Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Valerio Vicentino, Giovanni of Castel Bolognese, Matteo dal Nassaro, and others

by Giorgio Vasari

 

VALERIO VICENTINO, GIOVANNI OF CASTEL BOLOGNESE; MATTEO DAL NASSARO OF VERONA, AND OTHER EMINENT ENGRAVERS OF CAMEOS AND PRECIOUS STONES.

[From the latter part of the 15th to the middle of the 16th century, or thereabout.]

Since the art of engraving oriental stones, and of cutting cameos was carried to such perfection by the Greeks, whose works in that manner may be called divine, I should consider myself to commit no slight error if I v/ere to pass over in silence the men who, in our own times, have imitated those admirable artists, although there has been none among the moderns, as it is said, who, in this present and fortunate age, have surpassed the ancients in delicacy and beauty of design, unless, indeed, it may have been done by those of whom we are now about to speak.

But before I begin my relation, it will be proper that I should make a short discourse in relation to the art of engraving hard stones and jewels, which was lost, after the destruction of Greece and Rome, with the other arts of design. Of these engraved works, whether in relief or intaglio, examples are daily discovered among the ruins of Rome; cameos, carnelians, the sardonyx, and others, admirably cut. But many and very many years passed over during v^hich the art was lost, no one occupying himself therewith, or, if at times anything was done, it was not in a manner which renders the result worthy to be taken into account, and, so far as is known, it was not until the time of Pope Martin V. and Pope Paul II., that any one was found who began to do well in this matter, or to effect anything in a good manner; but after that period there was a gradual progress down to the time of the Magnificent Lorenzo de’ Medici, who took much pleasure in the engravings of antique cameos, and between himself and his son Piero, a large number was collected, more particularly chalcedonies, carnelians, and other stones of value, beautifully cut, and exhibiting a great variety of fanciful subjects.

They then resolved to attempt the establishment of this art in their city, and to that end they invited masters from divers countries, when these men not only restored the stones which Lorenzo or Piero then possessed, but executed many other beautiful works of the kind at that time and in that city. With these masters Lorenzo the Magnificent placed a young Florentine, to the end that he might acquire the art of engraving in cavo, and who afterwards received the name of Giovanni of the Carnelians, for the admirable manner in which he cut those stones. Of his excellence in this vocation we have ample testimony in the various works, small and great, by his hand, which are still to be seen, but most particularly from a large one wherein he carved the portrait of Girolamo Savonarola, who in his time was adored in Florence for the sermons which he preached there. This is indeed a most extraordinary work.^[1]

A rival of Giovanni was the Milanese, Domenico of the Cameos,^[2] by whom the portrait of Ludovico il Moro, wlio was then living, was taken m cavo, on a pale red or balas ruby, larger than a Giulio.^[3] This was a beautiful thing, and one of the best engravings executed by a modern master that had ever been seen at that period. The art attained to a still higher degree of excellence during the pontificate of Pope Leo X., when it received a powerful impulse from the talents and labours of Pier Maria da Pescia, who was a most faithful and successful imitator of the works of antiquity.^[4] Pier Maria had a competitor named Michelino, who was no less able than himself both in small and large works, and was considered a very graceful master.

By these masters the path to that very difiicult art was opened. Most difiicult of a truth it is, since the engraving in cavo may be truly called a working in the dark and at hazard, seeing that the artist has no means of knowing what he is doing but that of taking an impression in wax from time to time. Finally, however, the labours of these masters brought the art to such a state, that Giovanni da Castel Bolognese, Valerio Vicentino, Matteo dal Nassaro, and others, have been enabled to produce the admirable works of which we wdll now proceed to record the memorial.

To begin, therefore, I remark that Giovanni Bernardi of Castel Bolognese, in the course of three years, which time he passed very honourably in the service of Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, brought many small works to completion for that prince, of which it does not need that I should make separate mention; but the first large production which he executed was an intaglio on crystal, wherein he set forth the whole Battle of the Rampart, a most beautiful thing. lie afterwards engraved the portrait of the Duke Alfonso on steel, for the purpose of making medals, and on the reverse he represented Our Saviour Christ, led prisoner by the multitude.

