Giorgio Vasari

“ Inside the chapel, and on the ressaults of the piers, are four figures represented in the habiliments of Prophets, and of these it may be safely affirmed that the beauty and truth of proportion with which they are designed and finished could be surpassed by none; the whole work is indeed executed with so much care that its delicacy renders it more like a work in miniature than a painting in fresco. ”

“ It chanced moreover, that Giulio Romano and Giovan Francesco, called Il Fattore, the disciples of Raffaello da Urbino, extolled him not a little to their master, inspiring the latter with a wish to become acquainted with Perino, and to see his works in design, when having done so, he was greatly pleased, and not only with his productions but with his character, deportment, and mode of life, predicting that, among the many aspirants to distinction whom he had known, this would be the one who would attain to the highest perfection in art. ”

“ Having passed within the door, the spectator finds a vestibule, the vaulting whereof is decorated with stucco work, grottesche, and stories of various character, the arches are exclusively occupied by battle-pieces, and scenes of carnage, some of the warriors fighting on foot, others on horseback, but all depicted with infinite care, and with a mastery of the art which is certainly most remarkable. ”

“ There had long been much friendship between Niccolo and Perino, for which reason, and because he had always favoured and wished well to the men of our art, Niccolo persuaded Perino to depart from amidst that wretchedness, and set off to Genoa, promising to use in his favour the influence which he possessed with Prince Doria, who was a great lover of art, and, delighting more particularly in painting, would certainly employ him in the execution of important works. ”

“ Having caused the proper scaffolding to be erected therefore, Perino commenced his work; and in the ceiling, which is coved, he painted the story of Eve, created by God from the rib taken out of the side of Adam. In this painting the nude figure of Adam, which is one of surprising beauty, and manifests the perfection of art in the master, is seen lying deeply sunk in the profound sleep into which he has been cast, while Eve is standing upright, a most animated figure, who, with folded hands, is receiving the blessing of her Creator. ”

“ On a wall which occupies the whole breadth of the arch, Perino then depicted the Visitation, a picture in which there are many very beautiful figures, but more especially are to be remarked some which have mounted on pedestals, the better to behold the ceremonies of that greeting; these have infinite animation in their attitudes, which are indeed most natural. ”

“ Having no one to administer to his wants in this conjuncture, and mortified by the slightness of the attention which he experienced from the Court, Perino was several times on the point of departing, but Molza and others of his friends, encouraged him to wait in patience, observing that Rome was no more what she had been, but seemed determined that now a man should become wearied and disheartened before she would consent to call him forth and make him her own, more particularly if he pursue the path of the fine arts. ”

“ But Perino had in this matter undertaken a charge too great for his bodily powers, labours so fatiguing were found to be beyond his strength, seeing that he was suffering from catarrh and was very infirm. He had in fact to be drawing day and night, and was at every moment called on for something required at the palace; nor were these demands confined to the more important works, he was continually required to produce designs for embroideries, carvings, and every other whimsey in the way of ornament, demanded by the caprices of Farnese, and of the other Cardinals and Signori. ”

“ All stood looking attentively at the paintings, and many were the praises of the master which were uttered in various phrase; every one expressing his surprise that he should have displayed so much judgment, and that, having at the time when he lived no other works to study than those of Griotto, his own productions should have so much of the modern manner in the design, the imitation of form, and in the colouring: some remarking further, that Masaccio had found means to exhibit all the niceties of art in the facility of his manner ”

“ These labours caused Perino to be extolled beyond all belief, but the praises he heard lavished on him did not set him to sleep; on the contrary, as ability commended will ever increase, they served to stimulate his exertions, and incite him to still more zealous study, inspiring him meanwhile with the firm conviction that if he continued his endeavours he should one day find himself in possession of those honours and advantages of which he daily beheld Raphael and Michelagnolo to be in the full enjoyment. ”

“ It was after the designs of Perino moreover, that the glass windows of the same Hall were executed by Pastorino da Siena, who was a very able master of his calling, and beneath these Perino likewise caused exquisite decorations in stucco to be prepared, which were afterwards continued by the painter Daniello Ricciarelli, [45] of Volterra: this lastnamed artist, had death not opposed itself to his great designs, wrould have taught the world what is the boldness and heart of the moderns, and how their force suffices, not only to equal the works of the ancients, but perhaps even to surpass them. ”

“ By him also, were artists taught to produce the most admirable works in stucco, he executed landscapes, animals, grottesche, and every other subject that can well be brought within the domain of the painter, and worked admirably well, whether in fresco, in oil, or in tempera, [59] wherefore it may even be affirmed that Perino was the father of these most noble arts, seeing that his gifts and endowments still survive in the many artists now pursuing his footsteps in all the honourable walks of art. ”

“ This artist moreover, not only equalled the ancients in stucco-work, but proved himself to possess every advantage exhibited by the best modern artists in the whole domain of painting; nay, all that can be desired from human genius, or from him who shall aspire to make manifest, by the beauty of colouring and the attraction of ornament, the difficulties, the excellence, and the grace which exist in the regions of that art; all, I say, were combined in Perino. ”

“ Incited by emulation therefore, and working to give proof of what he could do, many months had not elapsed before Perino was accounted the first among all who were there employed, whether for design or colouring; the best in short, the most graceful in manner, and most delicate in finish, executing both figures and grottesche with more facility and animation than any other artist. ”

