Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Antonio da Correggio

by Giorgio Vasari

 

THE PAINTER, ANTONIO DA CORREGGIO.

[born 1494—died 1534.]

I AM not willing to depart hastily from the land wherein our great mother Nature, that she might not be accused of partiality, presented to the world extraordinary men, of the same kind wherewith she had for so many years adorned Tuscany. Among the masters of this vicinity, then, and one endowed with an exalted and most admirable genius, was Antonio da Correggio,^[1] an excellent painter, who acquired the new

manner to such complete perfection that, in a few years, favoured as he was by nature and advanced by diligent study, he became a most remarkable and excellent artist. Of a timid and anxious disposition, he subjected himself to severe and continual labours in his art for the support of his family, which he found an oppressive burthen,^[2] and though disposed by nature towards everything good, he, nevertheless, afflicted himself more than was reasonable by resisting the pressure of those passions by which man is most commonly assailed. In the exercise of his art, Antonio betrayed the melancholy attributed to his disposition^[3]f but, devoted to the labours of his vocation, he was a zealous inquirer into all the difficulties incidental to the calling he had chosen. Of his success we have proof in a vast multitude of figures executed by his hand in the cathedral of Parma: they arepainted in fresco, and finished with much care. These pictures are in the great cupola of the church, and the foreshortenings are managed with extraordinary ability, as the spectator, regarding the work from below, perceives, to his admiring astonishment.^[4] Lombardy and visited Rome,^[5] he would have performed wonders, nay, would have given a dangerous rival to many who, in his day, were called great artists. Be this as it may, his works, being what they are, although he had never seen those of antiquity,^[6] nor was even acquainted with the best works of the modern masters; it necessarily follows that if he had studied these works he would have materially improved his own, and, proceeding from good to better, would have attained to the highest summit of excellence. We may, indeed, athrm with certainty that no artist has handled the colours more effectually than himself, nor has any painted v/ith a more charming manner, or given a more perfect relief lO his figures, so exquisite was the softness of the carnations from his hand, so attractive the grace with which he finished his works. In the cathedral of Parma, before mentioned, Antonio painted two large pictures in oil: in one of these among other things is a figure of the Dead Christ, which has been very highly extolled.^[7] In the church of San Giovanni, in the same city, he painted a tribune in fresco, and in this work he depicted Our Lady ascending into Heaven, amidst a Multitude of angels, and surrounded by numerous saints.^[8] It appears almost impossible that the fancy of man should be capable of conceiving a work such as this is, much more that he should be able to execute it with the hand, so extraordinary is its beauty, so graceful the flow of the draperies, so exquisite the expression which the master has given to the figures. Some of the sketches of them are in the book of designs to which we not unfrequentlj refer; they are drawn by Correggio himself in red chalk, and are surrounded by a kind of frieze, wherein there are figures of beautiful children, and other ornamental forms, with which the master adorned that work, some of them being varied and fanciful representations of sacrifices, after the manner of the antique.^[9] And, of a truth, if Antonio liad not finished his works so admirably as we see that he did, his drawings (although they have merit in the manner, with a grace which sufficiently indicates the practised hand of a master) would scarcely have obtained him that reputation among artists which he has derived from his truly excellent works. The art of design is so difficult and has so many ramifications, that an artist not unfrequently finds himself incapable of perfectly mastering all. Some, for example, have drawn most admirably, but have betrayed certain imperfections in their colouring; others have coloured wonderfully, but have not drawn with equal success. All this depends on the judgment exercised in youth, and the amount of practice bestowed by one on drawing, by another on colouring; but all must be acquired before the work can be conducted perfectly to its desired completion, that, namely, of colouring finely what has been well drawn. To Correggio belongs the great praise of having attained the highest point of perfection in colouring, whether his works were executed in oil or in fresco. For the church of San Francesco, belonging to the Barefooted Friars in that city (Parma), he painted an Annunciation in fresco, a work of extraordinary beauty; insomuch that when it afterwards became needful to demolish the wall, in the course of certain changes required in the building, those friars caused that part whereon the painting was executed to be bound round by woodwork secured with irons, and, cutting it away by little and little, they saved their picture, and afterwards caused it to be built into a more secure place in another part of their convent.^[10]