Giovanni then repaired to Rome, being induced to do so by the advice of Giovio; and there the intervention of the Cardinals Ippolito de’ Medici and Giovanni Salviati sufficed to procure him an opportunity for taking the portrait of Pope Clement YII., whereupon he made an intaglio for medals from the same, which was most beautiful, the reverse presenting Joseph making himself known to his brethren.^[5] For this he was rewarded by his Holiness with a Mazza’, the same being an office which he sold during the pontificate of Pope Paul III., obtaining two hundred scudi as its price. For the same Pope Clement, Giovanni engraved the four Evangelists on four round crystals. They were highly commended, and caused the master to obtain the favour and friendship of many most reverend and distinguished personages: above all they secured for him the good-will of Salviati and of the Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici, that sole refuge and unfailing protection of artists, whose portrait Giovanni took in steel for medals. He also executed a work in crystal for the Cardinal Ippolito, the subject of which was the wife of Darius presented to Alexander the Great.

When the Emperor Charles Y. repaired to Bologna to be crowned, Giovanni made a portrait of that monarch in steel; and having formed a medal of gold with the same, he took it at once to the Emperor, who presented him with a hundred golden doubloons, and inquired of the master if he would accompany him into Spain. But Giovanni excused himself, affirming that he could not abandon the service of Pope Clement and the Cardinal Ippolito, for whom he had commenced works which were still incomplete.

Having returned from Bologna to Pome, Giovanni then executed for the above-named Cardinal de’ Medici a Pape of the Sabines, which was most beautiful. For all these things the Cardinal considered himself to be much indebted to Giovanni, and therefore showed him many courtesies, presenting him moreover with numerous gifts; but what was more than all, when the Cardinal was departing for France, and was conducted to a certain distance by many nobles and gentlemen, he turned to Giovanni, who was there among the rest, and taking from his own neck a small collar or chain, to which was appended a cameo worth more than six hundred scudi, he gave it to Giovanni, telling him that he was to keep it until his return, and vuth the intention then to reward him as he considered his great ability to deserve.

When the Cardinal Ippolito died,^[6] that cameo fell into the hands of the Cardinal Farnese, for whom Giovanni afterwards executed many works in crystal, more particularly a figure of Our Lord on the Cross, with that of God the Father above; Our Lady and San Giovanni stand one at each side, of the Cross^[7], and the Magdalen is at the foot thereof. In a triangle beneath the Crucifix, Giovanni then placed three stories from the Passion of Our Lord, one in each angle. For two chandeliers in silver he engraved six crystals! of a round form; the first shows the Centurion entreating the Saviour to heal his son, in the second is the Pool of Bethesda, in the third the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the fourth has the Miracle of the Five Loaves and Two Fishes, the fifth presents Our Saviour expelling the Traders from the Temple; and in the sixth, which is the last, is the Resurrection of Lazarus; all of the most remarkable beauty.^[8]

The Cardinal Farnese then desiring to have a very rich casket constructed of silver, committed the charge thereof to the Florentine goldsmith, Marino,^[9] of whom we shall speak further hereafter; but the plates of crystal were all confided to Giovanni, who decorated them with stories, in mezzo-rilievo of marble, making the figures and ornaments in relief of silver, and executing the whole with so much care, that no work of the kind was ever completed to such perfection. In the inside of the casket are stories, also engraved by Giovanni in ovals, and with marvellous art. The subjects of these are the Chase of Meleager with the Caledonian Boar, Bacchanals, a Sea-fight, Hercules in combat with the Amazons, and other admirable fantasies of the Cardinal’s invention, who caused highly-finished designs of the same to be prepared by Perino del Vaga, and other masters.^[10] Giovanni also engraved the fortunate Victory of Goletta on one crystal, with the War of Tunis in another; and for the same cathedral he furthermore engraved the Birth of Christ, the Prayer of Our Saviour in the Carden, his seizure by the Jews, his appearance before Annas, Herod, and Pilate, his Scourging, and the being Crowned with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucitixion, and finally, the glorious Pesurrection. And not only were all these things very beautiful, but they were executed by Griovanni with a degree of rapidity by which every one was astonished.

