Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Francesco Salviati

by Giorgio Vasari

 

THE FLORENTINE PAINTER, FRANCESCO SALVIATI.

[born 1510—died 1563.]

The father of Francesco Salviati,^[1] whose life we are now about to write, and who was born in the year 1510, was a good man, called Michelagnolo de’ Rossi, a weaver of velvets.

He had not only this son, but many other children besides, both male and female; and having therefore great need of assistance, had determined within himself that Francesco should by all means learn his own trade of weaving velvet.

But the youth, whose mind was turned to other matters, had a mortal dislike to the labours of that calling, although the trade had in old times been exercised by persons—I will not say noble,—yet, who were at least, in good and easy circumstances, nay, rich men, as is well known. Francesco did, nevertheless, fulfil the desire of his father in that matter, but with much ill will, and being oftentimes in the society of the sons of Domenico Naldini, a very honourable citizen (who had his house in the Via de’ Servi, and was the neighbour of Michelagnolo), Francesco was remarked to be much inclined to adopt the courteous and elegant manners of those with whom he thus associated; he likewise displayed a decided love for the arts of design.

In these dispositions the boy was much encouraged by a cousin of his named Diacceto, who was a goldsmith, and a youth of some ability in drawing, for the latter not only taught Francesco what little he knew, but also furnished him with numerous designs by various artists of eminence, and over these Francesco laboured secretly day and night with indescribable zeal, but entirely without the knowledge of his father. The fact became known nevertheless to Domenico Naldini, who after having well examined the child, said so much to Michelagnolo his father, that the weaver finally agreed to place his boy in the shop of his uncle, there to learn the art of the goldsmith, when the facilities afforded him for drawing were turned to such extraordinary account by Francesco, that at the end of a few months, he was found to have made an amount of progress at which every one who beheld it was amazed.

Now there was at that time a society of young goldsmiths and painters in Florence, who were accustomed occasionally to meet together and proceed on festival days or at other times to copy or design from the best works, wherever these were to be found dispersed about the city; but among all these young men, there was none who exerted himself with more zeal and love on these occasions than Francesco.

The youths composing this society were Nanni di Prospero delle Corniuole,^[2] the goldsmith Francesco di Girolamo, of Prato, Nannoccio of San Giorgio,^nota and many others, who proved at a later period to be very excellent masters in their vocations.

At this period, Francesco and Giorgio Vasari, being at that time both children, formed an intimacy in the following manner. In the year 1523, Silvio Passerini, the Cardinal of Cortona, chancing to pass through Arezzo, Antonio Vasari, who was his kinsman, conducted his eldest sou Giorgio to pay his duty to that prelate. The Cardinal, therefore, finding that this child, who was then but nine years old, had been so carefully instructed in the first rudiments of learning, by Messer Antonio da Saccone and by the excellent Aretine poet, Messer Giovanni Pollastra,^nota that he could repeat a large part of the Æneid of Virgil by heart, while he had also been brought forward in drawing by the French painter Guglielmo da Marcilla;^nota seeing this, I say, the Cardinal made an arrangement with Antonio Vasari, to the end that the latter should himself conduct the child to Florence.

Here Giorgio was placed in the house of Messer Niccolò Vespucci, a knight of Rhodes, whose dwelling was beside the Ponte Vecchio and near the Church of the Sepulchre; he was then sent to study under Michelagnolo Buonarroti. This circumstance attracted the notice of Francesco, who was at that time living in the lane beside the residence of Messer Bivigliano (where his father employed many workmen in a large house, with its front looking on the Vacchereccia, which he had rented there); and, as every creature loves its like, he contrived in such sort, that by means of Messer Marco da Lodi, who was a gentleman belonging to the above-named Cardinal of Cortona, he established an acquaintanceship with the said Giorgio, Messer Marco having showed to Giorgio a portrait, which pleased the boy very greatly, and which had been executed by Francesco, who had shortly before devoted himself to painting under the discipline of Giuliano Bugiardini.^nota the Life of Valerio Vicentino, for which see vol. iii. p. 467, et seq. This appears from a document discovered by Manni, and cited by Bottari.

• Of whom there is further mention hereafter.

t Already more than once alluded to, as in the Life of Rosso, and of Lappoli, for which see vol. iii. p. 304, and vol. iv. p. 146.

+ Whose Life will be found in vol. iii. p. 65.

§ For the Life of this artist see vol. iv. p. 296, et seq.

Vasari, meanwhile, had not been suffered to neglect the pursuit of learning and the sciences, but, by order of the Cardinal, he passed two hours of each day with Ippolito and Alessandro de’ Medici, under the instructions of their preceptor II Pierio, who was a most able man.^[3] With respect to the friendship contracted, as I have said, between Vasari and Francesco, this was such that it never ceased to exist between them, although their emulation of each other, with a certain haughtiness of manner, of which the said Francesco sometimes gave evidence in speech, caused many people to think otherwise.

When Vasari had been some few months with Michelagnolo, that excellent man was summoned by Pope Clement to Pome, there to receive the Pontiffs orders for the commencement of the Library of San Lorenzo, when Griorgio was placed by him, before his departure, with Andrea del Sarto, pursuing the studies of design under that artist. Vasari then assisted Francesco in secret, by lending to him the drawings of his (Vasari’s) master, the former having no greater delight than that of studying the same, as in fact he did, night and day. At a later period also, and when Vasari was sent by the Magnificent Ippolito to learn drawing with Baccio Bandinelli, who was well content to have that youth with him, and instructed him gladly; the boy gave himself no rest until he had succeeded in getting Francesco likewise admitted, which he ultimately did, to the great profit of them both, seeing that they made more progress, thus drawing together, in one month, than they would have done in two years had each been working alone. A similar remark may be made in regard to another youth who was with Baccio Bandinelli at the same time, that Nannoccio dalla Costa San Giorgio namely, of whom mention has been made immediately above.^[4]

In the year 1527, when the Medici were expelled from the city of Florence and there was much fighting in defence of the Palace of the Signoria, a large bench or form being cast down from on high, with intent that it should fall on those who were attacking the door, it chanced, as Fortune would have it, that the missile fell upon the arm of the David, in marble, by Buonarroti, which is on the platform, and the arm was thereby broken into three pieces. These fragments having been thus suffered to remain lying on the earth for three days without having been lifted up by any man, Francesco repaired to the Ponte Vecchio to seek Vasari, and having imparted his purpose to him, the two boys, children as they were, advanced into the Piazza, without thinking of the dangers to which they thus exposed themselves, and from the midst of the soldiers on guard they gathered up the three pieces of that arm, and carried them into the house of Michelagnolo the father of Francesco, in the lane beside the dwelling of Messer Bivigliano. From this place it was that the Duke Cosimo, in course of time, regained those fragments which he then had fastened to the statue by means of copper nails.

The House of Medici being thus in exile, and with them the above-named Cardinal of Cortona, Antonio Vasari took his son back to Arezzo, and this to the no small regret of Francesco and himself, who loved each other like brothers. They were, however, not separated long; seeing that the plague, which broke out in the following August, caused the death of the father of Giorgio with that of all the rest of his house, when Vasari was so earnestly pressed to return to Florence, by the letters of Francesco, who had himself been on the point of dying in the pestilence, that the said Giorgio finally agreed to do so. There, for the space of two years, impelled by their necessities and by the desire of improvement, they laboured with indescribable zeal and industry, insomuch that they both made very remarkable progress; taking refuge meanwhile, as did also the above-named Nannoccio da San Giorgio, in the workshops of the painter Raffaello del Brescia,^[5] where Francesco executed numerous small pictures, he being most of all in need of exertion, as having to provide himself with the means of life.

In the year 1529, as it did not appear to Francesco that he was doing any great good in the workshops of Brescia, he went, as did Nannoccio, to Andrea del Sarto, with whom they remained during all the time of the siege, but in the midst of such grievous privations, that they afterwards both repented the not having accompanied Giorgio, who spent that year at Pisa, and amused himself during four months by studying the art of the goldsmith, under the above-named Manno. Vasari subsequently repaired to Bologna; and this he did at the time when Charles V. was there crowned Emperor by Pope Clement VII. About the same period, Francesco, who had remained in Florence, painted on a small panel a votive picture for a soldier who had made his vow thereof at a moment when, being in his bed, he had been attacked by other soldiers who designed to kill him. The work was a thing of no moment, but Francesco had studied it most carefully, and finished it to perfection: this picture fell into the hands of Giorgio Vasari not many years ago, when the latter presented it to the reverend Don Vincenzio Borghini, director to the Hospital of the Innocents, by whom it is very highly valued.

For the Black Friars of the Badia, Francesco painted three small pictures in a Tabernacle of the Sacrament, which had been made by the wood-carver Tasso, in the manner of a Triumphal Arch. The subject of one of these little stories was the Sacrifice of Abraham; that of the Second was the Fall of the Manna; and of the Third, the Hebrews eating the Paschal Lamb on the eve of their departure from Egypt; these works were executed in such a manner that they gave a foretaste of what Francesco was afterwards to become.*^[6] He subsequently painted a picture of Dalilah cutting off the hair of Sampson, for Francesco Sertini, by whom the work was sent into France; in the background of this painting is seen the same Sampson, when, casting his arms around the Columns of the Temple, he brings that building down upon the Philistines; and the picture was one of such merit that it served to make Francesco known as the most deserving among all the young painters who were then in Florence.

No long time afterwards, the master in clock-making, Benvenuto della Yolpaia, being in Rome, was requested by Cardinal Salviati the elder to find him a young painter, whom he might retain in his house, and who would paint for him such pictures as it might please him to command, when Benvenuto proposed to that Prelate the Florentine Francesco, who was his friend, and whom he knew to be the most capable of all the young painters of his acquaintance; and this Benvenuto did all the more willingly, as the Cardinal had promised him to give every facility for study, and all kinds of assistance, to the young artist who might be selected. The qualities of Francesco as they were described by Benvenuto della Yolpaia, being approved by the Cardinal, the latter commissioned Benvenuto to send for him, and gave him money for that purpose; Francesco was summoned accordingly, and his manner of proceeding in his works, as well as his character and habits, proving agreeable to the Cardinal, that Prelate commanded that he should have apartments prepared for him in the Borgo Yecchio, with a stipend of four crowns per month, and a place at the table of the gentlemen belonging to the Cardinal’s household.

