Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Jacopo Sansovino

by Giorgio Vasari

 

THE FLORENTINE SCULPTOR, JACOPO SANSOVINO.

[born 1477—died 1570.]

The family of the Tatti has its records in the communal books of Florence, and that from so early a period as the year 1300; but the house took its origin from Lucca, one of the most noble cities of Tuscany; always remarkable for active and honourable men: this house of Tatti was most especially favoured by that of Medici, and from the Tatti family descended that Jacopo of whom we are now to write. He was the son of an Antonio, a very estimable person, and of Francesca his wife, who gave birth to the child in the month of January, 1477.^[1] In his first years the boy was sent, as is usual, to acquire the rudiments of learning, wherein he displayed much intelligence: he soon began to study drawing of himself, and gave evidence, in a certain sort, that nature had disposed him to the study of design rather than that of letters, since he went very reluctantly to school, and was most unwilling to undertake the difficult acquirement of grammar.

His mother, whom he strongly resembled, perceiving this, and desiring to aid his genius, caused him to be secretly taught drawing, with the intention of making him a sculptor, perhaps in emulation of the rising glory of Michelagnolo Buonarroto, then very young. She may, perhaps, have also thought it a favourable augury that the latter and her son Jacopo were both born in the same street, the Via Santa Maria namely, which is near the Via Ghibellina. But the boy was meanwhile on the point of being devoted to trade, which he liked even less than grammar, and he opposed himself in such sort to this purpose, that his father ultimately permitted him to follow his own inclination.

At that time there had come to Florence the sculptor, Andrea Contucci, of Monte Sansovino, a place near Arezzo, much talked of in our days as the birthplace of Pope Julius III. Having acquired a great name in Spain as well as in Italy, Contucci was the best sculptor and architect, after Michelagnolo, then known to our Art: he w^as then occupied with the execution of two figures in marble; and with him Jacopo was placed that he might study the art of the sculptor. Andrea soon perceived that the young man promised to become very eminent, and neglected no precaution calculated to render him worthy of being known as his disciple; he became much attached to him moreover, and being as much loved by Jacopo in return, Contucci taught the youth with much affection, and it was thus soon believed that the disciple would ultimately equal his master, nay perhaps surpass him. The attachment of these two was indeed of such a character that being almost like father and son, Jacopo was no longer called De’ Tatti, but Sansovino, and as he was then named, so is he now and ever will be called.

When Jacopo began to exercise his art he was so powerfully aided by Nature, that although he was not particularly studious, nor very diligent in his work, yet in whatever he did there was a grace and facility, with a certain ease, which was very pleasing to the eyes of the artists, seeing that every draught, sketch, or outline of his, displayed a boldness and animation which it has been given to but few among the sculptors to possess. The intercourse and friendship subsisting in their childhood between Jacopo and Andrea del Sarto, was also very useful to them both; pursuing the same manner in design, they exhibited a similar grace in execution, the one in painting, the other in sculpture; and as they frequently conferred together on the difficulties of Art, Jacopo meanwhile making models for Andrea, they assisted each other greatly. And that this is true we have proof in the picture of San Francesco, executed for the Nuns of the Via Pentolini, and in a San Giovanni Evangelista, which was taken from an exquisite mould in terra, which Sansovino made in those days, in competition with Baccio da Montelupo.

For it chanced that at this time the Guild of Porta Santa Maria was about to have a statue in bronze, cast for a niche of Or San Michele, which is opposite to the Wool-Shearers: hut although Jacopo’s model was the more beautiful, yet Montelupo, as being an older master, obtained the commission. This model, which is a most exquisite one, is now in possession of the heirs of Nanni Unghero. Sansovino was then the friend of Nanni, for whom he prepared the large models in clay, of Angels in the form of children, with one for a figure of San Niccolò, of Tolentino, which were afterwards carved in wood, with the aid of Sansovino; all these figures being of the size of life. They were placed in the Chapel of San Niccolò, in the Church of Santo Spirito.

Becoming known, by the productions here enumerated, to all the Florentine artists, and being considered a young man of great genius and excellent character, Jacopo, to his infinite delight, was taken to Rome by Giuliano da San Gallo, architect of Pope Julius II., when the statues of the Belvedere attracting him beyond measure, he set himself to copy the same. Now Bramante, who was also architect to Pope Julius, holding the first place, and having rooms in the Belvedere, chanced to see the designs of Jacopo, with a nude figure of clay, in a recumbent attitude, holding a vase for ink, which he had also made; and these things pleased him so much that he began to favour the youth, and ordered him to make a large copy in wax, of the Laocoon, which he was also having copied by other artists, intending to cast it in bronze. These artists were Zaccheria Zacchi,^[2] of Volterra, the Spaniard, Alonzo Berughetta, and Vecchio, of Bologna. When all had completed their work, Bramante showed the models to RaSaello Sanzio of Urbino, inquiring of him which he thought the best. It was then judged by Raffaello that Sansovino had greatly surpassed the others; wherefore, by the advice of Domenico, Cardinal Grimani, Bramante was commanded to have the model of Jacopo cast in bronze. The mould was prepared accordingly, and the metal, being cast, succeeded to perfection; being then polished, the group was given to the Cardinal, who valued it all his life no less than the antique, and at his death he bequeathed it as a work of great importance to the most Serene Signoria of Venice, by whom, after it had been kept for some years in the Hall of the Council of Ten, it was finally given to the Cardinal of Lorraine, who took it to France, in the year 1534. While Sansovino was thus daily acquiring reputation in Rome, Giuliano da Sangallo, who had kept him in his own house in the Borgo Vecchio, fell ill, and leaving Rome, was taken in a litter to Florence, for change of air. Thereupon Bramante found a dwelling for Jacopo, still in the Borgo Vecchio; but in the Palace of Domenico della Rovere, Cardinal of San Clemente, where Pietro Perugino was at that time lodging, he being engaged with the painting of a ceiling, for Pope Julius, in a room of the Torre Borgia.

