The school of Barocci extended itself through this duchy and the neighbouring places; although his best imitator was Vanni of Siena, who had never studied in Urbino. The disciples of Federigo were very numerous, but remaining in general in their own country they did not disseminate the principles, and few of them inherited the true spirit of their master's style: the most confining themselves to the exterior of the art of colouring; and even this was deteriorated by the use of large quantities of cinnabar and azure, colours which their master had employed with greater moderation; and they were not unfrequently condemned for this practice, as Bellori and Algarotti remark. The flesh tints under their pencil often became livid, and the contours too much charged. I cannot give an accurate catalogue of these scholars, but independent of the writers on the works in Urbino, and other guides and traditions in various parts, I am certain, that if they were not instructed by Barocci himself, they must at all events, from their country, and from the period at which they flourished, have formed themselves on his pictures. There is little to be observed respecting Francesco Baldelli, the nephew and scholar of Federigo. I do not find any memorial of him, except a picture which he placed in the Capella Danzetta, of S. Agostino, in Perugia, and which is mentioned by Crispolti, in his history of that city, at page 133.
Of Bertuzzi and Porino I have not seen any works, except copies in the style of Barocci, or feeble productions of their own. An excellent copyist was found in Alessandro Vitali of Urbino, in which city, at the Suore della Torre, is found the Annunciation of Loreto, copied by him in such a manner that it might be taken for the original picture. Barocci was pleased with his talent, and willingly retouched some of his pictures, and probably favoured him in this way in the S. Agnes and S. Agostino, placed by Vitali, the one in the Duomo, the other in the church of the Eremitani, where he may be said to surpass himself. Antonio Viviani, called il Sordo of Urbino, also made some very accurate copies of his master, which are still preserved by his noble posterity. He too was a great favourite of Federigo, and was in his native city called his nephew; although Baglione, who wrote his life, is silent on this head. He left some pictures in Urbino, in the best style of Barocci; particularly the S. Donato, in a suburban church of the saint of that name. This however cannot be called his own style, for he visited Rome at various times, where, having received instructions from Mascherini, and employed himself for a time in the imitation of Cesari, and of the rapid manner of the practicians recorded by us, he exhibited in that metropolis various styles, and some of the most feeble which he adopted. Assuredly his fresco pictures, which remain in various places in Rome, do not support the opinion which is inspired by a view of the vast work which he conducted in the church de' Filippini at Fano. There, in the vault, and in the chapel, are executed various histories of the chief of the apostles to whom the church is dedicated. His style in these exhibits a beautiful imitation of Barocci and Raffaello, in which the manner of the latter predominates. Lazzari maintains that this Antonio Viviani repaired to Genoa, and that Soprani changed his name to Antonio Antoniani; thus giving to Barocci a scholar who never existed. Of this supposition we shall speak with more propriety in the Genoese School. Another Viviani is mentioned by tradition in Urbino, Lodovico, a brother or cousin of the preceding. This painter sometimes imitates Barocci, as in the S. Girolamo in the Duomo, and sometimes approaches the Venetian style, as in the Epiphany at the Monastery della Torre.
Another painter almost unknown in the history of art, but of singular merit, is Filippo Bellini of Urbino, of whom I have not seen any works in his native place, but a number in oil and fresco scattered through many cities of the March. He is in general an imitator of Barocci, as in the picture of the Circumcision in the church of Loreto, in the Espousals of the Virgin in the Duomo in Ancona, and in a Madonna belonging to the Counts Leopardi at Osimo. He affords, however, sometimes an example of a vigorous and lively style, and exhibits a powerful colouring, and a grandeur of composition. He discovered this character in some works in Fabriano in his best time, and particularly in the Opere della Misericordia, which are fourteen subjects taken from Scripture, and represented in the church della Carità.[[72]] They are beheld by cultivated foreigners with admiration, and it appears strange that such a painter, whose life and works are alike worthy of remembrance, should not have found a place in the catalogues. He is also extolled for his works in fresco, in the chapel of the Conventuals in Montalboddo, where he has represented the Martyrdom of S. Gaudenzio, and which is described in the guide book of that city.
We may next notice Antonio Cimatori, called also Antonio Visacci, not only by the vulgar, but also by Girolamo Benedetti, in the Relazione, which in the lifetime of the artist he composed on the festival at Urbino, in honour of Giulia de' Medici, married to the Prince Federigo. Cimatori was there engaged to paint the arches and pictures, which were exhibited, in conjunction with the younger Viviani, Mazzi, and Urbani. His forte lay in pen drawing, and in chiaroscuro; as may be seen from his Prophets, in a grand style, transferred from the Duomo to the apostolic palace. He did not leave many works in his native place; but amongst them is his picture of S. Monica, at S. Agostino. His copies from the original pictures of Barocci are to be found in various places, particularly in the Duomo of Cagli. He resided, and worked for a long time in Pesaro, where he instructed Giulio Cesare Begni, a bold and animated artist, a good perspective painter, and in a great degree a follower of the Venetian School, in which he studied and painted. He left many works in Udine, and many more in his native place, in a rapid and unfinished style, but of a good general effect. In the Descrizione odeporica della Spagna, (tom. ii. p. 130), we find Giovanni and Francesco d'Urbino mentioned, who about the year 1575, it seems, were both engaged by the court to decorate the Escurial. The latter came early in life to Spain, and being endowed with a noble genius, soon became an excellent artist, and is extolled by his contemporary P. Siguenza, and by all who have seen the Judgment of Solomon, and his other pictures in a choir in that magnificent place: he died young. That these works belong to the pencil of Barocci might be suspected from their era, and the practice of that splendid court, which was in the habit of engaging in its service the first masters of Italy or their scholars. But not possessing positive information, nor finding any indication of their style, I dare not assign these two to Barocci. I feel a pleasure however in restoring them to the glorious country from which they had been separated.
