Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/The Academicians of Design, Painters, Sculptors, and Architects

by Giorgio Vasari

 

OF THE ACADEMICIANS OF DESIGN, PAINTERS, SCULPTORS AND ARCHITECTS; AND OF THEIR WORKS, MORE PARTICULARLY THOSE OF BRONZINO.

Having so far written the Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors, and architects, who have passed to a better life, from the time of Cimabue down to the present day; and having mentioned those still living as occasions were presented to me, there now remains that I say something of the Artists belonging to our Academy of Florence, respecting whom I have not hitherto found opportunity for speaking to sufiicient purpose. Beginning with the first and oldest, therefore, I proceed to the Florentine painter, Agnolo, called II Bronzino, a truly excellent artist, and one most worthy of all praise.

Having been many years with Pontormo, as we have before said,^[1] he acquired the manner of that master to such perfection that their works have frequently been taken on.e for the other, so exactly did the two artists, for a certain time, resemble each other. And it is of a truth not a little wonderful, that Angelo should have acquired Pontormo’s manner so completely, seeing that the latter was always somewhat rude and repulsive, even with his most beloved disciples, not liking indeed that any one should see his works until they were entirely finished. The patience and affection displayed by Agnolo to Pontormo were nevertheless such, that Jacopo could not choose but treat him well, and love him like a son.

The first works of any importance executed by Bronzino were performed while he was still but a youth, at the Certosa of Florence, in two Arches; one on the inside and one on the outside of the door which leads from the great Cloister into the Chapter House. That on the outside has a Pietà, with two Angels in fresco; that within is a nude figure of San Lorenzo extended on the gridiron: the last is painted in oil on the wall. These paintings gave the first proofs of that excellence which was seen in the works of Bronzino, when arrived at mature age. Por the chapel of Ludovico Capponi, in the Church of Santa Felicita, at Florence, this artist painted two Evangelists within two circular compartments, as we have said before;^[2] and in the Ceiling of that chapel he also painted certain figures. In the Abbey of Florence, which belongs to the Black Friars, Bronzino painted a fresco in the upper Cloister; this represents St. Benedict cast naked among thorns, and is an admirable work.^[3] In the garden of the Nuns, called the I^overine^ he painted a beautiful Tabernacle in fresco, depicting therein Our Saviour Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen in the form of the Gardener; and in the Church of the Trinità, which is also at Florence, there is a picture in oil by the same hand, on the first pilaster to the right, representing the Dead Christ, Our Lady, San Giovanni, and Santa Maria Maddalena, all figures which are executed in an admirable manner and with great care. He painted numerous portraits and other pictures at the same time, from which he obtained a very great reputation.

The siege of Florence being at an end, and the agreement having been made, as we have related, Bronzino repaired to Pesaro, where, in addition to the beautiful Case of the Harpsichord before alluded to, as executed for the Duke Guidobaldo, of Urbino, he painted the portrait of that sovereign; and took, besides, the likeness of a Daughter of Matteo SolFeroni, which last was a truly exquisite and deservedly extolled painting. Bronzino also worked at the Imperiale, a villa of the above-named Duke, where he painted certain figures in oil on the corbels of a Ceiling, and would have done more had he not been recalled to Florence by his master Pontormo, for the purpose of assisting the latter in completing the Hall of Poggio-a -Cajano.

Arrived in Florence our artist painted, as it were for pastime, and in his leisure hours, a small picture of our Lady; this work, which he did for Messer Giovanni de Statis, Auditor of the Duke Alessandro, was very highly commended. Shortly afterwards Bronzino painted the portrait of Andrea Doria, for Monsignore Giovio, who was his friend; and for Bartolommeo Bettini he painted the portraits of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, half-length figures of great beauty, with which Bettini has filled a lunette in his chamber. Having finished these pictures, Bronzino took the likeness of Bonaccorso Pinadori, as he did that of Ugolino Martelli, with those of Messer Lorenzo Lenzi, now Bishop of Permo; of Pier Antonio Bandini, and of his wife. Nay, at this time, Agnolo took the portraits of so many persons that, to name them all, would lead me too far; let it suffice to say that they were all most natural, executed with extraordinary care, and finished with a delicacy which left nothing to desire.

For Bartolommeo Panciatichi, Bronzino painted two large pictures of the Madonna, with other figures, and these are beautiful to a marvel; he also took the portraits of Bartolommeo and his wife, both so natural that they appear to be living, and want nothing but the breath of life. For the same person Agnolo painted a picture of Christ on the Cross; and this is executed in a manner which proves that the artist really drew from a dead body fixed to a cross, so complete is the perfection of every part. For Matteo Strozzi he painted, in fresco, a Pieta, with Angels in a Tabernacle, at Matteo’s villa of San Casciano.^[4] This was a beautiful work, as was also a Birth of Christ, which he painted for Filippo d’Averardo Salviati, in a small picture, the minute figures of which are unequalled, as every one knows, seeing that the work is now engraved. For Maestro Francesco Montevarchi, a distinguished naturalist, Bronzino painted a Madonna, with some small pictures, which are very graceful. He also assisted his master, Pontormo, to paint the Villa of Carreggi, where he executed five figures on the corbels of the vaulting; Fortune, Fame, Peace, Justice, and Prudence namely, with some Children, which are admirably done.

The Duke Alessandro being then dead, and Duke Cosimo elected, Bronzino assisted Pontorno at the Loggia of Castello; and for the nuptials of the most illustrious Lady I.eonora de Toledo, wife of Duke Cosimo, he painted two Stories of chiaro-scuro in the Court of the Medici Palace. On the Pedestal which supported the Horse made by Tribolo, he executed Stories in imitation of bronze, as we have before' said, representing therein the deeds of the Signor Griovanni de’ Medici. These pictures of Agnolo’s were the best painted for that solemnity; wherefore the Duke, perceiving Bronzino’s ability, commanded him to begin a Chapel for the Signora Duchess, a lady excellent above all that have ever lived, and whose infinite merits render her worthy of eternal praise. In the vaulting of this Chapel, which was not of large size, Bronzino painted beautiful Children, with four figures of Saints, S.S. Brancesco, Jeronimo, Michelagnolo, and Giovanni namely, all executed with extreme love and care. On the three walls of the Chapel, the space in two of which is interrupted by the door and window, our artist painted three Stories from the Life of Moses, one on each wall that is to say; on the side of the door is the Story of the Serpents falling on the People; and here are figures, some dying, some dead, and others recovering after having looked on the brazen serpent. On the side wherein is the window we have the Pall of Manna; and in the unbroken wall of the remaining side is the Passage of the Bed Sea, with the Submersion of Pharaoh.

The last-mentioned Story has been engraved at Antwerp, and the whole work, completed with all the care possible to a production in fresco, is such that it has not its equal.^[5] The Altar-piece of the Chapel, painted in oil, exhibited Our Saviour Christ deposed from the Cross, and lying in the lap of the Virgin; but this was taken away by Duke Cosimo, who sent it as a work of extraordinary merit to Granvella, the most influential personage then about the Emperor Charles V. The same artist has therefore painted a similar picture, and placed it over the Altar, between two others which are no less beautiful, and which represent the Virgin, with the Angel of the Annunciation.^[6] Before the first altarpiece was removed, however, there were in the place of these a San Giovanni Battista and a San Cosimo; but the Signora Duchess, having changed her mind, these were put into the Guardaroba, and the Virgin with the Angel were painted for the Chapel in their stead.

The Signor Duke, convinced by these and other works of Bronzino’s abilities; perceiving, too, that he was particularly successful in paintings from the life, which he executed with the utmost care and fidelity, caused his own portrait to be taken, with that of the Signora Duchess, his consort, in another picture; and the likeness of Don Francesco, their son, and Prince of Florence, in a third. The Duke, then young, was represented in white armour, and with one hand on his helmet. No long time after the completion of the above, Bronzino, having pleased the Signora Duchess, was commissioned to take her portrait once again, but in a different manner from the first, and with her son, the Signor Don Giovanni, beside her.^[7] Our artist also portrayed La Bia, the natural daughter of Duke Cosimo, as he subsequently did all the other children of the Duke; some for the first and others for the second time; the Signora Donna Maria, that is to say, the Prince Don Francesco, Don Garzia, and Don Ernando, in various pictures, which are all in the Guardaroba of his Excellency, with the portrait of Don Francesco di Toledo; that of the Signora, mother of his Excellency; and of Ercole, second Duke of Ferrara, as well as many others.

