JACOPO GIOVANNI and GENTILE BELLINI Painters of Venice (circa 1400-1464; 1428-1516; 1426-1507)

WHERE there is a foundation of ability, no matter how vile or base the beginning may appear, steady progress is invariably made until the zenith of glory is attained, without any pause by the way. This is clearly shown in the base and humble origin of the house of the Bellini'. and in the rank to which they after- wards attained by means of painting. Jacopo Bellini, painter of Venice, was a pupil of Gentile da Fabriano. In comparison with that same Domenico who tauglit oil-painting to Andrea del Castagno, although he took great pains to achieve excellence in the art, he did not acquire fame in it until after the departure of Domenico from Venice. Being then left without a rival in that city, his credit and renown steadily increased, and he became so excellent that lie was the most famous in his profession. To

(1) Variously conjectured to be Frisoni or Foscardi.

preserve this renown in his house, and to augment it, he had two sons, devoted to the arts and possessing great ability, the one Giovanni, the other Gentile, named after Gentile da Fabri- ano, his dear master, who had been like a loving father to him. When these boys were grown, Jacopo himself taught them the principles of design with all diligence. But it was not long before they both far surpassed him, to the delight of their father, who incited them to endeavour to surpass each other, competing as the Tuscans did, so that Giovanni should beat him, then Gentile both of them, and so on. The first things which hrought fame to Jacopo were the portraits of Giorgio Cornaro and of Catherine, Queen of Cyprus; a picture which he sent to Verona of the Passion of Christ with many figures, including his own portrait, and a Story of the Cross, said to be in the Scuola of S. Giovanni Evangelista. All these and many others were painted by Jacopo with the aid of his sons. The last one was painted on canvas, the almost invariable practice in that city, where they seldom employ wood panels of poplar as is done elsewhere. This wood, which grows along rivers or other waters, is extremely soft and excellent for painting upon, as it holds firmly together when joined with glue. But in Venice they do not make panels, or, if they do, they are of fir, which is abundant there, being brought down from Germany by the River Adige in great quantities, while a great deal also comes from Sclavonia. It is thus the custom of Venice to paint on canvas; either because it does not split and is notworm-eaten,or because pictures can be made of any size desired, or else for convenience, as is said elsewhere, so that they may be sent anywhere with very little trouble or expense. Whatever the cause, Jacopo and Gentile, as I have said above, made their first works on canvas, and afterwards Gentile by himself added seven or eight pictures to the Story of the Cross,1 representing the Miracle of the Cross of Christ, which the Scuola keeps as a relic. This miracle was as follows: The cross having fallen by some accident from the Ponte della Paglia into the canal many men threw themselves into the water to recover it, owing to their reverence for the wood of the True Cross, but it was the will of God that no one was found worthy to take it except the warden of the school. In treating this story; Gentile represented the Grand Canal in perspective, with many houses, the Ponte della Paglia, the Piazza of S. Marco, and a long proces- sion of men and women following the clergy. He also represented

(1) Gentile only did three of them, which are all ill the Accademia, Venice. The Miracle of the Cross was painted in I500.

many in the water, others ready to jump in, several half-immersed and other fine and varied attitudes, including the warden who recovers it. Great pains and diligence were displayed by Gentile in this work, as we see by the countless figures, the numerous portraits, the foreshortening of the distant figures and the portraits notably of almost all the members of the Scuola or company at that time. lie finished by doing the testoration of the Cross to its place, including many fine inci- dents; all these pictures, painted on canvas, greatly increasing liis reputation. After this Jacopo retired, and each of the brothers `devoted himself to his art. I will say no more about Jacopo, because his works were not remarkable compared with those of la,s sons, and not long after they left him he died, so that I consider it best to speak at length of Giovanni and Gentile oniy. Although the brothers lived apart, they bore such a respect for each other and for their father that each one declared himself to be inferior to the other, thus seeking modestly to surpass the other no less in goodness and courtesy than in the excellence of art. The first works of Giovanni were some portraits which gave great satis- faction, especially that of the Doge Loredano, although some say that it is Giovanni Mozzenigo, brother of that Piero who was dogc long before Loredano.1 Giovanni next made a large picture for the altar of St. Catherine of Siena in the church of S. Giovanni,2 representing Our Lady seated, with the Child, St. Dominic, St. Jerome, St. Catherine, St. Ursula and two other Virgins, with three beautiful children standing at the Madonna's feet and singing from a book. Above them he represented the in- side of the vaulting of a building, which is very fine. This work Mas among the best which had been produced in Venice up to that time. In the church of S. Jobbe he painted the altar-picture with excellent design and fine colouring, represent;ng the Virgin seated somewhat higher in the midst, with the Child, St. Job and St. Sebastian, both nude figures, and St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. John and St. Augustine hard-by.3 Below are three children playing various instruments with much grace. This picture not only excited great admiration when it was new, but it has always been praised as a most beautiful work.

