Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Perino del Vaga

by Giorgio Vasari

 

THE FLORENTINE PAINTER, PERINO DEL VAGA.

[born 1500—died 1547.]

Very great, without doubt, is the value of art, which, far from having regard to the favours of fortune, the possession of power, or the nobility of blood, is much more frequently found to bless, to sustain, nay, rather to exalt above the earth, some child of poverty, than one cradled amidst the luxuries of wealth. And this is so decreed by Heaven for

the purpose of teaching us how effectual is the influence of the stars and constellations, distributing as they do, to one more, to another less, of the celestial favours; for these influences are, for the most part, the cause wherefore some of us are born with dispositions more or less energetic or slothful, more or less weak or powerful, impetuous or gentle, fortunate or unfortunate, gifted with genius or destitute of ability; and he who shall in any manner doubt the truth of this doctrine, will find himself undeceived by the life of the excellent and very ingenious painter, Perino^[1] del Vaga.^[2]

Born of indigent parents and abandoned by his kindred in his earliest youth, Perino was guided and governed by art alone—art, which he always acknowledged as his true mother, and ever honoured as such. With so much zeal accordingly did he devote himself to the study of painting, and such was the success of his unremitting endeavours to attain perfection, that he became capable of executing those most admirable and justly renowned works, by which in his day the glory of Genoa and the fame of the Prince Doria were so largely increased.^[3] Safely, and without hesitation may we believe therefore, that by Heaven alone are men of a condition so lowly conducted from the infinite depression in which they were born, to the summit of greatness whither they are seen to ascend, when, by the works they produce, and by the persistence of their endeavours in the vocation they have chosen, these men prove themselves to be true and earnest followers of knowledge. It was thus and with no inferior degree of zeal and truthfulness that Perino del Vaga, while in his youth, pursued, as he had adopted, the art of design, wherein he attained the highest distinction, and gave early evidence of the grace and perfection of manner which he afterwards acquired. This artist moreover, not only equalled the ancients in stucco-work, but proved himself to possess every advantage exhibited by the best modern artists in the whole domain of painting; nay, all that can be desired from human genius, or from him who shall aspire to make manifest, by the beauty of colouring and the attraction of ornament, the difficulties, the excellence, and the grace which exist in the regions of that art; all, I say, were combined in Perino.

But let us speak more particularly concerning the origin of this artist. In the city of Florence there lived a man called Giovanni Buonaccorso, who distinguished himself greatly in the wars of Charles VIII., king of France. Youthful, courageous, and liberal, Giovanni dissipated his patrimony in gaming and in the duties of the field, until he had spent all that he possessed in the service of that prince wherein he finally lost his life also.^[4] To this man was born a son whom he named Piero, and whose mother having died of the plague when he was but two months old, he was suckled by a goat, and brought up in the utmost poverty at a farm-house, while his father, having departed to Bologna, there took a second wife. This woman, who had lost her previous husband and her children in the plague, completed, with her pest-infected milk, the nursing of the infant Piero, whom they called Pierino by way of nom de caresse, as is for the most part the custom with respect to little children, and this name he retained ever afterwards.^[5]

Being taken to Florence by his father, the little Piero was there left with certain kinsfolk of Giovanni, while the latter returned to France, but these relations, either not having the will to encumber themselves with the charge left to them, or not possessing the means to support the child and have him taught some ingenious occupation, apprenticed him to the apothecary of the Pinadoro,^[6] to the intent that the boy should acquire his vocation; but Piero found no pleasure therein, and was then taken as shop-ooy by the painter Andrea de’ Ceri, who was pleased with the appearance and manners of the child, and who thought he perceived in him a certain something indicative of a lively genius, whence it might be hoped that with time some good result would proceed from the cultivation of his abilities.

Andrea was not a distinguished artist; on the contrary, he was an ordinary painter, one of those who stand openly in their shops, working at every kind of mechanical operation for the public; he was moreover accustomed to paint a certain number of wax lights every year (on the festival of San Giovanni namely), which were then, and indeed still are,^[7] sent with the other tributes of the city; for this reason the painter was called Andrea de’ Ceri,^[8] and from that name Perino was for some time called Perino de’ Ceri.

When Andrea had kept the child some years, teaching him the first principles of the art in the best manner that he was able, he was compelled to seek for him a better master than he could himself pretend to be. This happened when the boy had attained his eleventh year, and Andrea being on terms of strict intimacy with Pidolfo, the son of Domenico Ghirlandajo, who, as we shall relate hereafter, was held to be a very good and able painter,—Andrea I say, placed Perino with Pidolfo Ghirlandajo, to the end that by him the child might be properly instructed, and might labour under his direction, with all the zeal and love that he could command, to acquire the needful attainments in the art, towards which his genius appeared so strongly to dispose him. Pursuing his studies accordingly, among the many other young people whom Pidolfo had in his bottega to learn their calling, Perino displayed a degree of care and attention which caused him very soon to surpass all the rest. Among others was one called Toto del Nunziata, in whom Perino found a spur by which he was perpetually impelled to exertion, and who also attained in time to a place among the most distinguished artists. But Toto left Florence at a subsequent period, with certain Florentine merchants and repaired to England, where all his works were performed, seeing that he entered the service of the king of that country, for whom he executed numerous works; some of these were in architecture, more especially the principal palace of that monarch,^[9] by whom he was very largely remunerated.

This Toto and Perino, thus labouring in emulation of each other, devoted themselves to their studies with so much zeal that no long time had elapsed before they both became excellent in their art. Perino, moreover, drawing with other young people, Florentines and strangers alike, after the cartoon of Michelagnolo, acquired and maintained the first place among them all, thereby awakening those expectations which the admirable works, afterwards executed by him with so much art and excellence, so amply fulfilled.

Now at that time it happened that the Florentine painter Vaga made a visit to his native city of Florence. He was no very distinguished artist, and was executing coarse kinds of work at Toscanella, in the States of the Church; but he was overwhelmed with commissions, and requiring assistance, was disposed to take with him from Florence some youth, who might supply him with aid in design, wherein he felt himself to be wanting, as well as in other matters connected with his art; he also desired to find a shop-boy whom he might in like manner take with him. Vaga chanced to see Perino drawing with other young men in the bottega of Ridolfo, and was greatly astonished at the extent of that ability by which he perceived him to surpass all those around him. Nay, what is still more, this Vaga was equally pleased with the aspect and manners of Perino, who was a very beautiful youth, courteous, modest, and pleasing in his deportment, his whole person, in short, corresponding externally with the endowments of his mind: Vaga was indeed so greatly charmed with Perino, that he inquired at once if he would go with him to Rome, declaring moreover, that he would do all that he possibly could to secure his advancement in his studies, would confer on him all the benefits in his power, and would make such conditions with him as he should demand.

The desire of Perino for the attainment of perfection in his art was so powerful, that he no sooner heard the name of Rome mentioned, than he was instantly moved to a great degree, but told Vaga that he must speak respecting the matter with Andrea de’ Ceri, who had been his aid and support to that time, and whom he would not leave without first having obtained his consent. Ultimately, Vaga found means to prevail on Ridolfo, Perino’s master, as well as on Andrea de’ Ceri, with whom the youth still had his abode, to permit his departure, when the latter, with a companion whom Vaga had also engaged, set off with him to Toscanella. Here they all began to work, and not only completed the undertaking with which Vaga was then occupied, but also many others, which he commenced afterwards. But the promises, with which Perino had been allured into the Roman states, not being fulfilled; the advantage and profit which Vaga derived from the services of Perino, causing him to defer the expected visit to Rome; the youth determined to proceed thither alone, whereupon Vaga left all his works unfinished, and himself conducted the young artist to that city. Arrived in Rome, Perino returned, with all his wonted love of art, to his drawing, and after having been thus occupied for many weeks, the zeal with which he devoted himself thereto seemed daily to become more fervid; but Vaga was anxious to return to Toscanella, and therefore made Perino known to many of the ordinary painters, recommending him, as one belonging to himself, to the kindness and good offices of all the friends that he had in Rome, whom he entreated to assist and favour the youth in his absence; from this circumstance he was ever afterwards called Perino del Vaga.

Thus left in Rome, and beholding the ancient works in sculpture, and the most admirable structure of the buildings, now for the most part in ruins, he stood lost in astonishment at the power and greatness of those exalted and illustrious men by whom such works had been performed, and his love of art becoming ever more and more inflamed, he was perpetually glowing with the desire of attaining in some manner to a certain vicinity with those noble masters, and in his turn to win a name for himself as well as do service to the world by means of his works, as had been done by the men who had awakened so profound a sense of admiration within him, as he gazed on their beautiful productions. But while he was thus contemplating the features of these his idols, from the depths of his infinite lowliness and poverty; comparing the debasement of the last with the elevation of the first, and conscious that he had nothing but the force of his will to assist him in his purpose of attaining to the eminence whereon they shone; he reflected that there was none to aid or minister to him for the support of his life. He was thus compelled, if he would possess the means of existence, to work, now for this painter and then for another, in any shop that might be open to him, precisely in the manner of a labourer who delves for his daily hire. But the grief with which he reflected on the impediments offered to his studies by this mode of life was very bitter, nor could he fail to remark, that the progress he made was but small as compared with that to which his love of art, his desire for improvement, and his potent necessities were all alike impelling him.

He therefore resolved to make an equal division of his time, giving the one half of the week to working at daywork, and reserving the other half for his labours in design: to this second portion he added all the festivals and a great part of the nights, stealing time from Time as it were, in the hope of one day becoming famous, and for the present purpose of escaping so far as was possible from dependence on others.

Having carried this determination into practice, Perino began to draw in the chapel of Pope Julius, wherein Michelagnolo had depicted the ceiling, but imitating the manner and modes of proceeding of Raffaello da Urbino. He then proceeded to design the antiquities in marble, and to copy the grottesche which he found in the subterranean portions of the Roman edifices, being pleased with the originality and varied power of invention displayed therein. He acquired the methods of working in stucco likewise, earning with toilsome labour his scanty crust meanwhile, and enduring every extreme of poverty and wretchedness in the hope of rendering himself excellent in his vocation.

Nor did any great length of time elapse before he became the best and most accomplished designer of all the many who then studied drawing in Rome, seeing that he had a more exact knowledge of the muscular development, and was perhaps more profoundly conversant with the difficulties presented by the nude form,than many who were at that time accounted among the best masters; nay, at length he began to be known for what he was, not only to the men of his own profession, but to many prelates and nobles also. It chanced moreover, that Giulio Romano and Giovan Francesco, called Il Fattore, the disciples of Raffaello da Urbino, extolled him not a little to their master, inspiring the latter with a wish to become acquainted with Perino, and to see his works in design, when having done so, he was greatly pleased, and not only with his productions but with his character, deportment, and mode of life, predicting that, among the many aspirants to distinction whom he had known, this would be the one who would attain to the highest perfection in art.

