On the completion of this work Buffalmacco painted in the abbey of Settimo some scenes from the life of St James in the chapel dedicated to that saint which is in the cloister, on the vault of which he did the four Patriarchs and the four Evangelists, among whom the attitude of Luke is noteworthy for the natural way in which he is blowing his pen to make the ink flow. In the subjects for the walls, which are five, the figures are represented in fine attitudes and everything is carried out with originality and judgment. In order to make his flesh colouring easier to paint Buonamico used a ground of pavonazzo di sale, as is seen in this work, which in the course of time has caused a saltness by which the white and other colours are corroded and consumed so that it is no marvel that the work is damaged and destroyed, while many that were made long before have been excellently preserved. I formerly considered that the injury was caused by the damp, but afterwards by an examination of his other works I have proved by experience that it is not the damp, but this peculiar practice of Buffalmacco which has caused them to be so damaged that it is not possible to see the design or anything else, and where the flesh colour should be there remains nothing but the pavonazzo. This method of working should not be practised by anyone who desires a long life for his paintings.
After the two pictures mentioned above, Buonamico did two others in tempera for the monks of the Certosa at Florence, one of which is in the place where the singing books for the choir rest, and the other is below in the old chapels. In the Badia at Florence he painted in fresco the chapel of the Gondi and Bastari, beside the principal chapel, which was afterwards granted to the family of the Boscoli, and still retains these paintings of Buffalmacco. Here he did the Passion of Christ, with fine and original expressions, showing in Christ, when He washes the disciples' feet, the greatest humility and benignity, and cruelty and fierceness in the Jews who lead Him to Herod. But he displayed especial originality and facility in a Pilate whom he painted in prison and in Judas, hung to a tree, from which we may readily believe what is related of this pleasant painter, that when he wished to be diligent and take pains, which rarely happened, he was not inferior to any other artist of his time. That this is true is proved by his works in fresco in Ognissanti, where the cemetery now is, produced with such diligence and with such precautions that the water which has rained upon them for many years has not injured them or caused any harm except by preventing a recognition of their excellence. They are so well preserved because they were done simply upon fresh lime. On the walls are the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the Adoration of the Magi, that is to say, over the tomb of the Aliotti. After these works Buonamico went to Bologna, where he painted in fresco on the vaults of the chapel of the Bolognini in S. Petronio, but did not finish them, for some reason unknown to me. It is said that in the year 1302 he was summoned to Assisi, and in the chapel of St Catherine in the church of S. Francesco he painted the history of the former saint's life in fresco, works which are very well preserved, and containing some figures well worthy of praise. When he had completed the chapel and was on his way through Arezzo, the bishop Guido, who had heard that Buonamico was a pleasant man and a painter of talent, wished him to stay in the city and paint for him the chapel in the Vescovado containing the Baptism of Christ. Buonamico put his hand to the work and had already done a considerable part of it when a very strange adventure happened to him, related by Franco Sacchetti in his "Three Hundred Tales." The bishop possessed a baboon, the most mischievous and malignant creature that ever was seen. This animal was one day standing on his perch and watching Buonamico work, having lost thought of everything else, and never taking his eyes off him as he mixed the colours, managed the tools, broke the eggs to make the tempera, or did any other thing, no matter what. One Saturday evening Buonamico left the work and this baboon; on Sunday morning, although he had a great log of wood attached to his legs, which the bishop made him carry so that he should not leap everywhere, notwithstanding this heavy weight, leapt on to the scaffolding where Buonamico used to stand to work, and there took up the phials and emptied them one by one, made the mixtures, broke as many eggs as were there, and began to daub all the figures with the brush, never resting until he had repainted everything himself. That done he made a fresh mixture of all the colours which were left over, although they happened to be few, and then descended from the scaffolding and departed. When Buonamico came back to his work on Monday morning and saw his figures spoiled, his phials emptied and everything upside down, he was filled with amazement and confusion. After turning the matter over in his mind for some time he concluded that some Aretine had done this from envy or for some other reason. Accordingly he went to the bishop and told him what had happened and what he suspected, at which the bishop was much troubled, yet he encouraged Buonamico to go on with the work, and to repaint the part which had been spoiled. He further pledged himself to give the artist six armed men of his infantry, who should stand with falchions to watch, when he was not working, and to cut to pieces without mercy anyone who should come. Accordingly the figures were repainted a second time, and one day while the soldiers were on the watch they heard a curious rolling noise in the church, and soon after the baboon appeared, jumped upon the seat, made the mixtures in an instant, and set to work upon the saints of Buonamico. The guard then called the master, and showed him the criminal, and when they saw him standing with them and watching the animal work, they burst into laughter, and Buonamico himself, though grieved at the damage, could not help laughing in the midst of his sorrow. At length he dismissed the soldiers who had been on guard with their falchions, and went to the bishop and said to him: "My lord, you