Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Fra Giovanni da Fiesole

by Giorgio Vasari

 

LIFE OF THE PAINTER, FRATE GIOVANNI DA FIESOLE,
OF THE ORDER OF PREACHING FRIARS.

[born 1387—died 1455.]

Fra Giovanni Angelico da Fiesole, who, while in the world, was called Guido,^[1] having been no less eminent as a painter and miniaturist than excellent as a churchman, deserves to be held in honourable remembrance for both these causes. This master might have lived in the world with the utmost ease and comfort, since, in addition to what he originally possessed, he might have gained whatever he desired by the exercise of the arts with which, while still very young, he was perfectly well acquainted.^[2] But he chose nevertheless, in the hope of ensuring the peace and quiet of his life, and of promoting the salvation of his soul, to enter the order of the preaching friars; ^[3] for although it is certain, that we may serve God in all conditions, yet to some it appears, that they can more effectually secure their salvation in the cloister than in the world; and this purpose is doubtless successful, as regards the man of good and upright purpose, but the contrary as certainly happens to him who becomes a monk from less worthy motives, and who is sure to render himself truly miserable.

There are certain choral books from the hand of Fra Giovanni in his convent of San Marco at Florence, of which the miniatures are such that no words could do justice to their beauty.^[4] Similar to these are others, which he left in San Domenico, at Fiesole, and which are executed with inexpressible care and patience: it is true that he was assisted in these works by an elder brother,^[5] who was also a miniaturist, and tolerably well versed in painting.

One of the first paintings executed by this good father was a picture on panel for the Carthusian monastery in Florence, where it was placed in the principal chapel, which belonged to the cardinal Acciaiuoli: the subject is a Virgin with the Child in her arms, and with angels at her feet; the latter are sounding musical instruments and singing, and are exceedingly beautiful: on one side of the Virgin are San Lorenzo, with Santa Maria Maddalena; on the other are San Zanobi, with San Benedetto; and on the predella are stories from the lives of those saints, the figures of which are very small, and are executed with infinite care. In the same chapel are two other pictures by the same master, one representing the Coronation of the Virgin; and in the other are the Madonna, with two saints in ultra-marine blue, of great beauty.^[6] In the nave of Santa Maria Novella, and beside the door, which is opposite to the choir, Fra Giovanni afterwards painted a fresco, wherein he represented San Domenico, Santa Caterina da Siena, and St. Peter the martyr. In the chapel of the Coronation of our Lady, which is in the same part of the church, he likewise painted certain small historical pictures; and on the doors which close the old organ he painted an Annunciation on cloth, which is now in the convent, opposite to the door of the lower dormitory, and between the two cloisters.^[7]

Fra Giovanni was so greatly beloved for his admirable qualities by Cosimo de’ Medici, that the latter had no sooner completed the church and convent of San Marco, than he caused the good father to paint the whole story of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on one of the walls of the chapterhouse. In this work are figures of all those saints who have been heads and founders of religious bodies, mourning and bewailing at the foot of the cross on one side, and on the other, St. Mark the Evangelist beside the mother of the Son of God, who has fainted at sight of the crucified Saviour, Around the Virgin are the Maries, who are sorrowing with and supporting her; thej are accompanied by the saints, Cosimo and Damiano.^[8] It is said that in the figure of San Cosimo, Fra Giovanni depicted his friend Nanni d’Antonio di Banco, the sculptor, from the life. Beneath this work, in a frieze over the back of the seats, the master executed a figure of San Domenico standing at the foot of a tree, on the branches of which are medallions, wherein are all the popes, cardinals, bishops, saints, and masters in theology who had belonged to Fra Giovanni’s order of the Preaching Friars, down to his own day. In this work the brethren of his order assisted him by procuring portraits of these various personages from different places, by which means he was enabled to execute many likenesses from nature. These are, San Domenico in the centre, who is grasping the branches of the tree; Pope Innocent V.; a Frenchman; the Beato Ugone, first cardinal of that order; the Beato Paolo the patriarch, a Florentine; Sant’ Antonino,^[9] a Florentine; Bishop Giordano, a German, and the second general of the order; the Beato Niccolo; the Beato Remigio, a Florentine; and the martyr Boninsegno, a Florentine; all these are on the right hand. On the left are Benedict XL,^[10] of Treviso; Giandominico, a Florentine cardinal; Pietro da Palude, patriarch of Jerusalem; the German Alberto Magno; the Beato Raimondo, of Catalonia, third general of the order; the Beato Chiaro, a Florentine, and Provincial of Rome; SanVincenzio di Valenza; and the Beato Bernardo, a Florentine; all these heads are truly graceful and very beautiful. In the first cloister. Fra Giovanni then painted many admirable figures in fresco over certain lunettes, with a crucifix, at the foot of which stands San Domenico, which is greatly esteemed;^[11] and in the dormitory, beside many other things in the cells and on the walls, he executed a story from the New Testament which is beautiful beyond the power of words to describe.