Over one of the gates of the city of Parma, Correggio depicted a figure of the Virgin, with the Child in her arms. This is a picture of astonishing beauty, the exquisite colouring of which has obtained the master infinite praise and honour from such strangers and travellers as have seen no other of his works than this fresco.^[11] In Sant’ Antonio also, a church of the same city, our artist painted a picture wherein there is a figure of the Virgin, with Santa Maria Maddalena: near them is a boy, representing a little angel, with a book in his hand, who is smiling so naturally that all who look on him are moved to smile also; nor is there any one, however melancholy his temperament, who can behold him without feeling a sensation of pleasure. In the same picture there is also a figure of San Girolamo, which is painted in a manner so admirable and so astonishing, that painters extol the colouring as something wonderful, affirming that it would be scarcely possible to paint better.^[12]

Antonio executed various pictures and paintings of different kinds for many nobles of Lombardy; among others of his works may be mentioned two painted in Mantua, for the Duke Federigo II., who sent them to the Emperor, a present truly worthy of such a prince.^[13] These works having been seen by Giulio Romano, he declared that he had never beheld colouring executed with equal perfection. One of them was a nude figure of Leda, the other a Venus, painted with so much softness, and with shadows so admirably treated, that the carnations did not seem painted but to be truly the living flesh. In one of these pictures was a beautiful Landscape; in this respect there was indeed no Lombard who could surpass Correggio, he painted the hair moreover so admirably as to colour, and so delicately as to distinctness and finish, that nothing better could possibly be seen. There were besides Cupids trying their arrows on a stone, these weapons being formed with much judgment of lead and gold. A circumstance which imparted an added charm to this picture of the Venus, was an exceedingly bright and limpid stream running amidst pebbles and bathing the feet of the goddess, but scarcely concealing any part of them, so that the sight of their delicate whiteness almost dazzled the eyes beholding them.^[14] For these works Antonio certainly merited all praise and honour during his life, and well deserved to be celebrated both by word and in writings with the utmost glory after his death. Correggio painted a figure of the Virgin also in Modena, and this work was held in great esteem by aU painters, who considered it to be the best picture possessed by that city.^[15] In Bologna likewise, there is a work by Antonio, in the Palace of the Ercolani, one of the noble families of that place; the subject of this painting is Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen in the Garden, a very beautiful thing.^[16] Another admirable and delightful work by Antonio was formeTly at Reggio; but no long time since, Messer Luciano Pallavicino, a great admirer of fine paintings, passing through that place, happened to see the picture, and without regard to the cost thereof secured it as one who had bought some precious jewel, and despatched it to his house in Genoa.^[17] In the same city of Reggio there is a picture by this master, the subject of which is the Birth of Christ; in this work, the light proceeding from the person of the divine Child throws its splendour on the shepherds and around all the figures who are contemplating the infant; many other beautiful thoughts are made manifest by our artist in this picture, among others is one, expressed by the figure of a woman, who, desiring to look fixedly at the Saviour, is not able with her mortal sight to endure the glory of his divinity, which appears to cast its rays full on her figure: she is therefore shading her eyes with her hand: all this is so admirably expressed that it seems quite wonderful.^[18] Over the cabin wherein the divine Child is laid, there hovers a choir of angels singing, and so exquisitely painted, that they seem rather to have been showered down from Heaven than formed by the hand of the painter. In the same city there is a small picture by Correggio, not more than a foot high, which is one of the most extraordinary and most beautiful of his works; the figures are small, the subject Christ in the Garden, the time chosen being night, and the angel appearing to the Saviour illumines his person with the splendour of his rays,^[19] an effect displayed with so much truth that nothing better could be either imagined or expressed; on a plain at the foot of the mountain are seen the three Apostles lying asleep: the shadow of the eminence on which the Saviour is in prayer falls over these figures, imparting to them a degree of force which it would not be possible adequately to describe in words. In the farther distance is a tract of country over which the day is just breaking, and from one side approaches Judas with soldiers. Notwithstanding its minute size, this work is admirably conceived, and so finely executed that no work of the kind can bear comparison with it, whether as to the beauty and depth of thought apparent in the picture, or the patience with which it has been treated.^[20]

