But it is at length time to proceed to Tiziano Vecellio, a name the reader has probably long wished to greet. Yet I fear I shall hardly gratify his expectations; for where we have formed enlarged ideas of an artist's worth, every attempt to do justice to the splendid merits we admire, appearsnot only inferior, but in some measure derogatory to the character we would exalt. But if in treating on the qualities of artists, we may consider a particular estimation of their characteristic talents preferable to warm commendations, I shall avail myself of the judgment of an excellent critic, who was accustomed to say that Titian observed and drew nature in all her truth, better than any other artist. To this I might add the testimony of another, that of all painters he was most familiar with nature, in all her forms; the universal master, who, in every subject he undertook, whether figures, elements, landscape, or other pieces, imprinted upon all that lively nature, constituting the great charm of his genius. He was gifted, likewise, with a peculiarly sound judgment, tranquil, penetrative, and decidedly studious of what was true, rather than what was novel and specious; a character no less essential to the production of true painters than of true writers.
The education he first received from Sebastiano Zuccati, a native of the Valteline, though supposed to have been of Trevigi,[47]and next from Gian Bellini,had the effect of rendering him a minute observer of every object falling under the senses. To such a degree of excellence did he carry it, that when, later in life, he wished to compete with Albert Durer, and produced, at Ferrara, the Christ to whom the Pharisee is seen offering the piece of money,[48]he executed it with so much exactness as to surpass even the minuteness which characterises that artist. Indeed, in several of those figures, the hairsmight be numbered, the skin of the hands, the very pores of the flesh, and the reflection of objects in the pupils; yet with all this, the work failed not of success, for where the pictures of Durer appear to diminish and lose their effect at a distance, this improves in size, and grows, as it were, upon the spectator. But he never repeated any specimen in this style, adopting, as is well known, while yet very young, that free and unshackled manner, first originating with his fellow student, afterwards his rival, Giorgione. A few of the portraits, indeed, painted by Titian, during that short period, are not to be distinguished from those of Giorgione himself. I say during that period, because shortly afterwards he formed a new style, less bold, clear, and fiery, but one peculiarly his, the sweetness of which attracts the spectator more by its artless representation of truth, than by the novelty of its effect. The first specimen he is known to have produced altogether in the Titian manner, is preserved in the Sacristy of San Marziale, representing the archangel Raphael, with Tobias at his side, painted in the thirtieth year of his age. Following at a short interval, if we are to give credit to Ridolfi, he next produced that fine representation of our Lord, for the college of the Carità, one of the grandest pictures, and the richest, perhaps, in point of figures, which we have now to boast; many of them having since perished in different conflagrations.
From these, and a few others, painted in thezenith of his fame, his critics have gathered the general idea of his style; the greatest contest which they have amongst themselves, relating to the design. By Mengs he is denied the title to rank among good designers,[49]considering him an artist of ordinary taste, by no means familiar with, however well he might, if he pleased, have succeeded in the study of the antique, possessing so very exact an eye in copying objects from nature. Vasari appears to be of the same opinion, where he introduces Michelangiolo observing, after viewing the Leda of Titian,[50]that it was a great pity the Venetian artists were not earlier taught how to design. The judgment formed of him by Tintoret, though placed in competition with him, was less severe, namely,that Titian had produced some things which it was impossible to surpass, but that others might have been more correctly designed. And among these more excellent pieces, he might indisputably have included his San Pietro Martire, in the church of SS. Giovanni and Paolo, a piece, says Algarotti, which the best masters have agreed in pronouncingfree from every shade of defect; besides that fine Bacchanal, and a few others, ornamenting a cabinet of the Duke of Ferrara, and declared by Agostino Caracci prodigies of art, and the finest paintings in the world.[51]Fresnoy was of opinion that in the figures of his men he was not altogether perfect, and that in his draperies he wassomewhat insignificant;[52]but that many of his women and boys are exquisite, both in point of design and colouring. This commendation is confirmed by Algarotti, in respect to his female forms, and by Mengs in those of his boys. Indeed it is almost universally admitted that in such kind of figures, no artist was ever comparable to him; and that Poussin and Fiammingo,[53]who so greatly excelled in this particular, acquired it only from Titian's pictures. Reynolds[54]also affirms that, "although his style may not be altogether as chaste as that of some other schools of Italy, it nevertheless possesses a certain air of senatorial dignity; and that he shone in his portraits as an artist of first rate character;" and he concludes by observing that he may be studied with advantage even by lovers of the sublime.
Zanetti assigns him the first rank in design, among all the most distinguished colourists; asserting that he was much devoted to the study of anatomy, and copying from the best antique;[55]butsupposes that he was not ambitious of affecting an extensive knowledge of the muscles, nor aimed at displaying an ideal beauty in his contours; whether he had not early enough acquired facility in these, or for some other reasons. For the rest, he adds, the Titian manner was uniformly elegant, correct, and dignified in its female forms, and in its boys; elevated, great, and learned for the most part, in those of its men; while in testimony of his naked figures, he adduces the history pieces, painted for the Sacristy of La Salute, whose beauty of design appears to triumph, even in the extremities, while it boasts the rare merit of a striking acquaintance with the science of foreshortening, both appearing blended together. Had the historian been desirous of extending his notice to such works as are to be met with in foreign parts, he might have added much valuable matter upon the subject of his Bacchanals, and his pictures of the Venus; one of which, adorning the royal gallery at Florence, was justly thought to vie with that of the Medici herself, the most exquisite triumph of Grecian art. For skill in his draperies, Zanetti further brings the example of his S. Peter, painted on an altar of the Casa Pesaro, with a very artificially wrought mantle; adding that he occasionally sacrificed the appearance of the drapery, purposely to give relief to some neighbouring object. In this contest of opinion, between truejudges of the art, I shall decline interfering with my own, observing only, in justice to so extraordinary a genius, that if happier combinations had led him to become familiar with more profound maxims of design, he would probably have ranked as the very first painter in the world. For he would have been allowed to be the first and most perfect in design, as he is by all allowed to have no equal in point of colouring.
Many critics have pushed their inquiries from the artist, into the peculiar character of his chiaroscuro; and the most copious among these is Signor Zanetti, who devoted years to its examination. I select some of his observations, premising, however, that he left a large portion of them to the more studious, desirous themselves of developing them, in the works of Titian. And, in truth, his pictures are the best masters to direct us in the right method of colouring; but, like the ancient classics, that are equally open, and equally the subjects of commentary to all, they are only of advantage to those who are accustomed to reflect. I have already mentioned the lucid clearness predominating in Venetian paintings, and more especially in those of Titian, whom the rest adopted for their model. I then too pronounced it to be the result of very clear primary grounding, upon which a repetition of colours being laid, it produces the effect of a transparent veil, and renders the tints of a cast no less soft and luscious than lucid. Nor did he adopt any otherplan in his strongest shades, veiling them with fresh colour, when dry; renewing, invigorating them, and warming the confines that pass into the middle tints. He availed himself, very judiciously, of the power of shade; forming a method not altogether that of a mere naturalist, but partaking of the ideal. In his naked forms he cautiously avoided masses of strong shades and bold shadows, although they are sometimes to be seen in nature. They certainly add to the relief, but they much diminish the delicacy of the fleshy parts. Titian, for the most part, affected a deep and glowing light; whence, in various gradations of middle tints, he formed the work of the lower parts; and having very resolutely drawn the other parts, with the extremities, stronger, perhaps, than in nature, he gave to objects that peculiar aspect which presents them, as it were, more lively and pleasing than the truth. Thus in his portraits he centers the chief power in the eyes, the nose, and the mouth, leaving the remaining parts in a kind of pleasing uncertainty, extremely favourable to the spirit of the heads, and to the whole effect.