But exquisite and admirable above all is the picture of the High Altar in that church; for besides that the Madonna in this painting awakens devotional feeling in all who regard her, by the pure simplicity of her expression; and that the saints surrounding her have a similar character;^[12] the predella, in which are stories of the martyrdom of San Cosimo, San Damiano, and others, is so perfectly finished, that one cannot imagine it possible for any thing to be executed with greater care, nor can figures more delicate, or more judiciously arranged, be conceived,.^[13]

At San Domenico di Fiesole Fra Giovanni likewise painted the picture of the High Altar; but this—perhaps because it appeared to have received injury—has been retouched by other masters, and much deteriorated. The Predella and the Ciborium are, fortunately, much better preserved; and the many small figures which are seen there, surrounded by a celestial glory, are so beautiful, that they do truly seem to belong to paradise; nor can he who approaches them be ever weary of regarding their beauty.^[14] In a chapel of the same church is a picture from the same hand, representing our Lady receiving the annunciation from the angel Gabriel, with a countenance, which is seen in profile, so devout, so delicate, and so perfectly executed, that the beholder can scarcely believe it to be by the hand of man, but would rather suppose it to have been delineated in Paradise. In the landscape forming the background are seen Adam and Eve, by whom it was made needful that the Virgin should give birth to the Redeemer. In the predella are likewise certain stories, the small figures of which are extremely beautiful.^[15]

But superior to all the other works of Fra Giovanni, and one in which he surpassed himself, is a picture in the same church, near the door on the left hand of the entrance: in this work he proves the high quality of his powers as well as the profound intelligence he possessed of the art which he practised. The subject is the Coronation of the Virgin by Jesus Christ: the principal figures are surrounded by a choir of angels, among whom are vast numbers of saints and holy personages, male and female. These figures are so numerous, so well executed, in attitudes so varied, and with expressions of the head so richly diversified, that one feels infinite pleasure and delight in regarding them. Nay, one is convinced that those blessed spirits can look no otherwise in heaven itself, or, to speak under correction, could not, if they had forms, appear otherwise; for all the saints, male and female, assembled here, have not only life and expression, most delicately and truly rendered, but the colouring also of the whole work would seem to have been given by the hand of a saint, or of an angel like themselves. It is not without most sufiicient reason therefore, that this excellent ecclesiastic is always called Frate Giovanni Angelico. The stories from the life of our Lady and of San Domenico which adorn the predella, moreover, are in the same divine manner, and I, for myself, can affirm with truth, that I never see this work but it appears something new, nor can I ever satisfy myself with the sight of it, or have enough of beholding it.^[16]

In the chapel of the Nunziata at Florence, Avhich Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici caused to be constructed. Fra Giovanni painted the doors of the armory or press, wherein the silver utensils for the service of the altar are deposited, the figures are made and executed with much care.^[17] He painted besides SO many pictures which are now in the dwellings of different Florentine citizens, that I remain sometimes in astonishment, and am at a loss to comprehend how one man could so perfectly execute all that he has performed, even though he did labour many years. The very reverend Don Vincenzio Borghini, superintendent of the Innocenti, is in possession of a small picture of the Virgin by the hand of this father, which is beautiful; and Bartolommeo Gondi, as zealous an amateur of these arts as any gentleman that I know, has a large picture, a small one, and a crucifix, all by the same hand. The paintings in the arch over the door of San Do menico are likewise by Fra Giovanni,^[18] and in Santa Trinita there is a picture in the sacristy, representing a deposition from the cross, to which he devoted so much care that it may be numbered among the best of his works.^[19]