For two years following, Bronzino likewise made the scenic decorations for dramatic representations given in the Palace at the Carnival, and which were considered very beautiful; he also painted a picture which was sent into France to the King Francesco. This represented a nude figure of Venus embraced by her son Cupid; the Pleasures, Loves, and Sports are on one side; and on the other. Fraud, Jealousy, and Passions of similar character.

The Signor Duke having caused Pontormo to commence the Cartoons for cloth of arras in silk and gold, to be woven for the Hall of the Council of the Dugento, and having had two Stories of the Hebrew Joseph executed by Pontormo, with one by Salviati, he ordered that Bronzino should prepare the remainder. Thereupon our artist designed fourteen pieces, all of that excellence and perfection which those who have seen them will remember. But these works giving him too much labour, and requiring too great an expenditure of time, he caused the greater part of the Cartoons to be executed after his own designs, by Raffaello dal Colle, of Borgo a San Sepolcro, who acquitted himself to admiration therein.

Now Giovanni Zanchini had caused a rich chapel to be constructed in the Church at Santa Croce at Florence, and opposite to the chapel of the Dini family; for this, which is situate to the left of the entrance and encloses the marble tombs of his forefathers, Giovanni commissioned Bronzino to paint the Altar-piece, requiring him to represent Our Saviour Christ descending to the Gates of Hell to recall the spirits of the Holy Bathers thence. Having set hand to the work accordingly, Agnolo conducted it to completion with the utmost diligence, exhibiting therein many nude figures of men and women, old and young, with children, all displaying various attitudes and singular beauty. There are many Portraits from the life in this work, among them those of Jacopo Pontormo and Giovambatista Gello, a Florentine academician of considerable reputation, with the Painter Bacchiacca, of whom we have before made mention. Among the female figures also are the Portraits of two noble and truly beautiful Florentine maidens. Madonna Costanza da Sommaia, who became the wife of Giovambatista Doni, and Camilla Tedaldi of Corno, who has now passed to a better life.^[8] Not long afterwards, our artist executed another large and beautiful picture, representing the Resurrection of Christ; this was placed in the chapel of Jacopo and Filippo Guadagni, which is near the choir of the church of the Servites, the Nunziata namely;^[9] and at the same time Bronzino executed the picture which replaced, in the chapel of the Palace, the one that had been sent to Granvella; a most beautiful thing it is, and well worthy of the position which it occupies. For the Signor Alamanno, Salviati Bronzino then painted a Venus with a Satyr beside her; the first named figure is so truly exquisite, that it is indeed the Goddess of Beauty in very presence.

Having been invited to Pisa by the Duke, our artist there took certain Portraits for his Excellency, and for Luca Martini his friend, nay, rather the friend and well-beloved of all distinguished men; he painted a beautiful Madonna likewise, with the portrait of Luca himself bearing a basket of fruit: this alludes to the fact that Martini had been the Duke’s administrator in the drainage of the marshes and other waters, which had made Pisa insalubrious, but by the removal whereof the district had been rendered healthsome and fruitful. Nor did Bronzino depart from Pisa before he had received, by the intervention of Martini, a commission from Raffaello del Setaiuolo the Superintendent of the Cathedral, to paint the Altar-piece for one of the chapels of that church. In this picture he represented a nude figure, Christ bearing his Cross namely; around him are many Saints, and among them San Bartolommeo, flayed alive, is depicted to such perfection, that he does indeed appear to be a true study of anatomy, and really flayed, as was the case with that saint, so carefully has the painter studied the dissected form, and so successful is the imitation which he has made of the reality before him. This picture was placed in a chapel, whence another, by the hand of Benedetto da Pescia, a disciple of Giulio Romano, had been removed.^[10]

Bronzino subsequently portrayed the Dwarf Morgante for the Duke, depicting him in two manners, the front and back view namely, and displaying all the hideous deformity of those strangely contorted limbs, entirel} nude; nor do these Portraits fail to be fine and admirable in their way. For Ser Carlo Gherardi of Pistoja, who from his youth had been a friend of Bronzino, that artist executed various pictures at different times; the portrait of Ser Carlo namely, a beautiful figure of Judith placing the H^ad of Holofernes in a basket, and a figure of Prudence looking at herself in a glass; this last he painted on the cover by which the picture of the Judith is closed. He executed a Madonna for the same person, and this is one of the most beautiful ever painted by Bronzino. The Portrait of the Duke, when he had attained his fortieth year, was also taken by this master, with that of the Signora Duchess, and both are as faithful likenesses as they possibly can be.

Now Giovambattista Cavalcanti had caused a Chapel in the Church of Santa Spirito at Florence to be decorated with fine vari'Coloured marbles, which he had brought over the sea at great cost; and having here placed the bones of Tomraaso his fither, he caused the bust of the same to be sculptured by Giovann’ Agnolo Montorsoli, and gave Bronzino the Altar-piece, which the latter painted to admiration. The subject chosen was Our Saviour Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen in the form of the Gardener; while in the distance are the two other Maries; all these figures being executed with indescribable care.

Jacopo Pontormo had left the Chapel of San Lorenzo unfinished at his death, and the Signor Duke commanded that Bronzino should complete the same, when he added many nude figures wanting to the lower part of the Deluge, giving infinite perfection to that portion of the work. In the Resurrection of the Dead also, many figures were wanting, and in the space of about a braccio high, but along the whole width of the wall, Bronzino executed these in the beautiful manner we see. Between the windows, in a part left wholly unadorned, he likewise depicted a San Lorenzo stretched naked on the Gridiron, and with Angels in the form of children around him; and here Bronzino displayed judgment superior to that shown by Pontormo his master in the same place; he also depicted the Portrait of his said master in a corner of the chapel, and to the right of San Lorenzo.

The Duke subsequently ordered Bronzino to paint two large pictures, one, a Deposition from the Cross, with numerous figures, to be sent to Porta Ferrajo in the Island of Elba, where it was destined to adorn the Convent of the Barefooted Friars, which his Excellency had built in his city of Cosmopoli;^[11] the other, a Birth of Christ, being intended for the new Church of the Knights of San Stefano, which has since, together with their Palace and Hospital, been erected in Pisa after the designs of Giorgio Vasari. Both these pictures were painted with all the art, diligence, design, invention, and beauty of colouring that can be conceived, nor was less than that due to a Church erected by so great a Prince, and one who founded and endowed the abovementioned order of Knights.^[12]

Bronzino has furthermore depicted the great men of the House of Medici, on plates of metal, all of the same size, beginning with Giovanni di Bicci, and Cosimo the Elder, and coming down to the Queen of France in that line. In the other line he has gone from Lorenzo, brother of the Elder Cosimo, down to the Signor Duke Cosimo, and his children; all these portraits are ranged in due order, behind the door of a writing chamber,^[13] which Vasari has caused to be added to the new rooms of the Ducal Palace, and wherein are many antique statues of bronze and marble, with small pictures by modern artists, exquisite miniatures, and a large number of medals, in gold and silver, all arranged in the most perfect order. These portraits of the Illustrious persons of the House of Medici are all exceedingly animated pictures, as well as most faithful likenesses; and it is a great thing in Bronzino, that whereas many artists fall otf in their age, he, on the contrary, does even better now than in the best years of manhood, as his works are daily proving.

No long time since, he painted a picture about a braccio and a half high, in the Monastery of the Angeli at Florence, for Don Silvano Pazzi, a Monk of Camaldoli, who is very much his friend; the subject is St. Catherine, and the figure is so beautiful that it may bear comparison with any one that has been executed by this noble artist; nay, it seems to want only that spirit and voice with which the Saint confounded the tyrant, and confessed her beloved Lord, even to her latest breath. The father has accordingly no possession which he values more highly than that truly graceful picture. Agnolo likewise painted a portrait of Don Giovanni, Cardinal de’ Medici, son of Duke Cosimo, and this was sent to the Court of the Emperor, for the Queen Joanna; the same master afterwards portrayed Don Francesco, Prince of Florence, a most faithful likeness, and so carefully finished, that it has the effect of a miniature.

