Another superintendant of the works of the Vatican, but rather in architecture than in painting, was Girolamo Muziano da Brescia, who, undistinguished in his native place, came young to Rome, and was there considered the great supporter of true taste. He derived his principles both in design and colour from the Venetian School, and early acquired such skill in landscape, that he was named in Rome Il Giovane de' Paesi. But he soon afterwards adopted a more elevated style, and devoted himself with such obstinate assiduity to study, that he shaved his head in order to prevent himself from going out of the house. It was at this time that he painted the Raising of Lazarus, afterwards transferred from the church of S. Maria Maggiore to the Quirinal Palace; and which, when exposed to public view, immediately conciliated to him the esteem and protection of Bonarruoti. His pictures occur in various churches and palaces of Rome, and are often ornamented with landscapes in the style of Titian. The church of the Carthusians possesses one of singular beauty. It represents a troop of Anchorets attentively listening to a Saint. There is great elegance and good disposition in the picture of the Circumcision in the Gesù, and the Ascension in Ara Cœli displays an intimate knowledge of art. The picture too of S. Francis receiving the Stigmata, in the church of the Conception, is an enchanting piece, both as regards the figures and the landscape. Nor was he beneath himself in the pictures which he executed in the Duomo at Orvieto, which are highly commended by Vasari. The chapel of the Visitation in the Basilica Loretana, possesses three pictures by him, and that of the Probatica discovers great originality and expression. In the Duomo of Foligno, a picture by him in fresco, of the Miracles of S. Feliciano is pointed out, which was formerly hidden by dust, but was a few years ago restored in a wonderful manner to all its original freshness and charm of colour.
The figures of Muziano are accurately drawn, and we not unfrequently trace in them the anatomy of Michelangiolo. He excelled in painting military and foreign dresses; and above all, in representing hermits and anchorets, men of severe aspects, whose bodies are attenuated by abstinence, and his style, in general, inclines rather to the dry than the florid. We are indebted to this artist for the engraving of the Trajan Column. Giulio Romano had begun to copy it, and the laborious undertaking was continued and perfected by Muziano, and so prepared for the engraver.
The most celebrated scholar of Muziano, was Cesare Nebbia of Orvieto. He presided over the works of Sixtus, entrusting the completion of his own designs to the younger painters. In this task he was assisted by Gio. Guerra da Modena, who suggested to him the subjects, and apportioned the work among the scholars. Both the one and the other of these artists, was endowed with a facility which was essential to the vast works on which they were employed in the five years reign of Sixtus, in the chapel of S. Maria Maggiore, in the library of the Vatican itself, in the Quirinal and Lateran palaces, and at the Scala Santa, and many other places. But in other respects, Muziano left his scholars far behind, as he was possessed of a great and inventive genius, while Nebbia was more remarkable for the mechanism of his art; particularly when he decorated walls. There are, however, some beautiful and well coloured pictures by him; among which may be mentioned the Epiphany, in the church of S. Francis at Viterbo, quite in Muziano's style. Baglione associates with Nebbia Giovanni Paolo della Torre, a gentleman of Rome, who was raised by Girolamo above the rank of a mere dilettante. Taja too, adds Giacomo Stella da Brescia, who, he observes, had degenerated in some degree from the style of his master. He was employed, nevertheless, both in the gallery of Gregory XIII., and in other places, not without commendation. It may be observed, that M. Bardon states him to have been a native of Lyons, long resident in Italy.