Of the works of this artist much more might be said, but since every thing he has done is held to be as something divine among the most eminent masters of our calling, I will not expatiate further.^[21] I have made many efforts to obtain his portrait, but he never took it himself, nor ever had it taken by others, seeing that he lived much in retirement; I have therefore not been able to procure it.^[22] Correggio was indeed a person who held himself in but very slight esteem, nor could he even persuade himself that he knew any thing satisfactorily respecting his art; perceiving its difficulties, he could not give himself credit for approaching the perfection to which he would so fain have seen it carried: he was a man who contented himself with very little, and always lived in the manner of a good Christian.^[23]

The cares of his family caused Antonio to be very sparing, insomuch that he ultimately became exceedingly penurious.^[24] On this subject it is related, that being at Parma, and having there received a payment of sixty scudi, the sum was given to him in copper money, which he, desiring to carry it to Correggio for some particular demand, loaded himself withal; he then set forward on foot for his home.^[25] The heat being very great at the time, Antonio suffered much from the burning sun, and sought to refresh himself by drinking water, but a raging fever compelled him to take to his bed, and from this he never raised his head again, but departed from this life to another, being then in the fortieth year of his age, or thereabout.

His pictures were executed towards the year 1512, and the art derived great benefit from his labours, seeing that the colours! were handled by him in the manner of a true master, and that the Lombards were induced by his example to open their eyes: the result of this has been that painting has seen more than one fine genius belonging to that country subsequently following his steps; some of them producing works highly commendable, and well deserving to be had in remembrance. Among other peculiarities, Correggio had that of painting the hair^[26] with great facility, and has shown to later artists the true method whereby the difficulties of accomplishing this point may be overcome, an advantage for wffiich all succeeding painters are largely indebted to him. It was indeed at the instance of the artists belonging to our vocation that Messer Fabio Segni, a Florentine gentleman, composed the following verses:—

Hujus cum regeret mortales spiritus artus
Pictoris, Charites supplicuere Jovi:
Non alia pingi dextra, Pater alim, rogamus:
Hunc praeter, nulli pingere nos liceat.
Annuit his votis summi regnator Olympi,
Et juvenem subito sidera ad alta tulit,
Ut posset melius Charitum simulacra referre
Praesens, et nudas cerneret inde Deas^[27]

At the same time with Correggio lived the Milanese Andrea del Gobbo,^[28] a good painter and very pleasing colourist, many of whose works are to be found dispersed among the houses of his fellow countrymen in Milan, and the surrounding neighbourhood. At the Certosa of Pavia likewise, there is a large painting by this master; the subject is the Ascension of the Virgin, but the death of the artist before he had had time to complete it, caused this work to be left unfinished;^[29] the picture nevertheless suffices to prove that Andrea was an excellent painter, and one who did not shrink from the labours required for the due exercise of his art.^[30]

