10. UNDER THE CUPOLA.
This vast hexagonal space is divided into seven hexagons and six lozenges. They all now contain scenes from the Story of Elijah, completing what probably was Beccafumi’s original design. That that artist did prepare designs for four of the hexagons, for two of the lozenges and for a frieze, we have abundant evidence, for we have no less than five notices,[129] between the 11th of March, 1518–19, and the 18th of June, 1524, in the books of the Opera, of payment to him, not only for his labour, but also for the paper used for his cartoons. It is also to be noted that the commission for this work was given him earlier than that of any of the other works above described. Upon these grounds, Professor Luigi Mussini, writing on the Pavement,[130] supposes that they were executed in 1517, and likens them to Pinturicchio’s work of eleven years before. A recent writer in the Miscellanea Storica Senese,[131] however, contests this statement, and quotes a document in the Archives dated 1562,[132] which states that a certain person, called there Giovan Battista nostro, designed four scenes from the Story of Elijah for the Duomo floor, which, we gather from the same sources, were executed by the Cathedral masons, Niccolo di Girolamo Gori, Domenico di Pier Giovanni, and the same Bernardino di Jacomo.
This Giovan Battista was Giovanni Battista di Girolamo Sozzini, brother of Alessandro Sozzini, Diarist of the last Siege of Siena. He was a pupil of Beccafumi’s, and of his work, Scipio Bargagli in his Imprese speaks in high praise, specially mentioning some mandorle designed by him, “placed near the grand works of the great Mecarino.”[133] To add to these facts, we know that Sozzini retained in his possession many drawings by Beccafumi, and among them his cartoons for the floor. These designs he sold to the architect Tiburzio Spannocchi, and it is recorded in the Archives of the Duomo,[134] that the Cathedral authorities endeavoured, but apparently unsuccessfully, to recover them. Some of these have now, as we know, found their way into the Public Picture Gallery. These six designs differ in treatment from Beccafumi’s other work, and the drawing and composition of them is not so striking. The large hexagons represent:
1. The Compact between Elijah and Ahab (in the centre). (Ill. XIX.) No. 42.[135]
2. Ahab’s Sacrifice (to the left). No. 44.
3. Elijah’s Sacrifice (above). No. 41.
4. The Slaughter of the Prophets of Baal (to the right). No. 43.
The small ones:
5. Ahab comes to meet Elijah. No. 46.
6. Elijah sends Obadiah to fetch Ahab. No. 45.
It does not seem to me, however, that the learned writer of the above-referred-to article brings forward any real ground for doubting Beccafumi’s authorship of these designs. The Document quoted, and Scipio Bargagli, both speak of “mandorle,” which appears to have been the technical expression for the lozenges filling up the great hexagon, in contradistinction to the words “tondo” or “esagono,” used to describe the larger sections. The documents dated 6th of September, 1521, and 18th of June, 1524, together expressly mention four tondi and two mandorle, which exactly accounts for the designs in question. It seems unnecessary, therefore, to strain the word mandorle to mean something else than its more obvious meaning: and it is surely much more probable, that the document and quotation, both refer to designs for the remaining four mandorle, which are generally supposed to have been filled in by Carlo Amidei, and Matteo Pini in 1780.[136] However this may be, the smallness of the sum paid for the designs, 75 soldi, makes the idea, that it was a payment for drawings of any size, even more improbable and absurd.
ALINARI PHOTO.]
[DESIGNED BY DOMENICO BECCAFUMI
XIX. ELIJAH’S COMPACT WITH AHAB (No. 42)
The three remaining hexagons, up to 1878, contained fragments, and most interesting fragments, of older work, which evidently once formed part of the floor, where the High Altar now stands. To the left, looking east, was a delightful design representing the Blind leading the Blind. An old man is holding one end of a stick, while a young man, also blind, is grasping it at the other end. The older man is just stepping over a precipice into space. Below them is a delightful putto, holding in one hand a mirror, and a label with the word “Notate” upon it. This design we know to have been the work of Antonio Federighi in 1459; and for it he received 46 lire.[137] It was apparently ordered by the Rector, Benedetto di Biagio di Roberto, and completed during the Directorate of Cristofano Felice.[138]
The middle design illustrates the Parable of the Mote and the Beam; and though it dates from 1374–5,[139] strangely enough is now in the best preservation of the three.
The third design was a scene of a stately-looking bearded man, giving alms to a woman with a child in her arms. This is generally supposed to be that work of Domenico del Coro[140] which is referred to in a document dated 1433, as being placed by him in the choir (then under the cupola) from the lectern downwards, in that place where they stand to sing,[141] and for which he received 357 lire.
It is impossible now to tell what was the original shape of these designs, or where they were placed. But to fit them into the hexagons, they were made into more or less complete triangles, the remainder of the space being filled up with fragments of old friezes, brought probably from the same place.
In 1875, the fragments left of them, and of the four later mandorle, were removed to the Museum of the Opera, where they now are, and in 1878, all seven were replaced by others, completing the Story of Elijah and Ahab.
The subjects chosen are, for the larger ones:
1. Ahab mortally wounded. No. 40.
2. Elijah carried to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire. No. 38. (Ill. XXVI.)
3. Elijah predicts the manner of Ahab’s death. No. 39.
For the smaller ones:
1. Elijah fed by Ravens. No. 47.
2. Elijah raises the widow’s son. No. 50.
3. Elijah asks bread of the widow. No. 49.
4. Elijah anoints Jehu, King of Israel. No. 48.
These designs were made by Professor Alessandro Franchi, the present Director of the Accademia delle Belle Arti, and were executed under his direction by Leopoldo Maccari and Antonio Radicchi.[142] The smaller ones follow to some extent the older lines, but in the larger ones, the artist has struck out for himself; and, if the result is in somewhat startling contrast to everything preceding it, there is no doubt that his work is full of skill and merit of a most scholarly and remarkable kind. Under his care, and with the able support of the above-mentioned two artists, aided by a generous legacy of a former Rector, Cav. Pietro Bambagini Galletti, the whole Pavement has undergone the Restoration, to which I have referred so often,[143] and is now in as perfect a condition as constant loving and intelligent care can keep it, without entirely hoarding it from view.
CHAPTER III
THE PAVEMENT MASTERS
The reader, having patiently followed me along the intricacies of the Pavement, and the ramifications of its history, will now like to know something more detailed about the men who made it. To satisfy this wish, I have collected from various sources, chiefly from Milanesi, the following notes.
Padre Micheli[144] gives no less than forty-one names of workers of various sorts on the Pavement. To these the writer in Miscellanea[145] adds three more; and if with them we include the six artists and sculptors, who, since the middle of the eighteenth century, and up to the present day, have restored, replaced, and made additions, we arrive at a total of more than fifty men, who have, in one way or another, contributed to this beautiful work.[146]
Of these, many remain but as names recorded in documents concerning the Pavement, and are heard of nowhere else; of others we catch a few glimpses in the pages of Milanesi; about a dozen were celebrated in their day as painters and sculptors, in the somewhat limited world of Sienese Art, and have left specimens of their work elsewhere; while two alone, Pinturicchio and Beccafumi, have attained world-wide fame.
