Chapter XI: Part 11

RANUTIUS FARNESIUS, PAULI TERTII PAPAE AVUS, EUGENIO TERTIO P.M.
ROSAE AUREAE MUNERE INSIGNITUS, PONTIFICII EXERCITUS IMPERATOR
CONSTITUITUR, ANNO CHRISTI 1435.

In short, there are on this vaulting vast numbers of most beautiful figures, besides the stucco-work and other ornaments overlaid with gold.

On the walls are eight scenes, two to each wall. On the first, in a scene on the right hand as one enters, is Pope Julius III confirming Duke Ottavio and the Prince his son in the possession of Parma and Piacenza, in the presence of Cardinal Farnese, Sant'Agnolo his brother, the Camarlingo Santa Fiore, the elder Salviati, Chieti, Carpi, Polo, and Morone, all being portraits from life; with this inscription:

JULIUS III, P.M., ALEXANDRO FARNESIO AUCTORE, OCTAVIO FARNESIO,
EJUS FRATRI, PARMAM AMISSAM RESTITUIT, ANNO SALUTIS 1550.

In the second scene is Cardinal Farnese going to Worms as Legate to the Emperor Charles V, and his Majesty and the Prince, his son, are coming forth to meet him, with a vast multitude of Barons, and among them the King of the Romans; with the proper inscription. On the wall on the left hand as one enters, in the first scene, is the war fought against the Lutherans in Germany, where Duke Ottavio Farnese was Legate, in the year 1546, with the inscription; and in the second are the above-named Cardinal Farnese and the Emperor with his sons, who are all four under a baldachin carried by various persons portrayed from life, among whom is Taddeo, the master of the work, with a company of many lords all around. On one of the head-walls, or rather, ends, are two scenes, and between them an oval, in which is the portrait of King Philip, with this inscription:

PHILIPPO HISPANIARUM REGI MAXIMO, OB EXIMIA IN DOMUM FARNESIAM
MERITA.

In one of the scenes is Duke Ottavio taking Madama Margherita of Austria as his wife, with Pope Paul III in the centre, and portraits of Cardinal Farnese the younger, the Cardinal of Carpi, Duke Pier Luigi, M. Durante, Eurialo da Cingoli, M. Giovanni Riccio of Montepulciano, the Bishop of Como, Signora Livia Colonna, Claudia Mancina, Settimia, and Donna Maria di Mendoza. In the other is Duke Orazio taking as his wife the daughter of King Henry of France, with this inscription:

HENRICUS II, VALESIUS, GALLORUM REX, HORATIO FARNESIO CASTRI DUCI
DIANAM FILIAM IN MATRIMONIUM COLLOCAT, ANNO SALUTIS 1552.

In which scene, besides the portrait of Diana herself with the royal mantle, and that of her husband Duke Orazio, are portraits of Caterina de' Medici, Queen of France, Marguerite, the sister of the King, the King of Navarre, the Constable, the Duke of Guise, the Duke of Nemours, the Admiral Prince of Conde, the younger Cardinal of Lorraine, Guise not yet a Cardinal, Signor Piero Strozzi, Madame de Montpensier, and Mademoiselle de Rohan.

On the other head-wall, opposite to that already described, are likewise two other scenes, with the oval in the centre, in which is the portrait of King Henry of France, with this inscription:

HENRICO FRANCORUM REGI MAX. FAMILIAE FARNESIAE CONSERVATORI.

In one of the scenes (namely, in that which is on the right hand) Pope Paul III is investing Duke Orazio, who is kneeling, with a priestly robe, and making him Prefect of Rome, with Duke Pier Luigi close at hand, and other lords around; and with these words:

PAULUS III P.M. HORATIUM FARNESIUM NEPOTEM, SUMMAE SPEI
ADOLESCENTEM, PRAEFECTUM URBIS CREAT, ANNO SAL. 1549.

And in this scene are portraits of the Cardinal of Paris, Viseo, Morone, Badia, Trento, Sfondrato, and Ardinghelli. In the other scene, beside the last-named, the same Pope is giving the General's baton to Pier Luigi and his sons, who were not yet Cardinals; with portraits of the Pope, Pier Luigi Farnese, the Camarlingo, Duke Ottavio, Orazio, the Cardinal of Capua, Simonetta, Jacobaccio, San Jacopo, Ferrara, Signor Ranuccio Farnese as a young man, Giovio, Molza, Marcello Cervini, who afterwards became Pope, the Marquis of Marignano, Signor Giovan Battista Castaldo, Signor Alessandro Vitelli, and Signor Giovan Battista Savelli.

Coming now to the little hall which is beside the hall just described, and which is above the Hall of Spring, in the vaulting, which is adorned with a vast and rich decoration in stucco and gold, in the recess in the centre, there is the Coronation of Pope Paul III, with four spaces that form a cruciform inscription, with these words:

PAULUS III FARNESIUS, PONTIFEX MAXIMUS, DEO ET HOMINIBUS
APPROBANTIBUS, SACRA TIARA SOLEMNI RITU CORONATUR, ANNO SALUTIS
1534, III NON. NOVEMB.

Then follow four scenes above the cornice--namely, one over every wall. In the first the Pope is blessing the galleys at Civita Vecchia, when about to send them to Tunis in Barbary in the year 1535. In the next the same Pope is excommunicating the King of England in the year 1537; with the proper inscription. In the third is a fleet of galleys which the Emperor and the Venetians fitted out against the Turk, with the authority and assistance of the Pontiff, in the year 1538. In the fourth, Perugia having rebelled against the Church, the people of that city go to seek pardon in the year 1540. On the walls of the same little hall are four large scenes, one to each wall, with windows and doors between. In the first large scene the Emperor Charles V, having returned victorious from Tunis, is kissing the feet of Pope Paul, of the Farnese family, in Rome, in the year 1535. In the next, which is above the door on the left hand, is the story of the peace that Pope Paul III brought about at Busseto between the Emperor Charles V and Francis I of France, in the year 1538; in which scene are these portraits--the elder Bourbon, King Francis, King Henry, the elder Lorenzo, Tournon, the younger Lorenzo, the younger Bourbon, and two sons of King Francis. In the third the same Pope is making Cardinal di Monte his Legate at the Council of Trent; and there are innumerable portraits. In the last, which is between two windows, the same Pontiff is creating many Cardinals in preparation for the Council, among whom there are four who became Popes in succession after him--Julius III, Marcello Cervini, Paul IV, and Pius IV. To put it briefly, this little hall is very richly adorned with all that is required in such a place.