Moved by these admirable works, it occurred to some noble- men that it would be well to employ such rare masters to decorate the hall of the great council with paintings descriptive

(1) Mocenigo was doge 1478-85, Loredano 1501-21. (2) i.e. Zanipolo. The picture was destroyed by fire in 1867 together with Titian's St. Peter Martyr. (3) Now in the Accademia, Venice.

of the magnificence and greatness of their marvellous city, its achievements in war, its enterprises, and other matters worthy of such celebration, as a reminder to succeeding generations, who would derive both pleasure and instruction from scenes appealing alike to the eye and to the mind. Here they would see repre- sentations of illustrious lords made by skilful hands as well as the notable deeds of men worthy of undying renown. Accord- ingly the Government allotted this task to Giovanni and to Gentile, whose reputation increased daily, with instructions to begin as soon as possible.1 It is only right to mention, however, that long before this Antonio Viniziano had begun to paint the same hall, as I have said in his Life, and had finished a large scene, but was forced to abandon it by the envy of some malignant persons, and so he never carried out that honourable task. Now Gentile, being more accustomed to paint on canvas than in fresco, or for some other cause, so contrived it that the work should not be painted in fresco but on canvas. The first thing which he did was the Pope presenting to the doge a candle to be carried in a solemn procession then about to take place. In this work Gentile pictured the whole of the exterior of S. Marco, and represented the Pope in his pontificals, followed by numerous prelates, the doge standing, and accompanied by a number of senators. In another part he first did the Emperor Barbarossa graciously receiving the Venetian envoys, and then where he is angrily preparing for war, containing many fine perspectives and countless portraits executed with the utmost grace. In the following scene he painted the Pope exhorting the doge and Venetian senators to arm thirty galleys at the common expense to go and fight with Frederick Barbarossa. The Pope is seated on a pontifical throne in his rochet, with the doge at his side and many senators below. In this scene also Gentile drew the piazza and facade of S. Marco, but in another manner, and the sea with such a multitude of men upon it as to be a veritable marvel. The same Pope occurs again standing in his robes and blessing the doge, who appears armed, with many soldiers behind him, ready to set out. Behind the doge is a long line of nobles, and in the same part the palace and S. Marco are drawn in perspective. This is among the best works of Gentile, altliough there is another representing a naval battle which is more remarkable for invention and for the countless number of galleys, where multitudes of men are fighting, showing that

(1) Gentile began the work in 1474 and Giovanni carried it on in 1479, when his brother went to Constantinople. It was destroyed by fire in 1577.

he was no less acquainted with naval warfare than with painting. In this work lie depicted a number of galleys involved together with the soldiers fighting, boats drawn in perspective, with the fury, force and strength of the soldiers in fighting, men dying in various ways3 the cleaving of the water by the galleys, the confusion of the waves and every kind of naval armament. This endless variety shows the boldness, skill, invention and good judgment of Gentile, everything being excellent in its kind while the whole forms an admirable composition. In another scene he represented the joyful reception accorded by the Pope to the doge on his return after the victory, presenting him with a gold ring to espouse the sea, as his successors have done every year, and still do in sign of the true and perpetual lordship over it which they have earned. In this he made a portrait of Otto, the son of Frederick Barbarossa, kneeling before the Pope; the doge having many armed men behind him, while cardinals and nobles stand behind the Pope. Only the poops of the galleys appear in this scene, and over the admiral's galley is a gilded Victory seated, wearing a gold crown on her head, and holding a sceptre in her hand.