Now, Michelagnolo had made a design for the before-mentioned Cardinal de’ Medici (which I forgot to mention above), the subject being Tityus, whose heart is being devoured by a Vulture; and this Griovanni engraved admirably well in crystal, as he did another design of Buonarroti; a Phaeton namely, who, unable to guide the horses of the Sun, is falling headlong into the river Po, where his weeping sisters are becoming transformed into trees.^[11]

Giovanni likewise executed the portrait of Madonna Margherita of Austria, the daughter of the Emperor Charles V., who had been the wife of the Duke Alessandro de’ Medici, and was then the consort of the Duke Ottavio Farnese; this work he performed in competition with Valerio Vicentino.^[12] For all these labours executed for the Cardinal Farnese, Giovanni received from that prelate as his reward, the office of a Janissary, which brought him in a good sum of money; he was besides so much beloved by the Cardinal that he obtained many other favours at his hands, and the latter never passed through Faenza, where Giovanni had built himself a most commodious house, that he did not go to take up his abode with the artist. Having settled himself, therefore, at Faenza, with the purpose of seeking retirement from the toils of the world, after having performed many labours therein, he remained there from that time forward, and his first wife having died without leaving liim any children, he took a second, with whom he lived very happily, being in very easy circumstances, and having an income from lands and other sources, which amounted to more than four hundred scudi. The second wife of Giovanni presented him with two sons and a daughter; he lived content to his sixtieth year, and when he had attained to that age he resigned his soul to God; this happened on the day of Pentecost, in the year 1555.

Matteo dal Nassaro, the son of a shoemaker called Jacopo dal Nassaro,^[13] was born in Verona; in his early childhood he gave much attention not only to design but to music also, and was much distinguished therein, having had for his masters Marco Carra and II Tromboncino, both Veronese, and who were at that time in the service of the Marquis of Mantua. In matters connected with engraving he received valuable assistance from two Veronese of distinguished families, with whom he was in continual intercourse: one of these was Niccolo Avanzi, who executed cameos, works in carnelians and on other stones, privately and on his own account in Rome, sending the results of his labours to different princes: there are persons who remember to have seen a lapis-lazuli, three fingers broad, whereon was engraved by his hand the Nativity of our Saviour Christ, with numerous figures; this was sold to the Duchess of Urbino, as a rare and beautiful production. The other master of Matteo was Galeazzo Mondella, who, besides being an engraver of gems, drew very finely.

When Matteo had learned from these two all that they could teach him, it chanced that a beautiful piece of green jasper marked with red spots, as is the case with good specimens, fell into his hands, wherefore he executed a Deposition from the Cross thereon, with so much care that he made the wounds come exactly into those parts of the jasper which were spotted with blood-colours, thus bringing his work to a singular degree of perfection, and he received much commendation for the same accordingly. This jasper Matteo sold to the Marchioness Isabella of Este.

Matteo dal Nassaro afterwards went to France, whither he carried many works which he had prepared, to the end that these might aid him to make his way in the court of Francis 1. He was in fact introduced to that prince, who always entertained numerous men of genius in every walk of art or science in his court; and the King having taken many of the stories engraved by Matteo, also received the artist himself into his service, commanding that he should be paid a good stipend: nor was he less acceptable to Francis as an excellent musician and accomplished performer on the lute, than as a distinguished engraver of precious stones. Now, of a truth, there is nothing by which the spirit of the artist is so readily kindled as the perception that his art is duly appreciated and himself rewarded by princes and nobles. This was ever done by the most illustrious house of Medici; it is now done by that house more than ever, and was also the practice of the above-named King Francis, who may indeed be truly called magnanimous.

Being thus received into the service of this sovereign, therefore, Matteo produced many admirable works, not only for his majesty, but for almost all the lords and noble barons of that court, of whom there was scarcely one who did not possess some example of his ability, seeing that it was much the custom at that time to wear cameos and other jewels of similar kind around the neck and in the cap. For the King himself Matteo prepared a picture intended for the altar of the chapel, which his majesty always caused to be carried with him whenever he travelled; the figures of this Avork were of gold, partly in full-relief, and partly in half relief, with many engraved jewels dispersed over different parts of the same. Matteo likewise executed numerous mtagli in crystal, the impressions from Avhich in sulphur and gypsum are to be seen in various places; but more particularly in Verona, where there is one exhibiting all the planets, Avhich is exceedingly beautiful; and another representing Venus with Love, the back turned to the spectator: this is so fine that it could not possibly be more admirable than it is. In a beautiful chalcedony, Avhich was found in a river, this engraver cut the head of a Dejanira most divinely; the work is in almost full-relief, and the head is wrapped in the skin of the lion; in the stone there was a vein of a red colour, and here the artist has made the skin turn over, at the junction of the head with the body namely, and he has represented this skin with such exactitude that the spectator imagines himself to behold it newly torn from the animal. Of another mark in the stone he has availed himself for the hair, and the white parts he has taken for the face and breast, which are executed with a wonderful mastery. This head Francis received with the other works performed for him by Matteo, and there is an impression from it at Yerona, in the possession of the goldsmith Zoppo, who was a disciple of our artist.