The first works undertaken for Cardinal Salviati by Francesco (to whom it appeared that he had met with a piece of singular good fortune) were, first a picture of Our Lady, which was considered very beautiful; and next the Portrait of a French Nobleman, who is represented in chase of a hind which, being hard pressed, is taking refuge in the Temple of Diana; of this last work, I have myself the drawing by his hand, which I keep as a memorial of Francesco in my book of designs. These paintings being completed.

Cardinal Salviati caused our artist to make the Portrait of one of his nieces in a singularly beautiful picture of Our Lady; this Signora, the Cardinal had given in marriage to the Signor Cagnino Gonzaga, whose portrait was in like manner depicted by Francesco.

Finding himself thus in Rome, Francesco had now no more earnest desire than that of seeing his friend Giorgio Vasari in the same city; and in this respect Fortune proved herself favourable to his "wishes, but still more so to those of the aforesaid Giorgio himself. And the matter happened on this wise: the Cardinal Ippolito, having parted in great anger from Pope Clement VII. for causes which were set forth at the time, did nevertheless return to Rome before any long period had elapsed, accompanied by Baccio Valori. He then passed through Arezzo, where he found Giorgio, who had at that time been left without his father, and was passing his time in the best manner that he could; the Cardinal, therefore, desiring that the youth should make progress in art, and wishing moreover to have him near his own person, gave orders to Tommaso de’ Nerli, who was commissary in Arezzo, to the effect that he should send Vasari to Rome so soon as he should have finished a Chapel in fresco, which he was at that time painting for the Monks of San Bernardo of the Order of Monte Oliveto in Arezzo, a commission which was instantly attended to by Nerli.

Arrived in Rome, therefore, the first thing which Giorgio did was to seek Francesco, who joyfully described to him the great favour in which he stood with the Cardinal his Lord, and declaring that he was now in a place where he could study to his heart’s content; he added, moreover, “Not only do I enjoy the present, but I hope still better things for the future, for besides that I now have thyself in Rome, thee with whom, as with a near friend, I may take counsel and confer on matters relating to our art; there is also the prospect of my admission into the service of the Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici, from whose liberality and from the favour of the Pope I may expect still greater things than I now possess; nay this last will certainly happen, if a young man who is now expected from abroad^nota should fail to arrive.” ^[7]

Now Giorgio knew that the youth thus expected was himself, and that the place to which Francesco was looking forward had been reserved for him; but he would not say any thing of that fact for the moment, seeing that a certain doubt had entered his mind as to whether the Cardinal might not have another person in view besides himself; he was therefore unwilling to advance an assertion which might afterwards be found incorrect. Vasari had brought a letter from the above-mentioned Commissary Nerli to the Cardinal, but this, in the five days during which he had then been in Rome, he had not yet presented; at length, however, he went with Francesco to the palace, where, in what is now the Hall of the Kings, they found Messer Marco da Lodi, who had formerly been in the service of the Cardinal of Cortona, as we have said, but had since entered that of the Medici. Presenting himself to Messer Marco, therefore, Vasari told him that he had brought a letter from the Commissary at Arezzo, which was to be delivered to the Cardinal, and which he begged Messer Marco to present. While the latter was promising to do this immediately, it so chanced that the Cardinal himself came in, and Giorgio, hastening towards him, delivered the letter at the same time that he kissed his hands. He was very favourably received by the Prelate, who instantly commanded the Steward of the tiousehold, Jacopone di Bibbiena, to find rooms for him, and to give him a place at the table of the Pages. It seemed a little strange to Francesco that Giorgio had not confided the matter to him, but he was nevertheless persuaded that he had acted from right motives, and done what he thought the best; when the said Jacopone, therefore, had given Giorgio rooms behind the Santo Spirito, which was very near to the dwelling of Francesco, the two young men worked hard together throughout the winter, studying the productions of art in company, to the great profit of both, insomuch that they left nothing, whether in the Palace^[8] or elsewhere, that they did not fully copy, or at least partially design.

It is true that when the Pope was in the Palace they could not do this so commodiously as they might have desired, but no sooner did His Holiness ride forth, which was his very frequent custom, to the Magliana,^[9] than they gained admission, by means of their friends, to the rooms so often mentioned, and there they would remain from morning till night without anything better to eat than a morsel of bread, and being very nearly frozen with the cold.

The Cardinal Salviati having subsequently commanded Francesco to paint in fresco that chapel of his palace wherein he heard mass every morning, and the subject chosen being stories from the Life of San Giovanni Battista, Francesco set himself to study the nude figure from the life; this he did in a bathing house that was near his dwelling, still accompanied by Giorgio, and at that time they also made several dissections in the Campo Santo.

The spring having at length appeared, and the Cardinal Ippolito being despatched by the Pope into Hungary, that Prelate gave orders before his departure, to the effect, that Vasari should be sent to Florence, there to execute certain pictures, and copies of pictures, which were then to be forwarded to Rome. But in July of that year, what with the fatigues he had borne in the winter, and the heats of the summer, Vasari fell sick, and was carried in a litter to Arezzo, much to the grief of Francesco, who became ill also and was on the point of death. He did, nevertheless, recover at length, and then received a commission, by the intervention of the master in woodcarving, Antonio Labacco, to paint a fresco for Maestro Filippo da Siena, in a niche over a door behind the Church of Santa Maria della Pace. The subject of this work is our Saviour Christ, speaking with San Filippo, and in two angles are the Virgin with the Angel of the Annunciation. The execution of the whole work pleased Maestro Filippo very greatly, insomuch that it caused him to offer a second commission to Francesco, a large picture namely, to be painted in the same place. This was likewise a story of the Madonna, her Assumption that is to say, and it occupied one of the eight sides of the Church above mentioned, which compartment had not previously received any decoration.^[10]

Now Francesco, reflecting that he had to execute this work, not only in a place of great publicity, but one in which there were paintings by men of the highest eminence, Raffaello da Urbino, II Rosso, Baldassare da Siena, and others, gave his utmost attention to the same; and, painting it in oil on the wall, he spared no pains or study to bring it to perfection, for which cause he succeeded in producing a picture which has been highly extolled, and is, indeed, a very beautiful one.^[11] Among other figures therein, one (with the hands joined) is the Portrait of the above-named Maestro Filippo, and is justly held to be most excellent. And now, as Francesco was in the service of Cardinal Salviati, as we have said, and was known to be his creature, he began to be called Cecchino^[12] Salviati; and being soon known by no other name, he retained that appellation to the day of his death.

Pope Clement VII. being now dead, and having been succeeded by Pope Paul III., Messer Bindo Altoviti caused the Arms of the new Pontiff to be painted on the front of his house near the Bridge of Sant’ Agnolo; the commission for that work was given to Francesco, wdio executed the same, together with certain nude figures of vast size, in so good a manner, that he gave infinite satisfaction. He took the Portrait of the aforesaid Messer Bindo likewise, about the same period, and this also was a very good figure, as well as a fine likeness: it was subsequently sent to Altoviti’s Villa,^[13] at San Mizzano, in the Valdarno, where it still remains.

At a subsequent period, Francesco painted an exceedingly beautiful picture in oil for the Church of San Francesco a Ripa; this work, the subject of which is an Annunciation of Our Lady, he finished with extraordinary care.

On the occasion of the Emperor’s arrival at Rome also, in the year 1.585; he painted certain stories in chiaro-scuro for Antonio San Gallo; these were placed in the Arch erected at San Marco, and, as we have said before, were the best of all the pictures prepared for these festivals.

Now the Signor Pier Luigi Farnese had at that time been made Lord of Nepi, and, desiring to adorn that city with new buildings and pictures, he took Francesco into his service, giving him apartments in the Belvedere, and causing him to paint certain stories from the Life of Alexander the Great in water-colours on cloth; these were afterwards sent into Flanders, there to be woven into cloth of arras and tapestries. For the same Signor of Nepi Francesco also decorated a large and handsome Bath-room, with numerous stories and figures painted in fresco.

When the above-named Signor Pier Luigi was subsequently made Duke of Castro, Francesco was furthermore employed to superintend the rich and magnificent preparations made for his first entry into the city, when he constructed a Triumphal Arch, among other works, covering the same with stories, figures, and statues, all arranged with infinite judgment, and executed by artists of ability, more especially by Alessandro, called Scherano, a sculptor of Settignano. Another Arch in the form of a Fa9ade was erected at the Petrone, with a third on the Piazza; and these were constructed, so far as regarded the wood-work, by Battista Botticelli. For these festivities, moreover, Francesco prepared the scenic decorations, with five perspective views for the performance of a dramatic spectacle which was exhibited on that occasion.

About this time, Giulio Camillo,^[14] who was then in Rome, had made a book of his Compositions, for the purpose of sending them into France to King Francis, and he now caused this book to be adorned with pictures by Francesco, who executed his task with all the zeal and diligence which it was possible to bestow on a work of such a character.

Now the Cardinal Salviati desired to possess a work by the hand of Fra Damiano, of Bergamo, who was a lay-brother of the Monastery of San Domenico at Bologna, a picture made of tinted woods, or “in Tarsia” that is to say. He therefore sent Fra Damiano a design in red chalk, which he had caused Francesco to make of the subject that he by the Prophet Samuel; it is a truly beautiful composition, and the best ever designed by Cecchino Salviati.

It was about this period that Giovanni da Cepperello, and the Hunchback Battista da Sangallo, had caused the Florentine painter, Jacopo del Conte, who was then a youth, to paint a story of San Giovanni Battista for the Company of the Misericordia, in the Church of San Giovanni Decollato, which is situate beneath the Capitol in Rome, the work being executed in the second church that is to say, and where the said Company was accustomed to hold its sittings; the particular event there represented by Jacopo del Conte was the Appearance of the Angel to Zaccheriah; and the same persons now commissioned Francesco to paint another story from the life of the same Saint beneath that above-mentioned—the Visitation of our Lady to Sant’ Elizabetta namely. This work, which was completed in the year 1538, was executed in fresco, and is in so fine a manner that it merits to be numbered among the best and most thoughtfully-considered .. paintings ever produced by Francesco: whether we examine the composition of the picture, the careful attention to rule in the arrangement, the diminution, and due receding of the figures, the fine perspective and admirable architecture of the buildings, the beauty of the nude figures, the lovely expression of the heads, the grace of the draperies, or, at a word, the whole painting in each of its parts, we find it to be of such merit that we cannot be surprised if all Rome remained in astonishment at the perfection thereof.^[15]

Around a window in the same place Francesco painted certain fanciful decorations in imitation of marble, with little stories of minute figures which have infinite grace. And as it was not the habit of Francesco to waste his time, while thus employed with the work in question, he executed many other designs, and likewise coloured a picture of Phaeton, with the Horses of the Sun, which had been designed by Michelagnolo.

