been a good deal
re-touched, and there has been added to it another portion,
which gives the name of the author, dated 1414. Not being
an autograph, we are led to expect some kind of mistake
attaching either to the name or the date; there having been
another Luigi Vivarini, as we shall shew, towards the close of
the century. The one in question, then, might probably be
an ancestor to the latter, though it is difficult to persuade
ourselves of it, as there remains no other superscription, or
notice of any of that name so ancient.

Next to this artist, according to Ridolfo and Zanetti, are to
be enumerated Giovanni and Antonio Yivarini, who flourished
about the year 1440. The authority they adduce for this is an
altar-piece in San Pantaleone, which bears the inscription of
"Zuane e Antonio da Muran pense 1444." But this Gio-
vanni,* if I mistake not, is the same who signs his name on
another picture in Venice, " Joannes de Alemania et Anto-

* In the work entitled " Narrazione dell' Isola di Murano," by G. A.
Moschini, the supposition I have above stated has been combated by its
excellent author. A picture in the gallery of the N. H. Molin, at Venice,
subscribed " Johannes Vivarinus," seems to have persuaded him of my
mistake. In a work embracing an account of some thousand painters, I
cannot pretend to boast of its being free from some human errors, and
was about to express my gratitude to the above-mentioned author for
having pointed one of them out. But I am now convinced that the pic-
ture is from the hand of another artist, ano that the signature in question
is a forgery, the author of which has confounded the character of what is
called Gothic and Roman, in place of imitating the true character of those
times, which he might very easily have done, inasmuch as he had before
his eyes a small chart, with a most devout oration, Deus meus charitas,
&c. in the most complete Gothic, or rather German character, that can be
conceived. The impostor, therefore, must have been extremely ignorant
of his art. The examination was made by the cavalier Gio. da Lazara,
Abate Mauro Boni, Bartolommeo Gamba, names sufficiently known to
the public to justify our adoption of their opinion. The very able Bran-
dolese has likewise pronounced the inscription false, and published thereon
a little work, entitled " Doubts respecting the existence of such a painter
as Giovanni Vivarino da Murano, newly confirmed ; and a refutation of

GIOVANNI AND ANTONIO VIVARINI. 83

-de Muriano pinxit ;" or as it is thus written in Padua,
"Antonio de Muran e Zohan Alamanus pinxit." Giovanni,
therefore, was a companion of Antonio, a German by birth,
and traces of a foreign style are clearly perceptible in his
pai:itings. The reason of his omitting to insert his birth-
place in the picture at San Pantaleone, arose, I suspect, from
the fact of his name and acquaintance with Antonio being too
well known to admit of doubt. After the year 1447 there is
no more mention made of Giovanni, but only of Antonio ;
son etimes alone, sometimes together with some other of the
Vivarini. Thus, his name is subscribed alone in San Antonio
Abnte di Pesaro, upon an altar-piece of the titular saint, sur-
rounded by the figures of three young martyrs, with some
smUler paintings attached, the production of a very ani-
mated colourist, and displaying forms inferior to none in the
school of Murano. I have seen two other specimens, in
which he is mentioned together with a second Yivarino.
Tho least excellent of these is to be found in San Francesco
Grande at Padua, consisting of a Madonna, with some saints,
In various compartments, and at the foot of it is the follow-
ing memorandum, " Anno 1451, Antonius et Bartholomeus
fratres de Murano pinxerunt hoc opus." Similar to this, the
two brothers had produced another the year preceding, in the
Certosa of Bologna, where it is still in a high state of preser-
vation, beyond any other specimen I have seen belonging to
this family. There is much worthy of commendation in
each figure of the whole piece ; features dignified and devout,
appropriate dresses, care in the disposition of the hair and
beards, united to a colouring warm and brilliant.

According to what appears, Bartolommeo must have been
held of less account than Antonio, until the discovery of
painting in oil being introduced into Venice, he became one
among the first to profit by it, and, towards the period in
which the two Bellini appeared, was held in pretty high
rejute.

The first specimen of his painting in oil exists at S. Gio-
vanni e Paolo, not far from the gate, and exhibits, among

son e recently asserted authority, to confirm them." And in this he dis-
plays much sound criticism, and many arguments, all tending to strengthen
my own conjecture.

G 2

84 VENETIAN SCIIOOL. — EPOCH I.

other saints, P. San Agostino, with an indication cf the year
1473. From that period he continued to distinguish himself,
producing a great number of pieces both in oil and in water-
colour, sometimes with more, and sometimes with less care,
but always in the ancient taste for subdividing the altar-piece
into several parts, in each of which he represented separate
heads or entire figures. In these he often marked the name
of Vivarino, with the year of their production, and occa-
sionally he has added a finch or linnet by way of allusion to
his family name. His last work, bearing the date of the year,
is a Christ risen from the dead, at San Giovanni, in Bragora,
where Boschini read the date of 1498, which is now no
longer apparent ; but it is a piece which, in every part, may
be said to vie with that of the best Venetian artists who
flourished during the same period.

Contemporary with him was a Luigi of the same name,
one of whose productions was seen by Zanetti, in a collection
of paintings, with the date of 1490,* and as appeared to him,
strongly approaching, in point of taste, to the best style of
Bartolommeo. To Luigi, also, must undoubtedly be ascribed
the altar-piece, which, in San Francesco di Trevigi, bears his
name. There is another at the Battuti, in Belluno, repre-
senting the saints Piero, Girolamo, and some others, a work
which cost that school 100 gold ducats, besides the expenses
of the artist, who has attached to it his name. But superior
to every other of his existing specimens, is that fine picture
in the school of San Girolamo, at Venice, in which he repre-
sented a history of the titular saint, in emulation of Giovanni
Bellino, whom he here equalled, and of Carpaccio, whom he
surpassed. He has drawn the saint in the act of caressing a
lion, while several monks are seen flying in terror at the
sight. The composition is very fine; the passions are tole-
rably well portrayed, the colours as soft and delicate as in
any other of the Vivarini ; the architecture solid, and in the
ancient taste, while the epoch is more modern than that

* There is a half-figure in oil representing the Saviour now in the
R. Pinacoteca at Milan, a work, which for high finish and care in the exe-
execution may challenge comparison with any production of the contem-
porary painters. It bears the following inscription: — " Alovisius Viva-
rinus de Muriano pinx. MCCCCLXXXXVIII."

GENTILE DA FABRIANO. 85

which could be ascribed to the supposed Luigi, the elder.
Such is our exposition of the whole series of the school of
Muiano, up to the period of its greatest improvement, so as
to bring it under one point of view. I shall now, therefore,
resume the thread of my narrative, relating to the elder
artists of the fourteenth century, who competed with the
oldest of the school of Murano, until the era of painting in
oil ; and I shall afterwards proceed to treat apart of the
more modern.

In the early part of the century, an artist of the name of
Gentile da Fabriano had been employed in the public palace
at Venice, highly distinguished in his time, but of whom I
must not here repeat what has been said in the first volume of
this work. He there depicted a naval battle-scene, a pro-
duction greatly extolled in former times, which has long
since perished. He produced, also, some disciples, as we find
mention of a Jacopo Nerito, from Padua, who, in a painting
at San Michele di Padova, according to Rossetti, subscribes
himself one of his pupils. Nasocchio di Bassano, the elder,
is to be ranked also, either as one of his scholars or his
imitators, if, indeed, a small picture pointed out to me by the
late Signer Verci was by his hand.

Among other Venetians, Jacopo Bellini, at once the father
and the master of Gentile and Giovanni of the same name,
of whom more hereafter, was certainly a pupil of Gentile da
Fabriano. Jacopo, however, is better known by the celebrity
of his sons than by his own works, at this time either de-
stroyed or unknown. He had painted in the school of S.
Giovanni Evangelista at Venice, and in the chapel of the
Gatia Melata, at the Santo di Padova, about 1456 ; but
theso labours survive only in history, nor have I met with
any other specimen besides a Madonna, discovered by Sig.
Sasso, bearing the signature of its author. The style appears
taken from that of Squarcione, to which he is supposed to
have applied himself in his more advanced years.

There was also another Jacopo in very high repute,* called

* This artist ought not to be confounded with Jacometto da Venezia,
a miniature painter, and artist of the same age, but who flourished some-
what later. He also was celebrated in his day, and is frequently recorded
in the " Notizia Morelli" for his small pictures, adapted for private

86 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

Jacobello del Fiore, who has been falsely accused by Vasari,
of having drawn his figures all resting on the tip of their toes,
in the manner of the Greeks. His father, Francesco, was
considered in the light of a Coryphseus of the art, and his
tomb is still to be seen at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, with a
figure of him in his toga, and a commendatory epitaph in
Latin verse. No works of his, however, are to be seen in
Venice,* a dittico, or small altar, with his name, having been
conveyed to London, bearing the date 1412. It was obtained
by the Chevalier Strange, together with some other produc-
tions of the old Venetian artists. The son of Francesco rose
to a still higher degree of celebrity. He began to make
himself known as early as 1401, by producing an altar-piece
at San Cassiano di Pesaro, in which city I discovered another,
with the date of 1409, and both bear the signature of " Jaeo-
metto de Flor." A much nobler work is a Coronation of the
Virgin, in the cathedral of Ceneda, extremely rich in figures,
insomuch as to have deserved the name of the " Painting of
Paradise," in a MS. of the lives of the bishops of that place,
which is preserved in the episcopal residence, and declares
the work to have been executed " ab eximio illius temporis
pictore Jacobello de Flore, 1432," at the expense of the
bishop, Ant. Correr. There is a Madonna, indisputably by
his hand, in possession of Sig. Girolamo Manfrini, painted in
1436, besides the " Giustizia," drawn between two archangels,
in the " Magistrate del Proprio," bearing the date of 1421.
I may venture to say that few artists of that time equalled
him, both on account of his having few rivals who had so
early ventured to attempt drawing figures as large as the life,
and because of his power of conferring upon them a certain
grace and dignity, and, where called for, a vigour and ease
rarely to be met with in other paintings. The two lions
which he represented as symbols of his Giustizia (Justice),

rooms, his portraits, and his miniatures. It was sometimes doubted
whether a certain work was from the hand of John of Bruges, of An-
tonello da Messina, or of Jacometto da Venezia.— See " Notizia Morelli,"
p. 74.

* The picture referred to by the P. Moschini, in his " Narrazione dell*
Isola di Murano," is not to be admitted as genuine, the inscription upon
it being forged by the same author who counterfeited that of Giovanni
Vivarini, before alluded to in the note to page 82.

DONATO AND CRIVELLT. 87

are truly grand, thougli the rest of the figures would have
appeared to more advantage had they been less loaded with
ornaments, and in particular the draperies glowing with gold
laco, according to the custom of his age. He had a rival in
Gic-como Morazone, known by an altar-piece seen in the
island of St. Elena, of which I shall have to speak elsewhere.

Two pupils of Jacobello are recorded by Ridolfi, one of
whom, Donato, is superior to his master in point of style, and
the other, Carlo Crivelli, of whom the capital can boast only
one or two pieces, and of whom little mention is made in
Venetian history. It would appear that he long resided out
of his native place, and in the Marca Trevigiana,* from
wh ch circumstance we find him repeatedly named in the
" Sfcoria Picena," in the " Guida di Ascoli," and in the cata-
logae of Fabrianese paintings. At San Francesco di Matelica,
I saw an altar-piece and grado by his hand, with his name in
the following inscription — " Carolus Crivellus Venetus miles
pin sit," as well as another with his name at the Osservanti,
in Macerata, and a third which bears the year 1476, in pos~
session of the Cardinal Zelada. He is an artist more re-
markable for his force of colouring than for his correctness of
design ; and his principal merit consists in those little history-
pieoes, in which he has represented beautiful landscapes, and
given to his figures grace, motion, and expression, with some
traces of the colouring of the school of Perugia. Hence his
productions have occasionally been taken for those of Pietro,
as n the instance of that in Macerata; and if I mistake not,
such an opinion was entertained even by the learned Father
Ch alii (p. 60). In Piceno, likewise, in Monsanmartino, or
in Penna S. Giovanni, there remain altar-pieces by Vittorio
Crivelli, a Venetian, most probably of the same family, and
produced in the years 1489 and 90, from which period I lost
sig it of him, whether owing to his early decease, or his
having set out in pursuit of better fortune into foreign parts.

Hitherto we have examined only the productions of the
capital and of the annexed island. But in each of the other
cities, now comprehended in the state, there flourished painters

* Crivelli, in short, painted in the Marca more than elsewhere. His
pic< ures abound there, and the R. Pinacoteca obtained thence a number of
productions with the painter's name affixed to them.

88 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

during the same period, guided by maxims differing botli from
those of Venice and of Murano. The school of Bergamo had
even then made distinguished progress under the direction of
the two Nova, who died at the commencement of the century;
and mention is made of a Commenduno, one of their pupils,
besides some other contemporaries, whose works, however,
cannot, with any degree of certainty, be pointed out. The
same may be said of those in the adjacent city of Brescia,
which could then, also, boast of possessing some excellent
artists. Of these, there is nothing more than the name now
remaining ; yet Brandolin Testorino and Ottaviano Brandino
are names placed in competition with that of Gentile di
Fabriano, and, perhaps, they are preferred to him. The
former was supposed to have been engaged along with Alti-
chiero, in ornamenting the great hall in Padua, entitled Sala
de Giganti.*

Subsequent to both of these appeared Vincenzio Foppa, of
Brescia, founder of an ancient school at Milan, of which I
shall treat more at length in the following book. Vasari
makes mention of a Vincenzio da Brescia, or Vincenzio
Verchio, who is the same Vincenzo Oiverchio di Crema, com-
mended by Ridolfo, and so much admired by the French in
the capture of Crema, that they fixed upon one of his
pictures, then ornamenting the public palace, to be pre-
sented to their king, and to this artist we shall also again
allude.

About the commencement of the fifteenth century there
flourished, in Verona, an artist of the name of Stefano,t de-
clared, as it appears to me, by Vasari, sometimes a native of
Verona, sometimes of Zevio, a territory adjacent to the
former. The same author makes honourable mention of him
in several places, exalting him above the best disciples of
Angiolo Gaddi, to whose style, judging from what I have my-

* See " Morelli Notizia," p. 157.

f I had supposed, in my first edition of this work, misled by the oppo-
site names, that Sebeto was a different personage from this Stefano da
2fevio. I was afterwards undeceived by the appearance of the work of
the learned Brandolese, pronouncing them one and the same artist ; and
I willingly here retract what 1 had before advanced, expressing at the
same time my acknowledgments for the emendation.

STEFANO DA ZEVIO. 89

-self observed at San Fermo and elsewhere, he added a certain
dignity and beauty of form, while such was his excellence
in frescos, as to be extolled by Donatello beyond any of the
artists who were then known for similar compositions in those
parts.*

The Commendatore del Pozzo brings his labours down as
far as the year 1463, an incredible assertion, as applied to a
scholar of Gaddi. To this period might better be referred
Vircenzio di Stefano, apparently one of his sons, of whom
nothing survives but his name, and the tradition of having
con rerred the first lessons of the art upon Liberale.

Highly distinguished, on the other hand, both by the con-
sent of the Veronese and of foreigners, is the name of Vittore
Pisunello ; although there exists great confusion of dates in his
history. Vasari makes him a disciple of Castagno, who died
about the year 1480, yet del Pozzo informs us that he has
in his house a holy figure, with the annexed signature of
Vittore, and dated 1406, most probably before the birth of
Castagno. Again, we are told by Oretti that he was in pos-
session of one of his medals, representing the Sultan Mahomet,
struck in the year 1481, a supposition which, admitting the
picture of Pozzo, we are unable to reconcile to facts, so that
the medal was, perhaps, taken from some painting of Pisanello,
coloured at a former time. To whatever master Vittore may
have been indebted, certain it is that several of his too partial

* " Drawn in the most perfect manner," are the words of Vasari, while
Jie adds, that the whole of his works were imitated and copied by Pietro
di Perugia, an experienced artist in fresco, and more especially in minia-
ture, with which he ornamented the whole of the books in the library of
Pope Pius, in the dome at Siena. He is not known, however, in Perugia,
nor mentioned at Siena among those employed at the cathedral, as is
noticed by Father della Valle, yet the present work abounds with examples
of artists, unknown in their own cities, on account of having resided else-
where ; and the before-mentioned annotator of Vasari was unable to dis-
cover the name of Liberal da Verona, an undoubted illustrator of the
books, in such registers. I think we ought not to refuse to give credit,
therefore, to Vasari, as Father Guglielmo insists, but to admit a new
Pietro di Perugia, anterior to Vanucci, who might design the frescos of
St( fano in Verona and Mantua, so extolled in the early part of 1400, and
who copied them in those very beautiful and graceful miniatures at Siena,
an art which he probably acquired at Verona, where it was then in such
high repute.

90 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

admirers have placed him above Masaccio, in regard to the ser-
vices rendered by him towards the progress of the art, though
impartial judges will not refuse to give him a station near him.
The whole of his labours, both in Venice and in Rome, have
now perished. At Yerona, also, little remains; even that
noble piece of San Eustachio, so highly extolled by Vasari
himself, having been destroyed ; and his " Nunziata," at San
Fermo, being greatly defaced by time, in which, however, is
still visible a country-house, thrown into such admirable per-
spective, as to delight the beholder. There remain several little
altar-pieces, containing histories of San Bernardino, finished in
the style of the miniaturists, in the sacristy of San Francesco ;
but they are crude in their colouring, and the figures more than
usually long and dry. The " Guide " of the city announces
them as the productions of Pisanello ; but there is no authority
for this, and upon the strength of a date of 1473, which is
seen upon one of them, I do not scruple to pronounce them by
another hand. He is commended by Facio (p. 47) for his
almost poetical style of expression ; and there is a specimen of
an effort at caricature, with which Vittore embellished his
historic painting of Frederick Barbarossa, in the ducal palace
at Venice. He is, moreover, praised by the same author for
his skill in drawing horses and other animals, in which he
surpassed every other artist. His name is not unknown to the
antiquaries ; many medals struck by him, of different princes,
being found in museums, which acquired for him, in an equal
degree with his pictures, the esteem and applauses of Guarino,
of Vespasiano Strozza, of Biondo, and of several other distin-
guished scholars.

In the adjacent city of Vicenza resided a Jacopo Tintorello,
strongly resembling Vittore in his style of colouring, however
inferior to him in the perfection of his design, as far as we
are enabled to judge from a picture of the Saviour, with a
crown of thorns, exhibited at Santa Corona, a piece which
reflects credit upon that school. It is yet more highly ho-
noured by an " Epiphany," painted in San Bartolommeo, by
Marcello Figolino, an artist commemorated by Ridolfi, under
the name of Giovanni Batista, and who flourished, according
to his account, at the period of the two Montagna. He must,
however, at that time, have been far advanced in years, if it

JACOPO TINTORELLO. 91

be t;-ue that the era of his birth preceded that of Gian Bellini.*
His manner is undoubtedly original; so much so, that I find
nothing resembling it,f either in Venice or elsewhere; it em-
braces great diversity of countenance, and of costume, skilful
gradation of light and shade, with landscape and perspective,
and is remarkable for ornament, and the finish and smoothness
of every part. It was fully entitled to render its author the
fatber of a new epoch in the history of the art ; if, indeed, we
are to believe him, which does not sufficiently appear to be as
ancient as has been affirmed.

Tip to this period I have described the merits of the artists
of ',he city and of the state, who appeared in the early part
of the century, but I have not yet recorded its greatest
master, I mean Squarcione, of Padua, who, from his ability
in bringing up pupils, was pronounced by his followers the
firsj master of painters, and continued to educate them until
they amounted to 137. Ambitious of seeing more of the
world, he not only traversed the whole of Italy, but, passing
into Greece, he took designs of the best specimens, both in
painting and sculpture, of every thing he met with, besides
purchasing several. On returning to his native place, he began
to form a studio, which proved the richest of any known at
thst period, not merely in designs, but in statues, torsos, bassi-
rilievi, and funeral urns. Thus devoting himself to the in-
struction of students, with such copies, aided by his precepts,
ral her than by his own example, he continued to live in corn-
pa rative affluence, and divided many of the commissions which
lie received among his different pupils. In the church of the
M isericordia is preserved a book of anthems, illustrated with
very beautiful miniatures., commonly ascribed to Mantegna,
th 3 ornament of that school ; but so great is the variety of the
di iFerent styles, that the most competent judges conclude it
to be one of the works committed to Squarcione, and by him
distributed among his disciples. Of these we are not yet

* See on this head, the " Descrizione delle Bellezze di Vicenza,"
P 1, p. 7.

•f* This painter, so truly graceful and pleasing, is foreign to the Vene-
ti in school. His composition approaches RafFaello's manner when he
emerged from Perugino's school, and he is in every respect deserving of
h incurable mention.

92 VENETIAN SCHOOL.— EPOCH I,

prepared to treat, the chief part of whom are known to hare
flourished subsequent to the introduction of painting in oils,
while little can be said of the productions of Squarcione
himself, though much in respect to his labours as a master.
And, indeed, he may be considered the stock, as it were,
whose branches we trace, through Mantegna, in the grand
school of Lombardy ; through Marco Zoppo in the Bolognese;
while it extended some degree of influence over that of Venice
itself. For Jacopo Bellini, having come to exercise his talents
in Padua, it would appear that he took Squarcione for his
model, as before stated.

There is nothing remaining from the hand of Squarcione,
in Padua, that can be relied upon with certainty, except an
altar-piece, formerly to be seen at the Carmelitani, but now
in possession of the accomplished Conte Cav. de' Lazara. It
is drawn in different compartments ; the chief place is occu-
pied by the figure of San Girolamo. Around him appear
other saints ; but the work is in parts re-touched, though
there is sufficient of what is original to establish the cha-
racter of the painter. Rich in colouring, in expression, and
above all in perspective, it may be declared one of the best
epecimens of the art produced in those parts. The painting
of the altar-piece, here alluded to, was assigned him by the
noble family of the Lazara, of which the contract is still pre -
served by them, dated 1449, the salary being paid in 1452,
the period at which it was completed. The artist subscribes
himself " Francesco Squarcione," whence we are enabled to
correct the mistake of Vasari, who, invariably unfortunate in
his nomenclature of the Venetians, announces his name as
Jacopo, an error repeated also in the dictionaries of artists.
Besides this specimen, there still exist, in a cloister of San
Francesco Grande, some histories of that saint in " terra
verde," which are to be referred to the early part of his life,
there being good authority for believing them to be by the
same hand, though with the assistance of his school, as the
more and less perfect parts render sufficiently apparent. Near
them were placed some other pieces of Squarcione, also in
" terra verde," which were defaced in the time of Algarotti,
who regrets their loss in one of his elegant and pleasing let-
ters. Their style is altogether analogous to that of his school ;

ANONYMOUS PAINTERS. 93

animated figures, neat in the folds, foreshortenings not usual in
works of that age, and attempts, though yet immature, at ap-
proaching towards the style of the ancient Greeks.

Proceeding from Padua, in the direction of Germany, we
meet with some anonymous paintings, in the districts of Trevigi
and Friuli, which ought, apparently, to be referred to this
epodi, so far removed are they in style from the nobler
method we shall shortly have to describe. The name of An-
tonio is well known in Treviso, an artist who produced a S.
Crntoforo, of gigantic stature, tolerably well executed, in San
Niecolo, and that of Liberale da Canipo, author of a Christ in
the Manger, which is placed in the cathedral. Superior to both
of these must have been Giorgio da Trevigi, if we are to
believe Rossetti, where he mentions his introduction into Pa-
dua, in 1437, in order to paint the celebrated tower of the
Horologe. There exist other pictures of the 14th century,
more or less perfect, interspersed throughout the Marca Tre-
vigi ana, and more particularly in Serravalle. Other places
in Italy, indeed, bear the same name, derived from the inclosed
form of the mountains ; this, however, is the largest of the
whole, being a rich and ornate city, where Titian was in the
habit of spending some months in the year at the house of his
son-in-law, by way of amusement, and has left there several
memorials of his art. But the whole of the church of the
Battuti appears ornamented in a more antique taste, executed
in Kuch a manner, that I was assured, by a person who wit-
nessed it, that it most of all resembled a sacred museum of art.
Th< whole must have been the work of the same artists that
we have just been recording in other cities, inasmuch as the
names of no natives are known beyond the single one of Ya-
lentina. He, indeed, verged upon the improved age ; but in
Ceneda, that boasts various altar-pieces of his hand, as well
as iu Serravalle itself, where he painted another, with some
saints of the Holy Family, he still appears a disciple of the
ancients, and a copyist of Squarcione, of Padua. We shall
soon discover more celebrated artists rising up in this province,
after the introduction into the Trevigiana, of the method of
the Bellini.

The artists of Friuli availed themselves of it less early, not
having sufficiently imbibed the principles of modern taste,

94 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

even as late as the year 1500, either, in the opinion of Rinal-
dis, from the secluded situation of the place, or from the dis-
turbed and revolutionary character of the times. Hence it is
that the provincial painters of that period are to be referred
wholly to this, not to the subsequent era of the art. To such
belongs Andrea Bellunello, of San Vito, whose master-piece
is a Crucifixion, among various saints, with the date of 1475,
exhibited in the great council-chamber at Udine. It has
some merit in regard to the size, and the distribution of its
figures, but displays neither beauty of forms nor colour, and
we might almost pronounce it an ancient piece of tapestry,
when placed by the side of a beautiful picture. Nevertheless,
in his own district, he was considered the Zeuxis and Apelles
of his age.* Contemporary with him, was Domenico di
Tolmezzo, who painted an altar-piece in various compartments
for the cathedral of Udine ; a Madonna, in the taste of those
times, with some saints, figures which all partake of the an-
cient Venetian style, even to the colouring, insomuch that one
might believe him to have been a disciple of that school. He
has attached his name and the year 1479, and it would
appear that there belonged to the same piece, exhibiting a
figure of the blessed Bertrando, patriarch of Aquileja, two
oblong tablets, one of which represents his offering of alms,
the other the circumstances of the death he suffered. The
whole of these paintings, which I have noticed, are tolerably
executed, in particular the two histories, and are preserved in
two chambers of the Canonica. Not far from the same place
is seen a figure of the saint, in fresco, painted by Francesco de
Alessiis, in 1494, and placed over the door of a house, for-
merly the college of S. Girolamo.

While the schools of the state thus continued to advance, a
knowledge of design became more general in Venice ; and in
the latter part of the century, its artists, for the most part,
had acquired a taste similar to what I have already described
as influencing those of other places — a taste rather removed
from the antique coarseness, than adorned with the elegance

* In the cathedral of Pordenone, under one of his altar-pieces, we
read —

" Andreas Zeusis nostrseque setatis Apelles
Hoc Bellunellus nobile pinxit opus." — Altan.

DISCOVERY OF OIL-COLOUR. 95

of the moderns. Although the use of canvas had been
already adopted in Venice, like that of boards elsewhere, a
circumstance for which Vasari accounts in treating of the
Bellini, there was no composition besides water-colours or
distemper, excellent, indeed, for the preservation of tints, as
we perceive from unfaded specimens in the present day, but
unfriendly to the production of union, smoothness, and soft-
ness. At length appeared the secret of colouring in oils from
Flanders, a discovery conferring a happier era upon the Italian
schools, and in particular upon that of Venice, which availed
itsolf of it above every other, and apparently the very first of all.
In the Florentine school I have described the origin of this
invention, ascribing it, along with Vasari, to Giovanni Van
E} ch, and both there and in the Neapolitan I have also
shewn that the first who communicated it to Italy was Anto-
nello da Messina, having been instructed in it by Giovanni
himself in Flanders. The historical account of this Messi-
ne^e, as I have repeatedly before observed, has never been
sufficiently elucidated. Vasari and Ridolfi state such facts
respecting him as are not easily reconcilable to the period of
life in general assigned to him, reaching only to forty-nine
yes:>rs ; and I have proved, in collecting memorials to which
they had no access, alluded to in the Neapolitan school, that
there were two district visits made by Antonello to Venice.
The first, it appears to me, must have taken place soon after
his return into Italy, at which time he concealed the disco-
veiy from every one, except it were Domenico Veneziano,
who is known to have availed himself of it for many years,
both in Venice and elsewhere. During that period Antonello
vis ted other places, and more especially Milan, whence he
ret irned to Venice for the second time, and, as it is said,
" received a public salary," and then he divulged the method
of painting in oils to the Venetian professors, a circumstance
wh ch, according to the superscriptions attached to his pic-
tur- ;s, appears to have taken place about the year 1 474. Other
signatures are to be met with as late as 1490, insomuch that
he nust have run a longer career than that which has above
bee :i assigned him. And we are here arrived at an era at
one ) the happiest and most controverted of any. But of the
Vei tetians we shall treat presently, after alluding to the works

96 VENETIAN SCHOOL* EPOCU I.

of this foreign artist apart. Two altar-pieces by his hand are
recorded, which were painted for the two churches of the
Dominante, besides several Madonnas, and other holy pieces
intended for private houses, together with some few produc-
tions in fresco. There is no doubt but that he also produced
many others, both at the instance of natives and of foreigners,
relieving himself from the multiplicity of his commissions by
the aid of Pino di Messina, the same who is commended in
the memoirs of Hackert as the pupil and companion of An-
tonello's labours at Venice. It is not mentioned whether he
produced any specimens of his art in Sicily, nor am I certain
whether he returned thither. In many Venetian collections,
however, they are still preserved, and display a very correct
taste, united to a most delicate command of the pencil ; and
among others is a portrait in the possession of the family
Martinengo, bearing the inscription "Antonellus Messaneus
me fecit, 1474."

In the council-hall of the Ten, is also to be seen one of his
pictures of a Pieta, half-length, subscribed, " Antonius Mes-
sinensis." The feature^ of the countenances, though animated,
are not at all select, nor have much of the Italian expres-
sion ; and his colours in this and other of his productions
that I have seen, are less vivid than in some Venetian artists
of that age, who carried the perfection of colouring to its
highest pitch.

There is good authority for believing that, together with
Antonello, or very near the same period, there nourished in
Venice one of the best Flemish disciples of Giovanni Van
Eych, called by Vasari, Ruggieri da Bruggia. There ap-
pears, in the Palazzo Nani, adorned by its present owner in
the hereditary taste of his noble family, with the most splen-
did monuments of antiquity, a San Girolamo between two
holy virgins, a picture, as is shewn from the following in-
scription, by his hand, — " Sumus Rugerii manus." It is
drawn with more merit in point of colouring than of design,
upon Venetian pine-wood, not upon Flemish oak, and for
this reason it is considered by Zanetti as the production of
a native artist. But if the Venetians had really possessed a
painter of so much merit towards the year 1500, how is it
possible that he should be distinguished only by this solitary

ANTONELLO DA MESSINA. 97

specimen of his powers. Eyen the very imposing formula
he made use of in subscribing his name, contrary to the
usual practice of those times, without mention either of
family or of place, is it not altogether like that of an artist
who feels and displays his own celebrity ?* To me, it does
not appear at all improbable that Ruggieri, on arriving in
Italy, t sought to employ his talents upon some subject, in
the same way as Ausse,^ his disciple, Ugo d'Anversa, and
other Flemish painters of that period, whose names are corn*-
mei aerated along with his by Vasari, in the twenty-first
chapter of his introduction.

Inverting to Antonello, we are told by Borghini and
Ridolfi, that Gian Bellini, having assumed the dress and cha-
racter of a Venetian gentleman, for the pretended purpose of
having his portrait taken, penetrated by this disguise into
the studio of the Messinese; and watching him while he
painted, discovered the whole secret of the new method,
which he speedily applied. But Zanetti conjectures that
Antonello was not very jealous of his secret, by which means
it was quickly diffused among the different professors of the
art. And this is clearly shewn by a picture of Vivarini,
coloured in oil, as early as 1473, no less than by others from
different hands in the years following. Argenville even
goe.s farther ; for he asserts that such was the generosity with
which Antonello taught in Venice, that he drew a crowd of

* Ruggieri indeed had acquired a great reputation in Italy as early as 1449,
when Ciriaco Anconitano, being in Ferrara, saw a picture of Christ taken
from the Cross, belonging to the duke. He thus writes respecting the
artist: " Rugerus Brugiensis pictorum decus ArAOHITYXHI. — Rugie-
rius in Brussella post prseclarum ilium Brugiensem picturse decus
Joannem, insignis N. T. Pictor habetur," &c. — See Colucci A. P.
vol. xxiii. p. 143. He is also commended in high terms by Bartolommeo
Facio, in his little work " De Viris illustribus." See Morelli, Notizia,
p. 239.

•f He arrived there, and was at Rome in the anno Santo. See Facius,
lib. dt. p. 45.

+ This is one of the usual mistakes foand in Vasari. Baldinucci
(tom. iv. p. 17) calls him Ans or Hans. This is his Flemish appellation,
whi< h, in our tongue, signifies Giovanni ; and in the " Notizia Morelli "
he i.-- termed Gianes da Brugia ; somewhat nearer our own tongue. "With
Sansovino he is Gio. di Bruggia, John of Bruges. See Morelli, p. 117 ;
and by him he is distinguished from Gio. Van Eych.
VOL. II. H

98 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

pupils, who assisted in spreading a knowledge of the disco-
very through all parts. And among these we find several
foreigners, such as Theodore Harlem, Quintinus Messis, along
with several others mentioned in the preface to the third
volume, p. iii. This we are likewise inclined to admit dur-
ing the period of his public instructions in the city.

All that now remains, before we reach the times of Titian
and Giorgione, is comprised in that last stage of the art
which, in every school, has opened a path to the golden
period which ensued. The masters who were to distinguish
the stage alluded to, in Venice, as in almost all other parts,
are found to retain traces of the ancient stiffness of manner,
and sometimes exhibit, like the naturalists, imperfect forms
copied from the life ; as, for instance, in those extravagantly
long and spare figures which we noticed in Pisanello. In
Venice, such forms were in high repute with Mansueti, Se-
bastiani, and other of their contemporaries, nor were they
disliked by the Bellini themselves. And, indeed, where they
selected good proportions, they are apt to arrest the attention
by that simplicity, purity, care, and, as it were, timidity of
design, which attempts to avoid every approach to exaggera-
tion. Such artists, we might suppose to have been educated
by the more ancient Greek sculptors, in whose works the
exhibition of truth attracts the spectator, like that of grandeur
in others. Their heads, more particularly, are correct and
fine ; consisting of portraits taken from the life, both among
the populace, and among persons of superior birth, whether
distinguished for learning, or for their military exploits.
And to this practice, familiar also to artists of the 13th cen-
tury, we are indebted for many likenesses which were copied
at the instance of Giovio, for his museum. Thence they
were again multiplied both by painting and engraving, in
different parts of the world. Often also the artist of those
times inserted his own portrait in his composition ; a circum-
stance so favourable to Vasari's history ; but this species of
ostentation was gradually abandoned, as real cultivation in
Italy advanced. But then, as in the heroic and still more
uncivilized times, such species of boasting was not esteemed
offensive : and surely, if the literati of the 14th century were
in the habit of extolling themselves in their own works ; if

IMPROVEMENT IN DESIGN. 99

the typographers were so fond of exalting themselves and
their editions by superb titles, and more vaunting epigrams,
even to a ridiculous degree; the more modest ambition of
sometimes handing down their own features to posterity may
be ( xcused in our painters.

The colours of these artists are likewise simple and natu-
ral, though not always in union, more especially with the
ground, nor sufficiently broken by the chiaroscuro. But,
above all, they are most remarkable for the extreme simpli-
city of the composition of their pieces. It was very seldom
thev inserted histories, it being sufficient for the ambition of
thof e times to give a representation of our Lady upon a
throne, surrounded with a number of saints, such as the de-
votion of each was supposed to require. Nor were those
drawn in the manner they had before been, all erect at equal
distances, and in the least studied motions ; but their authors
attempted to give them some degree of contrast, so that
while one was drawn gazing upon the Virgin, another ap-
peared reading a book ; if this were in a kneeling attitude,
that is seen standing erect. The national genius, always
lively and joyous, even then sought to develope itself in more
brilliant colours than those of any other school. And, per-
haps, in order that the figures, of such glowing tints, might
stand in bolder relief, they kept the colour of the airs most
generally pale and languid. They aimed, indeed, as much
as lay in their power, at enlivening their compositions with
the most pleasing images ; freely introducing into their sacred
piec GS, sportive cherubs, drawn as if vicing with each other
in airy grace and agility ; some in the act of singing, some of
playing ; and not unfrequently bearing little baskets of fruit
and flowers so exquisitely drawn as to appear moist with
rece nt dew. In the drapery of their figures they were sim-
ple md natural; the most exempt perhaps from that trite
and exact folding, as well as from that manner of bandaging
the bodies so common in Mantegna, and which infected some
other schools.

IS or did they lay small stress upon certain accessaries of
thei;' art, such as the thrones, which they composed in the
richest and most ostentatious manner; and the landscapes,
whi ;h they drew with an astonishing degree of truth from

H 2

100 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

nature, besides the architecture frequently constructed in the
forms of porticos or tribunes. It may sometimes be observed,
also, that, adapting themselves to the workmanship and to
the design of the altar, they feigned a continuation of it
within the painting, so that by the resemblance of colour and
of taste, the eye is deceived, the illusion produced rendering
it doubtful where the exterior ornament* terminates, and
where the picture begins. We ought not, therefore, easily
to give credit to certain writers who have undervalued the
merits of such masters, pronouncing their labours mechanical,
as those of mere practical artificers, inasmuch as Serlio is
known to have supplied several of them with architectural
designs. t We ought rather to subscribe to the opinion of
Daniel Barbaro, whose extensive learning did not prevent
him, in his work entitled " Pratica di Prospettiva," from ex-
pressing his admiration of them, even from the commence-
ment, as follows : " In this art, they left many fine remnants
of excellent works, in which we behold not only landscapes,
mountains, woods, and edifices, all admirably designed ; but
even the human form, and other animals, with lines drawn to-
the eye, as if to a centre placed in the most exact perspective.
But in what manner, and by what rules they proceeded, no
author of whom I am aware has left any account to in-
struct us."

* In a similar taste was the perspective introduced by Giovanni Bellino
in his celebrated altar-piece at San Zaccaria, in Venice. Another was
placed in the great altar of the dome at Capo d'Tstria, by Carpaccio the
elder, still more striking. In the back-ground of the picture, the Virgin
appears seated on a magnificent throne, with the divine infant, in an up-
right posture, upon her knees, surrounded by six of the most venerable
patrons of the place, disposed around her, in three ranks, displaying a
fine diversity of drapery as well as of action. To these are added some
cherubs, engaged in playing upon musical instruments, and apparently
beholding the spectator with an air of puerile simplicity, as if inviting
him to caress them. A long and lofty colonnade, in excellent perspective,
leads the way to the throne, at one time united to a fine stone colonnade,
which extended from the altar-piece through the chapel, producing a fine
illusion, amounting to a sort of enchantment of perspective. It was re-
moved along with the stone columns, in order to enlarge the tribune.
The oldest citizens, who witnessed this beautiful spectacle, speak of it to
strangers with delight, and I am glad to cut it on record, before the re-
collection of it be entirely obliterated.

f Notizia, p. 63.

GIOVANNI BELLINI. 101

As this progress of style was more greatly promoted by
Gian Bellini than by any other master, with him I shall com-
merce my account, afterwards proceeding to treat of his con-
temporaries, and such of his scholars as more or less resem-
bled him. Nor, I flatter myself, will it be unpleasing to the
reader, to find mention of the imitation of Giorgione and of
Titian, as it were anticipated, inasmuch as it happens with
the professors of the art of painting, as occasionally with
those writers who have flourished on the confines of two
aget; ; that their style to a certain degree seems to partake of
the colour of both. Thus, Giovanni Bellini himself will
afford us, in his numerous productions, which commence be-
fore 1464, and continue down to the year 1516, a sort of
regular gradation of his progress, that may be considered, at
the same time, the progress of his school. Even in his ear-
liest pictures, we trace the ambition of the artist to ennoble
and to enlarge the national manner. The noble house of
their Excellencies Corer, which at the time of the Queen of
Cyprus, gave frequent commissions to his hand, possesses
several specimens of his first style, proceeding gradually to
others, appearing always to grow more beautiful. Among
thete last, is a San Francesco drawn amidst a thick wood ; a
piece that might well excite the envy of the best landscape
masters themselves. Having reached the period of 1488, in
which he produced an altar-piece still preserved in the
sacristy of the Conventual!, we find he extorts the praises of
Vasari, no less as a good mannerist than a fine designer.
WLh still greater success he executed other works from the
examples afforded by Giorgione. It was then he conceived
his subjects more boldly, gave rotundity to his forms, and
warmth to his colours ; he passed more naturally from con-
tracted tints, his naked figures became more select, his dra-
pery more imposing ; and if he had succeeded in acquiring a
more perfect degree of softness and delicacy in his contours,
he might have been held up as one of the most finished ex-
amples of the modern style. Neither Pietro Perugino, Ghir-
landajo, nor Mantegna attained to it in an equal degree.
Tho lover of art will find various specimens of him, both in
Venice and elsewhere. His altar-piece, painted for San
Zaccaria, in 1505, is well worthy his attention, as well as

102 YENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I,

that of S. Giobbe, of the date of 1510. To these we may
add a Bacchanal, in the villa Aldobrandini, at Rome, dated
1514, which, on account of the artist's advanced age, was
left imperfect. I have seen other pictures by his hand, with-
out date, but of striking merit ; more especially a Virgin in
the cathedral of Bergamo ; a Baptism of our Lord at Santa
Corona, of Vicenza, a Holy Child slumbering on the lap of
the Virgin, between two angels, a production that lies trea-
sured up in a chest at the Capuchins, in Venice, and which
truly fascinates the eye of the beholder. It displays a strik-
ing union of that beauty, grace, and expression, of which, in
this school, he may be said to have set the example. It
would appear that he continued to employ his talents to an
extreme old age, there remaining, in the select gallery of
Santa Giustina, at Padua, one of his Madonnas, painted in.
1516.* . Such figures, together with those of the Dead
Christ, are the most frequent paintings of his hand that we
meet with. Should any one, not content with the commenda-
tions I have bestowed, feel inclined to prefer a Bellini to a
Rafiaello, because he was his superior in architectural design,.
let him consult the opinion of Boschini, p. 28 of his ^ Carta
da Navigare," but let him recollect that the same writer pos-
sesses nothing of the poet beyond the measure of the verse,
and the exaggeration of his praises.

The name of Giovanni ought not to go down unaccom-
panied by that of his brother Gentile, who preceded him,
alike in the period of his birth and of his death. Though
living apart, in regard to family, they were of congenial mind
and disposition, esteeming one another as friends and brethren,
mutually encouraging and respecting each other, as superior
in merit. But in Giovanni this was modesty, in Gentile only
truth. For the latter had a more confined genius; but by
diligence, that sometimes compensates the neglect of nature,

* Albert Durer, arriving the same year at Venice bestowed on Gio-
vanni one of the most favourable testimonies to his talents that re-
mains. After rebuking the envy of the other painters, «>»£*»«
him with contempt, he says of him ,-« Every one assures me that h
Gran Galantuomo, for which reason I wish him well. He is already very
old, but, notwithstanding, the best painter we have,'— V. Morel. JNo
p. 224.

GENTILE BELLINI. 103

he was enabled to attain an honourable station among his con-
temporaries. He was employed by the republic upon an
equal footing with his brother, to adorn the hall of the great
council ; and when the Grand Turk sent to Venice in search
of an eminent portrait painter, he was commissioned by the
senate to go to Constantinople, where in the exercise of his
profession he added glory to the Venetian name. Besides his
works in painting, he there struck a fine medallion for Maho-
met II., bearing the head of the emperor, with three crowns
on the reverse ; a rare work, of which, however, I learn there
is a specimen in possession of his Excellency Theodore Corer.
However inferior we are to consider him to his brother, and
tenacious of that ancient harshness in many of his works,
there are still several of a more beautiful description, such as
his histories of the Holy Cross at San Giovanni, and the
Preaching of S. Mark, at the college of that saint ;* a piece
which, placed near that of a Paris Bordone, does no discredit
to its author. He shews himself a faithful copyist, inasmuch
as every thing he remarked in a concourse of people is faith-
fully portrayed. The features of the audience, and the pe-
culiar conformations of the body, are as diversified as we see
them in nature, including even instances of deformity, into
which through her own general laws, nature is known to fall ;
and we are thus presented with caricatures, with bald, and
lean, and pursy, and, what is more remarkable, the auditors
of S. Mark are drawn without regard to times, in the cos-
tume of Venetians or of Turks. Yet from its exact imitation
of the truth, its arrangement, and its animated style, the
work does not fail to please and strike the beholder. I shall
even go further ; for there are pictures on a smaller scale, by
the same hand, executed with so much taste, that they may
be esteemed not unworthy of the name of his brother. Such
is r, Presentation of the infant Jesus at the Temple, in half-
length, which adorns the Palazzo Barbarigo, at San Polo, a
duplicate of which was painted for that of the Grimani, with
stiil more delicacy and care. Opposite to this of Gentile is a
fine picture of Gian Bellini, which, however superior in the

*' This much-admired picture is in the R. Pinacoteca of Milan, and
among the early productions ranks as one of the most beautiful and
valuable.

104 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

softness of its tints, is considered scarcely equal in point of
beauty and other qualities of the art.

The two Bellini and the last of the Vivarini had a compe-
titor in Vittore Carpaccio, either a Venetian or a native of
Capo d'Istria,* and along with these he was selected to orna-
ment the ducal palace. It was destroyed by fire in 1576,
when that noble collection of ancient historic pieces perished,
though subsequently restored by the most celebrated artists of
later times. Yet there still remains a specimen of Vittore's
style in the oratory of Santa Ursula, sufficient to entitle him
to rank among the best artists of the age. It consists of eight
histories drawn from the acts of that saint, and of her eleven
thousand companions, which were all about that time very
generally admitted to be true. The production is not wanting
in power of conception, developing numerous and novel com-
binations, nor in the order of their distribution, in richness
of ideas, both in varying the features and costume ; nor in
architectural skill and landscape, serving to adorn them. Still
more remarkable is its expression of nature and simplicity ;
an expression which so frequently invited Zanetti himself to
a renewed contemplation of it. He there remarked the va-
rious passions of the people, who appeared to understand
every thing passing ; and, in their earnest attention, expressed
sentiments in unison with the representation ; whence he con-
cludes his description by saying that Carpaccio felt the truth
in his very heart.

* The country is impressed with this persuasion in spite of his own
signatures,^ attached even to the pictures in Istria. In that, cited at page
100, it is written " Victor Charpatius Venetus pinxit, 1516 ;" in another,
at San Francesco di Pirano, " Victoris Charpatii Veneti opus, 1519."
Benedetto Carpaccio, probably a son or nephew of the preceding, was also
a Venetian, of whom there remains a picture of the Coronation of the
Virgin, at Capo d'Istria, in the Rotunda, subscribed, " Benetto Carpathio
Veneto pingeva, 1537." At the Osservanti is the picture of the Nome
di Gesii, with the same words, but dated 1541. He is not mentioned in
Venetian history, though highly deserving a place in it ; for whatever
traces he retains of the ancient stiffness of manner, in the extremity of
his figures, yet. he yields not to many in softness of tints ; in the taste of
his colours ; expression of features, and the effect of his chiaroscuro. I
am led to think, that from residing out of the capital, this artist was sup-
pofsd to be a native of Istria, but he was indisputably of a Venetian family,
most probably tracing its origin from Murano

VITTORE CARPACCIO. 105

He produced still nobler specimens of his genius in the
college of San Girolamo, which rivalled those of Giovanni
Bel ini, without, in this instance, yielding to them. His cha-
i'acter, which might frequently be confounded with that of
Gentile, shines most conspicuous, perhaps, in his altar-pieces,
whore he is original in almost every composition. The most
celebrated in Venice is one of the Purification at San Giobbe,
in which, however, the S. Vecchio Simeone is represented in
a pontifical dress, between two servants arrayed like cardinals.
If we except this error in point of costume, and add a little
more warmth of colours to the flesh, more delicacy of contour,
the piece would not discredit the first artist of any times.
Owing to the fault of his early education, however, these
qualities he never attained. This, also, happened to Lazzaro
Sebastiani, his disciple and follower ; to Giovanni Mausueti,
to Marco, and to Pietro Veglia, as well as to Francesco
Hizzo, of San Croce, a territory in the district of Bergamo ;*
artists who, however nearly touching upon the golden period,
did not succeed in freeing themselves from the influence of the
old and uniform taste, and for this reason are often confounded
with each other. I do not here treat of the paintings left by
them at Venice, as they have so frequently been described
elsewhere. It will be enough to inform the reader that in
these, also, we discover several noble traces of the style of
Gentile and Carpaccio, more especially in the architecture,
and that their colouring, which in this school is considered

* We find traces of his paintings from the year 1507. See Tassi, in
his " Lives of the Painters, &c." p. 56, where he corrects a mistake of
Zanetti, who, instead of one painter, had divided him into two. One of
his pictures, in the parish church of Endine, will remove every doubt.
There he signed himself, " Franciscus Rizus Bergomensis habitator
Venetiis, 1529." In another piece, in the parochial church of Serina, he
wrote " Francesco Rizo da Santa Croxe depense, 1518." His last work
of which I find any account is also in the parochial church of Chirignano,
in the Mestrina, dated 1541. Father Federici, who describes it, makes
Francesco the son of Girolamo da S. Croce, or S. Croce, whose name we
find subscribed in both ways, but not ever Rizo. I cannot agree with
him, first, because Ridolfi says only (p. 62) that they were of the same
family ; second, because the pictures of Girolamo, according to Tassi,
commence later, and are traced also later than those of Francesco, that
is in 1549; and thirdly, because the style of Girolamo is incomparably
more modernized, as we shall presently shew.

106 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

cold and languid, would be termed, in several of the others,
both soft and animated enough for that period. The one who,
if I mistake not, approaches nearer to the modern, and in
some degree towards the style of Giorgione, is Benedetto
Diana, as well in his altar-piece of Santa Lucia, • at the SS.
Apostoli, as in the Limosina de' Confratelli di San Giovanni,
painted at their college in competition with the Bellini.

We next come to Marco Basaiti, sprung from a Greek
family in the Friuli, and a rival also of Giovanni ; but more
successful than Carpaccio. The church of San Giobbe, here
mentioned for the third time, possesses his picture of Christ
praying in the Garden, painted in 1510. It is now a little
defaced, but has been highly extolled by Ridolfi and others,
who beheld it in a more perfect condition. Above all his pro-
ductions, however, the Vocation of San Pietro to the Apostle-
ship, in the church of the Certosa, is the most celebrated ; a
piece of which there is seen a duplicate in the imperial gallery
at Vienna. It is certainly one of the most beautiful pictures
of that age ; and most generally there is no kind of merit in
Gian Bellini, in which Basaiti does not either equal, or very
closely approach him. Indeed he appears to exhibit even a
freer genius, a more happy composition, and a more skilful
art in uniting the grounds of his pictures with the figures.*"
These are beautiful, and for the most part incline to the free
style ; their look is full of fire ; the tints of the fleshy parts
of a rosy glow ; the middle tints inclining sometimes to pale-
ness, but not without grace. Though not a native, he resided
a long period at Venice, which contains a good number of his
works, a few of which are in the ancient taste, but the most
part bordering upon the modern. His native place of Friuli
possesses no other specimen besides a Christ taken from the
Cross, in the monastery of Sesto, consisting of large figures,
with a fine group in the back-ground of the picture, and with
a landscape full of nature. In several parts it is defaced by
age ; but a true connoisseur will still, perhaps, prefer it to
the others, for being free from the retouches of modern art.

* To this praise might be added, a certain strength of chiaroscuro,
which gives striking relief to his figures, and approaches the composition
of Da Vinci.

t PUPILS OF BELLINI. 107

Among the pupils of Gian Bellini, who were very nume-
rous, are some who ought to be referred to another epoch, like
Giorgione, and to different schools, like Rondinello of
Ravenna ; several, however, take their place here, who, in
the opinion of their national contemporaries, did not fully
attain to the possession of the new style. The family of the
heads of the school produced also a Bellin Bellini, who being
educated in that academy, very happily imitated its manner.
He painted Madonnas for private individuals, which, their
author being little known, are for the most part attributed to
Gentile, or to Giovanni. The artist who is mentioned by
Va»sari as the pupil of Giovanni, named Girolamo Mocetto,
was one of the earliest and least polished among his disciples.
He did not reach the sixteenth century ; and left behind him
some engravings upon copper, now become extremely rare ;
besides small pictures, one of which, subscribed with the
author's name, in 1484, is in the possession of the before-
mentioned house of Corer. The Veronese, who are in pos-
session of his portrait, amongst those of the painters of their
town, in the Scuola del Nudo, can also boast one of his altar-
pieces, bearing the name and date of 1493, in their church of
S. Nazario e Celso. Such information I obtained from
Signer Saverio dalla Rosa, a Veronese painter of merit.
Another less distinguished, and somewhat stiff scholar or
imitator of Bellini, has affixed his name in several places, at
tho foot of sacred figures, as follows : " Marcus Martialis
Vfnetus •" and in a Purification, existing in the Conservatory
of the Penitents, we meet with the year 1488. And from a
Supper of Emaus, belonging to the family of the Contarini,
with the painter's name, we learn that in the year 1506 he
w;ts still alive.

An artist of a better taste appeared in Vincenzio Catena, a
woalthy citizen, who obtained a good deal of celebrity by his
portraits and pictures for private rooms. His master-piece
consists of a Holy Family, in the style of Giorgione, orna-
menting the noble Pesaro gallery; and if he had produced
nothing more than this, he would no longer be included in.
tl:e present epoch ; but his other pieces, exhibiting more
traces of the old style, which remain at San Maurizio, at San
Simeone Grande, at the Carita, and elsewhere, authorize our

108 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

enumeration of them here. They are beautiful ; but not
sufficiently in the modern taste. His reputation, however,
while living, was so great, that in a letter written by Marc
Antonio Michiel from Rome, to Antonio di Marsilio in
Venice, dated llth of April, 1520, when Raffaello was just
deceased and Bonarruoti infirm, it is recommended to Catena
to be upon his guard, " since danger seems to be impending
over all very excellent painters."* One Giannetto Cordegli-
aghi enjoyed also a high reputation, if he be rightly named
by Vasari, who commends him for his soft and delicate man-
ner, superior to many of his« contemporaries ; adding, that he
had produced an infinite number of pictures for private per-
sons. In Venice, he is termed, I suppose for the sake of
brevity, Cordelia ; and to him is attributed the beautiful por-
trait of the Cardinal Bessarione in the college of La Carita,
with a few other specimens, the rest having dropped into ob-
livion. Probably his real name was double, Cordelia Aghi.
It is certain that Zanetti read, upon a beautiful Madonna,
belonging to the learned Zeno, " Andreas Cordelle Agi, F."
This last is of the same family as Giannetto ; or perhaps also
in place of Giannetto, Vasari ought to have written Andrea;
as instead of Jacopo, he ought to have said Francesco Squar-
cione. Nor can it be denied that, if we except the artists of
Verona and Friuli, this historian was deficient in information,
as he himself declares, relating to the Venetian school. It
is sufficient to turn to his proemium of the life of Carpaccio,
in order to observe how many times, in a very few lines, he
is guilty of making mistakes. Of Lazzaro Sebastiani, he
made two painters ; two others out of Marco Basaiti, divid-
ing him into Marco Basarini and Marco Bassiti, and assign-
ing to each his several works. Moreover, he wrote Vittore
Scarpaccia, Vittor Bellini, Giambatista da Cornigliano, and
confounded the labours of all the three together. Elsewhere
we meet with Mansuchi for Mansueti ; Guerriero and Guar-
riero, instead of Guariento ; Foppa is made into Zoppa,
Giolfino into Ursino, Morazone into Mazzone, Bozzato into
Bazzacco, Zuccati into Zuccheri and Zuccherini ; and thus he
Continued to blunder through other Lombard and Venetian

* Morelli Notizia, p. 212.

GIROLAMO DI SAN CROCE. 109

names, insomuch as almost to vie with Harms, with Cochin,
and with similar inaccurate foreigners.

The following names were slightly esteemed by or slightly
known to Vasari, and therefore omitted in his history : Pier-
maria Peiinacchi of Trevisi, and Pier Francesco Bissolo, a
Venetian. Of the former there remain two entablatures,
painted for churches, more excellent in point of colouring
than design. One is in Venice, the other at Murano. Of
these artists, Pier Francesco painted on the least extensive
scale , but was more finished and beautiful. His altar-pieces
in Murano, and in the cathedral of Trevigi, may be put in
competition with those of the elder Palma ; and one in pos-
session of the family of Renier, representing the Meeting
of Simeon, still more nearly approaches to the fulness and
softness of the moderns.

Girolamo di San Croce was still more deserving of com-
memoration than these. Yet Vasari omitted him ; Boschini
is silent on the subject ; and Ridolfi has found in him more to
blame than to praise, asserting that he had never freed him-
self from the ancient style, though flourishing at a period
when the less celebrated geniuses attempted to modernize
their taste. Happily, however, for this distinguished man,
not a few of his best labours have been preserved, of which
Zanetti has pronounced his opinion that " he approaches
nearer to the manner of Giorgione and Titian than any of
the others." And such commendation is justified by his
altar-piece of S. Parisio, so highly mentioned in the Guide of
Treviso, and which is to be seen at the church of that saint.
In Venice itself there are some of his pictures which display
uncommon merit, such as the Supper of our Saviour, with
the name of Santa Croce, which is in S. Martino ; and a
Salvatore, at S. Francesco della Vigna, which though in a
pre "ise taste, shews extreme richness of colouring. There
also appears, at the same place, his picture of the Martyr-
dom of S. Lorenzo ; a repetition of which is found in the
noble house of Collalto, nearly resembling the original, and
in ( ther places. It abounds in figures of about a palm's
length, imitated, in some part, from the celebrated composi-
tion of Bandinelli, engraved by Marc Antonio, whose impres-
sions to Girolamo proved a rich mine of art, affording originals

110 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

for those small but valuable paintings meant to adorn private
rorms. In none of them, however, was he a mere copyist;
he varied the figures, and more especially the landscapes, in
which he was a very skilful hand. In this manner he pro-
duced many of those Bacchanals, which are to be met with
in different collections. In that of the Casa Albani, at Ber-
gamo, is a S. Gio. Elemosinario (almsgiver) in grand archi-
tecture, seen among a crowd of paupers ; and in the collection
of Count Carrara, also at Bergamo, there is a " Saviour taken
from the Cross," highly valued for the portrait of the artist,
which points to a holy cross, the symbol of his name. Not
any of these productions are embued with traces of the an-
cient style. They display a grace of composition, study of
foreshortening, and of the naked parts, a harmony of colours,
forming a mixture of different schools, in which the Roman
predominates, and least of all the Venetian. Further we
would refer the reader to what has already been stated at
page 105.

To these Venetian professors, or at least, established, in
Venice, it will be proper to add several educated by Giovanni,
in the provinces, and in this way resume the thread of our
pictoric history of the state. There was no place in the whole
dominion which did not boast either of his disciples or
imitators. We shall proceed to treat severally of these, begin-
ning with the name of Conegliano, which he derived from a
city in the Marca Trevigiana, his native place, whose moun-
tainous views he has introduced into his paintings, as if to
serve for his device.

The artist's name, however, is Giambatista Cima, and his
style most resembles the better part of that of Gian Bellini.
The professors indeed may often be confounded together; to
such a degree do we find Conegliano diligent, graceful, lively
in his motions and his colouring, although less smooth than
Bellini. Perhaps one of his best pieces that I have seen is
in the cathedral at Parma, though it is omitted in the cata-
logue of his works. That at the church of Santa Maria dell'
OrtQ, one of the most rich in paintings in all Venice, possesses
less softness ; but in point of architecture, in the air of its
heads, and in the distribution of its colours, there is something
iso extremely attractive, that we are never weary of contem-

PUPILS OF BELLINI. Ill

platirg it. The different collections in Italy, no less than
those in other parts, are many of them in possession, or said
to be in possession, of specimens from this artist's hand ; and
if we add to these his altar-pieces, sufficiently numerous, they
will l»e found to amount to a very considerable class. We are
informed, however, by Padre Federici, that one of Cima's
sons, of the name of Carlo, imitated so closely the style of his
fathe *, that there are pictures which ought often to be attri-
buted to the former instead of to the latter.

The artist resided but a short time in his own province ;
and the altar-piece placed by him in the cathedral of his native
place in 1493, is considered a youthful performance. He con-
tinued to exercise his art until the year 1517, according to
BidoJ fi, and died in the maturity of his powers. The date of
1542. which we find at San Francesco di Rovigo placed upon
an altar-piece of Conegliano (if it be not a copy), marks only
the era of the erecting of the altar, which was painted after-
wards. He is said by Boschini to have been the tutor of
Vittor Belliniano, by Vasari called Bellini ; the same who
represented in the college of St. Mark's the martyrdom of the
saint. The best portion of this history is the architecture it
displays.

The artists, educated in the school of Giovanni, who flou-
rished at Friuli, were two natives of Udine : Giovanni di M.
Martino, as he is entitled in some family documents, and Gio.
Martini, by Yasari ; and Martino d'Udine, who in the "Storia
Pittcrica," is called Pellegrino di S. Danielle. The style of the
formor was harsh and crude, though not destitute of grace in
the countenances and in the colouring. The name of Pelle-
grinc was bestowed upon the latter by Bellini, in honour of
his r ire genius, while the name of the country was attached
to him from his long residence in S. Daniello, a territory not
far from Udine. This city is, nevertheless, the place where
he appears to most advantage, in competition with Giovanni ;
as the same emulation they had felt while fellow-pupils, con-
tinued, as sometimes happens, when they became masters. In
that city appear the labours of each, and more particularly in
the ;:wo chapels contiguous to the dome, where the first of
them was employed in the year 1501, the second in 1502. Gio-
vanri, in his altar-piece of St. Mark, there produced the

112 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

richest specimen which appeared from his hand ; and Pel-
legrino left that of his St. Joseph, preferred by Vasari, in some
degree, to the work of Martini. I have seen the last-men-
tioned picture in oil, faded indeed in colour, and in other
respects defaced ; yet still worthy of admiration for its archi-
tecture, which gives a graceful fulness to the whole canvas,
and striking relief to the three figures, consisting of S. Joseph
with the holy child in his arms, and S. John the Baptist, each
of which displays the finest contours, and the best forms.
Other specimens of the same pencil are to be seen in Udine,
among which are the SS. Agostino and Girolamo, in the
public council-hall, a picture remarkable also for its power of
colouring.

As this artist advanced in age, he improved in the softness
of his tints, as well as in every other quality. The altar-
piece at Santa Maria de' Battuti, which is in Cividale, and
represents the Virgin seated between the four virgins of
Aquileja, besides the Saints Batista and Donate, and a cherub,
partakes of Giorgione ; it is enumerated among the rarest
paintings of Friuli, and was executed in the year 1529. Yet
above any of his productions, are esteemed those various
histories of the life of our Saviour, painted in fresco at
S. Daniele, in the church of S. Antonio, together with this
titular saint, and several other portraits of the brethren of
that chapel, so richly adorned by his hand, all breathing and
glowing proofs of his art. By his means, also, one of the
pictoric schools of Friuli rose into high repute, and will be
elsewhere described.

At Rovigo, in possession of the noble family of Casalini, is
a picture of the Circumcision of our Saviour, bearing this
memorandum : " Opus Marci Belli discipuli Johannis Bellini."
He is a good disciple of the school, and would appear to be a
different artist from that Marco, son of Gio. Tedesco, who
was employed in 1463 at Rovigo.

In the adjacent city of Padua, the style of the Bellini was
less followed, a very natural circumstance in a place where
Squarcione, the avowed rival of Giovanni, held supreme sway.
Still there are several pictures belonging to this age remaining
there, which partake of the Venetian style ; and Vasari, in
his life of Carpaccio. records that in fact Niccolo Moreto

MONTAGNANA OR MANTEGNA. 113

executed many works in Padua,* besides many other artists
connected with the Bellini. A picture of Christ risen from
the dead merits particular mention ; it adorns the episcopal
palace at Padua, along with the portraits of all the Paduan
bishops, and the busts of the apostles, including several of
their acts, executed with much elegance in chiaroscuro. The
work is dated 1495, in which the painter subscribes his name
Jacobus Montagnana ; not Mantegna, as it is written in Yasari
and ftidolfi.

There remains of his a very extensive altar-piece, at the
Santo, the style inclining as much as in any others to the
modern ; and to whatever degree it may partake of the Vene-
tian in taste of colours, in its design it partakes of a more
precise and spare expression, upon the principle of the Paduan
school. To this, also, he very manifestly conformed himself
in that celebrated picture left in Belluno, at the hall of coun-
cil, in which he represented t Roman histories. It is an im-
mense production, and at the first view would incline us to
attribute it to the pencil of Mantegna, such are the design, the
drapery, and the composition of the figures ; while even
several of them are known to have been accurately copied,
with the same forms and motions, from those Mantegna had
already introduced into his grand chapel at the Eremitani.
Here we have a clear proof that" both received the same edu-
cation, or at least, that Montagnana had profited much by the
Paduan school. I say only much, for in point of costume he
does not shew any traces of the erudite instructions of

* In the " Statuti de* Pittori," it is written Mireti ; and the same
work contains memoirs of him in 1423 and 1441 ; years, however, which
do nrt accord with his dependence on the Bellini. This Girolamo might
possibly have been the brother, or other relation, of that Gio. Miretto,
for w lorn see p. 77. These two names will do away with the Moreto of
Vasari, and we must substitute Mireto or Miretto.

| ( repeat the epigram, which is subscribed in ancient characters, on
the strength of which we may believe that the work was esteemed one of
the most valuable the art had produced up to that period, transcribed by
the vrry frequently commended Sig. Co. Cav. Lazara ; it is thus :
Non hie Parrhasio, non hie tribuendus Apelli,

Hos licet Auctores dignus habere labor.
Euganeus, vixdum impleto ter mense, Jacobus

Ex Montagnana nobile pinxit opus.
VOL. II. I

114 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

Squarcione; but commits faults resembling those of the
Bellini, to whom by popular opinion, recorded by the very
diligent author of the new Guide of Padua, he has been given
as a pupil.

I have before treated of Squarcione, and of his method, re-
serving for a fitter place the consideration of his disciples,
more especially Andrea Mantegna. He will, however, be
included in the present list as a scholar, although, as a mas-
ter of the school of Lombardy, we are bound to speak of him
with more commendation in another chapter. But even the
first essays of great characters are valuable, and Yasari does
not scruple to commend Andrea's first altar-piece as a work
worthy of his old age. It was placed in Santa Sofia, where
the artist has signed himself " Andreas Mantinea Patavinus
annos VII. et X. natussuamanu pinxit, 1448." Squarcione
was so much delighted with his early genius, that he adopted
him for his son. But he afterwards regretted his own generosity,
when the young artist took to wife the daughter of his rival,
Jacopo Bellini ; so that he -then began to blame him, yet at
the same time to instruct him better. Andrea having been
educated in an academy which adopted the study of marbles,
indulged great admiration of several Greek bassi-rilievi, in
the ancient style, such as is that of the Primarii Dei, in an
altar of the Capitol. He was therefore extremely bent upon
acquiring the chasteness of the contours, the beauty of the
ideas and of the bodies ; nor did he only adopt that straitness
of the garment, those parallel folds, and that study of parts
which so easily degenerate into stiffness, but he neglected
that portion of his art which animates the otherwise unin-
formed images — expression. In this respect he greatly failed
in his picture of the Martyrdom of S. Jacopo, placed in the
church of the Eremitani, and from which Squarcione took
occasion to reprehend him severely. These complaints led
him to adopt a better method, and in his representation of the
history of S. Cristoforo, placed opposite his S. Jacopo, he
threw more expression into his figures ; and in particular his
production about the same period of San Marco in the act of
writing the gospel, painted for Santa Giustina, displays in the
features the absorbed mind of the philosopher and the enthu-

MANTEGNA'S PUPILS. 115

siasrc of a saint.'"" If Squarcione thus contributed by his
reproaches to render this artist great, the Bellini, perhaps, co-
opera ted with him by friendship and relationship in producing
the s;ime result. He resided little in Venice, but during that
time he did not fail to avail himself of the best portion of that
school ; and we thus perceive in some of his pictures, land-
scapes and gardens quite in the Venetian character, besides a
knowledge of colours not inferior to the best Venetian artists
of hi 3 age. I am uncertain whether he or some other com-
municated to the Bellini that species of perspective so much
commended byBarbaro; but I know that Lomazzo, in his
" Tempio della Pittura," page 53, has put on record that
Man<egna was the first who gave us true notions relating to
this v,rt : and I know that the most distinguished characters
of those times were equally eager, either to become scholars in
such points as they were themselves deficient in, or masters in
such as were wanting in others.

The style of Mantegna being known, it will not be difficult
to divine that of his fellow-pupils, educated in the same
maxims, and instructed by his examples. The chapel before
mentioned exhibits specimens of three, the first of whom,
Niccdo Pizzolo, is pointed out by Vasari. A picture of the
Assumption of the Virgin in an altar-piece, with other figures
on th'3 wall, are by his hand. There is also a fresco in one of
the fagades with the motto " Opus Nicoletti ;" and in both
places he not only strongly resembles, but approaches near the
composition of Mantegna. Two other artists also painted
there certain histories of S. Cristoforo, under one of which is
insert ed " Opus Boni ;" under the other, " Opus Ansuini," an
artist of Forli. Both of these might elsewhere have been ad-
mired, but there they appear only as scholars by the side of
their master. An artist more nearly approaching Mantegna,
and v ho, in the chief part of his figures, might be mistaken for
him, is Bernardo Parentino, who painted for a cloister of Santa
Giust ina, ten acts in the life of San Benedetto, and little his-
tories in chiaroscuro, representing upon each the portrait of a
pontilf of the name of Benedettino. I have seen no painting

* Tais picture, divided into several compartments, represents, in addi-
tion to San Marco, other saints, and is also one of the ornaments of the
Pinatoteca.

12

116 TENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

adapted to a religious cloister so well conceived in every part ;
and it is known that it was superintended by a distinguished
scholar of that learned order, the Abate Gaspero da Pavia.
Attached to it is the name of Parentino, and the dates of 1489
and 1494. The work was continued by a Girolamo da Padua,
or Girolamo dal Santo, celebrated for his miniatures, as it is
recorded by Vasari and Ridolfi. Here, however, he exhibits
himself a poor artist in point of design, and still more so in
expression, though praiseworthy in many accessories of his art,
more particularly in his study of ancient costume, an acqui-
sition as general in this, as rare in the Venetian school. Those
histories, indeed, are frequently found ornamented with ancient
bassi-rilievi, with sarcophagi, and with inscriptions copied, for
the most part, from Paduan marbles ; a practice followed also
by Mantegna, but with more moderation, in the chapel of the
Eremitani.

The rest of his contemporaries in Padua, were Lorenzo da
Lendinara, esteemed an excellent artist, but of whom no traces
remain ; Marco Zoppo, of Bologna, who more nearly resembled,
perhaps, his master than his fellow-pupil, but of honourable
account, as the head of the Bolognese school ; and Dario da
Trevigi, whose productions are to be seen in S. Bernardino, at
Bassano, opposite to those of Mantegna, as if to exhibit their
inferiority. Girolamo, or rather Gregorio* Schiavone, whose
style is between that of Mantegna and the Bellini, is a pleasing
artist, whose pictures are frequently to be met with, orna-
mented with architectural views, with fruits, and above all
with joyous little cherubs. One of the most delightful I have
seen was in Fossombrone, in possession of a private individual,
and it bears inscribed, " Opus Sclavouii Dalmatici Squarzoni
S. (Scholaris)." Hieronymus Tarvisio is another, but doubt-
ful pupil of Squarcione, whose name I found subscribed in
some pictures at Trevigi, an artist poor in colours, but not un-
acquainted with design. We find mention in Sansovino, an
author not always to be relied upon in his account of Ve-
netian paintings, of Lauro Padovano, who produced several
histories of S. Giovanni for the Carita in Venice ; but I so far

* He is thus named in the " Statuti de' Pittori," of Padua, and in the
" MS. Zen." whence we may correct Ridolfi, who calls him Girolamo.

DA PONTE. 117

agree with the above author, in pronouncing these altogether
in tlia style of Mantegna. Nearly approaching also to the com-
position of this school, is the style of Maestro Angelo, who
painted in the ancient refectory of Santa Giustina, a Cru-
cifixion of the Saviour, with figures, both in proportions and
in spirit truly great. I have nothing to add to the name of
Mattio dal Pozzo, enumerated in this class by Scardeone
(p. 371), inasmuch as there are none of his works known to
exist.

At the period when the school of Padua was opposed
to the Venetian, the ether cities of the state, as far as we
can Jearn, had adopted a taste rather for the ornamental
style of the latter, than the more erudite maxims of the
former; it might, perhaps, be added, on account of its
greater facility, because the beauty of nature is everywhere
more obvious than the monuments of the antique. Bassano
then boasted a Francesco da Ponte, Yicenza the two Mon-
tagna and Bonconsigli, all of whom, though born in the
immediate vicinity of Padua, became disciples of the Bellini.
Da Ponte, a native of Yicenza, was pretty well eiubued
with a taste for polite literature and philosophy, extremely
desirable in the head of a school, such as he became in the
instruction of Jacopo, and through him of the Bassanese ; a
school highly distinguished during, and even beyond, the
16th century. The style of his altar-pieces, when com-
pared with each other, acquaints us with the earliest and
latest specimens of his pencil. He is diligent, but dry
in that of his S. Bartolommeo, in the cathedral at Bassano ;
more soft in another at the church of S. Giovanni, but far
better in one of the Pentecost, which he painted for the
village of Oliero, almost in the style of the moderns,
displaying studied composition, and a colouring various,
beauti ful, and harmonious ; and what is still more, a fine
expression of the passions, best adapted to the mystery.
We are led to believe that he likewise painted, at another
period, in Lombardy, from the account of Lomazzo ; observ-
ing that a certain Francesco, of Vicenza, produced a work
at the Grazie of Milan, well executed in point of design,
but not so pleasing in the effect of its lights and shades.

The two Moritagna nourished about the period 1500, in

118 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

Vicenza, and were employed together, however unequal in
genius, being equally followers of the Bellini, at least if we
are to give credit to Ridolfi, who must have seen many of
their productions, now no longer in existence. In those
which I have seen, there appeared strong traces of the style
of Mantegna. Benedetto is not mentioned by Vasari, who
is apt to omit the names of all artists whom he accounted of
inferior worth. He mentions Bartolommeo, as a pupil of
Mantegna,* and he would certainly have done him more
justice had he seen the works he produced in his native
place, which, so far from having done, he asserts that the
artist constantly resided in Venice. Vicenza boasts many
of his pieces, which display the gradual progress of his style.
If we wish to estimate the extent of his powers, we ought
to consult his altar-piece at S. Michele, and another at S.
Rocco, to which may be added a third, in that of the Semi-
nary at Padua. In none of these are we able to discover
any composition beyond what was in most general use at
that period, already so frequently mentioned by us ; and
they retain more of the practice of gilding, which, in other
places, was then becoming obsolete. In fine, this artist will
be found to rank equal with the chief part of his contem-
poraries ; exact in design, skilful in the naked parts, while
his colours are fresh and warm. His cherubs are peculiarly
graceful and pleasing, and in his altar-piece, at S. Michele,
he has introduced an architecture which recedes from and
deceives the eye with a power of illusion sufficient of itself
to have rendered him conspicuous. Of Giovanni Speranza,
there remain a few pieces which are much esteemed, though
not remarkable for strength of colouring. But we can meet
with no public specimens of Veruzio, and most probably his
name is a mere equivoque of Vasari. f Giovanni Bon-

* In vol. iii. ed. Rom. p. 427, it is written by mistake Mantegna,
where it says that he, Speranza, and Veruzio, studied design under Man-
tegna.

f Padre Faccioli, in his third volume of the " Inscrizioni della Citta
e territorio di Vicenza," records the following epigraph — " Jo. Sperantiae
de Vangeribus me pinxit," in which Vangeribus may, perhaps, apply to
some small village in the territory of Vicenza. He is wholly silent re-
specting Veruzio, thus confirming the suspicion that his name is a mere
mistake of Vasari, whom it is hoped our posterity will still continue to

GIOVANNI BONCONSIGLI. 119

consi^li, called Marescalco, or the steward, was esteemed
beyor d any other of the artists of Vicenza who flourished
at this period, and he certainly approaches nearest to the
modem style and that of the Bellini. The practice, how-
ever, of ornamenting friezes with tritons and similar figures,
taken from the antique, he most likely derived from the
adjacent cities of Padua or Yerona, one of which then pro-
fessec. the study of antiquity, the other that of monuments.
Neither Vasari nor Ridolfi gives any account of his produc-
tions, except such as he painted in Venice, at this time either
wholly perished or defaced. Those which he executed in
Vicenza are still in good condition, nor ought a stranger of
good taste to leave the place without visiting the chapel de'
Turchini, to admire his Madonna in the style of Raffaello,
seated upon a throne, between four saints, among which the
figure of S. Sebastian is a master-piece of ideal beauty.
Indeed, an able professor of the city considered it one of
the finest specimens of the art the place could boast, though
in possession of many of the first merit. In common with
Montagna, Figolino, and Speranza, Bonconsigli abounds ia
perspective views, and discovers a natural genius for archi-
tecture ; like them, he appears to give promise of the ap-
proach of a divine Palladio, the glory of his country and of
his art : along with the Scamozzi, and many other citizens,

correc:, and yet leave sufficient employment for their children. The fol-
lowing is my conjecture. P. Faccioli gives an account of a picture that
remains in Francesco di Schio ; it is composed in the manner usually
adoptt d in the composition of the Marriage of S. Catherine ; and there are
also o;her saints well executed in the Mantegna style, as is observed by the
Cav. (Ho. de Lazara, whose authority I esteem excellent. It bears the in-
scription, "FranciscusVerlus de Vicentia pinxit xx. Junii. M.D. XII.;"(c)
and t< ' this is added by Faccioli another old painting by the same hand,
remai ling at Sercedo. Now, I contend that the name of this painter,
being reported to Vasari, with its diminutive termination, like many others,
borrovved either from the stature or the age (in the Venetian dialect it was
Verlu :io or Verluzo), it was afterwards given by him in his history as
Veruno. The critics of the Greek writers will know how to do me justice
in thi ;, for this mode of discovering and correcting names I. have derived
from ;hem.

(«} Franciscus Verla is found inscribed upon a picture in canvas by the
same artist, now in possession of the Royal Academy at Milan.

120 VENETIAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH I.

who have rendered Vicenza at once the boast and wonder,
as well as the school of architects. There are two altar-
pieces of his hand remaining in Montagnana. This artist
must not be confounded with Pietro Marescaico, surnamed
lo Spada (the sword), whom the MS. history of Feltre men-
tions as a native of this city, and complains of Vasari's
silence upon it. One of his altar-pieces is to be seen at the
Nunnery of the Angeli, at Feltre, where Signor Cav. de
Lazara informs me that he read the name of Petrus Mares-
calcus P. Among other figures is a Madonna, between
two angels, upon a large scale, and in good design, sufficient
to entitle Pietro to an honourable rank in the history of art.
If we compare him with Giovanni, he will be found less
vivid in point of colouring, and, apparently, of a somewhat
later age.

In the order of our narrative, we ought now to pass on to
Verona, where Liberale, a disciple of Vincenzio di Stefano, at
that time held sway. lie had also been a scholar or rather
imitator of Jacopo Bellini, to whose style, says Vasari, he inva-
riably adhered. Moreover, in his picture of the Epiphany, to
be seen in the cathedral, there is a choir of angels with a
graceful folding of drapery, and a taste so peculiarly that of
Hantegna, that I was easily led to believe him an artist be-
longing to that class. Certain it is that the vicinity of Mantua
might also have facilitated his imitation of Mantegna, traces
of which are visible in some other of his works, as well as in
those of the more and less known Veronese artists of the time.
He did not attain the excellence of Giovanni Bellini, nor did
he give the same grandeur to his proportions, and the same
enlargement of the ancient style, although he continued to
flourish until the year 1535. The colour of his tints is
strong ; his expression studied and graceful, a very general
merit in the painters of Verona ; and his care is exquisite,
especially in his diminutive figures, an art in which he became
extremely expert, owing to his habit of illustrating books in
miniature, which are still to be seen in Verona and in Siena.

He had a competitor, at his native place, in Domenico
Morone, or rather the latter, educated also by a disciple of
Stefano, is to be held second to him. This artist was sue-

GIROLAMO DA' LIBRI. 121

ceeded in the course of time by bis son, Francesco Morone,
superior to his father, and by Girolamo da' Libri. These two,
bound by the strictest habits of friendship from their youth,
were frequently employed in the same labours together, and
maybe said to have adopted the same maxims. The first has
been commended by Yasari for the grace, the design, the
harmony, and the warm and beautiful colouring he contrived
to bestow upon his pictures, in a degree inferior to none.
From the same source we learn that the year of his decease is
supposed to have been 1529. But Girolamo da' Libri was his
superior, both in point of taste and general celebrity. The
son of a miniature-painter of choral books and of anthems, who
had hence acquired the name of Francesco da' Libri, from his
father he received both a knowledge of the art and his sur-
name, both of which he also transmitted to his son Francesco,
as we again learn from Vasari.

It is not, however, within my province to enter into a con-
sideration of their books ; but in regard to the altar-pieces of
Girolamo I cannot remain silent. That of S. Lionardo,
near Verona, I have never seen, a picture in which the artist
having drawn a laurel, the birds are said to have frequently
entered at the church windows, fluttering around as if wishing
to repose in its branches. Another which I beheld at S.
Giorgio, with the date 1529, scarcely retains a trace of the
ancient character. It represents the Virgin between two
holy bishops, portraits select and full of meaning, together
with three exquisitely graceful figures of cherubs, both in face
and gesture. In this little picture may be traced, to a certain
degree, the character of a miniaturist who paints, or a painter
draw ing miniature ; while the charms of the several profes-
sions are seen there exhibited in one point of view. The
church, indeed, is a rich gallery, containing numerous master-
pieces of the art; among which the S. Giorgio of Paolo
(Veronese) too far transcends the rest ; but the painting of
Giro'amo shines almost like a precious jewel, surprising the
spectator by an indescribable union of what is graceful,
bright, and lucid, which it presents to the eye. He survived
many years after the production of this piece, highly esteemed,
and in particular for his miniatures, in which he was accounted
the iirst artist in Italy ; and as if to crown his reputation, he

122 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

became the instructor, in such art, of Don Giulio Cloyio, a
sort of Roscius, if we may so say, of miniature painting.

However flourishing in valuable masters we may consider
the city of Venice during this era, the fame of Mantegna,
with the vicinity of Mantua, where he taught, attracted
thither two artists from Verona, whom I reserve for that
school, of which they were faithful followers. These were
Monsignori and Gio. Francesco Carotto, formerly a pupil of
Liberale. His brother Giovanni, a noble architect and de-
signer of ancient edifices, was but a feeble imitator of his
style. He richly deserves a place in history as the instructor
of Paolo, an artist excellent in many branches of painting,
and in architecture almost divine. It is supposed that Paolo
must have acquired this degree of excellence by studying at
first under Carotto, and afterwards perfecting himself, as we
shall shew, by means of Badile. To such as are most known
we might here add names less celebrated, which the Marchese
MafFei, however, has already inserted in his history ; as, for
instance, a Matteo Pasti, commended by us in the first vo-
lume (p. 129); but I have, perhaps, already treated suffi-
ciently of the merits of the old Veronese artists.

About this period there flourished two distinguished artists
in Brescia, who were present at the terrific sackage of that
opulent city, in the year 1512, by Gaston de Foix. One of
these is Fioravante Ferramola, who was honoured and remu-
nerated upon that occasion by the French victor for his strik-
ing merit, and became sufficiently conspicuous in various
churches of the country. His painting of S. Girolamo is seen
at Le Grazie, extremely well conceded, with fine landscape,
and in a taste so like that of Muziano, that we might almost
suppose it prognosticated his appearance. And it might be
said that he afforded the latter a prototype, if he does not
aspire to the name of his master. The other is Paolo Zoppo,
who depicted the above desolation of the city in miniature,
upon a large crystal basin ; a work of immense labour, in-
tended to be presented to the doge Gritti ; but in transporting
it to Venice, the crystal was unfortunately broken, and the
unhappy artist died of disappointment and despair. The spe-
cimens of his style remaining at Brescia, among which is one
of Christ going up to Mount Calvary, at S. Pietro in Oliveto

ANDREA PKEVITALI. 123

— a piece falsely attributed by others to Foppa — serve to shew
that he approached near to the modern manner, and was not
unacquainted with the Bellini.

Finally, Bergamo boasted in Andrea Previtali one of the
most excellent disciples of Gian Bellini. He appears, indeed,
less animated than his master, and less correct in the extre-
mities of his figures ; neither have I discovered any of his
compositions which are free from the ancient taste, whether in
the grouping of his forms, or in the minute ornamenting ot
the accessories of his art. Nevertheless, in a few pictures
produced, perhaps, later in life, such as his S. Giovanni
Batista, at S. Spirito ; his S. Benedetto, in the dome of Ber-
gamo, and several more in the Carrara Gallery, he very
nearly attained to the modern manner ; and was indisputably
one of the most distinguished artists, in point of colours and
perspective, belonging to the school of the Bellini. His
Madonnas are held in the highest esteem, in whose features
he appears less a disciple of Gian Bellini, than of Raffaello
and of Vinci. Two of them at Milan I have seen, both
bearing his name : one is in possession of the Cavalier Melzi ;
the ether in that of Monsig. Arciprete Resales, painted in
1522; and both are surrounded with figures of other saints,
portraits executed with discrimination and truth. There is
also a picture of Our Lord announced by the Angel, at
Ceneda, a work so uncommonly beautiful in regard to the two
head.s, that Titian, in passing occasionally through the place,
is said, according to Ridolfi, to have repeatedly contemplated
it with rapture, charmed by the spririt of devotion it ex-
pressed. Upon the same boundaries, between the ancient and
modern taste, we find various other painters, natives of the val-
leys of Bergamo, a fruitful source both of wealth and intellect
to tbecity. Such is Antonio Boselli,* from the Valle Brem-
bana , of whom there has recently been discovered a fine altar-
piecr at the Santo of Padua ; besides two other artists of the
sam( vale, who approach even nearer to the softness, if not to

* To judge from some pictures at Bergamo, we might suppose him edu-
cated in the style of the fourteenth century ; but he afterwards approached
nearer to the modern, as we perceive at Padua, where he resembles Palma
"Vecc aio ; and this is sufficiently conspicuous also in Friuli, where we make
men! ion of him at a more cultivated era.

124 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

the elegance of Previtali. These are Gian Giacomo and
Agostino Gavasii di Pascante. We may add to them Jacopo
degli Scipioni, of Averara, and Caversegno, of Bergamo,
besides others handed down to us by Tassi. These, having
flourished at a period so distinguished for the art of colouring,
may be compared to certain writers of the fourteenth century,
who throw little light upon learning; but who, observes Sal vim,
in respect to language, appear to me as if every separate page
were embued with gold.

I have already pointed out to the reader the best masters
of the Venetian school contemporary with the followers of
Gian Bellini ; a number which, though we subtract from it
several names of inferior note, will leave a larger proportion
than is generally supposed. The state, indeed, is full of spe-
cimens founded upon his models, the authors of which remain
doubtful ; yet it is certain that they composed in Bellini's
style, while their designs partake more or less both of modern,
and ancient taste.* Undoubtedly, no other school affords a

* la this character is the larger picture at S. Niccolo, a church of the
Dominicans in Treviso, in which the cupola, the columns, and the per-
spective, with the throne of the Virgin seated with the infant Jesus, and
surrounded by saints standing, the steps ornamented by a harping seraph,
all discover Bellini's composition ; but I had not seen the work until after
the former edition of my history at Bassano. It was painted in 1520, by
P. Marco Pensaben, assisted by P. Marco Maraveia, both Dominican
priests, engaged for the purpose from Venice. They remained there until
July, 1521, when the first of them secretly fled from the convent, and
the altar-piece of Treviso was completed in a month by one Gian-Giro-
lamo, a painter invited from Venice, supposed to be Girolamo Trevisano,
the younger. This artist is not, however, mentioned, as I am aware, either
by the citizens, or by foreigners, by any other name than Girolamo, and,
calculating from the chronology of Ridolfi, he must then have been thir-
teen years of age. Until tkis subject be more clearly investigated, I must
confess my ignorance cf such a Gian -Girolamo. But I am better ac-
quainted with the name of Pensaben, who was afterwards found, and in
1524 was, as before, a Dominican friar at Venice ; but a few years after,
in 1530, ir mentioned in authentic books belonging to the order, being
registered among those who had either left the order or were dead.
P. Federici believes him to have been the same as F. Bastiano del Pionibo,
an untenable supposition, as 1 have elsewhere shewn. I believe Pensaben
ro have been an excellent artist in the Bellini manner, though not com-
memorated in history , nor by his order. In an order so prolific with genius,
and in an age abounding with great names, he is by no means a solitary in-
stance of this: the present work being found to contain many other examples.

DISCIPLES OF BELLINI. 126

proof of so great a number of disciples from one master, and
following so closely in his footsteps. Granting this, I cannot
easily give credit to the numerous specimens of Madonnas
attributed to his single hand, besides other pictures in different
collections. A cautious judge will not be apt to pronounce
any work his which displays much ideal beauty, Bellini
having, for the most part, repeated in his feminine figures an
expression of countenance partaking in some degree of an
apish character. Nor will he be easily led to ascribe to him
pictui-es which display a minute care and finish, approaching
to the miniature style, inasmuch as he embodied and coloured
his conceptions with a free and fearless hand. In short, a
certain vigour and colour, warm and lively; a certain reddish
tinge of the drapery, approaching a rosy hue ; a certain bright-
ness of varnish, are not the usual characteristics of his hand>
however much his style of design may be mixed up with them ;
and .such pieces may reasonably be presumed the production
of artists of the state bordering nearest upon Lombardy,
whence likewise a few of the Venetian state derived the
mechanical part of their colouring.

Within the limits proposed to myself, I may here annex to
my consideration of the painters in water-colours and in oil,
other less distinguished branches of the art. Among these is
that species of inlaid work with wood of different colours,
which was intended more particularly for the ornament of
choirs where the divine service was chanted. I can trace
nothing of its inventors, whether of German or other origin,*
though it is said to have taken its rise in an imitation of mo-
saic-^vork and of works in stone. No other coloured woods
besides black and white were at first in use ; nor any other
objects beyond large edifices, temples, colonnades, and in short
ornaments with architectural views, attempted to be repre-
sented. Brunelleschi at Florence gave instructions in per-

* As early as the eleventh century, or thereabouts, it would appear lhat
some similar kind of art was in repute in Germany. The monk Theophilus.
in tht; work before mentioned, " De omni scientia artis pingendi," al-
luding, at the commencement, to the most esteemed productions of every
country, observes : " quidquid in fenestrarum varietate preciosa diligit
Francia: quidquid in auri, argenti, cupri, ferri, lignorum, lapidumqus
subtilitate sellers laudat Germania." Codice Viennese.

126 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

spective to architects, that edifices might be drawn according
to good rules ; and Ma-saccio in painting greatly availed him-
self of his precepts, as well as Benedetto da Majano in his
inlaid works. There remain at Florence, as well as other
places in Italy, several ancient choirs very highly prized in
that age, but afterwards despised, when the art of staining
wood with boiled water-colours and penetrative oils came into
use. Thus, after the imitation of buildings, easily drawn from
the number of their right lines, that of figures began to be
practised in an able manner, though it had formerly been tried
with less success. The chief merit of such improvement, or
rather perfection of the art, was due to the Venetian school.
Lorenzo Canozio da Lendinara, a fellow-student of Mantegna,
who died about 1477, inlaid the entire choir of the church of
S. Antonio, even, as it would appear, with figures. The whole,
however, having been consumed by fire, there is nothing re-
maining but the epitaph of the artificer, in which he is highly
applauded for his labours. There likewise exist other works
of the same kind, in the armadj of the sacristy, and, as it is
supposed, also in some of the confessionals. Besides Lorenzo,
his brother Cristofano, and his son-in-law Pierantonio, who
assisted him in these labours, are equally applauded by Matteo
Siculo, as worthy of vieing with Phidias and Apelles them-
selves. Tiraboschi likewise enumerates the two brothers
among the artists of Modena, whose fellow-citizens they were.
But the fame of these soon expired. For Giovanni da
Verona, a layman of Oliveto, not long after surpassed them in
the same art. He practised it in various cities of Italy, and
at Rome itself, in the service of Pope Julius II. ; but still
more successfully in the sacristy of his own order, where his
works are still to be seen in the best condition. F. Vincenzo
dalle Vacche, also a native of Verona, and a layman of
Oliveto, mentioned by the learned Morelli in his " Notizia " of
works of design, during the first half of the 16th century,
deserves mention here for the merit of his inlaid works ; and
in particular for those wrought in Padua, at the church of S.
Benedetto Novello. Unacquainted, however, with the period
in which he flourished, I shall not venture to announce him
either as pupil or assistant to Fra Giovanni. Similar pro-
ductions, from the hand of Fra Rafiaello da Brescia, also of

FRA DAMIANO DA BERGAMO. 127

Oliveto, adorning the choir of S. Michele in Bosco at Bologna,
might here be mentioned in competition with those in the
iacristy of Verona, by natives of Oliveto.

Moreover, there remains Fra Damiano da Bergamo, a Do-
uiinicrn monk, who ornamented his own church at Bergamo,
and that of Bologna in a still better style, in which the choir
is inlaid with the greatest art. In S. Pietro, at Perugia, he
also "wrought the most beautiful histories. The same artist,
as we find recorded in Yasari, succeeded also in refining the
art of colours and of shades to such a degree as to be held the
very iirst in this line. He possessed either a rival or a pupil
in Gianfrancesco Capodiferro, whose mansions at S. Maria
Maggiore, in Bergamo, are the finest specimens of the kind,
thougii occasionally betraying some traces of stiffness in their
manner. There, too, he worked after the designs of Lotto,
and instructed in the art his brother Pietro and his son Zi-
nino, so that the city continued to be supplied with excellent
artificers during a number of years. The largest and most
artificially wrought figures I have seen in this line are in a
choir of the Certosa at Pavia, distributed one by one upon
each side. The artificer is said to have been one Bartolommeo
da Pola, whose name I have not met with elsewhere. In each
of the squares is represented a bust of one of the Apostles, or
some other saint, designed in the taste of the Da Vinci school.
A few of the pictures of these artists are to be found in
galleries of art ; among which those from the hand of F.
Damiano are the most esteemed. Finally, this species of
workmanship, embracing materials too much exposed to the
moth and to the fire, by degrees began to grow out of date ;
and it more lately it appears to have again revived, it has
failed hitherto in producing any works deserving of coniniemo-
ratiori .

128

VENETIAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH II.

Giorgione, Titian, Tintoret, Jacopo da Bassano, Paolo Veronese.

WE have at length arrived at the golden period of the Vene-
tian school, which, like the others of Italy, produced its most
distinguished ornaments about the year 1500; artists who at
once eclipsed the fame of their predecessors, and the hopes of
attaining to equal excellence on the part of their successors.
In reaching this degree of eminence, it is true they pursued
different paths, though they all aimed at acquiring the same
perfection of colouring, the most natural, the most lively, and
the most applauded of any single school of the age, a dis-
tinction they likewise conferred upon their posterity, forming
the distinguishing characteristic of the Venetian painters.
The merit of this has been attributed by some to the climate,
who assert, that in Venice, and the adjacent places, nature
herself has bestowed a warmer and deeper colour upon objects
than elsewhere ; a frivolous supposition, and undeserving of
much of our attention, inasmuch as the artists of Holland and
Flanders, in climates so extremely opposite, have obtained
the same meed of praise. Neither is it to be attributed to the
quality of the colours, both Giorgione and Titian having
been known to make use of few, and these, so far from being
selected or procured elsewhere, exposed to sale in all the
public shops in Venice. If it should again be objected, that
in those days the colours were sold purer and less adulterated,
I admit there may be some degree of truth in this, inasmuch
as Passeri, in his life of Orbetto, complained at that time of
the early decay of many pictures, " owing to the quality of
the colours fraudulently sold by the retailers." But I would
merely inquire, if it were possible, that materials thus pure
and uncontaminated should so often fall into the hands of the

ART OF COLOURING. 129

Venetians and their Flemish imitators, yet be so seldom met
•with in the rest of the schools. The cause of their superiority
is to be sought, therefore, in their mechanism and art of
colouring ; in regard to which the best Venetian painters
conformed, in some points, to the most celebrated artists of
Italy. In other points, however, they differed from them.
It wa* a common practice at that period, to prepare with a
chalk-surface the altar-pieces and pictures which were in-
tended to be executed ; and that white ground, favourable to
every variety of tint the painter could lay upon it, equally
favoured the production of a certain polish, floridity, and sur-
prising transparency : a custom which, being laid aside out
of indolence and avarice, I am happy to perceive seems about
to be renewed. But in addition to this, the Venetians were
in possession of an art that may be considered peculiar to
themselves. For it may be observed, that the chief part of
them during these three centuries, produced the effect of their
paintings, not so 'much by a strong layer of colours, as by
separate strokes of the pencil ; and each colour being thus
adapted to its place, without much repeating or refining it,
they still continued augmenting the work, by which the tints
were preserved clean and virgin; a result which requires no
less promptness of hand than of intellect, besides education,
and a taste cultivated from the earliest period. Hence the
artist Vecchi was accustomed to say, that by dint of copying
pictures executed with diligence, a painter will acquire the
same quality ; but to succeed in copies from a Titian or a
Paolo, and to imitate their stroke, is a task surmounted only
by the Venetians, whether natives or educated in their school.
(Boscliini, p. 274.)

Should it here be inquired what good result may attend such
a method, I reply that Boschini points out two very consider-
able ones. The first of them is, that by this mode of colour-
ing, which he terms di macchia and di pratica, a certain
hardness of style may more easily be avoided ; and the other,
that, better than any other, it gives a bolder relief to paintings
in the distance : and pictures being intended to be thus
viewed, rather than closer to the eye, such an object is by
this process most easily attainable. I am aware of the
moderi s having misapplied and abused these maxims ; but

TOL. H. K

130 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

they were meant to have been judiciously employed, and I
only wish to propose as examples the most celebrated of the
school who so ably comprehended the method, and the limits
of such a practice. Nor was the harmony of colours better
understood by any other artists, insomuch, that the mode of
assimilating and of contrasting them may be considered as
the second source of the delightful and lively, so predominant
in their works, and more especially in those of Titian and his
contemporaries.

Such skill was not merely confined to the fleshy parts, in
whose colour the disciples of Titian have so far excelled every
other school ; it extended also to the drapery. For indeed,
there are no pieces of velvets, of stuffs, or of crapes, which
they did not imitate to perfection, more particularly in their
portraits, in which the Venetians of that period abounded,
displaying specimens the most ornamental and beautiful.
The Cavalier Mengs is of opinion, that also to this branch of
the art, requiring the strictest attention lo truth, and con-
ferring a peculiar kind of interest upon a picture, may be in
some measure attributed the degree of power and truth
acquired by those eminent colourists. Their merit was more-
over conspicuous in imitating every kind of work in gold, in
silver, and every species of metal ; so much so, that there are
no royal palaces or lordly feasts, read of in any poet, which
do not appear more nobly represented in some Venetian
paintings. It was equally remarkable in point of landscape,
which sometimes surpassed the efforts of the Flemish painters,
and in architectural views, which, with a magnificence
unknown elsewhere, they succeeded in introducing into their
compositions, as we had before occasion to observe of the
artists of the fourteenth century ; a species of industry ex-
tremely favourable, likewise, to the distribution, the variety,
and to the complete effect of groups of figures.

In these extensive compositions, which about the period of
the Bellini abounded in half-length or diminutive figures,
there has since been displayed a grandeur of proportions
which has led the way to the most enlarged productions, on
the scale we have more recently seen. The most terrific
among these is the Supper of Paolo Veronese, at S. Gior-
gio, in which the gifts of nature are so nobly seconded by the

OPINIONS OF KEYNOLDS. 131

exhibition of talent, which appears to have been transmitted
by succession through this school, nearly until the present
day. Such ability consists in finely designing all the details
of any work, however great, including the transmission and
gradations of light, so that the eye of itself seems to follow its
track, and embraces the entire effect from one end of the
canvas to the other. And it has been observed by several
who have witnessed ancient paintings (a violation of good
taste, of late but too common), cut up and curtailed to adapt
them to the size of walls and doors, that such an operation
often succeeds tolerably well with the pictures of other schools,
but in extremely difficult with those of the Venetians ; so in-
timately is one part connected with another, and harmonized
with the whole.

These, along with other similar qualities that flatter the
eye of the spectator, that attract the learned and the un-
learn* ;d, and seem to transport the mind by the novelty and
the reality of the representation, constitute a style which is
termed by Reynolds, the ornamental, who, likewise, among
all the schools, yields the palm in this to the Venetians ; a
style afterwards introduced by Vovet into France, by Rubens
into Inlanders, and by Giordano into Naples and into Spain.
The (same English critic places it in the second rank, next to

ithe grand style, and remarks that the professors of the
sublime were fearful of falling into luxurious and pompous
exhibitions of the accessaries; no less because prejudicial to
the artist's industry in point of design and in point of expres-
sion, than because the transitory impression which it produces
upon the spectator seldom reaches the heart. And truly, as
the {^blime of Tully is more simple than the ornament of
Pliny, and seems to dread any excitement of admiration for
the oeautiful, lest its energy should be unnerved by too
studied a degree of elegance ; so is it with the grandeur of
Michelangelo and of Raffaello, that without seeking to oc-
cupy us with the illusions of art, goes at once to the heart;
terrifies or inspires us; awakens emotions of pity, of venera-
tion, and the love of truth, exalting us, as it were, above our-
selve 3, and leading us to indulge, even in spite of ourselves,
the most delicious of all feelings, in that of wonder. It is
upon this account that Reynolds considered it dangerous for

K2

132 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

students to become enamoured of the Venetian style; an
opinion which, judiciously understood, may prove of much
service to such artists as are calculated to succeed in the
more sublime. But since amidst such diversity of talent,
there must appear artists better adapted to adorn than to ex-
press, it would not be advisable that their genius should be
urged into a career in which it will leave them always among
the last, withdrawing them, at the same time, from another
in which they might have taken the lead. Let him, there-
fore, who in this art of silent eloquence possesses not the
energy and spirit of Demosthenes, apply himself wholly,
heart and soul, to the elegance, the pomp, and the copious-
ness of Demetrius Phalereus.

Let it not from this be supposed, that the sole merit of the
Venetians consists in surprising the spectator by the effects
of ornament and colour, and that the customary style and
true method of painting were not understood in those parts.
Yet I am aware of the opinion of many foreigners, who, hav-
ing never removed beyond their native spot, are inclined to
pronounce a general censure upon these artists, as being igno-
rant of design, too laboured in their composition, unacquainted
with ideal beauty, and even unable to understand expression,
costume and grace ; finally, that the rapidity so much in
vogue with the whole of the school,* led them to despise the
rules of art, not permitting them to complete the work before
them, out of an anxiety to engage in other labours, for the
sake of the profits afforded by them. To some of their
painters, doubtless, these observations may apply, but as-
suredly not to the whole ; for if one city be obnoxious to
them, another is not so much so ; or if they can be affirmed of
a certain epoch or class of artists, it would be an idle at-
tempt to fix them upon all. This school is in truth most

* It is related by Vasari, that Titian was in the habit of painting natu-
ral objects from the life, without making any previous design, " a prac-
tice adopted for many years by the Venetian painters, by Giorgione, by
Palma, by Pordenone, and others who never visited Rome, nor studied
other specimens of greater perfection than their own." I know not how
far the above writer was acquainted with their method. But their designs
are still extant in various collections ; and the Cartoon of the celebrated
S. Agostino, painted by Pordenone in that city, is now in possession of
the Count Chiappini in Piacenza, in good condition.

GIORGIONE. 133

abundant, no less in artists than in fine examples in every
characteristic of the art; but neither one nor the other are
sufficiently known and appreciated. Yet it is hoped the
reader will be enabled to form a more correct idea of both ;
and after having cultivated an acquaintance with the Bellini,
the Giorgioni, and the Titians, besides other masters, will
trace, as it were from one parent stock, the various offshoots
transplanted throughout the state, imbibing, according to the
nature of the soil, and the vicinity of other climes, new tastes
and qualities, without losing at the same time their original
and native flavour. And if in the progress of our history,
we shall here and there, among plants of nobler growth, meet
with some " lazzi sorbi," to use the words of our poet, some
bitter apples, growing at their side ; let these only be at-
tacked ; but let not the disgrace attaching to a few careless
artists be calumniously extended to the whole of their school.
The happy era we are now entering upon commences with
Giorgione and with Titian, two names which, connected
together, yet in competition with each other, divided between
them, as it were, the whole body of disciples throughout the
capital and the state ; insomuch that we find no city that had
not more or less adopted for its model one or other of these
masters. I shall proceed to describe them separately, each
with his own class, as I believe such a method most
favourable, to shew how the whole of the school I am describ-
ing was almost entirely derived and propagated from two
masters of a similar style. Giorgio Barbarelli, of Castelfranco,
more generally known by the name of Giorgione, from a
certain grandeur conferred upon him by nature, no less of
mind than form, and which appears also impressed upon his
productions, as the character is said to be in the hand- writing,
was educated in the school of the Bellini. But impelled by
a spirit conscious of its own powers, he despised that minute-
ness in the art which yet remained to be exploded, at once
substituting for it a certain freedom and audacity of manner,
in which the perfection of painting consists. In this view he
may bo said to be an inventor ; no artist before his time
having acquired that mastery of his pencil, so hardy and
determined in its strokes, and producing such an effect in the
distance. From that period he continued to ennoble his

134 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

manner, rendering the contours more round and ample, the
fore-shortenings more new, the expression of the countenance
more warm and lively, as well as the motions of his figures.
His drapery, with all the other accessaries of the art, became
more select, the gradations of the different colours more soft
and natural, and his chiaroscuro more powerful and effective.
It was in this last, indeed, that Venetian painting was the
most deficient, while it had been introduced into the rest of
the schools by Vinci previous to the sixteenth century.
Vasari is of opinion that from the same artist, or rather from
some of his designs, it was first acquired by Giorgioiie, a sup-
position that Boschini will not admit, maintaining that he
was only indebted for it to himself, being his own master and
scholar. And, in truth, the taste of Lionardo, and of the
Milanese artists who acquired it from him, not only differs in
point of design, inclining in the contours and in the features
more towards the graceful and the beautiful, while Giorgione
affects rather a round and full expression ; but it is contrasted
with it, likewise, in the chiaroscuro. The composition of
Lionardo abounds much more in shades, which are gradually
softened with greater care ; while in regard to his lights he is
far more sparing, and studies to unite them in a small space
with a degree of vividness that produces surprise. Giorgione's
composition, on the other hand, is more clear and open, and
with less shade ; his middle tints, also, partake in nothing of
the iron-cast and grey, but are natural and beautiful ; and in
short, he approaches nearer to the style of Coreggio, if Mengs
at least judges rightly, than to any other master. Still I am
far from concluding that Vinci in no way contributed to the
formation of Giorgione's new manner ; every improvement in
the art having taken its rise from some former one, which
being admired for its novelty, became familiar to surrounding
artists by example, and to more distant ones by its reputation,
thus adding what was before wanting to the perfection of the
art. And in this way have geniuses in different parts arisen,
destined to increase and improve such advantages. Thip, if I
mistake not, has been the case with the science of perspective,
subsequent to the time of Pier della Francesca ; with regard
to fore-shortening after Melozzo ; and also with chiaroscuro
after Lionardo.

WORKS OF GIORGIONE. 135

Th( works of Giorgione were, for the chief part, executed
in fresco, upon the fa9ades of the houses, more particularly in,
Venice, where there now remains scarcely a relic of them, as
if to remind us only of what have perished. Many of his
pictures, on the other hand, both there and in other places,
painted in oil and preserved in private houses, are found in
excellent condition ; the cause of which is attributed to the
strong mixture of the colours, and to the full and liberal use
of his pencil. In particular we meet with portraits, remark-
able f >r the soul of their expression, for the air of their heads,
the novelty of the garments, of the hair, of the plumes, and of
the arms, no less than for the lively imitation of the living
flesh, in which, however warm and sanguine are the tints
which he applied, he adds to them so much grace, that in
spite of thousands of imitators, he still stands alone. In
analysing some of these tints, Ridolfi discovered that they
bore little resemblance to those used by the ancient Greeks,
and quite distinct from those tawny, brown, and azure colours,
since introduced at the expense of the more natural. Such of
his pictures as are composed in the style of his Dead Christ,
in tho Monte di Pieta at Trevigi, the S. Omobono, at
the frcuola de* Sarti, in Venice, or the Tempest stilled
by tho Saint, at that of S. Marco, in which among other
figures are those of three rowers drawn naked, excellent
both .in their design and their attitudes ; such are the rarest
triumphs of his art. The city of Milan possesses two of an
oblong shape, in which several of the figures extend beyond
the p i-oportions of Poussin, and may be pronounced rather full
than beautiful. One of these is to be viewed at the
Amb -osiana, the other in the archiepiscopal palace ; esteemed
by seme the happiest effort of Giorgione that now survives.*
It represents the child Moses just rescued from the Nile,
and presented to the daughter of Pharoah. Very few colours,
but veil harmonized and distributed, and finely broksn with
the siiade, produce a sort of austere union, if I maybe allowed
the <'xpression, and maybe assimilated to a piece of music
composed of few notes, but skilfully adapted, and delightful
beyo id any more n^isy combination of sounds.

* It has been removed from the archieoiscopal palace into that of
Brera, and now adorns the R. R. Gallery

136 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Giorgione died at the early age of thirty-four, in 1511.
Thus his productions, rather than the pupils he educated,
remained to instruct the Venetians. Vasari, however, men-
tions several who have been contested by other writers. A
Pietro Luzzo is recorded by Ridolfi; — a native of Feltre,
called Zarato, or Zarotto, — who after being a pupil became
a rival of Giorgione, and seduced from his house a woman,
to whom he was passionately attached, at whose loss, it has
been asserted by some that the disappointed artist died in
despair. By others, on the contrary, he is said to have died
of a disease contracted during his intercourse with the same
lady. This Zarato, as we read in a MS. history of Feltre,
and upon a MS. upon the pictures of Udine, is the same
whom Vasari entitles, Morto da Feltro ; and adds, that
he went when young to Rome, and subsequently flourished in
Florence and elsewhere, distinguished for his skill in gro-
tesques ; of which more hereafter. Going afterwards to
Venice, he is known to have assisted Giorgione in the paint-
ings he made for the Fondaco de' Tedeschi, about the year
1505 ; and, lastly, having remained some time at his native
place, he embraced a military life, obtaining the rank of
captain. Proceeding to Zara, he fell in battle near that
place in his forty-fifth year ; at least such is the account of
Vasari. From the mention of his native place of Feltre,
his assisting Giorgione in his works, and his surnames of
Zarato and Morto, I think there is some degree of probability
in the assertion contained in these MSS. though the dates at-
taching to the life of Morto in Vasari will not countenance
the supposition of Ridolfi, of his being the pupil of Giorgione,
a man considerably younger than himself; so that I should
conjecture that Ridolfi may have denominated him a scholar
of Giorgione, because, when already of a mature age, he
painted under him as his assistant. Notwithstanding the
assertion of Vasari, he had a tolerable genius for figures, and
in the history already cited, written by Cambrucci, and in
possession of the bishop of Feltre, a picture of our Lady
between Saints Francesco and Antonio, placed at S. Spirito,
and another at Villabruna, besides a figure of Curtius oil
horseback, upon a house at Teggie, are attributed to his hand.
We gather from the same history that another Luzzi, by

FRA SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO. 137

name Lorenzo, a contemporary and perhaps friend of Pietro,
painted very skilfully in fresco, at the church of S. Stefano ;
and that he was equally successful in oils, he himself assures
us in his altar-piece of the proto-martyr S. Stefano, con-
spicuous for correctness of design, beauty of forms, force of
tints, and bearing his name and the date of 1511.

