Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Jacopo Palma and Lorenzo Lotto

by Giorgio Vasari

 

THE VENETIAN PAINTER JACOPO PALMA; LORENZO LOTTO, AND OTHERS.

[Latter part of the 15th, and first half of the 16th century.]

So powerful is the effect of excellence in art, even though displayed in one sole work, or in two only, or however few these may be, that if they be perfect in their kind, artists and judges are compelled to extol them, while writers are in like manner constrained to celebrate their praises, and to exalt the master who has produced them. And this we are ourselves about to do, in the case of the Venetian Palma,^[1] who, although not particularly remarkable, or to be accounted among those of the first excellence in painting, did nevertheless complete his works with much care and exactitude. He was so zealous in his endeavours, and so patient in his endurance of labour, that his paintings, if not all good, have at least a portion of good, seeing that they present a very faithful imitation of life and natural forms.^[2]

The works of Palma are more to be commended for the harmony and softness of their colouring, and for the patience with which they are executed, than for any great force of design, for he did certainly handle the colours with infinite grace, and with the utmost delicacy. Examples of this may be seen in many pictures and portraits which he painted for different gentlemen of Venice, but of these 1 do not make further mention, proposing to confine myself to the enumeration of some few pictures, and of one head, which are by all considered most admirable, nay, divine. One of these pictures our artist painted in Sant’ Antonio in Venice, near the Castello;^[3] and there is another in the church of Sant’ Elena, which is near the Lido, where the monks of Monte Oliveto have their monaster}^ In this last, which is at the high altar of the church, is an Adoration of the Magi. The number of figures in this work is very large, and among them are some heads, which are truly worthy of praise, as also are the draperies with which the figures are clothed, and which exhibit a rich and ample flow of the folds.^[4]

For the altar of the Bombardier!, in the church of Santa Maria Formosa, Palma executed a figure of Santa Barbaraj the size of life: two smaller figures are beside her, a San Sebastian and Sant’ Antonio namely, but the Santa Barbara is one of the best figures ever produced by this painter.^[5] In the church of San Mose, which is near the Piazza San Marco, this aidist also painted a picture. It represents Our Lady in the air, with San Giovanni at her feet.^[6] Palma likewise painted an exceedingly beautiful historical work for the Chamber wherein the members of the Scuola, or Brotherhood of San Marco, are wont to assemble, and which is situate on the Piazza of San Giovanni-e -Paolo. This he did in emulation of those which had before been produced there by Gian Bellino, Giovanni Mansuchi,^[7] and other painters. In this work, the artist has presented a barque, wherein the body of San Marco is in course of being conveyed to Venice;^[8] and here he has depicted the sea in a fearful state of tempest, with ships tossed and driven together by the fury of fhe winds and waves. All these are treated with great judgment, and give evidence of the most thoughtful care. The same may he said of a group of figures in the air, and of demons in various forms, who are blowing against the ships in the manner of winds. The barques, meanwhile, impelled by the oars, are labouring in various positions to break through or overpass the opposing and towering waves, but are on the very point of being submerged.

This work, to say the truth of it at a word, is of such merit, and so beautiful, that it seems impossible to conceive that pencil and colour, however excellent the hand employing them, could express any thing more exactly like the reality, or more natural, than is this picture; the fury of the waves is exhibited in all its terrors, as are the strength and dexterity of the men engaged with them, with the movement of the waves, the lightnings and gleaming fires of heaven, the Avater broken by the oars, and the bending of these last as they encounter the wave or as they yield to the force of the rowers. What more? I, for my part, do not remember to have seen a more fearful picture than this is, since the whole scene is so truly rendered; the invention, the drawing, the colouring, is each so carefully attended to, and all are so effectively portrayed, that the picture appears to qui^mr, as it might do, if all therein represented were reality. In a Avord, Jacopo Palma deserves the highest commendation for this work, and well merits to be numbered among those who may be called masters of the art, and Avho possess the faculty of giving expression in painting to their most recondite thoughts.

