Robert H. Hobart Cust

“ Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, son of Ferdinand, King of Naples, then living as ruler in Siena, was hastily recalled to take command of an expedition against the common enemy: and it is, I submit, not straining a theory too far, to suppose, that Matteo di Giovanni may have been directed to design these scenes on the Pavement of the Duomo, for the Church of S. Agostino, and for the Church of Sta. Caterina a Formello at Naples, as an object lesson to recall to the public mind, through the medium of a Scriptural Tragedy, the horrors to be endured at the hands of the unspeakable Turk. ”

“ Above her head she holds a sail, which the wind has filled out, one end of which, wound round her body, is grasped also by her right hand. Obviously this design is one of those conceits so dear to the Renaissance mind. Fortune has, with favouring breeze, but through stormy waters, brought the seekers after Knowledge to the Mount of Wisdom; and the artist has endeavoured in these ten figures to symbolize the varied character of her votaries. Socrates stands calmly waiting for his reward; Crates earns his by contempt of all things worldly. ”

“ Clelia or Egidia, who married Girolamo, son of Paolo of Perugia, called Paffa, a soldier of the guard of Siena; Giulio Cesare (b. 1506) ; Camillo (b. 1509) ; Faustina Girolama (b. 1510) ; and Faustina, who married Filippo, son of Paolo of Perugia, or of Deruta. His frescoes in the Libreria of the Duomo, and the chapel of S. Giovanni, are among the most celebrated of Italian works of art. Vasari relates many more or less fictitious stories about his life and doings, which, though amusing to read, are not borne out by fact. ”

“ Domenico seems to have been a great and versatile artist, a worker in glass,12 as well as in marble, and above all famous for his skill in woodcarving and inlay. The restorations of his work here, which have evidently been frequent, have robbed it of very much of the charm, which we feel so strongly in his inlaid panels in the Palazzo Pubblico Chapel, but there is still a naïve originality about the designs, which cannot fail to show his high merit. ”

“ The attitudes of these men, some of whom at least appear to be portraits, are very striking. Alone at the head of the procession strides a stately personage—a patron perhaps of art and learning. Next to him an old man, leaning on a crutch-handled staff, plods determinedly along. Following him, a younger man looks back and shakes his fist at Fortune. ”

“ The Libyan Sibyl.
According to Pausanias, the Libyan was the oldest of all the Sibyls, and was the daughter of Zeus and Lamia. More than this nothing is known of her, but her label tells us that she is spoken of by Euripides. She is a striking figure, her black marble face, neck, hands and feet, producing a remarkable effect. She is veiled and crowned with a garland of flowers. ”

“ Two years later, according to the historian Sigismondo Tizio, the Pavement of the nave from the cupola downwards was begun, and among other things was laid out (spianata) the design of the Wheel of Fortune, with figures of men clinging to it.
And in the next year (1373) an old chronicler6 tells us that “In questo anno si fece il pavimento a pietre tassellate,” which no doubt refers to the circle containing the emblems of Siena, surrounded by those of the cities friendly and allied to her. ”

“ He could hardly revert to the manner of the pre-Beccafumi schools, and it would have been too dangerous to imitate closely Beccafumi himself. Fortunately, he had special gifts, and had the courage to follow his own instinct. The result has been, works, which, if in vivid contrast to all that had gone before, and essentially154 modern in feeling, are works of art of unquestionable brilliance. They resemble cartoons in marble, and are drawn with extraordinarily realistic force. All the three larger designs are instinct with life,155 and irresistibly suggestive of energetic movement. ”

“ X. THE EXPULSION OF HEROD
57 The composition is most graceful and full of force. It illustrates an episode in the struggle between Herod Antipas and his brother-in-law Aretas, as a result of which the former had to evacuate his kingdom. The picture has been well restored, a re-engraving of the marble slabs on the old lines having been, to a large extent, sufficient for the main work, though the frieze has had to be entirely renewed. A group of soldiers, among whom is one extremely striking man’s figure in full armour, has been particularly successful. ”

“ Yawning earth shall show Tartarean Chaos. All Kings shall come before the Tribunal of God. God Himself judging the Evil and the Good together. Then at length He will send the wicked into fire and darkness. But whosoever will keep righteousness shall live again.)
Luigi di Ruggiero (l’Armellino) and Vito di Marco are generally reputed to have devised and executed this design, but no record exists on the subject. The cost of restoration was 2,433 lire 91 c.
The Hellespontine Sibyl. ”