The most distinguished disciple of the school of Giorgione
is Sebastiano, a Venetian, commonly called, from the habit
and office he assumed at Rome, Fra Sebastiano del Piornbo.
Having left Gian Bellini, he attached himself to Giorgione,
and in the tone of his colours, and the fulness of his forms,
imitated him better than any other artist. An altar-piece
in S. Gio. Crisostomo, from his hand, was by some mistaken
for the work of his master; so strikingly does it abound with
his manner. It may be presumed, indeed, that he was
assisted in the design ; Sebastiano being known to possess no
surprising richness of invention, — slow in the composition of
most of his figures ; irresolute ; eager to undertake, but
difficult to commence, and most difficult in the completion.
Hence we rarely meet with any of his histories or his altar-
pieces, comparable to the Nativity of the Virgin, at S.
Agostino, in Perugia, or the Flagellazione, at the Osser-
vanti of Viterbo, which is esteemed the best picture in the
city. Pictures for private rooms, and portraits, he painted
in great number, and with comparative ease; and we no-
where meet with more beautiful hands, more rosy flesh tints,
or more novel accessaries than in these. Thus, in taking the
portrait of Pietro Aretino, he distinguished five different
tints of black in his dress ; imitating with exactness those of
the velvet, of the satin, and so of the rest. Being invited
to Rome by Agostino Chigi, and there esteemed as one of the
first colourists of his time, he painted in competition with
Peruzzi, and with Raffaello himself; and the rival labours of
all three are still preserved in a hall of the Farnesiiia, at
that period the house of the Chigi.

Sebastiano became aware, that in such a competition, his
own design would not appear to much advantage in Rome,
and he improved it. But occasionally he fell into some
liars] mess of manner, owing to the difficulties he there en-
countered. Yet, in several of his works, he was assisted by

138 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Michelangelo, from whose design he painted that Pieta,
placed at the Conventual! of Viterbo, and the Transfigura-
tion, with the other pieces which he produced, during six
years, for S. Pietro in Montorio, at Rome. It is stated by
Vasari, that Michelangelo united with him, in order to op-
pose the too favourable opinion entertained by the Romans,
of Raffaello. He adds, that on the death of the latter,
Sebastiano was universally esteemed the first artist of his
time, upheld by the favour of Michelangelo ; Giulio Ro-
mano, and the rest of the rival school, being all inferior to
him. I am almost at a loss how to judge of a fact, which, if
discredited, seems to cast an imputation upon the historian,
and, if received, reflects very little credit upon Buonarotti ;
and the reader will do best, perhaps, to decide for himself.
The name of Sebastiano must also be added to the list of in-
ventors, for his new method of oil painting upon stone, upon
which plan he executed the Flagellazione, for S. Pietro in
Montorio, a work as much defaced by time as the others
which he made in fresco remain at the same place entire.
He coloured also upon stone several pictures for private
houses, a practice highly esteemed at its earlier period, but
which was soon abandoned owing to the difficulty of carriage.
Upon this plan, or some other resembling it, we find several
pictures of the sixteenth century executed, and which, at this
period, are esteemed in museums real antiques."'

* I made mention elsewhere of P. Federici's supposition, as being at
least probable, that F. Sebastiano was the same person as F. Marco
Pensaben, a Dominican. The year of their birth is certainly the same.
But other dates are too discordant ; if, indeed, we are not to suppose that
the whole of what Vasari has written of Sebastiano, in his life of him, as
well as in those of Sanzio and Peruzzi, is merely fanciful. It is by no
means worth our while to draw minute comparisons between the epochs
of these two painters. In 1520, we found Pensaben in Venice ; next at
Trevigi, where he remained till July, 1521. Now, Sebastiano, the Venetian,
was, at this very period, at Rome". The Car. Giulio de' Medici had com-
mitted to Raffaello the picture of the Transfiguration, which, having
hardly completed, that artist died on Good Friday, 1520 ; and during the
same time, as if in competition with Raffaello, Sebastiano was employed
in painting the Resurrection of Lazarus, for the same cardinal, which,
soon after, was exhibited along with the Transfiguration, and then sent
into France. More still — he likewise drew the Martyrdom of Santa Agata,
for the cardinal of Aragona ; a piece which, in the time of Vasari', was

IMITATORS OF GIORGIONE. 139

Among the disciples of the school of Giorgione, were, like-
wise, (jrio. da Udine and Francesco Torbido, a Veronese., who
has been surnamed il Moro, and both were distinguished
practi^ers of his tints. In regard to Giovanni, afterwards a
pupil of Raffaello, we have written, and we shall again write
elsewhere. Moro remained but little with Giorgione, a much
longer while with Liberale. Of this last he imitated very
truly both the diligence and the design, in the former even
surpassing him; always a severe critic upon himself, and
slow in completing his undertakings. We rarely meet with
him ir altar-pieces, still more rarely in collections of paintings,
for which he was often employed in sacred subjects and in
portraits ; deficient in nothing, except, perhaps, we could wish
to see somewhat greater freedom of hand. In the dome of
VeroLa, he painted several histories in fresco, among which is
the Assumption of the Virgin, truly admirable ; but the
designs are not his, Giulio Romano having prepared the car-
toons. His style of execution, however, is clearly enough
perceived, which, in respect to colouring and to chiaroscuro,
discovers him to be an artist, as Vasari has recorded, " as care-
ful in regard to his use of colours, as any other who flourished
at the same period."

The other names that here follow are included, according
to history, in the train of Giorgione, not as his pupils, but his
imitaiors. Yet all exhibit traces of Bellini, because the
Venetian manner, up to the time of Tintoretto, did not so
muct aim at inventing new things, as at perfecting such as
had already been discovered ; not so desirous of relinquishing
the t iste of the Bellini, as of modernizing it upon the model of
Titian and Giorgione. Hence it arose, that a people of pain-
ters were formed in a taste extremely uniform ; and the
exaggerated observation, "that whoever had cultivated an
aecju lintance with one Venetian artist of that age, knew them

in possession of the duke of Urbino ; then in the Palazzo Pitti at Florence,
whence it passed into France. There is the name of Sebastianus Venetus,
and ;he year 1520, affixed to it. This artist therefore can, by no means,
be confounded with F. Marco, nor the painting of this last at Trevigi be
ascribed to the former. Such a mistaken opinion has been attributed to
me by the learned P. Federici ("vol. i. p. 120) ; but on what ground I
kno? not.

140 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

all," seemed to have some ground in truth. But still, as I
have said, it is exaggeration, as there is certainly much diver-
sity of style and merit when compared with one another.
Among the leading disciples of Giorgione are to be ranked
three, who belong to the city or territory of Bergamo, and
these are Lotto, as is most generally supposed, Palma, and
Cariani. They resemble their master most frequently in ful-
ness, but in the mixture and selection of colours they often
appear of the school of Lombardy. More particularly in
Cariani there is apparent a certain superficies, like that of
wax, equally diffused over the canvas, which shines so as to
enliven the eye ; and when seen at a distance, with but little
light, appears in full relief, a result which others have also
noticed in the works of Coreggio.

The name of Lorenzo Lotto is recorded by Vasari and
elsewhere, in which accounts his country is considered as
consisting of the entire state, as he himself, indeed, affixed to
his picture of S. Christoforo di Loreto, " Laurentius Lottus
Pictor Venetus."* The late annotator of Vasari, observing
the grace of countenance and the turn of the eyes remarkable
in his pictures, supposed him to be a disciple of Vinci, an
opinion that might be supported by the authority of Lomazzo,
-who mentions the names of Cesare da Sesto and Lorenzo Lotto
together, both being imitators, in the distribution of their
lights, of da Vinci. Lotto most likely profited by his vici-
nity to Milan, in order to cultivate an acquaintance with, and
>to imitate Vinci in many points ; though I am not, therefore,
inclined to discredit the account which gives him for a pupil
to Bellini, and a rival to Castelfranco. But the style of the

* We confess our obligations to Sig. Giuseppe Beltramelli, who informs
AIS, in a work published in 1806, that this painter, generally supposed from
Bergamo, was really a Venetian, being thus mentioned in a public con-
tract: "M. Laurentius Lottus de Venetiis nunc habitator Bergomi."
Father Federici, who, on the strength of some historian, pronounces him
.of Trevigi, brings forward another document in which Lotto is called,
" IX Laurentii Lotti pictoris, et de presenti Tarvisii commorantis." If,
therefore, " habitator Bergomi " does not prove him a native of Bergamo,
will the words " Tarvisii commorantis " make him a native of Trevigi ?
But Father Affo, in one of his earliest pictures, found him entitled " Tar-
•visinus." Who, however, can assure us that it is in fact the hand-
writing of Lotto, which he there found written ?

LORENZO LOTTO. 141

disciples of Lionardo, so uniform in Luini and in the other
Milanese, is very slightly perceptible in the productions of
Lotto. His manner is, in truth, wholly Venetian, bold in its
colours, luxurious in its draperies, and like Giorgione, of a
deep red in the fleshy parts. His hand, however, is less bold
and free than that of the latter, whose loftier character he is
fond of tempering with the play, as it were, of his middle tints ;
selecting, at the same time, lighter forms, to whose heads he
gives a character more placid and a beauty more ideal. In
the back-ground of his pictures he often retains a peculiar
clear or azure colour, which, if it do not harmonize so much
with the figures, confers distinctness on each individual, and
presents them in a very lively manner to the eye. His pictures
of S. Antonio, at the Dominicans in Venice, and of S. Niccolo,
at the Carmine, which design he repeated in the S. Vincenzio,
of the Dominicans at Recanati, are compositions extremely
novel and original. In his others he varies little from the
usual style ; that of a Madonna seated on a throne, sur-
rounded with saints, with cherubs in the air, or upon the
steps. Yet these he relieves by the novelty of perspective,
or by attitudes, or contrasted views. Thus in his specimen of
the 8. Bartolommeo, at Bergamo, entitled by Ridolfi, won-
derful, he bestows upon the Virgin and the infant Jesus such
finely diversified and contrasted motions, that they seem as if
conversing with the holy bystanders, the one on the right and
the other on the left hand. And in that of S. Spirito, spark-
ling as it were with graces, we meet with a figure of S. John
the Baptist, drawn as a child, standing at the foot of the
throne, in the act of embracing a lamb, and expressing so
natural and lively a joy, at once so simple and innocent, with
a smile so beautiful, that we can hardly believe while we
gaze upon it, that Rafiaello or Correggio could have gone be-
yond it.

Such master-pieces as these, with others that are to be seen
at Bergamo, in churches and private collections, place him
almost on a level with the first luminaries of the art. If Va-
sari (iid not fairly appreciate his merits, it arose only from his
having viewed several of his less studied and less noble
pieces. And it is true that he has not always exhibited the
same degree of excellence^ or force of design. The period in

142 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

which he chiefly flourished may be computed from the year
1513, when he was selected, among many professors of repu-
tation, to adorn the altar for the church of the Dominicans at
Bergamo ; and, perhaps, the decline of his powers ought to
be dated from 1546, an epoch inscribed upon his picture of
San Jacopo dell' Orio, in Venice. He was employed also at
Ancona, and in particular at the church of S. Dominico, at
{Recanati, where, interspersed among pieces of superior power,
more especially in his smaller pictures, we detect some incor-
rectness in his extremities, and stiffness of composition,
resembling that of Gian Bellini ; whether, as it is conjectured
by Yasari, they were among the earliest, or more probably
amongst some of his latest efforts. For it is well known, that
when far advanced in years, he was accustomed to retire to
Loreto, a little way from Recanati, and that engaged in con-
tinual supplication to the Virgin, in order that she might
guide him into a better method, he there closed the period of
his days in tranquillity.

Jacopo Palma, commonly called Palma Vecchw^ to dis-
tinguish him from his great-nephew Jacopo, was invariably
considered the companion and rival of Lotto, until such time
as Combe first confused the historical dates relating to him.
By Ridolfi we are told that Palma employed himself in com-
pleting a picture left imperfect by Titian, at the period of his
death in 1576. Upon this, and similar authorities, Combe
takes occasion to postpone the birth of Palma, until 1540 ;
adding to which the forty-eight years assigned him by Yasari,
the time of his decease is placed in 1588. In such arrange-
ment the critic seems neither to have paid attention to the
style of Jacopo, still retaining some traces of the antique, nor
to the authority of Ridolfi, who makes him the master of Bo-
nifazio, any more than to Yasari's testimony, in the work
published in 1568, declaring him to have died several years
before that period in Venice. He does not even consider,
what he might more easily have ascertained, that there was
another Jacopo Palma, great-nephew of the elder, who, ac-
cording to the authority of Boschini (p. 110), was a pupil of
Titian's as long as the latter survived ; and that Ridolfi, on
this occasion, entitled him Palma without the addition of
younger on account of its being so extremely unlikely that

JACOPO PALMA. 143

any would confound him with the elder Palma.* Such, not-
withstanding, was the case, and is, in fact, only a slight sample
of the inaccuracies of the whole work. The same error has
been repeated by too many authors, even among the Italians;
and the most amusing of all is, that Palma the elder is said to
have been born about the year 1540, while, almost, in the same
brea:h, the younger Palma is declared to have been born in
154^. So much must here suffice as to his age, proceeding in
the next instance to his style.

!Much attached to the method of Giorgione, he aimed at
atta:ning his clearness of expression, and vivacity of colouring.
In tis celebrated picture of Saint Barbara, at S. Maria For-
mosa, one of his most powerful and characteristic productions,
Jacc po more especially adopted him as his model. In some
of h s other pieces, he more nearly approaches Titian, a re-
semblance, we are told by Ridolfi, consisting in the peculiar
grace which he acquired from studying the earliest productions
of that great master. Of this kind is the Supper of Christ,
painted for Santa Maria Mater Doming with the Virgin at
San Stefano di Vicenza, executed with so much sweetness of
expression as to be esteemed one of his happiest productions.
There are many examples of both styles to be met with in the
.grand Carrara collection, as given in the list of Count Tassi
(p. 03). Finally, Zanetti is of opinion that in some others he
displays a more original genius, as exemplified in the Epiphany
of the island of Saint Helena,t where he equally shines in the
character of a naturalist who selects well, who carefully dis-
poses his draperies, and who composes according to good rules.
The distinguishing character then of his pieces is diligence,
refinement, and a harmony of tints, so great as to leave no
traces of the pencil ; and it has been observed by one of his
historians, that he long occupied himself in the production of
each piece, and frequently retouched it. In the mixture of
his colours, as well as other respects, he often resembles Lotto,
aucl if less animated and sublime, he is, perhaps, generally
spe: iking, more beautiful in the form of his heads, especially
in those of boys and women. It is the opinion of some, that

* Several works of tbe elder Palma are met with in Sermalta, a place
in t ie province of Bergamo. A.

f This picture is now in the I. R. Pinacoteca of Milan.

144 VENETIAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH II.

in several of his countenances he expressed the likeness of his
daughter Violante, very nearly related to Titian, and a por-
trait of whom, by the hand of her father, was to be seen in the
gallery of Sera, a Florentine gentleman, who purchased at
Venice many rarities for the House of the Medici, as well as
for himself (Boschini, p. 368). A variety of pictures in-
tended for private rooms, met with in different places in Italy,
have also been attributed to the hand of Palma ; besides por-
traits, one of which has been commended by Yasari as truly
astonishing, from its beauty ; and Madonnas, chiefly drawn
along with other saints, on oblong canvas; a practice in,
common use by many artists of that age, some of whom we
have already recounted, and others are yet to come. But the
least informed among people of taste, being ignorant of their
names, the moment they behold a picture between the dryness
of Giovanni Bellini and the softness of Titian, pronounce it to
be a Palma, and this, more particularly, where they find coun-
tenances well rounded and coloured, landscape exhibited with
care, and roseate hues in the drapery, occurring more fre-
quently than any of a more sanguine dye. In this way Palma
is in the mouths of all, while other artists, also very numerous,
are mentioned only in proportion as they have attached their
own names to their productions. One of these, resembling
Palma and Lotto, but slightly known beyond the precincts of
Bergamo and some adjacent cities, is Giovanni Cariani, as to
whom Vasari is altogether silent. One of his pieces, repre-
senting our Saviour, along with several saints, and dated 151 4, 1
have myself seen at Milan, which appears to have been alto-
gether formed upon the model of Giorgione. If I mistake not, it
is a juvenile production, and when compared with some others,
which I saw at Bergamo, very indifferent in its forms. The most
excellent of any from his hand, is a Virgin, preserved at the
Servi, with a group of beatified spirits, a choir of an gels, and other
angels at her feet, engaged in playing upon their harps in concert.
It is an exceedingly graceful production, delightfully orna-
mented with landscape and figures in the distance ; very
tastefal in its tints, which are blended in a manner equal to
the most studied specimens of the two artists of Bergamo,
already mentioned ; thus forming with them a triumvirate,
calculated to reflect honour upon any country. It has been

ROCCO MARCONI AND PARIS BORDONE. 145

stated by Tassi, that the celebrated Zuccherelli never visited
Bergamo, without returning to admire the beauties of this
picture, pronouncing it one of the finest specimens of the art
he hfid ever beheld, and the best which that city had to
boast. Cariani was also no less distinguished as a portrait-
painter, as we gather from a piece belonging to the counts
Albani, containing various portraits of that noble family ; and
which, surrounded with specimens of the best colourists,
would almost appear to be the only one deserving of peculiar
admiration.

Tho city of Trevigi may boast of two artists belonging to
the same class, though widely differing from each other. One
of these is Rocco Marconi, distinguished by Zanetti among
some of the best disciples of Bellini, and erroneously referred
by Ridolfi to the school of Palma. He excelled in accuracy
of design, taste of colouring, and diligence of hand, though
not always sufficiently easy in his contours, and for the most
part exhibiting a severity almost approaching to plebeian
coarseness in his countenances. Even in the earliest produc-
tion attributed to him, executed in the year 1505, and pre-
served in the church of San Niccolo, at Trevigi, Ridolfi
detects that peculiar clearness of style, which may be traced
also s<> strongly in his Three Apostles, at SS. Giovanni and
Paolo, as well as in his few other pictures dispersed among
the public places. Indeed, half-length figures of this artist
are by no means of rare occurrence in private collections,
thougli he can boast no single specimen so beautiful, or so
completely Giorgionesque, as his Judgment of the Adulte-
ress, to be seen in the chapter of San Giorgio Maggiore, and
of which there is either a duplicate or a copy at San Pantaleo,
and in other places. The other of these two artists, is Paris
Bordcne, the elevation of .whose mind and genius seemed to
correspond with that of his birth. After having been a pupil
of Titian for a short period, he became an enthusiastic imita-
tor of Giorgione, finally adopting an originality of manner,
whose peculiar grace bears no resemblance to that of any
other painter. His forms may truly be said to breathe, to
glow, and even to laugh, with a force of colouring, which, in-
capable of displaying a greater degree of truth than that of
Titian, aimed, nevertheless, at more variety and attraction ;

VOL, II. L

146

VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

while, at the same time, they were not wanting in delicacy of
design, novelty of drapery, propriety of composition, and a
peculiarly lively air of the heads. In the church of S.
Giobbe, he produced a picture of S. Andrew embracing his
Cross, with an angel seen hovering above, in the act of be-
stowing upon him the crown of martyrdom ; while in one of
the two saints, represented at the side, he drew the figure of
S. Peter, in the act of gazing upon him with a kind of envy ;
an idea equally novel and picturesque. A similar method he
adopted in other of his works, produced in great part for the
ornament of his native place and its vicinity. Not a subject
but is taken from the antique ; yet each of them is treated
with originality. Of such kind, is that picture of a true
Paradise, seen in the Ognissanti at Trevigi, and those evan-
gelical mysteries in the cathedral of the same city, repre-
sented in an altar-piece, divided into six different groups, at
the request, it is presumed, of the person who engaged him to
execute it. Here, we behold, assembled in a small space,
every thing of the most pleasing and beautiful kind, which he
has elsewhere scattered throughout the whole of his works.
In Yenice, his representation of the restoration of the ring to
the Doge, by a fisherman, possesses a high reputation ; and
this, accompanied with that of the Tempest, shortly before de-
scribed, by Giorgione, forms an admirable contrast in its
beauty to the terrors abounding in the latter. Decorated
with the finest specimens of architecture, and a profusion of
animated and well-adapted figures, as varied in their actions
as in their draperies, it has been commended by Vasari as
the master-piece of his labours. The same artist is, likewise,
highly prized in collections. Madonnas of his are to be met
with, characterized by the uniformity of their countenance, as
well a,s some of his portraits, often attired in the manner of
Giorgione, and composed with fine and novel embellishments.
Being invited to the court of Francis II., he acquired the
favour of that monarch and of his successor, thus enriching
himself by the exercise of his talents. He had a son who
pursued the same branches of the art ; but from his picture of
Daniel, remaining at Santa Maria Formosa, in Venice, it is
evident how very inferior he must have been.

At the same time flourished one Girolamo da Trevigi, a

GIO. ANTONIO LICINIO. 147

different artist to his namesake already mentioned by us,
who, induced probably by the example of his noble fellow-
citizer , and turning his attention to a more select style than
tiie generality of the Venetian school, applied himself to the
models of Raffaello and the Romans. He is entitled by
Padre Federici, upon the authority of Mauro, Pennacchi, and
is considered by him the son of that Piermaria of whom we
made brief mention before (page 109). There is little from
his hand remaining at Venice, but more in Bologna, particu-
larly at San Petronio, where he painted in oil the histories of
S. Antony of Padua, with judgment and grace, combined
with an exquisite degree of polish, which obtained for him
the commendation of Vasari. It was here he happily suc-
ceeded in uniting the excellences of the two schools, though
he did not flourish long enough to mature them, having de-
voted himself to the military occupation of an engineer, to
which service he fell a victim in 1544, while in England ; he
was killed, according to Vasari, in his thirty-sixth year. On
this hist point, we can scarcely admit the emendation offered
us by the author of the " Description of Vicenza," who would
substitute for this earlier date the age of seventy-six years, a
period of life when men seldom encounter their final doom in
the field. In this instance, perhaps, the emendator was not
awan that there exist signatures of a Girolamo da Treviso,
met with upon pictures from the year 1472 to that of 1487,
uniformly of ancient design ; an artist, who could not, in the
common course of life, have survived to become an excellent
disciple of Raffaello, arid the assistant of Pupini at Bologna,
about the year 1530. He failed, therefore, to make a dis-
tinction between two painters of the same name, as it will be
perceived we have done, followed by the authority of Padre
Federici.

Finally, in this list must be enumerated Gio. Antonio Li-
cinio, either Sacchiense, or Cuti cello,* until such period, as
happc ning to be wounded in the hand by his brother, he re-
noum ed all title to his family name, assuming the appellation

* Tims called by the oldest writers, though, from his father's testa-
ment, recently brought to light, it appears to be erroneous. Here his
father is entitled, Angelus de Lodesanis de Corticellis (or in a MS. of the
Signori Mottensi of Pordenone, de Corticelsis) Brixiensis.
L 2

148 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

of Regillo. He is commonly, however, called Pordenone, from
his native place, formerly a province, and now a city of the
Friuli. " In this province/' it is observed by Vasari, " there
flourished, during his time, a great number of excellent artists,
who had never visited either Florence or Rome ; but he stood
pre-eminent above all, surpassing his predecessors in the con-
ception of his pieces, in design, in boldness, in the use of his
colours, in his frescos, in rapidity, in grandeur of relief, and,
indeed, in every other attribute of the arts." It is uncertain
whether he attended the school of Castelfranco, as it has been
supposed by some, and much more so, whether he was a fellow-
student along with him and Titian, under Giovanni Bellini, a
supposition started by Rinaldis (p. 62). To me, the opinion
reported by Ridolfi appears nearer the truth, that having first
studied, in his youth, the productions of Pellegrino, at Udine,
he subsequently adopted the manner of Giorgione, following
the bias of his own genius, invariably the artist's safest guide
in the formation of a style. Other disciples of Giorgione more
or less resembled him in manner, but Pordenone seemed to vie
with him in spirit, a spirit equally daring, resolute, and great ;
surpassed by no other, perhaps, in the Venetian school. Yet
in Lower Italy he is little known beyond his name. The pic-
ture with the portraits of his family, preserved in the Palazzo
Borghese, is the best production of his that I have met with
in these parts. And elsewhere, indeed, we rarely behold such
histories as his exquisite picture of the Raising of Lazarus, in
possession of the Conti Lecchi, at Brescia. Nor does he
abound in altar-pieces, beyond the province of Friuli, which
boasts of several in different places, though not all equally
genuine. The few executed in Pordenone are unquestionably
his, inasmuch as he has himself described them in a memorial
still extant.* The collegiate church possesses two of these ;
one consisting of a Holy Family, with S. Christopher, executed
in 1515, very finely coloured, but not exempt from some in-
accuracies. The other bears the date of 1535, representing
S. Mark in the act of consecrating a bishop, along with other

* It is inserted in a Transunto of MSS. belonging to the noble Ernesto
Mottensi of Pordenone, communicated to me by the P. D. Michele
Turriani Barnabita, extremely skilled in the parchments and ancient
memorials of Friuli.

WORKS OF LICINIO. 149

saints, and with perspective ; a piece, says its author, posta,
\n opera,) non finita, begun, indeed, but not finished. A more
complete specimen was to be seen at San Pier Martire di
Udine, in his Annunciation, since retouched and destroyed.
Some there are who have preferred, before every other, that
preserved in S. Maria dell' Orto, at Venice. It consists of
San Lorenzo Giustiniani, surrounded by various saints, among
whom S. John the Baptist appears naked according to the
rules of the most learned schools ; while the arm of S. Augus-
tine is seen, as it were, stretched forth out of the picture, an
effect of perspective this artist has repeated in various other
places. The most beautiful of his pieces in Piacenza, where
he haci established himself, is his picture of the Marriage of
S. Catherine, upon a dark ground, which gives a roundness to
the wtole of the figures; it is full of grace in those of a more
tender character, and displays grandeur in the forms of
S. Peter and S. Paul, represented on the two sides ; in the last
of whom, as well as in the S. Rocco of Pordenone, he gave a
portrait of himself.

But his works in fresco display the highest degree of merit ;
great part of which he produced in the Friuli, besides
numerous others scattered throughout castles and villas, no
longer distinguished by strangers, except from the circum-
stance of possessing some painting of Pordenone. Such places
are Castions, Valeriano, Villanova, Varmo, Pallazuolo, where
he is v/ith certainty known to have employed his talents. A
few remnants are likewise preserved in Mantua, in the Casa
de' Cesarei, and in the palazzo Doria, at Genoa ; some at
S. Rocco, and the cloisters of S. Stefano, in Venice, and many
specimens in high preservation in the dome of Cremona, and
at Santa Maria di Campagna, in Piacenza, where, in collec-
tions, and in the fa9ades of houses, other pieces of his are
pointed out. His labours in fresco, however, are not all
equally studied and correct ; more particularly those in his
native Friuli, which he produced at an early age in great
-abundance, and for a small price. He is more select in his
male forms than in those of his women, whose model he ap-
pears to have frequently taken from very robust rather than
very leautiful subjects, most probably met with in the adja-
cent province of Carnia, where he is said to have indulged his

150 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

early passions. But in every thing he undertook we may in-
variably trace the workings of a vigorous fancy, rich in con-
ceiving, in varying, and developing his ideas ; powerful in his
exhibition of the passions, displaying the master-hand that
encounters the difficulties of the art with the most novel com-
binations in the science of fore-shortening, with the most
laboured perspective, and with a power of relief which appears
perfectly starting from the canvas.

In Venice, he seemed to surpass all he had before done.
The competition, or rather enmity, subsisting between him
and Titian, served as a spur, both by day and night, to
actuate him to fresh exertions. He was at times even
accustomed to paint with arms at his side ; and it is the
opinion of many, that such emulation was of no less ad-
vantage to Titian, than was the rivalship of Michelangelo to
Raffaello. In this instance, also, the one excelled in strength,
the other in grace of hand ; or, as it has been observed by
Zanetti, nature prevailed in Titian in a superior degree to
manner, while in Pordenone both shone with an equal degree
of excellence. To have competed with Titian is a circum-
stance not a little honourable to his name, and has acquired
for him in the Venetian school the second rank, at least, in a
period so prolific in excellent artists. A portion of the
people, indeed, then preferred him to Titian ; for, as I have
elsewhere observed, there is nothing so well calculated to
surprise the multitude as the production of fine effect and of the
chiaroscuro, in which art he is known to have first preceded
Guercino. Pordenone was highly favoured, and presented
with the title of cavalier by Charles V. ; and being subse-
quently invited to the court of Ercole II., duke of Ferrara,
he died there shortly after, not without suspicion of having
been poisoned. We have in the next place to give an
account of his school.

Bernardino Licinio, from his surname probably a relation
of the foregoing, was an artist who is here deserving of men-
tion. We gather from history, as well as from his manner., that
he was also a pupil of Pordenone ; and there remains at the
Conventuali, in Venice, an altar-piece of the usual antique
composition, quite in the style of the other Licinio, from his
hand. It is reported, likewise, that some of his portraits are

DISCIPLES OF PORDEXONE. 151

presorved in different collections which have been erroneously
ascribed to the elder Pordenoue. Sandrart makes mention of
Giulio Licinio da Pordenone, a nephew and scholar to Gio.
Antonio, adding that he employed himself in Venice ; thence
transferred his residence to Augusta, where he left behind
him some truly surprising specimens in fresco, which obtained
for him with some a higher reputation than his uncle. He
would appear to be the same Giulio Lizino, who, in competi-
tion with Schiavone, Paul Veronese, and other artists, pro-
duced the three circular pieces, in the library of St. Mark,
in tie year 1556. By Zanetti he is considered of Roman
origin,* but this is a mistake, arising from Giulio's having
assumed the title of Romano during his residence in the
capital ; while he retained it in Venice, the better to dis-
tinguish him from the other Licinj, in the same manner as we
have- already observed of one of the Trevisani, about the
samo period.

Giannantonio Licinio the younger was a brother to Giulio,
and more commonly named Sacchiense, an artist who has
been highly commended, but whose works are no longer to be
seen, not even in Como, as far as we can learn, where he died.

A fter the Licinj we ought next to record the name of Cal-
derari, a distinguished pupil of Gio. Antonio, who has suc-
ceeded in sometimes imposing upon the most acute judges.
Thus it has occurred in the parish church of Montereale,
where he produced many scripture histories in fresco, which
had been uniformly ascribed to the hand of Pordenone, until
the discovery of a document establishing the contrary. He
is e"en little known in his native place of Pordenone, and
his frescos in the cathedral were attributed to the pencil of
Am ilteo. Pordenone may also boast of another disciple in
Francesco Beccaruzzi da Conigliano. For this we have the
authority of Ridolfi, confirmed by the artist's own work,,
ornamenting his native place, of St. Francis in the act of re-
ceiving the stigmata, or marks of Christ, a figure more strik-
ing in point of relief than of colouring. To the same school
has been added by Orlandi, the name of Gio. Batista Grassi,
a g< >od painter, but more excellent as an architect, and the

* See his work on Venetian Painting, p. 250.

152 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

same from whom Vasari drew bis notices of the painters of
Friuli. I should be inclined, however, to refer him to some
other school, both on account of Vasari's silence on a point
so creditable to him, and his resemblance to the manner of
Titian in such of the few pieces as have been well preserved,
and are exempt from modern retouches of art. Of this kind
are his pictures of the Annunciation ; the Translation of
Elias ; and the Vision of Ezekiel, in the cathedral of Gemona,
on the doors of the organ there.

The last name to be enumerated in this class, is that of
Pomponio Amalteo, a native of San Vito, and of a noble fa-
mily which yet boasts its descendants at Uderzo. He was
one of the most excellent of Giannantonio's pupils, and
introduced his master's style into the Friuli, for which reason
we shall here give him a place, together with the whole of his
followers. He was son-in-law to Pordenone, and the artist
who succeeded him in his school at Friuli. Both there and
in other places he employed himself in works of distinguished
merit. He preserved the manner of his father-in-law, as has
been observed by Ridolfi, who erroneously ascribes to Licinio
the Three Judgments, indisputably the production of Amalteo,
which he represented in a gallery at Ceneda, in which causes
are decided. They consist of the Judgment of Solomon, of
that of Daniel, and a third of Trajan ; the whole completed
in the year 1536. It is everywhere evident that he aspired
to originality of manner ; his shading is less strong, his
colours are brighter, and the proportions of his figures and
all his ideas are upon a less elevated scale than those of his
father-in-law. Some faint idea of his works may be gathered
from Vasari and Ridolfi, who omitted, however, many of
them, among others the five pictures of Roman histories
adorning the Hall of the Notaries at Belluno ; but it is only
some faint idea, inasmuch as neither these two writers, nor
Altan, who collected memorials of him in a little work, were
at all enabled to do full justice to the labours of an artist who
continued to occupy himself, assisted by various other hands,
until the latest period of his Jife. Hence it is that the bulk
of his works can by no means boast the same degree of ex-
cellence as the Three Judgments we have mentioned, or the
picture of S. Francis, at the church of that name, in Udine,

ANTONIO BOSELLO. 153

esteemed one among the valuable pieces belonging to the city.
Still, wherever or upon whatever subject he employed him-
self, 1 e displayed the powers of a great master, educated by
Pord< none ; and one who not only shewed himself, with the
generality of Venetians, a splendid colourist, but designed far
more accurately. The same merit continued, for some period,
to characterize his successors, who, however, if I mistake not,
were greatly inferior to him in genius; excepting only his
brother, with whom we shall commence the history of Pom-
ponio s school.

His name was Girolamo, and, receiving the instructions of
his brother, he is supposed to have assisted him in his labours,
giving proofs of a noble genius, which he more peculiarly
manifested in works of design ; in small pictures, which ap-
peare 1 like miniature ; in several fables executed in fresco, and
in an altar-piece which he painted in the church of San Vito.
Ridolfi commends him highly for his spirited manner, and
another of the old writers, as we learn from Rinaldis, gives
his opinion, that if he had flourished for a longer period, he
would, perhaps, have proved no way inferior to the great
Pordonone. Hence I find reason to conclude that Girolamo
continued, during life, the exercise of his art ; and that the
report transmitted to us through Ridolfi, about a century after
his death, of his brother Pomponio having devoted him, out of
jealousy of his genius, to mercantile pursuits, as was certainly
the case with a brother of Titian, must have been wholly
without foundation.

Pomponio likewise availed himself of the aid of Antonio
Bosello in the paintings he produced at Ceneda, as well as for
the Patriarch within the gallery just before recorded, and for
the canons in the organ of the cathedral. This artist must
assuredly have arrived at some degree of perfection, inasmuch
as we are in possession of the particulars of various salaries
paid to him, distinct from such as were paid to the principal.
As I find mention in Bergamo of an Antonio Boselli, me-
morials of whom subsist there between the period of 1509 and
that of 1527, it is extremely probable that he was the same
painter, who, being unable to contend with the fame of Lotto,
and so many other of his contemporaries in that celebrated
school, sought for better fortune beyond his native place. It

154 VENETIAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH II.

is certain he exercised his talents in Padua, and thence he
might easily penetrate into Friuli, and give his assistance to
Pomponio, whilst employed at Ceneda during the years 1534,
1535, and 1536.

In the course of time, Amalteo, having bestowed two of
his daughters in marriage, appears to have obtained the assist-
ance of his sons-in-law, both painters, and promoted by him
in the progress of their art. Quintilia, who had the reputa-
tion of a fine genius, familiar with the principles both of
painting and engraving, and more particularly excellent in
portraits, became united to Gioseffo Moretto, of Friuli,
although there remains only a single altar-piece of his in the
Friuli, in the province of San Vito, bearing the following
inscription : " Inchoavit Pomponius Amalteus, perfecit Joseph
Moretius, anno 1588;" a short time previous to which date,
his father-in-law had resigned his profession with his life.
The other daughter espoused Sebastiano Seccante, mentioned
by Ridolfi, and esteemed in Udine for his two grand pictures
embellished with fine portraits, with which he ornamented the
castle of the city ; and still more so for several of his altar-
pieces. Of these there is one at San Giorgio, representing
the Redeemer, suffering under the cross, between various
figures of cherubs, holding other instruments of his passion ;
a piece that displays all the excellent maxims derived from
his education. This artist may be pronounced the last of the
great school, whose productions do credit to a good collection.
His brother, Giacomo, who did not apply himself to painting
until he had attained his fiftieth year ; Sebastiano, the son of
Giacomo, who became early initiated in the art, without even
equalling his father, with their relative Seccante, who lived
at the same period, were none of them esteemed, even in
Udine, beyond mediocrity in their respective lines. Two
natives, however, of San Vito, named Pier Antonio Alessio,
and Cristoforo Diana, were much commended by Cesarini,
one of Amalteo's contemporaries. They were employed in
their studies at the very period that the former wrote his
dialogue ; though there remain no memorials of Pier Antonio,
similar to those of Cristoforo, of whom Altaii discovered
several specimens at San Vito, in a very good style, besides
one preserved in the monastery of Sesto, bearing traces of his

DISCIPLES OF PELLEGRINO. 155

name, which he had inscribed upon it. We shall close this
catalogue with the name of another disciple of Amalteo, be-
longing to San Daniele, where, among some other remains,
thero is a tolerably good fresco, preserved in the fa9ade of one
of the inns in the suburbs of the place. It represents the
Virgin, seated with the divine child, her throne surrounded
by 8. Thomas the Apostle, and S. Valentine, along with
other saints ; and it bears the inscription " Opus Julii
Urbanis, 1574 ;" it partakes of the taste of Amalteo, and of
Pordenone, the succession of whose school we have just
completed, history affording us no further materials for
description.

Whilst the school of Amalteo continued to embellish various
cities, provinces, and villas of the Friuli, another from the
same place started into competition with it, first introduced
by Pellegrino, of which mention has been made at page 111,
though I reserved its description for this place. The whole of
PeDegrino's disciples followed him at a very unequal p'ace, and
few of their works can be pointed out which appear to catch the
spirit of his fresco of S. Daniel, or his altar-piece at Cividale,
already mentioned with praise. Luca Monverde was an
artist who flourished but for a short period, nor ever advanced
beyond the Bellini manner, imbibed from his master at a very
early age. In this, however, he arrived at so high a degree
of perfection, that his picture, adorning the great altar of the
Griizie at Udine, a church dedicated to S. Gervasio and
S. Protasio, which is there placed around the throne of the
Virgin, was highly commended previous to its being re-
touched. And we are elsewhere informed that Luca, while
he flourished, was regarded as a sort of prodigy of genius.
Girolamo d'Udine, supposed also to come under this standard,
han been omitted by Grassi, in his sketch of the painters
transmitted to Vasari, and is no otherwise known than for his
little picture of the Coronation of our Lady, remaining in
San Francesco at Udine, with his name attached. The
vigour of its colours is striking, the invention novel, but
rather strained ; and, if I mistake not, the whole betrays an
artist educated with other maxims. I pass over Martini,
though I am aware Altan maintains him to have been a
scholar, rather than a fellow-pupil of Pellegrino ; but the

156 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

authority of Vasari, combined with his own beautiful picture
at S. Mark's, so nearly simultaneous with that of Pellegrino,
induce me to retain my own opinion. I should hardly ven-
ture to decide to which of the two preceding masters Bernar-
dino Blaceo ought to be referred ; an artist who appears, from
the great altar-piece of S. Lucia, with his name attached, to
have retained the ancient style of composition, while in other
points his manner is sufficiently graceful and modern. Another
artist who has been with more certainty given as a pupil to
Pellegrino, was by birth a Greek, of singular merit in his
art, but who has retained only his national appellative of
N. Greco. Thus the number of disciples from San Daniele, at
all worthy of such a master, is reduced to two, Florigerio and
Floriani. The labours of the former in Udine, executed in
fresco, have however perished, though his picture of S. George,
in the church of the same name, still survives, of itself suffi-
cient to constitute an artist's fame. It is esteemed by many
the best specimen in the city, displaying both in the figures
and the landscape a strength of hand which appears to rival
Giorgione more than any other model we could mention. He
painted, likewise, with equal spirit, though scarcely, perhaps,
with equal softness, in the city of Padua ; and there he
subscribed his name to one of his frescos. Florigerio, as
it has been read by the " Guida" of Padua, in which I
agree ; and not Flerigorio, as he has been, called by some
historians. Francesco Floriani, together with his brother
Antonio, though devoting his talents to the service of Maxi-
milian II., at Vienna, boasts, nevertheless, a high reputation
in Udine. He was more particularly excellent in portrait, a
specimen of which is in possession of Signer Gio. Batista de
Rubeis ; being a portrait of Ascanio Belgrade, which might
almost be placed in competition with Moroni or Tinelli. He
produced several altar-pieces for churches, the most highly
admired of which was, perhaps, that placed at Reana, a vil-
lage near Udine. It has recently been purchased and divided
into as many small pictures as the number of saints which it
contained, and which now belong to a private collection.

But it is at length time to proceed to Tiziano Vecellio. a
name the reader has probably long wished to greet. Yet I
fear I shall hardly gratify his expectations ; for where we

TITIAN. 157

have- formed enlarged ideas of an artist's worth, every attempt
to do justice to the splendid merits we admire appears not
onl j inferior, but in some measure derogatory to the character
we would exalt. But if in treating on the qualities of artists,
•we may consider a particular estimation of their characteristic
talents preferable to warm commendations, I shall avail
myself of the judgment of an excellent critic, who was accus-
tomod to say that Titian observed and drew nature in all her
truth, better than any other artist. To this I might add the
testimony of another, that of all painters, he was most
familiar with nature, in all her forms ; the universal
master, who in every subject he undertook, whether figures,
elements, landscape, or other pieces, imprinted upon all that
lively nature constituting the great charm of his genius. He
was gifted, likewise, with a peculiarly sound judgment, tran-
quil, penetrative, and decidedly studious of what was true,
rather than what was novel and specious ; a character no less
essential to the production of true painters than of true writers.
The education he first received from Sebastiano Zuccati, a
native of the Valteline, though supposed to have been of Tre-
vigi,* and next from Gian Bellini, had the effect of rendering

* By means of Sig. Ab. Gei, of Cadore, a young man of the most
promising abilities, I have obtained notice of an artist belonging to that
place, who, from various authorities, is supposed to have been the in-
structor of the great Titian. It is certain he flourished towards the close
of the fifteenth century ; nor does there exist accounts of any other ar-
tist of Cadore, capable of initiating his countrymen in a knowledge of the
art. Three of his pictures in water-colours, in the usual style of compo-
sition at that time, so frequently described, are yet extant ; the first, a
fine altar-piece, adorning the parish church at Selva, in which the titular
S. Lorenzo, with others, in an upright posture, are seen surrounding the
throne of the Virgin ; a second, of smaller size, is in the Oratory of Sig.
Anto lio Zamberlani, in the parish church of Cadore, where the throne
appe.irs encompassed with cherubs playing upon instruments ; the third,
1 place i at San Bartolommeo of Nabiii, is divided into six compartments ;
the best, or at least the most free from harshness of manner of the whole.
It is inferior, however, in design to Jacopo Bellini, though equal, perhaps,
in point of diligence and colouring, and similar in its style. Upon the
first he has inscribed, " Antonius Rubeus de Cadubrio pinxit ;" upon the
second, " Opus Antonii RUBEI:" but the letter E being defaced, the
word looks like RUBLI ; upon the third is found " Antonius Zaudanus
(da /'oldo) pinxit." Thus, if we combine these inscriptions, it will ap-
pear that this ancient painter, whom we now place at the head of the-
artists belonging to that prolific clime, was Antonio Rossi Cadorino.

158 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

him a minute observer of every object falling under the
senses. To such a degree of excellence did he carry it, that
when, later in life, he wished to compete with Albert Durer,
and produced, at Ferrara, the Christ to whom the Pharisee is
seen offering the piece of money,* he executed it with so much
exactness as to surpass even the minuteness which character-
izes that artist. Indeed, in several of those figures, the hairs
might be numbered, the skin of the hands, the very pores of
the flesh, and the reflection of objects in the pupils ; yet with
all this, the work failed not of success, for where the pictures
of Durer appear to diminish and lose their effect at a distance,
this improves in size, and grows, as it were, upon the spec-
tator. But he never repeated any specimen in this style,
adopting, as is well known, while yet very young, that free
and unshackled manner, first originating with his fellow-stu-
dent, afterwards his rival, Giorgione. A few of the portraits,
indeed, painted by Titian, during that short period, are not
to be distinguished from those of Giorgione himself. I say
during that period, because shortly afterwards he formed a
new style, less bold, clear, and fiery, but one peculiarly his,
the sweetness of which attracts the spectator more by its art-
less representation of truth, than by the novelty of its effect.
The first specimen he is known to have produced altogether
in the Titian manner is preserved in the sacristy of San
Marziale, representing the archangel Raphael, with Tobias at
his side, painted in the thirtieth year of his age. Following
at a short interval, if we are to give credit to Ridolfi, he next
produced that fine representation of our Lord, for the college
of the Carita, one of the grandest pictures, and the richest,
perhaps, in point of figures, which we have now to boast ;
many of them having since perished in different conflagrations.
From these, and a few others, painted in the zenith of his

* See Ridolfi. This picture is now in Dresden, and Italy abounds with
copies. One of these I saw at S. Saverio di Rimini, inscribed with the
name of Titian on the band of the Pharisee, a very beautiful production,
and believed by many to be a duplicate rather than a copy. Albert was
in Italy in 1495 and in 1506. In Venice, one of his pictures, in the
council of the Ten, is cited by Zanetti ; it is Jesus Christ shewn to the
people ; and an altar-piece is also mentioned by Sansovino, placed at
S. Bartolommeo, commended both by him and by other writers. (See
the Sig. Morelli's Annotations on the " Notizia," p. 223.)

TITIAN. 159

fame, his critics have gathered the general idea of his style ;
the greatest contest which they have amongst themselves,
relating to the design. By Mengs he is denied the title to
rank among good designers,* considering him an artist of
ordinary taste, by no means familiar with, however well he
might, if he pleased, have succeeded in the study of the an-
tique, possessing so very exact an eye in copying objects from
nature. Vasari appears to be of the same opinion, where he
introduces Michelangelo observing, after viewing the Leda
of Titian, t " that it was a great pity the Venetian artists
were not earlier taught how to design." The judgment
form* d of him by Tintoret, though placed in competition with
him, was less severe, namely, " that Titian had produced some
things which it was impossible to surpass, but that others
iniglr, have been more correctly designed." And among
these more excellent pieces, he might indisputably have in-
cluded his San Pietro Martire, in the church of SS. Giovanni
and Paolo, a piece, says Algarotti, which the best masters
have agreed in pronouncing " free from every shade of de-
fect ; ' besides that fine Bacchanal, and a few others, orna-
menting a cabinet of the duke of Ferrara, and declared by
Agostino Caracci prodigies of art, and the finest paintings in
the v orld. J Fresnoy was of opinion that in the figures of
his men he was not altogether perfect, and that in his dra-
peries he was somewhat insignificant ;§ but that many of his
womon and boys are exquisite, both in point of design and
colouring. This commendation is confirmed by Algarotti, in
respect to his female forms, and by Mengs in those of his boys.
Indeod it is almost universally admitted that in such kind of
figur >s, no artist was ever comparable to him ; and that Pous-
sin and Fiammingo,|| who so greatly excelled in this parti-
cular, acquired it only from Titian's pictures. Reynolds^
also affirms that, " although his style may not be altogether
as chaste as that of other schools of Italy, it nevertheless
possesses a certain air of senatorial dignity ; and that he
shon 3 in his portraits as an artist of first-rate character ;" and

* t)pere, tome i. p. 177. f See his Life of Titian.

t fcee Bottari, Notes to Vasari, in the Life of Titian.

§ See " Idea della Pittura," edizione Rom. p. 287.

H .See Passeri._ <j On the Arts of Design, Discourse, &c.

160 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

he concludes by observing that lie may be studied with ad-
vantage even by lovers of the sublime.*

Zanetti assigns him the first rank in design, among all the
most distinguished colourists ; asserting that he was much de-
voted to the study of anatomy, and copying from the best
antique ;t but supposes that he was not ambitious of affecting
an extensive knowledge of the muscles, nor aimed at display-
ing an ideal beauty in his contours ; whether he had not early
enough acquired facility in these, or for some other reasons.
For the rest, he adds, the Titian manner was uniformly ele-
gant, correct, and dignified in its female forms, and in its
boys ; elevated, great, and learned for the most part in those
of its men ; while in testimony of his naked figures, he adduces
the history-pieces, painted for the sacristy of La Salute, whose
beauty of design appears to triumph, even in the extremities,
while it boasts the rare merit of a striking acquaintance with
the science of foreshortening, both appearing blended together.
Had the historian been desirous of extending his notice to such
works as are to be met with in foreign parts, he might have
added much valuable matter upon the subject of his Bacchanals,
and his pictures of the Venus ; one of which, adorning the
royal gallery at Florence, was justly thought to vie with that
of the Medici herself, the most exquisite triumph of Grecian
art. For skill in his draperies, Zanetti further brings the ex-
ample of his S. Peter, painted on an altar of the Casa Pesaro,
with a very artificially wrought mantle ; adding that he occa-
sionally sacrificed the appearance of the drapery, purposely
to give relief to some neighbouring object. In this contest ot
opinion, between true judges of the art, I shall decline inter-

* To this opinion of the English writer, however preferable to that of
other critics, we might add that Titian's style, nevertheless, is not generally
so chaste as that of some of the other schools of Italy. — A.

•f- He drew his head of San Niccolo a' Frari from a cast of the Laocoon ;
and from other models of the antique, that of S. John the Baptist, and
of the Magdalen of Spain. From a Greek basso-rilievo he likewise co-
pied the angels of his S. Peter Martyr. The same artist dre\v the Cesars,
at Mantua, a work very highly commended, and impossible to have been
so well executed without a knowledge of ancient sculpture, of which there
yet exists a fine collection at Mantua. But what he drew from the an-
tique, he also inspired with nature, the sole method of profiting by it,
when a painter aspires to a higher character than that of a mere statuary.
— See Ridolfi, p. 171.

TITIAN. 161

ferin ;^ with my own, observing only, in justice to so extraordi-
nary a genius, that if happier combinations had led him to
become familiar with more profound maxims of design, he
would probably have ranked as the very first painter in the
world. For he would have been allowed to be the first and
most perfect in design, as he is by all allowed to have no equal
in point of colouring.

Many critics have pushed their inquiries from the artist
into the peculiar character of his chiaroscuro ; and the most
copious among these is Signor Zanetti, who devoted years to
its examination. I select some of his observations, premising,
however, that he left a large portion of them to the more stu-
dious, desirous themselves of developing them, in the works of
Titian. And, in truth, his pictures are the best masters to
direct us in the right method of colouring ; but, like the an-
cient classics, that are equally open, and equally the subjects
of commentary to all, they are only of advantage to those who
are accustomed to reflect. I have already mentioned the lucid
clearness predominating in Venetian paintings, and more
especially in those of Titian, whom the rest adopted for their
model. I then, too, pronounced it to be the result of very
clear primary grounding, upon which a repetition of colours
being laid, it produces the effect of a transparent veil, and
renders the tints of a cast no less soft and luscious than lucid.
Nor did he adopt any other plan in his strongest shades, veil-
ing them with fresh colour, when dry ; renewing, invigorating
them, and warming the confines that pass into the middle tints.
He availed himself, very judiciously, of the power of shade ;
forming a method not altogether that of a mere naturalist, but
partaking of the ideal. In his naked forms he cautiously
avoided masses of strong shades and bold shadows, although
they are sometimes to be seen in nature. They certainly add
to the relief, but they much diminish the delicacy of the fleshy
parts. Titian, for the most part, affected a deep and glowing
light ; whence, in various gradations of middle tints, he formed
the work of the lower parts ; and having very resol utely
drawn the other parts, with the extremities, stronger, perhaps,
than in nature, he gave to objects that peculiar aspect which
presents them, as it were, more lively and pleasing than the
truth. Thus, in his portraits, he centres the chief power in

VOL. II. M

J62 VENETIAN SCHOOL.- — EPOCH II.

the eyes, the nose, and the mouth, leaving the remaining parts
in a kind of pleasing uncertainty, extremely favourable to the
spirit of the heads, and to the whole effect.

But since the variations of depth and delicacy of shades are
insufficient, without the aid of colours, in this branch he like-
wise found for himself an ideal method, consisting of the use,
in their respective places, of simple tints, copied exactly from
the life, or of artificial ones, intended to produce the illusion
required. He was in the habit of employing only few and
simple colours ; but they were such as afforded the greatest
variety and contrast ; he knew all their gradations, and the
most favourable moments for their application and opposition
to each other. There appears no effort, no degree of violence
in them, and that striking diversity of colours which seems to
strive, one above another, for the mastery, as it were, in his
pictures has all the appearance of nature, though an effect of
the most bold and arduous art. A white dress, placed near a
naked figure, gives it all the appearance of being mingled with
the warmest crimson, while he employed nothing beyond sim-
ple terra rossa, with a little lake in the contours, and towards
the extremities. Certain objects, in themselves dark and even
Hack, produce a similar effect upon his canvas ; and which,
besides enlivening the adjacent colour, give force to the figures,
wrought, as was before stated, with gradual middle tints. It
is said to have been his favourite opinion, transmitted to us
by Boschini (p. 341), that whoever aspires to become a painter,
must make himself familiar with three colours, and have them
ready upon his palette ; these are white, red, and black ; and
that an artist, while attempting the fleshy parts, must not ex-
pect to succeed at once, but by repeated application of opposite
tints, and kneading of his colours.

Here I shall subjoin some observations by the Cavalier
Mengs, who entered so very deeply into the Titian manner.
He pronounces him the first, who, subsequent to the revival
of painting, knew how to avail himself of the ideal, as it were4
of different colours in his draperies. Before his time all
colours had been applied indifferently, and artists used them
in the same measure for clear and for obscure. Titian was
aware, if indeed he did not acquire his knowledge from Gior-
gione, that red brings objects nearer to the eye, that yellow

TITIAN. 163

reta ns the rays of light, that azure is a shade, and adapted
for deep obscure. Nor was he less intimate with the effects
of juicy colours, and was thus enabled to bestow the same de-
gree of grace, clearness of tone, and dignity of colour, upon
his ."hades and middle tints, as upon his lights, as well as to
mark with great diversity of middle tints, the various com-
plexions, and the various superficies of bodies. No other
artist, likewise, was more accurately acquainted with the
mutual power or equipoise of the above three colours, upon
which the harmony of pictures so much depends ; an equipoise,
too, so difficult in practice, to which not even Rubens, however
exct llent a colourist, perfectly attained.

Both Titian's inventions and compositions partake of his
ususl character ; he produced nothing in which nature was
not consulted. In the number of his figures he is inclined to
be moderate; and in grouping them he displays the finest
unshackled art; an art he was fond of exemplifying by com-
parison with a bunch of grapes, where a number of single ones
compose the figure of a whole, agreeably rounded, light through
the openings, distinct in shades, in middle tints, and in lights,
according as it receives more or less of the solar rays. No
contrasts are to be met with in these compositions that betray
a studied effect; no violent action that is not called for by
the incidents of the story ; the actors in general preserve their
dignity, and a certain composure, as if each seemed to respect
the assembly of which he formed a part. Whoever is at-
tacted to the taste of the Greek bassi-rilievi, in which all is
nature and propriety, will invariably prefer the sober compo-
sition of Titian to the more fiery one of Paul Veronese and
Tin ore t, whose merits we shall canvass in another place.
Neither was Titian ignorant of those strong contrasts of limbs
and action, then in such high vogue with his countrymen ;
but these he reserved for his bacchanals, his battle-pieces,
and other subjects, in fine, which called for them.

It is on all hands admitted, that as a portrait-painter, he
was quite incomparable ; and to this species of excellence he
was in great part indebted for his fortune, smoothing, as it
did, his reception into some of the most splendid courts, such
as were that of Rome in the time of Paul III. and those of
Vie ana and of Madrid, during the reign of Charles Y. and

M 2

164 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

his successors. It is the opinion of Yasari that in this branch
of his art he was inimitable ; being engaged in drawing the-
portraits of numbers of the most distinguished characters, both
for rank and letters, who flourished during the same period.
We wish we could add to these the name of Cosmo I., grand
duke of Tuscany, who, little to his credit, evinced an objection
to have his likeness taken by so celebrated a hand. He was
no less successful in depicting the passions of the mind. The
death of S. Peter the Martyr, at Venice, with that of a de-
votee of S. Antony, at the college of the same name in Padua,
display scenes than which I know not whether painting can
afford us anything more terrific in the ferocity of those who
strike, or more full of compassion in the whole attitude of the
falling saint. And thus the grand picture of the Coronation
of Thorns, in the Grazie at Milan, abounds with powers of
expression that enchant us.* He has left us also not a few
examples of costume, and of erudition in the antique, every
way worthy of imitation, as we may observe in the Corona-
tion above alluded to, where, desirous of marking the precise
period of the event, he inserted in the Pretorium a bust of
Tiberius ; an idea that could not have been better conceived,
either by Raffaello or by Poussin. In his architecture he
sometimes availed himself of other works, in particular those
of the Rosa, of Brescia ; but his perspectives, like that of his
picture of the Presentation, are extremely beautiful. He was
equalled by none in his landscape ; and he was careful not to
employ it, like some artists, as a mere embellishment ; several
artists, esteeming themselves so highly in this particular, that
they hardly scruple to present us with cypress trees, growing
out of the sea. But Titian makes his landscape subservient
to history, as in that horrific wood, whose dreary aspect adds
so much to the solemnity of S. Peter's death ; or to give force
to his figures, as we perceive them in those pieces where the-
landscape is thrown into the distance. His natural manner
of representing the various effects of light may be best gathered
from his martyrdom of San Lorenzo, belonging to the Jesuits
at Venice, in which he displayed such an astonishing diver-

* This picture, perhaps one of the best preserved among Titian's many
productions, was taken by the French to Paris, and is one of those which*
in the subsequent political vicissitudes was not restored. — A.

TITIAN. 165

«ity in the splendour of fire, in that of torch-lights, and in
that of a supernatural light, which appears to fall upon the
martyr ; a picture unfortunately much defaced by age, but
of which there is a near imitation or duplicate in the Escurial.
He likewise expressed, with the utmost felicity, the time of
the day in which the event is supposed to have taken place,
and he frequently selected night-fall, drawing forth all its
most beautiful attributes for the canvas.

From the whole of this it may be inferred that Titian is
not to be included in that class of Venetian artists, whose
Tapidity of hand overpowered their judgment, rendering them
somewhat careless and inaccurate ; though, at the same time,
we must speak of his celerity with some degree of reservation.
A freedom of pencil must doubtless be granted to him, and he
thus applied it without failing in point of design, to his paint-
ings in fresco, as they are to be seen in Padua, and which, in
some measure, compensate us for the loss of those in the
Venetian capital. In that city we have nothing of the same
kind in preservation, if we except, perhaps, his S. Christopher,
adorning the ducal palace ; a majestic figure, both in its cha-
racter and its expression. We are not, however, to look for
the same degree of freedom in his pictures in oil. Indeed he
was by no means ambitious of displaying it, but rather en-
countered much painful labour to arrive at a perfect know-
ledge of his subjects. With this view, after throwing off a
rough draught of his intended works, with a certain freedom
and resolution, he was in the habit of laying them for some
time aside, and again returned to them with an eye prepared
to detect every the least defect. The noble Casa Barbarigo,
among a fine selection of his most highly finished pictures,
preserves, also, a few of these first sketches. It is well known
that he underwent extreme labour in the completion of his
works, and, at the same time, was very solicitous to conceal
.the pains he bestowed upon them. Yet in some of his pieces
such spirited and resolute strokes are to be met with as seem
to imprint upon every object the true character of nature,
attain at once the points that have been long laboriously
.aimed at, and perfectly delight professors. To this practice
he adhered in the zenith of his fame ; nor was it until near the
.close of his existence, falling a victim to the plague when

166 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

within a year of completing a century, that both his hand and
eyes failing him, his style became less elegant, being compelled
to paint with repeated efforts of the brush, and with difficulty
mingling his tints. Vasari, who saw him once more in 1566,
even then was no longer able to recognise Titian in Titian,
and it must have been much more difficult in the few follow-
ing years. Yet, as is customary with old age, he was not at
all aware of his failings, and continued to receive commis-
sions until the final year of his life.

There remains at S. Salvatore, one of these pictures of the
Annunciation, which attracts the spectator only from the
name of its master. Yet when he was told by some that it
was not, or at least appeared not to have been executed by
his hand, he was so much irritated, that in a fit of senile in-
dignation, he affixed to it the following words, "Tizianus
fecit fecit." Still the most experienced judges are agreed
that much may be learned even from his latest works ; in the
same manner as the poets pronounce judgment on the Odys-
sey, the product of old age, but still by Homer. Several of
these last specimens, distributed throughout private collec-
tions, are nevertheless doubtful, as well as a few copies made
by his pupils, but retouched by his hand ; and in particular
some Madonnas and Magdalens, which I have seen in various
places, displaying little or no variety. Upon this point we
ought not to omit the account given by Ridolfi, of his having
purposely left his studio open for the free access of his dis-
ciples, in order that they might secretly take copies of such
pictures as he had placed there. That afterwards when he
found such copies became vendible, he gladly took possession
of them, and retouching them with little trouble, they were
passed as his originals. The reporter of this incident added
a marginal note to his account, as follows : " Yedi che ac-
cortezza ! " behold what a degree of forecast ! And to this
I might rejoin with another of my own : " Note, that the
worth of Titian ought not to be estimated, as is too often the
case, by this multiplication of originals."

Following the usual order, I shall now proceed to describe
the imitators of Titian : by no means so excellent a master
as an artist. Whether disliking the interruption and tedious-
ness attaching to such a character, or apprehensive of meet-

IMITATORS OF TITIAN. 167

ing with a rival, he was always averse to affording his
instructions. He was extremely harsh with Paris Bordone,
and even entered into decided hostility against him, an artist
who burned with an ambition to resemble him. He banished
Tintoret from his studio, and artfully directed his own brother
to mercantile pursuits, though he displayed uncommon talents
for painting. "Hence," observes Vasari, "there are few
who can really be called his disciples, inasmuch as he taught
little ; but each learned more or less according as he knew
how to avail himself of the productions of Titian."

His family of itself enumerated several artists, the series
of whom may be seen at Cadore, and in part at the adjacent
city of Belluno. There, too, contemporary with the Vecellj,
flourished one Nicolo di Stefano, a painter deserving of com-
mendation, no less for having competed with the family of
Titian, than for the reputation he acquired in such competi-
tion. His rivals among the Vecellj, were Francesco, the
brother, and Orazio, a son of Titian, who approached him
pretty nearly in point of style. They devoted, however,
little attention to the arts, one of them having duties of a
military and mercantile nature to discharge, and the other
having thrown away much of his time and fortune upon the
idle pursuit of alchemy. Several pictures by Francesco are
to bo seen at San Salvatore, in Venice, consisting of a tolera-
bly well executed Magdalen, appearing at the feet of Christ
risen, at Oriago, on the banks of the river Brenta, and a
grand Nativity of our Lord, at San Giuseppe, in Belluno,
which, until lately, was esteemed a fine specimen of Titian,
when Monsignor Doglioni traced it by authentic documents
to it s real author. The production, however, which gave rise
to Titian's jealousy, was the altar-piece at San Vito, in Ca-
don, in which, among the other saints, he represented the
figure of the denominator of the town, in a military dress.
Orazio was considered a good portrait painter, even so far as
io r val his father ; and he likewise painted, for the public
palace, a history-piece, very beautiful, though retouched by
Titian's hand, which has since perished by fire. I find no
acc< mil of Pomponio, another son of Titian's, having applied
himself to the art, though he survived his father and brother,
wh(> both died in the same year, and dissipated his inheritance.

168 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Marco Vecellio conferred more honour upon his family,
and being the nephew, the pupil, and intimate companion of
the great Vecellio in his travels, received the title of Marco
di Tiziano. In simple composition and mechanism of the
art, he was a good disciple of his master ; but he had not the
genius to inspire his figures and interest the eye of the spec-
tator, like his great contemporary. He was, nevertheless,
esteemed worthy of the honour of ornamenting several cham-
bers of the Venetian senate, with history-pieces and portraits
of saints that are yet preserved. Some of his altar-pieces,
likewise, still exist at Venice, in Trevigi, and in the Friuli ;
while one of his large pictures, adorning the parish church at
Cadore, the native place of the Vecellj, has more particularly
elicited the highest commendations. In this appears the
Crucifixion, represented in the midst, with two histories of S.
Catherine, V. M., her controversy, and her martyrdom, sup-
porting either side. Tiziano Vecellio, called, to distinguish
him from the former, Tizianello, was the son of Marco, whose
name I include with those of the other Vecellj, in order to
avoid recurring to a family of artists which ought to be made
known and described in full. This last artist flourished about
the beginning of the seventeenth century, when mannerism
began its innovations upon Venetian painting. And those
specimens of him possessed by Venice, at the Patriarchal
church, at the Servi, and elsewhere, exhibit him in a very
opposite taste to that of his predecessors, with larger forms,
but less imposing ; a full and free pencil, but destitute of
softness of hand ; so powerful is the influence of reigning
example over family descent and education. In portraits,
nevertheless, and in heads, very capriciously varied and orna-
mented, I find him to be in much esteem among artists.

Fabrizio di Ettore traced his origin to another branch of
the Vecellj. His name had hitherto been confined within his
native spot of Cadore, until brought to light by Renaldis,
who gives some account of a fine painting he executed for
the council-hall of the parish, and for which he was paid six-
teen gold ducats, no despicable sum at the period when he
flourished. He died in the year 1580. His brother, of the
name Cesare, was likewise long unknown to pictorial history,
although his productions are pointed out at Lintiai, at Vigo,

IMITATORS OF TITIAN. 169

.at Candide, and at Padola. His name is more familiar to
engravers, inasmuch as he gave to the world two works of
etchings, during the period of his residence in Venice. One
of these, at present very scarce, contains, " Ogni sorte di
mostre di punti tagliati, punti in aria," &c. The other is
upon "ancient and modern costume," and has been several
times republished, and once in 1664, with a false title ; where
Ces;ire is mentioned as a brother of the great Titian.* A
third Vecellio, an artist of the name of Tommaso, has, in a
similar way, sprung into notice, one of whose productions,
consisting of a " Nunziata," is preserved in the parish church
of Lozzo, as well as a Supper of our Lord, both which the
historian pronounces estimable. This artist died in 1620.

Another scion from the stock, though not from the studio
of Titian, is Girolamo Dante, otherwise Girolamo di Tiziano,
.and first among his followers to be here mentioned. He was
educated and employed, both as a scholar and assistant, by
Titian, in his less important works. And in fact, by dint of
.assisting and copying the originals of his master, he attained
such a degree of excellence, that such of his pieces as were
retouched by Titian, bid defiance often to the most exact con-
noisseurs. He also produced works of design, and the altar-
piece attributed to him at San Giovanni in Olio, reflects
-credit upon so great a school. Domenico delle Greche,
named in the dictionary of artists, Domenico Greco, and in
another article, Domenico Teoscopoli, was an artist employed
by Titian in engraving his designs. The very copious print
of the " Submersion of Pharaoh," to say nothing of the others,
is sufficient proof of his worth in this kind of engraving. No
specimen of his painting is pointed out with certainty in
Italy ; many, however, in Spain, where, having accompanied
his master thither, he resided during the remainder of his
days. There, too, he produced portraits and altar-pieces,
which, according to Palomino, appeared to be from the hand
of Titian himself. But he entered upon a new style, in which
lie -altogether failed, and for a more particular account of this

* There is a small picture by Cesare Vecellio, in the I. R. Pinacoteca
of Milan, representing the Father supporting the crucified Son, with the
Holy Spirit hovering above to complete the triad. — A.

170 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

artist, we must here refer the reader to the " Lettere Pit-
toriche" (vol. vi. p. 314).

The shortness of their career interrupted the fame of two
other Venetians, both dying young, after having given the
most astonishing and lively promise of future distinction.
The name of one was Lorenzino, who produced, at SS. Gio-
vanni and Paolo, several finely designed ornaments over a
tomb, with two noble figures of Virtues, still highly esteemed
for their symmetry, their attitude, and their colouring. The
other was Natalino da Murano, as excellent in portrait as any
other of the fellow-pupils of his time, as well as a good com-
poser of pictures for private ornament, from which Venetian
dealers reaped greater profit than the artist. One of his
Magdalens, which, in spite of frequent retouches, preserved
much of the Titian manner, was put up to sale in Udine,
where I saw it; and after some difficulty, deciphered his
name and the date of 1558, in very faint characters. There
was likewise one Polidoro, a Venetian, who supplied the
shops to abundance with specimens of his sacred figures. He
appears, for the most part, a feeble disciple of Titian ; one
who made a trade of his profession. To judge from an altar-
piece preserved at the Servi, and some other pictures in
Venice, we may pronounce him a tolerably good composer,
though he never distinguished himself much in the rank of
his contemporaries. Yet when the great school declined, his
labours, such as they were, acquired more esteem, and were
exhibited in the studios of those artists, much in the same
manner as sculptors are accustomed to collect specimens of
ancient marbles, however inferior, as advantageous in the pur-
suit of their art. Such is the influence of a great master's
reputation, and the maxims of a flourishing epoch, in the esti-
mation of an artist's merit. Doubts have been started as to
his real name, although in the Necrologio of S. Pantaleone he
is expressly called Polidoro Pittore. This supposition ap-
pears to have arisen from a little oblong painting, in the style
of Polidoro's Madonnas, preserved by the noble Casa Pisani,
where is formed so valuable a collection of monuments and
books. The painter's name affixed to it, is " Gregorius Pori-
deus ;" but whatever resemblance we trace in the two names?

BONIFAZIO VENEZIANO. 171

it is not sufficient to mark Polidoro for the author of that
piece, most probably the production of one of Titian's imita-
tors, whose name is fallen, with many others of aii inferior
class, into oblivion. We must not, however, include that of
Gio. Silvio, a Venetian, which, omitted in the history of his
native place, still vindicates its title to notice, by numerous
work^ dispersed throughout the state of Trevigi, and a very
elegaat altar-piece, executed in 1532, for the collegiate church
of Piove di Sacco, a municipality of the Padovano. It repre-
sents San Martino in his episcopal chair, between the two
Apostles Peter and Paul ; three angels form the accessaries,
two in the act of raising his pastoral staff, and the third play-
ing upon a harp, at the foot of the throne, extremely graceful,
like the rest, and displaying a degree of taste and nature,
such as we find in Titian. If we cannot then adduce autho-
rity sufficient to prove that Silvio was his scholar, it may, at
least, from such a specimen, be strongly suspected.

I urn indebted to Sig. Ab. Morelli, who, in the " Notizia"
already cited, has pointed out the true birth-place of Boni-
fazio Veneziano, who appears, notwithstanding the authority
of Vusari, Ridolfi, and Zanetti, to have been a native of Ve-
rona, not of Venice. He is pronounced by Ridolfi, a pupil
of Palma, and by Boschini, on the other hand, the disciple of
Titian, whom he followed as closely as his shadow. It was
an usual observation, during the time of Boschini, and yet
repented, indeed, in regard to certain doubtful pieces : is it a
Titian or a Bonifazio ? He approached nearest, perhaps, to
Vecollio, in his Supper of our Lord, preserved in the monas-
tery of the Certosa. For the most part he boasts a freedom,
a spirit, and grandeur of hand, peculiarly his own ; although
it is known that he greatly admired the vigour of Giorgione,
the delicate taste of Palma, and the attitude and composition
of Titian. The merit of this professor of the art was early
appi eciated, and historians have often observed that the three
most distinguished artists of that period were Titian, Palma,
and Bonifazio. Public edifices abound with his productions,
and the ducal palace, among other of his historical pieces,
boasts that grand Expulsion of the Money-dealers from the
Temple, which, for the number of the figures, for its spirit,
and power of colouring, as well as for its fine perspective, is

172 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

enough to render his name immortal. A more than mortal
air of divinity shines in the countenance of the Redeemer,
who, alone and unsupported, throws consternation into a
crowd of people intent upon their worldly interests, with a
mere scourge of ropes, from which they fly in the utmost ter-
ror. And how anxiously is some wretch seen collecting his
money upon those tables glittering with silver and gold ; and
with what dread he looks back, in order that he may escape
from the blows ! What an expression of alarm is seen in the
countenance of each spectator ; women, boys, people of every
rank, terrified at the strangeness of the spectacle ! This noble
picture was presented to the public collection, not long ago,
by the family of the Contarini ; and for this reason we find
no notice taken of it in the work of Zanetti. Other paintings
might be mentioned upon a grand scale, and rich in figures,
adapted for private collections ; the most celebrated, perhaps,
of which are his series of Triumphs, taken from Petrarch ;
productions which subsequently passed into England. He
likewise employed himself upon pictures of a smaller size,
rarely, however, to be met with. One of these, a Holy Fa-
mily at Rome, is in possession of Prince Rezzonico. The
scene represents the workshop of S. Joseph, where he is seen
reposing, while the Virgin is intent upon her domestic duties,
and a group of angels surrounds the infant Jesus, who is play-
ing with the instruments of the saint's occupation. One of
these is employed in placing two pieces of wood in the form
of a cross, an idea frequently imitated by Albauo. It is worth
observation that Orlandi and other writers have confounded
this artist with Bonifazio Bembo, many years anterior to him,
and born at Cremona. The resemblance of names has like-
wise misled a more recent author in regard to another Vene-
tian painter, mistaken for a native of Lucca. He painted a
Virgin with four saints for San Francesco, at Padua; a piece
between the style of the moderns and the Bellini, to which is
affixed the name "Paulus Pinus Ven. 1565." And in the
castle of Noale, in the state of Trevigi, he adorned the public
gallery, both interior and exterior, with historical figures,
adapted to the place near which the judge is accustomed to
hear cases and decide differences. Whoever is acquainted
with the " Dialogue upon Painting," published by this pro-

ANDREA SCHIAVONE.

fessor at Venice as early as 1548, where, in the dedication,
lie professes himself a Venetian, and whoever has seen his
works will be in no danger of confounding him with Paul Pini,
of Lucca, of the Carracci School, whom we shall meet with
beyond the precincts of his native place, like numerous others
of his fellow-citizens.

An imitator of Titian, in his colouring, though with a share
of original vivacity, is Andrea Schiavone, of Sebenico, sur-
named Medula. Few artists have so early evinced a decided
taste for their profession, of which it is said his father became
aware when accompanying him through the city, yet a child,
in order to fix upon his future destination. Observing him
highly entertained with productions of the art, he instantly
applied to the artists, and devoted him to the profession.
But fortune was not favourable to him, and he became com-
pelled, by penury, to obtain a subsistence rather as a daily
hireling than as an artist. Hence it was, that, destitute of a
knowledge of design, he was obliged to paint, meeting with
no other patrons than some master muratore, or wall-painter,
who had it in his power to recommend him for the facades, or
some painter of household articles to employ him as an as-
sistant. Titian conferred upon him some degree of credit, by
proposing him, along with others, for ornamenting the library
of S. Mark, where he worked more correctly, perhaps, than
in any other place. Tintoret, also, did him justice, often
aiding him in his labours, to observe the artifice of his colour-
ing ; and even gave one of his pictures a place in his own
studio, observing that it would be well if every other artist
would follow his example, though he would do ill not to
design better than his model. Moreover he wished to imitate
him, and placed an altar-piece at the church of the Carmini,
so much resembling his style, that Vasari pronounced it to be
the work of Schiavone. Yet the same historian held him in
such slight esteem, as to say that it was only by mistake that
he occasionally produced a good piece ; a sentence severely
criticised by Agostin Caracci, as we gather from Bottari, in
his " Life of Franco." And, in truth, except for design, the
whole composition of Schiavone is highly commendable ;
spirited in his attitudes, drawn from the engravings of Par-
migianino ; his colours, approaching to the sweetness of

174 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Andrea del Sarto, beautiful ; and his hand altogether that of
a great master. His fame increased after his death, and his
paintings, for the most part, of a mythological character,
were removed from the chests and benches to adorn the
cabinets of connoisseurs. Guarienti cites three of these in
the collection at Dresden, and Rosa four, in the Cesarean one
of Vienna. I have seen several very graceful specimens in
the Casa Pisani, at San Stefano, and almost in every other
gallery in Venice. In Rimini, also, I saw two of his pic-
tures, painted as companions, at the Padri Teatini ; the
Nativity of our Lord, and the Assumption of the Virgin,
small figures upon the Poussin scale, and among the most
beautiful he ever drew. Santo Zago, and Orazio da Castel-
franco, called dal Paradiso, are known for a very few works
in fresco, but too well executed to be here omitted. Cesare
da Conegliano, also, is the author of a single altar-piece, at
the Santi Apostoli, of the same place, which represents our
Lord's Supper, and sufficient of itself to place him near
Bonifazio,, and the best of that class.

Vasari, who has omitted some of the preceding, twice
makes honourable mention of Gio. Calker, or Calcar, as it is
written by others, an excellent portrait painter, of Flemish
extraction. He was also a good painter, both of small and
large figures, several of which, according to Sandrart, have
been attributed to Titian ; and others, when he changed his
manner, to RafFaello. He died young, in 1546, at Naples.
Treating of Dietrico Barent, in Venice known by the name
of Sordo Barent, Baldinucci supposes him to have been
Titian's pupil, by whom he was regarded as his son. To
these Ridolfi adds three excellent foreigners, one Lamberto, a
German,* who is supposed the Lombardo, or Sustermans,

* Lamberto Lombardo, of Liege, is the artist whose life was written
in Latin, by his disciple Golzio, a work edited in Bruges in 1565. In
his youth he adopted the surname of Suterman, or Susterman, in the
Latin tongue Suavis, and having likewise been an excellent engraver, his
signature was sometimes L. L., at others, L. S. The whole of this ac-
count is to be met with in Orlandi, and other books. Yet Orlandi, and
the new Guide of Padua, acknowledge another Lamberti, also surnamed
Suster, upon the authority of Sandrart, who mentions him, p. 224. Ac-
cording to Orlandi, this artist was the assistant to Titian and Tintoret, by
whom he is first recorded as Lamberto Suster, and again as Lamberto

PUPILS OF TITIAN. 175

who gave assistance in their landscapes alternately to Titian
and to Tintoret, and left a very beautiful picture of San
Giro]amo, at the Teresiani, in Padua; the others were Cris-
tofor o Suarz, and one Emanuel, a German. These, like
man}- others, resorting to Titian for instruction, on their return
to their native place introduced a taste for the Venetian
schoc 1 ; and there continued to flourish. He must have pre-
sented more disciples to Spain, when being invited by
Charles Y. he removed to his court, and founded in his
dominions a school which acquired and continued to boast of
excellent artists, particularly in point of colouring. One
Don Paolo de las Roelas is mentioned by Preziado, who, in
mature age, became a priest and a canon. There is a grand
picture from his hand in the parochial church of San Isidoro,
at Seville, representing the death of the bishop. The style is
altog3ther that of Titian, though he could not have been his
disci] >le, if he was, indeed, born in 1560, when that artist was
no longer in Spain. But in regard to foreigners, it is enough
to have alluded to them in a history of Italians ; and we must
return to those natives of Italy, in particular of the state of
Venice, who are esteemed among Titian's imitators. We
may begin with the Friuli ; although, owing to the school of
the great Pordenone there holding the sway, the genuine fol-
lowers of Titian, excepting the Cadorini already mentioned,
are very few and almost forgotten in history. Among
otheis of Friuli, Bidolfi mentions a Gaspero Nervesa, who
painted at Spilimbergo, and calls him Titian's scholar. No
genii ;ne picture of his, however, is pointed out, though Father
Federici discovered one at Trevigi. The same author like-
wise extols Irene de' Signori di Spilimbergo, a lady of singular

Tedes :o. The same author mentions a Federigo di Lanaberto, whose
name occurs in our first volume, likewise called del Padovano and Sustris,
certainly from Suster, for which see Vasari and his annotators. These
Lamborti, founded upon the diversity between the Liege and German
name? of Susterman and Suster, received upon the authority of Sandrart,
not al vays very critical, are, I have reason to think, one and the same
artist. For in Venice, one Lamberto only is alluded to by Ridolfi, Bos-
chini, and Zanetti, without a surname, but by the last held to be the same
as Lombardo; and what signifies it, whether he was called Suster or
Susterman, of Germany, or of Liege, in Italy.

176 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

accomplishments, highly celebrated by the poets of the
fifteenth century. She left behind her three little pictures of
sacred histories, preserved by the noble family of Maniago,
and which are still to be seen at the house of Conte Fabio,
equally distinguished for his acquaintance with science and
with art. They display but little skill in the design, though
they are coloured with a degree of masterly power, not
unworthy the first artist of the happiest period. A Bacchanal,
by the same hand, is at Monte Albodo, in possession of the
Claud] family. Titian took the portrait of this lady, being
known to be extremely intimate with her family ; and for
this reason it is believed that he must have had some share-
in the pictorial education of the fair artist.

Lodovico Fumicelli was an artist of Trevigi, reported to
have been a pupil of Titian. At all events he was one of his
most distinguished imitators. One of his pieces, adorning the
great altar of the church of the Eremitani, at Padua, displays
both the design and colouring of a great master. His native
place can boast works that have been equally extolled. It is
mortifying then to recall to mind that he abandoned his pro-
fession for the art of fortification. One of his assistants, in
Trevigi, was Francesco Dominici, who may be said to rival
him in the cathedral of the city, in those two processions
which they painted, opposite to each other. This young
artist, of great promise, especially in portraits, produced little,
being cut off in the flower of his days. With pleasure I annex
to these a friend of Paolo, and excellent pupil of Titian's,
whom, in some things, he imitated, but who has been errone-
ously denominated by historians;* my information respecting
him, as well as other artists of Castelfranco, has been obtained
from a MS. communicated to me by the learned Dottore
Trevisani.t He took the name of Gio. Batista Ponchino, and
the surname of Bozzato, a city of his native place, where

* He is called by Vasari, Zanetti, and Guarienti, Bazzacco and Braz-
zacco da Castelfranco, and Guarienti makes him a scholar of Badile.

•f They consist only of a few pages relating to the painters of Castel-
franco. I cannot explain why Padre Federici (Fref. p. 17) supposes that
I should have announced this as the MS. Melchiori, although Sig. Trevi-
.sani may have drawn various notices from that quarter.

MAZZA AND CAMPAGNOLA. 177

several of his paintings in fresco still exist, together with his
celebrated piece of the Limbo,* in San Liberale, the finest, if
we except the works of Giorgione, which that city has to
boa;4, and it is greatly admired by strangers. He painted
also at Venice and Vicenza, during the lifetime of his consort,
a daughter of Dario Varotari ; but on her death he assumed
the ecclesiastical habit, nor interested himself much in his art.
Padua boasted two noble scholars from the hand of Titian ;
Damiano Mazza, and Domenico Campagnola. The former,
however, was rather promised than conferred upon us, dying
verv young, after producing a single piece deserving of com-
memoration, in his native place. This was a Ganymede borne
away by the Eagle, depicted on an entablature, which, for its
exquisite beauty, was attributed to the hand of Titian, and
removed from the place. Venice must have been his sphere
of action ; a few of his pictures remaining in different churches,
executed with striking power and relief, if not with much
delicacy of hand. The other artist is better known, said to
have been of the family of Campagnola, though with no
authority for the assertion. He was nephew to the Girolamo
mentioned by Vasari among the disciples of Squarcione, and
son to that Giuliof whose genius is commended in the Lite-
rary History of Tiraboschi (vol. vi. p. 792), and in the " Storia
Pittorica" of Vasari. He was a fine linguist, miniature-
painter, and engraver, and the author of several altar-pieces,
which betray some traces of the ancient style. Domenico's
appears more modern, so much so, as to have awakened, it is
said, the jealousy of Titian, an honour he enjoyed in common
with Bordone, with Tintoret, and other rare artists. And his
works give authority to the tradition, not so much in Venice
as in Padua, a city for whose embellishment he would appear
to have risen up. He painted in fresco, at the college of the
San^o, in the style of an able scholar, emulating an incom-

* Padre Coronelli, in his Travels in England (part i. p. 66), ascribes
this picture to Paul Veronese, a mistake that is cleared up by the tenor of
the contract, preserved in the archives of San Liberale. He adds that
the picture contained a number of naked figures, to which draperies were
afterwards adapted by another hand — an assertion wholly groundless.

f In a MS. by a contemporary author, cited in the new Guide of Padua,
he is called Domenico Veneziano, educated by Julio Campagnola.

VOL. II. N

178 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

parable master of his art. His pictures in oil resemble him
the nearest of any, as we see in the college of S. M. del Parto
a complete cabinet of his works. He represented on the en-
tablature the Holy Evangelists, with other saints, in various
compartments ; and he seems to have aspired to a vastness of
design beyond that of Titian, and to mark the naked parts
with a more evident degree of artifice.

Contemporary with Campagnola, though scarcely heard of
beyond Padua, were Gualtieri, one of his relatives, and a
Stefano del Arzere, who, in his picture of Christ upon the
Cross, at San Giovanni di Verzara, appears ambitious, how-
ever rudely, of imitating Titian. Both were, nevertheless,
esteemed by Ridolfi for their paintings in fresco, and both,
together with Domenico, were employed in ornamenting a
large hall, representing the figures of emperors and illustrious
characters, upon nearly a colossal scale. For this reason it
was denominated the Sala de' Giganti, afterwards converted
into a public library. These figures are, for the most part, of
an ideal cast, various in point of design, in some dignified, in
others heavy. The antique costume is not always strictly ob-
served, but the colouring is rich and of a fine chiaroscuro, and
it would be difficult to find in all Italy a piece which appears
to have suffered less from time. Niccolo Frangipane is sup-
posed to have been a Paduan, though his birthplace is dis-
puted,* and he is not mentioned by Ridolfi. Still he may be
esteemed worthy of being recorded for his exquisite style as a
naturalist, in which he painted his picture of the Assumption,
at the Conventuali, in Rimini, dated 1565, and a half-length
figure of San Francesco, with that of 1588, at S. Bartolommeo,

* Thus stated in the " Lettere Pittoriche," vol. i. p. 248. Recent
Tenters of Friuli make him a native of Udine, a modern supposition, in-
asmuch as Grassi, a very diligent correspondent of Vasari, would hardly
have been silent upon such a name. It took its rise, most likely, from
the existence of a noble family of the same surname, in Udine, and from
three of the artist's pictures having been discovered in the same place,
one with the date 1595. Yet none are to be seen at Casa Frangipani, a
circumstance very unusual in regard to excellent artists. We must look,
therefore, for other proofs before we can pronounce him a native of Udine,
and before we can assent to the conjecture of Rinaldis, who would admit
two artists of the name of Niccolo Frangipane, the one a painter by pro-
fession, and the other a dilettante ; and yet contemporaries, as appears
from the authority of the dates of the pictures already referred to.

GIAMBATISTA MAGANZA. 179

In Padua. A picture also of San Stefano is attributed to him
by .he "Guide of Pesaro," though his genius was more adapted
to burlesques, several specimens of which are yet in the pos-
session of private individuals.

Vicenza boasts the name of Giambatista Maganza, the head
of ;i family of artists who long devoted themselves, both in
ptillic and private, to the ornament of their native province.
Hifr descendants, however, adopted various styles, as we shall
see, while Giambatista was only ambitious of treading in the
steps of Titian, his master, which he did with success. He
was an excellent portrait-painter, and also left several works
of pure invention at Vicenza, in which he displayed the same
easy genius as in his poetry. He wrote in the rustic idiom of
Padua, under the name of " Magagno," while such contempo-
raries as Sperone, Trissino, Tasso, and other celebrated wits,
not ignorant of the dialect, applauded the excellence of his
rudo and sylvan strains. Giuseppe Scolari was an artist,
supposed by most to have been a native of Vicenza, though
referred by the Cavalier Pozzo to Verona. A pupil of
Maganza, he excelled in works in fresco and in chiaroscuro,
enlivened by certain yellow tints, at that period in great vogue.
He was a good designer, which appears from his works, both
in Vicenza and Verona; and he likewise produced several
large pictures in oil at Venice, much commended by Zanetti.
Possibly another disciple of Maganza, from the period at
which he flourished, was Gio. de Mio, of Vicenza, an artist
who competed with Schiavone, Porta, Zelotti, Franco, and
witli Paul Veronese himself, in the library of S. Mark, though
history makes no mention of his master any more than of Mio ;
if, iideed, he should not be the same as Fratina, recorded by
Kidolfi as one of the assistants in ornamenting the library.
The name of Gio. de Mio was met with in one of the archives,
and Fratina was possibly his surname.

Among the Veronese disciples of Titian, we have to men-
tion Brusasorci, and, according to some writers, also Farinato.
Botii at least visited Venice, either for the purpose of study-
ing his works, or in his school. Zelotti has been pronounced
in more open terms the scholar of Titian. But of these and
other distinguished artists of Verona, it will be preferable to
give the reader some account when treating on the merits of

N 2

180 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Paul Caliari, a plan that will bring under immediate view the
state of that noble school during its most flourishing period.

About the same time several Brescian artists greatly distin-
guished themselves, although too little known for want of
enjoying a metropolitan city for their sphere of action. Luca
Sebastiano, an Aragonese, who died towards the close of the
sixteenth century, was celebrated, we are told, rather as a
fine designer than a painter. An altar-piece with the initial
letters L. S. A. has been attributed to his hand. It is the
Saviour represented between two saints, the composition of
which is common ; the foldings of the drapery want softness,
but the figures, the colours, and the attitudes are excellent.
I apprehend that, however learned in his art, he would have
been anxious to avoid competition with the two celebrated
citizens of whom we shall now give some description. The
first is Alessandro Bonvicino, commonly called Moretto of
Brescia, who was among the earliest of Titian's school to in-
troduce his master's whole style of composition into his native
district. This is clearly seen in his picture of S. Niccolo,
painted in 1532 for the Madonna de' Miracoli, in which he
depicted several figures of children, and of a man presenting
them to the saint ; portraits in Titian's best manner. Sub-
sequently attracted by the composition of Raflaello, as ex-
hibited in some pictures and engravings, he changed his style,
adopting one altogether new, and so rich in its attractions,
that many dilettanti have gone out of their way, and visited
Brescia, for the sole purpose of feasting their eyes with them.
The manner of Raffaello may be as strongly traced as we can
imagine possible for a painter who had never seen Rome ; we
meet with graceful features, elegant proportions, if they do
not sometimes appear too slender ; accuracy in the attitudes
and expression, which, in his sacred subjects, display, as it
were, the peculiar feeling of remorse, of pity, and even of
charity itself. The drapery is diversified, but not sufficiently
select, while all the accessories of the perspective and other
embellishments are as splendid as in any Venetian artist ;
although not lavished with so much profusion ; and he dis-
plays an exact, diligent, and delicate hand, which appears, to
use" a modern expression often applied, to write what it paints.
la regard to colouring, Moretto pursued a method which

MORETTO OF BRESCIA. 181

surprises by its combined novelty and effect. Its chief cha-
racteristic consists of a very beautiful play of light and sha-
do^.v, not disposed in great masses, but finely tempered and
contrasted with each other. The same degree of art he
applies both to his figures and his skies, where he sometimes
depicts clouds whose colours are contrasted in a similar way.
For the most part his grounds are clear and bright, from
which the figures seem to rise with admirable relief. His
fleshy parts often remind us of the freshness of Titian's ; in his
tin:s, moreover, he is more varied than the latter, or any other
of the Venetians. Little azure appears in his draperies, the
union of reds and yellows in a picture having been apparently
more to his taste. It is the same with other colours, a cir-
curistance I have noticed in some of his contemporaries, both
of Brescia and Bergamo. Vasari, who has recorded his
name, along with that of many other Brescian artists, in his
life of Carpi, commends him for his skill in imitating every
kind of velvet, satin, or other cloth, either of gold or silver ;
but as he did not see, or failed to commemorate, some of his
choicest works, he has by no means done justice to his cha-
racter.

Moretto produced some works in fresco, though, if I
mistake not, he coloured better in oils ; as is the case where
diligence and depth of parts are not equally matched with
pictorial rapidity and fire. He employed himself a good
deal in his native province and the adjacent parts, in general
distinguishing himself more by his delicacy than by his
grandeur of hand. A fine specimen of this last, however,
may be seen in his terrific picture of Elias, placed in the old
cathedral. He was intimate with all the best methods of his
.art ; but he did not always care to practise them. His pic-
ture of S. Lucia, in the church of S. Clemente, is not so much
studied as that of S. Catherine, and even tnis yields to his
painting of the great altar, representing our Lady in the air,
with the titular and other saints seen below. The composi-
tion is conducted in every part with exquisite taste, and the
piece is considered one of the best the city has to boast. An
altar-piece, consisting of various saints, at S. Andrea, in Ber-
gamo, another at S. Giorgio, in Verona, with the Fall of S.
Paul, at Milan, with which last he appears to have been so

182 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

much pleased, as to subscribe, which was very unusual with
him, his name — are all likewise of the most finished composi-
tion. He was esteemed excellent in portrait, and educated
for this branch of art Gio. Batista Moroni.

This last was a native of Albino, in the territory of Ber-
gamo, where he produced, both for the city and the state, a
variety of altar and history pieces, which he continued to
supply from early youth, until within a few months of his
decease. So much has been made out, from authentic docu-
ments, by the Conte Tassi, who brought forward a long series
of his noble compositions. This artist is not, however, at all
comparable to his master in point of invention, of composi-
tion, or design ; which last sometimes betrays a dryness ap-
proaching that of the quattrocentisti. Pasta notices the same
defect, in his Incoronazione of our Lord at the Trinita, al-
though very finely coloured, and a work equalling any of his
others in point of merit. For the rest, it is certain that no
artist of the Venetian school, besides Titian, has excelled him
in the truth and nature of his portraits, and in the life and
spirit of his heads, insomuch that Titian was in the habit of
recommending him to the governors of Bergamo, as the best
face-painter he could offer them. There exist specimens in
the Carrara collection, in possession of the Conti Spini, and
in other noble houses, which still appear to breathe and live ;
the drapery is in the Titian manner, and if any thing can be
said to be wanting, it is a greater degree of mastery in the
design and attitude of the hands.

Francesco Ricchino, of Brescia, is another name deserving
of record among the better disciples of Moretto, even in point
of colouring. He was desirous, however, from what we learn
from his pieces at San Pietro in Oliveto, of extracting im-
provement from the pictures, or at least from the engravings
of Titian. Luca Mombelli followed him in some of his ear-
liest works, until giving in to too great delicacy of manner, his
productions became somewhat feeble and tame. Girolamo
Rossi, another pupil or imitator, has, if I mistake not, better
displayed his master's manner than any other, particularly in
an altar-piece, placed at San Alessandro, representing the
Virgin between various saints. Bagnatore was also a good
copyist of the same style, an artist who, in his Slaughter of

ROMANINO. 18$

the Innocents, subscribes his name Balneator, and who, if not
displaying great power, is nevertheless judicious, correct, and
sober in his works in oil ; and he was one to whom was com-
ir itted by public order the task of copying a picture by
Moretto.

Contemporary with Moretto flourished Romanino, of Bres-
cia, about the year 1540 ; the same who in S. Giustina, at
Padua, subscribes his name Hieronymus Rumanus. He was
the rival of Bonvicino, inferior to him in the opinion of Va-
sari, but his equal according to Ridolfi. And truly it would
appear that he surpassed him in genius and boldness of hand;
but could boast neither the same taste nor diligence, several
of his works appearing to be executed with a hasty pencil.
Sdll he in general displays the qualities of a great master,
both in his altar-pieces and in his histories, to say nothing of
his burlesque compositions. The same character he main-
tained at Verona, where he painted the martyrdom of the
tiiular saint, at S. Giorgio, in four large pictures abounding
with great variety of figures, some of the most spirited, and
the most terrible, in the executioners, that I ever saw. The
same richness of invention, accompanied even with more
select forms, is displayed in his altar-piece of the Holy Vir-
gin in Calcara, at Brescia, in which he represented the bishop,
S. Apollonio, administering the Eucharist to the crowd. It
is a work altogether charming ; the splendour of the place,
and of the sacred vessels, the religious aspect of the prelate,
ol the Levites, and of the people ; the great variety of features
and of rank ; so many singular pictorial beauties are all
placed within the limits of propriety and truth. Less full,
but no less perfect, is his Descent of Christ from the Cross,
at SS. Faustino and Giovita, a piece commended by Pal-nut
for its extreme resemblance to the Venetian style, most pro-
bubly alluding to that of Titian, although in some other works
ho very strongly resembles Bassano. Titian, however, would
appear to have been his model, to which he wholly devoted
himself; whether he acquired so high a regard for him from
his own master, Stefano Rizzi, an artist of mediocrity, or de-
spairing of forming a new style, like his rival, he was in.
hopes of surpassing him by such means. And, in fact, he still
rt 'tains admirers in those parts, who prefer him to Moretto,

184 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

as well for grandeur of composition and energy of expression,
as for a capacity of genius that embraced every variety of
subject.

Girolamo Muziano acquired the art of design from Ro-
manino, and taking his style of colouring from the works of
Titian, he subsequently flourished at Rome, in which school
lie has been already mentioned. In this place we must in-
clude Lattanzio Gambara, the pupil and companion of Ro-
manino, as well as his son-in-law, at least if we are to credit
Ridolfi and other writers, in this last point sanctioned by the
popular tradition of Brescia. Vasari alone, who resided in
his house only a short time before he gave some account of
him, observes that he was son-in-law to Bonvicino, a point in
which his memory, doubtless, betrayed him. Lattanzio was
not inferior to his master in spirit, and, at the same time, bet-
ter instructed in the rules of the art, and more learned. Hav-
ing attended the academy of Campi, in Cremona, until his
eighteenth year, and cultivated an acquaintance with the best
foreign masters that he always retained, he added to this
knowledge all the richest and most tasteful colours of the
Venetian school. Like Pordenone, he employed his talents,
for the most part, in frescos, which are still to be seen at
Venice, as well as within and without the confines of the
state. His manner, however, was less strong and shaded,
but in other points much resembling him in the beauty and
variety of his forms, variously coloured according to his sub-
jects ; in his knowledge of anatomy, without affectation,
spirited attitudes, difficult foreshortenings ; in a relief that
deceives the eye, and in novelty and play of invention. To
these we may add even a greater propriety of ideas, and
sweetness of tints, acquired from other schools ; Lattanzio
having studied Giulio Romano at Mantua, and Correggio in
Parma. In the Corso de' Ramai, at Brescia, there yet re-
main three fa9ades., adorned with various histories and fables,
truly beautiful, executed by his hand. They are not, bow-
ever, so imposing as some of his scriptural pieces, to be seen
in still better preservation in the cloister of S. Euphemia, en-
gravings of which have been promised to the public. The
spectator often recurs to them, and always with fresh plea-
sure. When for want of space the figures could not be put

GERONIMO SAVOLDO. 185

in an upright posture, he foreshortened them with admirable
nature and facility, so that no other attitudes could be
imagined so becoming to each figure. Professors have de-
tected some degree of imperfection in the naked parts, very
common, indeed, to the most celebrated painters of frescos ;
but it is such as cannot be perceived at a distance, or if seen,
resembles only some false quantity in a good poet, easily to be
pardoned in the number of poetical, beauties with which his
versos abound. He painted still more copious histories for
the cathedral at Parma, containing, perhaps, his greatest and
most studied production, and which fails not to please, even
in the presence of those of Correggio. There are several
altar-pieces likewise in oil at San Benedetto, in Mantua, all
of which are not equally happy. A Nativity of our Lord, at
SS. Faustino and Giovita, is his only picture in oil remaining
at his native place in public; it is very graceful, displaying
certain traits of the Raffaello manner. His picture of a
Pieta, at San Pietro, in Cremona, is also highly esteemed by
professors, one among whom, who had designed a good deal
from the works of Lattanzio, declared to me that he had never
witnessed any other so exquisite in point of design, nor
coloured with so much delicacy, clearness, and taste and soft-
ness of tints. Yet this great artist only reached his thirty-
second year, leaving in Giovita, a Brescian artist (likewise
called Brescianino), an excellent disciple, particularly of works
in fresco.

Geronimo Savoldo, sprung of a noble family in Brescia,
flourished also about 1540, and is ranked by Paolo Pino
among the best artists of his age. I know not where he ac-
quired the rudiments of his art ; but from a specimen which I
saw at Brescia, he must have possessed great accuracy and deli-
cacy of hand. Upon transferring his residence to Venice, he is
known to have become one of the most formidable of Titian's
rivals ; not, indeed, in works of a large scale, but in smaller
pieces conducted with an exquisite degree of care, which may,
in !!, manner, be said to have been his chief characteristic.
"With such as these he beguiled his time, presenting them
gratuitously as ornaments for churches. He produced others
for private persons, now extremely rare and valuable, in dif-
ferent collections.

186 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Zanetti, in his description of his little Presepio (Christ in
the manger), recently retouched, which is to be seen at San
Giobbe, observes that the tint of his pictures is truly beauti-
ful, and the whole composition conducted with a singular
degree of care. In Venice, says Ridolfi, he is known by the
name of Girolamo Bresciano, neither Romanino nor Muziano
having employed themselves there, with whom he might pos-
sibly have been confounded. There he resided for many
years, and terminated his days at the same place. His
happiest production, though unknown to the historian, was
placed in the Altar-Maggiore, of the Padri Predicatori, at
Pesaro, a noble piece, which produces a striking impression
upon the eye.* Our Lord is seen placed on high, seated
upon a cloud, which appears truly illuminated by the sun,
and on the foreground are represented four saints, drawn
with a force of colouring that seems to bring them as near to
the eye, as the soft colour of the perspective and of the upper
part of the picture throws its objects into the distance. A
small, but beautiful piece, in excellent preservation, is also
seen in the Royal Gallery of Florence, exhibiting the Trans-
figuration of our Lord, placed there along with specimens of
other Venetian artists, by the Cavalier Puccini, one who has
conferred so many obligations upon that princely collection
of art.

Finally, after Savoldo, may be placed, among the Brescian
disciples of Titian, Pietro Rosa, son of Cristoforo, and
nephew to Stefano Rosa, both excellent artists in oil. He
was one of those pupils whom Titian, induced by the friend-
ship he bore his father, instructed with most care, and the
best success. Hence it is that we trace that clear and true
force of colouring, which shines in every one of his pieces.
Brescia boasts several, at the church of San Francesco, in the
Dome, and at the Grazie, where such as have the fewest
figures produce the happiest effect. In his composition he is
not so perfect as in other parts, whether it were that he had
not naturally the best talent for it, or, as is more probable,
that it is a branch of the art most difficult to young prac-

'* This painting is now in the I. R. Pinacoteca, at Milan. It is wholly
Titianesque, and is only wanting in more choice selection in the figures
of the lower ground.

GIROLAMO COLLEONI. 187

tit: oners. For lie died in the outset of his career, at the same
period as his father, in 1576, whether from the plague or
from poison is not known.

Although Bergamo, at that period, boasted many distin-
guished imitators of Giorgione, it yet produced an artist,
Girolamo Colleoiii, who ought to be included in the present list.
Some frescos from his hand are found at Bergamo, and an oil-
painting in the Carrara Gallery. It exhibits the marriage of
S. Catherine, which the best judges, on a first view, pro-
nounced to be the work of Titian, till the superscription, with
tho name of Hieronymus Colleo, 1555, vindicated it for his
own. This distinguished artist, conscious of his merit, and
not finding himself appreciated in his own country, foreign
and inferior painters being preferred before him, sought better
fortune at the court of Madrid. But before setting out, he
painted upon a facade the figure of a horse, of which great
encomiums, in different works, are all that remain ; and to
this he affixed as a motto, " Nemo propheta in patria." He
is known to have employed, as an assistant, Filippo Zanchi,
who, together with a brother of the name of Francesco, has
m:>re recently been brought into view by Count Tassi,
besides some others who might here add to the number, but
not to the eminence, of so rich a school. An artist celebrated
also by Ridolfi, ought not, in this place, to be omitted ; the
boauty of his tints, the design of his infant fingers, and the
nature of his landscape, all shewing that he aspired to the
Titian manner. He painted in fresco, but possessed an uni-
versal genius, as has been pronounced by Muzio, in his
" Teatro di Bergamo ;" the truth of which more clearly
appears from his own works. His name was Giovan-Batista
Averara. and he died young about the middle of the most
flourishing period of the art. Another artist deserving com-
memoration is Francesco Terzi, who long resided at the
Austrian conrt, and is distinguished in most of the capitals of
I taly for works he has there left. He has been mentioned by
] jomazzo, in whose native place are still seen, at San Sem-
pliciano, two noble histories, representing our Lord with his
Apostles, somewhat dry in point of design, but bold in
colouring.

In Gio. da Monte, Crema boasted a disciple of Titian, as

188 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

he is described by Torre, who numbers him among the more
distinguished artists who ornamented Milan. A grado, exe-
cuted by him in chiaroscuro for an altar of Santa Maria, at
San Celso, where he ought also to have painted the altar-
piece, obtained for him a high reputation; but he was
deprived of the altar-piece, owing to the intrigues of Antonio
Campi.* The work of Campi still remains there, and the
opinion is, that though it was paid for at a higher rate than
the Grado itself, it is yet a work of inferior merit to that of
Giovanni, which much resembles Polidoro da Caravaggio,
giving rise to a suspicion that Aurelio Buso, of Cremona, a
scholar and assistant of Polidoro's, in Rome, may have been
the only, or at least the earliest master of Giovanni. We
know from Ridolfi that Buso produced various histories, in
his native place, in the manner of his master, and historians
of Genoese art record other works from his hand in their
city. They assert that he departed thence unexpectedly,
while Ridolfi concludes his life, by saying, that notwithstand-
ing his worth, he died in poverty. From the period in which
he flourished, he might possibly have been the master of
Gio. da Monte, no less than Titian.

Callisto Piazza is likewise announced, by Orlandi, as
.another imitator of the latter, which is very evident from his
picture of the Assumption, in the collegiate church of
XDodogno. It contains figures of apostles, and two portraits
of Marches! Trivulzi, not unworthy of any of Titian's disci-
ples. And for such, indeed, was Callisto esteemed, both
beyond its limits, and in Lodi itself, where in the church of
the Incoronata, are three chapels, each ornamented with four
of his very beautiful histories. One of these contains the
mysteries of the Passion, another the acts of S. John the
Baptist, and the third displays histories in the life of the
Virgin. A report is current there, that Titian, in passing
through Lodi, produced several heads, probably only a story
originating in the exceeding beauty that may be observed in
some. It appears, however, certain, that he also imitated
Giorgione, in whose style he conducted his altar-piece, repre-

* This fact cannot easily be refuted, in the manner attempted by Zaist,
in his " Historical Notices of the Cremonese Painters," with true party
zeal. p. 162. (See the New Guide of Milan, p. 139.)

CALLISTO PIAZZA. 18$

sent ing the Virgin between various saints, at San Francesco,
in Brescia, esteemed one of the most beautiful in the whole
city. He produced others for Brescia, for Crema, for the
dome of Alessandria, and for Lodi, though in this last he
succ eeded better in fresco than in oil. From the circumstance-
of his residing in so many different places, I shall not refer
him to the school of Milan, preferring to place him here, no
less because of the vicinity of Crema to Lodi, than from his
belonging to the list of the imitators of Titian.* Little justice
has been done to the memory of such a man by Ridolfi, who
commends him for nothing besides his colouring in fresco and
water-colours ; when, in fact, he boasts very noble design,
and forms tolerably select, more particularly in the Assump-
tioc already mentioned. Moreover, he calls him Callisto da
Lodi Bresciano, as if da Lodi were a family name ; although
in signing his own name, he gave it Callixtus de Platea, at
the Incoronata, and elsewhere desirous of marking his country.,
Callixtus Laudensis. Ridolfi, too, says little or nothing of
the period in which he flourished. Padre Orlandi found,
affixed to one of his pictures, at Brescia, the date of 1524. I
may add, that in Lodi he gave the years 1527 and 1530 ;
and that, in the Nuptials of Cana, in the refectory of the
Padri Cisterciensi, at Milan, he marked 1545. It is truly a
surprising production, no less for its boldness of hand than
for the number of its figures, although the whole of them are
not equally well studied, and a few, among others that seem
to breathe and l*ve, are really careless and incorrect, f He
painted in the same city, within a court-yard, the Choir of
the Muses, including the portraits of the president Sacco, the

* To these the name of Francesco da Milano has recently been added ,
on the strength of an altar-piece, quite Titianesque, exhibited with his
nan>e in the parish church of Soligo, to which is added the date of 1540 :
— time may probably clear up the doubt it involves.

f He flourished several years subsequent, as appears from the " New
Milan Guide," with MS. corrections, by Signor Bianconi, of which the
Cavalier Lazara has a copy. He there remarks that he had seen in the
greater monastery, now suppressed, belonging to the nuns of San Mau-
rizio, other paintings by Piazza ; as Washing the Disciples' feet, in the
Refectory, and the Multiplication of Loaves, upon canvas. Also within
the interior church, among other scriptural stories in fresco, is found the
Adoration of the Magi, the Marriage of Cana, and the Baptism of Christ,
bearing the date of 1556.

190 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

master of the house, and of his wife ; respecting which, writes
Lomazzo, " I may, without fear of temerity, observe, that it is
impossible to produce any thing more perfectly graceful and
pleasing, more beautiful in point of colouring, among works
in fresco." (Trat. p. 598.)

We next arrive at the name of Jacopo Robusti, the son of a
Venetian dyer, and for this reason surnamed Tintoretto. He
was pupil to Titian, who, jealous of his talents, soon banished
him from his studio. He did not aspire, like the preceding
artists, to the name of Titian's follower ; for he burned with
ambition to become the head of a new school which should
carry his manner to perfection, adding to it all that was yet
wanting ; a vast idea, the offspring of a grand and fervid ge-
nius, and as bold as it was great, not even banishment from
his master's school being able to damp his ardour. Con-
strained by circumstances to confine himself to an incommo-
dious apartment, he ennobled it with specimens of his early
studies. Over the door of it he wrote, " Michelangelo's de-
sign, and the colouring of Titian ;" and as he was an indefa-
tigable imitator of the latter, so he was equally studious, both
night and day, in copying the models, taken from the statues
in Florence, belonging to the former. To these he added
many more of bassi-rilievi, and of ancient statues. In a cata-
logue of ancient pieces of sculpture, cited by Morelli, and
belonging to the year 1695, is recorded a head of Vitellius,
upon which " Tintoretto was always employed in design-
ing and learning" (note, p. 152). He was frequently in the
habit of designing his models by lamp-light, the better to
obtain strong shades, and thus acquire skill in the use of a
bold chiaroscuro. With the same view, he wrought models in
wax and chalk, and having clothed them carefully, he adapted
them to little houses composed of pasteboard, and slips of
wood, supplying them through the windows with small lights
by which he might thus regulate his own lights and shades.
The models themselves he suspended from the ceiling by cords,
placing them in a variety of positions, and designing them
from different points of view, the better to acquire a mastery
of foreshortening, as seen from below, a science not so fami-
liar to his school as to that of Lombardy. Nor did he neglect
the study of anatomy, to obtain a thorough knowledge of the

TINTORETTO. 191

muscles, and the structure of the human frame. He designed
also the naked parts, as much as possible, in various shorten-
ings and attitudes, in order to render his compositions as
diversified as nature herself. By such studies he prepared
himself to introduce the true method to be pursued by his
followers, beginning with the designing from the best models,
and having obtained the idea of a correct style, proceeding to
copy the naked parts, and to correct their defects.'" To
similar aids he united a genius which extorted the admiration
of Vasari, one of his severest critics, who pronounced it the
nmc;t terrible of which the art could boast — an imagination
fertile in new ideas, and a pictorial fire which inspired him
witli vigour to conceive well the boldest character of the pas-
sions, and continued to support him until he had given full
exj ression to them on his canvas.

Yet, what is the noblest genius, what are all the rarest
qualities meeting in a single artist, without diligence, a virtue
which of itself, says Cicero, seems to include all the rest ?
Tintoretto possessed it for a period, and produced works in
which the most captious of critics could not find a shade of
defect. Of such kind is that Miracle of the Slave, adorning
the college of St. Mark, apiece he executed in his thirty- sixth
year, and which is held up as one of the wonders of Venetian
art. The colours are Titian's, the chiaroscuro extremely
strong, the composition correct and sober, select forms, studied
draperies ; while equally varied, appropriate, and animated
beyond conception, are the attitudes of the men assisting at
the spectacle, in particular of the saint who flies to succour,
giving an idea of the swiftness of an aerial being. There,
to(, he painted other beautiful pieces, whose merit extorted
from the lips of Pietro da Cortona these words : " Did I
reside in Venice, not a festival should pass without still
reporting to this spot, in order to feast my eyes with such
objects, and above all, with the design !" His picture of the

: Zanetti, p. 147. See also Ridolfi, parte ii. p. 10, where he informs
us that Tintoret, in the maturity of his powers, being employed in paint-
ing for the church of La Trinita, Adam and Eve seduced by the Serpent,
and the Death of Abel, " designed the figures from nature, placing over
th( m a thin veil ; to which figures he added a peculiar grace of contours,
which he acquired from studying rilievi."

