Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Giovan-Francesco Rustici

by Giorgio Vasari

 

GIOVAN-FRANCESCO RUSTICI, SCULPTOR AND ARCHITECT OF FLORENCE.

[Born about the middle of the 15th century. —Died at the age of eighty, towards the middle of the 16th century.]

It is a remarkable fact, that almost all young men who studied their art in the Garden of the Medici, and were favoured by the Magnificent Lorenzo the Elder, became distinguished in their several vocations, a circumstance that cannot be attributed to any other cause than the extraordinary, or rather the infinite, judgment of that most noble person, the true Mecasnas and protector of all men of genius, and who, to the power of discriminating elevation of character and mind, added that of duly promoting and rewarding them.

It thus happened, that as the Florentine citizen, Giovan-Francesco Rustici, acquitted himself very creditably in his youth, not only in design but in modelling in clay also, so by the Magnificent Lorenzo, who readily perceived his quickness of intellect and good parts, he was placed for the purposes of study with Andrea del Verrocchio, with whom, in like manner, had studied Leonardo da Vinci; the youth of the latter gave evidence, as will be remembered, of the rarest ability, and he was early endowed with extraordinary genius.

Now, the fine manner and admirable dispositions of Leonardo pleased Eustici greatly, and as it appeared to him that the expression of his heads and the movements of his figures were more graceful, as well as more animated, than those of any other whose works he had ever seen; so, when he had learned the art of casting in bronze, had obtained some acquaintance with the laws of perspective, and could work in marble, he attached himself to Leonardo da Vinci. This occurrence did not, however, take place until after Andrea Verrocchio had gone to Venice for the execution of the works which, as we have before related, were executed by his hand in that city.

Becoming thus fixed with Leonardo, and serving him with the most affectionate submission, Eustici was greatly beloved by that master, who found him to be upright, sincere, and liberal of mind, as well as diligent and patient in the labours of his art, insomuch that Leonardo would eventually do nothing, small or great, but that which seemed good in the eyes of Giovan-Francesco. Descending from a noble family, the youth had sufficient means wherewith he might have lived at his ease; he attached himself to the studies of art, therefore, more from the desire of honour, and out of love for the same, than from any wish for gain. Nor, to speak the truth of the matter, does it often happen that those artists who have not glory, and honour, but the making of profit, for their ultimate or even principal aim, become truly excellent, even though they may have been endowed with good powers and a fine genius.

The condition of him who must be constantly at his labours, to the end that he may live, as is the case of vast numbers who are bowed down by poverty and the cares of a family—who must work, I say, not only when fully disposed to do so, and when the spirits and power are equally ready to serve them, but at all times, for actual need, and that from morning till night; this is a state of things proper, not to men who place honour and glory before them as their end and aim, but to drudges, as the saying is, and mechanics hired by the day.

Works of merit are indeed not to be accomplished but with long and mature consideration, and, taking this view of the matter, Giovan-Francesco, in his more advanced age, was wont to say, that a man should first think, and then make his sketch; he should afterwards prepare his designs, and having done that, should leave them without casting an eye upon them for weeks and months; then, having selected the best, he may put them in execution. This is a method which cannot be adopted by every one, nor is it one common to those who work only for gain. Fustici would also remark that an artist ought not lightly to permit the examination of his works before they are finished, by all who may come about him; nor should he be ready frequently, or without consideration, to change and alter at the suggestion of others.

Giovan-Francesco acquired much valuable knowledge from Leonardo, and, among other things, the method of delineating horses, in which he delighted so greatly that he copied these animals in clay, in wax, in full relief, and in half relief; at a word, in every manner that one can possibly imagine. We have some drawings of horses by his hand in our book, which are admirably well designed, and bear ample testimony to the skill and ability of Giovan-Francesco: he was exceedingly ready in the management of colours also, and produced pictures which are very good, although his principal vocation was sculpture.

The residence of Rustici was in the Via de Martelli,^[1] and he lived on terms of much amity with all the members of that family, which has ever been rich in men of ability and excellence, but he was more particularly intimate with Piero de’ Martelli; for whom he made certain small figures in full relief, a Madonna among the rest, seated amidst the clouds, with the Divine Child in her arms, and surrounded by Cherubim. At a later period Giovan-Francesco painted a figure similar to the above-mentioned, in oil and of a large size, adding a sort of garland formed of Cherubim, which encircles the head of the Virgin in the manner of a diadem.

The Medici family having returned to Florence, Rustici made himself known to the Cardinal Giovanni,^[2] by whom, as one who had been the protégé of his father Lorenzo, Giovan-Francesco was received with much kindness. But the fashions of a court were not to his liking; they were indeed entirely distasteful to his calm and upright nature, which had no tinge of ambition or self-seeking; he preferred to live a life apart, and after the manner of a philosopher, enjoying the repose and quiet of solitude: but he did not refuse occasional recreation, and frequented the society of such among liis fellow citizens as were known to him; he often met the friends of his art likewise, nor did he neglect to labour when he felt the disposition to do so and found an opportunity for exertion.

On the arrival of Pope Leo X. at Florence, in the year 1515, for example, being requested to execute certain statues by his intimate friend Andrea del Sarto, he did not refuse to comply, but completed the same, when they were pronounced to be most beautiful. They found favour more particularly in the eyes of the Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici,^[3] and caused that Prelate to give Giovan-Francesco a commission for a statue of Mercury in bronze, about one braccio high: this figure, which was entirely nude, was intended to be placed on the summit of the Fountain in the principal court of the Medici Palace; it stands on a ball, and is in the act of taking flight.^[4] In the hands of the statue Giovan-Francesco placed an instrument, which was made to turn round by the water which the figure poured down upon it, and the matter was managed on this wise: the leg and torso of the Mercury were perforated for the admission of a tube, and this being carried up to the mouth, the water rising through the same, fell on the above-mentioned instrument, which was balanced very nicely, and had exceedingly thin plates of metal in the form of a butterfly’s wings attached to it, the water falling on it then, as I have said, caused the same to turn about; and this, for a small work, obtained considerable praise.

