YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

From the Library of
ANNIE BURR JENNINGS
the gift of
ANNIE BURR LEWIS

THE LIFE OF
GIORGIO VASARI

THE LIFE OF GIORGIO
VASARIA STUDY OF THE LATER
RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
BY ROBERT W. GARDEN, A.R.LB.A.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

1911
NEW YORK : HENRY HOLT & CO.
LONDON: PHILIP LEE WARNER

WILLIAM BRKNDOH AHD SON, LTD., NUMTEKS. FLYMOUTH
ENGLAND

TO MY WIFE
" Benedetto sia'l giorno e'l mese e l'anno
E la stagione e'l tempo e l'ora e'l punto
E'l bel paese e'l loco ov'io fui giunto
Da due begli occhi che legato m'hanno." Petrarca,

PREFACE
IT may be urged by those who are acquainted with
the works executed by Giorgio Vasari, both in
architecture and painting, that they are not such as
to merit the serious labour involved by an extended
biography : and with this view I am in entire agree
ment. The study of Vasari has, however, other
aspects, and it is with these that the present volume
is chiefly concerned. The biographer of the artists
of the Itahan Renaissance concludes his Lives
with a short account of his own works ; adding it, as
he would have us believe, somewhat unwillingly.
These notices necessarily cease with the publication
of the 1568 Edition, leaving the remaining years of
his life unrecorded. When Bottari published a new
edition, with numerous notes and addenda, he en
deavoured to complete the Life of the biographer with
a cursory compilation from Vasari's own letters of
the period. The Life, thus finished, has been allowed
to stand ; for the late Gaetano Milanesi was content
to reprint the notices given by Bottari with little
additional matter. Neither seems to have tested the
accuracy of the Autobiography by comparing it with
Vasari's contemporary correspondence ; nor did they
find it of interest to sift the large amount of col
lateral evidence which lay at hand. I conclude,

viii THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
therefore, that those who undertake the vast work
of editing these volumes are carried away by their
interest in the greater personalities of whom Vasari
teUs, and to such an extent that the biographer him
self is passed over with but scant notice, while the
magnitude of the task he so faithfully performed is
almost forgotten.
The life of Vasari— of the individual, not the
mediocre artist— is one that amply repays what
ever study is devoted to it. He was the first writer
to set out coherently the story of the Renaissance of
art in Italy: and, while lacking the equipment of
the modern critic and historian, he has traced the
development of the sister arts from their early be
ginnings down to the splendid days which marked
the opening of the sixteenth century, with a clear
ness which is deserving of all praise. His Lives
are divided into three periods, which may con
veniently be described as the infancy, the youth
and the manhood of the arts. Here Vasari stopped,
supposing that this manhood would endure for ever :
forgetting that senile decay follows as surely upon
the steps of maturity as manhood upon youth.
This period of decay coincides in a remarkable
degree with the sixty-three years that Vasari spent
in this world of ours ; and he has left us — quite un
consciously — as clearly written a history of this
fourth and last phase as any to be found in the
Lives. This document, to use a hackneyed phrase,
is a human document — Vasari himself. He was nine
years old when Raffaello died and he survived
Michelangelo by ten years, dying with the know-

PREFACE ix
ledge that all the great old masters were dead and
there were no younger men fitted to carry on the
splendid traditions of the past.
Many writers have devoted themselves to the
study of the golden period of the Renaissance.
They lead us to Parnassus and leave us there,
declining to tell us of the path that lies beyond and
leads steeply down into the misty valleys once more.
There is, however, an interest which attaches itself to
the process of decay, melancholy though it may be :
and in Vasari's life, as we find it in his letters and in
the witness of his contemporaries, we may clearly
mark the decline of art both in Florence and Rome ;
under Cosimo de' Medici in the one and under the
Popes who succeeded Clement VII in the other.
Vasari may be considered as the most prominent
artist of this period of decadence. Both architect
and painter, he hved in the midst of courts ; he
conversed with Alessandro, Cosimo and Francesco de'
Medici ; and was as familiar as commoner clay might
be with the Popes from Clement VII to Gregory
XIII. He knew all the great painters who were
slowly passing away around him, and the notices
of them in the Lives are largely supplied from
his own eye-witness. More than two hundred and
sixty of his letters have already been published and
a great many more have recently been discovered,
though they are not as yet available for the purposes
of this work. In addition to this we have the Auto
biography, together with a number of his poems, so
that there is ample material for the present work.
He claims our interest as a type of the aftermath

x THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
and as the writer of the Lives. Whatever grandeur
his architecture may possess is due to the magnificent
scale on which his ducal patron was accustomed to
build, rather than to any intrinsic merit on the part
of the designer— the Palazzo de' Cavalieri at Pisa
only excepted. His paintings are so inferior that it
would be waste of time to emphasise their demerits.
But with this the worst has been said. His literary
legacy is of far greater value. In his letters he strips
himself bare, as it were ; he shows us the joys and
sorrows incident upon the service of mighty princes
in the great days of old : and he shows us, what is
perhaps of still greater interest, the manner in which
he collected the wonderful amount of information
which is contained in the Lives of the most excellent
Painters, Sculptors and Architects. R. W. C.
Arezzo, March, 1910.

CONTENTS CHAPTER I
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY DAYS PAGE
Origin of the Vasari family — Lazzaro Vasari — Childhood of Giorgio
Vasari — Baccio Bandinelli — Expulsion of the Medici from
Florence — Michelangelo's David— The plague — Vasari's wander
ings — He is invited to Rome hy Ippolito de' Medici — His studies
with Francesco Salviati— Sebastiano del Piombo — Vasari's task
in life — The Venus and the Three Graces — Discrepancies between
his letters and the Autobiography — Departure of Ippolito for
Hungary — Vasari returns to Arezzo — His illness — He is admitted
to the Compagnia dei Pittori Fiorentini . ... 1
CHAPTER II
ALESSANDRO DE* MEDICI
Caterina de' Medici — Government of Alessandro — Fortezza da Basso
— Vasari's early works in the Palazzo Vecchio — Annunciation for
the " Murate " — Visit of Charles V to Florence — Preparations
for Alessandro's wedding — His assassination — Election of Cosimo
de' Medici . . . . ... 22
CHAPTER III
CAMALDOLI
Vasari's despair — Visits to Camaldoli and works done there —
Ottaviano de' Medici — Monte San Savino — Bologna — Vasari
returns to Florence and begins afresh — Birth of Francesco de'
Medici — Vasari visits Venice . . ... 43
CHAPTER IV
THE "LIVES OF THE PAINTERS "
Rome — Study of architecture — Palazzo Farnese cornice — Lucca —
Rome again — Naples — Sala della Cancelleria — Inception of the
Lives — Doubts as to when they were really begun — Their pro
gress — Caro's letter — Visit to Rimini — Purchase of a house in
Arezzo — Feast of Ahasuerus — Contemporary opinion of Vasari . 65

xn

THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI

90

CHAPTER V
JULIUS III
Vasari marries— His views on matrimony — Julius III elected —
Vasari hastens to Rome— Publication of the Lives— Discontent
of Vasari in Rome— Tomb of Cardinal del Monte— Vigna Giulia
— Homesickness— Facade for Sforza Almeni— Vasari leaves
Rome in disgust . . • ...
CHAPTER VI
FLORENCE
Cristofano Gherardi — Tasso, and the "Stanze Nuove" in the
Palazzo Vecchio — Michelangelo's letters — War in the Val di
Chiana — Battle of Marciano — Vincenzo Borghini— Michelangelo
and St. Peter's — Vasari appointed architect to the Palazzo
Vecchio — Death of Gherardi — Church of the Florentines in
Rome — Baccio Bandinelli — -"Dialoghi" . . 113
CHAPTER VII
SECOND EDITION OF THE " LIVES "
Visit to Rome with Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici — The journey
described by Vasari — Michelangelo — Sala Regia — Vasari's chapel
at Arezzo — Palazzo Vecchio again — Report on adjacent property
— Uffizi — Cosimo's tours of inspection — The Palazzo de' Cavalieri
at Pisa — Illness of Vasari's wife — Second edition of the Lives
begun— Borghini's share in them — Death of Giovanni, Garzia
and the Duchess Eleonora . . ... 138
CHAPTER VIII
PALAZZO VECCHIO
Shortage of money for architectural works — Progress of buildings —
Column of Santa Trinita — The stairs in the Palazzo Vecchio —
Vasari's glowing accounts of it — Death of Michelangelo —
His funeral . . . . , . 164
CHAPTER IX
PREPARATIONS FOR FRANCESCO De' MEDICl's WEDDING
Cartoons for the Sala Grande — Tomb of Michelangelo— Corridor
across the Arno — Preparations for Francesco's weddin°- 
Borghini's report ... 189

CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER X
WEDDING OF FRANCESCO DE* MEDICI PAOB
Preparations for the wedding — Arrival of the bride, Giovanna — The
wedding ceremony and festivities . ... 213
CHAPTER XI
THE TOUR OF ITALY
Vasari is instructed to decorate the walls of the Sala Grande — His
journey through Italy — Perugia — Notes for the Lives — Rome
— Daniello da Volterra — Travelling in the sixteenth century —
" Umbrellaes " — Inns — Bologna — Milan — Cenacolo — Vasari on
Gothic art — Certosa di Pavia — Cremona — The Anguisciola —
Return to Tuscany . . . ... 226
CHAPTER XII
ROME AND ST. PETER'S
Madonna dell' Umilta at Pistoia — Finishing touches to the Lives —
Federigo Zucchero and the Lives — His own writings — Sala
Regia — Vasari's visits to Rome — St. Peter's — Sistine Bridge —
Pirro Ligorio — Santa Maria Novella, Florence — The " Arrotino " 248
CHAPTER XIII
END OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Parsimony of Rome — Trouble with the printers of the Lives —
Publication of the Second Edition — Building activity of Duke
Cosimo — Vasari's monetary difficulties — His flatteries — His
statement of accounts — Preparations for painting the Sala Grande
— The Montughi property and the Cavalieri at Pisa — Cosimo
becomes Grand Duke of Tuscany and marries Cammilla Martelli . 271
CHAPTER XIV
PIUS V
Hurried visit to Rome with Cosimo de' Medici — The Cavalieri at
Pisa — Back to Rome — Paintings in the Vatican — Sangalletto on
Vasari's work — Knighthood — Return to Florence — Paintings in
the Sala Grande — First mention of the cupola of Santa Maria del
Fiore — Back to Rome to paint the Sala Regia — Battle of Lepanto
—Death of Pius . . . ... 294

318

xiv THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
CHAPTER XV
ROME
Gregory XIII— Vasari summoned to Rome by the new Pope— The
Sala Regia and the Massacre of the Huguenots — Approach of old
age . . . . ...
CHAPTER XVI
DEATH OF THE ARTIST
Failing health of Cosimo — Anxiety of Vasari to return to his
master's side — Portrait of Gregory XIII — Invitation to Spain —
Completion of the Sala Regia — Cupola to be Vasari's last work —
Rome a benevolent employer — Last days spent with the Grand
Duke, discussing the cartoons for the Cupola — Death of Cosimo
— Death of Vasari . . . ... 332
CHAFFER XVII
THE CUPOLA
Vasari's place in art— His belief in himself— Fate of the Cupola of
Santa Maria del Fiore — Zucchero appointed to complete it —
Lasca's satirical verses concerning the completed work . . 351
Index . . . . ... 361

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Giorgio Vasari, by Himself . (Photogravure) Frontispiece
(Photo by G. Brogi, Florence) FACING PAGE
Lorenzo de' Medici (Vasari) . . . 20
Ippolito de' Medici (Titian) . . . . 24
Alessandro de' Medici (Vasari) . . . . 38
St. Gregory at Supper with Twelve Poor Men (Vasari) . . 54
Baptismal Procession (Vasari) . . 60
St. Eustace and St. Blaise (Vasari) . . . . 6'8
Tomb of Cardinal del Monte ( Vasari) . 98
Pazienza . . . . 104
Interior of the Sala degli Elementi, Palazzo Vecchio,
Florence (Vasari) . . . 114
Ceiling of one of the Stanze Nuove, Palazzo Vecchio ( Vasari) 1 24
Sala Grande, Palazzo Vecchio . . 134
Frontispiece to Vasari's " Libro di Disegni " . . . 158
Loggia of the Uffizi towards the Arno, Florence . .166
Return of Cosimo the Elder from Exile ( Vasari) . .170
Siege of Florence by the Prince of Orange ( Vasari) . .176
Brunellesco presenting the Model for San Lorenzo to
Cosimo the Elder ( Vasari) . . ..180
Tomb of Michelangelo, Santa Croce, Florence (Vasari) . 192
Cosimo de' Medici (Bronzino) . ... 214
Cortile of Palazzo Vecchio . . . . .216
Coronation of Charles V ( Vasari) . ... 228
Interior of the Church of the Madonna dell' Umilta, Pistoia 248

xvi THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI

Federigo Zucchero, by Himself
Coronation of the Virgin ( Vasari)
Staircase in Cortile of the Laurenziana, Florence
Palazzo dei Cavalieri di Santo Stefano, Pisa
Battle of Marciano ( Vasari)
Medallion Portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici ( Vasari)
The Siege of Pisa ( Vasari) .

FACING PAGE
. 254
. 274
. 276
. 290
. 304
. 322
. 346

THE
LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
CHAPTER I
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY DAYS
Origin of the Vasari family — Lazzaro Vasari — Childhood of Giorgio
Vasari — Baccio Bandinelli — Expulsion of the Medici from Florence —
Michelangelo's David — The plague — Vasari's wanderings — He is in
vited to Rome by Ippolito de' Medici — His studies with Francesco
Salviati — Sebastiano del Piombo — Vasari's task in life — The Venus and
the Three Graces — Discrepancies between his letters and the Autobio
graphy — Departure of Ippolito for Hungary — Vasari returns to Arezzo
— His illness — He is admitted to the Compagnia dei Pittori Fiorentini.
IN the early years of the fifteenth century a certain
Lazzaro, son of Niccold de' Taldi, left his home
in Cortona and settled in Arezzo, where he opened a
Uttle shop for the sale of ornamental leather saddles.
At first sight it is difficult to recognise in this un
assuming leather-worker the Lazzaro Vasari who
" had been famous in his day as a painter, not only
in his native city but throughout the whole of
Tuscany."1 Yet this Lazzaro, although in the
Estimo, or Census, of Cortona for the year 1427 he
declared himself to be a " sellaio da cavalli," figures
in the Lives of the Painters as one of Tuscany's
earliest artists, a position to which he has no claim
1 Le Vite de' pia eccelknti Pittori, Architetti e Seultori. Florentine edition
of 1878-85, Vol. II, p. 553. Unless otherwise stated, all references
throughout this volume are made to this edition.

