ALINARI PHOTO.]
[BY BASTIANO DI FRANCESCO.
XXIII. THE STORY OF JEPHTHAH (No. 11)
31. 1483. Benvenuto di Giovanni del Guasta.
This versatile artist was the son, as we have seen, of a certain Giovanni di Meo del Guasta, a mason from San Quirico. He was born the 13th of September, 1436, and died about 1518. He married Jacopa, daughter of Tommaso da Cetona, by whom he had three daughters, and a son, Girolamo, also a clever artist. In 1466, we find him in company with Sano di Pietro, valuing the decorative work on two chests, made by a certain Francesco d’Andrea, for Ambrogio Spannocchi. In 1481–82, as we have already noted, he was employed on the decoration of the interior of the Cupola in the Duomo, where he painted thirty-five figures, for which he received a sum of 105 lire.[195] In the same year, he painted miniatures in the Antiphonaries, for the Duomo; one of which, the largest, represented “the Giving of the Keys to S. Peter,” for which he received 27 lire 14 soldi.[196] That he was much admired in his day as a painter, is evident from the number of notices still to be found of payments made to him for banners, bier-heads and pictures of various sorts, by Convents and Guilds. Many of these still exist, either in the Churches for which they were painted, or in the Picture Gallery.[197] In 1508, he was called as witness, in a lawsuit between Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti and the heirs of Neroccio Landi, as to the price of an unfinished picture by that artist. From the two inventories of his property, made in 1491 and 1509, and the list of goods bequeathed by him to his son Girolamo, we gather that he lived in houses of his own: first, in the district of Camollia; and latterly, in that of the Rialto in Siena.
32. 1483. Neroccio di Bartolommeo di Benedetto Landi.
This great artist was equally celebrated, both as sculptor and painter. He belonged to the noble family of Landi, who are described as “of Poggio Malevolti”, to distinguish them from the family of Landi Sberghieri. He was born in 1447, and died in 1500. He was twice married: first, to Elisabetta, daughter of Antonio Cigalini, who died in 1483; and, secondly, in 1493 to Lucrezia, daughter of Antonio Paltoni, who bore him several sons, one of whom was a painter as was his father.[198] Many of his pictures and statues still exist in Siena, in the places for which he designed them. In 1475, he appears to have quarrelled with Francesco di Giorgio; a dispute that was settled by the kindly offices of Sano di Pietro and Lorenzo di Pietro (Il Vecchietta). In the following year we find the same Sano di Pietro, with Francesco di Giorgio, valuing a picture, painted by Neroccio, for a certain Bernardino Nini. In the records of the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda,[199] we find that this artist was paid 31 lire, for a wooden statue of the Saint, which still stands over the altar in that Chapel. In 1481, he was engaged to work for the Duke of Calabria, and also for the Abbot of the Benedictine Convent at Lucca. In 1484–85, he received the commission (originally given to Vito di Marco and Lucillo, but cancelled through the absence of the former, and the death of the latter), to execute the tomb of Bishop Tommaso del Testa Piccolomini.[200] This tomb is now over the door, leading from the Cathedral to the stairs of the Campanile. In 1487, he was also directed to make the beautiful statue of S. Catherine of Alexandria for the Chapel of S. Giovanni in the Duomo; but his death left the work unfinished. We find two notices with reference to this work, dated 5th of February, 1487–88, and 21st of August, 1502[201] respectively: the first recording the payment of an advance of 40 lire to the painter himself, and the other of a further payment (in accordance with the valuation of Giacomo Cozzarelli and Ventura di Ser Giuliano) of 202 lire more to his heirs. These heirs, as we have seen above, also had a lawsuit over another unfinished work of his, with one of his pupils, Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti. Milanesi quotes some interesting documents in connection with this lawsuit in his notes.[202] The names of some of his pupils, besides the above-mentioned Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti are as follows: Giovanni di Tedaldo, Leonardo di Ser Ambrogio de’ Maestrelli,[203] Taldo di Vittore, and Achille di Pietro di Paolo del Crogio.[204]
33. 1483. Guidoccio di Giovanni Cozzarelli.
This artist must not be confused with the more famous Giacomo di Bartolommeo di Marco Cozzarelli, who was a sculptor and worker in metal, nor do we know, whether or no, he was related in any way to the engineer Giovanni Cozzarelli, a notice of whose work on a bridge at Macereto, we find under date 3rd of November, 1487.[205] This man was a painter of considerable ability, whose pictures may be studied in the Picture Gallery, and who executed some of the miniatures in the Duomo Antiphonaries. We read that in 1447, he was employed with Sano di Pietro, to decorate the Chapel (now destroyed) of the Madonna delle Grazie in the Cathedral; and that in 1481, he was employed on the decoration of the interior of the Cupola. Professor Luigi Mussini[206] suggests that the Tavoletta di Biccherna (No. 34 of those preserved in the Archivio di Stato), representing The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, is by him.