The paintings on the other side of the hall were allotted to Gentile's brother Giovanni, but as his arrangement depends on work already begun there by Vivarino and left unfinished, I must say something of this artist. The portion of the hall not given to Gentile was partly entrusted to Giovanni and partly to Vivarino, in order that competition might induce them to do better. Accordingly Vivarino began his scction,1 starting next to the last scene of Gentile, where Otto offers his services to the Pope and the Venctians to go and procure peace between them and his father Frederick, and this being granted, sets out, dismissed on his parole. In this scene, besides many noteworthy things, Vivarino painted an open church in perspective, with steps and many persons. In the foreground is seated the Pope surrounded by senators, while Otto kneels before him and pledges his honour,. Next to this Vivarino did the arrival of Otto and his father s joyful reception, with a fine perspective of buildings. Barbarossa is seated, while his son kneels and holds his hand, a number of Venetian nobles hard-by being portraits from life, showing how well the artist imitated Nature. Poor Vivarino would have completed the remainder of his section with great praise, but it pleased God that lie should die, worn out by his toil and by bad health, so that he did no more, and even what he had done

(1) Alvise Vivarini, in 1488.

was not completed, and it was necessary for Giovanni Bellini to retouch it ill some places.

Giovanni had himself begun four scenes which followed those just mentioned. In the first he made the Pope in S. Marco, draw- ing the church as it then was, offering his foot to Frederick Barbarossa to kiss. But whatever the cause, this first scene of Giovanni was treated much more forcefully and incomparably better by the master Titian. Giovanni then represented the Pope saying Mass in S. Marco, and then standing between the emperor and the doge and granting a plenary and perpetual indulgence to all who visit that church at a certain time, notably at the Ascension. He made the interior of the church, the Pope standing on the steps leading to the choir, dressed in his pontifical robes, and surrounded by a multitude of cardinals and nobles, composing a full, rich and beautiful scene. In the painting he- neath this the Pope stands in his rochet, and is giving a canopy to the doge, after having presented one to the emperor and reserved two for himself. In the last scene painted by Giovanni he represents the arrival at Rome of Pope Alexander, the em- peror and the doge. Outside the gates the clergy and all the Roman people have come to present eight standards of various colours and eight silver trumpets, which are handed by the Pope to the doge, that he and his successors may preserve them as a memento. Here Giovanni drew Rome in perspective, taken some distance off, a large number of horse and foot, with banners and other signs of joy floating from the castle of S. Angelo. As these works of Giovanni gave great satisfaction, and they are truly excellent, he was immediately employed to paint all the rest of the hall, when his death took place, for he was then an old man.

As I have spoken of nothing hitherto except this hall, so as not to interrupt the narrative, I will retrace my steps somewhat and speak of other works. Among them is a picture now on the high altar of S. Domenico1 at Pesaro. In the chapel of St. Jerome in the church of S. Zaccaria at Venice there is a picture of Our ~dy with many saints, executed with great diligence, containing a building painted with great judgment. In the sacristy of the Minorites, called Ca grande,2 in the same city, there is another by his hand of good design and manner. Yet another is in S. Michele, at Murano, a monastery of the Camaldoline monks; and in the old church of S. Frailcesco della Vigna, of the bare- footed friars, there was a picture of a dead Christ. This was so beautiful that Louis XI. of France took a great fancy to it, and

(1) Rectius S. Francesco. (2)Known as the Frari.

as he made an earnest request to have it, the owners were obliged to gratify him, though they did so unwillingly. Another work of Giovanni was put in its place, but not so good or so well executed as the first one. Some, indeed, believe that it was painted by Giovanni's pupil, Girolamo Mocetto. In the brother- hood of S. Girolamo there is a much-admired work of small figures by the same Bellini9 while the house of M. Giorgio Cornaro contains a similar fine picture, with Christ, Cleophas and Luke. In the hall already spoken of, but at another time, he painted the scene where the Venetians discover some pope in the mona- stery della Carita, who had taken refuge in Venice, and had long served the monks as a cook. Into this scene he introduced a number of portraits and other fine figures. Not long after this the Grand Turk happened to see some portraits brought by an ambassador, which filled him with wonder and amazement, and although paintings are prohibited by the Mahommedan laws he gladly accepted them, ceaselessly praising the artist and his work and, what is more, requesting that the master should be sent for. The senate, reflecting that Giovanni was of an age at which he could ill support hardships, and unwilling to deprive their city of such a great man, especially as he was at the time employed upon the hall of the great council, decided to send his brother Gentile, who would, they thought, do as well.1 Accordingly