No long time after having completed the Mercury, Giovan-Francesco made the model of a figure to be cast in bronze for the same Cardinal: this was to have been a David, similar to that which Donato had executed for the Illustrious Cosimo the Elder, as we have said; the work of Kustici being destined for the first court of the Medici Palace, whence that of Donato had been removed. The model gave much satisfaction, but a certain dilatoriness in the mode of proceeding of Giovan-Francesco, caused this work to fail of being cast in bronze, and the Orpheus in marble of Baccio Bandinelli was erected in its stead; the David made in clay by Pustici, which was an admirable thing, came eventually to an evil end therefore, and that was a great pity.

Giovan-Francesco executed an Annunciation in mezzorilievo, with a perspective view of extraordinary beauty, in a very large medallion; in this work he was assisted by the painter Raffaello Belli, and by Niccolò Soggi; when it was cast in bronze, it proved to be a performance of such extraordinary beauty that nothing better could possibly be seen, and it was sent to the King of Spain. In a medallion of similar size, but in marble. Rustic! next produced a figure of Our Lady, in alto-rilievo, the Virgin has the Divine Child in her arms, and San Giovanni, also a little child, is beside her; this was placed in the first Hall of the Magistrates of the Guild of For Santa Maria.

These works having brought Giovan-Francesco into high credit, the Consuls of the Guild of Merchants, who had at that time caused certain hideous figures of marble, made in 1240, which had stood over the three gates of the Church of San Giovanni to be taken down, as we have before related; these Consuls, I say, having commissioned Andrea Contucci of Sansovino, to execute those which were to replace the old ones, over that door of San Giovanni which looks towards the Misericordia, now gave Rustic! the statues which were to be erected over the door which is at the side opposite to the Canonicate of the church, and commanded that he should prepare three figures in bronze, each four braccia high; these ligures to be of similar subjects to the old ones, a San Giovanni preaching namely, and represented as standing between a Pharisee and a Levite.

Now this work was one entirely after the heart of Giovan-Francesco, first, because it was of so much importance, and was to be erected in a place of such great renown, and next, on account of the competition with Andrea Contucci: he set hand to it therefore immediately, and made a small model, but this he greatly surpassed by the excellence of the work itself, to which he gave all the consideration which so important an undertaking demanded, and at which he laboured steadily with infinite diligence. The work being finished, was considered to be in all its parts the most perfectly composed and best arranged performance of the kind that had ever then been seen, the figures exhibiting an absolute perfection of form, and the aspect of the faces having singular grace as well as infinite majesty and force: the nude arms and lower limbs are likewise most admirably executed, and are conjoined to the trunks in a manner so entirely irreproachable, that better could not be; and, to say nothing of the beauty given to the hands and feet, how graceful are the attitudes, and what heroic gravity have those heads!^[5]

While Giovan-Francesco was modelling this work in clay, he would permit no one to be about him but Leonardo da Vinci; and he, whether in the preparation of the moulds, the securing of these with their irons, or whatsoever other part of the process was in hand, never left his side; some are therefore of opinion—but they know nothing beyond what I here say—that Leonardo worked at this group with his own hand, or that he at the least assisted Rustic! with his counsel and good judgment. These statues, which are the best and most perfectly executed of any that have ever been produced in bronze by a modern master, were completed at three castings, and were chiselled at that house of the Via de’ Martelli, in which, as we have said, Giovan-Francesco had his abode; as were also the ornaments which surround the figure of San Giovanni, with the two columns, the cornices, and the devices of the Guild of the Merchants, which all form part of the work.^[6]

Near the figure of San Giovanni, which is one of singular power and animation, is that of a bald and somewhat corpulent man, also very finely done; the right hand of this figure is placed on his side, one of the shoulders is partially nude, with the left hand he holds a scroll before his eyes, and standing with the left leg crossed over the right, he is waiting in a most thoughtful attitude for the moment when he may utter the reply which he has manifestly prepared for the Baptist.^[7] The vestments of this figure exhibit textures of two kinds; one of a slight and thin fabric, which floats about the nude parts of the form; the other much thicker and firmer, of which the mantle worn over the lower vestments is composed; the folds of these draperies are singularly flowing and easy, they are also very judiciously arranged; of equal merit is the second figure, that of the Pharisee namely, the hand is placed on the beard, which it presses back in a certain manner, and the face wears an expression of infinite gravity, while it likewise gives evidence of much astonishment at the words of the preacher.^[8]

While Rustici was occupied with this work, he became weary of having to make daily application for money to the Syndics of the Guild above-named, or to their deputies, and the rather as the same persons were not always in attendance, and are besides, for the most part, men who have but little regard for distinguished ability, and do not care greatly for the merits of the work before them. Giovan-Francesco became weary of this I say, and to finish the undertaking, he sold an estate belonging to his patrimonial inheritance, and which he possessed at San Marco Vecchio, a place situate at a short distance from Florence. Yet notwithstanding all these labours, expenses, and cares, he was but very poorly rewarded by those Syndics and by his fellow citizens. One of the Ridolfi, who was a chief of that Guild, more particularly showed himself adverse to the interests of Rustici, moved by some private pique, or perhaps offended because the latter did not pay him honour enough; perhaps also, because Giovanni would not let him see the figures in progress whenever he desired to do so. Be this as it may, Ridolfi was always found to be the opponent of Rustici in every question arising between him and the Syndics.

That which ought to have redounded to the honour of Giovan-Francesco was consequently turned to his injury, seeing that, whereas he had merited a double degree of reverence, as a distinguished artist no less than a noble and citizen of eminent station, his having become a sculptor deprived him, with the ignorant and foolish, of that honour and respect which were due to his birth. When his work had to be estimated, therefore, and when GiovanFrancesco on his part had chosen Michelagnolo Buonarroti for that office, the Court of Syndics, by the persuasion of Ridolfi, selected Baccio d’Agnolo to perform the same duty on their part. Of this, Rustici complained bitterly, remarking to the Syndics, in full council assembled, that the permitting a wood-worker and artisan to estimate the work of a sculptor and statuary, was too extraordinary a proceeding; nay, he did all but inform those personages that he considered them little better than a herd of stupid oxen; whereupon Hidolfi replied, that the choice had been well made, and that Rustic! was himself a proud and insolent person.