At the marriage of the Queen Joanna, of Austria, wife of the above-mentioned Prince, Bronzino painted three great pictures, which were placed on the Bridge of the Carraja, as will be related hereafter. He represented therein certain stories, from the Nuptials of Hymen, which were so beautiful that they did not seem like paintings executed for a festival, but were rather like works intended to be permanently fixed in some most honourable position, where they might endure for ever. A few months since, he furthermore painted a small picture, full of minute figures, that have not their equal, and may rather be called fine specimens of miniature. Nor is Bronzino less enamoured of his art now, in his sixty-fifth year, than he was as a youth; he has lately undertaken two stories in fresco, which the Signor Duke desires to have painted on the wall beside the Organ, in the Church of San Lorenzo, and we cannot doubt but that he will here prove himself that excellent Bronzino, whom we have always known him to be.^[14]

This master has besides taken great pleasure in poetry, and has written many stanzas and sonnets, some of which have been printed; but he is above all remarkable (as regards poetry) for his success in rhymes written after the playful manner of Berni;^[15]nor have we any one in our day who is more ingenious, varied, fanciful, and spirited, in this jesting kind of verse, than Bronzino, as all will see, if the wdiole of his works should some day be printed, as it is believed and hoped that they will be. Our artist is, and ever has been, most liberal of all that he possesses, and most kindly in all things, as it is possible for any one, even an artist, noble as he is, to be; gentle of disposition, he has never offered injury to any one, and has ever loved the distinguished men of his own vocation, as well we know who have lived on terms of close friendship with him for three and forty years, from 1524 that is, to the present year of 1567; since it was at the first mentioned period, when he was labouring at the Certosa, with Pontormo, that I first began to know and love this man; I then going, as a youth, to draw from the works of Jacopo, at that place.^[16]

Bronzino has had may followers and disciples, but the first (to speak now of our own Academicians) is Alessandro Allori, who has been ever beloved by his master, not as a disciple only, but as if he were his own son; they have lived, nay, still do live together, in all the love which is usually found to exist between a good parent and his child. Alessandro then, in the pictures and portraits executed up to his present age of thirty years, has proved himself to be the worthy disciple of so great a master, and is constantly seeking to attain by diligence and perpetual study, to that highest perfection to which all noble and elevated minds aspire. He has painted the Chapel of the Montaguti, in the Church of the Nunziata, entirely with his own hand; the Altar-piece in oil that is to say, and the walls and ceiling in fresco. On the Altar-piece we have Christ and the Madonna in the heavens; they are seated in judgment and beneath them are numerous figures, well executed, and in various attitudes, which are copied from the Last Judgment of Michelagnolo Buonarroti. On the same side of the Chapel are four large figures, representing Prophets, or perhaps Evangelists; and on the ceiling are Sibyls and Prophets, executed with infinite thought and care, Allori having endeavoured to imitate Michelagnolo in the figures.^[17]

On the wall to the right, as you face the Altar, is Christ disputing with the Doctors in the Temple. The Child, whose attitude is good, appears to be replying to the arguments of the Doctors, all of whom, with other figures standing near, exhibit a rich variety in the countenances, attitudes, and vestments: there are among them numerous portraits ot the friends of Allori, which are very faithful as to resemblance.

On the wall, opposite to this picture, is Christ driving the Traders from the Temple, a work wherein there are many parts which merit praise. Over these two pictures are Stories from the Life of the Virgin; and in the ceiling are figures of no great size, but graceful and well arranged; there are besides landscapes and buildings, which prove the love which Allori bears to art, and the care with which he seeks perfection in design and invention.^[18]

In the upper part of the wall opposite the Altar is the Story of Ezekiel with the dry bones, which become reclothed with flesh; here this young artist has shown the zeal with which he laboured to acquire the anatomy of the human form,^[19] and in this, his first important work, as well as in the rilievi and paintings executed for the nuptials of his Highness, he has given an excellent specimen of his powers and awakened many hopes. Allori is thus continually labouring to render himself a good painter, and in the abovenamed as well as in certain smaller works (more especially in a little picture after the manner of a miniature executed for Don Francesco Prince of Florence, which is highly praiseworthy) he is studying to obtain facility and to form a fine manner.^[20]

Another youth called Griovanni Butteri, also the disciple of our academician Bronzino, has likewise displayed much readiness and facility; in that which he did, for example, when the obsequies of Michelagnolo were solemnized, and at the arrival in Florence of her most Serene Majesty Joanna, as well as in other works of minor importance.^[21]

The painter Cristofano dell’ Altissimo was also the disciple, first of Pontormo and afterwards of Bronzino; after having in his youth depicted numerous works in oil and some portraits, Cristofano was sent by Duke Cosimo to copy the many portraits of illustrious personages which are in the Gallery of Monsignore Giovio, and which that distinguished person, one of the most learned men of our own day, has collected. The Duke has besides many other works executed for him by the cares of Giorgio Vasari. The list of all these portraits shall be added to the index of this work,^[22] but here we will not speak more of them than to say that Cristofano has acquitted himself very zealously of his commission, having already copied more than two hundred and eighty of those pictures for the Guardaroba of the Duke, where they are arranged in three lines, as will be related when we speak further of the ornaments of that apartment: the copies consist of popes, emperors, kings, and other princes, with military leaders, men of learning, and persons of eminence; at a word, from whatever cause they have become illustrious.

We also shall of a truth be all deeply indebted to the care of Giovio and the Duke,^[23] seeing that from this beginning, not only the apartments of princes but the chambers of private persons are now being adorned with portraits of one or another among these illustrious men, as the partialities of country, family, or friendship shall decide. Cristofano, then, has fixed himself to this kind of work for which his genius, or perhaps I should say inclination, disposed him; and he has done little besides, as finding that he derives honour and profit in abundance from this.

Stefano Fieri and Lorenzo dello Sciorina^[24] are likewise disciples of Bronzino; they both distinguished themselves in the obsequies of Michelagnolo, as well as for the marriage of his Highness, and that in a manner which has caused them to be placed among the number of our academicians.

From the same school of Pontormo and Bronzino, came also Battista Naldini, of whom we have spoken elsewhere;^[25] and who, having passed some time in Rome, after the death of Pontormo, has made considerable improvement, insomuch that he has become a bold and able painter, as is seen by various works executed by his hand for Don Vincenzio Borghini, who has employed him frequently and assists him very much, as he does Francesco da Poppi, a young artist, and also one of our academicians. This Francesco has acquitted himself exceedingly well in the preparations for the marriage of his Highness, as have other young men whom Don Vincenzio is constantly employing and assisting. Vasari likewise has availed himself of Battista’s services for more than two years, and still continues to do so for the works of the Ducal Palace in Florence, where, in emulation with the many other young artists who also work at that place, he has made great improvement, and may now consider himself equal to any of the younger men of our Academy. Among other qualities in this youth which please men of knowledge, is that he is prompt, and performs his work without effort. In a picture which Battista has painted in oil for the Black Friars of the Abbey of Florence, he has represented a Story of Christ bearing his Cross, wherein there are many good figures, and he has now works on hand which will suffice to make him known as an able artist.

Not inferior to any of these in genius, talent, and worth, is Maso Mazzuoli,^[26] called Maso of San Friano, a young man, now about thirty or thirty-two years old, who acquired the first principles of his art under our academician Pier-Francesco di Jacopo di Sandro, of whom we have spoken elsewhere. This Maso, besides having shown us of what he is capable, and what may be hoped from him in many small pictures, has lately displayed two large paintings, which do him great honour and give universal satisfaction, since he has exhibited therein much invention, correct design, a good manner, infinite grace, and admirable harmony of colouring. One of these pictures, which is in the Church of Sant’ Apostolo in Florence, is the Nativity of our Saviour Christ; and in the other, which is in the Church of San Pietro Maggiore, and is as beautiful as it could have been if executed by an old and experienced master, we have the Visitation of Our Lady to St. Elizabeth; a work which does indeed display much forethought and judgment; the heads, the attitudes, the draperies, the buildings, every part of it, at a word, is full of beauty and grace. This artist, as one of our Academy, and a man of most obliging disposition, acquitted himself well in the obsequies of Buonarroti; and in the preparations made for the nuptials of the Queen Joanna, he distinguished himself very highly.

And now, as in the Life of Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, and other places, I have spoken of Michele, Ridolfo’s disciple, and, of Carlo da Loro, I will say nothing more of them here although they are of our Academy, having already mentioned them sufficiently.