Now it sometimes happens, that in the treatment of these difficult subjects, the painter will throw off the first sketch of his work, as if moA^ed by an inspiration, so to speak, thus producing a good and bold commencement; but this promise is then found to remain unfulfilled, at the completion, and the effect attributable to that first fire is seen to have disappeared. And this occurs most commonly, because in finishing his work, the artist sometimes considers the separate parts, rather than the whole of that which he has in hand, and thus suffering his spirit to become cold, he loses the force of his powers. But Jacopo on the contrary kept himself always well and firmly to his purpose, bringing his first thought and intention by due degrees to its perfection, and for this he then was and ever will be very highly extolled.^[9]

But although the works of this master are numerous, and all merit to be held in esteem, yet the best of all and a very surprising production, is without doubt the portrait of himself, which he took with the assistance of a mirror; he is clothed in a robe of camel’s hair, and there are locks of hair hanging about his head, which are so natural that better could not possibly be imagined. In this particular work the genius of Palma produced so admirable an effect, that the result was a performance of astonishing perfection and singular beauty, as all agree in affirming, this picture being presented to public view almost every year at the Festival of the Ascension. Nor is it without reason that the work is thus praised and celebrated, seeing that whether we consider the design, art, colouring, or, in short, the whole and every part, all is perfection, surpassing any work whatever that had been executed by any Venetian painter up to that time. Among other things to be observed in this portrait, is a living glance and turning of the eyes, exhibited in such a manner that Leonardo da Vinci and Michelagnolo Buonarroti could have produced nothing better. Of the grace, the dignity, and the many other excellencies to be remarked in this portrait, I think it better to remain silent, since it is not possible to say so much of its merits but that it shall still deserve more.^[10]

And now, had Fate permitted that Palma should have departed this life on the completion of that work, he alone would have borne off the crown, and have retained the reputation of having surpassed all those whom we now celebrate as our greatest and most divine masters; but the further duration of his life giving occasion to other productions, became to him the cause of deterioration, since, not maintaining himself at the point to which he had attained, all that he had previously acquired gradually diminished, and he sank from the position which he had, on the contrary, been confidently expected even further to improve and exalt. Finally, being satisfied with the fact that one or two wellexecuted works partly exonerated him from the censures which others had brought on his name,^[11] Jacopo Palma died at Venice, in the forty-eighth year of his age.^[12]

A friend and companion of Palma was the Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto,^[13] who had imitated the manner of the Bellini for a time, and had afterwards attached himself to the manner of Giorgione, as may be seen from the numerous pictures and portraits by his hand in the houses of the Venetian gentry. In the house of Andrea Odoni is a portrait of the latter by Lorenzo, a very beautiful thing; and in the house of the Florentine Tommaso da Empoli there is the Birth of Christ, the time chosen being night, which is a work of admirable beauty. In this picture is particularly to be remarked, that the splendour of Christ is made to illuminate the whole in a very fine manner. The Madonna is kneeling; and in a whole-length figure, represented in the act of adoring the Infant Saviour, is the portrait of M. Marco Loredano.^[14] For the Carmelite Monks, Lorenzo Lotto painted a picture of St. Nicholas appearing in the air in his episcopal robes, and attended by three Angels: at his feet are Santa Lucia and San Giovanni, above them are clouds, and beneath is a very beautiful landscape, with many small figures and animals; on one side is St. George in combat with the Dragon, at a short distance is seen the Damsel,^[15] with a city, and part of the sea-coast.^[16] For the chapel of Sant’ Antonino, Archbishop of Florence, in the church of San Giovanni-e Paolo, Lorenzo painted a picture of the above-named Saint, seated with two ministering priests near him, and a vast crowd of people beneath.^[17]

While this artist was still young and followed partly the manner of the Bellini, partly that of Giorgione, he painted the picture of the High Altar for the church of San Domenico, at Bicanati. This work is divided into six compartments: in that of the centre is Our Lady, with the Divine Child in her arms, she is presenting the Habit of his Order, by the hands of an angel, to San Domenico, who is kneeling before her: here also are two Children, one of whom is sounding a lute, the other a rebeck: in the second picture are the Popes Sant’ Urban and San Gregorio: and in the third is St. Thomas Aquinas with another Saint, who was a Bishop of Eicanati. Above these three pictures are the other three; that of the centre, the one over the Madonna namely, representing our vSaviour Christ, dead and supported by an Angel, with the Virgin Mother, who kisses the arm of the Saviour; and Santa Maria Maddalena near her: over the picture of San Gregorio is again depicted the figure of Santa Maria Maddalena, with San Vincenzio; in the third, that above San Tommaso d’ Aquino namely, are San Sigismondo and Santa Caterina of Siena. The predella is adorned with three pictures of small figures. These are works of rare excellence; the central compartment exhibits the church of Santa Maria di Loretto, carried by Angels from Sclavonia, where it then was, to the place where it now stands; and of the two stories which are on each side of this, the one represents San Domenico preaching, the small figures composing it being the most graceful that can be imagined: and the other Pope Honorius confirming the rule of San Domenico.^[18]