But what was more unjust than all, has yet to be related: the work, which deserved full two thousand crowns, was estimated at five hundred only, and even that sum was never entirely paid to Giovan-Francesco: four hundred were all that he could ever obtain, nor did he receive that until it was extorted by the interv^ention of Giulio, Cardinal de’ Medici. At the spectacle of so much baseness. Rustic! withdrew almost in despair, and resolving never more to accept any commission from the Civic Magistrates, or indeed from any Company which might render him liable to have more than one person to deal with.

He now lived a very solitary life, and made his dwelling in the rooms of the Sapienza, which is near the Monastery of the Servite monks, where he employed himself with certain small works by way of amusing his leisure, and that he might not be wholly idle. But he also wasted both time and money in attempting to freeze mercury, and this he did, in company with Raffaello Baglioni, a genius of similar character.

In a picture, three braccia long and two high, Giovan-Francesco painted the Conversion of St. Paul. This work, which is in oil, exhibits a large number of horses ridden by soldiers who accompany the Saint; and among them are seen varied and beautiful attitudes with many fine foreshortenings: it is now, with other productions of Giovan-Francesco, in the possession of the heirs of the above-named Pietro Martelli, to whom it was presented by the artist. There is a small picture by the same hand, and representing a Hunt, which is the property of Lorenzo Borghini, by whom it is held in the utmost estimation, as a most fanciful and beautiful performance, which it certainly is; Lorenzo being one who greatly delights in the productions of our arts.

For the Nuns of Santa Lucia, in the Via di San Gallo, Giovan-Francesco executed a figure in clay of Our Saviour Christ, appearing to Mary Magdalene in the Garden; this work, which is a mezzo-rilievo, was afterwards vitrified by Giovanni della Hobbia, and was placed within a frame of macigno on an altar in the Church of the above-mentioned Nuns. For Giacomo Salviati the elder, who was an intimate friend of II Hustici, that master executed a large medallion in marble, to be placed in the chapel of his palace, which is situate above the bridge at the Badia. He also produced numerous medallions filled with figures of terra cotta in full relief, to say nothing of many other beautiful decorations, which were, for the most part, nay rather, almost all, destroyed by the soldiery in the year of the siege, when, the palace was set on fire by those who were adverse to the party of the Medici.

Giovan-Francesco had a great love for that place, and would sometimes stroll out of Florence in his long gown^[9] until he would get even to the Palace; having cleared the city, he would throw the gown over his shoulder, and, thus accoutred would pass slowly forward lost in thought, until lie reached his favourite spot. One day among others, he was going along that road, when, feeling himself too warm, he concealed that long robe of his in a sloe-bush, and never thought of it again until he had been at the Palace two days. He then sent one of his servants to seek the gown, and seeing the man return after having found it, he exclaimed: “Ah!theworldhasgottobetoogood!itmustbecoming to its end, and can’t last much longer!”

Giovan-Francesco was a man of exceeding kindness, and very charitable to the poor, insomuch that he would suffer none to depart unconsoled. His money was kept in a sort of basket, whether he had little or much, and from this he would give, according to his ability, to all who asked of him. Wherefore it chanced one day that a poor man, who very often went to beg assistance from II Rustici, and saw him constantly going to that basket for the alms which he bestowed, said, whispering to himself and without expecting to be heard,—“Ah! my God I if I had but what that basket contains, I should soon be out of my difficulties.” GiovanPrancesco heard this, and having looked at him fixedly for a moment, he said—“Come hither, and I will content thee.” He then emptied the basket into the skirt of the poor man’s garment, and said, “Go, and may God grant his blessing.” He then sent to Niccolò Buoni, who was his most intimate friend, for more money; indeed the whole of his affairs were arranged by this Niccolò, who received and kept account of his rents, and of the income which he received from the Monte,^[10] as well as of the produce of his farms. This Niccolò sold at the right season, and it was his custom to give Bustici what money he wanted every week; these sums GiovanTrancesco would throw into the drawer of his desk, which he never locked, all who might want any for the necessities of the house taking therefrom without restraint, as they happened to require it.

But, returning to the works of II Bustici, I have to relate that he executed a singularly beautiful Crucifix in wood, the size of life, which he proposed to send into Trance; but the work remained in the keeping of Niccolò Buoni, with other bassi-rilievi and designs, being left with him when GiovanTrancesco determined to quit Florence, which he fancied was no longer a favourable abode, and thinking, perhaps, that in changing his residence he should change his fortune also. The Crucifix is still in the possession of Buoni, therefore, together with the other productions just alluded to. For the Duke Giuliano, by whom he was always much favoured, II Bustici executed a portrait of himself, in mezzo-relievo; this was a profile which Giovan-Francesco cast in bronze, and it was considered to be an admirable work; the present possessor of the same is Messer Alessandro, the son of Messer Ottaviano de’ Medici.

To the painter Ruberto di Filippo Lippi, who was his disciple, Giovan-Francesco gave many works by his hand, bassi-rilievi, namely, with models and designs; among others a Leda, a Europa, a Neptune, and a most beautiful Yulcan, with a small work in basso-rilievo, exhibiting the nude figure of a man on horseback, which is singularly beautiful. This is now in the study of Don Silvano Bazzi, at the Angeli. The same artist also produced an exceedingly beautiful female figure, two braccia high, intended to represent a Grace; but what became of it is not known, nor can the hands into which it has fallen be ascertained.

Horses in clay by this artist, and similar to those beforementioned, some bearing riders, and some fallen, with the cavaliers lying beneath them, abound in the dwellings of the citizens, these works having been presented to the persons possessing them, by Giovan-Trancesco, who was not as men are for the most part discourteous and avaricious, but most liberal and obliging, to those who were of the number of his friends—Dionigi da Diacceto, for example, a very excellent and much respected gentleman, who like Niccolb Buoni took charge of Bustici’s affairs, and was very much the friend of the latter, received many bassi-rilievi as gifts from his hands.