---

1. Antonio Allegri, of Correggio, was born in a city so named, in the Duchy of Modena. He was the son of Pellegrino Allegri, and of Bernardina Piazzoli, called Degli Aromani. The very name of this great master was long involved in obscurity, and Vasari was the first who attempted his biography, which is, however, exceedingly meagre, and not without errors. It is true that his defects and omissions have been subsequently rectified and supplied, to some extent, by Vasari himself, in the Life of Girolamo da Correggio was the first in Lombardy who commenced the execution of works in the modern maimer, and it is thought that if he had travelled beyond the limits of his native Carpi, as well as by many other writers, among whom the reader is referred to Pungileoni, Memorie storiche di Antonio Allegri detto il Correggio, 3 vols., Parma, 1817; Mengs, Memorie concernenti la vita e le opere di Antonio Allegri, &c.; also Lanzi, ut supra, vol. ii. p. 374, et seq., English edition, with Bryan, Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, whose compendium is a very satisfactory one. The German reader will find valuable details in Fiorillo, Geschichte der Malerei in Italien. Füssli, Künstler-Lexicon, &cc.; also in Hirt, Kunstbemerkungen, &c.; and Förster, Briefe über Malerei.
2. Later writers prove that Correggio was not so poor as might be inferred from these words. He is said to have given his sister a dowry of a hundred ducats on her marriage, and to have bought lands, which he afterwards left to his children. — See Pungileoni, ut supra.
3. The German commentator, Schorn, remarks that, as Vasari somewhat lightly accuses Pietro Perugino of irreligion, of which we, nevertheless, find no trace in his life and conduct, so does he here describe Correggio as a melancholy and laborious painter, while the works of that master give constant evidence of a cheerful spirit and of a facility which overcomes all difficulty, without any undue effort. See German Translation, vol. iii. Part i. p. 62.
4. Of this work Vasari speaks more precisely, and with the eulogies so justly its due, in the life of Girolamo da Carpi.
5. The question whether Correggio did or did not visit Rome has been much contested, but those who maintain that he did not are now in the ascendant. — See Lanzi, ut supra, vol. ii. p. 397, et seq.
6. Antonio may have acquired the rudiments of his art from his paternal uncle, Lorenzo Allegri, and from Antonio Bertolotti, painters of no great account in Correggio, but it is certain that he obtained the most valuable aid afforded to him from Andrea and Francesco Man|jegna, in whose workshops, and in that of Begarelli, of Modena, to which also he had access, he must have found casts and drawings from the antique in sufficient abundance.
7. The second of these pictures represents the martyrdom of San Placido. Both were formerly in the church of San Giovanni, belonging to the Benedictine Monks. They are now in the Pinacoteca of Parma.— Ed. Flor., 1838.
8. In the year 1587, the greater part of these paintings were destroyed, for the purpose of enlarging the choir; but one portion of the work, the group containing the Madonna that is, was preserved, and was placed in the Royal Library.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
9. These drawings would seem to have belonged to the earliest of Correggio’s fresco-paintings in Parma, and of which Vasari makes no mention. The work was executed in one of the halls of the Convent of San Paolo, and by command of the then Abbess, Donna Giovanna, of Piacenza. The subjects, which are taken from the Greek and Roman Mythology, were selected by the learned Giorgio Anselmi, who had a daughter in the convent. The principal group represents Diana returning from the Chase. For minute details, see Pitture di Antonio Allegri esistenti in Parma nel Monasterio di San Paolo, &c.; Parma, 1800.
10. This picture ^as not executed for the church of the Barefooted Friars, but for that of the Annunciation at the Capo di Ponte. It was removed, by command of Pier Luigi Farnese, to the inner vestibule, but has suffered much from humidity and the saline efflorescence of the wall.
11. This picture, called the Madonna della Scala, was painted, in a chamber of the Porta Romana, but, in the year 1554, a small church was built at that place from respect to that figure of Om Lady. This being destroyed in 1812, the painting was then removed to the Academy of the Fine Arts.
12. An Italian commentator informs us that the San Girolamo, called also The Day, was on the point of being sold to the King of Portugal, but the government of Parma intervened and saved Italy from this additional spoliation. It is now in the Academy of the Fine Arts, in that city. Mengs considers this work among the best performed by Correggio: it was engraved by Robert Strange, and more recently by Mauro Gandolfi. The San Girolamo was among the pictures transported to Paris by Napoleon, but was restored in 1814. — See Algarotti, Lettere sopra la Pittura; Leghorn, 1765.
13. We learn from Mengs that these pictures, after passing through several hands, came into the possession of the Duke of Orleans, by whose son Louis they were destroyed.
14. The second of these pictures is said to be not Venus, but Danae. It 18 now in the Borghese Gallery, in Rome.
15. Vasari is supposed here to be speaking of the marriage of St. Catherine, to which he further alludes in the life of Girolamo da Carpi. This painting was presented by Correggio to his sister on the occasion of her marriage. It is now in Paris. A very beautiful replica of this work is in the possession of the King of Naples.