In the centre of the same church there is a fresco by this master, presenting a figure of the Monk, St. Vincent; and in the church of Santa Maria de Castel Nuovo there is a picture in oil, representing the Transfiguration of Christ, and having three stories, in small figures, on the predella. These last exhibit the Saviour, first, when he is leading the apostles to Mount Tabor; second, when he is praying in the garden; and finally, as he ascends into heaven. After the completion of these works, it chanced that Lorenzo repaired to Ancona, and that precisely at the time when Mariano of Perugia had just completed the picture for the high altar, in the church of Sant’ Agostino; this was surrounded by a rich decoration, or frame work, but did not fully satisfy the citizens.^[19] Lorenzo was therefore commissioned to paint a picture, which is placed in the middle of the same church; the subject of the work is Our Lady with the Divine Child in her lap; over her head hover two angels, whose figures are foreshortened, and who place a crown on the head of the Virgin.

Finally, when Lorenzo had become quite old, and had almost entirely lost his voice, he left Ancona, but not before he had executed other works, though not of any great importance, in that city; he then departed to Our Lady of Loretto, where he had already painted a picture in oil,^[20] which is in a chapel on the right of the entrance into the church, and there resolved to finish his life in the service of the Madonna, making his habitation in that holy house. Thereupon he figures of one braccio high, or less, around the choir, and above the seats of the officiating priests. In one of these he depicted the Birth of Christ; in another, the Adoration of the Magi; the Presentation to Simeon occupies a third; and following this, is the Saviour Baptized by John in the Jordan. The Woman taken in Adultery, and led before Christ, is also among these pictures, which are executed in a very graceful manner. Two other stories which Lorenzo likewise painted in this place exhibit a large number of figures; one of these represents David offering Sacnfice; the other exhibits the Archangel Michael in Combat with Lucifer, whom he has driven out of heaven.

No long time had elapsed after the completion of these stories, before Lorenzo died, as he had lived, in the manner of an upright man and good Christian, resigning his soul to the hands of God his Maker.^[21] The last years of his life were passed in the utmost peace and tranquillity of mind, nay, what is more, he was by them, as is to be hoped and believed, enabled to obtain the riches of the life eternal, which might possibly not have been secured to him had he remained to the close of his days exclusively wrapt up in the concerns of the world, which rest too heavily on him who makes them his sole thought, since they do not permit the soul to rise towards the true wealth of the future life, and .that which is to constitute our highest felicity and blessedness.

At this same period there also flourished in Bomagna an excellent painter called Rondinello,^[22] of whom we have already made some slight mention in the life of Giovanni Bellini,^[23] whose disciple he had been, and who had availed himself to a considerable extent of the services of Rondinello in his various wmrks. After Rondinello had left Giovan Bellini, he continued to practise his art, and that in such a manner, that, being exceedingly diligent, he produced numerous works which are highly deserving of and have obtained considerable praise. Of this we have an instance in the Cathedral of Forli, where the picture of the high altar is executed by his hand.^[24] The subject is Christ administering the Last Supper to his Apostles; and the work is executed with great care and success. In the lunette above this picture is a figure of the Dead Christ; and in the predella beneath are stories in small figures, representing events from the life of Sant’ Elena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, and showing her when she is discovering the Cross; these also are very carefully executed. In the same church there is a picture by Eondinello, with the single figure of San Sebastiano; this is likewise a very fine work.

For the altar of Santa Maria Maddalena, in the cathedral of Ravenna, this master^[25] painted a picture in oil, wherein he portrayed the figure of that Saint only; but in the predella beneath he executed three stories, the small figures of which are very gracefully depicted. In one of these is Our Saviour Christ vappearing to Mary Magdalene, in the form of the gardener; another shows St. Peter leaving the ship, and walking upon the waves of the sea; and between them is the Baptism of Jesus Christ. All these representations are executed in an exceedingly beautiful manner. Rondinello likewise painted two pictures in the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, in the same city. One of these portrays the Consecration of that Church by San Giovanni, and the other exhibits three martyrs, San Cancio, San Canciano, and Santa Cancianilla, all very beautiful figures. For the church of Sant’ Apollinare, also in Ravenna, this master painted two pictures, each containing a single figure, San Giovanni Battista, and San Sebastiano namely, both highly extolled. There is a picture by the hand of Rondinello in the church of the Spirito Santo likewise; the subject, Our Lady between San Jeronimo and the Virgin Martyr Santa Caterina. In San Francesco, Rondineilo painted two pictures, in one of which is Santa Caterina and San Francesco; while in the other our artist depicted the Madonna, accompanied by many figures, as well as by the Apostle St. James and by San Francesco.