2 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
whatsoever. The account which his biographer and
great-grandson has given us is not less interesting,
however, because it deals with a myth, for it shows
us something of the methods employed in the pro
duction of these historic volumes, and serves as a
warning that not every word to be found in them is
to be accepted for truth.
Doubtless Giorgio Vasari fully beheved all that he
tells us of his ancestor, but while attributing certain
pictures to him he is perfectly honest, telling us that
they bear no inscription and that his statements are
only based upon information obtained from old men
whose testimony he believes to be true. The real
purpose for which Lazzaro was introduced into the
Lives seems to have been to supply Giorgio him
self with an artistic ancestry ; and this is supported
by the exordium to the Life of the supposititious
painter. "It is passing pleasant for anyone to find
that his ancestors and the members of his own family
have been famous in some profession, whether it be
of arms, or letters, or painting, or any other noble
calling : and whosoever finds some honourable men
tion of his progenitors recorded by history will have,
if not a stimulating impetus towards endeavouring
to distinguish himself, at least something to restrain
him from besmirching the records of a family which
has produced illustrious and distinguished men.
You will understand, then, from what 1 have just
said, all that I myself feel when I find that among
my ancestors was Lazzaro Vasari." He then refers
to pictures which no longer exist, tells us that
Lazzaro painted them, and ingenuously describes his
" manner " after an examination of these same un-
authenticated works. Such information is, of course,
worthless ; but in the Life of Lazzaro he traces the

CHILDHOOD OF GIORGIO VASARI 3
fortunes of his family down to his own time, with
the addition of a good deal of interesting matter.
Lazzaro's brothers followed the potter's calling and
remained for a time in Cortona : but when fortune
smiled on the saddler in his new home he gathered
all his relations around him and the family became
permanently settled in Arezzo, still carrying on the
traditional trade of vasaio, or potter.
Lazzaro died in 1452, leaving a son, Giorgio,
engaged in the making of pots, and a nephew (son
of his sister), Luca Signorelli, who afterwards be
came famous as a painter. Giorgio the elder,
grandfather of the biographer, busied himself with
researches into the methods of the old Etruscan
potters, and was so far successful as to rediscover
some of their secret processes and to unearth an
ancient potter's furnace with a quantity of valuable
pieces. By this means he contrived to raise himself
a little above his fellows, and it is with him that
the family name of " Vasari " (vasaro, or vasaio, a
potter) seems to have originated. With him, too,
the Vasari first came to the notice of the Medici,
for Lorenzo the Magnificent accepted some of the
treasures which had been found. Giorgio died in
1484 at the age of sixty-eight, leaving a large family
of sons, most of whom, if not all, followed the old
calling. One of these, Antonio by name, married
Maddalena Tacci, and on July 30th, 1511, their
union was blessed by the birth of a son. This
child was called Giorgio after his grandfather, and,
as the author of the Lives of the Painters, was
destined to render the name immortal.
His childhood was not of the brightest, His
father was in poor circumstances, and after the birth
of little Giorgio the family seems to have increased

4 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
in numbers with alarming regularity and rapidity.1
As for Giorgio, he was afflicted with ill health
from the outset, suffering from prolonged attacks
of bleeding at the nose, which frequently reduced
him to the last stage of exhaustion. The malady
appears to have left him with growing years, as
he does not refer to it either in the Autobiography
or in such of his letters as have been preserved.
Benvenuto Cellini, who is not necessarily to be
believed, tells us that he was also "subject to a
species of dry scab, which he was always in the
habit of scratching with his hands " ; and relates
that on one occasion, while "sleeping in the same
bed as an excellent workman named Manno, who
was in my service, when he meant to scratch him
self, he tore the skin from one of Manno's legs
with his filthy claws, the nails of which he never
used to cut." 2
His early youth was passed in his native city,
and while learning his letters in the school attached
to the church of the Pieve d'Arezzo, or under the
guidance of Giovanni Pollastra, he received his first
elementary instruction in drawing from his kinsman
Luca Signorelli, then a very old man. Possessed
of a certain degree of ability, and being well aware
that he would have to make his own way in life,
Giorgio passed his leisure hours, sketch-book in
hand, wandering from church to church, and sitting
diligently at his drawing in the cool and quiet of
the sacred buildings, while his schoolfellows played
without in the bright sunshine. Sometimes he
1 In a letter to Giovanni Pollastra, Vasari speaks of his father as
"receiving from my mother a present of a child every nine months."
2 Benvenuto Cellini, Memoirs, translated by J. A. Symonds. London,
Nimmo, 1888.

CHILDHOOD OF GIORGIO VASARI 5
would get a friendly criticism from Guglielmo da
Marsiglia, the Frenchman who was making the
great stained-glass windows for the Duomo — those
great windows which Vasari never forgot, and of
which he wrote in later years : —
" Come di questo corpo ; il piu bello
Che' avanza ogn' altro bel, e l'occhio bello,
Cosi dell' Aretin duomo il piu bello
Son le fmestre, ch' ogni bel men bello
A paragon saria : onde si bello
II tempio viene, ch' esser non pu6 piu bello." 1
And though in the Life of Francesco Salviati he says
that he " learnt to draw " from Guglielmo, it is im
possible for us to place much faith in this state
ment, having regard to the extreme youth of the
future historian.
The death of Adrian VI and the succession of
Clement VII to the papal throne were events of
importance in his career. Hitherto he had lived
at peace in his father's house, studying with the
utmost assiduity in the intervals of sickness ; but
when Clement, who as Cardinal Giulio de' Medici
had governed Florence, was called upon to assume
the tiara, the two bastards, Alessandro and Ippolito,
became the heads of the Medici family in Florence.
Neither was of suitable age to assume the govern
ment — neither was more than thirteen years old —
and accordingly Cardinal Silvio Passerini was sent
by the Pope to superintend their education and to
rule the city during their minority. In May, 1524,
he passed through Arezzo on the way to assume his
1 " As in our mortal frame that which exceeds all else in beauty is the
very beauty of the eye, so in Arezzo's fane the greatest beauty lies in her
great windows : for compared with them all other beauty seems less beau
tiful. In them this temple attains to beauty unsurpassable."

6 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
new responsibilities, and while there Giorgio, being
brought to his notice, so delighted the learned
prelate by reciting whole books of Virgil's yEneid
off by heart (so, at least, Vasari tells us) that he
forthwith ordered the boy's father to bring him to
Florence, and offered to provide for him.
Vasari was accommodated in the house of Niccolo
Vespucci, a Knight of Rhodes, and spent two hours
of each day sharing the lessons of the young Medici,
under the guidance of Piero Valeriano, while at the
same time his education in the arts received due
attention, though his studies pursued a by no means
uninterrupted course. No sooner was he placed
with Michelangelo than Clement called the artist
away to Rome, and Giorgio passed with little
ceremony to the care of Andrea del Sarto. He
tells us with evident self-complacency that before
his departure " the master personally repaired to the
dwelling of Andrea for the purpose of recommend
ing the boy to his care." Thence he passed, all too
rapidly, to the bottega of Baccio Bandinelli, a man
entirely unfitted to have the charge of any youth.
Giorgio's nature was gentle and generous, and he
could have had little in common with one whose
character was so utterly different. The account
of Bandinelli given in the Lives, however, should
be read with reserve, for it would be an injustice
to believe, without further proof, that he wilfully
destroyed the cartoon for the Battle of Pisa, as
Vasari relates. But apart from the opinion of the
biographer there are other accounts which show
the character of Bandinelli in an unfavourable light.
" The Cavaliere Bandinelli," writes Baldassare
Turini to Cardinal Cybo, "seems to know how to
get round your Reverences, and has managed to

BACCIO BANDINELLI 7
put nearly all the money which was intended for
these monuments1 into his own pocket. It is
positively a scandal that he should have been
promised six hundred crowns for a picture which
anybody else would have done for half the sum,
and make a far better thing of it too : and he has
been promised three hundred crowns for a httle
picture which could be done better by someone
else for half the price. ... If your Reverence had
seen, or could see, his anxiety to grab all this money,
and the pompous way he sets about finishing these
second-rate pictures and statues of his, you would
scarcely believe it. It is a positive outrage that
your Reverences should submit to being treated
in this way." And writing to Cosimo de' Medici,
Duke of Florence, he says that Bandinelli is "so
vicious by nature and so consumed with the greed
for money that he thinks more of getting an extra
penny for one of his pictures than he does of a
hundred dukes."2
It was fortunate for the young painter that he
was not destined to remain long under the guidance
of Bandinelli. In 1527, before he had been many
months with that master, the period of his first
sojourn in Florence came suddenly and unex
pectedly to an end. The army of Charles V was
at that time marching through Italy on its way
to attack Rome ; and already, as though foreseeing
the result of this expedition, the Florentines had
endeavoured to oust the Medici from their position
in the city. Vasari refers to this rising, of which,
being of a timid as well as a cautious nature, he
was a spectator from a safe distance, in the Life
1 The monuments to Leo X and Clement VII. The letter is given in
Gaye's Carteggio, Vol. II, No. 107. 2 Ibid., No. 108.

8 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
of Francesco Salviati,1 and describes his own bravery
on this occasion. It happened that the Cardinal
and his charge Ippolito had left the city to confer
with their ally, the Duke of Urbino, commanding
the troops of the League opposed to the Emperor ;
and during their absence the Florentines seized
the Palazzo della Signoria (the Palazzo Vecchio),
and passed a decree condemning the Medici to
exile. But they forgot that the Duke of Urbino
was accompanied by his army. Before the day
was out the city had been retaken and siege laid
to the Palazzo, the defenders of which employed
themselves in hurling stones (a supply being always
kept on the roof with a view to these amenities
of Florentine life) at the attacking party. One
of these stones struck Michelangelo's statue of
David, breaking one arm into three pieces. Vasari,
who had crept into safe hiding somewhere near
the Ponte Vecchio as soon as ever the trouble
began, relates how the fragments lay there un
heeded for three days, and how at the end of that
period £_" the two boys went into the Piazza amid
all those armed men, and without so much as a
thought for the danger they ran, snatched up the
pieces of the arm." f The heroism of this exploit
would win our unstinted admiration, were it not
that the effect is spoilt by the supplementary in
formation given by Varchi. It is clear from his
account that after the first day of the tumult
the Piazza della Signoria was held by troops be
longing to the Medicean faction, and that all who
were known to be partisans of the family were free
to come and go at their pleasure.2
1 Vite, Vol. VII, p. 8.
2 David remained with but one arm until the end of 1543, when,
under orders from Cosimo, the broken limb was replaced and secured

THE PLAGUE 9
When at last Rome fell, and the Pope himself lay
a helpless captive in the Castel Sant' Angelo, the
opportunity which the Florentines had long sought
for arrived. They assembled in overwhelming num
bers, and issued an edict condemning the late tyrants
to exile ; " and at eleven o'clock on Friday morning
[May 17th, 1527] the Medici asked that they might
be allowed to depart, and prayed the Signoria to
give them two citizens as an escort and guarantee of
good faith : and at midday, or rather, about one
o'clock in the afternoon, the Legate (Cardinal Pas-
serini) and Ippolito left the Palazzo and went out
along the highway through the Porta San Gallo
towards Poggio, desiring to be taken thence with a
sufficient guard to Massa in Lunigiana."1 A Republic
was estabhshed, which was only overthrown in 1530
after Florence had suffered a terrible siege at the
hands of the Medici and their allies.
Vasari was obliged to provide for himself; and,
unlike Michelangelo and Cellini, both of whom were
as ready to find employment during war as in times
of peace, he showed no desire to share the fortunes
of either Florence or the Medici. To make matters
worse, the plague broke out in Florence, and spread
death and terror throughout the length and breadth
of the state. It is difficult in this twentieth century,
with our enlightened legislation for the preservation
of the public health and the high efficiency of the
with bronze dowels. There is a reference to this in a letter from
Pierfrancesco Riccio, at one time tutor to Cosimo, dated November 7th,
1543. "People round about," he says, "have been putting in their
spare time watching the erection of a hoarding around the colossal
David. It is being done so that his poor old arm may be mended,
but most people think he is going to have his face washed." Archivio
di Stato di Firenze, Carteggio Universale, filza 363, c. 419.
1 Ragguagli delle Cose di Firenze dai 1524 al 1530. Cod. Magliab.,
XXV, 670.

10 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
medical profession, to imagine what an outbreak of
this scourge meant four hundred years ago. All
who were able to do so escaped from the infected
districts, while the usual form of government was
temporarily superseded by an emergency council
whose powers were practically unlimited. In Flor
ence seven-eighths of the shops were shut, and the
few tradesmen who still carried on business prevented
customers from entering their premises by placing
an iron grating across the doorway. Payment was
received in a wooden or iron bowl and immediately
thrown into a jar of water to prevent contamination.
The inhabitants only went out at night, and even
then they carried in one hand a ball of evil-smelling
disinfectant, holding it to their noses until they were
nearly stifled. Should a miserable individual happen
to meet an acquaintance during his nightly prowl,
his first words were usually : " For God's sake don't
come near me : let us speak at a distance ! " And as
soon as he returned home he treated himself inter
nally or externally with a decoction made from the
nettle plant to ward off evil results. And when he
felt the grip of the disease upon him he was obliged
to lie untended till death took him or to submit to
the quackeries practised by blacksmiths, cobblers and
other ignorant fellows, as all the doctors had fled as
soon as the disorder manifested itself.
Among the first victims of the scourge was Antonio
Vasari, the father of Giorgio, who died in August,
1527, leaving a widow and six children to be pro
vided for. Giorgio, the eldest, was only sixteen years
old. He was immediately recalled by his uncle to
Arezzo, where he spent the time of enforced idleness
in painting different subjects in fresco for the peasants
of the neighbourhood.

VASARI'S WANDERINGS 11
It is unnecessary to dwell on these early attempts,
done before he had begun to handle colours in earnest,
or on the " half-length figures of Sta. Agata, San
Rocco and San Sebastiano " for the Servite monks of
Arezzo. When there came a lull in the ravages of
the plague he ventured back to Florence at the urgent
instance of Francesco Salviati, and the two together,
with Nannoccio da San Giorgio, worked for two years
under the care of Raffaello dai Brescia. In 1529, find
ing his ears deafened by the clang of the armourer's
hammer, and the city full of warlike preparations
against the advancing armies of the Pope and Charles
(who had not only become reconciled, but were act
ing in concert for the purpose of wresting Florence
from Niccolo Capponi), Vasari again found it expedi
ent to remove elsewhere.
He retired to Pisa, where, believing himself out of
reach of the strife, he took service with the goldsmith
Manno, of whom mention has already been made.
We may believe that he set about his new work with
his accustomed seriousness and attention, though we
are not especially told so. The information concern
ing these years is scanty in the extreme, and very
often self-contradictory. We know that at the end
of four months he gave up all thought of becoming a
goldsmith and left Pisa in order to return to Arezzo;
and we are reluctantly compelled to suggest that his
hasty flight was again due to the uncomfortable prox
imity of the opposing forces to Pisa. Vasari slipped
away as soon as ever he found fresh danger threat
ening him ; and as the route through Florence had,
under the circumstances, no attractions for him, the
discreet and wary youth decided to go home some
other way. He might have gone through Siena, but
that city had placed herself under the protection of

12 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Charles in 1524, and it was not unlikely that fighting
would be in progress there as well as in Florence.
Finally he decided to make a grand detour and reach
Arezzo by way of Modena and Bologna, entailing a
journey of two hundred and seventy-six miles, in
order to reach a place which actually lay a hundred
and five miles distant.
The journey must have been exceedingly tedious,
and from the circumstances in which Vasari was
placed, and the mountainous nature of parts of the
road, was probably accomplished mostly on foot. He
reached Bologna towards the end of 1529, and to
his complete satisfaction found that everyone there
was engaged in preparing for the reception of
Charles V, who was shortly to be crowned in that
city by the Pope. Vasari found work to do, and
remained to witness the coronation ceremony, which
took place amid a scene of great pomp on February
24th, 1530. Shortly afterwards he hurried away to
Arezzo, being anxious to hear how things had pros
pered during his long absence. His uncle had mean
while assumed control of the slender possessions of
the family, and Giorgio learnt on his arrival that his
interests had been so well looked after as to promise
him a fair competence in the future.
In other directions, however, there were fresh
troubles to be faced. Vasari's brother, a lad of only
thirteen, was carried off by the plague while fighting
with the army before Florence ; and the painter him
self experienced the utmost difficulty in finding work
to do, owing to the unsettled state of the neighbour
hood. At length he was employed by the Abbot of
San Bernardo to paint two pictures, and this was
followed by a further commission for some frescoes,
which were to be done in the square porch of

HIS STUDIES WITH SALVIATI 13
the church.1 While he was thus engaged Ippolito
de' Medici visited Arezzo, and finding that his former
school-companion had fallen on evil days, told him
that he was to join him in Rome as soon as the
frescoes were completed.
No invitation could have been more welcome.
The Medici were in full power. Ippolito had been
created a Cardinal in 1529 during the illness of the
Pope, so that in the event of Clement's death the
family might still have a representative in Rome
and a voice in the conclave. As a consequence
Vasari had every reason to view the approaching
visit to Rome with high anticipation, and the finish
ing touches were joyfully put to the work in Arezzo.
Towards the end of 1531 Giorgio set out to enter
the service of the Medici for the second time.
To complete his satisfaction he found in Rome
Francesco Salviati, with whom he had worked under
Bandinelli in Florence and rescued the broken arm
of the David, and the friendship already begun
ripened into a lifelong comradeship which only
ceased with the death of Salviati in 1563.
During this stay in Rome the two young men
were inseparable, sketching and measuring the
mighty ruins of the city with exemplary persever
ance, and seizing the opportunity when the Pope
was out a-riding of entering the private apartments
of the Vatican and there sketching and painting in
hot haste to finish before the Pope and his suite
should return. Then, as a hght recreation, they
studied anatomy together, not in a school or by
means of models and skeletons, but, as Vasari tersely
puts it, "up in the cemetery." Salviati turned his
1 These early frescoes, the four Evangelists and God the Father, still
exist. They are very crude, but more vigorous than his later works.

