Chapter XVII: Book V: Genoese School (1)

EPOCH I.

_The Ancients._

Last among the ancient schools of Italy is to be enumerated the Genoese, in regard to the period in which it flourished, not to its merit, which I consider as being equal to that of many others. In Liguria the first revival of painting appeared tardy; not so its progress, which was rapid and distinguished. In Genoa and Savona, as well as in other cities situated on the sea-shore, there remain some ancient paintings by unknown hands, one of which, over the gate of Savona, is distinguished by the date of 1101. The first artist known by any extant production, is one _Franciscus de Oberto_, as he signs himself on the edge of a painting of the Virgin between two angels, which is in the church of S. Domenico, at Genoa, displaying nothing of the Giottesque, and executed in 1368. It cannot be ascertained that he was altogether a native artist, as may be confidently asserted of the Monk of Ieres, and of Niccolo da Voltri, names known to history though not by any surviving works. The Monk of the Isole d'Oro, or of Ieres, or Stecadi, where he long resided, was not pointed out to us by name by any ancient writer. His surname was Cybo, and historians place him in the genealogical tree of Innocent VIII. Besides being a good Provençal poet, and historian, it is said that he became an excellent miniaturist, and on this account, a favourite with the King and Queen of Aragon, to whom he presented several of his illuminated books. He also delighted in representing in his paintings birds, fish, quadrupeds, trees with fruits, ships of various forms, perspectives of cities and edifices, objects, in short, which he beheld in the islands around him. It is conjectured by Baldinucci that Giotto's models, in an age thronged with miniaturists, and not wanting in painters, had influenced the efforts of this isolated artist. How this assertion can be confirmed I know not, the more so as history describes him as having devoted himself late in life to design, and in the island of Lerino, where it is not known there were any followers of Giotto. Voltri was also a figure painter; some of his altar-pieces survived to the time of Soprani, who extols them, without, however, pointing out with precision the peculiarities of his taste or school.

During the fifteenth century, and part of the following, the capital city, and those depending on it, were supplied, for the most part, with foreign painters, almost all unknown to their native schools on account of their having, as it appears, resided in Liguria. Some account remains of a German called Giusto di Alemagna, in a cloister of S. Maria di Castello, at Genoa. He there painted in fresco an Annunciation in 1451, a precious picture of its sort, finished in the manner of miniaturists, and which seems to promise for Germany the style of an Albert Durer. At the same period Jacopo Marone, of Alessandria, painted an altar-piece at S. Jacopo in Savona, in distemper, consisting of various compartments, and in the midst of it a Nativity with a landscape, a work conducted with exquisite care in every part. At S. Brigida, in Genoa, too, are seen, by the same hand, two altar-pieces, one with the date of 1481, the other of 1484. The author was one Galeotto Nebea, of Castellaccio, a place not far from Alexandria. The three principal Archangels in the first, and S. Pantaleone with other martyrs in the second, are represented on a gold ground, very tolerably executed, both in forms and draperies, which are extremely rich, with stiff and regular foldings, not borrowed from any other school. It exhibits also the grado or step, with minute histories, a work somewhat crude, but displaying diligence.

Turning from the head city to Savona, a third native of Alexandria, called Gio. Massone, painted about the year 1490, in the church erected by Sixtus IV. for the sepulture of his family. Although not mentioned in history, he must have been distinguished in his time, to have been selected for such a work, and remunerated with one hundred and ninety-two ducats for his labour. It is comprised in a small altar-piece, where, seen at the feet of the Virgin, are the portraits of the pope, and the cardinal Giuliano, his nephew, afterwards Julius II. The same city, preserving so many ancient memorials, has also snatched from oblivion the names of one Tuccio di Andria, an artist employed at S. Jacopo in 1487, and of two natives of Pavia, who somewhat later perhaps painted on canvass, and signed themselves, the one _Laurentius Papiensis_, the other _Donatus Comes Bardus Papiensis_. Another foreigner, by birth a Brescian, and a Carmelite by profession, presents us with a signature, to be found at S. Giovanni, below an altar-piece of the Nativity of our Saviour. It has written on it, "_Opus F. Hieronymi de Brixia Carmelitæ, 1519_." By the same hand, in the cloister of the Carmelitani at Florence, is a Pietà with this inscription, _F. Hieronymus de Brixia_. This artist is well deserving of notice, if only on account of his knowledge in perspective, an art so much cultivated after Foppa in Brescia, and throughout Lombardy. Doubtless he was a pupil of that monastery, in which the art of painting was then cultivated; as it is stated by Averoldi, who extols one F. Gio. Maria da Brescia, and the cloister of the Carmine, decorated by him with a number of histories of Elias and of Eliseas. This Girolamo I believe to have been his companion or disciple, a name that has in some way escaped Orlandi, who belonged to the same order.