Gentile was safely taken in their galleys to Constantinople, and on being presented by the ambassador of tlie Signoria to Mahommed, he was received graciously and highly favoured as being something novel, especially as he presented the prince with a lovely picture, which he greatly admired, wondering how a mortal man could possibly possess such divine talent as to be able to express natural things so vividly. Gentile had not long been there before he painted the emperor himself so well that it was considered a miracle. After the emperor had seen many examples of his art he asked Gentile if he would like to paint his own portrait. Gentile replied in the affirmative, and in a few days he had made a wonderful likeness of himself with the aid of a mirror. When the portrait was shown to the prince he was amazed, feeling convinced that the artist had been assisted by some divine spirit, and if such things had not been forbidden among the Turks by their laws, he would never have allowed Gentile to go. Whether he feared that murmurs might arise, or for some other reason, the emperor sent for Gentile one day,

(1) 1479. But Gentile was the elder and it was he who was first engaged upon the Great Hall.

and after thanking him and praising his excellence, he asked him to name any favour which he desired; and It would immediately be granted to him. Gentile, being a modest and worthy man, asked for nothing but a letter of recommendation to the senate and government of his native Venice. This was written in the warmest possible terms, after which Gentile was dismissed with noble gifts and the honour of knighthood. Among other gifts and privileges accorded to him by the lord of the country, a golden chain worked in the Turkish fashion and weighing 250 gold crowns was placed on his neck, and it is still in the possession of his heirs at Venice. Leaving Constantinople,1 Gentile enjoyed a prosperous voyage back to Venice, where he was joyfully received by his brother Giovanni and almost all the city, every- one being delighted at the honour rendered to his skill by Mahommed. When he went to pay his respects to the doge and the senate he was graciously received and commended for having accomplished their wish in giving so much gratification to tlie emperor. In order to show their consideration for that prince's letter of recommendation, they decreed to him a provision of 200 crowns a year, which was paid to him until the end of his life. After his return Gentile produced but few more works. At length, when nearly eighty years of age, and after having executed the above-mentioned works and many others, he passed to the other life, and was honourably buried by his brother in S. Giovanni e Paolo in the year I50I.

Giovanni, who had always loved liis brother tenderly, being thus left alone, still continued to work, old as he was, and as he was employed to paint portraits, it became a practice in that city that every man of any note should have his portrait painted either by Giovanni or by some other. Hence all the houses of Venice contain numerous portraits, and several nobles have those of their ancestors to the fourth generation, while some of the noblest go even farther back. The custom is an admirable one, and was in use among the ancients. Who does not expcnence the utmost satisfaction in seeing the likeness of his ancestors, especially of those who have been distinguished in Politics, for worthy deeds in war and peace, in letters or otlier honour- able employments; moreover the portraits are in themselves ornamental. To what other end did the ancients place the images of their great men in public places, with laudatory inscriptions, except to kindle those who come after to virtue and to glory! Giovanni painted for M. Pietro Bembo, before he went to visit

(1) November 1480.

Pope Leo X., a portrait of his mistress so finely that he earned a mention in the verses of this second celebrated Venetian, just as Simon of Siena had been celebrated by Petrarch, as in the sonnet: O imagine mia ceI~te and flura,

where at the beginning of the second quatrain he says:

Credo che'l mio Bellini con la figura, etc.

And what greater reward can our artists desire for their labours than to be celebrated by the pens of illustrious poets. Thus Titian has been sung by the learned M. Giovanni della Casa in the sonnet beginning:

Ben veggo io Tiziano, in forme nuove;

and in the other: Son quest Amor le vaghe treccie bionde.

And was not Bellini numbered among the best painters of his age by the renowned Ariosto at the beginning of Canto XXXIII. of the Orlatido Furioso? But to return to the works of Giovanni, that is to say to the chief ones, for it would take too long to mention all the pictures and portraits which are in the houses of the Venetian nobles and in other places of that state. In Rimini he made a Pieta for Sig. Sigismondo Malatesta, borne by two children, a large picture now in S. Francesco in that city.1 Among other portraits he drew that of Bartolommeo da Liviano,2 a captain of the Venetians.