In San Francesco, without the gate of San Miniato, Fra Giovanni painted an Annunciation,^[20] and in Santa Maria Novella, in addition to the works from his hand already enumerated, are certain stories, decorating various reliquaries which it is the custom to place on the altar in high solemnities, with others which are used in the Easter ceremonies.^[21]

In the abbey of the same city (Florence), this master painted the figure of San Benedetto, in the act of commanding silence.^[22] II For the Guild of Joiners, he executed a picture which is preserved in the house of their Guild,^[23] and in Cortona he painted a small arch over the door of the church which belongs to his order, as also the picture of the high altar.^[24]

In Orvieto, Fra Giovanni began to paint certain prophets in the Cathedral; on the ceiling of the chapel of our Lady: these were afterwards finished by Luca da Cortona. For the Brotherhood of the Temple in Florence, he painted a picture representing the Dead Christ,^[25] and in the church of the Monks of the Angeli, he executed a Paradiso and Inferno, the figures of both which are small. Fra Giovanni proved the rectitude of his judgment in this work, having made the countenances of the blessed beautiful and full of a celestial gladness; but the condemned, those destined to the pains of hell, he has depicted in various attitudes of sorrow, and bearing the impress and consciousness of their misdeeds and wretchedness on their faces: the blessed are seen to enter the gate of paradise in triumphal dance, the condemned are dragged away to eternal punishment in hell, by the hands of demons. This work is in the church abovementioned, on the right hand, as you approach the high altar, near where the priest is wont to sit while the Mass is sung.^[26] For the Nuns of St. Peter the Martyr, who now occupy the monastery of San Felice in Piazza, which formerly belonged to the Order of Camaldoli, Fra Giovanni painted a picture wherein are represented the Virgin, St. John the Baptist, St. Dominick, St. Thomas, and St. Peter the Martyr, with many small figures.^[27] In the centre aisle of Santa Maria Nuova, is also to be seen a picture by the hand of this master.^[28]

These many and various labours having rendered the name of Fra Giovanni illustrious throughout all Italy, he was invited to Borne by Pope Nicholas V., who caused him to adorn the chapel of the palace, where the pontiflT is accustomed to hear mass, with a Deposition from the Cross, and with certain events from the life of San Lorenzo, which are admirable. The Pope further appointed him to execute the miniatures of several books, which are also extremely beautiful. In the church of the Minerva,^[29] Fra Giovanni executed the picture of the High Altar and an Annunciation, Avhich is now placed against the wall beside the principal chapel. For the same pontilf. Fra Giovanni decorated the chapel of the sacrament in the palace, which chapel was afterwards destroyed by Pope Paul III., who conducted the staircase through it. In this work, which was an excellent one. Fra Giovanni had painted stories in fresco from the life of Christ, in his own admirable manner, and had introduced many portraits of eminent persons then living. These portraits would most probably have been lost to us, had not Paul Jovius caused the following among them to be reserved for his museum: Pope Nicholas V., the Emperor Frederick, who had at that time arrived in Italy; Frate Antonino, who afterwards became archbishop of Florence,^[30] Biondo da Forli, and Ferdinand of Arragon.

And now, Fra Giovanni, appearing to the Pope to be, as he really was, a person of most holy life, gentle and modest, the Pontiff, on the archbishopric becoming vacant, judged Fra Giovanni to be worthy of that preferment; but the Frate, hearing this, entreated his Holiness to provide himself with some other person, since he did not feel capable of ruling men. He added, that among the brethren of his order, was a man well skilled in the art of governing others, a friend of the poor, and one who feared God: on this man he considered that the proposed dignity would he much more appropriately conferred than on himself. The Pope hearing this, and remembering that what he said of this brother of his order was true, freely granted him the favour he desired, and thus was the Prate Antonino of the order of Friars-Preachers made archbishop of Florence. And the new prelate was in truth most illustrious, whether for learning or sanctity; he was of such a character, in fine, that he fully merited the honour of canonization bestowed on him in our own days by Pope Adrian VI.