Matteo dal Nassaro was a man of the utmost liberality, and of a great spirit; he would rather have given his works away than sold them for an unworthy price; wherefore, having made a cameo for a certain baron, who proposed to pay him but a wretched sum for it, Matteo pressed him earnestly to accept it from him as a gift and mark of courtesy. This the baron refused to do, but persisted in his wish to have it for a vile price, whereupon the artist, falling into a rage, siezed a hammer, and, in the presence of the noble, he dashed his work to pieces.

Matteo prepared many cartoons as designs for tapestry, at the desire of King Francis, and with these he was compelled to go himself into Flanders, for so his Majesty would have it be, when he remained in that country until all had been woven in cloth of silk and gold; which being done, and the works taken to France, they were found to be most beautiful. Finally, Matteo returned, as do almost all men, to his native country, bearing with him many rare things peculiar to those distant lands, more especially certain landscapes painted in Flanders on cloth, some in oil and some in water-colours; but all executed by very good masters: they are now preserved with great care in Verona, as a memorial of Matteo dal Nassaro, by the Signori Luigi and Girolamo Stoppi.

Having thus returned to Verona, our artist arranged a dwelling for himself in a kind of cave dug out in a rock which is beneath the garden of the Frati Ingesuati, a habitation which, besides being very warm in winter and very cool in summer, has command of a most beautiful view. But Matteo was not permitted to enjoy this abode, which he had arranged so entirely after his own fancy, as he could have wished, seeing that King Francis had no sooner been released from his imprisonment, than he sent a special messenger to Matteo desiring him to return at once into France, and even sending him the amount of his previous income for all the time that he had been dwelling at Verona. Having arrived in the French kingdom accordingly, His Majesty appointed him master of dies for the mint, and he now settled himself, since so it pleased the king his master, and made up his mind to remain in that country.

He accordingly took a wife in France, and became the father of children, hut they were so entirely dissimilar to himself that he had hut little satisfaction from them. Matteo dal Nassaro was of an exceedingly courteous and obliging disposition, and whoever arrived in France, I do not say from Verona merely, but from Lombardy also, was received by him with the most friendly cordiality.^[14] His most intimate friend in those parts was the Veronese Paolo Emilio, who wrote the history of France in the Latin tongue. Matteo had many disciples, among them a Veronese, the brother of Domenico Bruscia Sorzi,^[15] two of his nephews, who went into Flanders, and many others, Italian and French, of whom I need not make further mention. Finally our artist died, an event which happened no long time after the death of King Francis of France.^[16]

But to come at length to the admirable excellence of Valerio Vicentino,^[17] of whom I am now about to speak: this master executed a vast number of works, small and large, in relief as well as intaglio, and every one was finished with a facility as well as beauty that is all but incredible. Had nature imparted to Valerio as much power in design as she gave him patience, care, and rapidity in carving, and diligence in bringing his works to completion, he would not only have equalled the ancients, which he did, but would have very greatly surpassed them; but as it was, his excellent judgment taught him to avail himself for his works of the designs of other artists, or of carvings made by the masters of antiquity.

For Pope Clement VII. Valerio executed a casket entirely of crystals, and this he completed in so masterly a manner that he received two thousand scudi of gold from the pontiff for its workmanship. All the Passion of our Saviour Christ was engraved on those crystals by Valerio, but with the designs of others; the casket was ultimately presented by Pope Clement to the King Francis at Marseilles, at the time when his niece was sent thither on her marriage with the Duke of Orleans, afterwards King Henry.^[18] For the same Pontiff Valerio made several beautiful pattens, with a cross of crystal, which was indeed divine. He prepared dies for medals also, with the portrait of Clement on the one side and beautiful compositions on the reverse. Valerio gave so powerful an impulse to his peculiar branch of art, and caused so large an increase in the masters exercising the same, that before the sack of Rome the number of the latter, not there only but in Milan and other places, was almost incredibly great.