like my manner of painting, but your baboon prefers another." He then related the matter, adding: "It was not necessary for you to send away for painters since you had a master in the house, although perhaps he did not know how to mix his colours properly. Now that he knows, let him work by himself, for I am of no further use here, and as his worth is now recognised, I shall be contented with no other wages for my work except permission to return to Florence." Although much displeased, the bishop could not refrain from laughing when he heard this, especially when he considered that a beast had made a jest of the most jest-loving man in the world. After they had laughed and talked over this new adventure, the bishop prevailed so far, that Buonamico set himself a third time to do the work, and he finished it. The baboon, as a punishment and penance for his fault, was shut up in a large cage of wood, and kept there while Buonamico worked, until the painting was quite finished. It is not possible to imagine the antics which the great beast played in that cage with his mouth, his body and his hands, at seeing others work while he was not able to imitate them. When the decoration of the chapel was completed the bishop asked, for a jest or for some other reason, that Buffalmacco should paint him on a wall of his palace an eagle on the back of a lion which it had killed. The cunning painter promised to do as the bishop desired, and made a large partition of boards, saying that he did not wish anyone to see such a thing being painted. This done, and while being shut up all alone inside, he painted the contrary to what the bishop wished, a lion crushing an eagle. When the work was completed, he asked licence from the bishop to go to Florence to procure some colours which he needed. Accordingly, having locked up his picture, he went to Florence intending never to return. The bishop after waiting some time and seeing that the painter did not return, caused the painting to be opened, and found that Buonamico was wiser than himself. Furious at the trick which had been played upon him he threatened to take the artist's life. When Buonamico heard this, he sent to tell him to do his worst, wherefore the bishop menaced him with a malediction. But at length he reflected that the artist had only been jesting, and that he should take the matter as a jest, whereupon he pardoned Buonamico the insult, and acknowledged his pains most liberally. What is more, he induced him to come again to Arezzo not long after, and caused him to paint many things in the old Duomo, which have been thrown down to-day, treating him always as his friend and most faithful servant. The same artist also painted in Arezzo the apse of the principal chapel of S. Giustino. Some write that when Buonamico was in Florence he was often in the workshop of Maso del Saggio with his friends and companions. He was also present with many others in arranging the regatta which the men of the borgo S. Friano in Arno celebrate on the calends of May, and that when the ponte alla Carraia, which was then of wood, broke down because it was too crowded with people, who had run thither to see the spectacle, he did not perish then like many others, because when the bridge fell right on a machine, representing Hell in a barque on the Arno, he had gone to buy some things that were wanted for the feast.
Not long after these things Buonamico was invited to Pisa, and painted a series of subjects from the Old Testament, from the Creation of Man to the building of the Tower of Nimrod, for the abbey of S. Paolo a ripa d'Arno, which then belonged to the monks of Vallombrosa, on the whole of the crossing of that church, on three sides, from the roof to the ground. This work, which is now almost entirely destroyed, is remarkable for the vigour of the figures, the skill and beauty of the colouring and artist's faculty of expressing his ideas, although he was not very good in design. On the wall of this crossing opposite that which contains the side door, there are some scenes of the life of St Anastasia, where some women, painted in a graceful manner, exhibit certain antique habits and gestures, very prettily and well. No less fine are some figures in a barque, arranged in well designed attitudes, among them being the portrait of Pope Alexander IV., which it is said Buonamico had from his master Tafi, who had represented that pontiff in mosaic in St Peter's. Similarly in the last subject which represents the martyrdom of the saint, and of others, Buonamico finely expresses in the faces the fear of death, the grief and dread of those who are standing by to see her tormented and put to death, while she stands bound to a tree, and above the fire. Bruno di Giovanni, a painter, assisted Buonamico in this work. He is called painter in the old book of the company. This Bruno, also celebrated as a joke-loving man by Boccaccio, finished the said scenes for the walls, and painted the altar of St Ursula for the same church, with her company of virgins, inserting in one hand of the saint a standard with the arms of Pisa, which are a white cross on a red ground, while she places the other on a woman who is rising between two mountains, and touches the sea with one foot and places her hands together in an act of entreaty. This woman represents Pisa, her head being circled with a gold crown, while she wears a garment full of circles and eagles, and being in much trouble at sea she petitions the saint. But because Bruno complained when he executed those figures that they were not life-like as those of Buonamico were, the latter in jest, to teach him to make figures, which if not life-like, should at least converse, made him put some words issuing from the mouth of the woman who is entreating the saint, and also the saint's reply to her, a device which Buonamico had seen in the works executed by Cimabue in the same church. This thing pleased Bruno and other foolish men of the time, just as to-day it pleases certain clumsy fellows, who have thus employed vulgar devices worthy of themselves. It is certainly curious that in this way advice intended simply as a jest has been generally followed, so much so that a great part of the Campo Santo done by masters of repute is full of this clumsiness.