There, Pietro having remarked the fine manner of Sansovino, caused him to prepare numerous models in wax for his use; among the rest a Deposition from the Cross, in full relief, with many figures, the ladders used for the deposition, and other things; a very beautiful work it was. All these models were afterwards collected by Messer Giovanni Gaddi, and they are now in his house on the Piazza of the Madonna in Florence.^[3] Sansovino then became known to the Cortonese painter, Maestro Luca Signorelli; to Bramantino da Milano; Bernardino Pinturicchio; Cesare Cesariano, who was at that time in high repute for his Commentaries on Vitruvius; and to many other persons of genius and renown flourishing at that period. Bramante then desired that Sansovino should be presented to Pope Julius, and commissioned him to restore certain works of antiquity, which he did with so much care and grace that His Holiness, and all who beheld them, considered it impossible that they could have been done better.

Stimulated by the praises he received, and eager to surpass his previous performances, Sansovino then devoted himself so zealously to his studies that, being of a somewhat delicate constitution, he became seriously ill, and was compelled to return to Florence for the saving of his life; happily, however, his native air, the aid of youth, and the cares of his physicians, quickly restored him to health. Now, Messer Piero Pitti was then desirous of having a Madonna in marble executed for that front of the Mercato Nuovo, in Florence, where the clock is, and as there were many able young artists as well as old masters then in Florence, he thouirht the work ought to be given to him who should make the best model. He consequently had one prepared by Baccio da Montelupo, another by Zaccheria Zacchi, of Volterra, who had also returned that same year to Florence, with one by Baccio Bandinelli, and a fourth by Sansovino. They were then compared; when Lorenzo Credi, an excellent painter as well as a man of much judgment and goodness, declared the honour and the commission to belong of right to Sansovino, an opinion wherein the other judges, artists, and all who understood the matter fully concurred.

But although the work was adjudged to him accordingly, the procuring and bringing down the marbles were so much delayed by the envy and malicious contrivances of Averardo da Filicaja, who greatly favoured Bandinello and detested Sansovino; that the latter, in consideration of these delays, was ordered meanwhile to execute one of the large figures of the Apostles in marble, which were to be placed in the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore. He therefore made the model of a San Jacopo (of which, when it was finished, Messer Bindo Altoviti took possession;) and, working with all diligence, he conducted the Statue very successfully to completion. An admirable figure it is, sliowing in every part the patient study with which it has been executed; the arms and hands are clearly and finely detached; the draperies are well arranged, and the whole is finished with so much art, and exhibits such perfect grace, that no better work in marble can be seen.^[4] And here Sansovino showed the method in which draperies should be executed, in such a manner as to detach them clearly from the figure, having treated these with so much delicacy, and rendered them so natural, that in some parts he has brought the marble to the subtlety of texture usual in the folds, edges, and hems of the real vestment, a work of great difficulty, and demanding much time, skill, and patience, if the attempt be to succeed in such sort as to exhibit the perfection of art. This Statue remained in the House of Works, from the time when it was finished to the end of the year 1565, when it was placed in the Church of Santa Maria della Fiore, to do honour to the arrival of the Queen Joanna of Austria, wife of Don Francesco de’ Medici, Prince of Florence and Siena. It is considered to be a work of extraordinary merit, as are the figures of the other Apostles, executed by different masters for that place, as we have related in their Lives.

At the same time Sansovino executed for Messer Giovanni Gaddi, a Venus on a Shell, in marble; this was a most beautiful figure, as was the model for the same, which was in the house of Messer Francesco Montevarchi, but was destroyed in the flood of 1558. Sansovino executed a Boy also for Giovanni Gaddi, with a Swan, which was as beautiful a work as could be made of marble; he did many other things for the same person, who still has these productions in his house. For Messer Bindo Altoviti he directed the construction of a most costly Chimney-piece, in macigno, finely carved by Benedetto da Rovezzano, and which was erected in his house at Florence, where Sansovino executed a Story in small figures with his own hand, as the Frieze of that chimneypiece; representing therein the God Vulcan and other heathen deities, all of great beauty. But most beautiful of all were two Boys placed on the summit of this work, and supporting the Arms of the Altoviti family; but these have been taken away by the Signor Don Luigi di Toledo (who now dwells in the house of Messer Bindo,) and have been placed on a Fountain in the garden, which Don Luigi possesses behind the Servite Monastery.