The medals of the twelve Cassars, with reverses after the manner of the finest antiques, were prepared by Yalerio, as were also many Greek medals, with so large a number of other works in crystal, that the shops of the goldsmiths are full of the impressions taken from the productions of this master, nay, the whole world is supplied with them either in sulphur, gypsum, or other substances, presenting impressions from the heads, figures, or other compositions of Yalerio Yicentino. His rapidity and facility were such, that there never was a master in his vocation who produced more works than himself. Among other things he executed a vast number of vases in crystal for Pope Clement YIl., by whom a part thereof were sent to diiferent princes, and another portion were placed in the chureh of San Lorenzo, where they were destined to contain the relics of divers saints and were kept with many other vases, previously in the Casa Medici, and which had been presented to the same church by the magnificent Lorenzo the Elder, or by others of that most illustrious house. These by Yalerio then, were now given by Pope Clement to the church, as a memorial of himself, and their variety both in form and material was such that it would be difiicult to describe them; some were of sardonyx, agate, amethyst, and lapis-lazuli, others were of rough emerald, heliotrope, jaspers, crystals or carnelians, but all of a beauty and value that left nothing to desire.^[19]

For Pope Paul III. Yalerio made a Cross and two Chandeliers, all of crystal; they were adorned with engravings in various compartments, the subjects being chiefly stories from the Passion of our Lord. He also executed so large a number of works in the precious stones for that pontiff, some large and some small, that it would lead me too far if I were to attempt recording them. Many of this master’s productions are in the possession of the Cardinal Farnese likewise; at a word, Yalerio left quite as many specimens of his ability as did the above-named Giovanni Bernardi; even in his seventy-eighth year he performed labours which are most wonderful, whether we consider the eye or the hand: he taught his art to one of his daughters, and she also worked most admirably.

The desire of Yalerio for the possession of antiquities in marble, impressions from good works, ancient and modern, or designs and pictures by the hands of great and eminent masters, was so powerful that he spared no expense to obtain them, insomuch that his house at Vicenza is adorned with such a variety of these productions as to be a perfect marvel. Certain it is that he who has once conceived a true love of art never ceases to be influenced by that love until he sinks into his grave, and while he deservedly secures thereby reward and praises in life, he also renders his memory immortal. Valerio was ever richly remunerated for his labours, and received many benefits as well as various offices from the princes whom he served, wherefore those whom he left behind him are enabled by his endeavours to support themselves in an honourable condition. In the year 1546, when the infirmities arising from age would no longer permit him to give his attention to the labours of liis art, Valerio ceased to live, and resigned his soul to God.^[20]

At Parma, in former times, there flourished Marmita, who for some time gave his attention to painting, but afterwards devoted himself to the engraving of gems; he was a faithful imitator of the antique, and there are many admirable works by his hand. Marmita taught his art to a son ealled Ludovico, who lived long in Eome, and was in the service of the Cardinal Giovanni de’ Salviati, for whom he engraved four crystals of an oval form, which made part of the decorations of a very beautiful casket in silver. This casket was afterwards presented to the most illustrious Leonora of Toledo, Duchess of Florence. Among other works Ludovico executed a Cameo with a head of Socrates also, which is very beautiful; he too was an excellent imitator of antique medals, and derived very great advantage from the practiee of copying them.^[21]

In Florence there followed a very distinguished engraver of intaglio, Domenico di Polo namely, a native of that city, who was a disciple of Giovanni delle Corniole, of whom we have before spoken. In our own days this master has made an admirably executed portrait of the Duke Alessandro de’ Medici, making dies in steel, and producing from them very beautiful medals with a '^‘Fiorenza” on the reverse. He also took the portrait of the Duke Cosimo in the first year of his election to the government of Florence; placing the signs of the zodiac on the reverse. Domenico executed many other small engravings, but of these we need not make further mention: he died in his sixty-fifth year.

Domenico Valerio Marmita and Giovanni, of Castel Bolognese, being dead, there still remained many masters who have since greatly surpassed the above. This has been done for example in Venice by the Ferrarese, Luigi Anichini, the delicate exactitude and fine sharpness of whose works render ' them a marvel. But far beyond all else has gone Alessandro Cesati, called Il Greco,^[22] by whom every other artist is surpassed in the grace and perfection as well as in the universality of his productions. The works of this master, whether in cameos with the lathe he has executed rilievi or intagli di cavo, or whether he produces dies in steel with the gravers, are of such perfect excellence and exhibit all the minutias of art, rendered with such assiduous and patient care, that better could not even be imagined, and whoever shall desire to be amazed at the wonders performed by this Alessandro, let him examine a medal which that artist executed for Pope Paul III., the portrait of that Pontitf namely, and so treated that it really seems to be alive, with the reverse exhibiting Alexander the Great, who, having thrown himself at the feet of the High Priest of Jerusalem, is doing homage to that Pontiff, figures of which the beauty is astonishing; it would not be possible indeed to produce anything better.^[23] Nay, Michelagnolo himself, looking at them one day, while Giorgio Vasari was present, remarked that the hour for the death of art had arrived, since it was not possible that a better work could be seen.