The works of Buonamico having greatly pleased the Pisans, those in charge of the fabric of the Campo Santo commissioned him to do four scenes in fresco from the beginning of the world until the building of Noah's ark, surrounding them with an ornamentation, in which he drew his own portrait from life, that is to say, in a border in the middle and at the corners of which are some heads, among which, as I have said, is his own. He wears a hood, just like the one that may be seen above. This work contains a God who holds in his arms the heavens and the elements, and all the apparatus of the universe, so that Buonamico, explaining his scene with verses, like the paintings of the age, wrote at the foot in capital letters with his own hand the following sonnet, as may be seen, which for its antiquity and simplicity of diction peculiar to the time, has seemed to me to be worth insertion in this place, so that if it does not perchance give much pleasure, though I think it will, yet it is a matter which will perhaps bear testimony to the amount of the knowledge of the men of that age:
"Voi che avvisate questa dipintura
Di Dio pietoso sommo creatore,
Lo qual fe' tutte cose con amore
Pesate, numerate ed in misura.
In nove gradi angelica natura
In ello empirio ciel pien di splendore,
Colui che non si muove et è motore,
Ciascuna cosa fecie buona e pura.
Levate gli occhi del vostro intelletto
Considerate quanto è ordinato
Lo mondo universale; e con affetto
Lodate lui che l' ha si ben creato:
Pensate di passare a tal diletto
Tra gli angeli, dove e ciascun beato.
Per questo mondo si vede la gloria,
Lo basso, e il mezzo, e Palto in questa storia."
It was indeed bold of Buonamico to set himself to make a God the Father five braccia high, the hierarchy, the heavens, the angels, the zodiac, and all the things above to the sky of the moon, and then the element of fire, the air, the earth, and finally the centre. For the two lower corners he did a St Augustine and a St Thomas Aquinas. At the top of this Campo Santo, where the marble tomb of the Corte now is, Buonamico painted the Passion of Christ, with a great number of figures on foot and on horse, all in varied and beautiful attitudes, and in conformity with the story. He also did the Resurrection and the Apparition of Christ to the apostles very satisfactorily. When he had completed these labours, and had at the same time spent everything that he had gained at Pisa, which was not a little, he returned to Florence as poor as he had left it, and there he did many pictures and works in fresco, which it is not necessary to describe further. When his close friend Bruno, with whom he had returned from Pisa after squandering everything, was employed to do some works in S. Maria Novella, because he had not much skill in design or invention, Buonamico designed for him all that he afterwards did for a wall of that church opposite the pulpit, filling the space between column and column. This was the story of St Maurice and his companions, who were beheaded for the faith of Jesus Christ. Bruno executed this work for Guido Campese, then constable of the Florentines. The artist took his portrait before his death, in the year 1320, and afterwards put it in this work, as an armed man, as was customary in those days, and behind him he made an array of warriors, all armed in the antique style, forming a fine spectacle, while Guido himself kneels before Our Lady, who has the child Jesus in her arms while St Domenic and St Agnes, who are on either side of her, intercede for him. Although this painting is not remarkable for its design and invention, yet it is worthy of some amount of praise, chiefly on account of the variety of clothing, and of the barbed and other armour of the time. I myself made use of it in some scenes which I did for Duke Cosimo, in which it was necessary to represent an armed man in the antique style and other similar things of that age. This thing greatly pleased His Most Illustrious Excellency and others who have seen it. From this it may be seen what an advantage it is to draw materials from inventions and works made by these ancients, for although they are not perfect, yet it is useful to know in what manner they can be made of service, since they opened the way to the marvels which have since been produced. Whilst Bruno was engaged upon these works, a rustic desired him to do a St Christopher, and they made an agreement at Florence, the terms being that the price should be eight florins, and the figure should be twelve braccia high. Accordingly Buonamico went to the church where he was to do the St Christopher, and found that as its length and breadth did not exceed nine braccia he could not manage to get the figure in, so he determined, in order to fulfil the agreement, to make the figure lying down, but as even then it would not entirely come in, he was compelled to turn it from the knees downwards on to another wall. When the work was completed the rustic refused to pay for it, exclaiming that he had been cheated. The matter thus came before the official of the Grascia, who judged that Buonamico was justified by the terms of the contract.
