Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3) by S. Spooner (best ebook reader under 100 TXT) 📖

in an original style of his own. He signally failed in the

attempt, which brought him into as much contempt as his former works had

gained him approbation.

 

 

 

 

BENVENUTO CELLINI.

 

 

This eminent sculptor and famous medalist was in high favor with Clement

VII., who took him into his service. During the time of the Spanish

invasion, Cellini asked the Pope for absolution for certain homicides

which "he believed himself to have committed in the service of the

church." The Pope absolved him, and, to save time, he added an

absolution in _prospectu_, "for all the homicides thereafter which the

said Benvenuto might commit in the same service." On another occasion,

Cellini got into a broil, and committed a homicide that was not in the

service of the church. The friends of the deceased insisted upon condign

punishment, and presumed to make some mention to the Pope about "the

laws;" upon which the successor of St. Peter, knowing that it was easier

to hang than to replace such a man, assumed a high tone, and told the

complainants that "men who were masters of their art should not be

subject to the laws."

 

 

 

 

FRACANZANI AND SALVATOR ROSA.

 

 

The first accents of the "thrilling melody of sweet renown" which ever

vibrated to the heart of Salvator Rosa, came to his ear from the

kind-hearted Fracanzani, his sister's husband, and a painter of merit.

When Salvator returned home from his sketching tours among the

mountains, Fracanzani would examine his drawings, and when he saw

anything good, he would smilingly pat him on the head and exclaim,

"Fruscia, fruscia, Salvatoriello--che va buono" (_Go on, go on,

Salvator--this is good_). These simple plaudits were recalled to his

memory with pleasure, in after years, when his fame rung among the

polished circles at Rome and Florence.

 

 

 

 

POPE URBAN VIII. AND BERNINI.

 

 

When the Cardinal Barberini, who had been the warm friend, patron, and

protector of Bernini, was elevated to the pontificate, the latter went

to offer his congratulations to his benefactor. The Pope received him in

the most gracious manner, uttering these memorable words, "E gran

fortuna la vostra, Bernini, di vedere Papa, il Card. Maffeo Barberini;

ma assai maggiore è la nostra, che il Cav. Bernini viva nel nostro

pontificato;" (_It is a great piece of fortune for you, Bernini, to

behold the Cardinal Maffeo Barberini Pope; but how much greater is ours,

that the Cav. Bernini lives in our pontificate;_) and he immediately

charged him with the execution of those great works which have

immortalized both their names. Among the great works which he executed

in this pontificate are the Baldachin, or great altar of St. Peter's, in

bronze and gilt, under the centre of the great dome; the four colossal

statues which fill the niches under the pedatives; the pulpit and canopy

of St. Peter's; the Campanile; and the Barberini palace. For these

services, the Pope gave Bernini 10,000 crowns, besides his monthly

salary of 300, which he increased, and extended his favors to his

brothers--"a grand piece of fortune," truly.

 

 

 

 

EMULATION AND RIVALRY IN THE FINE ARTS.

 

 

Emulation carries with it neither envy nor unfair rivalry, but inspires

a man to surpass all others by superiority alone. Such was the emulation

and rivalry between Zeuxis and Parrhasius, which contributed to the

improvement of both; and similar thereto was that which inspired the

master-minds of Michael Angelo and Raffaelle; of Titian and Pordenone;

of Albert Durer and Lucas van Leyden; of Agostino and Annibale Caracci;

and we may add, in our own country, of Thomas Cole and Durand. The

emulation between the Caracci, though it tended to the improvement of

both, was more unfortunate in its result, as it finally engendered such

a bitter rivalry as to drive Agostino from the field, and it is said by

some that both the Caracci declined when their competition ceased.

 

The confraternity of the Chartreuse at Bologna proposed to the artists

of Italy to paint a picture for them in competition, and to send designs

for selection. The Caracci were among the competitors, and the design of

Agostino was preferred before all others; this, according to several

authors, first gave rise to the jealousy between the two brothers. The

picture which Agostino painted was his celebrated Communion of St.