In the first chamber next to the little hall, which is dedicated to Dress, and likewise richly wrought in stucco and gold, there is in the centre a Sacrifice, with three nude figures, among which is an armed figure of Alexander the Great, who is casting some garments of skin upon the fire; and in many other scenes that are in the same place, one sees how men discovered the way to make garments from plants and other wild products; but it would take too long to seek to describe the whole in full. From this chamber one enters into a second, dedicated to Sleep, for which, when Taddeo had to paint it, he received the inventions given below from the Commendatore Annibale Caro, at the commission of the Cardinal; and, to the end that the whole may be the better understood, we shall write here the advice of Caro in his own words, which are these--

"The subjects that the Cardinal has commanded me to give you for the pictures in the Palace of Caprarola, it is not enough for them to be explained by word of mouth, because, besides the invention, we must look to the disposition of the figures, the attitudes, the colours, and a number of other considerations, all in accordance with the descriptions that I find of the things that appear to me to be suitable; wherefore I shall put down on paper all that occurs to me in the matter, as briefly and as distinctly as I shall be able. And first with regard to the chamber with the flat vaulting--for of any other, up to the present, he has not given me the charge--it appears to me that since it is destined to contain the bed for the person of his most illustrious lordship, there must be executed there things in keeping with the place and out of the common both in the invention and in the workmanship. Now, to declare my conception first in general, I would have a Night painted there, because, besides that it would be appropriate to sleep, it would be a subject not very customary and different from those of the other rooms, and would give you an occasion of executing rare and beautiful works in your art, since the strong lights and dark shadows that go into such a subject are wont to give no little grace and relief to the figures; and it would please me to have the time of this Night close upon the dawn, to the end that the things represented there may be visible without improbability. And to come to the details and to their disposition, it is necessary that we come to an understanding first about the situation and the distribution of the chamber. Let us say, then, that it is divided, as indeed it is, into vaulting and walls, or facades, as we wish to call them. The vaulting has a sunk oval in the centre and four great spandrels at the corners, which, drawing together little by little and continuing one with the other along the facades, embrace the above-mentioned oval. The walls, also, are four, and between the spandrels they form four lunettes.

"Now, let us give names to all these parts, with the divisions that we shall make in the whole chamber, and we shall thus be able to distinguish each part on every side, all the way round. Dividing it into five sections, then, the first shall be the 'head'; and this I presume to be next to the garden. The second, which must be that opposite to the first, we shall call the 'foot'; the third, on the right hand, we shall call the 'right'; the fourth, on the left hand, the 'left'; and the fifth, situated in the midst of the others, shall be named the 'centre.' Thus, distinguishing all the parts with these names, we shall speak, for example, of the lunette at the head, the facade at the foot, the concavity on the left, the horn on the right, and so with any other part that it may be necessary to name; and to the spandrels that are at the corners, each between two of these boundaries, we shall give the name both of the one and of the other. And thus, also, we shall determine on the pavement below the situation of the bed, which, in my opinion, must be along the facade at the foot, with the head turned to the left-hand facade.

"Now, all the parts having received a name, let us turn to give a form to them all in general, and then to each by itself. First of all, the concavity of the vaulting, or rather, the oval, shall be represented--so the Cardinal has judiciously determined--as being all heaven. The rest of the vaulting, comprising the four spandrels together with the border that we have already mentioned as enclosing the oval all around, shall be made to appear as the unbroken surface within the chamber, and as resting upon the facades, with some beautiful architectural design of your own devising. The four lunettes I would have counterfeited as likewise concave; and, whereas the oval above represents a heaven, these must represent heaven, earth, and sea, as if without the chamber, in accordance with the various figures and scenes that shall be there. And since, the vaulting being very flat, the lunettes are so low that they will not hold any but little figures, I would divide each lunette into three parts along its length, and, leaving the ends in a line with the height of the spandrels, I would deepen the centre part below that line, in such a manner that it may be like a great high window and show the exterior of the room, as it were, with figures and scenes proportionate in size to the others. And the two extremities that remain on either side, like horns to the lunette--and horns henceforward they will be called--shall be left low, of the height that they are above that line, and in each of them must be painted a figure seated or recumbent, and seeming to be either within or without the room, whichever you please, for you must choose what looks best; and what I say of one lunette I say of all four.

"To return to the interior of the chamber as a whole, it appears to me that it should be in itself all in darkness, save in so far as the concavities both of the oval above and of the large windows at the sides may give it a certain degree of light, partly from the heaven, with its celestial lights, and partly from the earth with fires that must be painted there, as will be described later. At the same time, from the centre of the room to the lower end, I would have it that the nearer one may approach to the foot, where the Night is to be, the greater shall be the darkness, and that in like manner in the other half, from the centre to the upper end, in proportion as one approaches step by step to the head, where Aurora is to be, it shall grow continually lighter.