At S. Giovanni in l'Arcore there was a very fine Passion of Jesus Christ by Buonamico's hand, and among other much admired things it contained a Judas hanging from a tree, done with much judgment and in good style. There was also an old man blowing his nose very naturally, and the Maries are represented with such a sad air in weeping that they merit high praise for a time when men had not acquired the facility of expressing the emotions of the soul with the brush. In the same wall is a St Ivo of Brittany with many widows and orphans at his feet—a good figure—and two angels in the air who crown him, executed in the sweetest style. This building, together with the paintings, was thrown down in the year of the war of 1529. Again Buonamico painted many things in the Vescovado of Cortona for M. Aldebrando, bishop of that city, especially the chapel and the picture of the high altar; but as during the restoration of the palace and church everything was thrown down, it is not worth while to say more about them. In S. Francesco and in S. Margherita of the same city, there are still some pictures by the hand of Buonamico. From Cortona he went once more to Assisi, where in the lower church of S. Francesco he painted in fresco all the chapel of the Cardinal Egidio Alvaro of Spain, and because he was successful he was liberally recognised by the cardinal. Finally, after Buonamico had done many pictures in every part of la Marca, he stayed at Perugia on his way back to Florence, and there painted the chapel of the Buontempi in fresco in the church of S. Domenico, representing scenes from the life of St Catherine, virgin and martyr. In the old church of S. Domenico he painted also in fresco on the wall the scene where St Catherine, daughter of King Costa, disputes with, convinces, and converts certain philosophers to the faith of Christ. As this scene is the finest that Buonamico ever produced, it may be said with truth that he has surpassed himself, and moved by this, as Franco Sacchetti writes, the Perugians directed that he should paint on the piazza St Ercolano, bishop and protector of that city. Accordingly when the terms had been settled a screen of boards and wicker work was made in the place where he was to paint, so that the master should not be seen at work, and this done he set himself to the task. But before ten days had passed everyone who passed asked when the picture would be finished, as if such things were cast in moulds. This disgusted Buonamico, who was angered by such importunity, and when the work was finished he resolved to be quietly avenged on the people for their impatience. An idea came to him, and before he uncovered his work he showed it to the people, who were delighted. But when the Perugians wanted to remove the screen, Buonamico said that they must let it remain for two days longer, because he wished to retouch some things a secco, and this was done. Buonamico then climbed up to where he had made a great diadem of gold for the saint, done in relief with the lime, as was customary in those days, and replaced it by a crown or garland of fish. That done, permission to depart being granted to him, he went away to Florence. When two days had passed, the Perugians not seeing the painter about, as he was accustomed to be, enquired what had become of him, and learned that he had returned to Florence. Accordingly they at once went to uncover the work, and found their St Ercolano solemnly crowned with fishes. They immediately informed their magistrates, and horsemen were sent off in haste to find Buonamico. But all was in vain, since he had returned with great speed to Florence. They, therefore, agreed to get one of their own painters to remove the crown of fishes and to repaint the saint's diadem, saying all the evil things imaginable of Buonamico and of the other Florentines. Thus Buonamico returned to Florence, caring little for what the Perugians said, and began to do many works which I shall not mention for fear of being too tedious. I will only remark that having painted a Madonna and child at Calcinaia, the man who had commissioned him to paint it, gave him promises instead of gold. Buonamico, who had not reckoned upon being used and cheated in this way, determined to be even with him. Accordingly he went one morning to Calcinaia and converted the child which he had painted in the Virgin's arms into a little bear, with simple tints, without glue or tempera, but made with water only. When the countryman saw this not long after, he was in despair, and went to find Buonamico, begging him to be so good as to remove the bear and repaint a child as at first, because he was ready to satisfy him. Buonamico did this with pleasure, for a wet sponge sufficed to set everything right, and he was paid for his first and second labours without further delay. As I should occupy too much space if I wished to describe all the jests and paintings of Buonamico Buffalmacco, especially these perpetrated in the workshop of Maso del Saggio, which was a resort of citizens and of all the pleasant and jest-loving men in Florence, I shall conclude this notice of him. He died at the age of seventy-eight, and he was of the company of the Misericordia, because he was very poor, and had spent more than he had earned, that being his temperament, and in his misfortunes he went to S. Maria Nuova, a hospital of Florence. He was buried in the year 1340, like the other poor in the Ossa, the name of a cloister or cemetery of the hospital. His works were valued during his lifetime, and they have since been considered meritorious for productions of that age.