A great proof of excellence was this act of Fra Giovanni’s, and, without doubt, a very rare thing. The resignation of a dignity so eminent, of an honour and ofi^ice so important, offered to himself by the supreme pontiff, but yielded by him to the man whom he, with unbiassed judgment and in the sincerity of his heart, considered much more worthy of it than himself. The churchmen of our times might learn from this holy man to refrain from taking upon them those offices, the duties of which they cannot duly fulfil, and to resign them to those who are more worthy of them. And would to God, that all ecclesiastics (be it said without offence to the good among them) would employ their time, as did this excellent father, to return to Fra Giovanni, so truly named Angelico, seeing that he continued the whole course of his life in the service of God, or in labouring for the benefit of the world and of his neighbour. And what more can or ought to be desired, than by thug living righteously, to secure the kingdom of heaven, and by labouring virtuously, to obtain everlasting fame in this world? And, of a truth, so extraordinary and sublime a gift as that possessed by Fra Giovanni, should scarcely be conferred on any but a man of most holy life, since it is certain that all who take upon them to meddle with sacred and ecclesiastical subjects, should be men of holy and spiritual minds; for we cannot but have seen that when such works are attempted by persons of little faith, and who do but lightly esteem religion, they frequently cause light thoughts and unworthy inclinations to awaken in the beholder; whence it follows that these works are censured for their offences in this kind, even while praised for the ability displayed in them as works of art. Yet I would not here give occasion to the mistake that things rude and inept shall therefore be holy, and that the beautiful and attractive are licentious: this is the false interpretation of many who, when they see feminine or youthful figures adorned with more than common beauty, instantly consider them licentious, and therefore censure them; not perceiving how wrongfully they are condemning the sound j udgment of the painter; for the latter believes the saints, male and female, who are celestial, to be as much superior to mere mortals in beauty, as heaven is superior to things earthly and the work of human hands; and, what is worse, they at the same time betray the unsoundness and impurity of their own hearts, by thus deducing evil consequences from, and finding causes of otfence, in things which, if they were truly admirers of good, as by their'stupid zeal they desire to make themselves appear, would rather awaken in them aspirations towards heaven, and the wish to make themselves acceptable to the Creator of all things, from whom, as Himself, the highest and most perfect; beauty and perfection have proceeded. But what are we to suppose that such people would do if they were placed, or rather what do they when they are placed, where they find living beauty, accompanied by light manners, by seductive words, by movements full of grace, and eyes that cannot but ravish the heart not amply guarded? What are we to believe they then do, since the mere image, the very shadow, can move them so powerfully? Not that I would have any suppose me to approve the placing in churches of such figures as are depicted in all but perfect nudity; by no means: for in such cases the painter has not taken into consideration the reserve that was due to the place. He may have just cause for desiring to make manifest the extent of his power; but this should be done with due regard to circumstances, and not without befitting respect to persons, times, and places.

Fra Giovanni was a man of the utmost simplicity of intention, and was most holy in every act of his life. It is related of him, and it is a good evidence of his simple earnestness of purpose, that being one morning invited to breakfast by Pope Nicholas V., he had scruples of conscience as to eating meat without the permission of his prior, not considering that the authority of the pontiff was superseding that of the prior. He disregarded all earthly advantages; and, living in pure holiness, was as much the friend of the poor in life as I believe his soul now is in heaven. He laboured continually at his paintings, but would do nothing that was not connected with things holy. He might have been rich, but for riches he took no care; on the contrary, he was accustomed to say, that the only true riches was contentment with little. He might have commanded many, but would not do so, declaring that there was less fatigue and less danger of error in obeying others, than in commanding others. It was at his option to hold places of dignity in the brotherhood of his order, and also in the world; but he regarded them not, affirming that he sought no dignity and took no care but that of escaping hell and drawing near to Paradise. And of a truth what dignity can be compared to that which should be most coveted by all churchmen, nay, by every man living, that, namely, which is found in God alone, and in a life of virtuous labour?

Fra Giovanni was kindly to all, and moderate in all his habits, living temperately, and holding himself entirely apart from the snares of the world. He used frequently to say, that he who practised the art of painting had need of quiet, and should live without cares or anxious thoughts; adding, that he who would do the work of Christ should perpetually remain with Christ. He was never seen to display anger among the brethren of his order; a thing which appears to me most extraordinary, nay, almost incredible; if he admonished his friends, it was with gentleness and a quiet smile; and to those who sought his works, he would reply with the utmost cordiality, that they had but to obtain the assent of the prior, when he would assuredly not fail to do what they desired. In fine, this never sufficiently to be lauded father was most humble, modest, and excellent in all his words and works; in his painting he gave evidence of piety and devotion, as well as of ability, and the saints that he painted have more of the air and expression of sanctity than have those of any other master.