But since the variations of depth and delicacy of shades are insufficient, without the aid of colours, in this branch he likewise found for himself an ideal method, consisting of the use in their respective places, of simple tints, copied exactly from the life, or of artificial ones, intended to produce the illusion required. He was in the habit of employing only few and simple colours; but they weresuch as afforded the greatest variety and contrast; he knew all their gradations, and the most favourable moments for their application and opposition to each other. There appears no effort, no degree of violence in them, and that striking diversity of colours which seems to strive, one above another, for the mastery, as it were, in his pictures, has all the appearance of nature, though an effect of the most bold and arduous art. A white dress, placed near a naked figure, gives it all the appearance of being mingled with the warmest crimson, while he employed nothing beyond simple terra rossa, with a little lake in the contours, and towards the extremities. Certain objects, in themselves dark and even black, produce a similar effect upon his canvass; and which, besides enlivening the adjacent colour, give force to the figures, wrought, as was before stated, with gradual middle tints. It is said to have been his favourite opinion, transmitted to us by Boschini, p. 341, that whoever aspires to become a painter, must make himself familiar with three colours, and have them ready upon his palette; these are white, red, and black; and that an artist, while attempting the fleshy parts, must not expect to succeed at once, but by repeated application of opposite tints, and kneading of his colours.
Here I shall subjoin some observations by the Cavalier Mengs, who entered so very deeply into the Titian manner. He pronounces him the first, who, subsequent to the revival of painting, knew how to avail himself of the ideal, as it were, ofdifferent colours in his draperies. Before his time all colours had been applied indifferently, and artists used them in the same measure for clear and for obscure. Titian was aware, if indeed he did not acquire his knowledge from Giorgione, that red brings objects nearer to the eye, that yellow retains the rays of light, that azure is a shade, and adapted for deep obscure. Nor was he less intimate with the effects of juicy colours, and was thus enabled to bestow the same degree of grace, clearness of tone, and dignity of colour, upon his shades and middle tints, as upon his lights, as well as to mark with great diversity of middle tints, the various complexions, and the various superficies of bodies. No other artist, likewise, was more accurately acquainted with the mutual power or equipoise of the above three colours, upon which the harmony of pictures so much depends; an equipoise, too, so difficult in practice, to which not even Rubens, however excellent a colourist, perfectly attained.
Both Titian's inventions and compositions partake of his usual character; he produced nothing in which nature was not consulted. In the number of his figures he is inclined to be moderate; and in grouping them he displays the finest unshackled art; an art he was fond of exemplifying by comparison with a bunch of grapes, where a number of single ones compose the figure of a whole, agreeably rounded, light through the openings, distinct in shades, in middle tints, and in lights, according as it receives more or less ofthe solar rays. No contrasts are to be met with in these compositions that betray a studied effect; no violent action that is not called for by the incidents of the story; the actors in general preserve their dignity, and a certain composure, as if each seemed to respect the assembly of which he formed a part. Whoever is attached to the taste of the Greek bassi relievi, in which all is nature and propriety, will invariably prefer the sober composition of Titian to the more fiery one of Paul Veronese and Tintoret, whose merits we shall canvass in another place. Neither was Titian ignorant of those strong contrasts of limbs and action, then in such high vogue with his countrymen; but these he reserved for his bacchanals, his battle pieces, and other subjects, in fine, which called for them.
It is on all hands admitted, that as a portrait painter, he was quite incomparable; and to this species of excellence he was in great part indebted for his fortune, smoothing, as it did, his reception into some of the most splendid courts, such as were that of Rome in the time of Paul III. and those of Vienna and of Madrid, during the reign of Charles V. and his successors. It is the opinion of Vasari that in this branch of his art he was inimitable; being engaged in drawing the portraits of numbers of the most distinguished characters, both for rank and letters, who flourished during the same period. We wish we could add to these the name of Cosmo I., grand duke of Tuscany, who, little to his credit, evinced an objection tohave his likeness taken by so celebrated a hand. He was no less successful in depicting the passions of the mind. The death of S. Peter the Martyr, at Venice, with that of a devotee of S. Antony, at the college of the same name in Padua, display scenes than which I know not whether painting can afford us any thing more terrific in the ferocity of those who strike, or more full of compassion in the whole attitude of the falling saint. And thus the grand picture of the Coronation of Thorns, in the Grazie at Milan, abounds with powers of expression that enchant us. He has left us also not a few examples of costume, and of erudition in the antique, every way worthy of imitation, as we may observe in the Coronation above alluded to, where, desirous of marking the precise period of the event, he inserted in the Pretorium a bust of Tiberius; an idea that could not have been better conceived, either by Raffaello or Poussin. In his architecture he sometimes availed himself of other works, in particular those of the Rosa, of Brescia; but his perspectives, like that of his picture of the Presentation, are extremely beautiful. He was equalled by none in his landscape; and he was careful not to employ it, like some artists, as a mere embellishment; several artists esteeming themselves so highly in this particular, that they hardly scruple to present us with cypress trees growing out of the sea. But Titian makes his landscape subservient to history, as in that horrific wood, whose dreary aspect adds so much to the solemnityof S. Peter's death; or to give force to his figures, as we perceive them in those pieces where the landscape is thrown into the distance. His natural manner of representing the various effects of light may be best gathered from his Martyrdom of San Lorenzo, belonging to the Jesuits at Venice, in which he displayed such an astonishing diversity in the splendour of fire, in that of torchlights, and in that of a supernatural light, which appears to fall upon the martyr; a picture unfortunately much defaced by age, but of which there is a near imitation or duplicate in the Escurial. He likewise expressed, with the utmost felicity, the time of the day in which the event is supposed to have taken place, and he frequently selected nightfall, drawing forth all its most beautiful attributes for the canvass.
From the whole of this it may be inferred that Titian is not to be included in that class of Venetian artists, whose rapidity of hand overpowered their judgment, rendering them somewhat careless and inaccurate; though, at the same time, we must speak of his celerity with some degree of reservation. A freedom of pencil must doubtless be granted to him, and he thus applied it without failing in point of design, to his paintings in fresco, as they are to be seen in Padua, and which, in some measure, compensate us for the loss of those in the Venetian capital. In that city we have nothing of the same kind in preservation, if we except, perhaps, his S. Christopher, adorning the ducalpalace; a majestic figure, both in its character and its expression. We are not, however, to look for the same degree of freedom in his pictures in oil. Indeed he was by no means ambitious of displaying it; but rather encountered much painful labour to arrive at a perfect knowledge of his subjects. With this view, after throwing off a rough draught of his intended works, with a certain freedom and resolution, he was in the habit of laying them for some time aside, and again returned to them with an eye prepared to detect every the least defect. The noble Casa Barbarigo, among a fine selection of his most highly finished pictures, preserves, also, a few of these first sketches. It is well known that he underwent extreme labour in the completion of his works, and, at the same time, was very solicitous to conceal the pains he bestowed upon them. Yet in some of his pieces such spirited and resolute strokes are to be met with as seem to imprint upon every object the true character of nature, attain at once the points that have been long laboriously aimed at, and perfectly delight professors. To this practice he adhered in the zenith of his fame; nor was it until near the close of his existence, falling a victim to the plague when within a year of completing a century, that both his hand and eye failing him, his style became less elegant, being compelled to paint with repeated efforts of the brush, and with difficulty mingling his tints. Vasari, who saw him once more in 1566, even then was no longer able to recognize Titian inTitian, and it must have been much more difficult in the few following years. Yet, as is customary with old age, he was not at all aware of his failings, and continued to receive commissions until the final year of his life.
