Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Benozzo Gozzoli

by Giorgio Vasari

 

THE FLORENTINE PAINTER, BENOZZO GOZZOLI.

[born 1424; died 1485.?]

He who, with determined effort, pursues the path of virtue, although it be, as men say, rough and stormy and full of thorns, at the close of a ascent discovers himself finally to have attained a broad level, with all the happiness that can be desired. And if he then look back and consider the difficult and perilous passages laboriously overcome, he thanks God who hath safely conducted him through them to the point which he has reached, and with gladness of heart blesses those efforts which he had previously found so painful. Thus restored and repaid for his bygone sufferings by the joys of the happy present, he now labours without any sense of fatigue, to make known to all who observe him the certainty with which the pains endured, and the heat, cold, hunger, thirst, and other inconveniences sustained, for the acquirement of excellence, are rewarded by freedom from poverty, and by the attainment of that secure and tranquil condition in which the wearied Benozzo Gozzoli happily enjoyed his repose.^[1]

This artist was the disciple of the deservedly-entitled angelic master. Fra Giovanni, by whom he was with reason much beloved; he was acknowledged by all who saw his works, to possess great power of invention, much facility, and richly varied resources in the delineation of animals, in perspective, in landscape, and in decorations. Benozzo Gozzoli executed so many labours in his day that he proved himself to have but little regard for any pleasure beside; and, although in comparison with certain other masters, who surpassed him in design, he was not particularly eminent; he yet left all far behind him in perseverance, and among the multitude of his works there are many that are very good. In his youth, Benozzo painted an altar-piece for the Brotherhood of San Marco^[2] in Florence, as he did also the death of St. Jerome for the church of San Friano; but the latter was destroyed when that front of the church, which is bounded by the street, was restored.

For the palace of the Medici, Benozzo Gozzoli painted the chapel in fresco, the subject chosen being the story of the Magi;^[3] and in Rome he painted stories from the life of St. Anthony of Padua in the chapel of the Cesarini family, in the church of Ara Coeli: in this work are the portraits of the Cardinal Giuliano, Cesarini, and of Antonio Colonna, both taken from the life. In the Torre de’ Conti also, over the gate of entrance that is, Benozzo painted a fresco, wherein he depicted Our Lady with numerous saints; and in Santa Maria Maggiore, in a chapel on the right hand as you enter by the principal door, he painted various figures in fresco, which are tolerably well done.^[4]

Having returned from Rome to Florence, Benozzo next repaired to Pisa,^[5] where he worked in the cemetery beside the cathedral, which is called the Campo Santo, painting the decorations of a wall which runs the whole length of the building, and on which he depicted stories from the Old Testament, wherein he displayed much power of invention. This work may be truly called a most formidable undertaking, the artist having represented the whole creation of the world day by day:^[6] after which follows the Flood, with the Ark of Koah; pictures which are very finely composed, and exhibit a great variety of figures. Near this is the proud building of the Tower of Nimrod, the burning of Sodom and the neighbouring cities, with stories from the life of Abraham, in which there are many parts admirably expressed, and worthy of much consideration. For although it is true that Benozzo possessed no very distinguished talent in drawing figures, yet in this work, in the Sacrifice of Isaac more particularly, he has nevertheless exhibited considerable mastery of his art; among other things he has painted an Ass, foreshortened, and placed in such a manner that it seems to turn on every side; this animal is considered very fine. The Birth of Moses follows, together with all the signs and prodigies that ensued, until the time when he led the people forth from Egypt, and fed them during so many years in the wilderness. Finally, Benozzo added to these certain other stories of the Hebrew people; as, for example, those of David and Solomon his son; and it may be truly afiirmed that, in this work, he displayed infinite persistence, and a spirit more than bold; for whereas so vast an undertaking might very well have appalled a whole legion of painters, he alone encountered the whole, and completed it with his own hand.^[7] He accordingly acquired a very great reputation by this work, and well merited the following lines which were appended to it in his honour:—^[8]

Quid spectas volucres, pisees, et monstra ferarum,
Et virides silvas aethereasque domos?
Et pueros, juvenes, matres, canosque parentes,
Queis semper virum spirat in ore decus?
Non haec tam variis, finxit simulacra figuris
Natura ingenio foetibus apta suo:
Est opus artificis: pinxit viva ora Benoxus:
O superi vivos fundite in ora sonos”