192 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Crucifixion at the college of San Roeco, is also esteemed a
work of singular merit ; displaying as it does, so much novelty
upon so hackneyed a subject.* Nor are other examples of
bis surpassing power wanting in the same place, filled with
pictures as various as new ; but, for brevity's sake, I shall
merely record, in the third place, his Supper of our Lord,
now at the Salute, having been removed from the refectory of
the Crociferi, for which it was drawn. Those who have be-
held it in its place, write of it as a miracle in the art, inas-
much as the construction of the place was so well repeated in
the picture, and imitated with so much knowledge of perspec-
tive, as to make the apartment appear double its real size.
Nor are these three works to which he affixed his name, as
his favourite productions, the only ones worthy of his genius,
Zanetti having enumerated many more, conducted with the
most finished care, all exhibited to the Venetian public, with-
out including those dispersed throughout the different cities of
Europe.

But diligence is rarely found long united to a rage for
achieving much ; the true source in this instance, as in nume-
rous others, of false, or at least of inferior composition. Hence,
Annibale Caracci observed, that in many pieces Tintoretto
was inferior to Tintoretto ; while Paul Veronese, so ardent
an admirer of his talents, was in the habit of reproaching him
with doing injustice to the professors of the art, by painting
in every manner, a plan that went far to destroy the reputa-
tion of the profession (JRidolfi). Similar exceptions will be
found to apply to such of his works as, conceived at a heat,
executed by habit, and in great part left imperfect, betray
certain errors both in point of judgment and design. Some-
times there appears a crowd of superfluous or badly grouped
figures, and most generally all in the most energetic actions,
without any spectators regarding them in quiet, as was prac-
tised by Titian and all the best composers. Neither in these
figures are we to look for that senatorial dignity which Rey-
nolds discovers in Titian.

Tintoretto aimed rather at liveliness than at grace, and from
the studied observation of the people of his native state, per-

* It was engraved by Agostino Caracci, and assuredly is the master-
piece of this painter. — A.

TINTORETTO. 193

haps the most spirited in Italy, he drew models for his heads,
a» well as his attitudes, sometimes applying them to the most
i important subjects. In a few specimens of his Suppers, the
Apostles might occasionally be taken for gondoliers, just when
their arm is raised, ready to strike the oar, and with an air of
nitive fierceness they raise the head either to look out, to
rJdicule, or to dispute. He likewise varied Titian's method
of colouring, making use of primary grounds no longer white,
a ad composed of chalk, but shaded ; owing to which his
Venetian pictures have felt the effects of time more than the
rest. Neither was the choice, nor the general tone of his
colouring the same as Titian's ; the blue, or the ash-coloured,
I eing that which predominates ; one which assists the effect
of the chiaroscuro, as much as it diminishes the amenity of the
whole. In his fleshes there appears a certain vinous colour,
and more particularly in his portraits. The proportions of
Lis bodies are also different ; he does not affect the fulness of
Titian ; he aims more at lively action than the latter, and
sometimes attenuates his figures too much. The least correct
portion of his pictures is the drapery ; few of them being free
from those long and straight folds, or flying abroad, or in
^ome other way too common and obvious. It would be use-
less to insist upon his want of judgment, or rather his pictorial
extravagances, Vasari having already said too much of them,
upon the subject of his Universal Judgment, at Santa Maria
dell' Orto.

He ought to have tempered the severity of his criticism,
however, by admitting, that if the author of that great picture
had bestowed as much pains upon the several parts as upon
the whole, it would have been a magnificent production. Even
in those pictures, in which he wished to display the talent as
it were of an improvisatore, he still vindicated his title to
the name of a great master, in the command and rapidity of
his pencil, in his manifestations of original powers, where he
seems to triumph in his play of light, in the most difficult
shortenings, in fanciful inventions, in his relief, in harmony,
and, in the best supported of his pieces, even in the beauty of
his tints. But his sovereign merit consisted in the animation
of his figures, it being an universal opinion, that has almost
acquired the force of a proverb, that the power of action

VOL. II. 0

194 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

ought to be studied in Tintoretto. Upon this point Pietro da
Cortona used to observe, that if we carefully examine the
whole of those pictures which have been engraved, no artist
will be found equal to him in the pictorial fire he infused into
his forms (Boschini, p. 285). He flourished for a long period,
exerting his talents until we could with difficulty make a
catalogue of his works, still giving the rein to his divine
ardour in many pieces of great size, or at least abounding with
a great variety of actors. Among these last, his picture of the
Paradise, in the hall of the great council, was greatly esteemed,
even by the Caracci ; and though the production of advanced
age, the figures are almost innumerable. Had they only been
better grouped and distributed, the artist would not have given
occasion for Algarotti to criticise such a painting as he did,
adducing it as an example of badly conceived composition.
Tintoretto's genuine productions are not often met with in the
different collections of Italy. In Venice, however, they are not
rare, and there we may learn, what appears so very impro-
bable in the Ridolfi, that Tintoretto wrought with a degree of
finish equal to that of a miniature-painter. The noble Casa
Barbarigo, at S. Polo, possesses a " Susanna " of this character,
where, in small space, is included a park, with birds and rabbits
disporting, together with every thing desirable in a pleasure-
garden ; the whole as studiously finished as his figures.

There is little to add relating to his school, on which none
conferred greater credit than his son, Domenico Tintoretto.
He trod in the steps of his father ; but like Ascanius follow-
ing ./Eneas, " non passibus asquis." Still he may boast much
resemblance in his countenances, in his colouring, and in har-
mony, but there is a wide distinction in point of genius, though
some of his most spirited pieces have been ascribed to his
father, or at least suspected of having been chiefly indebted to
his hand. Many works, however, upon a large scale, are at-
tributed to the son ; those which he has filled with portraits
being far the most commended ; his merit in this branch
having been thought equal by Zanetti to that of his father.
One of these is seen at the college of St. Mark, where, as in
the rest of his compositions, the figures are disposed with more
sobriety than those of Jacopo, as well as finished with more
care, and with more enduring colours. As he grew older his

TINTORETTO. 195

style fell somewhat into that of a mannerist, which at that
period, as we shall see, much prevailed. By these distinctions
his productions may be frequently known from his father's,
and we may be enabled to refute the assertions of dealers,
wto, to obtain a higher price, attribute them indiscriminately
to Jacopo. Yet Domenico produced many pieces, more es-
pecially portraits for different collections, besides several my-
thological and scriptural histories, to which he sometimes
ad led his name, as in his picture boasting such exquisite tints
wlich adorns the Campidoglio, the subject of which is a
penitent Magdalen. Contemporary with Domenico, we ought
no: to omit the name of his sister Marietta, so exquisite a
pa nter of portraits, as to receive invitations from the emperor
Muximilian, and from Philip II. of Spain, to visit their re-
spective courts. But her father would never consent to such
a measure, in order to enjoy her society at home, though he
was deprived of her not long afterwards, cut off in the flower
of her genius and her age. Jacopo possessed few disciples
beyond his two children, though he profited in some measure
from these few. Paolo Franceschi, or de' Freschi, a Fleming,
an«l Martino de Vos d' An versa, were artists he employed to
draw his landscapes. The former was esteemed one of the
be^t landscape painters of his time, while he succeeded also in
fig ares. He was engaged to paint for the Polazzo Publico,
and several churches in Venice, where he terminated his days.
Tbe second resided also at Rome ; and, in the church of San
Francesco a Ripa, painted his " Concezione," a picture, indeed,
ab >unding with too many figures, but beautiful and exquisite
in its tints. With still greater felicity he depicted the four
se< sons for the Colonna family, very pleasing little pictures,
pr. ;senting a happy union of various schools, fine perspective,
iina relief, with correct and graceful design. Passing into
G( rmauy, and increasing in reputation no less by his works
tlu.n by the engravings made of them by Sadeler, there, full
of years and fame, he died. Lamberto Lombardo has been
ju^t before recorded as the assistant of Tintoretto, but not his
dii ciple.

Odofardo Fialetti, a native of Bologna, was educated in the
scl ool of Tintoretto, where he acquired a reputation for good
design, and a thorough acquaintance will all the precepts of

o 2

196 VENETIAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH II.

the art, yet he was still far from emulating his master, not
possessing vivacity of genius equal to the task. To avoid a
competition with the Caracci he long continued, and died at
Venice, where many of his works are highly esteemed, and in
particular his picture of the Crucifixion, painted for the Croce.

Among the imitators of Tintoretto appears the name of.
Cesare dalle Ninfe, an artist who aimed at reaching the sharp
expression of ridicule, the novelty of ideas, and the rapidity
of hand, so remarkable in his prototype, though unequal in
his design. Flaminio Floriano seems to have been ambitious
of imitating only the more correct parts of his model, so uni-
formly exact, temperate, and precise does he appear in his
picture of San Lorenzo, to which he affixed his name.

The name of Melchior Colonna also occurs, though hardly
known in Venice, and some perhaps would add that of Bertoli,
a Venetian, to be met with affixed to a picture at the chapel
of San Niccola, in Tolentino. It represents the Plague that
visited that city, if I mistake not, and which disappeared at
the solicitation of the patron saint. There is also an account
of another artist, who from his age might have received the
instructions of Tintoretto, or at all events obtained them from
his works ; his name was Gio. Rothenamer di Monaco. Ar-
riving in Italy with but a small fund of knowledge, acquired
in the studio of a poor national artist, he distinguished him-
self at Rome, and perfected his style in Venice, adopting in a
great measure the maxims of Tintoretto. There at the Incu-
rabili, he left a Santa Cristina, a Nunziata at San Bartolom-
meo, and as we have reason to believe, other works in private
possession, by which he obtained some degree of credit. Sub-
sequently arriving at a handsome practice in England, he
nevertheless died there in poverty, his funeral expenses being
defrayed by the alms of some Venetians. But few others,
observes Zanetti, pursued the same path, probably because at
that period more pleasing and popular styles were in vogue.
Ridolfi, on the other hand, asserts, that all young artists
towards the end of the century were anxious to study him for
their model ; and we shall find, in treating of the mannerists,
that he was acknowledged by them as their sovereign master.
We must, in the next place, enter upon a consideration of the
school of Bassano.

JACOPO DA PONTE. 197

Jacopo da Ponte, son to that Francesco, who, in the pre-
ceding epoch, was commended as one of the better artists who
flourished during the fourteenth century, was nearly contem-
porary with Tintoretto, and was instructed by his father in
the art. His earliest efforts, that are seen in the church of
San Bernardino, in his native place, bear the impress of such
an education. On resorting to Venice he was recommended
to Bonifazio, a master, no less jealous of his art than Titian or
Tintoretto ; insomuch, that Jacopo never obtained the advan-
tage of seeing him colour, except by secretly watching him
through a crevice in the door of his studio. He resided but a
little time in Venice, employed in designing the cartoons of
Parmigianino, and in taking copies of the pictures of Bonifazio
and Titian, whose scholar, upon the authority of some manus-
cript, he had also been. And, if conformity of manner were
sufficient evidence, by no means always a certain guide, we
might admit the truth of such supposition ; his second style
being altogether that of Titian. A few of his pictures are
met with in his native place, such as his Flight into Egypt,
at San Girolamo, and a Nativity of the Redeemer, in posses-
sion of Sig. Dottor Larber, both youthful productions, but
which seemed to promise another Titian, so richly were they
imbued with his sweetness of taste.

Upon his father's death Jacopo was compelled to return,
and settle in his own province, whose city is at this day both
rich and populous, and in those times it was esteemed by no
means despicable, its situation delightful, abounding wfth
flocks and herds, and well adapted for the sale of merchandize,
and for fairs. From these elements arose by degrees his for-
mation of a third style, full of simplicity and grace, and which
gave the first indications in Italy of a taste altogether foreign,
th.it of the Flemish. In the use of his pencil, Jacopo may be
said to have pursued two different methods. The first of these
is much softened with a fine union of tints, and at last deter-
mined with free strokes. The second, resulting in a great
measure from the other, was formed by simple strokes of the
pencil, with clear and pleasing tints, and with a certain com-
mand, or rather audacity of art, that, nearly viewed, appears
a ;onfused mixture, but forms in the distance an enchanting
efiect of colouring. In both of these he displays the origina-

198 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

lity of his own style, chiefly consisting in a certain soft and
luscious composition. It partakes at once of the triangular
and the circular form, and aims at certain contrasts of pos-
tures ; so that if one of the figures is in full face, the other
turns its shoulders ; and at the same time at a kind of ana-
logy, so that a number of heads shall meet in the same line, or
in want of these, some other form elevated in the same direc-
tion. In regard to his lights, he appears partial to such as
are confined to one part, and displayed masterly power in
rendering it subservient to the harmony of the whole ; for
with these rare lights, with the frequent use of middle tints,
and the absence of deep obscure, he succeeded admirably in
harmonizing the most opposite colours. In the gradation of
lights he often contrives that the shadow of the interior figure
shall serve as a ground for one more forward, and that the
figures should partake of few lights, but extremely bold and
vivid at their angles : as for instance, on the top of the shoulder,
on the knee, and on the elbow, for which purpose he makes
use of a flow or sweep of folds, natural to all appearance, but
in fact highly artificial, to favour his peculiar system. In
proportion to the variety of his draperies, he varies the folds
with a delicacy of judgment that falls to the share of few.
His colours every where shine like gems ; in particular his
greens, which display an emerald tinge peculiar to himself.
Whoever would become more familiar with the mechanism,
and at the same time peruse a very full analysis of Bassano's
style, may refer to Sig. Yerci, the able historian of the Marca
Trevigiana, who drew it up from the " MS. Yolpati," cited by
us in another epoch, and in the index to the writers.

At the outset Jacopo aspired to a grandeur of style, which
is apparent from some of his pictures remaining in the fa$ade
of the Casa Michieli. Among these, a Sampson slaying the
Philistines meets with much praise, and, indeed, they all par-
take of the boldness of Michelangelo. But, whether the
result of disposition or of judgment, he afterwards confined
himself to smaller proportions, and to subjects of less power.
Even the figures in his altar-pieces are generally less than
life, and so little animated, that it was observed by some one,
that in Tintoretto even his old men were spirited, but that
the youths of Bassano were mere dotards. We do not meet

JACOPO DA PONTE.

T,*ith any of that noble architecture in his paintings, that adds
SD much dignity to those of the Venetian School. He ap-
jears rather anxious to find subjects in which to introduce
candle-light, cottages, landscape, animals, copper vessels, and
all such objects as passed under his eye, and which he copied
T/ith surprising accuracy. His ideas were limited, and he
often repeated them, a fault to be attributed to his situation,
it; being an indisputable fact, that the conceptions both of
artist and of writers become enlarged and increased in great
capitals, and diminish in small places. All this may be
gathered from his pictures produced for private ornament, the
most familiar occupation of his life, inasmuch as he executed
very few large altar-pieces. He conducted them at leisure in
his studio, and, assisted by his school, he prepared a great
number of various dimensions. He then despatched them
to Venice, and sometimes to the best frequented fairs, thus
rendering the number so very great, as to make it rather a
disgrace for a collection not to possess copies by his hand,
than an honour to have them. In these may be viewed, al-
most invariably, the same subjects ; consisting of acts of the
Old and New Testament; the Feasts of Martha, of the
Pharisee, of the Glutton, with a splendid display of brazen
vessels ; the Ark of Noah, the Return of Jacob, the Annun-
ciation of the Angel to the Shepherds, with great variety of
animals. To these we may add, the Queen of Sheba, the
three Magi, with regal pomp of dress, and the richest array ;
tie Deposition of our Lord from the Cross, by torch-light.
His pieces upon profane subjects exhibit the sale of beasts and
of brazen vessels, sometimes rural occupations, corresponding
t ) the seasons of the year ; and sometimes without human
f gures, merely a kitchen furniture, a fowl-yard, or similar ob-
jects. Nor is it only the histories or the compositions them-
selves that recur in every collection to the eye ; but even
countenances taken from individuals of his own family ; for
iistance, arraying his own daughter either as a Queen of
ISheba, or a Magdalen, or as a villager presenting fowls
to the infant Jesus. I have likewise seen entire pieces, with
the title of the " Family of Bassano," sometimes in small size,
and sometimes in larger. Of the former, I remarked a speci-
men in Genoa, in possession of Signer Ambrogio Durazzo,

200 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

where the daughters of the painter are seen intent upon their
feminine occupations, a little boy playing, and a domestic in
the act of lighting a candle. One of the second kind may be
seen in the Medicean Museum, a picture which represents an
academy of music.

By this method he seemed to confess the poverty of his
imagination, though he derived from it a very remarkable
advantage. By dint of continually repeating the same things,
he brought them to the utmost point of perfection of which
they were susceptible ; as we may gather from his picture of
the Nativity of our Lord, placed at San Giuseppe, in Bassano,
the master-piece not only of Jacopo, but in point of force of
colours and the chiaroscuro, of every thing that modern paint-
ing has to boast. The same is seen in his Burial of Christ,
at the Seminario of Padua, a picture of which an engraving
was taken by order of Madame Patin, among " the Portraits
of Celebrated Painters ;" having met with no other that
seemed to breathe such a spirit of pity and holy terror.
Finally, in his Sacrifice of Noah, at Santa Maria Maggiore
in Venice, in which he collected specimens of all the birds
and animals he had drawn elsewhere, he preserved the Tsame
character ; and by this production so far won the regard of
Titian, that he wished to purchase a copy for the ornament of
his own studio.

Hence it happens, that the works of Bassano, conducted at
a certain age and with singular care, are estimated very
highly, and purchased at large sums, though not altogether
exempt from some errors of perspective, from some awkward-
ness of posture, and some fault in composition, particularly in
point of symmetry. Indeed it was the general belief, that he
possessed little practical skill in designing the extremities,
thus avoiding, as much as lay in his power, the introduction
of feet and hands into his pictures. These accusations, with
others before alluded to, might be greatly extenuated by pro-
ducing such examples of Bassano as would fully prove, that
he could, when he pleased, draw much better than he was ac-
customed to do. He knew how to vary his compositions, as
we perceive in his Nativity, at the Ambrosiana in Milan ;
and he might as easily have varied his other pieces. He was
capable also of conceiving with equal novelty and propriety,

JACOPO DA PONTE. 201

as we gather from his San Rocco, at Vicenza ; and he might
thus have shone on other occasions. Moreover, he knew how
•to draw the extremities, as appears from his picture of S.
Peter, at Venice, adorning the church of the Umilta ; and
ho could give dignity to his countenaces, as in his Queen of
Sbeba, which I have seen in Brescia; and he might have dis-
played the same dignity in other pieces. But whether he
found such a task too irksome, or from whatever other cause,
ho displayed his powers rarely ; content with having arrived
at his peculiar method of colouring, of illuminating, and of
shading, with a sovereign skill. So universally was he ad-
mired, that he received innumerable commissions from various
courts, and an invitation to that of Vienna. What is more
honourable, notwithstanding his defects, he extorted the
highest praises, if not from Vasari, from many of the most
renowned artists ; from Titian, from Annibal Caracci, who
was so much deceived by a book painted upon a table, that he
stretched out his hand to take it up ; and from Tintoretto,
who commended his colouring, and in some measure wished
to imitate him. Above all, he was highly honoured by Paul
Veronese, who intrusted him with his son Carletto, for a
pupil, to receive his general instructions, " and more particu-
larly in regard to that just disposition of lights reflected from
one object to another, and in those happy counter-positions,
owing to which the depicted objects seemed clothed with a
profusion of light." Such is the flattering testimony given
by Algarotti to the style of Jacopo da Ponte.

Bassano educated four of his sons to the same profession,
which thus became transmitted to others, so that the Bassa-
nose school continued for the length of a century, though still
declining and departing fast from its primitive splendour.
Francesco and Leandro were the two members of Jacopo's
family .best disposed to pursue his footsteps, and he was ac-
customed to pride himself upon the inventive talents displayed
by the former, and the singular ability of the latter for por-
trait-painting. Of his two other sons, Giambatista and Giro-
lamo, he used to observe, that they were the most accurate
copyists of his own works. All of these, more especially the
tv/o latter, were instructed by their father in those refinements
oi the art he himself practised, and they so far succeeded,

202 TENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

that many of their copies, made both during and after the life-
time of their father, very frequently imposed upon professors,
being received for the originals of Jacopo. The whole of
them, however, produced original works, and Francesco the
eldest, having established himself in Venice, gave ample
proof of it in those histories drawn from Venetian records,
which he painted for the Palazzo Grande. They are placed
near those of Paul Veronese, and appear to advantage even
in such competition. His father here assisted him with his
advice ; himself attending upon the spot, and instructing him
where he found occasion, how to add force to his tints, to im-
prove his perspective, and to bring the whole work to the
most perfect degree of art. His pencil may be very clearly
traced in that of his son, as well as his style, which in the opi-
nion of critics is somewhat too much loaded, especially in his
shades. Francesco likewise produced several beautiful altar-
pieces, in which, on the other hand, he appears less vigorous
than his father, as may be seen in his Paradiso, at the Gesu,
in Rome, or in his San Apollonio, at Brescia, one of the most
beautiful pieces in the church of S. Afra, and much admired
by foreigners. And he would have achieved still greater
things, had he not been afflicted with severe fits of melancholy,
such as to deprive him of the use of his faculties and his time,
until he was driven by sudden desperation to throw himself
from a window, and, by this accident, still in the prime of his
days, he lost his life.

The works which he left imperfect in the Ducal Palace,
and in other places, were completed by Leandro, the third son
of Jacopo, and a professor in high repute. He followed the
same maxims in the art, except that by his practice in portrait
taking, he acquired more originality of countenance, and in
the use of his pencil approaches nearer to the first than to the
second style of Jacopo. He is, moreover, more variable in it,
and inclines somewhat to the mannerism of his age. One of
his best performances, perhaps, is to be seen at San Francesco,
in Bassano, Santa Caterina crowned by our Lord, amidst
various saints, distributed upon the steps of the throne, with
figures larger than customary in the Bassanese school. His
pictures likewise of the Resurrection of Lazarus, placed at the
Carita, and of the Nativity of the Virgin, at Santa Sofia,

DA PONTE'S SONS. 203

besides others he produced at Venice, as well as for the state,
are distinguished by their large proportions. If familiar with
t ie father's productions, we may often detect domestic plagia-
r sms in Leandro, who often repeats the family of da Ponte,
copied in innumerable pieces by Jacopo, by his sons, and by
their descendants. Even in his pictures for private ornament,
conducted according to his own style and fancy, he was fond
of adopting paternal subjects and examples, being skilful in
drawing animals of every kind from nature. But nothing
proved so favourable to his reputation, both in Italy and
throughout Europe, as the immense number of his portraits,
admirably executed, and not unfrequently with a certain ori-
ginal fancy, both for private persons and for princes. Those
that he executed for the Imperial Palace were particularly
rolished; insomuch, that he received an invitation from
Ilodolphe II., to accept the place of his court painter, an
honour which Leandro thought fit to refuse. He was
more ambitious of enjoying fame at Venice than at Vienna,
for the Doge Grimani, the better to obtain a noble portrait of
himself, had already created him his cavalier. And Leandro
supported his dignity with an imposing demeanour : he lodged,
dressed, and maintained his table in a noble manner. He
appeared in public ornamented with a collar of gold, and with
the insignia of St. Mark, accompanied by a train of disciples,
vho dwelt at his house. One of these bore his gold cane, ano-
ther the repertory, in which he noted down all that was to be
done during the day. The same where bound to attend upon
t im at table ; and as he was suspicious of poison, he was ac-
customed, like the great, to have his tasters, who took some-
t ling of every dish he eat ; but they were ordered not to
tiste much, as in such case the great man became little, and
gave rise to much mirth. Like his brother, he was sub-
ject to fits of melancholy, but he contrived to manage them
so well, as only to give birth to comic, never to tragic scenes.
Giambatista da Ponte, is a name almost unmentioned in
Listory, nor is there any production attributed to him, besides
sn altar-piece in Gallio, with his name, and which by some
vriter has been given, from its style, to Leandro. Girolamo,
t ie last of the family, is better known by an altar-piece
which he conducted in Venice, after the composition of Lean-

204 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

dro, as well as for others executed in Bassano and its vicinity.
He cannot be denied a certain graceful air in his counte-
nances ; and in some of his works, displaying the simplest
composition, and very graceful colouring. Such is his picture
of S. Barbara, adorning the church of S. Giovanni, at Bassano,
where the saint is seen between two upright figures of virgins,
with their eyes fixed upon heaven, where the holy mother is
represented in the usual manner of the times.

Not only was Jacopo attached to the soil and very walls of
his native country, from which no prospects of honour or or
prolit could tempt him away, but he liberally granted his in-
structions to his fellow-citizens, which both his sons and their
family continued after his decease. The best disciple whom
they produced, was Jacopo Apollonio, the offspring of Jacopo's
daughter. Though only acquainted with the two least cele-
brated of his uncles, he made rapid progress in his art, a case
in which he may be compared to certain writers, who have
wholly made use of their native dialect, without mingling it
with any of a foreign growth. In like manner, he is Bas-
sauese in his ideas, in his draperies, in his architecture, and
more than all, in his landscape, which he touched with a mas-
ter's hand. He might easily at times be mistaken for the
real Bassani, were he not inferior to them in the vigour of his
tints, in the delicacy of his contours, and in the strokes of his
pencil. Some of his best works consist of a Magdalen, seen
m the Dome of Bassano, and a San Francesco at the Rifor-
xnati, which present fair examples by which to judge of his
style. Yet above all, his picture of the Titular with various
other saints at San Sebastiano, is one of the most exquisite
finish, and possesses every estimable quality in the art, ex-
cept that of softness. Some have considered him the only
artist among the disciples of this school worthy of commemo-
ration. Yet the natives of Bassano set some store by two
brothers named Giulio and Luca Martinelli, very estimable
scholars of Jacopo. They also hold in some esteem Antonio
Scajario, son-in-law to Giambatista da Ponte, as well as his
heir, owing to which he sometimes signs himself Antonio da
Ponte, Antonio Bassano. Nor do they omit the name of Ja-
copo Guadagni, the offspring of a daughter of Francesco da
Ponte, who acquired some merit in portrait-painting, and in

DESCENDANTS OF DA PONTE. 205

copying, however feebly, the works of his ancestors. Upon
1 is decease in 1633, every vestige of the manner and of the
school of Jacopo became extinct in Bassano. There never-
theless arose about the same period in Cittadella, a place ad-
j icent to Bassano, a young genius of the name of Gio. Batista
Zampezzo, who, directed by Apollonio, and having concluded
1 is studies at Venice, devoted himself to copying the works
of Jacopo. So well did he imitate his Santa Lucilla baptized
ty San Valentino, a piece at the Grazie in Bassano, that
Bartolommeo Scaligero pronounced it comparable with the
criginal. He flourished about 166*0 ;* and subsequent to him
appeared the noble Gio. Antonio Lazzari, a Venetian, who
succeeded in deceiving the most skilful artists, says Melchiori,
by dint of copying Jacopo, and passing for him. It will not
have been irksome, I trust, to my readers, thus to have con-
Eected together a series of the school of Bassano, by aid of
vhich the copies taken by so many artists, at different
periods, and with various degrees of merit, may be better dis-
tinguished, t

Whilst the Bassanese school employed itself in drawing the
simplest objects of rural nature upon a small scale, a different

* This date is pointed out by Boschini, and corresponds with the
fortieth year of the artist, who, on the authority of Melchiori, made a
noble copy of Giorgione's San Liberale, at Castelfranco, besides pro-
ducing several original works in his native place and the vicinity. Speci-
mens of his labours exist in water-colours, taken from pictures in fresco
executed by Paolo and by Zelotti, in different palaces belonging to Vene-
tian noblemen. The cavalier Liberi, his Venetian master, aware of his
singular talent for such species of painting, often employed him, to the
n ) small advantage both of his art and his fortune.

f It would be too difficult to attempt to enumerate the names of his
f( reign imitators, particularly the Flemish, who were much devoted to his
si yle, some of whose copies I have seen in collections believed to be ori-
g nals. But the handle of their pencil, the clearness of colouring, and
s< 'metimes the diminution of the figures, not common to the Bassani,
a; Ford means to distinguish them not, however, with such a degree of
certainty, but that connoisseurs themselves are of different opinions.
Tiiis occurred in my own time at Rome, respecting a fine picture of the
Kativity of Jesus Christ, in the Rezzonico collection. One of the best
imitators of that style was David Teniers, who, by his exquisite skill, ac-
quired the surname of Bassano. To him I am happy to add another
foreigner, Pietro Orrente di Murcia, whom Spanish writers give as a
pupil to Jacopo ; and were there no other authority, we might upon that

206 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

one sprung up in Verona, which surpassed all others by copy-
ing, upon the most ample grounds, every thing most beautiful
in art ; such as architecture, costume, ornaments, the splen-
dour of trains of servants, and luxury worthy of kings. This
then remained still to be completed, and it was reserved for
the genius of Paul Caliari to accomplish. The son of Ga-
briele, a sculptor at Verona, he was destined by his father for
the same art. Instructed in a knowledge of design, and
modelling in clay, he nevertheless evinced so strong a genius
for painting, as to induce his father to give him as a pupil to
Badile, under whom, in a short time, he made an astonishing
progress. He had, however, appeared in an age that made it
incumbent on him to exert himself greatly, such were the
splendid talents that distinguished the Veronese School. It
is deserving, indeed, of separate mention, inasmuch as it
might of itself form a school apart, were it not that its prin-
cipal masters had acquired a knowledge of their art, either
from Mantegna of Padua, or from the Venetian Bellini ; from
Giorgione, or as we shall have occasion to see, from Titian.
It was thus derived rather from the artists of the state, than
from its own or from foreign sources, though it flourished by
its own industry, and produced as many various styles as any
other place in the terra firma. I have already alluded to the
remark of Vasari, that " Verona having constantly devoted
itself, after the death of F. Giocondo, to the study of design,
produced at all times excellent artists, &c." such praise as he
bestowed on no other city of the Venetian state. I noticed
also its superiority in force of expression, and its very general
taste, in animating and giving an air of liveliness to its heads,
so general indeed as to be almost characteristic of the nation.
To these it added a beauty peculiar to itself; more light and
elegant, and less full than in the Venetian paintings, though
not so fresh and rubicund in the fleshy parts. It is also
equally happy with any other in its inventions, availing itself
of mythology and history to form fanciful compositions, and
for the ornament of palaces and villas. The national genius

of Sig. Conca, receive him as his very exact imitator. In his two pic-
tures referred to (vol. i. p. 266) he is pronounced superior to the Bassani,
meaning, perhaps, superior to the sons of Jacopo ; it would be too absurd
a proposition to prefer him to the head of the school.

INFERIOR ARTISTS. 207

f o well adapted for poetry, aided the artists in the conception
of such compositions ; while the advice of able men, always
{bounding in the city, helped to perfect them. The climate
ioo was favourable for the production, as well as for the pre-
servation of paintings, for while at Venice, the saltness of
the air destroyed many beautiful pieces in fresco, in Verona,
i.nd its adjacent towns, a great number remained entire.

We have already alluded to its leading masters of the pre-
ceding epoch, observing that many were entitled from their
works to rank in this brighter period. To these I add Paolo
Oavazzola, pupil to Moroni, and in the opinion of Vasari,
i iuch superior to him. He died at the age of thirty-one,
leaving many fine specimens of a mature judgment in different
churches. The two Falconetti were also worthy of some no-
tice. Gio. Antonio, an excellent draughtsman of fruits and
animals ; and Gio. Maria, a scholar of Melozzo (Notizia, p.
3 0), and a celebrated architect and painter, though not one of
the most copious, more especially in fresco. These two brothers
T/ere descendants ^f old Stefano da Verona, or da Sevio,
whichever he is to be called. Nor less worthy, in the opinion
of Vasari, was one Tullio, or India il Vecchio, an able artist
in fresco, a portrait-painter, and a celebrated copyist. His
son Bernardino appears to advantage, no less in a bold than a
delicate style ; in which last, if I mistake not, he is superior,
as we perceive from specimens in the churches, and other
collections in Verona. Many of his pictures betray a style
approaching that of Giulio Romano. He is recorded by
Vasari, together with Eiiodoro Forbicini, famous for his gro-
tesques, and assistant in many of his labours to India, as well
as to various other artists of no mean fame.

Dionisio Battaglia distinguished himself by an altar-piece
of Santa Barbara, mentioned by Pozzo as being at Santa Eu-
f< iinia ; no less than did Scalabrino by his two scriptural
h istories placed at San Zeno. Two other artists of the same
pariod are very deserving of mention, both on account of their
productions and their pupils; Niccolo Giolfino (in Vasari
called Ursino), the master of Farinato ; and Antonio Badile,
the tutor and the uncle of Caliari. Giolfino, or Golfino, ac-
cording to Ridolfi, partakes something of the dryness of the
Quattrocentisti, less select and animated than the best of his

208 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

contemporaries, his colours not very vivid, but pleasing and
harmonious. Most probably educated by some one of these
miniaturists, he succeeded better in pictures upon a small than,
upon a large scale, sucli as in his Resurrection of Lazarus, to
be seen in the church of Nazareth. Born in 1480, Badile
flourished during another eighty years, and was the first, per-
haps, of any in Verona, to exhibit painting altogether free
from traces of antiquity, while he excelled no less in external
forms than in depicting the inward affections and passions of
the mind. He was moreover the author, at the same time, of
a peculiar softness, yet freedom of hand, though it is not
known from whom he acquired it. He affixed to his works
only the first syllable of his name, formed in a cypher. His
picture of the Raising of Lazarus, painted for San Bernardino,
and another with some holy bishops at San Nazaro, both so
much commended by Ridolfi, serve to shew from what source
his two pupils, Paolo and Zelotti, derived that elegant manner,
which they mutually improved by assisting one another. A
similar style was for some years displayed^by Orlando Fiacco,
or Fiacco, from which he is supposed to have been a scholar
of Badile, though Vasari, who extols him particularly in por-
trait, gives him to another school. However this may be, it
is certain he inclined to a boldness of style, approaching that
of Caravaggio. He flourished but a short period, during
which he acquired more merit than fortune.

This resulted from the too great abundance of good artists
in Yerona, a circumstance that induced many to seek better
fortune in foreign parts. Orlandi, on the authority of Vasari,
has inserted in the Abecedairo a professor of the name of
Zeno, or Donate, a native of Verona, who, in the church of
San Marino at Rimino, painted the titular saint with singular
care. I saw it, and it displayed great simplicity of composi-
tion, good design, and still better colouring, more particularly
in the dress of the bishop, which he laboriously ornamented
with little figures of saints. He seems to have belonged to
the golden period of art ; and it is known that he left other
works at the same place, and most probably never changed
his residence, or at least did not return, so far as we know, to
Verona. Two other artists, named Batista Fontana, muck
engaged at the imperial court of Vienna, and Jacopo Ligozzi,

GIAMBATISTA. 200

who long flourished at the court of Tuscany, as I have ob-
served in its place, also adopted the resolution of quitting their
native city. Of the former scarcely any thing remains there ;
though there are a few pieces by the hand of the second,
among which at S. Luca a Saint Helena, who, surrounded by
her court ladies, assists in the discovery of the Holy Cross, a
picture displaying the best Venetian taste in its tints, and in
tho richness of its draperies ; but certainly the worst, in re-
gard to transferring our own customs to more ancient times.
Giovanni Ermanno had either a brother or other relation who
approached him very nearly in point of merit, as may clearly
be seen at the Santi Apostoli in Verona.

But those who had there obtained the ascendancy, when
Paul Veronese first began to make himself known, were three
fellow-citizens, who still maintain a high character in their
native place, inferior only to that of Paul himself. Their
names are Batista d'Angelo, surnamed del Moro, as the son-
in-law and pupil of Torbido ; Domenico Ricei, called il
Brusasorci, from his father's custom of burning rats ; and
Paul Farinato, likewise called degli Uberti. All three were
invited by the cardinal Ercole Gonzaga to Mantua, in order
that each might exhibit in the cathedral an altar-piece ; while
together with these appeared Paul, the youngest of the whole ;
but who, according to Vasari and Ridolfi, surpassed them in
tho competition. But it is not yet time to enter upon his
merits, having first to treat of his rivals, before we venture
upon him and his followers, so as not to have occasion for in-
terrupting the remainder of this history, until we arrive at a
new epoch.

Giambatista was the least celebrated of the three, though
ea3h of his works obtained so much credit, that when Santa
Ei ifemia had one of its walls demolished to make way for a
new edifice, his picture of St. Paul before Ananias, that
adorned it, was carefully preserved at considerable expense,
and replaced over the door of the church ; yet this was one of
hi.i earliest productions. He produced a great many others,
both in oil and in fresco, not unfrequently in competition with
Pjiul. He follows Torbido in point of diligence, and in his
strong and unctuous colouring. He has more softness, how-
ever, of design, and, if I mistake not, more grace, of which

TOL. II. P

210 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

he gave a distinguished specimen in an Angiolo at San Ste-
fano, in the act of distributing the palms to the SS. Innocenti.
He was employed, also, in Venice, where the most studied
and animated production, going by his name, is not positively
pronounced his by Ridolfi, but only esteemed to be kis, while
it is ascribed by Boschini to Francesco Alberti, a Venetian,
known merely by this single production. It is an altar-piece
in Santa Maria Maggiore, representing the Virgin between
St. John and St. Mark, and several lords in ducal robes, with
their sons, in the act of adoring her ; very lively portraits of
the Marcello family, for whom the altar was painted. Vasari
gives a brief account both of him and his son Marco, his pupil
and assistant, though he did not mention Giulio, brother to
Batista, who distinguished himself alike in all the arts, and is
called by Zanetti dotto pittore. Both, like Batista, exercised
their talents in Venice, and whoever compares the four Coro-
nati of Giulio, placed at San Apollinare, with the Paradiso of
Marco at San Bartolommeo, will discover an elegance, a pre-
cision, and an arrangement of style, sufficient to mark them
for disciples of the same school.

Brusasorci may be termed the Titian of this school. It is
not known that he received the instructions of any other
master besides Giolfino, but it is certain that he studied the
works of Giorgione and of Titian, in Venice. He has
exhibited the style of the latter in a few of his pictures with
great accuracy, as we see in his San Rocco, in the church of
the Padri Agostiniani at Verona, and in several other pictures
for private persons, among which he has drawn nymphs and
Venuses. An eye accustomed to the originals of the best
Venetians detects a diversity of tints, which in the artist of
Verona are less glowing. His genius could not confine itself
to the imitation of a single model, like some of the Venetians ;
he became fond of Giorgione, and to judge from one of his
pieces remaining at Mantua, also of Parmigianino. There in
the ducal palace we met with the Fable of Phaeton exhibited
in different pieces, which, however much defaced by time, are
still admired for the fancy and vivacity they display, no less
than for their abundance of figures, and the difficult fore-
shortenings he has inserted. But his chief merit was shewn
in his frescos, with which he decorated villas and palaces with

FELICE RICCIO. 211

the erudition of a fine poet and the execution of a fine painter.
He produced, likewise, his histories ; and the master-piece of
:ill I have seen is the Procession of Clement VIII. and of
Oharles V. through Bologna, a picture exhibited in a hall of
the noble casa, Ridolfi, and which has been engraved. A
jiobler spectacle cannot well be imagined ; and although other
,ipecimens, both of this and similar subjects, are met with very
}i generally at Rome, in Venice, and in Florence, none produce
equal effect; combining in one piece, a large concourse, fine
distribution of figures, vivacity of countenances, noble atti
tudes in the men and horses ; variety of costume, pomp, and
.splendour, and dignity, all bearing an expression of pleasure
adapted to such a day. This piece may compete with another
in the palazzo Murari at Poute Nuovo also in fresco ; and
7,his last is even preferred in the estimation of many before
t,hat of the casa Ridolfi, as I have been informed by the
"earned Signer dalla Rosa.

Felice Riccio, otherwise Brusascorci the younger, and the
ton of Domenico, became an orphan before he had completed
his studies with his father, which lie continued under the care
of Ligozzi, at Florence. On returning thence to Verona, he
introduced a style very different to the mariner of his father.
!:"t is extremely elegant and refined, as displayed in his
LMadonnas, with boys and beautiful cherubs, adorning various
collections; and with features something resembling those of
. Paul Veronese, if not a little more spare. Nor is he deficient
: n strength where his subject requires it, as I remarked in a
picture belonging to the Conti Gazzola, representing the forge
of Vulcan, with Cyclops, designed in good Florentine taste,
;tnd powerfully coloured. Many of Felice's works are inter-
spersed through the churches of Verona, among which his
i Santa Elena, belonging to the church of that name, is ex-
remely beautiful. He did not exercise his talents, like his
: rather, in fresco, nor had he equal genius ; though he produced
pieces on a large scale, the extreme of which was the Fall of
LVfanna, painted for the church of S. Giorgio, a picture both
vast and well conceived, and which received its last touches
: rom Ottini and Orbetto, two of his best disciples, whose
lames I reserve to another epoch. Several little pictures,
ikewise, both on sacred and other subjects, executed on stone
p2

212 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

or marble, which he coloured with great skill, availing himself
for his shades of the marble itself, are attributed to his hand.
Even his portraits are held in high esteem; though nearly
equalled by those of his sister Cecilia, who acquired skill in
the art from her father. Gio. Batista Brusasorci, brother of
the preceding artists, and a scholar of Paul Veronese, pre-
sented Verona with several highly esteemed pictures ; but,
passing into Germany, he became painter to the emperor, in
whose service he died.

Surviving the whole of these, and almost all the Caliari
family, we meet with the name of Paolo Farinato, as grand
as an artist perhaps as his namesake was beautiful. After
leaving the school of Giolfino, he is supposed to have studied
the works of Titian and Giorgione, at Venice; and if we
may judge also from his style, he must have received the
instructions of Giulio Romano in design ; though he made
use of the Venetian tints, out of which he formed a system of
his own. He survived till his eighty-first year, still preserv-
ing his natural good humour ; and as is customary with men
of so advanced an age, he prided himself upon it, affixing his
name to a picture he produced at San Giorgio, placed opposite
to one by Felice, stating that he had painted it in his seventy-
ninth year. It is a representation of the multiplication of
loaves in the desert, abounding with very numerous figures,
in part portraits of his own family, and in part ideal heads.
He is one of the few painters whose merit did not deteriorate
in advanced age, for though in some early pieces he betrays a
certain dryness of manner, in this last he left nothing imper-
fect, neither in fulness of contours, in the fancy of his dra-
peries and embellishments, nor in the study of his figures and
landscape. His design has been much commended, which
was the case with few others of his school ; and even in the
time of Ridolfi his sketches, the cartoons of his first studies,
and his models of figures in wax, were all eagerly sought after
for ornamental cabinets. A San Onofrio is pointed out at
the aimrch of San Tommaso, in a sitting posture, taken from
the celebrated torso di Belvedere ; which, as well as many
other of his attitudes and subjects where he introduced naked
figures, discovers an acquaintance with the ancient style not
common among the Venetians. To his fleshes he gives a.

PAOLO FARINATO. 213

bronze colour, which produces a pleasing effect, and harmo-
nizes well with his tints, for the most part sober and even
flat in his grounds ; giving a repose to the eye which attracts
without dazzling it. He is generally esteemed, however, a
weak colourist, and better in his frescos than in oil. I know
not whether it may be owing to partiality, or to the merit of
this great man, but certain it is, that on my quitting Bologna
he was the only artist the whole of whose works I regretted
not having seen, so much of all that is rare and beautiful
did I meet with in those I saw. More likewise I beheld in
Mantua, in San Sisto at Piacenza, in the Ducal Gallery at
Modena, in Padua, and other places. I have sometimes ob
served a kind of snail that Paolo is said to have chosen for
his device, remarking that he likewise bore his house upon
his head, whence he might strike at presuming impostors.

His son Orazio practised the art only for a few years. His
best praise is, that during that short period he made ap-
proaches towards the style and merit of his father. There is one
of his pieces at San Stefano, representing the Faithful receiving
the Holy Spirit from the Apostles ;* and, if we except only
Paul Veronese, it makes a distinguished figure, placed near
some of the best artists of Verona,

Resuming here the thread of our former discourse, we must
observe that Paul Caliari found the public prepossessed in favour
of the three foregoing artists, and obtained little consideration in
his own district while young. The world, ever disinclined to
admit the claims of rising reputation, either knew not, or
believed not, that in his competition with the Mantuan artists
he had surpassed them all ; insomuch that this youthful genius
was compelled by penury to quit Verona, leaving behind him,
upon an altar at San Fermo, a Madonna between two Saints,
with a few other proofs of his early powers. He first went to
Vicenza, and thence passed on to Venice. His genius was
naturally noble, and even magnificent and vast, as well as
pleasing ; and no provincial city was capable of supplying
him with ideas proportionate to his genius, like Venice. There
he aimed at improving his style of colouring, upon the models

* It is, as I am informed* by Signer dalla Rosa, a picture of the
Pentecost.

214 VENETIAN SCHOOL^ EPOCH II.

of Titian and Tintoretto, as well as to surpass them, as it
would appear, in elegance and variety of ornament. Hence
his pupils were accustomed to say, that at that time he devoted
himself to Ae study of casts taken from ancient statues, to
the engravings of Parmigiano, and to those of Albert Durer.
The first works that he produced for the sacristy of S. Sebas-
tiano in Venice, present us only with the elements of that
style he subsequently acquired, in the air of the heads, and in
the variety of drapery and of attitudes. For the rest his
pencil was still timid, inclined rather to unite his tints with
care, than to a bold and free manner of handling. But it was
not long before he displayed more freedom and more attrac-
tion, in painting the ceilings of the same church, where he
represented the history of Esther, a work whose novelty con-
ciliated public admiration, and became a stepping-stone to very
honourable commissions from the senate.

In the meanwhile he enjoyed an opportunity of visiting
Rome, in company with the ambassador Grimani, where, sur-
rounded by its grand ancient and modern productions, " al
volo suo senti crescer le penne" he felt his wings 'enlarging as
he rose, of which he soon gave proofs in the Palazzo Pubblico,
at Venice. Here his imagination seems to revel in every
subject coloured by his hand, but particularly in that which
may be called the apotheosis of Venice, in regal costume,
seated on high, crowned by Glory, celebrated by Fame, and
attended by Honour, Liberty, and Peace. Juno and Ceres
are seen assisting at the spectacle, as symbols of grandeur
and felicity. The summit is decorated with specimens of
magnificent architecture, and with columns ; while lower
down appears a great concourse of ladies with their lords and
sons, in various splendid habits, all represented in a gallery ;
and on the ground are represented warriors upon their char-
gers, arms, ensigns, prisoners, and trophies of war. This
oval picture presents us with a union of those powers, with
which Paul so much fascinates the eye, producing a general
effect altogether enchanting, and includes numerous parts all
equally beautiful; bright aerial spaces, sumptuous edifices,
which seem to invite the foot of the spectator ; lively fea-
tures, dignified, selected for the most part from nature, and
embellished by art. Add to these, very graceful motions, fine

PAUL CALIARI* 215

contrasts and expressions ; noble vestments, both for their
shape and materials ; with crowns and sceptres, magnificence
worthy of so august a scene ; perspective that gives distance
to objects, without displeasing us when near ;* the most lively
colours,t whether similar or contrasted, and harmonized with
a peculiar degree of art, such as is not to be taught. Not
inferior to these was the handling of his pencil, which to the
utmost rapidity unites the greatest judgment, that effects, de-
cides, and achieves something in every stroke ; gifts which he
had at that age rendered familiar to him, and which form the
character of his genius. Whoever has resolution enough to.
read Boschini (for it is not every one in Italy that can boast
as much) will find at p. 643 and further, in addition to the
description of this picture, the commendations he bestowed on
it, along with Strozza, Mignard, and other able artists, as one
of the rarest specimens in the world. Yet this did not obtain
for Jrirn so high a reputation as his " Suppers." Whoever
undertakes to describe his style ought by no means to pass
over a representation, perhaps the most familiar to him of all,
having repeated it so many times, until by force of exercising
his powers and varying it in different ways, the first sovereigns
in the world became desirous of obtaining copies. Several I
have seen upon a small scale, but always beautiful ; one, the
Supper of the Eucharist, at Santa Sofia, in Venice ; another,
upon the same subject, and of exquisite workmanship, at the
Oasa Borghese, in Rome ; and the feast given by San Gre-
gorio to the poor, belonging to the Serviti, in Yicenza ; besides
others in different collections. In Venice he painted four
Suppers for the same number of refectories in religious
houses, both large and rich in point of invention. The first,
representing the Marriage of Cana. is still preserved at San
Giorgio Maggiore, thirty palms in length, copies of which

* He attained this effect by drawing these figures with rather bold con-
tours, and the other parts after his works were completed. Owing to his
knowledge, as well as his felicity and grace of hand, they are not in the
least disagreeable to those who observe them near. (Zanetti, p. 181.)

f This was easily produced by his rapidity of execution, by which his
tints always remained clear and simple. The artist who repeats his
touches frequently, and uses much research, can with difficulty preserve
freshness, to obtain which another method must undoubtedly be pursued.
(Zanetti, p. 163.)

216 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

every where abound, and which is highly estimable on account
of the great number of the figures, amounting to one hundred
and thirty, as well as for its portraits of princes and illus-
trious men who flourished at the period. It was nevertheless
executed for the price of only ninety ducats. The second is
in better preservation, placed at San Giovanni and San Paolo,
representing the supper prepared by Matthew for our Lord ;
and is very highly extolled for its heads, all of which Ricci,
at. a mature age, copied for his studio. The third is at San
Sebastiano, consisting of the Feast of Simon. The fourth,
along with the same. Feast, formerly placed at the Refectory
of the Servi, was presented to Louis XIY. of France, and
deposited at Versailles ; and this was preferred by Venetian
professors to all the rest. For this reason numerous copies
were presented by them to the world ; although the artist
himself took one for the refectory of the monks of SS. Naza-
rio and Celso, along with the same Supper, now in the fine
Doria collection at Genoa ; and which, however inferior in
size to the rest, is considered equal to any of the preceding,
and has been engraved by the hand of the celebrated Volpato.
Another, likewise of Simon, was sent from Venice to Genoa,
which I saw in possession of the Durazzo family, with a
Magdalen that may be esteemed a miracle of art ; and I also
met with an old copy* in the Casa Paolucci, at Pesaro.
What novel methods he adopted in all these to decorate the
place with architecture, and how well he availed himself of
them to add to the spectators at the festival ! What passions
depicted in each of the principal actors, and how appropriate
to the period ! What splendour in the preparation, luxury of
dishes, and pomp of guests ! Whoever considers these, will
easily excuse such an artist for some occasional imperfection
of design, and for inattention to ancient costume, in which he
is always faulty.f Even Guido, an artist so highly celebrated,

* To this description of all his suppers might be added the one which
he painted for the nuns of S. Teonisto in Treviso, but which now adorns
the I. R. Pinacoteca at Milan.

t It has been stated in his defence, that had he clothed the whole of
his figures with those tunics and ancient mantles, he would have become
monotonous, and consequently uninteresting in his great history pieces.
But I am of opinion, that whoever is familiar with ancient statues and

PAUL CALIARI. 217

* o far excused them, that he was accustomed to say, " were
it given me to choose what painter I would be, I should prefer
being Paul Veronese, for in others every thing appears the
tffect of art, but he alone seems all nature."

He continued to produce specimens until he was sixty years
of age, though he cannot, like many others, be accused of
1 aving painted too much ; each piece is worthy of Paul Vero-
rese, and each has been multiplied by some copyist, an hon-
our that artists have not bestowed upon the works of Tinto-
retto, or those of many others. His method of making use of
clear grounds, and as much as possible of -virgin colours, has
greatly contributed to the preservation and freshness of his
colouring. In Venice we meet with several of his pictures
yet glowing with the peculiar grace he shed over them. A
romarkable specimen is seen in that belonging to the noble
house of Pisani, exhibiting the family of Darius presented to
Alexander, which surprises as much by its splendour as it
aifects us by its expression. Equal admiration was at one
time evinced for his Rape of Europa, which he drew upon a
large scale, in various groups, much in the same manner as
Coreggio, in his Leda. In the first she appears among her
virgins in the act of caressing the animal, and desirous of
being borne upon him ; in the second, she is seen carried along,
applauded by her companions, as she enjoys the scene riding
along the shore. In the third (the only one in grand dimen-
sions) she cleaves the sea in terror, in vain desired and
lamented by her virgin train. This work, ornamenting the
Ducal Palace, suffered much from the effects of time, and has
subsequently been restored.

In Verona, boasting a clime more favourable to paintings,
W3 more frequently meet with his pictures in complete, pre-
se :vation. Many noble houses, in particular that of Bevilac-
qt.a, at one period his patrons, are in possession of several.
As an expression of his gratitude, he represented in a portrait
of one of the Bevilacqua family, his own figure standing up-
right, with the air of his attendant. But his San Giorgio,

ba:-si-relievi, will find means of varying his compositions. The Cavalier
Canova has recently produced two bassi-relievi on the condemnation of
Socrates. The Greek vests are two, the tunic and pallium ; yet these are
finely varied, though there are a number of spectators.

218 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

surrounded by the two grand histories of Farinate and of
Brusasorci already described, by some esteemed to be the best
painting in Verona, is perhaps, the most perfect state of any
that remain. The San Giuliano of Rimini is likewise a valu-
able piece, which may, perhaps, compete with the San
Giorgio. The San Afra, at Brescia, and the S. Giustina, at
Padua, placed in their respective churches, have also suffered
little ; but the last, indeed, is in too lofty a situation. His
labours for different collections were very great, consisting of
portraits, Venus, Adonis, Cupids, Nymphs, and similar figures,
in which he displayed the most rich and varied beauty of
forms, fancy in their embellishment, and novelty in his inven-
tions ; all subjects indeed familiar to his pencil, and which are
to be seen in different galleries, not omitting the imperial one.
Among his sacred subjects he was more particularly attached
to the marriage of St. Catherine, one of the most laboured
of which fell to the share of the royal collection of Pitti. He
produced, also, several Holy Families, in which the better to
depart from the common practice, he gave birth to new inven-
tions. They are to be met with in "Ridolfi (p. 307), copied
from one of his own MSS. But his devotional pieces were
also, for the most part, copious histories ; such as the Slaughter
of the Innocents, laboured in the miniature style, at the Palazzo
Borghese ; the Esther, at Turin, in possession of the King of
Sardinia. The Queen of Sheba, among a troop of handmaids
at the throne of Solomon, a picture lately acquired by the reign-
ing sovereign at Florence. Halls, chambers, and fa9ades like-
wise, decorated by him in fresco with allegorical poems and
representations of histories, are frequently met with in Venice,
and in the palaces and seats belonging to the state. Highly
meriting notice is the palace of His Serene Highness Manin,
Doge of Venice, to be seen in the territory of Asolo ; the archi-
tecture is that of Palladio ; the stuccoes, of Vittoria ; while
the pictures of the Muses, and of many other Pagan deities,
are from the hand of Paul ; forming a union of artists suffi-
cient to render the place as celebrated among modern villas,
as was that of Lucullus among the ancients.

The school of Paul Veronese commences, like those already
described, with his own family ; in the first place, with Bene-
detto, his younger brother, and with his two sons. Carlo and

PAUL CALIARI. 219

Gabriele. Benedetto was remarkable for the fraternal affec-
tion lie displayed towards Paul, assisting him in the orna-
mental part of his labours, particularly in his perspectives, in
which he possessed considerable skill. And, after his death,
he shewed the same affection to the two sons, directing them
by his advice, supporting them in their undertakings, a,nd
le wing his inheritance to their family. His genius for the
art was not very great, and in the pieces conducted by his
own hand, he appears only as an imitator of Paul, occasionally
hrppy however in a few heads, or in his drapery, but by
nc means equal with himself. There is hardly a work
in which the connoisseur may not easily detect something
woak or faulty, as in the Last Supper, in the Flagellation, in
tlia Appearance of the Saviour before the Tribunal of Pilate,
which he painted for the church of San Niccolo, and which
ar3 some of his best productions. If he ever appears to have
surpassed himself, as in the instance of his picture of St.
Agatha, placed at the Angeli, in Murano, the work has been
ascribed to Paul, and has even been engraved under his name.
According to Ridolfi, he succeeded better in fresco than in
oils ; and both he and Boschini, who examined his Roman
hi< tories, and his mythological fables, painted in stone colour,
in the Cortile of the Mocenighi, give us a very favourable
idea of them; and the same where they speak of his orna-
mental work, in halls and other places, which admitted of his
introducing a display of architecture and embellishments,
ra1!^ than of figures.

Carlo Caliari, generally entitled Carletto, the diminutive
of his name, from the circumstance of his dying at the early
ag3 of twenty-four,* as we find in the register of his parish,
ov> ing to his excessive application to study, was gifted with a
ge;iius like that of his father. His disposition was particu-
larly docile and attentive, and he was the boast of his parent,
whose style he emulated better than any other artist. But
Paul, ambitious that he should even excel him, was unwilling,
that by forming himself upon a single model, he should suc-
ceed only in becoming a feeble sectarist. He sent him, there-
fore, to study the school of Bassano, the robustness of which

* According toRidolfi, however, he is said to have attained his twenty -
feix'b. year ; but certainly not more.

220 VENETIAN SCHOOL/. — EPOCH II.

blended with his own elegance, would, he expected, produce
an original manner superior to either of the other two. At
the period when Carletto closed the eyes of his beloved fa-
ther, he was only in his sixteenth, or at farthest his eighteenth
year, though he had attained such progress and reputation in
the art as to be enabled to complete several pictures left un-
finished by his parent, nor was he ever in want of commis-
sions. His productions often appear by the hand of Paul ;
whether at that time he did not wholly depend upon his own
resources, or that his father, at least, might have retouched
his pieces, is not certain. Skilful judges, indeed, have pre-
tended to discern, or rather to count the number, of the
strokes traced by the paternal pencil, from their inimitable
ease, lightness, and rapidity. Thus it has occurred in an
altar-piece of San Frediano Vescovo, to which is added St.
Catherine, and some other saint, placed in the Medicean Mu-
seum, and bearing the son's name, though boasting at the
same time all the grace of his father. But, wherever Carlo
executed his pieces alone, he is easily distinguishable ; his
pencil is somewhat more full and heavy, while his tints are
stronger and deeper than those of his father. We have an
instance in his San Agostino, at the church of La Carita,
whose colouring betrays that union of the two schools so
much desired by Paul.

Gabriele executed little in which he was not assisted by
his brother. In several altar-pieces we read as follows:
" Heredes Pauli Caliari Veronensis fecerunt ;" which alludes
to such pieces as Paul himself left imperfect, the completion
of which became a joint labour ; a system they continued,
likewise, in others, which they produced for churches, and for
the public palace. Ridolfi awards the chief merit to Carlo,
placing Gabriele second, and adding, that Benedetto had
likewise his share, more especially in the architectural parts.
Probably too some other pupil of Paul assisted them. For
in these, we find represented the maxims of the master, even
his studies and the same figures as his. Still there is occa-
sionally some diversity of hand perceptible, as in the martyr-
dom of an Apostle at S. Giustina of Padua, where one of the
figures appears so much loaded with shade, as not merely to
betray a difference of hand, but of schools. Gabriele sur-

DISCIPLES OF PAUL CALIARI. 221

vived the other artists of his family; residing subsequently in
Venice, more in the character of a merchant than a painter.
Still he continued occasionally to produce a few portraits in
crayons, extremely rare, or some picture of a cavalcade ; nor
did he desist from visiting the studio of the artists, where he
assisted them, when agreeable, with his advice. Arriving at
th? period of 1531, memorable for the great pestilence in
It:ilv, and impelled by those noble precepts of humanity in-
culcated in the gospel, he generously exposed his life in the
service of his afflicted fellow-citizens, and fell a sacrifice to
th3 task.

Proceeding to the other disciples of Paul, and to his imita-
tors, it will not be found easy to enumerate them. For hav-
ing been interested beyond any other painter in the cultivation,
of an art whose object is to give pleasure, so he excelled all
others in the number of his followers. We are told by
Zanetti, that many of them were also very successful, owing
to which, less accurate judges are apt to confound the master
with those of his school, if they do not cautiously attend to
tho two following points, in which none will be found to
equal him. These are, 1st, the fineness and peculiar light-
ness of his pencil combined with sound judgment ; 2d, a very
rendy and spirited expression of grace, and a dignity in his
forms, particularly in the air of his heads. It must, however,
be observed, that his scholars, in the progress of time, for the
most part varied the grounds and the colouring, as they ap-
proached the style of the succeeding epoch. Among the
V( netians, there is only enumerated by Zanetti the name of
Parrasio Michele,* an artist who enriched with the designs of

*•' Father Federici has, in the course of this year, 1803, brought to light
another scholar of Paul, and afterwards of Carletto, born, like Parrasio,
in Venice. He calls him Giacomo Lauro, and Giacomo da Trevigi, be-
cause, having established himself in that city with his family while still a
youth, no one could distinguish him by any other patronymic than that of
Trevigiano. Thus speak several anonymous contemporaries, from whose
MSS. the reverend father has extracted no slight information relative to
the pictures executed by Lauro in his new country. There he enjoyed
the friendship of the fathers of San Domenico, for whose church he
painted his celebrated picture of St. Rocco, in which he exhibited, with
gre it tragic power, the terrific scourge of the plague. It is honourable
to this artist, who died young, that this altar-piece, as well as his other

222 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

Paul, and experienced in the art of colouring them, produced
several works worthy of him, more especially that of a Pieta,
adorning a chapel within the church of San Giuseppe, a piece
in which he added a portrait of himself. The people of
Coneglia have preserved the recollection of one of their citizens
named Giro, to whom they attribute an altar-piece of the Na-
tivity of Christ, as nearly resembling the style of Paul as pos-
sible, for which reason it was transferred from the church of
the Riformati in that city to Rome ; and they add, that its
author was a youth, who never attained to mature age. Cas-
telfranco boasts one Cesare Castagnoli as a pupil of Paul;
though in his numerous paintings in fresco he cannot be said
to display much power, at least beyond a certain degree of
spirit, promptness, and copiousness of ideas. A few less
shewy and fanciful productions from the hand of Bartolo, his
brother, executed in oil, acquired for him higher reputation
than that^ of Cesare. Angelo Naudi, an Italian, is much
commended by Palomino for his labours in the royal palaces,
and in various churches in Spain, when painter to the court
of king Philip. There is reason to doubt whether he really
received the instructions of Paul, instead of imbibing his man-
ner by dint of study and copying, like Bombelli and many
others ; it being recorded of this writer, otherwise very esti-
mable, that in re^krd to masters he was apt to embrace opinions
by no means always true. Omitting the names of a great
number of foreigners, we make mention here only of the
Veronese, in order that their master should not appear unac-
companied by the noble train of disciples bestowed by him
upon his country.

Luigi Benfatto, known by the name of dal Friso, a sister's
son, and for many years the guest of Paul, copied him in the
outset even to servility, though he afterwards gave himself
up to an easy and rapid style of composition, little short of
the licence of the mannerists. It has been supposed that he
only availed himself of this facility in such commissions as
were of small value. He approaches nearest to Paul in the
church of San Raffaello ; in other places he resembles Palnia.

pictures, both in oil and in fresco, have, until lately, been attributed
either to Paul or to Carlo, or to some less celebrated hands, but always
to good and experienced artists.

DISCIPLES OF PAUL CALIARI. 223

-A more free and spirited imitator of Paul was found in Maffeo
"Verona, a pupil and son-in-law to Luigi, but the quantity
oJ' vermilion with which he heightened the colour of his fleshes
detracts from his work. Francesco Montemezzano, a Vero-
nese, approached still more frequently than either of the pre-
ceding to the character of the head of his school. He acquired
great reputation by a picture of the Annunciation, painted
for the church of the Osservanti alia Vigna, and he was em-
ployed also in the Ducal Palace. He partakes of Caliari in
his countenances, in his costume, and in the beauty of his
figures : as to the rest, he was slow of hand, and feeble in his
colouring. His picture at San Giorgio, in Verona, consisting
of the Apparition of Christ to the Magdalen, appears ex-
tremely languid in competition with that of Paul, which is
one of the most brilliant productions remaining of that period.
To these we might add the names of other Veronese, as Ali-
pr.mdo, and Anselmo Canneri, characterised by Vasari as an
able assistant to Paul his master.

Among all^the Veronese artists most resembling Paul, when
ambitious of doing so, was his friend and companion, though
his rival, Batista Zelotti. Instructed in the same academy,
lie was occasionally the companion of his labours, and occa-
sionally taught and executed works himself — always, however,
observing the same rules. Vasari mentions him with commen-
dai ion in his life of Sanmicheli, where he entitles him Batista
da Verona, and includes him among the disciples of Titian.
I lave seen a Holy Family by this artist, in Titian's style, in
the Carrara collection, frequently extolled by us before, and
from such a studio it would appear we are to look for that
warmth of tints, in which for the most part he excels Caliari,
as veil as that power of design in which Zanetti is of opinion
tha t he also surpassed him, although others think very differ-
ent !y. He often surpasses him, likewise, in grandeur, and
in what appertains to painting in fresco, a circumstance Paul
wai aware of, and for that reason sought to obtain his assist-
ance in works of that kind. He possessed great fertility of
ideas and a rapid hand, while he was profound and judicious
in 1 is compositions. Indeed, he might have been esteemed
another Paul, had he been able to compete with him in the
beanty of his heads, in variety, and in grace. In truth, his

224 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

productions were frequently given to Paul, even those be
painted for the Council of Ten having been engraved under
the latter name by Valentino le Febre. He was doubtless
one of the first artists of his time, though not estimated ac-
cording to his deserts, from having worked chiefly in fresco,
and at a distance from capital cities, in villages, in country
seats, and palaces. One of his grandest works is seen at
Cataio, a villa belonging to the Marchese Tommaso Obizzi,
where about 1570, he represented in different rooms,
the history of that very ancient family, distinguished no
less in the council than in arms. The place is continually
sought by foreigners, attracted thither by its splendour,
by the fame of these pictures, and by the valuable museum
of antiquities, collected by the hand of the Marchese, a
task of few years, but in point of taste, abundance, and
rarity of specimens, calculated to confer honour upon the
state. In his oil-paintings Zelotti could not compete with
Caliari, though he approached him near enough, in his Fall,
of St. Paul, and his Fishing of the Apostles, which he exe-
cuted for the dome of Vicenza, to merit the honour of having
them attributed to the pencil of Caliari.

This city was his chief theatre of action ; he remained there
during some time, and initiated one Antonio, a youth called
Tognone, in the art, from whose hand a few works in fresco
are pointed out in the city, while he is honoured by Ridolfi
both with a life and eulogy. Zelotti was in Yicenza, both
alone and together with Paul, where with the help of one of his
best pupils he established a school, which partook of the taste
of both these masters. I reserve a list of his followers for the
succeeding epoch.

It is here the place to inform our readers, that the various
styles, hitherto described as attaching to the Venetian School,
do not comprehend all that flourished in the state. Ridolfi
remarks this in his preface, and laments, that owing to the
conflagrations occurring in the city, or by the neglect of
writers, not a few materials had perished that might have
added interest to his history. In truth, he was not merely
ignorant of several of the more ancient artists, but in the
period we are describing omitted the names of Jacopo Fallaro
and Jacopo Pisbolica, whom Vasari, in his Life of SansovinOj.

BATISTA FRANCO. 225

records with praise, citing from the hand of the former a pic-
ture of San Gio. Colombino, at the Domenicani delle Zattere ;
and of the latter, his Ascension of Christ at Santa Maria
Maggiore. He likewise passed over Vitrulio, several of
whose productions are the ornament of Monte Novissimo,
bearing his name. These artists, judging from their manner
and other points, are to be referred to the age of Titian.
Ridolfi made mention, and more at length, of another, who,
exactly contemporary with Paul, continued to flourish many
years after him, but always assailed by fortune ; and though
a good colourist, being greatly deficient in point of invention
and design. His name was Antonio Foler ; and, as a con-
vincing proof of his mediocrity, it will be sufficient to allude
to 1 is Martyrdom of St. Stephen, at the church of that name ;
it is nevertheless one of his best altar-pieces. In small figures,
however, he appears to have had merit.

Before concluding the present epoch, it will be proper to
mention two painters ; one a foreigner, the other a Venetian,
both of whom followed a style altogether different from such
as we have already described. The artist of Venice is Batista
Franco, called Semolei. He has been treated of in the first
volume in several parts, and especially in what relates to
Bai occio, to whom he was master. He pursued his studies in
Rome, and so great was his progress in the art of design,
that he was accounted one of the best imitators of Michel-
angelo. In ornamenting San Gio. Decollate, a church belong-
ing to the Florentines in Rome, he appears to have been
ambitious of making a parade of his powers, and his style be-
came somewhat loaded in the attempt. In his other pictures
which I have seen in the dome at Urbino, and in that of
Osimo, where he painted in 1547, in Bologna, and in Venice,
I lave not met with any thing similar. He invariably
appears to have been an able follower of Michelangelo, and a
more powerful colourist than the chief part of the Florentine
artists. It is easier to become acquainted with him in the
States of the Church than in his native city of Venice, whi-
the:% he seems to have retired towards the close of his days,
sinre, in 1556, he was among the artists selected to adorn the
library of St. Mark. There he represented his fable of
Ac.seon, along with several symbolical inventions; and a

VOL. II. Q

226 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

few other of his pictures are exhibited there in public. He
died not long subsequently in the year 1561.

The foreign artist is Giuseppe Porta della Garfagnana,
already mentioned, likewise, under the Roman School, in
which he was instructed by Francesco Salviati, whose sur-
name he assumed. For this reason he is sometimes entitled
in history Salviati the younger. He accompanied his master
to Venice, on the latter being invited by the Patriarch
Grimani to embellish his palace, where he produced his cele-
brated Psyche, still to be seen there, near two pictures by
the hand of Porta. Francesco, however, soon left Venice ;
Vasari adducing as a very sufficient reason, that it was no
place for the residence of artists distinguished for excellence
in design. But the success of Porta, who became established
and died at Venice, clearly proves the contrary. Initiated
in a knowledge of design by Francesco, he wholly retained
the character of the Florentine School, only enlivening it
with tints in the Venetian taste. Nevertheless, he was
approved by Titian, and selected along with Paul and other
leading names to paint in the library of St. Mark ; he was
continually engaged to work in fresco and in oil, both in
public and in private; and was always distinguished there as one
of the most able masters of his age.* Several of his altar-
pieces remain, and among others one of the Assumption ; a
beautiful piece, at the Servi, in Venice, besides a Christ taken
from the Cross, at Murano, displaying powers of invention
wholly original, full of expression, and an air of majesty not
very usual in this school. He repeated the same subject fre-
quently ; and there was a duplicate in the Ducal collection at
Modena, subsequently transferred to Dresden.

Following these artists, the reader must not be surprised to
meet with the name of Jacopo Sansovino, who, as will appear
from the index, derived his surname also from his master. He
was much courted in Venice, owing to his excellence in the
art of statuary, as well as in that of an architect, with which
he ornamented public places. Still he failed not to exercise
some influence over that of painting, at least of design ; in
which he had been well instructed by Andrea del Sarto, in

* See Boschini, Carta, p. 160. Zanetti, p. 494.

GIUSEPPE CALIMBERG. 227

Florence. Indeed, as the director of the edifice of St. Mark,
numerous artists were dependent upon him; and it is known,
that he received some commissions for designs in mosaic work,
which I do not, however, find particularized; as well as
c thers, most probably in tapestry, for the altar of the sacra-
i lent, as it has been conjectured from their style, by Signor
y^anetti. In regard to foreign styles, we must proceed,
vithout dwelling upon the Cavalier Zuccaro, Passiguano, and
ethers already treated in their respective schools, to make
Irief mention of Giuseppe Calimberg, by birth a German,
Trho flourished a considerable time at Venice, where he died
about 1570. There is the Battle of Constantine, by his hand,
still preserved at the Servi ; and had he always displayed the
sime taste, I should not scruple to pronounce him excellent,
t lough somewhat heavy, in the practice of his art. Subsequent
to him appears to have flourished Gio. di Chere Loranese,
who ought to be mentioned, before we proceed to treat of the
sect of mannerists, and of the Tenebrosi.* Ranking among
the scholars of the best Venetian masters, he produced a his-
tory-piece for the grand council hall. Other names of foreign
a.-tists are to be looked for in the Guida : it is my object in
this school, as in the rest, to record only such as are most de-
serving of commemoration.

In the progress of the present history, the reader may pro-
bably have observed, that no distinction had yet been made
between certain species of painting, previous to the sixteenth
century. The figurist copied every thing, and availed himself
of every thing to adorn his compositions ; landscapes, animals,
traits, flowers, and perspective, were all employed as acces-
saries in favour of the leading art; the execution of which
was about as difficult to the great masters as the throne
oi Jupiter to Phidias, after having completed the figure of the
gc d. By degrees, however, they began to separate, and to
tr )at these parts of painting severally. The Flemish were
among the first, who, pursuing the bent of their genius, se-
lected their respective branches, and composed pictures, in
w.'iich landscape, for example, became the principal object,

' A class of artists so called, from their excessive use of deep shades
and dark colours. — Tr.

Q 2

228 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

while the figure in its turn became an accessary. And \ve
may here remark, with Bellori, that " the best of these artists
dipped their pencil in those fine Venetian colours ;" by no
means one of the least boasts of the Venetian School. The
Italians, likewise, attended severally to these branches of the
art, and in particular to landscapes. It was Titian who
opened the true path to our landscape painters ; although
nearly the whole of his champaign scenery was introduced in
aid of his figures ; never the contrary. One of these, con-
sisting of a Holy Family, was in possession of the Duchess of
Massa and Carrara, lately deceased, who left it as a legacy to
the Prince Carlo Albani, of Milan. It is one of the most
beautiful of the kind I ever saw. Titian was imitated by
many Flemish artists ; and among the Venetians by Gio.
Maria Verdizzotti, one of his literary friends, who painted
under his direction several landscapes, much esteemed in diffe-
rent collections, where they are rarely to be seen.

The Bassani produced examples of small pictures of qua-
drupeds and birds, which consisting of copies taken from
those seen in their histories, are easily recognised. They are
not so numerous, however, as their history pieces ; nor do I
recollect having seen specimens of them except in the Vene-
tian state. In drawing fish, an artist of the name of Genzio
or Gennesio Liberale, a native of Friuli, has been mentioned
with praise by Vasari, and afterwards by Ridolfi.

A taste for grotesques, was introduced into Venice from.
Rome, by a citizen of the republic, recorded by me elsewhere
as the master of this kind of art. His name was Morto da
Feltro, who, in the company of Giorgione, employed himself
in Venice, though without leaving any traces of his hand.
There are specimens of grotesques, in the Ducal Palace, painted
by Batista Franco, who had likewise beheld ancient examples
of them at Rome. There were others painted for the Patri-
arch of Aquileja, his patron, by Giovanni di Udine, men-
tioned by Vasari under the names of Manni and Ricamatore ;
an artist very celebrated in his line, and almost unique in.
drawing every kind of birds, quadrupeds, fruits, and flowers.
I have included him in the school of Giorgione ; and he is
stated more at length in that of RafFaello ; for he remained
but little while with his first master, and in Upper Italy ; but

GIORGIO BELLUNESE. 2 29

longer in Rome, and during some time in Florence. His pic
t ires of birds, or fruits, executed in oil, are pointed out in
different collections, though, if I mistake not, they are not all
genuine. It is not, indeed, that he produced no specimens in
oil, although it is extremely difficult to discover any that are
certain ; nor that he was incapable of drawing larger figures
than such as we see in his satyrs, in his boys, and nymphs,
T\ ith which he diversified the little landscapes and the tracery
of his grotesques. Vasari mentions some of his standards,
one of which, executed in Udine, for the Fraternity of Cas-
tcllo, presents in rather large proportions, a blessed virgin
w ith the divine child, and an angel making her an offering of
the same castle. The original, though much defaced, still
exists, and there is also a copy in the chapel, executed by
Pini in 1653. There likewise remains in the archiepiscopal
palace, a chamber which contains, among some grotesques,
two scriptural histories, drawn in half-length figures, not so
perfect as the ornamental part, but valuable from their rarity.
His other productions, both in Udine and the state, have been
enumerated in a learned letter written by the Ab. Boni, upon
the standard or gonfalone, just described. If we might hazard
a, conjecture relative to the school of Giovanni and of Feltro,
wo should be inclined to give for a pupil to one of these,
Giorgio Bellunese, an artist, as we are informed by Cesarini,
" very excellent in friezes and in minute ornaments," and
moreover an able portrait-painter. He flourished at San
Vito, a place in the Friuli, about the middle of the sixteenth
century ; so that the time, the place, and his employment in
ornamental work, seem equally to favour our opinion.

The art of architectural design received great assistance in
Yonice during this period, from the works of Sansovino, Pal-
ladio, and other consummate architects, who gave finished
•examples of magnificent edifices ; while Daniel Barbaro com-
posed very useful treatises upon perspective ; and it became
an attribute of the art to feign colonnades, galleries, and rich
cornices, for those halls in which real architecture would not
admit of them. In this, Cristoforo and Stefano Rosa more
particularly distinguished themselves. They were from
Brescia, very intimate with Titian, and merited the honour of
employed by him, in his architectural ornaments for

230 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

several of his subjects. In Brescia, in Venice, and particu-
larly in the ante-chamber to the library of St. Mark, we may
meet with some of their perspectives, so admirably executed
as to surprise us by their air of majesty, cheating the eye by
their relief; and when beheld in different points of view,
always producing a good effect. Their school continued to
flourish during many years, in their native state ; and was
subsequently supported by Bona, excellent also in figures, as
well as by other artists. Boschini bestows many commen-
dations upon it in different parts of his work in verse ; and
in particular at p. 225, where he declares, that Brescia was
the source of this art ; which applies of course to the Venetian
state.

Finally, the art of mosaic work, in stone and coloured
glass, at that time attained such a degree of perfection in
Venice, that Vasari observed with surprise, " that it would
not be possible to effect more with colours."* The church
and portico of St. Mark remains an invaluable museum of the
kind ; where, commencing with the eleventh century, we may
trace the gradual progress of design belonging to each age up
to the present, as exhibited in many works in mosaic, be-
ginning from the Greeks, and continued by the Italians. They
chiefly consist of histories from the Old and New Testament,
and at the same time furnish very interesting notices relating
to civic and ecclesiastical antiquity. A portion of the most
ancient specimens had long either perished, or fallen into
decay, and it had been resolved to substitute fresh ones in
their place. It is not improbable, that after the year 1400,
upon the revival of painting, a desire prevailed to banish the
taste of the Greeks ; and certain it is, that in the mosaics of
that age we meet with the modern antique style, the same
as in regard to pictures. It will be enough to cite the
chapel of the Mascoli, decorated by Michele Zambono with

* There was an attempt to revive it made in Florence. Roscoe, in his
" Life of Lorenzo de' Medici" (vol. ii. p. 220, 6th ed.)» relates, that,
with GherarJo, Lorenzo associated Domenico Ghirlandajo to work in
mosaic at the chapel of San Zenobio : but that this undertaking, so ad-
mirably begun, was interrupted by Lorenzo's death ; insomuch that " his
attempts," observes the historian, " were thus in a great degree frus-
trated." This honour appeared to be reserved for Venice.

FRANCESCO AND VALERIO ZUCCATI. 231

histories of the life of the virgin, executed with extraordinary
c;ire, and designed in the best taste of the Vivarini.

The same taste prevailed in the time of Titian ; and to this
he gave a renewed spirit, and even furnished several of these
artists with designs. Marco Luciano Rizzo and Vincenzio
Bianchini are the first, who, about 1517, succeeded in a com-
plete reform of the art. To the last is referred that celebrated
Judgment of Solomon, which adorns the portico or vestibule.
Both these, however, were surpassed by Francesco and Va-
lerio Zuceati of Treviso, or rather of the Valtelline, sons of
the same Sebastian who initiated Titian in the first rudiments
of the art. Of these, likewise, there appears in the portico
a San Marco, among various prophets and doctors, and with
t~7o histories that may be pronounced the best mosaic works,
produced during the age of painting. I have seen altar-
pieces for churches, and pictures for private ornament, in the
same taste. The Royal Gallery at Florence possesses a por-
trait from life of Cardinal Bembo, worked by Valerio ; and
a San Giarolamo, by Francesco, is known to have been pre-
sented by the republic to the court of Savoy. Subsequent to
these, whom Vasari erroneously calls sometimes Zuccheri*
sometimes Zuccherini, Arminio, a son of Valerio, was in much
repute. Nor did this family only possess the art of colour-
ing stone and glass with admirable skill ; but they understood
the principles of design, more particularly Francesco, who
had been a painter before entering upon mosaic works. The
f;imily of Bianchini, and the other artists then employed at
St. Mark, were not equally well instructed ; and, stimulated
by feelings of envy, they declared open enmity against the
Zuccati, for having assisted with the brush to supply some
parts of the design to be executed in mosaic ; nor did they
fiil to cry down the ability of Valerio, to whom it would ap-
pear that Titian and his son afforded succour. It would be
t odious here to relate the various persecutions, litigations, and
losses, owing to this quarrel; the particulars of which were
e xtracted by Zanetti from authentic documents, and minutely
described. Enough, that he concludes with extolling the Zuc-
cati, together with Vincenzio Bianchini ; to whom, as being
acquainted with design, it was sufficient to furnish a rough
draught for the intended work. Others were, for the most

232 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

part, in want of cartoons and complete paintings, in order to
model their mosaic works, and even then they conducted them
with skill much inferior to their predecessors. In this list he
computes Domenico, the brother, and Gio. Antonio, the son of
Vincenzio Bianchini, as well as Bartolommeo Bozza, at one
time a pupil, and then an accuser along with the rest, of the
Zuccati. In the time of these artists were first adopted, and
practically applied, the works and designs of Salviati and of
Tintoretto. The names succeeding these, were Gio. Antonio
Marini, a pupil of Bozza, and Lorenzo Ceccato, both admira-
ble artificers ; Luigi Gaetano and Jacopo Pasterini, with
Francesco Turessio, notices of whom are brought up to the
year 1618. They worked after the cartoons of the two Tin-
toretti, of Palma the younger, of MafFeo Verona, of Leandro
Bassano, of Aliense, of Padovanino, of Tizianello, besides
several others. About the year 1600 commenced a series of
artists less generally known ; a list of whose works may be
consulted at the close of that very valuable publication,
" Delia Pittura Veneziana." These last, however, have
confined their labours to the decoration of new walls, from
-modern designs; as since 1610, a decree has been in force
against the destruction of ancient mosaic works, in however
rude or Greekish a taste ; but in case of impending destruc-
tion, they were to be removed and restored with care, and
afterwards refixed in the same place. By this measure a se-
ries of monuments is preserved to posterity, which, in its kind,
is quite unique in Italy and the world.

233

VENETIAN SCHOOL,

EPOCH III.

Innovations of the Mannerists of the Seventeenth Century. Corruption
of Venetian Painting.

A SORT of fatality seems to prevail in all human things, ren-
dering their duration in the same state of short continuance ;
so that after attaining their highest elevation, we may as-
suredly at no distant period look for their decline. The glory
of precedency, of whatever kind, will not long remain the
boast of one place, or in possession of a single nation. It
migrates from country to country ; and the people that yester-
day received laws from another, will to-morrow impose them.
Those who to-day are the instructors of a nation, will to-mor-
row become ambitious of being admitted in the number of its
disciples. Numerous examples might be adduced in support
of this proposition, but it would be quite superfluous. For
whoever is even slightly acquainted with civil or literary his-
tory, whoever has observed the passing events of the age in
which we live, will easily furnish himself with proofs, without
.the aid of writers to direct him. We have already traced the
same revolution of affairs in the art of painting, in the two
schools of Rome and Florence, which, arriving at the zenith
of their fame, fell into decay precisely at the period when that
of Venice began to exalt itself. And we shall now perceive
the decline of the latter, during the same age in which the
Florentine began to revive, in which the school of Bologna ac-
quired its highest degree of reputation ; and what is still more
surprising, seemed to rise by studying the models of the Ve-
netian. So indeed it was : the Caracci were much devoted to
Titian, to Giorgione, to Paul Veronese, and Tintoretto, and
thence formed styles, and produced pupils that conferred
honour upon the whole of the seventeenth century. The Ve-

234 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

netians, too, studied the same examples, and derived from them
a certain mannerism reprehensible enough in them, but much
more so in their disciples. These, devoting themselves in their
first studies to more classical artists, and attaining a certain
practice both in design and colouring, next aimed at display-
ing upon a grand scale, figures, not so much taken from life,
as from engravings and pictures, or from their own imagina-
tions ; and the more rapidly these were executed, the better
did they suppose they had succeeded. I am inclined to be-
lieve, that the examples of Tintoretto proved, in this respect,
more prejudicial than useful. Few were ambitious of emu-
lating his profound knowledge, which in some measure serves
to veil his defects ; but his haste, his carelessness, and his
grounds, they more willingly adopted ; while his great name
was advanced as a shield to cover their own faults. And the
earliest of these, not yet unmindful of the maxims of a better age,
did not rush blindly into all these errors and excesses ; but by
their superiority of spirit, and by their tints, maintained their
ground better than the mannerists of the Roman and Floren-
tine styles. But to these succeeded others, whose schools
degenerated still more from the ancient rules of art. We
advance this without meaning to cast the least imputation
upon really good artists, who flourished even during this
period ; for an age rarely occurs in which good sense becomes
altogether extinct. Even during the barbarity of the dark
ages, we meet with specimens of some marble busts of the
Caesars, and some of their medals, which approach a better
taste ; and thus also in the age we are describing appeared
geniuses, who either wholly, or in great measure, kept them-
selves free from the general infection ; " et tenuere animum
contra sua ssecula rectum." — Propert.

Jacopo Palma the younger, so called to distinguish him
from the other Palma, his great uncle, was an artist who
might equally be entitled the last of the good age, and the
first of the bad. Born in 1544, after receiving the instruc-
tions of his father Antonio, a painter of a confined genius, he
exercised himself in copying from Titian, and the best of the
national artists. At the age of fifteen years he was taken un-
der the patronage of the Duke of Urbino, and accompanied
him to his capital. He afterwards spent eight years in

JACOPO PALMA THE YOUNGER. 235

Rome, where lie laid a good foundation for his profession, by
designing from the antique, copying Michelangelo and Raf-
faello; and, in particular, by studying the chiaroscuros of
P )lidoro. This last was his great model, and next to him
came Tintoretto; he being naturally inclined, like them, to
animate his figures with a certain freedom of action, and a
spirit peculiarly their own. On his return to Venice, he dis-
tinguished himself by several works, conducted with singular
care and diligence ; nor are there wanting professors who have
bestowed on him a very high degree of praise, for displaying
tl.e excellent maxims of the Roman, united to what was best
IE the Venetian School. It is observed by Zanetti, that some
of his productions were attributed by professors to the hand
oi Giuseppe del Salviati, whose merit, in point of design and
solidity of style, has been already noticed. The whole of
tlese are executed with peculiar facility, a dangerous gift
both in painting and in poetry, which this artist possessed in
a remarkable degree. Though he made the greatest exertions
to bring himself into notice, he was little employed ; the post
was already occupied by men of consummate ability, by Tin-
toretto and Paul Veronese ; and these monopolized all the
most lucrative commissions. Palraa, however, obtained the
rjoik of third ; chiefly by means of Vittoria, a distinguished
sc ulptor and architect ; whose opinion was adopted in the dis-
tribution of the labours even of artists themselves. Dis-
pleased at the little deference shewn him by Robust! and
Paul, he began to encourage Palma, and to assist him also
\\ itli his advice, so that he shortly acquired a name. We
h we related a similar instance in regard to Bernini, who
brought forward Cortona against Sacchi, at Rome, besides
several more, productive of the greatest detriment to the art.
So true it is that the same passions prevail in every age,
everywhere pursue the same track, and produce the same re-

SilltS.

Nor was it long before Palma, overwhelmed with commis-
s.ons, remitted much of his former diligence. In progress of
t "me, he became even yet more careless, until upon the death
cf his eldest rivals, including Corona, who in his latest works
1 ad begun to surpass him, free from competition he asserted
unquestioned sway, and despatched his pieces rapidly. His

236 VENETIAN SCHOOL.— EPOCH III.

pictures, indeed, might often be pronounced rough draughts,
a title bestowed upon them in ridicule by the Cavalier d'Ar-
pino. In order to prevail upon him to produce a piece wor-
thy of his name, it became requisite, not only to allow him
the full time he pleased, but the full price he chose to ask,
without further reference, except to his own discretion, in
which truly he did not greatly abound. Upon such terms he
executed that fine picture of San Benedetto, at the church of
SS. Cosmo and Damiano, for the noble family of Moro. It
resembled many of those he had produced in his best days at
Venice, and in particular that celebrated naval battle-piece of
Francesco Bembo, placed in the Palazzo Pubblico. Other
valuable specimens are found scattered elsewhere, in part
mentioned by Ridolfi, and in part unknown to him. Such
are his Santa Apollonia, at Cremona, his San Ubaldo and his
Nunziata, at Pesaro, and his Invenzione del la Croce, at Ur-
bino, a piece abounding in figures, and full of beauty, variety,
.and expression. His tints are fresh, sweet, and clear, less
splendid than those of Paul, but more pleasing than in Tin-
toretto ; and though scantily applied, they are more durable
than those of certain foreign pictures more heavily laid on.
In the animation of his figures he approaches the two preced-
ing artists, particularly in his more studied works, as he has
shewn in his Chastisement of the Serpents, a picture that
seems embued with horror. In every other instance he has
always sufficient art to please ; and it is surprising how a
man who led the way to the most corrupt period in Venice, as
it has been observed of Vasari at Florence, and of Zuccaro at
Rome, could thus exhibit so many attractions, both of nature
and of art, calculated to feast the eye, and to fix the soul of
the spectator. Both Guercino and Guido were sensible of the
power of his pencil ; and when examining one of his altar-
pieces, at the Cappucini, in Bologna, " What a pity," they
exclaimed, "that the master of such a pencil should be no
more." (Boschini, p. 383.)

In observance of my plan of accompanying each master
with his train of followers, I set out with Marco Boschini, a
Venetian, who flourished during this same deterioration of a
nobler age. He was a pupil to Palma, and has left some me-
morials of the different professors of the third epoch, not to be

MARCO BOSCHINI. 237

met with in any other work. Professing the art of engraving,
rather than that of painting, he had, nevertheless, so much
merit in the latter, as to approach the manner of Palma, in
his picture of the Supper of our Lord, in the Sacristy of San
Girolamo ; as well as that of Tintoretto, as we gather from a
few of his altar-pieces in the territory of Padua, and his pic-
tures for private ornament, remaining at Venice, at least as
far as I can learn. He was the author of several works re-
corded in the preface to this work, the most remarkable of
which is composed in " quartine," with the following title ;
and by this production he is, perhaps, best known : " The
Chart of pictorial Navigation, a Dialogue between a Venetian
sei ator (a dilettante) and a professor of painting, under the
names of Ecelenza and Compare, divided into eight venti, or
wi:ids, with which the Venetian vessel is borne into the deep
Sea of Painting, as its Absolute Mistress, to the confusion of
such as do not understand the loadstone and the compass."

Thus, much in the same manner as we judge from the
fa9ade of the style of a whole edifice in the gothic taste, the
reader may gather, from this very loaded title, the exact na-
ture of Boschini's work. It is, indeed, written in the most
verbose style of the Seicentisti ; a mixture of unsound reason-
ing, strange allegory, tame allusions, frivolous conceits in-
verted on every name, and phraseology that surpasses even
that of Ciampoli and Melosio; for these at least wrote in the
ItaJan dialect, whereas Boschini protests that he does not
pretend to a foreign idiom, but to speak like the Venetian
people. From this undistinguishing kind of nationality arises
his malevolence against Vasari, and the methods of the
foroign schools, as well as hia exaggerated praise of the Vene-
tian artists, whom he prefers, as we learn from his title-page,
to j ill the painters in the world, not merely as respects their
manner of colouring, but in point of invention and design.
What is worse, he makes no distinction between the fine old
painters and the mannerists of his own times, and speaks as if
the masters of the former age were still nourishing, and teach-
ing in their schools, or as if the modern possessed the same
povers and the same reputation ; a gross equivocation into
which the tiresome Compare, or gossip, is continually falling,
and which his credulous Excellency as frequently commends.

238 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

If, however, in treating of Yasari, I in some measure ex-
cused his partialities, in consideration of prejudices imbibed
by his education, which are afterwards with difficulty eradi-
cated, I ought to make use of the same liberality in regard
to Boschini, more especially as he possessed fewer opportuni-
ties of ridding himself of them, never having visited Rome or
Florence, and giving his opinions upon foreign schools, from
the hearsay relations of others. It is true that he cites in
favour of the Venetians the opinion of many distinguished
men ; as that of Velasco, who protested to Salvator Rosa,
that Raffaello was no longer a favourite with him after hav-
ing seen Venice ; or that of Rubens, who, after spending up-
wards of six years at Rome to little purpose, formed his style
on the models of Titian. Albano likewise regretted that he
had not commenced his studies in Venice, preferably to Rome ;
and Pier da Cortona having seen the works of the Venetian
School, cancelled some of his labours, and ornamented afresh
two chambers of the Palazzo Pitti, and one in the Casa Bar-
berini. But these authorities, which he adduces along with
others, taken chiefly from artists who preferred beauty of
colouring to accuracy of design, do not prove much, and might
be opposed by other authorities, even of great painters, more
particularly English and French, who embraced a contrary
opinion. Besides, the panegyrists thus cited by him, did not
commend the modern so much as the ancient Venetian pain-
ters, so as by no means to possess the weight he would attri-
bute to them. Moreover, in the present day, when so much
has been written upon Italian painting, we shall not, on in-
vestigating what is to be admired and imitated, and what to
be shunned or approved in the examples of the Venetians,
appeal to the vain boastings of the sixteenth century, but to
the critics of our own times. Still we do not mean to deny,
but that the work in question, however strangely written, con-
tains many valuable historical notices, and many pictorial
precepts, particularly useful to such as cannot aspire to any
thing beyond the character of mere naturalists, incapable of
drawing a stroke that does not appear in their model, and
content with portraying the dimensions of any kind of head
or body, provided they be of the human shape, inventing with
infinite difficulty, slow in resolving, and quite incapable of

LEONARDO CORONA. 239

forming a grand history, more especially of battles, of flights,
in short of any objects they never saw. This sect, which at
that period boasted many followers, and which is not even yet
extinct, is there ridiculed in a vein it is impossible to surpass,
and would that the party proceeding to the opposite extreme
of mannerism, at that time triumphant in Venice, had not
met with equal applause ! But how difficult is it to observe
tho golden mean ; though the artists of Bologna will point out
the way in due time. At present we must return to those of
Venice.

Numerous other artists very nearly approached the style of
Palma. Boschini enumerates six, whose manner so extremely
resembles him, as to impose upon those who have not tact
enough to detect the peculiar characteristics of each, (and in
Palma there is a mixture of the Roman and Venetian,) con-
sisting of the names of Corona, Vicentino, Peranda, Aliense,
Mulombra, and Pilotto. The same author extols them as
illustrious painters ; and truly, besides the splendour of their
colouring, they composed upon a magnificent scale, emulating,
for the most part, the fire and the striking contrasts that
produced such an impression after the time of Titian, exe-
cuting pictures everyway deserving of a place in good collec-
tions.

Leonardo Corona, of Murano, who, from a copyist, suc-
ceeded in becoming a painter, was the rival of Palma, and
nevertheless enjoyed the patronage of Vittoria ; whether to
kecvp alive the emulation of the former, or for some other
rea son, is uncertain. He sometimes prepared models in clay,
to discover the best distributions of his chiaroscuro. By aid
of these he painted his Annunciation, at SS. Giovanni and
Pa )lo, a work very highly commended, as well as his picture
at San Stefano, displaying a grandeur that arrests the eye,
and reminds us more of Titian than any other model. In
general, however, Corona exhibited more of Tintoretto, if not
in his colouring, which in the present day appears to more
advantage, at least in many other points. He produced a
crucifixion so much in this artist's style, that Ridolfi has
defended him with the utmost difficulty from the charge of
theft. He availed himself likewise of the engravings of
Flemish artists, particularly in the composition of his land-

240 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

scape. He did not long flourish ; but left an excellent imita-
tor of his style in Baldassare d' Anna, an artist of Flemish
origin, who completed a few of his master's pieces. He also
produced some original pieces for the Servi and other churches,
which, though inferior to those of Corona in the selection ot
forms, yet surpass them in the softness, and sometimes in the
force of their chiaroscuro.

Andrea Vicentino was, according to some writers, a Vene-
tian, and pupil to Palma ; not excelling in point of taste, ha
was nevertheless very skilful in the handling of his colours,
and shewed great power of invention. Being employed in
many labours, both within and without the boundaries of
Venice, and even in depicting histories of the Republic, which
still continue to adorn several halls in the Palazzo Grande, he
was one of the most popular artists of his time. He rarely
fails to exhibit in his works some perspective, or some figure
borrowed, according to the custom of the plagiarists, from the
best masters : including even Bassano, an artist of few ideas
constantly repeated, and so far less easily pillaged with im-
punity. At the same time he bestows upon his plagiarisms a
beauty of composition, and a general effect that does honour
to his talents, applicable to every variety of subject. He
could also employ a very delicate, tasteful, and effective
pencil, when he chose to exert himself. In his grounds,
however, he must have been less successful, many of his.
paintings being already much defaced. In collections, always
more favourable to their duration than public places, we may
find several in good preservation, and deserving of much com-
mendation, as we gather from his Solomon anointed on
becoming king of Israel, preserved in the Royal Gallery at
Florence. Marco Vicentino, son of Andrea, also acquired
some celebrity by his imitations, and more by the name of his
father.

Santo Peranda, a scholar of Corona and of Palma, and
tolerably well versed in Roman design, having passed some
time in Rome, aimed at a diversity of styles. His usual
manner a good deal resembles that of Palma, while, in his
large histories, which he produced at Venice and at Miran-
dola, he appears in a more poetical character of his own.
Yet he was naturally of a more slow and reflective turn, and

ANTONIO VASSILACCIII. 241

more studious of art, qualities that in the decline of age led
him to adopt a very delicate and laboured manner. He was
not ambitious of equalling his contemporaries in the abundance
of his works ; his aim was to surpass them in correctness ;
nor did he any where succeed better in his object than in his
Christ taken from the Cross, painted for the church of San
Procolo. Among his disciples, Matteo Ponzone, from Dal-
matia, more particularly distinguished himself, assisting
Peranda in his great works executed at Mirandola. In pro-
gress of time he formed an original style, which surpasses in
softness that of his master, though not equal to it in point of
elegance. He was fond of copying from the life, without
attempting much to add to its dignity. His scholar, Gio.
Carboncino, pursued his studies at Rome also, where we do
not, however, find mention of him,* owing probably to his
speedy return to Venice. Among the few pieces produced
by him for churches, there is a Bto. Angelo, at the Carmini,
which has been much commended by Melchiori, and a San
Antonio, at La Pieta, mentioned by Guarienti. Two others,
named Maffei, of Vicenza, and Zanimberti, of Brescia, will
come under consideration in their respective states.

Antonio Vassilacchi, called Aliense, a native of the island
of Milo, inherited from the fine climate of Greece a genius
adapted to confer honour upon the arts, and particularly in
works of a vast and imaginative character. Paul Veronese,
struck with his first efforts, banished him, with a feeling of
jealousy, from his studio, advising him at the same time to
confine himself to small pictures. Aliense observing Paul
engaged in reviving the examples of Titian, renewed as far as
lay in his power those of Tintoretto. He studied casts taken
from the antique, designing from them both day and night;
he exercised himself in acquiring a knowledge of the human
frame, modelled in wax, copied Tintoretto with the utmost

* In the " Memorie Trevigiane," I find that this artist was known also
at Home, in the Guide to which place, however, his name is not to be met
with. I have some doubt it may have been confounded with that of Gio.
Cai bone. But this last was from S. Severino, and a follower of Cara-
vag^io ; the other a Venetian, attached to Titian ; and, in some pictures
he"p reduced at San Niccolo of Trevigi, he subscribes not Carbonu, but
Carboncini opus.

VOL. II. R

242 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

assiduity, and, as if wholly to forget what he had learnt from
Paul, he sold the designs made at his school. Yet he could
not so far direst himself of them, but that in his earliest pro-
ductions, remaining at the church of Le Vergini, he displayed
the manner of Paul. He has been accused by historians of
liaving abandoned this style for one less adapted to his genius ;
and moreover of having been misled by the innovations of the
mannerists. Sometimes, however, he painted with extreme
care, as in his Epiphany, for the Council of Ten, though in
general he abused the facility of his genius, without fear of
risking his credit, inasmuch as his rivals Palma and Corona
pursued the same plan. In order better to oppose his great
enemy Vittoria, he attached himself to another architect, who
possessed much influence, named Girolamo Campagna, the
disciple of Sansovino ; and he moreover enjoyed the favour
of Tintoretto. In this manner Aliense obtained many com-
missions, both for the public palace and the Venetian churches,
besides being engaged in many works for other cities, more
especially for Perugia, at S. Pietro, all upon a magnificent
scale ; yet without acquiring that degree of estimation which
the felicity of his genius deserved. He was assisted by
Tommaso Dolobella, of Belluno, a good practitioner, and well
received in Poland, where he long continued in the service of
Sigismond III. In his Life of Aliense, Ridolfi makes men-
tion also of Pietro Mera, a Fleming, whose portrait Aliense
painted, as being his friend ; but neither from history, nor
from his own style, can we gather that he was Aliense's dis-
ciple. He resided, and employed himself much in Venice, at
SS. Giovanni and Paolo, at La Madonna dell' Orto, and
elsewhere : while the judgment pronounced upon him by
Zanetti is, that he appeared to have greatly attached himself
to the Venetian artists, and to have derived sufficient profit.

Pietro Malombra, a Venetian by birth, deserves almost to
oe excluded from the list of Palma's disciples, and even from
that of the mannerists. If he sometimes deviated from the
right path, it must rather be attributed to human error, than
to erroneous maxims. Born in a degree of comparative ease,
he acquired from education a sense of the value of that ex-
cellent axiom, " that honour is better than gain." After
employing himself in the studio of Salviati, where he obtained

GIROLAMO PILOTTO. 243

a good knowledge of design, lie continued to paint for his own
pleasure. But equally intelligent and docile, he never
scrupled to bestow the utmost pains to bring his works to a
higher degree of perfection, than was the usual practice of his
times. Afterwards experiencing a reverse of fortune, he
eni ered upon the art as his profession, and ornamented parts
of the Ducal Palace. In his portraits and pictures upon a
snull scale, he was also very successful. He represented at
Sau Francesco di Paola, various miracles of the saint, in four
pictures ; and his figures display a precision in their contours,
a grace, and an originality which lead us to doubt whether
they can belong, not merely to the epoch, but to the school of
which we are here treating. Similar specimens he produced
for galleries, sometimes enlivening with them his perspective
pieces, in which he possessed equal skill and assiduity. Those
in which he exhibited the grand piazza, or the great ball of
council, representing in them their respective sacred or civil
ceremonies, processions, ingresses, public audiences, great
spectacles, to which the place adds an air of grandeur, ex-
torted the plaudits of all ranks.

Girolamo Pilotto occupies the sixth place among those,
who, in the opinion of Boschini, are apt to be confounded
with Palma. Zanetti is content with observing, that he was
a true follower of that style, and that in his works may be
recognised the ideas of his master, conducted in a very happy
manner. Venice boasts few of his pieces, although we are
elso where informed that he died at an advanced age. His pic-
ture of the Nuptials of the Sea. painted for the public palace,
is extolled in high terms by Orlandi, while others have greatly
admired his San Biagio, which he produced for the great altar
of she Fraglia, in Rovigo ; a picture displaying great sweet-
ne.c s of manner, and signed with his name.

To attempt a full list of the rest of the mannerists, who
followed more or less the composition of Palma, would only
weary the reader with a repetition of names. From these I
select, therefore, merely a few of the most remarkable in Ve-
nice and its vicinity, having to make mention of others in the
respective schools of terra-firma. Girolarno Gamberati, a scholar
of Porta, acquired the art of colouring from Palma, upon
wtose model he painted at Le Vergini, and other places, it is

B2

244 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

still suspected, however, that the character displayed in his
pieces, must have come from the hand of Palma, whose friend-
ship occasionally assisted him. In the Guide by Zanetti, we
find mention of a Jacomo Alberelli, a disciple of Palma, who
painted the Baptism of Christ at the church of the Ognisanti.
There is a slight allusion to him in Ridolfi, by whom he is
entitled Albarelli ; and he adds, that he produced the bust for
the tomb of his master, in whose service he lived during thirty-
four years. Camillo Bellini is also recorded among the Pal-
mese mannerists, whether a native of Venice or of the state is
not certain. In his manner he is pleasing, though neither
spirited nor vigorous ; and he was likewise employed in the
Ducal Palace. Boschini moreover extols Bianchi, Dimo, and
Donati, all Venetians, and his own friends ; but I would omit
them, finding no commendations in any other work. I omit
also Antonio Cecchini da Pesaro, whose age, as reported in
the index, cannot be brought to agree with the period of Pal-
ma's professorship.

In Trevigi, Ascanio Spineda, a noble of that city, is held
in some estimation, and included among the disciples of
Palma ; from whom he is sometimes with difficulty distin-
guished. One of the most exact in point of design, he also
colours with much sweetness and grace of tints; an artist
deserving to be known in his native district, which abounds
with the best of his works. He employed himself there,
for many churches, succeeding perhaps better at San Teo-
nisto than at any other place. No one surpassed him in
the number of his pieces for public exhibition, if we except
indeed one Bartolommeo Orioli, who, about the same period,
displayed the talent of a good practiser, though with less
repute. This last belonged to that numerous tribe who, in
in Italy, were ambitious of uniting in themselves the powers
of poetry and painting ; but who, not having received suffi-
cient polish either in precept or in art, gave vent to their in-
spiration in their native place, covering the columns with
sonnets, and the churches with pictures, without exciting the
envy of the adjacent districts. Father Federici praises him
for his portraits ; a valued ornament, at that period, of large
pictures, and well introduced by Orioli, in the church of
{St. Croce, where a numerous procession of the people of Tre-

PAOLO PIAZZA. MATTEO INGOLI. 245

vigi appears, taken from the life. Burchiellati, a contempo-
rary historian of the place, adds, as a companion to the foregoing,
tho name of Giacomo Bravo, a painter of figures and orna-
mental works, which are still held in some degree of estimation.

Paolo Piazza, of Castelfranco, who afterwards became a
Capuchin by the name of Father Cosimo, is enumerated by
Baglione among the good practisers, and the pupils of Palma.
Yet he bears little resemblance to him, having formed a style
of his own, not powerful indeed, but free and pleasing, which
attracted the eye of Paul V., the Emperor Rodolph II., and
the Doge Priuli ; all of whom availed themselves of his abi-
lity. Both the capital and the state boast many of his pieces
in fresco, and some altar-pieces : nor is Rome without them,
where, in the Palazzo Borghese, he painted those very fanciful
ornaments in friezes, for various chambers, as well as histories
of Cleopatra for the Great Hall, and in the Campidoglio at
the Conservator!, a celebrated picture of Christ taken from the
Cross. While residing in Rome he attended to the instruction
of Andrea Piazza, his nephew, who in course of time entered
the service of the Duke of Lorraine, by whom he had the
honour of being made a cavalier. Upon returning to his
own state, he produced his great picture of the Marriage of
Cana, for the church of Santa Maria ; one of the best pieces
that adorn the place.

Matteo Ingoli, a native of Ravenna, resided from early
youth, until the period of his immature decease, in the city of
Venice. He sprung from the school of Luigi del Friso, and
proposed for himself, says Boschini, Paul Veronese and Palma
as his models. If I mistake not, however, he aspired to a
more solid, but less beautiful style, as far as we can gather
from one of his pictures at the Corpus Domini, from his Sup-
per of our Lord at San Apollinare, and from others of his
works ; in all which we trace the hand of precision and assi-
du'ty. He was also a good architect, and terminated his
days during one of those awful periods in which the Venetian
state was visited by the plague, adding another instance of
loss to the fine arts, similar to tho.se which we have noticed in
other schools.

Another victim to the same contagion was Pietro Damini,
of Castelfranco, who, it is averred, had he survived a little

246 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

longer, would have displayed the powers of a Titian; an
expression we are to receive as somewhat hyperbolical. He
acquired the art of colouring from Gio. Batista Novelli, a good
scholar of Palma, who, more for amusement than for gain,
ornamented Castelfranco and the adjacent places with several
well executed pieces. Damini next devoted much time to the
theory of the art, and to the study of the best engravings,
upon which he modelled his design. By this method, it is
said that he freed himself from the shackles of the mannerists,
though it gave to his colours a degree of crudity ; and in truth
this is a defect that strikes the eye in many of his productions.
Numerous specimens remain at Padua, where he established
himself at the age of twenty ; several at Vicenza, at Venice,
and still more in Castelfranco, where his altar-piece of the
Simone Stoch at Santa Maria, is highly estimated, as well as
the Tabernacle surrounded with twelve histories, from both the
Old and New Testaments ; a novel idea, and executed with
real taste. His style is elegant and pleasing, but not uniformly
excellent. He is observed to have frequently changed his
manner, in aspiring to reach a higher degree of perfection in
his art. We might, in some instances, pronounce him an ex-
cellent naturalist ; in others more of an adept in ideal beauty,
as we gather from his picture of the Crucifixion at Santo di
Padova, which displays rare beauty and harmony combined,
though he did not live long enough to produce others of equal
merit. He died early, and at a short interval his brother
Giorgio, seized by the same disorder, followed him to the
tomb, an artist excellent in portrait, and pictures with small
figures.

Subsequent to this period (1630, 1631), in which the deaths
of a number of artists occur, the traces of the old Venetian
style, in its best school, began still more to disappear ; and the
Venetian paintings produced after the middle of the century,
display for the most part a different character. It is remarked
by Signor Zanetti, that several foreign artists established them-
selves about this period in the city, and held sway over the
art at their own discretion. Attached to various schools, and
chiefly admirers of Caravaggio, in his plebeian manner, they
agreed amongst themselves in nothing, perhaps, except two
points. One of these was, to consult truth in a greater degree

THE TENEBROSI. 247

than had before been done ; an extremely useful idea to render
art. now degenerated into a paltry trade, once more real art.
Bu ••-, the plan was not well executed by many, who were either
incapable of selecting what was natural, or of ennobling it
when found ; while, at all events, they were too apt to man-
ner ize it with an excessive use of strong shades. The other
pla i was to avail themselves of very dark and oily grounds,
which were as favourable to despatch as injurious to the dura-
tion of paintings, as we have more than once had occasion to
obsorve. Indeed this had so far come into vogue, in most
places, as even to infect, in some degree, the great school of
the Caracci. Hence it has arisen that in many of those pic-
tures the lights only have remained durable, the masses of
shade, the middle tints having disappeared ; insomuch that
posterity has distinguished this class of artist by the new ap-
pellation of the sect of Tenebrosi, or the dark colourists. Bos-
chini, who first put forth his Carta del Navegar Pitoresco in
1660, is very severe, as we have before stated, upon the sect
of mere naturalists, stigmatizing them generally, and upbraid-
ing them for coming to seek their bread at Venice ; while, at
the time that they employed themselves in crying down the
taste, the spirit, and the rapid hand of the Venetians, their
own productions bore ample witness to the pitiable efforts by
which they were produced. He gives no names; but it is not
difficult to gather from the whole his aversion to the Roman
and Florentine artists, of whom we shall shortly give an ac-
count. Upon these he certainly does not bestow encomiums,
as he does upon all others at that period engaged in Venice,
his commendations being sometimes extremely vague, and at
others extravagant.

if we wish to avoid forming erroneous judgments, then we
must abandon his Painter's Chart of Navigation, and attach
ourselves to the Pittura Veneziana, a very different guide to
that of Boschini. In this the author takes" care to distinguish,
with the precision of a good historian, such as were followers
of Caravaggio, like Saraceni ; excellent pupils of Guercino,
like Triva ; fine colourists, however much accustomed to copy
rather than invent, like Strozza, and though less select, his
scholar Langetti ; to whom we may add a third Genoese ar-
tist, who flourished during those times at Venice, though he

248 . VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

left no public specimen of bis labours ; this was Niccolo Cas-
sana. Of these, as well as of a few others, I shall treat in the
schools to which they respectively belong. Several other
names are omitted by the author, either on account of such
artists having produced little in the city, or from his being
unacquainted with their education and the place of their birth.
Among these is Antonio Beverense, an artist who painted for
the college of the Nunziata, the Marriage of the Virgin Mary,
a picture that displays accuracy of design, superiority of forms,
and a very fine chiaroscuro. He was, for the most part, a dis-
ciple of the Bolognese, and from his united taste and diligence
fully deserving of being more generally known. I suspect,
however, that he ought to be named a native of Bavaria, and
to the circumstance of his speedy return into his own country,
we are, perhaps, to ascribe the little notice he seems to have
attracted. Returning to the authority of Zanetti, we find,
that besides giving a favourable opinion of the authors just
mentioned, he bestows equal commendation upon those who
are soon to follow ; explaining their respective excellences and
defects, and detecting such as belonged to the class of Tene-
hrosi through their own fault, and such as became so owing to
the bad priming of those times ; in treating of whom I follow
the path he has pointed out.