Giovanni had many pupils, because he taught all with pleasure. Among them, sixty years ago, was Jacopo da Montagna, who closely imitated his style, as his works in Padua and Venice show. But the one who imitated him most and who did him the greatest honour was Rondinello da Ravenna, of whom he made great use in all his works. This pupil painted a picture in S. I)omenico at Ravenna and another in the Duomo, which is considered a fine example of that style. But his best work was that in the Carmelite church of S. Giovanni Battista in the same city, where, besides a Madonna, he painted a St. Albert of that order, the head being very fine, and the whole figure much admired. Bcnedetto Coda of Fcrrara was also with Giovanni, though lie did not profit much by the association. He lived at Rimini, where he painted many pictures, and left a son Bartolommeo, who did the same. It is said that Giorgio da Castelfranco

(1) Now in the Gallery, Rimini. (2) Rectius Alviano.

began by studying art with Giovanni, as well as many others, of the Trevisano and Lombardy, whom I need not mention.

At length, when Giovanni had attained to the age of ninety years, he died of old age, leaving an immortal name by the works which he produced in his native Venice and elsewhere. He was buried in the same church and in the same tomb where he had previously laid his brother Gentile. There was no lack at Venice of those who endeavoured to honour him when dead with sonnets and epigrams, just as he had honoured his country when alive.

At the time, when the Bellini were at work or shortly before, Giacomo Marzone' painted a number of things in Venice, and among others one in the chapel of the Assumption in S. Elena, representing the Virgin with a palm, St. Benedict, St. Helena and St. John, but in an old-fashioned style, the figures standing on the tips of their toes, after the manner of the painters who lived in the time of Bartolommeo da Bergamo.

            COSIM0 ROSSELLI, Painter of F!orence
                       (1439-1507)

MANY men take an ignoble pleasure in deriding and scorning others though this most frequently recoils upon themselves, just as Cosimo Rosselli returned scorn upon the heads of those who endeavoured to minimise his efforts. This Cosimo, although not a very rare or excellent painter, produced some very meritorious works. In his youth he painted a picture for the church of S. Ambruogio at Florence,2 on the right as one enters, and three figures over the arch of the nuns of S. Jacopo dalle Murate. In the church of the Servites, also at Florence, he did the altarpiece of the chapel of St. Barbara,3 and in the first courtyard in front of the entrance to the church he painted in fresco the Blessed Philip receiving the habit from Our Lady. For the monks of Cestello he painted the picture of the high altar, and another for another chapel of the same church; as well as the one in a small church above the Bernardino, beside the entrance of Cestello. He painted the banner for the children of the company of Bernardino and also that of the company of St. George, contain ing an Annunciation. For the same nuns of S. Ambruogio he did the chapel of the Miracle of the Sacrament,4 quite a good work,

(1) It should be Morazsoni. (2) 1n 1498. (3) Now in the Accademia. (4) In 1486.

and even greater ones, seeing that they practised them frequently for reward or otherwise.

Iwill not speak of some candles painted in various guises, but so rudely that they have given a name to common painters, so that bad pictures are called "Candle puppets," things of no account. In the time of Cecca these had nearly gone out of use, being replaced by cars like the triumphal ones used to-day. The first of those was that of the Mint, which was brought to its present state of perfection, being sent out every year by the masters and lords of the mint with a St. John at the top, and many other saints and angels below represented by living persons. Not long ago it was decided that each district should offer a candle, and as many as ten were made to adorn the feast, but it did not take place on account of the events which supervened. The first then, that of the Mint, was made under Cecca's direction by Domenico, Marco and Giuliano del Tasso, then among the best master joiners in Florence. The lower wheels in particular are especially admirable, being so arranged that the whole structure shall turn easily with the least derangement possible out of consideration for those bound above. He also made a scaffolding for the cleaning and repairing of the mosaics of S. Giovanni. This lowered and directed at will with could be turned, raised, such ease that two men could manage it, and it greatly increased Cecca's reputation.