No one of the foreign painters is known to have opened school in Liguria, except a native of Nizza, who, through his succession, is almost regarded as the progenitor of the ancient Genoese School. He is called Lodovico Brea, and his works are by no means rare at Genoa and throughout the state, with notices of him between the years 1485 and 1513. In point of taste he is not equal to the best among his contemporaries in other schools, employing gilding, and more strongly adhering to the old dryness of design. His style, nevertheless, yields to that of few in the beauty of its heads, and in the vividness of its colouring, which still remains almost unimpaired. His folding is also good, his composition tolerable, he selects difficult perspectives, and his attitudes are bold. From his whole painting he might be rather pronounced the head of a new, than the follower of any other school. He never attempted grand proportions; in smaller, as we see in the Slaughter of the Innocents, at S. Agostino, he is excellent. His S. Giovanni, in the chapel of the Madonna di Savona, executed by commission for the Card. della Rovere, in competition with other artists, is highly praised.

Thus, until the year 1513, painting in Genoa was in the hands of strangers, and if the natives at all practised it they were few only, as we shall shortly show, while both one and the other were far behind the best methods of their age. Ottaviano Fregoso, elected doge in the above year, at length shed new lustre on the arts. He invited to Genoa Gio. Giacomo Lombardo, a sculptor, and Carlo del Mantegna, a painter, who succeeded, as we have stated, both to the works and reputation of his master. Carlo not only painted in Genoa but taught, and with a success that would seem quite incredible, were it not that the works of his imitators are still in existence. Thus the Genoese School first took its rise from Brea, and was promoted by Carlo, as we find it described by two painters in two volumes; a school of a long, uninterrupted, and illustrious succession. The first volume is by Raffael Soprani, a patrician of the city, who wrote lives of the Genoese professors of design up to 1667; and added also notices of foreign ones who had been employed in that splendid capital. The second is by the Cav. Carlo Ratti, secretary to the Ligustic academy, who, after having republished the Lives of Soprani, accompanied by useful notes, continued the same work in another volume and on the same plan, down to the present day. He has moreover published, in two small volumes, a Guide, intended to give an account of the best specimens of art, both in private and public, which Genoa and every district of the state can boast; an extremely useful undertaking, and, if I mistake not, without example either in or beyond Italy. Thus, owing to the exertions of this deserving citizen, the pictoric history of Liguria has become one of the most complete among those of all Italy as respects the number of its artists, and the most certain in enabling us to form a correct opinion of their merits. Directed by these, and by other additional information received on the spot from Sig. Ratti himself, as well as from others, I proceed to resume the thread of my narrative.

About the period that Carlo arrived at Genoa, the same city was also so fortunate as to become the residence of Pier Francesco Sacchi, commended by Lomazzo, who calls him Pierfrancesco Pavese, an artist well skilled in the style then prevailing at Milan. He was a good perspective painter, delightful in landscape, and a diligent, correct designer. The public is still in possession of his altar-piece of the Four Holy Doctors in the oratory of S. Ugo. The style of Sacchi nearly resembles that of Carlo del Mantegna, from what we gather from his works in Mantua, there remaining no vestiges of them in Genoa. Two youths of very fine genius for the art were at this period educating in the school of Lodovico Brea. One was named Antonio Semini, the other Teramo Piaggia, or Teramo di Zoagli, the place of his birth. There is no account of their being indebted either to the advice or examples of the new masters, when they began to be employed for the public, but their altar-pieces display the fact. They painted conjointly, and affixed both their names to their productions. In that of the Martyrdom of St. Andrew, which they conducted for the church of that name, they likewise added their own portraits. None can have witnessed this very beautiful altar-piece, without seeing traces of Brea's style already enlarged and changed into one more modern. The figures are not of those dimensions which we subsequently see in a better age, nor is the design sufficiently soft and full, but there is a clearness in the countenances that rivets attention, an union of colouring that attracts; the folding is easy, the composition somewhat thronged, though not by any means despicable. Few originators of the style which is now termed modern antique, can be fairly preferred before these two artists and friends. Teramo in his individual specimens at Chiavari and at Genoa itself, retains somewhat more of the antique, particularly as regards composition, but is always animated in his countenances, studied and graceful. Antonio appears to me almost like the Pietro Perugino of his school. In his Deposition from the Cross he approaches nearer the better age, a painting in possession of the Dominicans at Genoa, as well as in some other pieces highly commended for the figures, and the accessories of perspective and landscape, though his great merit does not appear most conspicuous here. For this we should consult his Nativity, painted for S. Domenico in Savona, and we shall be convinced that he also emulated Perino and Raffaello himself.

Before proceeding to an improved epoch, we ought here to insert the names of a few other native artists to whom we already alluded. It is doubtful whether Aurelio Robertelli ranks in this list, by whom, at Savona, is a figure of the Virgin painted on a column of the old cathedral, dated 1499, and transferred to the new one, where it excites the particular veneration of the people. A little subsequent appeared a painting by Niccolo Corso, at Genoa, bearing the date of 1503. It represents a history of S. Benedict, painted in fresco for the villa of Quarto belonging to the Padri Olivetani, in whose refectory, cloister, and church near the Corso, he was much employed. Soprani enumerates other histories, of which he extols the richness of invention, the passionate expression, and especially the vividness and durability of the colouring. He adds, that were he less hard, he might rank among the very first of his profession. The same writer commends Andrea Morinello for an altar-piece formerly seen at S. Martino di Albaro, dated 1516; an artist very graceful in his countenances, excellent in portrait, soft and clear in his outlines, and one of the first in those parts who opened the way for the modern manner. He likewise praises F. Lorenzo Moreno, a Carmelite, skilled in fresco, who painted the Annunciation in a cloister of the Carmine, now cut out of the exterior wall of the building in order to preserve it. Finally he extols an ecclesiastic of the Franciscan order, by name F. Simon da Carnuli, who, in his church at Voltri, painted two histories in one large altar-piece in 1519. One of these represents the Institution of the Eucharist, the other the preaching of St. Antony. Still it is not free from the hardness peculiar to the age as regards the figures; but in the architecture of the edifices, and in the gradual receding of the perspective, it is so perfect that the celebrated Andrea Doria was eager at any price to purchase it, in order to present it as a gift to the Escurial. But the people of Voltri refused every offer, and still keep possession of it. A few others, who enjoyed a degree of reputation from their sons, will be mentioned along with them in the epoch of which we shall next proceed to treat.