But I will not omit to relate that Andrea del Minga, another of our academicians, who has performed and is performing numerous works of merit, was also a disciple and follower of Ghirlandajo; as were likewise Girolamo di Francesco Crocifissaio,^[27] a youth of twenty-six years old, and Mirabello di Salincorno, both painters, who have executed, and are executing, numerous works in oil and fresco, with portraits also. These artists, too, give hope of a very successful future, and some years have now elapsed since they painted in company certain frescoes, which are very fair works, and may be seen in the Church of the Capuchins, outside of Florence. In the obsequies of Michelagnolo, and the nuptials above-mentioned, they likewise did themselves great honour. Mirabello has furthermore painted numerous portraits, that of the most Illustrious Prince among others, and this he has taken many times with those of various persons, now in the possession of divers Florentine gentlemen.

The Fleming, Federigo di Lamberto, of Amsterdam, son-inlaw of the Paduan Cartaro, also greatly honoured our Academy as well as himself, in the obsequies and nuptials aforesaid, and has besides given proof of much judgment, very correct design, and a good manner, in many pictures in oil, large and small, with other works. But if he has merited commendation up to the present time, much more will he do so in the future, since he is still labouring with manifest progress in Florence, which he appears to have adopted as his country, and where the emulation and competition existing among so many young men is of infinite advantage to those artists.

A very fine genius and extraordinary wealth of felicitous fancies, are likewise displayed by Bernardo Timante Buontalenti,^[28] who acquired the first principles of design, when in his childhood, from the works of Vasari, and has since made so much progress, that he is now in the service of the most illustrious Signor, Don Francesco Medici, Prince of Florence, with whom he has been for some years, and who favours him greatly, having long kept, and still keeping him constantly employed. Buontalenti has thus executed for his Excellency many works painted in miniature, after the manner of Don Giulio Clovio, as, for example, numerous portraits and stories in small figures, which are finished with great care. The same artist has made a splendid library table, by command of Don Francesco, constructing the work of ebony, divided into compartments by columns of eliotrope, oriental jasper, and lapis lazuli, which have bases and capitals of chased silver. The work is furthermore enriched with jewels, beautiful ornaments of silver and exquisite little figures interspersed with miniatures and termini of silver and gold in full relief, united in pairs. There are besides other compartments formed of jaspers, agates, eliotropes, sardonyxes, carnelians, and other precious stones, to describe all which here would make too long a story: let it suffice to say that in this work, which now draws near its completion, Bernardo has given proof of a most admirable genius, and one ready for every purpose.

Don Francesco accordingly avails himself of his services for various labours; in the construction of machines for lifting weights for example, and many other ingenious inventions. Bernardo has also discovered a method by which Rock-crystal may be readily melted and purified; of this substance he has made Vases and Stories of various colours. This artist meddles with every kind of art; and in a short time we shall see such Vases of porcelain as will equal in beauty the most perfect of those executed in the highest antiquity, of which they will have all the qualities. Another excellent master in these works is Griulio da Urbino, who is now in the service of the most illustrious Duke Alfonso 11. of Ferrara; this Giulio makes Vases of amazing beauty from earths of different kinds; and in porcelain he forms them of the most exquisite shapes. From the same clays he likewise makes octagons, circles, and squares for pavements, all of extraordinary hardness, and so neatly arranged in imitation of vari-coloured marbles, that they appear to be made of the stones themselves, rather than of mere imitations formed out of clay. Of all these things our Prince is in possession of the processes and modes of manipulation.

His Excellency has also lately commenced the construction of a small table richly adorned with jewels, and which he proposes to make the companion of one which belongs to his father Duke Cosimo. Not long since, moreover, he completed a small table after the design of Vasari, which is a very splendid production, being wholly formed of oriental alabaster intermingled with great pieces of carnelian, jasper, eliotrope, lapis, and agate, with other stones and jewels worth twenty thousand crowns. The execution of this table was confided to Bernardino di Porfirio of Leccio, a place in the neighbourhood of Florence. Bernardino is admirable in works of this kind, and has executed an octangle of ebony and ivory, inlaid with jaspers, for Messer Bindo Altoviti, after the designs of Vasari. This Bernardino is still in the service of their Excellencies.

But returning to Buontalenti I add, that, contrary to the expectation of many, he proved himself capable of painting large figures equally well with small ones, by that great Story which he prepared for the obsequies of Michelagnolo, as we have before related. He was employed, to his great credit, at the nuptials of our Prince also; for certain maskings that is to say, for the Triumph of Dreams, of which I propose to speak elsewhere, and for the Interludes of the Dramatic Spectacle given at the Palace, as other writers have related at full length. Nay, had Bernardo attended to the studies of art in his first youth (he is now but thirty years old), as he did to the construction of fortresses, in which he spent much time, he would now perchance have attained to an unusually high degree of eminence; it is indeed even yet expected that he will do so, although somewhat later, seeing that he is all genius and talent, and has besides the further advantage of being constantly employed by his sovereign in the most honourable occupations.

The Fleming, Giovanni della Strada, is also one of our Academicians; and to good design, a rich fancy, and admirable power of invention, this artist adds an excellent method of colouring; he has worked much in fresco, in oil, and in tempera, during the last ten years, under the direction and from the designs of Giorgio Vasari, in the Ducal Palace: Giovanni may indeed declare himself the equal of any painter in the Duke’s service. But his principal occupation just at present is to prepare Cartoons for arras, also after the designs of Vasari, which the Duke and Prince are causing to be made in divers manners to correspond with the paintings executed by Vasari in the upper parts of the various chambers of the Palace, to the end that the tapestries below may be in harmony with the pictures above. For the Halls of Saturn, Ops, Ceres, Jupiter, and Hercules, Giovanni has made very beautiful Cartoons for about thirtv pieces of arras, with others, also very fine, for the upper rooms occupied by the Princess; and of these, four are devoted to the virtues of women, and display histories of Roman, Hebrew, Greek, and Tuscan ladies, taken from the lives of Sabina, Esther, Penelope, and Gualdrada. For ten panels of a Hall wherein is delineated the Life of Man, Giovanni has also made Cartoons, as he has for the five lower rooms, which are occupied by the Prince, and which are decorated with stories from the Lives of David, Solomon, Cyrus, and others.

For the Palace of Poggio-a-Cajano, wherein twenty rooms are to be supplied with arras, now daily making progress, Giovanni has made Cartoons of Hunting-pieces after the invention of the Duke; they exhibit all kinds of animals of the chase, and portray the various modes of fowling and fishing, with the most singular and beautiful fancies. In this work, the variety of animals, birds, fish, landscapes, and vestments, with the hunters, on foot and on horseback, the fowlers in various attitudes, and the nude figures of the fishermen, have proved this Strada to be a truly able man, well skilled in the Italian manner. It is his purpose to live and die at Florence, in the service of his illustrious lords, and in the company of Vasari and the other Academicians.

Another disciple of Vasari, and also an Academician, is the Florentine Jacopo di Maestro Piero Zucca,^[29] now about twenty-five or twenty-six years old; having assisted Vasari in the greater part of his works at the palace, but more especially in the ceiling of the Great Hall, by his industry, care, and diligence, he has acquired so much knowledge of design and facility in the handling of colours, that he may be considered among the first of the young painters in our Academy. The works which he executed alone in the obsequies of Michelagnolo, and at the marriage of the Prince, with others for certain of his friends, in all which he has displayed intelligence, boldness, care, grace, and judgment, have made him known as a clever youth and able painter, but still more may yet be hoped from him in the future, when he will doubtless do as much honour to his country as any other of her painters.

Among the younger artists of the Academy, Santi Tidi^[30] may likewise be accounted an ingenious and able master. Having laboured for many years in Rome, as we have said elsewhere, he has now returned to enjoy himself in Florence, which he considers his home, although his family belongs to Borgo-a -San Sepolcro, where it holds a very honourable place. This artist certainly acquitted himself perfectly well in all that he did for the funeral of Michelagnolo, and the wedding of the most Serene Princess, but he distinguished himself principally in the stories, which, with incredible labour, he depicted for the theatre which he constructed on the Piazza San Lorenzo, for the most illustrious Paolo Giordano Orsino, Duke of Bracciano, on the occasion of the same marriage. Here, on great pieces of canvas, he delineated stories from the Lives of the most distinguished men of the Casa Orsina. The ability of Santo Tidi may however be more accurately judged from two pictures by his hand, one of which is in Ognissanti, or rather San Salvadore di Fiorenza (for so is that Church now called), which formerly belonged to the Padre Umiliati, but is now the Church of the Barefooted Friars. In the upper part of this work is the Madonna, and beneath are S.S. Giovanni, Girolamo, and others; the second picture is in the Chapel of the Guardi in the Church of San Giuseppe, which is behind that of Santa Croce; it is a Nativity of Christ painted with great care, and presenting numerous portraits from the life. This artist has besides executed many pictures of the Madonna, and various portraits both in Rome and Florence; he has also worked in the Vatican, as we have said before.