Passing from the fellow countrymen of Barocci to foreigners, some persons have imagined Andrea Lilio, of Ancona, to have been his disciple. I rather consider him to have been an imitator of him, but more in respect to colour than any thing else. He had a share in the works which were carried on under Sixtus, and painted for the churches, chiefly in fresco, and sometimes in partnership with Viviani of Urbino. He went to Rome when young, and lived there until the reign of Paul V., but suffered both in body and mind from domestic misfortunes, which interrupted not a little his progress in art. Ancona possesses several of his pictures in fresco, varying in their merit, as well as some of his oil pictures at the Paolotti in S. Agostino, and in the sacristy some pieces, from the Life of S. Nicholas, highly prized. The most celebrated is his Martyrdom of S. Lorenzo, by many ascribed to Barocci, for which I refer to the Guida of Montalboddo, and the church of S. Catherine, where it is placed. His greatest work is the altarpiece in the Duomo at Fano, representing all the saints, containing a vast number of figures well grouped and well contrasted, and if not very correctly designed, still possessing Barocci's tone of colour.
Giorgio Picchi of Durante I included in a former edition among the scholars of Barocci, in conformity to the general opinion prevalent in Pesaro and Rimini; but I have not found this confirmed in the chronicle of Castel Durante, published by Colucci, which contains a particular account of this artist, written soon after his death. I am therefore inclined to think him only a follower, like Lilio, with whom he was associated in Rome in the time of Sixtus V., if the chronicle is to be relied on. It relates that he worked in the library of the Vatican, at the Scala Santa, and at the Palazzo di S. Giovanni; and it appears unaccountable that all this was unknown to Baglione, who narrates the same circumstances of Lilio and others, and makes no mention of Picchi. However this may be, he was certainly a considerable artist, and was attached to the style of Barocci, which was in vogue at that period, as we may perceive from his great picture of the Cintura, in the church of S. Agostino, in Rimini, and still more from the history of S. Marino, which he painted in the church of that saint in the same city. Others of his works are to be found both in oil and fresco in Urbino, in his native place, at Cremona, and elsewhere; and although on a vast scale, embracing whole oratories and churches, they could not have cost him any great labour, from the rapid manner which he had acquired in Rome.
In S. Ginesio, a place in the March, Domenico Malpiedi is considered as belonging to Federigo's school, and of him there are preserved in the collegiate church, the Martyrdoms of S. Ginesio and S. Eleuterio, which are highly commended. From Colucci we learn that there also remain other works by him; and from the prices paid, we may conclude that he was esteemed an excellent artist. He was living in 1596, and about the same time there flourished also another Malpiedi, who painted a Deposition from the Cross in S. Francesco di Osimo, and inscribed on it Franciscus Malpedius di S. Ginesio, a picture feeble in composition, deficient in expression, and little resembling the school of Barocci, except in a distant approximation of colour.
The Guida of Pesaro assigns to the same school Terenzio Terenzj, called il Rondolino, whom it characterises as an eminent painter, and of whom there exist four specimens in public, and many more in the neighbourhood of the city (page 80). It is also mentioned that he was employed by the Cardinal della Rovere in Rome, and that he placed a picture in the church of S. Silvestro. The picture of S. Silvestro in capite, which represents the Madonna, attended by Saints, is ascribed by Titi to a Terenzio of Urbino, who, according to Baglione, served the Cardinal Montalto. It is most probable, that in the records of Pesaro there arose some equivoque on the name of the cardinal, and that these two painters might, or rather ought to be merged in one. Terenzio Rondolino, it appears to me, is the same as Terenzio d'Urbino, and very probably in Rome took his name from Urbino, the capital of Pesaro. But by whatever name this painter may be distinguished, we learn from Baglione that Terenzio d'Urbino was a noted cheat; and that, after having sold to inexperienced persons many of his own pictures for those of ancient masters, he attempted to pass the same deceit upon the Cardinal Peretti, the nephew of Sixtus V. and his own patron, offering to his notice one of his own pieces as a Raphael: but the fraud was detected, and Terenzio in consequence banished from the court; a circumstance which he took to heart, and died whilst yet young.