Innumerable portraits, taken from the life, are scattered throughout this work, but as the subjects of all are not known, I shall speak of those pnly which are understood to be of important personages, or of those respecting which I have found authentic notices recorded. In the story of the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon there is the portrait of Marcilius Ficinus among various prelates, with those of Argiropolo, a learned Greek, and of Batista^[9] Platina, whose likeness Benozzo had previously taken in Rome; with the portrait of the artist himself on horseback, the figure being that of an old man with shaven beard, and wearing a black cap, in the fold of which there is a white paper, perhaps intended as a sign or token; or it may be that Benozzo had intended to inscribe his name thereon.^[10]

In the same city of Pisa, in a convent on the bank of the Arno belonging to the nuns of San Benedetto, Benozzo Gozzoli painted a series of stories exhibiting the various events of the life of that saint; and in the house of the Brotherhood of the Florentines, which then stood where the monastery of San Vito now is, he painted the Altar-piece, with many other pictures.^[11] In the cathedral, behind the seat of the archbishop, Benozzo executed a small picture in tempera; the subject of this work is St. Thomas Aquinas surrounded by numerous learned men, who dispute concerning his works: among these is the portrait of Pope Sixtus lY., with several cardinals, and many chiefs and generals of different religious orders. This is the best and most finished work ever executed by Benozzo.^[12] In Santa Caterina, a monastery belonging to the Preaching-Friars in the same city, this master painted two pictures in tempera, which may be easily recognized by the manner; and in the church of San Niccolo, another in like manner; with two in Santa Croce, without the gates of Pisa.^[13] While still a youth^[14] Benozzo worked in the Capitular church of San Gimignano, where he painted the altar-piece for the altar of San Bastiano, which stands in the middle of the church, opposite to the principal chapel;^[15] and in the Hall of Council are certain figures, partly by his hand, and partly by an older master, but restored by him.^[16] For the monks of Monte Oliveto, in the same district, he painted a Crucifix and other pictures; but the best work executed by Benozzo in that place was a fresco in the principal chapel of the church of Sant’Agostino, where he painted stories from the life of the titular saint, from his conversion, that is, to his death.^[17] Of all this work I have the design, by the master’s own hand, in my book, with several drawings of those described above, as executed in the Campo Santo of Pisa. In Volterra, likewise, Benozzo performed certain works, but these do not require further mention.^[18]

Now it happened that when Benozzo was working in Rome, there was another painter then in that city called Melozzo, and who came from Forlì; many, therefore, not being better informed, and having found written Melozzo, while the dates agreed, have believed that this Melozzo should have been Benozzo;^[19] but they are in error, for the painter Melozzo was one who lived at the same time with Gozzoli, and was very zealous in the study of art; he gave his attention more particularly to foreshortening, which he executed with great care and diligence; of this a proof may be seen in the church of Sant’ Apostolo, in Rome, on the tribune of the High Altar, where there are certain figures gathering grapes, in a frieze painted in perspective as an ornamental framework to the picture, with a cask, which are exceedingly well done. But this quality of Melozzo is even more obviously apparent in the Ascension of Jesus Christ, whose figure is seen in the midst of a choir of angels, by whom he is borne to heaven.^[20] In this picture the figure of the Saviour is so admirably foreshortened, that it seems to pierce the vault; and the same may be said of the angels who are floating in various attitudes through the fields of air. The apostles, who stand on the earth beneath, are in like manner foreshortened so well, in the different attitudes given to them, that the work was then, and continues still to be, greatly commended by artists, who have learned much from the labours of this master. Melozzo was also well acquainted with the laws of perspective, as the buildings painted in this picture sufficiently demonstrate. The work here described was executed by command of Cardinal Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV., by whom the master was largely remunerated.

But to return to Benozzo. Exhausted at length by time and by his labours, he departed in bis seventy-eighth year to the true rest. This master died in the City of Pisa while dwelling in a small house which he had purchased during the long period of his abiding there, in Carraja di San Francesco, and which he left at his death to his daughter. He was regretted by all the city, and was honourably interred in the Campo Santo with the following epitaph, which is still to be read there:—

Hic tumulus est Benotii Florentini, qui proxime has pinxit historias.
Hunc sibi Pisanorum donavit humanitas. mcccclxxviii.