There was never a more amusing or more fanciful person than Giovan-Brancesco, nor could there well be a man who had more delight in animals. He had a hedgehog among others, which he had rendered so tame that it would lie under the table like a dog, but sometimes rolled itself against people’s legs, after a fashion that made the owners glad to draw them back into their own keeping: he had an eagle also, with a raven, which had been taught to speak so plainly, that he was frequently taken by those who heard and did not see him, for a human being. Giovan-Francesco also gave his attention to necromancy;^[11] nay, according to what I am told, he caused his disciples and servants to suffer excessive terrors thereby, and was thus enabled to keep them in such perfect obedience, that he was thereby permitted to live without cares as regarded his domestics. He had a room constructed almost in the manner of a fishpond, and in this he kept numerous snakes and serpents of various kinds, which could not get out; and here he found the greatest amusement, more particularly in the summer, from standing to look at these creatures; observing their fierce gambols, and the strange contortions they made, with indescribable pleasure and interest.

In his rooms at the Sapienza, Giovan-Francesco E-ustici was accustomed to assemble a company of gentlemen, who called themselves the Brotherhood or Society of the Paiuolo,^[12] their numbers were limited to twelve, and these were Eustici himself, Andrea del Sarto,^[13] the painter Spillo, Domenico Puligo, the goldsmith Robetta,^[14] Aristotile da Sangallo, Prancesco di Pellegrino, Niccolb Buoni, Domenico Baccelli, who played and sang most admirably, and the sculptor Solosmeo;^[15] Lorenzo’ called Guazzetto,^[16] the painter, was also of the number, as was Roberto di Filippo Lippi, who was their steward. Each of these members was permitted to bring four of his friends to their suppers and amusements of different kinds, but not more.

Now the order observed in these suppers was this (and I describe it the more willingly, because the custom of forming such companies is now almost wholly abandoned and laid down): every member was enjoined to contribute one dish to the repast, and in this dish it was always expected that he should display some new or ingenious invention; having brought his contribution, each member presented the same to the lord of the feast, who was always one of the members, and who, on receiving it, made it over at once to some one among them, whomsoever lie pleased, receiving from him at the same time his own dish in return, which in like manner the lord then presented to another of the members, selecting at his good pleasure as before. When all were at table, each offered to the other of his dish, as was reasonable, thus every one had a portion of all, if it so pleased him; but he who, in his choice or invention, had stumbled upon that previously chosen by another, was chastised for his fault.

One evening, among others, that Giovan-Francesco was giving a supper to these his companions of the Paiuolo, he commanded that they should substitute for the table an immense Cauldron, made from a large vat, within which all the guests found ample space, while the dishes were arranged in such a manner that they also appeared, as did the guests, to be floating in the water of the cauldron; the viands thus presented in the centre of the cauldron were illuminated from above, from the handle of the pot that is to say, which had the form of a bow, and whence there proceeded so bright a light that all the company could clearly examine each other’s faces thereby. When all were thus most commodiously seated within the cauldron, there was seen to rise from the centre of the same, a tree with numerous branches, whereon were placed the first course of the meats composing the supper; and when that course was despatched the tree descended below, where were situated musicians sounding various instruments. Immediately afterwards the tree rose anew, presenting the second course; and again in like manner the third, continuing thus through the whole supper, servants being meanwhile in constant attendance and serving to all the finest and most generous wines.

This invention of the Cauldron, which was admirably managed, and decorated with pictures and paintings on canvas, was much commended by the members of the society: the particular contribution of Rustici on that occasion was a boiler or stew-pan formed of pastry, and wherein Ulysses was seen to be plunging his father, for the purpose of making him young again; the two figures of Ulysses and Laertes being represented by two boiled capons, which were most dexterously made into the forms of men by adding the limbs and various parts required, each member being composed of things suitable and good to eat, and all affixed with due care to the bodies of the capons.

Andrea del Sarto presented on the same occasion a temple of eight sides, resembling the Baptistery of San Giovanni in form, but raised upon columns. The pavement of this temple was an enormous dish of jelly, divided into compartments of various colours to represent mosaic; the columns, which appeared to be of porphyry, were very large and thick sausages, the capitals of the columns were made of Parmesan cheese, the cornices were of sugar-work, while the tribune was formed out of sections of Marchpane. In the centre oi the temple was a singing desk, made of cold veal, the book was formed of Lasagna,^[17] the letters and musical notes being made of pepper-corns; the singers standing before the desk were roasted thrushes and other small birds placed upright, with their beaks wide open as in the act of chanting, they wore a sort of shirt resembling the tunic of the choristers, and this was made of a kind of net-work, contrived in the thinnest parts of a caul of hog’s lard; behind them stood two very fat pigeons as contra-bassi, with six ortolans, which represented the soprani, or trebles.

The dish presented by Spillo was the figure of a Tinker made from a great goose, or other bird of similar sort; and this man, so contrived out of a goose, carried with him all the tools required for the mending of a cauldron in case of need. Domenico Puligo brought a roasted pig, but so treated as to resemble a scullery maid watching a brood of chickens, and having her distaff and spindle beside her; she being there for the purpose of washing the aforesaid cauldron. Bobetta produced an anvil made out of a calf’s head, with all the requirements of the same; this was to serve for the better maintenance in order of the cauldron, and was extremely well managed, as indeed were all the contributions (at a word, and that I may not have to enumerate each viand one by one), which were presented at that supper, as well as at the many other festivals given by the Company or Brotherhood of the Paiuolo, or Cauldron.