There remains at S. Salvatore, one of these pictures of the Annunciation, which attracts the spectator only from the name of its master. Yet when he was told by some that it was not, or at least appeared not to have been executed by his hand, he was so much irritated, that in a fit of senile indignation, he affixed to it the following words, "Tizianus fecit fecit." Still the most experienced judges are agreed that much may be learned even from his latest works; in the same manner, as the poets pronounce judgment on the Odyssey, the product of old age, but still by Homer. Several of these last specimens, distributed throughout private collections, are nevertheless doubtful, as well as a few copies made by his pupils, but retouched by his hand; and in particular some Madonnas and Magdalens, which I have seen in various places, displaying little or no variety. Upon this point we ought not to omit the account given by Ridolfi, of his having purposely left his studio open for the free access of his disciples, in order that they might secretly take copies of such pictures as he had placed there. That afterwards when he found such copies became vendible, he gladly took possession of them, and retouching them with little trouble, they were passed as his originals. Thereporter of this incident added a marginal note to his account, as follows:Vedi che accortezza!behold what a degree of forecast! And to this I might rejoin with another of my own: "Note, that the worth of Titian ought not to be estimated, as is too often the case, by this multiplication of originals."
Following the usual order, I shall now proceed to describe the imitators of Titian; by no means so excellent a master as an artist. Whether disliking the interruption and tediousness attaching to such a character, or apprehensive of meeting with a rival, he was always averse to affording his instructions. He was extremely harsh with Paris Bordone, and even entered into decided hostility against him, an artist who burned with an ambition to resemble him. He banished Tintoret from his studio, and artfully directed his own brother to mercantile pursuits, though he displayed uncommon talents for painting. "Hence," observes Vasari, "there are few who can really be called his disciples, inasmuch as he taught little; but each learned more or less according as he knew how to avail himself of the productions of Titian."
His family of itself enumerated several artists, the series of whom may be seen at Cadore, and in part at the adjacent city of Belluno. There, too, contemporary with the Vecellj, flourished one Niccolo di Stefano, a painter deserving of commendation, no less for having competed with the family of Titian, than for the reputation he acquired insuch competition. His rivals among the Vecellj, were Francesco, the brother, and Orazio, a son of Titian, who approached him pretty nearly in point of style. They devoted, however, little attention to the arts, one of them having duties of a military and mercantile nature to discharge, and the other having thrown away much of his time and fortune upon the idle pursuit of alchemy. Several pictures by Francesco are to be seen at San Salvatore, in Venice, consisting of a tolerably well executed Magdalen, appearing at the feet of Christ risen, at Oriago, on the banks of the river Brenta, and a grand Nativity of our Lord, at San Giuseppe, in Belluno, which, until lately, was esteemed a fine specimen of Titian, when Monsignor Doglioni traced it by authentic documents to its real author. The production, however, which gave rise to Titian's jealousy, was the altarpiece at San Vito, in Cadore, in which, among the other saints, he represented the figure of the denominator of the town, in a military dress. Orazio was considered a good portrait painter, even so far as to rival his father; and he likewise painted, for the public palace a history piece, very beautiful, though retouched by Titian's hand, which has since perished by fire. I find no account of Pomponio, another son of Titian's, having applied himself to the art, though he survived both his father and brother, who both died in the same year, and dissipated his inheritance.
Marco Vecellio conferred more honour upon hisfamily, and being the nephew, the pupil, and intimate companion of the great Vecellio in his travels, received the title of Marco di Tiziano. In simple composition and mechanism of the art, he was a good disciple of his master; but he had not the genius to inspire his figures and interest the eye of the spectator, like his great contemporary. He was, nevertheless, esteemed worthy of the honour of ornamenting several chambers of the Venetian senate, with history pieces and portraits of saints that are yet preserved. Some of his altarpieces, likewise, still exist at Venice, in Trevigi, and in the Friuli; while one of his large pictures, adorning a parish church at Cadore, the native place of the Vecellj, has more particularly elicited the highest commendations. In this appears the Crucifixion, represented in the midst, with two histories of S. Catherine,V. M., her controversy, and her martyrdom, supporting either side. Tiziano Vecellio, called, to distinguish him from the former, Tizianello, was the son of Marco, whose name I include with those of the other Vecellj, in order to avoid recurring to a family of artists which ought to be made known and described in full. This last artist flourished about the beginning of the seventeenth century, when mannerism began its innovations upon Venetian painting. And those specimens of him possessed by Venice, at the Patriarchal church, at the Servi, and elsewhere, exhibit him in a very opposite taste to that of his predecessors, with larger forms, but less imposing; a full andfree pencil, but destitute of softness of hand; so powerful is the influence of reigning example over family descent and education. In portraits, nevertheless, and in heads, very capriciously varied and ornamented, I find him to be in much esteem among artists.
Fabrizio di Ettore traced his origin to another branch of the Vecellj. His name had hitherto been confined within his native spot of Cadore, until brought to light by Rinaldis, who gives some account of a fine painting he executed for the council hall of the parish, and for which he was paid sixteen gold ducats, no despicable sum at the period when he flourished. He died in the year 1580. His brother, of the name of Cesare, was likewise long unknown to pictorial history, although his productions are pointed out at Lintiai, at Vigo, at Candide, and at Padola. His name is more familiar to engravers, inasmuch as he gave to the world two works of Etchings, during the period of his residence in Venice. One of these, at present very scarce, contains, "Ogni sorte di mostre di punti tagliati, punti in aria," &c. The other is upon "ancient and modern costume," and has been several times republished, and once in 1664, with a false title; where Cesare is mentioned as a brother of the great Titian. A third Vecellio, an artist of the name of Tommaso, has, in a similar way, sprung into notice, one of whose productions, consisting of aNunziata, is preserved in the parish church of Lozzo, as well as a Supper of our Lord,both which the historian pronounces estimable. This artist died in 1620.