Benozzo always lived with great regularity, and in the manner of a true Christian, his whole life being occupied with honourable labours. He was long looked upon with great consideration in Pisa, as well for his excellent qualities as for the distinction to which he had attained in art. The disciples whom he left behind him were, Zanobi Macchiavelli,^[21] a Florentine, and some others who do not require more particular mention.

1. In public documents the name of this artist is written “Benozzo di Lese di Sandro,” or Benozzo di Lese (the last name that of his father), without the addition of his family name. For the various dates assigned, as that of his birth, and for other details respecting him, see Gaye, Carteggio Inedito di Artisti, vol. i.p. 271—273; and Rumohr, note to Rio, Della Poesia Cristiana, &c., Italian edition, Venice, 1841.
2. Bottari described this work as still remaining in his day, and then placed in the refectory of the convent; but the convent and hospital were both suppressed in 1775, and the fate of Benozzo’s picture is unknown.
3. These works remain; and in the year 1837, the window which gives light to the chapel was enlarged, when the paintings, which had previously been lost in darkness, were rendered visible. On this occasion they were carefully restored by the Professor Antonio Marini.— Ed. Flor. 1849.
4. Destroyed in successive embellishments of the church.
5. In the year 1468, further details will be found in Rumohr: Italienische Forschungen, vol. ii.
6. The stories painted in the Campo Santo of Pisa, by Benozzo Gozzoli, are twenty-four, all of which, with those of earlier masters than himself, were engraved by the elder Lasinio, and published in 1810, with illustrations by Rosini and Rossi. There is a second edition, of a smaller size, published by the younger Lasinio, in 1832.
7. Vasari does no injustice when he declines to place Benozzo among the best masters in design, since the distinction attained by Masaccio and others in that particular, is far from having been reached by him; he has, nevertheless, exhibited exceeding grace of movement, as well as beauty of expression in some of his works, the often-cited dancing group in the marriage of Jacob, which is one of the pictures of the Campo Santo, may serve as an example.
8. The number of the stories here depicted is twenty-four. See Rosini, Descrizione delle pitture del Campo Santo di Pisa, Pisa, 1816.
9. The baptismal name of Platina, was not Batista, but Bartolommeo, as we (Italian editors, 1849) have remarked on another occasion.
10. The story of the Queen of Sheba is among those that have suffered most. An engraving of it will be found in Rosini, pl.xliii. This he has taken from an old coloured drawing, now in the Academy of the Fine Arts in Pisa, and which some believe to be the original design.
11. The frescoes of San Benedetto have perished. Of the works executed in San Vito, nothing certain can be ascertained. In San Domenica, at Pisa, is a picture of the Forty Martyrs, by this master, with one of theVirgin and Child, attended by four Saints, in the Gallery of the same city.
12. This work was sent to the Louvre in the year 1812, but is said to be no longer discoverable in that Gallery.
13. Of the five pictures here described, as executed in Pisa, no authentic account is now to be obtained.
14. He was not then a youth, but a man of forty.
15. This fresco is still in existence.
16. This is the fresco of Lippo Memmi.
17. This fresco, some parts excepted, is still in good preservation; the works previously described as existing in Monte Oliveto, are probably those still to be seen in the cloisters, but they are rudely executed, and much defaced.
18. The Adoration of the Magi’ in the chapel of the Madonna, is still pointed out in the cathedral of Volterra, as the work of Benozzo Gozzoli.
19. An error into which Vasari himself fell in the first instance, not having, as he tells us himself in the first edition, then seen any work of Melozzo’s, or obtained any exact information concerning him.
20. This artist has been rarely alluded to by English writers, but “the grand and beautiful angels of Melozzo of Forli ” are cited in terms of high commendation by Mrs. Jameson. See Poetry of Sacred and Legendary Art, voL i. p. 20.
21. The Cavalier Tommaso Puccini describes two works by Zanobi Macchiavelli, as formerly exising in the church of Santa Croce, in Fossabonda, a hamlet outside the gates of Pisa. Of these, one, a Coronation of the Virgin, was transported to Paris, and is still in the Louvre; the other is in the Academy (Istituto delle belle Arti) of Pisa: it represents the Virgin seated, with the Divine Child on her knee; beside her are San Ranieri, San Francesco, San Giacomo, and another Saint. Beneath is the inscription:— Opus Cenobii de Machiavellis.