14 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
attention to these things because his tastes lay in
that direction, and Vasari partly for the same reason,
but chiefly because there was ever present in his
mind the urgent need of providing for his widowed
mother and his little brother and sisters. The
burden laid upon his shoulders by the death of his
father became the ruling factor of his life, and in
his self-sacrificing generosity he scarcely so much as
thought of himself until his sisters were either mar
ried or received into convents and his one surviving
brother apprenticed to a notary. Vasari entered into
his new life full of determination to make the most
of his opportunities : he tells us that he and Salviati
used to spend long days sketching the monuments
of bygone splendour scattered throughout the city,
with nothing but a crust of bread to cheat their
hungry stomachs ; and at sunset, after supper, each
would criticise the others work, and sit copying his
companion's drawings until the night was far spent.
Yet with all this toil Giorgio was very happy, and it
was with mingled feelings that he wrote home, com
paring his present well-being with the years spent in
nightmare wanderings during the exile of the Medici.
" I do not know how to thank you, Signor
Cavaliere," he says, writing to Niccolo Vespucci
shortly after his arrival in Rome, " for your kindly
interest in my affairs, and for enabling me to return
to the same position which it was my good fortune
to hold in your house four years ago, at a time when
my father, of blessed memory, was spending the
greater portion of his substance on me in Florence,
hoping that in spite of my tender age a sense of
filial piety and a desire to assist him in bearing the
burden of educating three small sisters and two
brothers, all younger than myself, would produce in

HIS LIFE IN ROME 15
me a steadiness beyond my years." He refers to his
former wanderings, and lifts a corner of the veil
which has fallen over the events of 1527 and the
succeeding years. " You already know," he con
tinues, "how in August, 1527, the cruelty of the
plague snatched my father from us ; and how I, not
being able to stay in the city, wandered through
the country districts painting saints in the village
churches." He drawTs a vivid comparison between
the ease he enjoyed during his father's lifetime and
the discomforts which had to be borne after his
death, " until at last here in Rome I came once more
into the service of the great Cardinal Ippolito de'
Medici, as once before I had served him and his
brother [sic] the Duke Alessandro." 1 " I find his
lordship more inclined than ever not only to help
and encourage my own unworthy self (che sono un
ombra), but all who show any inclination to study.
How much ought I, after thanking God, to give
thanks to you, Signor mio onorato ? " He tells
Vespucci that he is anxious to be among those who
earn pensions, "piombi," and the other splendid
rewards which art offers to her votaries, and goes
on to say that since his arrival in Rome two months
ago he has been given suitable rooms and an
attendant. He has also received an entirely new
wardrobe, and evidently thinks a great deal of
himself as he struts about Rome, conscious that he
is favoured by the Medici. His head is just a little,
ever so little, turned for the moment, and already in
imagination he sees himself filling some honourable
post at court. This we gather from his mention of
the " Piombi " and other offices.
The post of " Frate del Piombo "2 fell vacant to-
1 They were not brothers, but cousins, though both were illegitimate.
2 This lucrative appointment could only be held by a priest or friar,

16 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
wards the end of 1531, and Sebastiano Viniziano
received the appointment, donning the monastic
habit without hesitation, and settling down to enjoy
the emoluments of his office in much the same frame
of mind as a former Pope who had received the news
of his election with the words : " Since God has given
us the Papacy, let us proceed to enjoy the same."
Vasari was probably acquainted with Sebastiano,
and it would be too much to suppose that the
young painter was proof against the corruptness of
the age, or was less of a time-server than others of
his generation. Sebastiano's letter to Pietro Aretino
announcing his good fortune accurately mirrors the
spirit which prevailed in Rome at the time. It is
dated December 4th, 1531. 1 "Dearest Compare,"
he writes, "I dare say you are wondering at my
neglect and at the time I have allowed to pass with
out a letter. The reason is that I have not anything
to write about. Now that his Holiness has made a
friar of me you must not in the least suppose that
my ' brother '-dom has spoilt me, or that I am no
longer the same old Sebastiano, painter and jolly
good fellow I used to be. I am sorry, though, not
to be with all my bosom friends and companions so
as to enjoy with them what God and our patron
Pope Clement have given me. I don't suppose I
need tell you the which and the why and the how it
and whoever was elected had to adopt the monastic habit. The duties of
the F rate were to affix the leaden seals to the papal briefs. Benvenuto
Cellini, among others, was a candidate when the post fell vacant at the
death of Fra Mariano ; and he gives a diverting account of his interview
with the Pope. As soon as he preferred his request Clement replied :
" The place you ask for is worth eight hundred crowns a year, so that
were I to give it to you, you would never do any work but spend
your days in idleness, pampering your body." Cellini answered: "A
really good cat mouses better on a full stomach than on an empty one."
1 Given in Bottari's Raccolta, Vol. V, No. 65.

VASARI'S TASK IN LIFE 17
all came to pass (in che modo, e che, e come). Our
mutual friend Messer Marco will tell you the whole
story without your having to ask for it. Enough
that I am Frate Piombatore in the place of Fra
Mariano. So — long life to Pope Clement, say I !
" I wish to goodness you had listened to me.1
Patience, brother mine ! I was sure, and more than
sure that I was right all the time, and you see now
that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Tell
Sansovino that in Rome we don't fish as he does in
Venice for eels and that sort of thing, but for offices,
Cardinals' hats, leaden seals and such like. I don't
want to run my native city down ; but I do want to
remind Sansovino, and you too, of what is to be
had in Rome for the asking. Remember me in a
' friar '-ly sort of way to our comrade Titian and to
the others, not forgetting our musical friend Giulio."
We need not wonder if, with a family to keep,
Giorgio's mouth watered to see positions of import
ance given away according to the whim of those in
power. He pursued his studies without intermission,
and seems to have made rapid progress. His serious
artistic training, indeed, dates only from this period,
and it is worthy of note that with all his admiration
for Michelangelo, and the fulsome flatteries to be
found in the Life of his hero, he nowhere claims to
be his pupil, though without question he was one of
his most ardent followers. " I may say," he remarks
in the Autobiography, "that the ease of mind and
the studies I made at this period were the chief and
most important preceptor in art that ever I had . . .
while the friendly rivalry of so many youths of my
1 Sebastiano had tried in vain to persuade Aretino and Jacopo
Sansovino to follow his own example and to come to Rome on the
look out for sinecures.
C

18 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
own age — most of whom are now pre-eminent in
our art— proved an incentive to further progress."1
Already he had begun his first painting, representing
Venus and the Three Graces, and both the Cardinal
and Pope Clement took a real or simulated interest
in it. Giorgio was completely happy, and in writing
the story of his own life thirty or more years later
he loves to linger over the recital of every httle inci
dent. The haze of distance has converted it all into
a golden dream. Those were brave days when he
painted that first picture of the Three Graces;
when the young Cardinal and the Pope himself
used to come in and watch his facile brush at work,
laughing at the saucy little peeping faun he had
placed in the corner of the picture ! He looks back
with pride to the delighted surprise with which
Ippohto first saw that peering sprite spring out of
the canvas to gaze covertly upon the beauty of the
Three, and tells us that his young master forthwith
commissioned him to paint the Battle of the Satyrs
and to fill it with imps of like fashioning to this
naughty elf. And still carried away by his theme
he relates how the Cardinal was obliged to accom
pany the expedition into Hungary against the
Turks, leaving his protege to finish the two pictures
under the direct care of the Pope ; and that Clement
instructed his maestro di camera to take especial
charge of him and see that he was provided for. He
was to be allowed to go to Florence for the summer,
if he so desired, and serve Duke Alessandro.
This is the version he gives in the Autobiography,
but unfortunately for the veracity of the historian,
his contemporary letters, which consequently are not
affected by the glamour of time, tell another story.
1 Vibe, Vol. VII, p. 653.

DEPARTURE OF IPPOLITO 19
From a letter to Ottaviano de' Medici,1 dated June
13th, 1532, it is clear that the Cardinal left Giorgio
in the charge of his own major-domo Domenico Cani
giani, and had written a letter to Alessandro de'
Medici (who had been elected Duke of Florence in
1532) asking him to receive Vasari into his service.
If the painter was sorry to leave Rome, it was
chiefly because he held a comfortable billet there.
"It is most annoying," he says, "that as soon as I
begin to earn a little money he [the Cardinal] has to
go away with all his suite to fight the Turks in
Hungary" — but he evidently thought that the change
to the court of Florence was no great hardship.
However, he had still the two pictures to finish,
and was detained by them until the middle of
summer in Rome, where long hours of solitude and
hard work,2 coupled with the fever-breeding heat of
the city, brought on a serious illness. He gave him
self up for dead, and devoted what he believed were
his last moments to preparing himself for the next
world. As his condition rapidly changed from bad
to worse, it was decided to transport him to Arezzo
in a fitter, and there, after two relapses, he slowly
recovered. Before the departure of Ippolito, Vasari had been
in the habit of visiting his young patron every day to
show him some new drawing or fresh evidence of
progress ; and in a letter to Bishop Giovio, dated
1 Ottaviano was directly descended from Averardo I, founder of the
family fortunes, through his son Jovenco, from whom Ottaviano was fifth
in direct male descent. He was born in 1482 and died in 1546. He
married (1) Bartolomea Giugni, (2) Francesca Salviati, and (3) Lucrezia
de' Medici. His son Alessandro, born in 1535, became Pope Leo XI in
1605. 2 According to one of his letters, he used to work all day and far into
the night, keeping his eyes open by the singular device of anointing them
with lamp-oil.

20 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
September 4th, 1532, he shows plainly that it was
the interest taken in him by those of high estate
which gave him his chief impetus. " My aspirations
are not so great now, as I am assailed by a feeling of
melancholy. I am less ambitious and eager than I
used to be, as I have nobody to encourage and stimu
late me as the most reverend Cardinal used to do."
" 1 know that the Cardinal has been told that I am
dead ; but after reading this you will be able to per
suade him that I am still alive and, what is more,
that I have done the enclosed drawing, which I ask
you to give my most reverend Signore — more as a
token of my service than for any other reason." He
is improving in health, and expresses his belief that
" God looked down and saw the virgin purity of
those three little girls, the innocence of the boy, the
mother's grief at his condition, and the misfortunes
of their whole house."
Towards the end of October he was well enough
to proceed to Florence, and there he remained until
the terrible tragedy enacted on January 5th, 1537,
threw him once more into the midst of uncertainties
and sent him wandering anew throughout Italy.
During his stay in Florence Giorgio made further
progress in his art, and received some important
commissions from the Duke. He was admitted to
the Compagnia dei Pittori Fiorentini in the same
year, his name appearing in the Registro as " Giorgio
d'antonio di maestro Lazzaro Vasari " ; and was
placed under the care of Ottaviano de' Medici, for
whom he seems to have cherished .a strong affec
tion, and to whom he refers in the Autobiography
in glowing terms. At this time he painted the
portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent, now in the
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LORENZO DE' MEDICI
( Florence : Uffizi Gallery, Xo. isbq)
EARLY WORKS IN FLORENCE 21
available, and one of Alessandro ; following up
these efforts with what purports to be a copy of
Andrea del Sarto's Sacrifice of Abraham. The
history of this work will serve to illustrate Vasari's
desire to satisfy his patrons, whatever the cost might
be, and shows the length to which he was prepared
to go in a mistaken endeavour to keep his promises.
It happened that the original work had already been
removed from Florence ; but Vasari, having over
come a somewhat natural dismay at this discovery,
set to work to reproduce as much of it as he could
remember, and to supply the rest from his own
imagination. If he did not satisfy his employers,
and on this point we are not informed, he was him
self quite pleased with the result ; and writing to
Antonio de' Medici (February, 1533) he says :
" If you think I have not given Abraham enough
of that loving spirit, that fervour and readiness to
obey the will of God while consummating the
sacrifice, your lordship and Messer Ottaviano must
forgive me. I know perfectly well how it ought
to look, and if I have not given him the proper
expression it is just because, being young and a
beginner, my hand is less able to obey than my
mind to dictate ; and my judgment and experience
are not yet perfect." The pseudo-modesty of that
" not yet " is one of the chief indications of character
to be noticed throughout all his writings and corre
spondence ; and it is emphasised further on in
the same letter : " Daily improving in one thing
and another: perhaps the time will come when it
will not be necessary for me to apologise at all
for my work." That time, according to Vasari,
came, as we shall see.

CHAPTER II
ALESSANDRO DE' MEDICI
Caterina de' Medici — Government of Alessandro — Fortezza da Basso—
Vasari's early works in the Palazzo Vecchio — Annunciation for the
" Murate " — Visit of Charles V to Florence— Preparations for Ales-
sandro's wedding — His assassination — Election of Cosimo de' Medici.
THE betrothal of Caterina de' Medici, sister of
the Duke, to the young Prince, afterwards
King Henri II of France, threw the whole Florentine
court into a state of bustle and confusion in 1533.
The future queen was only fourteen years of age,
and had endeared herself to all the servitors and
friends of the Medici. Vasari, a lad of twenty-two, was
one of her admirers in an humble way, and was no
doubt secretly rejoiced at the prospect of special
opportunities for seeing her which suddenly opened
up when the Duke ordered him to paint her portrait.
She proved to be a somewhat troublesome sitter, but
the artist's regard for her makes him wonderfully
tolerant of her pranks. " I adore her," he says in
a letter to Carlo Guasconi, " if I may be allowed to
say so, as I do the saints of Paradise. I can't paint
her affability, so I must write about it instead. One
morning last week I had been painting away at her
picture right up to dinner time, and when I came
back I was surprised to find her sitting up at my
easel absorbed in making a blackamoor of herself
as terrible as thirty live devils rolled into one (che
pareva il trenta diavoli vivo vivo) ; and if I had not
22

ALESSANDRO'S GOVERNMENT 23
taken to my heels and escaped downstairs she would
undoubtedly have done the same to me."1 His
head is full of the little duchess, and as his friends
in Florence are too busy to listen to his chatter, he
pours out his feehngs on paper in the seclusion of his
own little room, which is over the gateway and looking
into the courtyard of the Convento de' Servi, "where,
as it is Saturday morning, all the mendicant cripples
and blind folk are telling their beads and praying
hard in the hope of receiving alms ; making such
a din that I can hardly think, and have had the
greatest difficulty in stringing these few words to
gether." It has already been said that Alessandro de' Medici
had been installed as Duke of Florence in 1532 ; and
it is necessary, before proceeding further, to examine
more closely into the state of affairs prevailing in the
city at this period. Alessandro obtained from the
Emperor, Charles V, an imperial patent confirming
his title, and though it was expressly stipulated
therein that the Florentines were to enjoy the same
liberty as under the previous Medicean rulers, the
co-existence of a Duke and a Republic within the
same circuit of walls was obviously impossible.
Clement VII obtained from the Emperor fresh
privileges for his kinsman, and before long the
whole government was gathered into the hands of
the gonfaloniere — a post which Alessandro as Duke
of Florence himself held — and of three Senators,
who were changed every three months. The old
Signoria was suppressed and the Republic actually
destroyed by this means, but for a while the Floren
tine nobility gave no sign of dissatisfaction and
brooded in silence over their wrongs. Alessandro,
] This picture has disappeared.

