Florence: San Marco—Picture-Gallery.
By referring to the plan, it will be observed that near to the Annunziata are the Academy of Fine Arts and the [Church of S. Marco] (standing from S.W. to N.E.) We shall commence with San Marco, erected in 1290, and enlarged in 1427 by Michelozzi. Interior.—Over central door a “Crucifixion” by Giotto. First altar right, Thomas Aquinas before the Cross by S. di Tito, and an Annunciation by P. Cavallini (covered). Second altar, Madonna and Saints, Fra. Bartolommeo. Third, Madonna. Here a small door opens into the sacristy built by Michelozzi, with statue of Christ by Novelli, and of S. Antonino by Montorsoli. To the left of the high altar is the Chapel of the Sacrament, with paintings by Tito, Empoli, Poccetti, and Passignano. In the left transept is the chapel of S. Antonino, with frescoes by Passignano in his best style, and a painting by Bronzino. Between the second and third altars on this the left side of the church, are the graves of the scholar Pico della Mirandola, d. 1494; the poet Girolano Benivieni, d. 1542; and of Poliziano, d. 1494, tutor to the sons of Lorenzo the Magnificent. To the right of the main entrance is the Convent, now the [Picture-Gallery], of St. Mark. Open from 10 to 3. Fee, 1 fr. Sundays free. During the 15th and 16th cent. this convent had for its superiors the good Bishop Antonino (d. 1459), Fra. Angelico Fiesole (d. 1455), Fra. Girolamo Savonarola, the great preacher and martyr (1498), and Fra. Bartolommeo della Porta (d. 1517), the best collection of whose works is in this convent. Among the very fine frescoes are—On the door of the church, left hand wall, “St. Peter, martyr, with his hand on his mouth,” B. Angelico. On the end or S.E. wall, “Crucifixion,” with St. Dominic, B. Angelico. The door in the wall opposite the church opens into the refectory, with a fresco representing Angels bringing food to St. Dominic, by Sogliani (d. 1544), pupil of L. Credi. Above is a “Crucifixion” by Fra. Bartolommeo. The door in
the south corner of the east wall opens into the chapter-house, with a large fresco of the Crucifixion by B. Angelico. A very famous work. The crucifix on the left is by B. Montelupo, and the other by his son. The door in the middle of the east wall gives access to the picture-gallery in the upper storey. At the foot of this stair is a grand picture, a Last Supper (Cenacolo) by Ghirlandaio, who has dressed the company in the costume of the brotherhood. From this ascend to the first floor to what were the cells or rooms of the monks, ranged on each side of a narrow passage ornamented with paintings in fresco. At the head of the stair is a very beautiful Annunciation by Fra. Angelico, and also by him, on the opposite wall, a St. Dominic embracing the Cross. Opposite the Crucifixion is the best of the corridors. The cells of the right corridor are ornamented with frescoes, principally by Fra. Benedetto, and those of the left principally by his more famous brother, Fra. Angelico. Next the staircase we have the library. Second room, banners used for Dante’s festival in 1865. Next, two frescoes by Benedetto. In the last two rooms, one a little higher than the other, Cosmo de’ Medici (Pater Patriæ) used frequently to reside. His portrait is by Pontormo, “The Jesus of Nazareth” is by Fra. Bartolommeo, and the beautiful fresco by Angelico. In the cell opposite is a Crucifixion by Angelico. In the third room, painted on wood by Angelico, are an “Adoration” and an “Annunciation.” In the fourth, also by him, other two famous pictures on wood, the Madonna della Stella and the Coronation of Mary. Turning to the right we find all the cells (as far as that of Savonarola), with paintings by Fra. Benedetto or some pupil of Angelico. In the middle of this corridor is the beautiful Madonna enthroned, an admirable work of B. Angelico. At the end, in a kind of chapel, are two Madonnas on the wall by Fra. Bartolomeo: a Virgin in terra invetriata, by L. della Robbia; the bust of Savonarola, full of expression, modelled by Bastianini; and a sketch of the bust of Benivieni by Bastianini. In the two little cells at the side, in which dwelt Savonarola, are preserved some manuscripts, a crucifix, and other objects which belonged to him; as also his portrait painted by Fra. Bartolommeo, and a view of the Piazza della Signoria, with the burning of Savonarola and his companions. Proceeding along the corridor, in which there are no cells on the right for some distance, we come to more frescoes by Benedetto, the best being a “Coronation” in the third cell.
Academy of the Fine Arts.