"Having thus disposed of the chamber as a whole, let us proceed to distribute the subjects, giving to each part its own. In the oval that is in the vaulting, you must paint at the head, as we have said, a figure of Aurora. This figure, I find, may be made in several ways, but of all these I shall choose that which in my opinion can be done with the greatest grace in painting. You must paint, then, a maiden of such beauty as the poets strive to express with words, composing her of roses, gold, purple, dew, and other suchlike graces; and so much for the colours and flesh-tints of her person. As for her dress, composing out of many one that appears most suitable, we must reflect that, even as she has three stages and three distinct colours, so she has three names--Alba, Vermiglia, and Rancia;[23] and for this reason I would make her down to the girdle a garment delicate in texture, as it were transparent, and white; from the girdle down to the knees an outer garment of scarlet, with certain pinkings and tassels in imitation of the reflections seen on the clouds when she is vermilion, and from the knees down to the feet of the colour of gold, in order to represent her when she is orange, taking heed that this dress must be slit from the thighs downwards, in order to show the bare legs; and both the under garment and the outer must be blown by the wind, so as to flutter in folds. The arms, also, must be naked and of a rosy flesh-tint; on the shoulders you must make her wings of various colours, and on the head a crown of roses; and in her hands you must place a lamp or a lighted torch, or rather, there must go before her a Cupid who is carrying a torch, and after her another who with another torch awakens Tithonus. She must be seated on a gilded throne in a chariot likewise gilded, drawn by a winged Pegasus or by two horses, for she is depicted both in the one way and in the other. As for the colours of the horses, one must be shining white and the other shining red, in order to denote them according to the names that Homer gives them of Lampus and Phaethon. You must make her rising from a tranquil sea, which should appear rippled, luminous, and glancing. On the wall behind, upon the right-hand horn, you must paint her husband Tithonus, and on the left her lover Cephalus. Tithonus should be an old man white as snow, on an orange-coloured bed, or rather, in a cradle, according to those who make him, on account of his great age, once more a child; and he should be shown in the act of holding her back, or gazing on her with amorous eyes, or sighing after her, as if her departure grieved him. Cephalus must be a most beautiful young man dressed in a doublet girt at the waist, with his buskins on his feet, with the spear, which must have the iron head gilded, in his hand, and with a dog at his side, in the act of entering into a wood, as if caring nothing for her by reason of the love that he bears to his Procris. Between Cephalus and Tithonus, in the space with the great window, behind the Aurora, there must shoot upwards some few rays of the sun, of a splendour more vivid than that of the Aurora; but these must be cut off, so as not to be seen, by a large figure of a woman who must appear before them. This woman shall be Vigilance, and she must be so painted that it may appear that she is illumined from behind by the rising sun, and that, in order to forestall him, she is entering into the chamber by the great window that has been mentioned. Let her form be that of a tall, valorous, and splendid woman, with the eyes well open and the brows well arched; dressed down to the feet in a transparent veil, which is girt at the waist; leaning with one hand on a lance, and with the other gathering together a fold of her gown. Let her stand firmly on the right foot, and, holding the left foot suspended, appear from one side to be rooted to the ground, and from the other to be ready to step out. Let her raise her head in order to gaze at Aurora, and appear to be angry that she has risen before her; and let her have on the head a helmet with a cock upon it, which shall be in the act of beating its wings and crowing. All this must be behind the Aurora; and in front of her, in the heaven of the concave oval, I would make certain little figures of girls one behind another, some more bright and some less bright, according as they are more or less near to the light of the Aurora, in order to represent the Hours which go before her and the sun. These Hours shall be painted with the vestments, garlands, and headdresses of virgins, and winged, with the hands full of flowers, as if they were scattering these about.

[Footnote 23: White, vermilion, and orange.]

"On the opposite side, at the foot of the oval, there shall be Night, and even as Aurora is rising, Night shall be sinking; as the one shows her front, the other shall turn her back; as the first is issuing from a tranquil sea, the second shall be plunging into a sea that is troubled and dark; the horses of the first come with the breast forward, those of the second shall show their croups; and so, also, the person of Night shall be altogether different from that of Aurora. Her flesh-tint shall be dark, dark her mantle, dark her hair, and dark her wings; and these shall be open, as if she were flying. She shall hold her hands on high, and in one a white babe that is sleeping, to represent Sleep, and in the other a black babe that appears to be sleeping, to represent Death; for of both these she is said to be the mother. She shall appear to be sinking with the head downwards and wrapped in thicker shadow, and the heaven about her shall be of a deeper blue and dotted with many stars. Her car shall be of bronze, with the wheels divided into four spaces, to denote her four watches. Then, on the facade opposite (namely, at the foot), even as Aurora has on either side Tithonus and Cephalus, Night shall have Oceanus and Atlas. Oceanus shall be painted on the right, a great figure of a man with the beard and hair dripping and dishevelled, and both from the beard and from the hair there shall issue here and there some heads of dolphins. He shall be depicted as resting on a car drawn by whales, with the Tritons all around in front of him, with their trumpets, and also the Nymphs, and behind him some beasts of the sea; or, if not with all these things, at least with some of them, according to the space that you will have, which to me appears little for so much matter. For Atlas, on the left hand, there shall be painted a mountain with the breast, arms, and all the upper parts of a robust man, bearded and muscular, in the act of upholding the heavens, as his figure is generally shown. Lower down, likewise, over against the Vigilance that we have placed opposite to Aurora, there should be placed a figure of Sleep; but, since it appears to me better, for several reasons, that Sleep should be over the bed, we must place in his stead a figure of Repose. As for this Repose, I find, indeed, that she was worshipped, and that temples were dedicated to her; but I can by no means find how she was figured, unless her figure was that of Security, which I do not believe, because security is a thing of the mind and repose of the body. We must therefore figure a Repose of our own devising, in this manner: a young maiden of pleasing aspect, who, being weary, yet does not lie down, but sleeps seated with the head resting on the left arm. She shall have a spear with the head lying against her shoulder and the foot fixed in the ground, and shall let one arm hang limply down it, and have one leg crossed over it, in the attitude of resting for the restoration of her strength, and not from indolence. She shall have a crown of poppies, and a sceptre laid on one side, but not so far distant that she cannot readily take it up again; and whereas Vigilance has upon her head a cock crowing, so to her we may give a sitting hen, in order to signify that even when resting she is active.