Another scion from the stock, though not from the studio of Titian, is Girolamo Dante, otherwise Girolamo di Tiziano, and first among his followers to be here mentioned. He was educated and employed, both as a scholar and assistant, by Titian, in his less important works. And in fact, by dint of assisting and copying the originals of his master, he attained such a degree of excellence, that such of his pieces as were retouched by Titian, bid defiance often to the most exact connoisseurs. He also produced works of design, and the altarpiece attributed to him at San Giovanni in Olio, reflects credit upon so great a school. Domenico delle Greche, named in the dictionary of artists, Domenico Greco, and in another article, Domenico Teoscopoli, was an artist employed by Titian in engraving his designs. The very copious print of the Submersion of Pharaoh, to say nothing of the others, is sufficient proof of his worth in this kind of engraving. No specimen of his painting is pointed out with certainty in Italy; many, however, in Spain, where, having accompanied his master thither, he resided during the remainder of his days. There, too, he produced portraits and altarpieces, which, according to Palomino, appeared to be from the hand of Titian himself. But he entered upon a new style, in which he altogether failed, and for a more particular account ofthis artist we must here refer the reader to theLettere Pittoriche, (vol. vi. p. 314).
The shortness of their career interrupted the fame of two other Venetians, both dying young, after having given the most astonishing and lively promise of future distinction. The name of one was Lorenzino, who produced, at SS. Giovanni and Paolo, several finely designed ornaments over a tomb, with two noble figures of Virtues, still highly esteemed for their symmetry, their attitude, and their colouring. The other was Natalino da Murano, as excellent in portrait as any other of the fellow pupils of his time, as well as a good composer in pictures for private ornament, from which Venetian dealers reaped greater profit than the artist. One of his Magdalens, which, in spite of frequent retouches, preserved much of the Titian manner, was put up to sale in Udine, where I saw it; and after some difficulty deciphered his name and the date of 1558, in very faint characters. There was likewise one Polidoro, a Venetian, who supplied the shops to abundance with specimens of his sacred figures. He appears, for the most part, a feeble disciple of Titian; one who made a trade of his profession. To judge from an altarpiece preserved at the Servi, and some other pictures in Venice, we may pronounce him a tolerably good composer, though he never distinguished himself much in the rank of his contemporaries. Yet when the great school declined, his labours,such as they were, acquired more esteem, and were exhibited in the studios of those artists, much in the same manner as sculptors are accustomed to collect specimens of ancient marbles, however inferior, as advantageous in the pursuit of their art. Such is the influence of a great master's reputation, and the maxims of a flourishing epoch, in the estimation of an artist's merit. Doubts have been started as to his real name, although in the Necrologio of S. Pantaleone he is expressly calledPolidoro Pittore. This supposition appears to have arisen from a little oblong painting, in the style of Polidoro's Madonnas, preserved by the noble Casa Pisani, where is formed so valuable a collection of monuments and books. The painter's name affixed to it, is "Gregorius Porideus;" but whatever resemblance we trace in the two names, it is not sufficient to mark Polidoro for the author of that piece, most probably the production of one of Titian's imitators, whose name is fallen with many others of an inferior class, into oblivion. We must not, however, include that of Gio. Silvio, a Venetian, which, omitted in the history of his native place, still vindicates its title to notice, by numerous works dispersed throughout the state of Trevigi, and a very elegant altarpiece, executed for the collegiate church of Piove di Sacco, a municipality of the Padovano. It represents San Martino in his episcopal chair, between the two Apostles Peter and Paul; three angels form the accessaries, two in the act of raising his pastoral staff, and thethird playing upon a harp, at the foot of the throne, extremely graceful, like the rest, and displaying a degree of taste and nature, such as we find in Titian. If we cannot then adduce authority sufficient to prove that Silvio was his scholar, it may, at least, from such a specimen, be strongly suspected.
I am indebted to Sig. Ab. Morelli, who in theNotiziaalready cited, has pointed out the true birthplace of Bonifazio Veneziano, who appears, notwithstanding the authority of Vasari, Ridolfi, and Zanetti, to have been a native of Verona, not of Venice. He is pronounced by Ridolfi a pupil of Palma, and by Boschini, on the other hand, the disciple of Titian, whom he followed as closely as his shadow. It was an usual observation, during the time of Boschini, and yet repeated indeed, in regard to certain doubtful pieces; is it a Titian or a Bonifazio? He approached nearest, perhaps, to Vecellio, in his Supper of our Lord, preserved in the monastery of the Certosa. For the most part he boasts a freedom, a spirit, and grandeur of hand, peculiarly his; although it is known that he greatly admired the vigour of Giorgione, the delicate taste of Palma, and the attitude and composition of Titian. The merit of this professor of the art was early appreciated, and historians have often observed that the three most distinguished artists of that period were Titian, Palma, and Bonifazio. Public edifices abound with his productions, and the ducal palace, among other of hishistorical pieces, boasts that grand Expulsion of the money dealers from the Temple, which, for the number of the figures, for its spirit, and power of colouring, as well as for its fine perspective, is enough to render his name immortal. A more than mortal air of divinity shines in the countenance of the Redeemer, who, alone and unsupported, throws consternation into a crowd of people intent upon their worldly interests, and with a mere scourge of ropes, from which they fly in the utmost terror. And how anxiously is some wretch seen collecting his money upon those tables glittering with silver and gold; and with what dread he looks back, in order that he may escape from the blows! What an expression of alarm is seen in the countenance of each spectator; women, boys, people of every rank, terrified at the strangeness of the spectacle! This noble picture was presented to the public collection, not long ago, by the family of the Contarini; and for this reason we find no notice taken of it in the work of Zanetti. Other paintings might be mentioned upon a grand scale, and rich in figures, adapted for private collections; the most celebrated, perhaps, of which are his series of Triumphs, taken from Petrarch; pieces that have since passed into England. He likewise employed himself upon pictures of a smaller size, rarely, however, to be met with. One of these, a Holy Family at Rome, is in possession of Prince Rezzonico. The scene represents the workshop of S. Joseph, where he is seen reposing, while theVirgin is intent upon her domestic duties, and a group of angels surrounds the infant Jesus, who is playing with the instruments of the saint's occupation. One of these is employed in placing two pieces of wood in the form of a cross, an idea frequently imitated by Albano. It is worth observation that Orlandi and other writers have confounded this artist with Bonifazio Bembo, many years anterior to him, and born at Cremona. The resemblance of names has likewise misled a more recent author in regard to another Venetian painter, mistaken for a native of Lucca. He painted a virgin with four saints for San Francesco, at Padua; a piece between the style of the moderns and the Bellini, to which is affixed the namePaulus Pinus Ven. 1565. And in the castle of Noale, in the state of Trevigi, he adorned with historical figures, adapted to the place, the public gallery, both interior and exterior, near which the judge is accustomed to hear cases and decide differences. Whoever is acquainted with the "Dialogue upon Painting," published by this professor at Venice as early as 1548, where, in the dedication, he professes himself a Venetian, and whoever has seen his works will be in no danger of confounding him with Paul Pini, of Lucca, of the Caracci School, whom we shall meet with beyond the precincts of his native place, like numerous others of his fellow citizens.