Another Company, which was that of the Trowel, and of which Giovan Francesco was also a member, had its origin in the manner following. One evening, in the year 1512, a joyous band had assembled at supper in that garden which the humpbacked fifer, Feo d'Agnolo, who was a right merry fellow, then had in the Campaccio; there were met, with this Feo, Ser Bastiano the pig-feeder, Ser RaffaeUo of the Shambles, the Barber Ser Cecchino, Girolamo del Giocondo, and II Baia; these good souls being all busily employed in the eating of their Ricotta^[18] While thus appropriately occupied, it chanced that Il Baia espied a heap of mortar which had been left in the garden at no great distance from their table, and in which the mason had left his trowel sticking when he quitted his work on the previous day. Taking up a morsel of the mortar on the point of that trowel therefore, II Baia popped the same into the mouth of Feo, who sat gaping wide, in the expectation of a great lump of Ricotta, which another of his comrades was about to place therein. This being perceived by the company, they all began to cry, A Trowel! A Trowel! with the utmost force of their voices.

Out of this circumstance it was that the Company of the Trowel took its origin; and it was determined to make the society consist of twenty-four members; twelve of that number being selected from those who, as was the phrase at that time, ‘‘ went for the Great,”^[19] and twelve from such of the citizens as “went for the Little;” it was furthermore decreed, that the ensign of the Company should be a trowel, to which they afterwards added one of those little black vessels, with large heads and a certain species of tail, which are also called in the Tuscan language Cazzuole or Trowels. For their patron saint, these brethren of the Cazzuola chose Sant’ Andrea, whose festival they celebrated with great magnificence and a splendid supper, given according to the rules laid down by their society.

The first members of the company were, for those of the Great, Jacopo Bottegai, Francesco Rucellai, and Domenico his brother; Gio Battista Ginori, Girolamo del Giocondo, Giovanni Miniati, Niccolò del Barbigia, and Mezzabotte his brother; Cosimo da Panzano, and Matteo his brother; Marco Jacopi, and Pieraccino Bartoli. While for those of the Little the members were, Bastiano Sagginotti, Ser Raffaello del Beccaio, Ser Cecchino de’ Profumi; the painters Giuliano Bugiardini, and Francesco Granacci, Giovan-Francesco Rustici, the hunchback Feo, with the musical performer Talina his companion; the fifer Pierino, a certain Giovanni who was one of the city trumpeters, and the artilleryman Baia. The associates of the company were, Bernardino di Giordano, II Talano, II Caiano, Maestro Jacopo del Bientina, and the brazier Messer Gio Battista di Cristofano, both heralds of the Signoria: to these were added Buon Pocci and Domenico Barlacchi.^[20]

The Company had not been many years in existence before the festivals given by it, and the amusement occasioned thereby, had so greatly increased its reputation that the following personages were made members of the Brotherhood of the Trowel: the Signor Giuliano de’ Medici, Ottangolo Benvenuti, Giovanni Canigiani, Giovanni Serrestori, Giovanni Gaddi, Giovanni Bandini, Luigi Martelli, Paolo da Romena, and the hunchback Filippo Pandolfini. With these were at the same time admitted in quality of associates, the painter Andrea del Sarto, Bartolommeo, a musician and trumpeter; Ser Bernardo Pisanello; the cloth-shearer Piero, R Gemma, who was a shopkeeper; and lastly, the physician, Maestro Manente da San Giovanni.

The feasts held by these companions at different times were innumerable, but I propose to make mention of some few among them only, and that chiefly for the benefit of those who are not acquainted with the usages of those societies which are now, as I said before, almost wholly extinct. The first supper given by the men of the Trowel, and which was arranged by Griuliano Bugiardini, was held at the place called L’Aia, or the threshing floor of Santa Maria Nuova, where the bronze doors of San Griovanni were cast, as we have before related. Now, the lord of the feast had commanded that all the guests should be permitted to appear in whatsoever habiliments might best please them, but if any two should chance to present themselves in the same garb they were to be punished for that misdeed; the Company, therefore, appeared in the most fanciful and most eccentric, but also most beautiful, vestments that can be imagined.

The hour of supper having arrived, the guests were placed at table in order according to the character of their clothing; those who wore the dress of princes were placed first, the rich and noble followed, and those who had attired themselves as poor men were sent to the lower end; but with regard to the jests and sports that were enacted after the supper, let every one picture to himself what these were, for they may be more easily imagined than described.

At another feast, which was arranged by the above-named Bugiardini and Giovan-Francesco Rustici in concert, the men of the Company appeared, as had been commanded by the lord of the feast, some in the dresses of master masons, and some in the garb of hod-men and other labourers; those who ‘‘went for the Greater,” bearing the trowel by way of a knife for the table, and having a hammer in their girdle; and those who “went for the Lesser,” with a pail or a hod and the windlass or lever in their hands, the trowel being carried in the girdle.

When the whole Company had reached the first chamber, they were shown, by the Signore or lord of the feast, the ground-plan of a building, which they were to erect for the Society, and the masters seating themselves at table around this plan accordingly: the labourers then immediately began to bring them the materials for laying the foundations, hods or pails that is to say, full of boiled Lasagne and Ricotta prepared with sugar, for lime to make mortar; the sand was represented by a mixture of cheese, pepper, and spices of different kinds; for gravel they brought coarse sugar-plums and pieces of Berlingozzo cake; the bricks, great or small, and the tiles, were represented by loaves of bread and cakes, which were served in, or rather thrown out from, baskets and hods brought on hand-barrows.

After this there was borne in the pedestal or socle of a column, but the construction of that basement was not approved by the stone-cutters, who, declaring it to be not well executed, adjudged it to be taken to pieces, whereupon they threw themselves on the same, and found it to be entirely composed of pasties, livers, cutlets, and other eatables of similar kind; all which being placed before the masters by the labourers, were eaten accordingly. Next was presented a column wound around with the tripe of calves, and this ornament being removed, the boiled veal and capons of which the column was composed were consumed; when the master builders proceeded to eat the base, which was of Parmesan cheese; and the capital, which was marvellously compounded of pieces carved from roasted capons and slices of veal, the mouldings being most fancifully made of tongues.

