Gaddo, painter of Florence, who flourished at this same time, showed more design in the works which he produced in the Byzantine style, and which he executed with great care, than did Andrea Tafi and the other painters who preceded him. This was possibly due to his close friendship and intercourse with Cimabue, for, whether it was through congeniality of disposition or through the goodness of their hearts, they became very much attached to each other, and their frequent conversations together, and their friendly discussions upon the difficulties of the arts, gave rise to many great and beautiful ideas in their minds. This came to pass the more readily, because they were aided by the quality of the air of Florence, which usually produces ingenious and subtle spirits, and which made them strangers to that ruggedness and coarseness from which Nature cannot entirely free herself even when assisted by the rivalry of the good craftsmen and the precepts laid down by them in every age. It is, indeed, abundantly clear that, when things have been talked over in a friendly way, without any reserve of convention, although this rarely happens, they may be brought to a great state of perfection. The same remark applies to those who study the sciences; for, by discussing difficulties among themselves when they arise, they remove them, rendering the path so clear and easy, that the greatest glory may be won thereby. But, on the other hand, there are some who, with devilish arts, and led by envy and malice, make profession of friendship under the guise of truth and affection, give the most pernicious advice, so that the arts do not attain to excellence so soon as they do where the minds of noble spirits are united by such a bond of love as that which drew together Gaddo and Cimabue, and, in like manner, Andrea Tafi and Gaddo. It was Andrea who took Gaddo into his companionship to finish the mosaics of S. Giovanni. Here Gaddo learned so much, that he was able, without assistance, to make the prophets, which may be seen round the walls of that sanctuary, in the squares under the windows; and, as he executed these unaided and in a much improved style, they brought him great renown. Encouraged by this, he prepared himself to work alone, and devoted himself constantly to the study of the Byzantine style, combined with that of Cimabue. By such means, it was not long before he became an excellent artist; so that the wardens of S. Maria del Fiore entrusted to him the semi-circular space within the building above the principal entrance, where he introduced a Coronation of the Virgin, in mosaic. Upon its completion, it was pronounced by all the foreign and native masters to be the finest work of its kind that had yet been seen in Italy, for they recognised that it possessed more design and more judgment, and displayed the results of more study, than were to be found in all the remaining works in mosaic then in existence in the peninsula. Thus, his fame being spread abroad by this work, he was summoned to Rome by Clement V. in the year 1308,—that is to say, in the year following the great fire, in which the church and palaces of the Lateran were destroyed. There he completed for the Pope some works in mosaic, which had been left unfinished by Jacopo da Turrita.
His next work, also in mosaic, was in the church of St Peter's, where he executed some things in the principal chapel and for other parts of the church; but especially a God the Father, of large size with many figures, which he did for the façade. He also assisted in the completion of some mosaics on the façade of S. Maria Maggiore, somewhat improving the style, and departing slightly from the Byzantine manner, which was entirely devoid of merit. On his return to Tuscany, he did some work in mosaic for the Tarlati, lords of Pietramala, in the old Duomo, outside Arezzo, in a vault entirely constructed of spungite. He covered the middle part of this building with mosaics; but the church fell down in the time of Bishop Gentile Urbinate, because the old stone vaulting was too heavy for it, and it was afterwards rebuilt in brick by that bishop. On his departure from Arezzo, Gaddo went to Pisa, where he made, for a niche in the chapel of the Incoronata in the Duomo, the Ascension of Our Lady into Heaven, where Jesus Christ is awaiting her, with a richly appareled throne for her seat. This work was executed so well and so carefully for the time, that it is in an excellent state of preservation to-day. After this, Gaddo returned to Florence, intending to rest. Accordingly he amused himself in making some small mosaics, some of which are composed of egg-shells, with incredible diligence and patience, and a few of them, which are in the church of S. Giovanni at Florence, may still be seen. It is related that he made two of these for King Robert, but nothing more is known of the matter. This much must suffice for the mosaics of Gaddo Gaddi. Of pictures he painted a great number, among them that which is on the screen of the chapel of the Minerbetti in S. Maria Novella, and many others sent to different places in Tuscany. Thus, by producing now mosaics and now paintings, he executed many very tolerable works in both mediums, which will always assure him good credit and reputation. There is a great deal more which I might say about Gaddo, but I will pass it over in silence, because the manner of the painters of those days cannot be of great assistance to artists; and I shall dwell at greater length upon the lives of those who may be of some help, because they introduced improvements into the art.