For the church of San Domenico, Rondinello painted two pictures; one is to the left of the high altar, and exhibits Our Ladj, with numerous figures; the other is on a fa9ade of the church, and is very beautiful. In the church of San Niccolo, a monastery of the Augustinian Monks, this master painted a picture, with San Lorenzo and San Francesco, a work which was most highly commended, insomuch that it caused Rondinello to be held in the utmost esteem for the remainder of his life, not in Ravenna only but in ail Romagna.

The artist here in question lived to the age of sixty years, and was buried in San Francesco, at Ravenna. After him came Francesco da Codignuola,^[26] who was also greatly esteemed in that city, and painted numerous pictures there. On the high altar of the church which belongs to the Abbey of Classi, for example, there is one by his hand, of tolerably large size, representing the Raising of Lazarus, with many figures. Opposite to this work, in the year 1548, Giorgio Vasari painted another for Don Romualdo da Verona, the Abbot of that place. This represents the Deposition of Christ from the Cross, and has also a large number of figures. Francesco Codignuola painted a picture in San Niccola, likewise a very large one, the subject of which is the Birth of Christ, with two in San Sebastiano, exhibiting numerous figures.

For the Hospital of Santa Caterina, Francesco painted a picture with Our Lady, Santa Caterina, and many other figures; and in St. Agata he painted a figure of Our Saviour Christ on the Cross, the Madonna being at the foot thereof with a considerable number of other figures; this work also has received commendation. In the church of Sant’ Apollinare, in the same city, are three pictures by this artist, one at the high altar with Our Lady, San Giovanni Battista, Sant’ Apollinare, San Jeronimo, and other saints; in the second is also the Madonna with San Piero, and Santa Caterina; and in the third and last is Jesus Christ bearing his Cross, but this Francesco could not finish, having been overtaken by death before its completion.

Francesco coloured in a very pleasing manner, but had not so much power of design as Rondinello, he was nevertheless held in great account by the people of Ravenna. It was his desire to be buried in Sant’ Apollinare, where he had painted certain figures, as we have said, wishing that in the place where he had lived and laboured, his remains might find their repose after his death.^[27]