But why do I linger over all these particulars? Let it suffice to say, that after the column there was presented on a car, a piece of an architrave very completely formed, with frieze and cornice so admirably arranged, and for the construction of which so many kinds of eatables were employed, that to enumerate the whole of them would make much too long a story; it shall be sufficient to say, therefore, that when it was time to break up the party, after many peals of thunder, there fell a most cleverly contrived shower of rain, which instantly drove all these builders, masters, and workmen from their labours, and every man departed to his home.

Another time, and when Matteo da Panzano was master of the feast, the supper was ordered after the manner following:—Ceres, seeking Proserpine her daughter, who had been carried off by Pluto, entered the apartment wherein all the men of the Trowel were assembled, and presenting herself before the Signore, she begged that he, with his guests, would be pleased to accompany her to the infernal regions. To this request, after much discussion pro and C071, the Society consented, and agreed to follow her guidance; they then proceeded to a somewhat darkened chamber, where, in place of a door, they found the open mouth of a serpent, the head of which filled all one side of the room; and having assembled around this door, while Cerberus kept barking, Ceres inquired if her lost child were there, and having received the reply that she was, the mother added that she desired to receive her daughter back.

But to this there came answer from Pluto to the effect that he would not give her up; this reply being accompanied by an invitation for Ceres and all her company to the nuptials, which were then about to be solemnized; and that bidding having been accepted, they all passed through the abovedescribed mouth, which was full of teeth, and, moving on hinges, permitted only two of the guests to pass at a time, after which it closed again. By degrees, however, the whole assembly got in, when they found themselves in a vast chamber of a circular form, which had but one small glimmer of light in the centre, and this burnt so faintly that the guests could not distinguish each other without difficulty; here they were forced into their seats, which surrounded a table covered with black, by a most hideous-looking devil, who drove each to his place with a huge toasting-fork, when Pluto commanded that, in honour of his wedding, the pains of hell should cease during all the time that those guests remained there, a command which was obeyed accordingly.

Now, around that chamber there had been painted all the gulphs and caverns of the regions of the damned, with their several pains and torments; in an instant therefore, and with the swiftness of a flash of lightning, fire being set to a match prepared for the purpose, there sprang up flames in each of those cavernous dungeons, when the mode and manner in which the dwellers in those dismal abodes were tormented became at once fully apparent.

The viands to be consumed at that infernal supper, moreover, were all presented under the forms of the most abominable, disgusting, and repulsive looking animals; but beneath the hideous co vering of pastry, or other materials, there were, in fact, concealed the most exquisite meats, in the richest and most costly variety. The skin, I say, and the external parts, caused these eatables to appear as if nothing less than serpents, adders, lizards, newts, great venomous spiders, toads, frogs, scorpions, bats, and animals of similar kind, were to be forced upon the guests, but within these articles were found to be the most choice and inviting preparations; these were placed before each guest with a fire-shovel, under the direction of the huge devil before-mentioned, while a comrade of his brought wines of the finest quality in vessels of hideous form, and these he poured into ladles looking like such as are used for melting glass, and which served the guests as beakers.

After these first dishes, which were but as a species of “antepast,” or foretaste, there were fruits placed on the table as if for dessert, pretending that the supper (which had scarcely commenced) was already finished—with sweetmeats of various kinds; but these fruits and confections which were cast about and rudely scattered all over the table, were apparently relics of the dead, although in fact the seeming bones were most delicate compositions of sugar, &c. This being done, command was given by Pluto (who announced that he was then going to his repose), to the effect that the ordinary pains should recommence and the condemned be tormented anew; whereupon the lights by which the places of torture had been previously shown were instantaneously extinguished, aye, in less than the twinkling of an eye, and at the same moment there arose sounds of infinite horror, groans of the suffering, fearful cries, and exclamations full of terror. Then, in the midst of that darkness, and holding a faint light which did but just permit him to be seen, appeared the form of that Baia, the artillery-man of whom I have before spoken, and who was one of the guests, but had now been condemned to hell by Pluto, because in preparing fire-works and “girandole” he had always confined his inventions to a representation of the seven mortal sins and things appertaining to the realms of the infernal king.

While all were occupied with that spectacle and in listening to those outcries, lamentations, and moanings, the whole of the grizly sight was swept away; and lights then appearing, there was seen in its stead the most royal and magnificent preparation for a supper, which was instantly laid with all respect before the guests by well-appointed and watchfully obedient servants. At the end of the feast, a ship laden with choice confections appeared, and this the masters thereof, as men who were selling their merchanize, distributed among the company; when all were thus disposed of the guests were conducted into the upper rooms, where a much renowned comedy called Philogenia, for which very splendid and beautiful scenic decorations had been prepared, was performed; after which all departed, in the dawn of the morning, and having been infinitely delighted, to their respective homes.

Two years had elapsed from the time of the feast above described, when, after many festivals and dramatic performances, it again came to the turn of the same person to be ‘‘ Signore,” when, by way of reproving some of the members who had gone to unreasonable expenses for those suppers, and, as the phrase goes, had “eaten themselves up alive ” in the same; he caused his feast to be arranged as follows:—At the Aia, or threshing floor of Santa Maria, where the Company was accustomed to hold its. assemblies, he caused figures such as are commonly depicted on the walls and at the entrances of almshouses and hospitals, to be painted on the building, outside of the door: that of the Director, or Spedalingo, among others, who was represented as in the act of charitably and kindly receiving certain pilgrims and poor men. This picture was displayed on the evening of the feast, and when the members began to arrive; having knocked, and being received by the Spedalingo, the guests were then ushered into a great room, such as are used in almshouses, with its beds ranged on each side, and all the rest of the furniture being of the sort usually found in places of that kind.