Gaddo lived seventy-three years, and died in 1312. He was honourably buried in S. Croce by his son Taddeo. This Taddeo, who had Giotto for his godfather, was the only one of all Gaddo's children who became a painter, learning the rudiments of the art from his father and the rest from Giotto. Besides Taddeo, a Pisan painter named Vicino was also a pupil of Gaddo. He did some excellent work in mosaic for the great tribune of the Duomo of Pisa, where the following words still testify to his authorship:
"Tempore Domini Johannis Rossi operarii istius ecclesiæ, Vicinus pictor incepit et perfecit hanc imaginem B. Mariæ, sed Majestatis, et Evangelistae per alios inceptæ, ipse complevit et perfecit. Anno Domini 1321. De mense Septembris. Benedictum sit nomen Domini Dei nostri Jesu Christi. Amen."
The portrait of Gaddo, by the hand of Taddeo his son, may be seen in the Baroncelli chapel in the church of S. Croce, where he stands by the side of Andrea Tafi, in the marriage of the Virgin. In the book, which I have mentioned above, there is a miniature by Gaddo, like those of Cimabue, and which serves to show his ability as a draughtsman.
Now, because an old book from which I have extracted these few notices about Gaddo Gaddi, speaks of the building of the church of S. Maria Novella in Florence for the Friars Preachers, a truly magnificent and imposing structure, I will take this opportunity of relating the circumstances of its erection. While St Dominic was at Bologna, the place of Ripoli outside Florence was granted to him. Accordingly he sent twelve friars thither under the care of the blessed Giovanni da Salerno. Not many years after they came to Florence, to the church and place of S. Pancrazio, and established themselves there. When Dominic himself came to Florence they left it, and went to stay in the church of S. Paolo, as he wished them to do. Subsequently when the place of S. Maria Novella and all its possessions were granted to Blessed Giovanni by the papal legate and by the bishop of the city, they entered into possession and began to live in that place on the last day of October 1221. But as this church was rather small, with a western aspect and the entrance on the old piazza, the friars, who had increased in numbers and who were in great credit in the city, began to think of enlarging their church and convent. So, having collected a great sum of money, and many people of the city having promised every assistance, they began the construction of a new church on St Luke's day, 1278, when the first stone was laid with great ceremony by the Cardinal Latino degli Orsini, legate of Pope Nicholas III. to the Florentines. The architects of the church were fra Giovanni of Florence, and fra Ristoro of Campi, lay brethren of the order, who had restored the ponte alia Carraia, and that of S. Trinita, after their destruction by the flood of October 1264. The greater part of the land covered by the church and convent was given to the friars by the heirs of M. Jacopo, de' Tornaquinci knight. The cost, as has been said, was defrayed partly by alms, partly by the money of various persons who gave assistance readily, but especially by the good offices of friar Aldobrandino Cavalcanti, who was, afterwards bishop of Arezzo, and who is buried over the gate of the Virgin. Besides other things this friar is said to have collected by his industry all the labour and materials required for the church. It was completed when fra Jacopo Passavanti was prior of the convent, who thus deserved his marble tomb which is on the left hand side in front of the principal chapel. The church was consecrated by Pope Martin V. in the year 1470, as appears by an inscription on marble on a pillar on the right of the principal chapel, which runs:
Anno Domini 1420 die Septembris, Dominus Martinus divina providentia Papa V personaliter hanc ecclesiam consecravit, et magnas indulgentias contulit visitantibus eamdem.
All these things and many more are related in a chronicle of the building of this church, which is in the possession of the fathers of S. Maria Novella, as well as in the history of Giovanni Villani. I did not wish to omit these few particulars, because the church is one of the finest and most important in Florence, and also because it contains many excellent works of the most famous artists of a later time, as will be related hereafter.