Other young painters, some Florentine and some belonging to other parts of the Tuscan States, who were employed for the before-mentioned solemnities, are also members of our Academy. Among them may be named Alessandro del Barbiere, now about twenty-five years old, who, among other works, depicted the front of the Great Hall for those Nuptials, under the direction and with the designs of Vasari. Here the Piazzas of all the cities in the Duke’s dominions were delineated, and in the execution of this painting Alessandro certainly acquitted himself well, giving evidence of much judgment and offering fair hopes of future success. Many others among Vasari’s disciples and friends, have likewise assisted him in these and other works, Domenico Benci for example, with Alessandro Fortori of Arezzo, Stefano Veltroni, the cousin of Giorgio, and Orazio Porta, both of the Monte San Savino; Tommaso del Verrocchio also has been one among these assistants.

There are besides many excellent foreign artists in the same Academy, but of these we have spoken at length in various places; it shall therefore here suffice to mention their names, to the end that they may not fail to be enumerated with the other Academicians. These then are: Federigo Zucchero, Prospero Fontana, and Lorenzo Sabatini, of Bologna; Marco da Faenza, Tiziano Vecellio, Paolo Veronese, Giuseppe Salviati, II Tintoretto, Alessandro Vettoria; the sculptor Danese; the Veronese painter, Battista Farinato; and the architect, Andrea Palladio.^[31]

But now, to say some few words of the sculptors who are Academicians, and of their works, in which I do not intend to be very diffuse, nevertheless, because they still live, and are for the most part of high fame, I add that the Florentine citizen, Benvenuto Cellini (to begin with the oldest and most honoured), now a sculptor, was without an equal, when, in his youth, he gave his attention to the art of the goldsmith; nor, perhaps, for many years was there any to compare with him in that calling, and in the execution of figures whether in full or low relief, nay, in all the other works proper to the vocation of the goldsmith. He set jewels and adorned the settings themselves with minute figures, so well formed and often so fancifully imagined that better would not well be conceived. The medals of gold and silver which Benvenuto also executed in his youth, can scarcely be sufficiently extolled. For Pope Clement VII. he made the brooch of a Cope or Pluvial, wherein he set a diamond, beautifully surrounded by minute figures of children in gold plate, and finished above with a figure of God the Father, most admirably executed. Wherefore, besides the payment, Benvenuto received from His Holiness the office of a mace-bearer.

The same Pontiff afterwards gave him a golden goblet to make; the cup was to be adorned with figures of the Theological Virtues, and this Benvenuto executed with marvellous art. At that time there was none among the many by whom medals were made for Pope Clement, who succeeded better than did Cellini, as is well known to those who have seen or possess any of the same. He therefore received the care of the dies for the Roman Mint; nor have more beautiful coins ever been seen than are those then stamped in Rome. After the death of Clement, Benvenuto returned to Florence, where he also struck the dies with the head of Duke Alessandro for the Mint of Florence, executing the same so admirably and with such care that they are now kept as might be the most beautiful ancient medals, and with good reason, seeing that in these Cellini surpassed himself.

Having ultimately turned his attention to Sculpture and casting in metal, Benvenuto performed numerous works in France, some of which were in bronze, gold, and silver, he being for a certain time in the service of Francesco King of that realm. Having subsequently returned to his native country, he entered the service of Duke Cosimo, by whom he was at first employed in goldsmiths’ work, but who finally gave him commissions for works in sculpture. The Perseus, in metal, cutting off the Head of Medusa, which is near the gate of the Palace in the Piazza del Duca, is by the hand of Cellini; it stands on a pedestal of marble, decorated with most beautiful figures in bronze, each about one braccio and a third in height. This whole work was executed with so much care, and has in truth been completed to such perfection, that it worthily occupies the above-named position, where it stands together with the Judith of that most renowned and admirable sculptor Donato. Nor is it a little extraordinary that Benvenuto, so long occupied with works of such minute character, should so successfully have executed a statue of such size and importance.

He has also made a Crucifix in marble, which is in full relief and the size of life, the most beautiful work of its kind that could well be seen; wherefore the Signor Duke has had it brought to the Pitti Palace, as a thing greatly valued by himself; and it is to be placed in the Chapel, or rather small Church, which is now constructing there; nor can this church be provided in our times with any ornament more worthy of itself, or of so great a Prince, than this Crucifix, which it would be difficult to commend sufficiently.

I might easily find much more to say respecting the works of Benvenuto Cellini, who has given proof in all his productions of a bold, proud, animated, prompt, and forceful character; he is, indeed, a man but only too well disposed and able to hold his own by word in the presence of Princes, as well as ready with hand and spirit in matters of art; yet I will not here say more, because he has himself written a Treatise concerning his Life and Works, with one on the Art of the Goldsmith, on founding and casting in Metal, as well as on other matters appertaining to those arts: he has spoken of Sculpture likewise with much more eloquence and to more purpose than might, perhaps, be possible to myself; wherefore, as regards Benvenuto, it shall suffice me to have thus indicated some few among the best of his principal works.^[32]

Francesco, the son of Giuliano da Sangallo, a sculptor and architect, also one of our Academicians, and now seventy years old, has likewise produced numerous works in sculpture, as we have said in the Life of his father. The three figures in marble, somewhat larger than life, which are on the Altar in the Church of Or San Michele, are by his hand.

They are much extolled, and represent Sant’ Anna, the Virgin, and Our Saviour Christ as a Child. Some other Statues, also in marble, on the Tomb of Piero de’ Medici at Monte Cavallo, are likewise by his hand, as is the Sepulchre of the Bishop of Marzi in the Nunziata; and that of the historian Monsignore Giovio.^[33] The same master has also executed many fine works in architecture at Florence and elsewhere; and his many valuable qualities, with the services performed by his father Giuliano, have secured to him the good-will of the House of Medici, for which cause the Duke Cosimo gave him the place of Architect to the Cathedral of Florence, when the death of Baccio d’Agnolo left that office vacant.

Of Ammannato, who is among the chief of our Academicians, I need not speak further, since we have said enough of him in describing the works of Jacopo Sansovino, and I will but add, that the very able Sculptor, Andrea Calamec of Carrara, also an Academician, was his disciple: the latter executed numerous works under the direction of Ammannato; but having been invited to Messina after the death of Martino, to occupy the place formerly held in that island by Fra Giovann’ Agnolo, he there died. Battista di Benedetto, a youth who has already given evidence of future success, was also the disciple of Ammannato; his many works produced thus early show him to be in nowise inferior to the above-mentioned Andrea, or to any other of the young sculptors who are Academicians, whether in genius or judgment.

The Sculptor and Architect, Vincenzio de Bossi, of Fiesole, also a member of the Florentine Academy, is in like manner worthy of a memorial in this place, in addition to what has been said of him in the Life of Baccio Bandinelli, whose disciple he was.^[34] Having left his master, Vincenzio, though still young, gave a favourable specimen of his ability in a group, representing San Giuseppe with Our Saviour Christ, a child of about ten years old, which he executed for the Eitonda; both of these figures being in a very good manner, and giving evidence of great facility. He afterwards constructed two Tombs in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, the figures of those within them are in a recumbent position on the sarcophagi; and on the external front are figures of Prophets in half-relief, which are of the size of life, and have acquired for Vincenzio the name of an excellent Sculptor. This caused him to be commissioned by the Eoman people to execute the Statue of Pope Paul IV., which was placed on the Capitol, and wherein he acquitted himself exceedingly well; but this work had not a long life, seeing that when the Pontiff died, his Statue was destroyed by the populace, ever prone to persecute fiercely to-day those whom they were yesterday exalting to the skies.

At a later period, Vincenzio executed two Statues, somewhat larger than life, carved in one piece of marble; the subject is Theseus, King of Athens,^[35] who has carried ofp Helen, and holds her in his arms; beneath his feet there lies the figure of a Trojan; Statues more graceful, or more carefully executed than these are, could not well be imagined: it chanced therefore, that when Duke Cosimo visited Rome, he went to see such modern works as he thought worthy of remark, no less than the ancient productions; when, being shown these Statues, and justly commending them, they were courteously presented to his Excellency, by Yincenzio, who at the same time offered his services to the Duke. It is true that when Duke Cosimo had transported the Statues to his Palace of the Pitti, he paid a very good price for the work, and having brought Yincenzio with him likewise, he commissioned him no long time afterwards to execute the Labours of Hercules, in marble; commanding him to represent the same in figures, larger than life, and in full relief. With these Yincenzio is now occupied, he has already completed the Slaying of Cacus, and the Combat with the Centaur, and as the work is of an exalted and difficult character, so, as it is hoped, will it prove an excellent production of art; Yincenzio possessing a fine genius, with much judgment, and being very thoughtful in the conduct of all matters of importance.