GENOESE SCHOOL.

EPOCH II.

_Perino and his Followers._

Whilst the art was advancing in Genoa and her territories, there occurred the celebrated siege of Rome, and the calamities which accompanied and followed it, in consequence of which the scholars of Raffaello were dispersed, and established themselves some in one city and some in another. We have seen in the course of this work Polidoro and Salerno in Naples, Giulio in Mantua, Pellegrino in Modena, and Gaudenzio in Milan, distinguish themselves as the masters of eminent schools; and we find one school founded by Perino del Vaga in Genoa, which has maintained the splendour of its origin in a way inferior to none. Perino arrived in Genoa in a state of distress in 1528, after the sacking of Rome. He was there liberally welcomed by Prince Doria, who employed him for several years in the decoration of his magnificent palace without the gate of S. Tommaso. He superintended as well the external decorations of the sculptures, as the internal ornaments of the stuccos, the gilding, the arabesques, the paintings in fresco and in oil. This place, in consequence, breathes all the taste of the halls and loggie of the Vatican; the celebrated works of which, at that time, attracted universal admiration, and in the execution of part of which Perino had a considerable share. This artist has indeed no where displayed his talents to such advantage as in the Doria palace; and it is doubtful whether Perino in Genoa, or Giulio in Mantua, have best sustained the style of Raffaello. We find in the palace some small histories of celebrated Romans, of Cocles, for example, and Scævola, which might pass for compositions of Raffaello; a group of Boys at Play, likewise, has all the air of that master; and on a ceiling, in the War of the Giants against the Gods, we seem to behold in conflict the same persons whom Raffaello had represented as banqueting in the Casa Chigi. If the expression be not so noble, the grace so rare, it is because that grand specimen of art may be emulated by many, but equalled by none. It may be added, that Perino's style is less finished than his master's, and that, in his drawing of the naked figure, he, like Giulio, partakes of the style of Michelangiolo. Four chambers, Vasari informs us, were painted in the palace from the cartoons of Vaga, by Luzio Romano, and some Lombards, his assistants; one of whom, of the name of Guglielmo Milanese, followed him to Rome, and held in that court the office of Frate del Piombo. The others have left no name behind them, and must have been individuals of inferior talents and poorly paid, as we occasionally find rude and heavy figures. Such defects are not uncommon in the works which Perino undertook, for when he had made his cartoons or designs he gave them to his pupils to execute, with material advantage to his pecuniary interests, but with detriment to his reputation. This is observed by Vasari, nor do I know how he could have the courage to mention in connexion with this circumstance the works which were executed with the assistance of their scholars by Raffaello and Giulio Romano, illustrious masters, irreproachable in the selection of their assistants, indefatigable in their application, and contemning that avidity of gain which drew down on Perino merited reprehension. There is still, in the palace Doria, a frieze of boys, commenced by him in one of the loggie, continued by Pordenone, and finished by Beccafumo; and the remains of what was there painted by Girolamo da Trevigi, who, through jealous rivalry towards Perino, forsook both the city and the state. Perino painted some pictures for the churches in Genoa; where too we find some by eminent foreign hands, amongst which is the St. Stephen, painted by Giulio Romano for the church of that saint; an altar-piece perhaps the most copious in composition, and the most striking that issued from the studio of that master. It was at this time too that many noble individuals applied themselves to collect foreign specimens of every school, and they have since been emulated by their posterity, who in this pursuit perhaps surpass all the private collectors in Italy, except those of Rome.