An imitator of Titian, in his colouring, though with a share of original vivacity, is Andrea Schiavone, of Sebenico, surnamedMedula. Few artistshave so early evinced a decided taste for their profession, of which it is said his father became aware when accompanying him through the city, yet a child, in order to fix upon his future destination. Observing him highly entertained with productions of the art, he instantly applied to the artists, and devoted him to the profession. But fortune was not favourable to him, and he became compelled, by penury, to obtain a subsistence rather as a daily hireling, than as an artist. Hence it was, that, destitute of a knowledge of design, he was obliged to paint, meeting with no other patrons than some mastermuratore, or wall painter, who had it in his power to recommend him for the façades, or some painter of household articles to employ him as an assistant. Titian conferred upon him some degree of credit, by proposing him, along with others, for ornamenting the library of S. Mark, where he worked more correctly, perhaps, than in any other place. Tintoret, also, did him justice, often aiding him in his labours, to observe the artifice of his colouring; and even gave one of his pictures a place in his own studio, observing that it would be well if every other artist would follow his example, though he would do ill not to design better than his model. Moreover he wished to imitate him, and placed an altarpiece at the church of the Carmini, so much resembling his style, that Vasari pronounced it to be the work of Schiavone. Yet the same historian held him in such slight esteem, as to say that it wasonly bymistake that he occasionally produced a good piece; a sentence severely criticised by Agostin Caracci, as we gather from Bottari, in his "Life of Franco." And, in truth, except for design, the whole composition of Schiavone is highly commendable; spirited in his attitudes, drawn from the engravings of Parmigianino; his colours, approaching to the sweetness of Andrea del Sarto, beautiful; and his hand altogether that of a great master. His fame increased after his death, and his paintings, for the most part, of a mythological character, were removed from the chests and benches to adorn the cabinets of connoisseurs. Guarienti cites three of these in the collection at Dresden, and Rosa four, in the Cesarean one of Vienna. I have seen several very graceful specimens in the Casa Pisani, at San Stefano, and almost in every other gallery in Venice. In Rimini, also, I saw two of his pictures, painted as companions, at the Padri Teatini; the Nativity of our Lord, and the Assumption of the Virgin, small figures upon the Poussin scale, and among the most beautiful he ever drew. Santo Zago, and Orazio da Castelfranco, called dal Paradiso, are known for a very few works in fresco, but too well executed to be here omitted. Cesare da Conegliano, also, is the author of a single altarpiece, at the Santi Apostoli, of the same place, which represents our Lord's Supper, and sufficient of itself to place him near Bonifazio, and the best of that class.
Vasari, who has omitted some of the preceding,twice makes honourable mention of Gio. Calker, or Calcar, as it is written by others, an excellent portrait painter, of Flemish extraction. He was also a good painter, both of small and large figures, several of which, according to Sandrart, have been attributed to Titian; and others, when he changed his manner, to Raffaello. He died young, in 1546, at Naples. Treating of Dietrico Barent, in Venice known by the name of Sordo Barent, Baldinucci supposes him to have been Titian's pupil, by whom he was regarded as his son. To these Ridolfi adds three excellent foreigners, one Lamberto, a German,[56]who is supposed the Lombardo, or Sustermans, who gave assistance in their landscapes alternately to Titian and to Tintoret, and left a very beautiful picture of San Girolamo, atthe Teresiani, in Padua; the others were Cristoforo Scuarz, and one Emanuel, a German. These, like many others, resorting to Titian for instruction, on their return to their native place introduced a taste for the Venetian School; and there continued to flourish. He must have presented more disciples to Spain, when being invited by Charles V. he removed to his court, and founded in his dominions a school, which acquired and continued to boast of excellent artists, particularly in point of colouring. One Don Paolo de las Roelas is mentioned by Preziado, who, in mature age, became a priest and canon. There is a grand picture from his hand in the parochial church of San Isidoro, at Seville, representing the death of the bishop. The style is altogether that of Titian, though he could not have been his disciple, if he was, indeed, born in 1560, when that artist was no longer in Spain. But in regard to foreigners, it is enough to have alluded to them in a history of Italians; and we must return to those natives of Italy, in particular of the state of Venice, who are esteemed among Titian's imitators. We may begin with the Friuli; although, the school of the great Pordenone there holding the sway, the genuine followers of Titian, excepting the Cadorini already mentioned, are very few and almost forgotten in history.Among others of Friuli, Ridolfi mentions a Gaspero Nervesa, who painted at Spilimbergo, and calls him Titian's scholar. No genuine picture of his, however, is pointed out, though Father Federici discovered one at Trevigi. The same author likewise extols Irene de' Signori di Spilimbergo, a lady of singular accomplishments, highly celebrated by the poets of the fifteenth century. She left behind her three little pictures of sacred histories, preserved by the noble family of Maniago, and which are still to be seen at the house of Conte Fabio, equally distinguished for his acquaintance with science and with art. They display but little skill in the design, though they are coloured with a degree of masterly power, not unworthy the first artist of the happiest period. A Bacchanal, by the same hand, is at Monte Albodo, in possession of the Claudj family. Titian took the portrait of this lady, being known to be extremely intimate with her family; and for this reason it is believed that he must have had some share in the pictorial education of the fair artist.
Lodovico Fumicelli was an artist of Trevigi, reported to have been a pupil of Titian. At all events he was one of his most distinguished imitators. One of his pieces, adorning the great altar of the church of the Eremitani, at Padua, displays both the design and colouring of a great master. His native place can boast works that have been equally extolled. It is mortifying then to recall to mind that he abandoned his profession for the artof fortification. One of his assistants, in Trevigi, was Francesco Dominici, who may be said to rival him in the cathedral of the city, in those two processions which they painted, opposite to each other. This young artist, of great promise, especially in portraits, produced little, being cut off in the flower of his days. With pleasure I annex to these a friend of Paolo, and excellent pupil of Titian's, whom, in some things, he imitated; but who has been erroneously denominated by historians:[57]my information respecting him, as well as other artists of Castelfranco, has been obtained from a MS. communicated to me by the learned Dottore Trevisani.[58]He took the name of Gio. Batista Ponchino, and the surname of Bozzato, a city of his native place, where several of his paintings in fresco still exist, together with his celebrated piece of the Limbo,[59]in San Liberale, the finest, if we except the works of Giorgione, whichthat city has to boast, and it is greatly admired by strangers. He painted also at Venice and Vicenza, during the lifetime of his consort, a daughter of Dario Varotari; but on her death he assumed the ecclesiastical habit, nor interested himself much in his art.
Padua boasted two noble scholars from the hand of Titian; Damiano Mazza, and Domenico Campagnola. The former, however, was rather promised than conferred upon us; dying very young, after producing a single piece deserving of commemoration, in his native place. This was a Ganymede borne away by the Eagle, depicted on an entablature, which, for its exquisite beauty, was attributed to the hand of Titian, and removed from the place. Venice must have been his sphere of action; a few of his pictures remaining in different churches, executed with striking power and relief, if not with much delicacy of hand. The other artist is better known, said to have been of the family of Campagnola, though with no authority for the assertion. He was nephew to the Girolamo mentioned by Vasari among the disciples of Squarcione, and son to that Giulio,[60]whose genius is commended in the Literary History of Tiraboschi, (vol. vi. p. 792) and in theStoria Pittoricaof Vasari. He was a fine linguist, miniature painter, and engraver, and the author of severalaltarpieces, which betray some traces of the ancient style. Domenico's appears more modern, so much so, as to have awakened, it is said, the jealousy of Titian; an honour he enjoyed in common with Bordone, with Tintoret, and other rare artists. And his works give authority to the tradition, not so much in Venice as in Padua, a city for whose embellishment he would appear to have risen up. He painted in fresco, at the college of the Santo, in the style of an able scholar, emulating an incomparable master of his art. His pictures in oil resemble him the nearest of any, as we see in the college of S. M. del Parto, a complete cabinet of his works. He represented on the entablature, the Holy Evangelists, with other saints, in various compartments; and he seems to have aspired to a vastness of design, beyond that of Titian; and to mark the naked parts with a more evident degree of artifice.