Two brothers, Felice and Vincenzio Pellegrini, born and resident in Perugia, are recorded by Orlandi and Pascoli, as scholars of Barocci. The first became an excellent designer, and in the pontificate of Clement VIII. was called to Rome, probably to assist Cesari, though it is not known that he left any work in his own name. Some copies after Barocci by him exist in Perugia, and it is well known that his master was highly satisfied with his labours in that line. The other brother is mentioned by Bottari in the notes to his life of Raffaello; and I recollect having seen in Perugia a picture in the sacristy of S. Philip, in rather a hard manner, in which it is difficult to recognize the style of his supposed master. It is possible that these two artists might have had their first instructions from Barocci, and that they afterwards returned to another manner. A similar instance occurs in Ventura Marzi. In the Biographical Dictionary of the Painters of Urbino he is given to the school of Barocci. His manner however is different, and I should say bad, if all his pictures were similar to that of S. Uomobuono, which I saw in the sacristy of the metropolitan church; but he did indeed paint some better, and it is an ancient maxim, that to improve we must sometimes err. Benedetto Bandiera, of Perugia, who approaches nearer to the style of Barocci than most others, is said to have been a relative of Vanni, from whom he derived that manner, if we may believe Orlandi. But Pascoli, both on this point, and on the period in which he flourished, confutes him, and considers him to have been instructed by Barocci in Urbino for many years, and that afterwards he became a diligent observer of all his pictures which he could discover in other places.
Whilst Italy was filled with the fame of Barocci, there came to Urbino, and resided in his house for some time, Claudio Ridolfi, called also Claudio Veronese, from his native city, of which he was a noble. He was there instructed by Dario Pozzo, an author of few but excellent works, and after these first instructions he remained many years without further applying himself. Being afterwards compelled by necessity to practise the art, he became the scholar of Paolo, and the rival of the Bassani; and not finding employment in his native place, which then abounded with painters, he removed to Rome, and from thence to Urbino. It is said that he derived from Federigo the amenity of his style, and the beautiful airs of his heads. He married in Urbino, and afterwards fixed his residence in the district of Corinaldo, where, and in the neighbouring places, he left a great number of pictures, which yield little in tone to the best colourists of his native school, and are often conducted with a design, a sobriety, and a delicacy sufficient to excite their envy. Ridolfi, who wrote a brief life of him, enumerates scarcely one half of his works. There are some at Fossombrone, Cantiano, and Fabriano; and Rimino possesses a Deposition from the Cross, a beautiful composition. There are several mentioned in the Guida di Montalboddo, lately edited. Urbino is rich in them, where the Nascita del S. Precursore, (the Birth of S. John the Baptist), at S. Lucia, and the Presentation of the Virgin at the Spirito Santo, are highly valued. Many of his works are also to be seen in the Palazzo Albani, and in other collections of the nobility in Urbino. He there indeed formed a school, which gave birth to Cialdieri, of whom there are works remaining, both public and private; the most noted of which is a Martyrdom of S. John, at the church of S. Bartholomew. He possessed a facility and elegance of style, was highly accomplished in landscape, which he often introduced into his pictures, and is remarkable for his accurate perspective. Urbinelli, of Urbino, and Cesare Maggieri[[73]] of the same city, lived also about this time. The first was a vigorous painter, an excellent colourist, and partial to the Venetian style. The second an industrious artist, inclining to the style of Barocci and Roman School. The history of art does not assign either of these to the school of Ridolfi; but there is a greater probability of the first rather than the second belonging to it. Another painter of uncertain school, but who partakes more of Claudio than of Barocci, is Patanazzi, who is mentioned in the Galleria de' Pittori Urbinati, (v. Coluc. tom. xvi.), and poetic incense is bestowed on his risentito pennello e l'ottima invenzione. I have seen by him in a chapel of the Duomo a Marriage of the Virgin, the figures not large, but well coloured and correctly drawn, if indeed some of them may not be thought rather attenuated than slender and elegant. A celebrated scholar of Ridolfi, Benedetto Marini, of Urbino, went to Piacenza, where he left some highly valued pictures in several churches, in which the style of Barocci is mixed with the Lombard and Venetian. The work which excites our greatest admiration is the Miracle of the Loaves in the Desert, which he painted in the refectory of the Conventuals in 1625. It is one of the largest compositions in oil which is to be seen, well grouped and well contrasted, and displaying uncommon powers.[[74]] I should not hesitate to prefer the scholar to the master in grandeur of idea and vigour of execution, though in the fundamental principles of the art he may not be equal to him. The history of his life, as well as his works, scattered in that neighbourhood, in Pavia, and elsewhere, were deserving of commemoration; yet this artist as well as Bellini remains unnoticed by the catalogues, and what is more, he is little known in his native place, which has no other specimen of his pencil than a picture of S. Carlo at the Trinità, with some angels, which does not excite the same admiration as his works in Lombardy.[[75]] Some other scholars of Claudio are found in Verona, to which city he returned, and remained for a short time; and in the Bolognese School mention will be made of Cantarini, among the masters of which he is numbered. In the meantime let us turn from these provincial schools, which were the first that felt the reviving influence of the age, to the capital, where we shall find Caravaggio, the Caracci, and other reformers of the art.