By these means the country became enriched with beautiful works, and began to turn itself to a more perfect style, which it attained with a celerity unknown to any other school. The transition from the style of Brea, which was that of the thirteenth century, to that of Raffaello, occupied but a few years; and even the scholars of Nizzardo, as we have observed, very soon became worthy imitators of the first of modern masters. These principles were sure to make the most prosperous advances amongst a people rich in genius and industry; and amidst a nobility that abounded in wealth, and who in no way lavished it more freely than in raising splendid sanctuaries to religion, and sumptuous habitations for themselves, which in grandeur, decorations, tapestries, and in other kinds of luxuries, scarcely yielded to royalty. From munificence like this, the School of Genoa derived aid and encouragement, though not much known abroad, as her artists were sufficiently occupied at home. Its characteristic excellence, in the opinion of Mengs, consisted in the number of its excellent fresco painters; so that a church or palace of any antiquity is scarcely to be named which does not possess the most beautiful works, or at least the memory of them. And it is a remarkable fact, when we consider how exposed the city is to the sea air, that so many works in fresco, executed by early artists, should have remained in so perfect a state. Nor did the school of Genoa want celebrity in oil paintings, particularly in the qualities of truth and force of colouring, which excellences, derived first from Perino and afterwards from the Flemish, it always retained; not yielding in this respect to any school of Italy, except the Venetian. It has produced also noble designers; although some, like other mannerists, have debased the pencil by hasty and negligent performances. Not having in public many examples of ideal excellence, it has supplied the deficiency by the study of the natural; and in the figure it has rather adopted the healthy, and the robust, and the energetic, than the delicate and the elegant. The study of portraits, in which this school had excellent masters and most lucrative practice, had a great influence on the figures of its first epoch; those of its last, if they have more beauty, have less spirit. There existed a talent for extensive composition, but in middle size rather than in great. In these they had not epic masters, like Paolo and other Venetians; they did not, however, so often violate decorum and costume. This was, perhaps, the result of the attachment to literature entertained by many of the Genoese painters, amongst whom are enumerated a greater number of men of letters, and especially gentlemen, than in any other school. This latter circumstance was, in a great measure, owing to Paggi, who, in a treatise of considerable length, defended the nobility of the art,[64] and obtained a public decree,[65] declaring the art honourable, and worthy of cultivation by men of the noblest birth; an event from which the art derived the greatest dignity. We now return to particulars.

Footnote 64: It is inserted in the 7th vol. of the Lettere
Pittoriche, p. 148.

Footnote 65: The decree is given by the Cavalier Ratti in
the notes to Soprani. The names of the noble painters,
amateurs of the art, may be found in those two authors.

The first who attached themselves to Perino for instruction, were Lazzaro and Pantaleo Calvi, the sons and scholars of an Agostino Calvi, a good painter in the old style, and one of the first in Genoa who forsook the gold ground for one of colour. Lazzaro was at that time twenty-five years of age, his brother somewhat more; nor did the latter rise in reputation, except in lending to the works of Lazzaro his aid and his name. These works abounded in Genoa and her territories, at Monaco and at Naples, in every variety of composition, arabesques, and stuccos with which are decorated palaces and churches. Some of these are excellent, as the façades of the palace Doria, (now Spinola,) with prisoners in various attitudes, considered as a school of design; and several historical compositions in colours and chiaroscuro, in the best taste.[66] In the palace Pallavicini, at Zerbino, is a composition of theirs commonly called the Continence of Scipio; a remark which I owe to Sig. Ratti, who not having included it in his edition of 1768, obligingly communicated it to me for this work. To this they also added naked figures, with so happy an imitation of Perino that, in the opinion of Mengs, they might be adjudged to that master. Moreover, we know that Perino was liberal to them in designs and cartoons; whence, in these better works, we may always presume on the aid of the master's hand. However it might be, Lazzaro indulged in a self-conceit of his own powers, and left behind some specimens of an extravagance which no painter has since followed, except Corenzio. He was particularly jealous of any young artist, who he thought might interfere with his fame or interests, and to gratify his envy had recourse to the blackest arts. One of these rivals, Giacomo Bargone, he took off by poison; and to depress the others he drew around himself a crowd of adherents and hirelings, who influenced the opinion of the vulgar, by praising the works of Lazzaro to the skies, and depreciating those of his competitors. These cabals were more strongly instanced in the chapel Centurioni, where he painted the Birth of St. John, in competition with Andrea Semini and Luca Cambiaso, who there also painted other pictures from the history of that saint. This work was one of his happiest efforts, and the most approaching to the style of his master; but he could not crush the genius of Cambiaso, which after this occasion appeared more brilliant than his own; whence the Prince Doria selected that artist to execute a very considerable work in fresco for the church of S. Matteo. This so enraged Calvi, that he gave himself up to a sea life, and abandoned the pencil for twenty years. He ultimately resumed it, and continued, though with a hardness of style, to paint till his eighty-fifth year. One of his last works is to be seen on the walls and in the cupola of S. Catherine; but it is cold, meagre, and bears all the marks of senility. Indeed after his return to the art, and particularly after the death of Pantaleo, who had assiduously assisted him in every work, Lazzaro was only memorable for the extreme protraction of his life, which extended to 105 years.

Footnote 66: This work is extolled by Lomazzo as one of the
best of Lazzaro; it is classed with the Triumphs of Giulio
Romano, Polidoro, and other eminent artists, in the
_Trattato della Pittura_, p. 398.

