Lives of the Artists

by Giorgio Vasari

  The account of Giotto given by Vasari in his second edition, which is the one translated here, differs in several respects from that given in the edition of 1550; and it is clear that for the later account Vasari added a good many works in order to magnify Giotto’s importance. Most of them have been taken away again by modern critics. The present position of Giotto studies is that many scholars accept the premises which Vasari himself accepted and therefore, by and large, share Vasari’s views; whereas those who begin by rejecting the Assisi frescoes find themselves compelled to reject all but a very small number of works as Giotto’s own, thus correspondingly increasing the importance of his school.

  UCCELLO

  Several of the works mentioned by Vasari at the beginning of this Life can no longer be traced, and two of Uccello’s most famous late works, the Hunt by Moonlight, now in Oxford, and the Predetta for the Urbino altarpiece, now in the Gallery in Urbino, are not mentioned by Vasari at all. The frescoes in the cloister of Santa Maria Novella, and especially the most famous of Uccello’s works, the Deluge, have survived, but in very fragmentary condition. The Deluge, which is described at length by Vasari, was restored in the 1950s and is now in better condition than it has been for centuries. Nevertheless, all these frescoes are little more than ghosts of what they once were.

  On the other hand, the frescoes painted inside Florence Cathedral have survived in fairly good condition, the most famous being the one described by Vasari as representing the Englishman ‘Acuto’, who in fact was Sir John Hawkwood. As Vasari records, the fresco is signed by Uccello and it is also datable to 1436, so that it is a key work in establishing the development of Uccello’s style. The Four Heads of Prophets painted at the corners of the clock-face have also survived, but they are very high up and difficult to see.

  The panel painting of Five Famous Florentines is identifiable with the picture now in the Louvre; but the Battle Scenes, which according to Vasari were restored by Bugiardini to their detriment, are probably not to be identified with the three large panel paintings of Battles, which are now divided between Florence, Paris, and London. These were painted for the Medici family, between 1454 and 1457.

  The works in Padua, which Vasari mentions briefly, disappeared long ago, but it is thought that some traces of Uccello can be found in Paduan painting of the mid and late fifteenth century.

  GHIBERTI

  Vasari’s principal source of information on the life and works of Lorenzo Ghiberti was the autobiography written by Ghiberti in the last years of his life. There is, therefore, not much room for disagreement over attribution, and almost all the works mentioned by Vasari are both certainly by Ghiberti and still in existence.

  The three most important are the trial-piece of the Sacrifice of Abraham, now in the Bargello in Florence, with which Ghiberti won the competition for the first Baptistry Doors, and the two pairs of Doors themselves. These Doors represent by far the greater part of Ghiberti’s life-work.

  Most of the other works mentioned by Vasari are also still in Florence, but Ghiberti’s autobiography makes it clear that he was in addition responsible for a considerable amount of work as a goldsmith, all of which has long ago been broken up or melted down.

  MASACCIO

  Vasari’s Life is of fundamental importance in the reconstruction of Masaccio’s life and works. This is because his two major works, both described by Vasari, are the altarpiece painted for Pisa and the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. The altarpiece was dismembered centuries ago. The frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel are known, from Vasari and other writers, to have been painted by Masaccio, Masolino, and Filippino Lippi. It was, therefore, impossible to be certain which of the frescoes in the chapel were to be attributed to Masaccio; but fortunately the description given by Vasari of the Pisa altarpiece made it possible to identify the surviving fragments in various galleries. The most important panel from it is the Madonna, now in the National Gallery, London, but other parts have been identified in Pisa, Naples, Berlin, and a private collection in Vienna. The style of the altarpiece and the style of the frescoes could then be matched, and other works such as the Trinity in Santa Maria Novella in Florence, or the St Anne altarpiece, now in the Uffizi, can be brought into relationship with Masaccio’s authenticated works.

  There is still room for the dispute over the exact demarcation between Masaccio and Masolino, and the most difficult problems, at present, are those connected with the San Giovenale altarpiece, dated 1422, discovered by L. Berti in 1961 and now in the Uffizi. This is the earliest datable work that can be associated with Masaccio and it makes even more complex the relationship with Masolino which is the problem presented by the Sta Maria Maggorie altarpiece, two panels of which are now in the National Gallery, London, one apparently by Masaccio and the other (like the rest of the altarpiece) by Masolino.