All these productions were shown by Salviati to Giorgio, who had gone to Rome for two months on the death of the Duke Alessandro, and whom he told at the same time, that when he had finished certain pictures which he had then in hand, he would return to his country, once more to behold his kindred, his friends, and his acquaintance; the rather as his father and mother, to whom he was of the utmost value, and whom he assisted greatly, were still alive. Francesco had, besides, afibrded help to his parents in the settlement of his two sisters, one of whom had been given in marriage, and the other had been established as a nun in the Convent of the Monte Domini, where she still is.

The works to be first completed by Francesco as abovementioned were San Griovanni as a Youth, which he was painting for the Cardinal Salviati his Lord, and a Crucifixion of Our Saviour on cloth, which was to be sent into Spain, with a picture of the Madonna, undertaken by Francesco for Faffaello Acciaiuli.

Arriving accordingly in Florence, where he was received with great joy by all his kinsfolk and friends, it chanced that he reached the city exactly at the moment when all were engaged in preparing for the marriage of Duke Cosimo, with the Signora Donna Leonora di Toledo; wherefore he was invited to execute one of the stories exhibited in the court, a commission which he accepted very willingly. The subject treated by Francesco was that in which the Emperor is seen to place the Ducal Coronet on the head of Duke Cosimo; but our artist, being seized with a desire to visit Venice, and leaving Florence for that purpose before the undertaking was completed, made over that work to Carlo Portelli da Loro,^[16] by whom it was finished in accordance with the design of Francesco, which design is now in our book, with many others by the same hand.

Departing from Florence, Francesco repaired to Bologna, where he found Giorgio Vasari, who had arrived in that city two days previously, having then returned from Camaldoli, where he had painted the two pictures which are in the screen of the Church of Camaldoli, and commenced that of the High Altar.

Giorgio was also taking order for the execution of three large pictures in the Kefectory of the Fathers of San Michele in Bosco, where he kept Francesco with him for two days, during which time attempts were made by certain of his friends to procure for him the commission for a picture which the men of the Hospital of Death had then to give. But notwithstanding these efforts, and although Salviati prepared an exceedingly beautiful design for the picture above-named, yet those men, as having but little judgment in such matters, did not know how to profit by the opportunity which Messer Domeneddio^[17] had sent them of securing to the city of Bologna a work by the hand of so able an artist.

Finding this, Francesco left the place in some anger; but before his departure he deposited some very beautiful designs in the hands of Girolamo Fagiuoli, to the end that the latter might engrave them on copper and cause them to be printed.^[18] Having arrived in Venice, he was very courteously received by the Patriarch Grimani and by Messer Vettor his brother, both of whom conferred on him many favours. After the lapse of a few days he received from the Patriarch a commission to paint a figure of Psyche in oil, within an octangular frame, four braccia in extent; in this picture incense and vows are offered to Psyche as to a goddess, in acknowledgment of her beauty, and the octangle was placed in a small apartment in the house of that Signore, the ceiling of the apartment having been adorned in its centre with festoons, by the hand of Cammillo Mantovana,^[19] a painter, who, for the execution of landscapes, flowers, foliage, fruits, and objects of a similar description, was at that time considered most excellent.

The above-mentioned octangle was placed in a room of the Patriarch’s house, and was surrounded by four pictures, each two braccia and a half square, and all exhibiting stories from the Life of the above-named Psyche, which had been executed, as we have related in the Life of Genga, by Francesco da FuiTi; but that octangle is not only beyond all comparison the most beautiful of those pictures, but is, indeed, the most exquisite painting in all Venice.^[20] Francesco subsequently executed certain small figures in fresco, some nude and others draped, in a room wherein Giovanni Ricamatore, of Udine,^[21] had produced numerous works in stucco, and these frescoes are also very graceful.

In a picture executed by Francesco, for the Nuns of the Corpus Domini, at Venice,^[22] he delineated the figure of Our Saviour Christ, lying dead, with the Maries around him, and an Angel in the air above, who is holding the Mysteries of the Passion. He also painted the Portrait of the Poet, Messer Pietro Aretino, who sent that likeness, as being a very beautiful production, to Francis King of France, accompanying the same with certain verses in praise of him who had produced the portrait.^[23] For the Nuns of Santa Cristina, at Bologna, who are of the Order of Camaldoli, Salviati painted a very beautiful picture, comprising many figures; this he did at the request of Don Giovanfrancesco da Bagno, Confessor of those Nuns, in the Church of whose Convent this truly exquisite work has been placed.^[24]

His abode in Venice having subsequently become distasteful to Francesco, as to one who remembered what it was to dwell in Rome, and the place appearing to him not well suited to the men of design, he departed, with intention to return to Rome; in his way he made a round by Verona and Mantua, visiting the numerous antiquities to be found in the one, and in the other the works of Giulio Romano; he then proceeded to Rome by the route of the Romagna, and reached that city in the year 1541. Here, having rested himself for some time, he recommenced his labours, and the first works which he executed were portraits; those of Messer Griovanni Graddi namely, and of Messer Annibale Caro,^[25] both of whom were his very intimate friends: having finished these, he painted an exceedingly beautiful picture for the Chapel of the Clerks of the Chamber in the Papal Palace.

In the Church of the Germans also,^[26] Francesco commenced a Chapel in fresco for a merchant of that nation, painting the Apostles receiving the Holy Spirit in the vaulting above, and in a picture which reaches to about half the lieight of the wall, he represented Our Saviour Christ arising from the dead and surrounded by the sleeping soldiers. These figures are lying about near the tomb in various attitudes, and are foreshortened in a very bold and beautiful manner. On one side of this picture is the figure of San Stefano, and on the other that of San Giorgio; they stand in two niches, and are by the same Francesco. Beneath is San Giovanni Elemosinario bestowing alms on a naked beggar; on one side of the Saint is the figure of Charity, and on the other is the Carmelite Monk, Sant’ Alberto, placed between figures intended to represent Logic and Prudence. Finally, Francesco painted the figure of the Dead Christ with the Maries, as the Altar-piece of that Chapel. ^[27]

Now Salviati had formed a friendship with the Florentine goldsmith, Piero di Marcone; and having become his gossip, sent to his other gossip, the wife of this Piero, the present of a very beautiful design, on the occasion of her giving birth to the child for whom he stood godfather. The subject was intended for painting in one of those circular trays on which food is presented to a woman in child-bed, and represented, in a square compartment, subdivided into upper and lower ranges, the whole history of the human life; the figures were of great beauty, and each was accompanied by a garland or festoon appropriate to the respective ages and seasons. Among these peculiarly arranged divisions were two long ovals, wherein were the figures of the Sun and Moon, and between them was a figure representing or typifying Isaias,^[28] a city of Egypt: this figure, standing before the temple of the goddess Pallas, implored the gift of Wisdom, as if the artist proposed to signify that the blessing to be first of all entreated for the children who should be born was that of wisdom and goodness. The design for this work was always preserved with great care by Piero as a beautiful and valuable jewel, which indeed it was.

No long time after the completion of that painting, the above-named Piero and other friends, having written to Francesco to the intent that he would do well to return to his native land, since it was almost certain that he would there be received into the service of the Duke Cosimo, who had no masters about him but such as were slow and irresolute, he finally determined (but principally confiding in the favour of Messer Alamanno Salviati, brother of the Cardinal, and uncle to the Duke,) to reinstate himself in Florence. Having returned accordingly, before he attempted any other thing, Francesco depicted for the above-named Messer Alamanno, an exceedingly beautiful figure of Our Lady, which he executed in a room then held by Francesco del Prato,^[29] in the House of Works of Santa Maria del Fiore, and where that Francesco, from having been a goldsmith and master in Tarsia, had just then set himself to the casting of small figures in bronze and to painting, in both which he succeeded to his no small honour as well as profit.

In this place then, I say, where Francesco dal Prato was installed by virtue of his office as superintendent of the wood-works performed in the cathedral, laboured Francesco Salviati also: and among other pictures he painted a Portrait of his friend Piero di Marcone, with that of Avveduto del Cegia, the fur-dresser, who was likewise his friend. This Avveduto has, indeed, very many of the works of Salviati in his possession, more especially a portrait of Francesco himself, painted in oil with his own hand, and which is exceedingly natural.

The before-mentioned picture of Our Lady being completed, Avas placed in the- shop of the wood-carver Tasso, who was then Architect of the Palace. It was there seen by a large number of persons, who all extolled it highly, but that which most of all contributed to obtain for it the name of an extraordinary work was, that Tasso himself, who was in the habit of censuring almost every thing that was done, praised this production without measure; nay, what was still more to the purpose, he told Messer Pier-Francesco Riccio, the Majordomo, that it would be certainly advantageous for the Duke, if his Excellency were induced to give some work of importance to Salviati; whereupon this Messer Pier-Francesco, with Cristofano Pinieri, who had the ear of the Duke, performed their parts so zealously, that when Messer Alamanno spoke to his Excellency, informing him that Francesco desired permission to paint the smaller Hall of Audience, that namely which stands before the Ducal Palace,*^[30] requiring no other payment for his labours than the credit of having performed them, Duke Cosimo was content that this privilege should be conceded to him.

Francesco then commenced his work by the preparation of small designs wherein he represented the Triumph of Furius Camillus with many other stories from the life of the same, that done, he began to divide the chamber to be adorned into suitable compartments, but arranging them with no small difficulty, seeing that some of the spaces left by the windows and doors were high and others low, insomuch that it was no easy matter to contrive in such sort that the stories should be secured from suffering by that irregularity. In the wall wherein is the door of entrance, there were two large spaces divided by the door; and opposite to this, where there are three windows which look on to the Piazza, there are four compartments, but no one of them is more than about three braccia in extent. At that end of the Hall, moreover, which is to the right of him who enters by the door, are two windows looking into another part of the Piazza, and here there were three spaces of similar extent, about three braccia each that is to say; while at the other end, which is opposite to this now in question, there stands the marble door which gives entrance into the Chapel, with a window and a grating of bronze, so that there remained only one space wherein there could be represented any work of moment.