Two other Children of extraordinary beauty, also in marble and by the hand of this master, are in the house of Giovan Francesco Ridolfi; these being likewise the supporters of an Escutcheon of Arms. The works here described, caused Sansovino to bv. considered a most excellent and graceful artist by all Florence, and by every one connected with art; wherefore Giovanni Bartolini, having built a house in the Gualfonda, requested him to execute a Bacchus in marble, represented by a youth the size of life; when, the model being made by Sansovino, was found to be entirely satisfactory, and Giovanni having supplied him with the marble, he set to work with a good will, that gave wings both to his thoughts and hands. But the figure was not hastily done; on the contrary, he studied it with the most intense care, and to promote the perfection of the form, he set himself to copy the figure of a certain disciple of his, called Pippo del Fabbro,^[5] whom he kept standing naked the greater part of the day.

Having completed this statue, it was adjudged to be the best ever executed by a modern master, Sansovino having overcome a difficulty no longer attempted; one arm of the figure being fully detached and raised in the air, while a Tazza, cut from the same piece of marble, is held aloft in the hand, or rather, so delicate and subtle is the work, by the fingers, whereon it is so lightly poised, that they scarcely appear to touch it. The attitude of the figure is, besides, so well calculated for effect, as seen on all sides, it is so nicely balanced, and so admirably arranged; the form is so well proportioned, the limbs are so finely attached to the trunk, and the whole statue is so exquisitely finished, that while looking at, or even touching it, one would be more disposed to believe it the living flesh than a mere piece of stone. At a word, the renown this work has obtained is not in any way more than, or even equal to, its due; it was visited while Giovanni lived, with the utmost admiration, alike by natives and strangers; but Giovanni being dead, his brother Gherardo gave it to the Duke Cosimo, who keeps it in his apartments with other beautiful statues.^[6] For the same Giovanni, Sansovino made a Crucifix in wood, which is now in the house of the Bartolini family, with many works by the ancients and by Michelagnolo.

In the year 1514 rich preparations were to be made in Florence for the arrival of Leo X. in that city, when the Signoria and Giuliano de’ Medici gave orders for triumphal arches of wood, which were to be constructed in various parts of the city. For many of these Sansovino made the designs; and, in company with Andrea del Sarto, he undertook to adorn the whole façade of Santa Maria del Fiore; this they decorated with statues, stories, and architectural ornaments in wood, after a manner which it would be well if we could have retained, instead of that in the Teutonic manner which we now have. I say nothing of the canopies in cloth, with which, on the festivals of San Giovanni and other solemnities, it has been customary to cover the Piazza of Santa Maria del Fiore and that of San Giovanni, having spoken of them sufficiently elsewhere, but confine myself to the remark, that beneath this canopy Sansovino decorated the fa9ade with a triumphal arch of the Corinthian Order, double columns, rising on a great basement on every side, with large niches between them, wherein were figures of the Apostles in full relief. Above these were stories in mezzorilievo, having the appearance of bronze, the subjects taken from the Old Testament; some of them may still be seen in the house of the Lanfredini on the Lung’Arno. Over all were projecting architraves, friezes, and cornices, with varied and beautiful frontons. In the angles of the arches, and beneath them, in the thickness of the same, were beautiful stories painted in chiaro-scuro by Andrea del Sarto, and the whole work was such that when Pope Leo saw it, he declared it to be a pity that the front of the church, as erected by the German Arnolfo, had not been of similar character.

On the same occasion, Sansovino made a Horse, formed of clay and shearings of wool, which was erected on a pedestal of masonry; the animal was rearing, and beneath him lay a figure of nine braccia; this work also pleased the Pope greatly by its powder and boldness, wherefore Sansovino was taken by Jacopo Salviati to kiss the feet of His Holiness, who received him very kindly. The Pontiff then returning to Florence after his conference with King Francis I. at Bologna, Sansovino received orders to construct a Triumphal Arch at the gate of San Gallo; and, not degenerating from his former seif, he completed it as he had done the others, enriched with statues and pictures finely executed, that is to say, and beautiful to a marvel.

His Holiness having afterwards resolved that the fa9ade of San Lorenzo should be constructed in marble, Sansovino, while Raffaello and Michelagnolo were expected from Rome, prepared a design for the same by order of the Pope, who, being pleased therewith, caused Baccio d’Agnolo to make from it a model in wood, which was most beautiful; Buonarroto had meanwhile prepared another, and was commanded to repair with Sansovino to Pietrasanta, where the two artists found marble in plenty; but the difficulties of transport caused the loss of so much time that when they returned to Florence, the Pope had gone back to Rome. They both followed him, however, with their models, each for himself; but when Jacopo arrived, Michelagnolo was already showing his model to the Pope at the Torre Borgia; and whereas the former had expected to receive the commission for a part of the statues, at least under Buonarroto, who had given him reason to expect as raucb, he found on arriving in Rome that Michelagnolo was determined to keep all for himself. Nevertheless, and as he did not wish to have his journey for nothing, Sansovino resolved to remain in Rome for the study of architecture as well as sculpture. He then undertook the execution in marble of a Madonna with the Divine Child in her arms, for the Florentine Francesco Martelli; this group, somewhat larger than life and admirably finished, was placed on an Altar within the principal door of the Church of Sant’ Agostino, on the right of the entrance.^[7] The plaster model for the work, Sansovino gave to the prior of the Salviati, who placed it in a chapel of his palace, beside the Piazza of San Pietro at the end of the Borgo Nuovo. No long time afterwards he made a Statue of San Jacopo in marble, four braccia high, for the Altar of a Chapel which Cardinal Alborense had built in the Church of the Spaniards in Rome; this also, which is in a very graceful attitude and exhibits infinite judgment, procured the artist a great increase of fame; and while he was yet engaged therewith, he received the commission to prepare plans and models for the Church of San Marcello, which belongs to the Servite Monks: this Church Sansovino afterwards erected, and a very beautiful structure it is.