In the centre of the chamber, and gathered aboitt a great fire, were Bientina, Battista dell’ Ottonaio, Barlacchi, Baia, and others selected from the most facetious of the companions, all clothed in the garb of idle, worthless beggars, and poor wretched rogues. These men assumed the appearance of not supposing themselves to be visible to the general company of the guests, who soon began to assemble, and of whom, in their turn, they took no notice whatever, but carried on a discourse relating entirely to the men of the society by whom they were surrounded. These they assailed without mercy, by no means sparing themselves, although their remarks consisted of the most biting sarcasms, being levelled more especially against those who .had thrown away their property, and squandered more of their substance than it was advisable to spend, in festivals, suppers, &c. When all the members of thfe Company were assembled, and this discourse had come to an end, there appeared to them their patron, Sant’ Antonio, who, delivering them from the Poor-house, conducted them into a chamber, magnificently prepared, where they all supped joyously together.

That being done, Sant’ Antonio pleasantly advised them, to the end that they might keep safely out of the Poorhouse, and not make waste of their property by superfluous expense—he recommended them, I say, to content themselves for the future with one great feast in the year, that done, their patron Saint disappeared from amongst them. Kor did the Company fail to obey the injunction thus given; for many years they had only one supper annually; but this was a very magnificent one, with a dramatic representation by way of close; and at various times there were performed by them, as we have related in the life of Aristotile da San Gallo, the Calandra of Messer Bernardo, Cardinal di Bibbiena, the Suppositi and the Cassaria of Ariosto, the Clizia, and the Mandragola of Macchiavello. with many others.

On a certain time, when Francesco and Domenico Pucellai were Signori of the feast, they performed the Harpies of Fineo; the Signore who succeeded them causing a Disputation on the Trinity by certain Philosophers to be represented, and therein they exhibited Sant’ Andrea, who commanded that all Heaven should be opened to the gaze of the beholders, with all the choirs of Angels. A most truly beautiful and extraordinary spectacle it was. By Giovanni Gaddi, who received aid from Jacopo Sansovino, Andrea del Sarto, and Giovann Francesco Rustici, the punishment of Tantalus, in the infernal regions, was represented; and while he feasted the Company, they all appeared in the habiliments proper to the various Gods of Olympus, exhibiting besides all the remainder of the Fable with many fanciful inventions of gardens, the Elysian fields, effectively arranged fire-works, and other matters, to describe the whole of which would make too long a story.

The invention exhibited by Luigi Martelli also, when he, being Signore, gave his supper to the Company in the house of Giuliano Scali,^[21] at the Porta a Pinti, was also a very fine one, seeing that he there represented Mars, who, to denote his cruelty, was shown entirely covered with gore, in a room filled with the bleeding members of the human form; while in another chamber were seen Mars and Venus, whom Vulcan has covered with a net, and having done so, assembled all the Gods to make them witnesses of the affront offered to him by Mars and his wicked wife.

But, after this digression, which, for many causes, does not appear to me to be altogether out of place, although it may seem to many to be too long, it is time that I should return to the life of Giovan-Francesco Pustici.

In the year 1528, the Medici being driven from Florence, our artist no longer found his residence in that city to his liking, and having left the charge of all his affairs to Niccolò Buoni, he departed, with his disciple Lorenzo Naldini, called Guazzetto, to France, where, being made known to the king by Giovambattista della Palla, who was then in that country, and by the particular friend of Eustici, Francesco di Pellegrino, who had repaired thither but a short time previously, he was received most willingly by the sovereign, who instantly gave him a pension of five hundred crowns per annum, and for whom Eustici executed certain works, of which, however, we cannot obtain exact notices. He also received commission to cast a Horse in bronze, to be double the size of life, and on which the statue of King Francis was to be seated; to this work he set hand accordingly, producing various models which pleased tne monarch greatly: nay, continuing his labours, Giovan-Francesco > then prepared the great model for the figure, of* which he had made the mould, and was even ready for casting, the preparations for which had been made in a large palace, given to Giovan-Francesco for his accommodation by King Francis. But, whatever the cause may have been, the work was not finished when the King died; and on the accession of King Henry to the throne our artist was one of the many persons who were deprived of their pensions, the expenses of the Court being considerably decreased.

It is said that Giovan-Francesco, being then old, and not in very good circumstances, lived for some time on the rent which he received for the large palace and its adjacent buildings, for which he was indebted to the generosity or King Francis; but Fortune, not content with all that this man had before endured, was preparing for him a very great blow in addition to the rest, seeing that Ki^g Henry presented the palace above-mentioned to the Signor Pietro Strozzi, and Giovan-Francesco would have found himself in a most grievous strait, had it not been for the compassion of that noble, who, grieving much for the distress of Kustici (the latter having made himself known to Pietro), came in happy hour to the rescue, and that in his utmost need; Strozzi installing him in an abbey, or some place of that kind, which belonged to his brother.^[22] There the needy old age of Giovan-Francesco was not only guarded from want, but he was very comfortably served and cared for, as befitted his condition and merits, even to the end of his life.

Il Rustici died at the age of eighty, and his possessions came for the most part into the possession of the abovenamed Signore, Piero Strozzi; but I will not omit to mention, that while Antonio Mini,^[23] a disciple of Buonarroti, was living in France, and receiving much aid as well as kindness from Giovan-Francesco, there came into the hands of the latter many designs and models by Michelagnolo, one portion of which was, at a later period, in the possession of the sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini, who was then in France, and who afterwards brought those effects to Florence.

Giovan-Francesco Eustici, as I have before said, was not only without an equal for the casting of works in metal, but he was moreover a man of excellent life: of incomparable goodness to all men, he was more especially a most charitable friend of the poor; wherefore it is but just and by no means surprising, that he, in his need, should be assisted with the utmost liberality, when in want of money and all other things, by the above-named Signor Piero; for it is not to be questioned, being true above all other truth, that even in this life, the good that we do to our neighbour for the love of God, is often restored to us by twice a thousand fold.

Rustici designed most admirably, as may be seen, not only from the specimens in our own book, but also from those in the collection of the very reverend Don Vincenzio Borghini.

The above-named Lorenzo Naldini, called Guazzetta, who was the disciple of Rustici, has executed many works of sculpture in France,^[24] and these are declared to be admirable; but I have not been able to ascertain the particulars of the same, any more than of those performed by his master, who cannot, as we must needs believe, always have remained idle during the many years of his abode in France, nor could, he even have been constantly occupied with the house of which we have made mention.