The papal Loggie, the construction of which had been commanded by Pope Leo X., had meanwhile been completed by Raphael of Urbino, and by the same Pontiff it was furthermore commanded that Raphael should cause that fabric to be decorated with stucco-work, as well as painted and gilded, as it should seem best to his judgment. Giovanni da Udine was therefore appointed chief of the work by Raphael, for the grottesche and stuccoes that is to say, Giovanni being most distinguished, nay, unique in these operations, but principally as respected animals, fruits, and other minute portions of the work. There had likewise been collected from distant parts, as well as chosen from among the artists in Rome, a large number of the most able masters, insomuch that there was a company of eminent men assembled, some working in stucco, some remarkable for the execution of grottesche, others for historical representations, some for foliage, or festoons, or other matters, but all distinguished for excellence in one department or another.

As each of the persons thus employed made progress and improved, so was he brought forward by the master, and obtained increased remuneration; a mode of proceeding by which there was so much emulation awakened among the younger artists, that by means of this work many of them were brought to a high degree of perfection, and afterwards became truly excellent in their various departments. In this company Perino, among others, was consigned by Raphael to Giovanni da Udine, for the purpose of painting stories and grottesche, being given to understand at the same time, that accordingly as he should acquit himself so would he be employed by Giovanni. Incited by emulation therefore, and working to give proof of what he could do, many months had not elapsed before Perino was accounted the first among all who were there employed, whether for design or colouring; the best in short, the most graceful in manner, and most delicate in finish, executing both figures and grottesche with more facility and animation than any other artist. And that this was indeed the fact is amply proved in the stories, festoons, and grottesche by his hand, which appear in this work, and which not only surpass all the rest, but are moreover much more faithful to the designs and sketches which were prepared for them by Raphael.^[10] This may be clearly seen from a certain portion of the stories which are on the centre of the vaulting in that Loggia wherein are depicted the Hebrews crossing the river Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant, as also in that picture wherein the Jews are seen to be compassing about the walls of Jericho, those walls being in the very act of falling as they proceed, and in the representations which follow, one of which exhibits Joshua, when, in conflict with the Amorites, he commands the sun to stand still.

The best figures among those painted to imitate bronze in the basement, are in like manner by Perino, that of Abraham about to sacrifice his son Isaac for example, Jacob wrestling with the Angel, Joseph receiving his Brethren, the Fire which descends from heaven to consume the sons of Levi, and many others which I do not further enumerate, because their number is too great, and also because they are readily to be distinguished from the rest without this enumeration. Near the entrance of the loggia likewise, and where the stories from the New Testament are depicted, Perino executed the Birth of our Lord, with his Baptism and the Last Supper, all which are exceedingly beautiful,^[11] as are also the paintings beneath the windows, which are coloured to represent bronze, and which are the best stories of that kind in the whole work.^[12] Perino’s productions in this Loggia are in effect of such excellence, that they cause amazement in all who behold them, and not the paintings only, but the many works in stucco also which were there executed by his hand. The colouring of his works, moreover, is much more pleasing and more highly finished than that of any one among the other artists.

These labours caused Perino to be extolled beyond all belief, but the praises he heard lavished on him did not set him to sleep; on the contrary, as ability commended will ever increase, they served to stimulate his exertions, and incite him to still more zealous study, inspiring him meanwhile with the firm conviction that if he continued his endeavours he should one day find himself in possession of those honours and advantages of which he daily beheld Raphael and Michelagnolo to be in the full enjoyment. He laboured all the more readily also, because he perceived that he was held in much account by Giovanni da Udine and by Raphael, who very frequently employed him in works of importance. Towards Raphael he ever displayed the most perfect respect, and obedience the most unbounded, conducting himself as respected the master in such a manner that he was beloved by Raphael as a son.

Now at that time the ceiling of the Hall of the Pontiffs,^[13] whence you pass by the Loggie into the apartments of Pope Alexander VI., which had previously been adorned with paintings by Pinturicchio, was about to be painted by command of Pope Leo, and that commission was executed by Giovanni da Udine, and by Perino, who completed the works in stucco, with all the animals, grottesche, and ornaments of various kinds, there depicted, in company, as they did the beautiful and varied inventions exhibited in the compartments, which they had divided into spaces of a circular and oval form. And herein they delineated the seven planets of heaven, drawn by their appropriate animals^[14] Jupiter by his Eagles, for example; Venus by her Doves,^[15] the Moon by Women, Mars by Wolves,^[16] Mercury by Cocks, the Sun by Horses, and Saturn^[17] by Serpents. There are besides the twelve Signs of the Zodiac, and forty-eight figures of the Constellations; as, for example, the Great Bear, the Dog-star, and many others, as we have said, but which we pass over, and do not recount them in their order, to avoid needless prolixity, and because the works are themselves to be seen. Almost all these figures are by the hand of Perino.

In the centre of the ceiling is a circular compartment, within which are four figures, representing Victory, and holding the triple crown of the Pontiffs, with the keys of St. Peter; the figures are fore-shortened, and executed with the most perfect mastery, displaying great knowledge of art and wonderful judgment; the draperies also are exceedingly light and graceful, the nude forms being veiled only with textures so nearly transparent that the form of the lower limbs and arms is discovered through them; without doubt a most graceful beauty. This work was held at the time and is still considered to be highly honourable to the artists, rich and elaborate in its character, cheerful in its effect, and of most pleasing aspect; at a word, this performance is entirely worthy of that Pontiff, who did not fail to reward the artists for their pains, which were fully worthy, without doubt, of very large remuneration.

Perino next undertook to execute a facjaae in chiaroscuro, a method then brought into use by Polidoro and Maturino. The building which he thus decorated is opposite to the house of the Marchesa di Massa, and near that of Maestro Pasquino,^[18] and the work was executed by Perino with infinite boldness of design,- and much care in the treatment.

In the third year of his pontificate, Pope Leo X. repaired to Florence, and as on the occasion of his visit many festive preparations were made, and arches of triumph, &c., erected, Perino, partly for the purpose of beholding those pomps, and partly for the pleasure of once again visiting his native place, proceeded to Florence, where he arrived a short time before the court had reached that city. He then received a commission to prepare a figure seven braccia high for the Arch erected at Santa Trinita, another of equal size being confided at the same time to Toto del Nunziata, who had been his rival in childhood, and who now executed that figure in competition with him.

But to Pietro every hour seemed a thousand years till he could get back to Pome, seeing that the degrees and modes of proceeding among the Florentine artists appeared to him something very different from what he had been accustomed to in Rome. He departed from Florence therefore, and returned to Rome accordingly, where he resumed his usual course of life and habits of occupation. In Sant’ Eustachio della Dogana, Perino then painted a figure of San Pietro in fresco;^[19] this is a work which exhibits extraordinary relief, the draperies are particularly simple in their folds, the drawing is admirable, and the execution singularly judicious.

Now at that time it chanced that the Archbishop of Cyprus, a man who greatly delighted in art, but more especially in painting, was in Rome, and he, having a house near the Chiavica, around which he had laid out a small garden adorned with a few statues and other antiquities, all being certainly arranged with infinite beauty and decorum; having these statues, I say, the Archbishop desired to add to them some appropriate ornament in painting, wherefore he caused Perino, who was his very intimate friend, to be summoned, and having consulted together, they determined that there should be various stories depicted around the walls of the garden, exhibiting Bacchantes, Satyrs, Furies, and wild animals, all having some reference or allusion to a certain antique statue of Bacchus, seated, with a tiger beside him, which the Archbishop had there; and thus they adorned the place accordingly with divers poesies. They constructed a Loggia likewise, which they decorated with small figures, grottesche, and numerous pictures, landscapes among others, and these are painted with so much grace, and in so careful a manner, that the work has ever been and ever will be held by artists in the highest estimation.

This performance caused the master to become known to the Fugger family, merchants of Germany, who having seen that work of Perino, and being greatly pleased with the same, commissioned him to paint the Court and Loggia of a house, which they had built near the Banchi, on the road leading to the Church of the Florentines. Here Perino executed numerous figures, which merit commendation quite as much as do the other works of his hand, giving evidence of a very beautiful manner, and displaying a most attractive grace. At the same time, Messer Marchionne Baldassini had caused a house to be constructed near Sant’ Agostino, and which had been completed with very great ability by Antonio da San Gallo, a3 we have related in the life of that architect; Messer Marchionne then wished to have a Hall, which Antonio had erected therein, painted all over in fresco, and having talked with many of the young artists who were then exercising their vocation in Rome, on the subject, seeing that he much desired to have the work well and handsomely done, he finally, and after speaking with several others, as we have said, determined to confide it to Perino. Having agreed respecting the price, that artist set hand to the work accordingly, nor did he suffer himself to be interrupted in this undertaking by any others, until he had brought the fresco to a most satisfactory conclusion.

The Hall was divided by Perino into compartments, by painted columns, and in the intercolumniations he depicted niches, some large and some small; in the former he placed figures of philosophers, two in some of the niches, and one standing alone in others; the smaller recesses were occupied by figures of children, some nude, others partially draped by means of veils, and over these smaller niches are female heads, painted to imitate busts of marble. Above the cornice, which forms the completion of the columns, there followed a second range of pictures, consisting of stories, the figures of which are not large, and the subjects whereof are taken from Roman history, commencing with Romulus and ending with Numa Pompilius. There are besides numerous ornaments painted to imitate marbles of various kinds, and above the chimney-piece, which is in stone and of very beautiful workmanship, there is a figure of Peace, who is burning the arms and trophies of war. This work was held in the highest estimation by all men during the life of Messer Marchionne, and still continues to be equally so considered by all who labour in our vocation, as well as by many others who are not of our calling, but who nevertheless commend this work most highly.

In the Convent which belongs to the Nuns of Sant’ Anna, Perino painted a chapel in fresco, depicting various figures therein with his accustomed care. In San Stefano del Cacco, likewise, he painted a fresco on an altar,*^[20] the subject being a Dead Christ in the lap of Our Lady. That work was executed by command of a Roman lady, whose portrait, taken from life, he also painted, and this is so natural that it seems to be alive; the whole painting is indeed depicted with the most evident mastery, and is very beautiful.

About this time, Antonio da San Gallo had erected a Tabernacle at the angle of a house which is known as that of the Imagine di Ponte, and in this Tabernacle, which is constructed in travertine richly adorned, and is a very handsome fabric,^[21] it was from the first intended to place paintings of merit and value. To this end Antonio had received command from the owner of the house to select some artist who should appear to him likely to execute suitable pictures therein, whereupon the architect, who knew Perino to be the best of the young painters then in Pome, made over that work to his care. The latter set hand thereto accordingly, arid delineated in the Tabernacle Our Saviour Christ in the act of crowning the Madonna. The ground he represented as a splendour of glory, with a choir of Seraphim and Angels, draped in partially transparent clothing, and scattering flowers; there were, besides, other figures of children in beautiful and varied attitudes, and on each side of the Tabernacle is a figure; that of San Sebastiano occupying the one side, and that of Sant’ Antonio the other: a beautiful and admirable work, of character similar to that of all the other productions of Piero, which ever were and are lovely and graceful.

Now, a certain protonotary had erected a marble chapel on four columns in the Church of the Minerva, and as he desired to add a picture, even though but a small one, thereby to leave a further memorial of himself; so the protonotary agreed with Perino, with whose fame he was acquainted, and caused him to paint the same in oil. The owner of the work furthermore desired that the subject thereof should be a Deposition of Christ from the Cross, which Perino at once set himself to execute with all his accustomed thought and care. The Saviour is represented as already laid on the earth, with the weeping Maries around him; and on the faces and in the attitudes of these women there is the expression of a most bitter grief, as well as the deepest compassion: there are besides, the Nicodemuses,^[22] and other figures all singularly beautiful, and all giving evidence of the sadness and affliction with which they regard the spotless Saviour, lying dead before them.