“ When Andrea had kept the child some years, teaching him the first principles of the art in the best manner that he was able, he was compelled to seek for him a better master than he could himself pretend to be. ”

“ About this time Messer Pietro de’ Massimi bought a chapel in the church of the Santa Trinita, the ceiling and lunettes being already adorned with decorations in stucco, and the altar-piece having also been painted in oil by Giulio Romano and his brother-in-law Giovanni Francesco; wherefore Messer Pietro, desiring to see the chapel finished, commenced by having a miserable frame-work of stucco, by which the altar-piece and the lunettes were surrounded, replaced by a rich and beautiful one carved in wood and gilded, when he commissioned Perino to paint the walls of the chapel. ”

“ The entire work indeed would have proved without doubt a very admirable and honourable one, biit the artist was seized with a wish to return to Genoa, to which place he was attracted by certain love affairs and other fantasies, whereunto his inclinations sometimes led him, with a force which he did not resist so effectually as he might have done. On his departure from Pisa, the master presented the nuns of San Matteo with a small picture in oil, which he had painted for them, and which they still retain in their convent. ”

“ Safely, and without hesitation may we believe therefore, that by Heaven alone are men of a condition so lowly conducted from the infinite depression in which they were born, to the summit of greatness whither they are seen to ascend, when, by the works they produce, and by the persistence of their endeavours in the vocation they have chosen, these men prove themselves to be true and earnest followers of knowledge. ”

“ The figure of the Almighty himself is depicted with the most sublime and majestic aspect that can be conceived; grand, grave, and solemn, the erect form is wrapped in the folds of most ample draperies, by the extremities of which the nude figures before him are partially clothed. On the right of the Creator are the two Evangelists, St. Mark and St. John, the first entirely finished by Perino, and the last completed also, with the exception of the head and one arm, which are nude. ”

“ As regards their vestments also, the emperors and soldiers wear cuirasses after the antique manner, with ornaments appropriate to the various conditions, but all very fanciful and beautiful; the helmets, the shields, the buskins, and every part of the habiliments and arms are all adorned with that amplitude and variety of rich ornaments whereby the artist successfully imitates, nay, surpasses the antique, and all these things were depicted with that love and care, and perfection of mastery, which results from the highest powers in Art well applied to their due ends. ”

“ Much thought and judgment are here made manifest in the figures of those who, still retaining life, are struggling to save themselves, while their faces express the horror they experience at the prospect of a speedy destruction amidst the raging waters, with all the other passions called into action by the perils to which life is exposed from the chances of the sea. ”

“ And this will be perceived by all who shall examine these figures, but more particularly the Isaiah; the prophet is reading, and the deep thought which he gives to the subject of his study, with the zealous earnestness of the researches in which he is engaged, and his desire for the attainment of increased knowledge, are all clearly manifest; his eyes are riveted to his book, and he leans his head on his hand in all the absorption of a man profoundly occupied with his subject. ”

“ The colouring is exceedingly animated and pleasing, and the patience exercised throughout the whole work very remarkable, giving proof of that true and enduring love that should be entertained by every artist for his vocation. The painting of this work Perino did entirely with his own hand, but he caused a great part of the works in stucco to be executed after his designs by the Milanese Guglielmo, [41] who had before been with Perino in Genoa, and was much beloved by that master ”

“ Luzio Romano for example, performed numerous works in stucco, with many grottesche, as did several Lombard artists. But of this it shall now suffice me to say that there is not a room in the palace wherein Perino did not execute or direct some ornament, and which is not amply adorned, even to the ceiling, with compositions of various kinds. Figures of little children, fanciful masks, animals, and every other appropriate decoration, abound in a manner which causes the utmost astonishment as well as admiration ”

“ Perino’s productions in this Loggia are in effect of such excellence, that they cause amazement in all who behold them, and not the paintings only, but the many works in stucco also which were there executed by his hand. The colouring of his works, moreover, is much more pleasing and more highly finished than that of any one among the other artists. ”

“ There are besides numerous ornaments painted to imitate marbles of various kinds, and above the chimney-piece, which is in stone and of very beautiful workmanship, there is a figure of Peace, who is burning the arms and trophies of war. ”

“ While Rome had thus been ruined and destroyed by the siege, very many of the inhabitants had departed. The Pope himself had retired to Orvieto, and few persons remained in the city, where there was absolutely no work of any kind in progress, when Niccolo Veneziano, a distinguished, nay, rather, unrivalled master in embroidery, and a servant oi Prince Doria, arrived in Rome. ”

“ Perino was always well content to avail himself of the services of clever young artists whenever he could find any such, but he never refused to accept the meanest and most mechanical works, wherewith to occupy these young men, and would frequently paint such things as the pennons for the trumpeters, the standards for the castle, or the banners used by the religious brotherhoods. ”

“ Having carried this determination into practice, Perino began to draw in the chapel of Pope Julius, wherein Michelagnolo had depicted the ceiling, but imitating the manner and modes of proceeding of Raffaello da Urbino. He then proceeded to design the antiquities in marble, and to copy the grottesche which he found in the subterranean portions of the Roman edifices, being pleased with the originality and varied power of invention displayed therein. ”