I propose then to take the names of these men, according to the dates of the first work contributed by them to the Pavement.
Thus we begin with:
1. 1369. Antonio di Brunaccio.
This earliest name, connected with work on the Pavement, is of a man, about whom we do not know very much. In 1362, we find him witnessing two contracts made between the Operaio and a certain Francesco di Tonghio, for woodwork (stalls and a lectern) made for the Choir of the Duomo. He is among the sculptors, whose names are entered in the Book of Arts and Crafts of the City of Siena, under date 1363, and in the following year, he binds himself to do certain work in the Cathedral, and the Cappella di Piazza. In 1369, we read of his making a small lion, to adorn a fountain in the Palazzo Pubblico. He was, perhaps, the son of a certain Brunaccio di Santa Colomba, a sculptor, who signed the Sculptors’ Brief in the thirteenth century, quoted in the Nuovi Documenti.[147]
2. 1370. Sano di Marco.
This man’s name is also among those of the sculptors working in Siena in 1363. Milanesi mentions a daughter of his called Valentina, who married a sculptor named Paolo di Pietro, of the parish (Popolo) of San Stefano: but there is no other record about him.
3. 1370. Francesco di Ser Antonio.
Appears to have been a painter, and we find his name on the list of artists flourishing in Siena in 1402.[148] He was also consulted in 1376 as to the walls of the Cappella di Piazza; and was witness to a contract made with Giacomo di Buonfredi, called Corbello, for certain work done on the façade of the Duomo. He must not, however, be confused with Francesco d’Antonio di Francesco, the goldsmith, who lived many years later.
4. 1376. Matteo di Bartolo.
5. 1380. Nanni di Corsino.
Of these men, and their work, nothing is known, but the notices already quoted.
6. 1398. Sano, or Ansano di Maestro Matteo.
Of this sculptor and architect, notices exist from 1392 to 1429. He was a native of Siena, and might have been the son of the Matteo di Bartolo mentioned above, although we cannot prove it. He married twice: first, Cristofora di Cecco di Domenico; and secondly, after her death, a certain Madonna Bartolommea. In 1402, we find him witness to a contract, given to Giacomo di Giovanni, “a key-maker” (chiavaio) to make an iron railing round the pulpit in the Duomo in Siena. In 1404, he held the post of Petrone, or valuer, to the Commune, and Director of the City water-supply, and was re-appointed in 1407. In 1408 and in 1409, we also find him recommending Cristoforo di Francesco, a Sienese sculptor, first to the Orvieto Cathedral authorities, and then to the Signoria of Siena. He was, in 1416, elected Castellan of the fortalice of Montalcino, but, being engaged to assist Giacomo della Quercia in his work on the Fonte Gaia, sent Maestro Giovanni di Giacomo, as his lieutenant.[149] He was Capo-maestro of the Duomo at Orvieto for various periods during the years 1407–1425, and during that time he made the font there.[150] He also added a new chapel to the Cathedral. In 1416, he too was among the artists employed on the Font in the Baptistery at Siena, and in 1426–27, he was called to Perugia to superintend the drainage works of Lake Thrasymene. Among the Sienese State Records of 1427–28 are three letters from the Signoria to him, apologizing for not sending him an apprentice, but recalling him home: together with letters addressed, one to the Pope’s Legate, Bishop Pietro Donato, and the other to Antonio Casini, Cardinal of San Marcello, asking leave for him to return: the object being, that he should build the Loggia di S. Paolo, (now the Casino dei Nobili). Among the documents extracted by Signori Borghesi and Banchi, we find several referring to work done by Sano at Perugia: among other things, the construction of a mill at Ragulano. We also learn that, for the months of May and June, 1414, he was Gonfaloniere of the Compagnia di Rialto e Cartagne. He had two daughters: Caterina, born on July 30th, 1405; and Mattia, who married Gherardo di Niccolo.[151]
7. 1398. Luca di Cecco.
A sculptor, whose signature is also found attached to the document mentioned above. In 1375, and again in 1377, his name occurs as witness to contracts for works of art: the first, a picture for the High Altar of the Duomo, to be made by Lorenzo di Vanni and Nuccio di Neruccio: the second, a marble statue by Mariano d’Agnolo and Bartolommeo di Tommè, for the Cappella del Campo. In 1386, he was commissioned to make some marble steps for the interior of the Duomo.
8. 1405. Cecco di Giovanni.
Another unrecorded artist.
9. 1406. Marchesse d’ Adamo.
Of this man, or of his stonemason companions from Como, we hear nothing more than the short notice I have given already. We know that Comacene and Lombard workmen, especially masons and sculptors, were labouring in great numbers all over Italy at this period, and that they have left their traces very markedly, throughout all Tuscan and Umbrian Art. We know also, that the stone workers of Siena made a compact with those of Lombardy, residing and working in that town, on the 5th of December, 1473, whereby they gave to them certain privileges on payment of suitable fees.[152]
10. 1423–33. Domenico di Niccolo del Coro.
This great artist was born about 1363, and belonged to the noble family of Spinelli. He was one of the cleverest and most prolific workers of his day. His principal trade was that of a wood-carver; and he is said to have obtained his surname of del Coro from his ability and success in designing and carving Choir-stalls. From 1413 to 1423, he held the post of Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo of Siena, and we have records of work done by him in glass, as well as in stone and wood. He worked on the older Fonte Gaia, made designs for an intended loggia (on the site of the present Casino dei Nobili), to face into the Piazza del Campo,[153] and was sent for to Orvieto to advise about the repair of the roof of the Duomo there. The panels, inlaid with the Symbols of the Creed, for the stalls of the Chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico, executed by him between the years 1415–1428,[154] after designs said to be by Taddeo Bartoli,[155] are works of exceptional beauty. After a long life, in January 1446–7, we find him, at 84 years of age, begging the Signoria of Siena to grant him a pension. A sum of two florins a month was allowed to him, but he could not have enjoyed it for long, since after 1450 we entirely lose sight of him.
11. 1423. Agostino di Niccolo.
The only specimen of this artist’s work we know of in Siena, is that on the Pavement. We have no other record of him except that in 1405, or perhaps even earlier, he was working at Orvieto, in company with a certain Nanni di Giacomo (a cadet of the noble house of Castori, or Amidei), a native of Lucca, but resident in Siena, and during the next year, with an artist named Orbetano, called il Mastro, also a Sienese.
12. 1423. Bastiano di Corso.