  BRUNELLESCHI

  Vasari was particularly well informed on the life and works of Brunelleschi, since he had a considerable amount of information available in the Anonymous Life of Brunelleschi, written late in the fifteenth century. All Brunelleschi’s surviving works are in Florence, where the oral tradition was also particularly strong. There is therefore no doubt about the attribution of Brunelleschi’s main works, the dome and lantern of Florence Cathedral, the churches of San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito, and the Loggia of the Foundling Hospital.

  Only two of Brunelleschi’s major works present any difficulties; these are the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, and the Pazzi Chapel which stands in the cloister of Santa Croce. The Angeli still exists, but was abandoned unfinished in the 1430s and the original design has to be reconstructed. More serious is the fact that the Pazzi Chapel – which is certainly Brunelleschi’s – was omitted from the list of works in the Anonymous Life (which is incomplete). This meant that Vasari, who knew that the chapel was by Brunelleschi, did not know where to put it in chronological order. He therefore got it out of the way by putting it at the beginning of the Life, and this misled many generations into thinking that it was an early work, whereas in fact it seems to have been designed in the 1430s but left still unfinished at Brunelleschi’s death in 1446. Nothing is known with certainty of any of Brunelleschi’s activities outside Florence.

  DONATELLO

  Vasari describes almost all the surviving works by Donatello, as well as a number of others which are either unidentifiable or else not generally accepted as his work. Practically all Donatello’s major works were executed for Florence and are still were, either in the Cathedral, Cathedral Museum, Baptistry, churches, or the Bargello Museum. A few works, such as the statue of Abundance and the brick and stucco works made for the Cathedral, are known to have been destroyed; while a few other works recorded by Vasari in Florence, such as the figures belonging to the Martelli family, have been dispersed (some are in Berlin and Washington), but there is considerable disagreement about their authenticity.

  Outside Florence Vasari mentions the important tomb in Naples and the pulpit at Prato, both of which Donatello is known to have made in collaboration with the architect and sculptor Michelozzo. The works in Padua, which are among Donatello’s most important, are still in the city, as are those in Venice and Faenza.

  PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA

  Vasari’s account of Piero is doubtless coloured by the fact that they both came from Arezzo, but there can be no doubt that the amount of space devoted to Piero by Vasari has been helpful in retaining Piero’s name in all subsequent histories of painting.

  Vasari begins by recording his activity as a writer, and Piero’s treatises have, in fact, come down to us. The frescoes in Ferrara and Rome have been lost for centuries, but most of the main surviving works are recorded by Vasari. The great cycle of frescoes in San Francesco at Arezzo is properly given the place of honour, although Vasari and many others regard the fresco of The Resurrection, in the town hall at San Sepolcro (the modern form of Borgo San Sepolcro, Piero’s birthplace), as Piero’s masterpiece. Among panel paintings, Vasari record
s the altarpiece in Perugia, now in the Gallery there, and the altarpiece painted for the convent of St Augustine at Borgo San Sepolcro, known from documents but long ago dismembered. It was convincingly reconstructed in recent times by Professor Meiss, who pointed out that three panels of Saints in the National Gallery, London, the Frick Collection in New York, and the Poldi-Pezzoli Gallery in Milan, all came from the same altarpiece, which must have been an Augustinian one. The Madonna (which must have formed the centre) is still lost, but another panel representing St Augustine himself has now come to light and is in the Gallery in Lisbon.

  The most important pictures by Piero not mentioned by Vasari are the two small portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino, in the Uffizi, Florence, and the large altarpiece, which also contains a portrait of the Duke, now in the Brera, Milan. This is often misidentified with the altarpiece attributed to the otherwise unknown Fra Carnevale by Vasari in his Life of Bramante.