Pietro Ricchi was an artist who resided for a long period at
Venice, where he left a great number of works, and is generally
known by the name of il Lucchese. It remains doubtful whe-
ther he deserves to be accused of having introduced the oily
and obscure method of painting already mentioned. It is at
least certain, that besides having made use of bad priming, he
was in the habit of covering his canvas with oil whenever he
applied his pencil, which has occasioned the loss of so many
of his works that once produced an excellent effect, but whick
are now either defaced or perished. This is the case with
those that remained in Venice, in Vicenza, Brescia, Padua,
and Udine ; some of which, indeed, are not greatly to be re-
gretted ; the production of mere mechanic skill, and that not
always executed correctly. A few, however, are conducted
with much care, as we find in his S. Raimond, at the Domi-
nicans of Bergamo, and his Epiphany at the patriarchal church
in Venice, both highly deserving of commemoration, no less

PEDERIGO CEBVELLI. 249

for the union of their colours, than for the taste displayed in
the whole composition. We may easily perceive that they are
the productions of a scholar, or at least of an imitator of
Guilo; of one accustomed to consult the pictures of Tinto-
retto, and of the most celebrated Venetians. Another artist
equiil to Ricchi in the handling of his pencil, and more accu-
rate in the union of his colours, will be found in Federigo
Cer/elli of Milan, who, on opening his school at a somewhat
later period in Venice, obtained the celebrated Ricci for one
of his pupils. At the school of San Teodoro, we meet with a
history-piece of that saint, from the hand of Cervelli; and in.
this w*e may trace all the features of the same style that was
afterwards continued by Ricci, who added dignity, however,
to its forms, and executed them upon canvas and upon
grounds better calculated to bear the effects of age.

The other artists to be enumerated in the same class, are
Francesco Rosa, a pupil rather than follower of Cortona, for
an account of whom we must refer the reader to the fifth book
of the third volume ; and Giovanni Batista Lorenzetti, whose
composition, bold, rapid, and magnificent, displays a powerful
and correct hand. The merit of the second is conspicuous in
his frescos, exhibited at Santa Anastasia, in his native city of
Verona, for which he received twelve hundred ducats, includ-
ing only the decoration of the chapel. Add to these the name
of Ruschi, or Rusca, a Roman, and a disciple of Caravaggio
in l.is forms, and of his age in the mixture of his colours.
He .vas wholly unknown at Rome, though he acquired some
degree of reputation in the cities of Venice, of Vicenza, and
of Trerigi. His paintings are admitted into collections,
where several of his oblong pieces are to be met with in pretty
^ood preservation. Contemporary with him was Girolamo
Pellegrini, a native of the same place, not mentioned in the
Gui le of Rome, but commemorated in that of Venice for
some works, chiefly executed in fresco upon a large scale, in
which he appears neither a very select, various, nor spirtied
paicter, though of a sufficiently elevated character. Bastiano
Matzoni, a Florentine, is another artist unknown in his native
city, belonging to the class of the naturalists, though pos-
sessed of a certain delicacy, roundness of style, and ease of
handling. He was also an excellent architect, of whose

250 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

talents the Cavalier Liberi availed himself in the erection of
his fine palace at Venice, which appears to exceed the fortune
of a painter. Count Ottaviano Angarano, a Venetian noble,
if he did not altogether avoid the style then current, avoided
at least its extravagance ; and the Nativity which he placed
at San Daniele, confers upon him double honour, having been
both painted and engraved by his hand. Stefano Pauluzzi, a
citizen of Venice, has been enumerated among the best belonging
to this sect, if indeed he is to be included in it, as the dete-
rioration of his pictures may be rather attributed to the bad-
ness of his grounds than to the artist. Niccolo Renieri
Mabuseo also flourished at the same period, an artist, who at
Rome, under Manfredi, a follower of Caravaggio, formed a
taste partaking of his early Flemish and of his Italian educa-
tion ; very pleasing in the opinion of Zanetti, and in general
displaying much strength of hand. He had four daughters
who inherited their father's talents, all of whose productions
were highly admired in Venice. Two of these, of the name
of Angelica and Anna, remained with their parent ; Clorinda
entered into an union with Vecchia, and Lucrezia with
Daniel Vandych, a Frenchman, who afterwards entered into
the service of the Duke of Mantua, as the keeper of his gal-
lery of pictures ; himself a fine portrait-painter, and by no
means despicable in his histories. To his I add the name of
D. Ermanno Stroifi, a Paduan, first a pupil, and an excellent
imitator of Prete the Genoese, and afterwards of Titian,
though occasionally, owing to an excessive attention to the
chiaroscuro, he deviated too much from the right path. We
are informed by Boschini that he travelled for the purpose of
observing other schools, and that on returning to Venice, he
still continued to rise in the estimation of the Venetians. A
Madonna from his hand is to be seen at the great altar of the
Carmini in that city ; and in Padua, his Pieta, placed at San
Tommaso Cantuariense. I conclude this list with one Mat-
teo, a Florentine artist, not commemorated in his own state,
from the circumstance of having resided abroad ; better known
by the name of Matteo da' Pitocchi. He displayed most
talent in his representation of Mendicants, heads of which
class are to be met with in Venice, in Verona, in Vicenza,
and elsewhere, as well as several burlesques and other fanci-

GIOVAN CONTARINO. 251

ful pieces, in the galleries of many Italian nobles. He
paint- )d likewise for churches, more particularly in Padua,
whero he most probably died ; and the Serviti are in posses-
sion cf some on a larger scale, designed in the character of a
mere naturalist. These names we trust will be found suffi-
cient, however various and unequal both in point of style and
merit, as affording examples of the taste of that age.

But inasmuch as it is difficult, as I have before observed,
for an entire age to become wholly corrupt, so among the man-
nerists, who mark the character of this epoch, there flourished
some good imitators of Titian, of Paul Veronese, and of Raf-
faello himself, both in the capital and its adjacent provinces.
In the last, indeed, they were more numerous, because the
artiste of the terra-firrna did not so greatly abound in those
master-pieces of the art, of which the Venetians themselves
were enabled so easily to become the plagiarists, to the serious
deterioration of the art. In the first rank then of supporters 01
the solid style, I must mention Giovan Contarino, who flou-
rished in the time of Palma, a companion of Malombra, and
an exact imitator of Titian's method. He did not always suc-
ceed in improving and embellishing the nature which he
copied, though, at the same time, he displayed a soundness of
taste that was truly that of Titian. He shewed exquisite
skill in his foreshortening seen from below, and in the church
of San Francesco di Paola, he exhibited a Resurrection in the
entablature, or ceiling, along with other mysteries and figures,
so beautifully coloured, so distinct, and so finely expressed, as
to be considered some of the most perfect of which the city
can boast. He employed himself much for collections, even
extending to Germany, by which he obtained from the Em-
peror Rodolph II., the collar of the order of cavaliers. His
favou rite subjects were such as he drew from mythology, being
possessed of sufficient learning to treat them with classic pro-
priety, and of these, in the Barbarigo collection, I saw a con-
siderable number. He was so extremely accurate in his
portraits, that on sending home one which he had taken of
Marco Dolce, his dogs, the moment it appeared, began to fawn
upon it, mistaking it for their master. His fame was never-
theless eclipsed in portrait by Tiberio Tinelli, at first his scho-
lar, afterwards an imitator of Leandro Bassano, and raised to

252 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

the rank of cavalier by the King of France. Pietro da Cor-
tona, on beholding one of his portraits, exclaimed that Tiberio
had not merely infused into it the whole soul of the original,
but added his own also. I have met with several at Rome,
bearing a very high price, and still more are to be seen in the
Venetian state. Sometimes they are left unfinished, at the
desire of the parties for whom they were taken, in order to
diminish their price ; sometimes they are thrown into an his-
torical character ; and a Venetian Lord, for instance, will ap-
pear as Marc Antony — his wife, as Cleopatra. Many of this
artist's pieces for private ornament, of the portrait size, are very
highly estimated : they are alternately borrowed from scrip-
ture and from fable. Such is that of his Iris, belonging to the
Conti Vicentini, at Vicenza, simple in point of composition,
very natural and pleasing ; and what is still more surprising,
quite original. He did not display equal facility in more
copious compositions, requiring a larger portion of time and
leisure than he ever enjoyed, in order to leave behind him a
work which could give him full satisfaction.

Succeeding him, appears Girolamo Forabosco, a distin-
guished portrait-painter, of Venetian origin according to
Orlandi, though believed by the Paduans to have been one of
their fellow-citizens. Two of the most celebrated schools con-
tended for the honour of adding him to their respective ranks.
He flourished in the time of Boschini, who bestowed upon him
and Liberi the precedency over all other Venetians of the age.
In order better to commend him in the spirit of his age, he
puns upon his name, declaring Forabosco one of those who
emerged fuor del bosco, or out of the wood, into full day ; in
other words that he rose out of obscurity into considerable
note. We are to forgive similar conceits upon the part of
Boschini, in consideration of the notices he handed down to
us ; and we may add likewise with Zanetti, that Forabosco
possessed a noble and penetrating genius ; a genius delighting
the professed artist by its display of judgment ; arresting the
observer by its beauty ; and which unites sweetness with re-
finement, beauty with force, studious in every part, but par-
ticularly in the airs of its heads, that appear endued with life.
To form an adequate idea of these, we ought not so much to
direct our enquiries to churches, which rarely boast any of his

CARLO RIDOLFI. 253-

altar-pieces, as to those collections which preserve his por-
traits ; his half-length figures of saints, and his little history-
pieces, of which three are recorded in the catalogue of the
Dresden gallery. Resembling Forabosco in diligence and
delicacy of finish, though inferior to him in genius, we may
mention his pupil Pietro Bellotti. By some he is reproached
for his minuteness and dryness of style, which leads him to
distinguish almost every hair, though always an exact and
faithful transcriber of nature. Boschini considers him in the
light of a prodigy, for having succeeded in uniting to so much
diligence, a most exquisite delicacy in his tints, to a degree
never before known. His compositions, more particularly his
portraits and his caricatures, which are to be met with in gal-
leries, are held in much esteem. Several I have seen in dif-
ferent places, even out of the limits of the state ; two of them
Tery excellent — portraits of an old man and an old woman,
in possession of the Cavalier Melzi, at Milan, and such as are
not to be exceeded by the most polished and exquisite speci-
men 3 of Flemish art.

At the same period flourished the Cavalier Carlo Ridolfi, a
native of Yicenza, but who received his education and distin-
guished himself at Venice. His natural good sense led him
to shun the peculiar style of his times, no less in writing than
in painting ; and we may observe the same character that is
displayed in his " Lives of the Venetian Painters," written
with equal fidelity and judgment, preserved also in his pic-
tures. Thus his Visitation, painted for the church of the
Ogrissanti at Venice, has been much extolled ; a piece that
exhibits some novelty in the adaptation of the colours ; a fine
relief, and exactness in every part. Other specimens of him
are to be met with in public places, both in Venice and
throughout the state ; but a great part of his productions were
for private persons, consisting of portraits, half-length figures,
and historical pieces. Ridolfi imbibed excellent principles of
the art from Aliense, which he afterwards improved in Vi-
cenza and Verona, by copying the best models he could find,
and attending to perspective, to the belles lettres, and to other
pursuits best calculated to form a learned artist. Such he like-
wise appears in the two volumes of his " Lives," which are at
present extremely rare, and deserving of republication, either

254 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

with the plates, which I heard were still in existence at Bas-
sano, or without them, since it is no very serious loss after all
to remain ignorant of the features of celebrated men, provided
we become acquainted with their virtues. Upon a comparison
of Ridolfi's style of writing with that of Boschini, we might
suppose that these authors flourished at two different epochs,
though they were very nearly contemporary. Bayle's observa-
tion, indeed, may be considered correct, as applied to them ;
that there exists a certain mental, as well as physical epi-
demic ; and as, in the last, every individual is not seized with
the disorder, so, in the former, good sense, as evinced in think-
ing and in writing, does not become altogether extinct. Thus
the Cav. Carlo, as I before noticed, was not only a good
writer, but one of the best biographers of artists we have.
Not that he was wholly exempt from every kind of gram-
matical error, any more than Baldinucci himself, though one
of the della Crusca academicians ; but he knew how to avoid
errors of judgment, into which others fell ; such as relating
old stories, fit only to amuse children when they first begin to
draw eyes and ears ; making inquisition into the life and man-
ners of every artist, and wasting time in long preambles, epi-
sodes, and moral reflections, quite out of place. On the contrary
he is precise, rapid, and eager to afford fresh information for his
readers in a small space, with the exception of quoting largely
sometimes from the poets. His pictorial maxims are just ; his
complaints against Yasari always in a moderate tone, and his
descriptions of paintings and of grand compositions very exact,
and displaying great knowledge, both of mythology and his-
tory. He concludes the work with an account of his life, in
which he complains of the envy of rivals, and the ignorance
of the great, too often combining together to trample upon
real merit. His epitaph, as given by Sansovino, a contem-
porary writer, and afterwards by Zanetti, refers the year of
his decease to 1658. Boschino, on the contrary, in his Carta,
page 509, speaks of him as one of the living authors in 1660,
in which year his book was given to the world. I am in-
clined to think that those verses in which Ridolfi is com-
mended, were the production of Boschini while the former
was still living, and that after his death lie neglected to re-
touch them.

PIETRO VECCIIIA. 255

TSvo others, among the best of these imitators of a more
solid taste, are Vecchia and Loth, fully entitled as much as
the rest to the rank they hold. Pietro Yecchia sprung from
the school of Padovanino, but he did acquire altogether his
style, most probably because Padovanino, like the Caracci,
gave an individual direction to the talents of his pupils, in the
path he judged best adapted to their success. The genius of
"Vecchia was not at all calculated for lighter subjects. He
had imbibed from his master an admiration of the ancients,
as well as the art of imitating them ; and with these princi-
ples he arrived at such a degree of excellence, that several of
his pictures pass for those of Giorgione, of Licinj, and even of
Titian. It is true, that by dint of copying and exactly
imitating old paintings, much darkened by time, he contracted
the habit of colouring with considerable dulness of lights,
affor-ling an example for every young artist, that he should
learn to tinge with lively colours, previous to taking copies of
similar pictures. For though he, indeed, acquired the colour-
ing of the ancients, he added neither much variety nor much
choice of countenances; and he still remained a naturalist,
limited in his ideas, and more inclined towards the burlesque
than the serious. Some of his best productions consist of pic-
tures for private ornament ; of youths armed, or equipped and
ornamented with plumes, in the manner of Giorgione, though
not without some degree of caricature. One of these, an astro-
loger telling their fortune to some soldiers, is in possession of
the senator Rezzonico at Rome, altogether of so beautiful a
character that Giordano painted a companion to it ; a little
picture quite in the same taste. But although his humorous
pieces please us in some, they disgust us in many of his other
subjects, and more particularly in the Passion of our Saviour ;
a sac -ed mystery, in which the spectator ought never to be pre-
sente 1 with cause for mirth. But Veccbia seemed to forget this,
and introduces, like Callot, certain caricatures among his
sacred pieces, of which specimens are to be seen in the church
of O| -nissanti at Venice ; in possession of the Conti Bevilacqua
at Vsrona, and in other places. In other points, with a style
rathe r strong and loaded with shade than pleasing, he shewed
hims< If an excellent artist, both in his naked parts and his dra-
peries; which he designed and coloured at the same time in the

256 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

academies. His fleshes are dark red, his handling easy, his colour
thick and heavy, the effects of his light new and studied, and his
whole taste so far from any degree of mannerism, and of such a
composition, that to any one unversed in pictorial history, he
would appear to have flourished at least two ages before his real
time. Melchiori bestows particular commendation upon him for
his talent in restoring old pictures ; and conjectures that he in
this way, acquired the appellation of Vecchia, his family name
being, as we have noted in the index, that of Muttoni. He in-
structed several pupils in the art, none of whom pursued their
master's career. Agostino Litterini, and Bartolommeo his son,
were among these, both artists well known in Venice and the
islands, and both distinguished for clearness and boldness of
style, though the latter surpassed his father in this way. A
specimen of his altar-pieces at San Paterniano displays an
imitator of Titian, and of the better age. Melchiori likewise
gives the reputation of an excellent artist to his daughter
Caterina, though commendations of this sort ought always to
be understood in reference to the time in which the artists
flourished. The same reasoning might apply also to politics.
The title of your Excellency used once to be applied to minor
sovereigns, but it has since become applicable also to the great
officers and ministers of state.

Gian Carlo Loth, an artist from Monaco, resided during a
long period, and subsequently died, at Venice, in the year
1698, aged sixty-six years, as we find written in his epitaph.
Both Orlandi and Zanetti are mistaken in giving him as a
scholar to Caravaggio, who died before Carlo was born. It
is probable, however, that he acquired his strong and loaded
manner of composition, and his exact representation of nature
without ennobling it, from the study of Caravaggio's pictures.
And if he were really the pupil, as is supposed, of Liberi, he
failed to make himself master of that lively and ideal character
of that school ; nor did he perhaps derive any thing from it,
but a certain rapidity of hand, and an elevation of manner
that distinguished him from the naturalists of his time. He
took a rank among the first four painters of his age, all of
whom bore the name of Carlo, as I have elsewhere observed.
He was much employed in Germany for the Emperor Leopold I.,,
as well as in Italy for the churches, and still more for dif-

GIAN CARLO LOTH. 257

ferent collections. Many cabinet pictures from Ids hand are
to te met with in every state, in the style of Caravaggio and
Gut rcino, with histories ; of which kind is the Dead Abel, so
much praised, in the royal gallery at Florence. One in the
best preservation I have seen is to be found at Milan ; a
picture of Lot inebriated, in the Trivulzi palace, celebrated
among men of taste as a museum of antiquities ; newly
arranged by the present young and accomplished marquis, and
forming a collection not unworthy of a royal house. Daniele
Seiter, a fine colourist, to whom we shall again allude, was
instructed in the art by Loth, during a period of twelve years.
He was distinguished both in Rome and at Turin ; and was
succeeded by Ambrogio Bono, one of the best disciples formed
by the same master in Venice, where he left a variety of works,
all executed in the taste he had so early imbibed.

Other artists, about the same period, flourished in Venice,
who by dint of imitating the most approved models, and also
through their own talents, obtained easy access into the most
choice collections. Jean Lys, from Oldenburg, came early
among these, bearing along with him the style of Golzio.
But on beholding the Venetian and Roman schools, he
adopted an exceedingly graceful style, partaking of the Italian
in its design, and of the Flemish in its tints. He chiefly pro-
duced figures upon a middle scale, such as his Prodigal Son,
in the royal museum at Florence ; or of smaller dimensions,
as in his various little pictures of village sports and combats,
with similar subjects, in the Flemish mode of composition.
Yet he produced a few pictures for churches, like his St.
Peter in the act of resuscitating Tabitha, at the Filippini, in
Fano ; and his more celebrated San Girolamo, at the Teatini,
in Venice, where he died. Valentino le Febre, from Brus-
sels, is a name omitted by Orlandi ; while his very numerous
engravings of Paul Veronese, and of the best Venetian artists,
are ascribed by him to another artist of the same name. He
painted little ; and always pursued the track of Paul Vero-
nese, of whom he was one of the most successful imitators and
copyists known. His countenances bear no stamp of a
foreign origin, and his colours none of the bad .character of
his age; while his touches are always strong, without offend-
ing ( ur taste. His smaller pieces are full of research and

VOL. II. S

258 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

finish; though he has less merit upon a larger scale, and is
occasionally wanting in point of composition. We meet with
another distinguished imitator of Paul, in Sebastiano Bom-
belli, from Udine, Guercino's scholar in the outset, and sub-
sequently a fine copyist of the best works of Paul Veronese,
which are scarcely to be distinguished from the copies he
took. But he gave up the more inventive branches of the
art, and devoted his attention to portraits. Here he restored
the lost wonders of a former age ; his portraits being remark-
able for strong likeness, vivacity, and truth of colouring, both
in the drapery and the fleshes. In his painting there is a
happy union of the Venetian and the Bolognese manner ; and
in some specimens of his portraits that I have seen, he seems
to have preferred the delicacy of Guido to the vigour of his
own master. He was esteemed also beyond Italy ; he was
employed by the archduke Joseph at Inspruck ; took the por-
traits of several German electors ; of the king of Denmark,
and of the emperor Leopold I., by whom he was largely
honoured and rewarded. It is a matter of regret, that, owing
to a peculiar varnish of pitch and gum,* which at the time
produced a good effect, a great portion of his pictures should
have become obscured ; and that many by the more ancient
masters, which he wished to restore, should have been altoge-
ther blemished or destroyed like his own. Among the imita-
tors of Titian, of Tintoretto, and of Paul, one Giacomo Barri
is likewise mentioned by Melchiori ; though he is the sole
authority we have upon the point. It is now easy to meet with
his engravings in aqua fortis, but not with his pictures. He
was also the author of a little work entitled by him " Viaggio
Pittoresco d'ltalia," which has become somewhat rare, owing,
I imagine, to its small dimensions, and to the researches made
after it by those who preserve a series of pictorial works ; for
the rest, his authority is of a middling character.

In the changes which produced such an alteration in the

* Let no one, from this instance, altogether condemn the use of var-
nishes in the restoration of paintings ; for by the application of mastic,
and of eum-water, according to all the most recent experiments, the
colour does not suffer. But oil is injurious to ancient paintings, for the
new never becomes incorporated with the old, and, in a short time, every
fresh touch is converted into a stain.

EUGENIO PINT. 259

stat 3 of painting at Venice, several cities of the provinces also
in some measure partook, but in others many eminent
geniuses arose, capable of resisting the moral contagion that
invaded the capital, and of barring its entrance into their
native provinces. The school of the Friuli, after the death of
Pomponio Amalteo and Sebastiano Seccante, owing to the
mediocrity of Sebastiano's followers, or of the younger
branches of his family, had declined, as we before stated, from
its original splendour. It numbered, indeed, other pupils by
different masters ; limited in point of invention, dry in design,
and somewhat hard in their colouring. None appeared capa-
ble of restoring the art, and succeeded only in furnishing the
city with works reasonably well executed, more or less, and
borrowed from familiar models. To this class belong Vin-
cent Lugaro, mentioned by Ridolfi for his altar-piece of San
Antonio, at the Grazie in Udine ; Giulio Brunelleschi, whose
Nunziata in one of the Fraternities presents a good imitation
of the style of Pellegrino ; and Fulvio Griffoni, who received
a commission from the city to produce a picture of the Mira-
cle of the Manna, to be placed in the public palace near the
Supper of Amalteo. Add to these Andrea Petreolo, who or-
namented the panels of the organ, in the dome of his native
town of Venzone, as well on the interior, where, in a very
beautiful manner, he exhibited the histories of San Geronimo
and San Eustachio, as on the outside, where, surrounded with
fine architecture, he represented the Parable of the wise and
foolish Virgins. "Without dwelling upon the names of Lorio
and Brugno, of whom there remain but few works, which
obta ined little celebrity, we shall newly record the name of
Eugenio Pini, the last it may be said of those artists who but
slig] itly addicted themselves to foreign methods. He flourished
aboi.t the middle of the seventeenth century, was frequently
employed at Udine, and in his own state; extremely diligent
and skilled in every office of a painter, if we except, perhaps,
his. want of a more perfect harmony of tints. The Repose of
Egypt, in the dome of Palma, and his San Antonio in that
of Gemona, are pronounced by the Abbate Boni among his
noblost productions.

During the period the latter flourished at Udine, Antonio
Caruio, a native of a town of Portogruaro, came to establish
s 2

260 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

himself in the city. Instructed in the art by his own father,
a very able artist, he subsequently appears, as far as we may
judge from his style, to have studied the works of Paul Vero-
nese and Tintoretto. Next to Pordenone, the Friuli perhaps
never produced a finer genius; equally original in all the
branches of historic painting, bold in his design, happy in his
colouring, more particularly of his fleshes ; expressive in every
variety of passion ; and all these comprehended within the
limits of a grand naturalist, though he frequently became a
mannerist, in order to expedite his works. Several of his
best productions are, at this period, lost to Udine, owing to
the fault of the artist who retouched them ; and among the
most studied and the best preserved, there still remains his
San Tommaso di Villanuova, adorning an altar of Santa
Lucia. He produced likewise several histories for private
ornament, half-length figures, portraits and heads in carica-
ture, for which he displayed a peculiar talent, and which still
exist at Udine. Both the city and province are well supplied
with his pieces, few of which, however, are to be found
coloured with strength of handling or very highly finished.
He was never without numerous commissions, even though
confining his talents to the Friuli ; but either from want of
prudence, or some other reason, he nevertheless died in
penury near Portogruaro. A few of his pictures in that
place are still pointed out ; but those seen at San Francesco,
among which are the Washing the Disciples' Feet, and our
Lord's Last Supper, said to have been executed by him in
1604, either bear a false date, or are rather to be attributed
to his father; for, at that period, Antonio could not ha^e
produced them, since he was still alive in the year 1680; and
on this point we ought to admit the authority of Pavona, at
one time his pupil, from whom Guarienti received his notices
of Carnio, which he inserted in the Abecedario. This artist
must not be confounded with another Carnio, named Giacomo,
who flourished posterior to him, and was much inferior to An-
tonio in point of merit.

Sebastiano Bombelli was born at Udine, as I just 6bserved,
though he studied and resided at other places. He left no
specimens of his art in the Friuli, if we except a few portraits
and pieces for private ornament, along with some heads ou

DARIO VAROTARI. 261

busts of saints ; while his altar-piece of the Redeemer upon
the Cross, between some saints, in the parochial church of
Tricesimo, is considered a very rare piece. He had a brother
of the name of Raphael, whose labours were more abundant,
but the whole of them, together with his name, were confined
within the limits of the Friuli.

While the art thus declined in these parts of the Venetian
domi aions, it appeared equally to revive in others; from
wherce it arose, that though greatly diminished in the capital,
the glory of the state did not become wholly extinct. The
city of Verona was its greatest support; for in addition to
havii g given birth to Ridolfi, to Turchi, and Ottoni, all of
whom did honour to their country, it produced likewise
Dario Varotari, who having established himself at Padua,
laid Lhe foundation of a very nourishing school. He exer-
cised his talents under Paul Veronese, at Verona, to whom
he has occasionally some resemblance, though his taste ap-
pears to have been chiefly formed upon other models. His
design is very chaste, by no means an uncommon acquisition
among the Veronese ; though he shews some traces of timidity
in the method of some of those pupils of the quattro-centlsti^
who, whilst they draw their contours fuller than those of their
masters, appear as if they were afraid in every line of de-
partirg too far from the models before them ; and this he has
exemplified in the pictures of San Egidio at Padua. In
others, conducted at a more mature age, he seems to have
aspired at imitating more modern artists, sometimes Paul
Veronese, and sometimes Titian himself in point of design,
partic ularly in the airs of the heads ; although his colours,
however true and harmonious, can boast neither the Venetian
strength nor beauty. Dario painted in Venice, at Padua,
,and in the Polesine; yet he produced little in reference to the
age i:i which he nourished. He educated several pupils,
amon^ whom was Gio. Batista Bissoni, whose life has been
tfiven us by Ridolfi. This last was also a scholar of Apollo-
doro, named di Porcia, a portrait-painter of much celebrity,
and tl.e style which he formed for himself is exactly that of a
good painter of portraits, with which he is fond of filling his

* Quattro-centisti — Artists of the fourteenth century.

262 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

pictures, clothing them in the manner of his time. "We may
observe this in his Miracles of San Domenico, placed in the
church belonging to his order, drawn upon a large scale, as
well as in other pieces, scattered throughout the city in
almost every street.

We must not omit the name of his daughter, Chiara Dario,
a lady extolled by Ridolfi for the beauty of her portraits, and
fully deserving of the honour conferred upon her by the grand
dukes of Tuscany, who placed one of herself in their noble
series of painters, where it is still to be seen. Boschini seems
to be of opinion that she gave public instructions in the same
manner as the fair Sirani of Bologna ; and that she initiated
in the art Caterina Taraboti and Lucia Scaligeri, a niece of
Bartolommeo. Yet the passage referring to this (p. 526), in
the Venetian poet, is somewhat ambiguous, and he perhaps
only meant to assert that these two young women pursued the
some career. But the chief honour and crown of Dario's
reputation, was his own son and pupil, named Alessandro,
who, though left an orphan at an early age, shortly after set
out for Venice, where he soon began to distinguish himself.
He there received the name of Padovanino, which he retained
at an advanced age, and by which he is now generally
known.

He first studied Titian's works in fresco, such as he found
in Padua, and his copies still continue to attract the admira-
tion of the greatest professors. In Venice he persevered in
his assiduous attention to the same incomparable master,
penetrating so far by degrees into his peculiar character, as to
be preferred by many to any of Titian's other disciples. But
comparison is invariably disagreeable, and I am inclined to
think that those who personally received from the lips of great
artists a few brief and sound rules as to what ought to be
avoided or achieved in order best to resemble them, are
entitled to a high degree of respect ; all the speculations of the
finest genius upon their works are not half so valuable ; for
the second century is fast passing away, since the oral tradi-
tion of the best colourists wholly ceased, and we have been
attempting to attain their method, in which we cannot succeed.
Padovanino was always equal to the task of handling any
subject that had before been treated by Titian ; his softer

PADOVANINO. 263

ones with grace, his more powerful with strength, his heroic
pieces with dignity ; in which last, if I mistake not, he sur-
passed every other disciple of this master. " Le donne, i ca-
valier, 1'armi, e gli Amori," these, and let us add to them his
boys were the favourite subjects of his pencil, which he exhi-
bited to most advantage, and which he most frequently intro-
duce 1 into his compositions.* And he knew how to treat
landscape as well ; which in some of his small pictures he has
succeeded in admirably. He was familiar with the science of
the totto in su,t of which he gave the most favourable specimen
in the church of San Andrea di Bergamo, in three admirable
histories of that saint. It is a work embellished with beau-
tiful architecture, and replete with graces in every part. He
has ipproached equally near his model in the sobriety of his
composition, in the very difficult use of his middle tints, in his
contrasts, in the colour of his fleshes, in smoothness and faci-
lity of hand. But Titian was still to remain unequalled in
his jirt ; and Yarotari is not a little inferior to him in ani-
mation, and in the expression of truth. Nor can I believe
that his method of preparing his canvas, and of colouring it,
was the same as that pursued by Titian's disciples, many of
his pieces being much darkened, with the shades either
deepened or altered. This is very perceptible even in Varo-
tari'.s Dead Christ, at Florence, a painting which the prince
not very long since purchased for his gallery there.

In other points he appears to me to have observed the same
method, in regard to his model, as Poussin, who aimed at
Raflaello's manner, without reaching it, either from want of
ability, or from a dread of falling into servility. His master-
piece is said to be the Supper of Cana, a piece that has been
engraved by Patina, among the Select Paintings. It was
formerly in Padua, and is now at Venice in the chapter of
La Carita ; with few figures in proportion to the place ; a
rich display of costume and ornament ; dogs that appear like
those of Paul, full of life; grand attendance, women of the
mosi exquisite forms warmed with more ideal beauty than

* The picture which he executed for the church della Salute deserves
commemoration for the exquisite delicacy of tints in its boys.

f Foreshortening on a ceiling, so as to produce a correct point of view
for t lie figures, as seen from below. — T. R.

264 VENETIAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH III.

those of Titian, and drawn in the most graceful attitudes. Still
it is not every one who will approve of his introduction of
them for the service of such a table, in preference to men, as
is the more general custom. The above picture cannot,
however, boast such fresh and lucid tints as his four histories
of the Life of San Domenico, which are to be seen in a refec-
tory of Santi Giovanni and Paolo, containing as it were the
flower of Padovanino's best style. This very elegant artist
spent his time between the capital and his native province,
where alone his pictures abound in public ; in other cities
they are more rarely met with, and are scarce even in private
collections.

In forming a judgment of his productions, it is necessary
to be upon our guard against a variety of copies, many of his
disciples having so happily imitated him, that Venetian pro-
fessors themselves with difficulty distinguish their hand from
that of their master.

Bartolommeo Scaligero ranks among the most celebrated
pupils and imitators of Padovanino, an artist enumerated by
the people of Padua among their fellow-citizens, although
they can boast little from his pencil ; while the Venetians are
in possession of his pictures in various churches, the most
beautiful, perhaps, at the Corpus Domini. Gio. Batista
Rossi, from Rovigo, produced one of his pictures for San.
Clemente at Padua ; subsequently he flourished at Venice,
executing few things for public exhibition, but which are much
extolled by Boschini. Giulio Carpioni was accounted also
among the pupils of Varotari, and acquired a reputation rather
for his small than his larger compositions ; but we shall have
occasion to allude to him again. Maestri and Leoni are
names recorded in the " Guida" of Venice, distinguished for
their works in fresco, exhibited at the Conventuali. The
former was most probably a foreigner, as well as the latter,
whom we shall find at Rimino. Were Boschini somewhat of
a less profuse panegyrist, we might here add to this list the
name of Dario, a son of Padovanino, uniting the character of
the physician, the poet, the painter, and engraver. In the
index to the " Carta del Navegar," we find him placed in the
rank of Dilettanti, from the circumstance of his producing
little in the art, and this more with the object of presenting

PIETRO LIBERI. 265

his pictures as gifts than of gain. Nevertheless we meet with
an encomium upon them,* sufficient to satisfy the claims even
of a good professor ; besides which, several of his virtues and
portraits, with an excellent body of colouring, are equally
extolled for the spirit of their attitudes, and exquisite taste in
the Giorgione manner.

We have next to treat of Pietro Liberi, an artist who suc-
ceeded Padovanino in sustaining the honour of his native
place. He ranks among the great men of his art, and is
esteemed by manv the most learned in point of design, of all
who adorned the Venetian school. From his early studies of
the antique at Rome, of Michelangelo, and of Raflaello, of
Correggio at Parma, and of all the most excellent masters in
the city of Venice, he was led to form a style partaking of
«very school ; a style that pleased in Italy, but far more in
Germany, and which obtained for him the titles of Count and
Cavstlier, with wealth to support them handsomely in Venice.
And, in fact, to estimate his merits rightly, we ought not to
.consider him as a painter in one style, but in many. For ac-
cording to his own confession, he employed for the eye of true
judges a free and rapid pencil, not very studious of finish ;
for the less intelligent he worked with a very careful one,
which bestowed the last touch upon every part, distinguishing
the very hairs in such a manner that one might number them ;
and these paintings he executed on panels of cypress wood.
Mos: probably the fire of this man's genius became quenched
whenever he attempted to paint slowly, and his pieces were
certs iinly less perfect, which is known to have occurred to
several painters in fresco. But with the exception of these
enthusiasts, who are extremely rare, and always adduced by
the ndolent in defence of their haste, an observing diligence
18 tie perfection of every artist ; and even those two thunder-
bolts, let us call them, of art, Tintoretto and Giordano, where
they most practised it, succeeded most in charming the eye of
tastt . The style of this artist may also be distinguished into
the sublime and beautiful. He produced fewer specimens,
however, in the former, of which Venice boasts a Slaughter

* Vide pp. 512 and 513.

266 VENETIAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH III.

of the Innocents, Vicenza a Noah just landed from the Ark,
Bergamo the Great Deluge, in which the sea-shore is said to
have been the work of M. Montagne; the whole of them painted
for churches, robust in their design, displaying fine variety of
foreshortenings and of attitudes, with naked parts in grand
character, and more in emulation of the Caracci than of Michel-
angelo. He even abused the singular skill that he thus dis-
played ; drawing the Supreme Deity by an unprecedented
example, without the least drapery, in the church of Santa
Caterina at Vicenza, an error of judgment which detracts from
the worth of one of his most beautiful productions. In a
lighter character he produced several pictures for private
ornament, sometimes consisting of fables familiar to us, and
sometimes of capricci and allegorical subjects, too obscure even
for GEdipus himself to unravel. Most frequently he drew
naked figures of Yenus, in the taste of Titian ; and these are
esteemed his master-pieces, which have acquired for him,
indeed, the name of Libertino. It is asserted, that being
unequal to the formation of the folds of his draperies, for the
most part ill-disposed and vague, he the more willingly exer-
cised himself in these schools. We meet with a great number
in different collections, and after beholding one, we are at no
loss to recognise the remainder, both from the heads, which are
often repetitions of each other, and from the rosy tinge of his
fleshes, and of the general tone of his picture. He was extrava-
gantly fond indeed of this last colour ; which he often misap-
plied in regard to the hands and the extremities of the fingers.
For the rest the composition of his colours was sweet ; his
shades delicate, in the Correggio manner, and his profiles often
borrowed from the antique, while his whole handling was free
and elevated.

Marco Liberi, his son, was not in any way comparable to
his father, either in point of dignity or beauty, when left to
his own invention. His forms are either caricatures, in a man-
ner, of those of his father, or are very inferior where they are
original. This striking difference may be observed in nume-
rous collections, where their, paintings of Venus are placed to-
gether, as we see in that of Prince Ercolani at Bologna. Still
he was an excellent copyist of his father's works., a talent

LUCA FERRARI. 267

possessed by many others of the same school, whose imita-
tions are easily mistaken for originals, even by professors
themselves.

An excellent foreign artist ought not to be omitted in this
place-, one who flourished during a long period, and taught and
died in Padua. His name is Luca Ferrari, from Reggio, fully
deserving of being enrolled in the " Abbeccedario Pittorico."
Although Guide's pupil, his style became rather lofty than
delicate ; so that judging by the pictures that he produced for
Santi Maria della Ghiaja in Reggio, Scannelli pronounced
him a disciple of Tiarini. In some of the airs of his heads,
however, and in certain graceful motions, he shews himself
not unworthy of the character of the former master. In Padua
there is a Piet& of his at San Antonio, of a very masterly kind,
a picture that displays the rarest beauty of colouring. In his
pieces abounding with figures, like that of the Plague of 1630,
painted for the Domenicani, he does not appear to so much
advantage ; nor had Guido, indeed, offered him any great
examples in this line, being accustomed rather to weigh than
to number his figures. Minorello and Cirello, two of his pupils
and followers, continued to support in Padua some relish of
the Bolognese school. Their names might be added to the
dictionary above mentioned, as Rosetti seemed to wish, and
the former, who might sometimes be confounded with Luca,
ought to hold a higher place in it than the latter. Francesco
Zarella deserves likewise to be recorded there, as an artist of
spirit, though neither very diligent nor very learned in his art.
He is esteemed almost the Giordano of this city, from the
gre-tt number of his works conducted in a short time, and may
be oomputed almost as the last of the school ; for Pellegrini,
who flourished during the same age, was not a native, though
tra< -ing his origin to Padua ; nor did he reside there many
yea rs.

The city of Vieenza produced nothing original during this
epc ch ; though it possessed a school, sprung from that of Paul
Veronese and from Zelotti, of which I promised the reader a
ser es in a more appropriate part of the work. In regard to
its style, this school, in part, belongs to a better age ; but its
productions are chiefly so very indifferent, and so much the
res alt of mechanic art, that it may rather be ascribed to the

268 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

present. Vicenza indeed might have had reason to boast, had
it possessed artists at all equal in point of genius to its archi-
tects. I shall first commence with the name of Lucio Bruni,
whether a native of the state or a foreigner is uncertain, an
artist who produced, for San Jacopo, a little altar-piece, re-
presenting the Marriage, of S. Catherine, executed in 1585,
and partaking of the genius of a better age. I have met with
no other notice of him ; for as he was probably little known
in times when Italy abounded with the choicest artists, he
found no historian who might have rescued his reputation from
oblivion. Yet this I would willingly do, if not by giving
him a rank in this school, at least including him in the list of
artists of the city, where I find mention of his name. Gian-
nantonio Fasolo received the instructions of Paul, and for a
longer period those of Zelotti ; still adhering, however, to
Paul as his first example. At San Rocco, there is one of his
pictures, a Probatica, so beautifully decorated with perspec-
tive, and so finely filled with sick figures, in various groups
and distances, that Paul Veronese would not have disclaimed
it for his own. There are likewise three Roman histories in
the ceiling of the prefectory palace ; Mutius Scsevola before
Porsenna, Horatius at the Bridge, and Curtius before the
Gulph ; the whole of them nobly executed. By some strange
mistake Orlandi mentions Verona as the place of his birth,
and where he exercised his talents.

Among his pupils was Alessandro Maganza, son of the
same Giambatista whose name I recorded among Titian's fol-
lowers. Fasolo inspired him with his own taste ; and we may
likewise consider him a fine imitator of Zelotti and of Paul
Veronese ; as he has shewn in his Epiphany, at San Dome-
nico ; and in his Martyrdom of S. Giustina, at San Pietro. In
his architecture he was excellent, judicious in his composition,
very pleasing in his countenances; in his fleshes inclining
towards white ; in his folds somewhat hard and monotonous ;
and for the most part wanting in expression. Vicenza has an
abundance of his paintings, both private and in public ; be-
sides the provinces and the adjacent cities, to such an amount,
that we have no difficulty in believing that he flourished
till his seventy-fourth year ; that he painted for good prices,
and with little trouble. A few of his pictures, such as

ALESSANDRO MAGANZA. 269

we meet with at Vicenza, are amply sufficient to give
us an idea of the rest; not unfrequently presenting us with
the s ime features and the same attitudes and motions. We
are to look for the cause of this, not so much in his genius,
whicii he shews in many of his works to have been excellent,
as in his domestic anxieties, occasioned by a numerous family
for whom he had to provide. This artist was extremely un-
fortunate as a father. Giambatista, the eldest of his sons,
emulated him in knowledge; and if we may venture to judge
from one of his histories, of San Benedetto, at the church of
S. Giustina, in Padua, he was superior to him in point of ele-
ganco. But the support he derived from this young man's
talents was soon cut off by his early death, leaving a young
family of his own to the care of their grandfather. His
secord son, Girolamo, who had also to make provision for his
own children, and Marcantonio, quite a youth, afterwards
assisted their father in his productions, and already began to
acquire some degree of reputation from their own. When, in
the year 1630, their native place was ravaged by the plague,
Ales^andro had the grief to witness the death of his two sons,
and, one by one, of the whole of his grandchildren ; until left
" the last of his race," to lament over the destruction of his
kindred, he shortly followed them to the tomb, closing with
his death that noble school which the two illustrious Veronese
had founded in Vicenza.

Y<:t it did not altogether perish; but was continued by
Maffoi, by Carpioni, and by Cittadella, three artists who, com-
paretl with the Maganza, sometimes appear to have sprung
from the same academy, either from having studied in Vicenza
the models they imitated, or because the style, which partakes
both of that of Paul and Palma, was then in high repute, as
that of Cortona at another period among us. They were all
three, like Alessandro himself, rapid in their composition;
and -were their pictures, even belonging to the city, to be enu-
merated, they would most likely be found to equal those of all
the other foreign or native artists employed there. Francesco
Maffoi, from Vicenza, had been the pupil of Peranda, some of
whoso unfinished pieces he completed. He next undertook to
imitate Paul Veronese, with a tolerable degree of spirit and:
learning. His style is on a lofty scale; insomuch that Bos-

270 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

chini entitles him the great mannerist, extolling him as the
painter of giants. Nor is he wanting in a certain grace pe-
culiarly his, which distinguishes him from the mannerists.
His picture of St. Anna, at San Michele di Vicenza, besides
many works produced at the same place for the public palace,
and elsewhere, extremely poetical, full of fine portraits, and
coloured in the best Venetian taste, shew that he was able to
compete with more skilful artists than Carpioni and Cittadella,
his contemporaries. And as he, perhaps, did not consider
them very formidable rivals, he did not finish his pieces with
much care, leaving many of his heads, besides other portions
of his figures, incomplete ; scanty in his colouring, employing
dark grounds, and altogether painting rather for years than
for ages. At San Francesco, in Padua, there is a grand pic-
ture of his " Paradise," which, owing to this method, has lost
almost every trace of colour. This result extinguishes the
praise which Boschini bestows upon him, that with four
touches of his pencil he could make the observer raise his
eyebrows with admiration, and is a very excellent warning, we
think, for over expeditious artists. Their pictures may be
said, indeed, to resemble certain children, the offspring of un-
healthy parents, who sometimes exhibit a florid countenance
in youth, accompanied with every other symptom of health,
but, declining as they advance, their constitution becomes
exhausted in a few years.

Giulio Carpioni, a pupil to Padovanino, and for the same
reason familiar with the composition of Paul Veronese, has
assuredly more vivacity, power of expression, and poetry than
Maffei. He was not, however, equally inclined to grand pro-
portions, and works upon an extensive scale. His figures do
not usually exceed the size of those of Bassano ; and they are
more frequently met with in collections than in churches,
throughout the whole Venetian state. In many noble houses
we also find pictures consisting of bacchanals, dreams, fables,
and capricci, or fancy-pieces, as well as histories, all touched
with a spirit and a taste in his tints, which his master himself
might have thought worthy of his pencil. He appears to
have produced others for the people, if indeed they are not
the work of his pupils, or of his son Carlo, who is supposed
to have followed, in all points, the example of his father;

GIULIO CARPIONI. 2? 1

though I never met with any piece that was positively genuine.
He T/as, likewise, a good portrait-painter ; and in the public
Couiicil Hall at Vicenza, as well as in the church of the Servi
at Monte Berico, appear the portraits of several of the magis-
trates in that government, accompanied by their trains ; in
which, to singular correctness of feature, we meet with much
ideal beauty in his representation of the Virtues, that he
introduced with appropriate and noble inventions. Such an
artis ; ought to be well known in Venice and Vicenza, where
he flourished during many years. He passed his latter days
in Verona, where his contemporary, Bartolommeo Cittadella,
had likewise taken up his residence ; last of the three whom
I have just before mentioned. It is uncertain whether he was a
pupil, or only a companion of Carpioni ; but he is indisputably
his i iferior in point of genius and ability. To the same school
we may add the name of Niccolo Miozzi, of Vicenza, recorded
in tbe "Gioielli Pittoreschi" of Boschini ; and, though more
doubtful, that of Marcantonio Miozzi, known by his super-
scription attached to a sacred subject, in possession of the
house of Muttoni, at Rovigo.

Towards the close of the century, one of the artists in most
request was Menarola, whose style approaches nearest to the
modern. He was pupil to Volpato, though chiefly following
the manner of Carpioni. Next to him was Constantin Pas-
qual otto, more distinguished for colouring than for design ;
and Antonio de' Pieri, called lo Zoppo, of Vicenza, who pos-
sessed a rapid, but less decided hand ; along with some others
who may be recognised in this description. Still higher in
repu te than these was Pasquale Rossi, little of whom remains
in Vicenza, he having chiefly attached himself to the Roman
scho3l, where he will be found mentioned. Gio. Bittonte,
leaving Vicenza, established himself, and painted a good deal
at Castelfranco ; where, from the circumstance of founding a
schoDl both of painting and of dancing, he acquired the sur-
name of Ballerino. Melchiori represents him as pupil to Maflei,
and master of Melchiore, his father, who lived also in Castel-
franoo, where he was much employed, although engaged also
at Venice, in the Casa Morosini, where he competed with the
Cavalier Liberi.

When the ancient school had become wholly extinct at

272 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

Bassano, there appeared a Gio. Batista Volpati, who produced
many pictures for his native state ; somewhat resembling Car-
pioni in his capricci and in his style, but more common, per-
haps, in his features and whole design. His pupils are said
to have been one Trivellini and one Bernardoni, both still in-
ferior to their master. He left behind him several treatises
upon the pictoric art, which are yet existing in MS. in the
rich and select library of Count Giuseppe Remondini. In
the preface to these he asserts that he had no master, though
he is said, in a MS. at Castelfranco, to have been a pupil of
Novelli. The work is interspersed with good remarks, such
as to lead us to suppose him a tolerable theorist ; and Alga-
rotti took a copy of it, as we learn from the index of his
works upon the fine arts, already before the public.

"We have above alluded to a branch of the Veronese school,
transplanted to Padua, where it flourished with extraordinary
success. Referring to its origin, and to those Veronese-
artists who lived contemporary with Palma, and until the
close of the 17th century, it must be observed that they main-
tained the national reputation no less than those of Padua, and
were even more constant in the good old method of managing
their grounds and their style of colouring. I have noticed
the name of Claudio Ridolfi* in a former school, from the cir-
cumstance of his having flourished in the Pontifical state. He
did not, however, desist from his labours in the Venetian
state, some of which appear in the capital and the adjacent
cities, particularly in his native place, and Padua. In the
celebrated church of S. Giustina, there is a very fine piece, re-
presenting the honours of the Benedictine order, professed by
princes, adorned by martyrs, and the nurse of the most distin-
guished pastors of the holy church. The invention is very
appropriate, the execution altogether elegant and well finished,
and the ornaments equally rich as in any of his other works.
He presented his country with a good disciple of his style, in
Gio. Batista Amigazzi, though his chief talent seemed to con-
sist in the excellence of his copies. In San Carlo, at Verona,

* V. torn. i. p. 449 ; and, in the same place, I gave him as a pupil to
Dario Pozzo, on the authority of the Commendatore del Pozzo. But
writers disagree in regard to the chronology of this man ; which, until it
be further cleared up, may rest, for me, without this honour.

ALESSANDRO TURCHI.

there is one taken from a Supper by Paul Veronese, not only
finely drawn, but exhibiting colours fresh and vivid even at the-
pre.sent day. Still superior to him, and almost equal to his
master, we meet with Benedetto Marini, of TJrbino, an artist
unheard of in his own country, though greatly distinguished
at Piacenza.*

Posterior to Ridolfi appeared three scholars of Felice Bru-
sasorci, in addition to Creara, an artist less celebrated ; all of
whom, on the death of their master, pursued their studies at
Rome. There they imbibed, more or less, the prevailing style ;
and all of them occupy a distinguished rank in the history of
the art. Alessandro Turchi, surnamed Orbetto, is, in particular,
distinguished among the tirst of his age ; he was called Or-
betto, observes Pozzo, because, when quite a boy, he was in
the habit of guiding an old blind mendicant, either his father^
or some other person. Passeri declares that he derived it from
liis 1 laving a defect in one of his eyes, which was observable
in his left eye, as I am informed by Signor Brandolese, after
having seen his portrait, engraved after the original, in posses-
sion of the Signori Vianelli. Brusasorci, from certain undoubted
symptoms, discovered in him a fine genius for the art, and,
giving him the best instructions, in a few years encountered a
rival, rather than a disciple. Residing afterwards in Venice,
und( r Carlo Caliari, and thence proceeding to Rome, he formed
a style wholly his own, possessing some strength but more
elegance. He established himself in Rome, where he entered
into competition with the followers of the Caracci, with Sacchi,
and with Berrettini, with whom he appears to advantage in
the rhurch of the Concezione, as well as in a few others. But
no c ty has so many of his pieces in public as Verona, to say
nothing of those he painted for private persons. The family
of tt e Marchese Girardini alone, who patronised him and sup-
ported him at Rome, for which we have original letters and
documents, possesses sufficient to enrich several collections,
amoi g which it is amusing to trace his progress from the in-
ferior to the more correct specimens, and from a lower degree
of ornament to the highest. Some, indeed, have ventured to

* An account of him may be found, torn. ii. p. 198, and in the series
of painters of the Barocci school,
VOL. II. T

274 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

put him in competition with Annibal Caracci, — a comparison
that, in other times, would have created as great a sensation in
Bologna as the celebrated Rape of the Bucket, and one which
ought not to be listened to, indeed, any where. Annibal was
a painter worthy of our veneration, and Turchi succeeded in
imitating his design in the " Sisara" of the Casa Colonna and
elsewhere. But he was not so happy in every instance, and,
generally, his naked figures (which approach, in Annibal, to
those of the ancient Greeks) are not equal to such as he has
thrown into costume. On the contrary, Passeri, in describing
his pictures at the Camaldolesi, in Rome, admits that he did
not display perfect taste in his art, while Pascoli, in his life of
Gimignani, says he enjoyed some degree of reputation at
Rome ; an incautious expression, if I mistake not, but which
at least shews that Turchi is not entitled to a comparison with
Annibal Caracci. Still he exhibts s«r many attractions, that
he never fails to please us in every subject. He seems to have
aimed at forming a union of various schools, and added to ifc
a certain originality in giving dignity to the portraits intro-
duced into his histories, with the most animated, yet the most
delicate complexions. He excelled in the choice and distribu-
tion of his colours, among which he introduces a reddish tint,
which much enlivens his pictures, and is one of the indications
by which we may recognise the author. He is said to have
employed exquisite care in the application of his tints, and to
have possessed some secret art, by means of which they con-
tinue to attract the envy of posterity. The truth is, he se-
lected, purified, and kneaded well his colours, besides consult-
ing chemists upon the subject. From some pictures we feel
inclined to turn away in disgust, so extremely do the colours
resemble the tints made use of by coach-painters ; and we have
reason to complain of want of refinement in many instances.
But how very few apply themselves seriously to select and
refine their materials, to make experiments, and to analyse
those colours that have been once applied !

At the church of San Stefano, in Verona, there is exhi-
bited his " Passion of the Forty Martyrs," a work that, in
regard to depth of colours and fore-shortening, partakes much
of the Lombard ; in point of expression and design, of the
Roman ; and in its colouring, of the Venetian School. It is

PASQUALE OTTINI. 275

on( of the most studied, finished, and animated pieces that he
prc duced : there is a choiceness in the heads that approaches
Guide's ; and a skill of composition, that throws into the back-
ground of the picture a great portion of the multifarious his-
tory, as appearing in a field of vast extent, where his figures
are admirably varied, according to the distances in which
they are supposed to appear. Yet he does not belong to that
claws of artists who go about in search of personages for their
histories, in order to fill them with figures. On the other hand,
he appears to take more pleasure in introducing an inferior
number. Thus his picture of a Pieta, painted for the church
of La Misericordia, at Verona, exhibits only a dead Christ,
the Virgin, and Nicodemus, but the whole so well designed,
arranged, and animated, as well as coloured, that it has been
esteemed by many his master-piece, and is certainly one of
the best paintings in Verona. In that of his Epiphany also,
in possession of the Signori Girardini, of which the rough
draft is preserved in the Casa Fattorini, at Bologna, he is by
no means lavish of his figures ; but he succeeded in arraying
those of the Magi in so noble a manner, as to remind us of
Titian and Bassano. Turchi died at Rome, leaving behind
him two excellent disciples in Gio. Ceschini, and Gio. Batista
JRotei, called il Gobbino. The first of these produced copies
of Ms masters works, that had all the appearance of originals.
Bol h continued to employ themselves at Verona, though de-
clining in importance and in credit in proportion as they ad-
van ced in years.

I'asquale Ottini, the same who, with Orbetto, completed
some pictures by Felice, was a good .artist in regard to his
fori is, and of no common expression, particularly in the works
he conducted ^after having seen Raffaello's. Of this we have
a striking specimen in the " Slaughter of the Innocents,"
pla< ed at San Stefano, although it is subjected to an unfavour-
able comparison, being placed opposite to one of the finest
productions of Orbetto. He appears to more advantage,
perl taps, at San Giorgio, where we meet with his picture of
San Niccolo, with other saints, in the best Venetian style of
colouring ; whereas, in other instances, his colours are some-
what languid, — a defect most probably arising from time and

T 2

276 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

unfavourable situations. Finally, he is in high repute in his
own country; and in the learned Alessandro Carli's " His-
tory of Verona," he is mentioned as approaching the nearest
of all, in point of excellence, to Paul Veronese. Subsequent
to him, and not inferior in talent, we meet with Marc Anto-
nio Bassetti, who, leaving his fellow-pupils, set out very
young to complete his studies at Venice. After again joining
them, he next transferred his residence to Rome, and having
copied from the best models of both schools, he ultimately re-
turned to his native place. He is particularly commended by
Ridolfi in the branch of design, in which he was truly great ;
add to which he was an excellent colorist. And he was accus-
tomed to advise those who aimed at good colouring to return,
in the first place, to Venice, and again to consult the most
beautiful productions of the art. . There is one of his altar-
pieces at San Stefano, in Verona, representing various holy
bishops of the city, all arrayed in their sacred habits, all admi-
rably contrasted, and in a taste nearly approaching that of
Titian, were it not for the vicinity of Turchi, who seems here
again to throw him somewhat into the shade. He left no suc-
cession of the school,* nor, indeed, many works of his own,
though they were highly valued. For he was accustomed to
say that painting ought not to be pursued by journeymen, like
a mechanic art, but with the leisure that is bestowed upoa
literature, for the sake of the pleasure it affords. It would
appear that Dante adopted almost the same maxim in his
poetry, when he watched for, observed, and encouraged the

* Melchiori informs me of a pupil of his, unknown to Pozzo, probably
because a non-resident in Verona. This was Father Massimo Cappucino,
a Veronese by birth, and, in the historian's opinion, an excellent artist.
In proof of this, he mentions four large pictures, placed in the dome of
Montagnana, besides several altar-pieces, distributed by him among the
churches of his order. Along with this ecclesiastic I find mention of two
contemporary lay-brothers, who assisted him in the art, neither of them
unworthy of being placed upon record. These are Fra Semplice, a native
of Verona, and pupil to Brusasorci, and Fra Santo, of Venice ; both of
whom were particularly employed in painting for churches and convents,
within the Venetian territory. Fra Semplice produced also some for
Rome. A fine picture of San Felice, from his hand, placed at Castel-
franco, was engraved in 1712.

VARIETY OP STYLES. 277

impressions that nature, the first guide of all true geniuses,
implanted in his spirit.* These two friends met their fate
together, dying of the plague in the year 1630, as well as
nia ly other scholars of Brusasorci, mentioned by the Commen-
datore del Pozzo. But I omit their names, either because of
their early death, or want of talent to distinguish themselves.
Thus, about the same year, when Orbetto had already established
himself in Rome, the succession of Brusasorci's school ceased
in Verona. The disciples of Paul Veronese, mentioned subse-
quent to him, Montemezzano, Benfatto, Verona, and others,
died likewise about this period ; insomuch that every trace of
the municipal school may be said to have disappeared, and it
was succeeded by a variety of foreign styles.

Indeed, for some time before, the young Veronese artists
had become attached to foreign academies, and several stran-
gers? had established themselves in Verona. Dionisio Guerri
had formed, under the direction of Feti, a very striking and
clear- style ; in himself equal to repairing the loss of many
artitts. But he died young, in 1640, leaving few works be-
hind him, in a great measure dispersed through foreign collec-
tions ; and. he was much lamented. Francesco Bernardi, called
Bigolaro, supposed to have been a native of Brescia, until the
Con;mendatore del Pozzo proved him to have been of Verona,
was an artist educated by the same master. He exhibited, in
his picture of the Titular Saint, at the church of S. Carlo, seen
in the act of attending his infected brethren, as well as in an-
other piece, a companion to it, all the taste of his master : but
he produced much more for private collections .than for the
public. The Cavalier Barca was an artist who sprang from
Mantua, though he subsequently became a citizen of Verona.
It is uncertain whether he was instructed by Feti. His style
is va rious ; and in a Pieta of his, remaining at San Fermo, he
appears a painter capable of producing a good effect ; in other
piect s, at the Scala, he abounds with pictorial grace and beauty,
and ue is fully worthy of commemoration.

The city of Bologna, likewise, contributed to repair the loss

* Io mi son un che quando
Amore spira noto ; ed a quel modo
Che detta dentro vo significando. — Purg. C. 24.

278 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

sustained by Verona of so many artists. Guido and Albani
conferred great obligations, by instructing the Cavalier Coppa
(his real name, however, was Antonio Giarola, or Gerola), who
is to be enumerated in the list of their best disciples, though
he is somewhat too loaded in his composition, and, with a view
of catching the sweetness of Guido, became wanting in strength
of colouring. There is one of his Magdalens in the Desert,
however, placed at the Servi, which is full of fine expression.
And in the refectory, also, of the Veronese college, is his
Supper of Emmaus, a picture conducted in the style of the
best Venetians. Although addicted to the style of Guido, he
was also considered by Albani as one of his fevourite pupils,
who sent him as court-painter to the Duke of Mantua, as we
are informed by Malvasia.* From the same academy sprang
Giacomo Locatelli, distinguished for several works, chiefly pro-
duced for San Procolo, as well as on account of the merit of
some of his pupils. They rose into notice on the decline of the
art, about the close of the seventeenth century. Andrea Vol-
tolino, a careful but cold painter, was more fitted to succeed in
portraits than in compositions ; Biagio Falcieri, instructed also
by the Cavalier Liberi at Venice, possessed much of the fire
and imagination abounding in the Venetian school. Of this
he gave an example in his great picture representing the Coun-
cil of Trent, where the figure of St. Thomas, in the act of over-
throwing heretics, appears conspicuous on high,— -a piece that
adorns the church of the Dominicans. Santo Prunato was
instructed by these two professors, — an artist who brought the
Veronese school into fresh notice, as we shall have occasion to
observe in the following period.

The school of Moretto continued during this epoch to
flourish in Brescia ; a master exquisitely delicate in his colours,
and extremely diligent, as is evident from his works. Such is
the opinion expressed by Vasari ; but he did not always pre-
serve the same excellence. There is not the same degree of
finish in his disciples ; and it was, indeed, too difficult, while so
large a portion of the state put a high value upon celerity of
hand, to pursue more tedious processes. The Brescian artists
who succeeded him, having in part received a Venetian educa-

* Tom, ii. p, 266.

FRANCESCO ZUGNI. 279

tior , the city abounded in mannerists and the class of tenebrosi.
Still there appeared among these some excellent painters.
Anionio Gandini and Pietro Moroni, or Maroni, are enume-
rate d among the pupils of Paul. The former sometimes imi-
tate d Yanni, without neglecting Palma ; vast, varied, and
ornjite in his compositions, an artist every way deserving of
consideration in the grand history of the Cross, which he
painted in the old cathedral, where his son Bernardino, a poor
imil ator of his father, also employed himself. Moroni studied
a good deal the works of Titian, and was one of the most
accurate and finest designers the school could, at that time,
boa; ;t; nor does he yield to any of his contemporaries in the
stro ig body and in the clearness of his colouring. Such at
leas: he appeared to me at San Barnaba, in his picture of
Christ going to Mount Calvary, when compared with other
productions of the same period exhibited there.

Filippo Zanimberti, pupil to Peranda, and an artist of fine
character, and a fine hand, as well as a very natural colourist,
has never been sufficiently appreciated in Brescia. But in
Venice, where he resided many years, and where he painted
with real genius and skill for different churches, he is very
highly esteemed. In Santa Maria Nuova appears his grand
picture of the Manna, so much commended by Ridolfi, by
Bosohini, and by Zanetti; though he chiefly seems to have
eftiployed himself in the ornament of palaces. He possessed
sing alar talent for drawing small figures, and composing fables
and histories, which were eagerly sought after, insomuch that
the poet of the Venetian paintings affirms that whoever pos-
sessed Zanimberti's pictures was sure of his money.

Francesco Zugni, of Brescia, is mentioned by Ridolfi among
the best of Palma' s disciples. He could not compete with
him in the beauty of his forms and attitudes, though he sur-
pass 3d him in the fulness of his colouring, and in the spirit in
whi ;h he conducted his works. These were for the most part
in fresco, and frequently exhibited the perspectives of Sandrini,
an £ rchitect of great merit. With him he was employed in
the hall of the Podesta, in that of the Capitano, and in several
villas. He displayed equal excellence in his oil paintings, as
we gather from that of the Circumcision at the Grazie, and

280 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

from some small figures adorning one of the choirs, designed
and touched with great spirit.

Grazio Cossale, or Cozzale, produced a variety of pieces
upon a large scale, still remaining in his native province. He
was gifted with a rich imagination, and of a character, com-
pared by Cozzando, the historian of Brescia, to that of Palma ;
and he indeed appears to have emulated his facility without
abusing it. His picture of the Presentation, which he left at
the church of the Miracoli ; his Epiphany at the Grazie, and
other pieces dispersed throughout Brescia, are all calculated to
arrest the eye of the spectator, who must likewise possess little
feeling should he fail to lament the unhappy fate of so great a
man, who fell by the hand of one of his own sons. Neither in
Camillo Rama, Ottavio Amigoni, nor in Jacopo Barucco, all
•disciples of Palma, have I met with any works of equal beauty
throughout that city, the last of whom, indeed, has loaded his
pieces with a more than ordinary degree of shade. Amigoni,
who had been pupil to Gandino, likewise held his school, in
which he counted, among other scholars, Pompeo Ghiti, an
artist who, under Zoppo of Lugano, succeeded in improving
his manner, or rendered it at least more powerful. He pos-
sessed a rich imagination, excellent in the art of design, and in
his touch similar to, though perhaps not so strong as the
Luganese. Francesco Paglia was a pupil and imitator of
Guercino, and the iather of Antonio and Angelo, both devoted
to the art. He was most successful in his portraits, though he
painted also scriptural pieces; one of the most esteemed of
which is to be seen at La Carita. He was excellent in the
laying on of his colours, and in chiaroscuro, but displayed lit-
tle spirit, while his proportions were frequently too long and
.slender. But to describe minutely the manner of the succes-
sors of Ghiti and Paglia, would occupy too much of our space ;
such are the names of Tortelli, very spirited in Venetian com-
position, of Cappelli, instructed likewise by Pasinelli at Bo-
logna, and by Baciccio at Rome, along with some others of a
more modern character, who succeeded tolerably in the path
marked out by the artists of Bologna, and a few of whom
may be referred to the ensuing epoch.

During the time of Palma and the Venetian mannerists, the

ENEA SALMEGGIA. 281

art had been maintained in Bergamo by the successors of
Lot ;o, and his contemporaries. We meet with ample com-
mendations of Gio. Paolo Lolmo, a good artist in diminutive
pictures. In the altar-piece of Santi Rocco and Sebastiano at
S. Maria Maggiore, and executed about 1587, not one of his
earliest pieces, he displayed a great partiality for the design of
the fourteenth century ; diligent, a minute observer of refine-
meijts in figures, though not sufficiently modern. But there
were two excellent artists, altogether in the modern style, who
flourished at the same period, Salmeggia and Cavagna, who
competed with one another in perfect amity, for many years,
in ornamenting their native province. One of them died in
1626, the other in the following year.

Enea Salmeggia, called Talpino, received instructions in the
art from the Campi at Cremona, and from the Procaccini in
Milan ; whence proceeding to Rome, he studied for a period of
fourteen years the models of Raffaello, imitating him during
the remainder of his life. Orlandi and other writers join in
extolling his San Vittore, at the Olivetani in Milan, as well as
a few other of his works, observing that they had been even
ascribed to Raffaello. And whoever attentively examines that
fine specimen, will not feel inclined to refuse Salmeggia one of
the most distinguished places in the rank of Raffaello's fol-
lowers. The clearness of his contours (sometimes, however,
carried to the borders of littleness), the expression of his youth-
ful countenances, the smoothness of his pencil and the flow of
his drapery, together with a certain graceful air in the motions
and expressions, sufficiently mark him for an admirer of that
sovereign master, however much inferior to him in point of
dignity, in imitation of the antique, and in felicity of composi-
tion His method of colouring was also different. He affects
greater variety of colours in his draperies ; the tints in a large
portion of his works are at present faded ; and the shades, as
in other pictures of the same period, are much altered. Yet
it is probable that this great artist, as it has been observed of
Poussin and of Raffaello himself, did not always bestow the
same degree of care upon his colouring, satisfied with display-
ing from time to time his surpassing excellence in this depart-
ment. In the church of La Passione at Milan, he produced
his Christ Praying in the Garden, as well as his picture of the

282 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

Flagellazione, works conducted in his best style. The former
of these is finely coloured in the manner of the Bassani ; and
the latter, of a more lofty and animated character, is superior
to the other, even in force of colouring. Bergamo boasts other
specimens of him, and in particular in the two great altars of
Santa Marta and of Santa Grata. There we meet with two
noble pictures, each of which may boast its separate admirers
who prefer it to the other ; and each displays a union of
colours, at once so fresh, clear, and beautiful, that we are never
weary of contemplating them. In both he has observed the
same general composition; the Virgin being represented on
high, crowned with a glory, while below her are seen the
figures of several saints -, but in the second, perhaps, he has
employed a greater degree of care. Here he has introduced a
splendid variety of shortenings, of attitudes, and of lineaments ;
and has ev«n inserted the city of Bergamo, with some fine archi-
tecture in the style of Paul Veronese. The figures are arrayed
with extreme care, among which appears a bishop in his sacred
paraphernalia, that serves to remind us of Titian himself. His
pictures for private ornament are rare and valuable, but not
sufficiently known beyond his native province and its vicinity,
— a circumstance common to many very excellent artists belong-
ing to all our schools. Italy, indeed, is too abundantly sup-
plied with distinguished names to admit of the whole of them
being generally known and estimated as they deserve.

The style of Enea was not such as to be easily maintained,
without consulting the great examples of Raffaello as he had
done. His two sons, Francesco and Chiara, although educated
by their father, succeeded rather in imitating his studies and
his figures, than in thoroughly penetrating into the principles
of his art. The fruits, however, of a good education were
sufficiently apparent in them ; and when placed in competition
with some of their contemporaries, they appear, if not very
animated, at least very sedulous artists, and greatly exempt
from the faults of the mannerists. The city is in possession of
many of their public works ; in some of the best of which their
father is supposed to have afforded them his assistance.

Gianpaolo Cavagna seems in some way to have escaped the
notice of Boschini, and even of Orlandi, who had bestowed so
much commendation upon his rival. He ranks, in his native

GIANPAOLO CAVAGNA. 283

provi ace, as high as Salmeggia, and he certainly appears to
have possessed a still more enlarged genius, more decision, and
more talent for extensive works. A pupil of Morone, the
great portrait-painter, as we have already mentioned, he
evinced a taste for the Venetian School, attaching himself in
particular to Paul Veronese, in whose style he conducted some
of his best productions. He was ambitious of surpassing him
likewise in point of design, which he assuredly did in his naked
figures, exhibiting even the adult form with a degree of mas-
terly power. He had acquired the best method of painting in
fresco in his native place, and he succeeded in it admirably,
as aj pears from the choir of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he
represented the Virgin received into Heaven, a very spirited
and varied composition, abounding with figures of angels and
of prophets, truly great, — the distinguishing characteristic, per-
haps, of this artist's genius. Nor did he appear to less advan-
tage in oils, more particularly when the immediate vicinity of
other celebrated painters put his talents to the test. Of this
kind the most successful, perhaps, are his Daniel in the Lions'
Den, and his picture of San Francesco receiving the Stigmata,
forming side pictures to one of the best altar-pieces by Lo-
renzo Lotto at San Spirito ; yet they are nevertheless worthy
of that distinguished post. His Crucifixion, between various
saints, placed at Santa Lucia, has been still more highly ex-
tolled as one of the finest productions the city has to boast, and
preferred by many judges to any of the altar-pieces of Tal-
pino. I shall abstain from expressing an opinion upon a sub-
ject n which artists themselves would disagree, merely observ-
ing that it is more difficult to meet with inferior or careless
piec< s from the hand of Salmeggia than from Cavagna's. He
had also a son a painter, of the name of Francesco, called
Cavignuola, who, surviving his father, acquired some degree
of celebrity. He attached himself wholly to the style of Gian-
paol), as well as certain foreigners sprung from the same
school, — such as Girolamo Grifoni, in whose productions we
seem to trace the copy of a copy of the style of Paul. If the
artists named Santa Croce belong to Bergamo, and to one
family, as we are informed in the " Guida" of Padua, we ought
hen to insert the name of Pietro Paolo, the least distinguished
among the Santa Croce, but not unworthy of commemoration

284 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

for one of his Madonnas at the Arena, and for other pictures
at different churches in Padua, in all of which he appears
attached to the school of Cavagna, or at least to the less man-
nered class of the Venetians.

Subsequent to the above two artists, we meet with the name
of Francesco Zucco, a good pupil of the Campi at Verona, and
of Maroni at Bergamo. From this last he acquired the art of
giving a singular degree of spirit to his portraits, and from
Paul Veronese the mode of ornamenting them with most taste
and fancy. Even in his larger compositions he sometimes
adhered so closely to the same artist, that several of them were
ascribed even by his fellow-citizens to Paul, a circumstance that
occurred to his pictures of the Nativity and of an Epiphany,
on the organ of San Gottardo. He adopted, moreover, a va-
riety of manners, apparently ambitious of displaying to the
public his power of imitating Cavagna or Talpino, as he pleased.
Contemporary with these artists, he so far rivalled them (as
in his San Diego atLe Grazie, or in the larger altar-piece at the
Cappuccine,) as to approve himself worthy of such emulation.
In other works he gives us occasion to wish for a better union
of his colours, in which he cannot be pronounced equal to tho
first masters of the school, so admirable in this department.

Subsequent to the year 1627, there was no want of artists
of ability at Bergamo, among whom we may mention a Fabio
di Pietro Ronzelli, whose style, if not sufficiently select and
ideal, was at least solid and robust. To his we may add the
name of Carlo Ceresa, an artist of much study and research,
pleasing in his colouring, and having apparently formed his
taste upon the models of the best age, successful in giving ideal
beauty to his countenances. The former of these, most pro-
bably the son of one Piero, known as a good portrait-painter,
and respectable in point of composition, painted the Martyrdom
of San Alessandro for the church of Santa Grata, while the
latter added the two side pictures without the least traces of
mannerism. Contemporary with both these, Domenico Ghis-
landi distinguished himself as a painter of frescos, more parti-
cularly in architecture. He was the father of Fra Vittore,
called likewise Frate Paolotto, whom we shall have occasion
to mention hereafter. At present it will hardly be desirable
that I should extend my remarks to other names scarcely

CARLO URBINI. 285

heard of beyond the limits of their native province ; though in
justice to the city I must observe that in its dearth of native
talent, it spared no expense in decorating public places with
the works of the best foreign artists of every country. Ample
proof; of this liberality may be seen in the cathedral and the
adjacent church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Such are among
the ad vantages enjoyed by cities, which are equally in posses-
sion <»f taste and of riches. But when deficient in either of
these they will be compelled to adopt the plan pursued in rural
occupations, where each agriculturist employs the oxen that
belong to his own fields.

Crema, at this period, might pride itself on having produced
such an artist as Carlo Urbini, who, though of limited genius,
was -ery pleasing, skilful in perspective, and equal to grand
historical pieces. He had afforded a specimen of his powers
in one of the public halls, in which he exhibited national bat-
tles and victories, besides having employed his talents in dif-
ferent churches. In ornamenting that of San Domenico,
however, an artist of the name of Uriele, most probably of the
Gatt' family at Cremona, was preferred before him, though
extremely inferior. This injustice seemed to alienate his mind
from his native place, and he proceeded to Milan, by whose
writers he has been recorded with honour. Yet his history-
piece at San Lorenzo, conducted in fresco, seems to contain
rather the seeds than the fruits of noble painting ; and be ap-
pears to greater advantage in oil colours, as we gather from
his picture of our Saviour taking leave of his virgin mother
previous to his sufferings, — a production ornamenting Santa
Mara near San Celso, where it may compete with the best
Lombard masters of that time. Lomazzo makes mention of
him in reference to such as produced pieces more suitable to
the places for which they were intended, — a useful practice,
fami iar to the old masters, who took care to adapt their pic-
tures, not only to places, but to household furniture, in-
somuch that in many of their vases and drinking cups, which
we i leet with in the kingdom of Naples, are represented, for
the most part, scenes of festivity, mysteries, and fables of the
Bacchanalian god. Subsequent to him flourished Jacopo
Barl>ello, whose paintings in various churches at Bergamo are
extotled by Pasta, more particularly in that of San Lazzaro,

286 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

an altar-piece representing the titular saint, remarkable no less
for its dignity of design than for decision of hand. In the series
of this school I find mention of no other artist after him, a
school distinguished in its origin by the name of Polidoro, and
afterwards adorned by few but very select artists.

We shall next proceed, according to our plan, to treat of
certain painters of landscape, of battle-pieces, of perspective,
flowers, and similar subjects. Henry de Bles, a Bohemian,
better known under the name of Civetta, an owl, from the fre-
quent introduction of that bird into his landscapes, was an
artist who resided for a long period in the Venetian state.
Besides his specimens of landscape to be met with in Venice,
and which uniformly present some traces of ancient crudeness,
he painted a Nativity of our Lord for San Nazaro in Brescia,
resembling in its style of composition the manner of Bassano.
Its prevailing tone is sky-coloured, and in the features of its
countenances it partakes of a foreign expression. I have also
seen small pictures from his hand intended for cabinets, often
thronged with minute figures, known by the name of Chimere
and Stregozzi, or witch-pieces, a kind in which he was ex-
tremely fanciful. But on this head we shall have occasion to
return to him in a short time, and proceed to a Flemish artist,
who flourished, about the beginning of 1600, in the state.
His name was Lodovico Pozzo, or Pozzoserrato, called also da'
Trevigi, from his long residence in that city, where he died,
leaving it, as Frederici relates, beautifully decorated with spe-
cimens of his hand. He excelled in the representation of
distant objects, like his rival Paol Brilli of Venice, in such as
were viewed near ; and he is more pleasing and select than
the latter in his variation of clouds and distinctions of light ;
while at the same time he was celebrated for his altar-pieces.
Subsequent to these appeared several foreign artists, eminent
for their skill in landscape, in the time of Boschini at Venice,
where several specimens of their art must be still in existence.
They where afterwards extolled likewise by Orlandi. There
was a Mr. Filgher, a German, who very happily represented
the different seasons of the year, and even the different lights
throughout the day; a Mons. Giron, a French artist, ex-
tremely natural in all kinds of views, both of a terrestrial and
aerial character ; and a M. Cusin, who imitated the noble

FRANCESCO MONTI. 287

manier of Titian in his landscapes with much success. Nor
ougl t we to omit Biagio Lombardo, a citizen of Venice, an
artist highly commended by Ridolfi, who declares that he
rivalled both the best Italian and Flemish painters in his
landscape. Girolamo Yernigo, surnamed also da* Paesi, and
part cularly celebrated in his native city of Verona, where he
fell :i victim to the plague in 1630, is intitled to rank in the
samo list. Jacopo Maffei succeeded admirably in his display
of incidents at sea, a picture of which kind was engraved by
Bosrhini. Another artist of the name of Bartolommeo Calo-
mato has been 'pointed out to me by his excellency Persico, in
his cabinet of medals ; and he ought apparently to be referred
to this epoch, judging from his less vigorous and less refined
stylo, although graceful and lively in his expression. He
was remarkable for his small pictures representing both rural
and civic views, along with small figures very animated and
well composed.

A taste for battle-pieces had begun to gain ground in this
part of Italy from the time of Borgognone. The first who pro-
cured for himself a name in this branch was Francesco Monti,
of Brescia, and a pupil of Ricchi, as well as of Borgognone
himself. He was commonly called II Brescianino delle Bat-
tagli3, the Brescian battle-painter, in which line he exercised
his talents in different Italian cities, ultimately establishing
himself at Parma, where he opened a school, and instructed
one of his sons in the same style of painting. He pursued, as
far as lay in his power, his master's example, though he
remained much inferior to him in point of colouring. His
prod actions are not scarce, but in many collections they do not
appc ar under his name, being frequently attributed to the
scho >1 at large of Borgognone. One of 'his fellow-citizens and
scholars, called Fiammmghino, but whose real name was
Angelo Everardi, acquired great reputation also by his battle-
scenes; but they are seldom to be met with, owing to his hav-
ing < lied young. Another of his disciples, a native of Verona,
named Lorenzo Comendich, flourished also about the year
170(', in high repute at Milan. Antonio Calza, a Veronese,
is to be referred to the same period. Being ambitious of
repr< senting military actions, he left the school of Cignani,
and transferred his residence to Rome, where, assisted by

288 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

Cortesi himself, he met with success. He spent his time in
Tuscany, at Milan, and in particular at Bologna. There we
meet with his pictures pretty abundantly, innumerable copies
of them having been taken by his pupils, who by frequently
varying the disposition of the groups, succeeded in giving a
seeming novelty to his pictures. Upon the authority of the
Melchiori MS., I am inclined to add to the list of good battle-
painters Agostino Lamma, a Venetian, who employed himself
for collections ; and in that of Sig. Gio. Batista Curti, there is
a piece of his representing the Siege of Vienna, very excellent
in point of taste, modelled according to his custom upon that
of Matteo Stom.

Towards the year 1660, when the three artists, Civetta,
Bosch, and Carpioni, had already filled the galleries with that
very tasteful class of pictures called capricci ; when Salvator
Rosa had produced such curious examples of his transforma-
tions and necromancies ; and Brughel, surnamed dall' Inferno,
had drawn from the scenes of that abyss, and from its mon-
sters, a large supply for every capital in Italy ; — at that period
another artist, Gioseffo Ens, or Enzo, the son of him I have
mentioned in the Preface, and father of Daniele, a tolerably
good figurist, was acquiring rapid celebrity in Venice with
some highly imaginative little pictures, partaking in some
measure of the style of the above artists. For the chief part
they represent allegorical fictions, in which are introduced
sphinxes, chimera?, and monsters in grotesque shape ; or to
speak more correctly, perhaps, extravagances of imagination
quite unauthorized by ancient example, and formed out of the
grotesque union of various parts of different animals, much in
the same manner as they are seen by persons in their delirious
dreams. Boschini adduces an example of this strange poetical
folly at page 604, where Pallas is seen putting to flight a
troop of these wild fancies, haunting an old decayed mansion,
buried in fire and smoke, as the symbol of Virtue dispersing
the shades of ignorance and error. In such a career did Enzo
arrive at the honour of being made a Chevalier of the Cross
by his Holiness Pope Urban VIII. Subsequently, however,
he applied himself with more judgment to the study of truth,
and left behind him, in Venice, several altar-pieces, one of
which adorning the church of the Ognissanti is extremely

FRANCESCO MONTOVANO. 289

beautiful. I have also noticed in different collections some
burlesques of dwarfs, &c. from the hand of Faustino Bocchi, a
Brescian, and pupil to Fiamminghino. He was admirable in
his portraits of these embryos, as it were, of the human race ;
representations by no means displeasing to some of the an-
cients, and of which we have examples afforded us in what are
termed Etruscan vases. In the production of fables, in which
the dwarfs were to appear as actors, he displayed the most
fanciful combinations, and in the Carrara collection at Ber-
gamo, there is represented a sacrifice of these pigmies, and a
popular feast in honour of an idol, full of humour, in which one
of ti> em is seen caught in the claws of a crab, while some of
his own party attempt to save him, and his mother hastens,
half distracted, to his relief. In order to convey a better idea
of their size, he inserted a small water-melon, which appears
almost like a mountain by their side. The design does not
seem to differ much from that of Timanthes, who introduced
little satyrs, in the act of measuring one of the Cyclop's
thumbs with their thyrsus, as he lies asleep, to give a just
notion of his bulk. It is to be regretted that Bocchi became
addicted to the sect of the Tenebrosi, owing to which many of
his labours seem to be fast losing their value.

The same period likewise abounded in painters of flowers
and fruits, in every part of Italy ; but I observe that their
names are, for the most part, forgotten, or where they exist in
books, are accompanied by no mention of their works. For-
tunately, among the pictures at Rovigo, I meet with the name
of Francesco Mantovano, whether his surname or patronymic
is uncertain, an artist who excelled in similar works about the
time of Borghini ; besides those of Antonio Bacci and Antonio
Lecx hi, or Lech, both florists, and all mentioned by Martinioni
in his " Additions to Sansovino." To the number of these add
the name of Marchioni, a native of Rovigo, an artist consi-
dered as the Bernasconi of the Venetian school, from her sin-
gular skill in flower-painting, though not equalling the Roman
lady in point of celebrity. Their works are to be seen in some
of the collections at Rovigo, which abound also with many
celebrated figure-painters, no less of the Venetian than of other
Italian schools.

Pictures of animals do not seem to have been much in vogue

VOL. II. U

290 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

with Venetian artists about this period, if, indeed, we are not
to include Giaconio da Castello in the Venetian state. From,
verbal communications I learn that in collections at Venice he
is not at all rare. I have seen only a few specimens at the
Casa Rezzonico, and these consisting of various species of birds,
drawn with great truth and force of colouring, as well as
beautifully disposed. Domenico Maroli, a painter of flocks
and herds, as well as of other rural subjects, was born at Mes-
sina, and exercised his talents in Venice. He was intimate with
Bosch ini, who extolled him as a new Bassano, and as a speci-
men of his talents, inserted in his " Carta del Navegar" an
engraving after one of his designs. It represents a shepherd
with his flocks, figures of cows with a dog, very forcibly and
beautifully drawn ; and it is altogether one of the best designs
that has been engraved for that work. There resided also at Ve-
nice, where he was employed in the Casa Sagredo, and in that
of Contariui, an artist named Gio. Fayt di Anversa, who, in
addition to his paintings of fruits and various rural implements,
was esteemed one of the best copyists of animals, both alive and
dead, in which he displayed a very polished, natural, and novel
manner.

Among the perspective pieces of this epoch, ornamenting dif-
ferent collections, those by Malombra, as I have before stated,
have been particularly commended by Ridolfi. And in archi-
tectural views we may mention Aviani, a native of Vicenza,
very superior in this branch, as well as in sea-views and land-
scapes. He was born during the lifetime of Palladio, or at
least while his school still flourished, and resided in a city
where every street presented specimens of a taste for architec-
ture. He thus produced pictures of so fine a character, filled
with little figures by Carpioni, under his direction, so ex-
tremely pleasing, that it is surprising he did not acquire
equal celebrity with Viviano and other first-rate artists.
Probably he did not long flourish, and then, for the most
part, in his native place. In the Foresteria, or Stranger's
lodge, of the Padri Serviti, are four of his views, exhi-
biting temples and other magnificent edifices, while several
more are to be met with in possession of the Marchesi Capra,
in the celebrated Rotunda of Palladio, as well as of other nobles
in various places. He likewise decorated the ceilings or

EVARISTO BASCHENIS. 291

<nipolas of several churches. Indeed there was then a pretty
considerable school established for this branch of the art in
Brescia. Tommaso Sandrino was an artist who distinguished
himself in it, as well as Ottavio Yiviani, his pupil, though he
displayed a less sound and more loaded style than his master.
Fai;stino Moretto, belonging to the same state, employed him-
self more at Venice than at Brescia. Domenico Bruni was
an urtist highly extolled by Orlandi ; he exercised his talents
-at the Carmini, in his native place, as well as at Ve-
nice, along with Giacomo Pedrali, also a Brescian, who flou-
rished in the time of Boschini. Together with these appeared
Bo] tolo Cera, whose scenes have been engraved in aqua fortis
by Boschini himself. Zanetti also records the name of Giu-
seppe Alabardi, called Schioppi, and of Giulio Cesare Lom-
bar<lo, an artist still superior to him. I might here introduce
othor artists and architects of the ornamental class, distin-
guished in proportion to their antiquity ; for towards the close
of the century architectural exhibitions became too much loaded
with vases, figures, and a variety of ornament, which detracted
much from that simplicity of taste so essential in some way
towards the effect of every thing really great or beautiful.

A kind of minor painting is believed to have been intro-
duced at this epoch, by a priest called Evaristo Baschenis,
from Bergamo. He flourished contemporary with the three great
artists, Cavagna, Salmeggia, and Zucchi; and he appears to
have been instructed by one of these in representing every
kind of musical instrument with much nature and effect. He
arranged them upon tables covered with the most beautiful
kinds of cloth, and mingled with them music-books, leaves,
boxes, fruits, inkstands, &c., drawn just as they might happen
to He; and from these objects he composed pictures executed
wit] i so much art as quite to deceive the spectator. Such was
their effect, that they are still very much valued in different
collections. There were formerly eight of them to be seen in
the library of San Giorgio, the ingenuity of which has been
highly commended by Zanetti.

u 2

292

VENETIAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH IV.

Of Exotic and New Styles in Venice.

IF, according to the plan laid down by PHny, and which I
have hitherto observed, each several epoch ought to be deduced
from one or more masters of a school, who may have given a new
aspect to the art, it will be proper, in this instance, to vary
my system. The epoch here nearest to us will be found to
take its rise at a period when the Venetian artists, having al-
most wholly abandoned their national models, attached them-
selves some to one, and some to another foreign method, or
formed out of them one of their own. Such were the times of
which Signor Zanetti, in his work, observes, " there appeared
in Venice as many different manners as there were artists to
practise them." This would appear to have been the state of
the art towards the end of the 17th century. Those artists
who followed, approaching still nearer to modern times,
although various in point of style, resembled each other in a
study of ideal beauty, and all agreed in copying from the
modern Roman, or Bolognese schools, with the addition, how-
ever, of their own defects. Still the old masters were not, on
this account, underrated ; but were rather spoken of as the
ancients who flourished at a golden period, whose customs are
to be admired, indeed, but not imitated. Fashion, as it some-
times happens also in sciences, had usurped the seat of reason ;
while the artists who followed in her train alleged in excuse,
that the age was fond of such novelties, and that it was incum-
bent upon them to second its inclination, injustice to their own
fortunes. Amidst these changes, the Venetian school, which
had always preserved its ascendancy in point of colouring, then
began to alter, losing the truth of nature, as it became more bril-

ANDREA CELESTI. 293

liam . Thus few artists flourished at that period who might not,
moro or less, be termed mannerists in colouring. But in other
respocts the school appears to have improved, and particularly in
treating its history-pieces more appropriately, without the in-
troduction of portraits, dresses, and other accessaries, ill adapted
to them ; a defect to which it had been more attached, and had
moro obstinately adhered, than any other of the schools. Yet
it cmnot be denied, that during this period of the decline or
art throughout Italy, the Venetian school shone peculiarly con-
spicuous in the number of superior inventors it produced. For
whilst Lower Italy aimed at nothing beyond the striking con-
trast s of the followers of Cortona ; whilstdn so many schools of
Upper Italy, the imitators of the imitators of the Caracci were
esteemed the great models ; in Venice, and the adjacent state,
various styles were seen to spring up, which, though not per-
fect, were at least original, and valuable in their way ; if, in-
deed, the whole of Europe has not been deceived in its estima-
tion of them, purchasing the pictures of the Ricci, of Tiepolo, of
Canaletto, of Rotari, and of numerous other artists of the same
time, at immense sums. But we must take a more particular
survey of them.

The Cavalier Andrea Celesti, who died in the early part of
the century, was disciple to Ponzoni, but without becoming his
imitator. As an artist, he is very pleasing, fertile in noble
images, flowing in his outlines, with delightful scenery, with
,airs, with features, and with draperies all graceful, and often
resembling Paul Veronese. His style of colouring, also, was
not remote from nature, equally lucid, pleasing, and soft.
Owing to his fondness for the chiaroscuro, one of the chief
attn'.ctions of his style, or rather, perhaps, to the imperfection
of his grounds, there are few of his productions that continue
to preserve their original beauty. Occasionally he seems to
belong to the sect of Tenebrosi, and his middle tints have in
somo instances disappeared, destroying the harmony that in
some of his best-conducted pictures was admirable. His dis-
tinguishing character was a happy audacity of hand, in which
he is excelled by very few. He painted both history, and
altar-pieces for churches, a specimen of which is seen in his
Probatica at the Ascension. In the public palace there is one
of his histories from the Old Testament, abounding with all

294 TENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

that masterly talent for which he was so remarkable, creating^
at once admiration and surprise. He produced pieces for pri-
vate ornament, from profane history, with conversations, games,
and rencounters, like Caravaggio's. Alberto Calvetti, an in-
ferior artist, educated in his school, resembles him as little in.
talent, as, for the most part, in his style.

Antonio Zanchi da Este was an artist, also, better known in
Venice for the number, than for the excellence of his works.
His style is altogether distinct from that of the foregoing, and
it is uncertain whether he derived it from his master Ruschi,
or from some other of the sect of naturalists whom we have
before described. Such, at least, appears the cast of his genius,
eommon in its forms, sombre in its colours ; but nevertheless
exciting surprise, by a certain fulness and felicity of hand, by
its picturesque spirit, by its effect of chiaroscuro, and by a
grand general result, which imposes upon us by its power. If
we examine more particularly into his manner, we shall not
unfrequently discover an incorrectness of design, along with
that kind of indecision, and indistinctness of outline, which is
mostly the resource of weak, or, at least, of very hasty artists.
He chiefly attached himself to Tintoretto, some traces of whom
may be found in his style. In the college of S. Rocco, where
that great master rendered his name immortal, we behold one
of the best specimens of Zanchi. The subject, admirably
fitted to his manner, contributed greatly to his success. He
has there given a bold exhibition of the great plague that
afflicted Venice in 1630, a picture filled with a concourse of
the sick, the dying, and the dead, borne to one universal grave.
Opposite to this grand painting there is another from the hand
of Pietro Negri, his pupil, as is supposed, but more probably
his rival, which represents the liberation of the city from that
fatal scourge ; and in it, too, we perceive the peculiar ease,
and the manner of Zanchi, somewhat improved, however, and
ennobled in its forms. Francesco Trevisani, another of his
pupils, took up his residence at Rome, in the list of whose
professors he has already been commended (torn. i. p. 514).
Gio. Bonagrazia, however, remained in the Venetian state ;
and acquired some reputation in his native town and province
of Trevigi, more particularly for his paintings at San Vito.
Antonio Molinari belonged, likewise, to the same school, but

ANTONIO MOLINARI. 295

almost wholly renounced the maxims he had acquired in it.*
His style is by no means equally sustained ; a case that fre-
quently occurs to such as abandon the methods in which they
have been educated, and attempt to strike into new paths. I
have seen some of his pictures at Venice, and elsewhere, in
fine relief, and others quite the contrary ; at times, too, he ap-
pears beautiful, but cold. In the vigour of his powers, how-
ever, when he produced the works most decisive of his merits,
such as his History of Oza, at the Corpus Domini, he displays
a style no less solid than pleasing, and which equally satisfies
the judgment and the eye. There is a study both of design
and of expression, ample beauty of forms, richness of drapery,
witk a taste and harmony of tints not surpassed by any artist
of tie times.

We may mention, likewise, as distinguished by their man-
ner, Antonio Bellucci, and Giovanni Segala, two painters who,
like their masters, became addicted to the use of strong shades.
Yet they possessed sufficient intelligence to derive some ad-
vantage even from a wrong direction of their powers. For the
former disposed them in grand masses, yet delicate, and more-
over united to pleasing colouring ; while the latter made use
of dark grounds, which he contrasted with very spirited lights,
and with a skill that enlivens while it enchants us. Indeed,
the style of both seemed adapted for great works, and both
possessed genius enough to conduct them well. Segala, how-
ever, is preferred by Zanetti to his contemporary, and his pic-
ture of the Conception, executed for the college of La Carita.,
is particularly extolled by him, and, in truth, he there com-
petes with, if he does not surpass, some of the first painters of
the age. We ought to estimate the merit of Bellucci from
thosa specimens he conducted with most care, and upon the
best grounds, such as his scripture-piece in the church of the
Spiiito Santo. He appears to most advantage, perhaps, in
sma 1 figures, many of which he inserted in the landscapes of
the celebrated Tempesta. When at Vienna, he became court-
pair: ter to Joseph I. and to Charles VI. ; and subsequently to

* Melchiori mentions also with commendation Gio. Batista, father of
Ante nio, and pupil to Vecchia, who had been unable to assist his son
Ant( nio? left an orphan at a very tender age.

296 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

other German princes, which he chiefly owed to this kind of
talent.*

To this epoch, also, belongs the name of Gio. Antonio Fu-
miani, who acquired from the Bolognese school, in which he
was educated, an excellent taste, both in composition and
design. And from the works of Paul, which he studied with
assiduity, he obtained a knowledge of architectural and other
ornaments. Some have considered him deficient in warmth of
tints, and in a just counterpoise of lights and shades, to which
I should add, also in expression ; appearing, as he does to me,
cold in all his attitudes, even beyond the custom of this school.
Perhaps his Dispute of Jesus with the Doctors, at the church
of La Carita, is his finest work. Bencovich, having resided at
Bologna, will be enumerated among the followers of Cignani.

Nearly contemporary with Fumiani, though he flourished
longer and painted more, was the Cav. Niccolo Bambini, a
of Mazzoni, in Venice, and afterwards of Maratta, at
ic. There he became accomplished in design, exact and
elegant, and capable of sustaining those noble conceptions de-
rived from nature, which he developed in very enlarged works,
both of oil and fresco. Fortunate, indeed, had he succeeded
as well in his colouring ; in which branch he was so sensible
of his own mediocrity, as to forbid his scholars practising the
art from his pictures. His taste is sometimes wholly Roman,
as in his altar-piece at San Stefano, executed soon after his
return from Rome. At other times, he has a more flowing
manner, like that of Liberi, which he imitated for several years
with success, ever afterwards retaining the beauty of his heads,
especially in his women. Again he occasionally soars above
himself, and in such works as he himself conceived and ex-
ecuted, and which were afterwards re-touched and animated,
as it were, by Cassana, the Genoese, he shines as a great por-
trait-painter, and a very powerful colourist. In the " Guida"
of Zanetti, we meet with the names of Giovanni and Stefano
Bambini, two of his sons, and most probably his pupils, though
from the same, and from another more extensive work, where

* Father Federici mentions also his son Gio. Batista, citing a fine altar-
piece of his at Sorigo, and adds, that he would have become celebrated
had he not preferred the ease permitted him by a handsome fortune to
the glory of a great painter.

GREGOIJIO LAZZAIUNI. 297

he makes no mention of them, we can gather that they were
held in very small esteem. Girolamo Brusaferro and Gaetano
-Zompini were also his pupils, and ambitious, as well, oi
imitating Ricci, forming a kind of mixed style not altogether
de* titute of originality. The second of these received honour-
ablc commissions from the court of Spain, in which he dis-
played' a rich fund of imagination, and, in some measure, dis-
tinguished himself by his engravings.

Gregorio Lazzarini was pupil to Rosa, and not only freed
himself from the sombre sect, but rising into great reputation,
wholly banished it from the Venetian school, of which, for
accuracy of design, he might be pronounced to be the Raf-
iaello. Whoever contemplates the pictures of Lazzarini
would, at first, suppose he must have received his education at
Bologna, or rather, perhaps, at Rome. Yet he never left
Venice, and by the strength of his genius alone, acquired the
esteem of the most learned professors in the art, and particu-
larly of Maratta, a very scrupulous panegyrist of his contem-
poraries. Thus the Venetian ambassador at Rome, having
occasion to apply to him for a picture, intended to ornament
the hall of the Scrutinio, he declined the commission, express-
ing his surprise that it should be deemed requisite to apply to
him at Rome, while they had Lazzarini at Venice. And the
latter artist produced a piece which justified the judgment of
Mttratta, representing in the noblest manner the triumphal
memory of Morosini, surnamed by the Venetians Pelopon-
ne.siaco, which adorns the aforementioned hall. He most dis-
tinguished himself by his picture of San Lorenzo Giustiniani,
painted for the patriarchal church ; perhaps the best specimen
in oil displayed by the Venetian school during this period,
whether for its taste of composition, its elegance of contours,
or the original beauty and variety of its countenances and its
attitudes. It possesses, likewise, force of colouring, in which
he was not always equally successful. In small figures he
wj.s extremely graceful, a specimen of which ma}' be seen in a
choir of Santa Caterina, at Vicenza, where he executed some
very beautiful histories, in the most glowing colours imagin-
able. The last altar-piece, bearing his own name, was com-
ploted by his excellent pupil, Giuseppe Camerata, who in this,
as well as other pieces produced for churches, pursued tho

298 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

same career as his master. Another of Lazzarini's pupils,
however, Silvestro Manaigo, persevered in an opposite course,
for though of a fine character, he was too rapid, and too much
of a mannerist.

There flourished, likewise, at that period, two artists of
Trevisi, Francesco, included in the list of the Roman % school,
and Angiolo Trevisani, who, both by birth and domicile, must
be claimed for that of Venice. Fine in his inventive pieces,
as we gather from those at La Carita, and various other
churches in the capital, he was still more celebrated for his
portraits. In exercising this branch, he formed a style
founded upon nature, not, indeed, sublime, but very select,
and in part conformable to the schools then in vogue. His
pencil displayed diligence and research, especially in his
management of the chiaroscuro.

Jacopo Amigoni can scarcely be justly estimated in Venice,
where, if we except his picture of the Visitation at the monas-
tery of San Filippo, there is nothing of his remaining in pub-
lic in his best manner ; that which he acquired by studying
the master-pieces of the Flemish school in Flanders. It was
there that his genius, naturally fertile and animated, uniting
with facility qualities of grandeur and of beauty, and seizing
upon the finest subject for copious histories, also discovered
the kind of colouring he had in vain sought for at Venice.
There, too, he "achieved the art of attaining, by force of
shades, even to pure black, which colour he employed to pro-
duce perfect clearness, without injuring the beauty of his
piece :" thus we are informed by Signer Zanetti. Had he
succeeded in giving a little more relief to his pictures, and
employed less care in giving brilliance to every part of his
composition, he would have appeared to more advantage ; but
only in the eyes of good judges, as the multitude could not
well be presented with any thing more calculated to enchant
them than one of his pictures. Nor was it without reason
that his style was so much applauded throughout England,
Germany, and Spain, in which last country he died, when
painter to the court, in 1752. Various productions of his
hand are to be met with, though but rarely, in possession of
private families in Italy, chiefly consisting of little histories,
conversations, and similar pieces, in the manner of the Flemish

GIAMBATISTA PITTONI. 299

artiets. Of the Flemish, I say, in respect to the size, not the
perfection of the drawing, this artist being accustomed to alter
his tints in some degree, particularly in the shifting hues, to
labour by touching, often leaving his outline undefined, and to
raiso the colour so as to produce effect in the distance. His
pieces upon a larger scale are more rare, though I have seen
several exhibiting great truth in the expression of counte-
nance, and a rich flow of drapery, in possession of the cele-
brated musician, Farinello, at Bologna. And in these portraits
the musician himself always appeared, as received at different
courts, and in the act of being applauded and rewarded by the
European sovereigns.

CHambatista Pittoni, though less generally known than the
preceding, is still entitled to a rank among the first artists of
his ;ige. The disciple and nephew of Francesco Pittoni, here
mentioned, rather from his pupil's merit than his own, he sub-
sequently became attached to foreign schools, and formed a
style which displays some novelty in the warmth of its colour-
ing, and in a certaim pictorial amenity and attraction which
prevail throughout the whole. He cannot, indeed, be said to
be very select, but he is in general correct, polished, and intel-
ligent in his entire composition. He particularly shone in
figures smaller than the life; and the galleries in the Venetian
state are thus by no means scantily furnished with his his-
tories ; while we may observe of his altar-pieces that they
seem to increase in beauty in proportion to the diminution of
their size. This we perceive at the Santo in Padua, where he
painted in competition with the best of his contemporaries, the
Martyrdom of San Bartolommeo, which he coloured upon a
smjll canvas. A very hasty tourist attributes this produc-
tion to the pencil of Tiepolo, whose manner is altogether dif-
fer* nt.

Gio. Batista Piazzetta, on the other hand, was an artist of
as sombre a cast as the two preceding were animated and
lively. He had acquired a good knowledge of design, either
under his father, a tolerably skilful statuary in wood, or under
some very exact naturalist ; and in his early attempts he
pai ated in a free and open style. Afterwards he embraced an
opposite manner, and employing himself with Spagnuolo at
Bologna, and there likewise studying Guercino, he aimed at

300 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

producing an effect by strong contrasts of lights antl shades,
and in this he succeeded. He had long, as it is supposed, ob-
served the effects of light applied to statues of wood and
models in wax ; and by this he was enabled to draw, with con-
siderable judgment and exact precision, the several parts that
are comprehended in the shadowing, owing to which art his
designs were eagerly sought after, and his works repeatedly
engraved with assiduity. One of these, placed at the Domeni-
cani delle Zattere was engraved by the celebrated Bartolozzi ;
another by his school ; that is to say, his San Filippo, painted
for the church of that name in Venice. Many were engraved
also by Pitteri, by Pelli, and by Monaco, besides other prints
that were executed in Germany. His method of colouring,
however, diminished in a great measure the chief merit of his
pictures. Thus his shades having increased and altered, his
lights sunk, his tints become yellow, there remains only an
inharmonious and unformed mass, which the venerators of
names, indeed, may admire, but can hardly give a reason why.
Where we happen to meet with a few oT his pictures in good
preservation, the effect is altogether so novel and original as to
make a strong impression at first sight, more especially where
the subject requires a terrific expression, as that of his behead-
ing of St. John the Baptist in prison, produced at Padua, a
work placed in competition with those of the first artists in the
state, and at that period esteemed the best of all. Yet if we
examine him more narrowly, he will not fail to displease us by
that monotonous and mannered colour of lakes and yellows,
and by that rapidity of hand, by some called spirit, though to
others these often appear neglect, desirous of abandoning its
labour before it is complete.

Piazzetta could hardly boast strength enough to deal with
pictures abounding with figures, and having received a com-
mission from a Venetian noble to represent the Rape of the
Sabines, he spent many years in conducting it. In his altar-
pieces and other sacred subjects he produced a pleasing effect
from the spirit of devotion, but never for the dignity he dis-
played in them. Duly estimating his own ability, he was
more desirous of painting busts and heads for pictures adapted
for private rooms than any other subjects. In his caricatures
he succeeded admirably, several of which in possession of the

GIO. BATISTA TIEPOLO. 301

Conti Leopard! d'Osirao would excite the risible muscles of a
professed enemy to mirth. At one period this artist had at
grea: number of followers, a fashion nevertheless that soon
ceased. Francesco Polazzo, a good painter, but a better re-
storer of ancient pictures, somewhat softened down the style
of Piazzetta with that of Ricci. Domenico Maggiotto also
tempered it in his Miracle of San Spiridione, and in his other
works engraved at Venice and in Germany. Various artists
of this school in the same way gave softness to his manner by
studying other models. Perhaps the one most addicted to his
method was Marinetti, from the name of his native place more
commonly called Chiozzotto.

The last of the Venetian artists who procured for himself a
great reputation in Europe, was Gio. Batista Tiepolo, so fre-
quei tly commended by Algarotti. He was honoured likewise
with a poetical eulogy by the Ab. Bettinelli, and became cele-
brated in Italy, in Germany, and in Spain, where he died
painter to the court of Madrid. Pupil to Lazzarini, whose
deliberate and cautious style served to curb his too great
wan nth and rapidity, he subsequently studied Piazzetta, ani-
mating and enlivening as it were his manner, as he appears to
have done in his picture of the Shipwreck of San Satiro at
San Ambrogio in Milan. He next became an assiduous imi-
tator of Paul Veronese, whom, though inferior to him in the
airs of his heads, he very nearly approached in his folds and"
his colouring. From the engravings also of Albert Durer,
that storehouse of copious composers, he derived no little ad-
vantage. Nor did he at any time abandon the study of nature
in observing all the accidents of light and shade, and the con-
trast s of colour best adapted to produce effect. In this branch
he succeeded admirably, particularly in his works in fresco, for
whi( h he appears to have been endued by nature with prompt-
ness, rapidity, and facility in great compositions. While
others were accustomed to display the most vivid colours, he
only availed himself in his frescos of what are termed low and
dusky colours ; and by harmonizing them with others of a
common kind, but more clear and beautiful, he produced a
spec;es of effect in his frescos, a beauty, a sunlike radiance,
unequalled, perhaps, by any other artist. Of this the grand'
vault belonging to the Teresiani in Venice presents a fine spe-

302 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

cimen. He lias there represented the Santa Casa, accompa-
nied by numerous groups of angels finely foreshortened and
varied, surrounded by a field of light that appears to rise into
the firmament. Such an artist would have been truly great,
had he, in works upon this scale, succeeded in observing equal
correctness in every part ; in the whole he always produces an
agreeable effect. He appears more correct and careful in his
oil-pieces, which we find dispersed throughout the metropoli-
tan city as well as the state. At San Antonio in Padua we
meet with his Martyrdom of Santa Agatha, a picture alluded
to by Algarotti as a very rare example of fine expression, at
once uniting that of terror at the approach of death, and of
joy for the glory of beatitude in view. Many other beauties
are remarked by Rossetti in this picture, which he admits,
however deeply interested in defending it from every imputa-
tion cast upon it by Cochin, is not altogether perfect in point
of design.

In the list of his disciples we find the name of Fabio Canale,
mentioned with honour in the work so often cited, from the
pen of Zanetti ; and to such of his pictures as he mentions we
may add those he produced in Palazzo Zen at the Frari, and
in that of the Priuli at the bridge of the Miglio. To this
artist we might join a few others of this last age, recorded in
the Guide to Venice, the same that was published by Zanetti
in 1733, and some of whom are likewise mentioned in the
" Pittura Veneziana," where, beginning at p. 470, he gave a
catalogue of the names of such of the members of that esti-
mable academy, as were then alive, and some of whom are
still in existence. But whoever is desirous of cultivating an
acquaintance with them and with their works which are in
possession of the public, may consult the above books as well
as some of the more recent Guides of the city, which have
continued from time to time to appear. I ought to add, that
the Signor Alessandro Longhi has presented us with the por-
traits and the Elogj of the most celebrated of these moderns,
in the year 1762, and this work also may supply what my
brevity or my silence has omitted or compressed.

Proceeding in the next place from Venice to the cities of
the state, we shall find that these also have produced many
memorable artists. The Friuli will occupy but little of our

GIULIO QUAGLIA. 303

attention, as it boasts few masters, and none of them distin-
guished for their figures. Pio Fabio Paolini, a native of
Ud'ne, studied at Rome, where he produced in fresco his San
Ctirlo, which adorns the Corso, and became an associate of
the academy there in 1678. Returning thence into his own
cou itry, he painted several altar-pieces and other minor pic-
tures, such as to entitle him to a high place among the
followers of Cortona. Giuseppe Cosattini, born at the same
place, and canon of Aquileja, devoted himself to the same
purmit, and rose into so much estimation as to be declared
painter to the imperial court. He particularly distinguished
himself by his picture of San Filippo preparing to celebrate
ma^s, painted for the Congregation of Udine ; the work of a
real artist, not of a dilettante, as he appears in some other of
his paintings. Pietro Yenier, a disciple of the Venetian
artists, displayed some merit in his oil-pieces, not uncommon
at Udine ; and more in his frescos in the ceiling of the church
of Han Jacopo, where he appears to great advantage. But
the best painter of frescos in these latter times, amongst his
countrymen, was Giulio Quaglia, a native of Como. From
his age and style I should suspect that he belonged to the
school of the Recchi, although his design is less finished than
that of Gio. Batista Recchi, the head of that family of
painters. It would appear that he visited Friuli young,
towards the close of the last century, and there he conducted
works, for the most part, in fresco, to an amount that almost
defies enumeration. His histories of our Saviour's Passion,
ornamenting the chapel of the Monte di Pieta at Udine, are
held in high estimation, although he conducted works upon a
much larger scale, for various halls of many noble families,
in ;ill which we trace a fecundity of ideas, a decision of
pencil, a power for vast compositions, sufficient to have distin-
gui; hed him in his age not only in the limits of Como but at
Mil.an. I omit the names of those professors of the art who
merely designed without colouring, or who never attained to
mature age ; and those of a few others I have to reserve for
foreign schools, and for different branches of painting.

Proceeding towards the Marca Trevigiana, I meet with an
artist's name that has been claimed by different schools of
Italy, according to the place in which he painted, or studied,

304 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IT.

or gave instructions in the art. For this reason I have
judged it best to speak of him as connected with his native
place, which boasts a sufficient number of his works. This
artist is Sebastiano Ricci, which the Venetians write Rizzi,
one who can be reckoned second to none among the professors
of our own epoch, in point of genius for the art, and the
taste and novelty of his style. He was born in Cividal di
Belluno, educated, as we have observed, by Cervelli at Venice,
and afterwards conducted by his master into Milan ; he there
acquired, both from him and from Lisandrino, every thing
that was of importance in the pursuit of his profession.
Thence he went to study at Bologna and at Venice, subse-
quently transferring his residence to Rome and Florence.
Lastly he made the tour of all Italy, employing his pencil
wherever he received commissions, at any price. Having
acquired reputation, and being invited by different potentates,
he passed into Germany, England, and Flanders, in which last
country he perfected his style of colouring, which had been
always very pleasing and spirited, even in his first attempts.
From his acquaintance with such a variety of schools, he
stored his mind with fine images, and by dint of copying
many models, his hand became practised in different styles.
In common with Giordano he possessed the art of imitating,
every manner ; some of his pictures in the style of Bassano
and of Paul, continuing yet to impose upon less skilful judges,
as in the instance of one of his Madonnas at Dresden, for
some time attributed to Correggio. The chief advantage he
derived from his travels was, that on having occasion to
represent any subject, he was enabled to recollect the manner
in which different masters might have treated it, availing,
himself of it without plagiarism accordingly. Thus the Ado-
ration of the Apostles at the Last Supper, a piece adorning
the church of Santa Giustina at Padua, betrays many points
of resemblance to the painting on the cupola of San Giovanni
at Parma, while his San Gregorio at San Alessandro, in Ber-

famo, recalls to mind one by Guercino, executed at Bologna.
he same method he observed in his scriptural histories, pro-
duced for SS. Cosmo and Damiano, which are preferred to
any others he conducted in Venice, or perhaps in any other
parts, and which frequently present us with fine imitations.