Concerning this artist, we know that he came from Florence, lived a long time in Siena, and died rather before 1455. His family name was Giuliani, and he married Francesca di Cristoforo Pastella, by whom he had four sons: Taddeo; Cristoforo (born 1422); Corso (of whom presently), and Giuliano, who married, in 1469, Marianna, daughter of Pietro Paoletti. Both of these were sculptors, like their father. Milanesi gives many notices of work in marble done by this artist, in company with his sons, in the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Hospital of Sta. Maria della Scala, and the Loggia di S. Paolo.
13. 1426. Paolo di Martino.
Of this man, beyond the records of him in connexion with the Pavement, scarcely anything is known. He appears once, as witness to a contract for some carved figures for the Duomo. A curious fact occurs also, as to work done by him in the before-mentioned Chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico. In 1414, he, his brother Antonio, and a certain Simone d’Antonio, were commissioned to decorate the stalls of that Chapel. Their work seems not to have given public satisfaction, with the result that the commission was taken away from them, and given to Domenico del Coro, who, as we have seen, executed his task triumphantly.
ALINARI PHOTO.]
[DESIGNED BY PAOLO DI MARTINO
XX. SAMSON AND THE PHILISTINES (No. 14)
14. 1434. Domenico di Bartolo di Ghezzo da Asciano.
We find the name of this artist on the Roll of Sienese Painters in 1428. Vasari would have us believe, that he was the nephew of Taddeo Bartoli. This, however, is proved to be erroneous, because we know that Taddeo was the son of a barber, one Bartolo di Maestro Mino: that his brother died childless; and that his sister Petra married a notary of Radicondoli, named Ser Antonio Gennari. Domenico Bartoli was a member of the well-known Ghezzi family of Asciano, and a picture by him is still to be seen in the Church of St. Agostino in his native town. He was born about 1400, married in 1440[156] Donna Antonia Pannilini, and died in 1446.[157] He was an artist of very great merit. His finest works are his frescoes in the Pellegrinaggio of the Hospital of Sta. Maria della Scala at Siena, which were painted in 1443–44.[158] These frescoes throw a vivid light on the manners, customs, costume, and style of architecture of the period in which he lived, and form a remarkable picture of Sienese life at that date. It is, moreover, most interesting to note how much the decorative effects, employed by him in his work, foreshadow the coming Renaissance.
ALINARI PHOTO.]
[BY DOMENICO DI BARTOLO D’ASCIANO
XXI. THE EMPEROR SIGISMUND (No. 13)
15. 1434. Giacomo d’Antonio.
Appears to have been merely a workman (manovale), as, except the record quoted, no other notice appears of him among those hitherto extracted.
16. 1447. Pietro di Tommaso del Minella.
A native of Siena, this famous sculptor and architect was born on the 21st of December, 1391. He was son of a certain Tommaso, surnamed Minella and had two brothers, Antonio and Giovanni (both workers in wood), the latter of whom became a Franciscan monk, and Rector of the Hospital of Sta. Croce. Pietro was a favourite pupil of Giacomo della Quercia, who left him ten florins in his will; and he worked with that great master on the famous Font in the Baptistery. From 1431 to 1433, he was Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo at Orvieto, and with his brother Antonio, executed some works there in intarsia on the stalls. In 1437, Quercia gave him some commissions in connection with the Loggia di S. Paolo, and in 1439 he was employed to make the choir for the Chapel of the Hospital of Sta. Maria della Scala. Out of this much litigation arose, which was settled by the giving of a dowry to his daughter.[159] In 1441, he and his brother Antonio were commissioned to make a new Bishops’ Throne for the Cathedral at Orvieto,[160] adorned with figures of SS. John and Costanzo; but apparently, whether for want of funds or for what reason does not appear, the work was never completed.[161] He remained at Orvieto until March, 1444, when he returned to Siena, where he had been commissioned by the Council to execute further work on the Loggia di S. Paolo.[162] In August of that year he was in treaty to go back to Orvieto, and we find a document, showing that he asked in payment for his services 120 ducats and a house, but agreed to accept 110 without the house, arranging to come to Orvieto about the middle of October to complete his bargain.[163] In September, however, he was promised by the Camarlingo (perhaps the Treasurer) of the Opera del Duomo at Siena, the post of Capo-maestro there. This appointment, however, he did not at first obtain, though he was employed on the tomb of Carlo Bartoli, Bishop of Siena, for which he received, as his share, a sum of 38 lire 8 soldi;[164] and in the following year on the Chapel of S. Crescenzio in the Duomo.[165] At last, in 1447, he was appointed Capo-maestro, and during his occupation of the post, he designed the Church of S. Ansano. He died in August, 1458, having married Cristofora, daughter of Maestro Pannucci, surnamed Cinquino, and had by her three sons—Tone (Canon of the Duomo), Niccolo, and Sano, who died in 1498, having married Polissena, daughter of Arnoldo di Fortunato, by whom he had six sons.
17. 1450. Nastagio di Guasparre.
18. 1450. Bartolomeo di Mariano, called “Il Mandriano.”
19. 1451. Guasparre d’Agostino.
Of the first and second of these three men nothing is known but their names, and the notice which records their work, described in the last chapter. As I have suggested, Nastagio di Guasparre and Guasparre d’ Agostino may have been father and son, or master and pupil. I have also referred to the fact that Guasparre d’Agostino painted frescoes of the Crucifixion and Burial of Christ in the apse over the altar of the Baptistery,[166] and was commissioned to paint some scenes from the life of S. Bernardino for the Sacristy of the Duomo. We are told also by Milanesi[167] that he was the master of Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi.
20. 1451. Corso di Bastiano.
Son of Bastiano di Corso, he married Nanna, daughter of a certain Simone di Niccolo, surnamed Calabrese, a maker of drinking vessels. He was, as we have seen, a sculptor like his father, with whom he worked. We read, besides, however, that he made the balcony of the Palazzo Pubblico,[168] whence the sentences on criminals were read, and executed certain marble work at the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda.[169]
21. 1459. Antonio di Federigo or Federighi (Federigi).