Nor will I omit to mention, that under the discipline of this artist, the young Florentine citizen, Ilarione Ruspoli is devoting himself to Sculpture in a manner which does him great honour; and when the obsequies of Michelagnolo, with the marriage so frequently alluded to, presented him with an opportunity, he showed equal excellence of design and facility in the production of statues, with the other Academicians of his age.

Francesco Camilliani, a Florentine Sculptor and Academician, who was the disciple of Baccio Bandinelli, after having proved himself an excellent Sculptor, by many good works, has consumed fifteen years in executing ornaments for Fountains. One of these, which he has made for Don Luigi di Toledo, at his Garden in Florence, is certainly most surprising; the decorations which surround it, are various figures of men and animals, represented in divers attitudes, but all graceful and effective; the entire work is indeed rich and magnificent, nay, truly regal, and has been completed without sparing any amount of cost thereon.^[36] Among the rest, are two larger than life, which represent the rivers Ai'no and Mugnone; they are exceedingly beautiful, more especially the Mugnone, which may bear comparison with the best statues of the most eminent masters. At a word^ all the architecture and decorations of this garden are by Francesco, who, by the magnificence of the various Fountains, which he has constructed therein, has rendered it such, that it has not its equal in Florence, nor perhaps in Italy; nay, the principal Fountain, which is now on the point of completion, will be the most rich and sumptuous that can be seen in any place, whether for the splendid ornaments, or for the vast abundance of waters, which will never fail at any time.

The Flemish Sculptor, Giovanni Bologna, of Douai,^[37] is also of our Academy, and his remarkable ability has caused him to be much in the favour of our Princes. He is indeed a young man of singular talent, and it is by him that the new Fountain on the Piazza of San Petronio,^[38] opposite to the Palace of the Signori, at Bologna, has been constructed: among other ornaments, there are four Syrens at the angles, which are exceedingly beautiful, as are also the Children and fanciful Masks by which it is surrounded. But the most remarkable part of this work is a figure of Neptune, six braccia high, placed over the centre of the Fountain, and which is a most beautiful casting, the figure being studied and executed to perfection. And, not to speak now of what this artist has produced in clay, terra-cotta, wax, and other materials, he has executed a beautiful Venus, in marble, and almost completed a Sampson, the size of life, in combat with two Philistines, for the Signor Prince. He has likewise made the figure of Bacchus, in bronze, larger than life and in full relief, with a Mercury in the act of flight, which is very ingenious, the whole figure resting on the point of the foot: this has been sent to the Emperor, Maximilian, as the extraordinary work that it certainly is.^[39] But if Giovanni Bologna has hitherto produced fine works, still finer may we expect from him in the future, seeing that the Signor Prince, after giving him rooms in the Palace, has lately commissioned him to execute a Statue, of five braccia high, representing the Goddess of Victory, with a Captive;^[40] and this work, which is to be placed in the Hall, opposite to one by Michelagnolo, being accomplished, Giovanni will be employed in many other great and important undertakings for the same Prince, thus obtaining a wide field for the display of his powers.

Beautiful models by the hand of Giovanni Bologna are now in the possession of the Florentine gentlemen, Messer Bernardo Vecchietti, and of Maestro Bernardo the son of Mona Mattea, the Duke’s master builder, who has erected, with great ability, all the edifices designed by Vasari. Nor less remarkable, for his fine genius, than Giovanni and his friends, is Vincenzio Danti of Perugia,^[41] a youth who, under the protection of Duke Cosimo, has adopted Florence as his country. Vincenzio first gave his attention to the art of the goldsmith, in which calling he produced works of incredible excellence; and having afterwards taken to casting figures in metal, he had the courage, in his twentieth year, to undertake the Statue of Pope Julius III., four braccia high: the Pontiff is seated in the act of giving the Benediction, and the Statue, which is very fairly executed, is now on the Piazza in Perugia.

Having subsequently come to Florence and entered the service of Duke Cosimo, Vincenzio made a beautiful model in wax, somewhat larger than life, which represented Hercules strangling Antaeus: this was intended for the principal Fountain in the Harden of Castello, which is a Villa of the Duke’s, but having made the mould, either because of his ill fortune, or that the metal had been burnt, or for some other cause, he could not succeed in the bronze casting, although he twice attempted it.

Vincenzio then resolved no longer to subject his labours to the caprices of that malicious Fortune; he therefore began to work in marble, and in a short time completed two figures in the same block of stone: these represent Honour and Deceit, the latter fallen beneath the feet of the former.^[42] This he completed with so much care, that while looking at it you think the artist can never have done anything but handle the mallet and chisels through his life lopg; the head of Honour, which is exceedingly beautiful, has waving hair which is so finely worked that it looks exactly as does that of Nature; and Vincenzio has also displayed profound knowledge of the nude form in this group, which is now in the Court of the house belonging to the Signor Sforza Almeni in the Via de’ Servi.

At Fiesole, Vincenzio executed various decorations for the same Signore Sforza, in his gardens that is to say, and around certain fountains. He subsequently produced numerous bassi-rilievi; these, which are in marble and bronze, and were considered very beautiful, are, for the most part, in possession of the Signor Duke: in that branch of sculpture Vincenzio is perhaps not inferior to any other master. This artist furthermore cast the grated doors of the chapel lately made in the Palace for the new apartments painted by Giorgio Vasari, and with them a work in basso-rilievo, which serves to close a cabinet in which the Duke keeps writings of importance; he also executed another, which represents Moses raising the Serpent in the Wilderness; this last is about a braccio and a half high, by two and a half broad. By order of Duke Cosimo, Danti then executed the Door of the Sacristy in the Deanery of Prato, with a marble Sarcophagus above it, whereon there is a figure of Our Lady, three braccia and a half high; the Infant Christ, entirely nude, is near her, and two children are added, these last holding between them the head, in basso-rilievo, of Messer Carlo de’ Medici, natural son of Cosimo the Elder and formerly Dean of Prato, whose remains, after having long remained in a tomb of bricks, have been placed in the abovementioned sarcophagus or sepulchre, with which they have been honoured by Duke Cosimo. It is, however, true that the work, which is a singularly beautiful one, is in a very bad light, and does therefore not anpear to be what it really is.

Vincenzio then decorated the building used by the superintendents of the Mint; executing the arms of the Duke, supported by two nude figures larger than life, in the Loggia which looks on the Arno; one of these supporters represents Equity, the other Severity, or Firmness: our artist is now also in daily expectation of the marble for a statue larger than life to represent the Signor Duke, and of which he has already made the model: this is to be placed in a seated position over the Arms above-mentioned, as the completion of that work,^[43] which is very soon to be effected, with the whole façade, all designed by Vasari, who is the architect of that fabric. Danti has besides now in hand a Madonna, somewhat larger than life; she is standing upright, and holds the Infant Christ, a child of about three months old, in her arms; when it is completed this group will be a very beautiful thing. These works, with many others, Vincenzio is bringing to completion at the Monastery of the Angeli in Florence, where he lives quietly in the society of the monks, who are very much his friends, occupying the rooms formerly inhabited by Messer Benedetto Varchi, of whom he is now executing a Portrait in basso-rilievo, which will be exceedingly beautiful.