SEBASTIANO RICCI. 305

but never with plagiarisms. He did not early acquire a good
knowledge of design, but he afterwards succeeded in this
objoct, which he cultivated with extreme assiduity in the
academies, even in mature age. The forms of his figures are
composed with beauty, dignity, and grace, like those of Paul
Veronese; the attitudes are more than usually natural, prompt,
and varied, and the composition appears to have been managed
with truth and with good sense. Although rapid in the
handling, he did not abuse his celerity of hand, as so many
artists have been known to do. His figures are accurately
designed, and appear starting from the canvas, most frequently
coloured with a very beautiful azure, in which they shine
conspicuous over all. Such pieces as he conducted in fresco
still preserve the native freshness of their tints ; while some
of his others seem to have suffered, owing to the badness of
the grounds, or of the body of colour, which was weaker in
the later than in the earliest Venetian artists. The amenity
of Sicci's style soon procured for him disciples, in the list of
whom Marco, his nephew, greatly distinguished himself, and
subsequently devoting himself to the composition of landscape,
he accompanied his master upon his travels, employing himself
a good deal both at Paris and in London. Gasparo Diziani,
his fellow-countryman, was an artist who excelled in his
facility of painting large theatrical works, and in that line
was employed in Germany. He was, moreover, a very pleas-
ing composer of pictures for private ornament, several of
whioh are now to be met with in the collections of the Signori
Silvestri and the Signori Casalini at Rovigo. Francesco Fon-
tebasso, a pupil also of Bastiano, succeeded, notwithstanding
som 3 degree of crudeness, in acquiring a celebrity in his day,
botli in Venice and the adjacent cities.

In the Guide of Padua Rossetti includes, in the list of its
pairters, Antonio Pellegrini, as being the son of one of its
citizens, who had established himself, however, at Venice,
where Antonio was born. And the Venetians, indeed, may
concede him to that city without much sacrifice of fame.
For the surprising success he met with in some of the most
civilized kingdoms of Europe, is to be attributed to the
decline of the art, and to the lively and mannered style he
assumed, which found a welcome reception in all parts. He

VOL. II. X

306 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

may be pronounced an artist of some ingenuity, facility, and
sprightly conception ; but he was by no means well grounded
in the art; and he expressed his ideas with so little deci-
sion, that the objects which he represents sometimes appear
to float in a kind of half-existence between visible and invi-
sible. He was so very superficial a colourist, that even in his
own times it was said his productions would not continue to
last during a half-century. And, in truth, those I have seen
at Venice and at Padua are already become extremely pallid ;
while such as he executed at Paris will, doubtless, be in the
same state. Yet in that city he obtained a large sum in the
year 1720, for merely painting a frieze in the celebrated hall
o£ the Mississippi, which he executed in about three months.
His best work is, perhaps, to be found at San Moise, con-
sisting of the Serpent of Bronze, erected by Moses in the
Desert ; no other equal to it having issued from his studio.

As the preceding one is considered the last of the Paduan
artists of any note, we may mention, as the last among those
of Bergamo, at least of any merit in composition, Antonio
Zifrondi, or Cifrondi, pupil to Franceschini. Indeed he
greatly resembled the former in his natural bias for the art,
in an imagination adapted for great compositions, in facility
and rapidity of hand, to such a degree as to dash off a picture
in two hours. He likewise passed into France, though
without meeting with success, and then resided in his native
place, employing himself for those churches that are adorned
with so many of his pictures, few of which are free from
errors of over-haste and carelessness. Thus he did not scruple
at the church of S. Spirito, to place near his picture of a Nun-
ziata, conducted in his best style, three other historical pieces
of quite an opposite character. We meet with his name men-
tioned more than once, in the " Lettere Pittoriche," with much
commendation. Several other artists, whose names are to be
met with in Tassi and his continuator, are known to have
flourished at the same period. Nor ought we, by any means,
here to omit that of Vittore Ghislandi, who though little
skilled in works of invention, yet in his portraits, and some
of his heads, in the way of capricci, has almost equalled in
our own times the excellence of the ancients. He was in-
structed in the art by Boinbelli, and by dint of very assiduous

PIETRO AVOGADRO. 307

study, particularly in the heads of Titian, in order to deve-
lope his whole artifice, he attained a degree of perfection that
is truly surprising. Whatever can he esteemed most de-
sirable in a portrait-painter, such as lively features, natural
fleshes, imitations of the most varied drapery, to make a, dis-
tinction in dresses ; these constitute a portion of his merits.
The Carrara collection, above any other, may boast of several,
distinct both in point of age and costume ; and though sur-
ro inded by very select pictures from every school, and though
more portraits, they fail not to attract and surprise us. Less
celebrated than many others, he is nevertheless an artist
whose productions would do no discredit to any palace. One
more generally known, however, is Bartolommeo Nazzari,
pupil to Trevisani in Venice, and afterwards under Luti, and
tho other Trevisani, he perfected himself at Rome. Finally
he established himself at Venice, though he continued to visit
various capitals, both of Italy and of Germany, invariably
extolled, as well for his portraits of princes and of their cour-
tiers, as for his heads of old men and youths, drawn from life,
very fancifully dressed and ornamented.

Pietro Avogadro was a Brescian, and the scholar of Ghiti,
wlio adopted the models of Bologna, imitating them without
affectation, and adding some mixture of Venetian colour, more
particularly in his ruddier fleshes. The contours of his figures
aro correct, his shortenings pleasing and appropriate, and his
compositions very judicious ; the whole expressing great har-
mony and beauty. Next to the three leading artists of this
city, he is entitled to the fourth place, at least in the esteem
of many. Perhaps his master-piece is to be seen in the church
of San Giuseppe, representing the Martyrdom of the saints
Crispino and Crispiniano. Andrea Toresani was also a
Brescian, who flourished at the same period; excellent in
design, with which he ornamented the cities of Venice and
Milan more than his native place. His chief merit, however,
lay in an inferior branch, that of painting animals, sea-views,
an<l landscapes in the Titian manner, often accompanied with
figures in tolerably good taste.

Having taken a hasty view of the other cities of the state,
we must dwell some little while on that of Verona, which,
from the beginning of the century until the present time, has

x2

308 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

enjoyed a high degree of reputation. Though ravaged by the
plague, we have already seen how it again flourished, with the
aid of other Italian schools, to which we might add that of
the French, inasmuch as Louis Dorigny, a Parisian, and pupil
of Le Brun, arriving in Italy at an early age, devoted himself
to the study of Roman and Venetian models. He established
himself at Verona, where, having for some time employed his
talents, and obtained several pupils, he died in the year 1742.
He also left works behind him in Venice, the most esteemed
of which adorns the church of San Silvestro, as well as in
other cities, both of the state and of all Italy. He resided
likewise with Prince Eugene in Germany.

There was another foreigner, who, about the same period,
became a resident at Verona. His name was Simone Bren-
tana, a Venetian, well versed in literature, as well as in the
information necessary to form an artist. He devoted himself
with extreme assiduity to the works of Tintoretto, whom he
emulated in his pictorial enthusiasm, which scarcely per-
mitted him to oestow sufficient time upon the completion of
his labours. In his forms and colouring he partakes of the
Roman manner of his time, and displays something extremely
novel and original in his compositions. His pictures were
sought after to adorn the galleries of sovereigns, no less than
for private persons. Several are to be met with in the churches
of the state, and in that of S. Sebastiano at Verona is one
representing the Titular Saint, well drawn, without drapery,
in the act of consummating his martyrdom, while an angel is
supporting him in his arms, a figure both in aspect and in at-
titude extremely graceful. Girolamo Ruggieri, an artist born
at Vicenza, was pupil to Cornelio Dusman of Amsterdam,
and having established himself at Verona, he there produced
several history-pieces, landscapes, and battle-scenes, in the
Flemish style.

Approaching the Veronese artists and their neighbours,
some of them will be found to have flourished in the begin-
ning of the century, whose merits deserve to be here recorded.
One of these is Alessandro Marchesini, pupil to Cignani, of
whom there remains little exhibited in public at Venice, and
not much at Verona. He chiefly employed himself for private
persons, with fables and histories, consisting of small figures,

ANTONIO BALESTRA.

S09

in which he succeeded, though having addicted himself to
these compositions as a trade, he despatched them with more
facility than care. In similar little pieces Francesco Barbieri
also displayed the most merit, an artist called il Legnago, from
his native place. An imitator of Ricchi, and in some measure
of Carpioni, he displayed great pictorial enthusiasm in every
kind of history, in capricci, and in rural views ; but he was
inferior in point of design, having applied himself to it too late
in Hfe.

Antonio Balestra of Verona was at first devoted to a mer-
cantile life, until at the age of twenty-one, after studying in
Venice under Bellucci, and thence passing to Bologna, and
afterwards to Rome, under Maratta, he selected the best from
every school, uniting a variety of beauties in a style of his
own, which partakes least of all of the Venetian. He is an
artist of judgment and high finish, well versed in design, of a
rapid hand, lively and animated, but always with a solidity
of talent that makes us respect him. He taught in Venice
and in the college of La Carita, where he painted the Nativity
of our Lord, and the Deposition from the Cross, while he
competes equally well with the first artists of his time in
other places. Commissions from foreign courts and the
cities of the state, never allowed him to be idle. He was
particularly employed at Padua in an altar-piece for the
church del Santo, representing Santa Chiara. He painted
also a good deal for his native place ; his picture of San
Vircenzo at the Dominicans,* being one of the finest altar-
pieces he ever produced, and one of the best preserved, for
his method of colouring with boiled oils has been found inju-
rious to many of his pieces. Such as he painted, however, in
oil Jess boiled, have better resisted the effects of time. Many
of these figures are in possession of the Conti Gazzola, orna-
menting one of their halls, and in particular a very beautiful
one of Mercury. He promoted the reputation of the Vene-
tian school, both by his lectures and example, besides afford-

* In the Guide of Verona, of which I availed myself, I only found one
picture by Rotari in the refectory at Santa Anastasia. I inquired by
whom that of S. Viucenzo, which appeared extremely beautiful, was
painted. I received for answer, that it was by Balestra, but it is in fact
from the hand of Rotari, and engraved by Valesi.

310 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

ing an excellent imitator in Gio. Batista Mariotti, and in his
pupil Giuseppe Nogari, a painter of portraits, as well as of
half-length figures, held in much esteem, insomuch as to
recommend him, for a great length of time, to the service of
the court of Turin. In pieces of composition, such as his
San Piero, placed in the cathedral of Bassano, he appears a
respectable artist, and somewhat ambitious of reconciling his
master's style with that of Piazzetta. Another Venetian of
the name of Pietro Longhi, first instructed by Balestra, and
afterwards by Crespi, aimed at pleasing the eye in collections,
by those humorous representations of masks, of conversa-
zioni, landscapes, &c. which we find in various noble houses.
Angelo Venturini, also a Venetian, is mentioned in the Guida
of Zanetti, for his paintings in the church of Gesu e Maria,
of which he adorned the ceiling, and various portions of the
walls. Another pupil of Balestra's, in Verona, was Carlo
Salis, who approached very near his style, more particularly
in the handling of his colours. He prosecuted his first studies
in Bologna, under Giuseppe dal Sole. Some of his pictures
are also to be met with in the state, such as his San Vincenzio,
in the act of administering to the sick at Bergamo, a piece
finely mellowed, and more than commonly spirited. An
artist named Cavalcabo, a native of a district in Roveredo,
was instructed by Balestra, and afterwards by Maratta. In
the choir of the Carmine at his native place, he left behind
him a very beautiful altar-piece, representing the Holy Simone
Stoch, with four lateral pieces of great merit. For a more
particular account of these and other works by this artist, we
may refer the reader to his life, written by the Cavalier
Vannetti.

The whole of the names, however, we have here mentioned,
scarcely excepting that of Balestra himself, have been thrown
into the shade by the talent of the Conte Pietro Rotari. He
was honoured with the title of painter to her court, by the
empress of all the Russias, and in her dominions he closed the-
period of his days. This very elegant artist, having devoted
many years to the art of design, succeeded in attaining a
grace of feature, a delicacy of outline, united to a vivacity of
motion and expression, and to a natural and easy mode of
drapery, that would have left him second to none of his age,

CONTE PIETRO ROTARI. 311

had lie possessed, in an equal degree of perfection, the art of
colouring. But his productions often partake so much of the
chiaroscuro, or at least of a strong ash-colour, as to render
them remarkable among all. Some, indeed, have attributed
$hio defect to want of clearness of sight, while others con-
jee :ure it must have been owing to his long practice in design,
previous to his attempting colours, in the same manner as
Po idoro da Caravaggio and the Cavalier Calabrese are known
to have failed as colourists, falling like him into a weak and
languid tone. The education he received from Balestra may
also have tended to produce it, as both he and the disciples of
Maratta were somewhat addicted to a certain duskiness of
tone, which we may particularly observe in several examples
seen at Naples, where he resided for some time. Whatever
it l)e owing to, there still prevails a repose and harmony in
that melancholy expression of his colouring, that is far from
unj (leasing, in particular where he affords somewhat warmer
touches to his tints. This he appears to have done in his
picture of a Nuuziata at Guastalla, in that of San Lodovico
in the church del Santo at Padua, and in a Nativity of the
Virgin at San Giovanni, in the same city. This last specimen,
indeed, is almost unequalled in its attractions, and seems to
authorize the praises bestowed upon Rotari by a poet, " that
he resembled his fellow-citizen Catullus in being nursed by the
Graces," a species of eulogy applicable also to Balestra and to
other Veronese artists.

Santo Prunati was contemporary with Marchesini and
Baiestra, and after receiving the instructions of Voltolino and
Faicieri in Verona, he attended those of Loth in Venice.
Be ;ter to acquire superior correctness and dignity of manner,
he next proceeded to Bologna. In that school he found the
tas ;e in colouring that he wanted, at once soft and natural.
In the design, and in the expression of his heads, he displays
more of the naturalist, if I mistake not, than any of those
who preceded him. He was engaged also for larger composi-
tions, in which he distinguished himself, both in his own
district and elsewhere, and left behind him a son named
Michelangelo, who pursued, as far as lay in his power, the
foocsteps of his father. In the cathedral of Verona, however,
is i ne of his pictures, placed near the San Francesco di Sales

812 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

of his father, which serves to mark the wide difference that
exists between them.

In the same school, along with Michelangelo, studied Gio.
Bettino Cignaroli, an artist instructed also by Balestra.
Until about the year 1770 he ranked among the first of his
time, receiving very flattering invitations from foreign courts,
to which he invariably preferred the convenience of his own
house and country. The prices he was in the habit of attach-
ing to his works were, nevertheless, 'those of a court painter;
and many were executed for the principal royal galleries, as
well as for the cities of the state, and those of other parts of
Italy ; but which, we must admit, are by no means of equal
merit. I omit his paintings in fresco, on account of his having
abandoned that branch of the art, owing to his state of health,
while yet young, though not until he had afforded specimens
of his powers in the noble house of Labia at Venice, during a
four years' residence there. It is his pictures in oil of which
we here speak, and to which he owed his great reputation.
The one at Pontremoli, however, representing, as it is said, a
San Francesco in the act of receiving the marks of Christ,
and extremely well executed, I have not seen. His San Zorzi
at Pisa stands conspicuous among a number of excellent
pencils, all employed in the ornament of that single cathedral.
Perhaps his finest is his Journey into Egypt, seen at San
Antonio Abate in Parma. In this he has represented the
Virgin with the Holy Child, in the act of passing a narrow
bridge, while S. Joseph appears engaged in assisting them to
cross it in safety. In the countenance and whole action of
the saint, his anxiety for them is strongly depicted, which is
beautifully expressed by his disregarding a part of his mantle,
fallen from his shoulders into the water below, an image
equally skilful and natural in every point of view. The rest
of the picture is also in his best style. The angels in attend-
ance, the Divine Infant, the Holy Virgin, all drawn, as he so
well knew how, with a sedate and dignified beauty, in the
usual manner of Maratta. In some points, indeed, Cignaroli
much resembled him ; in certain attitudes, in a peculiar sobri-
ety of composition, in a certain choice and vicinity of colours,
though not in their just and equal tone. His fleshes, too
much mannered with green, in a few places touched with red,

GIO. BETTING CIGNAROLI. 313

render his colouring less agreeable to admirers of what is
trie, while his chiaroscuro, sometimes sought for beyond the
limits of nature, is apt to produce an effect in his paintings,
not so pleasing to the judgment as to the eye. He often
displays novelty in the individual parts, availing himself of
architecture, of sea-views, and of landscape, in a manner
above common ; besides introducing into his compositions, for
th-3 most part of a scriptural character, the playful figures of
cherubim, with other enlivening incidents. This artist was
indisputably possessed of a fine genius, and born in times
favourable to the eminence which he enjoyed. Memoirs of
him were collected and published by the celebrated Padre
Btivilacqua dell' Oratorio in the year 1771, and eulogies were
pronounced upon him both in prose and verse, by a number
of literary characters connected with that city, so highly
polished and so grateful to such of its citizens as reflect honour
upon their native place. A collection of these was subse-
quently made, and put forth in the year 1772, and from such
publications it would appear that few artists had received
equal honours, during their lifetime, from the great, particu-
larly from the Emperor Joseph II., who was used to declare
" that he had beheld two very rare sights in Yerona — one the
Amphitheatre, and the other the most celebrated painter in
Europe." He appears, likewise, to have been an artist of
great learning, as well as fond of conversing with learned,
men; he was acquainted with philosophical systems, wrote
Tuscan poetry, relished the Roman classics, besides producing
treatises on his own art, written with so much taste and sound
judgment, that we have only to regret, for the sake of the art
he loved, the too sparing use he made of such talents. The
academy, on which he bestowed the whole of his works
upon Painting, after his decease, still preserves his bust along
wiih his eulogy, a farther honour conferred upon him by the
liberality of his country. He left several pupils, among whom
Gi;mdomenico, his brother, produced some paintings in Ber-
gamo that have been commended by Pasta. The Padre Felice
Cignaroli, Minore Osservante, is an artist likewise worthy of
mention. He painted little, and his master-piece appears in
the refectory of San Bernardino, his convent at Verona, con-

314 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

sisting of a Supper at Emmaus, in which, though less studied,
he displays no less invention than his brothers.

Next to these, who escaped oblivion as belonging to the
family of Cignaroli, an artist named Giorgio Anselmi deserves
best to be put upon record, and in particular for his painting
of the cupola of San Andrea at Mantua, ably executed in
fresco : at one time he was the pupil of Balestra. Marco
Marcola was an almost universal artist, rapid in his labours,
and abundant in his inventions, though I am unable to learn
who had been his master. Tiepolo gave instructions to Fran-
cesco Lorenzi, distinguished both for his frescos and his oils,
and always by his adherence to his master's example. There
are various ceilings painted by his hand in Verona, and Bres-
cia presents a Holy Family, all of which display an able artist,
according to the manner of the age.

In inferior branches of the art, there flourished, during this
period, professors of much repute. The art of drawing in
crayons rose to a high degree of excellence, through the genius
of a distinguished lady of the name of Rosalba Camera,*
whose paintings in miniature have been highly commended by
Orlandi. She next proceeded to the use of oils, but finally
devoted her talents to that of crayons. So great was her
progress in this branch, that her specimens in point of force
were often equal to oil-pieces. They were in much request
from the period in which she flourished, both in Italy and in
other parts ; nor did they merely please by their clearness and
beauty of colouring, but were remarkable for the grace and
dignity of design with which she animated every thing she
drew. Her Madonnas and other scriptural subjects at once
unite elegance and majesty of manner, while her portraits con-
tinued to increase in value without losing any thing of their
truth. We meet with another excellent portrait-paintress in
Niccola Grassi, pupil to Cassana, of Genoa, and a rival of

* Melchiori gives us an account of this lady's master, not undeserving
of being added to the last edition. This was the noble Gio. Antonio
Lazzari, a Venetian, who had talents that rivalled those of Rosalba in
crayons, had not his natural timidity proved a bar to his fame. In paint-
ing also he attempted little of an inventive character, copying much, and
more particularly from Bassano, with great success, as we have observed
at page 205.

D. GIUSEPPE RONCELLI. 315

RosiJba. Nor was she unequal to works of invention, one of the
most extensive of which adorns the church of San Valentino iii
Udme, where she painted the Assumption in the ceiling, a fine
piece on the large altar, and drew figures for other pictures of
various saints belonging to the Order of the Serviti. Pietro
Uberti, son of Domenico, an artist of mediocrity, is celebrated
in th e Guida of Zanetti for his portraits, of which he produced
eighi, representing the Avogadori of his times, for the Avo-
gariji or court-house, which was considered a very honourable
commission, bestowed formerly upon Paolo de* Freschi, Do-
men LCO Tintoretto, Tinelli, Bombelli, artists all celebrated in
the .same career. Orlandi bestows great commendation upon
Gio. Batista Canziani of Yerona, distinguished likewise in
this branch, and who, on being banished from his native place
for i-ji act of homicide, continued to exercise it with success in
Bologna.

I do not recollect to have seen the landscapes of Pecchio in
Verona, though the fine encomium bestowed upon him by
Bah stra, in one of his " Lettere Pittoriche," leads me to hold
him in high esteem. In the adjacent parts at Salo appeared
Gio. Batista Cimaroli, a pupil of Calza, who was much admired,
both by foreigners and natives at Venice. Among landscape-
painters I find in several galleries the name of Formentini, the
figures of whose pieces were from the pencil of Marchesini.
D. Giuseppe Roncelli of Bergamo is another artist who
acquired ruputation, and whose virtues procured for him, from
the pen of Mazzoleni, the honour of a life, while his singular
skill in depicting nocturnal conflagrations, as well as landscapes,
induced Celesti to add figures to them. In Padua the land-
scapes of Marini were in high repute, to which Brusaferro
likewise added variety with his figures. Still more than these
Lu( a Carlevaris, an excellent painter of landscape at Udine,
rose into notice, no less distinguished also by his perspectives
and sea-views. Public specimens of his labours still remain at
Venice, though not so numerous as in private houses, particu-
larly in possession of the Zenobri family, who so far patronized
his talents as to procure for him the name of Luca di Ca Zeno-
brio. To him succeeded the nephew of Sebastiano Ricci,
named Marco, who, pursuing the safe career chalked out by
Titian, and availing himself of the delightful site of his native

316 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IT.

place at Belluno, became one of the ablest landscape-painters
belonging to the Venetian school. It would be no exaggera-
tion to say that few before his time distinguished themselves
with equal force of truth, and that those who succeeded him
have never equalled him in this respect. In order to estimate
his worth, we are not to consult such landscapes as he painted
for sale and disposed of to dealers; nor those executed in
water-colours upon goat-skin, which, though very pleasing, are
wanting in solidity. We ought to consult only his oil produc-
tions, conducted with far more care, and more commonly to be
met with in England than in Italy. Indeed he had a much
more extended taste than he displayed in his works. The two
brother artists named Valeriano, declared that he had afforded
them the most enlightened views of the art. These were
Domenico, a painter of perspectives, and Giuseppe, a figure-
painter, both employed in ornamenting different churches, and
more particularly theatres, in Venice, and indeed throughout
Italy and other parts of Europe. Francesco Zuccarelli passed
a great portion of his life in the city of Venice, an artist already
recorded by us among the Florentines, and by whose example
Giuseppe Zais was formed as a landscape-painter, being parti-
cularly employed in that branch by the British consul Smith,
a distinguished patron of youthful genius devoted to the art.
In point of invention he was more varied and copious than his
master, but inferior to him in the mellowness of his tints.
He had acquired from Simonini, who also resided during a
long period at Venice, the art of painting battle-pieces, in
which he shewed equal skill. But he failed to sustain either
his own dignity or that of his art, and giving himself up to
carelessness and dissipation, he died a common mendicant in
the hospital of Trevigi.

Carlevaris and Ricci are names likewise highly esteemed in
architectural painting. Several specimens of this are to be
seen in possession of his Excellency Girolamo Molin, placed
as if in competition with each other in one of the halls. If
we compare them, the former will appear somewhat languid
and monotonous, although he must be allowed to be an
accurate observer of perspective, and succeeds in harmonizing
his figures well with the picture. The latter, however, dis-
plays more strength, partaking of the erudite taste of Viviano,

ANTONIO CANALETTO. 317

while the figures introduced into it by his uncle are full of
pictorial fire and attraction, and greatly add to its worth.
But both of these, to use the language of Dante, were after-
ward.s cacciati di nido, driven from their nest, by Antonio
Canal, more generally called Canaletto. Sprung from a
painter of theatres of the name of Bernardo, he embraced the
profession of his father, attaining to a novelty of design, and
a promptness of hand in this branch, that were afterwards of
great use to him in painting innumerable smaller pictures for
private ornament. Disgusted with his first profession, he
removed while still young to Rome, where he wholly devoted
himself to drawing views from nature, and in particular from
ancient ruins. On returning into Venice he continued in like
manner to take views of that city, views that nature and art
seem to have vied with each other in rendering the most novel
and magnificent in the world. A great part he drew exactly
as he saw them, a pleasing illusion for the satisfaction of those
who were never so fortunate as to behold the Adriatic Queen
with their own eyes. He moreover composed a great number
of inventive pieces, forming a graceful union of the modern
and the antique, of truth and fancy together. Several of
these he produced for Algarotti ; but the most novel and
instructive of any, as it seems to me, is the production in
which the grand bridge of Rial to, designed by Palladio,
instead of that which at present is seen, overlooks the great
canal, crowned beyond with the cathedral of Vicenza, and
the Palazzo Chericato, Palladio's own works, along with other
choice edifices, disposed according to the taste of that learned
writer, who has so much contributed to improve that of all
Italy, and even beyond Italy itself. For the greater correct-
ness of his perspectives, Canaletto made use of the optic
camera, though he obviated its defects, especially in the tints
of the airs. The first indeed to point out the real use of it,
he limited it only to what was calculated to afford pleasure.
He aimed at producing great effect, and in this partakes some-
what of Tiepolo, who occasionally introduced figures into his
pieces for him. In whatever he employs his pencil, whether
buildings, waters, clouds, or figures, he never fails to impress
them with a vigorous character, always viewing objects in
their most favourable aspect. When he avails himself of a

318 VENETIAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IV.

certain pictorial license, he does it with caution, and in such a
way that the generality of spectators consider it quite natural,
while true judges only are sensible of its art, an art that he
possessed in a very eminent degree.

His nephew and pupil, Bernardo Bellotto, approached so
nearly to his style, that it is with difficulty their respective
pieces are distinguished. He also visited Rome, though when
Orlandi bestowed his encomiums upon him in his work, he
was at Dresden, and it is uncertain whether he again returned
into Italy. Francesco Guardi was recently esteemed a second
Canaletto, his views of Venice having attracted the admiration
not only of Italy but of foreign parts, yet with such persons
alone who are satisfied with the spirit, the taste, and the fine
effect which he invariably studied ; as in other points, in
accuracy of proportions, and in judgment as regards the art,
he cannot pretend to vie with his master. Several others
likewise excelled in this species of painting, whose pictures I
saw in the Algarotti collection and in other places ; such as
Jacopo Marieschi, who was also a good figurist, and Antonio
Visentini, whose views were ornamented with the figures of
Tiepolo and Zuccherelli. Gio. Colombini of Trevigi, pupil to
Bastian Ricci, whose Pecile was the Dominican convent in
that place, succeeded in his perspectives in giving illusion to
the eye, and in the masterly gradation of the different objects
of view. The figures he has introduced are his own, though
he was less skilful in this branch. He filled that place with
his portraits, introducing another family, as it were, of
painted Dominicans, and not without some appearance of
caricature.

In other minor branches of the art, the flowers of Domenico
Levo were extremely admired. He was pupil to Felice Bigi
of Parma, who opened school in Yerona. To his we may add
those of one Caffi and a few other natives, though the most
choice collectors pride themselves upon the specimens of Gas-
pero Lopez, a Neapolitan. Thus at least he subscribes himself
in one of his most beautiful works, in possession of the Conti
Lecchi at Brescia, where, as well as in the capital, he resided
during a long period. About the middle of the century there
appeared one of his imitators, named in various collections
Duramano, an artist somewhat too much given to mannerism.

RIDOLFO MANZONI. 319

Both the flowers and birds of Count Giorgio Durante of
Breccia were eagerly sought after, no less on account of their
exact imitation of the life, than for their taste of composition,
and the truly beautiful and picturesque attitudes in which they
were drawn. They are rarely to be met with beyond Brescia,
though several noble Venetian families, and among these that
of Nani, possess a few specimens ; but the best, perhaps,
of all is to be seen in the royal court at Turin. The name of
Ridolfo Manzoni is distinguished in the same line of compo-
sitioa ; he was a native of Castelfranco, and several of his
littlo pictures in oil, in the best taste, are there found in pos-
session of different individuals. But he derived his chief
reputation, as well as profit, from his miniature productions.
In the " History of Painting in the Frioul," we meet with the
nam3 of another artist, Paolo Paoletti, a native of Padua. He
passed his early youth in Udine, and was employed for many
years in the house of the Conti Caiselli. Although more par-
ticularly celebrated in his flowers, he drew with great truth
all kinds of fruits, herbs, fishes, and game. The family in
which he was domesticated possesses quite a museum of these
rarities, and numerous specimens are met with in other hands,
both vvithin and beyond the limits of the Frioul. In his
flower-paintings he is compared by Altan even with the cele-
brated Segers, an extent of liberality in which I by no means
agreo.

In the last place we have here to treat of an art that received
great improvement during this century in Venice, an art which,
though not directed to the increase of copies, is nevertheless
of s< >me importance to painting, inasmuch as it favours the
duration of ancient productions, by adopting the most judi-
cious means of preserving and restoring them. Such methods
were more valuable also to Venice than to any other city, its
climate being particularly unfavourable to paintings in oil,
owing to the salts with which the air is impregnated, gra-
dually eating away or injuring the colours. For this reason
the < overnment very judiciously appointed a number of artists
to inspect the public exhibitions, and watch over the preser-
vation of the paintings which were found inclined to decay,
restoring them without incurring the risk, as it sometimes

320 VENETIAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH IV.

happens, of a new one being substituted for an ancient speci-
men. A studio for this purpose was opened in 1 778, consist-
ing of a large saloon at the Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the super-
intendence of which was intrusted to the care of the learned
Peter Edwards, who received the title of President. The
various processes adopted in the restoration of each specimen
are extremely long and tedious, and executed with surprising
accuracy ; and in instances where the picture has not suffered
too greatly from the effects of injury or time (like the
S. Lorenzo of Titian), it returns with renewed youth from the
studio, calculated to survive the lapse of many more years.

Other equally useful methods have been adopted by the
Republic for the preservation of the fine models that adorn its
churches, in order that they should not run the risk of being
sold and carried away. Hence it is that the state, even
throughout its most diminutive districts and towns, has been
enabled to preserve so many valuable paintings ; while, at the
same time, it has furnished provision for its youthful artists,
best calculated to facilitate their improvement. During seve-
ral centuries the ancient company of painters, ennobled by
the names of distinguished pupils, continued to flourish ; but
there was still wanting the sort of reputation arising from
dignity of situation and establishment, from the number and
assiduity of its masters, and from the distribution of rewards.
Since the year 1724 it was decreed, and confirmed in 1766,
that a magnificent academy should be erected, devoted to the
fine arts, " upon the plan," as was further stated, " of the
principal institutions in Italy and throughout Europe." And
it forms indeed an object gratifying to the mind of the most
accomplished foreigners, to behold this seat of art, and to cul-
tivate an acquaintance with its objects and pursuits. These
views of the government have been promoted by the private
individuals of that most splendid body of nobility, an assem-
bly in which the Abate Filippo Farsetti very liberally dis-
tinguished himself, by presenting the institution with a large
collection of paintings, and casts taken from the finest antique
statues. Their successors have displayed the same kind of spirit.,
nor did they merely afford students access to the study of
these monuments ; but their finest productions, in every year,

OBSERVATIONS. . 321

are selected according to the judgment of public professors,
and rewarded with all the ceremony and munificence worthy
of such an institution.

Nor have other nobles and gentlemen throughout the city
ard the state of Venice been wanting in liberality towards
young artists of genius, enabling them to pursue their studies
both at home and abroad, until they have completed their
education. Few contributions indeed confer so much honour
ujon families as these ; for in addition to the merit of succouring
a fellow-creature and a fellow-citizen, there are thus expec-
tations to be indulged that some genius may rise up capable
of conferring honour upon the arts, and perhaps restoring them
to their ancient merit. "We have it in our power to record
various instances of this liberal spirit ; we could mention a
number of excellent artists who express their gratitude for
th<3 kindness of their patrons, did not the rule we have laid
down for ourselves not to introduce the eulogies of living
artists, in order to avoid occasion of complaint to such as may
be omitted, forbid the enumeration of them. Still I may
allude to an instance of it in another branch of the art, which
is very generally known, and this is the generous encourage-
ment afforded by their Excellencies Falier and Zulian to
Antonio Canova, the celebrated sculptor, encouragement to
which Rome and Italy are in a great degree indebted for such
an artist. He suffices to convince us, that though Fortune
may indeed deprive our country of her great master-pieces
of art, she cannot destroy the genius capable of reproducing
them.

TOL. IT,

322

BOOK II.

THE SCHOOLS OP LOMBARD!,

AFTER a consideration of the principles and progress of paint-
ing in Lombardy, I came to the conclusion that its history
ought to be treated and arranged in a manner altogether dif-
ferent from the rest of the schools. Indeed those of Florence,
of Rome, of Venice, and of Bologna, may be almost consi-
dered in the light of so many dramas, in which there occurs
an interchange of acts and scenes, for such are the epochs of
each school ; and there is also a change of actors, for such are
the masters of each new period ; but the unity of place, which
is no other than the capital city, is invariably preserved ;
while the principal actors, and as it were protagonists of the
story, always continue in action, at least in the way of exam-
ple. Every capital, it is true, is in possession of its own
state, and in that ought to be comprehended the various other
cities, and the revolutions in each ; but these are in general so
nearly connected with those of the metropolis as to be easily
reducible to the same leading law, either because the state
artists have acquired the art in the principal city, or because
they have taught it there, as may easily be gathered from the
history of the Venetian school ; while the few who wander
out of the usual routine, cannot be said to infringe greatly
upon the unity of the school and the succession of its histories.
But it happens differently in the history of Lombardy, which,
in the happier periods of the art, being divided into many
more districts than it now is, possessed in each state a school
distinct from all the others ; enumerated also distinct eras ;
and when the style of one influenced that of another, such a
circumstance occurred neither so universally, nor so near in

SCHOOLS OF LOMBARDY. 323

regard to time, as to admit of the same epoch being applied to
mtiny of them. Hence it is, that even from the outset of this
book, I renounce the received manner of speaking which
would mention the Lombard school, as if in itself consti-
tuting one school, in such a way as to be compared for in-
stance with the Venetian, which in every place acknowledged
tho sway of its sovereign masters ; of the Bellini first, next
of Titian and his noblest contemporaries, and then of Palma ;
an I moreover established several characteristics of design, of
colouring, of composition, of the use of the pencil, so as easily
to distinguish it from every other school. But in that which
is called the Lombard the case is otherwise. For its founders,
such as Lionardo, Giulio, the Campi, and Correggio, are too
widely opposed to each other to admit of being brought under
ono standard of taste, and referred to the same epoch. I am
aware that Correggio, being by birth a Lombard, and the origi-
nator of a new style that afforded an example to many artists
in that part of Italy, has conferred the name of Lombard school
upon the followers of his maxims ; and according to these
characteristics the contours were to be drawn round and full,
the countenance warm and smiling, the union of the colours
strong and clear, the foreshortenings frequent, with a parti-
cular regard to the chiaroscuro. But the school thus circum-
scribed, where shall we find a place for the Mantuans, the
Milanese, the Cremonese, and the many others who, having
been born, and having flourished in Lombardy, and moreover
being the tutors of a long extended line, justly deserve a rank
among the Lombards.

From such considerations I have judged it most advisable
to i reat severally of each school, enlarging upon them more or
less, according as the number of the professors and the infor-
mation respecting them may seem to render it requisite.
For the accounts of some of these schools have been already
separately compiled ; Zaist having treated of the Cremonese
painters, and Tiraboschi of the Modenese ; thus conferring
upon artists the same obligations which he so richly conferred
upon the literati in a still greater work ; a rare writer, for
whose loss we yet indulge a mournful recollection.' In the
rest of the schools I shall be supplied with ample materials
from Yasari, from Lomazzo, and the Guides of the cities,

Y2

324 SCHOOLS OF LOMBARDY. .

besides some authors to be cited when requisite, together with
niy own observations and sources of information borrowed
from different places ; whence it is hoped that the pictoric
history of Lombardy, the least known amongst all the schools
of Italy, may by my means have at least some additional
light thrown upon it.

325

CHAPTER I.

MANTUAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH I.

Of Mantegna and his Successors.

I SHALL first commence with Mantua, from which there
emanated two sister schools, those of Modena and of Parma.
Were any one desirous of investigating the most ancient
remains that the art of colouring in that state can boast, he
might record the celebrated anthem book^ still preserved at
S. Benedetto at Mantua, a gift of the Countess Matilda to
that monastery, which being founded by her long preserved
her remains, transferred during the late century into the
Vatican. In this book, shewn me by the learned and cour-
teous Abbate Mari, are exhibited several little histories of the
life and death of the Virgin, which, notwithstanding the bar-
barous period in which they were produced, display some
taste, insomuch that I do not remember having seen any work
of the same age at all equal to it. Upon this subject it may
not be useless to observe, that in ages less uncivilized, and
nearer our own, the art of miniature was practised in Mantua
by a great number of professors, among whom is Gio. de
Kussi, who, about the year 1455, illustrated, for the Duke
B( rso of Modena, the Bible of Este, in large folio, one of the
rarest specimens of that distinguished collection. But in
regard to pictures, I have been able to discover no artist who
flourished in that place previous to Mantegna ; and it is only
some anonymous productions belonging to the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, that can be mentioned as remaining to this
day. Of the former age, I saw in the cloister of S. Fran-
.ce^co, a sepulchre, erected in 1303, with a Madonna among
various angels, all rude and disproportioned figures, though

32G MANTUAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH I.

coloured with such strong and animated tints as to appear
truly surprising. I doubt not but that the revival of painting
in Lombardy, through the genius of its natives, might be fairly
proved from the existence of this monument, as its age is
anterior to that of the followers of Giotto, scattered through-
out Italy ; besides, the style is different. Of the fifteenth I
have seen another Madonna upon an altar likewise of S. Fran-
cesco ; and whoever may have been the author, he has shewn
that the art, even in those days, had already emerged from its
infancy, without arriving at that rank to which the great
Andrea Mantegna conducted it, of whom we have twice
already had occasion to speak shortly in the course of this
work ; a subject which we now resume, and shall enlarge
upon more fully.

Although the honour of having given birth to Mantegna
can no longer, as formerly, be denied to Padua, his school was,
nevertheless, established in Mantua, where, under the auspices
of Marchese Lodovico Gonzaga, he settled with his family,
without, however, ceasing to exert his talents elsewhere, and
more particularly in Rome. The chapel which he painted at
the desire of Innocent VIII. in the Vatican still exists, though
injured by time ; and it is clear that in the imitation of the
antique constantly pursued by him he greatly improved;
through the number of examples to be found throughout the
city. He never varied his manner, which I described when
I treated of him as a pupil of Squarcione in Padua ; but he
still continued to perfect it. Several works produced during
his latter years are yet extant at Mantua , and far surpassing
the rest is his picture of Victory, painted upon canvas.
Another is the Virgin, amidst various saints, among whom
S. Michele the archangel, and S. Maurizio, are seen holding
her mantle, which is stretched over Francesco Gonzaga ; he
is in a kneeling posture, while the Virgin extends her hand
over him in sign of protection : more in the back-ground
appear the two patrons of the city, S. Andrea and S. Longino,
and the infant St. John before the throne, with S. Anna, as
is supposed at least by Vasari and Ridolfi, little exact in their
description of this picture, inasmuch as the rosary held in her
hand distinguishes her for the princess, consort of the Mar-
chese, kneeling at her husband's side. Mantua, perhaps,.

ANDREA MANTEGNA. 327

boasts 110 other specimen equally sought after and admired by
strangers; and though produced in 1495, it is still free, in a
conspicuous degree, from the effects of three ages, which it has
al ready survived. It is truly wonderful to behold carnations
so delicate, coats of armour so glittering, draperies so finely
varied, with ornamental fruits still so fresh and dewy to the eye.
Each separate head might serve as a school, from its fine cha-
racter and vivacity, and not a few from imitation of the antique ;
while the design, as well in its naked as in its clothed parts,
expresses a softness which sufficiently repels the too general
opinion, that the stiff style and that of Mantegna are much
the same thing. There is also an union of colours, a delicacy
oi hand, and a peculiar grace, that to me appears almost the
la^t stage of the art towards that perfection which it acquired
frjm Lionardo. His works upon canvas remind us of that
exquisite taste to which he had been habituated by Squarcione,
who supplied him with pictures of the same kind from various
places, and indeed the whole of the above specimen discovers
hi in to have been an artist who spared neither his colours nor
Jbis time, to produce works that might satisfy his own ideas,
as well as the eye of the spectator.

His great master-piece, nevertheless, according to the judg-
ment of Vasari, is the Triumph of Caesar, represented in
different pictures, which, becoming the prey of the Germans
in the sackage of the city, were finally sent into England,
They belonged to a great hall in the palace of S. Sebastiano,
" which was completed," says Equicola, an historian of his
native place, "by Lorenzo Costa, an excellent artist, who
added to it all that pomp which used to attend upon a triumph,
besides the spectators before wanting." But these pictures
having perished, there yet remain other considerable relics
from the works of Andrea, in a saloon of the castle, entitled
by Ridolfi the Camera degli Sposi. We there behold copious
productions executed in fresco, and among them several por-
tr;iits of the Gonzaga family, still in good preservation ; and
so ne genii drawn over a door-way, so joyous, animated, and
airy, that nothing can be supposed to surpass them. Among
co i lections of art we more rarely meet with specimens of him
than is really believed, his genuine hand being recognised, not
only by its lightness, by its rectilinear folds, or by its yellowish

328 MANTUAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

landscape, spread with certain minute and broken stones ; but
by the skill of its design and the delicacy of its pencil. It
does not appear that he produced many pictures for private
exhibition, engaged as he was in works of greater magnitude,
and upon many engravings. More than fifty of these last
have been enumerated, for the chief part abounding with
figures ; labours which must have occupied a large portion of
his best time. But there are some persons, as I have observed
(vol. i. p. 116), who would considerably reduce this number,
whether correctly or not posterity will, perhaps, ascertain.

The style of Andrea greatly influenced that of his age, and
imitations of it are to be seen even beyond his school, which
was extremely flourishing in Mantua. We enumerate among
his most distinguished disciples Francesco, and one of his
other sons. There is a paper yet extant, in which they
undertake to complete the chamber of the castle just alluded
to, of which their father, Andrea, had only painted the walls.
To these they added the beautiful vaulted recess. Whoever
examines it must confess that the science of foreshortening,
originally attributed to Melozio, was here improved and nearly
brought to perfection by Mantegna and his sons.* In the
same work appear several exquisitely drawn infantine figures,
under different points of view, and admirably shortened so as
to lose nothing in comparison with those of Melozio, though
his painting of Paradise, drawn for the church of SS. Apos-
toli, was afterwards cut down and placed in the grand
Palazzo Quirinale. The same sons of Mantegna likewise
added lateral pictures to an altar-piece of their father, in a
family chapel they had, attached to the church of S. Andrea ;
and in the same place they raised a beautiful monument to his
memory in 1517, which has been falsely supposed by some
to be the year of his death, whereas it appears, from many
authentic works, that he closed his days in 1505.

After the death of Mantegna, Lorenzo Costa held the first

* Mantegna's chef -d' centre in this line now adorns the I. R. Pinaco-
teca of Milan. Brought to that city by the Cav. Giuseppe Bossi, it was
purchased by the government, and represents a Dead Christ, with the
two Marys weeping. The foreshortening is so perfect, the perspective so
correct, that from whatever point it is viewed, the body is still seen ex-
tended in its full proportion in length. — A.

CARLO DEL MANTEGNA. 329

raik, an artist of whom we shall treat more at length in the
Bolognese school. He adorned the palace with various histo-
ries, and the churches with many of his pictures, continuing
under Francesco to reside in the same place, and afterwards
under Federigo, until beyond the year 1525, in which time
he produced also his picture for his family chapel. There too,
like Mantegna, he wished to have his remains deposited.
Following his example, he established his family in Mantua,
where some of his descendants will again appear at a more
mcdern epoch. But the young Mantegni must be referred to
this more ancient period, and along with them ought to be
mentioned Carlo del Mantegna, who having studied some
lecgth of time under Andrea, and cultivated a complete
acquaintance with his style, afterwards introduced it, as we
shall shew, into Genoa. Carlo is supposed to have assisted in
the labours of the palace and the chapel above mentioned, as
well as in many others ascribed to the disciples of Mantegna,
among which are two histories of the ark preserved in the
monastery of S. Benedetto at Mantua, where Andrea's manner
appears somewhat more amplified, though boasting less beauti-
ful forms. But few certain productions of his followers can
be fixed upon, their labours being confounded by connoisseurs,
from their resemblance of their style and name to those of
their master. And it has thus happened in an extremely
interesting historical point ; for Correggio having studied, it
appears, under Francesco Mantegna, was believed a scholar of
Ardrea, already deceased before Allegri had attained his
twelfth year.

8till more celebrated than the preceding were the names of
Giiinfrancesco Carotto and Francesco Monsignori, of Verona.
Suoh was the progress made by the former, that Andrea was
in the habit of sending forth his labours as the work of his
own hand. He was celebrated for his portraits; and for
his composition, equally excellent in large as in small pieces ;
.an<l he was employed by the Visconti, at Milan, as well as in
the court of Monferrato, and to a still greater extent in his
native place. Although an artist who flourished at so early a
period, in a few of his pictures he might be pronounced more
great and harmonious than Andrea himself ; as we may gather
from his fine altar-piece of S. Fermo, at Verona, and from

330 MANTUAN SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

that of his Angioli, at Santa Eufemia, whose side pictures
represent two virgins, very manifestly imitated from Raffaello.
He is not to be confounded with Giovanni Carotto, his brother
and his pupil, and very greatly inferior to him. Francesco
Monsignori ought not to be referred to Yerona, but to Mantua,
where he established himself, honoured by the Marchese
Francesco with his confidence, and remunerated in the most
liberal manner. If this artist, also, does not exhibit the
beautiful forms, and the purity of design so remarkable in the
works of his master, he approaches nearer to the modern
taste ; his contours more full, his drapery less trite, and his
softness more finely studied. In his drawings of animals, he
was also considered the Zeuxis of his age ; insomuch that he
succeeded in imposing upon a real dog with a copy of the animal.
In perspective he was a master ; and in the refectory of the
Franciscans, there is a picture of our Lord amidst the apostles,
exhibiting an architecture, which, however much retouched,
does not fail to produce great effect. In the pulpit of the
same church is also a S. Bernardino, with a S. Lodovico, one
of his most beautiful pieces;* and elsewhere altar-grades,
with figures which appear like miniature. He had a brother
of the name of Girolamo, of the order of S. Domenico, also
an excellent artist. The Last Supper, to be seen in the grand
library of S. Benedetto, copied from that of Leonardo, in
Milan, is from his hand. By many it is esteemed the best
copy of that miracle of art which now remains to us. I have
before treated of several of Andrea's scholars, natives of
Vicenza ; and another of Cremona, I shall have to mention
in due time. Yet the entire series of this school will not be
completed with these names, as there are specimens of many
unknown artists executed in fresco, interspersed throughout
different places in Mantua. They are for the most part to be
met with on the fa9ades of buildings, and in the churches ;
while in several of the galleries we may observe pictures in
oil, which appear to exhibit more of the defects than of the
excellences of Mantegna.

* This highly lauded work by Monsignori has also been added to the
valuable collection of the I. R. Pinacoteca at Milan. — A.

331

MANTUAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH II.

Giulio Romano and his School.

THE school of the Mantegneschi having become extinct in
M;intua, another of a more beautiful and distinguished cha-
racter arose, sufficient to excite the envy even of Rome.
Duke Federigo had succeeded to Francesco, a prince of much
en argement of mind, and so much devoted to the fine arts,
thjut no artist of common genius would have been equal to
exocute his ideas. Through the interest of Baldassar Casti-
glione, then extremely intimate with Rafiaello, Giulio Romano
was prevailed upon to visit Mantua, where he became at once
engineer and painter to Duke Federigo. The duties, how-
evor, of the first, occupied him more than those of the second.
For the city having been damaged by the waters of the
Mincio, the buildings being insecure or badly planned, and
tin, architecture inferior to the dignity of a capital, he was
thus furnished with sufficient materials on which to employ
hi^ talents, and to render him, as it were, a new founder of
Mimtua ; insomuch, that its ruler, in a transport of gratitude,
wss heard to exclaim, that Giulio was in truth more the
master of the city than he himself. The whole of these works
aro extensively recorded in different books of architecture.
Tl e duty here required of me is to point out to the reader
the; originality of this artist's character; a solitary instance
perhaps in history, of one who, having erected the most
noble and beautiful palaces, villas, and temples, painted and
ornamented a considerable portion of them with his own
ha^id ; while at the same time a regular school of his pupils
an 1 assistants was formed in Mantua, which continued for a
lei gth of years to do equal honour to the country and to the
city of Lombardy.

332 MANTUAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

We have already considered Giulio, in treating of the
Roman school, in the character of a scholar, as well as heir
and continuator of the works of Raffaello ; but here he is to
appear -in that of a master, pursuing the method of the head
of this school, both in teaching and composition. When he
came to Mantua, he found abundance of ancient marbles, to
which he continued to add specimens, out of which the
statues, the busts, and the bassi-rilievi, still preserved in the
academy, are mere relics. To such materials, collected by
the Gonzaghi, he united some of his own. He was abundantly
furnished with designs, as well copied from the antique in
Borne, as executed by the hand of Raffaello. Nor were his
own immediate studies less valuable, no designer having better
succeeded in uniting freedom of invention with selection,
rapidity with correctness, a knowledge of fable and of history
with a certain popular manner, and facility in treating them.
Upon the death of his master he began to give a freer scope
to his natural genius, which inclined rather to the bold than
to the beautiful, and induced him more to adopt the experience
acquired by many years of application, than his own know-
ledge of nature and of truth. He considered it, therefore,
mere amusement to adorn the palace of Mantua, and the great
suburban of the Te (to say nothing of his numerous other
works), in the style that Vasari relates, and which is, in part,
to be seen at the present day. So many chambers with gilded
entablatures; such a variety of beautiful stucco-work, the
figures of which have been removed for the instruction of
youth ; so many stories and capricci linely conceived and
connected with one another, besides such a diversity of labours
adapted to different places and subjects, altogether form a
collection of wonders, the honour of which Gialio divided
with no other artist. For he himself conceived, composed,
and completed these vast undertakings.

He was accustomed himself to prepare the cartoons, and
afterwards having exacted from his pupils their completion,
he went over the entire work with his pencil, removed its
defects, impressing at the same time upon the whole the
stamp of his own superior character. This method he ac-
quired from Raffaello ; and he is commended by Vasari as the
best artist known for his production of distinguished pupils.

GIULIO ROMANO. 3b'3

It was the misfortune of Giulio to hare the touches of his
own hand, in his labours at the Te, modernized by other
pei cils, owing to which the beautiful fable of Psyche, the
moral representations of human life, and his terrible war of
the giants with Jove, where he appeared to compete with
Michelangelo himself in the hardihood of his design, still
retain, indeed, the design and composition, but no longer the
colours of Giulio. In these last his hand will more truly
appear in his War of Troy, preserved at the royal court ; in
his history of Lucretia ; and in those little cabinets orna-
mented by him with grotesques and other ingenious fancies.
There we might sometimes pronounce him a Homer, treating
of arms, or sometimes an Anacreon, celebrating the delights
of wine and love. Nor did he employ his powers less nobly
in sacred subjects, more particularly for the dome, which, by
commission of the Cardinal Gonzaga, brother to Federigo, and
guardian of his young nephew, he not only built, but in part
ornamented, though his death occurred before he was enabled
to complete his celebrated work. The paintings produced for
other churches by his own hand are not very numerous ; such,
consisting more particularly of his three histories of the
Passion, coloured in fresco, at S. Marco ; of his Santo
Crihloforo, in the large altar of that church, in which he is
represented with an uncommon degree of strength, yet groan-
ing under the burden of the Lord of the Universe, who in
the figure of an infant is borne upon his shoulders ; an incident
originating in the name itself of Cristoforo. But let us come
to the school of Giulio, in Mantua. It will not occupy many
pages, since it did not mix the style of this artist, as in other
places has happened, with foreign styles, being peculiarly true
to its prototype, so that in each countenance we may trace, as
it were, his own exact features, although copied unequally.

la his Mantuan school there appeared several foreigners,,
among whom Primaticcio proved the most celebrated; an
artist whom Giulio employed to work in stucco, and whom,
on being invited into the service of the king of France, he
sent to that country in his stead. But we shall take no fur-
ther notice of him here, having to treat of him more fully in
our account of the Bolognese. The Veronese, who are in
possession of a beautiful fresco, in the Piazza delle Erbe, with

334 MANTTJAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

the name of Alberto Cavalli Savonese, have supposed this
painter a scholar of Giulio, but without any other foundation
beyond a strong resemblance to the style of Pippi, in the
naked parts. It is strange that no other specimen of such a
distinguished hand should be known 'in Italy, nor any memo-
rial of him, notwithstanding the great researches that have
been made ; nor is it very improbable that he also may have
changed his country, and died in foreign parts. Benedetto
Pagni from Pescia had already tried his abilities in Rome,
together with Bartolommeo da Castiglioni, with Paparello da
Cortona, and with Gio. da Leone ; artists of whom I know
not if there exist any thing beyond the name ; while Pagni,
who accompanied Giulio into Mantua, has been as highly
esteemed by Vasari as any other name. From his hand,
besides what remains in his native place, we possess a S. Lo-
renzo, painted in S. Andrea, at Mantua, which does credit
to such a school. Companion to him in the numerous works
of the Te, we find Rinaldo Mantovano, considered by Vasari
the most celebrated painter of the city, while he laments
the untimely termination of his days. His altar-piece of
S. Agostino, at the Trinita, proves him to have been great even
in his youth, so much is the design beyond the expectation of
such an age ; and it has by some been pronounced the work
of his master. Fermo Guisoni had a longer career; he
painted in the cathedral the Vocation of S. Pietro and S.
Andrea, copied from one of the most beautiful and studied
cartoons of Giulio. Other pieces of his are extant, in part
designed by Bertani, and in part from his own hand. Such
is a picture of the Crucifixion at S. Andrea, which both in
point of design and force of colouring is indeed admirable.

In this series Vasari has omitted to mention several others
whom the Mantuans have enumerated as belonging to the
school of Giulio, and as natives of their country. Among
these is a Teodoro Ghigi, a Mantuan, as he subscribes himself,
an excellent designer, and so familiar with the manner of the
leader of his school, that on the decease of the latter, he was
employed in the service of the prince, to complete his labours
in the city and in the country. Ippolito Andreasi also
painted a good deal upon the cartoons of Giulio, and pro-
duced pictures of merit in S. Barbara as well as elsewhere.

GIO. BATISTA BERTANI. 335

There are moreover two frescos in the dome, at the chapel of
S< Lorenzo, attributed to one Francesco Perla ; an altar-piece
at S. Cristoforo by Gio. Batista Giacarolo, neither of them
greatly celebrated in this class. Raffaello Pippi was a son of
the head of the school ; and there only remains of him the
honourable recollection of the very promising efforts of his
youthful genius, cut off in its happiest spring.

Following Giulio, his pupil, the cavalier Gio. Batista Ber-
tani continued to labour, and to instruct the school. He had
accompanied his master to Rome ; he was a great architect,
and an excellent writer on the subject, as well as a painter of
no ordinary talent. Assisted by his brother of the name of
Domenico, he ornamented several chambers in the castle of
the court ; and he committed various altar-pieces to different
painters, in the dome erected by Giulio, in Sta. Barbara,
which is the work of Bertani himself, and in other churches
of the place. To some of these artists he gave his designs.
He was esteemed almost as another Giulio by Duke Vincen-
zio, though very inferior to his predecessor. For what
Va^ari observes of him, that his knowledge did not equal that
of his master, is no less true, than that the chief part of his
OWE assistants surpassed him. His assistants were Gio. Ba-
tista del Moro, Geronimo Mazzuola, Paol Farinato, Domenico
Brusasorci, Giulio Campi, Paol Veronese ; whose works, dis-
played in that cathedral, do no less honour to the sanctuary
than to the city. Yet let this be said without the least
reflection upon his merit, which, particularly in design, was
undoubtedly very great. This, indeed, we gather from his
picture of the Martyrdom of Sta. Agata, which, executed
from the design of Bertani by Ippolito Costa, approaches
much nearer to the composition of Giulio than other works of
Ippolito, drawn from his own invention.

There is reason to believe that Ippolito was of the family
of Lorenzo Costa, together with Luigi, and another Lorenzo,
botL named Costa, and both Mantuans. Orlandi states
Ippolito to have been a pupil of Carpi. Baldinucci includes
him in the school of Giulio, either from his having frequented
his Jicademy, or in other ways having availed himself of his
instructions and his models ; and, indeed, his style betrays
no slight traces of them. Lamo, who wrote an account of the

336 MANTUAN SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

artists of Cremona, describes him to us as a master, who about
1538 instructed Bernardino Campi ; and moreover gives us
reason to suppose that his brother Luigi was likewise initiated
by him in the art. But he proved an inferior artist, and drew
his chief celebrity from his surname. Among the assistants of
Taddeo Zuccari, about 1560, Vasari mentions Lorenzo Costa,
a Mantuan ; and it seems likely that he sprung either from
Luigi or from Ippolito; and had such name conferred upon
him, as was usual, in memory of Lorenzo Costa, his grand-
father, or from some other relationship to him. We frequently
read in the Guide of Mantua, written by Cadioli, that such a
painting is from the hand of Costa, without giving his proper
name ; and it appears probable, that pursuing their labours in
the same studio, they may have contracted a sort of family
style, not indeed very correct or learned, but of a practical
kind. There is a pleasing air about the heads, and some care
in the colours ; for the rest it is minute ; not exact, nor suffi-
ciently shaded ; and in fine, modelled upon the composition of
one who aimed at imitating the grace, not of rivalling the-
power of Giulio. The Costa are esteemed in Mantua among
the last disciples of the great school ; nor do I know of their
having produced any pupil besides Facchetti, who devoted
himself altogether to portraits.

It will here be proper to state that Giulio, in imitation of
Raflaello, gave rise, by the influence of his taste, to a great
number of artificers, who ornamented other professions. He
was possessed of those general ideas of beauty and proportion,
from which he drew his rules for the particular direction of
every work ; an enviable distinction of that age, in which the
leading men were at once painters, modellers, and architects,
extending their influence even from the noblest works of art
down to vases and plates of earthenware, and cornices of wood.
I am not certain whether Giulio, like Raffaello, formed the
taste of another Gio. da Udine, in drawing fruits and trees,
&c. ; but I know that Camillo, a Mautuan, declared by Vasari
to be most excellent in point of landscape,'" flourished about
this period. Some specimens in fresco still continue to adorn
his native place ; but he chiefly produced his works in Venice,

* In the " Life of Genga."

D. G1ULIO CLOVIO. 337

in Urbino, and at the ducal palace in Pesaro, where, in a
chamber, since changed into an armour-room, he painted a
grove, executed with so much taste and truth, that it would
not be difficult to number every separate leaf upon the trees.
It is certain that Giulio educated a pupil as his Perino, for his
jituccos; and this was, besides Primaticcio, a Gio. Batista
Briziano, commonly called Mantovano, who likewise became
his Marc Antonio, engraving on copper many of the pictures
of his master, as well as of other distinguished artists of his
day. To him ought to be added Giorgio Ghisi, or Ghigi, who
flourished at the same period ; and to these succeeded Diana,
daughter of Gio. Batista,* celebrated for her fine engravings ;
and this branch of art, introduced into Mantua by that
eminent artist, continued to prosper there for a long course of
years.

Another branch of the fine arts, that of miniature, seemed
to attain its perfection under one of Giulio's scholars. His
name was D. Giulio Clovio, of Croazia, a regular Scopetine
canon, afterwards becoming a layman by a dispensation from
the Pope. He had first turned his attention to the higher
branches of the art, but Giulio, who saw he possessed a pecu-
li;ir talent for diminutive figures, prevailed upon him to apply
himself to these ; and taught him the first of any in Rome, the
method of applying tints and colours in gum and water-colours,
while in miniature he obtained instructions from Girolamo da'
Libri of Verona. He is esteemed at the head of his profession
in this line. In his design he displays a good deal of study of
Michelangelo and of the Roman school, though approaching
nearer to the practice of a good naturalist, exquisitely grace-
ful in his colours, and admirable in his exactness of drawing
th > minutest objects. Great part of his labours were under-
taken for sovereigns and princes, in whose libraries maybe
found books ornamented by him in miniature with such a
decree of truth and spirit, that we appear to view these
diminutive objects rather through some camera-optica, than in
a picture. It is related by Vasari, than in an Office of the

* She is also called Civis Volaterrana, from her connection with that
city ; an instance that ought to be present to our recollection, when we
find that different writers ascribe different countries to the same painter,

VOL. II. Z

338 MANTUAN SCHOOL. EPOCH IL

Yirgin, made for the Cardinal Farnese, there were figures
which did not exceed the size of a small ant ; and that each
part was nevertheless distinctly drawn. It is worth while,
indeed, to read the whole description given by that historian
of the miniatures there inserted, in which he likewise selected
subjects adapted for a multitude of figures, such as the pro-
cession of the Corpus Domini at Rome, and the feast of the
Monte Testaceo ; a labour of nine years, which was distributed
into twenty-six little histories. He produced numerous small
portraits painted for private people (an art in which he is
said by Vasari to have equalled Titian) ; besides a few little
pictures. These are rarely to be met with in collections.
There is one of the Deposizione, in the library of the Paclri
Cisterciensi, at Milan, a piece quite original in its composition,
but which breathes altogether the taste of the golden period.
Indeed, I am inclined to be of opinion that Giulio promoted
this very study in Mantua ; having myself seen there some
exquisite miniatures, though by unknown hands. It is also
worthy of notice, as Vasari remarks, that by means of Giulio,
the art advanced towards perfection, not only in Mantua, but
throughout all Lombardy (a state which, in the native ac-
ceptation of the term, includes also a portion of the modern
Venetian territories). This we have already in part seen ;
and in part shall continue to see more clearly in the course of
this history.

339

MANTUAN SCHOOL.

EPOCH III.

Decline of the School, and Foundation of an Academy in order to
restore it.

Si BSEQUENT to the period in which Giulio flourished, the
school of Mantua produced no new names which at all ap-
proached the reputation of the first. The disposition of its
sovereigns was always inclined rather to invite painters of
ce ebrity from elsewhere, with a sure prospect of being speedily
and well served, than to promote the education of their young
subjects in the study of an art, slow in producing fruits, and
subject to rapid decay. We have already recounted a tole-
rable number assembled by Duke Vincenzio for the object of
ornamenting his churches ; of several of whom he also availed
himself for the decoration of the palaces. Antonmaria Viani,
called il Vianino, a native of Cremona and a scholar of the
Campi, thus filled the double capacity of an artist and an ar-
chitect. The frieze surrounding the gallery of the court pre-
sents a specimen of their style, where in a ground of gold, are
son a group of most beautiful boys, painted in chiaroscuro,
an d playing amidst luxuriant festoons of flowers. In the same
taste of the Campi he produced several sacred pieces ; such as
th 3 picture of S. Michele at Sta. Agnese ; the Paradiso at the
Orsoline ; and subsequent to Duke Vincenzio, he was em-
ployed by his three successors, and died in Mantua, after
having established his family in that city.

Not very long afterwards, Domenico Feti from Rome was
declared painter of the same court, an artist of whose educa-
tion, received under Cigoli, I have treated elsewhere. Car-
dinal Ferdinando, succeeding to the dukedom of Mantua, had
brought him 'from Rome to his own court, where he had op-
portunities of improving himself, by studying the finest Lom-

Z 2

340 MANTUAN SCHOOL. — EPOCH HI.

bard models, along with several of the Venetians. He pro-
duced many pictures in oil, for various temples and galleries ;
one of which, representing the Multiplication of Loaves, exists
in the Mantuan academy, abounding with figures rather truly
noble than large; but varied, shortened, and coloured in a
very masterly style. A still more copious work was that in
the choir of the cathedral, though his pieces in fresco, like
those of Cigoli, have less merit than those painted in oil.
With all the excellence of his compositions, he has certainly
the fault of being too symmetrical in his groups, which conse-
quently seem to correspond in an exact order, calculated in
architecture to please both the eye and mind, but by no means
so in painting. His own youthful excesses deprived Venice of
this fine genius, and distinguished ornament of his art, in the
very flower of his age. The names of other artists likewise
engaged in the service of the same court, where a relish for
the fine arts seems to have been almost indigenous, were Titian,
Correggio, Genga, Tintoretto, Albani, Rubens, Gessi, Gerola,
Vermiglio, Castiglione, Lodovico Bertucci, Mrith others of
eminent abilities ; some of whom were invited for particular
commissions, and others permanently engaged for a length of
time. Thus the city of Mantua became one of the most richly
ornamented in all Italy ; insomuch that after suffering the
sackage of 1630, in which the ducal palace was despoiled of
the noble collection, now dispersed abroad, it still can boast,
both in private and public exhibitions, sufficient to engage the
curiosity of cultivated strangers for a period of many days.

The city in the meanwhile was not deficient in native artists
of superior genius, such as Venusti, Manfredi, and Facchetti ;
all of whom, on account of their residence in Rome, we have
treated of in that school : while in that of Parma we shall
have occasion to insert the name of Giorgio del Grano, sup-
posed to be of Mantua, and of Andrea Scutellari in that of
Cremona, in which he became fixed. Francesco Borgani is
one of those who resided in his native place, and who adopted
a good style from the paintings of Parmigianino, in which he
composed several pictures in S. Pietro, in S. Simone* in
S. Croce, as well as in other places, by which he deserves to
be better known than he now is. This artist flourished until
the latter half of the past century.

GIOVANNI BAZZANI. 341

Towards the same period Giovanni Canti, "while yet young,
c.une from Parma and settled in Mantua, an artist whose
merits, consisting in his landscapes and battle-scenes, are to
be sought for in galleries of art, not in the specimens of his
a tar-pieces in churches, which are very inferior. He was
o:ie of those who lay too much stress on their rapidity of hand.
S3hivenoglia, whose proper name was Francesco Ranieri, was
one of his scholars, equally distinguished for his battles as for
h s landscape ; superior to his master in design, but inferior
in point of colouring. Next to him Giovanni Cadioli was
considered a good landscape-painter, and better in fresco than
ic oils. He wrote an account of the pictures of Mantua, and
at the same period was one of the earliest founders and the
first director of the academy for design at that place.

Giovanni Bazzani, a pupil of Canti, was endowed with a
higher genius for the art than his master, and laid a better
foundation for excellence by the cultivation of his mind, by
careful study, and by copying from the most esteemed models.
He more particularly directed his attention towards Rubens,
Wjiose footsteps he diligently pursued to the end of his career.
He was long employed in Mantua and in its adjacent monas-
tery, principally in works of fresco, displaying an easy,
spirited, and imaginative character, in a manner that does
•cr idit to his genius. He was universally allowed to possess
urcomnion powers, but being crippled and infirm, he was
unable to exhibit them as he wished ; and besides, the rapid
manner acquired from Canti, diminished, for the most part,
the value of his works.

Giuseppe Bottani of Cremona, educated at Rome under
Masucci. afterwards established himself in Mantua, where he
acquired the reputation of a good landscape-painter in the
manner of Poussin, and of a good figurist in that of Maratta.
His best pictures are found beyond the confines of the city ;
in a church at Milan, dedicated to Saints Cosma and Dainiano,
is to be seen a Santa Paola by his hand, taking farewell of
tho domestics, a piece by no means inferior to that of Batoni,
which is placed at its side. It had been well for his reputa-
tion as an artist had he always exerted himself with equal
*ca?-e, for in every composition he might have approved him-

342 MANTUAN SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

self an excellent disciple of the school of Rome. His extreme
haste, however, rendered him inconsistent with himself, so that
in the city where he taught, there can hardly be enumerated
one or two specimens among the great number he produced in
public, which can at all vie with the Milanese. The reader
may have already learned, in the course of this work, that
of all faults celerity is one of the most fatal to the reputation
of artists ; the rock upon which many of the finest geniuses
have struck. To few, indeed, has it been given to produce
with rapidity and to produce well.

The academy of Mantua not only still exists, but has been
furnished by the princes of the house of Austria with splendid
rooms, with select casts, and other advantages for the improve-
ment of youth, so as to render it one of the finest academies
in Italy.* There have appeared, under the auspices of Signor
Volta, one of its members, compendious notices of the artists
of Mantua, down from the year 1777 ; an earnest of a more
extended work that we are in hopes of receiving from his able
and accomplished pen. With these notices, as well as others
afforded us in conversation with the same enlightened scholar,
we have been glad to enrich the present chapter. Nor have
we failed to keep in view the two Discourses upon the Letters
and the Arts of Mantua, recited in the academy, and after-
wards made public by the Sig. Abate Bettinelli, in which his
character, as a fluent orator, and a diligent historian, in the
various notes he has added, appears to equal advantage.

* Upon the establishment of the Italian republic, according to what I
have recently heard from the learned P. Pompilio Pozzetti Scolopio,
public librarian at Modena, the academies were reduced to two ; the one
in Bologna, the other in Milan ; and in the rest of the cities they continue
to exist as schools of the fine arts. To both of these the government is
extremely favourable, as well as to letters, both very interesting objects
of public education. And now, by-the union of the Venetian states, the
academy of Venice is greatly strengthened and increased, established by
decree of the government in the year 1724.

343

CHAPTER II.

THE MODENESE SCHOOL.

EPOCH I.

The Ancients.

THE state of Modena, such as it is now reunited under the
happy government of the house of Este, will form the subject
of the following chapter ; and no other portion of my work
can be pronounced superior in point of interest to this. Since
tho feeble attempts of Vedriani, and of other writers, more
eager than sagacious, the pictoric history of the entire
dominion has been recently illustrated, as I observed at the
commencement, by a distinguished historian. I have no fur-
ther object in view than to adapt it to my usual method,
omitting at the same time a few names, which, either from
thc-ir mediocrity, from the loss of their works, or other reasons,
cai mot be presumed to be greatly interesting to my readers.

The antiquity of this school may be sought for as far back
as 1235, at least if it may be supposed that Berlingeri of
Lucca, certainly the author of a S. Francesco remaining in
tlu castle of Guiglia, painted in the above year, likewise pro-
duced pupils to the state of Modena, a matter which is still
involved in doubt. There is another sacred figure, also the
pn duction of a Modenese, consisting of the Blessed Virgin,
between two military saints, a picture brought from Prague
into the imperial gallery at Vienna. We read inscribed
upon it .in ancient character the two following lines : —

Quis opus hoc finxit ? Thomas de Mutina pinxit ',
Quale vides Lector Rarisini filius auctor ;

in ^hich we ought to read " Barisini," both on account of Sig.

344 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

Garampi, who is profoundly skilled in the ancient characters,
having thus understood it, and because this name approaches
nearer to those which, though certainly different, are known
to apply to the father of Tommaso, as well in Modena as in
Trevigi. In the former I know not that there now remains
any thing of him but the name ; but in the latter is to be seen
a very extensive work in the chapter of the Padri Predicatori.
Here are represented the saints and scholars of the order, and
the artist's name also appears with the date of 1352.* The
design of this piece is tolerably good for those times, as appears
from the engravings taken of it by the Dominican, Father
Federici, the same who presented us with a learned work upon
the Antiquities of Trevigi. He discovered that the father of
Tommaso, by name Borasino or Bizzarrino, an abbreviation,
he says, of Buzzaccarino, became nominated to the citizenship,
and to the public notaryship of Trevigi, in 1315 ; in all which
his family was called di Modena, as that of Girolamo Ferrarese
was called di Carpi. On the strength of these documents
Trevigi may, perhaps, dispute with Modena the honour of
producing such an artist; but I shall take no share in the
question. I would here merely observe that the superscription
does not say "Thomas de Mutina," from which we might
gather that Modena was the cognomen of the family ; but that
" Thomas pictor de Mutina pinxit istud ;" whence to conclude
that he there gave the name of his real country, either because
he was born in Modena, or because, descended from a Mode-
iiese family, he retained his citizenship, and rather wished to
appear a native of Modena than of Trevigi. However this
may be, it is a signal honour for Italy to have given such an
artist to Germany, a name of which the historians of that
great nation have mistakenly, availed themselves, in the outset
of the historic series of their painters, tracing his origin to
Muttersdorff, and making him the master of Theodoric of
Prague, followed in succession by Winser, Schoen, "Wolgemut,
and Albert Durer.

* It was believed some time ago that this painting was produced in
1297, this date being found on the picture, and Sig. Mechel having thus
published it in his catalogue of the royal gallery at Vienna. Whether
it still remains thus inserted I know not ; but undoubtedly it ought not
to be there.

TOMMASO. 345

Next to the pictures of Tommaso, ought to be enumerated
an altar-piece by Barnaba da Modena, preserved together with
the author's name in Alba, and dated 1377, a piece by one
writer supposed anterior to Giotto ; and in addition to this an
" Ancona," from the hand of Serafino de' Serafini da Modena,
containing various busts and entire figures, with the name also
of the painter, and the year 1385. It is placed in the cathe-
dral, and its principal subject is the Incoronation of the Vir-
gin. In its composition it very nearly resembles that of Giotto
and his school, of which, indeed, more than of any other, the
whole character of the piece partakes, only the figures are,
perhaps, a little more full, and as it were better fed than those
of the Florentine school. If the origin of such resemblance
sjiould be sought for, let us consider that Giotto not only
e nployed himself in the adjacent city of Bologna, but likewise
in' Ferrara, which, together with Modena, was then subject to
the house of Este, so that one city might easily afford precepts
and examples to another.

Vasari remarked at Modena some ancient paintings at
S. Domenico, and he might have seen more in possession of the
Padri Benedettini, and elsewhere ; from which he judged, that
u in every age there had been excellent artists in that place."
Their names, which were unknown to Vasari, have in part
boen collected from MSS., consisting of a Tommaso Bassini,*
v, hose age and productions are uncertain, and some others of
the fourteenth century, approaching nearer to a more improved
era. One of these was Andrea Campana, to whom a work,

* This information, taken from Tiraboschi, does not seem to favour the
s) stem of Father Federici, who says, that in the fourteenth century names
were frequently shortened, adducing, at the same time, several examples
(vol. i. p. 53). He thus explains how Buzzaccarino became Bizzarrino,
Barisino, Borasino, with many more strange terms in Trevigi. Now
why might not this artist's name become Bassino, in Modena ? And if in
reading Tommaso di Bassino da Modena in the authorities of Tiraboschi,
«very one perceives the name of the painter, that of the father, and of
the country to which he belonged ; then why, on reading upon pictures
Timmaso di Barisino, or Borisino, da Modena, are we bound to believe
this last the name of a family ; and so much more, as there were then
few families distinguished by their surnames ? Tommaso, therefore,
wished it to be understood that he came from Modena ; and if this
became a surname which distinguished his family in Trevigi, it must have
been at a later period, and he himself knew nothing of it.

346 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH I.

bearing the initials of his name, in the Colorno Villa of the
duke of Parma, has been attributed, representing the acts of
S. Piero Martire, a piece extremely pleasing and well coloured.
Another is Bartolommeo Bonasia, excellent both in painting
and inlaid-work, a specimen of which he left in a picture placed
in the convent of S. Vincenzo. There are, moreover, in Sas-
suolo, some notices of Raffaello Calori of Modena, beginning
in 1452 and terminating in 1474 ; besides a picture of the
Virgin in the best manner of those times, during which he was
in the service of Duke Borso. Later than he nourished
Francesco Magagnolo, an artist who terminated his career early
in the sixteenth century, and one of the first who drew coun-
tenances in such a manner as to appear looking at the spec-
tator, in whatever point of view he might observe them. His
contemporaries, it appears, were Cecchino Setti, whose labours
have wholly perished, with the exception of a few altar-orna-
ments, in the most finished taste ; Nicoletto da Modeiia, at
once a painter, and one of the very earliest engravers, whose
prints are much sought after for cabinets, and are placed at
the head of collections ; Giovanni Munari, commended by his-
torians, and distinguished for the great name of his son and
pupil Pellegrino ; and finally Francesco Bianchi Ferrari, who
died in 1510. To this last has been ascribed the honour of
instructing Correggio, which, however, can by no means be
asserted beyond dispute. One of his altar-pieces was formerly
to be seen in S. Francesco, executed with some degree of
modern softness, though still partaking of the ancient stiffness,
and the eyes designed without a due regard to rotundity.

In the smaller capitals, also, about this period, flourished
artists of considerable merit. Reggio still boasts a Madonna
of Loreto, painted in the dome by the hand of Bernardino
Orsi, with the date of 1501 ; while in S. Tommaso, and else-
where, we meet with some paintings of Simone Fornari, also
called Moresini, and of Francesco Caprioli. I mention them
here, not so much on account of the period which they adorned,
as for the resemblance of their manner to the two Francia,
more especially Fornari ; many of his pictures having been
attributed to those distinguished ornaments of Bologna.

Carpi, likewise, preserves several relics of the ancient arts:
besides a frieze in the rudest style of sculpture, in the facade

ANTONIO ALLEGRI: 347

of tlie old cathedral, a work of the twelfth century. To the
ea ne church are attached two chapels, exhibiting the com-
mencement and the progress of painting in those parts. In
one is seen the spousals of Santa Caterina, a piece so extremely
iniantile, that it would be difficult to find a similar example
in Italy. The painting upon the walls is, however, superior ;
displaying an original style, no less in the drapery than in the
id. -as, and forcible in its action. The other chapel is divided
into various niches, with the effigy of a saint in each ; and in
tlrs work, which is the latest of the two, appear some traces
of the style of Giotto. There is no nomenclature giving us
any account of artists so very ancient. The list of the school
commences with Bernardino Loschi, who, sprung from a
family in Parma, signs his own name, Carpense, in some of
hLs pictures. Without such elucidation, these might have
be:n pronounced the works of one or other of the Francia.
Lcschi was employed in the service of Alberto Pio; and
there exist memorials of him from the year 1495 until 1533.
Tl ere remains on record the name of one of his contempo-
raries, Marco Meloni, one of the most accurate of artists, of
whom every thing may be included in the observation, that
hi^ pictures at S. Bernardino, and elsewhere, partake in the
same degree of the Bolognese manner. Probably he was a
pupil of that school, as well as Alessandro da Carpi, enume-
rated by Malvasia among the disciples of Costa.

Finally, Correggio likewise cultivated the fine arts before
A itonio Allegri came into the world. For not many years
ago a fresco of tolerable execution was discovered in that
cathedral, ascribed by tradition to Lorenzo Allegri, who, in
a letter of donation, subscribed by him in 1527, is called
" Magister Laurentius, Filius Magistri Antonii de Allegris
Pictor." This artist is believed to have been the first instructor
of Antonio Allegri, his brother's son; and it is, at least,
certain that he had a school in which he taught the rules of
art to another of his nephews, as I have heard from the
learned Dottore Antonioli, who is busied in preparing a life
ol his very distinguished fellow-citizen. At present there are
few paintings in Correggio displaying the taste of the artists
of the fourteenth century, from which we might judge of that
school. A Madonna, painted in 1511, when Antonio Allegri

348 MODENESE SCHOOL.— EPOCH I.

had attained his seventeenth year, is, however,, to be met with
in the Catalogue of the Este Gallery, whither it had been
transferred. It is attributed to Antonio Allegri, but there is
no sufficient evidence of the fact; and we should have about
equal authority for giving it to Lorenzo. The style is but
middling, and in point of forms, the ancient character is not
wholly laid aside in the folds of the drapery : it may, how-
ever, be pronounced of a softer tone than that of the chief
part of its contemporaries, and nearer to the modern manner.

Before proceeding further, it will be right to inform the
reader of a certain advantage that this tract of country, and
Modena in particular, enjoyed from the commencement of the
fifteenth century, consisting in the abundance of its excellent
modellers in clay. Of this art, the parent of sculpture, and
the nurse of painting, that city has since produced the most
exquisite specimens in the world ; and this, if I mistake not,
is the most characteristic, rare, and admirable advantage of
the school. Guido Mazzoni, otherwise Paganini, a name
highly celebrated by Yasari, had the reputation of an excellent
artist from the time he produced his Holy Family at St.
Margherita, in 1484, presenting statues of a vivacity and
expression truly surprising. This great artificer was employed
by Charles VIII. both in Naples and France, where he
remained upwards of twenty years, retiring at length into his
native country, full of honours, to terminate his days. No
slight commendation has likewise been bestowed by the
historian Lancillotto, upon Gio. Abati, father of Niccolo, and
his contemporary, whose sacred images in chalk were held in
the highest esteem ; more particularly the crucifixions, exe-
cuted with a knowledge of anatomy, most exact in every
separate vein and nerve. He was nevertheless far surpassed
by Antonio Begarelli, probably his pupil, who by his works
in clay, with figures even larger than life, has succeeded in
bearing away the palm from all his competitors. In the
church and monastery of the Padri Benedettini, there is
preserved a noble collection of them. As he flourished during
a long period, he filled those churches with monuments,
groups, and statues, to say nothing of others which he pro-
duced in Parma, Mantua, and other places. Vasari praises
him for "the fine air of his heads, beautiful drapery, exquisite

ANTONIO BEGARELLI. 340

proportions, and colour of marble;" and the same author
continues to relate, that they appeared so excellent to Bonar-
ruoti that he said, " if this clay were only to become marble,
wo 3 betide the ancient statues." I am at a loss to imagine
what species of eulogy could be more desirable to an artist ;
in particular when we reflect upon the profound science of
Bouarruoti, and how tardy he was to praise. We ought not
to omit to mention, that Begarelli was likewise excellent in
design, and acted as a master, both of that and modelling, in
the instruction of youth. Hence he greatly influenced the art
of painting, and to him we are in a great measure to trace
that correctness, that relief, that art of foreshortening, and
that degree of grace approaching nearly to Raffaello's, in all
of which this part of Lombardy boasted such a conspicuous
share.

350

MODENESE SCHOOL.

EPOCH II.

Imitation of Raffaello and Correggio, in the Sixteenth Century.

SUCH were the preparatory efforts throughout all these districts,
as far as we have hitherto considered them : but the best pre-
paration lay in the natural talent of the young artists. Of
these we are told, upon the authority of Tiraboschi, that the
Card. Alessandro d'Este observed, that "they appeared to
have been born with a natural genius for the fine arts : " an
opinion fully borne out during the lapse of the sixteenth cen-
tury, when if every province of Italy produced some great
name, in painting, this little district of itself abounded with
a sufficient number to reflect honour upon a whole kingdom.
I commence my account from the city of Modena ; no other
city of Lombardy earlier appreciated the style of Raffaello, nor
did any city of all Italy become more deeply attached to, and.
produce more enthusiastic imitators of it. I have already
treated of Pellegrino da Modena (vol. i. p. 397), called in
the Chronicle of Lancillotti degli Aretusi, alias de Munari.
He received his education in his native place, and produced a
picture there as early as 1509, still preserved at S. Giovanni,
in excellent condition, and creditable to the talent of its author,
even before he entered the school of Raffaello. But such was
here his improvement, that his master availed himself of his
assistance in adorning the open galleries of the Vatican, as well
as in other works executed in Rome, sometimes along with
Perino del Vaga, and sometimes by himself. Several of his
pieces at S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli boasted figures of such a
truly graceful and Raffaellesque air, according to the account
of Titi, that the modern retouches they received was a circum-

CORREGGIO. 351

strnce truly to be deplored. He is better known in his own
coantry than at Rome, in particular at S. Paolo, where there
remains a Nativity of our Lord which seems to breathe in
every part the graces of him of Urbino. This unhappy
artist had a son who, having committed homicide, was threat-
ened with the vengeance of the parents of the deceased ; and
meeting with the father, they directed their fury against him,
and slew him upon the spot, a truly tragic event, which
occurred in 1523. Another of his sons, Tiraboschi conjectures
to have been Cesare di Pellegrino Aretusi, the same, who by
m^ny writers is called Modenese, having been born in Modena ;
Bclognese by others, because he lived in Bologna, and there
took up his citizenship. This artist, to whom we shall again
refer, formed his taste in Bologna by copying Bagnacavallo,
be ng unable to obtain the instructions of Pellegrino. A
Giulio Taraschi, however, was more fortunate, and benefited
much by his instructions, as appears from many of his paint-
ings at S. Pietro. in Modena, in the Roman taste ; a. taste
which he is said to have cultivated in two of his brothers, and
transmitted to others whose names will appear as we proceed.

Somewhat later, also, Correggio began to afford a new model
for the school of Modena ; he who is now held their master,
an«l whose skull is preserved, upon the example set by Rome
(vol. i. p. 415), in the academy recently opened with so much
splendour. He employed himself a good deal in Parma, in
which school we shall more decidedly treat of him, though he
also in some measure adorned Modena, Reggio, Carpi, anjl
Correggio ; drawing scholars from all these places, who will
appear in a catalogue with the rest in their appropriate
chapter. In this way he early began to exercise an influence
over the school c«f Modena, and to be esteemed in it a sort of
master, whose manner might be pursued with advantage,
^itlier in emulating it altogether, or uniting it with that of
Raffaello.

This became more particularly the case when his fame
increased, after his decease ; and when the best specimens he
left behind him were collected by degrees, both from the
caj ital and from the adjacent cities, by different dukes of
Esie, to adorn their gallery, where they were to be seen until

352 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

nearly the middle of the present century.* At that period
Modena was thronged with artists of every country, coming
to take copies of those great productions, and to study the
rules of their composition ; an object in which the natives
themselves were not remiss ; insomuch that we trace vestiges
of their imitation in every separate hand. In regard, how-
ever, to the earliest and more ancient, it would appear that
their predilection and their genius were more decidedly directed
towards Raffaello and the Roman manner ; whether it be
that exotic commodities are more highly valued than those of
native growth, or whether it were that the successors of Pel-
legrino alone continued for a length of time to instruct youth,
and to maintain a reputation in those parts.

It would be desirable in the history of so excellent a school,
that writers should inform us by whom many of those masters
were educated who nourished towards the middle, or latter
half of the century. Observation, however, may in some
degree serve to supply the omission of historians, as the style
in many approaches so nearly that of Raffaello, as to lead us
to conclude that they must have imbibed it from Munari him-
self, or from the Taraschi, who succeeded him in his school.

Among the works of Gaspare Pagani, who was also a por-
trait-painter, the picture of S. Chiara is the only remaining
specimen. Of Girolamo da Vignola, a few frescos remain at
S. Piero. Both were professed imitators of Raffaello ; but the
last one of the most happy whom that age produced. Alberto
Fontana displayed equal excellence in his frescos, and orna-
mented both within and without the public market-place ;.
pictures, says Scanelli, which appear like Raffaello's, while he
erroneously ascribes them to the hand of Niccolo dell' Abate.
And in truth, from the observation of Vedriani, the style of
one very much resembles that of the other ; whether they may
have both equally imbibed it from Begarelli, which the same
historian seems to insinuate, or whether they derived it through
some other channel, in the academy of Munari. Still the
similitude of their manner is not such as to merge their more

* Francesco III. disposed of one hundred pictures to the court of
Dresden. ; among which were five from the hand of Correggio, for 130,000-
zechins, which were coined in Venice.

NICCOLINO. 353

j>eculiar distinctions ; so that if the heads of Alberto's figures
are remarkable for a fine air, and for tints that rival those of
Niccolo, we can easily point out less perfect design, and
occasionally a certain rudeness and heaviness. But let us
turn to his competitor, and dwell upon the subject more at
length, as becomes the character of a painter, enumerated by
Algarotti " among the first who have adorned the world."

He is supposed by some to have been instructed by Correg-
tu;io, an assertion which cannot wholly be discredited, when
"we cast our eye upon some instances of his foreshortening, and
of his fine rilievo. But Vasari nowhere mentions such a
Circumstance ; and it is only on adverting to the Martyrdom
of the chiefs of the Apostles, painted by him at the Monaci
Neri, that he remarks, that the figure of en executioner is
taken from a picture by Correggio at S. Giovanni of Parma.
Whoever may have been the tutor of Niccolino, he very
evidently betrays his enthusiam for the Roman school, in his
frescos at Moclena, supposed to be one of his earliest works.
The same might be averred of his twelve fresco pictures upon
the twelve books of the ^Eneid, removed from the fortress of
Candiano, and now adorning the ducal palace ; sufficient of
themselves to exhibit him as an excellent hand in figures, in
landscape, in architecture, and in animals; in every merit
requisite to a distinguished disciple of Raffaello. Proceeding
at a maturer age to Bologna, he painted under the portico of
the Lions, a Nativity of our Lord, in such a manner that
neither in those of Raffaellino del Borgo, nor of any other artist
educated in Rome, do I recollect meeting with so decided a
resemblance to the head of the school. I know that a distin-
guished professor was in the habit of pronouncing it the most
perfect painting in fresco that the city of Bologna possessed.
Et formed likewise the admiration and model of the Caracci,
no less than other works of Niccolino, remaining in the city.
Among these, the most admired by strangers, is that fine
Conversazione of ladies and youths, which serves for a frieze
in the hall of the Institute. Next to Raffaello this artist did
not refuse to imitate some others. There, is recorded, and
indeed impressed upon the memory of most painters, a sonnet
of Agostino Caracci, from which we learn, that in Niccolino
alone were assembled the symmetry of Raffaello, the terror of

VOL. II. 2 A

354 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

3Iichelangelo, the truth of Titian, the dignity of Correggio,
the composition of Tibaldi, the grace of Parmigianino ; in a
word, the best of every best professor, and of every (school.
Such an opinion, though to be taken with some grains of allow-
ance, from a poet passionately attached to the honour of his
native school, might perhaps obtain more supporters, did the
pieces of Abate appear somewhat more frequently in different
collections. But they are extremely rare ; no less because of
the superior number of his frescos, than from the circumstance
of his having passed into France at the age of forty. He
was invited thither by the Abate Primaticcio, to assist him in
some of his greatest works, intended for Charles IX., nor did
he ever return into Italy. Hence arose the story of his
having been a pupil of Primaticcio, and taking from him his
cognomen of Abate ; when in fact he drew that title from his
own family. About 1740 there were remaining at Fontaine-
bleau the Histories of Ulysses, to the number of thirty- eight,
painted by Niccolo from designs of Primaticcio ; the most ex-
tensive of any of his works executed in France. According to*
Algarotti, it was afterwards destroyed, though engravings of it,
from the hand of Van-Thulden, a pupil of Rubens, still remain.
Niccolo's family, also, for along period, continued to main-
tain a reputation in many branches of the art. One of his
brothers, Pietro Paolo, distinguished himself by his happy
manner of representing warlike skirmishes, in particular the
terrific charges of horse ; several small pictures in the ducal
gallery, from their peculiar character, are thus ascribed to his
hand ; and they are to be seen placed immediately below those
of the -^Eneid. In the Chronicle of Lancillotto we meet with
Giulio Camillo, son of Niccolo, who accompanied his father
into France ; his name thus remaining nearly unknown in
Italy. The most distinguished name in the family after
Kiccolo, is that of Ercole, son of Giulio, though its lustre was
impaired by an abandoned course of life, productive of great
unhappiness. He painted a good deal ; but, as is too fre-
quently the case with persons of his character, he diminished
the value of his productions by the haste and inaccuracy of
his hand. Of his superior merit, however, we are assured by
the number of commissions bestowed upon him by the Mode-
nese court, to which we are inclined to give more credit than

ERCOLE BE' SETTI. 355

to the venal strains of Marino, who extols him to the skies.
His picture of the Marriage of Cana, remaining in the ducal
gallery, would be sufficient to establish his fame ; it is in his
finest manner, and in many points displays much of the taste
of the Venetian school. His most extensive work was pro-
duced for the hall of council, where he had a companion and
a rival in Schedone, assisting him in those pictures which they
undertook in conjunction, and vicing with him in his separate
works. Nor ought it to be esteemed any diminution of his
merit to have been surpassed by so great a competitor. The
last of these family artists is Pietro Paolo, son of Ercole, who
died in his eight and thirtieth year, 1630. I include his name
here, in order not to separate him from his ancestors, of none of
whom he was unworthy. Though hardly with equal genius, he
pursued the manner of his father ; there is a tame expression
in several of his best authenticated pieces ; I say best authenti-
cated, because it is doubtful whether we should consider some
pictures, attributed to him, as inferior specimens of his father,
or the best of his own.

Besides the disciples and imitators of Raffaello, I find other

irtists of Modena, who during the sixteenth century became

attached to a different style ; and no one among these is to be

preferred to Ercole de' Setti, an excellent engraver, as well as

i painter of considerable merit. A few of his altar-pieces re-

Bain at Modena ; and I have seen, though very rarely, eome

ittle pieces painted for galleries, dignified rather than beau-

iful in point of design. He is cautious and studied in the

laked parts, nearly equal to the style of the Florentines,

-pirited in his attitudes, and strong in his colouring. We find

lis name subscribed Ercole de Setti, and also in Latin,

.Hercules Septimius. Along with his name Vedriani enume-

: utes that of a Francesco Madonnina, entitling him one of the

i aost celebrated artists in the city ; but there is too little

< f his remaining in Modena to form a judgment of his style.
-Is little also remains of Giovanni Batista Ingoni, a rival of
'. Piccolo, as he is termed by Yasari ; and what yet exists is
1 y no means to be held in high estimation. I have discovered
i othing from the hand of Gio. Batista Codibue, though I have
lead of his Annunciation at the Carmine being highly esteem-

< i, besides ether productions both in painting and sculpture.

f AS

356 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

High commendations have likewise been bestowed upon
Domenico Carnevale for bis frescos, that have now perished,
though a few oil-paintings still exist, held in much esteem ;
one of the Epiphany, belonging to one of the prince's collec-
tions, and another of the Circumcision, in the palace of the
Conti Cesi. He also distinguished himself at Rome ; and it
will be sufficient to add, that he was the artist selected to
restore the pictures of Michelangelo, as we find recorded in
the notes to Vasari.

Reggio boasts the honour of having derived its first school
from Raffaello ; and Bernardino Zacchetti is supposed to
have been one of his disciples, though the authorities cited to
this effect by most historians are not entirely conclusive. Per-
haps his picture at S. Prospero, designed and coloured in the
taste of Garofolo, and others which partake of that of Raffaello,
may have given rise to this opinion. But Italy then abounded
with the disciples of that great master, no longer instructed,
indeed, by his voice, but by his paintings and engravings.
The works, said to have been produced by him in Rome, and
the assistance afforded to Bonarruoti, in his labours at the
Sistine chapel, are assertions of Azzari, contained in his
Compendia, which remain unquestioned by any ancient writer.
We might, more easily, however, grant him the proposition
of Giarola having been a pupil of Correggio, and as such I have
reserved him for the school of Parma.

Not long after these flourished Lelio Orsi, of Reggio.
Banished from his native place, he took up his residence at
Novellara, a city then in the possession of the Gonzaghi, where
he established himself, and derived his name of Lelio da
Novellara. This distinguished character, of whom no account
had been given, beyond a slight notice in the Abbecedario, has
recently been honoured with an excellent life, from the pen of
the Cavalier Tiraboschi, compiled from a variety of sources.
Whether he was really a disciple of Correggio still remains a
disputed point with historians, though it is certain he flou-
rished sufficiently near, both in regard to time and place, to
have become acquainted with him. He, at least, studied and
Copied his works, of which there is an instance in a copy of
the celebrated Night, in possession of the noble house of Gaz-
zola, at Verona. Nor are there wanting writers who maintain

LELIO ORSI. 357

lhat Parma, likewise, was embellished by his hand, a city in
which the chief ornaments of that school employed themselves.
And there are false accounts, still in some measure credited, of
Ids having been a pupil of Michelangelo ; of Correggio having
corresponded with him, and even consulted him in his designs.
] t is true, indeed, he is an ingenious, accurate, and powerful
designer. Whether he imbibed his taste at Rome, as Tira-
boschi, upon the authority of a MS., seems to believe ; or from
Giulio in the city of Mantua ; or, again, from studying the
designs and models of Michelangelo ; a knowledge of the path
being itself sufficient to enable enlightened spirits to run the
sume career with success. Decidedly his design is not of the
Lombard school ; and hence arises the difficulty of supposing
him one of the scholars of Correggio, in which case his earlier
pieces, at least, would have partaken of a less robust character.
He has admirably succeeded, however, in attaining the same
grace in his chiaroscuro, in the spreading of his colours, and in
the beauty and delicacy of his youthful heads. Both Reggio
and Novellara possess many of his pictures in fresco, now, for
the most part, perished ; and we are indebted to the glorious
memory of Francesco III. for such as are now to be seen at
Modena, in the palace of his highness, transferred thither from
the fortress of Novellara. Few of his altar-pieces remain in
public in either of the cities, the rest being removed ; one of
which last, representing the Saints Rocco and Sebastiano, along
with S. Giobbe, I happened to meet with in the studio of
Signor Armanno, at Bologna. A few others attributed to him.
at Parma,* at Ancona, and at Mantua, are by no means of so
authentic a character; and there is every reason to believe that
Lelio, dividing his time between Reggio and Novellara, never
absented himself from those places long together ; and has thus
remained less known than many other painters of inferior rank.
The silence of Vasari, of Lomazzo, of Baldinucci, as well as
the chief part of foreigners, is thus likewise accounted for.

From the school of Lelio, in all probability, sprang Jacopo
Borbone, of Novellara, who, in the year 1614, painted a por-
tion of the cloister at the church of the Osservanti, in Mantua;
also, Orazio Perucci, of whom there remain various pictures in

* See Father Affo, pp. 27—124.

358 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH II.

private houses, and an altar-piece at S. Giovanni. Raffaello-
Motta was undoubtedly a pupil of Orsi, better known under
the name of Raffaellino da Reggio, who left in his native place
a few of his productions in fresco ; an astonishing genius,
deserving of Rome for his theatre of action, as indeed I before
observed, and of being lamented like a new Raffaello, prema-
turely passing away.

At this period Carpi had to boast the name of Orazio Gril-
lenzone, who resided mostly in Ferrara, where, enjoying the
acquaintance of Tasso, he was honoured and immortalized by
his pen, being rendered the subject of that dialogue, bearing
for its title, " II Grillenzone, or the Epitaph." But none of
his paintings are now to be found in that city ; and even what
remains of his in Carpi is of a very disputable character. I do
not here speak of the celebrated Girolamo of Carpi ; because
ho was in fact a native of Ferrara, as I elsewhere observed.
There is little to be said of Ugo da Carpi, as a painter : he was
of an inferior genius when he applied himself to his pencil ;
and fell still further below mediocrity when he became whim-
sical enough to paint with his fingers, recording the exploit
upon the canvas, as he did in the figure of the Volto Santo,
the Holy Face, at S. Pietro, in Rome. Still we ought to bear
honourable testimony to his merit, as the inventor of wood
engraving in two, and next in three blocks, or pieces, by which
he expressed the three different tints, the shade, the middle
tints, and the light.* In this way he produced many designs

* The Germans claim the invention of the art of engraving in wood,
in chiaroscuro, before Ugo announced it to the Italians. For this, they
produce the cards of Gio. Ulderico Pilgrim, which, although Gothic, ob-
serves Huber (p. 89), produce an admirable effect in regard to chia-
roscuro. They make out the inventor to be very ancient, enumerating
Mair and others, equally celebrated at the same period. We are told
nothing, however, in regard to their mechanism, which was probably not
the same as that of Ugo.

It will not here be thought irrelevant to record the new method of en-
graving in the Dutch manner, in imitation of 6oloured designs, though
not executed by process of wood, but of copper. It has been introduced
into Tuscany, through the efforts of the distinguished Cosimo Rossi, a
gentleman of Pistoia, and vice-president of the academy. After various
experiments, and making the first trials upon some representations of
tombs, in the solid Egyptian style of his own invention, it soon became
also imitated in other modes of engraving, and more especially in the

UGO DA CARPI. 359

f lid inventions of Raffaello, with greater clearness than even
Marc Antonio had before done ; besides opening to posterity
g new path, as it were, of painting in chiaroscuro, very easily
imitated and multiplied. Yasari particularly treats upon it at
the close of his Introduction ; and there, no less than in other
j laces, commends the genius of Ugo as one of the most acute
t lat was ever directed towards the fine arts.

Viaggio Pittorico of Traballesi. It were desirable that the before-
n entioned gentleman should continue to apply the same in works of
architecture and perspective ; in which he succeeds admirably also with
hs pencil, very happily emulating the style of Canaletto. The method
o ight to be explained very minutely ; but it is both too complicate and
tc o extensive to be adapted to the degree of brevity we have bound our-
sdves to observe upon similar subjects.

360

MODENESE SCHOOL.

EPOCH III.

The Modenese Artists of the Seventeenth Century chiefly follow the
example of the Bolognese.

THE taste introduced by Mimari into Modena and the state,
together with the example of Correggio and Lelio, did not
become wholly extinct in the seventeenth century. It was in
some measure continued by several of their pupils and imita-
tors, but in proportion as those of the Caracci grew into greater
credit, gradually extending their influence over the other
schools of Italy, it began to decline apace. It is well known
that some of the Modenese frequented their academy, andBarto-
lomineo Schedone is included by Malvasia among the scholars
of the Caracci. If such be the fact, we must conclude, either
that his first productions are not known, or that he merely
saluted that school, as it were, from the threshold ; inasmuch
as the larger works which are pointed out as his, betray few
traces of the style of the Caracci. It seems more probable
that he employed himself in following the successors of Raf-
faello in his native place, and in particular Correggio, of whom
there remained so many original pieces. His pieces in fresco,
executed in competition with Ercole Abati, about 1604, still
exist in the public palace ; and among these is the beautiful
history of Coriolanus, and the Seven Sisters, who are meant
to represent Harmony ; whoever observes these will find they
possess a mixture of the two characters before alluded to.
There is, moreover, in the cathedral, a half-figure of S. Gemi-
niano, with an infant boy restored by him to life, supporting
himself by the saint's staff, and apparently returning his
thanks. It may be enumerated among the best of his
works, and bears a striking resemblance to those of Cor-
reggio. The same resemblance was affirmed from that period
in other of his pictures transferred elsewhere ; and Marini

BARTOLOMMEO SCHEDONE. 361

mentions them in one of his letters as a kind of phenomenon.
Seanelli, who wrote about forty years after the death of Sche-
done, also confirms such an opinion ; though to make the imi-
tation complete, he would have wished a little more practice
ar d solidity, in which I rather think he alludes to his perspec-
trre and design, not always quite correct. For the rest his
figures, both in their character and their action, are very
ploasing, while his colouring in fresco is very vivid and lively ;
in oils he is more serious, but more harmonious, though not
aLvays free from the ill effect produced by the bad grounds
usual in the age of the Caracci. His pictures on a larger
scule, such as his Pieta, now in the academy of Parma, are
extremely rare, and also his history-pieces, as the Nativity of
our Lord and that of the Virgin, placed for lateral ornaments
to an altar-piece by Filippo Bellini. Of his Holy Families,
and little sacred pieces, there are some remaining; such as
are found in galleries being highly valuable, so much so, that
Tiraboschi records the sum of 4,000 crowns having been re-
quired for one of them. The court of Naples is extremly rich
in them, having, together with the other Farnesian pictures,
obtained also those painted by Schedone while in the service
of Duke Ranuccio, his most liberal patron. This artist pro-
duced but little, being seduced by the love of gambling ; nor
did he survive very long after losing a large sum of money,
about the end of the year 1615.

The three following names belong to the school of the
Caracci, also in regard to style. Giacomo Cavedone, born in
Sassuolo, but absent from the state after the period of youth,
was esteemed one of the best disciples of Lodovico. Giulio
Seochiari, of Modena, resided also at Rome, and in Mantua,
wlere he produced several excellent pictures for the court,
which perished in the sack of 1630. What remains of him in
hiij native place, and in particular the Death of the Virgin, in
tho subterranean part of ,the cathedral, with four crowns
around, is calculated to give rise to lively regret, that Giulio
sin mid not be equally well known in different collections, with
th< other disciples of the Caracci. Camillo Gavassetti, like-
wise of Modena, may boast also of a greater degree of merit
ih; n of fame ; no less because he died young, than because of
his attaching himself to works in fresco, which, confined to

362 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

the place in which they are produced, confine also the reputa-
tion of the artist. He his better known in Piacenza than in
Modena, Parma, or, indeed, any other city. One of his paint-
ings adorns the presbytery of the church of S. Antonino,
accompanied with figures taken from the Apocalypse, so finely
executed as to induce Guercino, when coming to Piacenza to
complete his finest work, to bestow the highest commendation
upon it ; and it is still enumerated among the chief ornaments
of that rich and ornate city. There is something so grand,
spirited, and choice, in its whole expression, combined with so
much grace and harmony of tints, that it equally surprises us
when viewed together, and satisfies us when examined part by
part. The action only is sometimes too extravagant, and
some of the figures are hardly sufficiently studied. In fact,
this artist preferred expedition to high finish ; and held a dis-
pute, reported by Baldinucci, with Tiarini, who practised and
maintained the contrary, a plan by which, in all works of im-
portance, he was preferred to him in Parma. In Santa Maria
di Campagna, at Piacenza, however, where they both painted
scriptural histories in opposition, Gavassetti maintains his
ground against Tiarini and other competitors, very numerous
and distinguished for that period.

When the pupils of the Caracci succeeded their masters in
Bologna, the young artists of the neighbouring state of Modena
continued to receive instructions from them, being highly
esteemed in the court of Este. At that period flourished
Francesco I. and Alfonso IV., both of whom, according to
the history of Malvasia, were greatly attached to the followers
of the Caracci ; some of these they invited into their ser-
vice, others they employed in their palaces, and at their public
festivals ; and from all they were anxious to obtain designs
and pictures which they might exhibit in their churches, or in
their grand collection of paintings, rendered by their means
one of the richest in Europe. Hence the artists who next
follow, with the exception of a very few, among whom is
Romani of Reggio, will be included in one school. It seems
certain that Romani studied in Venice, and there became
attached to Paolo, whose style he adopted in the Mysteries of
the Rosario ; aud even more so to Tintoretto, whose rules he
usually practised, and very successfully.

GIOVANNI BOUJLANGER. 363

Guido Reni was either the master or the prototype of Gio.
Batista Pesari ; if this artist, who resembles Guido in his
M:idonna at S. Paolo, imitated him as closely in his other
works. But of this we cannot judge, as he flourished only
during a short period, and part of that time in Venice, where
he died before enjoying any degree of fame. Guido himself
unloubtedly bestowed his instructions on Luca da Reggio,
and on Bernardo Cervi da Modena. Luca I have mentioned
in the preceding book. The second, according to the judgment
of Guido, was possessed of distinguished talents for design ;
an*l though meeting with a premature fate in the pestilence of
1630, he left behind him works in the cathedral, and other
churches, not inferior, perhaps, to those of Luca. From the
same school sprung Giovanni Boulanger, of Troyes, painter
to -;he court of Modena, and master m that city. "We find, in
the- ducal palace, various specimens of his pencil truly delicate,
though his want of good grounds in many pictures occa-
sionally casts some reflection upon his merit. He is happy in
his inventions, warm and harmonious in his colours, spirited
in his attitudes, but not without some touch of excessive
enthusiasm. The Sacrifice of Iphigenia, if a genuine pro-
duction, is sufficient to establish his character ; although the
figure of Agamemnon may appear veiled in a capricious style,
scarcely adapted to an heroic subject. Two of his best imitators
an 1 disciples are Tommaso Costa, of Sassuolo, and Sigismondo
Caula, of Modena ; the first of whom succeeded as a powerful
co'ourist, of very general talent, and was eagerly employed
by the neighbouring courts and cities in perspective, in land-
scupe, and in figures. Reggio, where he usually resided,
regains many of his productions : Modena has several, and in
pa rticular the cupola of S. Vincenzo bears proud testimony to
his merit. Caula left his native place, only in order to
in prove his knowledge in Venice. Thence he returned with
th'3 acquisition of a copious and richly-coloured style, as
O -landi very justly remarks, in regard to his great picture of
ths Plague, at S. Carlo. He subsequently changed his tints,
wliich became more languid, and in such taste are most of the
pictures he produced for the ornament of altars and cabinets.

Many artists of Reggio were initiated in the art by Lionello
Spada, and by Desani, his pupil and assistant in the numerous

364 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

labours lie executed at that place. Among these are Sebas-
tiano Vercellesi, Pietro Martire Armani, and in particular
Orazio Talami, who, not content, like the rest, to remain in
his native place, traversed Italy, studied with unwearied care
the models of the Caracci, and succeeded so well in his
iigures, that he might be mistaken for one of their scholars.
AVhile at Rome, which he twice visited, he devoted himself
much to perspective, and very scrupulously observes its rules
in the noble and extensive representations of architectural
objects, which he introduced into his compositions. In all
respects his style is inclined rather to solidity than to amenity.
His native place boasts many of his labours, and more espe-
cially two large pictures abounding in figures, preserved in
the presbytery of the cathedral. Jacopo Baccarini was an
imitator of his style, two of whose pictures have been
engraved by Buonvicini ; a Riposo di Eyitto, and a S. Alessio
Morto, both of which are to be seen at S. Filippo. This
artist's manner displays much judgment, accompanied with a
good deal of grace. Mattia Benedetti, a priest of Reggio,
commended in the Abbecedario, was instructed in the art of
perspective by Talami himself, and, together with his brother
Lodovico, occupies an honourable place in this class. Paolo
Emilio Besenzi, a particular imitator of Albano, either from
natural taste or education, differs a good deal in the former
from Lionello. Reggio retains many pieces, especially at
S. Pietro, highly creditable to this artist's talents ; besides
statues and buildings in very good taste; as he. succeeded in
uniting, like some of the best among the ancients, the various
qualities of the three sister arts.

Guercino likewise presented the state with an excellent
scholar in Antonio Triva di Reggio. He distinguished him-
self in various cities of Italy, and even in Venice, whither he
conducted his sister Flamminia, who possessed a genius for
the art. Here they both employed themselves in several
public works, which acquired for them the commendation of
Boschini. Occasionally he adheres so faithfully to his master,
as in the Orto at Piacenza, as not even to yield to Cesare
Gennari. In other pieces he is more free; though still his
manner retains strong traces of his school, really beautiful, as
it is pronounced by Zanetti, and, if I mistake not, full of

LODOVICO LANA. 365

truth. He finally visited tlie court of Bavaria, where he was
employed until the period of his death.

To Guercino, also, we must refer another imitator of his
sty e, in Lodovico Lana. He was instructed, however, hy
Scarsellini, and from that circumstance, has been enumerated
by some among the artists of Ferrara. But Lana, most
likely, was born in the state of Modena, in whose city he
resided and held his school. His reputation there is great, as
well on account of many very beautiful pieces, as more par-
ticularly for that in the Chiesa del Voto, in which he repre-
sented Modena freed from the scourge of the plague. It is
generally agreed that he never produced a finer specimen of
his art, and there are few, at this time, in those churches, that
can be said to rival it in point of composition, in force of
colouring, harmony, and a certain novelty and abundance of
images, that produce surprise in the spectator. Lana is one
of the freest among the imitators of Guercino ; his touch is
the .same, though less strong, and in taste they exactly coin-
cide. In his motions he has something of Tintoretto, or more
properly of Scarsellini ; but in his colours, and the expressions
of his countenances, he preserves an originality of character.
Pesari and he were rivals, as were the masters whom they
respectively followed, on account of their contrast of style-
Pesari, however, seemed to yield, as he transferred his talents
to Venice, while his competitor became the director of an
academy in Modena, which, supported by his credit, then
became celebrated throughout Italy. The name of Lana
continues to maintain its ground in Bologna and other adjacent
places, while it is not unknown in Lower Italy. The chief
part of his specimens to be met with in collections, consist of
head.-; of aged men, full of dignity, and touched with a certain
boldness of hand, which declares the master.