Continuing to be employed in architecture, Sansovino next built a beautiful Loggia for Messer Marco Cosci; this is in the Flaminian Way, on the road leading from Rome to the Pontemolle. For the “Brotherhood of the Crucified,” which belongs to the Church of San Marcello, he made a Crucifix in wood, to be carried in procession, which is very graceful; and for Antonio Cardinal di Monte he commenced a large building at his Vigna outside Rome, near the Acqua Vergine. It may be also, that a Portrait of the elder Cardinal Monte, which is now over a door in the Palace of Signor Fabiano at Monte Sansovino, is by his hand. He built a commodious house for Messer Luigi Leoni, with a palace in Banchi, which belongs to the Gaddi family; this was afterwards purchased by Filippo Strozzi; it is handsome and richly decorated as well as very commodious. Now in those days the Germans, Spaniards, and French had each built churches for themselves in Rome, wherein they were now performing the offices, when the Florentines, favoured by Leo X., requested permission also to erect a church. Orders being given by the Pope accordingly to Ludovico Capponi, -who was Consul of the Florentines, it was resolved that a large Church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, should be constructed behind the Banchi, at the commencement of the Strada Julia on the shore of the Tiber; and this, whether for size, magnificence, cost, or beauty of design, was to surpass all the others. For that work Baffaello da Urbino, Antonio da Sangallo, Baldassare da Siena, and Sansovino prepared designs in competition; and the Pope having seen all, declared that of Jacopo the best, he having made a tribune at each angle of the church, with one of larger size in the centre, resembling that in the plan which Sebastiano Serlio gives in the second book of his work on Architecture. In this opinion all the heads of the undertaking agreed with the Pope, Sansovino received many proofs of favour, and the foundations for a portion of the church, about twenty-two yards in length, were begun. But there was not space enough for the building, more especially as it was determined to have the front of the Church opposite to that of the houses in the Strada Julia; the builders were consequently obliged to impinge upon the stream of the Tiber to the extent of full fifteen braccia, which pleased many, all the more, because the display as well as cost was the greater; it was therefore commenced as I have said, and more than forty thousand crowns^[8] was spent thereon, a sum for which they might have erected half the walls of the Church.

The works were proceeding rapidly, when Sansovino had a fall, which injured him so severely, that he determined to be taken to Florence, leaving the care of those foundations to Antonio da Sangallo. But no long time afterwards, the death of Pope Leo depriving the Florentines of so great a support and so splendid a Prince, caused the abandonment of the works, which remained suspended during the Pontificate of Adrian VI. Pope Clement afterwards succeeding, Sansovino was ordered to return, and the Church was recommenced, with the original designs. At the same time our artist undertook the sepulchral monuments of the Cardinals of Aragon and Agen; he began to prepare the marbles, and made models for the figures; all Rome was indeed then being in his hands, and works of the utmost importance came pouring in upon him from all sides: his merits had been acknowledged by three Pontiffs, Pope Leo in particular having given him a Knighthood of St. Peter, which he, fearing he should die in his sickness, had sold. But it now pleased God to punish that city, and abase the pride of the Romans; wherefore it was permitted, that on the 6th of May, 1527, Bourbon should come with his army, and all Rome should be sacked and given up to fire and sword.

This ruin, amidst which so many men of genius came to an evil end, compelled Sansovino, to his infinite loss, to depart from the city, and he took refuge in Venice, whence he proposed to repair to France, where he had been invited to enter the service of the King. But halting in Venice, to provide himself with necessaries, having been despoiled of all, the Doge Andrea Gritti, a true friend of distinguished men, was told that he was there and desired to see him; the rather as Cardinal Grimani had given him to understand that Sansovino would be just the person they wanted to restore the Cupolas of SanMarco, which is the principal Church of the Venetians, seeing that they, having become very old, and being, moreover, weak in the basements, and not well put together, were cleft in many parts, and threatened with absolute ruin. The Doge therefore caused our artist to be called, and receiving him very favourably, after many conversations, he gave him to know that he wished, or rather entreated, him to find a remedy for this misfortune, which Sansovino promised to do. Commencing the work accordingly, he raised scaffoldings within the Cupola, and, after much toil, contrived to secure the whole structure, by means of massive beams, well and firmly chained together by strong iron bands; he then added curtains of wood-work to the whole fabric, within and without, which done, he raised new walls, refounding the piers by which the mass was supported, and so fortifying the entire building that its stability was assured for ever. All Venice stood amazed at his success, and the Doge was perfectly satisfied: nay, what was more to the purpose, that most illustrious Senate, convinced of his ability, appointed Jacopo Protomaster of the Signori Procurator! oLSan Marco (the highest office conferred by the Signoria on its architects and engineers), assigning to him the house of his predecessor, who had just died, with a suitable stipend.