When the Florentines were besieging Piancaldoli, Cecca contrived a mine by means of which the soldiers entered the city without striking a blow. But when the army proceeded to other places he was killed, as bad fortune would have it, in endeavouring to measure some altitudes from a difficult point. For he put his head out to let down a string, and a priest oii the side of the enemy, who were more afraid of Cecca's ingenuity than of all the opposing forces, discharged a quarrel at him, which passed through his head, so that the poor fellow fell dead on the spot. His death was a great loss to the army and to his fellow-citizens, but there being no remedy, they brought the body back to Florence, where he was buried by the sisters in S. Piero Scheraggio. Beneath his portrait in marble the following epitaph was placed:

(1) Fabrum magister Cicca. natus oppidis vet obsidendis vet tuendis.hic Jacet. Vixit an. XXHXI. mens. XIV. dies XIV. Obiit pro patria telo ictus. Piae sorores monumentum fecerunt MCCCCXCIX.

             DON BARTOLOMMEO,1 ABBOT OF S. CLEMENTE, Illuminator
                       and Painter

IT rarely happens that a man of good and exemplary life is not provided by Heaven with the best friends and an honourable abode, and is not greatly revered for his blameless character when alive, and lamented after his death by those who have known him. Such a man was Don Bartolommeo della Gatta, abbot of S. Clemente at Arezzo, who excelled in many things, and was a man of exemplary character. He was a monk of the Angioli at Florence, of the Camaldoline order, and in his youth, perhaps for the same reasons that have been related in the Life of Don Lorenzo, he proved himself a remarkable illuminator, and very skilful in design, as is shown by the illuminations which he did for the monks of S. Fiore and Lucilla in the abbey of Arezzo, and particularly in a missal given to Pope Sixtus, where the first page for private prayers contains a most beautiful Passion of Christ. Those also which are in the Duomo of S. Martino at Lucca are by his hand. Soon after this he was employed to do the abbey of S. Clemente at Arezzo by Mariotto Maldoli, an Aretine, general of the Camaldolines, a member of the same family as that Maldolo who gave to St. Romuald, the founder of the order, the place and site of Camaldoli, at that time called the field of Maldolo. Bartolommeo, as if grateful for this favour, afterwards did many things for the general and for his order. On the outbreak of the plague of I468, the abbot, like many others, remained in his house, and devoted himself to making large figures, and, finding himself successful, lie 1>egan to do more important things. The first was a St. Roch wliich he painted oil a panel for the rectors of the fraternity at Arezzo, and which is now in their audience-chamber, the figure interceding with Our Lady for the people of Arezzo.2 He introduced the piazza of the city, and the house of the fraternity, with some gravediggers burying the dead. He did yet another St. Roch like it for the church of S. Pietro, representing Arczzo as it then was, very different from its present form, and a third, which was far better than the other two, in a panel which is in the Lippi Chapel in the Pieve of Arezzo. This last St. Roch is a very fine and remarkable figure, and probably the best that he ever produced, it

(1) Professor Venturi gives reasons for the conclusion that there was no such person. The facts given here seem to apply to one Pietro Dei. (2) Now in the Pinacoteca, Arezzo; painted about I479.

being impossible to imagine a finer head or hands. In the same city of Arezzo he paintcd a panel of the Archangel Raphael in S. Piero, where the Servite friars are, and in the same place he drew the portrait of the Blessed Jacopo Filippo of Piacenza. Being invited to Rome, he did a scene in the Sistine Chapel in conjunction with Luca of Cortona and Pietro Perugino.1 Returnins to Arezzo, he did for the Chapel of the Gozzari in the Vescovado a St. Jerome in penance, the figure being lean and cleanshaven, with his eyes fixed intently upon the crucifix, while he strikes his breast, and shows the force of his struggle against the passions. For this work he made a large rock with some caves, the openings of which he filled witli stories of the saint in very graceful small figures. After this he did a Coronation of the Virgin in fresco in a cliapel of S. Agostino, for the nuns of the third ordei,it is said, which has been much admired, and is very well done. Below this, in another chapel, he has done an Assumption, with some angels in delicate draperies, forming a large picture. It has been much admired as a work in tempera, and indeed it shows good design, and was executed with extraordinary diligence. In the tympanum above the door of the church of S. Donato, in the citadel of Arezzo, he painted in fresco Our Lady with the Child, St. Donato and St. John Gualbert, all very fine figures. In the abbey of 5. Fiore, in the same city, there is a chapel by his hand near the principal door, containing St. Benedict and other saints executed with much grace, skill and sweetness. lIe also painted a <lead Christ in a chapel for Gentile of Urbino, bishop of Arezzo,2 his close friend, with wliom he passed nearly all his time in the episcopal palace. In a loggia he drew the bisliop himself, his vicar, and Ser Matteo Francini, the bishop's notary of the bench, who is reading a bull to him, as well as his own portrait, and some canons of the city. For the same bishop he designed a loggia connecting the palace and the Vescovado, and on the same level as they are. The bishop wished to have his tomb constructed here in the form of a chapel, and Bartolommeo therefore worked hard at it, but at his death it was left unfinished, for though he instructed his successor to complete it he did nothing, as is usually tlie case when works are thus left. For the same bishop the abbot made a large and beautiful chapel in the old Duomo, but as it had a short life I Mill say no more about it. Besides this he worked in many places in the city, as, for example, three figures in the Carmine and the chapel of the nuns of S. Orsina, and a picture in tempera in the