In this last-mentioned space, on the wall of the Chapel therefore, where there is a decoration of Corinthian columns supporting an architrave and forming a recess, from the ceiling of which there hang two rich festoons, with two pendants of different fruits very naturally represented, on which is seated a naked Child supporting the Ducal Arms— those of the Houses of Medina and Toledo namely;—in this space, I say, Francesco painted two stories, the one on the right showing Camillus commanding that Schoolmaster^[31] to be given up to his scholars for punishment; and that on the left exhibiting the same Leader, who makes his way through the ranks of the Gauls, while the army is engaged in combat, and the camp with its stockades and tents is in flames around him. Beside this, and beneath the same range of columns, our artist depicted a group the size of life, representing Opportunity seizing Fortune by the forelock, with certain of the devices of his Excellency, and many other ornaments, all executed with admirable grace and facility.

On the principal façade, that namely wherein are the two large spaces, divided by the chief door of entrance, Francesco executed two large and very beautiful stories; in the first are seen the Gauls, who, weighing the tribute gold of the Romans, throw a sword into the scale, to the end that the weight may be the greater, when Camillus, indignant at this wrong, flies to arms, and by the force of his valour delivers his country from the yoke. This is indeed a singularly beautiful story, rich in figures, adorned with landscapes, and furthermore embellished by the addition of antiquities; as for example. Vases of great beauty, painted to imitate gold and silver.

In the story beside that just described, is Camillus in his triumphal Chariot drawn bj four Horses, with Fame above, placing a chaplet on his head; before the chariot walk priests richly clothed, some of these bear the Statue of the Goddess Juno, others carry vases in their hands, with certain trophies and spoils of infinite beauty. Around the chariot are prisoners in vast numbers, and finely varied attitudes, while behind all, come the soldiers of the army bearing their weapons: among these men is one presenting the portrait of Francesco himself, so admirably painted that it seems to be alive. In the distance to which the triumphal procession extends itself, is seen a very beautiful representation of Rome. Over the door between these two Stories is a picture in chiaro-scuro, the figure of Peace namely, with prisoners engaged in the destruction by fire of a pile of arms; the whole executed by Francesco with so much thought and care, that a more beautiful work could scarcely be seen.^[32]

On the wall towards the east, and in the two larger spaces, our artist depicted two niches; in one of which he painted the figure of Mars fully armed, and with a nude figure, intended to represent a Gaul, lying beneath him: on the liead of this last is a crest formed of the bird of Gaul, a cock namely, in its natural shape. In the second niche is Diana, wearing a short tunic of furs, she is in the act of drawing an arrow from her quiver, and at her feet is a hound. In the two angles which connect the wall in question with the neighbouring walls, are two figures, both representing Time; one of these is adjusting the weights of a balance, the other is tempering a liquid by pouring it from one vase into another.

In the last portion now to be described, that namely which is opposite to the chapel and looks towards the North, is on one side, the Sun figured in that manner which is customary among the Egyptians, and on the other the Moon in a similar manner; between them is Good Fortune or Prosperity, signified by a nude figure of a youth placed on the summit of a wheel, beside which are represented, on one side, Envy, Hatred, and Malevolence; on the other. Honour, Pleasure, and all the other delights of life, as described by Lucian.

Above the windows is a frieze consisting of nude figures the size of life; they are of great beauty, and exhibit various forms as well as attitudes: there are likewise certain stories, all from the life of Camillus. Opposite to the figure of Peace burning the arms of War, as before described, is that of the River Arno; it holds the Cornucopia with one hand, and, lifting the edge of a curtain with the other, it displays the city of Florence, with all the Pontiffs and other great men of the House of Medici. Francesco furthermore added a kind of socle which passes entirely around the Hall beneath the pictures and niches, the decoration thereof consisting of terminal figures in the form of women sustaining festoons of fruit and flowers. In the centre of the basement are oval compartments filled with figures engaged in adorning the Sphynx and the River Arno.

Now in this work Francesco was desirous of leaving to his native land a memorial worthy of himself and of so great a Prince; he therefore devoted the utmost care and attention which he could possibly command to the execution of the same, and although he had to encounter many vexations in the course of its progress, he did finally bring it to a fortunate completion. Francesco was of a melancholy temperament, and when he was painting he did for the most part feel very unwilling to have any one near him. On this occasion, however, almost doing violence to his nature, he compelled himself to be more liberal, and affecting an unwonted sociability at the commencement of the work, he suffered Tasso, and others of his friends who had done him any service, to come about him with much familiarity, permitting them to stand and look on while he worked, Francesco meanwhile showing them all the courtesies that he could think of But when he had gained a footing in the Court, and thought himself in favour, he returned, as they say, to his usual habits, indulging his choleric and sarcastic nature, and no longer showing the least respect to any one. Nay, what is worse than all, as with the most bitter words (a thing which furnished his adversaries with an excuse for their enmity), he was accustomed to censure and decry the works of others; so he did not scruple to exalt himself by perpetual boastings, and to praise his own productions to the skies.

These unpopular modes of proceeding giving umbrage to many persons, but more especially to certain artists, attracted so much odium to Francesco, that Tasso and some others, who, from being his friends had become his enemies, began to give him no small cause for disquietude. It is true that they still continued to praise his excellence in art, which was not to be denied, and admitted the promptitude and facility with which he executed his works, doing them well no less than quickly; but they were still by no means at a loss for subjects of blame, and although they could not undo the good they had done him, and, having suffered him to gain a footing and make his way, could not remove or injure him, they yet soon began to give him trouble and offer him molestation in various ways.

Nay, there were eveif' many artists as well as others who were not ashamed to band themselves together and form a party against him, disseminating a report among the nobles and great people, to the effect that the work on which he was employed in the Hall would not prove to be a successful one, seeing that he proceeded by mere readiness of hand and did not bestow the due amount of care and study on what he was doing. But herein they accused him most wrongfully, since, although he did not linger over his compositions as it was their fashion to do, yet it could not truljr be affirmed that he did not study them, nor could any man rightfully declare that he had not rich powers of inventing as well as executing his pictures, which last he did with infinite grace. These his adversaries, however, not being able to eclipse the abilities of Francesco by the excellence of their works, did their best to overwhelm him by censure and reproaches such as we have described.

The truth and real power do nevertheless always prevail in the end. Francesco first of all did but make a jest of these rumours, but at a later period, and when they began to pass beyond what was reasonable, he complained, on more than one occasion, to the Duke: still his Excellency paid but little attention to the matter, as it seemed to Francesco; and his adversaries perceiving, as they thought, that his favour had decayed, took courage thereupon, and sent forth a rumour to the effect that the stories which he had painted in the Hall were to be thrown to the earth, as by no means giving satisfaction to the rulers.

All these injuries, directed against him by his enemies with incredible envy and calumny, at length began to produce their effect, and at the last Francesco was so much annoyed by them that, had it not been for the kindness of Messer Lelio Torelli, Messer Pasquino Bertini, and others of his friendsj he would certainly have left the court clear for those evil speakers, which was exactly the thing that they desired. But those his well-wishers above-named encouraged him to complete the works of the Hall, with others which he had in hand, and prevented him from departing; their efforts being aided by those of others among his friends who were at a distance from Florence at the time, but to whom he had written the history of these persecutions. Among the latter was Giorgio Vasari, who in reply to a letter wherein Salviati complained of this matter, exhorted him to take patience, reminding him that goodness is refined to excellence by persecution, as gold is made perfect in the fire, consoling him by the assurance that a time would come when his genius and high superiority must needs be acknowledged, and adding, that he must henceforth complain of no other than himself, who had not sufficiently studied the humours of those around him, and had failed to appreciate correctly the character of the people, but more particularly that of the artists of his own country.

Thus it happened that, notwithstanding all the vexations and annoyances by which the poor Francesco was assailed, he did nevertheless complete that Hall, the engagement that is to say which he had made to decorate the walls; for as to the ceiling or wood-work, there was no need that he should do anything, since it was already most richly carved and adorned with gilding, and exhibited work, than which none of that kind could possibly be finer. To make all suitable, moreover, the Duke commanded two new windows of glass to be made, with ornaments of his own arms and devices, accompanied by those of the Emperor Charles V. These were executed by Battista del Borro, an Aretine painter of high distinction in that branch of art, and by whom they were completed to perfection.

After having brought this undertaking to an end, Francesco painted for his Excellency the ceiling of that Hall in which the family dines during the winter season, adorning the same with numerous devices and figures of small size in tempera: our artist also painted an exceedingly beautiful study, which opens on the green chamber; he took portraits of the Duke’s children moreover, and one year he prepared the scenic decorations, perspective views, &c., for a dramatic spectacle which was exhibited in the great Hall, all which he did in a manner so entirely different from and superior to those which had been previously seen in Florence, that they were considered to surpass everything of the kind before attempted. Nor is this to be wondered at, seeing that Francesco always gave proof of great judgment, with the most rich and varied power of invention, in all his works; nay, what is of still higher importance, he had a more profound knowledge of design and a more beautiful manner than any artist who was then in Florence; he handled the colours also with infinite ability, and finished his works most admirably well.

The Head, or rather Portrait, of the Signor Giovanni de’ Medici, father of the Duke Cosimo, which is now in the Guardaroba of his Excellency, is also by the hand of Francesco, and may be justly described as a truly meritorious work. For his intimate friend, Cristofano Rinieri, Francesco made a picture of Our Lady, which is also very beautiful; this painting is suspended in the Hall of Audience, now used by the Council of Ten. For Ridolfo Landi our artist painted a figure of Charity, which is so admirable that nothing could well be more so;^[33] and for Simon Corsi he painted a Madonna, which was in like manner very highly extolled.