24 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
in imitation of the Roman Emperors and of former
Medicean rulers, endeavoured to enlist the favour of
the people by amusing them with pageants and
festivities, and corrupted their already doubtful
morals by the infamous example of his own dissolute.
mode of life. " In feates of love and chaunge of
women was his speciail delite," remarks an old writer :
and he neglected business for the pursuit of his
licentious pleasures, seeming to regard his high
office only as a means by which to gain his own
ends. Such a condition of things was not likely to
continue indefinitely, and though the culminating
tragedy was deferred for a little while, difficulties,
doubts, and dim terrors began to assail the Duke.
The disaffection spread even to his own family. His
enemies found a capable leader in the person of
Cardinal Ippolito, who considered, not without
reason, that the position held by Alessandro was
his by right. Indeed, in the days before their ex
pulsion in 1527 it had been Ippolito who held the
headship of the family in Florence, and Varchi, in
his Istoria Fiorentina, speaks of him as the " Mag-
nifico Ippolito," generally omitting all mention of
Alessandro. They were of about the same age, but
Ippolito, as the son of Giuliano — albeit illegitimate
— was more closely related to the Pope than his
rival. While Alessandro was dissolute and tyran
nical, Ippolito, according to Varchi, was full of grace
and goodness— affable, generous, and benevolent
towards all who showed themselves worthy of his
favour. In direct contrast to the unpleasant
features of Alessandro, who had a long, thin, and
prominent nose, heavy lips, and the black curly hair
common to his mother's race, the Cardinal, we
arc told, was " exceedingly handsome and pleasant

IPPOLITO DE' MEDICI
(Florcuci: PittiCalU-ry. Xo. 20/)

FORTEZZA DA BASSO 25
to look upon." Such was the opponent who now
arose to test the stability of Alessandro's new
office. The Cardinal opened up negotiations with the
most violent of Alessandro's enemies, and it at once
became evident that he intended to remove his kins
man and to add the title of Duke to his ecclesiastical
dignity. Alessandro was terrified, and in feverish
haste fortified all the towns in his dominion, and
began the erection of the Fortezza da Basso in
Florence itself.
Of these events Vasari was a witness, and though
he rarely refers to current topics, he has left an
entertaining account of the laying of the foundation
stone of this fortress in a letter to Pietro Aretino.
It is dated July 15th, 1534.1
After describing the early part of the ceremony,
he says : — " Then I heard somebody describing how
Peter and John were in Samaria working all sorts
of wonderful miracles and laying hands on many,
who thereby received the Holy Spirit. This finished,
the trombones struck up the ' Veni Sancte Spiritus ' ;
then came the Gospel, and after that the Creed, over
1 Lapini, Diario, in his entry for- December 5th, 1535, says that at that
date the walls were nearly finished. A more extensive notice is given
by Varchi, who supplements Vasari by telling us that the first stone was
laid " with due observation made of the aspect of the stars, the same being
drawn up by maestro Giuliano Buonamici of Prato, who in those days was
a famous and learned astrologer. The design was made by Pierfrancesco
da Viterbo, a celebrated architect of the period ; and the work was begun
and pushed forward with much solicitude and diligence, for Duke Ales
sandro went every day to mark its progress and to urge the men to fresh
efforts" (Varchi, Istoria Fiorentina, Lib. XIV, cap. 19). The founda
tions were begun in the previous May, on the site of the Porta a Faenza,
much of the necessary money being lent by Filippo Strozzi, then a fervent
adherent of the Medici, but who afterwards went over to their enemies
and died — not without very grave suspicions of foul play — a prisoner in
the fortress he had helped to build.

26 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
which they made much more noise than you would
hear on the Ponte Vecchio round a basket of tench
even in Lent ! When the Cantors had finished they
began again with the Versicles, and at last we got to
the Preface with so many ceremonies that I began
to see that I should end up by eating both dinner
and supper in one." He conquered his growing
hunger, however, and remained until the ceremony
was over. The Elevation of the Host was the signal
for a military display not altogether unlike the
pageants of to-day. Suddenly " the captains began
to come upon the scene, wearing the most superb
arms and armour you ever saw, and reminding me
of the Triumph of Scipio after the Second Punic
War. They went by in fours, and then opened out
on the left, turning their backs to the east, while
in their train came forty pieces of artillery, each
drawn by four pairs of oxen, the cannon being brand
new and bearing the ducal arms. They came up on
magnificent carriages, and were decorated with olive
branches, while behind them arrived several ammu
nition waggons loaded with balls. Here and there
were mules carrying barrels of powder and other
instruments of war — enough to make Mars himself
turn pale and shake with fear. As a matter of fact,
I saw more than one white face in the crowd, for it
seemed like an intimation that the bit and curb-rein
were being got ready for certain folk who had
hitherto been in the habit of pulling the check-string
themselves." At the moment of the Elevation
" there was such a din of artillery, mixed with the
blare of trumpets, the noise of arquebuses and
shouts, that I quite thought Heaven and earth were
tumbling about my ears. Then all the horses began
to neigh in an ecstasy of terror, and it was an hour

FORTEZZA DA BASSO 27
before the smoke cleared away and we were able
to see each other's faces again."
It will be remembered that Giorgio had painted
a portrait of his patron, and we have now to add
that it gave complete satisfaction. As a result,
Alessandro wrote to Ippolito to ask that the young
painter might be allowed to remain in Florence in
order to complete the decorations in the Medici
palace, which had been begun during the pontificate
of Leo X by Giovanni da Udine.1 Vasari was
already in receipt of a salary of six crowns a month
with board, " and a servant, with lodging and other
conveniences " ; but for this new undertaking he
was to receive in addition the marriage portion of
his eldest sister. With a joyful heart he wrote to
tell his "orphaned, unfortunate, needy and helpless
family" the good luck that had befallen him; at
the same time, and with characteristic despatch,
asking his uncle to hunt out a suitable husband for
his sister. The prospective bride was not consulted
in the matter. The main factor in marriages in
Italy was, and to some extent still is, the amount
of the bride's dowry. Courtship consisted chiefly
in comparing the worldly wealth of the respective
fathers, and the proposal was made and accepted
or rejected by them without the assistance of the
young couple. If everything proved satisfactory,
the prospective bride and bridegroom were informed
1 Life of Giovanni da Udine, Vite, Vol. VI, p. 557. "There were
four panels in the underside of the vaulting, each twelve braccia by six,
which were not painted at that time. But many years later Giorgio
Vasari, a young man of eighteen, who in 1535 was in the service of Duke
Alessandro de' Medici . . . painted in them scenes from the Life of Julius
Caesar." It has already been pointed out that the "young man of
eighteen" was born in 1511, and therefore must have been in his
twenty-third year at the beginning of 1535. These scenes no longer
exist. The portrait of Alessandro hangs in the Tribuna of the Uffizi.

28 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
of the arrangements made for their happiness, and
duly plighted their troth. It will be seen, therefore,
how great a task Vasari set himself when he resolved
to provide for all three of his sisters.
Through the kind offices of Antonio Turini, a
friend of Giorgio's father, it was arranged that the
second sister should become a nun ; and though
the intending novice was expected to bring to the
convent an endowment equivalent to a marriage
portion, it was arranged, through the mediation
of Turini, that Giorgio should paint a picture in
stead of paying down a sum of money. The news
of this decision reached the artist while he was
completing his work in the palace, and the satis
faction it brought finds full expression in a letter
to the benevolent friend who had carried the
negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion.
"The last letter received from you," he writes,
" fills me with joy. Since my second sister desires
to give herself to God 1 am quite willing that she
should enter the Convent of the Murate ; and I am
grateful to you for having persuaded the nuns to
accept my offer of a picture in lieu of a donation
in money. What other friend would have exerted
himself to ease the burden of another as you have
done for me, when, weighed down by so many
adversities, I was well-nigh worried into the grave ! "
Vasari, who never wasted time, sat down at once
with his usual impetuosity and made a first sketch
for the work, enclosing it in the letter. The subject
was the Annunciation, and he apologises beforehand
for any faults which may be discovered in his draw
ing. " If the nuns," he writes, " being women, think
that our Lady appears too frightened as the angelic
salutation greets her ear, please remind them that

COMPLAINTS AGAINST ALESSANDRO 29
Gabriel especially told her not to be afraid. I have
put in more than one angel, because such an am
bassador, coming down to our earth with such a
message of peace and liberation from the pains of
hell, would never have been sent alone."
It was at this stage in his career that Vasari,
observing that the Duke took an inordinate interest
in building and works of fortification, turned his
attention to the study of architecture, that branch
of art in which he subsequently attained something
of distinction.
Leaving Vasari for the moment living in the best
of all possible worlds, it becomes necessary to
trace the course of other events which sooner or
later were to interfere with his happiness. Clement
VII had died on September 25th, 1534, and on
October 13th, Alessandro Farnese, that " prophaine
skoffer," as Lithgow calls him, had succeeded him as
Paul III. Ippolito de' Medici, nursing his designs
against the Duke of Florence, had reason to hope
for assistance from the new Pope ; and to further
his designs a deputation of Florentine exiles was
despatched to the Emperor to lodge a series of
complaints against Alessandro's tyrannous misgovern-
ment, while the Cardinal expressed his willingness,
backing his offer with a suitable gift in money, to
take over the government of Florence and rule the
State in a proper manner. Charles was just return
ing from the campaign against Barbarossa in Tunis,
and Ippolito set out for Naples with the intention of
meeting him there and offering his services in person.
Then, suddenly, while on a visit to Giulia Gonzaga at
Fondi, he was taken with a strange and unaccount
able malady. That was on August 2nd, and three
days later, immediately after partaking of some

30 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
chicken broth, his condition became worse. The
seneschal, Giovan Andrea dai Borgo by name, was
arrested, and after being put to the torture, confessed
that he had poisoned his master. It was too late,
however, to remedy the evil ; for in five days more
the Cardinal breathed his last, dying, to all appear
ances, from a slow fever. It is, of course, easier to
attribute the sudden death of a man in such a
position to the machinations of his enemies than to
prove it : but Ippolito was a dangerous rallying
point for the opponents of the Duke, and such an
assumption is entirely consistent with the character
of Alessandro and the political morality of the
period. The deputation, however, fulfilled its mis
sion, and Alessandro was summoned before the
Emperor to answer the charges made against him.
Whether he succeeded in rebutting these accusa
tions, or what were the motives which actuated
Charles on this occasion, are points on which opin
ions differ,1 and the result of the trial — if such a
farce may be dignified by that title — was to seat
Alessandro more firmly than ever upon the ducal
throne. He returned from Naples with many tokens
of the imperial favour.
When peace had been estabhshed between the
Emperor and the Pope in 1529, after the sack of
Rome, the Emperor had promised the hand of his
1 " The Duke replied to the accusations of the Florentines as best he
might : but whether it was due to the money which had been paid to the
imperial ministers which produced those satisfactory results which it
usually does, or that the Emperor, finding himself on the verge of
another Italian war, tiiought it better for his own interests to have a
single ruler in Florence, and one who was dependent on himself rather
than a council of many persons at feud amongst themselves and inclined
to give their support to the French, as were the Florentines, it is certain
that he gave his judgment in favour of the Duke, and renewed his
supreme position in Florence" (Muratori, Annali, sub. 1536.)

BETROTHAL OF ALESSANDRO 31
natural daughter Margherita, then a child of eight,
to Alessandro. This agreement was renewed in
Naples, and the Emperor further showed approval
of his son-in-law elect by promising to visit him
in Florence.
These events meant a fresh impetus to the arts
in Florence and fresh opportunities for Vasari to
distinguish himself. Couriers were despatched into
Tuscany who rode at topmost speed, sparing neither
themselves nor their horses in their anxiety to carry
the tidings to Florence. No pains were to be spared
in decorating the city so that the Emperor might
be received with suitable magnificence. There are
two accounts of these preparations in the Lives of
the Painters from which, though they are mutually
destructive, the truth may be extracted with some
degree of probability. Vasari was not, however, as
he seems to imply in the Life of Tribolo,1 the con
triver of the whole scheme of decoration. From his
correspondence it appears that he was quietly at work
upon the third of the four pictures in the Palace
when the news arrived.
He immediately set himself to the new task with
the greatest ardour, and believed that he would have
no difficulty in finishing the portion allotted to him
within the given time. But the favour with which
he was known to be regarded by the Duke had made
him unpopular with his fellow-artists, and they seized
this opportunity of putting every imaginable obstacle
1 " As I had to distribute the work to the various craftsmen under the
orders of his Excellency," etc. (Life of Tribolo, Vol. VI, p. 67). In the
letter to Raffaello dai Borgo mentioned below, he says that the Duke had
given orders that " Luigi Guicciardini, Giovanni Corsi, Palla Ruccellai
and Alessandro Cosini shall have charge of the arrangements, decorations
and triumphal procession which are to do honour to his Majesty ... He
has also ordered these gentlemen to employ me."

32 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
in his path. The twenty assistants whose services
he had engaged were, on one pretext or another,
enticed away, and Giorgio, left entirely alone, was
reduced to a condition verging on desperation.
Perhaps the truth is, not that they were jealous of
Giorgio, but that assistants were scarce and that his
rivals offered better pay. Nevertheless, he had too
much at stake to allow himself to be beaten, and
accordingly wrote urgent letters to his friends im
ploring their help. Cristofano Gherardi, Stefano
Veltroni (cousin of Giorgio), and Raffaello dai Borgo
rallied round him and spared nothing in their efforts
to annihilate time. How, after all, he succeeded in
getting the work done and the signal mode in which
the Duke expressed his thanks, are best described in
Vasari's own words.
In the letter summoning Raffaello dai Borgo to
Florence he entreats him to hurry as fast as
horse will carry him, not "stopping for boots, or
spurs, or sword, or hat, as that will waste time"
(March 15th, 1536). He has so much to do that
the men who were to help him have taken fright-
that is how he puts it — and though they absolutely
refuse to continue their work, Luigi Guiccardini
insists on its all being done by Vasari with such
assistance as he can obtain. " So you can guess,"
he continues, " how badly I want your help in this
breathless scramble. I should not have bothered you
had not these workmen, fearing I should get the
credit of their work, conspired against me, though
they don't know that I see through their little game,
saying that ' the horse of Arezzo wants to deck him
self out in the skin of the Florentine lion.' And so,
as a loving friend and a comrade in distress, I implore
you to come over and lend a hand. I know you will

INTERVIEW WITH ALESSANDRO 33
not fail me. . . . Besides, 1 want to show these good
people that, although I am a beardless youth and
small of stature to boot, I can do my duty to my
lord without their aid. Dear, sweet and kind
Raffaello, don't leave your Giorgio in the lurch ! "
With the loyal assistance of his friends, and by
dint of sticking at his work for five days and nights
without rest, Vasari managed to get done within
a few hours of the Emperor's arrival. Charles had
lodged on the night of April 28th at the Certosa
just outside Florence, whither Alessandro had accom
panied him. " The same evening," says Vasari, in
a long and interesting letter to Aretino describing
the procession,1 " the Duke returned to Florence for
the purpose of hurrying up the workmen so as to
have all the statues, arches and decorations finished
by eight o'clock in the morning. For this purpose
he went over the whole course of the procession,
giving the necessary instructions here, encouraging
the men there, and all the while keeping his eye
open to see whose work was the most satisfactory.
I know this for a fact, because at seven o'clock on
the following day when his Excellency set out
mounted on his nag (ronzino), followed by all the
court, to meet his Majesty at Certosa, he passed along
the route so as to have another look at the statues and
triumphal arches. Even then they were not all
done. When he got to San Felice in Piazza, where
I had erected a great facade, forty braccia high, with
columns, pictures and other decorations (all of which
I shall describe in the proper place), he found that
the whole thing was quite finished. Well, he was
struck with astonishment not only at the magnitude
1 The letter seems to have been written on April 29th, the day of the
Emperor's arrival.
D