  FRA ANGELICO

  By far the largest number of surviving works by Fra Angelico are to be found in Florence in his own convent of San Marco, now a museum. This contains the fresco cycle mentioned by Vasari as well as a number of panel pictures which have been transferred there. The most important of these is the one mentioned by Vasari as having been painted for the Linen-drapers or Cloth Guild since it is Fra Angefico’s earliest datable work, of 1433. It is now thought that Fra Angélico was born about 1400, rather than 1387, which helps to explain the otherwise very late date for this altarpiece. Among the other works described by Vasari are the frescoes in the Vatican in the chapel of Nicholas V, as well as those in another chapel, since destroyed. He also records the beginning of a fresco cycle in the cathedral at Orvieto, and the panels painted for the doors of the Silver Cupboard in the Annunziata at Florence which are now in the Museum of San Marco. The panel of the Coronation of the Virgin may perhaps be identical with the large panel now in the Louvre, and small panels from the Reliquaries have been identified with those now in Florence and in the Gardner Musuem, Boston.

  There are other important works in Cortona, Munich, Berlin, Dublin, Washington, and elsewhere, which are either identifiable with parts of altarpieces recorded by Vasari or have been attributed to Angelico on stylistic grounds.

  ALBERTI

  Vasari makes considerable play with the fact that Alberti was a theorist rather than a practical architect, and he mentions his writings as being particularly important. The Ten Books on Architecture he records as printed in 1481, although no edition earlier than the mid 1480s seems to be known. The first Italian translation appeared in 1546, followed by an illustrated one in 1550.

  Vasari goes on to mention almost all of Alberti’s surviving buildings – the church at Rimini; the façade of Santa Maria Novella in Florence (which is actually dated 1470, though designed earlier); the works for the Rucellai family in Florence, although Vasari seems to be cautious in his attribution of the palace to Alberti; as well as the work at the Annunziata in Florence and the design of the church of Sant’ Andrea in Mantua. The other church in Mantua, San Sebastiano, is not explicitly cited by Vasari. On the other hand, he mentions Alberti’s works in the other arts, particularly his paintings, none of which has come down to us. One possible exception is a bronze plaque with a profile portrait of Alberti, now in the National Gallery of Washington, which has been held to be a self-portrait.

  FRA FILIPPO LIPPI

  At the beginning of the Life of Fra Filippo Vasari mentions a fresco of ‘the Carmelite Rule’, and this very unusual subject is certainly that of a fresco known only in a fragmentary state. It was covered by layers of whitewash and for many years Vasari’s reference to it seemed meaningless but the recovery of a few figures and some fragments of landscape has allowed us to confirm that it is the fresco mentioned by Vasari and that, as he said, it was painted at the beginning of Fra Filippo’s career. It is stylistically very close to Masaccio and because of this it has been necessary to revise earlier opinions concerning Fra Filippo’s artistic development. Vasari records several other works by Fra Filippo, including some of the most important, such as the fresco cycle in Prato Cathedral, which is known to have been begun in 1452 and was completed about 1464. The unfinished frescoes in Spoleto Cathedral were begun in 1467 and left incomplete in 1469 when Fra Filippo died.

  Other works recorded by Vasari are the Nativity painted for the Medici family, now in Berlin; the Annunciation still in the church of San Lorenzo in Florence, and the works now in the Museum at Prato. Three other works by Fra Filippo which are particularly famous do not seem to be recorded unequivocally by Vasari: they are the circular Madonna, known as the ‘Pitti Tondo’ in the Gallery of that name in Florence, the large Coronation of 1441 in the Uffizi, and the Barbadori altarpiece of 1437–8 in the Louvre.

  The earliest work by Fra Filippo to bear a date is the Madonna, of 1437, at present in the National Gallery, Rome, but known as the ‘Tarquinia Madonna’ because it came from the little town of Corneto Tarquinia not far from Rome, which probably means that Vasari never saw it.