It was the custom of Fra Giovanni to abstain from retouching or improving any painting once finished. He altered nothing, but left all as it was done the first time, believing, as he said, that such was the will of God. It is also affirmed that he would never take the pencil in hand until he had first offered a prayer. He is said never to have painted a Crucifix without tears streaming from his eyes, and in the countenances and attitudes of his figures it is easy to perceive proof of his sincerity, his goodness, and the depth of his devotion to the religion of Christ.

Fra Giovanni died in 1455, at the age of sixty-eight. He left disciples, among whom was Benozzo, a Florentine, by whom his manner was always imitated, with Zanobi Strozzi,^[31] who executed paintings for all Florence, which were dispersed among the houses of the citizens. There is a picture by this master in the centre aisle of Santa Maria Novella, near that of Fra Giovanni, and another, which was formerly in San Benedetto, a monastery belonging to the monks of Camaldoli, without the Find gate; but the convent is now destroyed, and Strozzi’s work is at this time in the little church of San Michele, in the monastery of the Angeli. It may be seen as you enter the principal door, and on the right hand as you go towards the altar, appended to the wall.^[32] Another work of Zanobi Strozzi will be found in the chapel of the Nasi family in Santa Lucia; there is likewise one in San Romeo, and in the treasury (guardaroba) of the duke, there is the portrait of Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, with that of Bartolommeo Valori, in one and the same picture, both by the hand of this master.^[33]

Gentile da Fabriano was likewise among the disciples of Fra Giovanni, as was Domenico di Michelino, who executed the altar-piece of San Zanobi, in the church of Sant’ Apollinare, of Florence, with many other pictures.^[34] Fra Giovanni Angelico was interred by the brethren of his order in the church of the Minerva at Rome, beside the lateral door which opens on the sacristy. On his tomb, which is of marble and of a round^[35] form, is the portrait of the master taken from nature; and on the marble is engraved the epitaph, which may be read below:

Non mihi sit laudi, quod eram velut alter Apelles,
Sed quod lucra tuis omnia. Christe, daham:
Altera nam terris opera extant, altera coelo
Urbs me Joannem flos tulit Etruriae.^[36]

In Santa Maria del Fiore are two very large books richly decorated with miniatures most admirably executed by the hand of Fra Giovanni Angelico; they are held in the utmost veneration, are most sumptuously adorned, and are only suffered to be seen on occasions of high solemnity.^[37] At the same time with Fra Giovanni lived the renowned Florentine painter in miniature, Attavante,^[38] of whom I know no other name. This master, among other works, illustrated a Silius Ttalicus with miniatures; it is now at San Giovanni e Paolo, in Venice, and I will here give certain particulars relating to this work, not only because they merit the atten- tion of artists, but also because no other work of this master, so far as I know, has been found; nor should I have had notice of this indeed, had it not been for the affection borne to these noble acts by the very honourable M. Cosimo Bartoli, a Florentine gentleman, who made it known to me, to the end that the talents of Attavante should not remain buried, as it were, from the sight of men.