34 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
of the work and the speed with which it had been
accomplished but with the mastery of it all. He
asked where I was, and learnt that, being half dead
with fatigue, I had crept into a church and was asleep
for very weariness on a bundle of green-stuff intended
for the decorations. At this the Duke began to
laugh, and told someone to fetch me immediately.
I got up — blinking, sleepy, tired, and dazed as I was,
and found him surrounded by his suite. When I
came up he said : ' Giorgio mine, this work of yours
is larger, more beautiful, better executed and more
speedily finished than that of anybody else. I see
in it the proof of your devotion to my service, and
before long the Duke Alessandro will know how to
reward you for this and former works.'" After
further remarks bearing a general resemblance to
the copy-book maxims of our childhood, the Duke
drew Vasari to him and kissed him on the forehead.
"Then he continued his journey: and I felt all
my faculties, which had deserted me on account
of my tiredness and sleepiness, suddenly revive.
I don't think that a month of sleep would have
refreshed me quite as much as the Duke's words
did." Alessandro kept his word, and that same day
found time to see Giorgio again and to direct that
in addition to four hundred ducats for his own work
he was to receive the fines inflicted on the artists
who had failed to carry out their promises. Vasari
received about seven hundred ducats in all, and
provided for his sister out of this money instead
of waiting until the pictures in the palace were
completed. It is indicative of his intensity of pur
pose that he should have devoted his ducats to this
end instead of keeping them for himself; and, as

PREPARATIONS FOR MARGHERITA 35
after events proved, it was a fortunate thing that
he did so. Although he was blissfully ignorant
of the future, the time was rapidly approaching
when he would again be a wandermg outcast. It
was not until four years later, after passing
through many trials and disappointments, that he
was in a position to provide for his third and last
sister. It is an unfortunate circumstance that most of
Vasari's letters which were undoubtedly written at
this period are undated, and consequently fail to
supply all the information it would be desirable to
have concerning the sequence of events. He speaks,
as already noticed, of having been at work in the
palace when instructions came to prepare Florence
for the arrival of the Emperor, and says that
as the Sala was required for the occasion he was
obliged to cover up the blanks in the ceiling
by nailing his cartoons in the empty panels. The
bride-elect, Margherita, does not seem to have
accompanied her father on this visit, deferring
her own triumphal entry into Florence until such
time as suitable accommodation could be prepared
for her. As soon as the Emperor had departed
Vasari and his companions were ordered to re
arrange the whole of the palace of Ottaviano de'
Medici and to add a new wing to it, besides carrying
out all the necessary preparations for the reception
of the august visitor. We have Vasari's word for
it that the splendour of his achievements at this
critical moment struck dumb all beholders. The
whole of the new wing was completed in only four
weeks, " and Tribolo, Andrea di Cosimo and I
finished both the decoration of the house and all
the preparations for the wedding in ten days, aided

36 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
by about ninety (!) sculptors and painters of the
city, counting pupils and masters."1
Since the days when Vasari had painted the
portrait of the little Duchess Caterina he had left
his lodging in the convent of the Servi and gone
to five in the palace of Ottaviano de' Medici. All
the occupants of the palace were now obliged to
turn out at a moment's notice to make room for
the bride ; and at least one member of the house
hold, namely Madonna Francesca, deeply resented
having to give up her own home at the command
of the Duke. So much may be gathered from
Vasari's letter to Francesco Rucellai, written in May,
1536 : — -" Your rooms, mine — in fact, everybody's
rooms — are being turned out so as to accommodate
her Excellency. Messer Ottaviano has decided to
take us all to the Spedale di Lelmo.2 Who would
have thought that in the middle of these rejoicings
and festivities we should suddenly have to go
into hospital, all of us ! Madonna Francesca, his
wife, is the only one who objects, and says she
won't submit to it, as she is within a month of her
confinement, and has prepared everything for a
great reception to be given after the event to her
relations and a host of the nobility. She has been
obliged to give in ; but she did it with a very bad
grace." "Everything is going to be done on a
magnificent scale for the ducal wedding," he adds,
"and this very morning I had orders to paint all
the loggie in Messer Ottaviano's house."
As the triumphal arches erected on the occasion of
the imperial visit were still standing, for the climate
i Life of Tribolo, Vol. VI, p. 69.
2 Also known as the Ospedale di San Matteo. The Accademia now
stands on its site.

LAST DAYS OF ALESSANDRO 37
of Italy is less unkind than our own, and flags may
bear a few hours' exposure without much risk of ruin,
there was not so much work to be done as on the
former occasion, and Vasari found time to draw out
the cartoons for a picture which was to be painted
at Arezzo during the summer months. He seems,
too, to have had leisure to complete the paintings in
the Palazzo, as they are fully described in a letter
written to Pietro Aretino about this period,1 and
ending with a characteristic outburst. " If Heaven
grant me the strength, as you see it has given me
the opportunity, do not doubt that I shall do the
best I can, so that Arezzo, which so far as I have
been able to discover has never produced an artist
above the level of mediocrity, . . . shall break the ice
(romper e il ghiaccio) with me."
Margherita entered Florence at the beginning of
June, and Vasari, after waiting to witness the
festivities, went away to Arezzo to pass the summer
and to paint a picture already sketched out for the
Compagnia di San Rocco ; returning to Florence in
the following September.
It is not to be supposed that the marriage of
Alessandro in any way reformed his character. If
possible he became worse, aided and abetted by
Lorenzo, or Lorenzino, de' Medici, a distant kinsman
in whom culture, madness and villainy were equally
blended. His youth had been passed in Rome ; but
incurring the anger of Clement VII by an act of
wanton vandalism, he was obliged to flee to Florence
in order to escape the halter. In Alessandro he found
1 Milanesi, in Vol. VIII of the Sansoni Edition, places this letter as
No. 12 and dates it 1534. This is obviously an error, for as we have
already seen the work was still incomplete at the time of Charles's visit in
April and May, 1536. It should come at least after No. 15.

38 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
a kindred spirit, and scarcely a day passed that the
two did not indulge in some violent breach of
morality, carrying shame into convents and the
families of rich and poor alike. Even Florence, the
Florence of the sixteenth century already tutored
by Alessandro, was scandalised at the behaviour of
her leading citizen.
Then came the grim tragedy which removed
Alessandro for ever. Lorenzino, for reasons un
known, had resolved to compass the death of his
boon companion, and accordingly, on Saturday
night, January 5th, 1537, he laid a trap for his in
tended victim which was only too likely to succeed,
and which in the careful preparation of all its details
exhibited a diabolical degree of cunning.
There lived in the city a lady of whom Alessandro
was more than usually enamoured, and this lady
Lorenzino promised to bring to the Duke. The two
men accordingly went to the apartments of Loren
zino, and there the Duke waited while his companion
went to fetch the momentary possessor of his affec
tions. He did not notice that Lorenzino picked up
the sword he carelessly threw aside as he unbuckled
his belt, nor that he tied the sword securely in its
scabbard, replacing it in its former position : nor
did he remark, as he lay expectant on the couch,
exhausted with his daily excesses, that Lorenzino cast
a look of savage satisfaction upon him before he
went out.
Lorenzino shut the door silently and hurried away
on his errand as Alessandro fell into a heavy slumber.
His steps were directed, not to the dwelling of
Leonardo Ginori, but to the hovel of a man who
had become notorious as an assassin, and who went
by the name of Scoronconcolo. With the same

-

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Mm r- *- ^xj^\

1 i

^^^^B^^^Bm

SKkJS
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ALESSANDRO DE' MEDICI
{florence: Uffizi Gallery, Xo. 12S1)
ASSASSINATION OF ALESSANDRO 39
cunning that he had exhibited throughout his pre
parations, Lorenzino had engaged the services of
Scoronconcolo without divulging the name of the
person to be despatched. Varchi, who claims to
have had his information from the murderers them
selves, gives an account of the deed which at once
fascinates and repels the reader with its vividness and
horror. " Brother," said Lorenzino, approaching Scoron
concolo with a joyful countenance, "the time has
come. I have shut up mine enemy in my chamber,
and he sleeps."
"Let us be quick, then," replied Scoronconcolo,
rising from his seat. The two men went out ; and
as they mounted the stairs leading to where the Duke
lay sleeping Lorenzino turned round and said in a
whisper : —
" Wait not to see if he be a friend of the Duke,
but set your hand swiftly to the work."
" I will not fail, even if it were the Duke himself."
Lorenzino smiled and said : —
" That is the right view to take. Whoever it be,
he cannot escape us now."
Scoronconcolo signed to the other to go forward.
Lorenzino lifted the latch, then let it fall again
hesitatingly. He raised it a second time and went
in. His eyes fell on the heaving form of the Duke,
lighted only by the uncertain flickering of the log
fire. Alessandro was either asleep, or feigning sleep.
The murderer paused for a second and then said : —
" My lord, are you asleep ? "
These words were accompanied by a cruel sword-
thrust which pierced the Duke's body through the
middle, the weapon protruding a full span beyond.
The blow, in itself mortal, roused the sleeping man,

40 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
who scrambled behind the bed endeavouring to ward
off the strokes of his murderers with a stool.
Resistance was in vain, yet Alessandro fought
desperately for his life, uttering no sound. He
struggled to the door with the hope of escaping:
but Scoronconcolo stood there and struck him a
terrible blow in the face with his dagger. Lorenzino
seized him from behind and bore him down on the
bed : and for fear of his crying out forced the dying
man's mouth open and pushed two fingers down his
throat. Alessandro bit him to the bone, and Loren
zino, stifling an involuntary cry of pain, called
Scoronconcolo to his assistance. A wild struggle
ensued, the two men fighting desperately on the
blood-soaked bed, Scoronconcolo fearing to strike
lest he should inadvertently wound his companion.
At length the Duke grew faint with loss of blood,
and Scoronconcolo ended his struggles with a thrust
in the neck. The foul deed was accomplished, and
Alessandro fell back lifeless, with his teeth still
buried in Lorenzino's hand.
The body was lifted into bed and covered over.
Lorenzino locked the door and put the key into
his pocket. At midnight, having by means of a
subterfuge obtained permission to leave the city,
the assassins took horse and set out for Venice,
arriving there forty-eight hours later.
Thus ended the rule of the elder branch of the
Medici. Alessandro, himself of illegitimate birth,
left only an illegitimate son, Giulio, of whom we
catch glimpses from time to time. After the
murder of his father he was removed from Florence
and brought up in seclusion. When Cosimo de'
Medici founded the Order of the Cavalieri di Santo
Stefano in 1561 he was appointed Admiral-in-Chief

ELECTION OF COSIMO 41
of the galleys belonging to the Order. Montaigne,
in his Journal du Foyage en Italic, describes how
he met him in 1581 at Pisa, where he was then
residing. " He is an old man, and I chanced to
see him. He lives at his ease on the bounty of the
present Duke and takes no part in pubhc affairs,
being content to amuse himself with the excellent
hunting and fishing to be enjoyed in the neigh
bourhood." The tragedy which had occurred was not imme
diately discovered, and it seems strange that although
the Duke's absence was noticed no definite steps
were taken to find out what had happened. It
was known, however, that Lorenzino had left the
city at dead of night, riding post ; and this fact,
coupled with the non-appearance of Alessandro,
gave rise to great uneasiness. Cardinal Cybo and
the leading Florentines decided to keep their mis
givings to themselves, but took the precaution of
filling the city with soldiery.
When the door of Lorenzino's chamber was at
last forced open and the body of the Duke dis
covered the Council of the Quarantotto was hastily
called together ; and while all agreed on the single
point of keeping the murder secret, on all others
the forty-eight members held, as Varchi remarks,
forty-eight opinions. The widowed Duchess took
refuge in the Fortezza da Basso.
On the following Wednesday, January 9th, the
news was made public, and Cosimo was elected,
not at first Duke of Florence, but head of the State,
his election being precipitated by the threats of the
soldiery, whoj we are told, had surrounded the
Medici Palace in Via Larga (where the Quaran
totto were assembled) and threatened to hurl the

42 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
councillors from the windows if they did not choose
a duke without further delay.1 Owing perhaps to
the bond existing between the Medici and the all-
powerful Emperor, there was no organised attempt
to overthrow the Government, though the populace
stood ready to rise if a leader should appear. The
palaces of Cosimo and Lorenzino were sacked, but
beyond this not unusual circumstance in Itahan
political procedure there was httle disorder.
1 Saltini, Tragcdie Medicee Domestiche, Introd. xviii.

CHAPTER III
CAMALDOLI
Vasari's despair— Visits to Camaldoli and works done there— Ottaviano
de' Medici— Monte San Savino— Bologna— Vasari returns to Florence
and begins afresh— Birth of Francesco de' Medici — Vasari visits Venice.
VASARI received the news of his patron's death
with undisguised grief. For him it seemed to
spell utter disaster, and he wrote immediately to in
form his uncle that he was coming to Arezzo as soon
as he could get away. His letter is a mixture of
grief for his loss and fear for the safety of his own
skin. " Here am I, respected Uncle," he writes
(January 10th, 1537), "with all my worldly aspira
tions, the favours of fortune, the enthusiasm en
gendered by the confidence of a prince and the
hoped for rewards of my labours snuffed out with a
single breath. Duke Alessandro my patron lies
dead, stretched upon the ground with his throat
slit, like the beasts that perish, through the cruelty
and envy of his cousin Lorenzo di Pier Francesco.
In common with all his friends I bewail his terrible
end. All his paid soldiers, all his guards and his for
tresses have proved useless to ward off the stroke of
a single sword or to undo the machinations of two
secret and villainous traitors. At this moment
I cannot, as many selfishly do already, think of
the misfortune that has befallen myself. Courts like
these must ever be a breeding place for adulators,
seducers, deceivers and ruffians such as have brought
43

44 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
about not only the death of our Prince, but of all
who, spurning God for worldly pleasures, come to the
same dreadful end as his Excellency did last night.1
I think the sands are run out for all us who served
him. My mortification is the greater because Car
dinal Ippolito de' Medici and Clement his uncle,
whose patronage sent my ambition soaring high,
have both been ruthlessly snatched away by death."
So long as Vasari had a patron in Alessandro he
does not seem to have missed these others, but when
he likewise was taken the artist awoke to the uncer
tainty of court life. "Now that the veil has been
torn from before my eyes I realise that in my godless-
ness I did not pause to think whither my steps would
lead if I continued in this enslavement ; nor did I
see that though I might gain honour, fame and
riches for my bodily part it would be paid for by the
shame, unhappiness and infinite hurt of my immortal
soul. Now — since death has broken the chains which
once held me to this illustrious family — I am resolved
to absent myself for a while from all courts, whether
spiritual or temporal, believing that if I do so God
will have the more compassion on me, seeing me
wander from town to town, making the utmost of
my little ability ; beautifying the world, confessing
His omnipotence and devoting myself to His holy
service. I am convinced that if I do this, He who is
the Providence of the birds and of the beasts will
surely send me plenty of work, so that by the sweat
of my brow I shall still be able to help both you and
all my family, especially as I might have held the
1 This at least appears to be the sense of Vasari's letter. He was
evidently in a state of great agitation, and the letter is very much
involved in places. It will be noticed that Vasari, in common with all
the Florentines, was ignorant that the murder had been kept secret for
three days.