But a part of this work which is indeed divinely treated, is that wherein are the bodies of the two thieves, which remain fixed to the cross, and in which, to say nothing of the truth and reality of their appearance, which is indeed that of dead corpses, there is a fine development of the muscles and display of the nerves, for which this subject offered the master a favourable occasion. Wherefore, these figures appear before the eyes of him who regards them, with their members truly drawn and distorted by that violent death; the contraction of the nerves and muscles beneath the pressure of those cords and nails being clearly manifest. There is, besides, a landscape, the country represented as lying amid the darkness of the Crucifixion; this also is rendered with infinite discretion, and displays a profound knowledge of art. If it had not been for that inundation of the Tiber which followed on the plunder of Rome, and by which this work was damaged up to the half of its height, the excellence of the same would be manifest to all; but the water has so grievously softened the gesso, and has caused the panel to swell so much, that the work has peeled off to a degree which greatly detracts from the enjoyment of the beholder, nay, rather, which turns his pleasure into regret, and even sorrow, since but for that misfortune it is manifest that herein we should have had one of the most precious possessions of which Rome can boast.^[23]

About this time,^[24] the Church of San Marcello in Rome, which is a Monastery of the Servite Monks, was in process of re-construction by Jacopo Sansovino, a work which still remains unfinished;^[25] but the walls of some few of the chapels had been erected, and the roofs of these having been raised, the Monks gave a commission to Perino, whom they ordered to paint two figures, one in each of two niches, which are formed on the right and left of a Madonna (the object of peculiar devotion in that church), San Giuseppe namely, with San Filippo, who had been a Brother of the Servites, and the Founder of their order.^[26] That work being finished, Perino painted several most beautiful figures of boys above it, and in the centre of that side of the chapel he placed one standing upright on a square pedestal, and bearing on his shoulders the ends of two festoons, which he directs towards the corners of the chapel, where there are two other boys who support the same; these children are seated with the legs crossed, in an attitude of infantine grace, which is very pleasing: the boys here described are indeed painted in so fine a manner, they display so much art, they are so graceful, and the tint of the soft and fresh-looking limbs is so perfect, that they look rather like the living flesh than a thing painted, and may of a truth be considered the best and most admirable work ever executed by any artist in fresco. And the cause of that superiority is as follows: in these figures the glance of the eyes has life, in the attitudes there is movement, and the mouth shows itself to be on the point of speaking, as if it would declare that Art has therein surpassed Nature, or rather, that the latter confesses herself unable to do more than is there done by Art.

This work was considered to be of such remarkable excellence in the opinion of all who understood the matter, that the master derived from it a very great increase of reputation; and although he had executed many works, and the world had certainly not then to learn what might be expected from that exalted genius in his vocation, wherewith Perino was endowed, yet he was from that time held in much greater account than had previously been the case. For this reason the Cardinal Santiquattro, Lorenzo Pucci, having made the acquisition of a chapel on the Santa Trinità,^[27] which is a monastery of the Calabresi and Franciosi, who wear the habit of Francesco di Paolo, that Lorenzo, I say, having taken this chapel, which was beside the principal chapel, and to the left of the same, made it over to Perino, to the end that he might paint the life of Our Lady therein. The master commenced the work accordingly, and finished the whole of the ceiling, with that portion of the wall moreover, which is beneath the arch; on the outer side, and over an arch of the chapel, he painted two figures of Prophets, which were not less than four braccia and a half high. These figures represent Isaiah and Daniel, and in their grand proportions they display all that knowledge of art, that excellence in design, and beauty of colouring, which can only be found in their perfection in the pictures of a great artist. And this will be perceived by all who shall examine these figures, but more particularly the Isaiah; the prophet is reading, and the deep thought which he gives to the subject of his study, with the zealous earnestness of the researches in which he is engaged, and his desire for the attainment of increased knowledge, are all clearly manifest; his eyes are riveted to his book, and he leans his head on his hand in all the absorption of a man profoundly occupied with his subject. The attitude of Daniel is equally fine, his figure is immoveable, and with the head raised to heaven he seems lost in celestial contemplation, and in the effort to resolve the doubts of his people.

Between the Prophets are two Boys who support the escutcheon of the cardinal, the shield of these arms is of a singularly beautiful shape, and the children are not only painted in such a manner as to seem of the living flesh, but have the appearance of being in full relief. In the four angles of the cross by which the ceiling of that chapel is divided, there are moreover four stories; the Conception of Our Lady is in the first, in the second is her Birth, the third exhibits the Madonna as she ascends the steps of the Temple, and in the fourth is her Espousal with San Giuseppe.

On a wall which occupies the whole breadth of the arch, Perino then depicted the Visitation, a picture in which there are many very beautiful figures, but more especially are to be remarked some which have mounted on pedestals, the better to behold the ceremonies of that greeting; these have infinite animation in their attitudes, which are indeed most natural. The remaining figures and the buildings have in like manner something of good and beautiful in every part of them.^[28] But Perino did not continue the work further, because he fell ill, and on his recovery the plague, by which Rome was so heavily scourged in the year 1523, broke out, and raged in such a manner that it became necessary for him to resolve on departing from the city if he had any intention of saving his life.

Now the goldsmith Piloto,^[29] who was an intimate friend and constant companion of Perino, was at that time in Rome, and he also had a great wish to leave the city; one morning therefore, when they were breakfasting together, he persuaded Perino to set off at once and go to Florence, seeing that many years had then elapsed since he had been there, and considering also that it could not but be greatly to his honour to make himself known therein, and to leave some memorial of his excellence in that place. It is true that Andrea de’ Ceri and his wife, by whom Perino had been brought up, were both dead, and he had no possessions of any kind in that district; still, having been there born, he had a love for the land: no long time afterwards therefore, he set off one morning with Piloto, and they proceeded together on the road to Florence. Arrived in that city, Perino found the utmost pleasure in revisiting the old works painted by departed masters, and which had been the objects of his study in his childish years; nor did he neglect the works of the more renowned masters who were then living, and who were reputed the best artists of Florence, where, by the intervention of his friends, he did himself receive the commission for a picture, as will be related hereafter.

It happened one day that many artists being with him and having assembled to do him honour; painters, sculptors; architects, goldsmiths, carvers in marble, and carvers in wood, all met together according to the ancient custom, some to see, to hear, and to accompany Perino, others to observe the differences of practice existing between the artists of Rome and those of Florence, the greater number perchance for the purpose of hearing the censures and praises which artists are in the frequent habit of uttering in respect to each other: it happened, I say, that thus conversing together of one thing and another, in the course of their visits to different churches, where they examined the productions of the masters, ancient and modern, they came to that of the Carmine, with intent to see the chapel of Masaccio. All stood looking attentively at the paintings, and many were the praises of the master which were uttered in various phrase; every one expressing his surprise that he should have displayed so much judgment, and that, having at the time when he lived no other works to study than those of Griotto, his own productions should have so much of the modern manner in the design, the imitation of form, and in the colouring: some remarking further, that Masaccio had found means to exhibit all the niceties of art in the facility of his manner; nay, more, in respect of boldness, relief, and readiness in execution, there had even yet been no artist among all those who had laboured, of whom it could be affirmed that he had equalled Masaccio.

This sort of discourse pleased Perino well, and replying to all those artists who were thus speaking, he made answer in these words,—“I will not deny but that what you say may be true, nay, much besides might be said to the same effect; but that there is no master who can equal this manner, is what I must hesitate to admit now and always. Nay, furthermore, I must even aver, if it may be done with the permission of the company, not from contempt, but for the sake of truth, that I know many who have more boldness as well as more grace, and whose works in painting are no less animated than these, rather, they are more beautiful; and I am sorry, give me leave to say, I, who am not the first in our vocation, that there is no vacant space in the immediate vicinity of these works, where I might have means to depict a figure, whereby, before my departure from Florence, I might, by way of trial, and beside one of these, prepare a painting, to be, like them, in fresco, from which you might judge whether it be or be not true that there is no one among the modern artists who may venture to compare himself with Masaccio.”

Now among the persons thus assembled in the Carmine was one who had the reputation of being the first master of painting in Florence, and being curious to see a work by Perino, perhaps also wishing to pull down the pride of that artist, he replied with a thought of his own, which was this: “Although every part of the space here is filled (said he), yet as you have this desire, which is certainly a good and commendable one, and there is a San Paolo by the hand of Masaccio immediately opposite, which is no less beautiful and meritorious than any that could be chosen from this chapel, so may you very easily there proceed to show us what you have said (since there space may be found), by the execution of another apostle, either beside the San Pietro of Masolino or the San Paolo of Masaccio, whichever you may prefer.”

But the San Pietro was nearer to the window than the San Paolo, and had more ample space beside it, as well as a better light, besides which the figure was no less beautiful than that of San Paolo; wherefore all encouraged Perino to do as he had said, since they would all greatly rejoice to see this manner of Rome, some adding the remark, that he would thus be the means of taking out of their heads the fancy which they had been nursing for so many tens of years, and declaring that if his work should prove to be the best, they would all hasten to adopt the new manner.

Thereupon, being persuaded by that master, who told him at last that he ought not to refuse the request and disappoint the expectation of so many distinguished men, seeing that it would only cost him fourteen days to paint a figure in fresco, whereas they on their part were prepared to spend whole years in the praises of his work, Perino resolved to make the attempt, although he who thus persuaded him was in truth of a totally different opinion to that which he was expressing, and felt convinced that Perino would certainly not produce anything much better than was commonly displayed by such artists as were reputed to be of the best. Having thus determined, as I have said, the Prior of the convent, Messer Giovanni da Pisa, was requested to give his consent to the execution of the proposed work, and to permit the occupation of space required for the same; when he, very courteously complying with that request, the measure of the space accorded was taken in its length and breadth, and the assembled artists left the church.

A cartoon was then prepared by Perino, the subject chosen being the Apostle St. Andrew, and this figure having been completed with very great care, the artist was resolved to paint the fresco at once, and had caused the enclosure and scaffolding to be constructed for that purpose; but before he had found time to commence the work, he was called on to execute that commission for a fresco, of which I have already spoken, and which had been procured for him by the many friends who had seen his beautiful and excellent works in Rome, to the end that he might leave some memorial of his ability in Florence also, where they desired that he should make manifest the elevation of that excellent genius for painting wherewith he had been so largely endowed, and thus render himself fully known, when they hoped that those who were then governing might entrust some work of importance to his care.