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1. This artist was born at Serinalta, near Bergamo, but went to Venice in his early youth. He is usually called Palma Vecchio, to distinguish him from his nephew, Jacopo Antonio Palma, also a good painter, though inferior to himself. See Ridolfi, Le Maraviglie dell'Arte. See also Baldinucci.
2. Della Valle cites the Last Supper in the Church of Santa Maria Mater Domini, as one of the best of Palma Vecchio’s works, and considers an altar-piece in San Cassiano as the earliest.
3. This picture is lost.
4. Now in the Brera at Milan.— Förster.
5. This universally lauded picture of St. Barbara is still in its place. Palma Vecchio is said to have taken the face of the saint from that of Ids daughter, the beautiful Violante.
6. This work, which is destroyed, belonged to the earliest productions of our artist.
7. Most probably an error of the copyist for Giovanni Mansueti, of whom Vasari has made mention in the life of Vittore Carpaccia, and who did work in the Scuola of San Marco.
8. The author is considered to be mistaken in his description of the subject of this work, which is not the body of St. Mark on its way to Venice, but a storm, which is allayed by the power of S,S. Mark, George, and Nicholas: and the matter was on this wise, if we may credit the Venetian chronicler, Marino Sanuto: On the night of the 25th Feb., 1340, —for Tis good to be exact in the veracious recital of a weighty matter—on the night of the 25th Feb. then, but at what hour mine authority hath not recorded, did such a storm arise in Venice as the city had never yet battled through in her days, and when the rage of this tempest was at the highest, an old fisherman was seen labouring to secure his barque on the liiva di San Marco, there to await the termination of the storm, when a man approached him, desiring to be put over to San Giorgio Maggiore. The old fisherman long refused, but won by promises and entreaties, he finally consented, and rowed the stranger safely to San Giorgio. But here a second man entered the boat, and the two required to be rowed to San Niccold di Lido, where a third awaited them. All three thus united, they then directed the fisherman to pull beyond the Castles, and into the open bay. Scarcely had they arrived there before they perceived a galley approaching them with the rapidity of a bird on the wing, and this galley was freighted with devils, who were proceeding to effect the downfall of Venice. But the three companions instantly made the sign of the cross against this host, thereby conjuring and putting to flight this host of demons, when the sea became peaceful, and the galley of devils disappeared with its goodly cargo. The unknown persons then discovered themselves to the fisherman, informing him that they were no other than St. Mark, St. George, and St. Nicholas, who had come to save Venice from being overwhelmed by the sea, a danger to which that innocent city had been subjected by a certain schoolmaster, who, having first disposed of his soul to the devil, had then maliciously hanged himself.
   This is the subject of the picture which Lomazzo, Sandrart, Scanelli, and others, join Vasari in attributing to Palma Vecchio; while Zanetti, on the contrary, Della Pittura Veneziana, Venice, 1771, declares it to be by Giorgione. Sansovino, Venezia Descritta, lib. iii., speaks of this picture as a work of Palma Vecchio, but remarks that others attribute it to Paris Bordone; Zanotto, on the other hand, Pinacoteca dell'Acadamia, &c., adduces many reasons for the belief that the work is indeed by Palma Vecchio, but having suffered in the conflagration of the Scuola of San Marco, was restored by Paris Bordone, who was appointed to execute a continuation of the works in that building. Zanotto gives an engraving of the picture by Antonio Viviani. The reader who shall desire more minute details than can here find place, is referred to the authorities, ut supra.
9. The opinion here given of Palma Vecchio’s works is more in harmony with that of Ridolfi, Zanetti, Tassi, and others, than are those implied by the introductory paragraph of this life, for which Vasari has not failed to receive castigation at the hands of certain critics among his compatriots.
10. The warmth of this eulogium, which our author could not have exceeded for a Florentine, may serve as another proof, if any were required, of his impartiality as respects the portrait itself. We learn from Förster that there is a picture at Munich (in the Pinacothek) under the name of Giorgione, which agrees at all points with the description here given.
11. The examination given by Vasari to the numerous works of Palma Vecchio, does not appear to have been more than a cursory one. The Venetian Academy, Vicenza, Dresden, Vienna, and other places, afford specimens which cannot here find further mention. That in the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge will be in the recollection of most of our readers.
12. Authors are not entirely agreed as to the exact date of our author’s birth and death. See Calvi, Efemeridi, and Zanotto, ut supra; see also Ticozzi, Vite de Pittori Vecelli. See also Zani, who differs greatly from those previously mentioned, and places Palma Vecchio’s works between the years 1491 and 1516.
13. Beltramelli, Noiizie, &c., as cited by Lanzi, affirms the truth of our author’s assertion, that Lorenzo Lotto was a Venetian; other writers consider him to belong to Bergamo. Moschini believes that there were two painters of the same name.
14. The fate of these works is not known.
15. “Cleodolinda, the king’s daughter,” namely, saved by St, George from the Dragon. For the well-known legend of this saint the reader is referred to the Sacred and Legendary Art, vol. ii. p. 4.
16. Still in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, in Venice, but grievously injured by an ignorant restorer.— Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
17. This work has also suffered considerably, but is still in the Church of San Giovanni-e-Paolo, in Venice.
18. There are works by this artist at Bergamo, in the church of San Bartolommeo namely, in that of San Bernardino, in the Convent of Santa Grata, and in the Church of Sant’ Alessandro. In the Church of San Fiorillo likewise, at Jesi, there is one of distinguished merit; the subject, Our Saviour laid in the Tomb.
19. No longer to be seen in Sant’ Agostino.
20. This work is a St. Christopher.
21. According to the Ephemerides of Calvi, Lorenzo Lotto died at a very advanced age in the year 1550.
22. Niccolo Rondinello of Ravenna. —Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
23. See vol. ii. p, 171.
24. Scannelli affirms that this is a work of Marco Palmagiani.
25. For more minute details respecting Niccolo Rondinello, see Nanni, Guida di Ravenna. —Rd, Flor., 1832-8.
26. By the Padre Ireneo Affò this artist is called Marches!, and by the Guida di Ravenna, Zaganelli.
27. To the long list of mere names here given, Vasari, according to the principal authorities, should have added still another, a Madonna with Saints, for the Church of the Observantines of Parma namely; this, as Lanzi affirms, being the best work of Francesco Codignuola.