XXII. CANDLESTICK
BY ANTONIO FEDERIGHI
This sculptor and architect was one of the glories of Siena in his time. In one document, to be referred to later, he is called Tolomei (de Ptholomeis), but we have no record as to his birth or family. In 1444, he was among the artists employed on the tomb of Bishop Carlo Bartoli, and for his share in the work he received 15 lire. In 1451, he was appointed Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo at Orvieto,[170] where he remained until 1456, living in considerable style.[171] He had with him all the time his two pupils, Polimante of Assisi and Vito di Marco, both of whom were paid by the Duomo authorities. He was evidently held in high honour, for we find on April 7th, 1452,[172] the Signoria of Siena writing to the heads of the Commune at Orvieto, to ask them to recommend him to the notice of the Duke of Calabria. In April, 1453, with safe conducts from the Republic of Florence and the King of Naples, he, with seven companions, went to Carrara to quarry marble, and in October of the same year he started for Corneto for a similar purpose; but was recalled on the 5th of the same month, to advise as to the roof of one of the Chapels in the Duomo, which threatened to collapse. In September, 1456, he made, and put into position, one of the statues on the façade. During this period he made statues of SS. Ansano, Vittore, and Savino for the Loggia di Mercanzia or S. Paolo (now the Casino dei Nobili), and executed the work before the doors of the Baptistery, to which we have already alluded. (Ill. XXII.) After 1456, he appears to have returned to Siena, for we find a number of references to a commission for the statues of SS. Peter and Paul, given first to Urbano da Cortona, then to Federighi, and lastly to Lorenzo di Pietro (Il Vecchietta); the special object of the last change being to keep that artist in Siena.[173] From 1460 to 1462, he was engaged in the design and erection of the magnificent Loggia di Papa, built by Pope Pius II.; and in 1463, on the palace of that Pope’s sister, Caterina Piccolomini, called then Palazzo delle Papesse, but now styled Palazzo Nerucci.[174] In 1469–70, we hear of work done by him at the Oratorio di S. Caterina in Fontebranda; in 1473 party to the contract made between the Sienese and Lombard workers in stone: and in 1480, he petitioned the authorities with reference to the drainage and water-supply of the town.[175] Other noticeable works by him are the marble bench on the right-hand side of the Loggia di Mercanzia, before-mentioned; the basins of the two holy water stoups at the west end of the Cathedral Nave (attributed, wrongly, to Quercia); and the Chapel and Palace, outside the Porta Camollia, known as the Palazzo dei Diavoli.
22. 1473. Urbano di Pietro di Domenico da Cortona.
This artist came with his brother Bartolommeo, in his early youth, from his native city of Cortona, to settle in Siena, where in 1451,[176] they together undertook to build the Chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie, in the Duomo. In the same year he was commissioned, as we have seen, to make two statues for the Loggia di Mercanzia, but the commission was cancelled. In 1456, he made a statue of S. Bernardino for the Convent of the Osservanza, and a figure of S. Peter for the façade of the Duomo. In 1458, the Signoria of Siena deliberated as to the suitability of employing him, in company with Donatello, to procure alabaster from the Val D’Orcia, to decorate a room in the Palazzo Pubblico.[177] Among the records of the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda, between the years 1465 and 1474, we find two notices of work by him: namely, a statue of the Saint over the Chapel door, and a holy-water stoup. In 1471, he had a dispute with Bastiano di Francesco, as to the price due for work done by the latter, in which Vecchietta was one of the two arbitrators. In the same year he was employed on the Palazzo delle Papesse, and in 1473, we find him also joining in the contract made by the Sienese sculptors with their Lombard fellow-craftsmen. In 1497–98, he was one of the arbitrators in a dispute between Giovanni di Stefano and his workmen.[178] He died in Siena, on May the 8th, 1504, leaving, by his wife, Caterina Scotti, a daughter, Lucrezia, who married Ser Pasquale Griffi, of Montalcino; his son Tommaso having predeceased him. His finest works still existing are the decorations for the Chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie referred to above, which are now affixed to the walls of the Duomo, near the door leading to the Campanile stairs; and the tomb of Cav. Cristoforo Felice (Rector 1457–58 and 1460–65) in the church of S. Francesco in Siena.
23. 1473. Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo.
This artist, also known as Matteo da Siena, was born about 1435. It was erroneously supposed, that he was the son of Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia, the painter of Poggio Malavolti, and brother of Pietro and Benvenuto di Giovanni, also painters of repute. As a matter of fact, however, Matteo’s father was a certain Giovanni di Bartolo, a merchant of Borgo San Sepolcro, who had settled in Siena, by his second wife, Elisabetta, daughter of Andrea d’Ambrogio, a goldsmith: while Pietro was the son of another merchant, one Giovanni Pucci; and Benvenuto, of a certain Giovanni di Maestro Meo del Guasta of San Quirico. Moreover, Giovanni di Paolo of Poggio was quite an old man when, in 1480, he married a woman called Domenica, by whom he had no children, as we find that by his will, dated June 29th, 1482, he left her his sole heiress.
Matteo married twice; first, a certain Contessa, by whom he had no children; and secondly, Orsina di Francesco del Taia, by whom he had three sons and four daughters. He died in June, 1495. He was a distinguished painter, much admired in his day, and had a very distinct charm of his own, in spite of his somewhat rigid adherence to old traditions. Many of his pictures are still in their original places in the churches of Siena,[179] and there are also some good specimens of his work in the Accademia delle Belle Arti in that town.
24. 1473. Giovanni di Maestro Stefano di Giovanni.
Son of the celebrated painter, usually called Sassetta. We first hear of him in 1452, as appealing for judgment in the matter of the price of a fresco, over the Porta Romana, left unfinished by his father’s death; (subsequently completed by Sano di Pietro, and Lorenzo di Pietro, commonly called Il Vecchietta). In August 1446, he was commissioned, with the assistance of the goldsmith Francesco d’Antonio, to make a silver head of Sta. Caterina, for the Monks of S. Domenico in Siena.[180] He made a model for the head, which Francesco executed in silver;[181] and perhaps the tabernacle also, although that has been attributed to Vecchietta. In 1466–68,[182] we find a petition, addressed to the Signoria, for the erection of two stone wolves outside the Porta Nuova, or Romana. These are generally supposed to have been the work of this artist. In 1477, he was recommended by the Signoria of Siena to Federigo, Duke of Urbino; and in 1481, was witness to the commission, given by the Opera del Duomo, to Urbano di Pietro, Antonio Federighi, Vito di Marco and Luigi di Ruggiero, to execute the Sibyls on the Duomo Pavement; one of which (the Cuman) we know was, in the following year, his work. In 1487, he executed the statue of S. Ansano (formerly attributed to Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi, of whom presently) in the Chapel of S. Giovanni in the Duomo.[183] In 1427, in company with Giacomo Cozzarelli, and Domenico di Matteo, he made a valuation of the bronze doors, for the Libreria in the Duomo, executed by Giacomo Ormanni; and in the same year we read of the dispute with his workmen, to which we have alluded above. In 1497–98, he also executed two of the bronze angels[184] for the High Altar of the Duomo. The celebrated sculptor, Lorenzo di Mariano, better known as Il Marrina, was one of his pupils.
25. 1473. Bartolommeo de’ Domenico Calabrone.
26. 1473. Francesco di Bartolommeo.
Both these men appear to have been sculptors, and are associated together, as arbitrators, with Urbano da Cortona, in the dispute referred to above, between Giovanni di Stefano and his workmen. Of the former, we also find a record, under date August 11th, 1507, as arbitrator between Lorenzo di Mariano (Il Marrina) and Battista di Simone,[185] and we are told that he was surnamed Baccelli, and died in 1531.[186] Of Francesco we know nothing more, except that he also signed the contract with the Lombard sculptors.
27. 1482. Giuliano di Biagio.