Alessandro Cesati executed the Medal of Pope Julius III. for the Holy Year of 1550, with a reverse, showing the prisoners whom it was the custom in the times of the anciv>nts to set at liberty during occasions of Jubilee. This also was a most beautiful and truly admirable medal: he produced many others, with fine dies and portraits for the Mint of Rome, where they were used for many years. He likewise took the portrait of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Castro, with that of the Duke Ottavio his son; and for the Cardinal Farnese he made a portrait, which was one of extraordinary beauty: the head of this last was gold on a ground of silver. The portrait of Henry King of France was also carved by this master; the work is an intaglio on a carnelian, larger than a Giulio, and this has ever been accounted one of the finest intagli ever seen, whether for the perfection of the design, the grace and beauty of execution, or the care and delicacy of the finish. There are besides large numbers of cameos by his hand; among the most admirable are a nude figure of a Woman, perfect in beauty, a second with a Lion, one with a Boy, and many smaller which I do not further particularize; but that which surpasses all, is a Head of the Athenian Phocion, which is indeed wonderful, the most beautiful cameo perhaps that can be found.^[24]

The practice of working in cameos is pursued in our own day by the Milanese Giovan Antonio de’ Rossi, a very good master, who, in addition to many other beautiful works engraved in rilievo and intaglio, has executed an exceedingly large cameo for the Duke Cosimo de’ Medici. This is the third of a braccio in height, and of equal width; it contains two half-length figures, representing His Excellency and the most illustrious Duchess Leonora, his consort, who hold between them a circular picture, wherein there is a Fiorenza beside these personages are their children, the Prince Don Francesco namely, with Don Giovanni, the Cardinal Don Grarzia, and Don Ernando,^[25] Don Pietro, Donna Isabella, and Donna Lticrezia; all taken from the life, and so beautiful that it would not be possible to find a more surprising or a larger work in cameo than is this. But as these portraits surpass all the other and smaller productions of the artist, so I will make no further mention of the latter, and I am the rather silent respecting them as his works maj be seen and are open to the examination of all.^[26]

Cosimo^[27] da Trezzo has likewise produced many works in this branch of art, all worthy of commendation, and for his remarkable qualities has obtained the distinction of being invited to his dominions by the great King Philip the Catholic of Spain, who retains him near his person, and bestows on him large rewards and high honours for the abilities which he has displayed in this vocation, whether in relief or intaglio di cavo.^[28] This master has not an equal for portraits from the life, and is an artist of the highest merit in other respects as well as in this.^[29]

Of the Milanese, Filippo Negrolo, whose vocation it is to engrave figures and foliage on arms of iron and steel, I will

d f § I not speak at any length, seeing that he has produced works in copper-plate, which have rendered him sufficiently known beyond his native place, and may be seen: nor has he failed to obtain a very extensive reputation thereby.

By the Milanese engravers of gems, Gasparo and Girolamo Misuroni,^[30] there are likewise seen vases and tazze of crystal, which are exceedingly beautiful. Two of these in particular, which they have executed for the Duke Cosimo, are most admirable. From a piece of heliotrope also, these artists have made a vase which is remarkable for its size, and admirable for its engraving, with a large vase in lapis-lazuli, which merits infinite commendation.^[31] The art is likewise practised by Jacopo da Trezzo,^[32] who is in Milan. All these artists have in truth much advanced and improved the practice of this art. I could indeed adduce many who have approached the masters of antiquity in the execution of heads for medals, and of the reverses of the same; nay, there are some who have equalled or even surpassed them, as for example, Benvenuto Cellini,^[33] who exercised the art of the goldsmith during the pontificate of Pope Clement, and made two medals, whereon, to say nothing of the portraits of the Pontiff, which are so life-like that they seem to breathe, he produced a figure of Peace, who, having bound the Fury War, is burning her arms, on the one side;^[34] and with Moses striking the rock, from which water is flowing to quench the thirst of his people, on the other; and this work is such, that beyond it nothing can be done in that art. Benvenuto has displayed equal ability in the coins and medals which he has executed for the Duke Alessandro in Florence.

Of the Cavalier Lione of Arezzo, who has also greatly distinguished himself in this branch of art, and of the works which he has produced and is producing, I propose to make mention in another place.

