On his return from Lombardy our artist painted a Crucifix in the Church of the Minerva, this is in the passage leading to the Sacristy: for the Church itself he painted another, and he afterwards executed a Santa Caterina and Sant’Agata in oil. In San Luigi, Grirolamo painted a fresco in competition with the Bolognese Pellegrino Pellegrini and the Florentine Jacopo del Conte. In a picture sixteen palms high, painted no long time since for the Church of Sant’ Alo, which is opposite to the Misericordia and belongs to the Company of the Florentines, this artist depicted a Madonna, and St. James the Apostle, with the Bishops St. Alo and San Martino. For San Lorenzo in Lucina, he painted St. Francis receiving the Stigmata, a picture destined for the chapel of the Countess of Carpi. In the Hall of the Kings moreover, and during the Pontificate of Pius IV., Girolamo painted a Story in fresco over the door of the Sistine chapel, as we have said: this represents Pepin, King of the Franks, presenting Ravenna to the Roman Church, while he leads Astolfo king of the Lombards into captivity; of this we have the design in our book, with many others by the same hand. Finally, he has now in process of execution the chapel of Cardinal Cesis in Santa Maria Maggiore, where he has already completed a large picture of the Martyrdom of St. Catherine, who is seen amidst the wheels; a beautiful picture, as are many others which he is now painting with great care in this chapel as well as at other places. I do not name the portraits and other smaller works of Girolamo, because they are very numerous, and what I have here said will sufface to make him known as an able and excellent painter.[1]
Having mentioned in the life of Perino del Vaga, that the Mantuan painter, Marcello, had worked under him for many years, executing pictures from which he had acquired a great name, I will here add a few more particulars respecting him. In the Church of Santo Spirito, Marcello painted the chapel of San Giovanni Evangelista with its Altarpiece, adding the Portrait of a certain Commendator of Santo Spirito, by whom the Church was built, and who constructed the chapel: this Portrait is a very fine one, and the Altar-piece is beautiful. A Frate del Piombo, seeing
- ↑ According to Lanzi, his best work is in the Church of St. Bartholomew, at Ancona.