There was at that time a number of men belonging to our arts, who had formed themselves into a society at the Camaldoli in Florence; calling their association the Brotherhood of the Martyrs: and among them there had for some time been a wish entertained to have a certain façade adorned with paintings, representing the History and Death of the Martyrs who were condemned to be crucified by two Roman emperors, after having been taken prisoners in battle, and who are accordingly affixed to crosses or suspended from the trees in the midst of a wood, wherein the scene in question is described to have taken place. This picture it was that Perino had to paint, and although the place was somewhat inconvenient from its distance, and the price but small, he was yet so much attracted by the opportunity which the work presented for the exercise of inventive power, and by the extent of the fa£ade to be placed at his disposal, that he was nevertheless inclined to undertake it, and the rather as he was much encouraged to do so by all who were really his friends; they being persuaded that this work would secure to his abilities that place which they so well merited in the estimation of his fellow citizens and the artists of Florence, to whom those abilities had as yet been made known by reputation only.

Having accepted the commission therefore, Perino made a small design of the subject, and this drawing was at once declared to be divine; he then prepared to make a cartoon of equal size with the work to be executed, and at this he laboured with his accustomed diligence, never ceasing from his attention thereto until all the principal figures were entirely finished. But this occupation caused the figure of the Apostle Andrew to be left out of view, and with that work Perino proceeded no further.

The cartoon for the Martyrs he executed on white paper, the lights being left in the paper itself, and the whole duly shaded and exhibiting much harmony of colouring; every part was indeed accomplished with admirable care. The two emperors, seated on the judgment-seat, condemn all the prisoners to death, and the figures of the captives are seen all turned towards the tribunal, some kneeling, some bending, others standing upright, but all nude and bound in different ways with fetters. The attitudes also are infinitely varied; some are writhing in the extremity of their anguish, and in these the trembling of the limbs, as the soul is made to depart amidst the agonies of a death so bitter as that of crucifixion, has been rendered fully apparent. The constancy and faith of the older martyrs is likewise seen, with the dread of death endured by those of more tender years: in others, the torture they are suffering, and the pain they endure, from the strain of the cords on their back and limbs, is made as clearly manifest. The swelling of the muscles is also perceived, nay, the cold dews of death are even shown, in that design, to be stealing over the bodies of the martyred victims. In the soldiers by whom the martyrs are conducted, there is the evidence of a most cruel and merciless spirit; fiercely dragging the prisoners along, they first present them before the tribunal to receive their sentence, and then lead them away to their death on the cross. As regards their vestments also, the emperors and soldiers wear cuirasses after the antique manner, with ornaments appropriate to the various conditions, but all very fanciful and beautiful; the helmets, the shields, the buskins, and every part of the habiliments and arms are all adorned with that amplitude and variety of rich ornaments whereby the artist successfully imitates, nay, surpasses the antique, and all these things were depicted with that love and care, and perfection of mastery, which results from the highest powers in Art well applied to their due ends. When this cartoon was seen therefore, it was declared by all the artists, as well as by every one acquainted with Art, that equal beauty and excellence in design had not been seen since the Cartoon made in Florence by Michelagnolo, for the Flail of the council; wherefore Perino was at once exalted to the highest summit of reputation in his calling.

While occupied with the completion of this cartoon, Perino amused himself with the preparations for a small picture which he proposed to paint for his friend the goldsmith Piloto, causing oil colours to be ground and made ready for the same, of which he executed also something more than the half. Now Perino had been for many years acquainted with a certain priest, Ser Raffaello di Sandro namely, a chaplain of San Lorenzo, who was always a great admirer and friend of the artists in design. This Ser Raffaello proposed to Perino that he should go to take up his quarters with him, seeing that the painter had no one to cook for him, none to look after his comforts or to attend to him in any way, but had gone about from one friend to another during the whole of his stay in Florence; abiding now with one and now with another: Perino accompanied the priest to his dwelling accordingly, and there he stayed several weeks. Meanwhile, the plague began to make its appearance in different parts of Florence, and Perino, fearing lest he should take the infection, resolved to depart from the city: but first he wished to remunerate Ser Raffaello for the many days during which the latter had entertained him in his house. The priest would hear of no such proceeding however, but said, “I should be largely paid by a scrap of paper from thy hand, Perino.”

Finding Ser Raffaello determined on that point, Perino then took a thick cloth, about four braccia in extent, and having caused it to be fixed to the wall between two doors, which were in the parlour of the priest, he there painted a picture, in colours to imitate bronze, the whole of which was executed in a day and a night. On this canvas, which was to serve as a screen, Perino delineated the whole history of Moses, passing the Red Sea, as also the submersion of Pharaoh, with his horses and chariots, when he attempted to follow: the master has exhibited the figures which he has depicted in this work in the most beautiful attitudes; some are in armour, others nude, many are swimming, and among these are some with their beards and hair streaming with the waters, who are seeking to support themselves on the necks of their horses, others are crying aloud in their fear of death, and some again are struggling with the most violent efforts, and using all their endeavours to escape the fate which threatens them. On the other side of the sea are seen Moses, Aaron, and all the rest of the Hebrews, men and women, offering thanks to God for their safety; and here the artist has painted a number of vases, with vestments and other riches, of which the Hebrews have despoiled the people of Egypt: the habiliments of the Hebrew women in this part of the picture are also very beautiful and of admirably varied forms, as are the head-dresses of the same.

This work being completed, Perino left it as a mark of his affection for Ser Raffaello; to whom it was so dear and so welcome a gift, that he could scarcely have been more delighted had he received the priorate of San Lorenzo. The painting was ever held in great estimation and wTas highly commended; it remained in the possession of Ser Raffaello until his death, when it passed, with all that he had besides, into the hands of his brother, the bacon seller, Domenico di Sandro.

Departing thus hastily from Florence, Perino was compelled to abandon the picture of the Martyrs, which caused him very great regret, nay, it is certain that he would not have done so, and would have stayed to finish it, if the work had been in any other place than the Camaldoli; but when he considered that the officers of health had appointed that very monastery as the receptacle of those afflicted with the plague, he thought it better to save his life than to risk it to such a degree for the sake of acquiring fame in Florence: wherefore he resolved to let the proofs of his ability, which he had given in the design of that work, suffice him. The cartoon, with other things of Perino’s, was left to his friend the goldsmith Giovanni di Goro, but he dying in that pestilence, the work then fell into the hands of Piloto. By the latter it was set up and displayed in his house for many years, the goldsmith willingly showing it to every ingenious person desiring to examine the same, as the most admirable of works, which it truly merited to be esteemed; but what became of it after the death of Piloto, I am not able to say.

Flying from place to place in the hope of escaping from the pestilence, Perino passed several months in different abodes, but not on that account did he spend his time in vain; on the contrary, he was perpetually engaged in drawing, and in the study of all that appertained to his art. On the disappearance of the plague he repaired to Pome, where he gave his attention for some time to the execution of small pictures, respecting which I do not propose to say anything more.

But in the year 1523, Pope Clement was elected to fill the pontifical chair, a circumstance which proved to be a great and much needed restoration and refreshment to the arts of painting and sculpture, which had been brought to a very low condition during the lifetime of Pope Adrian VI.; for not only were the professors thereof refused all opportunity of doing anything for himself, but also, he taking no pleasure in those matters, nay, rather having them in hatred, caused others also to refrain from seeking any enjoyment from works of art, and prevented every one from spending money therein, so that none would give commissions to any artist, as I have before said in more places than one; but on the election of the new pontiff, Perino, as well as others, received commissions for many works.

Now it had been resolved that Giulio Romano and Giovan Francesco, called il Fattore, should be chosen to serve as Capo dell'arte in the place of Raphael, who was then dead, to the end that they might make distribution of the works to the artists, as had been previously the custom; but Perino had acquitted himself so admirably in the execution of an escutcheon of the papal arms, which he had painted over the door of the Cardinal Cesarino, after a cartoon by Giulio Romano, that the last-named artist and Giovan Francesco both doubted whether Perino would not be preferred to themselves. For although they had the name of Raphael’s disciples, and had inherited the objects connected with art which he had left behind him, yet they had not also inherited the whole of that power and grace which he was accustomed to impart to his works. They therefore determined to attach Perino to their interests, and during the holy year of the jubilee, in 152.5 namely, they gave him Caterina, the sister of Giovan Francesco to wife, to the end that the perfect friendship which had for so long a period subsisted between them, might be changed into relationship. Perino then continued his usual avocations, and no long time after his marriage, the praises which were bestowed on the first work performed by him in the church of San Marcello, determined the prior of that convent, with certain chiefs or the brotherhood of the Crocifisso (who have built a chapel in the church for the purpose of celebrating the solemnities of their company therein), to entrust him with the decoration of the chapel in question, which they desired to see painted, and they commissioned Perino to execute the work accordingly, hoping to receive some excellent production at his hands.

Having caused the proper scaffolding to be erected therefore, Perino commenced his work; and in the ceiling, which is coved, he painted the story of Eve, created by God from the rib taken out of the side of Adam. In this painting the nude figure of Adam, which is one of surprising beauty, and manifests the perfection of art in the master, is seen lying deeply sunk in the profound sleep into which he has been cast, while Eve is standing upright, a most animated figure, who, with folded hands, is receiving the blessing of her Creator. The figure of the Almighty himself is depicted with the most sublime and majestic aspect that can be conceived; grand, grave, and solemn, the erect form is wrapped in the folds of most ample draperies, by the extremities of which the nude figures before him are partially clothed. On the right of the Creator are the two Evangelists, St. Mark and St. John, the first entirely finished by Perino, and the last completed also, with the exception of the head and one arm, which are nude. Between these Evangelists are two children, the arms of which are thrown around a chandelier, and their figures, which must certainly have been made of the living flesh, serve as the decorations thereof; the Evangelists also are exceedingly beautiful, whether as regards the heads, figures, or draperies, as is every other eir* cumstance appertaining to those figures.^[30]

While Perino was occupied with this work, he suffered frequent interruptions from sickness and other misfortunes, of daily occurrence to all who share this life; it is also affirmed that the men of the Company by whom he was commissioned, were in want of money, insomuch that the work was greatly delayed, and finally came that year of 1527, which brought the sack and ruin of Rome, when the city was given over to be plundered, many artists slain, and works of art in great numbers destroyed or carried away. Perino was in the midst of all these fearful disorders, he had a wife and a little daughter, and with the latter in his arms he long hurried about from one place to another in different parts of the city, in the hope of saving his child and himself, but having at length been miserably captured, he was compelled to pay so large a sum of money for his ransom, that he had well nigh lost his senses at the ruin which had befallen him, nay, even when the fury of the sack had at length abated, Perino found hinD self so grievously cast down with the miseries that he had endured and still feared to suffer, that all thought of his art was for the time abandoned; ultimately he did produce some pictures in water colour, and various fantasies for the Spanish soldiers, and having somewhat recovered himself, he contrived to live as others did, which was poorly enough. The only person who escaped in these tumults appeared to be that Baviera, in whose possession were the engravings of Raphael’s works, and who did not lose much at that time; wherefore, moved by the friendship which he entertained for Perino, and desiring to give him occupation, he commissioned that master to design the Transformations of the Grods, which lie then caused to be engraved in copper plate by Jacopo Caraglio, who was an excellent engraver of prints, and who acquitted himself exceedingly well on this occasion: carefully observing the outlines and manner of Perino, and shading the work with extreme delicacy, he did his utmost to impart to the engraving that grace and facility which the master had displayed in his designs.