Of the two Semini, Andrea and Ottavio, it is not ascertained that they had in Genoa any other master than their father Antonio; but after the example of their father, they deferred much to Perino, as did also Luca their contemporary. In confirmation of which it is said, that Perino having found them engaged with a print of Titian, and hearing them remarking on some incorrectness in the drawing, reproved them by observing, that in the works of the great masters we ought to pass over their faults and extol their excellence. But the two brothers, enchanted by the style of Raffaello, became ambitious of drinking at the fountain of the art, and, repairing to Rome, applied themselves to the diligent study of the works of that master, and the remains of antiquity, particularly the Trajan column. They were afterwards employed both at Genoa and in Milan, where they painted many works, both in conjunction and separately, all in the Roman style, particularly in their early career. Andrea discovered less talent than Ottavio; and was, perhaps, more tenacious than he in his imitation of Raffaello, especially in the contours of his faces. He sometimes wants delicacy, as in a crucifixion lately come into the possession of the Duke of Tuscany; and sometimes correctness, as in the Presepio, in the church of St. Francis in Genoa, which is in other respects very Raffaellesque, and may be reckoned among his best works. Ottavio, an unprincipled man, was an eminent artist, and succeeded so well in the imitation of his master, as is scarcely credible to those who have not seen his works. He painted the façade of the palace Doria, now Invrea, and there displayed so fine a taste in the architecture, and decorated it with busts and figures of such relief, and particularly with a Rape of the Sabines, that Giulio Cesare Procaccini took it for a performance of Raffaello, and asked if that great master had left any other works in Genoa. Of equal merit, or nearly so, were many of his frescos, painted for the nobility, until, as is often the case with fresco painters, he ended his career in a freer but less finished style. Of these latter he left many specimens at Milan, where he passed the latter years of his life. In that city the entire decoration of the chapel of S. Girolamo at S. Angelo is painted by him, the chief composition of which is the funeral group which accompanies the saint to the sepulchre. It possesses, if not a noble design, yet great fertility of invention, great spirit, and a strong and beautiful colour, as he possessed that part of the art in an eminent degree in works of fresco; for in oils he was either unwilling or unable to colour well.

Luca Cambiaso, called also Luchetto da Genoa, did not quit his native country to obtain instruction, nor did he frequent any other school than that of his father; obscure indeed, but of a good method, and sufficient to a mind of genius. Giovanni his father, a tolerable _quattrocentista_, and a great admirer of Vaga and Pordenone, after having exercised him in copying the designs of Mantegna, a master of chasteness of contour, and having instructed him in the art of modelling, so useful in relief and foreshortening, carried him to the palace Doria, and there pointed out to his attention those great prototypes of art, with the addition of his own instruction. The study of these performances, by a youth who was born a painter, awakened in him such emulation, that he began in his fifteenth year to produce works of his own invention; and gave promise of one day ranking, as he did, with the first painters of his age. He displayed facility, fire, and grandeur of design, and was on that account adduced by Boschini as an example of fine contours, and held in high esteem in the cabinets of the dilettanti. He embodied his ideas with such despatch and success, that Armenini affirms that he had seen him paint with two pencils at a time, and with a touch not less free, and more correct than Tintoretto. He was, moreover, fertile and novel in his designs, skilful in introducing the most arduous foreshortenings, and in surmounting the difficulties of the art. He was deficient at first in the true principles of perspective; but he soon acquired the theory from Castello, his great friend and companion, as we shall shortly see. Through him he improved both his colouring and his style of composition. In conjunction with Castello he executed several works, so much alike, that one hand can scarcely be distinguished from the other. These, however, were not his best performances. He must be seen where he painted alone; and he shines no where more than in Genoa, nor beyond a period of twelve years, within which space Soprani circumscribes his best time. Let it not appear strange to those who hear this opinion of that writer. Luca had not the good fortune to benefit from those great masters who, with a word, put their scholars in the right path; he went on, however, improving from his own resources, a long and laborious course, in which a thousand wishes are formed before the goal is reached. But Cambiaso attained it, and held it until an ungovernable passion, as we shall see in the sequel, threw him back again.

Confining ourselves to the works of the best twelve years of his practice, we see in him a man who possessed a high predilection for the Roman School; deriving instruction from prints, and impelled by his own genius to attempt I know not what of originality. Where this originality appears, we should not wish Cambiaso other than himself, and where it does not appear, we should not wish him any thing but an imitator. Of the first kind is the Martyrdom of St. George in the church of that saint, which for the noble character of the sufferer, the sympathy of the spectators, the composition, variety, and force of chiaroscuro, is considered his chef d'oeuvre. Of the second kind there are, perhaps, more specimens to be found; as the picture at the Rocchettini, of S. Benedetto with John the Baptist and St. Luke, very much in the style of Perino and Raffaello; and above all, the Rape of the Sabines in Terralba, a suburb of Genoa, in the palace of the Imperiali. Every thing combines to please in this work; the magnificence of the buildings, the beauty of the horses, the alarm of the virgins, the ardour of the invaders, the several episodes which, in various compartments, crown the principal subject, and, as it were, continue the story. It is related that Mengs, after having viewed this picture, said, that out of Rome he had not seen any thing that more strongly brought to his recollection the loggie of the Vatican, than these works. He also executed other works of singular merit, particularly for private collections, among which I have found more pictures of a free than of a devout description. Being left a widower, he became enamoured of a female relative, whom he in vain endeavoured to obtain permission from the Pope to marry. This disappointment induced the neglect of his art. He then repaired to the court of Madrid, with the view of facilitating his wishes, and when he found himself deprived of all hope in this object, he fell sick and died. He left many works in the Escurial, and amongst these the subject of Paradise, in the vault of the church, a large composition, and a work very much praised by Lomazzo, but not equally so by Mengs, who had seen and examined it for several successive years.