The Roman Pietro Paolo Galeotto,^[35] likewise, has made and is making dies for coin and medals for Duke Cosimo, all presenting the portraits of that sovereign. In his modes of proceeding he pursues the methods adopted by Maestro Salvestro, who produced admirable works in this branch of art at Rome, and was a most excellent master.

Pastorino da Siena pursues the same vocation, and with much ability, more particularly as relates to the taking of portraits from the life; nay, we may say of him that he has copied all the world and persons of all kinds, great nobles, distinguished artists, and people unknown or of low degree. This master invented a firm kind of stucco for the execution of portraits, which he coloured in imitation of nature, with the tints of the beard, hair, eyes, and colour of the flesh, which causes them to appear as in life, but he merits much higher praise for his works in steel, having made admirable dies, and produced therefrom the most excellent medals.

It would take me too far were I to discourse of all who prepare portraits in wax for medals, since they are now' made by every goldsmith, and many gentlemen also give their attention to the production of these works; as for example, Giovan-Battista, Sozzini of Siena, and II Rosso de’ Giugni, of Florence, and many others, of whom I will not now speak further. In conclusion, I return once more to the engravers on steel, of whom were Girolamo Fagiuoli of Bologna,^[36] engraves both with the chisel and on copper; and Domenico Poggini^[37] of Florence, who has made and still makes dies for the mint and medals for the Duke Cosimo, the latter executing marble statues also, and imitating to the best of his ability the most successful and distinguished masters who have laboured in the different branches of these arts.

1. Now in the Florentine Gallery; the head of Fra Girolamo is in profile, and bears the legend, hieronymus ferrariensis. ord. praed. propheta. vir. et martyr. The Celebrated engraver of gems, Johann Pikler, considers this work to be not unworthy of the best Greek master.
2. Domenico Compagni. Three letters from this artist to the Cav. Gaddi, will be found in the Lettere Pittoriche, tom. iii.
3. A coin so called.
4. There is a group in porphyry by this great master, in the Florentine Gallery; it represents Venus and Love, both standing. This work bears the name of the master in Greek characters, on a pedestal beside the figures.
5. Bonanni, Numism. Rom. Pontif., p. 185, No. 6, gives a copper-plate of this medal; and Benvenuto Cellini, in his Autobiogi’aphy, commends this master highly, declaring that nothing could give him so much pleasure as to have an opportunity of executing some work in competition with “that able man.”
6. The Cardinal Ippolito died in the year 1535. —Bottari.
7. The Cross and the two chandeliers were presented by Cardinal Farnese to the Basilica of St. Peter’s.
8. The design for the Resun-ection of Lazarus, which was formerly in the possession of that indefatigable collector, the Frenchman Mariette, is supposed to be by Perino del Vaga.
9. Pietro Giulianelli, in his Memorie degli Intagliatori Moderni, in Pietre dure, &c., 1753, calls this goldsmith Mariano.
10. Many of the drawings for these gems were in the collection of Mariette, whose Traitè des pierres gravees, 1750, and Description Sommaire des pierres gravees, &c., may he consulted with advantage.
11. Maffei, Gemme, tom. iv. p. 151, gives an engraving of the Phaeton.
12. The portrait of Margaret of Austria is believed to have been taken to England in the middle of the last century. It was in the possession of the English consul Smith, in whose work, the Dactyliotheca Smithiana, there is a copper-plate engraving of it. The reader will also find a large mass of interesting information relating to distinguished engravers of gems in this work, with a sketch of the History of Engraving on Stone in the third part.
13. A place situate at a short distance from Verona.—Ed. Flor.1832 -8.
14. “He must indeed have been a singularly obliging person,” remarks an Italian commentator, “since he has received the praises of Benvenuto Cellini, who esteemed but few of his brother artists, and could rarely remain at peace with any of them.”
15. Domenico Biccio, a Veronese painter, who zealously imitated Titian and Giorgione; he was called Bruscia-Sorzi burn the mice”), because his father was known as the inventor of means for the destruction of those animals.
16. Francis I. died on the 31st March, 1547.
17. Valerio Belli of Vicenza, born 1479.
18. “This precious treasure,” observes a modern compatriot of Valerio, after many changes of place, returned to the possession of the Medici family, and is now in the Cabinet of Gems attached to the Public Gallery of Florence. It is believed that this wonderful casket was originally intended to be used at the “Sepulchre,” in the ceremonies of the Holy Week, as there is a vase of rock-crystal in the same cabinet, which would seem to have been enclosed within the casket, and this has the form of a tomb or mortuary urn, having within itself a case of gold, enriched with the finest enamels, and bearing the motto. Sic moriendo, vita perennis. Cicognara, Storia della Scultura, has given nine of the engravings executed for this stupendous work by Valerio, omitting the rest, as believing them, but erroneously, to have been given by the Count D’Agincourt, in his great work, Les Arts decrits d’apres les Monuments, the engravings in Agincourt being from another fine work attributed to Valerio, and forming no part of those in our Medicean casket. The cover alone of the latter comprises eleven engravings, and there are in the whole twenty-four,” According to Mariette, Introduction to the second volume of the Traitè des pierres Gravees, Charles IX. of France had completed a cabinet for the reception of this and other costly works of similar kind, immediately before the troubles which distinguish that period of French history, but in the disorder which ensued these treasures were dispersed, and scarcely a gem remained on the accession of Henry IV. “Les pierres graves” observes Marriette, “comme les plus aistes a emporter et comme les plus propres a satisfaire le laxe et la cupidité furent alienées les premieres”.
19. The greater part of the precious vases formerly presented to the Church of San Lorenzo are now in the Cabinet of Gems before-mentioned, the Grand Duke, Pietro Leopoldo, having provided other receptacles for the preservation of the sacred relics previously contained in the caskets and vases. —Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
20. In the first edition of our author there is the following distich in praise of Valerio Vicentino:—