While Rome had thus been ruined and destroyed by the siege, very many of the inhabitants had departed. The Pope himself had retired to Orvieto, and few persons remained in the city, where there was absolutely no work of any kind in progress, when Niccolo Veneziano, a distinguished, nay, rather, unrivalled master in embroidery, and a servant oi Prince Doria, arrived in Rome. There had long been much friendship between Niccolo and Perino, for which reason, and because he had always favoured and wished well to the men of our art, Niccolo persuaded Perino to depart from amidst that wretchedness, and set off to Genoa, promising to use in his favour the influence which he possessed with Prince Doria, who was a great lover of art, and, delighting more particularly in painting, would certainly employ him in the execution of important works. Niccolo remarked, moreover, that his Excellency had frequently spoken with him respecting a wish he had to cause a range of rooms in his palace to be richly adorned; wherefore, Perino, not requiring much persuasion, oppressed as he was by want, and feeling besides the most earnest desire to leave Rome, Perino, I say, determined to accompany Niccolo: having then placed his wife and little girl where they would be well cared for by their connections in Rome, and arranged all his affairs, he departed accordingly, and proceeded to Genoa.

Arrived in that city, he was instantly made known to the Prince by means of Niccolo, when it was found that nothing could have been more welcome to that sovereign than such an arrival, whom it pleased more than anything of a similar kind that had ever happened to him in his life. Having been received with the most gracious cordiality therefore, and with many marks of favour, much discourse and many conversations ensued, when Perino was at length commissioned to begin his labours. The work with which they finally determined to commence, was the erection of a palace, to be adorned with stucco-work, pictures in fresco, paintings in oil, and decorations of every other kind, which I will now attempt to describe as briefly as I am able; and this I will do, taking the rooms themselves in due succession, without pausing to point out by what work it was that Perino commenced his labours in Genoa, to the end that I may not interrupt the account of this undertaking, which, of all the works performed by this master, is certainly the best.^[31]

I begin, therefore, by remarking, that at the entrance to that Palace of Prince Doria there is a marble Portal of the Doric order, constructed according to the plans prepared by the hand of Perino, to whom its various divisions and decorations, its pedestals, bases, shafts, capitals, architrave, frieze, cornice, pediment, and tympan, are all due; as are also certain very beautiful figures of women, who support an escutcheon of arms: the stone cutting and carving were performed by Maestro Giovanni da Fiesole, and the figures were executed to perfection by the sculptor, Silvio da Fiesole,^[32] a very bold and able artist.

Having passed within the door, the spectator finds a vestibule, the vaulting whereof is decorated with stucco work, grottesche, and stories of various character, the arches are exclusively occupied by battle-pieces, and scenes of carnage, some of the warriors fighting on foot, others on horseback, but all depicted with infinite care, and with a mastery of the art which is certainly most remarkable. To the left is the staircase, the„decorations of which could not possibly be richer or more varied than they are. They consist of small grottesche, after the manner of the antique, and with these are mingled stories of different kinds, but all with figures that are very small: to the figures are added masks, animals, children, and innumerable fantasies, all giving evidence of those rich powers of invention and that extraordinary j udgment, by which Perino’s works are distinguished, those in this manner more particularly so, insomuch that they may be truly called divine.

The staircase having been ascended, we arrive in a most beautiful gallery, which has a very magnificent door in stone at each end thereof; and over each of these doors are depicted two figures, male and female, the attitude of the one being the contrary of that given to the other, since one presents the front view, the other that of the back; the vaulting is divided by five arches, and is most superbly decorated with stucco-work, between the various parts of which are paintings in oval compartments, and these consist of historical representations, executed with a perfection of beauty that could not be surpassed. The walls of this gallery, moreover, are adorned from the ceiling to the floor with figures of warriors in their armour; some of these are portraits from the life, and others are imaginary, but all are intended to present the various military leaders of the House of Doria, those of ancient as well as of modern times; above them, in large letters of gold, are the following words:—

Magni viri, maximi daces optima fecere pro patria.

In the first Hall, which is entered by one of the two doors of the gallery, that on the left hand namely, is a ceiling, the angles of which are very beautifully decorated with ornaments in stucco, and in the centre is a large picture representing the shipwreck of JEneas, with a vast number of nude figures, living and dead, in attitudes of infinite variety; there are likewise many ships and galleys, some of which are shattered by the tempest, some remain uninjured. Much thought and judgment are here made manifest in the figures of those who, still retaining life, are struggling to save themselves, while their faces express the horror they experience at the prospect of a speedy destruction amidst the raging waters, with all the other passions called into action by the perils to which life is exposed from the chances of the sea.^[33]

This was the first historical representation, and is even said to have been the first work begun by Perino for Prince Doria, and some affirm that when he arrived in Genoa, Girolamo da Trevisi^[34] had already appeared in that city, for the purpose of painting certain pictures whereof he was even then depicting some, on a façade which looks into the garden namely, while Perino was beginning to prepare the cartoon for the shipwreck described above. This he did much at his leisure, because frequently engaged in looking about him in Genoa and seeing the city, insomuch that he was seldom or never at the cartoon; a great part was nevertheless finished in time on different sheets, and after various manners, those nude figures of which we have spoken above being all designed, some in chiaro-scuro, some in charcoal, others in black chalk, some shaded, and some merely outlined, but many also with the high lights added, and somewhat carefully finished.

But while Perino was proceeding thus, and delayed to commence the execution of the work, Girolamo da Trevisi murmured against him, and exclaimed, “Cartoons, and nothing but cartoons! for my part, I carry my art at the point of my pencil.” This remark, with others of similar character, at length reached the ears of Perino, who being much angered thereby, instantly caused the cartoon to be fixed to the ceiling, in the place where the painting was to be executed, and then commanded that the planks which formed the floor of his scaffolding should be withdrawn in several places, to the end that those who were in the gallery below might see the vaulting. That done, he opened the Hall, and the report of the circumstance had no sooner got about than all Genoa hurried to see the work, when, astonished at the grand design of Perino, they praised his painting to the skies. Among the rest went Girolamo da Trevisi, who, beholding more than ever he had expected to see from the hand of Perino, and alarmed by the beauty of the production before him, set off from Genoa, without asking permission from Prince Doria, and returned to his dwelling in Bologna.

Perino remained in the service of the Prince, and finished the decoration of that Hall, the walls of which he painted in oil, a work which has been ever held to be, as it certainly is, most extraordinary in its beauty, the ceiling being decorated entirely around, and even to the lunettes, with rich stucco works, as I have said. In the other Hall, which is entered from the Loggia, but by the door to the right, Perino executed ornaments in stucco, in a manner nearly similar to those of the first Hall, with paintings in fresco, the subject of which is Jupiter hurling his thunderbolts at the Giants, and wherein the master has depicted a great number of figures, nude and larger than life, which are exceedingly beautiful. All the gods of the Olympian Heaven are seen in attitudes of infinite animation, and with expressions entirely appropriate to the circumstances and to the terrors awakened by those tremendous thunders, each deity comporting himself according to his nature. The stucco work also is executed with the utmost care, and the colouring of the fresco could not possibly be more beautiful than it is, seeing that Perino was a perfect master of that branch of art, and possessed extraordinary ability therein.

Four apartments were furthermore decorated by his hand, the ceilings being adorned with stucco-work and fresco paintings, and here we have the most beautiful and remarkable scenes from the fables of Ovid, depicted in such a manner that they seem to be real, nor would it be easy to imagine the beauty, extent, and variety which Perino has imparted to the large number of figures, animals, foliage, and grottesche, scattered with inexhaustible power of invention throughout this work. On the opposite side of the second Hall there wrere four other apartments, and these were likewise adorned by the disciples of Perino, under his guidance and direction, the master giving them all the designs for the ornaments in stucco, as well as for the stories, figures, and grottesche, having a large number of them at work, some being much employed, and some but little: Luzio Romano for example, performed numerous works in stucco, with many grottesche, as did several Lombard artists. But of this it shall now suffice me to say that there is not a room in the palace wherein Perino did not execute or direct some ornament, and which is not amply adorned, even to the ceiling, with compositions of various kinds. Figures of little children, fanciful masks, animals, and every other appropriate decoration, abound in a manner which causes the utmost astonishment as well as admiration; the writing-rooms, the antechambers, nay, even the very offices are all painted and made beautiful.

From the palace you proceed to the garden, and to a pavilion or detached building of which all the rooms are on the ground-floor, and every one is adorned even to the ceiling with exceedingly beautiful decorations; halls, chambers, anterooms, all have been richly embellished by the same hand.

In this work Pordenone also took some part, as I have related in his life, as did the most excellent Sienese painter, Domenico Beccafumi,^[35] who there proved himself to be in nowise inferior to his brother artists, although it is in Siena that we must look for the best and most beautiful of all the numerous works performed by his hand.

But let us now return to Perino: after having completed his works in the palace of the prince, he executed a frieze for one of the rooms in the house of Giannetin Doria, adorning the same with exceedingly beautiful figures of women, and in different parts of the city he performed various labours both in fresco and oil-painting, for the houses of numerous gentlemen. He also painted a picture for the church of San Francesco, a singularly beautiful work, the drawing of which is very fine,^[36] with one of like manner for the church called Santa Maria de Consolatione, which last Perino executed by commission from a gentlewoman of the Baciadonne family. The subject of the last-named picture is the Birth of Christ, and it has received high commendation, but has been placed in a position so obscure that, for want of light to examine it properly, the spectator is unable to appreciate the merits thereof, and all the more because Perino has intentionally painted the picture with somewhat darkened colouring, so that it requires and ought to have an especially good light.

Perino also prepared designs wherein were delineated the greater part of the Æneid, the history of Dido more particularly; works which were executed with the purpose of having cloth of arras woven from them. He made drawings for decorating the poops of the prince’s galleys likewise, and these were then carved by the Florentine wood-carvers, Carota and Tasso, who gave proof therein of the admirable excellence to which they had attained in their art, and completed the work to the utmost perfection. Perino furthermore gave designs for a vast number of banners to be used in the prince’s galleys, and for standards of the largest size that could be made, all exceedingly beautiful.

For these things and for his many good qualities, our artist was so much beloved by Prince Poria, that his services would without doubt have been most liberally remunerated by that sovereign, had Perino been content to remain in Genoa; but while thus prosperously occupied in that city, the fancy took him of fetching his wife from Rome,^[37] and as it chanced that he was much pleased with the aspect of Pisa, he determined to buy a house there, and did so, almost with the purpose of making his abode in that city when he should find age approaching.

Now at that time the Warden of the Cathedral was Messer Antonio di Urbano, who had the greatest desire to promote the embellishment of that temple, and had indeed caused a commencement to be made, by giving a commission to the practised and excellent carver in marbles, Stagio di Pietrasanta, who had received commands to prepare rich decorations in marble for the chapels of the church, and with these which Stagio finished in a very beautiful manner, he had replaced the old, rude, ill-proportioned figures which had formerly occupied the place. Having thus made a beginning, the Warden then thought of filling the spaces between those decorations in marble, with paintings executed in oil for the interior, and in fresco for the outer part, which he desired to have adorned with a mixture of paintings and ornaments in stucco. All this Antonio determined to have done by the best and most eminent masters that he could find, without suffering the extent of cost that might arise to be any impediment; and in this spirit he had already commenced the Sacristy, which he had caused to be constructed in the great apsis behind the high altar, the decorations in marble being completely finished, and many pictures having been painted for the same by the Florentine painter Giovan Antonio Sogliani: the renlhinder, with the chapels and paintings still wanting, being executed many years after, under Messer Sebastiano della Seta, the then warden of that cathedral.