Gio. Batista Castello, the companion of Cambiaso, is commonly called in Genoa Il Bergamasco, to distinguish him from Gio. Batista Castello, a Genoese, a scholar of Cambiaso, and the most celebrated miniature painter of his age. Our present subject, born in Bergamo, and brought, when a youth, to Genoa, by Aurelio Buso, (_v._ vol. iii. page 184) was, on his sudden departure, left by him in that city. In this state of desertion he found a patron in one of the Pallavicini family, who gave him a friendly reception, and assisted him with the means of prosecuting his studies; sending him to Rome, from whence he returned to Genoa an accomplished architect, sculptor, and painter, not inferior to Cambiaso. His taste, formed by studying at Rome, was similar to that of Luca, as I have already observed; and in the church of S. Matteo are works painted by them in concert. We may observe in these the style of Raffaello already verging on mannerism, but not so much so as that which prevailed in Rome in the time of Gregory and Sixtus. Connoisseurs discover in Cambiaso a greater genius and more elegance of design; in the Bergamese more care, a deeper knowledge, and colour occasionally partaking more of the school of Venice than of Rome. It is however very probable that when so friendly an intercourse subsisted they may have aided each other, even in those places where they worked in competition, where each claimed his own work, and distinguished it by his name. Thus at the Nunziata di Portoria Luca represented on the walls the final state of the blest and the rejected in the last judgment; while Gio. Batista, in the vault, painted the Supreme Judge in the midst of the angelic choir, calling the elect to bliss. He appears in the attitude of uttering the words _Venite benedicti_, appended in capital letters. It is a highly finished performance, and of so exalted a character that we should think that Luca, when he painted the laterals to it, was asleep, so inferior are they in composition and expression. On many other occasions he painted alone, as the S. Jerome surrounded by monks terrified at a lion, in S. Francesco in Castelletto; and the S. Sebastian in the church of that saint, receiving the crown of martyrdom; a picture rich in composition, studied in execution, and far beyond any commendation of mine. He painted in Genoa other pictures, and always discovered an air of life in the countenances, a magnificence in the architecture, a strength of colour and chiaroscuro, which makes one regret that he was so little known in Italy; and possibly he was prevented from being known as an oil painter by the numerous works in fresco which he executed in Genoa; the largest of which is in the Palazzo Grillo. We there see a portico painted in arabesque, and a saloon, in the ceiling of which is represented the banquet given by Dido to Æneas; a beautiful work, particularly the arabesques, but not sufficiently studied. This artist, in his latter years, was painter to the court at Madrid, whither, on his death, Luca Cambiaso was called to finish the larger historical subjects; but the grotesques, and the ornamental parts interspersed with figures, were continued by the two sons of Gio. Batista, whom he had carried with him to Madrid as his assistants. Palomini makes honourable mention of them, and the Padre de' Santi Teresiani, and the Padre Mazzolari Girolamino, in their description of the Escurial, enumerate their works, commending their variety, singularity, and beauty of colour. One was called Fabrizio, the other Granello; and the latter, as Ratti conjectures, was the son of Nicolosio Granello, an able fresco painter of the school of Semini, whose widow was married to Castelli, and probably brought with her this son of her first marriage.

Painters have in general been found to impart instruction more freely to native scholars than to strangers; and yet the latter have always profited more than the former, so that it rarely happened that on the death of the chief of a school the reputation of that school has been continued by a son or a nephew. Such was the case with the Genoese, where Calvi, the Semini, and Cambiaso, had each a numerous progeny, and a progeny too attached to the art; and yet amongst so many there was not one who passed the bounds of mediocrity, except perhaps Orazio, the son of Luca Cambiaso, of whom Soprani merely says that he followed in a praiseworthy manner his father's style, and initiated some pupils in the art. It was therefore to his better scholars that Cambiaso was indebted for assistance in his profession; one of whom, Lazzaro Tavarone, followed him even into Spain, and remained there for some years after his master's death. He afterwards returned to Genoa, stored with the designs of Luca, and loaded with riches and honours. Luca seemed to live again in his scholar, so fully did he possess his style. He moreover distinguished himself by a method of colouring in fresco, which, if I mistake not, raised him above all his predecessors in this school, and above all who succeeded him, except Carloni. This peculiarity consisted in a richness, brightness, and variety of colour, which brings distant objects vividly to the sight, the whole composition appearing brilliantly illuminated, and the tints splendidly and harmoniously blended. One may perhaps occasionally wish in them more softness, but in general they have all the richness of oil paintings. The tribune of the Duomo, where the patron saints of the city are represented, particularly S. Lorenzo, from whose history some passages are selected, is the chef d'oeuvre of his public works. The façade of the palace of the doge is also a considerable performance, representing St. George slaying the dragon; around it and above are other numerous figures of citizens of eminence, of the virtues, of genii with nautical weapons and the spoils of the enemy, some of which might pass for the work of Pordenone. This grand work is exposed to the sea, the spray of which has affected, but not destroyed it. In many other churches and palaces also are to be found the works of Tavarone; histories, fables, and imaginary compositions, often so well preserved that the scaffolding and the steps by which the artists ascended and descended, appear as if just removed. Fortunate, had his works been fewer in number, and finished with equal care. Some pictures in oil are mentioned by him, but more rare and of less merit than his frescos.