Now Lorenzo Naldini possessed some houses in that suburb which lies before the gate of San Gallo, in Florence; but these, together with other dwellings of the people, were ruined and demolished during the siege.^[25] This grieved him so much, that when, on revisiting his country in the year 1540, he passed through that gate, Lorenzo covered his head with the cape of his cloak, when he came within a quarter of a mile of the place, and shut his eyes that he might not see the ruin and devastation of his home. The guards at the gate, seeing him thus muffled, inquired the cause, and being told wherefore he had so concealed his face, they laughed at him for his pains. After remaining in Florence some few months, Lorenzo, taking with him his mother, then returned to France, where he still lives, and is continuing his labours.

1. Our readers will remember that the members of the distinguished family to whom this street owes its name were the early and zealous patrons of Donato, who repaid their protection by the most affectionate gratitude. See the Life of that master, vol. i. of the present work.
2. Afterwards Pope Leo X.
3. This member of the Medici family was also subsequently elected supreme pontiff, as our readers will remember, and took the name of Clement VII.
4. Bottari has confounded this figure with that of Giovanni Bologna, an error into which we must by no means fall, although we cannot ascertain the fate of the work in question.— Ed. Flor., 1832-8,
5. The praises bestowed by Vasari are in no degree exaggerated. Cicognara, writing two centuries and a half after him, has spoken of these works in the following terms;—“Three of the most admirable figures produced by Sculpture in the commencement of the age here in question, are to be seen on that gate of the Florentine Baptistery which looks towards the House of Works, and these may truly be accounted among the most perfect productions exhibited by the Art of that period.” See Storia della Scultura, &c.
6. All still retain their places.
7. In the Storia of Cicognara, above cited, this figure is engraved in outline. See Plate lxxii.
8. This figure will also be found in Cicognara, loc cit.
9. In lucco. The mode of dress thus described is said to have been peculiar to the Florentine citizens of a certain rank, and consisted in a long loose robe or gown, usually of a dark colour.
10. For an explanation of what is meant by this word Monte, to give which would require a greater space than could be afforded to the compass of a note, the reader is referred to Ranke, History of the Popes, vol. i.
11. An Italian commentator on the works of Vasari wouid have us he certain that the latter here means to speak only of sleight of hand, and that commentator may be right; but he who has read the Life of Pierino da Vinci (see voL iv. p. 220), to say nothing of many other passages to a similar effect, that might be cited from our author’s works, will at once perceive that Vasari’s belief in necromancy, chiromancy, et id germs omne, is a thing which may not be denied. That he had most high and reverend authority for his belief is however as undeniable; hear, for example, what the Spaniard, Mendoza, among others,—and writing of Vasari’s time— has to say on that subject:—“He (the Pope) will decide no question, he will take no journey, hold no sitting of the Consistory, do nothing, in short, without first consulting the stars; nay, the matter has come to such a pass, that very few Cardinals would transact an affair of any kind, were it but to buy a load of wood, except after consultation duly held with some Astrologer or Wizard.”
12. A cauldron or pot for boiling meat, &c.
13. The Italian annotators affirm it to have been before this company that Andrea del Sarto read the translation or imitation of the Batrachomyomachia, attributed to his pen, and this would appear probable from the fact that at the close of each canto the author addresses his thanks to the “Signore and Companions of the Pajuolo," for the patient hearing accorded to his verses.
14. Best known for his engravings. Mr. Young Ottley mentions his works with approbation, and Bartsch has enumerated certain of his plates. See also Zani, Enciclopedia Metodica delle Belle Arti.
15. Solosmeo has been more than once mentioned in these Lives, but more particularly in that of Baccio Bandinelli. See vol. iii. p. 263, et seq.
16. A disciple of Rustici, of whom there is further mention hereafter.
17. The Lasagna is a kind of thin paste, resembling that used for macaroni, which, being cut into slices and dried, is boiled in water, or, by my richer friend, in his good strong gravy or broth, and being thus boiled, may be eaten, to the much delectation of him, my said friend, with fresh butter and grated cheese: it may be thus eaten, I say, but rarely is so, save in the sunny land of Italy.
18. Another dainty, little known beyond the country of its birth; yet not a few of my readers will remember to have turned in their despair, from the wickedly-nauseous butter of certain Italian towns (whose names, as we are doing a little evil-speaking, the present writer refrains from particularizing) to the white and not uninviting looking Ricotta, a preparation of milk, somewhat resembling curd, or a something between that and cream cheese. This contrivance, my readers may have essayed perchance, but few will have felt themselves greatly consoled thereby for the loss of their good English butter. It is nevertheless much eaten by Italians of the lower orders, sometimes with a preparation of wine, sugar, and spices, by way of sauce; a re-inforcement respecting the merits whereof, the experience of this deponent doth not enable her to speak.
19. The phrase, “to go for the Great,” was originally applied in Florence to those families whose names had been inscribed on the ancient rolls of the principal Guilds, and who were consequently considered of greater importance than those of others among the citizens. It afterwards came to be used as expressing every distinction of what kind soever.— Masselli.
20. “A man of so facetious a humour,” remarks Bottari, “that his brilliant sayings were collected, and submitted to the press.”
21. This house now belongs to the Conte della Gherardesca, and is very near the palace occupied by that noble at the Pinti gate. —Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
22. The Cardinal Lorenzo Strozzi, brother of Piero the Marshal, and of Leone the Governor of Capua and Admiral of France, both, or rather, all three, being sons of the renowned Filippo Strozzi, who killed himself, or was slain in the Lower Fortress during the reign of Cosmo L, and is regarded by many writers as the Florentine Cato.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
23. This disciple of Michael Angelo received from his master the famous Cartoon of the Leda, which he sold to the King of France, as we have said before.- Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
24. Where he formed a particular intimacy with Rosso, as has been related in the Life of that painter. See vol. iii. p. 321.
25. That of the year 1530.