Those who flourished after him, belonging to the city of
Modena and the state, were for the most part educated else-
where. Bonaventura Lamberti, of Carpi, as I have observed
in tho Roman school, was instructed by Cignani ; and there he
had ji, noble theatre for the display of his powers. At the
same period flourished Francesco Stringa, in Modena, where
he painted a good deal in a style, if I mistake not, that
approached, or seemed rather ambitious of approaching, that

3f)6 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

of Lana, and Guercino himself. By some, he is supposed to
have been a pupil of the first ; by others, of the second of
these artists ; but it is known only with certainty, that he
formed himself upon their model, and that of other excellent
masters, whose works, during his superintendence of the great
Este gallery, he might consult at his pleasure. Endowed
with a rich imagination, spirited and rapid in execution, he
produced much, which was greatly commended, both in the
cathedral and in the churches. His distinguishing charac-
teristic is the depth of his shades, the somewhat dispropor-
tioned length of his figures, and an inclination to the capri-
cious in his actions and composition. When in advanced
years, he began to deteriorate in style, a case common to most
artists.

He was the first master of Jacopo Zoboli, who, proceeding
from Modena into Bologna, and thence to Rome, settled there,
and died in 1761, with the reputation of a good artist. This
he in a high degree acquired by his labours in the church of
S. Eustachio, where he is distinguished amongt the more
modern productions by his S. Girolamo, displaying singular
diligence, polish, and harmony of colours, by no means gene-
ral in those times. The Primaziale of Pisa also boasted a
grand picture by his hand, representing S. Matteo, in the act
of dedicating a young princess to a holy life, by the imposi -
tion of the sacred veil. Two other artists of Modena, Fran-
cesco Yellani and Antonio Consetti, who died near the same
time, not very long ago, were instructed in the art by Stringa
and his school. Both are in a taste much resembling that of
the Bolognese of their own age. The former however, is not
so accurate in point of design as the latter, a strict and com-
mendable master in that art. It is true, he has a crudeness
of colours, not very pleasing to the eye ; no new circumstance
in an artist educated in the school of Creti. Both Modena
and the state are in possession of many of their pieces.

Still more modern artists have supported with honour the
reputation of such predecessors ; but I could not here, without
deviating from my original system, venture to mention them.
The place will invariably serve to forward instruction ; a col-
lection of designs and paintings being now exhibited in the
ducal gallery, which does honour to Italy, no less than to the

PAOLO GIBERTONI. 367

noble taste of the family of Este that established it. Nor has
it emitted, from time to time, to provide for young artists the
assistance of the academy, which continued to flourish there,
from the times of Lana, often closed, and afterwards re-
op ?ned, until beyond the age of Consetti. But it proved too
difacult an attempt to support another academy so near that
of Bologna, so widely distinguished and attended.*

The same celebrated state, so fruitful in every kind of
merit, produced also able professors in other branches of the
art. Lodovico Bertucci, of Modena, was a painter of capricci,
which were at that period much admired and admitted even
into palaces; and perhaps there are many of his specimens
still preserved there, but known under other names. A Pel-
leg rino Ascani, of Carpi, was an admirable flower-painter,
and was succeeded, after a long interval, by Felice Rubbiani.
This last was a scholar of Bettini, the companion of his tra-
vels and the imitator of his taste. He was a favourite at
court, in the cities, and the vicinity; and had commissions
bes ;owed upon him to the number of thirty-six pictures, by
the Marchesi Riva, of Mantua, all of which he varied in the
mott astonishing manner. There was, moreover, a Matteo
Coloretti, from Reggio, excellent in portraits, and a lady of
the name of Margherita Gabassi, who succeeded admirably in
humorous pieces. Nor ought we to omit the name of Paolo
Gibertoni, of Modena, who settled at Lucca, and for this rea-
son less known in his native place. His grotesques in fresco
boast no ordinary merit ; and these he varied with every spe-
cies of strange animals, executed with great spirit. He was
like wise very pleasing in his landscapes, which rose in value
after his death, and are still much esteemed.

Most part of the artists of the Modenese state distinguished
thenselves in ornamental work and in architecture; such as
Gir< lamo Comi, whose fine perspectives deserved to have been
accompanied Avith superior figures; and Gio. Batista Modonino,
called by mistake Madoimino in the Dictionary of Artists, who
acquired a high reputation in Rome, and probably left several

* The latest attempt to restore it was made in 1786, when it continued
to flourish with some credit, during ten years. In the close of the year
1796 it assumed the name of school, as I before remarked, directed by a
mastc r in the art of designing figures, together with an assistant.

368 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

frescos in the Palazzo Spada. He died of the plague, in Naples,
1 656. Antonio loli met with a better fate there, about the same
period ; having acquired the theory of architecture, he passed
into Rome, and entering the school of Pannini, he became one
of the most celebrated painters in architecture and ornamental
work known to the present century. Applauded in the
theatres of Spain, England, and Germany, all of which he
adorned, he afterwards went to Naples, and became painter to
Carlo III. and to his successor. Giuseppe Dallamano, a
weak man, and, as it is said, unacquainted with his alphabet,
was ignorant even of the common principles of the art ; though
by an extraordinary sort of talent, and especially in colouring,
he attained a degree of excellence truly surprising, even to the
learned ; by which he continued to live, employing himself in
the service of the royal family at Turin. His pupil Fassetti
was, likewise, an extraordinary character ; applying himself,
at the age of twenty-eight, to the grinding of colours, he soon
began to imitate his master ; and ultimately, with the assist-
ance of Francesco Bibiena, he became one of the most skilful
among the theatrical painters of Lombardy. He came from
Reggio, as well as his contemporary Zinani and the younger
Spaggiasi, both educated in the school of Bibiena ; although of
the father of Spaggiasi, who died in the service of the king of
Poland, the master's name remains unknown. To these we
might add the name of Bartoli, Zannichelli, Bazzani, and of
others, either yet flourishing or deceased ; names by which the*
Cavalier Tiraboschi is justified in observing, that " Reggio had
the honour of having at all times produced excellent theatrical
painters."

Carpi enjoys a different kind of honour, though as great in
its way. For there were first commenced the works termed
a scagliola or a mischia, of mixed workmanship, the first
inventor of which was Guido Fassi, or del Conte.* The
stone, called selenite, forms the first ingredient in it. It is

* In the "Novelle Letterarie of Florence," 1771, it is asserted that
this art was introduced about two ages back into Tuscany, giving rise to
imitations of marbles, besides some fancy-pieces. I have diligently sought
after specimens thus antique, both at Florence and at Vallombrosa, where-
this art was in great vogue ; but what I have seen are very trivial in their
character, nor do they appear of so ancient a date.

GIOVANNI CAVIGNANI. 369

pounded and mixed with colours, and by the application of a
certain glue, the composition becomes as hard as stone, forming
a kind of marble, capable, with further care, of taking a
gradual polish. The first trial was made upon cornices, which
thus assume the appearance of fine marbles ; and there remain
also in Carpi, of the same composition, two altars by the hand
of Guido himself. His fellow-citizens began to avail them-
selves of this discovery ; some adding one thing to it, and
seme another. Annibal Griffoni, a pupil of Guido, applied it
to monuments, and even ventured upon the composition of
pictures, intended to represent engravings upon copper, as
w ill as pictures in oil ; an attempt not very successful, inso-
much that the specimens by his son Gaspero are not valued
beyond a few tabernacles, and things in a similar taste.
G ovanni Cavignani afforded assistance first to Guido, and
next to Griffoni, surpassing both in a skilful application of the
art. Thus, the altar of S. Antonio, in the church of S. Niccolo,
at Carpi, is still pointed out as something extraordinary, con-
sisting of two columns of porphyry, and adorned with a pallium
embroidered with lace ; an exact imitation of the covers of the
altar, while it is ornamented in the margin with medals,
bearing beautiful figures. Nor is the monument from the
hand of one Ferrari in the cathedral, less perfect in its kind ;
where the marbles are so admirably counterfeited, that several
tourists of the best taste have been induced to break a small
portion, to convince themselves of the fact. There are, also,
pictures preserved in private houses thus drawn by Cavignani ;
one of which consists of the Rape of Proserpine, executed with
much elegance, in possession of Signer Cabassi.

Leoni, who resided in Cremona, was a disciple of the
Gr ffoni, and the artificer of two very beautiful desks, pre-
served in the ducal museum at Modena, as well as Paltromeri
and Mazzelli, who introduced the art into Romagna, where it
stil continues to flourish. We there meet with altars, that
equally deceive the eye by their colour, and the touch by the
freshness of the marble. But the most celebrated pupil of the
Griffoni was a priest called Gio. Massa, who, together with
Gio. Pozzuoli, produced wonderful specimens of the art in his
native place, in the adjacent cities, in Guastalla, Noveliara,
and elsewhere. The priest proved equally successful in draw-

YOL. II. 2 B

370 MODENESE SCHOOL. EPOCH III.

ing distant views, gardens, and in particular architecture,
besides adorning with it tablets, and coverings of altars, in
such a manner as to reach the very perfection of the art.
The most dignified objects possessed by Rome were those
which he most delighted in for his views ; such as the fa9ade
of the temple of the Vatican, its colonnade, and its piazza.
It appears the duke of Guastalla took singular pleasure in
similar works; and at his desire were prepared those two
little tables, in the possession of Signor Alberto Pio, cited by
Tiraboschi, and which were, perhaps, the master-pieces of
Massa. No objects appeared to me more remarkable than
such works abounding almost in every church throughout
those parts ; and it would be very desirable that the plan of
representing architectural views, by this process, should
become more frequent. Massa also included figures, the
honour of perfecting which has fallen upon Florence ; a subject
I have treated in my first volume (p. 251). I shall merely
notice here, that after the practice of modelling had been
brought to vie with sculpture ; and after engraving upon wood
had so well counterfeited works of design, we have to record
this third invention, belonging' to a state of no great dimen-
sions. Such a fact is calculated to bring into still higher
estimation the geniuses who adorned it. There is nothing of
which man is more ambitious than of being called the inventor
of new arts : nothing is more flattering to his intellect, or
draws a broader line between him and the animals that are
incapable of such inventions, or of carrying them beyond the
limits prescribed by instinct. In short, nothing was held in
higher reverence among the ancients ; and hence it is, that
Virgil, in his Elysian fields, represented the band of inven-
tors with their brows crowned with white chaplets, equally
distinct in merit as in rank, from the more vulgar shades
around them.

371

THE SCHOOL OF PARMA.

EPOCH I.

The Ancients.

N.SXT in order to the school of Modena, I rank that of
Prrma and its state; aiid I should very gladly have united
thorn together, as other writers have done, if in addition to the
distinction of dominions there had not also existed an evident
di.stinction in point of taste ; for it appears to me, as I have
before had occasion to observe, that in the former of these
cities the imitation of Raffaello prevailed ; in the second that
of Correggio. This last indeed is the founder of the school of
PE rma, which preserved a series of disciples for several gene-
rations, so strongly attached to his examples as to bestow no
attention upon any other model. The situation in which he
found the city on his first arrival is apparent from the ancient
figures scattered throughout, which by no means discover a
progress in the art of painting equal to that of many other
cities in Italy. Not that this arose from any want of acquaint-
ance with the arts of design ; for there flourished there as early
as the 12th century an artist named Benedetto Antelani, of
wl.om a basso-rilievo, representing the Crucifixion of our
Lc rd, is in the cathedral, which, though the production of a
ru< le age, had nothing in sculpture equal to it that I have been
afre to meet with, until the period of Giovanni Pisano.
Respecting the art of painting, the celebrated Father Affb has
ex racted very interesting notices from published documents
an I MSS., in order to shew, that before 1233, both figures and
historical pieces had been painted in Parma.* Upon the com-

"•' The notices of the artists of Parma communicated by him to the pub-
lic, are in part contained in the Life of Parmigianino, and partly in a
humorous little work, entitled, " II Pannigiano servitor di Piazza ;" and
son e further information on this subject I have myself received from the
lips of this learned ecclesiastic.

2 B 2

372 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH I.

pletion of the baptismal font, about 1260, that assemblage of
paintings was there executed, which may now be regarded as
one of the finest remaining monuments of the ancient manner
that Upper Italy has to boast. The subjects are in the usual
taste of those times ; the style is less angular and rectilinear
than that of the Greek musaicists ; and displays some origi-
nality in the draperies, in the ornamental parts, and in the
composition. Above all, it shews very skilful mechanism in
regard to gilding and colouring, which notwithstanding the
distance of five centuries, retain much of their original strength.
Down from that period there appear in several places, both
at Piacenza and Parma, further specimens of the Trecentisti,
sometimes with annexed dates, and sometimes without any.
Such as belong to Piacenza, are in the church and cloister of
the Predicatori ; but the best preserved of all is an altar-piece
at San Antonio Martire, with histories of the titular saint in
small figures, tolerably well drawn, and in costume which
seems to have been borrowed, as it were, from some municipal
usages peculiar to the place. Parma, likewise, possesses some
of the same date, besides a few others remaining at San Fran-
cesco, in a somewhat more polished style, attributed to Bar-
tolommeo Grossi, or to Jacopo Loschi, his son-in-law, both of
whom were employed there in 1462. Subsequent to these
flourished Lodovico da Parma, a pupil of Francia, whose
Madonnas, executed in his master's manner, are easily recog-
nised in Parma ; and a Cristoforo Caselli (not Castelli, as he
is termed by Vasari), or Cristoforo Parmense, enumerated by
Ridolfi among the pupils of Gian Bellino. He produced a
very beautiful painting for the hall of the Consorziali, bearing
the date of 1499 ; and he is much commended by Grappaldo
in his work De partibus ^Edium, who next to him ranks
Marmitta, of whom there is no authentic specimen remaining.
Still his name ought to be recorded, were it for no other reason
than his being the supposed master of Parmigianino. Along
with these we may mention Alessandro Araldi, one of the
scholars of Bellini, of whom there remains a Nunziata, at the
Padri del Carmine, with his name, besides altar-pieces in dif-
ferent churches. He was indisputably a good artist in the
mixed manner, that is now called antico moderno. The family
of the Mazzuoli was much employed about the same period in

THE ANCIENTS. 373

Purma, consisting of three brother artists, Michele and Pieri-
la:-io, falsely supposed to have been the first masters of Correg-
gio, and Filippo, called dalle JSrbette^ from succeeding better
in fruits and flowers than in figure-pieces. There remains an
altar-piece of Pierilario in the sacristy of Santa Lucia, exe-
cuted in a method very superior to that of the " Baptism of
Christ," painted for the baptismal font by his brother Filippo.
But, however inferior to his other brothers in this line him-
self, Filippo maybe pronounced at least more fortunate in his
posterity, being the father of Parmigianino, whom we have
so lately had occasion to commend.

Yet the two most excellent of the Mazzuoli could not, any
more than their contemporaries, have been considered artists
upon a great scale, when the Padri Cassinensi, instead of
availing -themselves of their services to decorate the tribune
and cupola of their magnificent temple, dedicated to St. John,
preferred inviting Antonio Allegri da Correggio, a foreigner
and a youth, to undertake the immense task ; a choice which
may be said to have conferred a lasting obligation upon pos-
terity. For Correggio, like Raffaello, stood in need of some
extensive undertaking in order to bring his powers into full
play, and to open a new path for labours upon a grand scale,
as lie had before done in those of a smaller class. But of an
artist who forms an era in Italian painting itself, not in this
particular school only, it becomes us to treat, as well as of his
imitators, in a separate chapter.

374

SCHOOL OF PARMA.

EPOCH II.

Correggio, and those who succeeded him in his School.

are at length arrived at one of those distinguished cha-
racters, whom, from his high reputation, and the influence he
exercised over the style of painting in Italy, we can by no
means dismiss with our accustomed brevity. His name, how-
ever, must still be confined within compendious limits, adding
whatever new information and reflections we may think best
adapted for the illustration of such a subject ; the life of
Correggio being involved in so much obscurity, as to admit,
beyond that of any other artist, of fresh discussion. The
more curious may consult the notices of him by the Cavalier
Mengs, contained in his second volume, a little work by
Cavalier Ratti, upon the life and works of Allegri, published
in Finale in 1781, and Tiraboschi in his Notices of the profes-
sors of Modena, besides Padre Affo, in his works already
cited, the most accurate, perhaps, of any in point of chro-
nology.

The whole of these writers, following the example of Scan-
nelli and Orlandi, have complained of Vasari for having falsely
asserted the abject condition of Antonio,* sprung, in fact, from
a tolerably good family in an illustrious city, and not destitute
of those conveniences of fortune that might enable him from
the first to obtain an education adapted to the success of his

* In the opening of the Life we find, — " He was of a very timid dispo-
sition, and with extreme inconvenience devoted himself to incessant labour
in order to provide for a numerous family." Towards the conclusion, he
adds, — " Like those who have a numerous family, Antonio was desirous "
(he had four sons) "of hoarding his money, and thus soon became one of
the most miserable of men." Elsewhere it is observed, — " He held him-
self in slight esteem, and was satisfied with little."

CORREGGIO. 375

f iture efforts. They hare also in particular reproached him
v itb his excessive credulity, in representing him to us as a
suffering and unhappy object, burdened with a numerous
fiimily, little appreciated and badly rewarded for his labours.
On the contrary they observe, we know that he was respected
by the great, richly recompensed, and enabled to leave a fair
heritage for his family. Now I admit that Vasari is guilty
o : much exaggeration, though not without some show of truth ;
for we only need to compare the commissions and gains of
Correggio with those of Raffaello, of Michelangelo, of Titian,
aid even of Vasari himself, to divest us of all surprise at the
honest commiseration of the historian. Annibal Caracci did
n3t only compassionate his condition, but is said to have
b 3 wailed it with his tears.* Besides, if we reflect that the terms
made use of by Vasari, of Correggio having become n misero,
so wretched, that nothing could be worse, do not exactly sig-
nify miser alile, miserable, as interpreted by some of his critics,
but rather mean, miserly, and sparing, renouncing certain
conveniences of life, in order to spend as little as possible, it
will alter the complexion of the case. In the same manner
ho states, or rather as some think, imagines that Antonio,
though enabled to travel like others, by water, mounted horse
d iring the summer solstice, and shortly after died. And
ir deed, if we consider the singular deprivations to which very
wealthy people, for the same reason, will submit, we do not
st'6 how a reference to the possessions of the Allegri family,
n >t without some degree of exaggeration, as has more than
o:ice been done, can disprove this charge of meanness and
extreme parsimony. We trust that the Signer Dottor An-
te nioli will inform us more distinctly respecting the amount
o ' Antonio's property, though we are inclined to believe it
d >uld not have exceeded the limits of mediocrity. The highest

* " It almost drives me mad with grief to think of the wretchedness of
poor Antonio ; to think that so great a man, if he were not an angel in
h iman shape, should be thus lost in a country which could not appreciate
L:m, and though with a reputation reaching to the skies, destined to die
ir; such a place so unhappily." In a letter to Lodovico, written from
Pinna, 1580 (Malvas. vol. i. p. 366). Annibal likewise exaggerated,
bi cause the Padri Benedettini, as well as others, were aware of the value
oi Antonio.

376 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

salaries received by him have been ascertained. For the
cupola and larger nave of the church of San Giovanni, he was
paid four hundred and seventy- two gold ducats, or Venetian
zecchins, and for the cupola of the cathedral, three hundred
and fifty ; doubtless considerable sums, though we should
consider he was occupied from the year 1520 until 1530, in
the designs and labours requisite for works of such magnitude,
and which prevented him from accepting other offers of any
account during the interval. He earned forty gold ducats by
his celebrated picture of Night ; his San Girolamo brought
him forty-seven ducats, or zecchins, besides his subsistence
during six months he was employed on it ; and thus, in equal
proportion, we may suppose him to have been recompensed
for the time bestowed upon his lesser pieces. The two which
he painted for the duke of Mantua we may reckon at some-
thing more ; but these were the only ones he produced at the
request of sovereigns. Thus much being certain, it is hardly
credible, that after deducting the expense of colours, of models,
and of assistants, including the maintenance of his family,
there should still have remained enough to leave that family
in a state of affluence.

But although we admit the reality of his supposed indigence,
it can form no reproach, no drawback upon the excellences of
so great a man, crowning him rather with additional honour,
in particular when we reflect, that with such limited means
he was invariably lavish of his colours, to a degree beyond
example. There is not a single specimen, whether executed
on copper, on panels, or on canvas, always sufficiently choice,
that does not display a profusion of materials, of ultramarine,
the finest lake and green, with a strong body, and repeated
retouches ; yet for the most part laid on without ever remov-
ing his hand from the easel before the work was completed.
In short he spared neither time nor expense, contrary to the
custom of all other painters, with very few exceptions. Such
liberality, calculated to do honour to a rich amateur, painting
for amusement, is infinitely more commendable in an artist of
such circumscribed resources. It displays, in my opinion, all
the grandeur of character that was supposed to animate the
breast of a Spartan. And this we would advance, no less in
reply to Vasari, who cast undue reflections upon Correggio's

CORREGGIO. 377

•economy, than as an example for such young artists as may
be desirous of nourishing sentiments worthy of the noble
profession they embrace.

It is still current in Correggio that Antonio commenced his
first studies under his uncle Lorenzo. Subsequent to which,
according to Vedriani, he entered into the school of Francesco
Bi&nchi, called II Frari, who died in 1510, a school established
in Modena. There also it appears he acquired the art of
modelling, at that time in great repute ; and he thus prepared
in clay, along with Begarelli, the group of that Pieta, in
Saita Margherita, where the three most beautiful figures are
attributed to Correggio. In the same highly distinguished
city it is most probable that he also laid the foundation of
tha: learned and cultivated taste so conspicuous in his works;
the geometrical skill exhibited in his perspective, the archi-
tectural rules of his buildings, and the poetry of his warm
and lively conceptions. Thus his historians, judging from the
specimens of his early style, assert that he must have sought
it in the academy of Andrea Mantegna at Mantua ; but the
recently discovered fact of Andrea's having died in 1506,
does away with such a supposition. It is, nevertheless,
extremely probable that he acquired it by studying the works
left by Andrea at Mantua, for which I can adduce various
arguments. I have described pretty fully the character of
Mantegna's picture of Victory, the most extraordinary of all
he produced ; imitations of this are to be met with in many
of the works of Correggio, but most evidently so in the
picture of his St. George at Dresden. The manner in which
Correggio could have imbibed so exquisite a taste, was always
considered surprising and unaccountable, prevailing every-
where, as we find it in his canvas, in his laying on his colours,
in the last touches of his pictures ; but let us fcr a moment
suppose him a student of Andrea's models, surpassing all
others in the same taste, as we before observed, and the
wonder will be accounted for. Let us moreover consider the
grace and vivacity so predominant in the compositions of,
Correggio ; that rainbow as it were of colours, that accurate
care in his foreshortenings, and of those upon ceilings ; his
abundance of laughing boys and cherubs, of flowers, fruits,
and all delightful objects; and let us then ask ourselves

378 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

whether his new style does not appear an exquisite completion
of that of Mantegna, as the pictures of Raffaello and Titian
display the progress and perfection of those of Perugino and
Giovanni Bellini.

In regard to his education in the studio of Mantegna, the
generally received opinion in Lomhardy is, that Vedriani
must have been mistaken in a name; and that in place of
Andrea, he ought to have pronounced his son Francesco, the
master with whom it is maintained Correggio resided, either
in quality of pupil or assistant. Mantegna's school, indeed,
had risen into great reputation, having given striking proof
of its excellence even in foreshortening upon the ceiling;
besides surpassing Melozio, as I elsewhere observed, so as
only to leave another step before reaching the modern manner.
This was reserved for the genius of Correggio, in common
with the master spirits of every other school, who flourished
during the same period. In truth, from his very first attempts,
he appears to have aimed at a softer and fuller style than
Mantegna's ; and several, among whom is the Abate Betti-
nelli, have pointed out some such specimens in Mantua.
Signor Volta, member of the Royal Academy there, assured
me that Correggio is named in the books of the Opera di
S. Andrea, for which reason, several of the figures on the
outside of the church, and in particular a Madonna, better
preserved than the rest, a youthful essay, but from the hand
of one freed from the stiffness of the quattrocentisti, have
been attributed to him.* In Mantua likewise I saw a little
picture in the possession of the Abate Bettinelli, about to be
engraved, representing a Holy Family, in which, if we except
a degree of stiffness in the folds, the modern manner is
complete. A few other of Correggio's Madonnas, to be
referred to this period, are to be seen in the ducal gallery at
Modena, with other works mentioned in various places.
Among these is a picture of our Lord taking farewell of the

* There is a document existing in the same archives, where Francesco
Mantegna binds himself to ornament the outside of the church. It may
thus be conjectured, that the picture of the Ascension, placed over the
gateway, is from his hand, while the Madonna, evidently from another, is
the work of Correggio. The master, in executing his commissions, often
employed his pupil or his assistant.

CORREGGIO. 379

"Virgin mother, previous to his passion, a piece recognised as
a genuine Correggio by the Abate Carlo Bianconi at Milan.*
Doubtless many of his other early productions were of an
inferior description, and are dispersed abroad, either unknown,
ci disputed, Vasari having recorded of him that "he com-
pleted many pictures and works."

Wherefore is it then that in the published catalogues we
rn set with so very scanty a list of his pictures, nearly all
esteemed excellent ? It is because whatever does not appear
superlatively beautiful has been doubted, denied, and cast
aside as unworthy of him, or attributed to some of his school.
IMengs himself, who investigated the relics of this great artist,
ai.d was very cautious of admitting any disputed productions,
declares that he had only seen one specimen of his early style,
that of his S. Antony in the gallery of Dresden. This, as
woll as a S. Francis and the Virgin, he painted in 1512, in
Carpi, when he was eighteen years of age.t From the
st ffness apparent in this last, and the contrasted softness of
tha others, he was led to conjecture that Correggio must have
su idenly altered his manner, and attempted to penetrate into
tli3 unknown cause of it. He suspected, therefore, that what
D} Piles, followed by Resta, and some other writers, first
advanced in his Dissertations, against the authority of Yasari,
nrist be correct,} namely, that Correggio visited Rome, and
having observed the ancient style, and that of Raffaello and
M ichelangelo, along with Melozio's pictures in the art of
foreshortening, seen from below, he returned into Lombardy
w th a different taste, acquired during his stay in the capital.

Yet this able scholar proposes such a view of the case, with
singular deference to the contrary opinion of others, and even
piesents his reader with arguments against that view, to the
fo lowing effect : — "If he did not behold the antique" (and
ths same may be averred of the two distinguished moderns),

* This excellent judge of art, more particularly in point of engravings,
an 1 also extremely skilful in portraits drawn with the pen, departed this
lif '. at the beginning of 1802.

f Thus conjectures Tiraboschi, with arguments that prove the fact
ra her than shew its probability.

J Ortensio Landi, in his Observations, had put on record that Correggio
di -d young, without seeing Rome.— Tiraboschi.

380 SCHOOL OP PARMA. EPOCH II.

" such as it exists in Rome, lie may still have seen it as it
appears at Modena and Parma ; and the mere sight of an
object is enough to awaken in fine spirits the idea of what it
ought to be." And my readers, indeed, will be at no loss to
find examples to confirm such an opinion ; Titian and Tin-
toretto, by the mere use of modelling, having far surpassed
those who designed statues ; and Baroccio happening to cast
his eye upon a head of Correggio, soon distinguished himself in
the same style. And if we may further adduce an example
of the power of sovereign genius, from the sciences, let us
look at Galileo watching the oscillations of a bell in a church
at Pisa, from which he drew the doctrine of motion and the
principles of the new philosophy. So likewise might this
great pictorial genius conceive the idea of a new style, from a
few faint attempts of art, and thus win the applauses of the
world of art, bestowed upon him from the time of Vasari, as
something due less to a mortal than to a yod. Doubtless in
the first instance he received no slight impulse from the finer
works of Andrea, from the collection of ancient relics in
Mantua and Parma, from the studio of the Mantegni, and that
of Begarelli, equally rich in models and designs. To these
we may add an acquaintance with artists, familiar with Rome,
with Munari, with Giulio Romano himself ; and finally the
general influence of the age, everywhere dissatisfied with the
meanness of the late style, and aiming at a more soft, full,
and clear development of the contours. All these united in
facilitating the progressive step which Correggio had to take,
though his own genius was destined to achieve the task. This
it was that first led him to study nature, with the eye of the
ancient Greeks, and that of his great Italian predecessors.
The leading geniuses of their age have often pursued the same
career, unknown to each other, as Tully has expressed himself,
"Et quadam ingenii divinitate, in eadem vestigia incur-
rerunt." But we must here check ourselves, in regard to this
portion of the subject, having to treat of it anew at the
distance of not many pages. At present we have only to
inquire whether Correggio really adopted the modern style at
once, as has been asserted, or by gradual study.

Upon this point it is much to be regretted that the Cavalier
Mengs did not obtain a sight of some paintings in fresco,

CORREGGIO. 381

executed by Correggio, as it is said, in his early youth, during
tie period he was employed by the Marchesa Gambara ; but
which have now perished. For, doubtless, he would thus
h;.ve been enabled to throw much light upon the subject ; and
at least I could have wished that he had met with two pictures
produced by Antonio in his native place, though but recently
discovered, as in these, perhaps, he might have detected that
sort of middle style, which is seen to exist between his St.
A itony and his St. George at Dresden. The first of these
has been called in question by Tiraboschi, on the ground of
th ?re being no authentic document assigning it to Correggio ;
though I think it ought to be admitted as his, until stronger
arguments, or the authority of experienced professors of the
an, compel us to deny it. This picture was formerly placed
in the chapel of La Misericordia, and very old copies of it
an still preserved in many private houses at Correggio. It
represents a beautiful landscape, together with four figures of
sai its, St. Peter, St. Margherita, the Magdalen, and another,
most likely St. Raimond, yet unborn.* The figure of St.
Peter bears some resemblance to one of Mantegna, in his
Ascension of St. Andrew, just alluded to; while the wood
and the ground are extremely like that master's composition.
This fine piece was much damaged by the lights, or, as some
suspect, by the varnish, purposely laid on, in order, by
decreasing its value, to prevent its being carried away; but,
on the contrary, it appears for this very reason to have been
removed from the altar, and a copy substituted, in which the
last of the above figures was exchanged for one of St. Ursula.
The original afterwards came into the possession of Signor
Anionio Armanno, one of the best connoisseurs at this time
known, in respect to the value of engravings, as well as of
oth<-r productions of our best artists, which he has likewise, in
a singular degree, the art of restoring even when much
defaced. So in this instance, by the most persevering care,

* Tiraboschi, p. 257, gives a different account of it, and appears to
confound the original with the copy, which for a long time has been placed
on the altar, also considerably defaced and discoloured. Respecting this
picture, likewise, we hope we shall be better informed by the Dottor
Antonioli, to whom we here confess our obligations for much information
inserted in this chapter, obtained from his own mouth upon the spot.

382 SCHOOL OF PARMA. — EPOCH II.

during a whole year, he at length succeeded in removing this
ugly veil, which concealed the beauty of the work, now
renewed in all its pristine excellence, and attracting crowds
of accomplished strangers to gaze upon its merits. It is
generally allowed to exhibit a softer expression, in the modern
style, than the St, Antony of Dresden, though yet far distant
from the perfection of the St. George and others produced
about the same time.

About this period, Allegri painted in the church of the Con-
ventuals, at Correggio, what is termed an Ancona, a small
altar-piece in wood, consisting of three pictures. It appears
certain, that the two altar-pieces already mentioned opened
the way also to this fresh commission ; for from the written
agreement, he seems to have been in his twentieth year, and
the price fixed upon was one hundred gold ducats, or one
hundred zecchins, which proves the esteem in which his talents
were held. He here represented St. Bartholomew and St. John,
each occupying one side ;* while in the middle department,
he drew a Repose of the Holy Family flying into Egypt, to
which last was added a figure of St. Francis. So greatly was
Francesco I., duke of Modena, delighted with this picture,
that he sent the artist Boulanger with the orders to copy it
for him ; and thus obtaining possession of the original, he
dexterously contrived to substitute his own copy in its place,
a deception which he afterwards repaired by presenting the
convent with some fresh lands. It is believed that it was
afterwards presented to the Medicean family, and by them
was given in exchange to the house of Este, for the Sacrifice
of Abraham, from the hand of Andrea del Sarto. It is certain
that it was to be seen in the royal gallery at Florence, from
the end of the last century, and was there commended by
Barri, in his " Viaggio Pittoresco," as original. In progress

* These two saints had already been withdrawn from the altar (Tira-
boschi, p. 253), nor does a copy of them remain at San Francesco. That
made by Boulanger is in the convent, and was evidently produced in haste,
and upon a bad ground ; hence it is neither very exact, nor in good pre-
servation. It is, nevertheless, valuable as throwing light upon Correggio's
history, and his different styles ; while it also tends to prove, that if the
ancona was made of wood, the picture was made portable, and painted on

CORREGGIO. 383

of lime, it began to be less esteemed, because less perfect,
perhaps, than some of the master-pieces of Correggio, and not
lon£; after, assuming another name, it began to be pointed out
by f-ome as a Baroccio, and by others as a Yanni. The same
Signor Armanno, before mentioned, who was the first to recall
to mind the copy remaining at Correggio, presented us, also,
with this hidden treasure. Its originality, however, was dis-
puted from the first, it being objected, in particular, that
Allcgri had depicted the subject upon board, whereas this
Mecicean painting was found to be upon canvas. But this
doul >t was removed on comparing the work with the copy of
Boulanger, made upon canvas ; for certainly if the genuine
production were really painted upon board, the imitator could
hardly have succeeded in palming upon the holy brethren
one of his copies upon canvas. The probability of its
genuineness is still greater when we reflect, that no gal-
lery was ever in possession of a Repose similar to it, so
as to have contested with the city of Florence the pos-
session of the original; so frequent an occurrence, both
now and in other times, with works of art repeated in
different places. Besides, the hand of the master is, in
itself, nearly enough to pronounce it genuine ; we see
the remains of a varnish peculiar to the author; a tone of
color ring perfectly agreeing with his pictures at Palma ; inso-
mucl , that many very experienced judges of art, and among
others Gavin Hamilton, whose opinion carries great weight,
have united in giving it to Correggio. At the same time, they
admit, that it is a piece partaking of an union of his styles,
durir g the progress of the second ; and if we are careful in
comparing it with his other representation of the Repose, at
S. Sepolcro, in Parma, commonly entitled the Madonna della
Scodvlla, we shall discover much the same difference as
betwt en Raffaello's paintings in Citta di Castello and those at
Rom( . Such a distinction was noticed by some very respectable
professors, even during the heat of the controversy, who agreed
in declaring, that the Medicean picture in part resembled
Correggio in his best manner, and in part differed from it.

Th-jre are two other pictures of his, mentioned by the Ca-
valier Mengs, which may be referred to the same class. One
of them is the " Noli me tangere" in the Casa Ercolani, but

384 SCHOOL OF PARMA. — EPOCH n.

which suosequently passed into the Escurial ; the other a
picture of the Virgin in the act of adoring the Divine Infant,
which adorns the royal gallery in Florence ; both of which he
declares are ill a taste which he failed to discover in the most
suhlime and celebrated pictures of Correggio. To these we
may add the Marsyas of the Marchesi Litta, at Milan, with a
few other works of Correggio's inserted in the catalogue of
Tiraboschi, which is the most copious extant. From such
evidence it must, in short, be admitted, that this artist was
possessed of a sort of middle style, between that which he
formed as a scholar and that which he completed as a master.
And we have equal reason for believing what has been stated
respecting Correggio's having attempted a variety of styles,
before he made choice of the one by which he so greatly dis-
tinguished himself, and thus laid the foundation for his pieces
being attributed, as they have been, to different masters. In.
fact, his conceptions of the beautiful and the perfect were
deduced in part from other artists, and in part created by
himself ; conceptions that could not be matured without much
time and labour ; on which account he was compelled, as it
were, to imitate those natural philosophers who try an infinite
number of different experiments to discover some single truth
which they have in view.

During a progress thus gradually pursued, and by an artist
who in every new production succeeded in surpassing himself,
it is difficult to fix the precise epoch of his new style. I
once saw in Rome a very beautiful little picture, representing,
in the back -ground, the taking of Christ in the garden ; and
in the fore part, the youth Joseph, who, in the act of flying,
leaves his mantle behind him ; the original of which is in
England, and a duplicate at Milan, in possession of Count de
Keweniller ; the picture at Rome bore in ancient character
the date of 1505, indisputably false. A more correct one, how-
ever, is to be found upon that of the Marriage of St. Cathe-
rine, in possession of Count Brull, late prime minister to the
king of Poland, which is every way corresponding to the
other remaining at Capo di Monte; it bears the date of 1517.
It is probable, that in this year, when the artist was just
twenty-three, he had already sufficiently mastered his new
style, from the fact of his having about 1518, or 1519, pro-

CORUEGGIO. 385

duced in Parma the picture which is still in existence at the
monastery of St. Paul. This, after various disputes, has
recently been acknowledged to be "one of the most grand,
spirited, and laboured productions that ever proceeded from
that divine hand ;" and it has been illustrated with its real
epoch, from an excellent little work of the celebrated Padre
Af?6. Such a work, indeed, confers a benefit upon history. He
there explains the manner in which Correggio might have
imitated the ancients with such advantages only as he found
in Parma ; and endeavours to account for the difficulty pre-
setted to us in the silence of Mengs, who, having beheld this
very picture, omitted to mention it among Antonio's other
works. "We are relieved, also, from another difficulty in
respect to the manner in which a piece representing the Chase
of Diana, abounding with such a variety of loves and cupids,
could have been painted for a holy monastery, accompanied
by those profane representations distributed throughout the
same chamber, in various circular pieces, such as the Graces,
the Fates, the Vestals; a naked Juno, suspended from the
heavens, in the method described by Homer, in his fifteenth
book of the Iliad ; with other similar objects, still less becom-
ing the sphere of a cloister. But our wonder will cease when
we reflect, that the same place was once the residence of a
lady abbess, at a time in which the nuns of S. Paolo lived
unguarded by grates ; in which every abbess sought to enjoy
herwelf ; held jurisdiction over lands and castles, and, inde-
pendent of the bishop, lived altogether as a secular personage,
a license in those days extremely general, as is justly observed
by Muratori, in his " Italian Antiquities," torn. iii. p. 332.
The above work was a commission given by a Donna Giovanna
di Piacenza, who was then the superior of the monastery ; and
whatever degree of learning we meet with in the painting, and
in the devices or conceits, was, most probably, communicated
to the artist by Giorgio Anselmi, a celebrated scholar, whose
own daughter belonged to the same establishment. But we
must not allow ourselves to proceed further in our notice of a
dissertation, assuredly one of the most profound and ingenious
that we ever recollect to have read. The pictures are about to
be engraved by the hand of Signor Rosaspina, after those of
S. Giovanni, in which the learned Abate Mazza is at present

VOL. II. 2 C

386 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

so laudably engaged, no less to the advantage of the arts than
of his own reputation.*

The vast undertaking, so finely executed by Correggio, at
S. Paolo, obtained for him so high a name, that the Padri
Cassinensi invited him to engage in the equally extensive one
of San Giovanni, entered upon in 1520,t and completed in
1524, as we find mentioned in the books. There, also, in
addition to several minor works, he decorated the tribune,
which being afterwards removed, in order to extend the choir,
and rebuilt, was repainted, as we shall notice elsewhere, by
Aretusi. On the demolition of the tribune, the picture of the
Incoronation of the Virgin, the leading subject in the fresco,
was saved, and is now exhibited in the royal library ; and
various heads of angels, which in like manner escaped the same
destruction, are preserved in the Palazzo Rondanini at Rome.
There are, now, in the church of San Giovanni, two pictures
in oil, placed opposite to one another, in one of the chapels ;
one, a Christ taken from the Cross ; the other, the Martyrdom
of St. Placidus, both painted on canvas made for the purpose,
like some of the pictures of Mantegna. On the exterior of
one of the other chapels is a figure of St. John the Evangelist,
executed in the noblest manner. And, finally, there is the
grand cupola, where the artist represented the Ascension of
Jesus to his Father ; the apostles looking on in mingled vene-
ration and surprise ; a production in which, whether we regard
the proportion, and the shortening of the figures, the naked
parts, or the draperies, or gaze upon it as a whole, we must
alike confess that it was an unexampled specimen of the art,
in its kind; the terrific Judgment of Michelangelo J not having
then assumed its place in the Vatican.

* Some writers attempt to prove from this work that Correggio had
already visited Rome.

f Tiraboschi was unable to discover any certain work from the hand of
Antonio, between the years 17 and 20, of the same age. This gave rise to
the assertion of Vasari's annotator, that he remained in Rome in quality
of Raffaello's pupil during this interval, and on his master's death, in 1520,
returned to Lombardy. Such a supposition becomes utterly void, after
the above epochs adduced by us.

+ It is worth notice, that Ratti, persuaded of Correggio's residence at
Rome, has availed himself of the argument of certain figures being bor-
rowed by him from the Judgment, before Michelangelo had painted it.

CORREGGIO. 387

Astonishing, however, as such a production must be allowed
to be, it will still be found to yield the palm to another, which
the hand of Correggio alone could have rendered superior.
Tlis is the celebrated Assumption of the Virgin, in the
cathedral of Parma, completed in the year 1530. It is
inc isputably more ample ; and in the back-ground the figures
of the same apostles are reproduced, as was customary, ex-
pressing feelings of surprise and piety, though in a manner
altogether different from the former. In the upper part is
represented an immense crowd of happy spirits, yet distributed
in :he finest order, with a number of angels of all dimensions,
and full of action ; some employed in assisting the flight of
the Virgin, others singing and dancing, and the rest engaged
in celebrating the triumph with applause, songs, torches, and
the burning of celestial perfumes. In all, the countenances
beam with mingled beauty, hilarity, and triumph ; a halo of
liglt seems to envelope the whole, so that, notwithstanding the
piece is much defaced, it is still calculated to awaken such an
enchantment of the soul, that the spectator almost dreams he
is in elysium. These magnificent works, as it has been
observed of the chambers of Raffaello, were calculated to
promote the dignity of his manner, and led the way to that
height of perfection which he attained in the difficult art of
working in fresco. To estimate it aright, we ought to approach
near, to mark the decision and audacity as it were of every
stroke ; the parts, that at a distance appear so beautiful, yet
effected by few lines ; and that colouring, and that harmony
which unite so many objects in one, produced, as it were, in

Equally valid is his conjecture, founded upon several figures of Raffaello's,
which he detected in Correggio, as if these two artists had never studied
from the same book of nature. Such an opinion is asserted also by Padre
della Valle, cited in our first volume, p. 401. But writers will always
be liable to these mistakes, as long as they pretend to make discoveries
and t irow light upon ancient facts, without adhering to historical dates,
and i.u their conjectures rather consult novelty and their own vanity than
truth. But this fault, brought into vogue about the middle of the eigh-
teenth century, has produced no little evil, both in letters and religion,
and S'irely cannot continue to receive encouragement at this enlightened
perioc .'. Let us rather trust that the love of truth, never altogether extin-
guish! d, will resume its former influence in the investigation of historical
poinb, and that one of its leading objects will be to free both sacred and
profai e history from those foolish sophisms that so much obscure it.
2 c 2

388 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

sportful play. The renowned artist survived only four years,
subsequent to the completion of the cupola ; without com-
mencing, during the interval, the painting of the tribune, for
which he had pledged himself, and received part of the
remuneration, which was afterwards restored to the revenues
of the cathedral by his heirs. It has been conjectured, that
the conductors of the works must, in some way, have given
him offence ; since the artist Sojaro, on being invited to paint
at the /Steccata, objects to it in the following terms : " Not
wishing to remain at the discretion of so many different heads ;
and you know," he continues to his friend, " what was said to
Correggio in the dome." Now this, it would appear, must
have consisted of some expressions derogatory to his talents ;
probably some words which one of the artificers is said to have
applied to the diminutiveness of his figures : " Ci avete fatto
un guazzetto di rane." " You have presented us with a hash
of frogs." Words from a workman, for which Correggio might
easily have consoled himself, as they did not express the
opinion of the city of Parma.

He died, however, about four years afterwards, at his native
place, before he had completed his undertaking ; and without
leaving any portrait of himself which can be considered
genuine. Vasari's editor, at Rome, produces one of a bald old
man, little agreeable to our ideas of Correggio, who died at the
age of forty. It is taken from a collection of designs by the
Padre Resta, which he entitled, the " Portable Gallery," and
which both the Cavalier Tiraboschi and the Padre della Valle
mentioned as having been lost. Nevertheless it exists in the
Ambrosian collection, and contains, among other designs, one
which Resta, in the notes added thereto, declares to be the
family of Correggio, consisting of the portrait of himself, his
wife, and his sons; altogether forming one female and three
male heads, poor, and wretchedly attired. But it betrays
evident marks of its want of genuineness, and not the least in
the description of the family ; inasmuch as Antonio is known
to have had one son and three daughters, two of whom appear
to have died at an early age. The portrait remaining at
Turin, in the Vigna della Regina, engraved by the very able
Valperga, bears an inscription, in part hidden by the cornice.
Still I contrived to decipher the words, Antonius Corrigiusr

CORREGGIO. 389

/ — (that is, fecit), one of the first arguments for not admitting
it, as some have done, to be a head of Correggio. A further
one; may be derived from the inscription itself being written in
larj^e letters, and in a space occupying the whole length of the
car vas, a method occasionally adopted to explain the subject
of the piece, but never the name of the artist. There was
another portrait sent from Genoa into England, with an
inscription upon the back, indicating it to be that of Antonio
da Correggio, drawn by Dosso Dossi, which is to be found in
the memoirs of Ratti. I have no sort of ground for asserting
such a signature to have been introduced several years sub-
sequent; a plan which was, and still is frequently adopted, by
an accurate imitation of the ancient characters ; I would
merely observe, that there was also a distinguished painter in
miniature, of the name of M. Antonio da Correggio, who
traversed Italy about the time of Dosso, and whose merits I
shall treat of hereafter. Of the portrait taken of Correggio,
by Gambara, in the cathedral of Parma, it would here be
improper to speak, otherwise than as of an idle popular
Kin tour. In conclusion, therefore, I am inclined to admit the
seeming truth of what is advanced by Vasari, that this noble
artist entertained no idea of transmitting his likeness to pos-
terity, not justly estimating his own excellence, but adding to
his numerous other accomplishments that of a remarkable
modesty, conferring real honour upon our history.

The latest and most [perfect style of Correggio has been
minutely analysed by the Cavalier Mengs, in the same man-
ner as he examined that of Raffaello and of Titian. And in
this famous triumvirate he accorded to him the second rank,
aft( r Raffaello, observing, that this last depicted more exqui-
sitely the affections of the soul, though inferior to him in the
expression of external forms. In this, indeed, Correggio was
a true master, having succeeded by his colouring, and yet more
by his chiaroscuro, in introducing into his pictures an ideal
bea uty, surpassing that of nature, and at the same time attract-
ing the admiration of the most learned, by an union of art and
nature in its rarest forms, such as they never before beheld.
And such admiration, and such applauses, were in particular
bestowed upon his St. Jerome, preserved in the academy at

390 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

Parma. Algarotti declares, that he was inclined to prefer it
to any other of his productions ; and to exclaim in his heart :
" Tu solo mi piaci !" " Thou alone pleasest me !" Annibal Car-
racci himself, upon first beholding this picture, as well as a few
others from the same hand, declares, in the letter already cited
to his brother Lodovico, that he would not even exchange them
with the St. Cecilia of Raffaello, which is still to be seen in
the city of Bologna. And it may be truly said, that the same
art that had been carried to such a pitch of sublimity by Mi-
chelangelo—to such an exquisite degree of natural grace and
expression by Raffaello, and from Titian received such inimi-
table perfection in its tones of colouring — displayed in Correg-
gio such an union of excellences, as in the opinion of Mengs,
carried the whole of these to their highest point of perfection,
adding to all their dignity and truth his own peculiar elegance,
and a taste as captivating to the eye as to the heart of the
spectator.

In design he exhausted not all that depth of knowledge, so
conspicuous in Bonarruoti ; but it was at once so great and so
select, that the Caracci themselves adopted it for their model.
I am aware, that Algarotti considered him to be somewhat
incorrect in the expression of his contours ; while Mengs, on
the other hand, defends him very warmly from such a charge.
Truly, there does not appear the same variety in his lines as is
to be found in Raffaello and the ancients, inasmuch as he pur-
posely avoided angles and rectilinear lines, preserving as much
as lay in his power, an undulating sweep of outline, sometimes
convex and sometimes concave ; while it is maintained, that
his grace results, in a great measure, from this practice ; so
that Mengs in uncertainty appears at one time to commend,
and at another to excuse him for it. He is lavish of his praises
on the design of his draperies, on whose masses Correggio
bestowed more attention than on the particular folds ; he being
the first who succeeded in making drapery a part of the com-
position, as well by force of contrast as by its direction ; thus
opening a new path which might render it conspicuous in large
works. In particular, his youthful and infantile heads are
greatly celebrated ; the faces beaming with so much nature and
simplicity, as to enchant, and to compel us, as it were, to smile

CORREGGIO. 391

as they smile.* Each separate figure may be pronounced original,
fro m the infinite variety of foreshortenings he has introduced;
there is scarcely a single head that is not seen from a point of
view either shove or below; not a hand, not a whole figure,
whose attitude is not full of an ease and grace of motion,
beyond example. By his practice of foreshortening figures
upon ceilings, which was avoided by Rafiaello, he overcame
ma ay difficulties still remaining to be vanquished after the
time of Mantegna, and in this branch of perspective is justly
entitled to the merit of having rendered it complete.

His colouring is allowed to correspond beautifully with the
grace and selection of his design, Giulio Romano having been
heard to assert that it was altogether the best he had ever
seen ; nor was he averse to the Duke of Mantua giving the pre-
ference to Correggio above himself, when about to make a pre-
senration of pictures to the Emperor Charles Y. Equal com-
mendation is bestowed upon him by Lomazzo, when he pro-
nounces that, among the colourists, he is to be considered rather
as unique than as rare in point of merit. No artist before him
ever bestowed so much attention upon his canvas, which after
a slight covering of chalk, received his colours, both in point
of quantity and quality, as we have before stated, from a lavish
hand.t In the impasto, or laying on his colours, he approaches
the manner of Giorgione, in their tone he resembles Titian,

* This is an expression of Annibal Caracci. Elsewhere he observes :
"This kind of delicacy and purity, which is rather truth itself than veri-
simi 'itude, pleases me greatly. It is neither artificial nor forced, but quite
natural."

f One of the professors being employed in restoring a piece of Cor-
reggio, analyzed the mode of colouring. Upon the chalk, he said, the
artut appeared to have laid a surface of prepared oil, which then received
a th ck mixture of colours, in which the ingredients were two-thirds of oil
and one of varnish ; that the colours seemed to have been very choice, and
particularly purified from all kinds of salts, which in progress of time eat
and destroy the picture ; and that the before-mentioned use of prepared
oil tnust have greatly contributed to this purification by absorbing the
salii e particles. It was, moreover, his opinion that Correggio adopted
the method of heating his pictures, either in the sun, or at the fire, in order
that the colours might become as it it were interfused, and equalized in
such a way as to produce the effect of having been poured, rather than laid
on. Of that lucid appearance which, though so beautiful, does not reflect
objects, and of the solidity of the surface, equal to the Greek pictures, he

392 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

tliougli in their various gradations, in the opinion of Mengs,
he is even more expert. There prevails likewise in his
colouring a clearness of light, a brilliancy rarely to be met with
in works of others ; the objects appear as if viewed through
a glass, and towards evening, when the clearness of other paint-
ings begins to fade with the decay of light, his are to be seen
as it were in greater vividness, and like phosphoric beams
shining through the darkness of the air. Of the kind of var-
nish for which Apelles has been so commended by Pliny, we
appear to have no idea since the revival of the art, or if, indeed,
we at all possess it, we must confess our obligations to Correg-
gio. Some there have been who could have liked more deli-
cacy in his flesh tints ; but every one must allow, that accord-
ing to the age and the subjects he had to deal with, he has
succeeded in varying them admirably, impressing them at the
same time with something so soft, so juicy, and so full of life,
as to appear like truth itself.

But his grand and mastering quality, his crowning triumph
and distinction above all the other artists known to us, is his
thorough knowledge of lights and shades. Like nature her-
self he does not present objects to us with the same force of
light, but varied according to the surfaces, oppositions, and
distances ; it flows in a gradation insensibly increasing and
diminishing, a distinction essential in aerial perspective, in
which he is so great, and contributing finely to the general
harmony. He observed the same principle in his shades,
representing the reflection of colour upon each, in so deli-
cate a degree, that though using them so abundantly, his
shadows are always varied like nature's, never monotonous.
This quality is eminently conspicuous in his night-piece in the
Dresden gallery ;* and in his Magdalen, there seen reposing
in a cave ;f a small picture it is true, but estimated in the
purchase at twenty-seven thousand crowns. By the use of

remarks, that it must have been obtained by some strong varnish unknown
to the Flemish painters themselves, who prepared it of equal clearness and
liveliness, but not of equal strength. See vol. i. p. 60.

* It is more accurately entitled by others the Opening of Day.

f The Magdalen at Dresden has not in the back ground a cave, but a
desert spot. For this we refer to the engraving by the Cav. Professor
Longhi, after an exact design from the original, and to the numerous
copies of this little painting which still exist

CORREGGIO. 393

his chiaroscuro he not only gave superior softness and rotun-
dity to his forms, but displayed a taste in the whole composi-
tion, such has had never been witnessed before. He disposed
the masses of his lights and shades with an art, purely natural
In its foundation, but in the selection and effect altogether
ideal. And he arrived at this degree of perfection by the
very same path pursued by Michelangelo, availing himself
of models in clay and wax, the remains of some of which are
said to have been found in the cupola at Parma not many
yea rs ago. It is also currently reported, that while employed
in that city, he engaged the assistance of the famous modeller
Be^arelli, whom he conducted thither at his own expense.

Though excellent in all, in other portions of his art he
cannot be pronounced equally excellent. His conceptions
were good, but occasionally they betrayed a want of unity,
representing as be did one and the same story in different
parts. Thus in the fable of Marsyas, in the Palazzo Litta at
Milan, his contest with Apollo, Minerva consigning him over
to punishment, and the punishment itself, are distributed into
separate groups. The same kind of repetition will, I think,
be found in the story of Leda, executed for Charles V., in
which the swan is twice brought into view, proceeding by
degrees to familiarize himself with her charms, until in the
third group he possesses her. In fact his inventions, for the
ino^t part, are like the strains of Anacreon, in. which the young
loves, and in sacred themes the angels, are introduced under
the most agreeable forms and actions. Thus in the picture of
S. George, they are seen sporting about the sword and helmet
of i he saint ; and in S. Jerome an angel is engaged in shewing
our Lord the book of that great doctor of our holy church,
while another is holding under his nose the uncovered vase of
ointment belonging to the Magdalen. Of his powers of com-
position we have a proof in the execution of the cupola,
already so highly commended, in which it appears as if the
architecture had been formed for the effect of the painting, so
admirably is this last adapted, and not the production for the
plaoe. He was fond of contrasts, no less in whole figures
thaa their parts ; but he never arbitrarily affected them, or
carried them to the extravagant degree we have since beheld,
in violation of all decorum and truth. In force of expression,

394 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

more particularly upon tenderer subjects, he stands, perhaps,
without a rival or an example ; such is his Magdalen just
alluded to, as she is seen bending to kiss the feet of the Holy
Child, with a countenance and action expressive of all the
different beauties, scattered over the works of many other
artists, a sentiment more folly expressed by Mengs : of this
picture we may truly say with Catullus, " Omnibus una
omnes surripuit Veneres." Grief was a passion likewise
depicted by him with singular power ; admirably varied ac-
cording to circumstances in his Dead Christ at Parma, most
heartfelt in that of the Magdalen, profound in the Virgin, and
in a middling degree in the other female face. And though
we do not meet with many examples of a loftier cast, still he
could depict the fiercer passions with sufficient power, as wit-
ness the Martyrdom of S. Placidus, in which piece an execu-
tioner is so nobly drawn, that Domenichino avowedly imitated
it in his celebrated picture of S. Agnes.

Finally the costume of his sacred history-pieces is deficient
in nothing we could desire ; though in his fables, indeed, he
might have improved it, by adhering, like Raffaello and the
moderns, more closely to the ancients. Thus in his Leda he
has represented Juno in the guise of an elderly lady, full of
spite and jealousy, secretly beholding the stolen embraces of
her lord. She approaches in nothing to the antique, either in
her countenance or in her symbols, and hence in the usual
interpretations she is considered as a mere cypher. In the
fable of Marsyas, he bears no resemblance to the Faun ; Mi-
nerva has no ^Egis, nor any other of her usual attributes ;
while Apollo is endued neither with the limbs nor aspect
which are awarded him at this day ; and so far from boasting
of his lyre, he plays upon a violin.* Here again we might
adduce a fresh argument for Correggio having never visited
Rome, where even artists of mediocrity, instructed in a know-
ledge of the antique, knew how to avoid similar errors. In
him, however, they are scarcely blemishes, and rather flattering
to the name of Correggio, inasmuch as they serve more fully

* Here Raffaello was equally in fault, having so represented Apollo in
his Parnassus. Yet he was advised by his most learned contemporaries ;
and it is still a question among archseologists what was the form of the
armed shell vielded by Mercury to Apollo.

CORREGGIO. 395

to convince us that lie partakes not the glory of his sovereign
style with many masters or many assistants, standing great
ami alone. Regarded in this view, he appears indeed some-
thing more than mortal; and in his presence, as Annibal
Caracci truly wrote, Parmigianino and others of his rank seem
to shrink into nothing.* But the productions of this great
master are daily becoming more rare in Italy, such are the
pri 3es offered, so great the eagerness of strangers to obtain
them, and the esteem in which he is held. We are still con-
solod for their loss by several ancient copies, more especially
of lis smaller pictures, such as the Marriage of S. Catherine,
theReposing Magdalen, the Young Man'sEscape, pieces already
me itioned; but to which we may add his Christ praying in the
Garden, placed in the Escurial, and his Zingherina, the Gipsey
Girl, in the gallery at Dresden. The most estimable among the
old copies are by Schidone, Lelio da Novellara, Giroiamo da
Carpi, and by the Caracci, who, by dint of copying Correggio's
pieces, approached very nearly the style of the originals; though
mo: ie in point of design than in skill and delicacy of colouring.
Hitherto I have treated of the manner of Antonio, and in
so doing have described the manner of his school ; not, indeed,
that- any single artist at all equalled or approached him, but
that all held very nearly the same maxims, mixed, in some
instances, with different styles. The prevailing character of
the school of Parma, by way of distinction likewise called the
Lombard school, is the excellence of its shortenings, like the
delineation of the nerves and muscles in that of Florence.
Nor is it any reproach that its artists, in some instances, have
become extravagant and affected in their foreshortening, as the
Fl< rentines in their representations of the naked limbs : to
imitate well is in all places a difficult art. Its character may
further be said to consist in a fine study of the chiaroscuro
and of draperies, rather than of the human figure, in which
few artists of the school can boast much excellence. Their

* His words are, " It is my unalterable opinion that Parmigianino in
no >vay approaches Correggio, whose thoughts and fine inventions are all
clearly drawn from himself, always original. All other artists look out for
son .e support, some foundations for their efforts taken from other sources ;
one to models, one to statues, another to cartoons : all their productions
are represented such as they might have been, Correggio's such as they
really are."— See second Letter to Lodovico, Malvasia, vol. i. p. 367.

396 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

contours are broad, their countenances selected rather from
among the people, than of an ideal cast, being well rounded,
high coloured, and exhibiting those features and that joyous-
ness esteemed so original in Correggio, as it has been well
remarked by a professor long resident in Parma. There we
have reason to believe that our artist instructed more pupils
than have been recorded by Vasari, to whose observations and
opinions much additional matter has been supplied by writers
of the present age, though doubts continue to prevail respect-
ing some of his reputed scholars. I shall treat this great
master as others have done in regard to Raffaello, com-
prehending, within the limits of his school, all those assistants
and others who, educated in different academies, subsequently
attached themselves to his, availing themselves of his instruc-
tions and examples.

First upon the list, therefore, I place his own son, Pom-
ponio Allegri. He had hardly time to benefit by his father's
instructions, or to receive his [earliest rudiments, having lost
him at the age of twelve. His grandfather then took him
under his care, until the period of his death, occurring five
years after, when he left a pretty handsome provision for the
orphan, who boasted likewise no common degree of talent.
With whom he pursued his education, however, is not known,
whether with Rondani, a faithful disciple of his father, or
with some other of the same school. It is certain he was
a youth of fair abilities, and that with the aid of his father's
studies he acquired some reputation, and established himself
at Parma. In the cathedral there appears, wrought upon
a large earthen basin, the story of the Israelites awaiting the
arrival of Moses, to whom the Lord has just consigned the
tablets of the law. Though not very successful as a whole,
the work displays great merit in particular parts ; many of
the heads are beautiful, many of the motions spirited, and
there are tones of colouring extremely clear and natural. It
was believed that Pomponio had early abandoned the use of
his pencil, disposing of his property in Correggio, and after-
wards dying in great poverty at an early age. These false or
uncertain reports, however, have been rendered nugatory by
authentic documents brought forward by Father Affo, stating
him to have enjoyed, in Parma, high reputation and honour-

GIOVANNI GIAROLA. 397

able public commissions, and confirmed by a public decree
recording him, while the best disciples of the school of Parma
were yet alive, as being ottimo pittore.

We now proceed to other artists belonging to the city and
state of Modena. Among these we find the name of Fran-
ces, -o Cappelli, a native of Sassuolo, who established himself
in Bologna, without, however, leaving there any public speci-
men of his labours. Most probably he was employed by
private persons, or, as Vedriani is led to conjecture, also by
princes; though in respect to their names he is certainly
mistaken. There is an altar-piece in S. Sebastiano at Sas-
suo o, commonly attributed to his hand, representing a figure
of The Virgin, with some saints, among which last appears
the titular, the most noble and conspicuous of the whole, in
such fine impasto and relief, as to be attributed to the pencil
of his master.

Another of the school is Giovanni Giarola da Reggio,
whose productions there in fresco are to be seen in the
Pal izzo Donelli and other places, though they have perished
in Parma. He cannot, however, be pronounced exempt from
the usual negligence of fresco painters in their contours ; still
he ^as much esteemed, while he flourished, for the spirit and
delicacy of his manner. Although epitaphs are by no means
the most desirable sort of testimony to the worth of the
decoased, it will be, nevertheless, worth while to recall that of
Giarola, from which, if we deduct even nine parts of the
commendation, the tenth will confer upon him no slight
honour: — "lo. Gerolli, qui adeo excellentem pingendi artem
edo-;tus fuerat, ut alter Apelles vocaretur ;" who had arrived
at such a masterly degree of excellence in this noble art that
he *vas entitled to the name of another Apelles. To him we
Lav 3 to add a fellow-citizen and namesake of Correggio,.
called Antonio Bernieri, sprung from a noble stock, and who
having lost his master at the age of eighteen years, inherited,,
in n manner, the appellation of Antonio da Correggio, thus
giving rise to several historical doubts and inaccuracies. He
is enumerated by Landi, and by Pietro Aretino, among the
most distinguished of the miniature painters; and also men-
tioned by D. Veronica Gambara, Marchioness of Correggio.
There is no genuine painting by him, however, in oil, though

398 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

I have no reason for refusing him the degree of reputation so
general among the miniaturists; and the portrait at Turin,
described in the present volume (p. 388), ought certainly, I
think, to be attributed to him rather than to Antonio Allegri.
He long flourished in Venice, visited Rome, and died at his
native place. The next I have to add to this list is a name
unknown, as far as I can learn, to history, and one which I
only discovered from a beautiful design I happened to meet
with in a collection by Father Fontana Barnabita, a collection
mentioned by me with commendation in my first volume
(p. 77). His name is Antonio Bruno, a native of Modena,
and an artist who ably emulated the genius of Correggio in
his grace, his nature, his foreshortenings, and his broad lights,
though with far less correct a pencil.

Further, among the scholars of Parma, there remain several
who acquired less fame. A Daniello de Por is mentioned by
Yasari in his life of Taddeo Zuccaro, who, according to his
account, received some assistance from Daniello, more in the
way of instructions than example. Yet he records no other
of his productions besides a piece in fresco, to be seen at Vito,
near Sora, where he invited Zuccaro to join him as an
assistant ; nor does it appear that he commends him for any
thing beyond having acquired from Correggio and Parmigia-
nino a tolerable degree of softness of manner. In fact he
must have rather occupied the place of a journeyman than of
an assistant of Correggio, and I suspect he is the same from
whom Yasari obtained some information respecting this artist,
in particular, such as related to his avarice, which the histo-
rian had assuredly no reason either for disbelieving or invent-
ing. But a superior pupil of the same school will be found
in M. Torelli, called a native of Milan in the MS. of Resta,
where he is mentioned as the companion of Rondani, in
executing the frieze at San Giovanni in Parma, painted in
chiaroscuro. It was taken from the design of Correggio, who
received likewise the proceeds from the work. It is added by
Ratti, that the first cloister of the same monastery was also
adorned with singular felicity by the same hand.

The names of the following artists all enjoy more or less
celebrity in Italy at the present day ; but it is not therefore
certain that they were all the pupils of Correggio, nor that

RONDANI. 399

they all observed the same manner. Like young swimmers,
some of them seem cautious of leaving the side of their master,
while others appear fearful only of being seen to approach
him too nearly, as if proud of the skill they had already
acqiired. To the first class belongs Rondani, who was
employed along with Correggio at the church of S. Giovanni,
and to him is chiefly attributed a grotesque contained in the
moi astery, assigned to the school of Antonio, though we may
dett ct some figures of cherubs which appear from the master's
haul. Yet Rondani was accustomed to imitate his master
pretty accurately in his individual figures ; and on the exte-
rior of the church of S. Maria Maddalena, he drew a Madonna.
that, in want of historical evidence, might have been attributed
to C orreggio. There is also an altar-piece at the Eremitani,
representing saints Agostino and Geronimo, so much in the
Correggio manner as to be esteemed one of the best pictures in
Parma. But Rondani was unable to reach the grandeur of
the head of the school ; he is accused on the other hand of
having been too careful and minute in the accessaries of his art,
which we gather, indeed, from one of his frescos in a chapel of
the cathedral, and in general from his other works. They are
rarely to be met with in collections, though I have seen one of
his Madonnas, with a Child, in possession of the Marchesi
Scarani at Bologna, the figure bearing a swallow in her hand,
in aJlusion to the painter's name ; besides the portrait of a man,
draped and designed in the Giorgione taste, at the house of
the Sig. Bettinelli in Mantua.

I have already alluded to Michelangelo Anselmi, in the
school of Siena, and I again prepare to treat of him more fully,
froii! documents since published, or which I have since read.
Upon the authority of these it is very certain that he traced
his family several generations back to the city of Parma ;
though he is denominated da Lucca, from the circumstance of
his Laving been born at that place, according to Ratti, in 1591,
and he has been also called da Siena, because, as I am inclined
to conjecture, he may have resided and pursued his studies
there while young. Resta, in the MS. I have so frequently
cited, contends that he acquired his art from Sodoma; Azzolini,
from Riccio, son-in-law to Sodoma, both of whom are known
to have remained a considerable time at Lucca. There he may

400 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

have been instructed in the first rudiments, and afterwards
have completed his studies at Siena, where he produced the
altar-piece of Fontegiusta, which bears no traces of the
Lombard style. When practised in the art he returned to
Parma, he was older than Correggio, and then only capable of
improving his style by availing himself of his advice and
example, in the same way as Garofolo and many others, by
the example of RafFaello.

When in the year 1522 Correggio was engaged to paint the
cupola of the cathedral and the great tribune, Anselmi, together
with Rondani, and Parmigianino, were fixed upon to adorn
the contiguous chapels. The undertaking was never executed ;
but such a selection shews that he was esteemed capable of
accompanying the style of Correggio, and his works sufficiently
attest that he became a devoted follower of it. He is full in
his outlines, extremely studied in the heads, glowing in his
tints, and very partial to the use of red, which he contrives to
vary and to break as it were into different colours in the same
picture. Perhaps his least merit consists in his composition,
which he sometimes overloads with figures. He painted in
various churches at Parma ; and one of the most pleasing of
his productions, approaching nearest to his great model, is at
S. Stefano, in which S. John the Baptist along with the
titular saint, is seen kneeling at the feet of the Virgin. His
largest work, however, is to be met with at the Steccata,
where, upon the testimony of Vasari, he executed the cartoons
of Giulio Romano. But this is disproved by the contract,
which assigns to Anselmi himself a chamber in which to com-
pose his cartoons ; nor did Giulio do more than send a rough
sketch of the work to Parma. In collections his speci-
mens are rare and valuable, although he flourished, to say the
least, as late as the year 1554, in which he added a codicil to
his will.

Bernardino Gatti, named from his father's profession Soiaro,
of whom I shall again make mention in the Cremonese school,
is an artist, who, in different countries, left various specimens
of his art. Parma, Piacenza, and Cremona abound with them.
He ranks among the least doubtful disciples of Correggio, and
•was strongly attached to his maxims, more especially in regard
to the subjects treated by the hand of his master. His picture

BERNARDINO GATTI. 401

of a Pieta, at the Magdalen, in Parma, that of his Repose in
Egypt, at S. Sigismond, in Cremona, with his Christ in the
Manner, at S. Peter's, in the same city, afford ample evidence
of his power of imitating Correggio without becoming a servile
copyist. No one has emulated him better in the delicacy of
his countenances. His young girls and his boys appear ani-
mated with the spirit of innocence, grace, and beauty. He is
fond of whitish and clear grounds, and infuses a sweetness into
his vhole colouring which forms one of his characteristics. Nor
does he want relief in his figures, from which, like the head of
the school, he seems never to have removed his hand until he
had rendered them in every way perfect and complete. He
possessed singular talent for copying, as well as for imitating
those masters whom he had engaged to assist. He succeeded
to the place of Pordenone, in Piacenza, where he painted the
remainder of the tribune at S. M. di Campagna, of which
Vasari observes, that the whole appeared the work of the same
hand. His picture of S. George, at the same church, is
deserving of mention, placed opposite to that of S. Augustine
by Pordenone, a figure displaying powerful relief and action,
which he executed from the design of Giulio Romano, at the
request, it is supposed, of the person who gave the commission.
"We may form an estimate of his unassisted powers by what
he h:is left in the churches at Parma, and more particularly
in the cupola of the Steccata. It is an excellent production
in every part, and in its principal figure of the Virgin truly sur-
prising. Another of his pieces, representing the Multiplication
of Loaves, is highly deserving of mention. It was executed
for the refectory of the Padri Lateranensi at Cremona, nd
to this his name, with the date of 1552, is affixed. It may be
accounted one of the most copious paintings to be met with
in any religious refectory, full of figures larger than the life,
and varied equal to any in point of features, drapery and atti-
tudes, besides a rich display of novelty and fancy ; the whole
conducted upon a grand scale, with a happy union and taste
of colouring, which serves to excuse a degree of incorrectness
in regard to his aerial perspective. There remain few of his
piece s in private collections, a great number having been trans-
ferred into foreign countries, particularly into Spain.

Giorgio Gandini, likewise surnamed del Grano, from tho

VOL. II. 2 D

402 SCHOOL OP PARMA. — EPOCH II.

maternal branch of his family, was an artist formerly referred
to Mantua, but who has since been claimed by Padre Affb,
who traced his genealogy, for the city of Parma. According
to the account of Orlandi, he was not only a pupil of Correg-
gio, but one whose pieces were frequently retouched by the
hand of his master. P. Zapata, who illustrated in a Latin
work the churches of Parma, ascribes to him the principal
painting in S. Michele, the same which, in the Guide of Ruta,
was attributed by mistake to Lelio di Novellara. It is one
calculated to reflect honour upon that school, from its power
of colouring, its relief, and its ease and sweetness of hand,
though it occasionally displays a somewhat too capricious
fancy. How highly he was esteemed by his fellow-citizens
may be inferred from the commission which they allotted him
to paint the tribune of the cathedral, as a substitute for Cor-
reggio, who died before he commenced the task which he had
accepted. The same happened to Gandini, and the commis-
sion was bestowed upon a third artist, Girolamo Mazzuola,
whose genius was not then sufficiently matured to cope with
such vast undertakings.

The names of Lelio Orsi and Girolamo da Carpi, I assign
to another place, both of whom are enumerated by other
writers in the school of Parma. For this alteration I shall give
a sufficient reason when I mention them. The last belonging
to the present class, are the two Mazzuoli ; and I commence
with Francesco, called Parmigianino, whose life, by Father
Affo, has been already written. This writer does not rank
him in the list of Correggio's scholars, but in that of his two
uncles, in whose studio he is supposed to have painted his
Baptism of Christ, which is now in possession of the Conti
Sanvitali, and as the production of a boy of fourteen years of
age, it is indeed a wonderful effort of genius. It is remarked by
the same historian of his life, that having seen the works of Cor-
reggio, Francesco began to imitate him ; and there are some
pictures ascribed to him at that period, which are evidently
formed upon that great model. Of such kind is a Holy Fa-
mily, belonging to the President Bertioli, and a S. Bernardino,
at the Padri Osservanti, in Parma. Independently of these,
the fact of Francesco's having been chosen, together with
Rondani and Anselmi, to decorate a chapel near the Cupola

PARMIGIANINO. 403

of C:>rreggio, shews, that he must have acquired great simi-
larit}- of style, and possessed docility, equal to the other two,
in following the directions of such a master. lie had too
nmcL confidence, however, in his own powers, to be second in
the manner of another artist, when he was capable of forming
one of his own. And this he subsequently achieved ; for
owin^ to the delays experienced in the above undertaking, he
had time to make the tour of Italy, and meeting with Giulio,
in Mantua, and Raffaello, at Rome, he proceeded to form a
style that has been pronounced original. It is at once great,
noble and dignified ; not abounding in figures, but rendering
a few capable of filling a large canvas, as we may observe in
his S, Rocco, at San Petronio, in Bologna; or in his Moses,
at tho Steccata of Parma, so celebrated a specimen of chiaro-
scuro.

The prevailing character, however, in which this artist so
greatly shone, was grace of manner; a grace which won for
him Jut Rome that most flattering of all eulogies, that the spirit
of R.iflaello had passed into Parmigianino. Among his de-
signs are to be seen repeated specimens of the same figure,
drawn for the purpose of reaching the highest degree of grace, in
the person, in the attitudes, and in the lightness of his drapery,
in which he is admirable. It is the opinion of Algarotti, that
he sometimes carried his heads to an extreme, so as to border
upon effeminacy ; a judgment analogous to the previous
observation of Agostino Caracci, that he could wish a painter
to ha 76 a little of Parmigianino's grace; not all, because he
conceived that he had too much. In the opinion of others, his
excessive study of what was graceful led him sometimes to
select proportions somewhat too long, no less in respect to
stature than in the fingers and the neck, as we may observe in
his celebrated Madonna, at the Pitti Palace, which, from this
defeci , obtained the appellation of collo limgo, or long neck ;*

* Ee might have pleaded the example of the ancients, who in their
draped statues, observed similar proportions, in order to avoid falling into
vulgar ty. The length of the fingers was rather subject of praise, as is
noticed by the commentators on Catullus. (See his 44th Ode.) A long
neck in virgins is inculcated by Malvasia, as a precept of the art (torn.
i. p. 303) ; and the Can. Lazzarini drew his Madonnas according to this
-rule. These observations are all intended to be applied with that judg-
ment, which, in every art, is not presumed to be taught, but understood.
2 D 2

404 SCHOOL OF PARMA. — EPOCH II.

but it boasted likewise of its advocates. His colouring, alsoj
evidently aims at grace, and for the most part is preserved
moderate, discreet, and well tempered, as if the artist feared,
by too much brilliancy, to offend the eye ; which, both in
drawings and paintings, is apt to diminish grace. If we admit
Albano as a good judge, Parmigianino was not very studious
of expression, in which he has left few examples ; if, indeed,
we are not to consider the grace that animates his cherubs and
other delicate figures, as meriting the name of expression, or
if that term apply only to the passions, as very abundantly
supplying its place. It is, in truth, on account of this rare
exhibition of grace, that every thing is pardoned, and that in
him defects themselves appear meritorious.

He would seem to have been slow in his conceptions, being
accustomed to form the whole piece in idea, before he once
handled his pencil ; but was then rapid in his execution.
Strokes of his pencil may sometimes be traced so very daring
and decided, that Albano pronounces them divine, and de-
clares, that to his experience in design, he was indebted for
that unequalled skill, which he always united to great dili-
gence and high finish. His works, indeed, are not all equally
well and powerfully coloured, nor produce the same degree of
effect ; though there are several which are conducted with so
much feeling and enthusiasm as to have been ascribed to
Correggio himself. Such is the picture of Love, engaged in
fabricating his bow, while at his feet appear two cherubs, one
laughing and the other weeping ; a piece, of which a number
of duplicates, besides that contained in the imperial gallery, are
enumerated, so great a favourite was it either with the artist
or some other person. In regard to this production, I agree
with Vasari, whose authority is further confirmed by Father
Affb and other judges, whom 1 have consulted upon the sub-
ject ; although it is true that this Cupid, together with the
Ganymede, and the Leda, which are mentioned in the same
context (p. 302), have been positively assigned by Boschini to
Correggio, an opinion that continues to be countenanced by
many other persons.

His minor paintings, his portraits, his youthful heads, and
holy figures, are not very rare, and some are found multiplied
in different places. One that has been the most frequently

PARMIGIAXINO. 405

repealed in collections, is a picture of the Virgin and Infant
with S. Giovanni ; while the figures of St. Catherine and
Zaccarias, or some similar aged head, are to be seen very near
them. It was formerly met with in the Farnese gallery, at
Parnict, and is still to be seen, sometimes the same, and some-
times varied, in the royal gallery, at Florence; in the
Capitoline ; in. those of the princes Corsini, Borghesi, and
Albani, at Borne. In Parma, also, it is in possession of the
Abato Mazza^* and is found in other places ; insomuch, that
it is difficult to suppose that they could all have been repeated
by P.irmigianino, however old in appearance. He produced
few copious compositions, such as the Preaching of Christ to
the Crowd, which is contained in a chamber of the royal
palace, at Colorno, forming a real jewel of that beautiful and
pleas: int villa. His altar-pieces are not numerous, of which,
however, none is more highly estimated than his St. Margarita,
at Bologna. It is rich in figures, which the Caracci were
never weary of studying ; while Guido, in a sort of trans-
port of admiration, preferred it even to the St. Cecilia of
Raffaello. His fresco, which he began at the Steccata, is
a singular production ; besides the figure of Moses, exhibited
in chiaroscuro, he painted Adam and Eve, with several
Virtues, without, however, completing the undertaking, for
which he had been remunerated. The history of the affair is
rather long, and is to be found in Father Affb, where it is
dives- ted of many idle tales, with which it had been con-
founded. I shall merely state, that the artist was thrown
into prison for having abandoned his task, and afterwards led
a fugitive life in Casale. where he shortly died, in his thirty-
seventh year, exactly at the same age as his predecessor
Raffiiello. He was lamented as one of the first luminaries,
not (-nly of the art of painting, but of engraving ; though of
this last I must say nothing, in order not to deviate from the
plan I have laid down.

Parma was in some degree consoled for the loss of Fran-

* It is mentioned and compared with that of the Borghesi (in both the
Virgin is seen on one side), by P. Affo, in a letter edited by the Advocate
Branaeri, in the notes to the " Elogio d' Ireneo Affo," composed by P.
D. P ompilio Pozzetti ; a very excellent scholar (no less than his annotator),
and deserving to stand high in the estimation of all learned Italians.

406 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

cesco, by Girolamo di Michele Mazzuola, his pupil and his
cousin. They had been intimate from the year 1520, and
apparently had contracted their friendship some years before
Francesco set out for Rome, which was continued unabated
after his return. Most probably, however, it at length expe-
rienced an interruption, owing to which Francesco named two
strangers his heirs, omitting his cousin. This last is not
known beyond Parma and its confines, though he was de-
serving of more extensive fame, in particular for his strong
impasto, and his knowledge of colouring, in which he has few
equals. There is reason to suppose, that some of the works
ascribed to Francesco, more especially such as displayed
warmer and stronger tints, were either executed or repeated
by this artist. Not having been in Rome, Girolamo was
more attached to the school of Correggio than Francesco, and
in his style composed his picture of the Marriage of St.
Catherine, for the church of the Carmine ; a piece that
proves how well he could exhibit that great master's character.
He was excellent in perspective, and in the Supper of our
Lord, painted for the refectory of S. Giovanni, he represented
a colonnade so beautiful, and well adapted to produce illusion,
as to compete with the" best specimens from the hand of
Pozzo. He could, moreover, boast ease and harmony, with a
fine chiaroscuro ; while in his larger compositions in fresco,
he was inventive, varied, and animated. No single artist,
among his fellow citizens, had the merit of decorating the
churches of Parma with an equal number of oil paintings ;
no one produced more in fresco for the cathedral and for the
Steccata ; to say nothing of his labours at S. Benedetto, in
Mantua, and elsewhere. It is from this rage for accomplish-
ing too much, that we find so many of his pieces that are
calculated to surprise us at first sight, diminish in merit upon
an examination of their particular parts. Not a few defects
are observable amidst all his beauties ; the design in his naked
figures is extremely careless ; his grace is carried to a degree
of affectation, and his more spirited attitudes are violent.
But these faults are not wholly attributable to him, inasmuch
as he occasionally painted the same work in conjunction with
other artists. This occurred in his large picture of the
Multiplication of Loaves, placed at S. Benedetto, in Mantua,

JACOPO BERTOIA. 407

in which, from documents discovered by the Ab. Mari.
Girolamo would appear to have been assisted in his labours ;
there are in it groups of figures, whose beauty would confer
credit upon any artist ; while, on the other hand, there are
faults and imbecilities that must have proceeded from some
other pencil. It is true that he has admitted the same in
other of his works, and there they are wholly to be ascribed
to his haste. We likewise find mention of an Alessandro
Mazzuola, son of Girolamo, who painted in the cathedral, in
1571; but he is a weak imitator of the family style; the
usual fate of pictoric families, when arrived at the third
generation.

Su3h was the state of the art in Parma about the middle of
the sixteenth century, at which period the Farnese family
acquired dominion there, and greatly contributed to promote
the interest of that school. Correggio's disciples had already
produced pupils in their turn ; and though it be difficult to
ascertain from what school each artist proceeded, it is easy to
conjecture, from their respective tastes, that they were all
inclined to pursue the career of the two most illustrious masters
of th-3 school of Parma ; yet Mazzuola was, perhaps, more
followed than Correggio. It is too favourite an opinion, both
with dilettanti and artists, that the new style must invariably
be th 3 most beautiful ; permitting fashion even to corrupt the
arts. Parmigianino, perhaps, educated no other pupil besides
his cousin ; Daniel da Parma had studied also under Correg-
gio ; and Batista Fornari, after acquiring little more than a
knowledge of design from Francesco, turned his attention to
sculp :ure, producing, among other fine statues, for the Duke
Otta^io Farnese, the Neptune, which is now placed in the
royal gardens. The name of Jacopo Bertoia (often written by
mistake Giacinto), has been added by some to this list. He
was jj good deal employed by the court at Parma and Capra-
rola ; and not very long ago, some of his small paintings were
transferred from the palace of the royal garden into the
academy. The subjects are fabulous, and both in the figures
of hi,- nymphs, and in every thing else, the grace of Francesco
is very perceptible. Yet the memorials discovered by P. Affo,
do not permit us to name Parmigianino as his master. He

408 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH II.

was still young in 1573, and Lomazzo, in his " Tempio," calls
him the pupil of Ercole Procaccini. He produced many small
pictures for private ornament, which were at one time in great
repute ; nor does Parma possess any large painting by his
hand, excepting two banners for companies or associations.

It is rather, likewise, from a resemblance of style, than upon
historical authority, that one Pomponio Amidano has been
enumerated among the pupils of Parmigianino. He may be
mentioned, however, as one of his most strenuous followers ;
insomuch as to have had one of his altar-pieces, which adorns
the church of Madonna del Quartiere, attributed even by no
common artists to the hand of Francesco. It is the most
beautiful work of its author that the city of Parma has to
boast. The style of this artist is full and noble, were it not,
adds the Cav. Ratti, that it is sometimes apt to appear some-
what flat.

Pier Antonio Bernabei, called della Casa, does not belong
to the school of Parmigianino, but is to be referred to some
other assistant or pupil of Correggio. I cannot account for the
slight praise bestowed upon him by Orlandi, when his painting
of the cupola at the Madonna del Quartiere is calculated to
impress us with the opinion that his powers were equal to
those of any artist who then flourished in Loinbardy, or even in
Italy, as a painter of frescos. He there represented, as was very
common upon the cupolas, a Paradise, very full, but without any
confusion ; with figures in the Correggio manner ; his tints are
powerful, and relieved with a force which might be pronounced
superfluous in the more distant figures, from a deficiency of the
due gradations. This eupipla still remains perfectly entire
after the lapse of more than two centuries, and is his great
master-piece, though some of his other paintings likewise
produce a great effect. Aurelio Barili, and Innocenzio Mar-
tini, of Parma, must have enjoyed very considerable reputation
in their day, having been employed at S. Giovanni and the
Steccata : some specimens of their fresco work are still pointed
out, but are cast into the shade by the vicinity of more attrac-
tive beauties.

About the same period another subject of the same state
painted, in his native place of Piacenza. His name was Giulio

GIULIO MAZZONI. 409

Mazzoni, at one time pupil to Daniel da Voltera, in the life of
•whom he is much commended by Vasari. Some figures of the
Evar gelists still remain in the cathedral by his hand, though
the ceiling of S. M. di Campagna, which he adorned with
histo-ies, has been renewed by another pencil. He did not
acquire a knowledge of foreshortening seen from below in the
school of Daniello, and here he failed, however respectable in
other points.

410

SCHOOL OP PARMA.

EPOCH III.

Parmese pupils of the Caracci, and of other foreigners, until the period of
the foundation of the academy.

IN the year 1570, when the most celebrated imitators of the
Correggio manner were either greatly advanced in years, or
already deceased, the Parmese school began to give place to
that of Bologna ; and I proceed to explain the mode, and the
causes, which, partly by design and partly by chance, led to
that event. It was intended to ornament a chapel in the
cathedral, a commission bestowed upon Rondani and Parmi-
gianino, but which, through a variety of interruptions, had
been so long deferred, that both artists died before undertaking
it. Orazio Sammachini was then invited from Bologna ; he
gave satisfaction, and if I mistake not, derived great improve-
ment from his study of Correggio, whom he more nearly
resembled than any other Bolognese artist of that age. Ercole
Procaccini, likewise, painted in the dome itself; nor was it
long before Cesare Aretusi was invited from Bologna, to
become court-painter to Duke Ranuccio. This artist, as we
before observed, was employed in restoring the painting of
the tribune at S. Giovanni. In order to lengthen the choir,
it was resolved to destroy the old tribune ; but such parts as
Correggio had there painted, were to be correctly repeated to
adorn the new ; an example that deserves to be adopted as a
law, wherever the fine arts are held in esteem. We are
informed by Malvasia, that Aretusi undertook this task,
though he refused to take a copy of it upon the spot ; observ-
ing, that such an employment was more adapted for a pupil
than for a master. Annibal Caracci was in consequence of
this called in, and assisted by his brother Agostino, he took a

ANNIBAL CARACCI. 411

copy of that vast work in various portions, which are now at
Capo di Monte. Guided by these, Aretusi was afterwards
enabled to repaint the new edifice in the year 1587- To this
account AfFo opposes the contract of Aretusi, drawn out in
1586. where he binds himself " to make an excellent copy of
the Madonna Coronata ; " and provision is promised him for
a boy who is to prepare the cartoons : a circumstance that
cannot be made applicable to Annibal, who appeared in the
character of a master as early as 1586. What conclusion
we are to draw from such a fact, no less than from the
cartoons so generally attributed to Annibal, and which are
pronounced worthy of his hand, queer ere distuli ; nee scire
fas ett omnia. Hor. I shall merely observe, that Annibal,
after spending several months in studying and copying Cor-
reggio during 1580, frequently returned again to admire him,
and t.iat such devoted enthusiasm was of wonderful advantage
to him in acquiring the character of his model. It was at
this lime that he painted the picture of a Pieta for the
Capuchin friars, at Parma, approaching the nearest that ever
was seen to that at S. Giovanni, and from that period the
Duke Banuccio gave him several commissions for pictures,
which are now to be met with at Naples.

Tht) duke was a great lover of the arts, as we gather from
a selection of artists employed by him, among whom were
Lionello Spada, Schedoni, Trotti, and Gio. Sons, an able
figure and a better landscape painter, whom Orlandi believes
to have been instructed in Parma, and perfected in the art at
Antwerp. It appears, that he also had much esteem for
Riben, who painted a chapel, which is now destroyed, at
Santa Maria Bianca, in so fine a style, that according to
Scaraiiiuccia, it might have been mistaken for Correggio's,
and it awakened emulation even in the breast of Lodovico
Carac ci.* The chief merit, however, of the duke, and of his
broth or, the cardinal, consisted in estimating and employing
the genius of the Caracci. In that court they were both
fairly remunerated, and held in esteem ; though, owing to the
arts (f some courtiers, history has preserved circumstances

* See Lettere Pittoriche, torn. i. p. 211.

412 SCHOOL OP PARMA. EPOCH III,.

regarding these great men, calculated to move compassion.*
To this early patronage we may trace the events which we
find in the history of the Caracci at different periods : Annibal
engaged to paint the Farnese Gallery at Rome; Agostino
called to Parma, in quality of its court-painter, an office in
which he died; and Lodovico sent to Piacenza, along with
Camillo Procaccini, in order to decorate the cathedral of that
city. Hence also arose the principles of a new style at
Parma, or rather of several new styles, which during the
seventeenth century continued to spread both there and
throughout the state, and which were first introduced by the
artists of Bologna.

Their scholars, besides Bertoia, were Giambatista Tinti,
pupil to Sammachini, Giovanni Lanfranco, and Sisto Bada-
locchi, who, having been acquainted with the younger Caracci,
at Parma, became first attached to the school of Lodovico, in
Bologna, and afterwards followed Annibal to Rome, where
they continued to reside with him. These, although they were
educated by the Bolognese, resemble certain characters who,
though they may abandon their native soil, are never able to
divest themselves of its memory or its language. In respect
to Lanfranco, it is agreed by all, that no artist better imitated
the grandeur of Correggio in works upon a large scale ; although
he is neither equal to him in colouring, nor at all approaches
him in high finish, nor is destitute of an air of originality pecu-
liar to the head of a school. At Parma, he produced a picture
representing all the saints in the church that bears their name ;
and in Piacenza, besides his saints Alessio and Corrado at the
cathedral, works highly commended by Bellori, he painted an
altar-piece of St. Luke, at the Madonna di Piazza, as well as
a cupola, so avowedly imitated from that of S. Giovanni at
Parma, that it can scarcely escape the charge of servility.
Sisto Badalocchi,t no way inferior to Lanfranco in point of
facility, and other endowments of the art, approached very
nearly to his style. It was even doubted in Parma, whether

* Bellori, in his Life of Annibal, pp. 34, 35. See also Malvasia, torn.
i. pp. 334, 404, 405, 442. And Orlandi under the head " Gio. Batt.
Trotti."

f By Malvasia, torn. i. p. 517, he is called " Sisto Rosa."

GIAMBATISTA TINTI. 413

tlie picture of S. Quintino, in the church of that name, was
the production of Lanfranco or his. Of the rest who nourished
for the most part among the disciples of the Caracci, beyond
the Jimits of their own state, we shall treat more opportunely
under the Bolognese school.

Giambatista Tinti acquired the art of design and of colour-
ing from Sammachini at Bologna ; he studied Tibaldi with
great assiduity, and painted upon his model at S. Maria della
Scala, not without marks of plagiarism.* Having subse-
quently established himself at Parma, he selected for his chief
model the works of Correggio, and next proceeded to the study
of Parmigianino. The city retains many of his productions,
both in private and in public, among which that of the
Assumption in the cathedral, abounding with figures, and the
Catino, at the old Capuchin Nuns, are accounted some of the
last grand works belonging to the old school of Parma.

From the time these artists ceased to flourish, the art invari-
ably declined. Towards the middle of the seventeenth cen-
tury we find mention, in the Guide of Parma, of Fortunato
Gatti and Gio. Maria Conti, both Parmese, who were shortly
followed, if I mistake not, by Giulio Orlandini. They are
better qualified to shew the succession of Parmese artists than
of great painters. The name of one Girolamo da' Leoni, of
Piacenza, is also recorded, who was employed along with
Cui do, a Milaiese, about the time of the Campi. At Pia-
cenza likewise, after the middle of the century, appeared one
Bartolommeo Baderna, pupil to the Cavalier Ferrante, whose
works display more diligence than genius ; whence Frances-
chmi took occasion to say, that he had knocked loudly at the
doer of the great painters without being able to gain admis-
sion. In the mean while the court continued to promote the
study of the fine arts throughout the state. It even sent a
young man of talent, named Mauro Oddi, under the direction
of Berettini, with a salary to Rome. He fulfilled the expec-
tations of his patrons by his productions at the villa of Colorno,
and he adorned some churches with specimens of his al tar-
pie oes ; but still he aimed more at the fame of an architect
than of a painter. At the same time there was employed at

* Malvasia, torn. i. p. 212.

414 SCHOOL OP PARMA. EPOCH III.

ceurt an artist named Francesco Monti, who painted likewise
for churches and private collections. He was mentioned in
the Venetian school, and exercised a more marked influence
over the art at Parma, presenting it in Ilario Spolverini with
a disciple of merit. Ilario, no less than his master, acquired
reputation from his battle-pieces ; and whether owing to exag-
geration or to truth, it was commonly said that the soldiers of
Monti threatened, and that those of Spolverini seemed to kill.
He threw no less fierceness and terror into some of his assassin
scenes, which are esteemed equal to his battles. He painted
chiefly for the Duke Francesco, though there are some of his
works on a larger scale, in oil and in fresco, placed in the
cathedral, at the Certosa, and other places throughout the city
and the state.

Spolverini instructed in the art Francesco Simonini, a dis-
tinguished battle-painter of that period. Orlandi says he was
a scholar of Monti, and educated at Florence upon the model
of Borgognone. He long resided at Venice, where, in the
Sala Cappello, and in different collections, he left pictures
which abound in figures, ornamented with fine architecture,
and varied with every kind of skirmish and military exploits.
Ilario instructed several young Parmese in the art, among
whom, perhaps, were Antonio Fratacci, Clemente Ruta, and
more indisputably the Ab. Giuseppe Peroni. The first under
Cignani became a better copyist of his master than a painter,
being called pittor pratico, a mechanical hand, by Bianconi in
his Guide to Milan, where, as well as in Bologna, a few of his
pictures are to be seen. At Parma he was not employed in
public, as far as I can learn, but for collections, in which he
holds a pretty high rank. Ruta was likewise educated in the
academy of Cignani at Bologna. Returning to his native
state, whose paintings he has described, he there entered into
the service of the Infant Charles of Bourbon, as long as he
remained at Parma, after which he accompanied his patron to
Naples. Subsequently returning to Parma, he continued to
employ himself with credit, until, near the period of his
decease, he lost the use of his eyes.

The Ab. Peroni, in the first instance, repaired to Bologna,
where he received the instructions of Torelli, of Creti, and of
Ercole Lelli. He next visited Rome, where he became pupil

AB. PERONI. 415

to Masucci; though it is probable that he was struck with
the colouring of Conca and Giacquinto, who were then much
in vogue, as his tints partake more or less of their verds, and
other false use of colouring. For the rest, he could design well,
and in elegant subjects partakes much of Maratta, as we per-
ceive from his S. Philip in S. Satiro at Milan, and from the
Conception, in possession of the Padri dell' Oratorio, at Turin.
In P:irma his productions are to be seen at S. Antonio Abbate,
wher3 his frescos appear to advantage, and there is an altar-
piece of Christ Crucified, placed in competition with Battoni
and Cignaroli, and here more than elsewhere he is entitled to
rank among the good painters of this last age. He adorned
his native place and its academy with his pictures, and died
there at an advanced age. The career of Pietro Ferrari was
much shorter, although he had time to produce several fine
pictures for the public, besides that of his B. da Corleone in
the church of the Capuchins, as well as more for private col-
lections. He imitated the ancient manner of his school, no
less than more recent styles.*

In Piacenza there flourished Pier Antonio Avanzini,
educated by Franceschini at Bologna. He is said to have
been wanting in imagination, which led him, for the most part,
to copy from his master's designs. Gio. Batista Tagliasacchi,
from Borgo S. Donnino, sprung from the school of Giuseppe
del £ole, and displayed a fine genius for elegant subjects,
which induced him to study Correggio, Parmigianino, and
Guido. He was particularly ambitious of adding RafFaello to
the list, but his parents would not permit him to visit Rome.
He resided and employed himself chiefly at Piacenza, where

* I wish here to offer a brief tribute to the merit of his deceased master
(he di< d two years since), who, though a native of Pavia, resided a long
period at Parma. He studied in Florence under Meucci, next at Paris,
where jne of his pictures was greatly applauded, and the artist elected to
a plac< in that distinguished academy of art. On his return he became
first p< inter to the court at Parma, and produced works no less than pupils
calculated to reflect credit on his country. His Prometheus freed by Her-
cules, placed at the academy, his large portrait-piece of the family of
Philip, duke of Parma, which is pointed out in the Guardarobas as his best
specirn-m , fully justify the reputation he enjoyed while living, and which
continues beyond the tomb. The name of this artist was Giuseppe Bal-
drighi, and he died at Parma, aged eighty years.

416 SCHOOL OF PARMA. — EPOCH III.

there is a Holy Family much admired in the cathedra^
which, in its ideal cast of features, partakes of the Roman style,
and is not inferior to the Lombards in point of colouring.
He was an artist, if I mistake not, of far greater merit than
fortune.

Finally, the state was never in want of excellent masters in
minor branches of the art. Fabrizio Parmigiano is commended
by Baglioni amongst the landscape painters of his age. He
was assisted by his wife Ippolita in drawing for Italian col-
lections, and he visited a variety of places previous to his
arrival at Rome, where he also adorned a few of the churches
with his wood scenes, and views, with hermits, &c. and died
there at an early age. His style was, perhaps, more ideal
than true, as it prevailed before the time of the Caracci ; but
it was spirited and diligent. There is known also one Gialdisir
of Parma, whom, from his residence in Cremona, Zaist
enumerates among the professors of that school as a celebrated
painter of flowers. He frequently represented them upon
small tables covered with tapestry, and he added also musical
instruments, books, and playing-cards, the whole depicted
with an air of truth and a fine colouring, that obtained for him
from such inconsiderable objects a large portion of fame.
I must also record Felice Boselli of Piacenza, who became,
under the direction of the Nuvoloni, a tolerable artist in
figures, though he succeeded best in copying ancient pictures,
even so as to deceive the eye of experienced judges by the
exactness of his imitations. Following the bent of his genius,
lie began to draw animals, sometimes with their skins, and at
others as they are exposed to view in the shambles ; besides-
collections of birds and fishes, arranging them in order, and all
coloured from the life. The palaces in Piacenza abound with
them, Boselli having survived beyond his eightieth year, and
despatching them with facility and mechanically, whence all
his productions are not equally entitled to esteem. Gianpaolo
Pannini belonged to the Roman school, in which he both
learned and taught, and in treating of which I rendered him
that justice which the public admiration of his perspective
views, and of his peculiar grace in small figures, seemed to
require. Many fine specimens were sent from Rome to his*
native country, and among these the Signori della Missione

OBSERVATIONS. 417

possess a very rare picture, inasmuch as the figures are on a
large]1 scale than those which he in general drew. It represents
the Money Changers driven out of the Temple by our Lord ;
the architecture is truly magnificent, and the figures are full
of spirit and variety. The governor, Count Carasi, the able
illustrator of the public paintings in Piacenza, declared that
he was the only artist then deceased, of whom the city could
justly boast. Such deficiency ought not to be ascribed to its
cliuia~e, abounding as it does with genius, but to the want of
a lociil school, a want, however, which was converted into a
source of great utility to the city. If we examine the cata-
logue of painters who flourished there, with which the Count
Carasi closes his work, we shall find that, with the exception
of tho capitals, no other city of Italy was so rich in excellent
painters belonging to every school. Had it possessed masters,
they v,Tould have produced for every excellent disciple, at least
twenty of only middling talent, whose works would have filled
its palaces and churches, as it has happened to so many other
secondary cities.

Like one university for letters, one academy for the fine
arts is usually found sufficient for a single state ; and in par-
ticular, where it is established, supported, and encouraged in
the manner of that at Parma. It owed its origin to Don
Philip of Bourbon, in 1757, the tenth year of his government ;
and his son, who at this time bears sway, continues to promote
the interests of the institution.* Nothing can be better calcu-
lated to revive among us the noble genius of the art of paint-
ing, than the method there adopted in the distribution of
premi ims. The subject of the painting being proposed, the
young artists invited to the competition are not confined to
those of the state ; and consequently the industry of the most
able and best matured students is laid under contribution, in
every place, for the service of Parma. The method of holding
the assembly, the skill and integrity of the umpires, and the
whole form of the decision, excludes every doubt or suspicion
respecting the superiority of the piece adjudged. The artist
is largely remunerated ; but his highest ambition is gratified

* The professors who reflect credit upon it are enumerated by P. Affo
in the works cited in this chapter.

VOL. II. 2 E

418 SCHOOL OF PARMA. EPOCH III.

in having been pronounced the first among so many competi-
tors, and before such an assemblage. This is of itself always
sufficient to raise the successful candidate above the common
standard, and often leads to fortune. The prize painting
assumes its perpetual station in one of the academic halls,
along with the favourite pieces of previous years, forming a
series which already excites a warm interest among the lovers
of the fine arts. Since the period when the Cortona man-
ner began to lose ground in Italy, a manner that, under
such a variety of names and sects, had usurped so wide
a sway, the art in our own times has approached a sort
of crisis, which as yet forms an essay of new styles, rather
than any prevailing one characteristic of this new era. It is
in such a collection, better than in any book, that we may study
the state of our existing schools ; what maxims are now
enforced ; what kind of imitation, and with how much freedom,
is allowed ; from what source we are to look for a chance of
recovering the ancient art of colouring ; what profit painting
has derived from the copies of the best pictures published in
engravings, and from the precepts of the masters communicated
through the medium of prints. I am aware that a variety of
opinion is entertained on this head, nor would my own, were
I to interpose it, give weight to any of the conflicting argu-
ments in this matter. But I am happy to say, that finding at
length appeals made to reason, which were formerly referred to
practice, I feel inclined rather to indulge hopes than doubt or
diffidence in regard to the future.

410

CHAPTER IY.
SCHOOL OF CREMONA.

EPOCH I.

The Ancients.

I HAV3 never perused the history of Bernardino, and the rest
of the pictoric family of the Campi, written some time since
by Baldinucci, and more recently by Gianibatista Zaist, with-
out thinking that I see in the school which these artists
established at Cremona, a sketch of that which was sub-
sequently formed by the Caracci in Bologna. In both these
cities :i, single family projected the formation of a new style of
painting, which should partake of all the Italian schools,
without committing plagiarism against any; and from each
family in its respective city sprang a numerous series of
excellent masters, who, partly by themselves, and partly by
means of their disciples, adorned their country with their
works, the art by their example, and history itself with their
names. Why the Cremonese school did not keep pace with
that of Bologna in reputation, nor continue so long as the
Caraccis, and why the latter completed in a manner what the
other only essayed, was occasioned by a variety of causes-
which I shall gradually explain in the course of the present
chapter. In the outset, agreeably to my usual plan, I mean
to investigate the origin and principles of this school ; nor
shall vre need to go farther back than the foundation of the
magnilicent cathedral in 1107, which as speedily as possible
was decorated with all that sculpture and painting could afford.
Its specimens of both are such as to gratify the eye of the an-
tiquary, who may wish to trace through what channels, and
by what degrees, the arts first began to revive in Italy. The
sculpture there does not indeed present us with any works that
2 E 2

420 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH I.

may not likewise be found in Verona, in Crema, and other
places ; whereas the paintings remaining in the ceilings of the
two lateral naves may be considered uniques, and deserve the
trouble of examining them more nearly, on account of the
smallness of the figures and the want of light. They consist
of sacred histories ; the design is extremely dry, the colours
are strong, and their drapery wholly novel, except that some
of them still continue to be seen in the modern masks and
theatres of Italy. Some specimens of architecture are intro-
duced, presenting only right lines, like what we see in our
oldest wood engravings, and explanations are also inserted,
indicating the principal figures, in the manner of the more
ancient mosaic -workers, when the eye, yet unaccustomed to
behold pictoric histories, required some such illustration of the
subject. Yet we can gather no traces of the Greek mosaics ;
the whole is Italian, national, and new. The characters leave
us in doubt whether we ought to ascribe them to the age of
Giotto, or to that preceding him, but the figures attest that
their author was indebted neither to Giotto nor his master for
what he knew. I can learn nothing of his name from the
ancient historians of the school, neither from Antonio Campi,
Pietro Lamo, nor Gio. Batista Zaist, whom I have already
cited, and who compiled two volumes of memoirs of the old
artists of Cremona, edited by Panni in the year 1774.

I may, however, safely assert that there were painters who
flourished in the Cremonese as early as 1213 ; for on occasion
of the city obtaining a victory over the people of Milan, the
event was commemorated in a picture, in the palace of Lan-
franco Oldovino, one of the leaders of the Cremonese army,
and for this we have the testimony of Flameno in his History
of Castelleone.* There is also recorded by the Ab. Sarnelli,
in his " Foreigner's Guide to Naples," as well as by the Can.
Celano, in the " Notices of the Beauties of Naples," a M. Si-
mone of Cremona, who, about 1335, painted in S. Chiara, and
is the same mentioned by Surgente, author of the " Naples
Illustrated," as Simon da Siena, and by Dominici as Simone
Napolitano. In a former volume I adhered to the opinion of
Dominici, inasmuch as he cites Criscuolo and his archives ;

* See Zaist, p. 12.

THE ANCIENTS. 421

but let the authority rest with them. Other names might he
added, which Zaist has in part collected from MSS., and in
part from published documents, such as Polidoro Casella, who
flourished about 1345, Angelo Bellavita in 1420, Jacopino
Marasca, mentioned in 1430, Luca Sclavo. named by Flameno,
subsequent to 1450, among excellent painters, and among the
friends of Francesco Sforza, besides Gaspare Bonino, who
became celebrated about the year 1460. Hence it may be
perceived that this school was not destitute of a series of artists,
during a long period, although no specimens of their art sur-
vive to confirm it.

The earliest that is to be met with, bearing a name and cer-
tain date, is a picture which belonged to Zaist, representing
Julian (afterwards the saint) killing his father and mother,
whom he mistakes for his wife and her paramour. Below the
couch on which they are found, are inscribed the two follow-
ing verses : —

Hoc quod Mantenese didicit sub dogmate clari,
Antonii Cornse dextera pinxit opus. — MCCCCLXXVIII.

Tho name of Antonio della Corna is handed down to us by
history, and from this monument he is discovered to have
been a pupil of Mantegna, and a follower of the first rather
than the second style of his master. But he does not appear
to have flourished a sufficient time, or he was not in repute
enough to have a place among the painters of the cathedral,
in tin; fourteenth century, who left there a monument of the
.art that may vie with the Sistine chapel ; and if I mistake
not tie figures of those ancient Florentines are more correct,
those of the cathedral more animated. There is a frieze sur-
rounding the arches of the church, divided into several squares,
each of which contains a scriptural history painted in fresco.
Upon this work a number of Cremonese artists, alJ of high
repute, were successively employed.

Tlio first in this list, subscribed in one of these compart-
ments, Bembus incipiens, and in the other compartment 14 —
.... under his paintings of the Epiphany and the Purifica-
tion. The remaining figures after the above, have long been
concealed by a side wing of the organ. But the sense is very
clear, the name and the date of the centuries appearing toge-

422 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH I.

tlier ; nor are we at a loss to perceive that the artist, in an
undertaking to be conducted by many, and during many years,
was desirous of commemorating his name, as the first who
commenced it, and in what year. Some, nevertheless, have
wished to infer, by detaching the words Bembus incipiens
from the rest, that the artist meant to inform us he was then
first entering upon his profession ; as if the people of Cremona,
in the decoration of their finest temple, which was long con-
ducted by the most celebrated painters, would have selected a,
novice to begin. It is, however, a question whether the
inscription refers to Bonifazio Bembo, or to Gianfrancesco his
younger brother ; but apparently we ought to give it, with
Vasari, to the former, a distinguished artist who was employed
by the court of Milan as early as 1461, while Gio. Francesco
flourished later, as we shall shortly have occasion to shew.
In the two histories with which Bembo commenced his labours,
as well as in those that follow, he shews himself an able artist,
spirited in his attitudes, glowing in his colours, magnificent in
his draperies, although still confined within the sphere of the
naturalists, and copying from the truth without displaying
much selection, if he does not occasionally transgress it by
want of correctness. Both our dictionaries of artists and Bot-
tari have confounded this Bonifazio with a Venetian of the
same name, whom we have mentioned in his place.

Opposite to those of Bembo is a painting, a history of the
Passion, representing our Redeemer before his judges, painted
by Cristoforo Moretti,* the same, according to Lomazzo, who
was employed with Bembo in the court of Milan, and also
painted at the church of S. Aquilino. One of his Madonnas
is still to be seen there, seated amid different saints, and upon
her mantle I was enabled to decipher, Ghristophorus de Moretis
de Cremona* in characters interweaved in the manner of gold
lace. Cremonese writers call him the son of Galeazzo Rivello,
and father and grandfather to several other RivelJi, all artists,
Moretti being only an assumed appellation. From the inscrip-
tion I have adduced, there appears some difficulty in the way
of such a tradition, since de Moretis is an expression importing
a family name, not an acquired one. Whatever may be

* See Lomazzo, Treatise on Painting, p. 405.

MELONE AND BOCCACCINO. 423

thought on this head, it is certain that he was one of the re-
formers of the art inLombardy,and particularly in the branches
of perspective and design ; and in this history of the Passion,
in which he excluded all kind of gilding, he is seen to approach
the moderns.

Somewhat later, and not before 1497, Altobello Meloneand
Boccaccio Boccaccino, two Cremonese artists, were employed
in completing the frieze of the cathedral. The former, ac-
cord ing to Yasari, painted several histories of the Passion,
truly beautiful and deserving of commendation. But he was
the least consistent in point of style, introducing, as it has
been observed, figures of small and large proportions in the
same piece, and also least excellent in his frescos, colouring
then: in a manner that now gives them the look of tapestry.
But he excelled in his oil paintings, as we gather from his
altar-piece of Christ descending into Limbo, which is pre-
served in the sacristy of the Sacramento, a piece for which
the canons refused to receive a large sum that was offered for
it. The figures are very numerous, of somewhat long propor-
tions, but coloured with equal softness and strength. His
knowledge of the naked figure is beyond that of his age, com-
bined with a grace of features and of attitudes that conveys
the idea of a great master. In the Notizia of Morelli, his pic-
ture of Lucretia, painted for private ornament, is mentioned.
It is executed in the Flemish style, and he is said to have
beec the pupil of Armanino, perhaps an artist of that nation.

Boccaccio Boccaccino bears the same character among the
Cremonese as Grillandaio, Mantegna, Yannucci, and Francia,
in T.heir respective schools, the best modern among the
ancients, and the best of the ancients in the list of the
moderns. He had the honour of instructing Garofolo during
two years previous to his visiting Rome in 1500. In the
frieze of the cathedral, Boccaccino painted the Birth of
the Yirgin, along with other histories, relating to her and
the Divine Infant. The style is in part original, and
in j>art approaches that of Pietro Perugino, whose pupil
Pascoli says he was. But he is less regular in his com-
position, less beautiful in the air of his heads, and less
powerful in his chiaroscuro, though richer in his drapery, with
more variety of colours, more spirit in his attitudes, and

424 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH I.

scarcely less harmonious or less pleasing in his architecture and
landscape. He is, perhaps, least attractive in some of his
figures, which are somewhat coarse, owing to their having a
fulness of drapery, and not being sufficiently slender, a defect
carefully avoided by the ancient statuaries, as I have formerly
observed.* It is remarked by Vasari that he visited Rome, in
which I agree with him, both because it is in some degree
alluded to by Antonio Campi, and because there are evident
traces of his imitation of Pietro, as in his Marriage of the
Virgin Mary, and in a very magnificent temple, that appears
erected upon lofty steps, a subject repeated by Pietro several
times. It has been also noticed that his Madonna at S. Vin-
cenzo, with the titular saint and S. Antonio, seems like the
work of Vannucci, and he certainly approaches very near him
in other figures. I can easily believe, therefore, that Boccac-
cini was 'at Rome ; but I also believe that what is written of
him by Vasari and by Baldinucci, if not fictitious, is at least
wide of the mark.