  BOTTICELLI

  Nearly all of Botticelli’s most famous pictures are recorded by Vasari, although some are not mentioned by him. It is, in fact, very difficult to construct a series of documented and datable works by Botticelli. The latest known is the Mystic Nativity in the National Gallery, London. This is not mentioned by Vasari, but fortunately it is signed and dated. On the other hand, Vasari mentions several of the pictures still in Florence, such as the figure of Fortitude, in the Uffizi, which is known to be datable in 1470. He also records the St Augustine fresco in Ognissanti as well as the most famous works now in the Uffizi, such as the Birth of Venus, the Allegory of Spring, the Calumny of Apelles, and the large altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi which has portraits of the Medici family. Vasari also records an altarpiece from San Barnabà, now in the Uffizi, and another, painted for the Convertite, which is very probably the altarpiece now in the Courtauld Institute Galleries in London.

  The frescoes in the Vatican are also mentioned by Vasari and are datable about 1482, so that there is a fairly large body of work which can be ascribed with some confidence to Botticelli, particularly as the style of these pictures is highly individual. On the other hand, Vasari devotes considerable space to the altarpiece painted for Matteo Palmieri which, he says, was suspected of heresy. This seems certainly to be the picture in the National Gallery, London, which is now ascribed to Botticini, and no doubt Vasari confused the names. The style is not unlike that of Botticelli so it is easy to see how the mistake arose. (The heresy Matteo Palmieri is known to have held was that human souls are those of the angels who remained neutral when Lucifer rebelled.) The picture seems to have remained in the Palmieri family chapel for a great number of years in spite of its suspect orthodoxy.

  VERROCCHIO

  Verrocchio’s activity as a painter and sculptor is fairly well documented. He seems to have run a large workshop in which Leonardo da Vinci and Lorenzo di Credi, to name only two, worked for considerable periods. The famous Baptism, now in the Uffizi, is described by Vasari, both in the Life of Verrocchio and in that of Leonardo. This is the picture which, according to Vasari, was left unfinished because Verrocchio was so overcome by the superiority of the angel painted by Leonardo that he abandoned painting in favour of sculpture. It is true that Verrocchio was more active as a sculptor than as a painter, and there are relatively few paintings which can be attributed to him. They include the Madonna and the Tobias and the Archangel, in the National Gallery in London, as well as Madonnas in Berlin and Washington, and, perhaps most interesting of all, the Madonna formerly in Sheffield (now in the National Gallery of Scotland Edinburgh), which once belonged to John Ruskin. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1960 and at that time the suggestion was made that it was partly, or even wholly, by Leonardo. The suggestion, however, has not met with general acceptance and when it was sold to Edinburgh it was as a Verrocchio.

  Most of Verrocchio’s major works in sculp
ture are recorded by Vasari, including the bronze David, the Boy with a Dolphin, the tomb of Cosimo de’ Medici in the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo, the silver relief for the cathedral, and the statue of the Incredulity of St Thomas, all of which are still in Florence. Verrocchio’s most famous work outside Florence, and perhaps his masterpiece, is the equestrian statue of the mercenary soldier Colleone (called Bartolommeo da Bergamo by Vasari) which stands outside SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. This, as Vasari says, was unfinished when Verrocchio died in 1488.

  MANTEGNA

  Most of the major works by Mantegna are recorded by Vasari, including the engravings which are nowadays regarded as works produced under Mantegna’s supervision rather than actually by him. Vasari mentions the three main fresco cycles which Mantegna is known to have painted, but one of them, the chapel in the Vatican, is now entirely destroyed and no trace of it has been preserved. Another, the fresco cycle in the Eremitani Church in Padua, is described at considerable length by Vasari and came down to us in comparatively good preservation, although one or two of the frescoes were rather badly damaged. The entire church was destroyed in 1944, and only a few fragments, pieced together with infinite patience, have survived. Fortunately a photographic record exists and a full series of new photographs was made only a few days before the air raid.

  The only important surviving fresco cycle is, therefore, the series of scenes from the life of the Gonzaga Court at Mantua which occupy part of the walls and the whole of the ceiling of a small room1 in the castle at Mantua. These were presumably not seen by Vasari since he mentions them only very briefly, although he notes that they were particularly famous for their perspective foreshortenings. In fact, the ceiling, which seems to have a central circular opening with figures peering downwards over a balustrade, is one of the most sophisticated pieces of illusionism produced in the fifteenth century and looks forward to the similar feats by Correggio in the sixteenth century and by the great Baroque decorators of the seventeenth century.