Of this artist, we know nothing, beyond the reference to his work on the Pavement, of which mention has been made above. He appears, however, to have been not merely the mason, but also the contractor, who procured the marble for his own work.[187]
28. 1482. Vito di Marco.
A German, who, with his brother Giovanni, came to settle in Siena, as a mason. He was, as we have seen above, a pupil of Antonio Federighi, and was employed under him, on the works at Orvieto. In 1473, he was also party to the contract between the Sienese and Lombard sculptors. In 1483–84, he was commissioned, in company with a certain Lucillo di Maestro Marco, to execute the tomb of Tommaso del Testa Piccolomini, Bishop of Pienza and Montalcino,[188] which commission, through his absence from Siena, and the death of Lucillo, was transferred in the following year to Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi. In 1487, he executed the façade of the church of S. Andrew at Orvieto, in which city we find him still working in 1489–91. He died in 1495.
29. 1482. Luigi di Ruggiero, surnamed L’Armellino.
This man also joined in the above-mentioned contract with the Lombard stone workers (1473). In January, 1486–87, we find the Signoria of Siena writing to Ottaviano, Count of Mercatelli, on his behalf, for arrears of salary due to him for work done.[189] He also appears to have been a contractor, as well as a sculptor.[190]
30. 1483. Bastiano di Francesco di Sano.
This man was a sculptor and a painter, but it is uncertain whether he is the same person, as the Florentine sculptor Bastiano di Francesco, who, with Francesco di Giovanni, was employed to build the tomb of Pope Pius III. in S. Peter’s at Rome.[191] We do not know much about him, beyond the work which he did in the Duomo. In 1481, he assisted Guidoccio Cozzarelli, Benvenuto di Giovanni del Guasta, and Pellegrino di Mariano, in decorating the interior of the Cupola with sculpture and painting. We gather, that in 1484, he moved the beautiful tomb of Cardinal Petroni, by Tino di Camaino,[192] from its original place near the present Cappella del Voto, to its present lofty position, by the Cappella di S. Giovanni. To him, in the same and following years, are also due the carved festoons, monstrous cherub heads, and painting and gilding round the east window (Occhio) of the choir. Twice we hear of him in legal difficulties: once, as we have mentioned already, with Urbano da Cortona in 1471; and again in 1477, when a certain doctor of laws, one Prospero Poccio, complained to the Podestà, that Bastiano would not finish a picture for him, that he had contracted to do.[193] He appears to have lived in the Valle Piatta at Siena.[194] (Ill. XXIII.)
ALINARI PHOTO.]
[BY BASTIANO DI FRANCESCO.
XXIII. THE STORY OF JEPHTHAH (No. 11)
31. 1483. Benvenuto di Giovanni del Guasta.
This versatile artist was the son, as we have seen, of a certain Giovanni di Meo del Guasta, a mason from San Quirico. He was born the 13th of September, 1436, and died about 1518. He married Jacopa, daughter of Tommaso da Cetona, by whom he had three daughters, and a son, Girolamo, also a clever artist. In 1466, we find him in company with Sano di Pietro, valuing the decorative work on two chests, made by a certain Francesco d’Andrea, for Ambrogio Spannocchi. In 1481–82, as we have already noted, he was employed on the decoration of the interior of the Cupola in the Duomo, where he painted thirty-five figures, for which he received a sum of 105 lire.[195] In the same year, he painted miniatures in the Antiphonaries, for the Duomo; one of which, the largest, represented “the Giving of the Keys to S. Peter,” for which he received 27 lire 14 soldi.[196] That he was much admired in his day as a painter, is evident from the number of notices still to be found of payments made to him for banners, bier-heads and pictures of various sorts, by Convents and Guilds. Many of these still exist, either in the Churches for which they were painted, or in the Picture Gallery.[197] In 1508, he was called as witness, in a lawsuit between Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti and the heirs of Neroccio Landi, as to the price of an unfinished picture by that artist. From the two inventories of his property, made in 1491 and 1509, and the list of goods bequeathed by him to his son Girolamo, we gather that he lived in houses of his own: first, in the district of Camollia; and latterly, in that of the Rialto in Siena.
32. 1483. Neroccio di Bartolommeo di Benedetto Landi.
This great artist was equally celebrated, both as sculptor and painter. He belonged to the noble family of Landi, who are described as “of Poggio Malevolti”, to distinguish them from the family of Landi Sberghieri. He was born in 1447, and died in 1500. He was twice married: first, to Elisabetta, daughter of Antonio Cigalini, who died in 1483; and, secondly, in 1493 to Lucrezia, daughter of Antonio Paltoni, who bore him several sons, one of whom was a painter as was his father.[198] Many of his pictures and statues still exist in Siena, in the places for which he designed them. In 1475, he appears to have quarrelled with Francesco di Giorgio; a dispute that was settled by the kindly offices of Sano di Pietro and Lorenzo di Pietro (Il Vecchietta). In the following year we find the same Sano di Pietro, with Francesco di Giorgio, valuing a picture, painted by Neroccio, for a certain Bernardino Nini. In the records of the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda,[199] we find that this artist was paid 31 lire, for a wooden statue of the Saint, which still stands over the altar in that Chapel. In 1481, he was engaged to work for the Duke of Calabria, and also for the Abbot of the Benedictine Convent at Lucca. In 1484–85, he received the commission (originally given to Vito di Marco and Lucillo, but cancelled through the absence of the former, and the death of the latter), to execute the tomb of Bishop Tommaso del Testa Piccolomini.[200] This tomb is now over the door, leading from the Cathedral to the stairs of the Campanile. In 1487, he was also directed to make the beautiful statue of S. Catherine of Alexandria for the Chapel of S. Giovanni in the Duomo; but his death left the work unfinished. We find two notices with reference to this work, dated 5th of February, 1487–88, and 21st of August, 1502[201] respectively: the first recording the payment of an advance of 40 lire to the painter himself, and the other of a further payment (in accordance with the valuation of Giacomo Cozzarelli and Ventura di Ser Giuliano) of 202 lire more to his heirs. These heirs, as we have seen above, also had a lawsuit over another unfinished work of his, with one of his pupils, Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti. Milanesi quotes some interesting documents in connection with this lawsuit in his notes.[202] The names of some of his pupils, besides the above-mentioned Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti are as follows: Giovanni di Tedaldo, Leonardo di Ser Ambrogio de’ Maestrelli,[203] Taldo di Vittore, and Achille di Pietro di Paolo del Crogio.[204]
33. 1483. Guidoccio di Giovanni Cozzarelli.