"Within the same oval, on the right hand, you shall paint a Moon. Her figure shall be that of a maiden of about eighteen years, tall and virginal in aspect, after the likeness of Apollo, with long tresses, thick and somewhat waved, or wearing on the head one of those caps that are called Phrygian, wide at the foot and pointed and twisted at the top, like the Doge's hat, with two wings over the brow that must hang down and cover the ears, and with two little horns jutting from the head, as of the crescent moon; or, after Apuleius, with a flat disk, polished and shining in the manner of a mirror, on the centre of the brow, which must have on either side of it some serpents and over it some few ears of corn, and on the head a crown of dittany, after the Greeks, or of various flowers, after Marcian, or of helichrysum, after certain others. Her dress some would have reaching down to the feet, others only to the knees, girt under the breasts and crossed below the navel after the fashion of a nymph, with a little mantle on the shoulder clasped over the muscle on the right side, and on the feet buskins wrought in a pleasing pattern. Pausanias, alluding, I believe, to Diana, makes her dressed in deerskin; Apuleius, taking her perchance for Isis, gives her a vestment of the finest veiling in various colours, white, yellow, and red, and another garment all black, but bright and shining, dotted with many stars and with a moon in the centre, and all around it a border with ornaments of fruits and flowers hanging down after the manner of tassels. Of these vestments, take whichever looks best. The arms you must make bare, with the sleeves broad; with the right hand she must hold a lighted torch, and with the left an unbent bow, which, according to Claudian, is of horn, and, according to Ovid, of gold. Make it as seems best to you, and attach the quiver to her shoulders. She is found in Pausanias with two serpents in the left hand, and in Apuleius she has a gilded vase with a serpent as a handle, which appears as if swollen with poison, the foot of the vase being adorned with palm leaves; but by this I believe that he means to indicate Isis, and I have therefore resolved that you shall represent her with the bow, as described above. She shall ride on a car drawn by horses, one black and the other white, or, if you desire variety, by a mule, after Festus Pompeius, or by bullocks, after Claudian and Ausonius; and if you choose bullocks, they must have the horns very small and a white patch on the right flank. The attitude of the Moon must be that of looking down from the heaven in the oval towards the horn of the facade that looks out over the garden, where you must place her lover Endymion, and she shall lean down from the car to kiss him, and, not being able by reason of the interposition of the border, she shall gaze lovingly upon him and illumine him with her radiance. For Endymion you must make a beautiful young shepherd, asleep at the foot of Mount Latmus. In the horn on the other side there shall be Pan, the God of Shepherds, who was enamoured of the Moon; his figure is very well known. Round his neck place his pipes, and with both hands he shall hold out towards the Moon a skein of white wool, with which he is fabled to have won her love; and with that present he must appear to be persuading her to come down to live with him. In the rest of the space of the same great window you must paint a scene, and that shall be the scene of the sacrifices to the Lemures, which men used to hold at night in order to drive evil spirits from their houses. The ritual of these sacrifices was to go about, with the hands washed and the feet bare, scattering black beans; first rolling them about in the mouth, and then throwing them over the shoulder; and among the company were some who made a noise by sounding basins and suchlike instruments of copper.

"On the left side of the oval you must paint Mercury in the ordinary manner, with the little winged cap, with the winged sandals on the feet, with the Caduceus in the left hand, and with the purse in the right; altogether nude, save for his little mantle on the shoulder; a most beautiful youth, but with a natural beauty, without any artifice; of a cheerful countenance, spirited eyes, beardless, or with the first down, with reddish hair, and narrow in the shoulders. Some place wings over his ears, and make certain golden feathers coming out of his hair. The attitude you may make as you please, provided only that it shows him gliding down from Heaven in order to infuse sleep, and, turning towards the side of the bed, about to touch the tester with his wand. On the left-hand facade, in the horn next to the facade at the foot, we might have the Lares, his two sons, who were the tutelary spirits of private houses; namely, two young men dressed in the skins of dogs, with certain garments girt up and thrown over the left shoulder in such a way that they may come out under the right, in order to signify that they are unencumbered and ready to guard the house. They shall sit one beside the other, each holding a spear in the right hand, and between them, in the centre, there shall be a dog, and above them a small head of Vulcan, wearing a little cap, with a smith's pincers beside it. In the other horn, next to the facade at the head, you must paint a Battus being converted into stone for having revealed the cattle stolen by Mercury. Let him be an old shepherd seated, showing with the forefinger of the right arm the place where the cattle were hidden, and leaning with the left arm on a stick or rod, the herdsman's staff; and from the waist downwards he must be of black stone of the colour of basanite, into which stone he was converted. Then in the rest of the great window you must paint the scene of the sacrifice that the ancients used to offer to Mercury to the end that their sleep might not be interrupted; and to represent this it is necessary to make an altar with his statue upon it, at the foot of that a fire, and all around persons who are throwing into it pieces of wood for burning, and who, having in their hands cups full of wine, are sprinkling part of the wine and drinking the rest.

"In the centre of the oval, in order to fill up all the space of the heaven, I would paint Twilight, as being the mean between Aurora and Night. To represent him, I find that one must paint a young man wholly naked, sometimes with wings and sometimes without, and with two lighted torches, one of which we must show being kindled at that of Aurora, and the other held out towards Night. Some represent this young man, with the same two torches, as riding on one of the horses of the Sun or of Aurora, but this would not be a composition suitable for our purpose; wherefore we shall make him as described above, turned towards Night, and place behind him, between his legs, a great star, which shall be that of Venus, because Venus, Phosphorus, Hesperus, and Twilight seem to be regarded as one and the same thing. And with the exception of this star, see to it that all the lesser stars near the Aurora shall have disappeared.