Having entered on his office, Sansovino began to fulfil the duties thereof with diligence; those connected with the books and accounts of expenditure, as well as with the building, giving his most earnest care to the details of that employment, which are very numerous, and displaying the most courteous consideration for the Senators. And not only did he devote himself zealously to whatever could promote the grandeur, beauty, and ornament of the Church, the Piazza, and the whole city, to an extent never before done by any man who had held his office; but by the ingenuity of his inventions, the promptitude of his actions, and the prudence of his administration, he lessened the outlay and improved the revenue, so that the Signoria was burdened with little if any expense. Among the ameliorations made by Jacopo, was the following:— In the year 1529, there were butchers’ stalls between the two columns of the Piazza, with a number of small wooden booths, used for the vilest purposes, and a shame as well as deformity to the place, offending the dignity of the Palace and the Piazza, while they could not but disgust all strangers who made their entry into Venice, by the side of San Giorgio.

Sansovino, therefore, having convinced Andrea Gritti of the excellence of his plan, caused these booths and stalls to be removed; he then erected the butchers’ shops where they now are, and, adding to these certain stalls for the dealers in vegetables, he increased the revenues of the Procuranzia by seven hundred ducats yearly, while he beautified the Piazza and the city by the same act. No long time afterwards, he observed that by removing one house in the Merceria (near the clock, and on the way to the Rialto), which paid a rent of twenty-six ducats only, he could open a street into the Spadaria by which the value of the houses and shops all around would be much increased, he took down that house accordingly, thereby adding a hundred and fifty ducats to the income of the Procuranzia. He built the Hostelry of the Pellegrino, moreover, on the same site with another on the Campo Rusolo; and these together brought in four hundred ducats. His buildings in the Pescaria and other parts of the city, houses as well as shops, and erected at various times, were also of the utmost utility; and altogether the Procuranzia gained bj means of Sansovino, an addition of no less than two thousand ducats per annum, so that they might well hold him in esteem.

At a subsequent period, our artist received orders from the Procurators, to commence the rich and beautiful Library, opposite to the Public Palace. The orders of architecture, Doric and Corinthian, the fine carvings, columns, capitals, cornices, half-length figures, and other decorations, executed without any consideration for the amount of cost, all contribute to display an aggregate of beauty which renders the building a marvel.^[9] The stucco work, the stories which decorate the Halls, the rich pavements, the staircases adorned with pictures (as has been related in the Life of Battista Franco), every part, at a word, is most admirable; to say nothing of the rich ornaments which give majesty and grandeur to the principal entrance; and all prove the vast ability of Sansovino. These works caused a notable change in the mode of building at Venice; for whereas it was before the custom for houses and palaces to be erected all after one old fashion, without any variation, either on account of the difference in site, or for the sake of convenience; they now began to build with new designs, a better manner, and some attention to the ancient rule of Vitruvius, whether as regarded their public or private constructions.

But returning to the Library: the best judges, and those who have visited many other parts of the world, declare it to be without an equal.

Sansovino then built the Palace of Messer Giovanni Delfino: it stands on the Grand Canal, beyond the Bialto, and opposite the Riva del Ferro: the cost of the fabric was thirty thousand ducats. The Palace of Messer Leonardo Moro, at San Girolamo, also of great cost, and much resembling a fortress, is in like manner by Sansovino, as is that of Messer Luigi de’ Garzoni, which is thirty paces larger in every direction than the Exchange of the Germans; it lies without the city, at Ponte Casale that is, and has the convenience of water conducted through every part of the building, which is adorned with fine figures, by the hand of Sansovino. But more beautiful than all is the Palace of Messer Griorgio Cornaro, on the Grand Canal: it surpasses all the others in majesty, grandeur, and convenience; nay, is reputed to be, perhaps, the most splendid residence in Italy.

Omitting the private buildings constructed by Sansovino, I restrict myself to recording that he also erected the Scuola and Brotherhood of the Misericordia, at the cost of a hundred and thirty thousand ducats: an immense fabric it is, and, when completed, will be the most superb edifice in Italy. The Church of Francesco della Vigna, which belongs to the Barefooted Friars, is also the work of this artist, and a very great and important one; but the fa§ade was by another master.^[10] The Loggia of the Corinthian order erected around the Campanile of San Marco, was of Sansovino’s design: it has a rich decoration of columns, with four niches, wherein are four beautiful figures, in bronze, somewhat less than life: these also, with various figures and stories in basso-rilievo, are by the hand of Jacopo. This Loggia forms a beautiful basement to the Campanile, which is thirty-five feet wide on one of its fronts, and that is about the extent of Sansovino’s work: from the ground to the cornice, where are the windows of the belfry, the Campanile measures a hundred and sixty feet, and from the cornice to the corridor twenty-five. The dado above the cornice is twentyeight and a half feet high, and from the platform of the corridor to the obelisk are sixty feet. On the obelisk is placed the small quadrangular basement, which supports the figure of the Angel, it stands six feet high; and the Angel, which turns with every wind is ten feet high; so that the entire Bell-tower is two hundred and ninety-two feet high.