“ Domenico di Jacopo di Pace Beccafumi, called Mecarino (or Mecherino) .
This very celebrated painter and sculptor was the son of a certain Giacomo (Jacopo) di Pace,207 a labourer on the Podere of Cortine, near the Castle of Montaperto, and was born in 1486. This Podere was the property of the Sienese noble, Lorenzo Beccafumi, who, more than once held high offices in his native town. The boy early showed remarkable artistic promise, and used to amuse himself modelling animals, flowers, and leaves in clay. ”

“ A native of Siena, this famous sculptor and architect was born on the 21st of December, 1391. He was son of a certain Tommaso, surnamed Minella and had two brothers, Antonio and Giovanni (both workers in wood) , the latter of whom became a Franciscan monk, and Rector of the Hospital of Sta. Croce. Pietro was a favourite pupil of Giacomo della Quercia, who left him ten florins in his will; and he worked with that great master115 on the famous Font in the Baptistery. ”

“ It seems unnecessary, therefore, to strain the word mandorle to mean something else than its more obvious meaning: and it is surely much more probable, that the document and quotation, both refer to designs for the remaining four mandorle, which are generally supposed to have been filled in by Carlo Amidei, and Matteo Pini in 1780.136 However this may be, the smallness of the sum paid for the designs, 75 soldi, makes the idea, that it was a payment for drawings of any size, even more improbable and absurd. ”

“ This great artist was equally celebrated, both as sculptor and painter. He belonged to the noble family of Landi, who are described as “of Poggio Malevolti”, to distinguish them from the family of Landi Sberghieri. He was born in 1447, and died in 1500. He was twice married: first, to Elisabetta, daughter of Antonio Cigalini, who died in 1483; and, secondly, in 1493 to Lucrezia, daughter of Antonio Paltoni, who bore him several sons, one of whom was a painter as was his father.198 Many of his pictures and statues still exist in Siena, in the places for which he designed them. ”

“ On the top of the wheel is seated an ass, with the word ‘Regno’ (I reign) ; and lastly, on the other side, going downwards, is an ass with a man’s head, and the motto ‘Regnai’ (I have reigned) .” The author of this inlaid panel, who must in his former position of Capo-maestro, have known well the larger and older design, probably wished to improve upon it; but it is somewhat remarkable to find it placed among panels symbolising the Articles of Christian Faith. ”

“ Of this design little or nothing is known; but the author of La Guida Artistica supposes it to have been of the same date as that last described (1373) . It is possible that, before the days of Alberto Aringhieri, the whole of the Nave floor, except “Fortune’s Wheel,” in the first bay, may have been covered with geometrical or heraldic devices only, as can be seen at Lucca, and that all of them, except these last two, were removed to make way for other more interesting subjects.
The next scene is Pinturicchio’s well-known design, called in the old documents “La Storia della Fortuna.” ”

“ This design may be compared with another Wheel of Fortune, inlaid by Domenico del Coro in the lower panel of a door in the Chapel of the Palazzo Comunale. Padre Micheli calls it the Wheel of Ambition,31 although the wheel itself is inscribed “Rota della Fortuna.” He thus describes it: “To the lower part is a man clinging, beside whom is written the inscription ‘So senza Regno’ (I am without a Kingdom) . Half way up the wheel, to his right, clings another figure of a man, this time with the head of an ass, and the inscription ‘Regnero’ (I will reign) . ”

“ The constant stream of traffic across this Platform has necessitated frequent restoration of the Pavement; and the story of Abel has now entirely vanished. The vase, also, on the right, now bears the label Lac (Milk) , instead of Fel, perhaps in allusion to the Promised Land, and the Golden Jerusalem of Bernard of Clairvaux’s hymn. This work is executed17 in the earliest of the four principal methods of design: namely a trapano; that is to say, outlined on a slab of white marble in little dots made with a trepanning drill. ”

“ In 1506, he became Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo,229 where he had been employed since 1490,147 under the mastership of Giovanni di Maestro Stefano. On the 28th of January, in the following year, he married Elisabetta, daughter of Ser Jacopo Bertini, by whom he had four sons: by name, Girolamo, Gio.-Battista, Agostino, and Giacomo, who were goldsmiths; and one daughter, Bartolommea, who married Lattanzio di Gio. ”