It was just then that Perino arrived in Pisa, on his return from Genoa, and having examined the commencement thus made, which he had been taken to see by that most ingenious master in perspective, inlaid work, and wood-carving, Battista Cervelliera, an excellent judge of art,—having seen all that was done, I say, Perino was then conducted to the Warden. Discoursing together thereupon respecting the works undertaken for the embellishment of the cathedral, Perino was requested by the Warden to paint a picture immediately within the ordinary door of entrance, where the frame-work for the same was already prepared, and over this work the artist was furthermore commissioned to execute another picture, the subject whereof was to be St. George slaying the Dragon, and liberating the daughter of the King. Perino accordingly made a very beautiful design, and between the two chapels which occupy that part of the building, he painted a number of children,^[38] adding various decorations, among which were niches with figures of Prophets and historical representations of divers kinds.

This design pleasing the Warden exceedingly well, Perino then prepared the cartoon for one of the chapels, and began to paint the first, -which is opposite to the before-mentioned portal; here he finished six boys, which are very well done, and was to have continued these figures entirely around the whole, which would certainly have constituted a rich and beautiful ornament. The entire work indeed would have proved without doubt a very admirable and honourable one, biit the artist was seized with a wish to return to Genoa, to which place he was attracted by certain love affairs and other fantasies, whereunto his inclinations sometimes led him, with a force which he did not resist so effectually as he might have done. On his departure from Pisa, the master presented the nuns of San Matteo with a small picture in oil, which he had painted for them, and which they still retain in their convent.

Arrived in Genoa, he there remained several months, executing many works for the prince, in addition to those which that sovereign already possessed from his hand* The departure of Perino from Pisa was exceedingly displeasing to the Warden, but still more the circumstance of this work having been left unfinished; nor did he cease to write to the painter daily, exhorting him to return, inquiring also respecting him of his wife, whom Perino had left in Pisa. But finally perceiving that the delay threatened to be indefinitely prolonged, since the artist neither replied nor returned, the Warden ultimately made over the work to Gio Antonio Sogliani, who completed it and fixed it in its place.^[39]

No long time had elapsed after this had been done before Perino returned to Pisa, when, seeing the work of Sogliani, he was extremely angry; he would not finish the part which he had commenced, and declared that he would not suffer his paintings to be made the ornament of other masters; so far as he was concerned therefore the work remained unfinished; four of the remaining pictures were then completed by Giovan Antonio; but these appearing to Sebastiano della Seta, the new Warden, to be all in one and the same manner, nay, furthermore, to be less beautiful than the first, he gave a commission to Domenico Beccafumi, who painted certain pictures, which are very finely done, around the sacristy by way ot proof, with the understanding that he was afterwards to execute a picture for the chapel. This Domenico did in Pisa accordingly; but the painting not giving so much satisfaction as the previous pictures had done, the two which remained were then given to the Aretine, Giorgio Vasari, and these were placed at the two doors which are near the angles of the wall in the principal front of the cathedral. Of these productions, or of others, large and small, dispersed through all Italy and in foreign parts, it does not become me to speak further; I leave the judgment concerning them to be freely formed by such as have seen or may see them.

The loss of this work, for which he had already prepared the drawings, was a source of much vexation to.Perino, and without doubt the completed paintings would have proved entirely worthy of his fame, those designs giving hope of a performance that could not have failed to increase the renown of that temple, already so rich in its antiquities, and to render the master himself immortal.

The many years of Perino’s abode in Genoa had rendered that city wearisome to him, although he obtained both profit and pleasure there; bethinking himself of Pome therefore, as she was under the felicitous reign of Pope Leo, and remembering also the many offers he had received during the lifetime of the Cardinal Ippoliti de’ Medici, to enter the service of that prelate, he would doubtless have disposed himself at once to revisit Rome, but the Cardinal Ippolito was then dead, for which cause he did not feel in so much haste to do so; things being at this point, and many of his friends desiring and urging his return, which he desired more than any of them, several letters were exchanged on the subject, and so it chanced that one morning, the whim coming into his head, he set off from Pisa without saying a word to any one, and repaired to Rome.

He very soon caused himself to be made known to the most reverend Cardinal Farnese, and was afterwards presented to Pope Paolo, but many months elapsed and he was still without any occupation, partly because he had been put off from day to day,^[40] and partly because he was attacked by some disease in one of his arms, and this, to say nothing of the suffering, cost him several hundred crowns, before he could get himself cured of it. Having no one to administer to his wants in this conjuncture, and mortified by the slightness of the attention which he experienced from the Court, Perino was several times on the point of departing, but Molza and others of his friends, encouraged him to wait in patience, observing that Rome was no more what she had been, but seemed determined that now a man should become wearied and disheartened before she would consent to call him forth and make him her own, more particularly if he pursue the path of the fine arts.

About this time Messer Pietro de’ Massimi bought a chapel in the church of the Santa Trinita, the ceiling and lunettes being already adorned with decorations in stucco, and the altar-piece having also been painted in oil by Giulio Romano and his brother-in-law Giovanni Francesco; wherefore Messer Pietro, desiring to see the chapel finished, commenced by having a miserable frame-work of stucco, by which the altar-piece and the lunettes were surrounded, replaced by a rich and beautiful one carved in wood and gilded, when he commissioned Perino to paint the walls of the chapel. In the lunettes above-named, there were already four pictures in fresco, the subjects being taken from the life of Santa Maria Maddalena; the altar-piece, which was in oil, as we have said, represented our Saviour Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen in the garden, and under the form of the gardener. Perino now caused the scaffolding and enclosure to be prepared for his work; and that done, he set hand to the same, which, after several months of labour, he brought to its completion.

The pictures here executed were two, of no great size, and one on each wall; the divisions were formed by grottesche of the most fanciful beauty, partly in relief, partly painted; and the whole was surrounded by stucco-work of varied and graceful character. One of these pictures exhibits the Pool of Bethesda, with the sick and lame assembled around it, the angel who descends to move the waters, and a perspective view of the portico, the columns of which recede very finely into the distance. The attitudes and vestments of the priests also are singularly graceful, although the figures themselves are small, as I have said. The subject of the other picture is the resurrection of Lazarus after he has been dead four days, and in his re-awakening to life are still seen the paleness and the suffering of his death. Around the principal figure are others engaged in freeing him from the cerements of the tomb, with many more, all deeply moved with the event, but some appearing to be lost in astonishment at the miracle before them. There are besides certain small temples in the back ground, they are treated with infinite care and forethought, and as much may be said of all the works in stucco by which the paintings are surrounded.

Four small pictures, two on each wall, form the completion of the work, they are placed one on each side of the larger paintings, and the subject of the first is the Centurion imploring the Saviour to heal his son by the force of a word; the second exhibits Our Lord when he drives forth the traders from the temple: the Transfiguration of Christ occupies the third, and the fourth has a subject of similar character. Inside the chapel, and on the ressaults of the piers, are four figures represented in the habiliments of Prophets, and of these it may be safely affirmed that the beauty and truth of proportion with which they are designed and finished could be surpassed by none; the whole work is indeed executed with so much care that its delicacy renders it more like a work in miniature than a painting in fresco. The colouring is exceedingly animated and pleasing, and the patience exercised throughout the whole work very remarkable, giving proof of that true and enduring love that should be entertained by every artist for his vocation. The painting of this work Perino did entirely with his own hand, but he caused a great part of the works in stucco to be executed after his designs by the Milanese Guglielmo,^[41] who had before been with Perino in Genoa, and was much beloved by that master; the latter had atone time formed the design of giving Guglielmo his own daughter to wife; but this artist has now been made Frate del Piombo, in the place of Sebastiano Veneziano, and is engaged in the restoration of the antiquities belonging to the House of Farnese.

While speaking of the chapel of Santa Trinità, I will not omit to mention that on one of the walls thereof there was an exceedingly beautiful sepulchral monument, on the sarcophagus of which lay the figure of a woman represented as dead, and which had been admirably sculptured by the artist Bologna; on each side were two nude figures of. boys, but the countenance of the dead woman was a portrait taken from that of a very famous courtezan of Pome, who had caused the tomb to be erected; the monks therefore had it removed, feeling scruples of conscience in respect to suffering a woman of such a character to be laid there with so much honour.

The paintings in the chapel of the Trinità, with many other designs of Perino, at length induced the most reverend Cardinal Farnese to confer a pension on our artist, and to employ him on various occasions. Pope Paul had caused a chimney-piece, which was in the apartment of the Conflagration, to be removed and carried thence to the chamber of the Segnatura,^[42] wherein were the carvings in wood that were executed by the carver Era Giovanni, for Pope Julius: both chambers had been painted by Raphael of Urbino, but it had now become necessary to restore the whole of the socle or basement in the chamber of the Segnatura, which is that wherein the mount Parnassus is depicted. Perino therefore designed a range of columns, painted to imitate marble, with decorations of busts, festoons, masks, and other ornaments. In certain spaces he represented historical scenes also, coloured in imitation of bronze, and for a work in fresco this is one of very great beauty. In these stories, were groups of figures discoursing on subjects in accordance with the paintings above them, as for example philosophers of philosophy, theologians of theology, and poets of poetry, and all were representations of facts belonging to the histories of the men most celebrated in their respective vocations.

It is true that Perino did not execute all these pictures with his own hand, but he retouched them a secco to such an extent, that when we consider the designs and the cartoons, which he finished entirely, to have been all by himself, we may truly affirm that they are little less than by his own hand: Perino was at that time suffering much from a catarrh, and could not therefore endure the labour required for the execution of the whole work. But now the Pope, who perceived that both on account of his age, and of his great deserts Perino well merited consideration, conferred on him a pension of twenty-five scudi per month, which sum he received until his death, and for this he had charge of the papal palace as well as of the Casa Farnese.

Michelagnolo Buonarroti had thrown open to view his picture of the Last Judgment, in the chapel of the Pope, and there now remained only to paint the lower part of the walls, whereon there was to be fixed a screen of arras, woven in silk and gold, as are those which decorate the Chapel. These hangings, according to the command of the Pope, were to be woven in Flanders, and Perino, with the consent of Michelagnolo, commenced the painting of a canvas of the same size, whereon he depicted women, children, and figures in half length, supporting festoons, all of extraordinary animation, and of the most fanciful character: this work was left unfinished in the Belvedere, at the death of Perino, and was certainly worthy of himself as well as of the magnificent paintings of which it was to serve as a basement or kind of frame-work.^[43]

Meanwhile the great hall of the kings^[44] in the papal palace, which is that before the chapel of Sixtus IV., had been finished by Anton da Sangallo, when Perino painted an octagonal picture in the ceiling, with a cross, and several compartments of an oval form, some of which were in relief; this being done, Perino was furthermore commissioned to add decorations in stucco, with command to make those ornaments as rich and beautiful as could possibly be contrived with the utmost resources of art This work the master commenced accordingly, and in the octangles he executed roses and figures of children alternately, the four boys being in full relief, and having their feet directed to the centre; their arms are thrown out, and with these they form what may be truly called a very beautiful circle: the remainder of the space is filled with the various devices of the house of Farnese, and in the centre of the vaulting are the arms of the Pope. And of a truth this work in stucco may justly be affirmed to have surpassed all that has ever been done in that manner by the ancients or moderns, and to be entirely worthy of the head of the Christian religion.