Vincenzio has a brother in the Order of Friars Preachers, he is called Fra Ignazio Danti,^[44] is very learned in Cosmography, and a man of distinguished ability in letters, insomuch that the Duke Cosimo has committed to his care a work of which none more perfect in design, or more important in the results to be expected from it, has ever been executed in that kind. His Excellency, that is to say, has caused a room of considerable extent to be prepared on the second floor of his palace, as a continuation of and addition to the Guardaroba; around this room he has had cabinets arranged seven braccia high, and richly carved in walnut wood, intending to place within them the most valuable and beautiful works of art in his possession; and on the doors of the same he is causing fifty-seven pictures, about two braccia high and of proportionate width, to be painted in oil on the wood in the manner of miniatures. The subjects delineated are the Ptolomaic Tables, measured by Don Ignazio with the most exact perfection, and corrected according to the latest authorities; sea-charts of the utmost accuracy are added, the scale and degrees being adjusted with all possible care, and all having the ancient as well as modern names; the division made of these works being as follows:—

At the principal entrance into the room are seen four pictures executed on the sides of the cabinets, and representing in perspective the halves of four spheres, those below showing the Earth and those above the Heavens, with all their signs and celestial figures. Proceeding towards the right we have all Europe depicted in fourteen compartments, the pictures succeeding each other to the centre of the wall which is at the head of the room, and opposite to the principal door, that namely whereon is placed the Horologe with its wheels, and the daily motions made by the planets in their spheres; I mean, that so much renowned clock made by the Florentine Lorenzo della Volpaia.^[45] Above the compartments representing Europe, are those of Africa in eleven divisions; these extend to the Horologe itself, beyond which and on the lower part is Asia, which occupies a consecutive range of fourteen compartments, extending to the principal door. There are besides the West Indies, which commence from the clock, and continue to the principal door; the whole series forming the fifty-seven divisions before-mentioned.

On the lower part of the walls and immediately beneath the geographical delineations, in an equal number of compartments, will be the various plants and animals produced by the respective countries, all depicted from Nature. Over the cornice of the said cabinets, which completes the decoration, there are to be ressaults dividing the pictures, and on these will be placed certain antique busts in marble, representing the Emperors and Princes by whom those lands have been possessed, so far as those portraits are known to exist or can be procured. The ceiling is entirely in carved wood-work, and within the compartments of the same are twelve large pictures, in each of which are to be four of the Celestial Signs, making in the whole forty-eight; the figures are to be but little less than the size of life, each accompanied by its Stars. On the walls beneath are three hundred portraits of distinguished persons belonging to the last five centuries, or somewhat more; they are painted in oil; but, that I may not make too long a story, 1 refer the mention of their names to the Tables of my work. All have frames of similar size, very richly carved in oak, and producing an exceedingly fine effect.

In the two pictures occupying the centre of the ceiling, each of which is four braccia wide, are the celestial signs; these can be thrown back by means which cannot be perceived; and in a space representing the concave are to be two large spheres, one representing the Earth: this will be made to descend by a concealed windlass, and will then be balanced on a support adequate to that purpose, so that when fixed, all the pictures and maps on the cabinets will be reflected therein, each part being thus readily found in the sphere. On the other globe the forty-eight Celestial Signs will be arranged, in such sort that all the operations of the Astrolabe may be performed most perfectly by the aid thereof. The plan of this work has proceeded from the Duke Cosimo, who desired to have all these parts of Earth and Heaven brought for once fairly together in their just positions, exactly and without errors, to the end that they might be observed and measured, either apart or all together, as might be desired by those who study and delight in this most beautiful science. I have, therefore, thought myself bound to make a memorial of the same in this place, for the sake of Fra Ignazio; and that his ability, with the magnificence of that great Prince, who has judged us worthy to enjoy the benefits of so honourable a labour, may be made known to all the world.

But to return to the men of our Academy. I add somewhat concerning the sculptor, Antonio di Gini Lorenzi, of Settignano, although he has already been mentioned in the Life of Tribolo. Here then, as in its due place, I proceed to say that this artist, under the direction of his master Tribolo, completed the Statue of Esculapius, which is at Castello, with four boys on the principal fountain of that place. He has also lately executed certain ornaments round the new fishpond of Castello, which is at the upper part of the grounds, and in the midst of various trees, all evergreens; and in the beautiful gardens at the stables near San Marco, he has just completed most exquisite decorations, formed of marine animals, in white and vari-coloured marble, for a Fountain standing entirely apart. At Pisa this Antonio constructed the Tomb of the renowned philosopher and eminent physician, Gorte, executing the statue of the same, with two beautiful boys in marble for that monument. He is now, by command of the Duke, preparing birds and animals in vari-coloured marbles for the ornaments of fountains, all works of much difficulty, and which render Antonio Lorenzi well worthy to be accounted among the other Academicians.

A brother of this Antonio, called Stoldo di Gino Lorenzi, and now thirty years old, has also executed works in sculpture, which give him the right to be considered among the first young artists of his profession. At Pisa he has executed a Madonna with the Angel of the Annunciation, which has made him advantageously known as a young man of good genius and fair judgment. From Luca Martini he "eceived the commission for a statue which was presented by the Duchess Leonora to the Signor Don Garcia her brother, who has placed it in his Garden on the Ghiaja at Naples. The same artist has made an Escutcheon of the Signor Duke’s Arms at Pisa, under the direction of Giorgio Vasari; this is placed over the principal gate in the centre of the façade of the palace belonging to the Knights of San Stefano in Pisa, of which Order the Duke is Grand Master. The shield, which is very large, is in marble, and the supporters are figures of Religion and Justice, both exceedingly beautiful, and justly extolled by all who understand the subject. Stoldo Lorenzi has also constructed a fountain by command of the Duke, for his garden of the Pitti, the design being that of the Triumph of Neptune, exhibited in the superb maskings given by his Excellency on the Marriage of the Prince.

And this shall suffice to say of Stoldo Lorenzi, who, being young, is constantly making improvement and acquiring honour among his brother Academicians.

Of the same family of the Lorenzi, of Settignano, is Battista, called Del Cavaliere, from having been the disciple of Baccio Bandinelli,^[46] and who has executed in marble three Statues larger than life, receiving his commission for the same from the Florentine citizen, Bastiano della Pace, who has had them made for the Guadagni family, now resident in France, where they have placed them in their gardens; they are, a nude figure of Spring, with others of Summer and Winter, one of Autumn being also to be prepared for the same persons. Those who have seen these Statues declare them to be singularly beautiful, and they have obtained for Battista the distinction of having been chosen by the Duke to execute the Sarcophagus, with its ornaments; and one out of three Statues, which are to be executed for the Tomb of Michelagnolo Buonarroti, now about to be constructed by his Excellency and Lionardo Buonarroti, after the design of Giorgio Vasari. In this work Battista is acquitting himself with much credit, more especially as regards certain Boys, and the half-length figure of Buonarroti himself.

The second of the three Statues, intended for this tomb, and which are to represent Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, has been given to Giovanni di Benedetto, of Castello, also a disciple of Bandinelli and an Academician, who is employed in the works of Santa Maria del Fiore; the bassirilievi around the Choir are by his hand, and are now approaching their completion. In this work Giovanni is closely imitating his master, and his mode of conducting the same is such as to give hope of great success in the future; nor can this hope fail to be realized, since he is both earnest in study and diligent in labour.

The third figure is adjudged to the sculptor and Academician, Valerio Cioli, of Settignano, his previous works having given fair ground for expectation that he will render the Statue worthy of being placed on the sepulchre of so great a man. Valerio, now twenty-six years old, has been in Rome where he restored certain antiquities in marble for the Cardinal of Ferrara; to these Statues, which are in the garden of that Prelate at Montecavallo,^[47] Valerio has added, in some cases arms, in others legs; to one a foot, to another some other part wanting thereto; and he has done the same for many others which the Duke has placed in the Palace of the Pitti, as the ornaments of a large hall which is therein. His Excellency has also caused Valerio to execute the Statue of the Dwarf Morgante, in marble; this figure, entirely nude, is so accurately true to the life that there has perhaps never before been a monster {sic) so well portrayed, so carefully executed, and so faithfully rendered as is this Morgante. The same artist has been commissioned to execute, in like manner, the Statue of Piero, called II Barbino, also a dwarf, and great favourite of our Duke, for his learning, ingenuity, and pleasing dispositions. At a word, the performances hitherto accomplished by this Valerio have caused him to be considered worthy of the commission for a Statue destined to adorn the tomb of him who is the chief master of all these Academicians and artists of ability.^[48]

With respect to the Florentine sculptor, Francesco Moschino, having spoken of him to some extent in other places,^[49] it shall suffice to say here that he also is an Academician; and that, under the protection of the Duke, he is constantly working at the Cathedral of Pisa. At the marriage of the Prince he prepared the decorations for the principal Gfate of the Ducal palace, and acquitted himself to admiration.

Of Domenico Poggini, in like manner, having before mentioned him^[50] as a good sculptor and able man, who has produced numerous medals of great beauty, with other works in marble and castings in metal, I will say no more of him here than that he is justly enumerated among our Academicians; that he acquitted himself well in certain statues among the preparations for the marriage of the Prince; and that he has lately executed a Medal of Duke Cosimo, admirably beautiful, and perfectly true to the life. Poggini still continues his labours.