(1) 148I. (2) Gentile de'Becchi, who died I497.

chapel of the high altar in the Pieve of S. Giuliano at Castiglione of Arezzo,containing a lovely Madonna, St. Julian and St. Michael, all excellent figures, particularly the St. Julian, who steadfastly regards the Christ in His Mother's arms, and seems greatly distressed at having killed his father and his mother.1 In a chapel slightly below this there is a small door by him which used to belong to an old organ, on which is painted a St. Michael, considered remarkable, with a baby in a woman's arms, which seems alive. For the nuns of the Murate at Arezzo he did the chapel of the high altar, a much-admired painting. At Monte S. Savino he did a tabernacle opposite the palace of the Cardinal di Monte, which was considered very fine, and in Borgo S. Sepolcro, where the Vescovado now is, he did a chapel which won him great honour and profit. Don Clemente possessed a mind capable of all things, and, besides being a good musician, he made lead organs, and one of paper in S. Domenico, which has always remained sweet and good. There was another by his hand in S. Clemente, raised on high, with the keyboard below on a level with the choir. This was a good idea, for the place had but few monks, and he wished the organist to sing as well as play. This abbot was devoted to religion, being a true miiiister and not a squanderer of Divine things; and he greatly improved that place with buildings and paintings, restoring the principal chapel of his church and painting it all, and in two niches on either side he put St. Roch and St. Bartholomew, which have perished with the church. ]iut to return to tlie abbot. lie was a good and pious monk, and left as his pupil in painting Matteo Lappoli of Arezzo, who was a wortliy and skilful artist, as is seen by his works in the chapel of St. Sebastian in St. Agostino, that saint being represented in a niche, made in relief. About him are painted St. Blaise, St. Roch, St. Anthony of Padua and St. Bernardino. In the arch of the chapel there is a!, Annunciation, while the four Evangelists are smoothly represented in fresco on the vaulting. There is another chapel in fresco by the same hand,.on the left as one enters the side door, contaiiiing the Nativity and an Annunciation, the angel being a portrait of Giuliano Bacci, then a beautiful youth. Over this door, on the outside, he did an Aiinunciation, between St. Peter and St. Paul, the Madonna being a portrait of the mother of M. Pietro Aretino, tlie famous poet. In the chapel of St. Bernardino in St. Francesco he painted a life-like figure of the saint, which is the best figure that he ever did. In the Chapel of the Pietramaleschi in the Vescovado he did

(1) I486. For this saint, see note vol. i., page 265.

a very fine St. Ignatius in tempera, and at the door opening on to the piazza in the Pieve he did St. Andrew and St. Sebastiaii. For the company of the Trinity he displayed great power of invention in the execution of a work done for Buoninsegua Duoninsegni of Arezzo, which may be numbered among the best which he ever did. This is a crucifix upon the altar between St. Martin and St. Roch, who are both kneeling. The one is a poor, shrivelled, hungry and ill-clothed man, from whom issue rays towards the wounds of the Saviour, whom he regards intently; the other is richly clothed ill purple and fine linen, ‚rvbicund and joyful of countenance, and his rays, although they issue from his heart like those of the other, do not go straight to the wounds of Christ, but spread and enlarge through a country full of corn, wheat, cattle, gardens and other like things, while others descend towards the sea upon some vessels laden with merchandise, and others again to some benches where money is changed. All these were executed by Matteo with judgment, skill and diligence, but were destroyed not long afterwards to make a chapel. In the Pieve below the pulpit he made a Christ with the Cross for M. Lionardo Albergotti.