For the Knight of Rhodes, Messer Donato Acciaiuoli, with whom Francesco always lived on terms of unusual intimacy, he painted certain small pictures, which are held in much esteem; and on a larger panel, the same artist depicted a figure of our Saviour Christ showing to St. Thomas, who does not believe that he has risen from the dead, the marks of those wounds which had been received by our Lord from the Jews. This picture was taken into France by Tommaso Gruadagni, and was placed in the Chapel of the Florentines in a certain Church of Lyons.^[34]

At the desire of the above-mentioned Cristofano Einieri and of Giovanni Eozzi, the Flemish master of tapestrywork, Francesco painted all the Story of Tarquinius and the Eoman Lucretia, in a vast number of Cartoons, which, being afterwards executed in cloth of arras woven in gold and silks of various kinds, proved eventually to be an admirable work.

When this came to the ears of the Duke, who was at that time employing the above-named Maestro Giovanni to make him cloth of arras of similar kinds in Florence for the Hall of the Dugento, and had caused Bronzino and Pontormo to prepare Cartoons for the same from the story of the Hebrew Joseph, as we have before related;—when the Duke heard this I say, he commanded that Francesco also should prepare a Cartoon, the subject given to him being the interpretation of the seven fat and the seven lean kine: our artist gave all his attention to the work accordingly, and carefully took into consideration all the peculiarities required for a production of that sort, and which are necessary to the successful imitation of the Cartoon by the tapestry-worker; for these cloths of arras demand considerable fancy in the invention, with figures carefully detached and standing forth one from another, to the end that they may display good relief; they must likewise be cheerful as to colouring and the vestments, also, should be rich and varied.

This piece of the tapestry in question, and the others, having been found to succeed well, his Excellency then resolved to establish the art of making such hangings in Florence, and accordingly commanded that it should be taught to several boys, who, having now arrived at mature age, are at this time producing most excellent works in tapestry for the Duke. An exceedingly beautiful picture of the Madonna, painted in oil, was also executed by Drancesco, and is now in the chamber of Messer Alessandro, son of Messer Ottaviano de’ Medici.

For the above-mentioned Messer Pasquino Bertini, Francesco made another picture of Our Lady on cloth with the Divine Infant, and San Giovanni, also a child; they are smiling, and amusing themselves with a parrot which they have in their hands; a very fanciful and graceful work.

For the same person he likewise made a most beautiful and graceful design of a Crucifix, about one braccio high; with a Magdalen at the feet thereof: this is in a manner so new and pleasing that it is considered quite a wonder; the design was given by Messer Salvestro Bertini to his intimate friend Girolamo Razzi, who is now Don Silvano,^[35] when two pictures were painted from it by Carlo da Loro, who subsequently executed many more from the same design. These works are now dispersed about Florence.

Now Giovanni and Piero d’Agostino Dini had caused a very rich chapel in macigno to be constructed in the Church of Santa Croce, at the right hand as 3'’OU enter the church, with a sepulchral monument for Agostino and others of their house, and gave the altar-piece for the same to Francesco: he depicted thereon Our Saviour Christ taken down from the Cross by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus; at the foot is Our Lady, who has fainted, and is surrounded by San Giovanni, the Magdalen, and the other Maries. This work was completed by Francesco with so much art and care, that not only is the nude figure of Our Lord Christ a most beautiful one, but the other figures also are so well disposed, and have a force of relief and a beauty of colouring so remarkable, that they cannot well be sufficiently extolled.^[36] It is true that the work was at first much censured by the enemies of Francesco, but it has nevertheless acquired for him a very great name in all parts, and those who have since treated the same subject in rivalry of our artist have found it impossible to surpass him.

Before leaving Florence Francesco likewise painted the Portrait of the above-mentioned Messer Lelio Torelli, with some few other matters of but little importance, of which I do not know the particulars. But one among these productions is to be specified as exceedingly beautiful, a Conversion of St. Paul namely, which the artist had designed in Pome long before: this he caused to be engraved on copper in Florence by Enea Vico of Parma, and the Duke was content to retain him in the city until that work should be accomplished, with payment of all his accustomed appoint ments and allowances.

At that time, which was in the year 1548, Giorgio Vasari was in Pimini, employed on the execution of those works in oil and fresco, whereof there is mention in another place, when Francesco sent him a long letter, giving a circumstantial account of all his affairs, and most especially describing the manner wherein things had passed at Florence: he spoke more particularly of a design which he had prepared for the principal Chapel of San Lorenzo, which chapel was then to be painted by order of the Signor Duke. But Francesco added that in relation to the chapel he felt certain that some one had done him infinite mischief with his Excellency, declaring, among other things, that he was sure the Majordomo, Messer Pier Francesco, had never laid his design for the same before the Duke. The consequence of this had been, he furthermore affirmed, that the work had been given to Pontormo, and he finished with the remark that for these causes he was returning to Pome, much dissatisfied with the men and artists of his native country.

Having returned to Pome, and re-instated himself in that city accordingly, Francesco there bought himself a house near the Palace of Cardinal Farnese, amusing himself meanwhile with the execution of works which were of no great importance. He then received a commission from the abovementioned Cardinal, by the intervention of Messer Annibale Caro and Don Giulio Clovio,^[37] to paint the chapel of the

• Palace of San Giorgio: here he first prepared singularly

beautiful compartments in stucco-work, and in the very graceful ceiling of the chapel he depicted stories from the Life of San Lorenzo in fresco, the figures of the work being very numerous as well as beautiful. Francesco also executed an Altar-piece painted in oil and on stone for the same chapel, and in this he depicted the Nativity of Our Saviour Christ, introducing in that work, which was a singularly fine one, the Portrait of the before-mentioned Cardinal, taken from the life.

At a subsequent period, Francesco was commissioned to execute another work in the Chapel belonging to the Brotherhood of the Misericordia, to which we have previously alluded.^[38] Here Jacopo del Conte had painted the Preaching and the Baptism of St. John, and had acquitted himself exceedingly well therein, although he had not surpassed Francesco. The Venetian Battista Franco and Piero Ligorio^[39] had also produced works in that place, and Francesco Salviati now commenced a painting which is close beside his former production, the story of the Visitation namely. But although a well-conducted work, this picture, the subject of which is the Birth of St. John, is by no means equal to the earlier performance. For Messer Bartolommeo Bussotti our artist painted two figures in fresco at the upper end of the same chapel, the Apostle St. Andrew and San Bartolommeo, two very fine figures;^[40] these he executed one on each side of the altar on which Jacopo del Conte depicted a Deposition from the Cross, which is an admirable work, nay, the best that Jacopo had then produced.

In the year 1550, and when Julius III. had been elected High PontilF, Francesco undertook certain stories in fresco for the Arch erected on the upper end of the staircase at San Pietro, on the occasion of the Pope’s coronation, and these were very beautiful. In the same year the Company of the Sacrament caused a Sepulchre to be represented in the Church of the Minerva, with several ranges of steps and rows of columns; for this Francesco painted certain stories in terretta, which were considered superlatively beautiful.

For a chapel at San Lorenzo in Damaso, Salviati painted two Angels in fresco; they are supporting a canopy, and of one of these angels we have the design by Francesco in our book of drawings. In the Refectory of San Salvator del Lauro at Monte Giordano, our artist painted the Marriage of Cana in Galilee, at which Our Saviour turned water into wine, on the principal wall. There are numerous figures in this work, and on the side walls are certain Saints, with St. Eugenius the Pope, who was of that order, and other founders and distinguished brethren of the same. Over the door of the Refectory, moreover, and on the inner side, he painted a picture in oil, the subject of which is St. George killing the Dragon, a work conducted with much facility, delicacy of finish, and beauty of colouring.

A large picture was sent by our artist about the same time to Messer Alamanno Salviati, who was then in Florence; the subject of this work is Adam and Eve at the Tree of Life eating the forbidden fruit, and the picture is a very beautiful one.^[41] For the Signor Ranuccio, of the House of Farnesc, and Cardinal of Sant’ Agnolo, Francesco painted two sides of a small apartment which precedes the great Hall of the Farnese Palace, a work in which he displayed much fancy.

On one of these sides the artist depicted Signor Ranuccio the elder, who receives the Baton of Captain-general of the Holy Church from the hands of Pope Eugenius lY., with figures of the Virtues; and on the other is Pope Paul III., who was also of the House of Farnese, and by whom the Baton of the Church is conferred on the Signor Pier Luigi, while the Emperor Charles V. is seen in the distance, accompanied by Alessandro Cardinal Farnese, and by other nobles, whose portraits are taken from the life. In this work Francesco, in addition to the above-described and many other stories, painted a figure of Fame with other figures, which are very beautiful, but it is to be remarked that the whole was not completed by himself, but was ultimately finished by Taddeo Zucchero of Sant’ Agnolo, as will be related in the proper place.^[42]

The Chapel which Fra Bastiano had commenced in the Church of the Popolo for Agostino Chigi, but which, as we have related in his Life, he had not finished, was completed by Francesco; and for the Cardinal Riccio da Montepulciano, this artist painted an exceedingly beautiful Hall, in his Palace situate in the Strada Giulia, representing various stories from the life of David therein; the work, which is in fresco, consists of numerous pictures, one of which presents Bathsheba as seen in the Bath, with many other female figures, while David stands looking at them. This story is a good and graceful composition, nor do I know a work more rich in respect of its invention. In another picture is the death of Uriah; in a third is the Ark, with men sounding musical instruments as they walk before it; and finally, after many others, there follows a Battle-piece, showing David in combat with his enemies, and extremely well composed; at a word, the whole work is full of grace, exhibiting the richest fancy with many singular and ingenious inventions, the groups are arranged with much judgment, and the colouring is most agreeable. Francesco was indeed so well aware of the bold and copious powers of invention with which he had been endowed, that, perceiving his hand to be always obedient to his genius, he would gladly have occupied all his time with some great and extraordinary work.

If Francesco was sometimes peculiar in his conduct towards his friends, that circumstance arose principally from the fact that, being versatile and unstable in certain matters, that which pleased him to-day became insufferable to him on the morrow; it is also to be remarked that he completed few works of importance in respect to which he- had not to endure a contention before the price demanded fdf the same could be settled, and for this cause he was disliked and avoided by not a few.