VASARI'S DESPAIR 45
same post as heretofore under Signor Cosimo de'
Medici, elected Prince in his (Alessandro's) place."
This is suspiciously like an attempt to make a bar
gain with the Almighty. Vasari is not certain what
to do. He would go to Rome to continue his studies
if it were not that he has still a picture to complete
for the church of San Domenico. The city is in a
condition of nervous unrest, and he begs his uncle
to pray for his safe return to Arezzo. " I swear to
you," he says, "that we retainers of the late Duke
Alessandro stand in the greatest peril here in
Florence. I have shut myself up in my own rooms
and have dispersed my few belongings among my
friends. As soon as the gates are opened I shall
send them all to you."
It would be exceedingly difficult to say how much
of Giorgio's sorrow was for the Duke and how much
for himself. He would have venerated any man
who bore the title of Duke of Florence, even were
he ten times a greater scoundrel than Alessandro.
Moreover, the murdered Duke had been capable of
appreciating Vasari's merits and had made public
recognition of his services on the occasion of
Charles's visit. What more likely than that Vasari
in return should have felt a degree of affection for
his patron quite out of proportion to his deserts ?
The only place in which he expresses his opinion of
the Duke is in the letter to Pietro Aretino ; but this
was written immediately after the memorable inter
view in Piazza San Felice when Alessandro had
kissed him, and while the seven hundred ducats were
still jingling in his pocket. Perhaps we should tone
down the terms of this eulogy. With the impress
of those coarse negro-like lips upon his forehead
Giorgio writes: "He is truly worthy to be the

46 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Prince not only of this city— which is the greatest in
Tuscany — but of the whole of this unfortunate,
miserable, weak and troubled Italy : for this doctor1
alone is likely to be able to heal her sores." How
much reliance is to be placed upon Vasari's judgment
may be gathered from this one instance.
Whatever the real facts of the case may have been,
it is clear that the murder of Alessandro was a grea
calamity for the painter, and altered the whole course
of his life. The intention of keeping away from
court life was rigidly adhered to ; and Vasari not
only became a recluse, but ran considerable risk of
losing his reason, falling once more a prey to melan
cholia. He returned to Arezzo as soon as his work in
Florence was finished, and we gather from a letter
written to a friend a month after the death of Ales
sandro that he had shut himself up in one room,
'suffering so much with melancholia on account of
the Duke's death that his brain is almost affected.'2
His condition of mind is reflected in his work — a
Deposition, for the Compagnia del Corpus Domini —
of which he says : "As I go on painting I ponder
upon this divine mystery of the righteous Son of
God, who was so cruelly done to death for our sins.
It helps me to bear with my own grief ; I am con
tent to live in peaceful poverty now, and find that
there is much consolation for my troubled spirit."
It was in vain that his friends in Florence urged him
to come back to the court ; Giorgio remained stead
fast in his resolution. His correspondence shows
1 The word here translated "doctor" is in the original "medico,"
and is evidently a play upon the name of the Medici. The letter is that
already quoted as having been written presumably on April 29th, 1536.
2 Vite, Vol. VIII, Utter No. 20, to Baccio Rontini.

VASARI'S DESPAIR 47
that he was glad to be free from the chains of his
former bondage, the unkindness, the ingratitude and
vain hopes of court life with all the deceits and flat
teries which such service entailed. Then, too, he
had still the duty to face of finding a husband for
his sister, in addition to providing for his mother, his
brother, and an aged uncle. He had no intention,
as he artlessly expresses it, of serving " those whom
poison or the dagger are likely to remove when most
you have need of them." No: henceforth he re
solved to court the favours of art alone, believing
that in so doing he would give less offence to " God
and the Eternal Future." 1
It soon became apparent to Giorgio's friends that
unless something were done to divert his attention
from himself his reason was likely to be seriously,
perhaps permanently, affected. He sat and moped
alone, mewed up in his own room, 'shunning the
society of his fellow men and the more intimate
companionship of home life.' At length he allowed
himself to be persuaded into paying a visit to Camal
doli, where it was hoped the mountain air would bring
him to a more healthy frame of mind. It is highly
probable, though not certain, that he went there first
in July or August, 1537. The facts which lead us
to this conclusion may be stated in a few words.
When Vasari left Florence and returned to Arezzo
he had already in hand two pictures: one the Deposi
tion already referred to, and the other a large canvas
for the Compagnia di San Rocco. He mentions the
former work in a letter of February, 1537, saying
that he hopes to finish it soon. The San Rocco
picture was finished in July of the same year, ac
cording to a letter written on the 6th of that month,
1 Letter No. 23, July 6th, 1537.

48 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
and then Vasari began the redecoration of the chapel
in which the picture was to be hung.1 He had
already made up his mind to go to Rome, where
numerous friends offered him a welcome, and pressed
forward with his work in order to escape from
Tuscany and its bitter memories. So much is to be
gleaned from the Autobiography. Then, he says, he
went to Camaldoli in the hope of finding employ
ment, probably, as already stated, in July or August,
1537 ; and there the " eternal sohtude of that moun
tainous district and the quiet of that holy sanctuary"
fell like balm on his troubled spirit.
The Hermitage of Camaldoli, founded by Romu-
aldo at the beginning of the eleventh century, stands
upon a lofty point in the Apennines known as the
Campo Malduli, about thirty-five miles from Arezzo.
The monastery, in the days of Vasari, seems to have
been regarded somewhat in the light of a sanatorium ;
for Benedetto Varchi, the historian and poet, with
many another illustrious Tuscan, was wont to ascend
the steep path that leads to Camaldoli to rest from
the fatigues of pubhc life. One of Varchi's sonnets
was penned in praise of this asylum : —
" Quai fu cor tanto debole ed infermo
. . . Che in questo silenzio alpestre ed ermo
Di mille abeti mille volte cinto
D'ogni eura mortal per sempre scinto
Non si rendesse a Dio costante e fermo ? "
To this spot, "belted a thousand times by a
thousand firs," Vasari went in accordance with the
1 " Io ho finito la tavola di San Rocco e da questi uomini della Com
pagnia ho preso a fare la cappella e la facciata, con tutto l'ornamento. . . .
Questo presto sara finita." The chapel of San Rocco has long since dis
appeared, but two of Vasari's pictures illustrating scenes from the life of
the Saint, and a fresco dealing with the same subject, are in the Pinacoteca
at Arezzo.

VISITS TO CAMALDOLI 49
wishes of his friends, and quickly began to recover.
At the end of the second day there is already a
change. " I begin to see," he writes, " what a mad
folly was mine, and whither it was leading me. Up
to the present I have spoken to five old men of about
eighty, and it is astonishing to see how, old as they
are, they get up in the middle of the night hke so
many boys, and set out each from his own little cell,
braving the frosts and deep-lying snows, to walk
the hundred and fifty paces which separate their
dwellings from the church. They go to Matins and
all their other sacred offices in the same spirit as any
one else would go to a wedding. Up here the very
silence itself is so full of eloquence that I scarcely
dare to breathe ; the leaves of the trees seem afraid
to rustle in the breeze, and the tiny rivulets racing
from cell to cell along their wooden channels forget
to brawl and disturb the peace of the hermitage."
The impression made on Vasari's mind by the
simple hfe of these good men was strange. After
the court hfe he had sighed for, then found wanting
and unsatisfactory, it came as a surprise to see these
cenobite monks with their frugality and rules of
silence in full enjoyment of the contentedness he
had vainly sought in a totally different sphere.
Their dwellings were of the simplest sort. Each
monk had a separate apartment, divided into three
portions. In one of these stood a low couch covered
by a straw pallet on which the recluse was obliged
to sleep fully dressed. The second portion contained
a few books and a desk, and was his study. The
remaining portion formed the sitting-room and was
furnished with a fire-place in which huge logs were
kept burning night and day on account of the
intense cold. Opposite there was a small window,

50 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
and under it a wooden shelf serving as a table when
the hermit sat at meat. There was also a small
recess containing an altar before which he spent a
goodly part of the day in prayer and praise. Of
comforts such as even the sixteenth century boasted
there were none. The apartment was lined with
boarding as a protection against the cold ; and the
various cells were knit together by a covered portico
where the monk might sit to enjoy the air or medi
tate on the divine Mysteries, sometimes receiving a
visit from another member of the confraternity when
the rule of silence was in abeyance. When the
brethren were "in retreat" they were allowed to
speak no word, but lived totally apart, eating with
out question such food as the monks in charge of the
kitchen placed upon the little shelf outside the door
of each habitation. At such times if a brother
found himself in need of salt or oil or some other
commodity he placed the empty vessel on the shelf
as a sign that he wished it to be replenished : but he
was not allowed to speak.
A few days spent among the pine trees of Camal
doli served to soften the outline of the past and
render it as a troubled dream but half remembered
in waking hours. Vasari threw off his morbid repin-
ings and began to hunger for work. The older
church erected in 1203 had, in 1523, given place to a
new structure which at the time of Giorgio's visit
still lacked much of its internal decoration,1 and the
monks, though desirous of employing him, were
afraid of his youthful appearance, and hesitated to
give him the work. As he tells us in the Auto
biography, he persuaded them to give him a trial,
1 The monastery had been sacked in 1527, and untold damage done to
the buildings.

OTTAVIANO DE' MEDICI 51
and accordingly he set to work on a picture of the
Virgin and Child with SS. John Baptist and Jerome.
It occupied him for two months, but when finished
it "gave great pleasure to the Fathers (or so they
pretended) and himself"; and the same two months
sufficed to show him how much more preferable were
quiet and solitude than the "noises of cities and
courts." As the winter months were approaching,
and it was impossible to work in fresco during the
long frosts at Camaldoli, Vasari returned to Arezzo
when this picture was completed, having given a
promise to go back in the following summer and
decorate the remaining portion of the screen. He
then seems to have finished his picture for the Com
pagnia di San Rocco, and we find him writing to
Ottaviano de' Medici to say that he will come on a
visit to Florence in obedience to Ottaviano's wishes.
His stay lasted only a few days, and he had much
difficulty in excusing himself for persistently refusing
to enter the service of Cosimo. He held to his reso
lution of going to Rome, and the Autobiography
states that he arrived in that city in February, 1538,
having yielded to the importunities of Ottaviano
only so far as to copy one of Raphael's pictures at
his urgent request. He remained in Rome until the
following June, and during that time, assisted by his
pupil Giambattista Cungi dai Borgo, who had accom
panied him, made more than three hundred drawings
of important buildings, " robbing her (Rome) of all
her most admirable possessions."1 At the same time,
to judge from the few fragments of correspondence
which have been preserved, he carried on a vigorous
1 Vite, Vol VIII, Letter No. 21 (to Pietro Aretino), to which Milanesi
ascribes the date of November, 1537, without any very apparent reason.
It seems more likely that it refers to the following year.

52 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
controversy with Ottaviano, who never ceased telling
him to return to Florence. Ottaviano's letters are
lost, but in one of them he evidently called Giorgio
some very hard names, for the latter replies that he
regards them as " a crown, not of laurel or myrtle,
but of purest gold " ; and he thanks the writer for
these epithets, saying that he could receive no more
flattering tribute. " I am determined to remain
among these stones which have become living things
in the hands of the masters of past days," he tells
Ottaviano in another letter. " I am resolved to for
get all the years that are past." "I prefer to be
dead and buried in Rome, rather than alive anywhere
else, where idleness, sloth and laziness do but blunt
the edge of genius ; making it lifeless and inert
instead of bright and fertile."
It appears to have been while in Florence that he
met Fra Bartolommeo Graziani and received instruc
tions to paint the Assumption in the Monastery of
Sant' Agostino at Monte San Savino, which was to
prove one of his best works. The execution of this
picture was, however, delayed until his return from
Rome, but probably was begun before his second
visit to Camaldoli. We know that he began the
Nativity at Camaldoli during this summer (1538),
and if we are correct in ascribing to his letter to
Pietro Aretino the date of November, 1538, this
must be the picture to which he refers as a "very
large work which I have not been able to finish as
the cold weather has set in." He adds that he has
just arrived in Florence so as to spend the feast of
All Saints with Ottaviano, and intends proceeding
to Monte San Savino " to finish a vast picture nine
braccia1 in height." It is therefore obvious that the
1 The braccio employed by Vasari was about twenty-three inches in length.

MONTE SAN SAVINO 53
picture was already commenced : and, moreover, we
learn from the Autobiography that the results of his
studies in Rome are to be seen in this picture, which
he considers to be "one of the best things he ever
did." Poets wrote laudatory verses in his honour,
though he thinks they were moved more by affection
for himself than by the quality of his work : " if
there be any merit in the picture, it is the gift of
God." The succeeding winter (1538-39), spent by Giorgio
in Florence at the side of his patron and friend
Ottaviano de' Medici, found him more than half
inclined to give up his life of retirement. There are
no more letters until 1540, and the only information
available is to be found in the Autobiography, and
a few references scattered through the pages of the
Lives. The picture at Camaldoli claimed his atten
tion during the summer, and he seems not only to
have completed the Nativity, but to have commenced
his third large painting, the Deposition,1 leaving it in
a condition which necessitated a further visit in the
following year.
Vasari must have felt that the hoped-for fruits of
his wandering life and avoidance of courts were
yielding an abundant harvest. He had a series of
works in hand for the monks of Camaldoli, com
missions from his numerous friends in Rome and
Florence, and an important work at Monte San
Savino. Then, while still at Camaldoli, Don Miniato
Pitti, the patron who had first employed him,
" having seen the picture at Monte San Savino and
1 In addition to these three pictures Vasari painted two smaller pictures
representing St. Donato and St. Ilarino. In the chapel of the monks' choir
there is an Annunciation, and in the Infirmary chapel an Agony in the
Garden.

54 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
the work at Camaldoli, told Don Filippo Serragh,
abbot of San Michele in Bosco (near Bologna) that
as the refectory of that famous convent was about
to be painted, the undertaking ought to be entrusted
to Giorgio and to nobody else."1
A casual remark in the Life of Salviati provides the
clue to the date of this occurrence, as Vasari, while
in Bologna on this occasion, received a visit from
Salviati, who had been working but a few days
before on the preparations for Cosimo de' Medici's
wedding. Cosimo was married in 1539. Francesco
reached Bologna two days after Giorgio had arrived
there, coming direct from Camaldoli. The proposed
work was of considerable magnitude, and as Vasari
hoped to complete it before the following summer he
was obhged to set about it with even more than his
usual despatch. Cristofano Gherardi2 and Cungi
were sent on before him from Camaldoli to get
everything in readiness for the arrival of Giorgio,
and as soon as the first frost put a stop to the
frescoes at the Hermitage, Vasari packed up his
wearing apparel, his brushes and pigments, and set
out for Bologna. A month later the whole work had
been sketched out, including a great frieze in fresco
with twenty scenes from the Apocalypse and three
large panel pictures. But not all the efforts of his
two assistants could satisfy the demands of the
master painter ; and accordingly Stefano Veltroni
was bidden to join the little party in the Monastery
of San Michele. Vasari urged them to still greater
activity by promising a pair of scarlet hose to who
ever showed most skill and diligence. This tempt-
i Vite, VII, 664.
2 Of Borgo San Sepolcro. He was born in 1508 and died in 1656.
His association with Vasari began in 1528.

S. GREGORY AT SUPPER WITH TWELVE POOR MEN
(Bologna)

BOLOGNA 55
ing offer had the desired effect, for we learn from the
Life of Gherardi that at the finish Giorgio was in
fairness obliged to give a pair to each of them. It is
to be hoped that the biographer was reimbursed for
the unexpected outlay incurred by this generous
offer. Of the works done here but little remains.
The monastery was suppressed in 1797, and one of
the panel pictures, St. Gregory at Supper with
Twelve Poor Men (in which the head of Gregory is
a portrait of Clement VII, and one of the poor men,
according to Vasari, presents the features of Ales
sandro, " in memory of the many benefits and kind
nesses he showered upon me "), is preserved in the
Pinacoteca at Bologna. Vasari's memory has once
more betrayed him, for Alessandro is not among the
Poor Men, but a courtier who stands behind St.
Gregory grasping his chair with both hands and
gazing across the table as though he alone has dis
cerned the presence of the Christ at the banquet.
The Christ in the House of Simon is no longer in
Bologna, and the third picture, representing Abraham
Entertaining the Angels, is said by Milanesi to have
been sent to Milan, but it is neither in the Brera nor
Ambrogiana Galleries.
Giorgio completed his task, as stated in the in
scription,1 in eight months ; and as he had worked
more to please his friends than for gain, was quite
content to receive two hundred crowns as payment.
There were more reasons for his haste than that
1 The St. Gregory is signed and dated "Giorgio Aretino faceva
MDXXXX." The old inscription once attached to the series, however,
gave the date as 1539: "Octonis mensibus opus ab Aretino Georgio
pictum, non tam prsecio, quam amicorum obsequio, et honoris voto, anno
MDXXXIX. Philippus Serralius pon. curavit." All the accessories of
the St. Gregory picture were the unassisted work of Cristofano, Vasari
painting only the figures.