Cesare Corte was of Pavian extraction. Valerio, his father, who was born in Venice, was the son of a gentleman of Pavia, and became, under the instruction of Titian, an excellent portrait painter; and his talents insuring him a favourable reception in Genoa, he settled there. He remained in that city for the rest of his life, and died in poverty, his means being all consumed in fruitless experiments in alchemy. He was the intimate friend of Cambiaso, whose life he wrote; and to him he committed the instruction of his son Cesare. This son did not indeed equal his father, but he surpassed the greater number of his fellow scholars. In the church of S. Piero he painted the tutelar saint at the foot of the Madonna, surrounded by angels; a picture of chaste design and of a true and harmonious colouring. His historical pictures and his portraits are found in many collections: one of the former, in the Casa Pallavicino, on a subject from the Inferno of Dante, was celebrated by Chiabrera in an elegant sonnet. The fame of this artist was tarnished by his heretical opinions, imbibed by the perusal of some pernicious work, as often happens to the half informed, who read every thing, understand little, and finally believe nothing. He however abjured his errors, though never released from his prison, where he died. David, his son, restricted himself to the limits of a copyist; and in this so highly distinguished himself, that his pictures are placed in some collections at the side of the originals as wonders of art.

Bernardo Castello frequented the school of Andrea Semini more than that of Cambiaso; in his principles he inclined more to the latter, and in practice he followed both indifferently. Travelling afterwards through Italy he saw other works, and formed a style not devoid of grace, nor of correctness, when he worked with care; as in the Martyrdom of St. Clement and St. Agatagnolo, in the church of S. Sebastian, and the St. Anne at S. Matteo. He had a fertile invention, in which he was aided by the poets of the age, whose friendship he assiduously cultivated.[67] He was eulogized by Lionardo Spinola, D. Angiolo Grillo, Ceva, Marino, Chiabrera, and by Tasso, for whose Jerusalem he made the designs which were in part engraved by Agostino Caracci. His reputation raised him not only to the rank of one of the first masters of his school, but of Italy itself; and he was thus selected to work in the Vatican, as has been mentioned. He there painted St. Peter called to the apostleship, a picture which was soon afterwards removed, and one by Lanfranco substituted in its place, either because it was injured by damp, or had not given satisfaction. Castello indeed did not possess that vigorous style which Rome at this time demanded, refusing her applause to the Vasaris and Zuccaris. He had much of their style of colour, nor was he exempt from their despatch; and, like them, he opened the way in his school to facility instead of correctness. Genoa is filled, or rather glutted, with his works, yet they still maintain their reputation, as they are all sustained by a certain vigour and grace of style. He sometimes appears in foreign collections, and in that of the Colonna in Rome I saw a Parnassus by him with Poussin figures and a beautiful landscape, which may be ranked amongst his most finished works. Soprani informs us that he was again invited to Rome, to paint a picture of St. Peter, and that he died whilst he was preparing himself for this journey, aged seventy-two. But at so advanced a period of life one may doubt the truth of this report. He had three sons, painters, of whom Valerio alone is deserving of commemoration, and we shall notice him in his place.

Footnote 67: A strict intimacy existed, especially between
him and the Cav. Marino, among whose letters we may
enumerate twenty-eight more to Castello than to any other
person. It is pleasing to observe the dexterity of the poet,
who often praises the "miraculous pencil" and the "divine
hand" of the painter, an homage bestowed still more
liberally in the _Galleria_; and the gratitude of the artist
who designed and coloured for his friend gratis, and who
exerts himself to requite every letter of the poet by some
acceptable work of art, (p. 175).

Among his foreign scholars Simon Barabbino deserves remembrance, whose rare genius created so strong a jealousy in Castello as to induce him to expel him from his school. He retired from it, and afterwards painted at the Nunziata del Guastato the S. Diego, which Soprani almost prefers to the best work of Castello. But he did not obtain any great celebrity among his countrymen. Milan rendered him that honour which his own native place denied; in consequence of which he settled there, and worked in the palaces and churches. There is by him, at S. Girolamo, a Madonna with a dead Christ, accompanied by S. Michael and S. Andrew. The colour is true, the heads are correctly drawn, the naked figure well understood, the contours sufficiently accurate and well relieved. He would have attained still greater perfection, but he turned to merchandize, where instead of wealth he found only his ruin, and died in gaol.