At a subsequent period it chanced that Andrea Tassini was required to send a painter to the King of France, and in the year 1554 he applied to Giorgio Vasari, but neither promises of great pay nor high promotion could prevail with that artist, who replied that he would on no account depart from the service of his Lord the Duke Cosimo. Tassini, therefore, at length agreed with Francesco, on the understanding that if the latter were not amply satisfied in France, he was to be remunerated in Rome by Tassini. But before Francesco would depart for France, having the conviction that he should return from that country no more, he sold all that he possessed, his house, his furniture, and everything besides, with the exception of the ofiices to which he had been nominated, these he retained.

The affair did nevertheless not turn out as he had expected: when he arrived in Paris he was received most courteously by Messer Francesco Primaticcio, Abbot of San Martino, who was then painter and architect to the King, but, as it is said, he was at once perceived to be a very singular person, and among other things it was observed that he never cast his eyes on the works of any other master, Rosso, or whomever it might be, that he did not openly and decidedly censure them. Every one then began to expect that some very great thing would be produced by himselfj and the Cardinal of Lorraine, who had caused him to be sent for, set him to execute certain pictures in his Palace of Dampierre: for this work Francesco then prepared numerous drawings, and finally setting hand to the painting, he executed various pictures in fresco over the cornices of several apartments, and also decorated a study with stories which are said to be of high merit: but be the cause what it may, he did not receive any great commendation for these labours. Francesco was indeed never much liked in France, he being of a disposition altogether opposed to that of the men of the country, seeing that by as much as the joyous and jovial companions who live freely with all, and appear willingly at festivals and banquets, are acceptable to them, by so much, are, I will not say, disliked or avoided, but at least, less welcome to them, all such as, like Francesco, are of a melancholy temperament, reserved manners, infirm health and peevish temper. And if for some of these things he deserved indulgence, as, for example, that his constitution did not permit him to frequent feasts and festivals, yet he might have been more courteous in his demeanour, and more friendly in conversation: but besides that lie failed on these points, he did more, for whereas it was his duty, according to the custom of that country and court, to show himself abroad, and pay his respects to such as treated him amicably, Salviati, on the contrary, expected to be courted by all the world and thought himself fully entitled to be so distinguished. At length, perceiving that the King was engaged in war, as was also the Cardinal, and that the stipend and promises made to him were not paid or fulfilled, he resolved to depart; and after having been in France twenty months, he returned to Italy.

Salviati then repaired to Milan, where he was courteously received by the Aretine Messer Lione, in a house which the latter has built for himself, and which he has decorated finely with casts in stucco from works of high character, enriching it, moreover, with statues, ancient and modern, as will be related in its due place. There Francesco remained fifteen days, and having rested himself sufficiently, he then set off to Florence, where, having found Giorgio Vasari, he told the latter how well he had done in refusing to visit France, and furthermore related to him such things as were well calculated to make any one change his mind, however great had previously been his desire to go thither.

Leaving Florence, Francesco then repaired to Home, where he entered an action against those who had guaranteed him his appointments in France, and compelled them to make good all that should have been paid to him by the Cardinal of Lorraine. Having received these sums, he purchased offices with the same, in addition to those which he had previously possessed, and now determined to think only of taking care of himself, knowing, as he did, that he was exceedingly unhealthy, and had entirely destroyed his constitution. He would nevertheless have employed his leisure gladly on some great work, but that not presenting itself, he amused himself for a time in the execution of small pictures and portraits.

Pope Paul IV. being dead. Pope Pius IV. was then elected; and that Pontiff, taking considerable pleasure in architecture, commanded the Cardinals Alessandro Farnese and Emulio to cause the Great Hall, called the Hall of Kings, to be completed by Daniello da Volterra, who had already commenced the same. Now the Cardinal Farnese above-named, made all possible effort to procure the half of this work for Francesco, and this caused a long contention between Daniello and Salviati, but Michelagnolo Buonarroti having taken part with the former, the question was not brought to an issue for some time. In the meanwhile Giorgio Vasari arrived in Home with the Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici, son of the Duke Cosimo, and to him Francesco related his numerous misadventures, more particularly describing the trouble in which he then found himself; Avhen Giorgio, who greatly prized the abilities of this man, pointed out to him that he had up to that time very badly conducted the affair, and advised him to refer the matter to his (Vasari’s) guidance, Giorgio promising to contrive in such sort that Salviati should certainly have the half of the Hall of Kings, and this he did the more readily as Daniello could not have completed so great a work alone, he being a slow, irresolute person, nor yet altogether equal, perhaps, to Francesco, in versatility and force of genius.

Matters standing thus, and nothing further being done for the moment, Giorgio Avas himself invited not many days subsequently, by the Pope, to execute a portion of the works for that Hall, but he replied that he had already undertaken to paint one, three times as large, in the Palace of his Lord the Duke Cosimo, and remarked.besides, that he had been so badly treated by Pope Julius III., as no longer to know Avhat it might be reasonable to hope or advisable to do Avith respect to certain men; adding that he had painted a picture of Christ on the Sea of Tiberias, calling Peter and Andrew from their nets, for the same Pontiff, the price of which had never been paid, and praying that His Holiness would cause the painting (which had been taken by Pope Paul lY. from the Chapel of the Belvedere, Avhere it had been placed by Julius, and was now to be sent to Milan) to be either paid for or restored to him, Giorgio.

To this Pope Pius made answer, that Avhether these things were true or not, he knew nothing of the picture in question, and desired to see it; whereupon it was brought, and being examined by His Holiness in a very bad light, the latter decided that the painting should be returned. That affair being settled, the discourse respecting the Hall Avas then_ resumed, Avhen Giorgio plainly told the Pope that Francesco was the first and best painter in Rome, and that as none could serve His Holiness better than Salviati, it would be well to secure him. As to the favour shown to Daniello by Buonarroti and the Cardinal, this Vasari declared they did out of their friendship for the latter, and from no other cause. But to return for a moment to Vasari’s picture above-named: Vasari had but just left the Pope when it was sent after him to the house of Francesco, who afterwards caused it to be forwarded to Arezzo, where, as we have said elsewhere, it has been placed, after having received a rich and costly frame, in the Decanal Church of that city.

The affair of the Hail of Kings remaining in the condition described above; when the Dukfe Cosimo left Siena to repair to Rome, Vasari, who had accompanied His Excellency so far, very earnestly recommended Salviati to his care, and begged the Duke to do him what favour he could with the Pope, writing to Francesco at the same time, as to the mode in which he ought to proceed when the Duke should arrive in Rome. And now Francesco did in nowise depart from the line of conduct prescribed to him by Vasari; he went to pay his respects to the Duke, who received him with a most friendly aspect, and shortly after mentioned him with so much kindness to His Holiness, that he was at once commissioned to decorate the half of the Hall above-mentioned. Setting hand to his work, accordingly, the first thing Francesco did was to destroy a story which had been commenced by Daniello, an action which caused no small displeasure between them: then the Pontiff, as we have said, employed the architect Piero Ligcrio for his buildings, and the latter had in the first instance greatly favoured Francesco; but Salviati, paying no regard to Piero any more than to others, when once he had commenced his work, caused the architect, from having been his friend to become in a certain sort his enemy, a fact of which manifest evidence was soon perceived. Piero now began to intimate to the Pope that there were many young and able painters in Rome to whom, as he desired to have that Hall off his hands, he would do well to give the separate paintings, one to each artist, and by this means the work would come to an end.

These proceedings of Piero, to whom it was evident that the Pope listened favourably, caused infinite displeasure to Francesco, insomuch that he angrily retired from the work and its contentions, believing that he had not been held in sufficient esteem. He mounted his horse, therefore, and without saying a word to any one, left Rome, and went to Florence, where he lodged himself in a tavern, not showing the least consideration for any one of his friends, proceeding as if he had not belonged to the place, and had no acquaintance, or any one for whom he cared within the city. At a later period, it is true that he did present himself to the Duke, by whom he was so well received that some good result might reasonably have been expected, had Francesco been of a different disposition, or if he had given ear to the counsel of Vasari, who advised him to sell the offices which he held in Rome, and to settle in Florence, there to enjoy himself among his friends, and thus escape the danger he was in of losing all the fruits of his toils, as well as his life itself. But Francesco, incited by the desire of vengeance, and listening to his anger and obstinacy alone, resolved to return to Rome, come what might, before the lapse of many days; but he did so far comply with the entreaties of his friends as to leave that tavern, and retire to the house of Messer Marco Finale, Prior of Sant’ Apostolo.

Here he painted for Messer Jacopo Salviati—principally for his amusement—a picture of the Madonna, with the Dead Christ, in colours, on cloth of silver.

Our Lady is accompanied by the other Maries, and the work was considered a singularly beautiful one. He also repainted a Medallion of the Ducal Arms, which Messer Alamanno had formerly caused to be placed over a gate of his Palace; and for the above-named Messer Jacopo he prepared a beautiful book, filled with costumes of fanciful characters, comprising head-dresses and decorations of various kinds, both for men and horses, to be used in the different maskings then held, receiving innumerable courtesies from the kindness of that Noble, who did, nevertheless, complain much of his strange proceedings, seeing that he could never prevail on Francesco to take up his abode in his house on this occasion, as he had done at other times.

Finally, Francesco being resolved on returning to Rome, Giorgio, as his friend, reminded him that, being rich, advanced in years, and of very weak health, he ought now to think of living in quiet, and should carefully shun the strifes and contentions of active life; all which he might have done most conveniently, he having acquired both honour and profit enough, if he had not been too avaricious and eager for gain. Vasari furthermore advised him to sell the greater part of his offices, and to arrange his affairs in such sort, that in all cases, and whatever might happen, he might be in a condition to remember his friends, and those who had served him faithfully. Francesco promised to proceed discreetly, both in act and word, confessing that Giorgio told him the truth, but as it usually happens with men of dilatory habits, he did nothing in the matter.

Arrived in Rome, Francesco found that the Cardinal Emulio had commissioned other artists to execute the Stories of the Flail, having given two of them to Taddeo Zucchero, of Sant’ Agnolo, one to Livio da Forlì,^[43] another to Orazio da Bologna, one to Girolamo Sermoneta, and others to other masters. Hereupon Francesco sent an account of what had been done to Vasari, inquiring of him if he thought it advisable that what he, Salviati, had commenced before his departure from Borne to Florence should now be completed.