Ambruogio Lorenzetti, Painter of Siena.
Great as the debt owed by artists of genius to Nature undoubtedly is, our debt to them is far greater, seeing that they labour to fill our cities with noble and useful buildings and with beautiful paintings, while they usually win fame and riches for themselves. This was the case with Ambruogio Lorenzetti, painter of Siena, whose powers of invention were fine and prolific, and who excelled in the arrangement and disposition of the figures in his subjects. Evidence of this may be seen at the Friars Minors at Siena in a very gracefully painted scene by him in the cloister. Here he represented the manner in which a youth becomes a friar, and how he and some others go to the Soldan, and are there beaten and sentenced to the gallows, hung to a tree, and finally beheaded, during the progress of a fearful tempest. In this painting he has very admirably and skilfully depicted the disturbance of the and the fury of the rain and wind, by the efforts of the figures. From these modern masters have learned originally how to treat such a scene, for which reason the artist deserves the highest commendation. Ambruogio was a skilful colourist in fresco, and he exhibited great address and dexterity in his treatment of colours in tempera, as may still be seen in the pictures which he completed at Siena in the hospital called Mona Agnesa, in which he painted and finished a scene with new and beautiful composition. On the front of the great hospital he did in fresco the Nativity of Our Lady, and when she goes among the virgins to the temple. For the friars of St Augustine in that city he did the chapterhouse, on the vault of which are represented the Apostles holding scrolls containing that part of the Credo which each of them made. At the foot of each is a small scene representing the meaning of the writing above. On the principal wall are three scenes of the life of St Catherine the Martyr, representing her dispute with the tyrant in the temple, and in the middle is the Passion of Christ with the thieves on the Cross and the Maries below, supporting the Virgin, who has fallen down. These things were finished by Ambruogio with considerable grace, and in a good style. He also depicted in the great hall of the palace of the Signoria at Siena the war of Asinalunga, the peace following, and the events which then took place, comprising a map, perfect for the time. In the same palace he did eight scenes in terra verde very smoothly. It is said that he also sent to Volterra a picture in tempera, which was much admired in that city; and at Massa, in conjunction with others, he did a chapel in fresco and a picture in tempera, showing the excellence of his judgment and talent in the art of painting. At Orvieto he painted in fresco the principal chapel of St Mary. After these works he betook himself to Florence, and in S. Procolo did a picture and the life of St Nicholas on small figures in a chapel, to please some of his friends, who were anxious to see a specimen of his work. He completed this painting in so short a time, and with such skill, that he greatly increased his name and reputation. This work, in the predella of which he made his own portrait, procured him an invitation to Cortona, by command of the Bishop degli Ubertini, then lord of that city, where he worked in the church of S. Margherita, which had shortly before been erected on the summit of the mountain for the friars of St Francis. Some of this, particularly parts of the vaulting and walls, is so well done, that even now when they are almost destroyed by time, it is clear that the figures had very good expressions, and show that he deserved the commendation which he received. On the completion of this work Ambruogio returned to Siena, where he passed the remainder of his days, honoured not only because he was an excellent master in painting, but also because in his youth he had devoted himself to letters, which were a sweet and useful companion to painting, and such an ornament to all his life, that they rendered him no less amiable and pleasing than the profession of painting had done. Thus he not only conversed with men of letters and of worth, but was also employed on the affairs of his republic with much honour and profit. The manners of Ambruogio were in every respect meritorious, and rather those of a gentleman and a philosopher than of an artist. Moreover, and this tests the prudence of men more severely, he was always ready to accept what the world and time brought him, so that he supported with an equable mind the good and the evil which Fortune sent him. In truth it is impossible to overestimate what art gains by good society, gentle manners, and modesty, joined with other excellent traits, especially when these emanate from the intellect and from superior minds. Thus everyone should render himself no less pleasing by his character than by the excellence of his art. At the end of his life Ambruogio executed a much admired picture for Monte Oliveto of Chiusuri. Soon after, at the age of eighty-three, he passed in a happy and Christian manner to the better life. His works were executed about 1340.
As has been said, the portrait of Ambruogio by his own hand may be seen in S. Procolo in the predella of his picture, where he is wearing a hood on his head. His skill as a designer may be seen in our book, which contains some things by his hand of considerable merit.