56 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
given by the artist, for it is clear that the painters of
Bologna resented his appearance in their midst
and endeavoured to make his stay as unpleasant as
possible. Biagio Pupini of Treviso in particular
showed his jealousy and fear that Giorgio had come
to rob the Bolognese of their rights by tormenting
him without ceasing. " These things, however, gave
them far more trouble than they did me," he says, "and,
as a matter of fact, I was only amused at their anger
and machinations." But they contrived to drive him
away nevertheless ; otherwise it would be difficult to
account for his precipitate flight to Florence, where,
as he says, he whiled away the time in copying
pictures until it was possible to continue the work
at Camaldoli ; and probably executing the pictures
of the Dead Christ and the Resurrection for Don
Miniato Pitti, which are referred to in his own life.
Once more, and for the last time, we find Vasari
at Camaldoli, namely, in the summer of 1540, com
pleting the work which had been begun four years
previously. The Deposition, replacing the altar-piece
painted by Spinello Aretino in 1361, was soon com
pleted, and Vasari took advantage of his leisure time
and the "quiet coolness of Camaldoli" to paint a
St. John for Ottaviano de' Medici. It may be noted
that throughout his whole career Vasari was never
at a loss for something to do. Before one work was
completed another invariably came in view : and so
it proved at this juncture. The St. John was not
completed before Bindo Altoviti, visiting Camaldoli,
gave Vasari instructions to prepare a picture for
the church of Sant' Apostolo in Florence, a work in
which he strained every nerve to rival perfection
itself, as it was the first specimen of his handiwork
to be placed in that city, and he hoped to begin with

RETURN TO FLORENCE 57
a flourish. This picture, representing the Deposition,
is now in the chapel of the Conception in SS. Apos
toli, and for it the artist received the sum of 300
scudi in gold, besides many favours from Bindo when,
later on, he again visited Rome.
With the return of Vasari from Camaldoli to
Florence in the autumn of 1540 it is as well to
pause and look back for a moment. His Hfe during
the four years of his voluntary exile from the friends
of his youth had taught him much that was to prove
useful in after Hfe. He had begun to realise that
court life resembled strong drink ; that a man might
abstain from either and yet be happy, and that too
much enjoyment of either intoxicant was likely to
be followed by ill effects. At the age of twenty-
nine Vasari, when he returned to Florence, found
himself in the forefront of the artists of his time ;
not, be it noted, because he was a painter of out
standing merit, but because Italian art had grown
old after a short and unparaUeled course, and was
sinking already in decay. This fact Giorgio was in
capable of understanding. He viewed himself as a
diamond of the first water standing boldly forth in
a setting of brilliants, whereas his real position is
that of a second-rate gem whose chief adornment
is its isolation. The giants, with the single excep
tion of Michelangelo, had passed away. Vasari
stood as a being of ordinary height amid dwarfs ;
and thought himself to have become a giant because
he found no one of his own stature. Yet, though
Giorgio as an artist was shorter by a head than he
beheved, modern criticism has done him an injustice
in remembering him as a biographer and forgetting
all that he did as painter and architect. The archi
tect of the Uffizi Gallery and of the Palazzo de'

58 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Cavalieri di San Stefano at Pisa is surely worthy of
some recognition beyond that of a gossip whose
records are to be in part disproved and the rest dis
believed. As a painter he did nothing which com
mands our admiration, but he was one of the most
eminent men of his own generation; a period, it
must be remembered, when art was beheved to have
already reached perfection, leaving nothing for Vasari
and his contemporaries to do but to five up to the
established level of excellence, not to strive to ex
ceed it. In the eyes of Giorgio the high-water mark
of art had been established, and even in his most
sanguine moments he only feels that he " must not
fall behind Michelangelo and Raffaello."
After the many difficulties and gaps which occur
in the account of his wanderings, it is satisfactory to
find that the return of Vasari to Florence in the
autumn of 1540 is substantiated by a letter written
at the end of October. It contains little of interest,
but we learn from it that the work at Camaldoh was
just completed before the cold weather set in.
Camaldoli had been the last link left of his old
life. Each time he revisited that peaceful spot
Vasari felt renewed within himself the old hatred of
courts, while the simple routine of the monastery
touched a chord in his heart and set it vibrating in
harmony. Yet it must be confessed that each suc
ceeding winter, when he was driven from his moun
tain refuge, found his resolution less firm. The
Medici, patrons of his family for more than three
generations, were to him divinely appointed Princes
and the lords of his destiny ; and whenever he had
the opportunity Vasari turned his steps to Florence,
seeing the devil's hook yet nibbling at the bait,
making it his excuse that he was obliged by duty to

BIRTH OF FRANCESCO DE' MEDICI 59
report himself to Ottaviano. When at length the
works at Camaldoli, Monte San Savino and Bologna
no longer called him, he yielded still further to the
voice of the tempter and took up his abode in
Florence. It is significant of his attitude of mind at this
time that, as he tells us in the Autobiography, in
order to free himself from troublesome thoughts, he
first of all found a husband for his remaining sister,
and then purchased a house which had just been
begun at Arezzo : facts which throw light upon his
earnings since the time when he had written to his
uncle saying : " God will have the more compassion
on me, seeing me wander from town to town, mak
ing the utmost of my little ability, beautifying the
world, confessing His omnipotence and devoting my
self to His holy service."
The first work to occupy him was the picture for
Bindo Altoviti, the Conception, in the church of
Sant' Apostolo, for which he received a sum of three
hundred crowns. It is stiU in good preservation ;
and though the prudery of a later age has caused
the nude figure of Adam to be decorated with
painted drapery, it is interesting as being the first
work done after his return to the world. It was
foUowed by a Venus and the Swan, for Ottaviano de'
Medici. In the meanwhile Vasari had been asked to visit
Venice, and would undoubtedly have gone forthwith
had it not been that a domestic event, of much im
portance in the family of Duke Cosimo, was daily
expected. At length, on March 23rd, 1541, the
Duchess, Eleonora di Toledo, gave birth to a son and
heir. The ducal infant had, of course, to be baptised,
and it was in anticipation of this ceremony that

60 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Vasari elected to postpone the journey to Venice.
Tribolo had control of the preparations in the Bap
tistery, and at first it appeared as though Giorgio had
waited in vain. Then, at the last moment — six days
before the baptism, if we are to believe our author —
Cosimo gave orders that a large picture of St. John
baptising our Lord should be painted behind the high
altar. The story, which as usual redounds to the
credit of Vasari, is told in the Life of Tribolo.1
Jacopo di Pontormo refused to undertake the picture
at so short a notice : Ridolfo Ghirlandaio did the
same, and so did Bronzino and many others.
Now Giorgio Vasari happened to return from
Bologna about that time. You must know, also,
that Tasso, architect of the Palazzo, had his own
particular friends, and that there was a Httle clique
of artists who basked in the favouring smile of Pier-
francesco Ricci, major-domo to the Duke, and who so
managed things that nobody outside this select body
ever got any work to do. This clique stood in terror
of Giorgio, who only laughed at their vanity and
stupidity, relying on his own ability and not on the
favour of others to get him employment. Where
others had feared to tread Vasari rushed in ; and
having begun the picture, finished it in six days with
as fine a finish as the rest of the work. It was the
one thing necessary to make the whole scheme perfect.
This feat made such an impression on the biographer
that he mentions it in his own Hfe as an example of
the "great rapidity" and "incredible ease" with
which all his "pictures and designs of whatsoever
kind " had always been done : quahties which, as
Milanesi justly remarks, have been considered by
posterity as blameworthy rather than otherwise.
1 Vite, Vol. VI, p. 89.

Giorgio Vasari firog
BAPTISMAL PROCESSION
(Florence: Palazzo I'ecchw)

VISIT TO VENICE 61
The Venus and the Swan was finished in July, but
though Vasari hoped to set out for Venice " at the
end of August " he was prevented from carrying out
this intention until October. On the 6th of that
month he wrote to Aretino from Bologna to say
that he had begun his journey; and from various
sources we are enabled to trace his progress through
Parma, Modena, and Mantua, visiting, in the latter
town, Giulio Romano, whom he already knew per
fama e lettere. During the four days of Vasari's
sojourn Giulio acted as his guide, showing him all
the wonders of the Palazzo del Te and other build
ings ; while Giorgio, as his habit was, interspersed
little scraps of gossip into the conversation to beguile
the time. Among the treasures of the Gonzaga
family was a portrait of Leo X, which Giulio showed
his visitor, telling him that it was the work of
Raphael. " But Giorgio Vasari ... he who had been
the protege and favourite of Ottaviano de' Medici
in his childhood," knew better, as he had seen Andrea
del Sarto at work upon it, copying the original at the
command of Ippolito, who then hid the genuine work
of Raphael in a cupboard.1 In short, Vasari — to use
his own words — " discovered and made known the
whole affair."
Passing through Verona and stopping to fill his
note-books with sketches of all that interested him,
in spite of the dangers of the road, Giorgio arrived
in Venice at the end of the year, and immediately
found work in preparing the accessories for the
setting of Pietro Aretino 's Talanta, to be performed
by the Compagnia della Calza. His first step, after
accepting the commission, was to send for Gherardi,
Cungi, and the other assistants, without whom he
1 Vite, Vol. V, p. 42,

62 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
seems to have been incapable of doing even the most
insignificant work. Lanzi,1 indeed, is unkind enough
to say that Giorgio had as many helpers in his pic
tures as labourers on his buildings ; and certainly
there is ample justification for the remark. In the
present instance, however, Giorgio was compeUed to
work alone for a considerable time. The circum
stances which delayed the arrival of his assistants
throw an interesting sidelight upon the joys of
travelling in Italy during the sixteenth century ; for
Gherardi and his companions, if they foUowed the
usual route, would be obliged to travel on horseback
as far as Padua and then sail down the Brenta in an
open boat to Fusina, where a mudbank stopped the
mouth of the river. The boat was then placed on a
wheeled carriage, and with infinite pains hauled with
winches along a corduroy road to the shore of the
lagoon, where the passengers once more embarked
and the boat proceeded in the direction of Venice.
The journey, which is to-day accomplished by train in
less than an hour, took, according to that dehghtful
traveller, Tom Coryat, twelve hours,2 and not infre
quently the boat was blown out of its course. This
misfortune befell Cungi and Gherardi, and while
Vasari looked out for them day by day from Venice,
wondering why they did not come, they were being
borne swiftly and surely across the Adriatic in a
totaUy different direction. When the vessel reached
land the travellers, weak and iU with the terrors of
the voyage, found to their dismay that they had
1 Lanzi: Storia Pittorica della Italia dai risorgimento . . . al fine del XVIII
secolo. 2 A professor at Padua University assured the present writer that in
his youth this method of reaching Venice was still the usual one. He
says that the journey took three days, and that they relieved the mono
tony by singing to the accompaniment of mandolines and guitars.

VISIT TO VENICE 63
drifted to Istria, and had once again to brave the
fickleness of sea and wind. They did not reach
Venice until Vasari had given up all hopes of them
and had set to work, in a very bad temper and all
alone. Yet most of the work was, in the end, done by
Cristoforo Gherardi, as we learn from the life of
that painter. There is a letter extant, written by
Vasari to Ottaviano, in which he describes the festa
with the same monotony of detaU which characterises
aU his accounts of similar undertakings. "Every
one" — of course — "who sees it is smitten with as
tonishment, and they say it is a pity to take it all
down again." There was a background on which
was depicted far more of Rome than could ever be
seen from one point of view : there were columns of
the " Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, Composite
and Rustic " orders — whatever the last may be ; and
there was a highly realistic sun " which moved across
the scene during the performance, and gave out an
exceedingly bright light " ; contrived apparently with
glass vessels filled with water, and lamps. The play
was acted by the chief nobles of Venice, " and there
was such a large assemblage of guests that it was
almost impossible to breathe, for the lights and the
number of people made the room hot to suffocation."
Vasari remained in Venice for some time, painting
a series of pictures for the palace of Giorgio Cornaro
— since destroyed — and revelling in the beauties of
that island city, "the most glorious and heavenly
show upon the water that ever mortal eye beheld,
such a show as did even ravish me with delight and
admiration," as Coryat described it a few years after
Vasari's visit. Venice is stiU surpassingly fair; but
what she must have been when her frescoed and

64 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
gilded palaces were fresh from the painters' hands,
each window with its "very pleasant little tarrasse,
that jutteth, or butteth out from the maine building,
the edge whereof is decked with many prety litle
turned pillars, either of marble or free stone to leane
over," can only be guessed at. The quaint and
unusual costumes of the "Polonians, Slavonians,
Persians, Grecians, Turks, Jewes, Christians of all
the famousest regions of Christendome," whom the
above-mentioned traveller saw in the Piazzetta as
they landed from their richly laden ships to bring
their merchandise to the great emporium of Venice,
left their impression on Vasari's mind, and ten years
or so later served him for the figures in the Adoration
of the Magi in Sta. Maria di Scolca at Rimini.

CHAPTER IV
THE " LIVES OF THE PAINTERS "
Rome — Study of architecture — Palazzo Farnese cornice — Lucca — Rome
again — Naples — Sala della Cancelleria — Inception of the Lives —
Doubts as to when they were really begun — Their progress — Caro's
letter — Visit to Rimini — Purchase of a house in Arezzo — Feast of
Ahasuerus — Contemporary opinion of Vasari.
THE attractions of Venice proved so great that it
was only the persuasive arguments of Gherardi
which prevailed to draw Vasari away from a city
where " good drawing was neglected for the pursuit
of briUiant colouring." On the 16th of August, as
Giorgio himself relates, he returned to Tuscany and
set hand to the decoration of his new home, painting
at the same time a Nativity for the nuns of Santa
Margherita. These works were soon completed, and
towards the end of the autumn he set out once more
for Rome ; destined, as after events proved, to return
many times and to rise to positions of increasing
importance. We are not able to trace in detail the
steps by which he rose. Once more there is a break
in his correspondence, and between the closing
months of 1543 and the year 1545 there is a gap
over which the Autobiography throws no bridge.
Giorgio began to devote more serious attention to
architecture than he had hitherto done, urged thereto
by the praises bestowed upon him by Michelangelo :
praises which " for the sake of modesty " he wiU not
repeat1. In the meantime he continued to paint, and
1 Vite, Vol. VII, p. 672.
T 65

66 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
finished for Bindo Altoviti the Deposition which now
hangs in the Pamfili Gallery. This picture " had the
good fortune not to displease (per sua grazia non
dispiacque) the greatest painter, architect, and sculptor
that has ever been in our time, and perhaps in past
ages," and also attracted the notice of Cardinal
Farnese, for whom, as we learn from the Life of
Gherardi, Vasari painted a large picture in oils,
which was hung in the Palazzo della CanceUeria1.
Then followed the usual summer visit to Florence
and Arezzo : and in the autumn months he again
turned southwards to spend the winter among those
cherished stones which " Time's gradual touch
Has mouldered into beauty "
and near his "divinissimo Michelangelo." We are
not told what works occupied him, but it was in aU
probability at this period that he became, as he infers
in the Life of Antonio da San Gallo, one of the best
architects in Rome. He is speaking of the Palazzo
Farnese and of the competition for the cornice.
Paul III, while still Cardinal Farnese, had practi
cally completed the structure, but on becoming Pope
commanded San Gallo to effect considerable altera
tions. The building was carried up from the archi
tect's designs, but when the time came for setting
up the cornice, Paul, "who wanted to have the
finest cornice that any palace could possibly have,"
gave orders that " all the best architects in Rome "
should submit designs.
" And so, one morning, when the Pope was lunching
1 Vile, Vol. VI, p. 227. Vasari also mentions in the same place a
picture for Galeotto de Girone for the church of Sant' Agostino. There
is a letter, dated January 20th, 1543, from Vasari to Cardinal Farnese,
written in Rome and referring to a cartoon— possibly that for the picture
in the CanceUeria.

