A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture

by Clara Erskine Clement Waters

In 1513 Leo X. sent Sansovino to Loreto to adorn the temple which incloses the "Casa Santa" with bas-reliefs. This Casa Santa is believed to be the house in which the Virgin Mary was born at Nazareth; and when the Saracens invaded the land four angels are said to have borne the house to the coast of Dalmatia, and later to a spot near Loreto; but here some brigands entered it, and again it was removed to its present position in the Church of Loreto; this is said to have been done in 1295. Naturally this "Casa Santa" is a sacred object to all Roman Catholics, and it is visited by thousands and thousands of pilgrims each year.

The decoration of this shrine was very important, and an honorable work for any artist. Sansovino did not execute all the reliefs, and the highest praise that can be given to those he did is to say that they are superior to the others that are beside them. He was a most skilful workman, and it seems as if marble became like wax under his hand; but this very skill led him to multiply his ornaments, and to repeat acanthus leaves and honeysuckle vines until the whole was a weariness and confusion, and conveyed no meaning or sentiment whatever.

Fig. 102.—Bacchus.
By Jacopo Sansovino.

Sansovino's most important pupil was Jacopo Tatti, who, on account of his master, is called Jacopo Sansovino (1477-1570). He was born at Florence, and when Andrea Sansovino returned from Portugal Jacopo became his pupil. Early in life he went to Rome, and there studied and copied the works of antiquity; among other things he made a copy of the Laocoon, which was cast in bronze at a later time. Soon after his return to Florence, in 1511, Jacopo received orders for some works, but the most important statue which he made about this time is the Bacchus, now in the Uffizi. In this work he showed how completely he was in sympathy with the classic spirit; this Bacchus is a triumph in this manner, and has been called "the most beautiful and spirited pagan statue of the Renaissance period." It is full of gladness, and is simple, delicate, and beautiful. The young god is advancing and holding up a cup, which he regards with an expression of delight; in his right hand he has a bunch of grapes, from which a Pan is eating stealthily (Fig. 102).

In 1514 Jacopo Sansovino was employed upon the decorations for the visit of Leo X. to Florence. Soon after this he went again to Rome and submitted plans for the Church of San Giovanni de' Fiorentini, which the Florentines were about to erect—for this master was an architect as well as a sculptor. The taking of Rome by Constable de Bourbon, in 1527, drove Sansovino away; he went to Venice, intending to go to France, but Venice charmed him, and his work pleased the Venetians, and the result was that from 1529 he served the Venetians as long as he lived. He was appointed Protomastro of the Republic of Venice, and had the care of St. Mark's, the Campanile, the Piazza, and the surrounding buildings. He received a good salary, and was provided with a handsome house to live in.

He first restored the cupolas of St. Mark's; then completed the Scuola della Misericordia; he next made the interior of San Francesco della Vigna; then the Zecca, the Fabbriche Nuove, and the Loggietta of the Campanile. He also erected other churches and palaces, besides smaller sculptural works. But his architectural masterpiece was the Library of St. Mark's. The bronze gate to the Sacristy of St. Mark's was one of his principal works. It is subject to criticism as being too crowded; but it is a fine work and full of strong feeling.

His statues are numerous and seen all over Venice; indeed, it is proper to speak of him as a Venetian, so thoroughly did he adopt that city, and so industriously did he work for it during forty years. Had he remained in Florence he might have been a better artist; the splendor and luxury of the Venetians brought out corresponding traits in Jacopo, and he fell short of the purity which the influence of Florence might have given him. He is one of the masters in whom the sensual influence of the study of pagan art was fully manifested. Many of his subjects were mythological; among them were the story of Phrixos and Helle, Mercury, Apollo, Pallas, Mars, and Neptune, the last two being colossal figures on the steps of the Doge's Palace.

Among the pupils and associates of Sansovino were Niccolo Braccini (1485-1550), called Il Tribolo, and Francesco Sangallo (1498-1570), neither of whom were important artists, though many works by them are seen in various places in Italy.

Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1572) is a far more interesting study than were many sculptors of his time. His life was an eventful one, and his own account of it is one of the most interesting books of its class in existence. His statement of the origin of his family is that "Julius Cæsar had a chief and valorous captain named Fiorino da Cellino, from a castle situated four miles from Monte Fiascone. This Fiorino having pitched his camp below Fiesole, where Florence now stands, in order to be near the river Arno, for the convenience of the army, the soldiers and other persons, when they had the occasion to visit him, said to each other, 'Let us go to Fiorenza,' which name they gave to the place where they were encamped, partly from their captain's name of Fiorino, and partly from the abundance of flowers which grew there; wherefore Cæsar, thinking it a beautiful name, and considering flowers to be of good augury, and also wishing to honor his captain, whom he had raised from an humble station, and to whom he was greatly attached, gave it to the city which he founded on that spot."