Vasari made answer to the effect, that since so many small designs and large cartoons had been made, it would be well to finish, at least, one of the pictures, notwithstanding that the greater part of the work had been accorded to so many others, all of whom were inferior to himself; and adding, that Francesco would do wisely in approaching, so far as he could, to the pictures executed by Buonarroti, on the front and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and to those of the Pauline.

Vasari furthermore assured him, that when once his work had appeared, those executed by the others would be thrown to the ground, and the whole undertaking made over to himself, to his no small honour and glory: he entreated him, moreover, not to think of profit in this case, nor to regard the vexations which he might receive from those who had the superintendence of the works, seeing that the honour to be acquired was worth more than all besides. The letters written on this occasion by Vasari, with the replies, both copies and originals, are still preserved among those which we retain as memorials of so great a man and so intimate a friend as was Francesco; those by our own hand having been found among the effects left behind him by Salviati.

But all these efforts did not prevent Francesco from becoming angered by the passing events, nor could he form any fixed resolution as to what it would best suit him to do: thus troubled in mind, afflicted in body, and much debilitated by the frequent use of medicines, he finally fell sick of a mortal disease, and in a short time was found to be at the last extremity, while he had yet not given himself time to make any very exact dispositions in respect to his worldly affairs.

To one of his disciples, called Annibale, the son of Nanni di Baccio Bigio, he left sixty crowns per annum, secured on the Monte delle Farine, with fourteen pictures, all his designs, and other effects relating to art. The remainder of his property he left to the nun Gabriella, his sister, but, as I have heard, she did not receive even “the cord of the sack,” as the proverb goes. It is certain, nevertheless, that one picture by her brother must have fallen into her hands; it was painted on cloth of silver, and surrounded by an embroidered border, having been executed by Francesco for the King of Portugal or of Poland, I know not which, and having been given to her to keep in memory of him. All his other possessions, as, for example, the offices which he had purchased with the fruits of all his heavy labours, were wholly lost.

Francesco died on St. Martin’s day, the 11th of November, 1563, and was buried in San Geronimo, a church near to which was his dwelling. His death was a great loss to art; for although he was fifty-four years old, and in very bad health, he yet passed his time in continual labour and study; nay, at the very end of his life he had begun to work in mosaic. He was indeed very fanciful, and had a love for attempting various novelties; had he happened to meet with a prince willing to lend himself to his humour, and who would have given him occupations according to his own heart, Salviati would, without doubt, have accomplished extraordinary things, seeing that he was, as we have said, most richly gifted with inventive power, and abundantly skilled in every branch of his art. Francesco imparted infinite grace to all his heads, of whatever character they might be, and understood the nude form as well as any painter of his time.

He had a most graceful manner in the arrangement of his draperies, and in his works the nude form is always seen through the vestment whenever the occasion demands that it should be so. He clothed his figures also in a new and varied manner, displaying much fancy in the choice of headdresses, buskins, and ornaments of different kinds. He handled the colours, whether in oil, tempera, or fresco, in such a manner that he may be truly affirmed to have been one of the most able. Spirited, bold, and yet careful artists of our day. Of this we, who have held close intercourse with him for so many years, are fully competent to bear testimony; and, although from the desire which all conscientious artists feel to surpass each other, there was always between us an amicable emulation, yet the affection of a true friendship was never wanting to us, even when each was labouring in rivalry of the other, through the most renowned cities of Italy, a fact of which proof may be seen in the numerous letters from the hand of Erancesco, which I still retain in my possession.

Salviati was of an amiable disposition in his youth, but subsequently became suspicious and intolerant; possessing sufficient acuteness and penetration on certain points, he was yet credulous on others: if the conversation turned on matters of art, he would often express himself, whether in jest or earnest, in terms calculated to give offence, and sometimes profoundly wounded those with whom he was speaking. He delighted in the society of men of learning and other distinguished persons, but the meaner kind of artists were ever most unwelcome to Erancesco, even though some of these persons were of good repute as to certain branches of art. He avoided such men as he perceived to be habitual slanderers of private character, but if brought into contact with them would fall upon and tear them without mercy; but most of all did he abhor the cozenings and trickery sometimes practised by artists, and of which, having been in Erance and heard somewhat of that matter, he was but too well qualified to speak. There were times when, to escape the attacks of his constitutional melancholy, he sought the society of his friends, and did his utmost to be cheerful. After all, indeed, the suspicious, irresolute, and unsocial dispositions of which he so frequently gave proof, were injurious only to himself. His most intimate friend in Rome was the Elorentine goldsmith, Manno, a person of high distinction in his calling, and no less remarkable for integrity and goodness of heart. Manno had a large family, and if Francesco had disposed of his property as might have been wished, and not spent the best fruits of his labours on offices to leave them to the Pope,^[44] he would have given a great part of them to the children of that good artist and excellent man. The before-mentioned Avveduto dell’ Avveduto, the furrier, was also among the intimates of Salviati, and was the most affectionate as well as most faithful friend that ever he possessed, nay, had he been in Kome when Francesco died, the affairs of the latter might perchance have been arranged in a manner altogether different.

The Spaniard Roviale was a disciple of Francesco Salviati, in company with whom he executed numerous works; and in the church of Santo Sprito in Rome, this Roviale painted a picture, entirely without assistance, the subject of that work being the Conversion of St. Paul. Salviati was much attached to Francesco the son of Girolamo del Prato, in whose company he practised drawing while yet a child, as we have related above. This Francesco was endowed with a brilliant genius; he drew better than any goldsmith of his time, and was in nowise inferior to his father Girolamo, whose works on plates of silver were admitted to surpass those of every other person. Nay, Girolamo, as it is said, succeeded easily in whatever he undertook; and among other things, is reported to have had a manner of beating out such plates with a mallet, and after placing them on a plank beneath a covering of wax, pitch, and tallow, he procured a material partly hard and partly soft, which he would then beat with irons, towards the inside or the outside as was required, and thus produced whatever forms he wished; heads, busts, arms, legs, trunks, or whatever other portion of the figure might be demanded by those who were in the habit of causing votive images of saints or other figures to be made, for the purpose of affixing them to the holy images of any place wherein they might have received some favour, or found that their supplications were heard with more than common effect. But Francesco di Girolamo did not give his principal attention to the preparation of votive images or otFerings, as did his father; he occupied himself in works of Tarsia likewise, and inlaid steel with gold or silver, after the fashion of Damascus, representing foliage, figures, or whatever else he pleased; and making, among other works, an entire suit of armour, to he used by a foot-soldier, for the Duke Alessandro de’ Medici. Among many other medals of great beauty by the hand of this artist, were those bearing the head of the above-named Alessandro, which were placed in the foundations of the Portresses at the Gate of Paenza, with some others, on which the head of Pope Clement VII. appeared on the one side, and a nude figure of our Saviour Christ on the other, accompanied by the instruments used in the flagellation of our Lord. Prancesco del Prato found great delight in works of sculpture also, and likewise cast certain small figures in bronze, which were singularly graceful; these came ultimately into the possession of the Duke Alessandro. The same artist polished and brought to high perfection four figures, alb of the same size, which had been commenced by Baccio Bandinelli; a Leda namely, a Venus, a Hercules, and an Apollo, all which were given to the above-named Duke.

The art of the goldsmith having at length become distasteful to Prancesco di Girolamo, he, not having the means requisite for pursuing that of the sculptor, which demands considerable resources, then devoted himself to painting, being already a good designer as we have said. Francesco held intercourse with but few people, nor did he wish to let it be known that he was proposing to practise painting; he therefore kept the works he attempted to himself; at this time it was that Prancesco Salviati came to Plorence, and worked in the rooms which Francesco di Girolamo del Prato occupied in the House of Works to the Cathedral, where Salviati painted his picture for Messer Alamanno; and Francesco del Prato, having thus an opportunity of seeing his methods of proceeding, betook himself to paint with more zeal than ever, and executed a very beautiful picture, the subject whereof was the Conversion of St. Paul: this is now in the possession of Guglielmo del Tovaglia. He subsequently delineated, in a picture of similar size, the Pall of Serpents by which the people of Israel were afflicted; and in another he represented Jesus Christ delivering the Holj fathers from the Limbo or Gates of Hell. These two last-mentioned works, which are exceedingly beautiful, are now in the possession of Filippo Spini, a gentleman who greatly delights in our arts. Francesco del Prato executed many other small works; he drew, also, much and well, as may be seen by certain sketches from his hand, which are preserved in our book of Designs. He died in the year 1562, and his death grieved the whole Academy deeply; for, besides that he was a person of great ability in art, there perhaps never lived a more excellent man than was Francesco del Prato.

Giuseppe Porta of Castel Nuovo, in the Garfagnana, was in like manner a disciple of Francesco Salviati, and he also, from respect to his master, was called Salviati. This Giuseppe was conducted to Rome in the year 1535, and while yet a ^oy, by an uncle of his, who was then Secretary to Monsignor Onofrio Bartolini, Archbishop of Pisa; he was there placed with Salviati, with whom in a short time he learned not only to draw well but to paint admirably. Having afterwards accompanied his master to Venice, he’ formed so many intimate acquaintances among the gentry of that place, that, having been left there by Francesco, he determined to adopt the city of Venice for his home, and having taken a wife there, has continued to make it his abode; nay, he not only remains there still, but has so rarely departed from it as to have performed few works in any other place than Venice.

Giuseppe Salviati has decorated the House of the Loredani family, which is situate on the Campo di San Stefano, with stories in fresco, which are of great beauty, and executed in an admirable manner. He has also painted the House of the Bernardi family at San Polo, with another behind San Rocco, which is an excellent work. The same artist has painted three very large façades in chiaro-scuro; these, which he has covered with stories, are situate, the first at San Moise, the second at San Casciano, and the third at Santa Maria Zebenigo.^[45] The entire Palace of Priali, a large and rich building at Treville, near Treviso, has also been decorated both within and without by Giuseppe Salviati; but of this palace we shall speak at length in the life of Jacopo Sansovino. At Piere del Sacco likewise, Griuseppe has produced a very beautiful fa9ade, and at Bagnuolo, a place belonging to the Monks of the Santo Spirito at Venice, he has painted a picture in oil; while for the same fathers he has executed the ceiling and wainscot of the Refectory in their Monastery of Santo Spirito, representing a very fine Cenacolo, or Last Supper, at the upper end of the same, and covering the remainder of the walls with pictures in various compartments.