Let us briefly examine this matter. It is said that he there
attempted to depreciate the works of Michelangelo, and that
after exhibiting his own productions at the Traspontina, which
met with ridicule from the Roman professors, in order to
escape from the hisses they excited on all sides, he was com-
pelled to return to his native place. This story, added to
others of a like nature, irritated the Lombard artists. Hence
Scanelli in his Microcosm, Lamo in his Discourse on Painting,
and Campi in his History, renewed the complaints of the
other schools against Vasari. These are recorded by Zaist
(p. 72) with the addition of his own refutation of this account.
The refutation rests upon the epochs which Vasari himself
points out, and which of themselves, say his opponents, afford
a decided negative to the story of Boccaccino's journey to
Rome in time to have cast reflections upon the paintings of
Michelangelo. It is the custom of less accurate historians, when
they give the substance of a fact, to add to it circumstances
of time, of place, or of a manner, that had really no existence.
Ancient history is full of such examples, and the severest criti-
cism does not presume to discredit facts on the strength of some

* Chapter iii.

BERNARDINO RICCA. 425

interpolated circumstance, provided there be others sufficiently
strorg to sanction them. In this instance, the historian, and
a gnat friend of Michelangelo, narrates an affair relating to
that friend, and which is supposed to have taken place at
Rome, only a short period before the author wrote. We can
hardly then believe it to have been a mere idle report without
any foundation in truth. I would reject indeed some of its acces-
saries, and in particular condemn those unwarranted reflec-
tions in which Vasari indulges, at the expense of one of the
most distinguished artists who at that time flourished in Lorn-
bardy.

Next to the four historical paintings just mentioned, follow
those conducted by Romanino di Brescia and by Pordenone,
two master spirits of their age, who left examples of the Ve-
netian taste at the cathedral, which were not neglected by the
Cremonese, as will be seen. We ought in justice to add, that
their city has always shewn a laudable wish to preserve these
.ancient productions from the effects of age, as far as in her
power. When towards the close of the sixteenth century
they began to exhibit marks of decay, they were instantly
ordered to be examined and restored by a painter and archi-
tect of some reputation, called II Sabbionetta, his real name
being Martire Pesenti. The same degree of care and attention
has been shewn them in the present day by the Cav. Borroni.
Two other citizens exhibited specimens in the same place,
of the style which is now called antico moderno. Alessandro
Pampurini, as it is said, drew some figures of cherubs, round
a cartellone, or scroll for inscriptions, together with a kind of
arabesques, bearing the date of 1511 ; and in the subsequent
year Bernardino Ricca, or Ricco, produced a similar work op-
posiie to it, which owing to its having been executed with too
mucli dryness, perished in a few years, and was renewed by a
different hand. But there still exists his picture of a Pieta at
S. I ietro del Po, with some specimens likewise by his com-
panion, sufficient to prove that both are worthy of comme-
moration for their time.

Having thus described the series of artists who decorated
the cathedral, there remain a few other names unconnected
with that great undertaking, but which, nevertheless, enjoyed
•considerable celebrity in their day. Such are Galeazzo Campi,

426 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH I.

the father of the three distinguished brothers, and Tommaso
Aleni. This last so nearly resembled Campi in his manner,
that their pictures can with difficulty be distinguished, as may
be seen at S. Domenico, where they painted in competition
with each other. It is loosely conjectured by many that they
were the pupils of Boccaccino, an opinion which I cannot
entertain. The disciples of the best masters in the fourteenth
century continued to free themselves, the longer they flourished,
from the dry manner of their early education. Galeazzo, on
the other hand, the only one we need here mention, approaches
less closely to the modern style than his supposed master, as
we perceive in the suburban church of S. Sebastiano, where
he painted the tutelar saint and S. Rocco, standing near the
throne of the Virgin with the Infant Christ. The picture
bears the date of 1518, when he was already a finished
master, and nevertheless he there appears only a weak fol-
lower of the Perugino manner. His colours are good and
natural, but he is feeble in chiaroscuro, dry in design, cold in
his expression ; his countenances have not a beam of meaning,
while that of the holy infant seems as if copied from a child
suffering under an obliquity of the eyes, those of the figure are
so badly drawn. The observation, therefore, of Baldinucci,
or of his continuator, that he " had rendered himself celebrated
even beyond Italy," would seem in want of confirmation ; nor
do I know whence such confirmation can be derived. Cer-
tainly not from the ancients, for even his own son Antonio
Campi only remarks of Galeazzo, that he was " a tolerable
painter for his age."

Nor did some others of Galeazzo's contemporaries rise
much above mediocrity. To this class belonged Antonio
Cigognini and Francesco Casella, a few of whose productions
remain in their native place ; Galeazzo Pesenti, called II Sab-
bioneta, a painter and sculptor ; Lattanzio of Cremona, who
having painted at the school of the Milanese in Yenice, has
been recorded by Boschini in his " Minere della Pittura,"
besides Niccolo da Cremona, who was employed, according to
Orlandi, in 1518 at Bologna. There are two, however, who
merit a larger share of consideration, having produced works
of a superior character which still exist, and belong in some
degree to the golden period of the art. The name of the first

ZTJPELLI AND BEMBO. 427

is Gio. Batista Zupelli, of whom the Eremitani possess a fine
landscape with a Holy Family. His taste, although dry, is
apt to surprise the eye by its originality, and attracts us by a
natural and peculiar grace, with which all his figures are de-
sigtedand animated, as well as by a certain softness and fulness
of colouring. If Soiaro had not acquired the principles of his
art from Correggio, we might suppose that this Zupelli had
instructed him in regard to the strong body of his colouring,
which is remarkable both in him and in his school. The
second is Gianfrancesco Bembo, the brother and disciple of
Bonifazio, highly commended by Vasari, if, indeed, he be, as
is supposed, the same Gianfrancesco, called II Vetraro, who is
recorded by the historian in his Life of Polidoro da Caravaggio.
It appears certain that he must have visited Lower Italy, from
the style which he displays in one of his altar-pieces, repre-
senting saints Cosma and Damiano, at the Osservanti, to which
his name, with the date of 1524, is affixed. I have not observed
an}- thing in a similar taste, either in Cremona or in its vici-
nity. It retains very slight traces of the antique, much as
may be observed in those of F. Bartolommeo della Porta,
whom he greatly resembled in point of colouring, however
inferior in the dignity of his figures and his draperies. A few
more of his specimens are met with in public places and the
houses of noblemen, which exhibit him as one of those
painters who added dignity to the style of painting in Lom-
bai dy, and improved upon the ancient manner.

428

SCHOOL OP CREMONA.

EPOCH II.

„ •

Camillo Boccaccino, II Soiaro, the Campi.

AFTER the time of Vetraro, nothing occurs worthy of putting

on record until we reach the moderns ; and here we ought to

commence with the three distinguished artists, who, according

to Lamo, were employed in Cremona in the year 3522.

These were Camillo Boccaccino, son of Boccaccio, Soiaro,

recorded in the preceding chapter, and Giulio Campi, who

subsequently became the head of a numerous school. Other

Cremonese artists, it is true, flourished about the same period,

such as the two Scutellari, Francesco and Andrea, who have

been referred by some writers to the state of Mantua ; but as

few of their works remain, and those of no great merit, we

•shall proceed at once to the great masters of the school whom

we have mentioned above. The grand undertaking of the

cathedral proved useful likewise in the advancement of these

artists, and in particular the church of S. Sigismondo, already

erected by Francesco Sforza at a little distance from the city,

where these artists and their descendants, painting as it were

in competition, rendered it a noble school for the fine arts.

We may there study a sort of series of these artists, their

various merit, their prevailing tastes in the Correggio manner,

their different style of adapting it, and their peculiar skill in

fresco compositions. With these they not only decorated

temples, but by applying them to the fa9ades of palaces and

private houses, they gave an appearance of splendour to the

state, which excited the admiration of strangers. They were

surprised, on first entering Cremona, to behold a city arrayed

as if for a jubilee, full of life, and rich in all the pride of art.

Strange then that Franzese, who wrote the lives of the best

CAMILLO BOCCACCINO. 42D

paint ?rs (in four volumes), should have compiled nothing
relating to the Cremonese, far more deserving of comme-
moration than many others in his collection whom he has
greatly praised.

Camillo Boccaccino was the leading genius of the school.
Grounded in the ancient maxims of his father, though his
career was short, he succeeded in forming a style at once strong
and beautiful, insomuch that we are at a loss to say which is
the prevailing feature of his character. Lomazzo pronounces
him tc very able in design, and a noble colourist," placing him,
as a model for the graceful power of his lights, for the sweet-
ness of his manner, and for his art of drapery, on a level with
da Vinci, Correggio, Gaudenzio, and the first painters in the
world. According to the opinion of Yasari, against whom the
Cren onese have so bitterly inveighed, Camillo was " a good
mechanical hand, and if he had flourished for a longer period
woull have had extraordinary success, but he produced few
works except such as are small, and of little importance." In
respect to his paintings at S. Sigismondo, he adds, not that they
are, but are only " believed by the Cremonese to be, the best
specimens of the art they have to boast." They are still to
be seen in the cupola, in the grand recess, and on the sides of
the great altar. The most distinguished pieces are the four
Evangelists in a sitting posture, excepting the figure of S. John,
who, standing up in a bending attitude with an expression of
surprise, forms a curved outline opposed to the arch of the ceil-
ing, ;i figure greatly celebrated, no less on account of the pej-
spective than the design. It is truly surprising how a young
artist, who had never frequented the school of Correggio>
could so well emulate his taste, and carry it even farther
within so short a period ; this work, displaying such a know-
ledge of perspective and foreshortening, having been executed
as early as the year 1537.

The two side pictures are also highly celebrated, both in
Cren ona and abroad. One of these represents the Raising of
Lazarus, the other the Woman taken in Adultery, both sur-
rounded with very elegant ornaments, representing groups of
cherubs, which are seen in the act of playing with the mitre,
the censer, and other holy vessels in their hands. In these
histories, as well as in their decorations, the whole of the

430 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH II.

figures are arranged and turned in such a way, as scarcely to
leave a single eye in the figures visible, a novelty in respect
to drawing by no means to be recommended. But Camillo
was desirous of thus proving to his rivals that his figures were
not, as they asserted, indebted for their merit to the animated
expression of the eyes, but to the whole composition. And
truly in whatever way disposed, they do not fail to please
from the excellence of the design, their fine and varied atti-
tudes, the foreshortening, the natural colouring, and a strength
of chiaroscuro which must have been drawn from Pordenone,
and which makes the surrounding paintings of the Campi
appear deficient in relief. Had he exhibited a little more
choice in his heads of adults, with a little more regularity
in his composition, there would, perhaps, have been nothing
farther to desire. We may, moreover, mention his painting
on a fa9ade in one of the squares of Cremona, where, not long
ago, were to be seen the remains of figures which Camillo
executed so as to excite the admiration of Charles V., and
obtain the highest commendations. There remain likewise
two of his altar-pieces, one at Cistello and the other at S. Bar-
tolommeo, both extremely beautiful.

The name of Bernardino, or Bernardo Gatti, for he subscribed
both to his pictures, was mentioned at length among the pupils
of Parma ; and I have now to record it among the best mas-
ters of Cremona. Both Campi and Lapi refer him without
scruple to Cremona, though he is given by others to Vercelli,
and supposed to be the same Bernardo di Vercelli who suc-
ceeded Pordenone in painting S. Maria di Campagna at Pia-
cenza, as we find related in Vasari. By others he is supposed
again to have come from Pavia, where he was employed in the
cupola of the cathedral, and according to the testimony of
Count Carasi, mentioned before with commendation, he there
subscribes his name Bernardinus Gatti Papiensis^ 1553. I
leave the question to others, though it seems hardly credible
that two contemporary historians, who wrote shortly after the
death of Bernardino, while the public recollection of his native
place must have been yet fresh, and ready to refute them,
should have each fallen into error. We might add that Cre-
mona is in possession of many of Soiaro's paintings from his
earliest age until he became an octogenarian, and owing to a

GERVASIO GATTI. 431

paralytic affection was in the Labit of painting with his left
hand. At that advanced period he produced for the cathedral
his picture of the Assumption,fifty hands in height, and which,
although he never lived to complete it, is a work, as is justly
observed by Lamo,that excites our wonder. Moreover he left
his passessions and a family at Cremona, from which sprung
two ;irtists deserving of record, one of whom is celebrated in
history, the other never before noticed. As there still remains
some degree of foundation for attributing him to Pavia, upon
the authority also of Spelta, who wrote the Lives of the Pavese
Bishops, and was almost contemporary with Bernardino, and
what is more, he himself thinks that the difference might be
thus reconciled, we may agree with him in stating that our
artist was neither derived from, or a citizen of Pavia, and at
the same time a citizen and a resident at Cremona.

G<3rvasio Gatti, II Soiaro, nephew to Bernardino, was ini-
tiated by him in the same maxims and principles which he
had Iiimself imbibed, by studying and copying the models leffc
by Correggio at Parma. The advantage he derived from them
may be known from his S. Sebastiano, which was painted for
S. Agatha, at Cremona, in 1578, a piece that appears designed
from the antique, and coloured by one of the first figurists and
landscape painters in Lombardy. In the same city is his
Martyrdom of S. Cecilia, at S. Pietro, surrounded with angels,
in the Correggio manner, a picture nobly coloured, and finished
with exquisite care. In composition it resembles those of his
unclr, for one of which it might be mistaken, did we not find
the name of Gervasio and the date of 1601. But he was not
always equally diligent, and sometimes betrays a mechanical
hand, while there is often a monotony in his countenances,
and ;!; want of selection in his heads, no unusual fault in portrait-
painters, among whom he held a high rank. It is most pro-
bable that he saw the works of the Caracci, traces of which
I hav^e discovered in some of his productions, and particularly
in tiiose at S. S. Pietro and Marcellino. Perhaps it was
a brother of this artist who left a picture of a Crucifixion, stir-
roun ded by different saints, at S. Sepolcro in Piacenza, bearing
an inscription of Uriel de Oattis dictus Sojarius, 1601. It
boasts great strength of colouring, combined with no little ele-

432 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH II.

gance, but the manner is insignificant, and it is feeble in chiaro-
scuro. This, if I mistake not, is the same Uriele who, on the
testimony of the Cav. Ridolfi, had been selected for some
undertaking at Crema in preference to Urbini, as I formerly
observed. Bernardino likewise instructed Spranger, a favou-
rite artist of the Emperor Rodolph II. as well as the Anguis-
sole, of both of whom we shall give some account shortly.
What more peculiarly distinguishes him is his title to be con-
sidered the great master of the Cremonese school, which,
benefited by his presence and guided by his precepts and
examples, produced during so long a period such a variety of
admirable works. To speak frankly what I think, Cremona
would never have seen her Campi, nor her Boccaccino rise so
high, if Soiaro had not exhibited his talents in that city.

The remaining portion of our chapter will be devoted almost
wholly to the Campi, a family that filled Cremona, Milan,
and other cities of that state, both in private and public, with
their paintings. They consisted of four individuals, all of
whom devoted themselves indefatigably to the art until they
reached an extreme old age. They were by some denominated
the Vasari and the Zuccari of Lombardy, a comparison
founded on some degree of truth in regard to the extent and
the vast mechanism of their compositions; but not just, as
far as intended to be applied to any desire of achieving much,
rather than what was excellent in its kind. Giulio and Ber-
nardino, the most accomplished of their family, were accused
of too great rapidity and want of accuracy ; but they are not
very often liable to the charge, and many of their faults must
be ascribed to their assistants. They generally produced
good designs, which were invariably well couloured, and these
still remain entire, while those of Yasari and Zuccari stand in
need of continual restoration and retouching, from the fading
of their colours. Of both these masters, however, as well as
the rest of the Campi, we must now proceed to treat in their
individual character.

Giulio may be pronounced the Lodovico Caracci of his
school. The eldest brother of Antonio and Vincenzo, and the
relation, or the instructor at least, of Bernardino, he formed
the project of uniting the best qualities of a number of styles

GIULIO CAMPI. 433

in one. His father, who was his first preceptor,* not con-
ceiving himself equal to perfecting him in the art, sent him to
the school of Giulio Romano, established at that period in
Manuia, and which had begun, according to Yasari, to propa-
gate the taste imbibed by its master from the most distin-
guished ornament of the art. Romano, too, instructed his
pupils in the principles of architecture, painting, and modelling,
and rendered them capable of directing and conducting all the
brandies of a vast and multiplied undertaking with their own
hands. Such an education was enjoyed by the eldest Campi,
and ly his brothers, owing to his care. The church of S. Mar-
gherita was wholly decorated by him ; and the chapels at
S. Sigismondo were all completed by him and his family.
They contain almost every variety of the art, large pictures,
small histories, cameos, stuccos, chiaroscuros, grotesques,
festoons of flowers, pilasters, with gold recesses, from which
the most graceful forms of cherubs seem to rise with symbols
adapted to the saint of that altar ; in a word, the whole of the
paintings and their decorations are the work of the same
genius, and sometimes of the same hand. This adds greatly
to thoir harmony, and in consequence to their beauty, nothing
in fact being truly beautiful that has not perfect unity. It is
a real loss to the arts that these various talents should be
divided, so as to compel us to seek a different artist for works
of dilferent sorts ; whence it arises that in a number of halls
and churches we meet with collections, histories, and orna-
ments of every kind, so extremely opposite, that not only one
part fails to remind us of the other, but sometimes repels it,
and seems to complain of its forced and inharmonious union.
But Nve must again turn our attention to Giulio Campi.

It appears then that he laid the foundation of his taste and
principles under Giulio Romano. From him he derived the
dignity of his design, his knowledge of anatomy, variety and
fertility of ideas, magnificence in his architecture, and a
general mastery over every subject. To these he added
strength when he visited Rome, where he studied Raffaello
and the antique, designing with a wonderful degree of accuracy

* \Ve may here correct the mistake of Orlandi, who assigns the death
of Galeazzo to the year 1536, and Giulio's birth to 1540, when it is known
that hj began his labours as early as 1522.

VOL. II. 2 F

434 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH II.

the column of Trajan, universally regarded as a school of the
ancients always open to the present day. Either at Mantua
or elsewhere he likewise studied Titian, and imitated him in
an equal degree with any other foreign artist. In his native
state he met with two more models in Pordenone and Soiaro,
in whose style, according to Vasari, he exercised himself, before
he became acquainted with the works of Giulio. From such
preparatory studies, combined with imitating whatever he
met with in Raffaello and Correggio, he acquired that style
which is found to partake of the manner of so many different
artists. On visiting the church of S. Margherita just alluded
to, in company with an able professor of the art, we there
noticed several of his heads, each drawn after a different
model, insomuch that on viewing the works of this artist we
feel inclined to pronounce the same opinion on him, as Alga-
rotti did on the Caracci, that in one of their pictures one kind
of taste prevails, and in another an opposite manner. Thus in
his S. Girolamo, in the cathedral at Mantua, and in his Pen-
tecost at S. Gisniondo in Cremona, we meet with all the
strength of Giulio, though his most successful imitation is to be
found in the castle of Soraguo in the territory of Parma,
where he represented the labours of Hercules in a grand hall,
which might be pronounced an excellent school for the study
of the naked figure. In the larger picture at the church of
S. Gisniondo, where the duke of Milan is seen with his duchess
in the act of being presented by the patron saints to the Holy
Virgin, and also in that of saints Pietro and Marcellino at the
church bearing their name, Campi displays so much of the
Titian manner as to have been mistaken for that artist. One
of his histories of the Passion, in the cathedral, representing
Christ before Pilate, was also supposed to be from the hand of
Pordenone, though ascertained to be his. Finally, in a Holy
Family, painted at S. Paolo in Milan, particularly in the
figure of the child seen caressing a holy prelate, who stands
lost in admiration, we are presented with all the natural
grace, united to all the skill that can be required in an
imitator of Correggio. The picture is exquisitely beautiful,
and an engraving of it in large folio was taken by Giorgio
Ghigi, a celebrated artist of Mantua.

Nor did Giulio's admiration of great painters lead him to

ANTONIO CAMPI. 436

neglect the study of nature. It was nature lie consulted, and
selected from ; a study which he inculcated likewise upon the
rest of the Campi. A choice is thus perceptible in their heads,
more especially in those of their women, evidently drawn from
nature, and I may add from national truth, inasmuch as they
express ideas and attitudes that are not usually met with in
other artists ; the hair and temples often appearing bound with
a ribl on, as was then customary in the city, and is still in use
in some of the villages. The colouring of the heads approaches
near fchat of Paul Veronese, and in the whole of their paint-
ings the Campi were accustomed to make use of the distribu-
tion of colours that had prevailed before the time of the
Caracci, though in their manner of disposing and animating
them r-hey acquired a peculiar beauty which Scaramuccio pro-
nounces wholly original. Judging, therefore, from their co-
lours, and the hair of their heads, it is difficult to discern the
individual hands of the Campi ; but if we examine the design
we shall more easily distinguish them. Giulio surpasses the
rest in point of dignity ; and he likewise aims at displaying
more knowledge, both of the human frame and of the
effects of lights and shadows. In correctness too lie is
superior to his two brothers, though he is not equal to Ber-
nardino.

Tho Cav. Antonio Campi was instructed by his brother in
architecture and painting, in the former of which he employed
himself more than Giulio. This was useful to him in the dis-
tribution of his large works, where he often introduced per-
spective views of great beauty, and displayed great skill in
foreshortening. A fine specimen of his powers is to be seen in
the sacristy of S. Pietro, with that beautiful colonnade, above
whict appears the chariot of Elias in the distance. Antonio
was ilso a modeller, an engraver, and the historian of his
native state, whose annals, enriched with many of his copper-
plates, he published in 1585. In the Campi family, therefore,
he wi 11 be found to occupy the same place as Agostino among
the Caracci, an artist of great versatility, conversant with,
polite letters. He was well known and appreciated by A Dec-
line, .vho engraved one of his most beautiful productions, the
Apost le of the Gentiles in the act of raising a person from the
dead. It is placed at S. Paolo in Milan, a, noble church,

2p 2

436 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH II.

where all the Campi, in the same manner as at S. Sigismondo,
are seen in competition with each other. Antonio there
appears to great advantage, no less in the forementioned
picture than in that of the Nativity, though the frescos adorn-
ing the chapels, ascribed to him, are deficient in accuracy.
Thus he also produced works of unequal merit at S. Sigis-
mondo, as if he wished to shew that he knew more than he was
ambitious of expressing. His most familiar model, as is
remarked also by Lomazzo, was Correggio, and the feature that
he most aimed at expressing was that of grace. To this he
often attained in point of colouring, but was less happy in
design, where, owing to his study of elegance, he at times
becomes disproportionately thin, and at others, in order to dis-
play his power, he exhibits a foreshortening somewhat out of
place. He is still more mannered in his more robust subjects,
and occasionally borders upon heaviness and vulgarity, into
which his imitation of Correggio's grandeur, more difficult,
perhaps, than his grace, doubtless betrayed him. There are
many of these exceptions, however, along with his incorrect-
ness of design, so often discernible, which are to be attributed
to his numerous assistants, employed in these vast undertakings.
But this will not apply to his over-grouping, which is so
remarkable in some of his compositions, nor to the introduction
of caricatures into his holy histories, which is a sort of jesting
out of season. In a word his genius was vast, spirited, reso-
lute, but often in want of the rein ; and in this respect, and
generally in what relates to pictorial learning, we should do
wrong to put him in competition with Lodovico Caracci.

In the church of S. Paolo, at Milan, there is an inscription
by Yincenzio Campi, in which he mentions Giulio and
Antonio as his younger brothers. Most probably, however,
it has been inserted there by some other hand, being quite
contradictory to what is established by history. For he is
represented by Antonio as the youngest of the brothers, and
by others as an indefatigable assistant in their labours, and
little more worthy of being compared with them than Fran-
cesco Caracci with his brother Annibal or Agostino. His
portraits, however, are held in esteem, as well as his fruit
pieces, which he painted on a small scale for private rooms in
a very natural manner, and they are by no means rare at

BERNARDINO CAMPI. 437

Cremona. In the colouring of his figures he was equal fo his
brothers, but in point of invention and design greatly inferior
to them. He appears to have imitated Antonio rather than
Giulio, as far as we can judge from the few works he has left,
which are now known to be his. He painted a few altar-
pieces for his native place, four of which consist of Descents
from the Cross. That in the cathedral extorted the praise of
Baldinucci ; and truly in the figure of Christ his foreshortening
deceives the eye like that of Pordenone in his Dead Christ,
while his heads and his colouring have likewise been com-
mended. I cannot, however, think that the attitude of the
Virgin Mother, who is seen grasping his face with both her
hands, is very becoming ; nor do I approve of the saints An-
tonio and Raimondo, who lived at a period so remote from
that of Christ, being here introduced, the one supporting his
arm, the other kissing his hand. It moreover betrays several
errors, of a kind which Baldinucci, so familiar with a more
learned and severe school, would not so easily have forgiven
had he happened to have beheld this picture. Vincenzio
seems to have possessed greater skill in small than in large
figures, in common indeed with a great number of artists.
Mention is made in his Life of six little pictures which he
executed on slate, and which were sold after his death for
three hundred ducats. Zaist, whom I follow in my index,
has presented us with the epochs applying to these three
artists in such a manner as to leave them in considerable
doubt. The inscription at S. Paolo in Milan, recorded in the
Guide (p. 152) is as follows: — Vincentius una cum Julio et
Antcnio fratribus pinxerunt an. MDLXXXVIII. Now Bian-
coni does not seem inclined to credit the authenticity of this ;
nor is it improbable but it may have been written some years
subsc quent to the painting, and by another hand.

Bernardino Campi, perhaps some way related to the other
three Campi, occupied the same place in his family as Annibal
Caracci amongst his brothers. Receiving his first instructions
from the eldest Campi, he entered into similar views of form-
ing a style which should include that of many other artists, ana
in a short time he rivalled, and in the opinion of many sur-
passed his master. He had at first attached himself to the
goldsmith's art, by the advice of his father; but happening to

438 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH II.

behold two tapestries, copied by Giulio Campi from Raflaello,
he resolved to change his profession, and devoting himself to
the school of Campi at Cremona, and next to that of Ippolito
Costa at Mantua, he began to profess the art at the age of
nineteen, and acquired a great proficiency in it at that early
age. At Mantua he cultivated an acquaintance with Giulio
Romano and his school, and we may infer, that from the
study of his works he was enabled to enlarge his views and
his capacity for great undertakings. But the love of Rafiaello
was fixed in his heart, and he took delight in nothing so much
as his pictures, his designs, and fhis engravings; while in
Giulio and the rest he was only anxious to emulate those por-
traits which appeared to him to bear some resemblance to his
RafFaello. There too he applied himself to the study of
Titian's series of the Caesars, eleven in number; and after
having copied them he added a twelfth in a style so perfectly
consistent, as to exhibit no traces of imitation. By the
liberality of one of his patrons he was enabled also to visit
Parma, Modena, and Reggio, in order to become acquainted
with the manner of Correggio ; and the advantage he thence
derived, his pictures at S. Gismondo sufficiently display.
From these first principles, with such as he studied in his
native place, he derived one of the most original styles that is
to be met with in the list of imitators. His imitation is never,
like that of so many others, apparent to the eye, but rather
resembles our poet Sannazzaro's, of the best Roman writers,
who colours with them every line, but that line is still his
own. In so great a variety of models, the most beloved and
the most honoured, as Virgil was by Sannazzaro, was RafFaello
by Bernardino ; but it was unfortunate for him that he did not
see Rome, and the originals which that great pictoric genius
there produced. The want of this he supplied with ability,
and formed for himself several maxims drawn from nature and
simplicity, which serve to distinguish him from the rest of his
school. By the side of the other Campi he perhaps appears
the most timid artist, but the most correct ; he has not the
magnificence of Giulio, but he has more ideal beauty, and
much more captivates the heart. He resembles Antonio
rather than Giulio in the length of his proportions ; but not so
in other points, for he occasionally borders upon dryness, as

BERNARDINO CAMPI. 439

in his Assumption at the cathedral, in order to avoid falling
into mannerism.

B it it is the church of S. Sigismondo which inspires us
with the loftiest ideas of this artist, in every view. We can
imagine nothing more simply beautiful, and more consistent
with the genius of the best age, than his picture of S. Cecilia,
in the act of playing on the organ, while St. Catherine is seen
standing near her, and above them a group of angels, apparently
engaged with their musical instruments and with their voices,
in pouring forth in concert with the two innocent virgins,
strains worthy of Paradise. This painting, with its surround-
ing decoration of cherub figures, displays his mastery in grace.
Still he appears to no less advantage in point of strength in his
figures of the Prophets, grandly designed, for the same place ;
although he seems more anxious to invest them with dignity
of feature and of action, than to give strength and muscle to
their proportions. Above all he shone with most advantage
in the grand cupola, with which few in Italy will bear a com-
parison, and still fewer can be preferred for the abundance,
variety, distribution, grandeur, and gradation of the figures,
and for the harmony and grand effect of the whole. In this
empyrean, this vast concourse of the blessed, belonging to the
Old and New Testament, there is no figure that may not be
recognised by its symbols, and that is not seen in perfection
from its own point of view, whence all appear of the natural
proportion, although they are on a scale of seven braccia in
height. Such a work is one of those rare ' monuments which
serve to prove, that it is possible for a great genius to execute
rapidly and well ; it was wholly conducted by him in seven
nioi. ths ; and to satisfy the workmen, who were more sensible
of the brevity of the time than the merit of the work, he
obt: tined a written acknowledgment from Soiaro and Giulio
Car.ipi, that he had achieved a laudable task. Bernardino
waf younger than either of them, or than Boccaccino, and the
citi sens took pleasure in placing him in competition with one
or the other of them in their public works, in order that a
noble emulation might call forth all their powers, nor suffer
the,n to slumber. Nevertheless, the Nativity of our Lord, at
S. Domenico, has been pronounced his master-piece ; a kind
of abstract, in which he aimed at comprehending the various

440 SCHOOL OP CREMONA. EPOCH II.

excellences of the art. This, at least, is the opinion of Lamo,
who composed a diffuse Life of this artist ; such as to render
his information far the most copious we possess upon the
subject. He also compiled a correct catalogue of his works,
executed both in his native place and at Milan, where he
passed a great part of his time, and of those he painted in
foreign parts. We find a great number of portraits of princes,
as well as of private persons, enumerated ; his skill in this
branch of the art, in which very few equalled him, greatly
adding to his fame and fortune. The precise period of his
decease is not known, though it must have been somewhere
towards 1590, at which time the art assumed quite a new
aspect at Cremona.

441

SCHOOL OF CREMONA.

EPOCH III.

Declire of the School of the Campi. Trotti and other Artists support it.

FROM the brief description already given, it will easily be
perceived how far the Campi school was a sort of sketch of
that of the Caracci ; and what were the causes which con-
tribuLed to the superiority of the latter, although they had
both the same original outline. The Caracci were all excel-
lent designers, and invariably aimed at appearing such ; they
were likewise united by affection, no less than by their place
of residence, and were continually engaged in assisting each
other. Finally, they supported an academy, much frequented,
the object of which was, not so much to study the various
manners of different artists, as to examine the different effects
produced by nature, so as to render their works her real
offspring, as it were, and not her more distant relations. The
Campi, on the other hand, did not so uniformly aspire to the
same excellence, nor did they reside, and unite together in
forming so methodical and well-established an academy ; each
maintaining a separate school and residence, and teaching, if
I mistake not, rather how their pupils should imitate them,
than how they should paint. Hence it arose, that while
Domenichino, Guido, Guercino, and others of the Caracci
school, distinguished themselves by their novelty and origin-
ality of manner, the scholars of the Campi were confined to
the sphere of imitating, as nearly as lay in their power, the
painters of their own city, either severally or in a select
numoer. And thus, as man is everywhere the same, it here
ensued, as in the rest of the Italian schools, that having
acquired a tolerable degree of skill in imitating their predeces-
sors, artists began to slacken their industry. The first had

442 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH III.

accustomed themselves to copy only from the life ; they drew
cartoons, they modelled in wax, and carefully arranged all the
divisions of their folds, with every accessary ; but the second
contented themselves with making a few sketches, and some
heads taken from nature, executing the rest of their work in
a mere mechanical manner, and as they judged to be most
convenient. Thus by degrees this great school degenerated,
and it happened also about the same period, when the disciples
of Procaccini observed the same method at Milan. From
this cause, during the seventeeth century, Lombardy was filled
with the sectarists of the art, among whom the followers of
Zuccheri themselves would have appeared in the rank of
masters. A few there were who struggled to free themselves
from the herd of imitators ; and Caravaggio afforded them an
opportunity. Born in the vicinity of Cremona, he was partly
considered their compatriot, and the more willingly followed
by the Cremonese ; more particularly as it became popular to
cry down the style of the last masters as feeble, and to demand
one of a more vigorous character. The attempt succeeded
admirably in a few ; while others, on the contrary, as it
occurred in Venice, at Cremona also became only coarse and
sombre. I have not been very anxious to cultivate an acquaint-
ance with the artists of this period ; though I shall take care
to make mention of such as succeeded in raising themselves
above the crowd.

Each of the Campi, therefore, claims his own disciples,
though they have not always been distinguished in history,
being described under the general designation of pupils of the
Campi ; as the two Mainardi, Andrea and Marc Antonio, by
Orlandi. The two pupils of Giulio, best entitled to commen-
dation, namely, Gambara of Brescia, and Viani of Cremona,
having flourished in other schools, have been recorded by us,
the first among the Venetians, and the second among the
Mantuan artists.

Antonio Campi has left us an account of three of his own
disciples; Ippolito Storto, Gio. Batista Belliboni, and Gio.
Paolo Fondulo, who passed into Sicily. All of them remained
in obscurity, however, in Lombardy, and are omitted in the
Painters' Dictionaries. Towards the close of his life, he
instructed one Galeazzo Ghidone, an artist of weak health,

LUCA CATTAPANE. 443

who employed himself only at intervals, but with success ; as
we may judge from his picture of the Preaching of St. John
the Baptist, at S. Mattia, in Cremona, which has been highly
commended by good connoisseurs. Another is Antonio Be-
duschi, who, in his twenty-sixth year, produced a Pietzl, for
S. Sopolcro, in Piacenza, and a still superior painting of the
Martyrdom of S. Stefano ; he is referred to the school of the
Cam pi, and strongly partakes of the style of Antonio ; I
esteem him one of his imitators, if not in the list of his pupils.
He ,vas unknown to the historian Zaist, and is indebted for
commemoration to the Sig. Proposto Carasi.

Ltica Cattapane was initiated in the art by Vincenzio, and
dev( ted much time to copying the works of the Campi family.
He .succeeded in this by exhibiting a rare boldness of hand, so
as to give his pieces the air of originals, and they continue to
impose upon the most experienced, even to the present day.
He likewise counterfeited the style of Gambara in a Pieta
of his, at the church of S. Pietro, in Cremona ; and in order
to enlarge the picture, he added three figures in a taste agree-
able to the former. For the rest, being misled by his ambi-
tion to form a new style, or to approach nearer Caravaggio, he
became even more sombre than the Campi, with still less taste.
Mary of his altar-pieces yet remain. In S. Donate, at Cre-
inon i, he represented the Beheading of St. John ; one of his
most successful works, in which the effect is superior either
to the design or to the expression. To these we may add a
number of his fresco paintings, though inferior to those exe-
cute 1 in oil.

Barnardino, however, was the favourite master, and the
niosi frequented of any belonging to the school. His succes-
sors have continued to flourish longer, and even reached the
confines of the present age. I first propose to enumerate a
few of his most distinguished scholars, who either did not
teac i, or taught the art only to a few ; and I shall afterwards
trea of Malosso and his school, which, about the year 1630,
held the chief sway in Cremona, and became one of the most
celebrated throughout Lombardy.

Coriolano Malaga vazzo, who is erroneously called Girolamo
Mai iguazzo, in the Painters' Dictionary, assisted in the
labours of his master, insomuch as to render it uncertain

444 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH III.

whether Cremona possesses any painting designed and executed
by himself; for it is supposed that he drew his fine altar-piece
in S. Silvestro, representing the Virgin with S. S. Francesco
and Ignazio, the martyr, from one of Bernardino's designs.
Nothing, likewise, that has not been questioned, remains of
Cristoforo Magnani da Pizzighettone, a young artist of great
promise, as we are informed by Antonio Campi, who laments
the shortness of his career. Lamo, too, complains of his loss,
when he mentions him and Trotti as the two greatest geniuses
of the school. His chief talent lay in portraits ; though he was
also well skilled in compositions. I have seen one of his pro-
ductions, consisting of Saints Giacomo and Giovanni, at S.
Francesco, in Piacenza, an early effort, but very well conceived
andexecuted. Andrea Mainardi, called Chiaveghino, employed
himself both singly and with Marcantonio, his nephew, in
painting for the city, and more especially for its environs. By
Baldinucci, he is pronounced a weak painter ; and such indeed
he appears whenever he worked in haste, and for a small
sum. But several of his altar-pieces, laboured with more care,
tend to redeem his character ; there he shews himself a suc-
cessful disciple of Bernardino, both in his minute style, as in
his Marriage of S. Anne, at the Eremites, and in his loftier
manner, as in his large picture of the Divin Sangue, or divine
blood. He exhibits that prophetic idea, torcular calcam solus,
and the Redeemer is seen standing upright under a wine-press,
and, crushed by the Divine Justice, emitting from his holy body,
through the open wounds, whole streams of blood, which are
received into sacred vessels by S. Agostino, and three other
doctors of the church ; and are afterwards shed for the bene-
fit of an immense crowd of the Faithful, who are seen gathered
round. The same subject I saw in one of the churches of
Recanati, and in some others, but no where so appropriately
expressed. It is a picture that would reflect credit on any
school ; exhibiting fine forms, rich draperies, warm and lively
colouring. In the distribution of his small and frequent
lights he might, indeed, have been more happy, as well as in
the grouping of his figures ; a fault, however, common to
many of his school.

The best, however, of these disciples of Bernardino, with
a number of others whom I omit, were all surpassed by a fair

SOFONISBA ANGUSSOLA. 445

votary of the art named Sofonisba Angussola, sprung from a
noble family at Cremona. Along with her younger sister,
Elena, who afterwards took the veil, she received his instruc-
tions at her father's request, in his own house. Upon his
going- to Milan, Soiaro was selected to supply the place of
Bernardino, and Sofonisba soon attained to such a degree of
excellence, more particularly in portraits, as to be esteemed
one of the most finished painters of her age. She at first
superintended the pictorial education of her four younger
sisters, whose names were Lucia and Minerva, who died
young ; Europa and Anna Maria, of whom the former mar-
ried, and died in the flower of her age ; and of the second,
likewise married, there remains no further account. Vasari
bestows the highest commendations upon Sofonisba, and upon
the other sisters, with whom he was acquainted at Cremona,
when they were young. At that period Sofonisba had already
been invited as court painter, by Philip II. into Spain, where,
besides the portraits she took of the royal family and of Pope
Pius IV., she painted several other princes and lords of rank,
all ambitious of the same honour, insomuch that we might
apply to her the words of Pliny : " Illos nobilitans quos esset
dignata posteris tradere." Entering afterwards into matrimony
with one Moncada, she resided with him some years at
Palermo, and after his death again married a gentleman of the
name of Lomellino. She died at Genoa, at a very advanced
age, infirm and blind ; though she continued to converse and
give her advice upon the art until her last moments ; insomuch
that Yandyck was heard to say, that he had acquired more
knowledge from her, than from any one else he knew. Her
portraits are greatly esteemed in Italy ; and in particular, two
which she took of herself ; one of which is in the ducal gal-
lery at Florence, and the other in possession of the Lomellini
family at Genoa.

I next approach that celebrated pupil of Bernardino, whom
I promised to mention at the close of the chapter ; and this is
the Cavalier Gio. Batista Trotti, who published his master's
Life, during his lifetime, written by Lamo. None of Campi's
pupils was so much attached to him as this artist, who mar-
ried his niece, and was left heir to his valuable studio. On
his competing at Parma with Agostino Caracci, and being

446 SCHOOL OP CREMONA. EPOCH III.

more applauded at court, it was said by Agostino, with plea-
santry, that they had given him a hard bone to gnaw. Hence
he acquired the surname of Malosso, which he adopted, and
sometimes made use of in signing his name, besides transmit-
ting it, as an hereditary appellation, to his nephew. Thus
he converted into a source of applause, the satiric trait
launched against him by Caracci, meant to convey, that the
people of Parma had preferred to him an artist of inferior
worth. Nor indeed was Malosso his equal either in design or
in solid judgment ; though he could boast pictoric attractions
which made him appear to advantage when opposed to other
artists. He displayed little of Bernardino's taste, except in
a few of his first efforts ; he afterwards studied Correggio,
and, most of all, aimed at resembling Soiaro, whose gay, open,
and brilliant style, varied shortenings, and spirited attitudes,
he exhibited in the chief part of his works. But he carried
it too far, making an extravagant display of his white and
other clear colours, without sufficiently tempering them with
shade, insomuch that I have heard his paintings compared to
those on porcelain ; while he has been accused of want of
relief, or according to Baldinucci, of some degree of harshness.
His heads are, however, extremely beautiful, smiling with
loveliness, and of a graceful roundness, not unlike Soiaro's ;
though he is too apt to repeat them on the same canvas, nearly
alike in features, colours, and attitude. Here his rapidity of
hand alone was in fault, as he was in no want of fertility of
ideas. When he pleased he could give variety to his linea-
ments, as we gather from his Beheading of St. John, at
S. Domenico, in Cremona, as well as to his compositions ;
having represented at S. Francesco and at S. Agostino, in
Piacenza, and if I mistake not, elsewhere, a picture of the
Conception of the Virgin, in every instance abounding with
fresh ideas. Nor do we often meet with any of his paintings
throughout the numerous cities in which he was employed,
that have much resemblance in point of invention. He was
equally varied in his imitations when he pleased, as appears
from his Crucifixion, surrounded by saints, in the cathedral of
Cremona, executed in the best Venetian taste ; while his S.
Maria Egiziaca driven from the Temple, to be seen at S. Pietro
in the same town, partakes as much of the Roman. There is

GTO. BATISTA TROTTI. 447

also a Pieta of his at S. Abbondio, which shews that he was
occasionally happy in catching the Caracci manner.

His most esteemed works in fresco, for which he was ho-
noured with the title of cavaliere, were exhibited in the palace
called del Giardino, at Parma. His labours in the cupola of
S. Abbondio, before-mentioned, were on a magnificent scale,
though designed from Giulio Campi. But they display a
masteiy of hand, and strength of colouring, fully equal, if not
superior, to the invention of the work. For Giulio, indeed,
did not possess the same skill in varying his groups of angels
as the Caracci ; inasmuch as both he and his family were accus-
tomed to arrange them like the horses we see in the ancient
chariots, all drawn up in a line, or in some other manner un-
usual in the best schools. The Crenionese historian endeavours,
in son e degree, to defend Trotti from the charge of harshness,
casting it upon his assistants and disciples, whose altar-pieces
have 1 >een attributed to Malosso, by Baldinucci. This may be
the case with some, but there are others inscribed with the
name of Trotti, especially at Piacenza, which more or less
exhibit the same fault. Nor ought we to cast reflections upon
an artist of a secondary character, on account of some errors,
as the,1 e are precisely the cause of his exclusion from the rank
of the very first masters.*

Trotti educated a number of artists who flourished about the
year 1 600, devoted to his manner, although in course of time
the mothod of preparing grounds becoming corrupted through-
out I1 aly, and the age attached to a more sombre style of
colouring, they were induced to abandon much of that clear-
ness which forms a chief characteristic of his colouring. Baldi-
nucci gives some account of Ermenegildo Lodi, as well as
Orlaii'li, who could not discern which of two paintings
belom ed to the master, and which to the scholar. This, I
conjecture, arose from painting under the eye of his preceptor,
whom he assisted in many of his labours, together with his
brother Manfredo Lodi. When we consult the few which he
execut ed alone, particularly at S. Pietro, they discover nothing

* Akhough not exempt from faults, Trotti may be fairly admitted to
rank with the best of the Campi, who, either from excessive composition
or prevailing mannerism, are obnoxious to the same censure. A.

448 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH III.

to have excited the jealousy of Agostino Caracci, nor to have
gained for the artist the appellation of Malosso. The produc-
tions likewise of Giulio Calvi, called II Coronaro, might be
mistaken for the least perfect of those of Trofcti, says Zaist,
where they are not inscribed with his name. The same may
be averred of two other artists, Stefano Lambri, and Cristoforo
Augusta, a youth of great promise, cut off in the flower of his
age, and both excellent disciples of the school. These, no less
than Coronaro, may be seen and compared with each other in
the church and convent of the Padri Predicatori, which possess
specimens of each.

Of Euclide Trotti, before-mentioned, there remains in his
native place no work clearly ascertained to be his, except two
history-pieces of St. James the Apostle, at S. Gismondo.
These too were sketched by Calvi, and completed by Euclide,
with a very able imitation of his uncle Gio. Batista's style.
The altar-piece of the Ascension, however, at S. Antonio, in
Milan, is wholly ascribed to him ; and displays much beauty,
and a more serious manner than is generally to be met with in
the works of the elder Malosso. No other painting is attri-
buted to him, nor was he capable of executing many. For
while yet young, he was tried and found guilty of felony against
the prince. Being thrown into prison, he is there supposed to
have died by poison, which was administered by his friends,
in order to avoid the disgrace of a public execution. In con-
clusion, we must not omit the name of Panfilo Nuvolone. He
was attached to Malosso, whom he imitated from the outset ;
but he afterwards followed a more solid and less attractive
style. One of his works, which is omitted in the account of
his life, is his S. Ubaldo giving his benediction to the sick, at
S. Agostino in Piacenza. Mention will be made of this
painter also in the Milanese school, where he flourished, to-
gether with his two sons, Giuseppe, and Carlo who obtained
the appellation of the Guido of Lombardy.

449

SCHOOL OF CREMONA.

EPOCH IV.

Foreign Manners introduced into Cremona.

AMONG the descendants of Malosso the Cremonese school con-
tinued to decline ; and here, as in the instance of so many
othors, it was compelled to resort to foreign sources, in order
to restore its somewhat aged and exhausted powers. Carlo
Picenardi, of a patrician family, was the first to lead the
way, an artist who had ranked among the favourite pupils
of Lodovico Caracci. He was very successful in burlesque
histories, and likewise exhibited to the public some of his
paintings, executed for churches, which were imitated by
another Carlo Picenardi, called the younger, who had formed
his style in Venice and at Rome. Other artists of the city
attached themselves to other schools, insomuch, that before
the middle of the seventeenth century many new manners had
arisen, which assumed the place of more native styles. In the
train of Malosso, Zaist enumerates Pier Martire Neri, or Negri,
a good portrait-painter and composer, though, adds the histo-
rian, he procured from a foreign source a character of more
boldness and strength of shadow, at the same time adducing a-a
an instance, his great picture of the Man born blind receiving
his sight from our Saviour, which is preserved at the hospital
of Cremona. He painted likewise a S. Giuseppe at the Cer-
tosa, in Pavia, a work which, if I mistake not, is superior in
point of taste to the former, and there are others to be met
wit] i in Rome, where the artist's name is found among the
academicians of S. Luke.

Andrea Mainardi opened school simultaneously with Mal-
osso ; and two of his pupils, Gio. Batisto Tortiroli and Carlo
Natali, became particularly distinguished. Both abandoned
their native place, Gio. Batista going first to Rome, and thence
to Venice, where he formed a style which partakes most of the

TOL. II. 2 G

450 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH IT.

younger Palma, united to an evident imitation of Raffaello.
Such it appears in his picture of the Slaughter of the Innocents,
at S. Domenico, commendable in point of composition, and
extremely well coloured. This, and a few other productions,
are regarded however only as specimens of his powers, the
artist dying in his thirtieth year, leaving behind him a pupil
of the name of Gio. Batista Lazzaroni. This last flourished
at Piacenza and in Milan, was an excellent portrait -painter, and
much employed by the princes of Parma and other personages
of high rank. Carlo Natali, surnamed II Guardolino, attended
the school of Mainardi, and afterwards that of Guido Reni,
to which he added a long residence at Rome and Genoa,
observing all that was most valuable, and exerting his own
talents in the art. It was while engaged in executing a frieze
in the Doria palace at Genoa, that he instructed Giulio Cesare
Procaccini in the principles of painting, who had previously
devoted himself to sculpture, and in him he presented us with
one of the most successful imitators of Correggio. Carlo's
attachment to architecture, however, permitted him to produce
few specimens, which are highly esteemed in his native state,
in particular his Santa Francesca Romana, painted for S. Gis-
mondo, a piece, which if not perfect, is certainly above medi-
ocrity.

He had a son named Giambatista, whom he instructed in
both these arts ; though he was desirous that he should acquire
a more perfect knowledge of them under Pietro da Cortonaat
Rome. There he pursued his studies, and left some specimens
of altar-pieces, producing works upon a still more extensive
scale upon his return to Cremona, where he opened school, and
introduced the Cortona manner, although with little success.
There is a large picture of his at the P. Predicatori, dis-
playing some skilful architecture, and in which the holy pa-
triarch is seen in the act of burning some heretical books ; nor
is it at all unworthy of a disciple of Pietro. In the archives
of the royal gallery at Florence I discovered, at the period I
was drawing up my index, some letters addressed by Gio.
Batista to the Card. Leopoldo de' Medici, one of which was
written from Rome, dated 1674, wherein he states that he
was then engaged in collecting notices respecting the artists
of his native place. Hence we may gather the real origin of

LUIGI MIRADORO. 451

their lives, as contained in the work of Baldinucci, for whom
the cardinal, who patronized him, likewise procured other
materials for his history from different places. Had Zaist
been informed of this, he would rather have directed both his
eulogies and his complaints to Natali, than to Baldinucci or
his eontinuator. The pupils of Natali were Carlo Tassone,
who became, on the model of Lovino, a, painter of portraits,
much admired at Turin and other courts; Francescantonio
Cancti, afterwards a Capuchin friar, and a pretty good
miniature-painter in his day, and who left a fine painting in
the church of his own order at Como ; with Francesco Boc-
cacciao, the last of that pictoric family, who died about the
year 1760. Having familiarized himself at Rome, first with
the school of Brandi, and next with that/ of Maratta, he ac-
quired a manner that came into some repute in private collec-
tions, for which he employed himself more than for churches.
He resembles Albano, and was fond of portraying mythological
subjects. A few of his altar-pieces still adorn Cremona,
which may be esteemed good for the period at which they
were produced.

While the Cremonese artists left their native state in search,
as w« have observed, of more novel methods, a foreigner took
up his residence, and not only studied, but taught at Cremona.
This was Luigi Miradoro, commonly called II Genovesino,
from his native city of Genoa, whence, after being initiated
in the principles of his art, he appears to have gone, while
youn.r, to Cremona, towards the beginning of the seventeenth
oentury. There he began to study the works of Panfilo Nu-
yolone, and afterwards formed a manner partaking of the
Caracci, though neither so select nor studied, but bold, large,
correct in colouring, harmonious, and productive of fine effect.
This artist, equally unknown in his native place and in
foreign cities, as well as passed over by Orlandi and his con-
tinuator, is nevertheless held in high repute in Lombardy, and
partic ularly in Cremona, where his pictures adorn' several
churches, among which that of his S. Gio. Damascene, at
S. Cl jmente, has been most highly commended. The Mer-
chants' College likewise at Piacenza possesses a very beautiful
painting of a Pieta from his hand. In all subjects he was
successful, and remarkably so in those of a terrific cast. In
2 a2

452 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH IV.

the Casa Borri at Milan there is a piece representing a variety
of punishments inflicted upon some accomplices in a conspi-
racy, a magnificent production of its kind. Others are to be
met with, though not very frequently, in collections belonging
to the above mentioned cities, on one of which I read the date
of 1639.

Agostino Bonisoli was pupil to Tortiroli, and subsequently,
for the space of a year, to Miradoro. though he was more in-
debted to his own genius than to any master, with the aid of
studying excellent models, more especially that of Paul Ve-
ronese. From him he borrowed his grace and spirit, his
design from other artists. He painted little for churches, and
Cremona possesses scarcely any other specimen than the Dia-
logue of S. Antonio with the tyrant Ezzelino, which is pre-
served at the church of the Conventuali. His portraits and
history-pieces are to be met with in private houses, for the
most part taken from sacred records, and intended for the de-
coration of rooms. Many of these passed into Germany and
other foreign parts ; for, having been in the service of Gio.
Francesco Gonzaga, prince of Bozolo, in which he remained
twenty- eight years, his paintings were frequently presented
as gifts, or requested by foreigners of rank. As long as
lie continued in his native state he maintained an academy
for the study of naked figures, in which he gave instructions
to youth.

Two other artists flourished after him in Cremona, of whom
their biographer observes that they must have drunk at the
same fountain, from the great resemblance of their paintings,
at least during a certain period, though they differed greatly
in point of colouring. One is Angelo Massarotti, a native of
Cremona, the other Roberto la Longe, born at Brussels,
ranked among those artists who have been denominated Fiani-
minghi, or Flemish, in Italy, an appellation which has given
rise to frequent mistakes in history. Angelo was undoubtedly
pupil to Bonisoli, and though he studied many years with
Cesi at Rome, where he painted at S. Salvatore in Lauro, he
exhibits very little of the Roman, except a more regular kind
of composition than belongs to the Cremonese style. For the
rest he was fonder of introducing portraits than ideal forms
into his canvas, nor was he sufficiently careful to shun the

ROBERTO LA LONGE. 453

faults of the naturalists ; owing to which, more particularly
in his draperies, he sometimes became heavy. He boasts
moreover a more rich and oily colouring than was then preva-
lent at Rome, which gives his pictures an appearance of ful-
ness and roundness, while it adds to their preservation. Per-
haps his master-piece is to be seen at S. Agostino, a vast
production, in which the saint is represented giving rules to
various religious orders, which form a body militant under his
banners, and in such a crowd of figures, the ideas, the atti-
tudes, and the draperies are all well varied.

Most probably Roberto la Longe frequented the academy of
Bonisoli, and occasionally, as we have observed, conformed to
the manner of Massarotti. But both there and at Piacenza,
where he long resided and closed his days, he painted in a
variety of styles, yet always soft, clear, and harmonious, much
as if lie had never ventured beyond the confines of Flanders.
At times he emulates Guido, as in some histories of S. Teresa,
painted for S. Sigismondo at Cremona ; and in some histories
of S. Antonio Martire, at Piacenza, he approaches Guercino,
while at others he displays a mixture of strength, delicacy,
and beauty, as in his picture of S. Saverio, in the cathedral at
Piacenza, seen in the act of dying, and supported by angels.
His landscapes give singular attraction to his figures, though
the latter might be better designed, and more gradation may
be desired in his landscape, as well as in other parts of his
works.

Both these last masters had for their pupil Gian Angiolo
Borroai, who being taken under the patronage of the noble
house of Crivelli, was retained many years at Bologna, during
ihe period the Creti rose into repute. Monti and Giangioseffo
del Sole, to whose style he most attached himself, were then
likewise flourishing at the same place. He was particularly
employed in ornamenting the palaces of his patrons, who were
desirous of having him with them, both at Cremona and at
Milan, and in this last city he spent the best part of his life,
dying very infirm in the year 1772. There, too, he left the
chief portion of his works, some of which are upon a very large
scale, distributed throughout its temples and palaces, besides
others in different cities of the Milanese, more especially in his
native place. In the cathedral remains his picture of S. Be-

454 SCHOOL OF CREMONA. EPOCH IV.

nedetto, in the act of offering up prayers for the city, of which
he is the patron, to paint which the Cav. Borroni exerted his
utmost degree of industry and art. Its success was sufficient
indeed to have placed it upon an equality with the hest of its
age, had the draperies been folded with a degree of skill at all
corresponding to the rest of the work ; but in this he certainly
was not happy. A little subsequent to him began to flourish
Bottani, an artist who has been mentioned also in the Man-
tuan school ; for, though a native of Cremona, he resided else-
where. Good artists continue to flourish at Cremona to this
day, whose merits, however, according to my plan, I leave
untouched to the judgment of posterity.

Professors of minor branches of painting were not wanting
in this school, one of whom, named Francesco Bassi, who had
fixed his residence at Venice, was there called II Cremonese
da' Paesi. His powers were extremely varied and pleasing,
united to great polish, powerful in his shadows, warm in his
airs, while he often added to his pieces figures of men and
animals in a pretty correct taste. They enrich many collec-
tions both in Italy and elsewhere, and some, as we find from
the catalogue published in Venice, were included in Algarotti's.
"We must be cautious to avoid mistaking this painter for
another Francesco Bassi, also a Cremonese, who is in that city
called the younger. He was a pupil of the former in the art
of landscape, and although much inferior to him, is not un-
known in different collections. But a still higher rank in the
same class is occupied by Sigismondo Benini, a scholar of
Massarotti, the inventor of beautiful methods in his landscapes,
with well retiring grounds, and with all the accidents of light
well portrayed. His composition is polished, distinct, and
coloured with equal harmony and vigour, though to continue
agreeable he ought not to have transgressed the limits of land-
scape ; for, by the addition of his figures, he diminished the
value of his works.

About the same period a family, sprung from Casalmaggiore
in the Cremonese, distinguished itself in the line of architec-
tural and ornamental painting. Giuseppe Natali, the elder,
impelled by his natural inclination for this am, entered upon
it notwithstanding the opposition of his father, which, being
at length overcome, he was permitted to visit Rome, and to

GIUSEPPE NAT ALT. 455

remain some time at Bologna in order to qualify himself. He
flourished precisely at the period which the architectural
painters are fond of considering as the happiest for their art.
It had rery recently been improved by Dentone, by Colonna,
by Mitelli, and boasted, from its attractive novelty, a number of
young geniuses, whom it inspired with the dignity of masters,
and with the prospect of rewards, a subject on which I shall
treat more particularly in the Bolognese school. He formed a
style at once praiseworthy for the architectural, and judiciously
pleasing for the ornamental parts. He gratifies the eye by
presenting it with those views which are the most charming,
and gives it repose by distributing them at just distances. In
his grotesques he retains much of the antique, shunning all use-
less exhibition of modern foliages, and varying the paintingfrom
time to time with small landscapes, which he also executed well
in little oil pictures, which were in the highest request. The
softness and harmony of his tints extorted great commendation.
He did not permit his talents to remain idle, ornamenting a
number of halls, chambers, chapels, and churches throughout
Lombardy, often with a rapidity that appears almost incredible.
He more particularly distinguished himself at San Sigismondo,
and in the palace of the Marchesi Vidoni.

He had three brothers who followed in his footsteps, and all
of whom he had himself instructed. Francesco, the second,
approached nearest to Giuseppe in point of merit, and even
surpassed him in dignity. He was employed in works on a
large ^cale for the churches of Lombardy and Tuscany, as well
as for the courts of the dukes of Massa, of Modena, and of
Parma, in which city he closed his days. Lorenzo, the third,
chiefly assisted his brothers, or if he had the misfortune to exe-
cute any works alone, he was rather pitied than applauded.
Pietrc, the fourth brother, died young and uncommemorated.
There were two sons, the one of Giuseppe, the other of Fran-
cesco, who were initiated by their parents in the same art.
The £rst, named Giambatista, became court-painter to the
elector of Cologne ; and the second, who bore the same name,
honou rably occupied a similar rank at the court of Charles,
king >f the two Sicilies, and in that of his son, a station in
which he died. Giuseppe educated a pupil of merit in Gio.

456 SCHOOL OP CREMONA. EPOCH IV.

Batista Zaist, a name to which we have frequently referred.
Memoirs of him were collected by Sig. Panni, both his pupil
and relation. To him also we are indebted for the publication
of the work of Zaist, by which we have been guided in this ac-
count. It is a guide, however, not to be followed by a reader
who is in haste, inasmuch as he is found to proceed very
leisurely, and is very apt to go over the same ground again.

457

CHAPTER Y

SCHOOL OP MILAN.

EPOCH I

Account of the Ancients until the time of Vinci.

IF in each of our pictorie schools we have adhered to the plan
of tracing back the memorials of more barbarous ages, and
thence proceeding to more cultivated periods, Milan, more espe-
cially as the capital of Lombardy, and the ceurt of the Lom-
bard kings, will afford us an epoch remarkable no less for its
lofty character than for the grandeur of its monuments. When
Italy passed from the dominion of the Goths to that of the
Longobards, the arts, which invariably follow in the train
of fortune, transferred their primary seat from Ravenna to
Milan, to Monza, and to Pavia. Each of these places still
retains traces of the sort of design now entitled, both on
account of the place and the time, Longobardic, much in the
same manner as in the diplomatic science we distinguish by
the same name certain characters peculiar to that age, or rather
to those ages ; for after the Longobards were driven from Italy,
the same taste in writing and sculpture continued to flourish
during a great part of them. This style, as exhibited in works,
both of metal and of marble, is coarse and hard beyond the
example of any preceding age, and is seen most frequently and
to most advantage in the representation of monsters, birds, and
quad rupeds rather than of human figures. At the cathedral
at S. Michele, and at S. Giovanni in Pavia, appear some friezes
over the gates, consisting of animals chained in a variety of
ways to one another, sometimes in natural positions, and some-
times with the head turned behind. In the interior of the
same churches, as well as in some others, we meet also with

458 SCHOOL OF MILAN. — EPOCH I.

capitals, presenting similar figures, not unfrequently united to
historical representations of men, differing so much from the
human figure as to appear belonging to another species. The
same kind of abuse of the art was practised in places under
the sway of the Longobard dukes, one of which was the
Friuli, which still preserves a number of these barbarous
efforts. In Cividale there is a marble altar, first begun by
Duke Pemmone, and completed by his son Ratchi, who lived
during the eighth century. The bassirilievi consist of Christ
seated between different angels, his Epiphany, and the Visi-
tation of the Blessed Virgin.* Art would appear scarcely
capable of producing any thing more rude than these figures,
yet whoever will be at the pains of examining the frieze on a
gate at the same place, or the capitals of the pillars of S. Celso
at Milan,t works of the tenth century, will admit that it was
susceptible of still greater corruption when it added absurdity
to its coarseness, and produced distorted and dwarfish figures,
all hands and all heads, with legs and feet incapable of support-
ing them. There are an infinite number of similar marbles,
and of like design, at Verona and other places. To these,
nevertheless, are opposed other monuments which will not per-
mit us to admit, as a general rule, that every trace of good
taste was then extinct in Italy. I might easily adduce in-
stances, drawn from different arts, and in particular from that
of working in gold* which, during the tenth century, boasted
its Volvino, who produced the very celebrated altar-piece at
S. Ambrogio in Milan, a work which may be pronounced
equal in point of style to the finest specimens of the dittici, or
small ivory altar-pieces, that the museums of sacred art can
boast.

Confining myself, however, to the subject before me, we
know that Tiraboschi remarked in the palace of Monza, some
of the most ancient pictures belonging to those ages,J while

* The inscription is annexed to it, and may be found in Bertoli,
Antichita di Aquileia, num. 516.

f See the Dottore Gaetano Bugati, in his Historical and Critical
account of the relics and the worship of San Celso the Martyr, p. 1 ;
and the P. M. Allegranza, Explanations and Reflections relating to some
sacred monuments at Milan, p. 168.

t In the same place are still to be seen where Troso da Monza painted
some reliques of the art. A.

THE ANCIENTS. 459

other similar reliques are pointed out at S. Michele in Pavia,
although placed in too elevated a situation to permit us to
form an exact judgment of them. Others yet more extensive
exist in Galliano, of which a description is given in the Opus-
coli of P. Allegranza, (p. 193). Upon this point I may ob-
serre, that the Treatise upon Painting already mentioned, was
discovered in a manuscript in the University of Cambridge to
have had this title : — Theophilus Monachus (elsewhere qui et
Rugerim), de omni scientid artis pingendi. Incipit Trac-
tates Lumbardicus qualiter temperantur colores, fyc. This
Is a convincing proof, that if painting could then boast an
asylum in Italy, it must have been more particularly in Lom-
bardy. And in the church of S. Ambrogio, just mentioned,
proofs of this are not wanting. Over the confessional is seen
a ceiling in terra cotta, with figures in bassorelievo, tolerably
designed and coloured, resembling the composition of the best
mosaic- workers in Ravenna and in Rome, supposed to be the
work of the tenth century, or thereabouts. The figures of the
Sleeping Saints are also seen near the gate, which must have
been painted about the same time, and were at one time
covered with lime, though they have since been brought to
light and very carefully .preserved by the learned ecclesiastics
who are entrusted with the care of the temple. The portico
ha,s also a figure of the Redeemer, with a holy man worship,
ping at his feet, wholly in the Greek manner ; besides a.
Crucifixion, which, to judge from the characters, might more
suitably be ascribed to the thirteenth century than to the next.
I omit the mention of several figures of the Crucified Saviour
and of the Yirgin, interspersed through the city and the state ;
contenting myself with referring to those of our Lady placed
at S. Satiro and at Gravedona, which are of very ancient
da:e.

From the period of these first efforts, I am of opinion that
the art of painting continued to flourish throughout the state
and city of Milan, though we are not fortunate enough to
re1 ain sufficient memorials of it to compile a full historical ac-
coint. For little mention has been made by our oldest writers
concerning the artists, except incidentally, as by Vasari in his
Lives of Bramante, of Yinci, and of Carpi, and by Lomazzo,

460 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH I.

in his Treatise, and in his Temple, or Theatre* of Painting.
As little likewise has been said by several of the more modern
•writers, nor that always with good authority, such as Torre,
Latuada, Santagostini, whose narratives were collected by
Orlandi, and inserted in his Dictionary. Some supplementary
information has been supplied by " Notices of the Paintings of
Italy" as to a variety of artists, and their exact age ; and by
the New Guide to Milan, truly new and unique until this
period in Italy, and reflecting the highest credit upon the Ab.
Bianconi, who not only points out every thing most rare in
the city, but teaches us, by sound rules, how best to distin-
guish excellence from mediocrity and inferiority in the art.
To this we may add the name of the Consiglier de' Pagave,
who published very interesting notices relating to this school,
in the third, fifth, and eight volumes of the new Sienese edi-
tion of Vasari.t I am also enabled to furnish considerable
information in addition, politely transmitted to me in manu-
script by the last writer, for the present work. From these I
am happy to announce that we may become acquainted with
the names of new masters, along with much chronological infor-
mation of a sounder kind, relating to those already known,
frequently derived from the " Necrologio " of Milan, which
had been carefully preserved by one of the public functionaries
oj that city.

By aid of these, and other materials I have to bring forward,
I prepare to treat of the Milanese school from as early a date
as 1335, when Giotto was employed in ornamenting various
places in the city, which, down to the time of Vasari, conti-
nued to be esteemed as most beautiful specimens of the art.
Not long subsequent to Giotto, an artist named Stefano Fio-
rentino was invited thither by Matteo Visconti, and is cele-

* He borrowed the idea of this work from the Theatre of Gitdio
Camillo, with whom he compares his own Treatise in chap. ix. Hence,
as in the case of some books which have two titles, I judge it best to call
it by this name (Theatre) also, as others have done.

t The Pagave MSS, formerly in possession of the Cav. Bossi, himself
a painter, came into the hands of Sig. G. Cattanio, Director of the I. R.
Collection of Coins. By the light of these and the memorials left by
Bossi, added to the materials supplied by himself, the Lives of the
Lombard Artists are being prepared, and will very shortly appear. A.

MICHEL DE RONCHO. 461

bra ted as one of the most accomplished pupils of the former.
BUG he was compelled by indisposition to abandon the work
he bad undertaken in that city ; nor do we know that at that
period he had any successor in the Giotto manner. About the
year 1370, Gio. da Milano, pupil to Taddeo Gaddi, arrived
there, so able an artist that his master, at his death, entrusted
to him the care of his son Angiolo, and another son, whom
he was to instruct in a knowledge of the art. It is therefore
evident that the Florentine early exercised an influence over the
Milanese School. "We are informed at the same time of two
native artists, who, according to Lomazzo, flourished at the
period of Petrarch and of Giotto. These are Laodicia di
Pavia, called by Guarienti, pittrice, and Andrino di Edesia,
also said to belong to Pavia, although both his name and that
of Laodicia lead us to conjecture that they must have been of
Greek origin. To Edesia and his school have been attri-
buted some frescos which yet remain at S. Martino and other
places in Pavia.* I cannot speak positively of the authors ;
their taste is tolerably good, and the colouring partakes of
that of the Florentines of the age. Michel de Roncho, a Mi-
lanese, is another artist discovered by Count Tassi, at the
same time that he gives some account of the two Nova who
flourished at Bergamo. Michele is said to have assisted in
their labours in the cathedral of that city, from the year 1375
to 1 377, and remnants of these paintings survive, which shew
that they approached nearer the composition of Giotto than
the artists of Pavia. There are some pictures in Domodossola
that also bring us acquainted with an able artist of Nova.
They are preserved in Castello Sylva and elsewhere, and bear
the following memorandum — Ego Petrusjilius Petri Pictoris
de Novaria hoc opus pinxi, 1370. Without, however, going
farther than Milan, we there find in the sacristy of the Con-
veutuali, as well as in different cloisters, paintings produced
in the fourteenth century, without any indication of their
authors, and most frequently resembling the Florentine manner,
thoi.gh occasionally displaying a new and original style, not
com mon to any other school of Italy.

Among these anonymous productions in the ancient style,

* See Notizie delle Pitture, Sculture, ed Architetture d' Italia, by Sig.
Bertoli, p. 41, &c.

462 SCHOOL OP MILAN. EPOCH I.

the most remarkable is what remains in the sacristy of Le
Grazie, where every panel presents us with some act from the
Old or the New Testament. The author would appear to have
lived during the latter part of the fourteenth and beginning of
the fifteenth centuries ; nor is it easy to meet with any other
Italian production, conducted during that age by a single
artist, so abundantly supplied with figures. The style is dry,
but the colouring, where it has escaped the power of the sun,
is so warm, so well laid on, so boldly relieved from its grounds,
that it yields in nothing to the best Venetian or Florentine
pieces of the time, insomuch that whoever be the artist he is
fully entitled to all the praise of originality. Another Lom-
bard artist, formerly believed to be a Venetian, is better
known. His name has been incorrectly given by Vasari, in
his life of Carpaccio, and in that of Gian Bellini, as well as by
Orlandi and by Guarienti, in three articles inserted in the Dic-
tionary of Art. In one article, following Vasari, he is called
by Orlandi, Girolamo Mazzoni, or Morzoni, and in the two
others he is named Giacomo Marzone, and Girolamo Morzone,
by Guarienti, a writer more expert perhaps in adding to the
errors and prejudices entertained about the old painters, than
in correcting them. His real name is to be found upon an
altar-piece which is still preserved at Venice, or in its island
of S. Elena, a piece representing the Assumption of the Virgin,
with the titular saint, S. Gio. Batista, S. Benedetto, and a
holy Martyr, along with the following inscription — Giacomo
Morazone a laurci questo lauorier. An. Dni. MCCCCXXXXI.
The excellent critic Zanetti is persuaded, from its Lombard
dialect, as well as from the fact of the artist having painted a
good deal in different cities of Lombardy, as related by Vasari,
that he does not belong to the Venetian, but to the Lombard
school, and the more so as he took his name from Morazzone,
a place in Lombardy. It is true, that granting this, there is
no great sacrifice made, inasmuch as this Giacomo, who, when
in Venice, was the competitor of Jacobello del Fiore, displayed
little merit, at least in this picture, which cannot boast even a
foot placed upon the ground according to the rules of perspec-
tive, nor any other merit that raises it much above the cha-
racter of the thirteenth century.

Michelino was an artist who also retained the ancient style,

BRAMANTINO. 463

and continued to the last the practice of making his figures
large and his buildings small, a practice blamed by Lomazzo
even in the oldest painters. He assigns to him a rank, how-
ever, among the best of his age, on account of his designs of
animtls of every kind, which he painted, says Lomazzo,
wonderfully well, and of the human figure, which he executed
with effect, rather in burlesque than in serious subjects ; and
in this style was esteemed the model of his school.* He would
appear likewise, to have been esteemed by foreigners, as we
find in the Notizia Morelli, that in the house of the Vendra-
mini at Venice there was preserved " a small book in 4to.
bound in kid-skin, with figures of animals coloured" by this
artist. At a little interval, according to Pagave, we are to
place the period of Agostino di Bramantino, an artist unknown
to Be ttari, as well as to more recent investigators of pictorial
history. I apprehend that an error committed by Vasari gave
rise to an additional one in the mind of Pagave, a very accurate
writer. Yasari, remarking that in a chamber of the Vatican,
which was subsequently painted by Raflaello, the previous
labours of Pier della Francesca, of Bramantino, of Signorelli,
and oi the Ab. di S. Clemente, were destroyed to accommodate
the former, supposes that the two first of the artists, thus
sacrificed, conducted them contemporaneously under Nicholas
V. about 1450. Induced by the esteem he had for the same
Bramantino, he collected notices also of his other works, and
disco vered him to be the author of the Dead Christ fore-
shortened, of the Family which deceived the horse at Milan, and
of seteral perspectives ; the whole of which account is founded
in error, when attributed to a Bramantino, who flourished
about 1450, yet the whole is true when we suppose them to
have been the work of one Bramantino, pupil to Bramante,
who lived in the year 1529. I cannot perceive, however, in
what way the Consiglier Pagave could have detected Vasari's
mistake in the Milanese works ; whilst in those of the Vatican,
whict, according to Vasari himself, all belong to the same
individual, he has taken occasion to repeat it. He had better

* The figures which he painted in the Cortile of the Casa Borroineo
partakt; in nothing of the burlesque. The painter's name to them was
recently discovered by Sig. Cataneo ; and in point of composition, they
place him among the most eminent disciples of Giotto. A,

464 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH I.

have asserted that the historian had erred in point of chrono-
logy, in supposing that Bramantino painted under the pontifi-
cate of Nicholas V. than have ventured on the hypothesis of
the existence of an ancient Bramantino, called Agostino, by
whom a very beautiful work was to be seen in the papal
palace, and no other specimen at Rome, at Milan, or elsewhere.
I disclaim all belief then in this old artist, until more authentic
proofs are brought forward of his existence ; and I shall be
enabled to throw new light upon the subject before I conclude
the present epoch.

In the time of the celebrated Francesco Sforza, and of the
Cardinal Ascanio his brother, both desirous no less of enrich-
ing the city with fine buildings than these last with the most
beautiful decorations, there sprung up a number of architects
and statuaries, and, what is more to our purpose, of very able
painters for the age. Their reputation spread through Italy,
and induced Bramante to visit Milan, a young artist who
possessed the noblest genius, both for architecture and paint-
ing, and who, after acquiring a name in Milan, taught the arts
to Italy and to the world. The former had made little pro-
gress in point of colouring, which, though strong, was some-
what heavy and sombre, nor in regard to their drapery, which
is disposed in straight, hard folds, until the time of Bramante,
while they are also cold in their features and attitudes. They
had improved the art, however, in regard to perspective, no
less in execution than in writing on the subject ; a circumstance
that led Lomazzo to observe, that as design was the peculiar
excellence of the Romans, and colouring of the Venetians, so
perspective seemed to be the chief boast of the Lombards.
It will be useful to report his own words, from his Treatise
upon Painting, p. 405. "In this art of correctly viewing
objects, the great inventors were Gio. da Valle, Constantino
Vaprio, Foppa, Civerchio, Ambrogio and Filippo Bevilacqui,
and Carlo, all of them belonging to Milan. Add to these
Fazio Bembo da Yaldarno, and Cristoforo Moretto of Cremona,
Pietro Francesco of Pavia, and Albertino da Lodi ; * who,

* Note that Lomazzo would not have passed over the name of Agostino
di Bramantino, were it true that he had flourished as early as 1420, and
employed himself at Rome, an honour to which the rest of these Milanese
did not attain.

TICENZIO FOPPA. 465

besides the works they produced at other places, painted for
the Corte Maggiore at Milan, those figures of the armed
barons, in the time of Francesco Sforza, first duke of Milan :"
that is to say, between the period of 1447 and 1466.

In treating of these artists, I shall observe nothing further
in reference to the last four, having described those of
Cremona in their own place, and not being aware that any
thing more than the name of the other two survives at Milan ;
I say at Milan, because Pier Francesco of Pavia, whose sur-
name was Sacchi, left, as we shall find, some fine specimens at
Genoa, where he resided during some time. It is doubtful
whether any altar-piece remains by the first of these (Gio.
della Yalle), it being impossible to ascertain the fact. Nor do
I know of any genuine work belonging to Costantino Vaprio,
though there is a Madonna painted by another Vaprio, sur-
rounded by saints in different compartments, at the Serviti, in
Pavia, with this inscription : — Augustinus de Vaprio pinxit^
1498 : a production of some merit.

Vicenzio Foppa, said by Ridolfi to have flourished about
the year 1 407, is esteemed almost the founder of the Milanese
school, in which he distinguished himself during the sovereignty
of Filippo Visconti, and that of Francesco Sforza. I alluded
to his name in the Venetian school, to which he is referable,
from his being of Brescia, whatever Lomazzo may on the other
hand contend. It is my wish to avoid all questions of
nationality, and the compendious method of my work will be
a sufficient apology in this respect, more particularly as far as
relates to the names of less celebrated artists. But with the
head of a school, such as Foppa, I cannot consider it a loss of
time to investigate his real country, in particular as the eluci-
dation of many confused and doubtful points in the history of
the art is found to depend upon this. In Vasari's Life of Scar-
paccin we find it mentioned, that about the middle of the cen-
tury ;c Vincenzio, a Brescian painter, was held in high repute,
as it is recounted by Filarete." And in the Life of this excel-
lent ; Architect, as well as in that of Michelozzo, he says, that
in some of their buildings, erected under Duke Francesco,
Vicenzo di Zoppa (read Foppa), a Lombard artist, painted the
interior, "as no better master was to be met with in the sur-
rounding states." Now that there was a Vincenzo, a Brescian

VOL. II. 2 H

466 SCHOOL OP MILAN. — EPOCH I.

artist, who then and subsequently nourished, and who ranked
among the best artists, is proved by Ambrogio Calepino, in his
ancient edition of 1505, at the word pingo. There, after
having applauded Mantegna beyond all other artists of his age,
he adds : — " Huic accedunt Jo. Bellinus Venetus, Leonardus
Florentinus, et Vincentius Brixianus, excellentissimo ingenio
homines, ut qui cum omni antiquitate de pictura possint con-
tendere." After so high a testimony to his merits, written, if
I mistake not, while Foppa was still living, though edited after
his decease (as we noticed from the eulogy written by Bos-
chini on Ridolfi, in its proper place), let us next attend to
that found on his monument in the first cloister of S. Barnaba
at Brescia, which runs as follows : — " Excellentiss. ac. eximii.
pictoris. Yincentii. de. Foppis. ci. Br. 1492." (Zamb. p. 32.)
To these testimonials I may add that from the hand of the
author, which I discovered in the Carrara Gallery at Bergamo,
where, on a small ancient picture, conducted with much care,
and a singular study of foreshortening, extremely rare for the
period, representing Christ crucified between the two Thieves,
is written : — Vincentius Brixwnsis fecit, 1455. "What proof
more manifest can be required for the identity of one and the
same painter, recorded by various authors with so much con-
tradiction with regard to name, country, and age ?

It must therefore be admitted, after a comparison of the pas-
sages adduced, that there is only a single Brescian artist in
question, that he is not to be referred to so remote a period as
reported, and that he could not have painted in the year 1407
of the vulgar era, inasmuch as he very nearly reaches the
beginning of the sixteenth century. We may for the same
reasons dismiss from history those specious accounts inter-
spersed by Lomazso, asserting that Foppa drew the proportions
of his figures from Lysippus ; that Bramante acquired the art
of perspective from his writings, out of which he composed a
treatise of essential utility to Kafiaello, to Polidoro, and to
Gaudenzio ; and that Albert Durer and Daniel Barbaro availed
themselves, by plagiarism, of Foppa's inventions. Such as-
sertions, already in a great measure refuted by the learned
Consiglier Pagave in his notes to Yasari,* first took their rise

* Vasari, vol. iii. p. 233.

VINCENZO CIVERCIIIO. 467

in su pposing that the age of Foppa was anterior to Piero della
Francesca, from whom perspective in Italy may truly be said
to have dated its improvement. Next to him Foppa was one
of the first who cultivated the same art, as clearly appears
from the little picture already mentioned at Bergamo. In
Milan there are some of his works remaining at the hospital,
executed upon canvas, and a Martyrdom of S. Sebastiano, at
Brer;t, in fresco, which, for design of the naked figure, for the
natural air of the heads, for its draperies and for its tints, is
very commendable, though greatly inferior in point of attitude
and expression. I have frequently doubted whether there
were two Vincenzi of Brescia, since Lomazzo, besides Yincenzio
Foppa, whom, against the received opinion, he makes a native
of Milan, marks down in his index a Vincenzio Bresciano, of
whon I am not aware that he makes the slightest mention
throughout the whole of his work. I am led to suspect that,
meeting with some works bearing the signature of Vincenzio
Brest -iano, without the surname of Foppa, beyond the limits
of Milan, the historian, fixed in his persuasion that Foppa
must be a native of Milan, set down two artists of the name
instead of a single one, and that this, moreover, was perhaps
an old prejudice, prevailing in the Milanese school, and which
Lom:izzo was unable to dismiss. National errors and preju-
dices are always the last to be renounced. In the Notizia
More lli, a Yincenzo Bressano the elder is twice mentioned, an
adjunct, which, if not a surname, as it was in the instance of
Minzocchi, may have arisen from some false report connected
with the two Yincenzi Bresciani. Indeed we have repeatedly
observed that the names of artists have been very frequently
drawn, not from authentic writings, but from common report,
whicii generally presents us with a worse account of what has
been ill heard or understood.

Yincenzo Civerchio, denominated by Yasari Yerchio, to
whicii Lomazzo, who asserts him to have been a Milanese,
added the surname of II Yecchio, is an artist whom we have
recorded in the Yenetian school, to which he is referred as a
nath e of Crema, though he resided at Milan, and educated
sevei al excellent pupils for that school, and with the excep-
tion - >f Yinci is the best entitled of any master to its gratitude.
Yassri, when he praises his works in fresco, considers him in
2 H 2

468 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH I.

no way inferior to Foppa. In his figures he was extremely
studied, and admirable in his method of grouping them in the
distance, so as to throw the low grounds back, and bring down
the higher parts with a gentle gradation. Of this he affords
a model at S. Eustorgio in some histories of S. Peter Martyr,
painted for a chapel of that name, which are highly com-
mended by Lomazzo, though they have since been covered
with plaster, there remaining only from the hand of Giver -
chio the summits of the cupola, which we trust will enjoy a
longer date.* Ambrogio Bevilacqua is an artist known by a
production at S. Stefano, representing S. Ambrogio with saints
Gervasio and Protasio standing at his side. Other paintings
procured for him the reputation of a fine drawer of perspec-
tive, though in the specimen here mentioned he has undoubt-
edly not adhered to its rules. The design, however, is such
as approaches, with some slight traces of dryness, to a good
style. Memorials of this artist are found as early as 1486 ;
but of his brother Filippo, his assistant, and of Carlo, a native
of Milan, mentioned by Lomazzo in the same work, I am able
to find no account. There are two, however, who are referred
by our already highly commended correspondent to this more
remote epoch. These are Gio. de' Ponzoni, who left a picture
of S. Cristoforo in a church near the city, called Samaritan a,
and a Francesco Crivelli, who is reported to have been the
first who painted portraits in the city of Milan.

Of those who here follow, a part formed the body of painters
under the government of Lodovico the Moor, during whose
time Vinci resided at Milan, and others were gradually
making progress during the following years, though not any
wholly succeeded in freeing themselves from the old style.
The first on the list are the two Bernardi, as frequently also
called Bernardini, natives of Trevilio, in the Milanese, the one
of the family Butinoni, the other of that of Zenale, both pupils
of Civerchio, and his rivals both in painting and in writing.

* The epochs relating to this artist appear difficult, and almost irre-
concilable. From Lomazzo's account he was a painter as early as 1460,
and according to Ronna, in his " Zibaldone Cremasco," for the year 1795,
p. 84, there are existing documents which prove that he was still living in
1535. If we give credit to these, Civerchio must have flourished to an
extreme age, so as to be ranked in this point with Titian, with Calvi, and.
the other hoary-headed octogenarians of the art.

THE BERNARDI. 469

Trevil io is a territory in the Milanese, at that period included
in that of Bergamo, and for this reason comprehended by
Count Tassi in its school. It is also a considerable distance
from Trevigni, where he took advantage of the resem-
blance1 of the name to announce one Bernardino da Trevigi,
a painter and architect, who never existed. Vasari mentions
a Bernardino da Trevio (he meant to say Trevilio), who, in
the time of Bramante, was an engineer at Milan, " a very
able designer, and esteemed an excellent master by Vinci,
though his manner was somewhat harsh and dry in his pic-
tures : " and he then cites among his other works a picture of
the Resurrection at the cloister of the Grazie, which presents
some beautiful foreshortenings. It is surprising how Bottari
should have changed Trevio into Trevigi, and how Orlandi
should have understood Vasari as writing of Butinone, when,
guided by Lomazzo, at page 271, and in other parts of the
treatise, it was easy to conjecture that he was there speaking
of Zeaale of Trevilio. He was a distinguished character, in
the confidence of Vinci,* and in the treatise upon painting
compared with Mantegna, besides being continually referred
to as un example in the art of perspective, on which, when old,
in 1524, he composed a work, and put down a variety of ob-
servations. There, too, among others, he treated the question
so long contested in those days, whether the objects represented
small and in the distance ought to be less distinct, in order to
imitate nature, than those that are larger and more near, a
question which he explained in the negative, contending rather
that distant objects should be as highly finished and well pro-
portioned as those more fully before the eye. This, then, is the
Bernardino, so much commended by Vasari, whose opinion of
this artist may be verified by viewing the Resurrection at Le
Grazio, and a Nunziata at San Sempliciano, presenting a very
fine piece of architecture, calculated to deceive the eye. This,

* Lomazzo, in his treatise (book i. chap. ix.)» relates that Vinci in his
Supper had endued the countenance of both the saints Giacomo with so
much beauty, that, despairing to make that of the Saviour more imposing,
he went; to advise with Bernardo Zenale, who to console him said, " Leave
the fact: of Christ unfinished as it is, as you will never be able to make it
worthy of Christ among those Apostles," and this Lionardo did.

470 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH I.

however, is the best portion of the painting, as the figures are
insignificant, both in themselves and in the drapery. In
respect to Butinone, his contemporary, and companion also
when he painted at San Pietro in Gessato, we may conclude
that he displayed an excellent knowledge of perspective, since
it is affirmed by Lomazzo. For the rest, his works, with the
exception of a few pictures for rooms, better designed than
coloured, have all perished. There is a Madonna represented
between some saints, which I saw in possession of the Con-
siglier Pagave, at whose suggestion I add to the pupils of
Civerchio a Bartolommeo di Cassino of Milan, and Luigi de'
Donati of Como, of whom authentic altar-pieces remain.

At the period when these artists were in repute, Bramante
came to Milan. His real name, as reported to us by Cesa-
riani, his disciple and the commentator on Yitruvius, was
Donate, and he was, as is supposed, of the family of Lazzari,
though this has been strongly contested in the Antiehita
Picene, vol. x. There it is shewn, at some length, that his
real country was not Castel Durante, nowllrbania, as so
many writers assert, but a town of Castel Fermignano. Both
places are in the state of Urbino, whence he used formerly to
be called Bramante di Urbino. There he studied the works
of Fra Carnevale, though Vasari gives no further information
respecting his education. He continues to relate that on
leaving his native place he wandered through several cities in
Lombardy, executing, to the best of his ability, small works,
until his arrival at Milan, where, becoming acquainted with the
conductors of the cathedral, and among these with Bernardo,
he resolved to devote himself wholly to architecture, which
he did. Before the year 1500 he went to Rome, where he
entered the service of Alexander VI. and Julius II., and died
there in his seventieth year, in 1514. We may here conjecture
that the historian gave himself very little anxiety about inves-
tigating the memoirs of this great man. Sig. Pagave has proved
to be a far more accurate inquirer into the truth. Animated
by his love of this quality, the soul of all history, he at once
renounced the honour his country would have derived from
having instructed a Bramante ; nor yet as he referred him as
a pupil to Carnevale, or to Pierro della Francesca, or to Man-

BRAMANTE. 471

tegna. like some writers cited by Signer Colucci. He has
propei-ly noticed his arrival at Milan, already as a master, in
1476, after haying erected both palaces and temples in the
state of Romagna. From this period, until the fall of Lodo-
vico, bhat is until 1499, he remained at Milan, where he exe-
cuted commissions, with large salaries, for the court, and was
employed as well by private persons in works of architecture,
and sometimes of painting.

Cellini in his second treatise denies Bramante the fame of
an excellent painter, placing him in the middling class,
and at this period he is known by few in Lower Italy,
where he is never named in collections, though he is very
generally met with in the Milanese. Cesariano and Lornazzo
had already asserted the same thing, the latter having fre-
quently praised him in his work when giving an account
of his pictures both sacred and profane, in distemper and
in fresco, as well as of his portraits. His general manner, he
observes, much resembles that of Andrea Mantegna. Like
him he had employed himself in copying from casts, which
led him to throw his lights with too much force on his fleshes.
In the same manner also as Mantegna he covered his models
with glued canvas, or with pasteboard, in order that in the
curves and folds he might correct the ancients. And like him
he en iployed for painting in distemper, a. kind of viscous water,
an instance of which is adduced by Lomazzo, who repaired one
of the specimens. Most of Bramante's pictures in fresco, men-
tioned by Lomazzo and by Scaramuccia as adorning the public
places in Milan, are now destroyed or defaced, if we except
those that are preserved in the chambers of the Palazzi Borri
and Oastiglioni, which are pretty numerous. There is also a
chapol in the.Certosa at Pavia, said to have been painted by
him. His proportions are square, and sometimes have an air
of coarseness, his countenances are full, the heads of his old
men grand, his colouring is very lively and well relieved from
the ground, though not free from some degree of crudity.
This character I have remarked in one of his altar-pieces, with
vari< >us saints, and with fine perspective, in possession of the
Cav. Melzi, and the same in a picture at the Incoronata in
Xjodi, a very beautiful temple erected by Gio. Bataggio, a
native of the place, from the design of Bramante. His master-

472 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH I.

piece, which is to be seen at Milan, is a S. Sebastiano, ID that
saint's church, where scarcely a trace of the style of the four-
teenth century is perceptible. The Notizia Morelli points ont
his picture of a Pieta, at S. Pancrazio, in Bergamo, which
Pasta had mistaken for one of Lotto, and mentions also his
picture of the Philosophers, painted by Bramante in 1486,
belonging to the same city.

He educated two pupils in Milan, whose names have sur-
vived. One of these is Nolfo da Monza, who is said to have
painted from the designs furnished by Bramante, at S. Satiro
and other places ; an artist who, if not equal to the first paint-
ers, was nevertheless, it is remarked by Scanelli, of a superior
character. In the sacristy also of S. Satiro, placed near the
beautiful little temple of Bramante, are a number of old pictures,
most probably from the hand of Nolfo. The other artist is
Bramantino, supposed by Orlandi to have been the preceptor
of Bramante, by others confounded with him, and finally dis-
covered to have been his favourite disciple, from which cir-
cumstance he obtained his surname. His real name was
Bartolommeo Suardi, an architect, and, what is more to my
purpose, a painter of singular merit. In deceiving the eye of
animals, he equalled the ancients, as we are acquainted by
Lomazzo in the opening of his third book. During a period
lie followed his master ; but on occasion of visiting Rome he
improved his style, though not so much in regard to his figures
and proportions, as in his colouring and his folds, which he
made more wide and spacious. He was doubtless invited or
conducted to Rome by Bramante, and there, under Pope
Julius II., painted those portraits so highly praised by Vasari,
and which when about to be removed, to give place to Rafia-
ello's, were first copied at the request of Jovius, who wished
to insert them in his museum. It is certain that the Vatican
paintings by Bramantino do not belong to the time of Nicho-
las V. as we have shewn. He returned from Rome to Milan,
as we are informed by Lomazzo ; and to their more favourable
period we may refer his production of S. Ambrogio, and that
of S. Michele, with a figure of the Virgin, coloured in the
Venetian style, and recorded in the select Melzi gallery, and
to be mentioned hereafter. There are also some altar-pieces
both designed and coloured by him, in the church of S. Fran-

BRAMANTINO. 473

•cesco, which display more elevation and dignity than belonged
to his age. But his chief excellence was in perspective, and
his rules have been inserted by Lomazzo in his work, out of
respect to this distinguished artist. He likewise holds him
up as a model, in his picture of the Dead Christ between the
Maries, painted for the gate of S. Sepolcro, a work which
produces a fine illusion ; the legs of the Redeemer, in whatever
point they are viewed, appearing with equal advantage to the
eye. Other artists I am aware have produced the same effect;
but it is a just, though a trite saying, that an inventor is worth
more than all his imitators. The Cistercian fathers have a
grand perspective in their monastery, representing the Descent
of Christ into Purgatory, from his hand. It consists of few
figures, little choice in the countenances, but their colouring is
both powerful and natural ; they are well placed and well pre-
served in their distance, disposed in beautiful groups, with a
pleasing retrocession of the pilasters, which serve to mark the
place, united to a harmony that attracts the eye. He had a pupil
named Agostin da Milano, well skilled in foreshortening, and
who painted at the Carmine a piece that Lomazzo proposes,
along with the cupola of Correggio at the cathedral of Parma,
as a model of excellence in its kind. His name is made very
clear in the index of Lomazzo, as follows: — "Agostino di
Bramiintino of Milan, a painter and disciple of the same
Bramantino." I cannot imagine how such a circumstance
escaped the notice of Sig. Pagave, and how he was led to pre-
sent us with that more ancient Agostino Bramantino (so
called from his family name, not from that of his master),
whose existence we have shewn to have been ideal, wholly
arising out of a mistake of Vasari. The one here mentioned
was real, though his name is so little known at Milan, as to
lead us to suppose he must have passed much of his time in
foreign parts. And we are even authorized to conjecture that
he may be the same Agostino delle Prospettive whom we meet
with in Bologna, in 1525. All the circumstances are so
strong, that in a matter of justice, they would have proved
, sufficient to establish his identity; his name of Agostino, his
age, suitable to the preceptorship of Suardi, his excellence in
the art, which procured for him his surname, and the silence
of Malvasia, who could not be ignorant of him, but who,

474 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH I.

because he was drawing up a history of the Bolognese school
only, omitted to mention him.

There were other artists about 1500, who, as it is said, fol-
lowing Foppa, painted in the style which we now call antico
moderno. Ambrogio Borgognone represented at S. Simpli-
ciano the histories of S. Sisinio and some accompanying mar-
tyrs, which adorn one of the cloisters. The thinness of the
legs, and some other remains of his early education, are not so
displeasing in this work, as we find its accurate study, and the
natural manner in which it is conducted, calculated to please.
The beauty of his youthful heads, variety of countenance,
simplicity of drapery, and the customs of those times faithfully
portrayed in the ecclesiastical paraphernalia, and mode of
living, together with a certain uncommon grace of expression,
not met with in this or any other school,* are sufficient to
attract attention.

Gio. Donato Montorfano painted a Crucifixion, abounding
with figures, for the refectory of Le Grazie, where it is unfortu-
nately thrown into the shade by the Grand Supper of Vinci.
He cannot compete with a rival to whom many of the greatest
masters are compelled to yield the palm. He excels only in
his colouring, which has preserved his work fresh and entire,
while that of Vinci shewed signs of decay in a few years.
What is original in Montorfano is a peculiar clearness in his
features, as well as in his attitudes, and which, if united to a
little more elegance, would have left him but few equals in his
line. He represents a group of soldiers seen playing, and in
every countenance is depicted attention, and the desire of
conquest. He has also some heads of a delicate air, extremely
beautiful, though the distance in regard to their position is not
well preserved. The architecture introduced, of the gates and
edifices of Jerusalem, is both correct and magnificent, present-
ing those gradual retrocessions in perspective upon which this
school at the time so much prided itself. He retained the
habit which continued till the time of Gaudenzio at Milan,

* It is only necessary to view the cupola of S. Simpliciano at Milan
to admit the justice of a much longer eulogy of this master. It exhibits
a grandeur which eclipses all the productions of that age. In the heads,
where he has chosen to complete them, he closely approaches the compo-
sition of Da Vinci. — A.

AMBROGIO DA FOSSANO. 475

though long before reformed in other places, of mixing with,
his pictures some plastic work, in composition, and thus giving
in relief glories of saints, and ornaments of men and horses.

Ambrogio da Fossano, a place in the Piedmontese,* was an
artist, who, at the grand Certosa in Pavia, designed the superb
fa9ado of the church, being an architect as well as a painter.
In tho temple before mentioned there is an altar-piece, which
is ascribed either to him or his brother, not very highly
finish od, but in a taste not very dissimilar from that of Man--
tegna. Andrea Milanese, who has been confounded by one of
Yasari's annotators with Andrea Salai, extorted the admira-
tion of Zanetti, by an altar-piece he produced at Murano,
executed in 1495, and it would appear that he studied in
Venire* I cannot agree with Bottari that he is the same as
Androa del Gobbo, mentioned by Yasari in his Life of Correg-
gio, since this last was a disciple of Gaudenzio.t About the
same time flourished Stefano Scotto, the master of Gaudenzio
Ferrari, much commended by Lomazzo for his art in arabesques,
and cf his family is perhaps a Felice Scotto, who painted
a good deal at Como for private individuals, and left a number
of pictures in fresco at S. Croce, relating to the life of S. Ber-
nardino. His genius is varied and expressive, he displays
judgment in composition, and is one of the best artists of the
fourteenth century known in these parts. He was probably
a pupil of some other school, his design being more elegant,
and Ids colouring more clear and open than those of the
Milarese. We might easily amplify the present list with
other names, furnished by Morigia in his work on the Milanese
nobility, where we find mentioned with praise Nicolao Pic-
cininc , Girolamo Chiocca, Carlo Yalli, or di Yalle, brother to
Giovanni, all of them Milanese, besides Yincenzo Moietta, a
nativo of Caravaggio, who flourished in Milan about 1500, or
something earlier, along with the foregoing. About the same

* A number of places which are now included in the Piedmontese,
formerly belonged to the state of Milan, as we have already observed.
The ci :y of Vercelli was united, to the house of Savoy in 1427, and was
subsequently subject to a variety of changes. Many of its more ancient
painters are referred to the Milanese as their scholars ; but they may be
enumerated among the Piedmontese as citizens. This remark will apply
to mai y different passages, both in this and in the fifth (Italian) volume,

t Lomazzo, Trattato, c. 37.

476 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH I.

period the study of miniature was greatly promoted by the
two Ferranti, Agosto the son, and Decio the father, three
works by whom are to be seen in the cathedral at Vigevano,
consisting of a Missal, a book of the Evangelists, and one of
the Epistles illuminated with miniatures in the most exact
taste.

Other professors then flourished throughout the state, of
whom either some account remains in books, or some works
with the signature of their names. At that period the
Milanese was much more extensive than it has been since the
cession of so large a portion to the house of Savoy. The
artists belonging to the ceded portion will be considered by me
in this school, to which they appertain, being educated in it,
and instructing other pupils in it, in their turn. Hence besides
those of Pavia, of Como, and others of the modern state, we
shall in this chapter give some account of the Novarese and
Yercellese artists (of whom I shall also give the information
found in the prefaces to the tenth and eleventh volumes of
Yasari, edited at Siena by P. della Valle), with others who
flourished in the old state. Pavia boasted a Bartolommeo
Bononi, by whom there is an altar-piece bearing the date of
1507, at San Francesco, and also one Bernardin Colombano,
who produced another specimen at the Carmine in 1515. In
other churches I likewise met with some specimens by an
unknown hand (but perhaps by Gio. di Pavia, inserted by
Malvasia in his catalogue of the pupils of Lorenzo Costa),
partaking a good deal of the Bolognese style of that age.
At the same period flourished Andrea Passeri of Como, for
whose cathedral he painted the Virgin among different apostles,
in which the heads and the whole composition have some
resemblance to the modern. But there is a dryness in the
hands, with use of gilding unworthy of the age (1505) in
which his picture was painted. A Marco Marconi of Como,
who flourished about 1500, displayed much of the Giorgione
manner, and was probably a pupil of the Venetians. Troso
da Monza was employed a good deal at Milan, and painted
some pieces at S. Giovanni in his native place. Several his-
tories of the Queen Teodelina, adorning the same church, exe-
cuted in various compartments in 1444, are now also ascribed
to him. It is not very easy to follow his inventions, some-

MARCO MARCONI. 477

what confused and new in regard to the drapery and the
Longobardish customs which he has there exhibited. There
are some good heads, and colouring by no means despicable ;
for the rest, it is a mediocre production, and perhaps executed
early in life. He is an artist much praised by Lomazzo for
his other works which he left at the Palazzo Landi. They
consist of Roman histories, a production, says Lomazzo,
(p. 272) " quite surprising for the figures as well as the archi-
tecture and the perspective, which is stupendous." Father
Restji, cited by Morelli, who saw it in 1707, says that it
almost astounded him by its surpassing excellence, beauty,
and sweetness. (Lett. Pittor. torn. iii. p. 342.)

In the new state of Piedmont is situated Novara, where, in
the archives of the cathedral, Gio. Antonio Merli painted in
greei earth Pietro Lombardo, with three other distinguished
natives of Novara ; an excellent portrait-painter for his age.
In Vercelli, adjoining it, there flourished about 1460 Boni-
forte. Ercole Oldoni, and F. Pietro di Vercelli, of which last
there is an ancient altar-piece preserved at S. Marco. Gio-
venone afterwards appeared, who is esteemed in that city as
the iirst instructor of Gaudenzio, although Lomazzo is silent
upon it. If he was not, he was worthy of the charge. The
Augustin fathers possess a Christ risen from the Dead,
between Saints Margaret and Cecilia, with two angels, a pic-
ture of a noble character, in the taste of Bramantino and the
best Milanese artists, and conducted with great knowledge of
the naked figure and of perspective.

478

SCHOOL OF MILAN.

EPOCH II.

Lionardo da Vinci establishes an Academy of Design at* Milan. His
Pupils and the best native Artists down to the time of Gaudenzio.

IN treating of the Florentine school we took occasion to enter
into a brief examination of the pictoric education of Yinci, of
his peculiar style, and of his residence in different cities,
among which was mentioned Milan, and the academy which
he there instituted. He arrived in that city, according to the
testimony of Yasari, in the year 1594, the first of the reign of
Prince Lodovico il Moro ; or rather he resided there, if not
altogether, at least for the execution of commissions, from 1482,
as it has been recently supposed,* and left it after its capture
by the French in 1499. The years spent by Lionardo at
Milan were, perhaps, the happiest of his life, and certainly
productive of the most utility to the art of any in the whole
period of his career. The duke had deputed him to super-
intend an academy of design, which, if I mistake not, was
the first in Italy, which gave the law to the leading ones in
other parts. It continued to flourish after the departure of
Yinci, was much frequented, and formed excellent pupils,
maintaining in the place of its first director, his precepts, his
writings, and his models. No very distinct accounts indeed
of his method have survived ; but we are certain that he
formed it on scientific principles, deduced from philosophical
reasoning, with which Yinci was familiar in every branch.
His treatise upon painting is esteemed, however imperfect, as
a kind of second canon of Polycletes, and explains the manner
in which Lionardo taught, t We may also gather some know-

* Amoretti, Memorie Storiche di Lionardo da Vinci, p. 20.
t This work was reprinted at Florence, together with the figures, ] 792,
an edition taken from a copy in the hand of Stefano della Bella, belonging

LIONARDO DA VINCI. 479

ledge of it from his other numerous and various writings,
which, having been left to the care of Melzi, and in the course
of time distributed, now form the ornament of different cabinets.
Fourteen volumes of these presented to the public, are in the
Ambrosian collection, and many of them are calculated to
smooth the difficulties of the art to young beginners. It is
furthe r known that the author, having entered into a familiar
friendship with Marcantonio della Torre, lecturer of Pavia,
united with him in illustrating the science of anatomy, then
liitle known in Italy, and that he represented with the utmost
exact less, in addition to the human figure, that of the horse,
in a knowledge of which he was esteemed quite unrivalled.
The benefit he conferred upon the art by the study of optics
is also well known, and no one was better acquainted with
the nature of aerial perspective,* which became a distinctive
and hereditary characteristic of his school. He was extremely
well versed in the science of music, and in playing upon the
lyre, and equally so in poetry and history. Here his example
was followed by Luini and others ; and to him likewise it was
owin£; that the Milanese school became one of the most accu-
rate and observing in regard to antiquity and to costume.
Mengs has noticed before me that no artist could surpass Yinci
in the grand effect of his chiaroscuro. He instructed his pupils
to m^ke as cautious a use of light as of a gem, not lavishing it
too freely, but reserving it always for the best place. And hence
we find in his, and in the best of his disciples' paintings, that
fine relief, owing to which the pictures, and in particular the
countenances, seem as if starting from the canvas.

For a long period past, the art had become gradually more
refined, and considered its subjects more minutely ; in which
Botticelli, Mantegna, and others had acquired great reputa-
tion. As minuteness, however, is opposed to sublimity, it ill
accor« Led with that elevation in which the supreme merit of the

to the Riccardi library. It was published by the learned librarian, the
Ab. F mtani, with the eulogy of Vinci, abounding with information on
his life and paintings, as well as on his designs attached to it. To this is
added the eulogy of Stefano, and a Dissertation of Lami upon the Italian
painte; s and sculptors who flourished between the tenth and the thirteenth
centur.es.

* C illini declares that he borrowed a great number of excellent observa-
tions i pon perspective from one of Vinci's discourses. (Tratt. ii. p. 153.)

480 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

art would seem to consist. In my opinion Lionardo suc-
ceeded in uniting these two opposite qualities, before any other
artist. In subjects which he undertook fully to complete, he
was not satisfied with only perfecting the heads, counterfeiting
the shining of the eyes, the pores of the skin, the roots of
the hair, and even the beating of the arteries ; he likewise
portrayed each separate garment and every accessary with
minuteness. Thus, in his landscapes also, there was not a
single herb or leaf of a tree, which he had not taken like a
portrait, from the select face of nature ; and to his very leaves
he gave a peculiar air, and fold, and position, best adapted to
represent them rustling in the wind. While he bestowed his
attention in this manner upon the minutiae, he at the same
time, as is observed by Mengs, led the way to a more enlarged
and dignified style ; entered into the most abstruse inquiries
as to the source and nature of expression, the most philoso-
phical and elevated branch of the art ; and smoothed the way,
if I may be permitted to say so, for the appearance of Raf-
faello. No one could be more curious in his researches, more
intent upon observing, or more prompt in catching the motions
of the passions, as exhibited either in the features or the
actions. He frequented places of public assembly, and all
spectacles in which man gave free play to his active powers ;
and there, in a small book always ready at hand, he drew the
attitudes which he selected ; and these designs he preserved
in order to apply them, with expressions more or less powerful,
according to the occasion, and the degree* of expression he
wished to introduce. For it was his custom, in the same
manner as he gradually strengthened his shadows until he
reached the highest degree ; so also in the composition of his
figures, to proceed in heightening them until he attained the
perfection of passion and of motion. The same kind of grada-
tion he observed in regard to elegance, of which he was
perhaps the earliest admirer ; since previous artists appeared
unable to distinguish grace from beauty, and still more so to
adapt it to pleasing subjects in such a way as to rise from the
less to the more attractive points, as was practised by Lionardo
da Vinci. He even adhered to the same rule in his bur-
lesques ; always throwing an air of greater ridicule over one than
another, insomuch that he was heard to say, that they ought

LIONAEDO DA VINCI.

481

to be carried to suck a height, if possible, as even to make a
dead man laugh.

The characteristic, therefore, of this incomparable artist,
consists in a refinement of taste, of which no equal example,
either preceding or following him, is to be found ; if, indeed,
we may not admit that of the old Protogenes, in whom Apelles
was anable to find any reason why he himself should be pre-
ferred to him, except it were the superabundant industry of
his competitor.* And, in truth, it would appear that Vinci
likewise did not always call to mind the maxim of " ne quid
nimLV in the observance of which the perfection of human
pursuits is to be found. Phidias himself, said Tully, bore in
his mind a more beautiful Minerva and a grander Jove, than
he w is capable of exhibiting with his chisel ; and it is prudent
counsel, that teaches us to aspire to the best, but to rest satis-
fied with attaining what is good. Vinci was never pleased
with his labours if he did not execute them as perfectly as he
had conceived them ; and being unable to reach the high point
proposed with a mortal hand, he sometimes only designed his
work, or conducted it only to a certain degree of completion.
Sometimes he devoted to it so long a period as almost to renew
the example of the ancient who employed seven years over his
picture. But as there was no limit to the discovery of fresh
beauties in that work, so, in the opinion of Lomazzo, it happens
with the perfections of Vinci's paintings, including even those
which Vasari and others allude to as left imperfect.

Bofore proceeding further, it becomes our historical duty,
having here mentioned his imperfect works, to inform the
read* T of the real sense in which the words are to be taken
when applied to Vinci. It is certain he left a number of
works only half-finished, such as his Epiphany, in the ducal
gallery at Florence, or his Holy Family, in the archbishop's
palace at Milan. t Most frequently, however, the report is
grounded upon his having left some portion of his pieces less

* Plin. lib. xxxv. c. 10. Uno se prsestare, quod manum ille de tabula
nesciret tollere. This he said in reference to that Jalysus on which Pro-
togen ?s had bestowed no less than seven years.

t With regard to this picture, now in tke I. R. Pinacoteca at Milan,
and which was made known in the work entitled " School of Lionardo da
Vinci in Lombardy," we may refer to what is said of it by the editor. — A.

VOL. II. 2 I

482 SCHOOL OP MILAN. EPOCH II.

perfectly finished than the rest ; a deficiency, nevertheless,
that cannot always be detected even by the best judges. The
portrait, for instance, of M. Lisa Gioconda, painted at Florence
in the period of four years, and then, according to Vasari, left
imperfect, was minutely examined by Mariette, in the collec-
tion of the king of France, and was declared to be carried to
so high a degree of finish, that it was impossible to surpass it.
The defect will be more easily recognised in other portraits,
several of which are yet to be seen at Milan ; for instance,
that of a lady belonging to the Sig. Principe Albani ; and one
of a man, in the Palazzo Scotti Gallerati. Indeed Lomazzo
has remarked, that, excepting three or four, he left all the rest
of his heads imperfect. But imperfections and faults like his
would have been accounted distinguishing qualities in almost
any other artist.