“ Take as an example, The Massacre of the Innocents (Matteo di Giovanni) , in which it is very largely employed. To this end also, black marble is twice introduced with startling effect: for The Libyan Sibyl (Guidoccio Cozzarelli) , and for the negro boy in The Story of Jephthah (Bastiano di Francesco) . It is undoubtedly true, that the finest effects are obtained, where there is least variety in colour, and where the artist has depended most entirely on simple line, and contrasts of white marble against black. A fine specimen of this treatment is The Story of Absalom (Pietro del Minella) . ”

“ This earliest name, connected with work on the Pavement, is of a man, about whom we do not know very much. In 1362, we find him witnessing two contracts made between the Operaio and a certain Francesco di Tonghio, for woodwork (stalls and a lectern) made for the Choir of the Duomo. He is among the sculptors, whose names are entered in the Book of Arts and Crafts of the City of Siena, under date 1363, and in the following year, he binds himself to do certain work in the Cathedral, and the Cappella di Piazza. ”

“ The grouping is bolder and more forcible. Samson, a giant figure, is administering chastisement to a Philistine in the manner of a schoolmaster to a naughty boy. He holds aloft, not merely the jawbone of an ass, but the whole skull. Some of his opponents lie slaughtered on the ground, and a crowd of them cowers away in terror, to the right of the composition. (Ill. XX.)
This design, as we have said before, is mentioned by Tizio99 among those projected in 1424, and was probably executed by Paolo di Martino in 1426. ”

“ Delphi, famous in ancient times for its Oracles, would not unnaturally suggest itself to these early students of Greek art and literature as one of the places whence prophecies of the Redemption of the World should come. Hence Plutarch calls her the first of the Sibyls. According to Pausanias, the Erythraean Sibyl, although a native of Marpessus, or Erythrae, in the Troad, lived mostly at Samos, and visited Clarus, Delos, and Delphi,35 at all of which places were shrines dedicated to the Pythian Apollo, whose special gift this form of prophetic utterance was said to be. ”

“ Mosaic pavements, of course, abound all over Italy, with more or less elaborate designs, fanciful, historical, or symbolical;221 but none of them really resembles this kind of work, which seems to have been peculiar to the artistic mind of the Sienese. The only other works, that I can find, that can, in any degree, be allied to it are:
1. The Cathedral Pavement at Lucca.
2. The Pavement of the Piccolomini Chapel at S. Francesco, in Siena.
3. The Pavement of the Chapel of Sta. Caterina in S. Domenico, in the same town. ”

“ He married twice: first, Cristofora di Cecco di Domenico; and secondly, after her death, a certain Madonna Bartolommea. In 1402, we find him witness to a contract, given to Giacomo di Giovanni, “a key-maker” (chiavaio) to make an iron railing round the pulpit in the Duomo in Siena. In 1404, he held the post of Petrone, or valuer, to the Commune, and Director of the City water-supply, and was re-appointed in 1407. In 1408 and in 1409, we also find him recommending Cristoforo di Francesco, a Sienese sculptor, first to the Orvieto Cathedral authorities, and then to the Signoria of Siena. ”

“ To his right, are an unicorn and a wolf: to his left, a leopard and a lion. Perched on the trees, in various directions, are sundry birds: owls, vultures, eagles, etc. One vulture, on the right of the principal figure, is screaming at a monkey, who is eating fruit. On the other side, another bird is clawing at an over-grown squirrel. Around the composition is a frieze representing water, on which are swimming swans and ducks.231 The composition is good, but the perspective is odd, and the use of many coloured marbles profuse, and not altogether happy. ”

“ To give an effect of rotatory motion, the border is inlaid in small lozenges of black and white marble, arranged to represent cogs. At the top of the wheel sits a King, enthroned and crowned, with orb and sceptre. Clinging to the two sides and bottom are three figures of men, whose anxiety to retain their hold, as the wheel revolves, is forcibly expressed. The wheel is surrounded by a continuous band of black and white marble, which, looped octagonally at the angles, incloses,30 in the spaces so formed, half lengths of the following four Sages: Epictetus, Aristotle, Seneca and Euripides. ”