    Si spectas a me divine plurima Sculpta
    Me certe antiquis aequiparare potes”

21. There was so great a demand for ancient medals at the period here in question, that imitators and even counterfeits of those works were largely encouraged. —Masselli.
22. Called Grechetto also, from his habit of writing his name on his works in Greek characters. —Ibid.
23. Cicognara, Storia della Scultura Moderna, has given a design of this work in the second volume of his book. See No. 5, plate lxxv.
24. In the before-mentioned Dactylioteca, or Cabinet of Gems of the Florentine Gallery, there is a cameo in carnelian by this artist, representing some high personage of the 16th century, and bearing his name in Greek characters.
25. Don Ferdinando.
26. This great cameo is in the Florentine Cabinet of Gems, but the portraits of the Daughters are wanting, the stone having been broken. There is a figure of Fame sounding a Tmmpet in this work, which Vasari has forgotten; and we find by documents of the period, that the Duke Cosimo paid this engraver of gems a yearly stipend of two hundred scudi.
27. Piacenza, in his additions to Baldinucci, informs us that this artist was called Jacopo, and not Cosimo.
28. Philip II. of Spain, desiring to make the Escurial one of the wonders of the world, caused this artist to make a Tabernacle for the Altar, entirely composed of gems and precious stones. The master employed seven years in the work, but so perfectly satisfied the king, that Philip commanded him to inscribe his own name with that of the sovereign in one line, on the most conspicuous part of the Tabernacle; no slight honour in that day, and when the pride of the Spanish monarch is considered. The inscription here alluded to, and which was composed by Arius Montano, is as follows:—

    jesu. christo. sacerdoti. ac. victimae. phillippus. ii. rex.
    d. opus. jacobi. trecii. mediolanensis. totum. hispano. e. lapide.

    And further serves to show that Jacopo, and not Cosimo, was the name of the artist.

29. Baldinucci, in the life of Bernardino Campi, observes that this master was remarkable for his execution of dies, and for his ability in the casting of metals.
30. Or rather, Misseroni.
31. These vases are also in the Florentine Cabinet of Gems.
32. Vasari here calls the master by his true name.
33. Of Benvenuto Cellini Vasari speaks at more length towards the end of his work, and when enumerating the then living members of the Academy of Design.
34. Cicognara gives this work also in his Storia della Scultura, &c. See No. 7, Tav. lxxv.
35. In the Life of Lione Lioni, which follows, there is further mention of this Galeotto.
36. See Masini, Bologna Perlustrata. See also Zani, Enciclopedia Metodica delle Belle Arti.
37. For details respecting this and other masters in this branch of art, the reader is referred to Aldini, Istituzione Glittografiche; Agincourt, Histoire de l’Art et d'apres les Monumens; Brunn, Dictionnaire des Graveurs; Strutt, Biographical Dictiotiary of Engravers; Mariette, Traitè, &c., with Zani, Cicognara, &c., as before cited; and Bartsch, Le Peintre Graveur; the Supplement of this work, Leipsie, 1843, may also be consulted with advantage.