In the Palace of San Marco, Giuseppe has painted the Sybils, the Prophets, the Cardinal Virtues, and Our Saviour Christ with the Maries. All these works, which are in the Hall of the Doge, have been very highly extolled; and in the beforementioned Library of San Marco there are two^[46] pictures by the hand of this artist, which he painted in concurrence with other Venetian painters of whom mention has before been made. Having been invited to Rome by the Cardinal Emulio on the death of Francesco Salviati, Giuseppe completed one of the largest stories in the Hall of the Kings,^[47] and commenced another. At a later period, and when Pope Pius IV. v/as dead, Giuseppe returned to Venice, where the Signoria has given him a ceiling in the Palace to decorate, and this he is to cover with pictures in oil; the vaulting in question being that at the summit of the new staircase.

The same artist has produced six very beautiful paintings in oil, one of which is at the Altar of the Madonna, in the Church of San Francesco della Vigna;^[48] second is at the High Altar in the Church of the Servites; the third, in the Friars Minors; the fourth, in the Madonna dell’ Orta; the fifth, at San Zaccheria; and the sixth, at San Moise. Giuseppe has also painted two pictures at Murato; both of which are executed with great care and in a fine manner. But of this artist, since he still lives and is becoming a very excellent master, I will not for the present add more, except to remark that he has also devoted himself to the study of Geometry, in addition to that of painting, and the Volute of the Ionic Capital, which has just appeared in copper-plate, is by his hand.^[49] In this we are shown how this member should be turned after the antique measure, and there is very shortly to be published a work by this same Giuseppe, which he has composed on the subject of Greometry.^[50] A Roman, named Domenico, was also a disciple of Francesco Salviati, and was of much assistance to his master in the Hall which the latter painted at Florence, as well as for other works. In the year 1550, this Domenico engaged himself to the Signor Giuliano Cesarino, and has not hitherto worked on his own account.

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1. So called from the favour and protection accorded to him by the Cardinal of that name. See vol. iv. p. 378. See also Bryan, Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, article “Salviati.”
2. Nanni di Prospero delle Corniole was a relation of the renowned Giovanni delle Corniole, of whom favourable mention has been made in
3. Pierio Valeriano or Giovanni Pietro Bolzani of Belluno. His master Sabellius gave him the name of Pierio, in allusion to the Muses, under their appellation of the Pierides, he having been a lover of those ladies from his infancy.” For this learned note we are indebted to a compatriot of our author, whose name escapes the memory of the present writer.
4. This is that Nannoccio of whom it has already been related, in the Life of Andrea del Sarto namely, that he went into France with the Cardinal de Tournon.
5. “The name of this artist would have been lost,” remark the Florentine Editors of the Passigli Edition of our author, “bad it not thus dropped from the pen of Vasari.” Lanzi, vol. ii. p. 226, has made mention of a Fra Raffaello da Brescia, an Olivetine monk, who painted in the Choir of San Michele in Bosco, at Bologna. Artists of this name are however very numerous; there are no fewer than thirty enumerated by Zani. See the Enciclopedia Metodica.
6. This work is unhappily lost.— Ed. Flor., 1832-8,
7. “From abroad.” It is without doubt well known to most of our readers that an Italian of the old times considered every man a foreigner, if born or dwelling, I do not say in the next state, but in the neighbouring towns of his own state; nay, it is well if he did not, or perhaps do not even now consider him as a “natural enemy” also. It has not unfrequently happened to the present writer, when remarking on some one of those trifling impositions or vexations of whatever kind, whereunto the traveller is “heir,” to be asked what better could be expected, for “is he not a Bergamasco, a Cortonese, an Urbinate, a Perugino!” a native of some town or village in short, at least half a league removed from the one entitled to rejoice in the birth of him who made the remark. The tendencies of so deplorable a state of things as this will be obvious to all.
8. The Vatican.
9. Then a villa of the Popes; the building, which was situate at about four miles from Rome, on the banks of the Tiber, was afterwards turned into a Convent for the Nuns of Santa Cecilia. —Bottari.
10. These works have perished.—Ibid.
11. The work here described having suffered very greatly, was ultimately replaced by one in stucco.— Bottari.
12. Cecchino is the diminutive of “Cecco,” the Italian ‘‘ Frank.”
13. This portrait is lost, but a German commentator remarks that it might be discovered by seeking among the protraits attributed to Francesco, and comparing that most likely to be the work in question with one of Altoviti, by Raphael, now in the Pinecotheca at Munich, and which was long considered to be the likeness of Raphael himself.
14. Giulio Delminio of Portogruaro in Friuli, a man of great learning. He died at Milan in the year 1544, aged sixty-five.— Masselli,
15. This beautiful picture was much injured by re-touching, but we have fortunately very faithful engravings of it. — Ed. Flor.., 1832-8, It has been engraved by B. Basseroli G. Ghisi and J. Mathani.
16. Carlo Portelli of Lora, a village in the Valdarno, was a disciple of llidolfo Ghirlandaio, in whose Life he is named.
17. I leave the untranslateable naiveté of this Messer Domeneddio in its original purity; no form of words in our own language could express the name of the Supreme Creator with equal simplicity, and at the same time avoid an unpardonable air of burlesque, which last would indeed be a wide departure from the meaning of our author, as well as a grave offence. Monseigneur St. Jacques and Madame La Sainte Vierge will occur to our readers as instances of the same kind of expression, all better left to their own forms of untransmutable simplicity.
18. Mentioned in the Life of Soggi, for which see vol. iv.
19. Named with praises in the Life of Genga, for which see vol. iv.
20. This beautiful work is still in the Grimani Palace, but the dissent against our author’s judgment as to this being the most beautiful one to be found at that time in Venice, which has been recorded by Lanzi, has been concurred in by almost every subsequent authority of value,
21. Giovanni da Udine, for whose Life see ante, p. 16.
22. This church has been suppressed.
23. This portrait, according to Förster, is not now to be found among the collection of pictures in the Louvre.
24. Still in the church. It represents Our Lady enthroned with the Divine Child, and certain Saints beside her, together with the Beata Lucia da Stifonte, foundress of the Convent.
25. Who mentions this portrait in a letter to be found in the third volume of the Lettere Fittorichey lett. xcvi.
26. Santa Maria dell’ Anima.
27. These paintings have suffered much in their colouring, that of the altar more particularly. — Bottari.
28. Sais or Sai, an ancient city of Egypt. Bottari observes that he thinks the goddess must be Isis, rather than Pallas, the place of the former being appropriately fixed between the Sun and Moon. See Roman Edition of Vasari, 1759.
29. An artist of this name is mentioned by Averoldo and Chizzola, Guida di Brescia, as the author of a Sposalizio, in the Church of San Francesco at Brescia.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
30. Commonly called in these days the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) The Hall here in question now makes part of the Guardaroba, and the pictures painted by Salviati are still in good preservation.— Masselli.
31. We need not waste the time of our readers with the well-known history of “that Schoolmaster,” whose appropriate punishment for the traitorous betrayal of his scholars into the hands of the enemy is here alluded to.
32. In the first of these two stories is a Soldier, fallen to the earth, and transfixed with a lance, but the admirably drawn and beautifully coloured torso of this figure had been destroyed by the swelling and scaling away of the intonaco, which had fallen to the ground; it was, however, gathered up carefully, and every morsel was so nicely conjoined, and so successfully replaced by Baldassare Franceschini, called the Volterrano, by whom every, the most minute of all those innumerable morsels into which the intonaca had separated, was gathered and restored to its due position, with such extraordinary care and patience, that there is scarcely a trace of the misfortune now to be seen.—Bottari.
33. Borghini, in his Riposo, makes mention of a figure of Charity as then (1584) adorning the Hall of the Council of Ten, whence a doubt has arisen whether Vasari may not have incorrectly stated the locale of Francesco’s Charity, which he should have given, as many writers believe, to the Hall of the Council instead of the Madonna, which was more probably painted for Ridolfo Landi. There is a figure of Charity by Francesco now in the Gallery of the Uffizj at Florence.— Ed. Flor., 1832 -8.
34. Waagen, Künstler und Kunstwerker in Frankreich, speaks of this work, which is now in the Louvre, as one of very little importance.
35. This is the Camaldoline Monk, Don Silvano Razzi, well known for the many works published by him, and often mentioned as having assisted Vasari in the preparation of these Lives.
36. This work still retains its place. Our readers may consult the beforecited Riposo of Borghini, Florentine Edition of 1730 where it has been highly eulogized; see p. 85 and ]). 410.
37. The Life of this admirable miniaturist, who has been so frequently mentioned, will be found in the present volume.
38. In the Church of San Giovanni Decollato namely.
39. An excellent architect and painter in fresco of considerable merit. — Lanzi.
40. These figures have been re-touched, as has the Birth of St. John. — Bottari.
41. The fate of this work is not known, but Bottari suggests that it mayhave been taken to France, he having found a work on that subject mentioned in Lepiciè, Catalogue raisonne des Tableaux du Roi, Paris, 1752.
42. The work was not finished by Salviati, because that master died before its completion, when two of the Stories, those opposite to the large window, were given to Taddeo Zucchero by the Cardinal Santangelo Farnese.
43. A disciple of Perino del Vaga. See Baglioni, Vite de’ Pittori, &c.
44. These offices, as Vasari calls them, were in fact a species of annuity, which returned to the apostolic camera, or treasury, on the death of those who had purchased them. See Ranke, as before cited.
45. These works have been destroyed by the salt winds prevalent here.— Venetian Edition of Vasari.
46. There are three pictures by Salviati in the Library of San Marco.— Venetian Edition of Vasari.
47. It is that which represents Frederick Barbarossa receiving the benediction of Pope Alexander III. on the Piazza of San Marco at Venice.
48. There are two paintings by Giuseppe Salviati in the Church of San Francesco della Vigna. — Ed. Venet.
49. The rules for the Ionic column were first published by Marcolini, in fol. Venice, 1552. They were then translated into Latin by Poleni, and were inserted in his Esercitazione Vetruviane. —Bottari.
50. This work the author is said to have burnt, not having time to complete it, and not choosing to leave it in an imperfect state.—Ibid.