It was after the designs of Perino moreover, that the glass windows of the same Hall were executed by Pastorino da Siena, who was a very able master of his calling, and beneath these Perino likewise caused exquisite decorations in stucco to be prepared, which were afterwards continued by the painter Daniello Ricciarelli,^[45] of Volterra: this lastnamed artist, had death not opposed itself to his great designs, wrould have taught the world what is the boldness and heart of the moderns, and how their force suffices, not only to equal the works of the ancients, but perhaps even to surpass them.^[46] .

While the stucco-work for the ceiling of the Hall of Kings was in progress, and while Peri no was considering the designs for the stories, the old wall of the church of San Pietro in Rome was in course of being demolished, to make way for the new walls of that fabric, when the masons came to a place where there was a Madonna and other pictures by the hand of Giotto, which being seen by Perino, who was in company with Messer Niccolo Acciaiuoli, a Florentine doctor and his very intimate friend, they were both impressed with so much respect at the sight of these paintings that they would not permit them to be destroyed. Nay, causing the wall around them to be sawed around, they then secured the painting with beams and clamps of iron, and had it carefully placed beneath the organ of San Pietro, in a position where there was neither an altar nor any other construction to be then erected. And before the wall around that Madonna was thrown down, Perino copied the figure of Orso dell’ Anguillara, by whom it was that Messer Francesco Petrarca was crowned on the Capitol, and who was represented as standing at the foot of this Madonna. It was then resolved, to form various decorations in stucco and painting around that work of Giotto, placing there at the same time a monument to the memory of a certain Niccolo Acciaiuolo, who had formerly been a senator of Rome. Perino accordingly made the designs for the same, and instantly set hand to the work, when being aided by his assistants, and more especially by his disciple Marcello,^[47] of Mantua, the work was completed very expeditiously and with great care.^[48]

Now the sacrament did not hold a very honourable position in the church of San Pietro, so far as the masonry was concerned, wherefore certain deputies were selected by the Brotherhood of the Eucharist, to take charge of that matter, and these men commanded that a chapel should be constructed by Antonio da Sangallo in the centre of the old church, partly from the remains of ancient marbles and partly from marbles to be prepared for the purpose; the building to be further enriched by ornaments of marble, bronze, and stucco: still more to adorn the same, they next placed a tabernacle by the hand of Donatello in the centre of the chapel, when Perino executed a most beautiful canopy to be placed over it, and this he adorned with many stories from the Old Testament, in very small figures, all the stories being intended to prefigure the Sacrament. In the centre of the chapel there was besides, a story somewhat larger than those above named, and the subject of this work was the Last Supper of Christ with his Apostles; beneath the picture were two Prophets standing one on each side of the body of the Saviour.^[49]

The same artist painted a chapel in the church of San Giuseppo, which is near the Ripetta; he caused the work to be executed in fresco, by his disciples, that is to say, when Perino retouched it, and so finished it himself. He also had a chapel in the church of San Bartolommeo at Isola, painted in like manner after his designs, and that too he afterwards retouched. In San Salvadore del Lauro, certain stories were painted in like manner at the high altar, with numerous grottesche in the vaulting; there is besides, an Annunciation on the front of the church, but this last was executed by Girolamo Sermoneta, a disciple of Perino.^[50] Now herein Perino del Vaga pursued the practice adopted by Raffaello da Urbino, in the latter years of his life; but this was done by Perino, partly because his health would no longer permit him to endure the labour of painting, and partly because it had become troublesome to him to exert himself to that effect, and he preferred designing works to executing them: but that this mode of proceeding is injurious and blameable, may be sufficiently proved from the works commenced by Raphael for the Chigi, and which have been executed by other hands; we have further testimony to the same, moreover, in those which Perino caused to be performed in like manner. Nor have the paintings which Giulio Romano suffered to be produced by the same means, and did not execute with his own hand, redounded very greatly to his honour, and although this method enables the master to do pleasure to princes, by giving them up the works commanded, complete in a very short time, and may perhaps also do service to the artists who labour under the direction of the master, yet if these last were the most able men to be found in the world, they can never have that regard and love to the works of the master which the master will feel towards them himself; nor, however well the cartoons may be designed, will they ever be imitated exactly and truly, as they might be by the hand of their author. Moreover, the latter, seeing his work go to ruin, is apt to become discouraged, and so let all take its chance, thus falling from bad to worse until the whole work is utterly spoiled: he who has a thirst for honourable distinction therefore, must execute his works with his own hand.^[51] And this I can affirm from my own experience, for I had myself prepared the Cartoons for the Chancery in the palace of San Giorgio in Rome, and had executed them with the utmost care and study, but the work having to be completed within a very short period, one hundred days that is to say, I was compelled to entrust the colouring of the same to numerous painters, and by these the outlines and contours to which I had given so much attention, were departed from to such a degree that never have I suffered any one to lay hand on my works from that day to this. If, therefore, the master desire to secure his reputation and the duration of his labours, let him undertake fewer and execute all with his own hand; nay, this he must do, if he propose to obtain that honour and distinction to which the elevated genius constantly aspires.

But Perino, I repeat, beheld himself constrained, by the number of works committed to his care, to employ many assistants for his undertakings; he had more desire for gain than for honour, and thought he had been throwing his time away, because he had laid by nothing in his youth. He was so much disturbed at the sight of young artists who seemed pressing to come forward, that he was anxious to have them all under his own command, to the end that they might not become an impediment to himself.

In the year 1546 there came to Rome the highly renowned Venetian painter, Tiziano da Cador,^[52] his purpose being to make certain portraits in that city. Now Titian had taken the likeness of Pope Paul at an earlier period, when that pontiff had gone to Busseto^[53] namely, but neither for that nor for some others which he had made for Cardinal Farnese,^[54] and at Santa Fiore, had the Venetian master accepted any remuneration. He was now received most honourably by the Pope and Cardinal in the Belvedere, and a rumour was set about in the court, which instantly afterwards spread through the city, to the effect that Titian had come for the purpose of executing paintings with his own hand in the Hall of Kings; wherein Perino had himself been commissioned to display the resources of his art, and where he had already prepared the stucco-work. This arrival consequently displeased Perino greatly, and he complained of it to many of his friends, not that he feared to see Titian surpass himself in fresco, but because he desired to retain the interest and occupation of that work peacefully and honourably to the day of his death, and if he was to do it, lie wished to proceed without any competitor, the rather as he had quite enough on his hands in the way of comparison, with the walls and ceiling of Michelagnolo, which were close beside him. This suspicion caused Perino constantly to avoid Titian during all the time of that master’s stay in Rome, and the former was indeed very ill-disposed towards the Venetian artist even to the moment of his departure.

Now the Castellan of the Fortress Sant’ Agnolo, Tiberio Crispo, who afterwards became a Cardinal, was a man who delighted much in our Arts, and he had formed the resolution of embellishing certain portions of the castle, to the end that his Holiness might thus be the more worthily received therein. Tiberio therefore caused loggie, halls, ante-rooms, and apartments of various kinds to be rebuilt or restored as the case might require. To this intent he had commissioned Raffaello da Montelupo to prepare several chambers, which were decorated accordingly after his designs and under his direction: Antonio da San Gallo had then constructed a loggia or gallery, which the same Raphael da Montelupo afterwards adorned with stucco-work, and the last-named artist likewise executed the Angel in marble, a figure six braccia high, which was placed on the summit of the principal and highest tower of the fortress.^[55] This loggia, which is that looking towards the meadows, Tiberio also caused to be painted by Girolamo Sermoneta, and that being finished, the remainder of the apartments were given, at first to Luzio Romano and finally to Perino, who was commissioned to adorn the halls and principal chambers, which he did, partly with his own hand, and partly by means of others, whom he employed to execute the cartoons which he had prepared.^[56]

The principal hall of this series of buildings is an exceedingly beautiful one, being adorned with stucco-work intermingled with historical paintings, the subjects of which are taken from Roman history. These were painted for the most part by the disciples of Perino, but some were executed by Marco da Siena, the disciple of Domenico Beccafumi. In several of these apartments there are besides friezes, which are singularly beautiful.

Perino was always well content to avail himself of the services of clever young artists whenever he could find any such, but he never refused to accept the meanest and most mechanical works, wherewith to occupy these young men, and would frequently paint such things as the pennons for the trumpeters, the standards for the castle, or the banners used by the religious brotherhoods. He would also prepare canopies, copes, screens, and curtains for doors, or any other thing, however inferior as a work of art, that came to his hands.

This master commenced the preparation of patterns on cloth, after which tapestry was then to be woven, for Prince Doria; and for the most reverend Cardinal Farnese, he decorated a chapel, as he did a writing chamber or study for the most excellent lady Madama Margherita of Austria. He made the ornamental frame around the Madonna at Santa Maria del Pianto; and in like manner it was by Perino that the frame-work about the Madonna in the Piazza Giudea was prepared, with many other works, of which, as they were very numerous, I will not now make any memorial, and the rather as it was his custom, as I have said, to accept the execution of whatever commission was offered to his hands. This disposition on the part of Perino, was perfectly well known to the officials of the palace, he had consequently some work always on hand for one or another of them, and served them very willingly, in the hope that by thus binding them to him he might obtain services from them in return, as to the payment of his pension and other matters.

Perino had obtained so great an extent of influence that nearly all the works undertaken in Pome were given to him, nay, it would almost appear to have been thought that these works were his of right, but this was partly occasioned by the fact that he would sometimes execute commissions at the lowest and vilest price, a practice whereby he did but little good, whether to himself or the art; nay, rather, on the contrary, it was the source of much evil, and that this is true a3 respects his own loss is proved by the certainty that he would have gained many hundreds of crowns had he taken it upon himself to paint the Hall of Kings with his own hand, and by the aid of his disciples; but the many artists employed therein having to be paid by the day, large sums were expended on the superintendents who had care of the work, and who took charge of such payments.

But Perino had in this matter undertaken a charge too great for his bodily powers, labours so fatiguing were found to be beyond his strength, seeing that he was suffering from catarrh and was very infirm. He had in fact to be drawing day and night, and was at every moment called on for something required at the palace; nor were these demands confined to the more important works, he was continually required to produce designs for embroideries, carvings, and every other whimsey in the way of ornament, demanded by the caprices of Farnese, and of the other Cardinals and Signori. His time was in short incessantly occupied, and he was always surrounded by a crowd of painters, sculptors, masters in stucco, carvers of wood, gilders, embroiderers, seamsters, artists and workmen in a word, of every kind, by whom his mind was kept in a perpetual turmoil, insomuch that he never had an hour of repose. The only comfort and content that he found in this life was when he could occasionally sit down with some of his friends at the tavern, which was a place that Perino never failed to frequent, in whatsoever city he might be abiding; here then he would sit, that appearing to him to be the true beatitude of this world, the best happiness of life, and the only perfect repose from his labours. These last he was indeed incapable of supporting, worn out by his fatigues, and exhausted by the disorders of his life, the pleasures of the table and other indulgences, his constitution was ultimately destroyed, he was attacked by asthma which gradually consumed his strength until it terminated in consumption, and thus one evening, while speaking with a friend near his own house, an apoplectic affection suddenly seized him, and he fell dead to the ground, being then in the 47th year of his age.