Margaritone, Painter, Sculptor and Architect of Arezzo.
Among the other painters of old time, in whom the well-deserved praise accorded to Cimabue and his pupil Giotto aroused a great deal of fear, for their good workmanship in painting was hailed throughout Italy, was one Margaritone, painter of Arezzo, who recognised equally well with the others who previously occupied the foremost positions in painting in that unhappy age, that the work of these two men would probably all but obliterate his own reputation. Margaritone was considered excellent among the painters of the age who worked in the Byzantine style, and he did a number of pictures in tempera at Arezzo. He worked in fresco also, painting almost the whole of the church of S. Clemente, an abbey of the order of the Camaldolites, but these occupied him a long time and cost him much trouble. The church is entirely destroyed to-day, together with many other buildings, including a strong fortress called S. dementi, because the Duke Cosimo de' Medici not only here, but round the whole circuit of the city, pulled down many buildings and the old walls which had been restored by Guido Petramalesco, a former bishop and lord of the city, in order to reconstruct them with curtains and bastions much stronger and of less circuit than the former ones had been, and consequently more easy to defend with a smaller number of men. Margaritone's pictures in this church contained many figures both small and great, and although they were executed in the Byzantine style, yet they were admitted to show evidence of having been executed with good judgment and with love of art, as may be inferred from the works of this painter which are still extant in that city. Of these the principal is a picture, now in the chapel of the Conception in S. Francesco, representing a Madonna with modern ornamentation, which is held in great veneration by the friars there. In the same church he did a large crucifix, also in the Byzantine style, which is now placed in the chapel where the quarters of the superintendent are situated. The Saviour is delineated upon the axes of the cross, and Margaritone made many such crucifixes in that city. For the nuns of S. Margherita he painted a work which is now placed in the transept of their church. This is canvas stretched on a panel, containing subjects from the life of Our Lady and of St John the Baptist in small figures, executed in a much better style, and with more diligence and grace than the large ones. This work is noteworthy, not only because the little figures in it are so carefully finished that they resemble the work of an illuminator, but because it is a wonderful thing that a picture on canvas should have lasted three hundred years. He did an extraordinary number of pictures for all the city, and a St Francis drawn from life at Sargiano, a convent of the bare-footed friars. To this he placed his name, because he considered that it was more than usually well done. He afterwards made a large crucifix in wood, painted in the Byzantine manner, and sent it to Florence to M. Farinata degli Uberti, a most famous citizen who, in addition to many other notable exploits, had saved his native city from imminent danger and ruin. This crucifix is now in S. Croce, between the chapel of the Peruzzi and that of the Giugni. In S. Domenico, at Arezzo, a church and convent built by the lords of Pietramela in the year 1275, as their coat of arms proves, he did many things before returning to Rome, where he had already given great satisfaction to Pope Urban IV. by doing some things in fresco for him in the portico of St Peter's; for although in the Byzantine style of the time, they were not without merit. After he had finished a St Francis at Ganghereto, a place above Terranuova in the Valdarno, he devoted himself to sculpture, as he was of an ambitious spirit, and he studied with such diligence that he succeeded much better than he had done in painting; for although his first sculptures were in the Byzantine style, as may be seen in four figures in wood of a Deposition from the Cross in the Pieve, and some other figures in relief which are in the chapel of St Francis above the baptismal font, yet he adopted a much better manner after he had visited Florence and had seen the works of Arnolfo, and of the other more celebrated sculptors of the time. In the year 1275 he returned to Arezzo in the suite of Pope Gregory, who passed through Florence on his journey from Avignon to Rome. Here an opportunity presented itself to make himself better known, for the Pope died at Arezzo after having given 30,000 scudi to the Commune wherewith to finish the building of the Vescovado which had been begun by Master Lapo, and had made but little progress. The Aretines therefore ordained that the chapel of St Gregory should be made in memory of the Pope in the Vescovado, in which Margaritone afterwards placed a picture, and in addition that Margaritone should make a marble tomb for the Pope in the Vescovado. He set to work upon the task and brought it to such a successful completion, introducing the Pope's portrait from life both in marble and in painting, that it was considered to be the best work which he had ever produced.