"Now, having by this time filled up all the exterior of the chamber both above in the oval and on the sides and facades, it remains for us to come to the interior, the four spandrels of the vaulting. Beginning with that over the bed, which is between the left-hand facade and that at the foot, you must paint Sleep there; and in order to figure him, you must first figure his home. Ovid places it in Lemnos and among the Cimmerii, Homer in the AEgean Sea, Statius among the Ethiopians, and Ariosto in Arabia. Wherever it may be, it is enough to depict a mountain, such an one as may be imagined where there is always darkness and never any sun; at the foot of it a deep hollow, through which water shall pass, as still as death, in order to signify that it makes no murmur, and this water must be of a sombre hue, because they make it a branch of Lethe. Within this hollow shall be a bed, which, being fabled to be of ebony, shall be black in colour and covered with black draperies. In this bed shall be placed Sleep, a young man of perfect beauty, for they make him surpassing beautiful and serene; nude, according to some, and according to others clothed in two garments, one black below and another white over it, with wings on the shoulders, and, according to Statius, also at the top of the head. Under his arm he shall hold a horn, which shall appear to be spilling a liquid of a livid hue over the bed, in order to denote Oblivion; although others make the horn full of fruits. In one hand he shall hold the wand, and in the other three poppy-heads. He shall be sleeping like one sick, with the head and the limbs hanging limp, as if wholly relaxed in slumber. About his head shall be seen Morpheus, Icelus, and Phantasus, and a great number of Dreams, all which are his children. The Dreams shall be little figures, some of a beautiful aspect and others hideous, as being things that partly please and partly terrify. Let them, likewise, have wings, and also twisted feet, as being unstable and uncertain things, and let them hover and whirl about him, making a kind of dramatic spectacle by transforming themselves into things possible and impossible. Morpheus is called by Ovid the creator and fashioner of figures, and I would therefore make him in the act of fashioning various masks with grotesque faces and placing some of them on feet. Icelus, they say, transforms himself into many shapes, and him I would figure in such a way that as a whole he may have the appearance of a man, and yet may have parts of a wild beast, of a bird, and of a serpent, as the same Ovid describes him. Phantasus, they have it, transforms himself into various inanimate things, and him, also, we may represent, after the words of Ovid, partly of stone, partly of water, and partly of wood. You must feign that in this place there are two gates, one of ivory, whence there issue the false dreams, and one of horn, whence the true dreams come; the true shall be more distinct in colour, more luminous, and better executed, and the false shall be confused, sombre, and imperfect.

"In the next spandrel, between the facade at the foot and that on the right hand, you shall place Brizo, the Goddess of prophecy and the interpretress of dreams. For her I cannot find the vestments, but I would make her in the manner of a Sibyl, seated at the foot of the elm described by Virgil, under the branches of which are placed innumerable images, which, falling from those branches, must be shown flying about her in the forms that we have given them; as has been related, some lighter and some darker, some broken and some indistinct, and others almost wholly invisible; in order to represent by these the dreams, the visions, the oracles, the phantasms, and the vain things that are seen in sleep (for into these five kinds Macrobius appears to divide them); and she shall be as it were lost in thought, interpreting them, and shall have about her persons offering to her baskets filled with all manner of things, excepting only fishes.

"In the spandrel between the right-hand facade and that at the head it will be well to place Harpocrates, the God of Silence, because this, presenting itself at the first glance before those who enter by the door that leads from the great painted chamber, will warn them as they enter that they must not make any noise. His figure is that of a young man, or rather, of a boy, black in colour, from his being God of the Egyptians, and with his finger to his mouth in the act of commanding silence. He shall carry in his hand a branch of a peach-tree, and, if you think it well, a garland of the leaves of the same tree. They feign that he was born weak in the legs, and that, having been killed, his mother Isis restored him to life; and for this reason some make him stretched out on the ground, and others in the lap of his mother, with the feet joined together. But, for the sake of harmony with the other figures, I would make him standing, supported in some way, or rather, seated, like that of the most illustrious Cardinal Sant'Agnolo, which is likewise winged and holds a horn of plenty. He shall have about him persons offering to him, as was the custom, first-fruits of lentils and other vegetables, and also of peaches, as mentioned above. Others used to make for this same God a figure without a face, with a little cap on the head, and about him a wolf's skin, all covered with eyes and ears. Take which of these two you please.

"In the last spandrel, between the facade at the head and that on the left, it will be well to place Angerona, the Goddess of Secrecy, which figure, coming within the same door of entrance, will admonish those who come out of the chamber to keep secret all that they have seen and heard, as is the duty of the servants of noblemen. The figure is that of a woman placed upon an altar, with the mouth bound and sealed. I know not with what vestments she used to be depicted, but I would envelop her in a long gown covering her whole person, and would represent her as shrugging her shoulders. Around her there must be painted some priests, by whom sacrifices used to be offered to her before the gate in the Curia, to the end that it might be unlawful for any person to reveal to the prejudice of the Republic any matter that might be discussed there.