Another foreigner, but who came a considerable time after Muziano, was Raffaellino da Reggio, who, after being instructed in the first principles of the art by Lelio di Novellara, formed a master style in Rome. Nothing was wanting to this artist except a greater knowledge of design, as he possessed spirit, disposition, delicacy, relief, and grace; qualities not common in that age. His pictures in oil are occasionally, though not often, found in galleries, but his best works are his frescos of small figures, such as the two charming fables of Hercules, in the ducal hall at Florence, and the two gospel stories in the gallery adjoining to that of Raffaello d'Urbino. He painted also at Caprarola in competition with the Zuccari, and Vecchi, and with such success, that his figures seem living, while those of his comrades are inanimate. This excellent artist died immaturely, greatly lamented, without leaving any pupil worthy of his name. He was however considered as the head of a school in Rome, and his works were studied by the youth of the academy. Many artists adopted his manner of fresco, particularly Paris Nogari of Rome, who left there numerous works, which are known for their peculiar manner; amongst others, some subjects in the gallery. He had another follower in Gio. Batista della Marca, of the family of Lombardelli, a young man of great natural talents, but which were rendered unavailing from his want of application. Many pictures in fresco by him remain in Perugia and in Rome, but the best are in Montenovo, his native place. None, however, approached so near to Raffaellino as Giambatista Pozzo, who also died young, and who, as far as regards ideal beauty, may be considered the Guido of his day. To be convinced of this it is only necessary to see the Choir of Angels, which he painted in the chapel of the Gesù. If he had survived to the time of the Caracci, it is impossible to say to what degree of perfection he might not have attained.
Tommaso Laureti, a Sicilian, already noticed with commendation by us among the scholars of F. Sebastiano, and deserving honourable mention among the professors of Bologna, was invited to Rome in the pontificate of Gregory XIII., and was entrusted with a work of an invidious nature. This was the decoration of the ceiling and lunettes in the Hall of Constantine, the lower part of which had been illustrated by the pencils of Giulio Romano and Perino. The subjects chosen by this master were intended to commemorate the piety of Constantine, idols subverted, the cross exalted, and provinces added to the church. Baglione informs us that Laureti was entertained by the Pope in his palace in a princely manner; and either from his natural indolence, or his reluctance to return to a laborious profession, procrastinated the work so much, that Gregory died, and Sixtus commenced his reign before it was completed. The new pontiff was aware that the artist had abused the patience of his predecessor, and became so exasperated, that Laureti, in order to avert his wrath, proceeded in all haste to finish his labours. When the work however was exposed to public view, in the first year of the new pontificate, it was judged unworthy of the situation. The figures were too vast and heavy, the colouring crude, the forms vulgar. The best part of it was a temple in the ceiling, drawn in excellent perspective, in which art indeed Laureti may be considered as one of the first masters of his day. Misfortune was added to his disgrace; for he was not only not rewarded as he had expected, but the cost of his living and provisions were placed to his charge, even to the corn supplied to his horse. So that he gained no remuneration, and actually died in poverty in the succeeding pontificate. He had however an opportunity afforded him of redeeming his credit, particularly in the stories of Brutus and Horatius on the bridge, which he painted in the Campidoglio, in a much better style. Intimately acquainted with the theory of art, and possessing an agreeable manner of inculcating its principles, he taught at Rome with considerable applause. He had a scholar and assistant in the Vatican, in Antonio Scalvati, a Bolognese, who in the time of Sixtus was employed among the painters of the Library, and who was afterwards engaged in painting portraits under Clement VIII., Leo XI., and Paul V.; and was highly celebrated in this department.
A better fortune attended Gio. Batista Ricci da Novara, who arrived at Rome in the pontificate of Sixtus, and who from his despatch manifested in the works at the Scala Lateranense, and the Vatican Library, was immediately taken into employ by the Pope, who appointed him superintendant for the decorations of the palace of the Quirinal. He was also held in favour by Clement VIII., in whose time he painted in S. Giovanni Laterano the history of the consecration of that church: and there, according to Baglione, he succeeded better than in any other place. He left not a few works in Rome, and elsewhere his pictures display a facility of pencil, and a brilliancy and elegance which attract the eye. He was born in a city into which Gaudenzio Ferrari had introduced the Raffaellesque style, and where Lanini, his son-in-law had practised it; but in whose hands it seemed to decline, and still more so under Ricci, when he came to Rome; so that his style was Raffaellesque reduced to mannerism, like that professed by Circignani, Nebbia, and others of this age.