Jerome which Napoleon placed in the Louvre, but is now in the gallery at

Bologna. It is esteemed the masterpiece of the artist. It represents the

venerable saint, carried to the church of Bethlehem on his approaching

dissolution, where he receives the last sacrament of the Roman Church,

the Viaticum, in the midst of his disciples, while a monk writes down

his pious exhortations. Soon after the completion of this sublime

picture, the two brothers commenced the celebrated Farnese Gallery in

conjunction; but the jealous feelings which existed between them caused

continual dissentions, and the turbulent disposition of Annibale

compelled Agostino to abandon him and quit Rome. Agostino, who according

to all authorities was the best tempered of the two, from that time gave

himself up almost entirely to engraving. Annibale, though he has the

honor of having executed the immortal works in the Farnese Gallery, yet

owed much there, as elsewhere, to the acquirements and poetical genius

of Agostino. In the composition of such mythological subjects the

unlettered Annibale was totally inadequate. See vol. i., page

71 of this work.

 

 

 

 

THE NOTTE OF CORREGGIO.

 

 

This wonderful picture is one of the most singular and beautiful works

of that great master. Adopting an idea till then unknown to painters, he

has created a new principle of light and shade; and in the limited space

of nine feet by six, has expanded a breadth and depth of perspective

which defies description. The subject he has chosen, is the adoration of

the shepherds, who, after hearing the glad tidings of joy and salvation,

proclaimed by the heavenly host, hasten to hail the new-born King and

Saviour. On so unpromising a subject as the birth of a child, in so mean

a place as a stable, the painter has, however, thrown the air of

divinity itself. The principal light emanates from the body of the

infant, and illuminates the surrounding objects; but a secondary light

is borrowed from a group of angels above, which, while it aids the

general effect, is yet itself irradiated by the glory breaking from the

child, and allegorizing the expression of scripture, that Christ is the

true light of the world. Nor is the art, with which the figures are

represented less admirable than the management of the light. The face of

the child is skillfully hidden, by its oblique position, from the

conviction that the features of a new-born infant are ill-adapted to

please the eye; but that of the Virgin is warmly irradiated, and yet so

disposed, that in bending with maternal fondness over her offspring, it

exhibits exquisite beauty, without the harshness of deep shadows. The

light strikes boldly on the lower part of her face, and is lost in a

fainter glow on the eyes, while the forehead is thrown into shade. The

figures of Joseph and the shepherds are traced with the same skillful

pencil; and the glow which illuminates the piece is heightened to the

imagination, by the attitude of a shepherdess, bringing an offering of

doves, who shades her eyes with her hand, as if unable to sustain the

brightness of incarnate divinity. The glimmering of the rising dawn,

which shews the figures in the background, contributes to augment the

splendor of the principal glory. "The beauty, grace, and finish of the

piece," says Mengs, "are admirable, and every part is executed in a

peculiar and appropriate style."

 

Opie, in his lectures, speaking of this work, justly observes, "In the

Nótte, where the light diffused over the piece emanates from the child,

he has embodied a thought at once beautiful, picturesque, and sublime;

an idea which has been seized upon with such avidity, and produced so

many imitations that no one is accused of plagiarism. The real author is

forgotten, and the public accustomed to consider this incident as

naturally a part of the subject, have long ceased to inquire, when, or

by whom, it was invented."