16. From the Ercolani family this work passed into the hands of Cardinal Aldobrandini, and afterwards into those of one of the Ludovisio family. It was subsequently taken into Spain, but is said to be now in England, and in the possession of the Duke of Wellington.— Masselli.
17. It is difficult,” remarks an Italian annotator, “to decide what work is here meant, since the subject is not mentioned.” In the year 1805, the General Count Isidore Lecchi affirmed himself to be in possession of the work in question; but on what ground he based his pretensions to knowledge on the subject, we are not informed.
18. “It is, indeed, a true marvel, this exquisite picture,” observes an admiring commentator. The work in question is the celebrated Node, one of the gems, as our readers wiU remember, of the Royal Gallery o Dresden.
19. The judicious and eloquent writer Mengs, describing this picture, and speaking of it as one of the principal treasures of the Palace in Madrid, remarks that “The light emanating from the countenance of the Saviour illuminates all the scene, he himself receiving his light from above, or directly from heaven, and reflecting it on the angel who receives it from his person.” This dsposition of the light, as is justly rem.arked by Montani, “is truly poetical; nay, sublime.”
20. Scannelli, Microcosmo della Pittura, Cesena, 1657, relates that Correggio gave this picture to an apothecary in payment of a bill amounting to some four or five scudi. It was afterwards sold, to the Count Pirro Visconti for four hundred, scudi. At a later period the work became the property of the King of Spain; and we find it further related that after the battle of Vittoria it was found, with other valuable pictures, on the imperial of Joseph Buonaparte’s carriage, by an officer in the army of Lord Wellington. Waagen, Kunstwerke, &c., declares it with truth to be now in possession of the duke, to whom it was, in fact, presented by Ferdinand VI1. of Spain, d'here is a replica of this picture in our National Gallery.
21. In the British Museum the reader will find a complete series of engravings after Correggio.
22. At a later period many portraits were dispersed about as those of Correggio, but they are, for the most part, notoriously spurious, as, for example, is that given by Bottari; neither is it to be supposed that the head painted by Gambara, near the principal door of the cathedral of Parma, is the true likeness of Correggio, since Gambara did not live till long after the presumed original of this work.— See Lanzi, ut supra. See also Fiorillo, Geschichte der Malerei, &.c.
23. All writers attribute a singular mildness of character to Correggio, who was, besides, modest in the extreme, desiring the perfection of the art he loved, more than the plaudits of the multitude for himself.— Ah Correggio di cor mio.
24. The meaning of the word misero has been much disputed among the Italians, some considering it to refer to the poverty of Correggio, others to avarice, supervening with increasing years; but of this last there is assuredly no trace in his works, wherein he manifestly spared neither cost nor labour. Yet it seems certain that he was not miserably poor: perhaps the truth may be found here, as it so frequently is elsewhere, in the mean. Correggio was frugal in his personal habits from regard to the interests of his family, hut it does not follow of necessity that he was grudging, miserly, avaricious (all which the word misero” may imply); that he scarcely could be so is, indeed, proved by his lavish expenditure of the most costly colours and so much valuable time on his works, as also in various events of his life.—See Tiraboschi, Notizie de’ Pittori Modenesi, &ic, Modena, 1786. See also the valuable works of Mengs, and those of Antonioli.
25. This fabulous account has long been exploded.
26. This passage of Vasari has been much criticised, and he is accused of fixing his whole attention on the one point of painting hair, but he needs no other defence than that of the life itself: he is manifestly describing this only as one among the many excellencies of Correggio, and nothing more.
27. The reader will be pleased to accept the following as a free translation
    of the above:—
    While yet the painter breathed the life of mortals,
    Thus did the Graces supplicate their sire:—
    Father, by him alone be henceforth limned
    These forms, thy gift;—to none save him permit
    That high emprize. This heard Olympian Jove,
    And granted. Straight he called the limner hence,
    And seated ’mid the stars. There all unveiled
    Henceforth to find, and ever to behold
    The charms celestial, which his hand alone
    Duly portrayed.
28. Andrea Solari, of Milan, was called del Gobbo, not because he was himself afflicted with the defect implied (hunch-back), but because his brother Cristoforo, an excellent sculptor and architect, had that misfortune. Andrea del Gobbo is, literally, “The Hunchback’s Andrew.”—See Passavant, Malerschulen der Lombardei, in the Kunstblatt for 1638. See also Lanzi, ut supra, vol. ii. p. 499 (English edition), the last-named writer eunmerates Andrea Solari among the disciples of Guadenzio Ferrari,
29. It was afterwards successfully completed by Beinardiuo Campi. — Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
30. Correggio left one son, Pomponio Quirini Allegri, who was also a painter, but did not attain high reputation, and appears to have been of a careless and restless disposition, one of the causes, it may be, of his father’s alleged parsimony. Our artist also left a daughter. His father, Pellegrino Allegri, likewise survived him, as did his mother also.