"The space within the spandrels being filled up, it now only remains to say that around all this work it seems to me that there should be a frieze to encircle it on every side, and in this I would make either grotesques or small scenes with little figures. The matter of these I would have in harmony with the subjects already given above, each in accord with that nearest to it; and if you paint little scenes, it would please me to have them representing the actions that men and also animals do at the hour that we have fixed there. Now, beginning at the head, I would paint in the frieze of that facade, as things appropriate to the Dawn, artisans, workmen, and persons of various kinds who, having risen, are returning to the labours of their pursuits--as smiths to the forge, men of letters to their studies, huntsmen to the open country, and muleteers to the road, and above all would I like to have the poor old woman from Petrarca rising from her spinning and lighting the fire, with her feet bare and her clothes dishevelled. And if you think fit to make grotesques of animals there, make them of birds singing, geese going forth to their pasture, cocks announcing the day, and similar fancies. In the frieze on the facade at the foot, in accord with the darkness there, I would make persons going fowling by night, spies, adulterers, climbers of windows, and other suchlike things; and for grotesques, porcupines, hedgehogs, badgers, a peacock with the tail spread, signifying the night of stars, owls large and small, bats, and suchlike animals. In the frieze on the right-hand facade you must paint things in keeping with the Moon, such as fishers of the night, mariners navigating with the compass, necromancers, witches, and the like; for grotesques, a beacon-tower in the distance, nets, weir-baskets with some fishes in them, crabs feeding by the light of the moon, and, if there be space enough, an elephant kneeling in adoration of her. And, finally, in the frieze on the left-hand facade, mathematicians with their instruments for measuring, thieves, false-coiners, robbers of buried treasure, shepherds with their folds still closed, lying around their fires, and the like; and for animals I would make there wolves, foxes, apes, weasels, and any other treacherous animals that lie in wait for other creatures.

"In this part I have placed these phantasies thus at random in order to suggest what kinds of inventions could be painted there; but, since they are not things that need to be described, I leave you to imagine them in your own manner, knowing that painters are by their nature full of resource and grace in inventing such bizarre fantasies. And now, having filled in all the parts of the work both within and without the chamber, there is no occasion for us to say any more, save that you must discuss the whole matter with the most illustrious Monsignore, and, according to his taste, adding or taking away whatever may be necessary, you must strive on your part to do yourself honour. Fare you well."

Now, although all these beautiful inventions of Caro's were very ingenious, fanciful, and worthy of praise, nevertheless Taddeo was not able to carry into execution more than the place would contain; but those that he painted there were the greater part, and they were executed by him with much grace and in a most beautiful manner. Next to this chamber, in the last of the three, which is dedicated to Solitude, Taddeo, with the help of his assistants, painted Christ preaching to the Apostles in the desert and in the woods, with a S. John on the right hand that is very well executed. In another scene, which is opposite to the first, are painted many figures of men who are living in the forest in order to avoid the conversation of mankind; and these certain others are seeking to disturb, throwing stones at them, while some are plucking out their own eyes so as not to see. And in this scene, likewise, is painted the Emperor Charles V, portrayed from life, with this inscription--

POST INNUMEROS LABORES OCIOSAM QUIETAMQUE VITAM TRADUXIT.

Opposite to Charles is the portrait of the last Grand Turk, who much delighted in solitude, with these words--

ANIMUM A NEGOCIO AD OCIUM REVOCAVIT.

Near him is Aristotle, who has beneath him these words--

ANIMA FIT SEDENDO ET QUIESCENDO PRUDENTIOR.

Opposite to him, beneath another figure by the hand of Taddeo, is written this--

QUEMADMODUM NEGOCII, SIC ET OCII RATIO HABENDA.

Beneath another may be read--

OCIUM CUM DIGNITATE, NEGOCIUM SINE PERICULO.

And opposite to that, under another figure, is this motto--

VIRTUTIS ET LIBERAE VITAE OPTIMA MAGISTRA SOLITUDO.

Beneath another--

PLUS AGUNT QUI NIHIL AGERE VIDENTUR.

And under the last--

QUI AGIT PLURIMA, PLURIMUM PECCAT.

To put it briefly, this room is very ornate with beautiful figures, and likewise very rich in stucco and gold. But to return to Vignuola; how excellent he is in matters of architecture, the works that he has written and published and still continues to write, in addition to his marvellous buildings, bear ample testimony, and in the Life of Michelagnolo we shall say all that it may be expedient for us to say in this connection.

Taddeo, in addition to the works described above, executed many others of which there is no need to make mention; but in particular a chapel in the Church of the Goldsmiths in the Strada Giulia, a facade in chiaroscuro at S. Gieronimo, and the Chapel of the High-altar in S. Sabina. And his brother Federigo is painting for the Chapel of S. Lorenzo, which is all wrought in stucco, in S. Lorenzo in Damaso, an altar-piece with that Saint on the gridiron and Paradise all open; which altar-piece is expected to prove a very beautiful work. And, in order not to omit anything that may be useful, pleasing, or helpful to anyone who may read these my labours, I shall add this as well. While Taddeo was working, as has been related, at the Vigna of Pope Julius and at the facade of Mattiuolo, the Master of the Post, he executed for Monsignor Innocenzio, the most reverend and illustrious Cardinal di Monte, two painted pictures of no great size; and one of them, which is beautiful enough, is now in the guardaroba of that Cardinal (who has given the other away), in company with a vast number of things ancient and modern, all truly of the rarest, among which, I must not omit to mention, there is a painted picture as fantastic as any work of which we have spoken hitherto. In this picture, which is about two braccia and a half in height, there is nothing to be seen by him who looks at it from the ordinary point of view, from the front, save some letters on a flesh-coloured ground, and in the centre the Moon, which goes gradually increasing or diminishing according to the lines of the writing. And yet, if you go below the picture and look in a sphere or mirror that is placed over the picture in the manner of a little baldachin, you see in that mirror, which receives the image from the picture, a most lifelike portrait in painting of King Henry II of France, somewhat larger than life, with these words about it--HENRY II, ROY DE FRANCE. You can see the same portrait by lowering the picture, placing your brow on the upper part of the frame, and looking down; but it is true that whoever looks at it in that manner, sees it turned the other way from what it is in the mirror. That portrait, I say, cannot be seen save by looking at it as described above, because it is painted on twenty-eight ridges, too low to be perceived, which are between the lines of the words given below, in which, besides the ordinary meaning, there may be read, by looking at both ends of the lines and in the centre, certain letters somewhat larger than the others, which run thus--

HENRICUS VALESIUS DEI GRATIA GALLORUM REX INVICTISSIMUS.