The Academician, Giovanni Fancegli, or, as some call him, Giovanni di Stocco, has produced many works in marble and stone, which have proved to be good sculptures. Among others an Escutcheon of Arms, bearing the Balls of the Medici, with two Boys, and other ornaments. This has been placed over the two grated windows in the front of the house belonging to Ser Giovanni Conti, in Florence, and is much extolled. Much the same may be said of Zanobi Lastricati, a good and able sculptor, who has produced and is producing numerous works in marble and bronze, which have rendered him worthy of being received into the Academy and as the companion of those above-mentioned. Among other works by this artist, one much commended is a Mercury, executed with all the care which such a performance demands, and which is now in the Court of the Palace of Messer Lorenzo Ridolfi.

Lastly: there are certain young sculptors who acquitted themselves very creditably in the preparations made for our Prince’s nuptials, and have been accepted by the Academy; these are. Fra Yincenzio, of the Servites, a disciple of Fra Giovanni Montorsoli; Ottaviano del Collettaijo, a disciple of Zanobi Lastricati; and the architect, Pompilio Lancia, son of Baldassare da Urbino, and disciple of Girolamo Genga. This Pompilio distinguished himself very particularly at the marriage, in the Mask called that of the Genealogy of the Gods, which was arranged, for the most part, and more especially as to the machinery, by his father, Baldassare.^[51]

1. In the Life of Pontormo, vol. iv. See also Borghini, Riposo, where we find that Bronzino was born in one of the suburbs of Florence of very poor parents.
2. See vol. iv. p. 358, et seq.
3. Still in existence, but showing marks of injury.
4. This Tabernacle, observes Bottari, is at some distance from the Villa. The painting he described as then (1750) in a grievous condition.
5. These frescoes are still in the Palazzo Vecchio.
6. Now in the Gallery of the Uffizj.
7. This portrait of the Duchess and her son is also in the Uffizj.
8. Now in the Uffizj, in the larger Hall of the Tuscan School.
9. Still in its place, as indicated in the text.
10. Benedetto Pagni of Pescia.
11. This picture was waslied by certain ignorant persons with a strong lye and much injured, but it is now in the Academy of the Fine Arts at Florence, where it will soon be, so far as possible, restored to its former state. — Masselli.
12. When Cosimo obtained the relics of St. Stephen from the Pope, he caused the Altar to be entirely reconstructed of porphyry, and the picture of Bronzino was removed. —Ibid.
13. They are now in the Gallery of the Uffizj, in a room appropriated to the Directory of the building.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
14. One only, a Martyrdom of San Lorenzo, was painted, and that still retains its place.
15. The burlesque poems of Bronzino are declared by the Academy Della Crusca to be models of their manner. Seven of them will be found (as the present writer is informed) among the early printed works of Bemi, others in an edition published at Naples in 1723, but dated, “Florence and London.” The whole were printed, but, as it is said, from an incorrect copy, at Venice, in 1822, and a part of Bronzino’s Canzoni and Sonnets was published for the first time at Florence in 182*2-3.
16. Borghini, in his Riposo, says that Bronzino died in his sixty-ninth year, but does not give the date. In a Book of the Guild of Painters, however, I (Bottari) have found him mentioned as down for the tax, on the 1st of November, 157*2, but the tax is not marked as paid whence we may infer that Bronzino died towards the end of that year, or the commencement of the following; about four years after Vasari wrote the above, that is to say.
17. All the painters here mentioned by Vasari belonged to the School of Michael Angelo; Alessandro Allori, who was the nephew of Bronzino, being one of those who most deserve mention. He had a son called Cristofano, who would never follow the paternal manner, but, adhering to that of Correggio, declared that in painting his father was a heretic.
18. Those pictures have been retouched.
19. “The Ezekiel never has been, nor could have been painted here,” remarks an Italian commentator, “the space not sufficing to contain it; but there is a work on that subject by Allori, in the garden of a house in the Via Ghibellina, and Vasari may have mistaken the site of the work.”
20. For the vast number of works executed by Allori after the publication of these Lives, and for other details concerning him, which cannot here find place, the reader is referred to Baldinucci, Decennali, tom. x, p, I7I, et seq. In the Uffizj is a work executed by Allori, when in advanced years, arid which bears his name, Allessnndro Bronzino Allori.
21. This artist never passed beyond mediocrity.
22. The list appeared in the Giunli Edition of our author, accordingly.
23. These portraits hang along the Corridor of the Uffizj, and their number has been much increased since Vasari wrote. — Masselli.
24. The first worked principally for other painters, the second was distinguished only for a certain correctness of design.
25. For whose Life, see Baldinucci, Notizie de' Professori.
26. Tommaso d’Antonio Manzuoli, not Mazzuoli.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8,
27. Girolamo Macchietti.
28. For details respecting this gifted and versatile artist, let our readers consult Baldinucci, Decennali, vol. vii, p. 3,
29. For the many works executed by Jacopo Zucchi, in Rome and elsewhere, see Baglioni, Vite, p. 45.
30. Santo Tito, not Tidi. See Borghini and Baldinucci, ut supra.
31. A name so well known to our readers as to need no further mention in the closely restricted space for notes which alone now remains at our command.
32. Benvenuto Cellini frequently speaks of Vasari in a manner which proves his ill-will to that master, whom he doubtless—rude and eccentric as he was—very frequently offended, yet no one could discover any trace of resentment in what is here said by our upright and impartial author.
33. The tomb of Giovio is in a recess, near the side door of the Cloister of San Giovanni Laterano.
34. Many details of interest respecting this sculptor will be found in Borghini, ut supra.
35. A commentator thinks it well to assure us that this must needs be Paris, and not Theseus. Our friend is right without doubt, but the dear Giorgio has already told us that his eyes were more familiar with the painter’s palette than with the page of the mythologian, et hoc getius omne.
36. This Fountain, comprising 644 pieces of marble, was sold to the city of Palermo, in the year 1573, for the sum of 20.000 crowns, and the architect Camillo Camilliani went to that city for the purpose of superintending its erection.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
37. For the Life of this admirable sculptor and architect, see Baldinucci, Decennali, tom. vii. p. 87.
38. Not on the Piazza of San Petronio, but before the Palace of the Podestà.— Ed. Flor., 1832 -8.
39. This work was most probably not sent to Maximilian, for although some affect to believe that the one so long adorning the Fountain of the Villa Medici, and which all now admire in the Florentine Gallery, to be a replica, yet this is by no means probable (for reasons into Avhich our narrow space does not here permit us to enter), and the less so, as no trace whatever can be found of that which, supposing this to be a replica, was sent to the Emperor. The Mercury of the Florentine Gallery is without doubt the original work.
40. This group, which is erroneously ascribed to Vincenzio Danti, by Cinelli, who has been followed by Cicognara and others, is in the Hall of the Palazzo Vecchio. Baldinucci, speaking of Bologna, tells us that “he made a model of Victory with a Captive, to the excellence of which the completed work is not, of a truth, fully equal.” This model may be seen in the Court of the Florentine Academy.
41. For details respecting this distinguished sculptor and military architect, who was besides no mean poet, let the reader consult Baglioni, as before cited, p. 56. See also Pascoli, Vite de piu celebri Pittori del Secolo, XVII., vol. iii. p. 137.
42. This group, which is now in the Boboli Gardens, represents a youth with “an old man, tied hands and feet, whom he seems about to carry by means of a girth across his shoulder, as a peasant carries a lamb to market,” observes an Italian commentator. He adds that, “To discover that the group represents Honour and Deceit, we must first be told that they do so.”
43. In the place destined for the work of Danti was erected the statue of the same Duke, but standing.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
44. The Dominican, Ignazio Danti, a well-known mathematician and cosmographer.—Masselli.
45. Of whom our readers will remember that mention has been made in the Life of Alessio Baldovinetti, and other narts of this work.
46. Who received the honour of the Cavalierato, or knighthood.
47. Now the Pontifical Palace, or the Quirinal, well known to all who have visited Rome.
48. The statue by Valerio is that representing Sculpture.
49. See the Life of Mosca, vol. iv. p. 385.
50. In the Life of Valerio Vicentino.
51. Our author has here added a paragraph, introductory to his Descrizione dell' Apparato, &c., &c.; but as that part of his works does not appear in our Translation, we omit the paragraph.