This artist must not be confused with the more famous Giacomo di Bartolommeo di Marco Cozzarelli, who was a sculptor and worker in metal, nor do we know, whether or no, he was related in any way to the engineer Giovanni Cozzarelli, a notice of whose work on a bridge at Macereto, we find under date 3rd of November, 1487.[205] This man was a painter of considerable ability, whose pictures may be studied in the Picture Gallery, and who executed some of the miniatures in the Duomo Antiphonaries. We read that in 1447, he was employed with Sano di Pietro, to decorate the Chapel (now destroyed) of the Madonna delle Grazie in the Cathedral; and that in 1481, he was employed on the decoration of the interior of the Cupola. Professor Luigi Mussini[206] suggests that the Tavoletta di Biccherna (No. 34 of those preserved in the Archivio di Stato), representing The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, is by him.
34. 1484. Bernardino d’Antonio.
35. 1484. Cristofano di Pietro Paolo del Quarantotto.
Of these men nothing is known but the reference to them here.
36. 1505–6. Bernardino di Benedetto or Betto (Il Pinturicchio).
Of this painter, and his work, so much has been written elsewhere, that I shall only attempt the briefest sketch of his life here.
He was a native of Perugia, was the son of a certain Betto or Benedetto, and was born in 1454. He had six children by his wife Grania: Adriana, who married Giuseppe, son of Giovanni of Perugia, and died in 1518: Clelia or Egidia, who married Girolamo, son of Paolo of Perugia, called Paffa, a soldier of the guard of Siena; Giulio Cesare (b. 1506); Camillo (b. 1509); Faustina Girolama (b. 1510); and Faustina, who married Filippo, son of Paolo of Perugia, or of Deruta. His frescoes in the Libreria of the Duomo, and the chapel of S. Giovanni, are among the most celebrated of Italian works of art. Vasari relates many more or less fictitious stories about his life and doings, which, though amusing to read, are not borne out by fact. He died in 1513, and was buried in the Church of SS. Vincenzo and Anastasia, the Chapel of the Contrada of the Porcupine (Istrice).
37. 1505–6. Paolo Mannucci.
Of this artist, nothing is known, but the notice already quoted, which states that he was employed to execute Pinturicchio’s design of the Allegory of Fortune. (No. 36.)
LOMBARDI PHOTO.]
[LILY DESIGNED BY ANTONIO FEDERIGHI (?)
A. DESIGNED BY DOMENICO BECCAFUMI
XXIV. DRAWINGS OF DETAILS
38. 1518. Domenico di Jacopo di Pace Beccafumi, called Mecarino (or Mecherino).
This very celebrated painter and sculptor was the son of a certain Giacomo (Jacopo) di Pace,[207] a labourer on the Podere of Cortine, near the Castle of Montaperto, and was born in 1486. This Podere was the property of the Sienese noble, Lorenzo Beccafumi, who, more than once held high offices in his native town. The boy early showed remarkable artistic promise, and used to amuse himself modelling animals, flowers, and leaves in clay. Lorenzo Beccafumi, one day seeing these efforts, and being struck by their promise, took him into his house, as a sort of servitor, but also gave him the opportunity of studying art. Near the house of the Beccafumi family, was then living an artist, named Mecarino, of poor ability and circumstances, but possessing a fine collection of drawings by good masters. These the young Domenico studied carefully, and on the death of Mecarino, by that artist’s special wish, assumed his name. In later years, he also added, by permission of his first patron, the name of Beccafumi. He was married twice. By his first wife, Andreoccia, of whose family and origin nothing is known, he had a son, Adriano, who died poor and childless in 1588. By his second wife, Caterina, sister of Pietro Cataneo, the Sienese architect and mathematician, he had two daughters: Ersilia (b. 1535), and Polifila (b. 1573), who became afterwards a Gesuate nun, under the name of Suor Cecilia. His work was very much sought after, and is to be found in all directions, in churches and palaces alike, throughout Siena. (Ill. XXV.) At one time, he came very much under the influence of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (called Il Sodoma), in whose company he worked, from 1518 to 1532, at the decoration of the Oratorio di S. Bernardino,[208] but subsequently, became his rival and bitter enemy. One of his earliest works in Siena was, in 1513, the decoration in fresco of the façade of the Palazzo de’ Borghesi in the Piazza di Postierla, opposite the house of Agostino Bardi, soon afterwards adorned in similar materials by Sodoma.[209] In February, 1515, he purchased a house, numbered 408, in the Via dei Maestri (now Via Tito Sarocchi), for which he paid 270 florins, and, in 1545, another house next door for 245 florins.[210] We find him continually in request to value works of art of all kinds: panel-pictures, frescoes, bronze crucifixes, marble tombs, etc., and Guilds were always employing him to paint bier-heads and banners for them. Among the latter, we are told that he was engaged by the Compagnia di S. Sebastiano in Camollia, to complete Sodoma’s celebrated banner of S. Sebastian (now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence).[211] In 1529, and again in 1535, he received commissions to decorate the Sala del Concistoro in the Palazzo Pubblico; and on the occasion of the visit of Charles V. to Siena (23rd of April, 1536), he, in company with Anton Maria di Paolo Lari (nicknamed Il Tozzo) and Lorenzo Donati, designed and erected a triumphal arch and other decorations, including a gigantic horse in papier-mâché, in honour of that Emperor.[212] He was also famous as a worker in bronze,[213] and among the works done by him in this metal, the most celebrated, now known, are six of the bronze angels, holding lights, affixed to the columns in the Choir of the Duomo. For this work he received 11,600 lire from the Opera del Duomo. According to a contemporary Register of persons buried in the Duomo, Beccafumi died on the 18th May, 1550, and was buried there: other authorities state that his death occurred in the following year.[214] Giorgio di Gio. Simone was one of his pupils, and Giovanni Battista di Girolamo Sozzini (of whom presently) was another.
LOMBARDI PHOTO.]
[DESIGNED BY DOMENICO BECCAFUMI
XXV. THE STORY OF MOSES AND THE TABLES OF THE LAW (No. 52)
39. 1518. Bernardino di Jacomo.
Of this sculptor nothing much is known. In company with a painter named Francesco di Bartolommeo, in 1555, he valued a picture painted by Lorenzo di Cristofano (il Rustico) and his pupils, for the Confraternità di S. Michele; and he was in 1559–60, commissioned to make three coats of arms in tufa, to decorate the façade of the Palazzo Pubblico.
40. 1518. Giovannantonio Marinelli, called il Mugnaino.
Of this sculptor we find no trace; but we read of another workman in the same craft, by name Anton Maria, who was also nicknamed il Mugnaino. This artist in 1583, with another sculptor, Domenico Capo, was employed to make marble ornaments for an altar in the Duomo.[215]
41. 1518. Giacomo di Pietro Gallo.
42. 1518. Bartolommeo di Pietro Gallo.
Of these two brother masons nothing is known. They may have been related to the cannon-founder, Mosè Gallo, whom we find referred to in 1502, as making guns for the Commune of Siena;[216] or they may have been related to the family from which came Sodoma’s wife, Beatrice, daughter of Luca di Gallo.
43. 1518. Niccolo Filippi.
44. 1518. Cristofano di Carbone.
45. 1544. Pellegrino di Pietro.