In this book, then, the figure of Silius has a helmet on the head, which is surrounded by a chaplet of laurel, and bears a plume, or crest of gold; he wears a cuirass of azure-blue, decorated with gold, after the manner of the ancients; in his right hand he carries a book, while with the left he is leaning on a short sword; over the cuirass he has a red mantle, or chlamys, adorned with gold; it is fastened in front, and hangs down from the shoulders. The inside of this chlamys seems to be of a texture changeable^[39] in colour, and is embroidered with rosettes of gold; the buskins are yellow, and the figure, supporting itself on the right foot, is placed within a niche. The following figure represents Scipio Africanus; the cuirass is yellow, the sword-belt and sleeves are blue, richly embroidered in gold. On its head this figure has a helmet, with two small wings and a fish, by way of crest. The countenance of the youth is very beautiful, the complexion fair; he raises the right arm proudly; a naked sword is in the right hand, while in the left he holds the scabbard, which is red embroidered with gold; the hose are green and quite plain; the chlamys which is azure, has a red lining and a border of gold; it is fastened at the throat, leaving the front entirely open, and falls backward with very graceful effect; the buskins are of blue embroidered in gold, and the figure stands within a niche of vari-coloured marbles, the head turned towards Hannibal, who stands opposite to him on the other page of the book, with an expression of indescribable fierceness. The figure of Hannibal is that of a man about thirty-six years old; his brows are folded in the manner of a person who is perplexed and angry, and he also looks fixedly at Scipio. On his head he wears a helmet of a yellow colour: the crest is a dragon, the colours of which are yellow and green; around the helmet is a serpent which forms tlie chaplet. He supports himself on the left foot, and raises the right arm, in which he holds the shaft of an ancient javelin, or rather a partisan; the cuirass is azure; the belt, with its pendants, is partly azure and partly yellow; the sleeves are changeable, or shot azure anal red, the buskins yellow. The chlamys worn by Hannibal is changeable red and yellow: it is fastened on the right shoulder and lined with green; with the left hand he leans on his sword, and is placed within a niche of vari-coloured marbles, the colours of which are yellow, white, and changing. On another page is the portrait of Pope Nicholas Y., taken from the life, with a mantle changing purple and red, richly embroidered in gold. He is drawn in profile without beard, and is looking towards the commencement of the book, which is opposite to him, and towards which he extends the right hand as in admiration of it. The niche is green and red; in the frieze above are certain small half-length figures within medallions; some of an oval, others of a circular form, together with innumerable figures of small birds and children, so well done that nothing better can be desired. In like manner are depicted the Carthaginian Hanno, Asdrubal, Coelius, Massinissa, C. Salinatorus, Nero, Sempronius, M. Marcellus, Q. Pabius, the younger Scipio, and Yibius. At the end of the book is a figure of Mars in an antique chariot drawn by two horses of a reddish brown. On his head the god hears a helmet of red and gold, with two small wings; on the left arm is an antique shield which he holds before him, and in the right hand he bears a naked sword; he stands on the left foot alone, holding the other in the air; he wears a cuirass after the antique manner, the colours red and gold, as are those of the hose and buskins; the upper part of the chlamys is azure, the lower part green, embroidered in gold. The chariot of the god is covered with red cloth, embroidered in gold, and surrounded by a border of ermine; it moves over a verdant champagne country, blooming with flowers, but amidst rocks and precipices; in the distance, however, we perceive cities, and a landscape, which, with the clear blue air, are all most admirable. In another page is a youthful Neptune clothed in long vestments, which are embroidered all round with a colour made from ‘^terretta verdethe carnation is excessively pale. In the right hand this figure holds a small trident, he raises his vestments with the left, and stands with both feet on the chariot, which is covered with red, embroidered in gold, and bordered around with ermine: this chariot has four wheels like that of Mars, but is drawn by four dolphins, and followed by three sea-nymphs, two boys, and a vast number of fishes, all painted in a water-colour, similar to the terretta, and very beautiful. After these is seen Carthage in despair, figured by a woman standing upright with dishevelled hair: the upper part of the figure is clothed in green, the vestment is open from the waist downwards, it is lined with red cloth embroidered in gold, and at the opening another vesture is given to view; but this last is of very slight texture, the colour changing violet and white. The sleeves of the lower vestment are red and gold, with a sort of pendants falling over them from the robe above. She stretches the left hand towards Rome, who is opposite to her, as one who would say, “What wouldest thou?—I am ready to answer thee.^ In her right hand she brandishes a naked sword, in the manner of one infuriated. The buskins of this figure are azure, it is placed on a rock in the midst of the sea; and the surrounding air is very beautifully done. Rome is depicted as a young girl, beautiful as it is possible for man to imagine; the hair is wound round her head in tresses of infinite grace, and her vestments are wholly red, with a border of embroidery at the foot only; the reverse of the robe is yellow, and the under vestment seen at the opening is changing of purple and white. The buskins worn by this figure are green, a sceptre is borne in the right hand, and in the left is the globe. Rome also is placed on a rock in the midst of an air, which could not be more beautiful than it is. But although I have taken the utmost pains to set forth the art with which these figures have been executed by Attavante in the best manner I am able, yet let none suppose that I have said more than a very small part of what might be said of their beauty, seeing that, for works of the time, nothing in miniature could be seen better than these are, or displaying more invention, judgment, and knowledge of design, or executed with more diligence; the colours also are as beautiful as it is possible that they should be; nor could they be distributed, each to its appropriate portion, with a more perfect grace.^[40]