But one of the richest, most beautiful, and most imposing edifices of this master is the Zecca (Mint) of Venice, constructed wholly of stone and iron, without a particle of wood, to secure it from the danger of fire. This is so com modiously arranged within, for the convenience of the many labourers working there, that in the whole world there is not so strong or so well-ordered a treasury as that of Venice. It is all in the Rustic order, and this, not having been previously adopted in that city, caused much admiration there. The Church of Santo Spirito, on the Lagunes, is also by Sansovino; a graceful and pleasing work.^[11] The façade of San Gimignano, which gives splendour to the Piazza,^[12] with that of San Giuliano in the Merceria, are both by that master, as is the rich Tomb of Prince Francesco Veniero. He built the new Vaults at the Rialto likewise; and the design of these works is excellent, furnishing a commodious market to the peasantry and others who daily flock to Venice with their merchandise.

At the Misericordia, Sansovino undertook a new and remarkable construction for the Trepoli; that family had a large Palace, with apartments of regal splendour, on the Canal, but being badly founded within the waters, it was feared that the edifice would in a few years fall to the ground. Sansovino reconstructed the foundations, however, with immense masses of stone, gave further support to the house itself with a marvellous system of piles, and the owners now inhabit their palace with the most perfect security. Nor have these numerous fabrics prevented our artist from daily producing, for his recreation, great and beautiful works in marble and bronze. Over the Holy Water Vase belonging to the monks of the Ca Grande, for example, he has placed a figure of San Giovanni Battista in marble, which is most beautiful, and justly extolled. At the Chapel of the Santo,^[13] in Padua, moreover, there is a beautiful story in marble, representing a miracle of Sant’ Antonio,^[14] by his hand: it is in mezzo-rilievo, and is greatly valued by the Paduans.

For the entrance to the Palazzo of San Marco, Sansovino is now preparing two colossal figures of Neptune and Mars, to signify the power of the Republic, both by land and water. They are seven braccia high, and promise to be very beautiful. He has executed a fine statue of Hercules, for the Duke of Ferrara; and in the Church of San Marco, there are six stories of mezzo-rilievo, in bronze, by his hand. They are one braccio high, and one and a half long: the subjects are taken from the Life of the Evangelist; they are to be placed around a pulpit, and are greatly admired for their variety.^[15] Over the door of the same Church is a Madonna in marble, also by Jacopo; it is the size of life, and considered very beautiful. The bronze door of the Sacristy divided into two parts, and adorned with Stories from the Life of Christ, admirably executed,^[16] are in like manner by his hand; and over the Gate of the Arsenal he has erected a fine statue of Our Lady in marble, with the Divine Child in her arms. All these works have not only adorned the city, but have daily increased the renown of Sansovino; they have furthermore caused him to receive frequent proofs or the estimation in which he is held by the Signoria, with gratifying marks of their liberality, while they have procured him the respect and admiration of artists, no work in sculpture or architecture being undertaken in his time at Venice without his advice and concurrence.

And well did Sansovino deserve to be held in esteem by the Venetians, artists, nobles, and people, seeing that by his knowledge and judgment the city has been, so to say, renewed, while he has taught her builders the true science of architecture, as I have said before. Three beautiful statues in stucco, by Jacopo Sansovino, are now to be seen in the hands of his son. These are a Laocoon, a Venus standing upright, and a Madonna surrounded by Angels. They are the most beautiful figures to be found in Venice. This son has also sixty designs for Churches and other buildings, all of Sansovino’s invention, and so beautiful that since the time of the ancients nothing better has been seen, or even imagined. I hear that their owner is about to give them to the world, and has already caused some portions of them to be engraved, together with plates of some of those fine buildings which his father erected in various parts of Italy.

Thus constantly occupied, as we have said, in works public and private—out of the city, as well as in it (for strangers, also, had constant recourse to Sansovino, for models, designs of buildings, statues or advice: as, for example, the Dukes of Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino); this artist was nevertheless ever ready to oblige, and more especially was he devoted to the Signor Procurator!, by whom no work was ever undertaken, either in Venice or elsewhere, without his counsels and aid. Nay, they not unfrequently employed him for their friends and themselves without otFering him any remuneration, he refusing no labour that could give them satisfaction. Sansovino was most especially beloved and valued by the Prince Gritti, a firm friend to men of genius, by Messer Vettorio Grimani, brother of the Cardinal, and by the Cavalier Messer Giovanni da Legge, who were all Procurators. Messer Marcantonio Giustiniano, who had known him in Rome, was also the friend of Jacopo: these great and illustrious men, well practised in the affairs of the world, and having full knowledge of our Arts, were all well aware of his value, and the esteem in which he deserved to be held; doing him justice, therefore, they declared, and all the city agreed with them, that the Procuranzia never had had, and never would have, his equal. Nor were they unacquainted with the estimation in which he was held at Rome and in Florence, nay, throughout all Italy, by all great Princes and men of intellect; hence they were firmly persuaded that not only Sansovino himself, but his descendants also, would be duly honoured by that city for his extraordinary efforts and abilities.