Another pupil of the abbot of S. Clemente was an Aretine friar of the Servites, who painted in colours the front of the house of the Belichini of Arezzo, and two chapels in fresco in S. Piero, next each other. Another pupil was Domenico Pecori of Arezzo, who did three figures in tempera at Sargiano, and a fine banner in oils for the company of St. Mary Magdalene, to be carried in procession, and a picture of St. Apollonia for M. Presentino Bisdomini in the chapel of St. Andrew in the Pieve, like the one mentioned above. He finished many things which his master had left, as, for instance, the picture of 55. Sebastian and Fabian, with the Madonna, for the family of the Benucci,' and in the church of S. Antonio he painted the picture for the high altar, containing a very devout Madonna, with some saints. The Madonna is adoring the Child, who is in her lap, and he has introduced a little angel kneeling, who holds up Jesus on a cushion, the Virgin not being able to support Him, as she has her hands folded in adoration. In the church of S. Giustino he painted a chapel of the Magi in fresco for M. Antonio RoseIIi, and a large picture in the Pieve for the company of the Madonna, representing Our Lady in the air, with the people of Arezzo beneath, comprising a number of portraits.2 He was assisted in tliis work by a Spanish painter who worked skilfully in oils,

(1) Now at Campriano, near Areszo. (2) Pinacoteca, Arezzo.

Domenico not being so skilled in oils as in tempera. The same artist helped him with a picture for the company of 1a Trinita, containing the Circumcision of Our Lord,' considered very good, and a Noli me tangere in fresco in the garden of S. Fiore. Finally, he painted in the Vescovado for M. Donato Marinelli, the dean, a picture containing many figures of good invention and design, and in high relief, which brought him much honour at the time, and has done since. As he was an old man, he called to his assistance iI Capanna, a painter of Siena and a meritorious master who had done a number of walls ill grisaille and many panels at Siene. If he had lived lie would have won great honour in the art, to judge from the little which he did accomplish. For the fraternity of Arezzo Domenico had made a baldachino, painted in 0ils, a rich and costly thing, but a short while ago it was lent for a representation of St. John and St. Paul in S. Francesco to adorn a Paradise near the roof of the church, and the large number of lights caused a fire which burned the picture, as well as the representative of God the Father, who, being bound, was unable to escape as the angels did, and there was a great loss of ecclesiastical adornments and injury to the spectators, who were panic-stricken and rushed to the door, about eighty of them being crushed, a most lamentable circumstance. The baldachino was subsequently restored with more richness and painted by Giorgio Vasari. Domenico next devoted himself to making windows, and there were three by his hand in the Vescovado, but they were destroyed by tlie artillery during the wars. Another pupil of the abbot was Angelo di Lorentino, painter,4 who possessed no mean talent. He also worked at the door of S. Domenico, and with assistance he might have become an excellent master. The abbot died at the age of eighty-three, leaving the church of Our Lady of the Tears unfinished, after making the model. The edifice was afterwards completed by various masters. The abbot thus deserves praise as an illuminator, architect, painter and musician. His monks buried him in his abbey of S. Clemente, and his works have always been held in high repute in the city, where these lines may be read upon the tomb:

       Pingebat docte Zeusis, condebat et aedes
       Nicon Pan capripes, fistula prima tua est.
       Non tamen ex vobis mecum certaverit ullus
       Quae tres fecistis, unicus haec facio.

(1) Now In S. Agostino. (2) Pinacoteca, Arezzo. (3) In 1556. (4) Who died 1527.

He died in 1461, after having enriched the art of illuminating with the beauties which characterise all his works. Some of his sheets in our book may serve as an example. His style was afterwards imitated by Girolamo Padoano in the illuminations in some books at S. Maria Novella, Florence, and by Gherardo, a Florentine illuminator, also called Vante, who is spoken of elsew!lere, and whose works are mostly at Venice. I have inserted a notice upon him sent to me by some Venetian nobles. I have copied this exactly to satisfy those who have taken such pains to collect the information here given, adopting their own words, for as I have not seen the things myself I am unable to give an independent judgment.