---

1. He was born near the Gastello di Vicchio, in the province of Mugello, in Tuscany: his father’s name was Pietro, but the family name is known. In Florentine documents he is called Frater Joannes Petri de Mugello.
2. See Rumohr, ut supra, 2, 251, for an admirable dissertation on the manner of this artist. See also Carus in the Kunstblatt for 1825, No. 103.
3. This he did in the year 1407.
4. Many of these books were dispersed or destroyed during the French domination, but some are still preserved in San Marco.
5. Or, more probably, a younger brother, who took the Dominican habit at the same time with Fra Giovanni, and was so remarkable for his excellence that he has always been accounted among the most venerated fathers of his convent.
6. These pictures are not in the place here indicated, nor is it known where they now are.
7. The frescoes perished when the church was altered. Ot the Annunciation the later Florentine commentators declare the fate to be unknown.
8. This picture is still in good preservation, but the vestments of the Virgin have unhappily suffered from the restorers.—German Edition of Vasari, vol. ii. p. 315.
9. “It is certain that Fra Giovanni did not paint Sant’ Antonino, who was then living, the name of the Archbishop was substituted at a later period for that of the personage whom Fra Giovanni had represented;” so far Baldinucci. This appears to have been done in the case of other personages here depicted; indeed, the whole of the inscriptions, according to the German commentators, are of a date later than that of the painting. The latter has suffered to some extent from having been retouched.
10. In the Giunti and succeeding editions, this is Benedict II.
11. The Crucifix is still in good preservation, as are also the paintings in the cells.
12. Now in the Florentine Academy, but much injured by restoration.
13. These stories have been supposed to be those very small ones in the predella of the Chapel of the Painters, in the Annunziata; but the latep Florentine commentators consider these pictures to have been dispersed, and declare two of them to be in the Academy of Fine Arts at Florence, one in the collection of Lombardi and Baldi in the same city, and others in the Pinacothek at Munich.
14. Now in the choir; the restoration to which Vasari here alludes was by the hand of Lorenzo di Credi; unhappily, the work has suffered much more serious injury from restorations, since that time.
15. This picture was sold to the Duke Mario Farnese, about the middle of the last century; a copy only being retained in the church of the Dominicans, and this copy was afterwards lost.
16. This picture is now in the Louvre, having been taken from Fiesole in the French invasion of 1812. It has been engraved by Ternite, with an introduction by A. W. Schlegel. Paris, 1816, folio. Förster.
17. Vasari might have commended the conception and composition of these stories as well as the care of their execution. They are now in the Gallery of the Fine Arts in Florence. Eight of the stories have been engraved in La Galleria delle belle arti di Firenze, and the whole series, thirty-six in number, had been previously engraved by Nocchi of Florence. —Ed. Flor. 1849.
18. They are no longer to be seen,
19. Now in the Academy of the Fine Arts in Florence.
20. The fate of this Annunciation is not known.
21. We learn from the Memorie of the Father V. Marchese that these reliquaries were four; three only now remain in Santa Maria Novella, and these are kept under crystal in the press or armory of the relics, a care which they well merit, as well for the name of the master as for the beauty of the work.
22. A half-length, still to be seen over a door which has been walled up in the small cloister; but except the head and hands, little now remains uninjured by dust, humidity, and restoration. Cinelli, Bellezze di Firenze, attributes this work to Masaccio, but with manifest error.
23. The picture painted for the Joiners should rather be called a Tabernacle: it is now in the Gallery of the Uffizj, at the entrance of the eastern corridor, and bears the date 1433. The gradino, or predella of this tabernacle is also in the Uffizj.
24. The picture over the door has suffered greatly; that of the altar has been removed to the choir.
25. This is now in the Academy of the Fine Arts at Florence.
26. This picture is also in the above-named Academy.
27. This picture is in the form of a tryptica; it was for some years in the Gallery of the Uffizj, whence it was transferred to the Fitti: it has been much retouched.
28. Since the year 1825 this admirable work has likewise been preserved in the Gallery of the Uffizj, it is in the first room of the Tuscan School.