 

The history of this picture is curious, though involved in much

obscurity. It is generally stated that while Correggio was engaged upon

the grand cupola at Parma, he generally passed the colder season, when

he could not work in fresco, in his native place. Passing through Reggio

in one of his journeys, he received a commission from Alberto Pratonero

for an altar-piece of the Nativity, which produced one of his finest

pictures, now called La Nótte. The indefatigable Tiraboschi discovered

the original contract for the work, which is dated October 14th, 1522,

and fixes the price at two hundred and eight _livre di moneta Vecchia_,

or forty-seven and a half gold ducats (about $104). It was painted for

the Pratoneri chapel in the church of S. Prospero at Reggio, but it was

not fixed in its destined place till 1530. It is said that it was

removed surreptitiously by order of Francesco I., the reigning Duke of

Modena, who substituted a copy. The same story, however, is related of

Correggio's Ancona, painted for the church of the Conventuals at

Correggio. (See vol. ii., page 257, of this work.) At all events,

the elector of Saxony subsequently purchased this gem, with

other valuable pictures, from the Ducal Gallery at Mantua, and it now

forms one of the principal ornaments of the Dresden Gallery.

 

 

 

 

THE DRESDEN GALLERY.

 

 

The Gallery of Dresden is well known to most amateurs from the

engravings which have been made of many of its most capital pictures. In

the works of Correggio it stands preëminent above all others; and

although some of these have suffered by injudicious cleaning, still they

are by Correggio. In the works of Titian, Raffaelle, Lionardo da Vinci,

Parmiggiano, Andrea del Sarto, the Caracci, Guido, &c., it holds also a

high place; while it is rich in the works of the Flemish and Dutch

masters. Of the works of Reubens there are, 30; of Vandyck, 18; of

Rembrandt, 15; of Paul Potter, 3; of David Teniers, jun., 24; of Philip

Wouvermans, 52; of Adrian Ostade, 6; of Gerard Douw, 16; of Francis

Mieris, 14; of Gabriel Metzu, 6; of Berghem, 9; of Adrian van de Velde,

5; of Ruysdael, 13; and others by the Dutch masters. Tho entire

collection contains 1010 Flemish and Dutch pictures, and 350 pictures of

the Italian schools, the principal part of which, particularly the

pictures of Correggio, etc., belonged formerly to the Mantua

collection, and were purchased by the Elector Augustus III., afterwards

King of Poland.

 

 

 

 

PAINTING AMONG THE EGYPTIANS.

 

 

The antiquity of painting, as well as of sculpture, among the Egyptians,

is sunk in fable. Yet it is certain that they made little or no progress

in either art. Plato, who flourished about 400 B.C., says that the art

of painting had been practiced by the Egyptians upwards of ten thousand

years, and that there were existing in that country paintings of that

high antiquity, which were neither inferior to, nor very different from,

those executed by the Egyptian artists in his own time.

 

Before the French expedition to Egypt, a great deal had been written on

the subject of Egyptian art, without eliciting anything satisfactory.

Norden, Pococke, Bruce, and other modern travelers, speak of

extraordinary paintings found on the walls of the temples and in the

tombs at Thebes, Denderah, and other places in Upper Egypt; and

Winckelmann justly regrets that those curious remains had not been

visited by artists or persons skilled in works of art, "by whose

testimony we might have been correctly informed of their character,

style, and manoeuvre." The man at last came, and Denon, in his _Voyage

dans le Basse et Haute Egypt_, has set the matter at rest. He has given

a curious and interesting account of the paintings at Thebes, which he

reports to be as fresh in color as when they were first executed. The

design is in general stiff and incorrect; and whatever attitude is given

to the figure, the head is always in profile. The colors are entire,

without blending or degradation, as in playing cards, and the whole

exhibits the art in a very rude state. They exhibit little or no

knowledge of anatomy. The colors they used were confined to four--blue,

red, yellow, and green; and of these, the blue and red predominate. The

perfect preservation of the Egyptian paintings for so many ages is to be

attributed to the dryness of a climate where it never rains.

 

The Egyptian painters and sculptors designed their figures in a style

peculiarly stiff and formal, with the legs invariably closed, except in

some instances in the tombs of the Kings at Thebes, and their arms stuck

to their sides, as if they had consulted no other models than their

bandaged mummies. The reasons why the Egyptians never made any progress

in art till the time of the Greco-Egyptian kings, were their manners and

customs, which prohibited any innovations, and compelled every one to

follow