Giuseppe Cesari, also called Il Cavaliere d'Arpino, is a name as celebrated among painters, as that of Marino among poets. These two individuals, each in his line, contributed to corrupt the taste of an age already depraved, and attached more to shew than to reality. Both the one and the other exhibited considerable talents, and it is an old observation, that the arts, like republican states, have received their subversion from master spirits. Cesari discovered great capacity from his infancy, and soon attracted the admiration of Danti, and obtained the protection of Gregory XIII., with the reputation of the first master in Rome. Some pictures painted in conjunction with Giacomo Rocca,[[65]] from designs of Michelangiolo, (in which Giacomo was very rich,) established his reputation. So much talent was not required to secure him general applause, as the public of that day were chiefly attracted by the energy, fire, tumult, and crowds, that filled his composition. His horses, which he drew in a masterly manner, and his countenances, which were painted with all the force of life, won the admiration of the many; while few attended to the incorrect design, the monotony of the extremities, the poverty of the drapery, the faulty perspective and chiaroscuro. Of these few however were Caravaggio, and Annibale Caracci. With these he became involved in disputes, and challenges were mutually exchanged. Cesari refused the challenge of Caravaggio, as he was not a cavaliere, and Annibale declined that of the Cavaliere d'Arpino, alleging that the pencil was his proper weapon. Thus these two eminent professors met with no greater obstacle in Rome in their attempts to reform the art, than Cesari and his adherents.
The Cavaliere d'Arpino survived both these masters more than thirty years, and left behind him progeniem vitiosiorem. To conclude, he was born a painter, and in so vast and difficult an art, he had endowments sufficient to atone, in part, for his defects. His colouring in fresco was admirable, his imagination was fruitful and felicitous, his figures were animated, and possessed a charm that Baglione, who himself entertained very different principles, could not refrain from admiring. Cesari moreover practised two distinct manners. The one, the most to be commended, is that in which he painted the Ascension, at S. Prassede, and several prophets, di sotto in su: the Madonna in the ceiling of S. Giovanni Grisogono, which is remarkable for its fine colouring; the gallery of the Casa Orsini; and in the Campidoglio, the Birth of Romulus, and the battle of the Romans and the Sabines, a painting in fresco, preferred by some to all his other works. Others of his pictures may be added, particularly some smaller works, with lights in gold, exquisitely finished, as if they were by an entirely different artist. Of this kind there is an Epiphany in possession of the Count Simonetti, in Osimo, and S. Francis in extacies, in the house of the Belmonti at Rimino. His other style was sufficiently free, but negligent, and this latter he used too frequently, partly through impatience of labour, and partly through old age, as may be seen in three other subjects in the Campidoglio, painted in the same saloon forty years after the first. His works are almost innumerable, not only in Rome, where he worked in the pontificates of Gregory and Sixtus, and where, under Clement VIII., he presided over the decorations in S. Gio. Laterano, and there continued under Paul V., but also in Naples, at Monte Casino, and in various cities of the Roman state, without mentioning the pictures sent to foreign courts, and painted for private individuals. For the latter indeed, and even for persons of inferior rank in life, he worked more willingly than for princes, with whom, like the Tigellius of Horace, he was capricious and morose. He was indeed desirous of being solicited by persons of rank, and often affected to neglect them, so much had the applause of a corrupted age flattered his vanity.