It is true, indeed, that the Roman M. Alessandro Taddei, the secretary of that Cardinal, and Don Silvano Razzi, my dearest friend, who have given me information about this picture and about many other things, do not know by whose hand it is, but only that it was presented by the above-named King Henry to Cardinal Caraffa, when he was in France, and then by Caraffa to the most illustrious Cardinal di Monte, who treasured it as a very rare thing, which in truth it is. The words painted in the picture, which alone are to be seen by him who looks at it from the ordinary point of view, as one looks at other pictures, are these--

HEus tu quid viDes nil ut reoR
Nisi lunam crEscentem et E
Regione posItam quae eX
Intervallo GRadatim utI
Crescit nos Admonet ut iN
Una spe fide eT charitate tV
Simul et ego Illuminat I
Verbo dei crescAmus, doneC
Ab ejusdem Gratia fiaT
Lux in nobis Amplissima quI
ESt aeternus iLLe dator luciS
In quo et a quO mortales omneS
Veram lucem Recipere sI
Speramus in vanUM non sperabiMUS

In the same guardaroba is a most beautiful portrait of Signora Sofonisba Anguisciuola by her own hand, once presented by her to Pope Julius III. And there is another thing of great value, a very ancient book with the Bucolics, the Georgics, and the AEneid of Virgil, in characters so old, that it has been judged by many men of learning in Rome and in other places that it was written in the very time of Caesar Augustus, or little after; wherefore it is no marvel that it should be held by the Cardinal in the greatest veneration.

And let this be the end of the Life of the painter Taddeo Zucchero.

INDEX

INDEX OF NAMES

OF THE CRAFTSMEN MENTIONED IN VOLUME VIII

Abacco, Antonio L', 167

Abate, Niccolo dell', 37, 38

Agnolo (nephew of Montorsoli), 144, 147, 151

Agnolo, Baccio d', 116

Agnolo, Battista d' (Battista del Moro), 41

Agnolo Bronzino, 11, 12, 94, 153, 156, 179

Agnolo da Siena, 53

Agostino Busto (Il Bambaja), 54, 55

Agostino da Siena, 53

Alberti, Michele, 205, 210, 211

Albertinelli, Mariotto, 62

Alessandro (Scherano), 168

Alessandro Moretto (Alessandro Bonvicini), 49, 50

Alessandro Vittoria, 100

Altobello da Melone, 24, 43

Ammanati, Bartolommeo, 91, 92, 99, 153, 220

Andrea Contucci (Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), 36, 114

Andrea da Fiesole, 133

Andrea dal Monte Sansovino (Andrea Contucci), 36, 114

Andrea del Sarto, 5, 6, 11, 16, 17, 19, 113, 119, 120, 122, 126,
135, 163, 164

Andrea Mantegna, 23

Andrea Palladio, 233, 234

Andrea Schiavone, 107, 108, 231

Andrea Verrocchio, 111

Angelo Ciciliano, 55

Anguisciuola, Anna, 48

Anguisciuola, Europa, 45, 48

Anguisciuola, Lucia, 45, 47, 48

Anguisciuola, Minerva, 45, 46

Anguisciuola, Sofonisba, 45-48, 261

Anna Anguisciuola, 48

Annibale da Carpi, 36

Annibale di Nanni di Baccio Bigio, 188

Anselmi, Michelagnolo, 39, 44

Antonio, Fra, 32

Antonio Bacchiacca, 20

Antonio Begarelli (Il Modena), 38

Antonio Campo, 44, 45

Antonio da Correggio, 30, 31, 34, 37, 217

Antonio da San Gallo (the elder), 3

Antonio da San Gallo (the younger), 13, 89, 136, 168, 202

Antonio del Ceraiolo, 65, 66

Antonio del Pollaiuolo, 64

Antonio di Donnino Mazzieri, 12

Antonio Filarete, 48

Antonio L'Abacco, 167

Antonio Mini, 128

Antonio Particini, 16

Antonio Viniziano, 233

Apelles, 28

Aretino, Leone (Leone Lioni), 56, 184

Aristotile (Bastiano) da San Gallo, _Life_, 3-20. 119, 126

Arrigo (Heinrich Paludanus), 38

Bacchiacca, Antonio, 20

Bacchiacca, Il (Francesco Ubertini), 10, 11, 16, 18-20

Baccio Bandinelli, 113, 141, 142, 146, 152, 163, 191

Baccio d'Agnolo, 116

Baccio da Montelupo, 54

Baglioni, Raffaello, 116

Baldassarre Peruzzi (Baldassarre da Siena), 167, 168, 197, 205, 218

Baldini, Giovanni, 24, 25

Bambaja, Il (Agostino Busto), 54, 55

Bandinelli, Baccio, 113, 141, 142, 146, 152, 163, 191

Barocci, Federigo, 227

Baronino, Bartolommeo, 220

Barozzi, Jacopo (Vignuola), 220, 230, 237-240, 259

Bartolommeo Ammanati, 91, 92, 99, 153, 220

Bartolommeo Baronino, 220

Bartolommeo di San Marco, Fra, 61

Bartolommeo Genga, 92, 96-98

Bartolommeo Suardi (Bramantino), 52, 53

Bastiano (Aristotile) da San Gallo, _Life_, 3-20. 119, 126

Battista Botticelli, 169

Battista d'Agnolo (Battista del Moro), 41

Battista da San Gallo (Battista Gobbo), 169

Battista da Verona (Battista Farinato), 107

Battista del Borro, 178

Battista del Moro (Battista d'Agnolo), 41

Battista del Tasso, 18, 164, 173, 176

Battista Dossi, 25, 26

Battista Farinato (Battista da Verona), 107

Battista Franco (Battista Semolei), _Life_, 89-101. 12, 67, 68,
89-101, 181, 219, 230