This event caused much grief to many artists, who mourned the great loss which was without doubt thereby inflicted on the art of painting. It was in like manner much bewailed by Messer Joseffo Cincio, the physician of Madama, and son-in-law of Perino, from whom and from his wife the master received honourable sepulture in the chapel of St. Joseph, in the Rotonda at Rome, where the following epitaph was inscribed to his memory:—

Perino Bonaccursio Vagae Florentine, qui ingenio et arte singulari egregios cum pictores permultos tum plastas facile omnes superavit, Catherina Perini^[57] coniugi, Lavinia Bonaccursia parenti, Josephus Cincius ocero charissimo et optimo facere. Vixit ann. 46, Men. 3, Dies 21. Mortuus est 14. Calen. Novemb. Ann. Christ. 1547.^[58]

The place of Perino was at once occupied by Daniello of Yolterra, who had worked much with the former; by him it was that the two Prophets still wanting to the chapel of the Crucifix, in San Marcello, were completed, and he has also very beautifully decorated with stucco-work and paintings, a chapel in the church of the Santa Trinità, receiving his commission for the same from the Signora Elena Orsina: Daniello executed many other works also, of which mention will be made in their due place.

Of Perino then, it may be asserted, from all that we have related, and from much beside that might have been said respecting him, that he was one of the most extensively endowed and versatile painters of our times. By him also, were artists taught to produce the most admirable works in stucco, he executed landscapes, animals, grottesche, and every other subject that can well be brought within the domain of the painter, and worked admirably well, whether in fresco, in oil, or in tempera,^[59] wherefore it may even be affirmed that Perino was the father of these most noble arts, seeing that his gifts and endowments still survive in the many artists now pursuing his footsteps in all the honourable walks of art. After Perinos death many copper-plates appeared after drawings by his hand, Jove launching his thunderbolts at the Giants for example, from the palace at Genoa,^[60] with eight stories from the life of San Pietro, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, and which Perino had designed for the embroideries of a pluvial to be worn by Pope Paul III. with many others which may be readily distinguished by the manner.

Perino availed himself of the assistance of numerous disciples, and taught his art to many young men, but the best of all these scholars, and the one of whose aid the master made the most frequent use, was Girolamo Siciolante of Sermoneta, of whom we shall speak further in due season.^[61] Another disciple of Perino was the Mantuan Marcello,^[62] as we have before remarked; he painted a figure of the Virgin in fresco, with numerous Saints, from the designs and under the direction of Perino, at the entrance to the castle of Sant’ Angelo, a very good and beautiful work; but of the labours of this artist also, we shall make further mention in another place.

Perino left many designs at his death, partly by his own hand, and partly by that of others; among the latter were all the drawings from the chapel by Michelagnolo, which had been made by Leonardo Cungi,^[63] of the Borgo a San Sepolcro, and which was indeed a most excellent work. All these last mentioned designs, with many other things of various kinds, were sold by his heirs; and we have many drawings made with the pen by his hand, in our book, which are very fine.

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1. Pietro that is to say; Perino or Pierino being the diminutive of Piero, the Florentine form of Pietro.
2. he reproaches with which our good Giorgio has been assailed for this his dictum, by more than one of his compatriots, shall suffice, if you so please, O reader, for his castigation: you and I will e’en content ourselves with taking leave to dissent from his opinion.
3. Vasari here alludes to the works executed in the beautiful Palace of the Doria family, outside the gate of San Tornmaso, and of which he speaks at greater length in a subsequent page.
4. Charles VIII. died in 1498, and as Perino was not born until the year 1500, his father could not have lost his life under Charles, whom he may nevertheless have served, probably during the expedition to Naples in 1495.
5. “Our Pierino,” observes a Florentine annotator, “lived afterwards in places where this form of his name is not used, and is consequently better known as Perino.”
6. So called from the sign of his shop, which was a gilded fir-cone (Pina d’oro).
7. This practice is now discontinued.—Masselli.
8. Ceri, wax-lights.
9. Lanzi speaks of this artist as “hut little known amongst us (the Italians) though considered by the English to be the best of the Italian artists who have visited their island during that century.” See History of Painting (English Edition), vol. i. p. 165.
10. These grottesche and works in stucco have been engraved in part by Pietro Santi Bartoli.—Bottari.
11. Bottari remarks that this passage proves the opinion entertained of Raphael’s having himself painted this part of the Loggia to be false, and adds that his not having done so may also be perceived by the manner, which is not that of Raphael.
12. These chiari-scuri are entirely spoiled.— Bottari.
13. Now called the Hall of the Borgia Apartment. It is that beneath the Hall of Constantine namely.—Ibid.
14. Many believe, and not without good show of reason, that these are by the hand of Raphael. — Förster.
15. This figure is totally spoiled.
16. Not by wolves, but by horses.
17. The figure of Saturn is destroyed; all besides, with the exception of Venus, are in good preservation.
18. See ante, vol. iv. p. 4.
19. Destroyed in the reparation of the church, as were the works of Baldassare Peruzzi and Pelegrino Tibaldi. — Bottari.
20. Still in existence, but in a very deplorable condition.
21. This Tabernacle is no longer in existence.—Bottari.
22. Bottari remarks that here and elsewhere Vasari thus designates all the men who appear in the paintings of the Deposition from the Cross, as he calls all the women of the same pictures Manes.—Roman Edition. 1759.
23. The work has now perished entirely.
24. Towards the year 1519.
25. It was finished at a subsequent period.— Bottari.
26. “San Filippo Benizzi was a preacher and promoter of that Order, but not its founder,” observes the learned churchman just quoted. See Roman Edition of Vasari.
27. Santa Trinita di Monte is here meant. This church, erected by Charles VIII. at the request of Francesco di Paolo, for the Order founded by that Saint, was barbarously devastated by the French troops, who were guartered therein during the first French Revolution.
28. The works of Perino here described have totally perished.
29. The friend and scholar of Michael Angelo, who caused him to make the ball of seventy-two facettes for the cupola.— Milanese Edition of Vasari.
30. These pictures are still in existence.
31. “There is no place,” remarks Lanzi, “in which an acquaintance with Perino del Vaga can be made with better effect than in Genoa, where he copied Raphael, as did Giulio Romano in Mantua.” But the arrival of Perino in Genoa was even more important than that of Giulio in Mantua, so far as the Art of Painting is concerned, since the old Genoese School was by this circumstance inoculated with the spirit of the Roman School.
32. Silvio Cosini, of whom Vasari has made mention in the life of Andrea da Fiesole. See vol. i. of the present work.
33. “This work was painted on the wall in oil, and lias therefore totally perished,” remarks Piacenza, “but the fresco paintings have retained their beauty.” Some of them have been engraved by Foio and Cozzi, and one by Longhi, but this last is from a sketch, and not from the painting.
34. For the life of this master see vol. i.
35. Whose life follows immediately after that we are now treating.
36. The subject of this work, which is in San Francesco di Castelletto, is the Virgin Mother with numerous Saints. It has suffered much from time.
37. The fancy took him of fetching his wife; alas, that you will say so, Giorgio of our hearts! woe is we that you will speak so irreverently, you who are in verity so loving and faithful a squire of Dames!
38. These paintings are still in existence, although somewhat injured in certain parts by the retouching which it has been found medful to give them.
39. This work thus commenced by Perino, and finished by Sogliani, represents the Madonna with various Saints, and though re-touched, still forms one of the brightest ornaments of the Pisan Cathedral.— Masselli
40. “D'oggi in domane,”—literally, a from to-day to to-morrow.”
41. Guglielmo della Porta.
42. The paintings executed by Perino del Vaga in this chapel are destroyed, as are those of the ceiling by Giovanni Francesco Penni: the Noli me tangere of Giulio Romano alone remains.
43. The subsequent fate of this work is not known. — Bottari.
44. This is the Sala Regia, well known to all who have visited Rome as that between the Pauline and Sistine Chapels. It was originally designed for the reception of Royal ambassadors, but is now always open to the public.
45. Whose life follows.
46. The paintings in the Sala Regia are not by Perino nor by Daniel of Volterra, but by later artists, Taddeo Zucchero, Marco da Siena, Sicciolante da Sermoneta, Vasari, and others.
47. Marcello Venusti.
48. The paintings by Giotto, with all the decorations here described, were destroyed in the re-building of the church. —Bottari.
49. This tabernacle was replaced by one from the hand of Bernini, which was decorated with fresco paintings by Pietro da Cortona.
50. All these paintings have been destroyed.
51. Lanzi remarks that Raphael and Giulio Romano were so careful in their choice of assistants and in re-touching their works, that they do not merit the reproaches to which the avarice of Perino del Vaga caused him to lay himself open, as is manifest in numerous instances. The general truth of Vasari’s observation is nevertheless indisputable, and a remark made by one of the German critics of our author, to the effect that Vasari has maintained the contrary of what he here asserts in the life of Giulio Romano, is wholly without foundation. Vasari was then speaking of the effect of the practice in question on the disciple, and lauded it accordingly. He is now describing the injury received from it by the works of the master, when he reprehends the practice, as he is fully justified in doing.
52. Titian was in Rome the year previously, as we learn from a letter of Bembo’s, bearing date Oct. 10 1545, and which apoears in the Lettere Pittoriche.
53. A place between Parma and Piacenza.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
54. In the Corsini Palace in Rome there is still to be seen a portrait of Cardinal Famese, which is one of those here referred to. It has been engraved by Rossi.
55. This Angel was in Travertine, and was removed during the Pontificate of Benedict XIV., to make way for the bronze figure cast after a model by Verschaffelt, and still retaining its place.
56. The paintings executed by Perino and his disciples still remain in the Castle of St. Angelo.
57. This must be Caterina Fermi, since the wife of Perino was sister to Giovan-Francesco Penni, called Il Fattore, as we have read in a previous page. See ante, p. 100.
58. In the first edition we have the following verses in addition:—

    Certantem cum se, ie quum natura videret
    Nil mirum si te has abdidit in tenebras
    Lux tamen, atque operum Lecuo immortale tuorum.
    Te illustrem efficient, hoc etiam in tumulo.

59. Lomazzo describes a peculiar invention in fresco painting by Perino. See Trattato della Pittura, lib. iii. p. 7.
60. In the Doria Palace, as above described.
61. In the lives of the artists who were living when Vasari wrote, and which will be given in vol. v. of the present work.
62. Marcello Vennsti, who made a copy of the Last Judgment under the direction of Michael Angelo himself. It was a beautiful production, and passed from the Cardinal Famese, to whom it was presented by Michael Angelo, into the possession of the King of Naples.— Bottari.
63. Of this artist further mention is made in the life of Taddeo Zucchero. In the Abbecedacio Pittorico he is called Leonardo Cugini.