The only information to be found, concerning this sculptor, is that he was employed to make a tomb for the Marsili family, which was valued by Francesco Tolomei and Domenico Beccafumi.[217]
46. 1562. Giovanni Battista di Girolamo Sozzini.
This painter and sculptor was born in Siena in 1525, and studied the arts of drawing and painting under Bartolommeo Neroni (Il Riccio). He was also a pupil of Beccafumi’s, and in addition learned to make portrait-effigies in stucco and wax under Pastorino Pastorini, in which art he excelled.[218] He was brother to the celebrated Alessandro Sozzini, Diarist of the last Siege of Siena, and died in 1582. His work, as we have said above, was much admired in its day.
47. 1562. Niccolo di Girolamo Gori,
With his brother Antonio was, in 1552, party to a receipt in full, given by the Opera del Duomo to Pastorino Pastorini, the painter and worker in glass, for work done there.[219]
48. 1562. Domenico di Pier Giovanni.
Of this man also no record is to be found, but perhaps he was the son of the mason, Pier Giovanni, mentioned in a document dated 1537, who opened up an arch for a niche in connection with Sodoma’s work on the Cappella di Piazza.[220]
From this time, for over 200 years, the Pavement work stood still, until:
49. 1780. Carlo Amidei, a craftsman of a very mediocre type.
50. 1780. Matteo Pini, who was probably only a mason.
Then another century passed away, until our own day.
51. 1875. Professor Alessandro Franchi.
52. 1875. Professor Leopoldo Maccari.
53. 1875. Antonio Radicchi.
54. 1875. Giuseppe Radicchi.
These names belong to the History of Modern Italian Art, so that I need do no more than mention them in passing, as they hardly come into the scope of this work.
CHAPTER IV
OTHER PAVEMENT WORK
As far as I have been able to ascertain, there are but three other examples of Pavement work, similar to that employed in the Siena Duomo. Mosaic pavements, of course, abound all over Italy, with more or less elaborate designs, fanciful, historical, or symbolical;[221] but none of them really resembles this kind of work, which seems to have been peculiar to the artistic mind of the Sienese. The only other works, that I can find, that can, in any degree, be allied to it are:
1. The Cathedral Pavement at Lucca.
2. The Pavement of the Piccolomini Chapel at S. Francesco, in Siena.
3. The Pavement of the Chapel of Sta. Caterina in S. Domenico, in the same town.
Let us take them in order of date.
1. The Cathedral Pavement at Lucca.
This floor is covered with geometrical patterns in inlay, and was executed during the Rectorship of Jacopo di Chivizzano (1470–1484). We know, from several references in the Archives of the “Opera” of that Cathedral, that it had been commenced before 1475,[222] and that, among others, Matteo Civitali, the great Lucchese sculptor, was employed upon some of the designs on it. It principally consists of merely ornamental friezes and geometrical designs. In the centre of the Nave, however, there is one picture, to which I would draw special attention. It represents the Judgment of Solomon, and is the work of one Antonio di Ghino of Siena. It was commissioned, we read,[223] by a certain Bartolommeo Guarguaglia, and finished in 1477.[224] The work is of the same kind as that at Siena, but is coarser and heavier in type. In design it most resembles the work of Domenico di Bartolo, but there are suggestions in some of the female figures of the influence,—Botticellesque perhaps,—that produced Matteo di Giovanni’s Judith and her maid, in the Relief of Bethulia. Solomon sits on a throne, under a sort of pillared loggia, surrounded by courtiers and attendants, while before him stand the claimants and their infants. The colouring of the picture, the somewhat brutal force of the composition, and the plentiful use of vari-coloured marbles, recall Matteo di Giovanni’s Massacre of the Innocents, although that work was not executed until several years later. Being in the centre of the nave, and not covered, it has been much injured by time and hard usage. Of its maker, Antonio di Ghino, we know but little. From a note given by Milanesi,[225] we gather that, though here called “da Siena,” he really came of Lucchese stock, and was the son of one Ghino di Paolo of Lucca, a sculptor who lived long in Siena, and died in 1482. Antonio apparently had a son, who signed the Painters’ Brief in 1533.
2. The Pavement of the Cappella Piccolominea in S. Francesco.
This chapel, which was originally dedicated to S. Andrew, has recently been entirely rejuvenated, at the expense of the late Signora Anna Camaiori Saracini, and re-dedicated to Sta. Anna. There is not, therefore, at first sight much trace of the original work left. We know that, in 1504,[226] Lorenzo di Mariano (Il Marrina) was employed by Giacomo Piccolomini, brother of Pope Pius III., to adorn their family chapel in this church; and, that he not only made an altar, the decorations around the windows, and the entrance arch to the chapel, but also laid down four Cardinal Virtues: Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance, on the floor.[227] Of all this work, the various conflagrations, that have destroyed the great church of S. Francesco, have left only the arch, the coats of arms, the windows, a small portion of the altar, and the pavement. Restoration, of a too complete kind, has even further concealed the original nature of what remained; and one’s first impression on looking at this pavement is that it is brand-new, so well has Professor Leopoldo Maccari done his work.[228] The figures, however, on close inspection, show high merit. They are finely conceived, on the lines of the Sibyls in the Duomo, and are imposing pieces of work. Lorenzo di Mariano (Il Marrina) was one of the finest sculptors of his time. He was born on the 11th of August, 1476, and was the son of Mariano di Domenico Nanni, a goldsmith. In 1506, he became Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo,[229] where he had been employed since 1490, under the mastership of Giovanni di Maestro Stefano. On the 28th of January, in the following year, he married Elisabetta, daughter of Ser Jacopo Bertini, by whom he had four sons: by name, Girolamo, Gio.-Battista, Agostino, and Giacomo, who were goldsmiths; and one daughter, Bartolommea, who married Lattanzio di Gio. Lotti. He worked a great deal for the various members of the Piccolomini family; the finest extant piece commissioned by them remaining, being the doorway of the Libreria in the Duomo. A tabernacle in the chapel of the Convent of S. Girolamo, and, above all, the exquisite altar in the church of the Fontegiusta by him, testify that the admiration, in which he was held, in his day, was not misplaced.
3. The Pavement of the Chapel of Sta. Caterina in S. Domenico.
Of this work we have no reliable record; but it is clearly of late date, perhaps made in the sixteenth century, and most probably, as a sepulchral memorial. We learn from Abate Faluschi,[230] that this chapel belonged to the Benzi family, and was their burial-place. Hither was brought the body of the famous Marco, son of Giovanni Benzi and Nicola Serfucci, who was physician to Niccolo, Marchese d’Este, and died in Ferrara in 1429. The corpse was buried by his uncle Ugo, son of Andrea Benzi and Minoccia Pagni, in 1448; and the chapel was built over the grave by Niccolo Buonsignore Benzi in 1488. The following inscription, now effaced:—
HIC LAPIS EGREGII MARCI TEGIT OSSA CELEBRIS.