Cesari had many scholars and assistants, whom he more particularly employed in the works of the Lateran; as he did not deign in those times often to take up the pencil himself. Some of these pupils adopted his faults, and as they did not possess the same genius, their works proved intolerably bad. A vicious example, easy of imitation, is, as Horace has observed, highly seductive. There were however some of his school, who in part at least corrected themselves from the works of others. His brother, too, Bernardino Cesari, was an excellent copyist of the designs of Bonarruoti, and worked assiduously under the Cav. Giuseppe, but little remains of him, as he died young. One Cesare Rossetti, a Roman, served under Arpino a longer time, and of him there are many works in his own name. There are also to be found some public memorials of Bernardino Parasole, who was cut off in the flower of his age. Guido Ubaldo Abatini of Città di Castello, merited commendation from Passeri as a good fresco painter, particularly for a vault at the Vittoria. Francesco Allegrini di Gubbio was a fresco painter, in design very much resembling his master, if we may judge from the cupola of the Sacrament in the Cathedral of Gubbio, and from another at the Madonna de' Bianchi. We there observe the same attenuated proportions, and the same predominant facility of execution. He nevertheless shewed himself capable of better things, when his mind became matured, and he worked with more care. He is commended by Ratti for various works in fresco, executed at Savona, in the Duomo, and in the Casa Gavotti, and for others in the Casa Durazzo at Genoa; where one may particularly admire the freshness of the colouring, and the skill exhibited in his sotto in su. He is also commended by Baldinucci for similar works in the Casa Panfili, and merits praise for his smaller pieces and battles frequently found in Rome and Gubbio. He also added figures to the landscapes of Claude, two of which are to be seen, in the Colonna palace. He lived a long time in Rome, and his son Flaminio with him, commemorated by Taja for some works in the Vatican. Baglione has enumerated not a few other artists, in part belonging to the Roman state, and in part foreigners. Donato of Formello (a fief of the dukes of Bracciano) had greatly improved on the style of Vasari his master, as is proved by his histories of S. Peter, in a staircase of the Vatican, particularly the one of the piece of money found in the fish's mouth. He died whilst yet young, and the art had real cause to lament his loss. Giuseppe Franco, also called dalle Lodole, in consequence of his painting a lark in one of his pieces in S. Maria in Via, and on other occasions, and Prospero Orsi, both Romans, had a share in the works prosecuted by Sixtus. When these were finished, the former repaired to Milan, where he remained some years; the latter, from painting historical subjects, passed to arabesque, and from his singular talents in that line, was called Prosperino dalle Grottesche. Of the same place was Girolamo Nanni, deserving of particular mention, because, during all the time that he was engaged in these works, he never hurried himself, and to the directors who urged him to despatch, he answered always poco e buono, which expression was ever afterwards attached to him as a surname. He continued to work with the same study and devotion, as far as his talents would carry him, at S. Bartolommeo all'Isola, at S. Caterina de' Funai, and in many other places: he was not however much distinguished, except for his great application. Of him however, and of Giuseppe Puglia, or Bastaro, and of Cesare Torelli, also Romans; and of Pasquale Cati da Jesi, an inexhaustible painter of that age, though somewhat affected, and of many professors, that are in fact forgotten in Rome itself, I have thought it my duty to give this short notice, as I had pledged myself to include a number of the second rate artists. It would be an endless task to enumerate here all the foreign artists. It may be sufficient to observe, that in the Vatican library more than a hundred artists, almost all foreigners, were employed. In the first book I have mentioned Gio. de' Vecchi, an eminent master, who, from the time of his works for the Farnese family, was considered a first rate artist; and the colony of painters, his fellow citizens, whom Raffaellino brought to Rome. In the same book we meet with Titi, Naldini, Zucchi, Coscj, and a number of Florentines, and in the following book Matteo da Siena and some others of his school. Again, in the fourth book, Matteo da Leccio and Giuseppe Valeriani dell' Aquila will have place; and in the third volume will be described Palma the younger (amongst the Venetians) who worked in the gallery; about which time Salvator Fontana, a Venetian, painted at S. Maria Maggiore, whom it is sufficient to have named. We may also enumerate Nappi and Paroni of Milan, Croce of Bologna, Mainardi, Lavinia Fontana, and not a few others of various schools, who in those times painted in Rome, without ultimately remaining there, or leaving scholars.
A more circumstantial mention may be made of some oltramontani, who, in conjunction with our countrymen, were employed in the works in these pontificates; and it may be done with the more propriety, as we do not speak of them in any other part of our work. But those who worked in Rome were very numerous in every period, and it would be too much to attempt to enumerate them all in a history of Italian painting. One Arrigo, from Flanders, painted a Resurrection in the Sistine chapel, and also worked in fresco in other places in Rome; and is commended by Baglione as an excellent artist. Francesco da Castello, was also of Flanders, and of a more refined and correct taste. There is a picture by him at S. Rocco, with various saints; and it is perhaps the best piece the world possesses of him; but almost all his works were painted for the cabinet, and in miniature, in which he excelled. The Brilli we may include among the landscape painters.