Gio. Batista Paggi, a patrician by birth, was led to the profession of a painter by his predilection for the art, which, in spite of the opposition of his father, he indulged in from his earliest years. He was highly accomplished in letters, and his various attainments in poetry, philosophy, and history, all served to assist him in the composition of his pictures. He was perhaps not so much extolled by the poets as Castello, but he attained a greater celebrity among his brother artists. He was directed by Cambiaso in his first studies, which was the drawing in chiaroscuro from the casts of antique bassi-relievi, for the purpose of attaining a true idea of the beautiful, and preparing himself for the study of nature. Being well skilled in the practice of the crayon, with little labour, and almost alone, he learnt the art of colouring; and without the instructions of a master, taught himself architecture and perspective. Whilst he was rising into notice, he was compelled to flee his country for homicide; and, for about the space of twenty years, he resided in Florence, protected by that court, and always profitably employed. Florence, at that time, abounded with men of first rate genius; and it was then that Cigoli, and all the young painters, abandoned their own languid style for the rich and vigorous Lombard. Paggi had not so much occasion as the others to invigorate his manner, as appears from the works he executed in Florence not long after his arrival there. There remains by him a Holy Family, and another picture in the church degli Angioli, and in the cloister of S. Maria Novella a history piece of S. Catherine of Siena. It represents the saint liberating a condemned person, and is a large composition, ornamented with beautiful buildings, and so pleasingly executed that I have heard it preferred to all in that convent. Nevertheless the great merit of Paggi was not at that time vigour, but a certain nobleness of air, which always continued to be his characteristic, and a delicacy and grace which have led some to compare him to Baroccio, and even to Coreggio. It seems to me that he became more vigorous as he advanced, and a proof of it is to be seen in the stupendous Transfiguration, painted in S. Mark, which seems almost beyond his powers. In the same style he painted for the Certosa at Pavia three pictures from the Passion of our Saviour, which appear to me among his best works. He was ultimately recalled by the republic about the year 1600 for his excellence in his art, and the courts both of Pavia and Madrid invited, and were desirous of employing him. His patriotism however precluded him from accepting these honourable appointments. He illustrated his native city with beautiful works in the churches and in collections. They have not all equal merit, as this artist also was not exempt from the disadvantages of bad priming, domestic anxieties, and the infirmities of age. His best works, according to some, are the two pictures at the church of S. Bartolommeo, and the Slaughter of the Innocents, in the possession of his Excellence the Sig. Giuseppe Doria, painted in competition with Vandyke and Rubens in 1606. He formed also some excellent scholars, the account of whom we shall reserve to the succeeding epoch. We shall there again recur to him, as he is placed on the confines of the two periods of his school, and may be regarded in the one as a scholar, and in the other as a master.

GENOESE SCHOOL.

EPOCH III.

_The Art relapses for some time, and is re-invigorated by
the Works of Paggi and some Foreigners._

Every school, whatever may have been the celebrity of its founder, betrays in the course of time symptoms of decay, and stands in need of restoration. The Genoese, in the hands of Castello, experienced a decline about the close of the sixteenth century, but soon afterwards revived, by the return of Paggi, and the arrival of some foreigners, who established themselves for a considerable period in that city. To this amelioration Sofonisba Angussola not a little contributed by the assemblies of scholars and professors of the art, which were held in his house, much to their improvement, as we have before observed. Among these were Gentileschi, Roncalli, and the Procaccini, who were employed in various public works. Aurelio Lomi of Pisa settled in Genoa, taught there, and left some excellent works at San Francesco di Castelletto, at the Nunziata del Guastato and elsewhere. Nor ought we to omit Simon Balli, his scholar, unknown in Florence, his native city, but deserving of being remembered for his style, which partook considerably of Andrea del Sarto's, and for some small cabinet pictures on copper. Antonio Antoniano of Urbino also resorted thither, if we are to believe Soprani.[68] He brought with him the beautiful picture painted for the Duomo by Baroccio, who was his master; and he himself, in the church of S. Tommaso, painted the picture of the saint and another picture; and, if I mistake not, some others for private individuals, which are at the present day attributed to Baroccio, so successful was his imitation of that master. There came to Genoa from Siena Salimbeni and Sorri, and with them Agostino Tassi. The two latter remained there for a length of time, both working and teaching; and besides these, Ghissoni, who was also a Sienese of some merit, a scholar of Alberti in Rome, and a fresco painter of a vigorous and engaging style. Simon Vovet also repaired thither, but did not remain long; he however executed some works, one particularly of the Crucifixion, at St. Ambrose, not unworthy, as Soprani informs us, of his great name. Amongst the most considerable aid which Genoa experienced from foreign talents we must enumerate Rubens and Vandyck; the first of whom left there some noble public works, and a number of private historical pieces, and the second a very great number of his eloquent and animated portraits. Gio. Rosa of Flanders also established himself there, mentioned by me in Rome, where he studied; a happy imitator of nature in her most agreeable forms, especially animals. He died in Genoa, and left there Giacomo Legi, his countryman and scholar; of whom there remain some excellent pictures of animals, flowers, and fruit, though few in number, as he died young. Godfrey Waals, a German, and Gio. Batista Primi, a Roman, scholars of Tassi, and landscape painters of much merit, resided there for some time; and Cornelio Wael, with Vincenzio Malò, two Flemish painters, clever in battles, landscapes, and humorous pieces, and the latter also in altar-pieces. Some other Flemish artists must have resided there a shorter time, by whom I have seen in some palaces pictures of large size, and to all appearance painted on the spot; and these I regard as additional aids to a school that benefited at that time more from example than from instruction.

Footnote 68: In the Dictionary of the Artists of Urbino the
existence of this artist is rejected as fabulous; and it is
attempted to substitute for him, in Soprani's work, Antonio
Viviani, who was indeed in Genoa. Considerable weight is
given to the conjecture, from the family of Antoniano not
being mentioned in Urbino; and I may add the circumstance of
not finding any other works of this Antonio than those named
by Soprani and his copyists. And how is it possible that one
who came to Genoa an accomplished master, should not have
left, either in Urbino or the neighbouring territory, even a
vestige or memorial of his pencil?