Even his grand Supper has been stated in history as an
imperfect production, though at the same time all history is
agreed in celebrating it as one of the most beautiful paintings
that ever proceeded from the hand of man. It was painted
for the refectory of the Dominican fathers, at Milan, and may
be pronounced a compendium not only of all that Lionardo
taught in his books, but also of what he embraced in his
studies. He here gave expression to the exact point of time
best adapted to animate his history, which is the moment when
the Redeemer addresses his disciples, saying, " One of you will
betray me." Then each of his innocent followers is seen to
start as if struck with a thunderbolt ; those at a distance seem
to interrogate their companions, as if they think they must
have mistaken what he had said ; others, according to their
natural disposition, appear variously affected ; one of them
swoons away, one stands lost in astonishment, a third rises in
indignation, while the very simplicity and candour depicted
upon the countenance of a fourth, seem to place him beyond
the reach of suspicion. But Judas instantly draws in his
countenance, and while he appears as it were attempting to
give it an air of innocence, the eye rests upon him in a moment
as the undoubted traitor. Vinci himself used to observe, that
for the space of a whole year, he employed his time in medita-
ting how he could best give expression to the features of so
bad a heart ; and that being accustomed to frequent a place

LIONARDO DA VINCI. 483

where the worst characters were known to assemble, he there
met Tritli a physiognomy to his purpose ; to which he also
added the features of many others. In his figures of the two
saints Jacopo, presenting fine forms, most appropriate to the
characters, he availed himself of the same plan ; and being
unable; with his utmost diligence to invest that of Christ with
a superior air to the rest, he left the head in an unfinished state,
as we learn from Vasari, though Armenini pronounced it
exquisitely complete. The rest of the picture, the table-cloth
with its folds, the whole of the utensils, the table, the archi-
tecture, the distribution of the lights, the perspective of the
ceiling (which in the tapestry of San Pietro, at Rome, is
changod almost into a hanging garden), all was conducted with
the mast exquisite care ; all was worthy of the finest pencil
in the world. Had Lionardo desired to follow the practice of
his ag3 in painting in distemper, the art at this time would
have been in possession of this treasure. But being always
fond of attempting new methods, he painted this master-piece
upon i:. peculiar ground, formed of distilled oils, which was the
reason that it gradually detached itself from the wall, a mis-
fortuno which had also nearly befallen one of his Madonnas,
at S. Onofrio, at Rome, though it was preserved under glass.
About half a century subsequent to the production of his great
Supper, when Armenini then saw it, it was already half
decayed; and Scanelli, who examined it in 1642, declares that
it " was with difficulty he could discern the history as it had
been." In the present century a hope had been indulged of
this magnificent painting being restored by aid of some varnish,
or other secret, as may be seen by consulting Bottari. In
regard to this, however, and the other vicissitudes of this great
picture,* we ought also to consider what is stated in a tone of
ridiculo and reproach by Bianconi, in his "New Guide." t It
will bo sufficient for my purpose to add, that nothing remains

* In order to afford a more accurate idea of the vicissitudes to which
the wor* has been subjected, of the manner in which it was painted, and
of its n erits, we may refer to the Cav. Bossi's learned " Dissertation
upon tbs Last Supper." — A.

t (Pige 329.) The Sig. Baldassare Orsini has likewise inveighed
against ;he inconsiderate retouchings of old paintings, in his " Risposta,"
p. 77 ; tfhere he also alludes to a letter of Hakert's, in defence of var-

2 I 2

484 SCHOOL OP MILAN. EPOCH II.

in the modern picture from the hand of Vinci, if we except three
heads of apostles, which may be said to be rather sketched
than painted. Milan boasts few of his works, as those which
are ascribed to him are for the most part the productions of his
school, occasionally retouched by himself, as in the altar-piece
of S. Ambrogio ad neinus* which has great merit. A
Madonna, however, and Infant, in the Belgioioso d'Este palace,
as well as one or two other pictures in private possession, are
undoubtedly from his hand. We are assured, indeed, that he
left few pieces at Milan, as well from his known fastidiousness
in painting, as from his having been diverted from it, both by
inclination and by the commissions received from the prince,
to conduct works connected with engineering, hydraulics, and
machinery for a variety of purposes, besides those of archi-
tecture ;t and especially in regard to that celebrated model of
a horse, of which, owing to its size, as we are told by Vasari,
no cast could be taken in bronze. And this writer is the more
entitled to credit, as well because he flourished near the period
of which he treats, as because he could hardly be ignorant of a
work, which would almost have placed the fame of our Italian
on an equality with that of Lysippus.^

Of all his labours in Milan, therefore, nothing is better de-
serving of our notice than the academy which he founded,
whose pupils constitute the proudest and most flourishing

nishes, and to another in reply, in which the use of them is disapproved
by force of examples. He moreover cites a Supplementary Letter drawn
from the Roman Journal of Fine Arts, for December, 1788.

* This picture, which represents the Madonna, with the SS. Doctors,
Lodovico il Moro, his wife Beatrice, and their two sons in the act of
prayer, belongs to a preceding school, and is by the hand of Zenale da
Trevilio, where there is a large altar-piece of like composition which
bears the painter's name. — A.

•f* A number of designs are to be seen in his MS. volumes belonging
to the Ambrosian collection. See Mariette's letter, in vol. ii. of " Lett.
Pittoriche," p. 171 ; and also, " Observations upon the Designs of
Lionardo," by the Ab. Amoretti, ed. of Milan, 1784.

t It was intended for the equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza, father
of Lodovico. The Cav. Fr. Sabba da Castiglione has mentioned in his
Ricordi, No. 100, that this very ingenious model, so greatly celebrated in
the annals of the arts, which cost Vinci sixteen years to complete, was
seen by the writer in 1499, converted into a target for the Gascon bowmen
in the service of Louis XII, when he became master of Milan.

CESAR DA SESTO. 485

-epoch of this school. They are not all equally well known ;
and we often find, both in collections and in churches, that
pictures are pointed out as being of the school of Vinci,
without specifying the particular artists. Their altar-pieces
seldom display composition, varying much from that common
to otber schools of the age; namely, figures of the Virgin
with the Infant, upon a throne, surrounded by saints, chiefly
In an erect posture, and a few cherubs on the steps. Vinci's
disciples, however, if I mistake not, were the first who con-
ferred on their figures some degree of unity in action, so as
to give them the appearance of conversing with each other.
In the remaining parts, also, they exhibit a pretty uniform
taste ; they represent the same faces, all somewhat oval,
smiling lips, the same manner in their precise and somewhat
dry outlines, the same choice of temperate colours, well har-
monized, together with the same study of the chiaroscuro,
which the less skilful artists overcharge with darkness, while
the better ones apply it in moderation.

Ono who approached nearest to his style, at a certain period,
was Cesar da Sesto, likewise called Cesare Milanese, though
not recorded by Vasari, or Lomazzo, in the list of his disciples.
Still he is generally admitted by more modern writers. In
the Ambrosian collection is the head of an old man, so ex-
tremely clear and studied, in the Vinci manner, by this artist,
as to surprise the beholder. In some of his other works he
followed Raffaello, whom he knew in Rome; and it is re-
ported, that this prince of painting one day said to him, " It
seems to me strange that being bound in such strict ties of
friendship as we two are, we do not in the least respect each
other with our pencils," as if they had been rivals on a sort
of equality. He was intimate too with Baldassar Peruzzi,
and was employed with him in the castle of Ostia. In this
work, which was one of the earliest efforts of Baldassare,
Vasari seems inclined to yield the palm of excellence to the
Milanese artist. He was esteemed Vinci's best pupil ; and he
is more than once held up by Lomazzo, as a model in design,
in attitude, and more particularly in the art of using his lights.
He cii es an Herodias by him, of which I have seen a copy in
possession of the Consiglier Pagave, and the countenance bore

480 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

911 extreme resemblance to the Fornarina of Raffaello.* The
Cav. D. Girolamo Melzi has likewise one of his Holy Fami-
lies, in the Raffaello manner, which he obtained a few years
ago at an immense sum, as well as that celebrated altar-piece
painted for S. Rocco."f* It is divided into compartments ; in
the midst is seen the titular saint and the Holy Virgin, with
the Infant, imitated from a figure by Raffaello, which is at
Foligno. From his Dispute of the Sacrament he likewise
borrowed the S. Gio. Batista seated on a cloud, which is ac-
companied with the figure of St. John the Evangelist, placed
in the same position. These decorate the upper part of the
picture ; the lower being occupied by the figures of the two
half-naked saints, Cristoforo and Sebastiano, both appropriately
executed, and the last exhibiting a new and beautiful fore-
shortening. They are on a larger scale than the figures of
Poussin, and with such resemblance to Correggio's, that, in
the opinion of the Ab. Bianconi, they might have been easily
ascribed to him, in default of the artist's name ; such is the
softness, union, and brightness of the fleshes, such their beauty
of colouring, and the harmony investing the whole painting.
It used to be closed with two panels, where, with a certain
correspondence of subjects, were drawn the two princes of the
Apostles, with Saints Martino and Giorgio on horseback ; all
of which display the same maxims, though not equal diligence
in the art. Hence we may infer that this artist did not, like
Vinci, aspire at producing master-pieces as an invariable
rule, but was content, like Luini, with occasional efforts of the
kind.

At the church of Sarono, situated between Pavia and Milan,
are seen the figures of four saints, drawn on four narrow pi-
lasters ; the two equestrian saints already mentioned, and
Saints Sebastiano and Rocco, to whom especially invocations
are made against the plague. They are inscribed with the

* The original, formerly in the gallery of the Archiepiscopal palace,
was, in the first occupation of the French, adjudged to Madame la Pagerie,
wife of the then General Bonaparte, and passed into France. — A.

•f The price in this instance, 600 sequins, would in this day be con-
sidered of trivial amount. Besides, it is not the sum paid which establishes
the character of a work. — A.

BERNAZZANO. 487

name Ccesar Magnus, f. 1533 : the foreshortening is well
adapted to the place ; and the figure of S. Rocco more espe-
cially displays a composition such as we have mentioned. The
features are not very pleasing, with the exception of those of
St. George, as they are somewhat too round and full. These
pieces are in general assigned to the artist of whom we here
treat and many are inclined to infer, from the inscription, that
he belonged to the family of the Magni. But it is doubted by
others ; the frescos not appearing to justify his high reputa-
tion, however excellent in their way. Besides, I find the death
of Cesare da Sesto recorded, in a MS. communicated to me by
Sig. Bianconi, as occurring in the year 1524, though not in
such a manner as to remove all kind of doubt. I find some
reason for inclining to an opposite opinion in the great diver-
sity of style, remarkable in this artist, the conformity of
various ideas in the frescos and in his altar-piece, together
with the silence of Lomazzo, generally so exact in his mention
of tho best Lombards, and who records no other Cesare but Da
Seste.

I ought not to separate the name of this noble figurist from
that of Bernazzano, the landscape painter, as they were united
no less in interest than in friendship. It is uncertan whether
he was instructed by Vinci ; he doubtless availed himself of his
models, and in drawing rural landscape, fruits, flowers, and
birdfr, he succeeded so admirably as to produce the same won-
derful effects as are told of Zeuxis and Apelles, in Greece.
This indeed Italian artists have frequently renewed, though
with a less degree of applause. Having represented a straw-
berry-bed in a court-yard, the peafowl were so deceived by
its resemblance, that they pecked at the wall until the painting
was destroyed. He painted the landscape part for a picture
of tl;e Baptism of Christ, and on the ground drew some birds
in tl-.e act of feeding. On its being placed in the open air,
the ')irds were seen to fly towards the picture, as if to join
thei;- companions."" As this artist had the sense to perceive
his own deficiency in figures, he cultivated an intimacy
witl Cesare, who added to his landscapes fables and his-

* This very beautiful painting is one of the chief ornaments in the
gallery of the distinguished family of the Trotti at Milan. — A.

488 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

tories, sometimes with a degree of license that is reprobated
by Lomazzo. These paintings are held in high esteem,
where the figure-painter has made a point of displaying his
powers.

Gio. Antonio Beltraffio, as his name is written on his monu-
ment,* was a gentleman of Milan, who employed only his
leisure hours in painting, and produced some works at Milan
and other places ; but the best is at Bologna. It is placed at
the Misericordia, and bore his signature, with that of his
master Vinci, and the date 1500, though these have been
since erased. t In it is represented the Virgin between Saints
John the Baptist and Bastiano, while the figure of Giro-
lamo da Cesio, who gave the commission for the picture,
is seen kneeling at the foot of the throne. It forms the
only production of Beltraffio placed in public, and is on
that account esteemed the more valuable. The whole of it
exhibits the exact study of his school in the air of the heads,
judicious in composition, and softened in its outlines. His
design, however, is rather more dry than that of his fellow-
pupils ; the effect, perhaps, of his early education, under the
Milanese artists of the fourteenth century, not sufficiently cor-
rected.

Francesco Melzi was another Milanese of noble birth, enu-
merated among Leonardo's disciples, though he had only the
benefit of his instructions in design during his more tender
years. He approached nearest of any to Vinci's manner, con-
ducting pieces that are frequently mistaken for those of his
master ; but he employed himself seldom, because he was rich. J
He was greatly esteemed by Vinci, inasmuch as he united a
very fine countenance to the most amiable disposition, his gra-

* This monumental stone is now in the I. R. Academy. Several works
by this painter have been discovered in Milan since the time when the
author wrote. By some it is asserted that he succeeded da Vinci in the
direction of the academy. — A.

f The lower part of this picture was cut away, and with it the inscrip-
tion placed by the author, as proved by the composition, since the feet of
the two saints, and those of the Virgin, now touch the cornice. From
Bologna it was brought into the Milanese gallery, and thence into France,
on occasion of an exchange effected with the museum under the former
government. — A.

J Amoretti, Mem. Stor. del Vinci, p. ISO.

ANDREA SALAI. 489

titude inducing him to accompany his master on his last visit
•jnto France. He was as generously rewarded for it, becoming
heir to the whole of Vinci's designs, instruments, books, and
manuscripts. He promoted as far as possible the reputation
of his master, by furnishing both Vasari and Lomazzo with
notices for his life ; and by preserving for the eye of posterity
the ^*aluable collection of his writings. For as long as the
numerous volumes deposited at the Ambrosian library conti-
nue to exist, the world must admit that he was one of the
chief revivers, not only of painting but of statics, of hydro-
statics, of optics, and of anatomy.

Andrea Salai, or Salaino, was, from similiar qualities, a
great favourite with Vinci, who chose him, according to the
language of the times, as his creato, using him as a model for
beautiful figures, both of a human and angelic cast. He
instructed him, as we are told by Vasari, in matters pertain-
ing to the art, and retouched his labours, which I think must
gradually have changed their name; as a Salai is not now
esteemed like a Vinci. There is a St. John the Baptist
pointed out as his, elegant, but rather dry, iii the archbishop's
palace ; a very animated portrait of a man, in the Aresi
palace ; with a few other pieces. His picture in the sacristy
of S. Celso is more particularly celebrated. It was drawn
from the cartoon of Lionardo, executed at Florence, and so
greatly applauded, that the citizens ran to behold it, as they
wouLl have done some great solemnity. Vasari calls it the
cartoon of St. Anna, who, with the Virgin, is seen fondling
the Holy Child, while the infant John the Baptist is playing
with him. Subsequently, this cartoon rose into such repute,
that when Francis I. invited Vinci to his court, he entreated
that he would undertake the colouring ; but the latter, says
Vasari, according to his custom, amused him a long while
with words. It appears, moreover, from a letter of P. Resta,
inser:ed in the third volume of the Lettere Pittoriche, that
Vinci formed three cartoons of his St. Anna, one of which was
coloured by Salai. This artist admirably fulfilled the design
of th 3 inventor, in the taste of his well -harmonized and low
colours, in the agreeable character of his landscape, and in
grand effect. In the same sacristy, opposite to it, was placed,
for some time, a Holy Family by Raffaello, now removed to

490 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

Vienna ; nor did it "shrink from such competition. A similar
copy of the same cartoon was obtained from Vienna for our
reigning sovereign, Ferdinand III. and now adorns the ducal
gallery at Florence, likewise, perhaps, from the hand of Salai.
Marco Uglone, or Uggione, or da Oggione, ought to be
included among the best Milanese painters. He did not
employ himself exclusively on favourite pictures, like most of
the scholars of Vinci, who preferred to paint little and well ;
but was celebrated for his frescos ; and his works at the Pace
still maintain their outline entire, and their colours bright.
Some of these are in the church, and a very magnificent pic-
ture of the Crucifixion is to be seen in the refectory ; surpris-
ing for the variety, beauty, and spirit of its figures. Few
Lombard artists attained the degree of expression that is here
manifested; and few to such mastery of composition and
novelty of costume. In his human figures, he aimed at ele-
gance of proportion ; and in those of horses he is seen to be the
disciple of Vinci. For another refectory, that of the Certosa,
in Pavia, he copied the Supper of Lionardo, and it is such as
to supply, in some measure, the loss of the original. Milan
boasts two of his altar-pieces, one at S. Paolo in Compito, and
another at S. Eufemia, in the style of the school we have
described, and both excellent productions ; though the manner
which he observed in his frescos is more soft and analogous
to modern composition.

In the historical memoirs of Vinci, written by Amoretti,
one Galeazzo is mentioned as one of his pupils, though it is
difficult to decide who he was, along with other artists
recorded in the Vinci MSS. These are one Jacomo, one
Fanfoia, and a Lorenzo, which might perhaps be interpreted
to be Lotto, did not the epochs pointed out by Count Tassi
and P. Federici, relating to this artist, appear inapplicable to
the Lorenzo of Vinci, who was born in 1488, and came to
Lionardo in April, 1505, and probably while Vinci was at
Fiesole, since he was there in the month of March in that
year ; that is, a month before,* and continued to reside with
him at least while he remained in Italy. I am inclined to
believe he filled the place of his domestic.

* See Amoretti, p. 90.

COUNT FRANCESCO D*ADDA. 491

Father Resta, in his " Portable Gallery," cited by me in
the third chapter, inserts also, among Vinci's Milanese disci-
ples, one Gio. Pedrini, and Lomazzo, a Pietro Ricci, of whom
I can learn nothing farther. Some, indeed, include in the
same list Cesare Cesariano, an architect and painter in ininia-
turc, whose life has been written by Poleni. Lattuada, too,
mentions Niccola Appiano, and makes him the author of a
fresco-painting over the gate of the Pace, which is certainly
in the Vinci manner. Cesare Arbasia, of whom we shall fur-
ther treat in the sixth book of the third volume, under the
heal of Piedmont, was erroneously referred, at Cordova, to
the school of Vinci, and is mentioned as his pupil by Palomino.
This was impossible, if we consider the epochs of his life,
together with the character of his paintings. Were a resem-
blance of style enough to decide the question of preceptorship,
I r light here add to Leonardo's school a number of other
Milanese, both of the city and the state. I cannot, however,
dispense with a maxim, which, under a variety of forms, I
have recommended to my readers ; that history alone can
ascertain for us the real pupils, as style does such as are imi-
tators. Being unable, therefore, to pronounce them disciples,
I shall give to Vinci only as his imitators the names of Count
Frrmcesco d'Adda, who was accustomed to paint on panels
and on slate for private cabinets ; Ambrogio Egogni, of whom
there remains at Nerviano a fine altar-piece, executed in
1527; Gaudenzio Vinci, of Nova, who is distinguished also
for another altar-piece at Arona, with a date anterior to the
preceding. I never saw any of these ; but it is agreed by all,
that they are in the Vinci manner ; and that the last especially
is i n astonishing production. Another work, which made its
appearance only a few years a<?o at Rome, representing the
figure of the Virgin, and quite in Lionardo's composition, as I
have heard, bears the following inscription: "Bernardinus
Fa sol us de Papia fecit, 1518." It was purchased by the Sig.
Principe Braschi, for his very choice gallery ; and it appeared
truly surprising at Rome, that such a painter should be presented
to our age, as it were alone, and without a word of recom-
mendation from any historian. Yet similar occurrences are
nor unknown in Italy, a.nd it forms a portion of her fame to
enumerate her celebrated artists by ranks and not by numbers.

492 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

It remains for us to do justice to Vinci's most distinguished
imitator, Bernardin Lovino, as he writes it, or Luini, as it is
generally expressed ; a native of Luino, in the Lago Maggiore.
Resta asserts, that he did not arrive at Milan until after the
departure of Vinci, and that he was instructed by Scotto.
The author of the Guide (at page 120) includes him in the
lists of Lionardo's pupils, and this, from the period when he
flourished, might, I think, have been the case. Because if
Gaudenzio, born in 1484, was at once the disciple of Scotto
and of Lovino, as we are informed in the treatise of Lomazzo
(p. 421), it follows, that Bernardino must already have been a
master about 1500, the time when Vinci left Milan. To
much the same period Vasari refers Bernardino da Lupino
(he should have said da Luino), an artist who painted the
Marriage and other histories of the Virgin in so highly finished
a taste at Sarono. One of Vasari's annotators erroneously
again changes the name of Lupino into Lanino, a pupil of
Gaudenzio. My supposition respecting the age of Bernardino
is further confirmed by a portrait which he drew of himself at
Sarono, in his Dispute of the Child Jesus with the Doctors,
where he appears then old, and this picture was executed in
the year 1525, as appears from the date. Luini, therefore,
may have been one of Vinci's disciples ; and he certainly
frequented his academy. Others indeed of the school sur-
passed him in delicacy of hand, and in the pleasing effect of
the chiaroscuro, a quality for which Lomazzo commends Cesare
da Sesto, declaring that Luini drew his shadows in too coarse
a style. Notwithstanding this, no artist approached nearer
Vinci both in point of design and colouring than Bernardino,
who very frequently composed in a taste so like that of his
master, that out of Milan many of his pieces pass for those of
Vinci. Such is the opinion of true connoisseurs, as reported
and approved by the author of the New Guide, who is
assuredly one belonging to this class. He adduces two
examples in the pictures at the Ambrosiana ; namely, the
Magdalen, and the St. John, who is seen caressing his lamb, a
piece which foreigners can hardly be persuaded is not from
Vinci's own hand. I have seen other pictures of equal, or
nearly equal, merit, in different Milanese collections which I
have frequently mentioned.

BERNARDINO DA LUINI. 493

We must, however, add what I observed in reference to
Cesjtre da Sesto just before, that in some of his works there is
great resemblance to the manner of Raffaello, such as in a
Madonna, belonging to the prince of Keweniller, and one or
two others which I know were purchased under the impres-
sion of their being Raffaello's. Hence, I imagine, must have
arison the opinion, that he had visited Rome, which is very
properly questioned by the Ab. Bianconi (p. 091), who rather
incl nes to the negative. Nor can I myself admit it without
some further proofs, a similarity of manner to me appearing
far too weak an argument to decide the fact. The same point
was discussed in the third chapter on the subject of Correggio ;
and if we found reason to conclude that Correggio succeeded
in enlarging and refining his divine genius to such a degree,
without seeing either Raffaello or Michelangelo at Rome, we
ma}- admit the same to have been the case in the instance of
Luini. The book of nature is equally open to all artists ; taste
is a sure guide to selection ; and, by degrees, practice leads to
the complete execution of what is thus selected. Vinci's taste
so nearly resembled that of Raffaello in point of delicacy,
grace, and expression of the passions, that had he not been
diverted by other pursuits, and had he sacrificed some degree
of his high finish, for the sake of adding to his facility,
amenity, and fulness of outline, his style would naturally have
run into competition with that of Raffaello, with whom, as it
is, ri some of his heads especially, he has many points in com-
mon. It was the same with Bernardino, who had embued
himself with the taste of Vinci, and flourished during a period
that bordered on an improved degree of freedom and softness
of manner. At first, indeed, he adopted a less full and some-
"whr.t dry style, such as we easily recognise in his Pieta, at the
Passione; subsequently he proceeded gradually to modernize it.
Even that fine little picture of the Ebriety of Noah, which is
she^n at S. Barnaba, as one of his most exquisite pieces,
retains a certain precision in its design, a hardness of drapery
and a direction of folds, which remind us of the fourteenth
century. He becomes more modern in his histories of S. Croce,
executed about 1520, several of which he repeated at Sarono
five years after, where he appears to surpass his own produc-
tions. These last are the works which most resemble Raf-

494 SCHOOL OF MILAN. — EPOCH II.

faello's composition ; though they retain that minuteness in
decoration, the gilding of glories, and the abundance of little
ornament in the temples, such as we see in Mantegna and his
contemporaries ; all of which were abandoned by Raffaelio,
when he arrived at his best manner.

It is my opinion, in fact, that this artist was not so much
indebted to Rome, from whose masters he probably only imi-
tated some prints or copies, as to Vinci's academy, with whose
maxims he became completely familiar ; and more especially
to his own genius, vast in its kind, and equalled by very few.
I say in its kind ; for I allude to all that is sweet, beautiful,
pious, and sensitive in the art. In those histories of our Lady,
at Sarono, her features present us with a lovely union of
beauty, dignity, and modesty, such as approach to Raffaelio,
although they are not his. They are, moreover, always con-
sistent with the history the artist represents, whether we
behold the Virgin at the marriage, or listening with wonder to
the prophecies of Simeon ; when, penetrated with the grand
mystery, she receives the wise men of the East ; or when, with
a countenance of mingled joy and sorrow, she inquires of her
Divine Son, teaching in the temple, why he had thus left her.
The other figures possess a corresponding beauty ; the heads
appear to live, the looks and motions seem to be expecting a
reply; combined with a variety of design, of drapery, and of
passions, all borrowed from nature ; a style in which every
thing appears natural and unstudied, which gains at a first
view, which compels the eye to study part by part, and from
which it cannot withdraw itself without an effort ; such is the
character of Luini's style in that temple. We observe little
variation in his other pictures, which he executed with more
care, and at a more mature age, at Milan ; nor can I imagine
what could lead Vasari to assert that the whole of his works
are tolerable ; when we meet with so many calculated to excite
our wonder. Let us consult his picture of Christ scourged, at
S. Giorgio, and inquire by what hand the countenance of our
Redeemer has been drawn more full of kindness, humility, and
piety ; or turn to his smaller cabinet paintings in the possession
of the Signori Litta, and other noble houses, so beautifully
finished, and inquire again how many artists in his own times
could have equalled him in these ? The genius of Luini does

AURELIO LUINI. 495

not, moreover, appear, to have been at all fastidious or slow;
at least in his fresco-paintings. Thus his Crown of Thorns,
place- 1 at the college of S. Sepolcro, a picture abounding with
figures, for which he received one hundred and fifteen lire,
occupied him thirty-eight days, besides eleven more, during
whid i one of his pupils was engaged on the work. He availed
himself of similar aid, likewise, in painting the choir of Sarono,
in tlio JMonistero Maggiore, at Milan, in several churches of
Lago Maggiore, and in other places ; and to these assistants
we oaght apparently to ascribe whatever parts we find less
perfect.

TV ro only of his disciples, his own sons, as far as I can learn,
are known. At the period when Lomazzo published his trea-
tise, :n 1584, they were both living, and both mentioned by
him ^vith commendation. Of Evangelista, the second brother,
he remarks, that in the art of ornamenting and festooning, he
was equally ingenious and fanciful, at the same time giving
him a high rank in other branches of painting ; though it is
to be regretted that he did not point out any of his produc-
tions. Aurelio Luini is frequently praised in the same work,
as well as in the Teatro, for his knowledge of anatomy, and for
his skill in landscape and perspective. He is subsequently
introduced in the Treatise upon Painting, among the most
celebrated artists of Milan who then flourished, as a successful
rival of Polidoro's style, of which a specimen is praised, con-
sisting of a large fresco, on the facade of the Misericordia.
After the lapse of two centuries, Bianconi has written of him
with more freedom, declaring, that though the son, he was not
the f< >llower of Bernardino, the purity of whose style he was
far from attaining. And, in truth, if we except his composi-
tion, there is not much calculated to please in this artist. We
may, indeed, often trace the paternal manner, much deterio-
rated however, and tainted with mannerism ; his ideas are
comn on, his attitudes less natural, the folds of his drapery are
minuie, and drawn in a mechanical manner. This character
prevj ils in some genuine pieces of his that I have seen ; among
whic-i is one in the Melzi collection, with his name and the date
of 1 5 70. Others, however, which I have examined at Milan,
are in a better taste, especially at S. Lorenzo, where an altar-
piece with the Baptism of Christ, is ascribed to him, that

496 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II

would have done credit to Bernardino. Aurelio instructed in
the art Pietro Gnocchi ; and if I mistake not, he was surpassed
by his pupil, both in selection and in good taste. A Pietro
Luini, having the reputation of a soft and accurate hand, and
esteemed the last of the Luini, being admitted in history, I doubt
whether he be not the Pietro of whom we here treat, occasion-
ally surnamed from the house of his master, as we find in the
case of Porta, and others of the sixteenth century. To him
was ascribed the S. Pietro, painted for S. Yittore, seen in the
act of receiving the keys ; but in the " New Guide" it is cor-
rectly given to the hand of Gnocchi.

Having thus shewn, as in a family tree, the regular suc-
cessors of Lionardo at Milan, we must prepare to examine
the other school, that traces its origin to Foppa, and other
artists of the fourteenth century, who are mentioned in their
place. It is not to be confounded with that of Vinci, and is
separately considered by writers on the subject, though it is
known to have derived great advantage from his models, and,
I believe, from his discourse, inasmuch as he is allowed, like
Raffaello, to have been extremely courteous and agreeable in
his reception of every one, and in communicating his know-
ledge to all who desired it without any feeling of jealousy. If
we take the pains to examine Bramantino and the rest of the
Milanese artists, subsequent to the middle of the sixteenth
century, we shall find them all more or less imitators of Vinci,
aiming at his mode of chiaroscuro and his expression, rathe?
dark in their complexions, and addicted to colour rather with
force than with amenity. They are, however, less studious of
ideal beauty, less noble in their conceptions, less exquisite ia
their taste, with the exception of Gaudenzio, who in every
thing rivals the first artist of his age ; and he is the only one
of the ancient school who inculcated its maxims by teaching
as well as by example.

Gaudenzio Ferrari da Valdugia is called by Vasari Gau-
denzio Milanese. We mentioned him among Raffaello's
assistants, referring to the account of Orlandi, who gives him
as a pupil to Pietro Perugino, and noticing certain pictures
that are attributed to him in Lower Italy. But in those partsr
where he only tarried a short time, or attempted some new
method, he can scarcely be recognised, the information regard-

GAUDENZIO FERRARI, 407

ing it being very doubtful, which will be further shewn under
the Ferrarese school. In Lombardy we may now treat of him
with more certainty, many of his works being met with, and
many particulars of him from the pen of Lomazzo, his suc-
cessor in the art, as we shall shortly shew. He mentions
Scotfo as his master, and next to him Luini ; and that previous
to either of these he studied with Giovanone, is a current
tradition at Vercelli. Novarais thought to be in possession of
one of his first paintings, an altar-piece with various divisions
at the cathedral, in the taste of the fourteenth century, and
with the gilt decorations then so much in request. Vercelli
possesses at S. Marco his copy of the cartoon of S. Anna, to
which are added the figures of S. Joseph and some other saints.
It is a youthful production, but which shews Gaudenzio to
have been an early imitator of Vinci, from whom, says Vasari,
he derived great assistance. He went young to Rome, where
he is said to have been employed by RafFaello, and acquired a
more enlarged manner of design, and greater beauty of colour-
ing than had been practised by the Milanese artists. Lomazzo,
against the opinion of Scannelli, ranks him among the seven
greatest painters in the world, among whom he erred in not
including Correggio. For whoever will compare the cupola
of S. Giovanni at Parma with that of S. Maria near Sarono,
painted by Gaudenzio about the same period,- must admit that
there are a variety of beauties in the former, we may in vain
seek for in the latter. Although we must admit that it
abounds with fine, varied, and well-expressed figures, yet
Gaudenzio will be found in this, as in some other of his works,
to retain traces of the old style ; such as a degree of harsh-
ness ; too uniform a disposition of his figures ; his draperies,
particularly of his angels, some of them drawn in lines like
Mantegna's ; with figures occasionally relieved in stucco, and
the a coloured, a practice he observed also in his trappings of
horses, as well as in other accessaries, in the manner of Mon-
toriano.

With the exception of these defects, which he wholly
avoided in his more finished pieces, Gaudenzio must be pro-
nounced a very great painter, and one who approached nearest
of any among Raffaello's assistants to Perino and to Giulio
Romano. He displays also a vast fund of ideas, though of an

VOL. II. 2 K

SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

opposite cast, Giulio having frequently directed his genius to
profane and licentious subjects, while the former confined him-
self to sacred compositions. He appears truly unequalled in
his expression of the divine majesty, the mysteries of religion,
and all the feelings of piety, of which he himself offered a
laudable example, receiving the title of Eximie plus in one of
the Novarese assemblies. He was excellent in strong expres-
sion ; not that he aimed at exhibiting highly-wrought mus-
cular powers, but his attitudes were, as Vasari entitles them,
wild, that is, equally bold and terrible where his subjects
admitted of them. Such is the character of his Christ's Pas-
sion, at the Grazie in Milan, where Titian was his competitor ;
and his Fall of S. Paul, at the Conventual friars in Yercelli,
a picture approaching the nearest of any to that of Michel-
angelo in the Pauline chapel. In the rest of his pictures he
shews great partiality for the most difficult foreshortenings,
which he introduces very frequently. If he fails in reaching
the peculiar grace and beauty of Raffaello, he at least greatly
partakes of that character, as we observe in his S. Cristoforo,
at Vercelli, where, in addition to the picture of the titular
saint, he painted upon the walls various histories of Jesus
Christ, and others of Mary Magdalen. In this great work he
appears, more perhaps than in any other, in the character of a
beautiful painter, presenting us with the most lovely heads,
and with angels as lively in their forms as spirited in their
attitudes. I have heard it praised as his master-piece, though
Lomazzo and the author of- the Guide both agree in asserting
that the manner he adopted in the Sepolcro of Varallo sur-
passsed all he had elsewhere produced.

If we examine into further particulars of his style, we
shall find Ferrari's warm and lively colouring so superior to
that of the Milanese artists of his day, that there is no diffi-
culty in recognising it in the churches where he painted ; the
eye of the spectator is directly attracted towards it ; his car-
nations are natural, and varied according to the subjects ; his
draperies display much fancy and originality, as varied as the
art varies its draperies; with middle tints, blended so skil-
fully as to equal the most beautiful produced by any other
artist. And if we may so say, he represented the minds even
better than the forms of his subjects. He particularly studied

ANDREA SOLARI. 499

this branch of the art, and we seldom observe more marked
attitudes or more expressive countenances. Where he adds
landscape or architecture to his figures, the former chiefly
consists of very fanciful views of cliffs and rocks, which are
calculated to charm by their novelty ; while his edifices are
conducted on the principles of the best perspective. As
Lomazzo, however, has dwelt so much at length on his admir-
able skill both in painting and modelling, it would be idle to
insist upon it further. But I ought to add, that it is a great
refle 3tion upon Vasari that he did not better know, or better
estimate such an artist; so that foreigners, who form their
opinions only from history, are left unacquainted with his
merit, and have uniformly neglected to do him justice in their
writ ings.

Ferrari's disciples for a long period maintained the manner
of their master, the first in succession with more fidelity than,
the second class, and the second than the third. The chief
part were more eager to imitate his expression and his facility
thac the elegance of his design and colouring, even so far as
to 6,11 into the bordering errors of negligence and of caricature.
The less celebrated scholars of Gaudenzio were Antonio La-
netti da Bugnato, of whom I know of no remaining genuine
production ; Fermo Stella da Caravaggio, and Giulio Cesare
Lurii Yalsesiano, who are stjill to be met with in some of the
chapels at Varallo. Lomazzo, in the thirty-seventh chapter
of Ms Treatise, besides Lanino, to come shortly under consi-
deration, mentions, as imitators of Gaudenzio, Bernardo Fer-
rari of Vigevano, where two sides of the cathedral organ are
painted by his hand ; and Andrea Solari, or del Gobbo, or
Mil mese, as he is called by Yasari at the close of his life of
Correggio, in whose age he flourished. He says he was "a
ver / excellent and beautiful painter, and attached to the
lab( 'Urs of the art," adducing some of his pictures in private,
and an Assumption at the Certosa in Pavia, in which Torre
(p. 138) gives him Salaino as a companion. His two most
distinguished pupils were Gio. Batista della Cerva and Ber-
nar lino Lanino, from whom sprung two branches of the same
sch )ol, the Milanese and that of Vercelli.

( /erva took up his abode at Milan, and if he painted every
picture like that which adorns San Lorenzo, representing the
2 K 2

500 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

Apparition of Jesus Christ to S. Thomas and the other Apos-
tles, he is entitled to rank with the first of his school, such is
the choice and spirited character of the heads, such the warmth
and distribution of his colouring, and so truly noble and har-
monious is its effect as a whole. He must have been deeply
versed in the art, though we possess no more of his public
works, as he became the master of Gio. Paolo Lomazzo of
Milan, who acquired from him the maxims he afterwards
published in his Treatise upon Painting in 1584, and which he
condensed in his " Idea of the Temple of Painting," printed
in 1590, to say nothing of his verses, for the most part con-
nected with the same profession.

In his account of this writer Orlandi inserted several erro-
neous epochs of his life, subsequently cleared up by Bianconi,
who fixes that of his loss of sight about 1571, in the thirty-
third year of his age. Until this misfortune he had continued
to cultivate all the knowledge he could derive from those
times, which indeed in certain branches are in some measure
undervalued. He took a tour through Italy, attaching him-
self to polite letters and to the sciences, for which he indulged
such an enthusiasm, in his ill-placed ambition to appear a
philosopher, astrologer, and mathematician, that he treated
matters even the most obvious, in an abstruse and often false
manner, as mistaken as the principles of the current astrology
itself. This defect is very perceptible in his larger work,
though being dispersed scantily here and there, it is the more
easily excused. But it is more serious in his compendium, or
" Idea of the Temple of Painting," where it is presented to us
in a point of view truly repugnant to common sense. Whilst
engaged in teaching an art which consists in designing and
colouring well, he flies from planet to planet ; to each of the
seven painters, whom he calls principals, he assigns one of
these celestial bodies, and afterwards one of the metals to cor-
respond. Extravagant as this idea is, he gave scope to still
more strange fancies ; so that with this method, combined
with a most fatiguing prolixity, and the want of an exact
index, his treatises have been little read. It would be well
worth while to re-model this work, and to separate the fruifc
from the husk, as it abounds not only with much pleasing
historical information, but with the best theories of art, heard

GIO. PAOLO LOMAZZO. 501

from the lips of those who knew both Lionardo and Gauden-
zio, as well as with excellent observations upon the practice
of tie best masters, and much critical knowledge relating to
the mythology, history, and customs of the ancients. His
ruler, of perspective are particularly valuable. They were
compiled from the MSS. of Foppa, of Zenale, of Mantegna,
and of Yinci (Tratt. p. 264) ; in addition to which he has
preserved some fragments of Bramantino, who was extremely
ingenious in this art (p. 276). By these qualities, united to
a certain ease of style, not so agreeable perhaps as that of
Vasiiri, yet not so mysterious and obscure as that of Zuccaro,
nor HO mean as that of Boschirii ; the treatise of Lomazzo is
deserving of attention, even from confessed masters, and of
their selection of some of the best chapters for the benefit of
their oldest pupils. I know of no other better adapted to
furn-sh youthful genius with fine pictoric ideas on every
theme, none more likely to attach him, and to instruct him how
to treat questions upon ancient art, none that displays a more
extensive acquaintance with the human heart — what are its
passions, and by what signs they are manifested, and how
they assume a different dress in different countries, with their
appropriate limits ; and no writer, finally, includes in a single
volume, more useful precepts for the formation of a reflecting
artist, a fine reasoner, in a spirit congenial to Vinci, at once
the lather of the Milanese school, and I may add of pictoric
philosophy, which consists in sound reflection upon each
branch of the profession.

None of Lomazzo's paintings are doubtful, as the author
has -celebrated his own life and works in certain verses, com-
posed, as I have reason to think, to beguile the tedium of hours
wholly passed in darkness, and which he entitled " Grot-
iesclii."* His first efforts, as in all instances, are feeble, of

* Can there be any doubt whether he was blind or not, when he wrote
the following verses : —

Quindi Andai a Piacenza, et ivi fei
Nel refetorio di Sant' Agostino
La facciata con tal historia pinta.
Da lontan evvi Piero in Orazione
Che vede giu dal ciel un gran lenzuolo
Scender pien d' animai piccioli e grandi
Onde la Quadragesma fu introdotta, &c.

502 SCHOOL OP MILAN. EPOCH II.

which kind is his copy of Vinci's Supper, which may be seen
at the Pace. In his others we trace the hand of a master
eager to put his maxims into execution, and who succeeds
more or less happily. One of the most fundamental of
these was to consider as dangerous the imitation of other
artists, whether taken from paintings or engravings. It
is contended that an artist should aim at becoming original,
forming the whole of his composition in his own mind, and
copying the individual portions from nature and from truth.
This precept, first derived from Gaudenzio, was put in
force both by Lomazzo and others of his own time. In his
pictures we may always discover some original traits, as
in that at S. Marco's, where, instead of putting the keys in
the hands of S. Peter, according to the usual custom, he re-
presents the Holy Child offering them to him in a playful
attitude. His novelty appears still more conspicuous in his
large histories, such as his Sacrifice of Melchisedech, in the
library of the Passione, a picture abounding with figures, in
which the knowledge of anatomy is equal to the novelty of the
drapery, and the animation of the colours to that of the atti-
tudes. He has added to it a combat in the distance, well con-
ceived, and in good perspective. I have seen no other painting
of his that displays more knowledge. In other instances he
is confused and overloaded, sometimes also extravagant, as in
that grand fresco painted for the refectory of S. Agostino at Pia-
cenza, or as it is called of the Rocchettini, which represents the
subject of the Forty Days' Fast. This is an ideal feast of
meagre meats, where the sovereigns are seen in different seats
(some of them portraits of the age), with lords of rank feasting
at a splendid banquet of fish, while the poor are devouring
such food as they have, and a greedy man is struggling with a
huge mouthful sticking in his throat. The Lord blesses the ta-
ble, and above is seen the sheet which was shewn in a vision to
S. Peter. It is a grand picture, calculated to surprise the eye by
the exactness with which the particular parts are copied from
nature, and with a delicacy that Girupeno asserts was un-
equalled even by Lomazzo in the works he executed at Milan.
But it is not happy as a whole ; the canvas is too full, and there
is a mixture of sacred and burlesque subjects, from scripture
and from the tavern, that cannot be reconciled or approved.

AMBR06IO FIGINO. 503

Lomazzo gives tlie names of two Milanese as his pupils,
Cristoforo Ciocca and Ambrogio Figino. He could not long
have afforded them his instructions, as at the period when he
wroto his Treatise, being then blind, they were both still in
early youth. He commends them for their portraits, and the
first would appear never to have been an able composer,
having left, perhaps, no other pieces in public, except his his-
tories of S. Cristoforo, at S. Vittore al Corpo, by no means
excellent. Figino succeeded no less admirably in portraits,
which he painted also for princes, with high commendation
from the Cav. Marino, than in large compositions almost always
executed in oil, and more distinguished by the excellence than
by the number of the figures. Some of his pictures, as his
S. Ambrogio, at S. Eustorgio, or his S. Matteo, at S. E-affaello,
thou rh presenting few figures, fail not to please by the gran-
deur of character expressed in the faces of those saints ; nor
has r.ny other artist of Milan approached in this art nearer to
Gaudenzio, who left such noble examples in his S. Girolamo and
S. Paolo. In works of a larger scale, such as his Assumption
of S. Fedele, and the very elegant Concezione at S. Antonio,
he also excels. His method is described by his preceptor, in
his Treatise (p. 438). He proposed for his imitation the
lights and the accuracy of Lionardo, the dignity of Raffaello,
Correggio's colouring, and the outlines of Michelangelo. Of
the last in particular he was one of the most successful imita-
tors in his designs, which are consequently in the highest
repute ; but independent of which he is little known, either in
collections or in history, further than Milan.* This artist must
not be mistaken for Girolamo Figino, his contemporary, a very
able painter, and an exact miniaturist, if we are to credit
Moi igia. There is also ranked, among Lomazzo's disciples, a
Pietro Martire Stresi, who acquired some reputation by his
copies from Raffaello.

The other branch of Gaudenzio's school, before mentioned,
sprung from Bernardino Lanini of Vercelli, who there pro-
duced some excellent early imitations of the style of Gaudenzio,

* In his later works, in order to exhibit his skill in anatomy, he gave
in to mannerism, which rendered him hard in his figures, and languid in
colouring. Many pictures by his hand have been elsewhere attributed to
Mic helangelo . — A ,

504 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

his master. At S. Giuliano there is a Pieta, with the date of
1547, which might be ascribed to Gaudenzio, had not the
name of Bernardino been affixed. It is the same with his
other pictures, executed at his native place, when still young,
and perhaps the chief distinction consists in his inferior accu-
racy of design, and less force of chiaroscuro. At a riper age
he painted with more freedom, and a good deal in the manner
of the naturalists, ranking among the first in Milan. He had
a very lively genius both for conceiving and executing, and
adapted like that of Ferrari for noble histories. The one of
S. Catherine, in the church of that name, near S. Celso, is
greatly celebrated, and the more so, from what Lomazzo* has
said of it, being full of pictoric spirit in the features and the
attitudes, with colouring like Titian's, and embued with grace,
no less in the face of the saint, which partakes of Guido, than
in the choir of angels, which rivals those of Gaudenzio. If
there be any portion deficient, it is in the want of more care
in arranging his drapery. He was much employed both for
the city and the state, particularly at the cathedral of Novara,
where he painted his Sibyllo, and his Padre Eterno, so greatly
admired by Lomazzo ; besides several histories of the Virgin,
which though now deprived of their colour, still attract us by
the spirit and clearness of the design. He was sometimes
fond of displaying the manner of Vinci, as in his picture of the
Patient Christ, between two angels, painted for the church of
Anibrogio ; so complete in every part, so beautiful and devo-
tional, combined with so fine a relief, as to be esteemed one of
the »most excellent productions that adorn that church.f

Bernardino had two brothers, not known beyond Vercelli ;
Gaudenzio, of whom there is said to be an altar-piece in the
sacristy of the Padri Barnabiti, representing the Virgin be-
tween various saints ; and his second brother Girolamo, from
whose hand I have seen a Descent from the Cross, belonging
to a private individual. Both display some distant resem-

* This S. Catherine is not now at S. Celso, but in the oratory annexed
to S. Nazzaro, and in design and colouring is equal to Gaudenzio. In
the church of S. Ambrosio are equally beautiful specimens of his frescos,
which are highly estimated. — A.

f Let us rather prize a view of his Baptism of Christ, a painting in
oil, now in the I. R. Pinacoteca. — A.

FRANCESCO VINCENTINO. 505

bianco to Bernardino in the natural expression of the counte-
nances, the former also in the force of his colouring, though alike
greatly inferior in design. Three other Giovenoni, subsequent to
Girolamo, flourished about the period of Lanini, whose names
were Paolo, Batista, and Giuseppe; the last became an excellent
portrait-painter. He was brother-in-law to Lanini, two of
whoso sons-in-law were likewise good artists ; Soleri, whom I
reserve for the school of Piedmont, and Gio. Martino Casa, a
nativ-3 of Vercelli, who resided, however, at Milan, whence I
obtained my information. Perhaps the last in the list of this
school was Vicolungo di Vercelli. In a private house at that
place. I saw his Supper of Belshazzar, tolerably well coloured,
abounding with figures, extravagant drapery, poor ideas, and
no way calculated to surprise, except by exhibiting the suc-
cessors of Raffaello reduced thus gradually to so mean a state.
Good landscape painters were not wanting in this happy
epocli in Milan, particularly in the school of Bernazzano,
their productions appearing in several collections, though their
names are unknown. To this list perhaps belongs the Fran-
cesco Vicentino, a Milanese so much commended by Lomazzo,
who, in a landscape, succeeded even in shewing the dust
blown about by the wind. He was also a good figure-painter,
of which a few fine specimens remain at the Grazie and other
churches. Some ornamental painters and of grotesques we
have already noticed, to which list we may add Aurelio Buso,
mentioned with praise among the native Venetian artists, and
here again justly recorded for his labours. Vincenzio Laviz-
zario, an excellent portrait-painter, may be esteemed the
Titian of the Milanese, to whose name we may unite that of
Gio. da Monte of Crema, treated in the preceding book and
deserving of repetition here. Along with him flourished
Giuseppe Arcimboldi, selected for his skill in portrait, as the
court -painter of Maximilian II., in which office he continued
also under the Emperor Rodolph. Both these artists were
much celebrated for those capricci, or fancy-pieces, which
afterwards fell into disuse. At a distance they appeared
.to bo figures of men and women ; but on a nearer view
.the Flora disappeared in a heap of flowers and leaves, and
ihe Vertumnus was metamorphosed into a composition of
fruits and foliage. Nor did these fanciful artists confine

506 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH II.

themselves to subjects taken from ancient fable ; they added
others in which they poetically introduced various personifi-
cations. The former even represented Cucina, with her head
and limbs composed only of pots and pans and other kitchen
utensils ; while the latter, who acquired great credit from
these strange inventions, produced a picture of Agriculture,
consisting of spades, ploughs, and scythes, with other appro-
priate implements.

"We have lastly to record an art connected with the inferior
branches of painting, scarcely noticed by me in any other
place, being, indeed, purposely reserved for the Milanese
school, where it more particularly flourished. This is the art
of embroidering, not merely flowers and foliage, but extensive
history and figure-pieces. It had continued from the time of
the Romans in Italy, and there is a very valuable specimen
remaining in the so-called Casula Dittica, at the Museo di
Classe at Ravenna, or more properly some strips of it brocaded
with gold, on which, in needlework, appear the portraits of
Zenone, Montano, and other saintly bishops. It is a monu-
ment of the sixth century, and has been described by the Ab.
Sarti, and afterwards by Monsig. Dionisi. The same custom of
embroidering sacred walls with figures would appear, from the
ancient pictures, to have continued during the dark ages, and
there are yet some relics to be seen in some of our sacristies.
The most entire are at S. Niccolo Collegiata in Fabriano,
consisting of a priest's cope, with figures of apostles and
different saints ; and a vestment with mysteries of the passion,
worked in embroidery, with the dry and coarse design of the
fourteenth century. In Vasari we find frequent mention of
this art ; and, to say nothing of the ancients, he presents us
with many names greatly distinguished in it in more cultivated
ages ; such as Paolo da Verona, and one Niccolo Veneziano,
who being in the service of the Prince Doria, at Genoa,
introduced Perin del Vaga at that court, as well as Antonio
Ubertini, a Florentine, to whom we alluded under his own
school.

Lomazzo traces the account of the Milanese from the earliest
period. Luca Schiavone, he observes, carried this branch to
the highest degree, and communicated it to Girolamo Delfi-
none, who flourished in the times of the last Duke Sforza,

CATEKINA CANTON A. 507

whos3 portrait he executed in embroidery, besides several
large works, among which is the Life of our Lady, worked for
the Cardinal Baiosa. This skill became hereditary in the
family, and Scipione, the son of Girolamo, was equally dis-
tinguished. His chases of different animals were in great
reqw -st for royal cabinets, a number of them being collected
by Philip of Spain and the English king Henry. Marcan-
tonio, son of Scipione, followed the genius of the family, and
is mentioned by Lomazzo in 1591 as a youth of great promise.
This writer has also praised for her skill in the same line,
Caterina Cantona, a noble Milanese lady, and has omitted
the name of Pellegrini, the Minerva of her time, only perhaps
because she had then hardly become celebrated. Other indi-
viduals of this house are mentioned in the list of artists.
Andrea, who painted in the choir of S. Girolamo, and a
Pellegrino, his cousin, celebrated in the history of Palomino
for his productions in the Escurial, and being both architect
and painter to the royal court. The lady of whom I write,
how iar related to them I know not, devoted herself wholly to
her needle, and by her hand were embroidered the great
pallium (vestment) and other sacred furniture, still preserved
in the sacristy of the cathedral, and exhibited to strangers
with other curious specimens of ancient learning and the arts.
In tie Guide for 1783, she is called Antonia, and in that for
1787 Lodovica, unless, indeed, they were two different per-
sons. In the following age Boschini mentioned, with high
commendation, the unrivalled Dorothea Aromatari, who, he
adds, produced with her needle all those beauties which the
finest and most diligent artists exhibited with their pencil.
To hers he unites with praise the names of some other female
embroiderers of the age ; and we, in mentioning that of
Area ngela Paladini, had occasion to commend her paintings
and her needlework at the same time.

508

SCHOOL OF MILAN.

EPOCH III.

The Procaccini and other Foreign and Native Artists establish a new
Academy, with new styles, in the city and state of Milan.

THE two series which we have hitherto described have gradu-
ally brought us towards the seventeenth century, when there
scarcely remained a trace either of the Vinci or Gaudenzio
manner. This arose from their latest successors, who adopted,
more or less, those new manners which were gradually intro-
duced into Milan at the expense of the ancient style. As
early as the time of Gaudenzio appeared in that city the
Coronation of Thorns, painted by Titian, which was so greatly
.admired that several of his pupils came to establish themselves
there, besides other foreigners. Some unfortunate circum-
stances also occurred ; particularly the plague, which more
than once, in the same century, desolated the state, and which
sweeping off native artists, opened the way to strangers who
-succeeded to their commissions. Hence Lomazzo, at the close
of his Tempio, only commends three among the Milanese
figure-painters, who then flourished, Luini, Gnocchi, and
Duchino, the rest being all foreigners. The attachment
shewn by several noble families to the arts, conduced to
invite them thither, and in particular that of the Borromea,
which presented to the archiepiscopal seat of their country
two distinguished prelates, Cardinal Carlo, who added to the
number of saints at the altar, and Federigo, who nearly
attained the same honours. Both were inspired by the same
spirit of religion ; they were simple in private, but splendid
and liberal in public. Out of their economy they clothed and
fed numbers of citizens, and promoted the dignity of the
sanctuary, and of their country. They erected and restored
many noble edifices, and decorated with paintings a far greater

CARDINAL FEDERIGO. 500

number both in and beyond the city, insomuch as to make it
observed that Milan was no less indebted to the Borromei
than Florence to her Medici, or Mantua to her Gonzaghi.
The Oar. Federigo, who received his education first at
Bologna, then at Rome, not only possessed a decided incli-
nation but a taste for the fine arts ; and he also enjoyed a
longer and more tranquil pontificate than Carlo, so as to
enable him to afford them superior patronage. Not satisfied
with employing the ablest architects, sculptors, and painters
in public works, he rekindled, as it were, the spark that yet
survived of Vinci's academy, instituting, with much care and
expense, a new academy of the fine arts. He provided it
with schools, with casts, and a very choice picture-gallery,*
for the benefit of the young students, taking advantage of the
plan Lnd rules of the Roman academy, founded a few years
before with his co-operation. The grand colossal figure of
S. Carlo reflects equal honour on the new school and on its
founder, being executed in bronze from the design of Cerani,
and exhibited at Arona, the place where the saint was born ;
a statue fourteen times the height of the human figure, and
vieing with the grandest productions of Greek or Egyptian
statuary. In painting, however, to say the truth, the new
is not equal to the ancient school, though by no means
deficient in fine artists, as we shall shew. Meanwhile we
must resume the thread of our history, and explain how the
Milanese, being reduced to very few artists, while painters
were much in request for the ornament of churches and other
public edifices, greatly on the increase, were superseded by
foreign artists, such as the Campi, the Semini, the Procaccini,

* Be was one of the first in Italy who collected paintings of the
Flemish school, which was then fast rising into reputation. His agree-
ment n'ith Gio. Brenghel still exists, who painted for the academic col-
lection at Milan the Four Elements, pictures very often repeated, of
which copies are to be seen in the royal gallery at Florence, in the Melzi
collection at Milan, and in several at Rome. The artist, who had great
skill in drawing flowers, fruits, herbs, birds, and animals, of which he
formed copious and beautiful compositions, displayed a grand variety in
these, and was no less admirable in his high finish, in the clearness of his
colour;, and in other qualities which acquired him the esteem of the
greatest artists, among whom Rubens was one who availed himself of his
talents for landscape, which he introduced into his own pictures.

510 SCHOOL OF MILAN. — EPOCH III.

and the Nuvoloni, who introduced new styles, while others
were sought out in foreign parts by some of the citizens of
Milan, particularly by Cerano and by Morazzone. These
became the instructors of almost all the Milanese youth, and
of the state; these commencing their labours about 1570,
which they continued until after 1600, at length rose so supe-
rior to the ancient schools, not so much in soundness of taste
and maxims, as in the amenity of their colours, as gradually
to extinguish them. Nor did they only aim at teaching new
styles ; some of them began to treat them with so much haste
as to fall into mannerism, from which period their school
began to decline and appeared to have adopted as a maxim to
praise the theory of the ancients, and to practise the haste of
the moderns. But let us return to our subject.

I mentioned, not far back, in treating of Titian's disciples,
the names of Callisto da Lodi and Gio. da Monte, and I have
here to add that of Si mono Peterzano or Preterazzano, who,
on his Pieta, at S. Fedele, inscribed himself Titiani Discipu-
lus ; and his close imitation seems to confirm its truth. He
produced also works in fresco, and particularly at S. Barnaba
several histories of St. Paul. He there appears to have aimed
at uniting the expression, the foreshortening, and the perspec-
tive of the Milanese, to the colouring of the Venetian artists ;
noble works, if they were thoroughly correct; and if the
author had been as excellent in fresco as in oil-painting.
From Venice, or rather from its senate, we trace the name
of.Cesare Dandolo, who went to settle at Milan, and whose
paintings adorn various palaces, esteemed no less for their art
than on account of the rank of the noble artist.

The Campi were among the most eager to establish them-
selves at Milan, where they were much employed, and Bernar-
dino more than the rest. He painted, likewise, in the adja-
cent cities, and it was at that period that he completed for
the Certosa, at Pavia, the before-mentioned altar-piece of
Andrea Solari, which, remaining unfinished at his death, was,
after the lapse of many years, completed in the same style by
Bernardino, so as to appear wholly from the same hand.
Unable alone to despatch his commissions, he had his cartoons
coloured by his pupils, who became, like their master, accurate,
precise, and worthy of the commendations bestowed upon

THE SEMINI. 511

them by Lomazzo. One of these was Giuseppe Meda, both
painter and architect, who represented upon an organ, in the
Metro politana, the figure of David seen playing before the
ark. This work is cited by Orlandi, under the name of
Carlo Meda, who, perhaps belonged to the family of the
preceding, and who, as stated in the dictionary, appears
younger. Few of his other pictures are to be seen, as is
observed by Scannelli. Another was Daniello Cunio, of
Milan, who became a landscape painter of great merit ; per-
haps a brother, or other relation of the same Ridolfo Cunio,
who u met with in several Milanese collections, and is parti-
cularly celebrated for his design. The third was Carlo Urbini
da Crema, one of the least celebrated but most deserving
artists of his age, and one whom we have commemorated
elsewl ere. Lamo observes, that Bernardino had a vast num-
ber of scholars and assistants, and from his account, we are
here eaabled to add the names of Andrea da Viadana, Giuli-
ano or Giulio de' Capitani, of Lodi, and Andrea Marliano, of
Pavia. Perhaps, also, Andrea Pellini belongs to this list,
who, though unknown in his native city of Cremona, is cele-
brated at Milan for his Descent from the Cross, placed at
S. Eur-torgio, in 1595.

Of :i later date, appeared at Milan the two Semini, from
Genoa ; both of whom were much employed, and both dis-
ciples of the Roman more than any other style. Ottavio, the
eldest, instructed Paol Camillo Landriani, called II Duchino,
who ^ as justly praised in the Tempio of Lomazzo as a youth
of the greatest promise. He subsequently produced a number
of alta r-pieces, among which was a Nativity at S. Ambrogio,
in which, to the design and elegance of his master, he unites
perhaps a greater degree of softness. The professors hitherto
described do not reach the era of the art's decline, except,
possibly, in their extreme old age; insomuch as to be fully
worthy of the praise I bestow.

The artists, however, who more particularly employed them-
selves in painting and teaching at Milan during this period,
were tie Procaccini of Bologna. Though not mentioned by
Lomazzo in his Treatise, in the year 1584, they are afterwards,
in 1590, recorded with much honour in his Tempio ; so that we
may ii.fer that they became celebrated during the intervening

512 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH III.

period at Milan, where they afterwards established themselves in
1 609. Ercole is at the head of this family, whom Orlandi, follow-
ing Mai vasia, represents in a military manner, as having lost the
field at Bologna, where he could no longer " make head against
the Samacchini, the Cesi, the Sabbatini, the Passarotti, theFon-
tana, the Caracci, though he afterwards encountered the Figini,
the Luini, the Cerani, and the Morazzoni, at Milan." I am
at a loss how to verify such an assertion. Ercole was born in
1520, as I gathered from a MS. of P. Resta, in the Ambrosian
library ; and in 1590, when the " Temple of Painting" first
issued from the press, he was very old, nor did he ever exhibit
any of his pictures in public at Milan, so that Lomazzo ought
to have sought subjects for commendation of him from Parma,
and more particularly Bologna. Many of his works still re-
main there, from which we may decide whether Malyasia and
Baldinucci had more reason to represent him as an artist of
mediocrity, or Lomazzo to entitle him a very successful imi-
tator of the great Correggio's colouring, as well as of his grace
and beauty. In my own opinion he appears somewhat minute
in design, and feeble in his colouring, resembling the tone of
the Florentines ; a thing so common among his contemporaries,
that I know not why it should be made a peculiar reproach to
him. For the rest he is more pleasing, accurate, and exact,
than most artists of his age ; and possibly his over-diligence
acted as an obstacle to him in a city where the rapid Fontana
bore the chief sway. But this quality, besides exempting him
from the mannerism then beginning to prevail, rendered him
an excellent preceptor ; whose principal duty is found to con-
sist in checking the impatience of young artists, and accustom-
ing them to precision and delicacy of taste. Thus many-
excellent pupils sprung from his school, such as Samacchini,
Sabbatini, and Bertoia. He instructed also his three sons,
Camillo, Giulio Cesare, and Carlo Antonio, from which last
sprung Ercole the younger ; all masters of young Milanese
artists, and of whom it will be our business to treat in suc-
cession.

Camillo is the only one of the three who was known to
Lomazzo, who describes him as an artist distinguished both for
his design and his colouring. He received his first instructions
from his father, and often displays a resemblance in his heads,

PAOL CAMILLO LANDRIANI. 513

and n the distribution of his tints ; though, where he painted
with care, he both warmed and broke them, as well as employed
the middle colours, in a superior manner. He studied other
schools, and if we are to believe some of his biographers, he
practised at Rome from the models of Raffaello and Michel-
angelo, besides being passionately devoted to the heads of
Parmigianino, an imitation of which is perceptible in all his
works. He possessed wonderful facility both in conception
and execution ; added to nature, beauty and spirit, always
attractive to the eye, though they do not always satisfy the
judgment. Nor is this surprising, as he early threw off the
reign of paternal instruction, and executed works enough to
have employed ten artists at Bologna, at Ravenna, Reggio, Pia-
cenza,Pavia, and Genoa. He was by many called the Vasari,
and the Zuccaro of Lombardy ; although, to say truth, he sur-
passe s them in sweetness of style and of colours. He was parti-
cularly engaged at Milan, a city which boasts some of his best
productions, by which he obtained reputation there ; and many
of his worst, with which he satisfied those who valued his
name. Of his earliest works there, and the most free from
mannerism, are those adorning the exterior of the organ at the
Metropolitana, along with various mysteries of our Lady, and
two histories of David playing upon his harp ; all described
very minutely by Malvasia. But he produced nothing in
Milan equal to his Judgment at S. Procol di Reggio, esteem-
ed ore of the finest specimens of fresco in all Lombardy ; and
to his S. Rocco among the sick and dying of the plague, a
picture that intimidated Annibal Caracci, when he had to paint
a companion for it (see Malvasia, p. 466). The pictures pro-
duced by Camillo, in the cathedral of Piacenza, where the
duke of Parma had placed him in competition with Lodovico
Caracci, whose genius was then mature, are well and carefully
executed. He there represented our Lady crowned Queen of
the Universe by the Almighty, surrounded with a very full
choir of angels, in whose forms he displayed the most finished
beauty. It was the part of Lodovico to represent other angels
around; and opposite to the Coronation the Padri del Limbo.
The iirst occupied the most distinguished place in the tribune ;
though both then and now he was esteemed by spectators the
least worthy of the two. However advantageously he there

TOL. II. 2 L

514 SCUOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH III.

appears, and entitled to the applause of Girupeno and other
historians, as well as travellers, he at the same time loses a
portion of his consequence at the side of Caracci, who, by the
novelty of his ideas, the natural expression of his countenances,
of his attitudes, and of his symbols, especially in those angels
opposed to the more common conceptions of his rival, makes
the monotony and weakness of Procaccini the more remarkable.
Caracci's superior dignity, likewise, in his figures of the patri-
archs, throws that of Camillo's Divinity into the shade. They
also executed some histories of the Madonna, placed opposite
each other ; and almost bearing the same proportion as we
have already mentioned. But as the Caracci were few, Pro-
caccini for the most part triumphed over his competitors. He
is even now well received in the collections of the great, and
our own prince has recently obtained one of his Assumptions,
with Apostles surrounding the tomb of Jesus, a picture full of
variety, and in a grand manner.

Giulio Cesare, the best of the Procaccini, at first devoted
himself to sculpture with success, subsequently attaching him-
self to painting, as to a less laborious and more pleasing art.
He frequented the Caracci Academy at Bologna ; and it is
said, that taking offence at some satirical observations of
Annibal's, he struck, and even wounded him. His French
biographer states Giulio's birth to have occurred in 1548,
though he postpones this quarrel until 1609, in which year
the Procaccini established themselves at Milan. It must have
occurred, however, much earlier, as in 1609 Giulio was a
renowned painter, while Annibal was in his decline, Giulio
Cesare's studies were directed to the models of Correggio, anrl
it is the opinion of many, that no one approached nearer to
the grand style of that artist. In his small pictures, with few
figures, in which imitation is more easy, he has often been
mistaken for his original, though his elegance cannot boast
the same clear and native tone, nor his colours the same rich
and vigorous handling. One of his Madonnas, at S. Luigi
de' Francesi, at Rome, was, in fact, engraved not long since
for a work of Allegri, by an excellent artist ; and there are
other equally fine imitations in the Sanvitali Palace, in
Parma ; in that of the Careghi, in Genoa, and other places.
Among his numerous altar-pieces, the one I have seen,

GIULIO CESARE. 515

which displays most of the Correggio manner, is at S. Afra, in
Breccia. It represents the Virgin and Child, surrounded with
somo figures of angels and saints, which are seen gazing and
smil ng upon him. He has perhaps, indeed, gone somewhat
beyond the limits of propriety, in order to attain more grace,
which is the case with his Nunziata, at S. Antonio, in Milan ;
in which the Holy Yirgin and angel are seen smiling at each
other, a circumstance hardly compatible either with the time
or the mystery. In his attitudes, also, he was occasionally
guilty of extravagance, as in his Martyrdom of S. Nazario,
in the church of that name, a picture attractive by its har-
mony and its grace, though the figure of the executioner is in
too forced a position. Giulio left many very large histories,
such as his Passage of the Red Sea, at S. Vittore, in Milan ;
and more in Genoa, where Soprani has pointed them out.
Wh^t is surprising, in so vast a number of his pieces, is the
accuracy of his design, the variety of his ideas, and his dili-
gence both in his naked and dressed parts, combined at the
sam€' time with a grandeur, which, if I mistake not, he
derived from the Caracci. In the Sacristy of S. Maria, at
Saroao, is his picture of Saints Andrea, Carlo, and Ambrogio,
displaying the most dignified character of their school; if,
indeed, we are not to suppose, that in common with the
Caracci, he acquired it from those magnificent models of the
art at Parma.

To these two may be added Carlantonio Procaccini, not as
a figure, but a good landscape painter, and a tolerable hand in
drawing fruits and flowers. He produced a variety of pieces
for the Milanese gallery, which happening to please the
court, then one of the branches of Spain, he had frequent
commissions from that country, insomuch that he rose, though
the weakest of the family, into the highest repute.

The Procaccini opened schools at Milan, where they obtained
fhe reputation of kind and able masters, educating, both for
the city and state, so great a number of artists, that it would
be neither possible nor useful to comprise them all in a his-
tory. They could boast among them some inventors of a new
style, the same as the disciples of the Caracci ; though most
of tl tern aimed at observing the manner of their masters ;
jsome maintaining it by their accuracy, and others injuring it
2 L 2

516 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH III.

by their over haste. We reserve the series of them, however,
to the last epoch, in order not to disperse the same school
through different parts.

The last of the foreigners who then gave instructions at
Milan, was Panfilo Nuvolone, a noble Cremonese, of whose
style we treated at length in the list of the Cav. Trotti'a
disciples. He was a diligent rather than an imaginative
artist, and produced no works of any extent at Milan, except
for the nunneries of Saints Domenico and Lazzaro, where he
painted in the ceiling the history of Lazarus and the Rich
Man, with true pictoric splendour ; which is no less apparent
in his Assumption of the Virgin, in the cupola of the Passione.
In his altar-pieces, and histories executed for the ducal gallery
at Parma, he aimed rather at perfecting than at multiplying
his figures. He instructed his four sons, two of whom are
unknown in the history of the art, and the two others are fre-
quently mentioned by different illustrators of the paintings of
Milan, of Piacenza, of Parma, and of Brescia : where they
are also surnamed, from their father, the Panfili. "We shall,
however, treat of them more particularly in the age during
which they flourished.

Fede Galizia introduced another foreign style into Milan, a
female artist, who, according to Orlandi, was a native of
Trent. Her father, Annunzio, was a celebrated miniaturist,
born at the same place, and a resident at Milan, and from him
perhaps she acquired that taste for accurary and finish of hand,
no less remarkable in her figures than in her landscapes ; in
other points more similar to the Bolognese predecessors of the
Caracci, than to any other school. There are some specimens
of her style in foreign collections. One of her best-studied
pictures is seen at S. Maria Maddalena, where she painted the
titular saint, with the figure of Christ in the dress of a
gardener.* This lady has been criticised by the excellent
author of the Guide, for her too great study of the ideal,
which she aimed at introducing both into her design and
colouring, at the expense of nature and of truth, a practice
pretty much in vogue at that period in Italy. About the
same time, one Orazio Yaiano was employed a good deal at

* This picture is now in the I. R. Pinacoteca at Milan. — A.

FEDERIGO ZUCCARI. 517

Mil; in, where lie long resided, called II Fiorentino from his
extraction. He, in some way, came to be confounded, in
some of his pictures, with the elder Palma, as we are informed
by Orlandi ; but how, it is difficult to say. The specimens of
his composition at S. Carlo and at S. Antonio Abate, are
judicious and diligent, though somewhat feeble in point of
colouring ; and in the distribution of their lights much resem-
bling the tone of Roncalli. He likewise visited Genoa ; but
neither he nor Galizia, as I am aware, left any pupils at
Milan. The same may be said of the two Carloni, noble
fresco-painters belonging to Genoa, and of Valerio Profonda-
valh', from Lovanio, who painted glass, as well as in oil
and in fresco, for all which he had frequent commissions at
court.

We ought here to add the name of Federigo Zuccari, an
artist invited by the Card. Federigo Borromeo to take up his
residence at Milan, where, as well as at Pavia, he painted, as
we have mentioned (at p. 412, vol. i.). I am indebted to
the polite and kind attention of Sig. Bernardo Gattoni, chap-
lain and rector of the other Borromean college at Pavia, for
correcting an error into which I had fallen, from following the
local tradition rather than the written authority of the same
Zuccheri, in his " Passaggio per 1'Italia," a very rare work,
and which I had not seen at that time. In it are described
•the pictures of the Borromean college at Pavia; and it
appears, that Zuccari produced no other besides the principal
picture, that of S. Carlo, who is seen in the consistory in the
act of receiving the cardinal's hat; the rest being from the
hand of Cesare Nebbia, who flourished at the same period.
In order to have them retouched at leisure, while they were
left to dry, the cardinal Federigo despatched the two artists
to visit the sacred mount of Varallo, whence they passed to
Aroaa, and next to the Isola Bella, situated upon the Lago
Maggiore, where the cardinal joined them, and where each of
them left a work in fresco, upon two pilasters of the chapel at
that place. There has since been found in the archives of the
college, an original letter of the cardinal, in which he recom-
mends to the then rector, that Nebbia should be received into
ihe college, and the sums of money disbursed to both entered
in the books of account.

518 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH III.

Proceeding next to those artists who studied at other places,
I shall briefly mention Ricci of Novara, with Paroni and
Nappi of Milan, not omitting others of the same place, com-
memorated in the Lives of Baglioni. Residing at Rome, they
in no way contributed to the fame of their native school,
neither by their pupils, nor their example ; and even at Rome,
they may be said to have added rather to the number of
paintings than to the decoration of the city. Ricci was a
fresco-painter, very well adapted to the hasty temper of
Sixtus V., whose works he superintended, and promoted the
effeminate taste then so prevalent ; he possessed much facility
and beauty of forms. Paroni pursued the manner of Cara-
vaggio, but his career was short. Nappi displays great
variety ; and when he painted in his Lombard manner, such
as in his Assumption, at the cloister of the Minerva, with
other pieces at the Umilta, he shewed himself a naturalist far
more pleasing than the mannerists of his time.

There flourished likewise, for a few years, at Rome, the Cav.
Pier Francesco Mazzuchelli, called from his birthplace Moraz-
zone. After practising there for a period, from all the best
models, which influenced both his mind and his productions,
he directed his attention to the Milanese school, in which he
taught and succeeded beyond all example, in improving his own
style. It will be sufficient to compare his picture of the Epi-
phany which he painted in fresco for one of the chapels of
S. Silvestro, in capite, which boasts no beauty beyond that of
colouring ; and his other Epiphany, placed at S. Antonio
Abate, at Milan, which appears like the production of another
hand ; such are the superiority of the design, the effect,
and the display of drapery, in the manner of the Venetians.
He is said to have studied Titian and Paul Veronese;
and some of his angels are painted with arms and legs,
in those long proportions that are not the best characteristics
of Tintoretto. In general, the genius of Morazzone was not
adapted for the graceful, but for the strong and magnificent ;
as appears in his S. Michael's Conquest over the bad Angels,
at S. Gio. di Como, and in the chapel of the Flagellazione, at
Varese. In 1626 he was invited to Piacenza, to paint the
grand cupola of the cathedral, a work which was left very
incomplete by his death, and bestowed upon Guercino. He

GIO. BATISTA CRESPI. 519

had drawn the figures of two prophets, which in any other
place would have appeared to the greatest advantage, but
there they are thrown into the shade by those of his suc-
cessor, that magician of his art, who threw into it the whole
enchantment of which he was capable. Morazzone was em-
ployed for different collections, no less than for churches, and
received a number of commissions from Cardinal Federigo,
and the king of Sardinia, from which last he received his title
of c-ivalier.

Contemporary with him nourished Gio. Batista Crespi,
better known by the name of Cerano, his native place, a small
tow a in the Novarese. Sprung from a family of artists, which
left specimens of its genius at S. Maria di Busto, where his
grandfather Gio. Piero, and Raffaello, his father or uncle
(lam not certain which), had been employed. He studied at
Roue and at Venice, uniting to that of painting great know-
ledge in the art of modelling, as well as in architecture ;
being, moreover, distinguished for good taste in literature and
for polite accomplishments. With such qualifications, he took
the lead at the court of Milan, from which he received a
salary; no less than in the great undertakings of the Card.
Federigo, and the direction of the academy. Not to dwell upon
the buildings, statues, and bassi-rilievi, which he either de-
sigied or executed, but which are less connected with my
subject, he painted a great number of altar-pieces, in which
he :it once exhibited, if I mistake not, great excellences and
great defects.* He is invariably free, spirited, and harmo-
nious ; but he frequently, from too great affectation of grace
or of magnificence, falls into a degree of mannerism, as in
some of his histories at the Pace, where his naked figures are
hea vy, and the attitudes of others too extravagant. In his
two other subjects these defects are less apparent ; but he has
overloaded his shadows. In the greater part of his works,
notwithstanding, the correct and the beautiful so far abound,

* Cerano, in addition to the design, executed the model, and directed
the artistic labours of the grand colossus of S. Carlo sopra Arona. The
cartoon of this monument is in the Ambrosian library. He produced
also highly-valued works in architecture and sculpture ; among others,
the facade, in Milan, the side structure of St. Paul's, the principal open-
ing of the dome, with the richly -sculptured ornaments.

520 SCHOOL OF MILAN. — EPOCH III.

as to shew that he was one of the first masters of his school.
Thus in his Baptism of S. Agostino, painted for S. Marco, he
rivals Giulio Cesare Procaccini, whose productions are placed
opposite, and in the opinion of some he surpasses him. Another
instance occurs in his altar-piece of Saints Carlo and Ambrogio,
and Santo Paolo, where, in taste of colouring at least, he sur-
passes the Campi ; and a third in his celebrated picture of the
Rosario, at S. Lazzaro, which casts into shade the fine
fresco-painting of Nuvoloni. He was particularly skilled in
drawing birds and quadrupeds, of which he composed pictures
for private ornament, as we gather from Soprani in his Life of
Sinibaldo Scorza. He educated many pupils, whom we shall
reserve for an inferior epoch, excepting Daniele Crespi of
Milan, who, on account of his worth, and the period in which
he flourished, ought not to be separated from his master.*

Daniele is one among those distinguished Italians who are
hardly known beyond their native place. He possessed, how-
ever, rare genius, and, instructed by Cerano, and afterwards
by the best of the Procaccini, undoubtedly surpassed the first,
and in the opinion of many likewise the second, though he
did not live to reach the age of forty. He had great pene-
tration in learning, and equal facility in executing, selecting
the best part of every master he studied, and knowing how
to reject the worst. Familiar with the maxims of the Caracci
school, even without frequenting it, he adopted and practised
them with success. He shews this in his distribution of
colours, and in the varied expression of his countenances ;
select and careful in disposing them according to the prevail-
ing passions of the mind ; and above all, admirable in catch-
ing the beautiful and devotional spirit that ought to inspire
the heads of saints. In the distribution of his figures he at
once observes a natural and well-judged order, so that no one
would wish to behold them placed otherwise than they
are. Their drapery is finely varied, and very splendid in the
more imposing characters of the piece. His colouring is ex-
tremely powerful, no less in oil than in fresco ; and in the

* Daniele Crespi's master, according to tradition, was the Cav. Ver-
miglio, and his style demonstrates it ; and as regards the best of the
Procaccini, cited by Lanzi as another instructor, there is reason to con-
clude that Crespi was rather a rival than a pupil of the latter. — A.

DAN1ELE CRESPI. 521

highly ornamented church of La Passione, for which he painted
his grand Descent from the Cross, he left many portraits of
distinguished cardinals, all composed in the best Titian taste.
He is indeed one of those rare geniuses who delight in being
constant rivals of themselves, calling forth their highest ener-
gies in each production, in order that they may in some way
surp iss the last ; geniuses, who know how to correct in their
later paintings the errors they committed in their first, ex-
hibiting in them the full maturity of those excellences which
they discovered in their early attempts. His last pieces, con-
sisting of acts from the life of S. Brunone, at the Certosa, in
Milan, are of all the most admired. That of the Dottor Pari-
gino is more particularly celebrated, in which having raised
himself on his bier, he declares his state of reprobation. What
desperation he exhibits ! what horror in the faces of the be-
holders ! Nor is that of the Duke of Calabria less excellent,
where, in going to the chase, he meets with the holy hermit,
a picture upon which the artist inscribed, Daniel Crispus
Mediolanensis pinxit hoc templum. A n. 1629. This was the
year before his death, as he was unhappily cut off by the
plague of 1530, together with his whole family.

\Ve may here add, as a sort of corollary to the foregoing,
the names of some other artists who displayed great merit,
though it is uncertain of what school. Such is Gio. Batista
Taritlio, by whom there was an altar-piece with the date of
157r>, painted for the now suppressed church of S. Martino in
Com pi to. There are some pictures by another native of Milan,
named Ranuzio Prata, at Pavia. These I have not seen ;
they are, however, greatly commended by others. He flou-
rished about 1635. The Novarese also boasted at that period
two artists who were brothers, both of whom coloured in
pretty good taste. These were Antonio and Gio. Melchiore
Tanzi, the former a very able designer, who competed with
Carioni at Milan, distinguished himself at Varallo, and
painted at S. Gaudenzio di Novara the Battle of Sennacherib,
a work full of spirit and intelligence. There are likewise
other of his works preserved in the galleries of Vienna, of
Ver ice, and of Naples, representing both histories and per-
spectives ; but of his brother there is nothing remaining of
any great degree of merit.

522

SCHOOL OF MILAN.

EPOCH IV.

The Art continues to decline after the time of Daniele Crespi. A third
Academy is founded with a view of improving it.

WE now approach the last epoch, which may be truly entitled
the decline of this school. I recollect hearing the opinion of
a good judge, that Daniele Crespi might be called the last of
the Milanese, just as in another sense Cato was pronounced
ultimus Romanorum. The observation is correct, so far as it
applies to certain geniuses superior to the common lot, but
false if we should extend it to the exclusion of every artist of
merit from the period which it embraces. It Avould be
injustice to the names of Nuvoloni and Cairo, and several
others who flourished in an age nearer our own. But in the
same way as Cassiodorus and some other writers are unsuffi-
cient to remove the stain of barbarism from their age, so the
artists we treat of cannot redeem theirs from the stigma of its
decline. It is the majority which invariably gives a tone to
the times ; and he who may have seen Milan and its state
would be at no loss to remark, that after the introduction of
the Procaccini school, design was more than ever neglected,
and mechanical practice succeeded to reason and taste.
Artists, after the visitation of the plague, had become more
rare ; and subsequent to the death of the Cardinal Borromeo,
in 1631, they became less united, insomuch that the academy
founded by him remained closed during twenty years ; and if
by the exertions of Antonio Busca it was then re-opened, still
it never afterwards produced works similar to those of other
times. Whether owing to the manner of teaching, to the
want of its great patron, or to the abundance of commissions
and the kindness of those who gave them, which urged young

INFERIOR ARTISTS. 523

artists prematurely to make abortive efforts ; no school per-
haps, on the loss of its great masters, was filled with so great
a number of inferior and bad ones. I shall not give much
account of them, yet must not omit such names as have
attained to some consideration. In general it may be remarked
of the artists of this epoch, that though the pupils of different
schools, they display a mutual resemblance, as much as if they
had been instructed by the same master. They possess no
character that strikes the eye, no beauty of proportions, no
vivacity of countenance, no grace in their colouring. Their
whole composition appears languid, even their imitation of the
head of the school does not please, as it is either deficient, or
over- lone, or falls into insignificance. In their choice 01
colours we detect a certain resemblance to the Bol'ognese
school, to which their guides were not very much opposed,
though we often perceive that sombre cast which then prevailed
in nearly all the other schools.

To this uniformity of style in Milan, Ercole Procaccini the
youcger most probably contributed, an artist in whom an
unprajudiced critic will be at no loss to detect the character
we have described. But in his more studied works, as we
find in an Assumption, at S. M. Maggiore, in Bergamo, he
exhibits dignity, spirit, and a happy imitation of the Correg-
gio nanner. He received his first instructions from his father
Carlantonio, and next from Giulio Cesare, his paternal uncle.
It is known that by public report, by his insinuating manners,
and by the family reputation, he arrived at a degree of con-
sideration beyond his merit, and lived till he reached the age
of e;ghty. Hence he induced many to follow his maxims,
and the more as he kept an open academy for the study of the
naked figure at his own house, and succeeded his uncles in
their instructions ; equal to them perhaps in rapidity, but not
so well grounded in the art. He painted much; and in the
best collections in Milan, if he is not in as much request as
man y others, he yet maintains his place.

Two young artists educated in his school reflected credit
upoi i it ; Carlo Vimercati, who owed his success to the most
pert nacious study of Daniele's works at the Certosa, which
he (] aily visited for a long period while at Milan, and Antonio

524 SCHOOL OP MILAN. EPOCH IV.

Busca, who likewise employed his talents upon the best models
both at Milan and Rome. Vimercati exhibited few of his
pictures in public at Milan ; he painted more at Codogno,
and in his best manner, as well as in a new one in which
he was greatly inferior. Busca assisted his master, and at
S. Marco also was employed in competition with him. There,
placed opposite to some histories by Procaccini, is seen his
picture of the Crucifixion, full of pious beauty, surrounded
with figures of the Virgin, of Mary Magdalen, and S. John,
who are all weeping, and almost draw tears from the eyes of
the spectator. But he did not always succeed as in this speci-
men ; the gout deprived him of the use of his feet, and he fell
into a weak and abject style, the result of mere mechanic
practice. In this state of health, I imagine, he must have
conducted two holy histories, placed opposite each other, in
the chapel of S. Siro at the Certosa in Pavia, in which he
idly repeated in the second the same features as distinguished
the first, so greatly is an artist sometimes in contradiction with
himself. A similar complaint might be alleged, for a different
reason, in regard to the style of Cristoforo Storer, a native of
Constance. A pupil to the same Ercole, he also produced
works of solid taste, as in the instance of his S. Martino,
which I saw in possession of the Ab. Bianconi, a picture
much valued by its intelligent owner. Subsequently he
became a mannerist, and not unfrequently adopted gross or
common ideas. In other points he displays much spirit, and
is one of the few belonging to that age who may lay claim to
the title of a good colourist. I am uncertain whether Gio.
Ens, of Milan, sprung from the same school, as well as at what
precise time he flourished ; I know that he was an artist of
less talent, whose delicacy often bordered upon weakness, as
we may perceive at S. Marco in Milan. Lodovico Antonio
David of Lugano, a scholar of Ercole, of Cairo, and of Cig-
nani, resided at Rome. There he produced some portraits,
and at one period made the tour of Italy. The city of Venice
possesses one of his Nativities at S. Silvestro, conducted in a
minute manner, that betrays a disciple of Camillo more than
of any other of the Procaccini. He wrote too upon painting,
and compiled some account of Correggio, for which the reader

CAV. FEDERIGO BIANCHI. 525

may consult Orlandi under the head of that artist,* or perhaps
in preference, Tiraboschi, in his life of him.

Next to the nephew of the best Procaccini, I may place the
son-in-law of one of the others. This is the Cav. Federigo
Bianehi, on whom, after affording him his instructions, Giulio
Cesare bestowed the hand of one of his daughters. He
derived from his father-in-law his maxims, rather than his
forms and attitudes, which display an original air in Bianchi,
and are at once graceful and beautiful without affectation.
Some of his Holy Families at S. Stefano and at the Passione
are held in much esteem, besides some of his other pictures
exhibiting few, but well-conceived figures. Such is that of a
Visitazione at S. Lorenzo, every way creditable to one of the-
favourite pupils of Giulio Cesare. He was not distinguished
in compositions of a grander character; but he was full of
ideas, united to harmony and good-keeping, and altogether one
of the first Milanese artists in the present age.f He was
much employed in Piedmont, and we are indebted to him for
notices of many artists which he communicated to P. Orlandi,
by whom they were made public. This artist is not to be
confounded with one Francesco Bianchi, a friend and almost
inseparable companion of Antonmaria Ruggieri. They painted
together for the most part in fresco, and without the least
dispute consented to share all the emoluments, all the praise
and blame they might receive. They belong to the present
age, to which they have bequeathed a more noble example of
mutual attachment than of the art they professed.

The greater part of the Procaccini disciples sprung from the
school of Camillo. He had likewise taught at Bologna,
though his only pupil known there is Lorenzo Franco, who,
with his instructions, afterwards became an excellent imitator
of the Caracci. In the opinion of P. Resta, however, his
style was somewhat too minute ; this artist resided and died

1 * In the additions to the Dictionary, made by Guarienti, following the
article Orlandi, we find Lodovico David of Lugano, of whose pencil he
could only trace the picture at S. Silvestro in Venice. This is one of the
mistakes committed by this continuator.

f l^ederico Bianchi, called II Crespino, employed his pencil in the ser-
vice of the Car. Fred. Borromeo ; and in the Ambrosiana, we admire
amon^ his classical productions the half-length figures forming the Supper
of Lionardo to the Graces. — A.

526 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH IV.

at Reggio. The school of Caraillo at Milan was always full,
and no one reflected upon it greater credit than Andrea Sal-
meggia of Bergamo, of whom we treated in the preceding
book. Becoming a follower of Rafiaello at Rome, he oc-
casionally returned to his native place, where he attracted
admiration by his productions. Like the rest, Gio. Batista
Discepoli, called Zoppo di Lugano, was at one time the disci-
ple of Camillo, but afterwards added much of other styles,
and was one of the most natural, powerful, and rich colourists
of his time. For the rest he is to be included in the rank of
the naturalists, rather than among the lovers of the ideal.
Several of his pictures are at Milan, in particular that of his
Purgatorio at S. Carlo, executed with much skill ; and he
painted a good deal for his native place and its confines, as
well as at Como, where he ornamented Santa Teresa with a
picture of the titular saint, with lateral squares, esteemed one
of the best altar-pieces belonging to the city.* Carlo Cor-
nara acquired equal reputation, though in an opposite style.
He produced few works, but all conducted with an exquisite
degree of taste, peculiarly his own, which renders them
valuable in collections.f One of his best altar-pieces was
painted for S. Benedetto, at the Certosa, in Pavia, a picture
now much defaced by time, and there are a few others com-
pleted by one of his daughters after his death, who added to
them some original pieces of her own.

Giovanni Mauro Rovere, an artist who exchanged the man-
ner of Camillo for that of Giulio Cesare, was among the
earliest followers of the Procaccini, and might be referred to
their epoch from the period in which he flourished, did not his
inferior character, arising from too great rapidity of hand,
prevent his admission into the same rank. He had all that
fire, which, when directed with judgment, is the soul of paint-
ing, but when abused destroys the beauty of the art. It was
very seldom that he was able to command it, though, in a

* If the " Presentation of the Wise Men," at the I. R. Pinacoteca,
be examined, the connoisseur will be better enabled to appreciate the
judgment of the author. — A.

t In Cornara, we recognise an imitator of Correggio; but whether
from his making use of dark grounds, or from employing too little colour,
his paintings are weak and pallid. — A.

THE TWO NUVOLONI. 527

Hupper of our Lord, at S. Angelo, in which he used great
care, he obtained corresponding success. He had two brothers,
named Giambatista and Marco, who assisted him in his labours
both for churches and private houses, both of whom were
inaccurate but spirited. They have left works in fresco,
besides some histories in oil, perspectives, battle-pieces, and
landscapes, to be met with in almost every corner of the city.
I find that they were also surnamed Rossetti, and still better
knoY/n under the name of Fiamminghini, derived from their
father Ricardo, who came from Flanders to establish himself
at Milan.

To these three Rossetti, succeeded the three Santagostini,
of wbom the first, named Giacomo Antonio, was pupil to Carlo
Procaccini. He gave few pieces to the public, though his sons
Agostino and Giacinto were more indefatigable, both con-
jointly, as we may gather from their two grand histories at
S. Fedele, and separately. They were distinguished above
most of their contemporaries, more especially Agostino. He
was the first who wrote a. little work upon the paintings of
Milan; it was entitled " L'Immortalita e Glorie del Pen-
nellc," and published in 1671. Whatever rank a book with
such a title ought to assume among the writers of the age, it is
certs in that his pictures exhibit him in the light of a good
paimer for his time, in particular a Holy Family, painted for
S. Alessandro, and a few others among the more highly
finished, in which he displays expression, beauty, and har-
mony, although somewhat too minute. The names of Ossana,
Biffi. Ciocca, Ciniselli, with others still less celebrated at
Mila n, I may venture to pass over without much loss to this
history.

The two Nuvoloui, not long since mentioned, though in-
structed by their father, may be said, in some way, to belong
to tie Procaccini. Thus Carlo Francesco, the elder, early
adopted the manner of Giulio Cesare; and in Giuseppe we
everywhere trace a composition and colouring derived from
that school. The former, however, impelled by his genius,
became a follower of Guido, and so far succeeded as to deserve
the i ame, which he still enjoys, of the Guido of Lombardy.
He does not abound in figures, but in these he is pleasing and
graceful, elegant in his forms and the turn and air of his heads,

528 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH IV.

united to a sweetness and harmony of tints which are seldom-
met with. I saw one of his heads at S. Vittore, where he
drew the Miracle of St. Peter over the Porta Speciosa, and
many other pieces at Milan, Parma, Cremona, Piacenza, and
Como, in the same excellent taste. This artist was selected
to take the portrait of the queen of Spain when she visited
Milan ; and there still appear in private houses those of many
noble individuals who employed him. The faces of his Ma-
donnas are in high request for collections, one of which is in
the possession of the-Conti del Verme, displaying all the grace
and beauty so peculiar to him, and which he has here perhaps
indulged at the expense of that dignity which should never be
lost sight of. Orlandi gives an account of his devotional exer-
cises, which he always performed previous to his painting the
portraits of the Virgin. I know not what opinion may be
formed upon this point, either by his or my readers. For my
own part I indulge the same peculiar admiration of this artist.
in the rank of painters, as I do of Justus Lipsius among lite-
rary men, who though both seculars, always observed great
filial piety towards our Holy Lady ; a piety that has descended
from the earliest fathers of the church, in a regular line, down
to the elect of our own times. His younger brother painted on
a much larger scale ; boasted more pictoric fire and more fancy ;
but he did not always display equal taste, nor was exempt
from harsh and sombre shadows that detract from his worth.
He was more indefatigable than Carlo, painting not only for-
th e cities' of Lombardy above mentioned, but for the state of
Venice, and many churches in Brescia. His pictures at S.
Domenico in Cremona, in particular his grand piece of the
Dead Man raised by the saint, adorned with beautiful archi-
tecture, and animated with the most natural expression, are
among some of his best works. They were apparently exe-
cuted in the vigour of life, inasmuch as there are others bear-
ing traces of infirmity, he having pursued the art until his
eightieth year, in which his death occurred.

I cannot learn that he left any pupils of note. His brother,
Carlo Francesco, however, instructed Gioseffo Zanata, ex-
tremely well versed in the art, according to the opinion of
Orlandi. Under him, and subsequently under the Venetian
artista, studied likewise Federigo Panza, an artist who. began

MELCHIORRB GIRALDINI. 529

witL using strong shadows, which he improved as his genius
grew more mature. He was well employed and remunerated
by the court of Turin. Filippo Abbiati frequented the same
school, a man of wonderful talent, adapted for works on an
immense scale ; rich in ideas, and resolute in executing them.
He painted with a certain freedom, amounting to audacity,
which, however imperfect, does not fail to please, and would
have pleased much more had he been better versed in the prin-
ciples of his art. He was placed in competition with Fede-
rigo Bianchi, in the grand ceiling of S. Alessandro Martire,
and with other fine fresco-painters ; and he everywhere left
evidence of a noble genius. He appears to singular advantage
in his Preaching of S. John the Baptist at Sarono, a picture
to which is affixed his name. It has few figures, but they are
fine and varied, with strong tints, and very appropriate sha-
dows, which produce a good effect. Pietro Maggi, his disciple,
was not equal to him in genius, nor did he observe his mode-
ration and care. Giuseppe Rivola, employed for private persons
more than for the public, is also deserving of mention, his fellow-
citizons esteeming him among the best of Abbiati's pupils.

Corano, though engaged in a variety of other labours, in-
structed many pupils, and more particularly Melchiorre Giral-
dini, with success. He very happily caught the manner of
his teacher, easy, agreeable, and harmonious, but still inferior
to him in the more masterly power of his pencil. At the
Madonna at S. Celso is seen a picture of S. Caterina da Siena
by his hand, that has been greatly commended. Cerano gave
him his daughter in marriage,' and left him the whole of his
studio. He engraved in acqua-forte some minute histories
and battle-pieces in the manner of Callot, and he instructed
his rion in the same branch, whose battle-pieces have been
much prized in collections. He also taught a young artist
of Gallarate, named Carlo Cane, who, devoting himself
at it, more advanced age to the manner of Morazzone,
became a great proficient in it. He imitated with some
success his strength of colouring and his relief; in other
points he was common both in his forms and conceptions. He
painted some altars, and in the larger one of the cathedral at
Monza, there is one representing different saints, at the feet

YOL. II. 2 M

530 SCHOOL OP MILAN. — EPOCH IV.

of whom is seen the figure of a dog, which he inserted in all
his pieces, even that of Paradise, to express his name. He
observed an excellent method in his frescos, his histories of
Saints Ambrogio and Ugo, which he painted for the grand
church of the Certosa at Eavia, as well as others, still retain-
ing all their original freshness. He opened school at Milan,
and we may form an idea of the character of his pupils from
his own mediocrity. Cesare Fiori, indeed, acquired some
degree of reputation, several of whose ornamental works on a
great scale, have been made public. He too had a scholar
named Andrea Porta, who aimed at catching the manner of
Legnanino. There are others who approach the two best of
the Cerani, namely, Giuliano Pozzobonelli, an artist of good
credit, and Bartolommeo Genovesini,* by whom there remain
works possessing some degree of grandeur ; besides Gio. Ba-
tista Secchi, surnamed from his country Caravaggio, who
painted for S. Pietro in Gessato, an altar-piece of the Epi-
phany with his name.

Morazzone had to boast a numerous list of pupils, imitators,
and copyists, both at Milan and elsewhere. The Cav. Fran-
cesco Cairo reflected honour upon this school, who having
commenced his career, as is usual, by pursuing his master's
footsteps, afterwards changed his manner on meeting with
better models, which he studied at Rome and Venice. He
also worked on a great scale, and coloured with effect, united,
however, to a delicacy of hand and grace of expression, alto-
gether forming a style that surprises us by its novelty. His
pictures of the four saints, founders of the church at S. Vit-
tore, of his S. Teresa swooning with celestial love at S. Carlo,
his S. Saverio at Brera, various portraits in the Titian manner,
and other pieces, public and private, at Milan, at Turin, and
elsewhere, entitle him to rank high in the art, though he is
not always free from the reproach of sombre colouring.
Morazzone derived some credit from the two brothers Gioseffo
and Stefano Danedi, more commonly called the Montalti.
The first, after being instructed by him in the art, became

* I thus named him in the former edition, because all other writers
had so done before me, but his family name was Roverio, and his sur-
name Genovesino. See the first index.

THE BROTHERS RECCHI. 531

more refined in his taste under Guido Reni, of whose style he
efficiently partakes, as we may perceive in his Slaughter of
the Innocents at S. Sebastiano, and in his Nunziata its com-
panion. Stefano frequented no foreign schools that I know of,
though he did not wholly confine himself to Morazzone's
manner, rather aiming at refining it upon the example of his
brother, and painting with a degree of accuracy and study
that he did not find recommended by the taste of his times.
His martyrdom of S. Giustina, which he produced for S. Maria
in Pedone, forms a specimen of this refinement, while it is
moreover exempt from that cold and languid tone which
diminishes the value of his other works. One of those artists
most attached to Morazzone's style, and who nearest approaches
him in the boldness of his pencil, is the Cav. Isidore Bianchi,
otherwise called Isidoro da Campione, a better fresco than oil
painter, from what we gather at the church of S. Ambrosio at
Milan, and in others at Como. He was selected by the duke
of Savoy to complete a large hall at Rivoli, left imperfect by
tho decease of Pier Francesco. There he was declared painter
to the ducal court in 1631.

About the same period flourished at Corno, besides the
BiLstini,* the two brothers Gio. Paolo and Gio. Batista Recchi,
whose chief merit was in painting frescos, disciples likewise of
Morazzoiie. These artists decorated S. Giovanni, and other
churches of their native place, two chapels at Varese, with
others in the same vicinity. The second of them also became
eminent beyond the state, particularly at S. Carlo in Turin,
where he is placed near his master. His style is solid and
strong, his colouring forcible, and in the skill of his foreshort-
en ing on ceilings, he yields to very few of his day. Pasta, in
htt Guide for Bergamo, has deservedly praised him on this
score, when speaking of a Santa Grata, seen rising into
he.iven, a work, he observes, that is admirably delightful. In
soi ae of the chambers of the Yeneria, at Turin, he was assisted
by one Gio. Antonio, his nephew. The Milanese Guide men-
tions several other artists, apparently, judging from their style,

': Benedetto Crespi, who possessed, according to Orlandi, a manner at
•on< e strong and elegant, with Antonio Maria, his son and pupil, and
Pic tro Bianchi, to whom he left his designs, &H three called Bustini.
2 M 2

532 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH IV.

instructed by the preceding, such as Paolo Caccianiga, Tom-
inaso Forrnenti, and Giambatista Pozzi.

Whilst the Milanese school was thus hastening to its close,
and no longer afforded masters of equal promise, either to the
first or second of its series, its youth were compelled to have
recourse to richer and more genuine sources, and at this period
began to disperse in search of new styles. I omit the family
of the Cittadini, which established itself at Bologna, or to say
truth, I reserve it to its own school. Stefano Legnani, called
II Legnanino, in order to distinguish him from his father Cris-
toforo, a portrait-painter, became one of the most celebrated
artists in Lombardy towards the beginning of this century,
having studied the schools of Cignani at Bologna, and Maratta
at Rome. In either of these cities he would have been esteem-
ed one of the best disciples of these two masters, had he left
there any of his productions ; although in the course of time he
fell into a degree of mannerism. He is tasteful, sober, and
judicious in his compositions, with a certain strength and clear-
ness of colouring, not common among the disciples of Maratta.
He became famous for his fresco histories, which are seen at
S. Marco and at S. Angiolo, where there is also one of his
battles, which is won by the protection of St. James the
Apostle, which shews a pictoric fire equal to handling the most
difficult themes. He left too a variety of works in Genoa,
Turin, and Piedmont, besides his painting of the cupola at
Novara, in the church of S. Gaudenzio, than which he pro-
duced nothing more truly beautiful.

Andrea Lanzani, after receiving the instructions of Scara-
muccia, pupil to Guido, who remained for some period at
Milan, passed into the school of Maratta at Rome. But his
genius finally decided him to adopt a less placid style, and he
began to imitate Lanfranco. His best productions, as it has
been observed of others, are those which on his first return
from Rome he executed in his native place, while still fresh
from the Roman maxims and the Roman models. A proof of
this is seen in his S. Carlo Beatified, which on certain days is
exhibited along with other pictures in the capital. He painted
also a fine piece for the Ambrosian library, representing the
actions of Cardinal Federigo, in which there is a rich display

PIETRO GILARDI. 533

of imagination, of drapery, and good effect of chiaroscuro. He
is for the most part praised on account of his facility, and the
boldness of his hand. He died in Germany, after being hon-
oured with the title of Cavalier, and left no better pupil behind
him in Italy than Ottavio Parodi, who resided for a long
period at Rome, and is mentioned with commendation by
Orlandi. From Rome also, and from the school of Giro Ferri,
Ambrogio Besozzi returned to Milan, in order to study the
Cortona manner as a counterpoise to that of Maratta. But he
chiefly employed himself in ornamental, rather than historic
painting, though very able in the last as far as we may judge
from his S. Sebastian, at S. Ambrogio. He studied Pagani at
Venice, and likewise taught there, boasting the celebrated Pel-
legrini as one of his disciples. Zanetti remarks that he intro-
duced into the academies of that city a new taste of design
for the naked figure, somewhat overstrained, indeed, but of
good effect. He left there a few pieces in public, and returned
to olose his days in Lombardy. The churches and collections
of Milan abound with his pictures, and there are others in the
Dresden gallery.

Pietro Gilardi passed from his native school into that of
Bologna, and there, under Franceschini and Giangioseffo del
Sole, greatly improved himself. His style is clear, easy, har-
monious, and adapted to adorn cupolas, ceilings, and magni-
ficent walls, as appears in the refectory of S. Vittore at Milan,
where his works do him credit. At Varese he completed the
chapel of the Assumption, after the cartoons of Legnanino, who
died before it was finished ; and a few of his own works left
imperfect by death were, in their turn, continued and finished
by the Cav. Gio. Batista Sassi.

The style of this artist, who had assiduously employed him-
self under Solimene in Naples, is tolerable in regard to design.
Though he painted for several churches in Pa via, and at Milan,
he acquired most reputation from his small pictures, intended
for private ornament. I am not certain whether he introduced
into these parts those greenish tints in colouring, which, from
Naples, spread through different schools, or whether it came
by way of Turin, where one Corrado Giaquinto was employed
in drawing figures, and in painting. Such method, however,
did not here displease. Gioseffo Petrini da Carono, pupil to

534 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH IV.

Prete of Genoa, lias carried it to its highest point, while Piero
Magatti of Varese is not wholly free from it, who flourished
very recently ; both were reputed good artists according to
their time. Nor could so great a city be in want of some Ve-
netian disciples, who have distinguished themselves in our
own times ; we behold some imitations of Piazzetta, and some
of Tiepolo, in a few of the churches, it being usual with young
artists to follow living masters in lucrative practice, in prefer-
ence to the deceased, whose emoluments are past. We ought
here to insert the name of an eminent Milanese, who reflected
honour on his native state in foreign parts. This was Fran-
cesco Caccianiga, well known at Rome, though little among his
own countrymen. Having treated of him, however, in the
Roman school, I shall merely recall his memory and merits to
my readers. Neither must I omit his contemporary, Antonio
Cucchi, who remained at Milan, not as his equal, but because
be became eminent in the footsteps of the Romans, for the dili-
gence, if not for the spirit of his pencil. Nor shall I pass over
Ferdinando Porta, distinguished for a number of pictures, con-
ducted in imitation of Correggio ; an artist, however, too in-
constant and unequal to himself. These names will suffice for
the present epoch, which produced, indeed, others of some note,
but not known beyond the confines of their own state. Such
works as the Pitture d' Italia, and the Nuova Guida di
Milano, will furnish the curious with information respecting
them, until some further accounts of them be presented to the
public.

From the period, when the capital began to encourage the
foreign schools preferably to her own, the cities of the state
followed the example, in particular that of Pavia, which, during
this last century, has had to boast more professors than any
other state. Yet none of these moderns are much known
beyond the precincts of their native place. Carlo Soriani,*
however, deserved to be better known, an artist who painted
for the cathedral his picture of the Rosario, accompanied by
fifteen mysteries, an elegant production in the taste of Soiaro.
The series of the artists alluded to begins with Carlo Sacchi,
who is said by Orlandi to have been taught by Rosso of Pavia,

* He is thus called by Bartoli.

OBSCURE ARTISTS. 535-

but most probably by Carlantonio Rossi, a Milanese, who-
painted for the cathedral of Pavia his S. Siro, and two lateral
pieces in the best Procaccini taste, and is described in the
Albeccedario as an eccentric man, though well versed in his
art. Sacchi continued his studies at Rome and Venice, and
when he wished to imitate Paul Veronese, as in his Miracle
of the Dead resuscitated by S. Jacopo, which is placed at the
Of servanti, he succeeded admirably, shewing himself a good
cO'Ourist, splendid in ornament, spirited in attitude, except that
in these he is somewhat extravagant and affected. He sup-
plied different collections, and I saw an Adam and Eve by
him in possession of the Cav. Brambilla at Pavia, entitled to a
place in that fine collection. It is doubtful whether Gio.
Batista Tassinari ought to be ranked among his fellow-disci-
ples if we only regard the period in which he flourished. But
we may with more certainty, upon Orlandi's authority, pro-
nounce Carlo Bersotti to have been his pupil, an excellent
artist in inferior branches, to which he confined himself. Tom-
maso Gatti, together with Bernardino Ciceri, were, however,
hi.s best pupils, the first of whom pursued his studies at Venice,
tho second at Rome, and both succeeded at least as practical
artists. Gatti instructed Marcantonio Pellini, and then con-
signed him to the schools of Venice and Bologna, which did
not carry him beyond the sphere of his master. Ciceri was
succeeded by his disciple Gioseffb Crastona, who, embued with
Roman erudition, became a painter of figures and of landscapes
in that city, of which a number may be seen at Pavia. Among
the latest are Pierantonio Barbieri, pupil to Bastiano Ricci,
and Carlantonio Bianchi, a disciple of the Roman manner.
The artists whom I have described almost in a series, have
filled all the churches of Pavia, though many, with their
respective paintings and their frescos, conferring additional
novelty perhaps, but little additional splendour upon their
na tive state ; and no one visits Pavia altogether on their
account.

Others also belonging to the state and its vicinity, about
thi) time of Sacchi, quitted their native place, and became
celebrated in other quarters; as Mola, of the state of Como,
of whom we have treated ; and Pietro de' Pietri, who, bora

536 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH IV.

in the Novarese, studied and died at Rome, where he has been
commended by us in the school of Maratta. Antonio Sacchi,
also a native of Como, acquired his knowledge at Rome,
whence returning into Lombardy, he undertook to paint a
cupola for his native place, but fixing on too high a point of
perspective, he made his figures so gigantic that he broke his
heart and died. From Como likewise sprung one JFra Ema-
nuele, of the order of the Minori Riformati, whose name is
incorrectly inserted by Orlandi in the " Abbeccedario," as a
self-taught painter. The fact is, that on being sent to reside
at Messina, he became a pupil to Silla, and improving the
feeble manner he had acquired in his native town, he decorated
a, number of places belonging to his order, both in Rome and
Sicily, in a better taste. There are two of his pictures at
Como, at the Riformati ; a Supper in the refectory, feebly
executed in the style of the declining school of Milan, and a
Piet& in the church, wfth different saints, in a better manner ;
such is the advantage of practice, reflection, and good guidance
even at a mature age.

This epoch produced a fine perspective painter, of whom
mention is made under the Roman school, in which he studied
and left some works. This is Gio. Ghisolfi, a pupil of Sal-
vator Rosa, who, on his return to Milan, besides his architec-
tural pieces, which were esteemed among the very first, devoted
himself to large histories and altar-pieces, and executed frescos
in a good taste for the Certosa of Pavia, and the Santuario of
Varese. He was followed with success by one of his nephews,
Bernardo Racchetti, whose perspectives, no less than those of
Clemente Spera, are frequently met with in collections. Torre
makes mention also of a native of Lucca, who succeeded in
perspective and in figures, named Paolo Pini. I have seen
only of his a history of Rahab, at S. Maria di Campagna, at
Piacenza, of which the architecture is very fine, the figures light
and touched with a spirited hand. In extensive works of orna-
mental fresco, Pier Francesco Prina is commended by Orlandi,
with the two Mariani, Domenico and his son Gioseffo. The
father remained stationary at Milan, and educated, among
other pupils, Castellino da Monza ; but the son visited Bologna,
and there succeeded in improving his paternal manner so as to

ALESSANDRO MAGNASCO. 537

distinguish himself throughout Italy and Germany. These
names will suffice to give a view of a period, not remarkable
for the best taste in this species of painting.

Fabio Ceruti was a landscape painter of some repute in the
style of Agricola his master. His pictures are pretty numerous,
both throughout the city and the state. Mention is also made
of one Perugini, recorded by the Cav. Ratti, in his life of Ales-
sandro Magnasco of Genoa, called Lisandrino. The latter,
educated in the school of Abbiati, and a long time resident in
Milan, added to the pictures of Perugini, of Spera, and other
ariists, small figures of such merit as will be entitled to a par-
ticular description in his native school.

In compositions of a minor branch, wholly executed by him-
self, Magnasco may be pronounced an able artist, especially in
those diminutive pieces on the Flemish scale, consisting of child-
ish scenes and representations of a popular cast, with which he
decorated many collections. He also opened school at Milan,
an<l was imitated by Coppa and other artists, though Bastiano
Ricci approached him the nearest of any, possessing a
wonderful versatility of genius in respect to imitation. In a
similar taste Martino Cignaroli painted at Milan, who had
acquired at Verona and at the school of Carpioni, singular skill
in conducting pictures for private cabinets. He established
himself together with Pietro his brother and his family, in this
his new abode, where he had a son named Scipione, who
became a good landscape painter at Rome, and subsequently
flourished at Milan and at Turin.

About the year 1700 Lorenzo Comendich established him-
self in the former of these cities, an artist already recorded in
this work among the disciples of Monti. In the residence of
ths Baron Martini, his patron, he produced a variety of works,
the most commended among which was his Battle of Luzzara,
won by Louis XI V., who is said to have beheld it, as repre-
sented by this artist, with singular pleasure.

In pictures of herds of animals of every kind, more perhaps
than for his human figures, Carlo Cane rose into some repute.
Orlandi likewise greatly commends Angiolmaria Crivelli in
the same branch, though I have seen nothing from his hand
ei titling him to so much eulogy. At Milan this artist is
known by the name of Crivellone, in distinction to his son

538 SCHOOL OF MILAN. EPOCH IV.

Jacopo, whose principal merit lay in his drawings of birds and
fishes. He was much employed by the court of Parma, and
died in 1760. Still nearer us in point of time is Londonio,
an artist also of some repute for his herds of cattle : his rural
and pastoral views are in possession of the Counts Greppi, and
other noble houses. At Como flourished one Maderno, whose
skill consisted in drawing all kind of kitchen furniture, in
the taste of the Bassani, with whom less experienced judges
are apt to confound him. I have seen several small pictures
by him in possession of the Counts Giovio, that display great
beauty. He was also a fine flower-painter, though he was
here surpassed by Mario de' Crespini, one of his pupils, whose
productions are interspersed throughout his own and the adja-
cent cities. Of some other artists of inferior note I have given
accounts in different places.

It remains for me to mention a third academy which was
founded at Milan 1775, by that distinguished princess Maria
Theresa, and which was afterwards invariably encouraged by
new benefactions from her two sons, the emperors Joseph and
Leopold, and by their successor to the empire, Francis II.,
who, amidst all the distractions of war, is not unmindful of
the prosperity of the fine arts. The complete institutions of
which this academy had to boast, even in its outset, are de-
scribed in a compendious manner by its accomplished secretary,
in his work entitled the New Guide, already frequently cited.
In this we find an account of the number, the variety, and
the merit of the different professors ; the collections of models,
of designs, of prints, and of books, which are there provided
for the use of the students ; to which he adds the methods
of education there inculcated, to the great benefit of the
nation, which has already, for some time past, been embued
with a more refined taste, and displayed a more extended
cultivation.

END OF VOL. II.

Printed by J. & H, Cox, /4 & 75, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's-Inn Fields.

0

BINDING LIST $£p

University of Toronl
Library

DO NOT
REMOVi
THE
CARD^

FROM

£

THIS
POCKET

Acme Library Card Pocket
LOWE-MARTIN CO. UMTTH