Contemporary with Campagnola, though scarcely heard of beyond Padua, were Gualtieri, one of his relatives, and a Stefano del Arzere, who, in his picture of Christ upon the Cross, at San Giovanni di Verzara, appears ambitious, however rudely, of imitating Titian. Both were, nevertheless, esteemed by Ridolfi for their paintings in fresco, and both, together with Domenico, were employed in ornamenting a large hall, representing the figures of emperors and illustrious characters, upon nearly a colossal scale. For this reason it was denominated the Sala de' Giganti, afterwards converted into a public library. These figures are, for the mostpart, of an ideal cast, various in point of design, in some dignified, in others heavy. The antique costume is not always strictly observed, but the colouring is rich and of a fine chiaroscuro, and it would be difficult to find in all Italy a piece which appears to have suffered less from time. Niccolo Frangipane is supposed to have been a Paduan, though his birthplace is disputed,[61]and he is not mentioned by Ridolfi. Still he may be esteemed worthy of being recorded for his exquisite style as anaturalist, in which he painted his picture of the Assumption, at the Conventuali, in Rimini, dated 1565, and a half-length figure of San Francesco, with that of 1588, at S. Bartolommeo, in Padua. A picture also of San Stefano is attributed to him by theGuide of Pesaro, though his genius was more adapted to burlesques, several specimens of which are yet in the possession of private individuals.
Vicenza boasts the name of Giambatista Maganza, the head of a family of artists, who long devoted themselves, both in public and private, to the ornament of their native province. His descendants, however, adopted various styles, as we shall see, while Giambatista was only ambitious of treading in the steps of Titian, his master, which he did with success. He was an excellent portrait painter, and also left several works of pure invention at Vicenza, in which he displayed the same easy genius as in his poetry. He wrote in the rustic idiom of Padua, under the name ofMagagnò, while such contemporaries as Sperone, Trissino, Tasso, and other celebrated wits, not ignorant of the dialect, applauded the excellence of his rude and sylvan strains. Giuseppe Scolari was an artist, supposed by most to have been a native of Vicenza, though referred by the Cavalier Pozzo to Verona. A pupil of Maganza, he excelled in works in fresco, and in chiaroscuro, enlivened by certain yellow tints, at that period in great vogue. He was a good designer, which appears from his works, both in Vicenza and Verona; and he likewise produced several large pictures in oil at Venice, much commended by Zanetti. Possibly another disciple of Maganza, from the period at which he flourished, was Gio. de Mio of Vicenza, an artist who competed with Schiavone, Porta, Zelotti, Franco, and with Paul Veronese himself, in the library of S. Mark, though history makes no mention of his master any more than of Mio; if, indeed, he shouldnot be the same as Fratina, recorded by Ridolfi, as one of the assistants in ornamenting the library. The name of Gio. de Mio was met with in one of the archives, and Fratina was possibly his surname.
Among the Veronese disciples of Titian, we have to mention Brusasorci, and, according to some writers, also Farinato. Both at least visited Venice, either for the purpose of studying his works, or in his school. Zelotti has been pronounced in more open terms the scholar of Titian. But of these and other distinguished artists of Verona, it will be preferable to give the reader some account when treating on the merits of Paul Caliari, a plan that will bring under immediate view the state of that noble school during its most flourishing period.
About the same time several Brescian artists greatly distinguished themselves, although too little known for want of enjoying a metropolitan city for their sphere of action. Luca Sebastiano, an Aragonese, who died towards the close of the sixteenth century, was celebrated, we are told, rather as a fine designer than a painter. An altarpiece with the initial lettersL. S. A.has been attributed to his hand. It is the Saviour represented between two saints, the composition of which is common; the foldings of the drapery want softness; but the figures, the colours, and the attitudes are excellent. I apprehend that, however learned in his art, he would have been anxious to avoid competition with the two celebrated citizens, of whomwe shall now give some description. The first is Alessandro Bonvicino, commonly called Moretto of Brescia, who was among the earliest of Titian's school, to introduce his master's whole style of composition into his native district. This is clearly seen in his picture of S. Niccolo, painted in 1532 for the Madonna de' Miracoli, in which he depicted several figures of children, and of a man presenting them to the saint; portraits in Titian's best manner. Subsequently attracted by the composition of Raffaello, as exhibited in some pictures and engravings, he changed his style, adopting one altogether new, and so rich in its attractions, that many dilettanti have gone out of their way, and visited Brescia, for the sole purpose of feasting their eyes with them. The manner of Raffaello may be as strongly traced as we can imagine possible for a painter who had never seen Rome; we meet with graceful features, elegant proportions, if they do not sometimes appear too slender; accuracy in the attitudes and expression, which, in his sacred subjects, display, as it were, the peculiar feeling of remorse, of pity, and even of charity itself. The drapery is diversified, but not sufficiently select, while all the accessaries of the perspective and other embellishments are as splendid as in any Venetian artist, although not lavished with so much profusion; and he displays an exact, diligent, and delicate hand, which appears, to use a modern expression often applied, to write what it paints. In regard to colouring, Morettopursued a method, which surprises by its combined novelty and effect. Its chief characteristic consists of a very beautiful play of light and shadow, not disposed in great masses, but finely tempered and contrasted with each other. The same degree of art he applies both to his figures and his skies, where he sometimes depicts clouds whose colours are contrasted in a similar way. For the most part his grounds are clear and bright, from which the figures seem to rise with admirable relief. His fleshy parts often remind us of the freshness of Titian's; in his tints, moreover, he is more varied than the latter, or any other of the Venetians. Little azure appears in his draperies, the union of reds and yellows in a picture having been apparently more to his taste. It is the same with other colours, a circumstance I have noticed in some of his contemporaries, both of Brescia and Bergamo. Vasari, who has recorded his name, along with that of many other Brescian artists, in his life of Carpi, commends him for his skill in imitating every kind of velvet, satin, or other cloth, either of gold or silver; but as he did not see, or failed to commemorate, some of his choicest works, he has by no means done justice to his character.
Moretto produced some works in fresco, though, if I mistake not, he coloured better in oils; as is the case where diligence and depth of parts are not equally matched with pictorial rapidity and fire. He employed himself a good deal in his native province and the adjacent parts, in general distinguishinghimself more by his delicacy than by his grandeur of hand. A fine specimen of this last, however, may be seen in his terrific picture of Elias, placed in the old cathedral. He was intimate with all the best methods of his art; but he did not always care to practise them. His picture of S. Lucia, in the church of S. Clemente, is not so much studied as that of S. Catherine, and even this yields to his painting of the great altar, representing our Lady in the air, with the titular and other saints seen below. The composition is conducted in every part with exquisite taste, and the piece is considered one of the best the city has to boast. An altarpiece, consisting of various saints at S. Andrea, in Bergamo, another at S. Giorgio, in Verona, with the Fall of S. Paul, at Milan, with which last he appears to have been so much pleased, as to subscribe, which was very unusual with him, his name—are all likewise of the most finished composition. He was esteemed excellent in portrait, and educated for this branch of art Gio. Batista Moroni.
