with the bold facility of hand peculiar to this artist, and always seen in such works as he had studied but little. While Taddeo was engaged with these, Pederigo painted three stories from the Life of St. Paul in the recess of the same chapel. These paintings were but just completed, when the brothers both fell sick, and left Orvieto, but with the promise to return in the month of September. Taddeo then repaired to Rome, and Pederigo to Sant’ Agnolo, where he arrived with a slight fever; but having been cured of this at the end of two months, he also then proceeded to Rome.
Passion week was then approaching, and the two brothers painted the whole Passion of Christ in Stories of chiaroscuro within the space of four days; the occasion of the work was a magnificent solemnity prepared for Holy Thursday and Good Priday, and the site thereof was the Oratory of Sant’ Agata, which is behind the Banchi, and belongs to the Company of Sant’ Agata dei Piorentini; the paintings occupied the whole of the ceiling and recess, and there were figures of prophets and other decorations which astonished all who beheld them.[1]
The Cardinal Alessandro Parnese having then brought his Palace of Caprarola to a happy termination, under the care of the architect Vignola, of whom we shall speak further shortly, gave the commission for painting the whole to Taddeo Zucchero, and the conditions of their agreement were as follows:—Taddeo was not to resign the engagements which he had in Rome, but was himself to make all the designs, cartoons, divisions, and arrangements for whatever works were to be executed in that place, whether in painting or stucco. Furthermore, Taddeo was to select the men who were to be employed, but all these men were to be paid by the Cardinal. Taddeo was to repair to Caprarola to work there himself during two or three months of the year, and was to proceed thither at other times whenever his presence should be required, and to see how the whole affair was proceeding; he was also to retouch such of the paintings as were not to his mind: for all this the Cardinal engaged to pay him a stipend of two hundred crowns yearly.
And now, having an appointment so considerable, with the
- ↑ Bottari informs us that even in his day, these works had been so completely ruined by re-touching that they could scarcely have been more injured had they been whitewashed.
