Giorgio Vasari

“ Correggio was indeed a person who held himself in but very slight esteem, nor could he even persuade himself that he knew any thing satisfactorily respecting his art; perceiving its difficulties, he could not give himself credit for approaching the perfection to which he would so fain have seen it carried: he was a man who contented himself with very little, and always lived in the manner of a good Christian. [23]
The cares of his family caused Antonio to be very sparing, insomuch that he ultimately became exceedingly penurious. ”

“ It appears almost impossible that the fancy of man should be capable of conceiving a work such as this is, much more that he should be able to execute it with the hand, so extraordinary is its beauty, so graceful the flow of the draperies, so exquisite the expression which the master has given to the figures. ”

“ In the same city there is a small picture by Correggio, not more than a foot high, which is one of the most extraordinary and most beautiful of his works; the figures are small, the subject Christ in the Garden, the time chosen being night, and the angel appearing to the Saviour illumines his person with the splendour of his rays, [19] an effect displayed with so much truth that nothing better could be either imagined or expressed ”

“ All this depends on the judgment exercised in youth, and the amount of practice bestowed by one on drawing, by another on colouring; but all must be acquired before the work can be conducted perfectly to its desired completion, that, namely, of colouring finely what has been well drawn. To Correggio belongs the great praise of having attained the highest point of perfection in colouring, whether his works were executed in oil or in fresco. ”

“ This is a picture of astonishing beauty, the exquisite colouring of which has obtained the master infinite praise and honour from such strangers and travellers as have seen no other of his works than this fresco. [11] In Sant’ Antonio also, a church of the same city, our artist painted a picture wherein there is a figure of the Virgin, with Santa Maria Maddalena: near them is a boy, representing a little angel, with a book in his hand, who is smiling so naturally that all who look on him are moved to smile also ”

“ Of a timid and anxious disposition, he subjected himself to severe and continual labours in his art for the support of his family, which he found an oppressive burthen, [2] and though disposed by nature towards everything good, he, nevertheless, afflicted himself more than was reasonable by resisting the pressure of those passions by which man is most commonly assailed. ”

“ It is true that his defects and omissions have been subsequently rectified and supplied, to some extent, by Vasari himself, in the Life of Girolamo da Correggio was the first in Lombardy who commenced the execution of works in the modern maimer, and it is thought that if he had travelled beyond the limits of his native Carpi, as well as by many other writers, among whom the reader is referred to Pungileoni, Memorie storiche di Antonio Allegri detto il Correggio, 3 vols., Parma, 1817; Mengs, Memorie concernenti la vita e le opere di Antonio Allegri, &c. ”

“ We may, indeed, athrm with certainty that no artist has handled the colours more effectually than himself, nor has any painted v/ith a more charming manner, or given a more perfect relief lO his figures, so exquisite was the softness of the carnations from his hand, so attractive the grace with which he finished his works. In the cathedral of Parma, before mentioned, Antonio painted two large pictures in oil: in one of these among other things is a figure of the Dead Christ, which has been very highly extolled. ”

“ At the Certosa of Pavia likewise, there is a large painting by this master; the subject is the Ascension of the Virgin, but the death of the artist before he had had time to complete it, caused this work to be left unfinished; [29] the picture nevertheless suffices to prove that Andrea was an excellent painter, and one who did not shrink from the labours required for the due exercise of his art. [30]
↑ Antonio Allegri, of Correggio, was born in a city so named, in the Duchy of Modena. ”

“ Be this as it may, his works, being what they are, although he had never seen those of antiquity, [6] nor was even acquainted with the best works of the modern masters; it necessarily follows that if he had studied these works he would have materially improved his own, and, proceeding from good to better, would have attained to the highest summit of excellence. ”

“ For minute details, see Pitture di Antonio Allegri esistenti in Parma nel Monasterio di San Paolo, &c.; Parma, 1800. ↑ This picture ^as not executed for the church of the Barefooted Friars, but for that of the Annunciation at the Capo di Ponte. It was removed, by command of Pier Luigi Farnese, to the inner vestibule, but has suffered much from humidity and the saline efflorescence of the wall. ↑ This picture, called the Madonna della Scala, was painted, in a chamber of the Porta Romana, but, in the year 1554, a small church was built at that place from respect to that figure of Om Lady. ”

“ The work in question is the celebrated Node, one of the gems, as our readers wiU remember, of the Royal Gallery o Dresden. ↑ The judicious and eloquent writer Mengs, describing this picture, and speaking of it as one of the principal treasures of the Palace in Madrid, remarks that “The light emanating from the countenance of the Saviour illuminates all the scene, he himself receiving his light from above, or directly from heaven, and reflecting it on the angel who receives it from his person.” This dsposition of the light, as is justly rem.arked by Montani, “is truly poetical ”