Battista Gobbo (Battista da San Gallo), 169

Battista Naldini, 233

Battista Semolei (Battista Franco), _Life_, 89-101. 12, 67, 68,
89-101, 181, 219, 230

Begarelli, Antonio (Il Modena), 38

Bellini, Giovanni, 33

Bello, Raffaello, 114

Bembi, Bonifazio, 42, 43

Benedetto Ghirlandajo, _Life_, 59-60

Benvenuto Cellini, 128

Benvenuto Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi), _Life_, 24-29. 30, 33, 34

Bergamo, Fra Damiano da, 169, 237

Bernardino da Trevio (Bernardino Zenale), 54

Bernardino Luini (Bernardino del Lupino), 56

Bernardino Zenale (Bernardino da Trevio), 54

Bernardo Soiaro (Bernardo de' Gatti), 39, 40, 43, 44

Bertano, Giovan Battista, 40, 41

Biagio da Carigliano (Biagio Betti), 210

Biagio Pupini, 32, 33

Bigio, Annibale di Nanni di Baccio, 188

Bizzerra, 204

Boccaccino, Boccaccio, 23, 24, 42-44

Boccaccino, Camillo, 43

Bologna, Orazio da (Orazio Sammacchini), 188, 228, 229

Bologna, Pellegrino da (Pellegrino Pellegrini, or Pellegrino
Tibaldi), 34, 204

Bolognese, Marc'Antonio, 42

Bonifazio Bembi, 42, 43

Bonsignori (Monsignori), Fra Girolamo, 42

Bonvicini, Alessandro (Alessandro Moretto), 49, 50

Borro, Battista del, 178

Botticelli, Battista, 169

Bozzacco (Brazzacco), 107

Bramante da Urbino, 5, 40, 53, 54, 75

Bramantino (Bartolommeo Suardi), 52, 53

Brambilari (Brambilla), Francesco, 55

Brazzacco (Bozzacco), 107

Brescia, Raffaello da (Raffaello Brescianino, or Raffaello dei
Piccinelli), 164

Brescianino, Girolamo (Girolamo Mosciano, or Muziano), 50, 224

Brescianino, Raffaello (Raffaello da Brescia, or Raffaello dei
Piccinelli), 164

Bresciano, Gian Girolamo (Gian Girolamo Savoldo), 50

Bronzino, Agnolo, 11, 12, 94, 153, 156, 179

Brunelleschi, Filippo, 48

Brusciasorzi, Domenico (Domenico del Riccio), 40, 41

Bugiardini, Giuliano, 121-123, 162

Buonarroti, Michelagnolo, 3-5, 16, 25, 61, 73, 79, 82, 89, 91, 92,
95, 96, 116, 128, 134, 136-138, 141, 146, 156, 162, 163, 170, 185,
188, 201-204, 206-209, 235, 259

Busto, Agostino (Il Bambaja), 54, 55

Cadore, Tiziano da (Tiziano Vecelli), 29, 33, 51, 56, 92, 102

Calavrese, 91

Calavrese, Giovan Piero, 216

Calcagni, Tiberio, 233

Caliari, Paolo (Paolo Veronese), 41, 42, 102-104, 106, 107

Camillo Boccaccino, 43

Camillo Mantovano, 171

Campo, Antonio, 44, 45

Campo, Galeazzo, 44

Campo, Giulio, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49

Campo, Vincenzio, 44, 45

Caravaggio, Polidoro da, 17, 218, 219

Carigliano, Biagio da (Biagio Betti), 210

Carlo Portelli, 11, 69, 170, 179

Carpi, Annibale da, 36

Carpi, Girolamo da, _Life_, 30-36. 28, 29

Carpi, Giulio da, 36

Carso, Giovanni dal, 227

Caselli (Castelli), Cristofano, 39

Castelfranco, Giorgione da, 29, 73, 74

Castelli (Caselli), Cristofano, 39

Cellini, Benvenuto, 128

Ceraiolo, Antonio del, 65, 66

Cesare da Sesto, 56

Ciciliano, Angelo, 55

Cioli, Simone, 36

Cioli, Valerio, 35

Clemente, Prospero, 38, 39

Conte, Jacopo del, 95, 169, 181

Conti, Domenico, 11

Contucci, Andrea (Andrea dal Monte Sansovino), 36, 114

Corniole, Nanni di Prospero delle, 162

Correggio, Antonio da, 30, 31, 34, 37, 217

Cosini, Silvio (Silvio da Fiesole), 55

Costa, Ippolito, 41

Costa, Lorenzo (the elder), 23, 25

Costa, Lorenzo (the younger), 228

Credi, Lorenzo di, 42, 65, 66

Cremona, Geremia da, 48

Cristofano Castelli (Caselli), 39

Cristofano Gobbo (Cristofano Solari), 55

Cristofano Lombardi (Tofano Lombardino), 45, 55

Cristofano Rosa, 50, 51, 104

Cristofano Solari (Cristofano Gobbo), 55

Cungi, Leonardo, 227

Daniello da Parma (Daniello Porri), 217

Daniello da Volterra (Daniello Ricciarelli), _Life_, 197-211.
184-186, 197-211, 228, 235

Daniello Porri (Daniello da Parma), 217

Daniello Ricciarelli (Daniello da Volterra), _Life_, 197-211.
184-186, 197-211, 228, 235

David Ghirlandajo, _Life_, 59-60. 63, 64

Diacceto, 161

Diana Mantovana (Sculptore), 42

Domenico Brusciasorzi (Domenico del Riccio), 40, 41

Domenico Conti, 11

Domenico del Riccio (Domenico Brusciasorzi), 40, 41

Domenico Ghirlandajo, 59-61, 63, 64, 66

Domenico Panetti, 24