29. The German commentators tell us that both the pictures of the Minerva are still in the church. One in the Caraffa chapel—that dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas, the other in the chapel of the Rosary. The later Florentine annotators, however, say that the works in question are not now to be seen, but that one is believed to be concealed under an inferior picture in the chapel of the Rosary, having been thus covered, as is believed, at a time when “our most precious works of art were torn from us by strangers.”
30. In this picture Fra Giovanni may very probably have painted the Frate Antonino, who might appropriately have place there as an eminent man, but certainly not in the Chapter House of St. Mark, where he appears with the distinctive characteristics of a saint; his name was doubtless substituted for that of the person originally delinaited by Fra Giovanni in the Chapter House, as a consequence of his canonization. See ante, p. 26, note †.
31. Of the noble family of the Strozzi. The reader will find a detailed notice of this painter in Baldinucci, vol. iii. p. 205. Of the fate of his works but little is now known, the suppression of the regular orders having caused their dispersion with that of so many other works of art.
32. Richa, Chiese Fiorentine, part i., p. 258, declares himself unable to discover this painting.
33. Masselli remarks, that Vasari has omitted to mention a very beautiful painting which is alluded to by Lanzi in the following words:—“The picture of the Paradise, which is still to be seen in Santa Maddalena de’ Pazzi is extremely rich in figures; it is among the rarest of this master’s works, because of larger proportion than was usual with him, and may also be considered among the most beautiful of them,”—Ed. Flor. 1822 -8; but does not this refer to Bernardo rather than to Zanobi, Strozzi?
34. Lanzi doubts that Gentile da Fabriano was the disciple of Fra Giovanni, but Della Valle, Storia del Duomo d’Orvieto, p, 123, confirms the assertion of Vasari. An important work of this master, formerly attributed to Orgagna, has been restored to its author by Gaye (vol. ii, pp. 4, 7). This is the celebrated picture of the Florentine cathedral, wherein is the full-length figure of Dante.
35. Bottari says, “The form of the tomb is not round but square.’’
36. In relation to this epitaph, an Italian commentator has the following. When Fra Giovanni deuarted to contemplate in heaven those beloved forms which he had so divinely depicted on earth, the inscription on his tomb was dictated, as some writers affirm, by the pontiff himself (Nicholas V.); but Vasari, who has cited it, has omitted a part which was inscribed above the lines given by him: we here supply the omission: “Hic jacet Ven. Pictor, Fr. Jo. de Flor. Ord. P. mcccclv.
37. The German commentators inform us that certain highly decorated choral books were transferred from Santa Maria del Fiore to the Biblioteca Laurenziana, but of those here mentioned they declare that no authentic account can be obtained. The latest Florentine writers on this subject record their failure in the same search as follows: “Among the many and admirable books now in the Duomo, it has not been given to us to behold any one from the hand of Fra Giovanni.”
38. Sometimes called Vante. See Lettere Pittoriche, where there are two letters from this artist to Niccolo Gaddi. See also Gaye, Carteggio inedito, 2, 455, note.
39. Or, as we say familiarly, shot.
40. Of this passage, Morelli, in his Notizie d'Opere di Disegno, p. 171, speaks in the following terras:—“All is good in this description, the name of the author excepted, for this was not Attavante, as Bartoli, himself in error, has led Vasari to believe. The work illuminated by Attavante is a codex of Martianus Capella. The seven liberal arts, and the council of the gods, are depicted therein, with many exquisite ornaments, but the work does not display the mastery evinced in the Silius Italicus. On its commencement, it bears the inscription, “Atavantes Florentinus pinxit.” Puccini declares that the principal merit of these miniatures is in the care with which they have been executed; but Lanzi, History of Painting, vol. i. p. 93, pronounces a high eulogium on this work, and affirms it to merit more praise than it has hitherto received. Tirabosohi also lauds this master for the miniatures executed by him for Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. A splendid missal, painted by Attavante for that monarch, is now in the Royal Library of Brussels, and bears the following inscription:— Actavantes de Actavantibus de Florentia hoc opus illuminavit, a.d. mcccolxxxv.” On another part of the book ai’e the words, “Actum Florentia, a.d. mcccclxxxvii. ”