what he sought was not granted to him; while Taddeo Gaddi, having seen by what means Giotto had been facilitated on one point or impeded on another, had profited by these instructions, and had afterwards found time to proceed in the way pointed out to him, and in some degree to ameliorate the practice of colouring.[1]
Taddeo was buried by his sons Agnolo and Giovanni in the first cloister of the church of Santa Croce, and in the sepulchre which he had himself prepared for his father Gaddo; he was honoured by many copies of verse written to his praise by the virtuosi of the time, and his memory was held in esteem as that of a man whose life had been highly meritorious, and who, to say nothing of his paintings, had conducted many useful buildings and other works of various kinds to a successful conclusion, to the great advantage and convenience of his native city. Among these works may be appropriately mentioned the campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore, which he constructed with infinite care and diligence, after the design left by his master Giotto. The masonry of this tower was so well executed, that better workmanship could not possibly be performed, nor would it be easy to construct a tower more nobly, whether as regards design, ornament, or cost. The epitaph inscribed to the memory of Taddeo was as follows.
“ Hoc uno dici poterat Florentia felix
Vivente: at certa est non potuisse mori.”
The drawings of this master evince great boldness, as may be seen in our book, where we have the story which he painted for the chapel of Sant’ Andrea in the church of Santa Croce at Florence, drawn by his hand.
- ↑ There are six small paintings by Taddeo Gaddi in the Gallery of the Florentine Academy. For many luminous observations relative to these works, see Rumohr, vol. ii, p. 216.