Jacopo Sansovino, as to his person, was of the middle height, but rather slender than otherwise, and his carriage was remarkably upright; he was fair, with a red beard, and in his youth was of a goodly presence, wherefore he did not fail to be loved, and that by dames of no small importance. In his age he had an exceedingly venerable appearance; with his beautiful white beard, he still retained the carriage of his youth: he was strong and healthy even to his ninety-third year, and could see the smallest object, at whatever distance, without glasses, even then. When writing, he sat with his head up, not supporting himself in any manner, as it is usual for men to do. He liked to be handsomely dressed, and was singularly nice in his person. The society of ladies was acceptable to Sansovino, even to the extremity of age, and he always enjoyed conversing with or of them. He had not been particularly healthy in his youth, yet in his old age he suffered from no malady whatever, insomuch that, for a period of fifty years, he would never consult any physician even when he did feel himself indisposed. Nay, when he was once attacked by apoplexy, and that for the fourth time, in his eighty-fourth year too, he would still have nothing to do with physic, but cured himself by keeping in bed for two months, in a dark and well-warmed chamber. His digestion was so good that he could eat all things without distinction: during the summer he lived almost entirely on fruits, and in the very extremity of his age would frequently eat three cucumbers and half a lemon at one time.

With respect to the qualities of his mind, Sansovino was very prudent; he foresaw readily the coming events, and sagaciously compared the present with the past. Attentive to his duties, he shunned no labour in the fulfilment of the same, and never neglected his business for his pleasure. He spoke well and largely on such subjects as he understood, giving appropriate illustrations of his thoughts with infinite grace of manner. This rendered him acceptable to high and low alike, as well as to his own friends. In his greatest age his memory continued excellent; he remembered all the events of his childhood, and could minutely refer to the sack of Rome and all the other occurrences, fortunate or otherwise, of his youth and early manhood. He was very courageous, and delighted from his boyhood in contending with those who were greater than himself, affirming that he who struggles with the great may become greater, but he who disputes with the little must become less. He esteemed honour above all else in the world, and was so upright a man of his word, that no temptation could induce him to break it, of which he gave frequent proof to his lords, who, for that as well as other qualities, considered him rather as a father or brother than as their agent or steward, honouring in him an excellence that was no pretence, but his true nature.

Sansovino was liberal to all, and so effectually devoted to his kin that he deprived himself of many enjoyments the better to aid them; yet he always lived honourably and with good credit, as a man looked up to by all. He sometimes permitted himself to be overcome by anger, which in him was an exceedingly violent passion, but one that soon passed over, and a few gentle words often sufficed to brings tears into his eyes. His love for his art was immense; nay, that the knowledge of sculpture might be the more widely diffused, Sansovino brought up numerous disciples, establishing what might almost be called a Seminary of that art in Italy.

Among those of his disciples who attained the most distinguished name, were the Florentines Niccolò Tribolo and Solosmeo; Danese Cattaneo of Cattaro, a Tuscan of great repute, not in sculpture only, but in poetry also; Girolamo of Ferrara, the Venetian Jacopo Colonna, Luco Lancia of Naples, Tiziano of Padua, Pietro da Salo, the Florentine Bartolommeo Ammannato, now Sculptor and Protomaster of the Grand Duke of Tuscany; and finally Alessandro Vittoria of Trent, who was admirable for his portraits in marble. These, with the Brescian Jacopo de’ Medici, were all among his disciples; and they, renewing the memory of their master, have executed many honourable works in divers places.

Sansovino was much esteemed by princes, among others by Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence, who sought his advice when constructing the fortifications of that city. Duke Cosimo also, when Sansovino, in the year 40, paid a visit to his native place for certain affairs of his own—Duke Cosimo, I say, not only requested his opinion in respect to those defences, but also endeavoured to fix the master in his own service, offering him a very large stipend with that view. On his return from Florence, moreover, the Duke Ercole of Ferrara, detained him for some time at his court, and made every effort to keep him at Ferrara; but Sansovino, accustomed to Venice, and finding himself much at his ease in that city, where he had spent the greater part of his life, would listen to none of these proposals, the rather as he greatly loved the Procuratori, and was much honoured by them.

He was in like manner invited to Rome by Pope Paul III., who wished him to undertake the care of San Pietro, in place of Antonio da San Gallo, and Monsignore della Casa, then Legate at Venice, did his best to prevail on our artist to consent, but it was all in vain; he declared that he would not exchange his life in a Republic for that under an absolute Prince. King Philip II. of Spain, also, when on his way to Germany, conferred many marks of favour on Sansovino, whom he saw in Peschiera. This master was exceedingly desirous of glory, and, to the end that his memory might survive him, he spent much of his property for others, greatly injuring his descendants thereby. The judges of Art affirm that, although yielding on the whole to Michelagnolo, yet Sansovino was the superior of that artist in certain points. In his draperies, his children, and the expression which he gave to his women, for example, Jacopo never had an equal. The draperies by his hand are, indeed, most delicately beautiful; finely folded, they preserve to perfection the distinction between the nude and draped portions of the form. His children are soft flexible figures with none of the muscular development proper only to adults; the little round legs and arms are truly of flesh, and in nowise different to those of Nature herself. The faces of his women are sweet and lovely; so graceful withal, that none can be more so, as may be seen in certain figures of the Madonna, in those of Venus, and in others by his hand.