This last was a native of Albino, in the territory of Bergamo, where he produced, both for the city and the state, a variety of altar and history pieces, which he continued to supply from early youth, until within a few months of his decease. So much has been made out, from authentic documents, by the Conte Tassi, who brought forward a long series of his noble compositions. This artist is not, however, at all comparable to his master in point of invention, of composition, or design;which last sometimes betrays a dryness approaching that of thequattrocentisti. Pasta notices the same defect, in his Incoronazione of our Lord at the Trinità, although very finely coloured, and a work equalling any of his others in point of merit. For the rest, it is certain that no artist of the Venetian School, besides Titian, has excelled him in the truth and nature of his portraits, and in the life and spirit of his heads, insomuch that Titian was in the habit of recommending him to the governors of Bergamo, as the best face painter he could offer them. There exist specimens in the Carrara collection, in possession of the Conti Spini, and in other noble houses, which still appear to breathe and live; the drapery is in the Titian manner, and if any thing can be said to be wanting, it is a greater degree of mastery in the design and attitude of the hands.
Francesco Ricchino, of Brescia, is another name deserving of record among the better disciples of Moretto, even in point of colouring. He was desirous, however, from what we learn from his pieces at San Pietro in Oliveto, of extracting improvement from the pictures, or at least from the engravings of Titian. Luca Mombelli followed him in some of his earliest works, until giving into too great delicacy of manner, his productions became somewhat feeble and tame. Girolamo Rossi, another pupil or imitator, has, if I mistake not, better displayed his master's manner than any other, particularly in an altarpiece, placed at San Alessandro,representing the Virgin between various saints. Bagnatore was also a good copyist of the same style, an artist who, in his Slaughter of the Innocents, subscribes his nameBalneator, and who, if not displaying great power, is nevertheless judicious, correct, and sober in his works in oil; and he was one to whom was committed by public order the task of copying a picture by Moretto.
Contemporary with Moretto flourished Romanino, of Brescia, about the year 1540; the same who in S. Giustina at Padua subscribes his nameHieronymus Rumanus. He was the rival of Bonvicino, inferior to him in the opinion of Vasari, but his equal according to Ridolfi. And truly it would appear that he surpassed him in genius and boldness of hand; but could boast neither the same taste nor diligence, several of his works appearing to be executed with a hasty pencil. Still he in general displays the qualities of a great master, both in his altarpieces and his histories, to say nothing of his burlesque compositions. The same character he maintained at Verona, where he painted the martyrdom of the titular saint, at S. Giorgio, in four large pictures abounding with great variety of figures, some of the most spirited, and the most terrible, in the executioners, that I ever saw. The same richness of invention, accompanied even with more select forms, is displayed in his altarpiece of the Holy Virgin in Calcara, at Brescia, in which he represented the bishop, S. Apollonio, administering the Eucharist to the crowd. It is awork altogether charming, the splendour of the place, and of the sacred vessels; the religious aspect of the prelate, of the Levites, and of the people; the great variety of features and of rank; so many singular pictorial beauties are all placed within the limits of propriety and truth. Less full, but no less perfect, is his Descent of Christ from the Cross, at SS. Faustino and Giovita, a piece commended by Palma for its extreme resemblance to the Venetian style, most probably alluding to that of Titian, although in some other works he very strongly resembles Bassano. Titian, however, would appear to have been his model, to which he wholly devoted himself; whether he acquired so high a regard for him from his own master, Stefano Rizzi, an artist of mediocrity, or despairing of forming a new style, like his rival, he was in hopes of surpassing him by such means. And, in fact, he still retains admirers in those parts, who prefer him to Moretto, as well for grandeur of composition and energy of expression, as for a capacity of genius that embraced every variety of subject.
Girolamo Muziano acquired the art of design from Romanino, and taking his style of colouring from the works of Titian, he subsequently flourished at Rome, in which school he has been already mentioned. In this place we must include Lattanzio Gambara, the pupil and companion of Romanino, as well as his son-in-law, at least if we are to credit Ridolfi and other writers, in this lastpoint sanctioned by the popular tradition of Brescia. Vasari alone, who resided in his house only a short time before he gave some account of him, observes that he was son-in-law to Bonvicino, a point in which his memory, doubtless, betrayed him. Lattanzio was not inferior to his master in spirit, and, at the same time, better instructed in the rules of the art, and more learned. Having attended the academy of Campi, in Cremona, until his eighteenth year, and cultivated an acquaintance with the best foreign masters that he always retained, he added to this knowledge all the richest and most tasteful colours of the Venetian School. Like Pordenone, he employed his talents, for the most part, in frescos, which are still to be seen at Venice, as well as within and without the confines of the state. His manner, however, was less strong and shaded, but in other points much resembling him in the beauty and variety of his forms, variously coloured according to his subjects; in his knowledge of anatomy, without affectation, spirited attitudes, difficult foreshortenings; in a relief that deceives the eye, and in novelty and play of invention. To these we may add even a greater propriety of ideas, and sweetness of tints, acquired from other schools; Lattanzio having studied Giulio Romano at Mantua, and Coreggio in Parma. In the Corso de' Ramai, at Brescia, there yet remain three façades, adorned with various histories and fables, truly beautiful, executed by his hand. They are not, however, so imposingas some of his scriptural pieces, to be seen in still better preservation in the cloister of S. Euphemia, engravings of which have been promised to the public. The spectator often recurs to them, and always with fresh pleasure. When for want of space the figures could not be put in an upright posture, he foreshortened them with admirable nature and facility, so that no other attitudes could be imagined so becoming to each figure. Professors have detected some degree of imperfection in the naked parts, very common, indeed, to the most celebrated painters of frescos; but it is such as cannot be perceived at a distance, or if seen, resembles only some false quantity in a good poet, easily to be pardoned in the number of poetical beauties with which his verses abound. He painted still more copious histories for the cathedral at Parma, containing, perhaps, his greatest and most studied production, and which fails not to please, even in the presence of those of Coreggio. There are several altarpieces likewise in oil at San Benedetto, in Mantua, all of which are not equally happy. A Nativity of our Lord, at SS. Faustino and Giovita, is his only picture in oil remaining at his native place in public; it is very graceful, displaying certain traits of the Raffaello manner. His picture of a Pietà, at San Pietro, in Cremona, is also highly esteemed by professors, one among whom, who had designed a good deal from the works of Lattanzio, declaredto me that he had never witnessed any other so exquisite in point of design, nor coloured with so much delicacy, clearness, and taste and softness of tints. Yet this great artist only reached his thirty-second year, leaving in Giovita, a Brescian artist, (likewise called Brescianino) an excellent disciple, particularly of works in fresco.
Geronimo Savoldo, sprung of a noble family in Brescia, flourished also about 1540, and is ranked by Paolo Pino among the best artists of his age. I know not where he acquired the rudiments of his art; but from a specimen which I saw at Brescia, he must have possessed great accuracy and delicacy of hand. Upon transferring his residence to Venice, he is known to have become one of the most formidable of Titian's rivals; not, indeed, in works of a large scale, but in smaller pieces conducted with an exquisite degree of care, which may, in a manner, be said to have been his chief characteristic. With such as these he beguiled his time, presenting them gratuitously as ornaments for churches. He produced others for private persons, now extremely rare and valuable, in different collections.