BENZIUS IS LOGICUS, IS MEDICUS-QUE FUIT.
ALTER ERAT SOCRATES MEDICINA MAXIMUS ARTIS.
HIC AVICENNA FUIT, ISQUE GALENUS ERAT.
QUOS IS NON POTUIT CURASSE ... EGROS
HERBIS NE CREDAS ID VALUISSE DEOS.
was placed to the memory of Marco Benzi. We find too, that another physician, Sozzini Benzi, belonging to the same family, was also buried here. The decoration of this chapel, by Sodoma, did not take place until 1526; and it is not improbable, that the floor was subsequent to that date. So that it may have been the work of the last of the Pavement Masters, Giovanni Battista Sozzini, spoken of above. The Sozzinis were a distinguished family, and if the name tells us anything, may have been related to this very Sozzini Benzi. The figure of Æsculapius, seated among various wild beasts, would then have appropriate reference to the merits of these two physicians. It is strange to find such a classical piece of composition in a chapel dedicated to Sta. Caterina di Siena, a saint so pre-eminently ecclesiastical; but it is quite in accordance with the spirit of the time. Æsculapius, a handsome nude youth, resembling Orpheus or Bacchus, is seated on a rock in a grove of oaks, laurels, and fruit-trees. In his right hand he holds a mirror in which is reflected his own face. To his right, are an unicorn and a wolf: to his left, a leopard and a lion. Perched on the trees, in various directions, are sundry birds: owls, vultures, eagles, etc. One vulture, on the right of the principal figure, is screaming at a monkey, who is eating fruit. On the other side, another bird is clawing at an over-grown squirrel. Around the composition is a frieze representing water, on which are swimming swans and ducks.[231] The composition is good, but the perspective is odd, and the use of many coloured marbles profuse, and not altogether happy.
CHAPTER V
MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP OF THE PAVEMENT
Most of the writers on the Pavement, speak of its workmanship, as being of four kinds. This would give the idea of four distinct methods, abruptly divided, which is most certainly not the case. The line of division is so indistinct, and the various styles so blended one into the other, that I can only describe it as an evolution, during which four special changes took place.
The earliest and simplest method consisted in using large pieces of white marble, shaped and put together (“commesso”) to form a sort of silhouette: the perspectives, folds of robes, and other details being defined by lines made, first, with a graving tool, and then accentuated by rows of holes, (smaller or larger, according to the importance of the particular line in the general composition), pierced with a trepanning drill. This is said to be a trapano, and is in fact the real graffito work. These punctures were frequently very deep, and when filled up with a stucco, composed of pitch (pecie navale), resin (ragia), and pounded potter’s clay (bolio macinato), produced a surface hard, and nearly as durable, as the solid marble itself. In order further to heighten the effect, the pieces of white marble, making up the entire scene or figure, were inlaid against a piece of dark marble: generally black for the atmosphere, and red for the ground, upon which the figures were supposed to stand. In the ornamental friezes, framing these scenes and figures, marble of other colours very early began to be used. Then presently, these coloured marbles found their way into the picture itself; especially in the larger scenes, where yellow, for instance, was found useful to accentuate jewellery or ornaments. Take as an example, The Massacre of the Innocents (Matteo di Giovanni), in which it is very largely employed. To this end also, black marble is twice introduced with startling effect: for The Libyan Sibyl (Guidoccio Cozzarelli), and for the negro boy in The Story of Jephthah (Bastiano di Francesco). It is undoubtedly true, that the finest effects are obtained, where there is least variety in colour, and where the artist has depended most entirely on simple line, and contrasts of white marble against black. A fine specimen of this treatment is The Story of Absalom (Pietro del Minella). Here the figures, trees, etc., stand out with almost weird abruptness, as if they had been cut out of white paper. It must be borne in mind, however, (in spite of statements made to the contrary, and the fact that such methods were employed elsewhere later on),[232] that the marbles used on the Pavement were always natural, and not artificially coloured. The Duomo authorities appear to have had quarries, either of their own, or under contract to supply them regularly. We read of nostro marmiera[233] at Gallena, in the Val d’Elsa; of black marble, brought from chasciano de le donne (San Casciano, near Radicofani);[234] and of red from Gerfalco in the Val di Cecina, near Massa Marittima.[235]
Pinturicchio, following out his ardent taste for brilliant and bizarre effect, made plentiful use of these colour varieties; but what probably makes the work of Beccafumi so striking, as compared with that of his predecessors, is, that in his later work he discards these vivid contrasts, confines himself almost entirely to low tones of colour, which shade from one into the other; and produces his effects by a species of chiaroscuro. Instead of outlining each piece, or figure, in a single colour, he frequently uses on the same subject, white and two or three different shades of pale-coloured grey marble. On a face, or a nude figure, this gives the effect of shadows of varying intensity, but, at times, runs perilously near the ludicrous, by making some of the persons parti-coloured. In the Elijah series,—his earliest work,—probably with an idea of improving on his predecessors, he had introduced small pieces of vivid green and red marble, to indicate jewelled borders to the robes of Ahab, and other important personages. This treatment, adopted again by Professor Franchi, when completing that Story, he soon wholly discarded, still retaining, however, the old graffito method for his outlines. But this also he abandoned more and more as he proceeded. Had he not been so fine a draughtsman his experiments in this direction would have been dangerous. Even now, it is doubtful, whether the results are so practically durable, or so artistically satisfactory, on the floor, as the older work. It would seem, as if they, in a sense, the apotheosis of this species of work, should be set up perpendicularly, so that the full effect of their superb draughtsmanship could be fairly perceived and appreciated.
Professor Franchi must have found himself in a great dilemma, when he undertook to complete this work. He could hardly revert to the manner of the pre-Beccafumi schools, and it would have been too dangerous to imitate closely Beccafumi himself. Fortunately, he had special gifts, and had the courage to follow his own instinct. The result has been, works, which, if in vivid contrast to all that had gone before, and essentially modern in feeling, are works of art of unquestionable brilliance. They resemble cartoons in marble, and are drawn with extraordinarily realistic force. All the three larger designs are instinct with life, and irresistibly suggestive of energetic movement. We may especially notice for this Elijah being caught up to Heaven. (Ill. XXVI.)
LOMBARDI PHOTO.]
(FROM A DRAWING)
[BY PROF. ALESSANDRO FRANCHI
XXVI. ELIJAH CAUGHT UP TO HEAVEN (No. 38)
In conclusion, let me say, that whatever may be the opinion of critics of undoubted ability: first, as to the suitability of a Pavement, such as this, at all;[236] and next, as to the varying merits of this or that portion of it, over any other: there can be no doubt, as to its paramount and unique interest, historically, as well as artistically. It is in itself a small epitome of Sienese Art History: a continuous chain, whose links bind together, in spite of long intervals, more than five centuries of Sienese art-workers; and a never-ending joy to the thoughtful and the intelligent.