At the south-west corner of the Piazza San Marco, at No. 34 Via Ricasoli, is the entrance to the [Academy of Fine Arts]. Open from 9 till 3. Fee, 1 fr. Sundays, free. The principal door is by Paoletti.
In the vestibule are reliefs and busts of contemporary artists by L. della Robbia. In the cloister are bas-reliefs by the brother and nephew of Robbia, and Bologna’s models for his statues of Virtue and Vice, and of the Rape of the Sabines. A corridor, containing statues in stucco, to the right of the main entrance, leads to the library. Midway, left hand, a door opens into the principal gallery, the hall of the large pictures, with 124 paintings, by the following artists: M. Albertinelli, A. Allori, B. Angelico, Spinello Aretino, Fra. Bartolommeo, Biliverti, F. Boschi, Botticelli, Brina, Bronzino, Buffalmaccio, Calabrese, A. Castagno, Cigoli, Cimabue, Credi, Curradi, C. Dolci, I. Empoli, Gen. da Fabriano, A. and T. Gaddi, R. del Garbo, Ghirlandaio, Giotto, Ligozzi, Fra. F. Lippi, Aur. Lomi, Masaccio, Giov. da Milano, Monaco, S. P. Nelli, L. di Niccolo, D. Passignani, Perugino, F. Pesellino, Fra. P. da Pistoia, Poccetti, Fr. Poppi, C. Rosselli, A. Sacchi, A. del Sarto, L. Signorelli, G. A. Sogliani, A. Squazelli, Santi di Tito, Vasari, Veracini, Verrochio, Vignali. In No. 43, the Baptism of Christ, by Verrochio, the angel to the right of the spectator was painted by Leonardo da Vinci when he was twenty-three years old. No. 115, by Cigoli, St. Francis. It is said that in order to obtain the unearthly expression of the face the painter kept a poor pilgrim for many hours without food, until he fainted from hunger. This room is followed by a chamber communicating with the Tribune, built in 1875, for the celebrated statue of David, sculptured by Michael Angelo when 28 years of age. It was brought here in 1873 from the Piazza della Signoria, where it had stood 369 years. From the library a door opens into the Hall of Ancient Pictures, containing sixty paintings. The artists of a large number are unknown. The others are by B. Angelico, S. Aretino, M. Arezzo, A. Baldovinetti, B. Berlinghieri, Neri di Bicci, Sim. da Bologna, S. Botticelli, P. di Buonaguida, A. Ceraiolo, D. Ghirlandaio, Bicci di Lorenzo, G. Pacchiarotto, and Signorelli. In the hall of the small pictures there are seventy-one paintings, by artists already named, the most important being Fra. and B. Angelico, who, with Sandro Botticelli, Francesco Granacci, Luca Signorelli, and Lorenzo di Credi, are better represented here than anywhere else. The most remarkable are 41, “The Day of Judgment,” by Fra. Angelico. 13, A “Nativity,” by L. di Credi; and 18, Portraits of two Vallombrosian friars, by Raphael or Perugino. Beyond this is a collection of original designs in a room called the Sala dei Cartoni. 2 and 5 are by Raphael. 6, Correggio. 3 and 12, Ben. Poccetti. 1, 4, 9, 10, 11, 18, and 22, Fra. Bartolommeo. 19, Bronzino. 7, 8, and 20, F. Barroccio. 24, Credi, and 23, Carlo Cignani.
From the vestibule a staircase leads up to the Galleria dei Quadri Moderni, a collection of 160 modern paintings, distributed in six rooms. The custodian of the academy keeps the keys of the Cloister dello Scalzo, No. 69 Via Cavour, adorned with fourteen frescoes by A. del Sarto, and two by his friend Franciabigio, in chiaroscuro, during 1517 to 1526, illustrative of the life of John the Baptist. They are not in a good state of preservation.
[ Florence: Mosaics. Galleria dei Lavori in Pietre Dure.]
Adjoining the Accademia delle belle Arti, at No. 82 Via degli Alfani, is the entrance into the Galleria dei Lavori in Pietre Dure, open from 10 to 3 daily. Entrance free. Rooms 1, 2, and 3 contain, in glass cases, specimens of all the minerals and rocks used in Florence in the manufacture of mosaics. They are numbered, and accompanied with explanatory catalogues. They consist chiefly of varieties of marble and alabaster, agates of different shades, chalcedony, jasper, lapis lazuli, and red porphyry. The large room contains the finished mosaics, all for sale, at prices from £80 upwards. Mosaics are made and sold in numerous establishments throughout the city, but the best and most artistic are sold here.