Zanetti, in his description of his littlePresepio, (Christ in the manger), recently retouched, which is to be seen at San Giobbe, observes that the tint of his pictures is truly beautiful, and the whole composition conducted with a singular degree of care. In Venice, says Ridolfi, he is known by the name of Girolamo Bresciano, neither Romaninonor Muziano having employed themselves there, with whom he might possibly have been confounded. There he resided for many years, and terminated his days at the same place. His happiest production, though unknown to the historian, was placed in the Altar-Maggiore, of the Padri Predicatori, at Pesaro, a noble piece, which produces a striking impression upon the eye. Our Lord is seen placed on high, seated upon a cloud, which appears truly illuminated by the sun, and on the foreground are represented four saints, drawn with a force of colouring that seems to bring them as near to the eye, as the soft colour of the perspective and of the upper part of the picture throws its objects into the distance. A small, but beautiful piece, in excellent preservation, is also seen in the Royal Gallery of Florence, exhibiting the Transfiguration of our Lord, placed there along with specimens of other Venetian artists, by the Cavalier Puccini, one who has conferred so many obligations upon that princely collection of art.
Finally, after Savoldo, may be placed, among the Brescian disciples of Titian, Pietro Rosa, son of Cristoforo, and nephew to Stefano Rosa, both excellent artists in oil. He was one of those pupils whom Titian, induced by the friendship he bore his father, instructed with most care, and the best success. Hence it is, we trace that clear and true force of colouring, which shines in every one of his pieces. Brescia boasts several, at the churchof San Francesco, in the Dome, and at the Grazie, where such as have the fewest figures produce the happiest effect. In his composition he is not so perfect as in other parts, whether it were that he had not naturally the best talent for it, or, as is more probable, that it is a branch of the art most difficult to young practitioners. For he died in the outset of his career, at the same period as his father, in 1576, whether from the plague or from poison is not known.
Although Bergamo, at that period, boasted many distinguished imitators of Giorgione, it yet produced an artist, Girolamo Colleoni, who ought to be included in the present list. Some frescos from his hand are found at Bergamo, and an oil painting in the Carrara Gallery. It exhibits the marriage of S. Catherine, which the best judges, on a first view, pronounced to be the work of Titian, till the superscription, with the name ofHieronymus Colleo, 1555, vindicated it for his own. This distinguished artist, conscious of his merit, and not finding himself appreciated in his own country, foreign and inferior painters being preferred before him, sought better fortune at the court of Madrid. But before setting out, he painted upon a façade the figure of a horse, of which great encomiums, in different works, are all that remain; and to this he affixed as a motto,Nemo propheta in patriâ. He is known to have employed, as an assistant, Filippo Zanchi, who, together with abrother of the name of Francesco, has more recently been brought into view by Count Tassi, besides some others who might here add to the number, but not to the eminence, of so rich a school. An artist celebrated also by Ridolfi, ought not, in this place, to be omitted; the beauty of his tints, the design of his infant figures, and the nature of his landscape, all shewing that he aspired to the Titian manner. He painted in fresco, but possessed an universal genius, as has been pronounced by Muzio, in his "Teatro di Bergamo;" the truth of which more clearly appears from his own works. His name was Giovan-Batista Averara, and he died young about the middle of the most flourishing period of the art. Another artist deserving commemoration is Francesco Terzi, who long resided at the Austrian court, and is distinguished in most of the capitals of Italy for works he has there left. He has been mentioned by Lomazzo, in whose native place are still seen, at San Sempliciano, two noble histories, representing our Lord with his Apostles, somewhat dry in point of design, but bold in colouring.
In Gio. da Monte, Crema boasted a disciple of Titian, as he is described by Torre, who numbers him among the more distinguished artists who ornamented Milan. A grado, executed by him in chiaroscuro for an altar of Santa Maria, at San Celso, where he ought also to have painted the altarpiece, obtained for him a high reputation; but hewas deprived of the altarpiece, owing to the intrigues of Antonio Campi.[62]The work of Campi still remains there, and the opinion is that though it was paid for at a higher rate than the grado itself, it is yet a work of inferior merit to that of Giovanni, which much resembles Polidoro da Caravaggio, giving rise to a suspicion that Aurelio Buso, of Cremona, a scholar and assistant of Polidoro's, in Rome, may have been the only, or at least the earliest master of Giovanni. We know from Ridolfi that Buso produced various histories, in his native place, in the manner of his master, and historians of Genoese art record other works from his hand in their city. They assert that he departed thence unexpectedly, while Ridolfi concludes his life, by saying, that notwithstanding his worth, he died in poverty. From the period in which he flourished, he might possibly have been the master of Gio. da Monte, no less than Titian.
Callisto Piazza is likewise announced, by Orlandi, as another imitator of the latter, which is very evident from his picture of the Assumption, in the collegiate church of Codogno. It contains figures of apostles, and two portraits of the Marchesi Trivulzi, not unworthy of any of Titian's disciples. And for such, indeed, was Callisto esteemed, both elsewhere and in Lodi, possessing, in thechurch of the Incoronata, three chapels, each ornamented with four of his very beautiful histories. One of these contains the mysteries of the Passion, another the acts of S. John the Baptist, and the third displays histories in the life of the Virgin. A report is current there, that Titian, in passing through Lodi, produced several heads, probably only a story originating in the exceeding beauty that may be observed in some. It appears, however, certain, that he also imitated Giorgione, in whose style he conducted his altarpiece, representing the Virgin between various saints, at San Francesco, in Brescia, esteemed one of the most beautiful in the whole city. He produced others for Brescia, for Crema, for the dome of Alessandria, and for Lodi, though in this last he succeeded better in fresco than in oil. From the circumstance of his residing in so many different places, I shall not refer him to the school of Milan, preferring to place him here, no less because of the vicinity of Crema to Lodi, than from his belonging to the list of the imitators of Titian.[63]Little justice has been done to the memory of such a man by Ridolfi, who commends him for nothing besides his colouring in fresco, and water colours; when, in fact, he boasts very noble design, and forms tolerablyselect, more particularly in the Assumption already mentioned. Moreover, he calls him Callisto da Lodi Bresciano, as if da Lodi were a family name; although in signing his own name, he gave itCallixtus de Platea, at the Incoronata, and elsewhere desirous of marking his country,Callixtus Laudensis. Ridolfi, too, says little or nothing of the period in which he flourished. Padre Orlandi found, affixed to one of his pictures, at Brescia, the date of 1524. I may add, that in Lodi he gave the years 1527 and 1530; and that, in the Nuptials of Cana, in the refectory of the Padri Cisterciensi, at Milan, he marked 1545. It is truly a surprising production, no less for its boldness of hand than for the number of its figures, although the whole of them are not equally well studied, and a few, among others that seem to breathe and live, are really careless and incorrect.[64]He painted in the same city, within a courtyard, the choir of the muses, including the portraits of the president Sacco, the master of the house, and of his wife; respecting which, writes Lomazzo,I may, without fear of temerity, observe, that it is impossible to produce any thing more perfectly graceful and pleasing, more beautiful in point of colouring, among works in fresco. (Trat.p. 598.)