This master, so renowned in Sculpture, and so great in Architecture, had lived by the grace of God, who had endowed him with that ability which rendered him illustrious to the degree that we have described, up to the age of ninety-three years; when, feeling himself somewhat weary of body, he lay down in his bed to repose himself. He felt no kind of illness, and frequently proposed to rise and dress himself, as being in perfect health, but remaining thus for about six weeks he felt himself becoming weaker, and requested to have the Sacraments of the Church administered to him; this having been done, although he still expected to live some years, Sansovino departed on the 2nd of November, 1570, and, notwithstanding that the years of his life had come to their end in the pure course of Nature, yet all Venice lamented his loss.^[17]

He left a son called Erancesco, born in Rome in the year 1521, and who became a very learned man in Law as well as Letters, From this son Sansovino had three grandchildren, a boy called after his grandfather Jacopo, and two girls, one called Florence, who died early, to the infinite sorrow of Sansovino; and the other named Aurora. The remains of Jacopo Sansovino were borne with great honour to his own Chapel in San Gimignano,^[18] where his son placed a marble Statue, which had been executed by the great master himself, on his tomb. The following epitaph was also inscribed thereon, as the memorial of so much excellence:—

Jacoho Sansovino Florentino P. qui Romae Julio II., Leoni X., Clementi VII., Pont. Max. Maxime gratos, Venetiis Architecturae Sculpturae que intermortuum decus. primus excitavit, quique a Senatu ob eximiam virtutem liberaliter honestatus summo civitatis moerore decessit, franciscus f. hoc mon. p. vixit ann. xciii. ob. v. cal. dec. mdlxx.

The Florentines in Venice also celebrated publicly the obsequies of Jacopo at the Church of the Frari, having made honourable preparations for the same, and the funeral oration was performed by Messer Camillo Buonfigli, who is also an excellent person.^[19]

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1. Temanza, Vite dei più celebri Architetti e Scultori Veneziani, says 1479, but the date given by Vasari is proved, by reference to other authorities, to be the correct one.
2. Temanza calls this artist Zari.
3. In the year 1766, the Deposition came into the possession of our countryman, Ignatius Hugford, but its ultimate fate is not known to the present writer.
4. This admirable statue has been accused of a defect in the right leg, “but this,” remarks Bottari, “is an accident caused by the fracture of the rich drapery, which originally descended to the foot of the statue, but was accidentally broken. See also the Riposo of Borghini, who has successfully defended iSansovino against his critics.
5. “The Blacksmith’s Joe” that is to say. Of this poor boy, our author, in his first edition, remarks that he would have become an able artist, but he adds the melancholy conclusion that this long remaining unclothed during cold weather or the severity of his studies, destroyed his health, and disturbed his mind, he was perpetually placing himself in the attitude of the Bacchus, or in that appropriate to other statues, in which he would stand for hours together, silent and immoveable, as if he were in fact a statue. In this condition he remained, with few intervals, until his early death.
6. Now in the western corridor of the Uffizj. In the year 1762, when the building was partially destroyed, this work was broken to pieces by fire, but was put together with indescribable care and patience after a cast which had happily been made from it just before the conflagration, by the paipter, G. Traballesi.
7. Still in the church.
8. In the Life of Antonio San Gallo, Vasaii has said “12,000,” but the above is considered more likely to be correct.
9. The vaulting of this fabric fell in while it was in course of construction, when the favoured architect was instantly thrown into prison, condemned to pay a fine of a thousand ducats, and deprived of his title of Protomaster. It is true that the Signoria, finding him to have been falsely accused, released him at once, and shut up his accusers in his place, restoring him to all his honours, and re-paying nine hundred of his thousand ducats; but such, as our readers will remember, by many an instance, was the Venetian justice—first hang your man, then try him.
10. “And what a master!” exclaims an Italian commentator • no less than Palladio himself.’’
11. Now demolished.— Ed. Venet.
12. “This church also was cruelly demolished in 1807, thereby depriving the Piazza di San Marco of a rich ornament.” —Ibid.
13. St. Anthony, who is so called in Padua, par excellence.
14. See Cicognara, Storia della Scultura Moderna, tom. ii.
15. They are in the Presbytery of the Church.—Ed. Ven.
16. In the angles of the frame are six heads, three of which are portraits of Titian, Pietro Aretino, and Sansovino himself.—Ibid. See also Cicognara, as before cited.
17. For more minute details respecting this artist, the reader is referred to the Vite de’ piu celebri Architetti e Scultori Veneziani of Temanza, vol. i. See also the Venetian Edition of our Author by Autonelli.
18. When the Church of San Gemignano was demolished, the remains of Sansovino were first removed to that of San Maurizio and afterwards to the private Oratory of the Seminario della Salute.
19. To this Life of Sansovino, some of the Florentine and Venetian editors of our author’s works (but not the Roman Bottari), have added an account of his disciples and their labours, but this the want of space prevents us from re-producing here. Such of our readers as may desire to see the same will find it in the Edition of Stefano Audin, Florence, 1822, and in that of Antonelli, Venice, 1828, and in the Passigli Edition (1832-8).