PALAZZO FARNESE CORNICE 67
in the Belvedere, all the drawings I have spoken of
were taken to him, in the presence of Antonio. They
were by Pierino del Vaga, Fra Bastiano del Piombo,
Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Giorgio Vasari, who
was at that time a youth in the service of Cardinal
Farnese." Vasari, indeed, submitted two designs,
though neither of them won for him the distinction
of finishing the palace. It may be noted, too, that
neither Pierino nor Fra Bastiano had any claim to be
considered architects. The incident must have taken
place in 1543, as the only other occasion on which
Vasari is known to have been in the employment of
the Cardinal was in 1546, the year of San Gallo 's
death. Vasari apparently, in his own opinion, was
stUl a youth at the age of thirty-two.
The Autobiography tells us that " on the Feast of
St. Peter following,1 as it was excessively hot in
Rome and I had already spent the whole winter of
1543 there, I went back to Florence ; and there, in
the house of Messer Ottaviano de' Medici (which I
might almost call my own home) I painted for Messer
Biagio Mei of Lucca, his godfather, the same subject
as I had done for Messer Bindo in Sant' Apostoli,"
namely, a Conception. It is a miserable performance,
if the truth be told, though the design shows some
originality. On the summit of the Tree of Good and
Evil is seated the Madonna, while in the branches
are entangled such worldly people as kings, soldiers
and women. The serpent winds round the trunk of
the tree, and it is to be noticed that Vasari gives it
the head of a woman. There is a small, slightly
modified sketch of the same subject in the Uffizi.
Both pictures present a restless mass of writhing
figures, lacking both in colour and composition. The
1 That is to say, on June 29th, 1544.

68 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
larger work is now in the Pinacoteca at Lucca,
whither it was removed on the demolition of the
church of San Pier Cigoli. At the same time two
other, and far more satisfactory, works of Vasari — a
St. Blaise and a St. Eustace — found their way into
this gaUery. These pictures were also, in all proba-
bihty, painted for Biagio Mei, one of them, indeed,
representing his titular saint.
There is a letter, written to Francesco Leoni and
dated Lucca, July 21st, which partly supports the
Autobiography by saying that he has been in Lucca
for the past two weeks for the purpose of putting up
this picture in the church of San Pier Cigoli. The
letter, however, states that the picture had been com
pleted in the previous autumn.
The sequel to the visit to Lucca is described in
another letter to Leoni, dated August 8th, 1544.
Biagio Mei, to Vasari's evident disgust, died whUe
the finishing touches were being put to the work.
The misfortune put him into a bad temper, for the
whole of the epistle is one continued grumble at
Fate, at everything in general and Ottaviano de'
Medici in particular. " I came back from Lucca last
night," he writes, "and I left Messer Biagio Mei
dead in his bed. The loss makes me feel desperate
for more reasons than one, but I will teU you aU
about it when I see you." " I am getting on as weU
as I can expect, but not so weU as I deserve ; and it
is aU because I am too much at the beck and caU of
other people." He resents being ordered about by
Ottaviano, and says that he holds himself at his
(Leoni's) service, " although Messer Ottaviano keeps
shouting to me to go to Rome, with the air of a
patron who has given me, at the very least, the papal
tiara."

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S. EUSTACE AND S. BLAISE
(Lucca)
ROME 69
Vasari's sudden outburst of spleen against Otta
viano, whom in calmer moments he acknowledges to
have been the chief of his benefactors, was probably
due partly to the inconvenience and loss of patronage
incident on the death of Biagio Mei and partly to
the fact that to visit Rome at this juncture would
interfere with other work which he had in hand,
consisting of two pictures, the Virgin and Saints and
the Deposition, destined for the Cathedral of Pisa.
These were done after his return from Lucca, and
the execution of them must have filled up the
interval before his return to Rome. They appear to
have been destroyed in the fire of 1595.
In Rome he set to work with his accustomed
ardour, hoping to make up for the time spent at
Lucca and Pisa ; and, perhaps, to win back the
favour of Ottaviano. As a result, "being ill and
worn out with infinite hard work," he was obliged
to return to Florence in order to be nursed back to
health. But there was to be no rest for Giorgio Vasari.
At the end of the year, or early in 1545, he was
summoned to Naples, to work for the monks of
Monte Oliveto and for Pietro di Toledo, the Viceroy ;
and as usual he set off at once, eager to begin,
and more eager still to show the Neapolitans the
splendour of his attainments. " It is a remarkable
fact," he tells us in the oft-quoted Autobiography,
" that from Giotto's time down to our own day this
great and noble city has not produced one artist
whose works are of importance, although some of the
pictures of Perugino and Raffaello have found their
way there. On that account I endeavoured, so far
as lay in my power, to awaken the intellects of those
people." Instead, however, of stirring the natives

70 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
into impotent emulation and winning the triumph
he sighed for, Vasari was destined to have one more
rude awakening from his dreams. Towards the end
of his visit a struggle arose between the monks and
the officers of justice over the question of precedence,
during which the monks fought all too valiantly, and
succeeded in wounding several of their opponents.
In this fray the fifteen assistants of Giorgio took no
insignificant part, and as a consequence they were
compelled to escape from Neapolitan territory by
such means as their ingenuity suggested, leaving
Giorgio to face the storm alone. Discouraged at the
turn events had taken and robbed of all assistance,
Vasari stayed on for a while, then turned away sadly
and returned to Rome, taking with him twenty-four
pictures which had still to be finished for the church
of S. Giovanni a Carbonara. Of this large series
one of the pictures done on the spot, the Presentation
in the Temple, is now preserved in the Museo
Nazionale at Naples. Fifteen of the twenty-four
finished in Rome are still to be seen in the church
of San Giovanni a Carbonara, blackened by time and
greatly damaged. The paintings for the monks of
Monte Oliveto to which the Autobiography refers
are in the ceiling of the old Sacristy, or chapel of the
Carracciolo di Sant' Erasmo, a series of panels sur
rounded by grotteschi in the manner of Raffaello.
They have been restored with a thoroughness which
has obliterated all traces of the original work
with the exception of two panels, in which Vasari's
work may stiU be detected. In addition to the work
already mentioned, he executed two frescoes over the
inner side of the lateral doorways in the Cathedral,
which have been destroyed in the process of restoring
the facade; and an allegorical picture, painted in 1543,

SALA DELLA CANCELLERIA 71
and bearing the title Justice punishing Vice and re
warding Virtue, which is now preserved in the Museo
Nazionale. Vasari had been a year at Naples ; 1 and as it is
reasonable to suppose that even with the help of
"about fifteen" assistants (supposing that they all
contrived to escape from Naples) a considerable lapse
of time would be required for the completion of the
Neapohtan pictures, it must be assumed that the
decoration of the Sala deUa CanceUeria in the Palazzo
San Giorgio could not have been begun very early
in 1546. This work Giorgio completed in exactly
a hundred days, a feat which seems to have surprised
everybody with exception of Michelangelo, who on
reading the inscription in which Giorgio recorded his
achievement, is said to have expressed his opinion in
the words, e' si conosce — "anyone could have seen
that." This anecdote is related by Vasari himself at
the end of his Life of Michelangelo, though he dis
creetly omits the name of the artist to whom the
rebuke was addressed. The painter himself dis
covered the error into which his haste had led him
in time to apologise for it in the Autobiography, but
ungenerously lays the blame upon his assistants.2 " I
1 " Avendo in un anno larorato in quella citta opere abbastanza "
(VUe, Vol. VII, p. 674).
2 Of these assistants seven are mentioned by name in various parts of
the Lives. Bizzerra and Roviale (Spaniards), Battista Bagnacavallo,
Bastiano Flori, Gian Paolo dai Borgo, Fra Salvadore Foschi and Raffaello
dai Colle. Of Vasari's paintings in the CanceUeria there is a contempor
ary notice (preserved in Bottari, Vol. V, No. 37) written by Antonfran-
cesco Doni, a Servite monk, to Lelio Torelli, a few months after the
completion of the work. He gives a very careful and minute account of
it, which tallies in a remarkable degree with that in the Autobiography.
"As I am in Rome," he writes, . . . " I want to tell you about some
thing new and beautiful of which you may have heard, though you
cannot have seen it : I refer to the Sala of the most reverend and
illustrious Cardinal Farnese which was painted last year by that most
excellent artist, Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo.''

72 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
resolved that for the future I would undertake no
more work unless I could do the whole of it myself,
allowing my assistants to draw only the rough out
lines from my designs. ... It would have been
better to have taken a hundred months and to have
done the whole thing myself."
Yet while Vasari was thus engaged in a work
which even he admitted to be far from satisfactory,
he was unconsciously standing on the very threshold
of immortality. The story of how the Lives of the
Painters came to be written has been told by
Giorgio himself, and is well known to all students
of art. It was, according to him, in 15461 — the date
is of importance — that he painted the Sala deUa
CanceUeria, spending his evenings among the suite
of the Cardinal.
" At the time I am speaking of," he says, " I was
in the habit of going to the house of the most iUus-
trious Cardinal after I had finished work for the day,
and used to sit by while he supped, listening to the
elegant and scholarly discourse with which Molza,
Annibale Caro, Messer Gandolfo, Messer Claudio
Tolomei, Messer Romolo Amaseo, Monsignore
Giovio, and many other learned and gallant gentle
men who frequented the palace used to entertain
him. On one particular evening they were dis
cussing Giovio's Museum, as well as the portraits of
illustrious men he had eoUected and put in it. The
conversation passed from one topic to another, as
generally happens in a gathering of this sort, and
Monsignor Giovio remarked that he had always
wished to enrich his Museum and his Book of
Eulogies with some kind of treatise tracing the
1 " L'anno medesimo (1546), avendo animo il Cardinale Farnese di far
dipingere la sala della CanceUeria nel palazzo di San Giorgio/' etc.

INCEPTION OF THE "LIVES" 73
history of aU who had been famous in the arts of
design, beginning with Giotto and coming down to
our own day. Then, as he warmed to his theme, he
revealed a certain amount of intuitive knowledge
and a nice appreciation of our art, though it is true
that for the most part he confined himself to gener
alities and avoided the discussion of technical matters.
Often, too, he would mix up the baptismal and famUy
names of the painters he mentioned, getting himself
entangled with their nationahties and their works,
and telling the wrong end of the story first. When
Giovio finished speaking, the Cardinal turned to me
and said : —
" ' WeU, Giorgio, and what do you think of the
matter ? Do you not think that such a work would
be weU worth doing ? '
"'It would, indeed, be a splendid undertaking,
most iUustrious Cardinal,' I rephed, 'provided that
Giovio were assisted by a painter, or someone who
could put the facts into their proper order and ex
plain the technicahties to him. I offer this sugges
tion because in much of what he said just now he
put the cart before the horse.'
"An animated conversation took place between
the Cardinal, Giovio, Caro Tolomei and the others.
Then the Cardinal turned to me again, and said : —
"'WeU; could you not yourself supply some
sort of outline, and a series of notices of each
artist, arranged in the proper order? By doing
so you would confer a benefit on these arts of
yours.' "I gave my promise, and although I knew that
such a work was beyond my ability, I said that
I would do aU that lay in my power, and do it with
the utmost willingness."

74 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
This is the account of the incident given by
Vasari, and the one which has been accepted as
reliable. Even in this, however, the writer of the
Lives has been caught napping by Sig. Scoti-
Bertinelli,1 who justly observes that as Molza died
in February, 1544, he could not very weU have been
present— at least in the flesh— at the historic gather
ing of 1546. Either, therefore, Vasari is incorrect
in stating that Molza was one of those who supped
with the Cardinal on that evening, or else the inci
dent actually took place earlier than the date assigned
to it. The above-mentioned writer adduces many
arguments in favour of the latter theory ; and, while
failing to produce any conclusive testimony, gives it
as his opinion that the discussion took place not in
1546, but in the earlier part of 1543. To give his
arguments in full would occupy too much space, but
the centre-point of his attack is based upon the short
time at the biographer's disposal if the book were
only begun in 1546, and before the end of the foUow-
ing year had so far progressed as to be " nearly ready
for copying out in a clerkly hand." In support of
his contention he urges that Vasari was particularly
busy at this time ; and when it is remembered that
he had the whole of the Sala to decorate in addition
to six pictures which are specifically mentioned in
the Autobiography, it does not seem possible that he
should have found time to compile the volumes
which have rendered the name of Giorgio Vasari
undying. Vasari, however, had reaUy been preparing for these
Lives ever since he was a chUd — witness his remarks
at the end of his Life of Ghiberti, in which he says,2
1 Annali della Rsale Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Vol. XIX
(1906), p. 23 et seq. 2 Vite, Vol. II, p. 249.

THE "LIVES" 75
speaking of the drawings in his Libro di Disegni : —
"I obtained these drawings" — by Ghiberti — "together
with others by Giotto and his contemporaries, from
Vettorio Ghiberti, in 1528, when I was quite a
young man. And I have always held them, as
I do still, in great veneration, both because they
are beautiful and as a memorial of such great
masters." Vasari, indeed, knowing that he alone
had the material for such a work, may even have
been the first to moot the subject, ventilating his
opinions among his friends, making suggestions as
to their form and scope while keeping discreetly
silent upon the notes he had already collected. It
must be urged, too, that Sig. Scoti-Bertinelli's evi
dence is not always as satisfactory as it would appear,
for in the course of his work already cited he refers
to two unpublished manuscripts in the Biblioteca
deUa Confraternita di Santa Maria at Arezzo. In
the first place the city can boast of no such library,
and presumably he refers to the Biblioteca della Pia
Fraternita di Santa Maria, which is now the Munici
pal Library. But more than this : the present writer
has been able to satisfy himself that one of the two
manuscripts does not exist, and never has existed, at
least in the library referred to.1 It is the one cited
by him as being entitled " Vita di Giorgio Vasari,
pittore aretino, scrittore delle Vite de' Pittori, Scul-
tori ed Architetti." He appears to have been de
ceived by a cursory glance at a ponderous manuscript
1 By the 'courtesy of the Librarian and with the kind assistance of
Sig. Ubaldo Pasqui, author of the Guida d' 'Arezzo and an acknowledged
authority on the archives of the city, I was enabled to ransack the trea
sures of the library and to assure myself that the statements made above
are fully justified. I was convinced that Sig. Scoti-Bertinelli had not
read his " manuscript " with much attention, and I hoped by a more care
ful perusal to find new light on my subject. I was disappointed.

76 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
with the title " Memorie Storiche Aretine," the Index
of which is far more complete than the volume. The
former, in fact, was drawn up first by way of a
general synopsis, but the subsequent text was never
completed. The Life of Vasari, whUe his name cer
tainly appears in the Index, was never written.
UntU the question is settled by the discovery of
conclusive evidence to the contrary, it wiU be ad
visable to adhere to Giorgio's own story, accusing
him only of a bad memory when he says that Molza
was one of those who urged him to write the Lives.
How tenaciously he clings to the idea that Molza
was still living is to be seen in his account of the
further progress of the book.
It is almost a pity that Giorgio was destined to
Hve and die three hundred and more years ago.
Had he been living to-day he Avould assuredly have
been a journalist, and would have made his mark in
the newspaper world as a never -failing fount of
" copy." From early youth, as already noted, he
had been fond of collecting information of the kind
required for the Lives, and the long round of visits
he had made while on his way to Venice in 1542 had
most surely added greatly to his store. These notes
he put into shape and carried to Giovio for his con
sideration and acceptance. The Bishop refused to
take the completion of the work out of the hands of
one who was evidently quite capable of doing it;
and when Giorgio tried to excuse himself "he set
Caro, Molza, Tolomei and all the rest of my most
intimate friends on to me ; and finally I agreed to
finish it myself. I set to work and began to write
the book, with the intention of submitting it to one
of them for correction, and then publishing it under
a pseudonym." There are many indications which

PROGRESS OF THE "LIVES" 77
might be cited to show that Vasari adhered, in the
First Edition, to his intention not only of issuing
the book anonymously, but even of omitting all
mention of himself. One instance will suffice.
It will be remembered that Giorgio, whUe in
Mantua in 1541, had been the guest of Giulio
Romano, and that he had taken the opportunity of
exposing the trick played by Cardinal Ippolito de'
Medici on the Duke of Mantua in palming off a
copy made by Andrea del Sarto as an original work
by Raffaello. In recounting this incident in the
First Edition, Giorgio says that the fraud was ex
posed by " a man who was staying with Andrea at
the time he painted the picture." He adds that
this person was " under the patronage of Ottaviano,"
but does not disclose his identity. In the Second
Edition, that of 1568, he completely recasts the
sentence, and with some pride tells the reader that
Giulio's informant was " Giorgio Vasari . . . who in
his chUdhood had been the favourite and protege" of
Ottaviano."1 So it was that Giorgio found himself pushed
bodily, as it were, into the literary field. And,
strangely enough, while he is tolerably proud of his
work as a painter, his writings are mentioned with
modesty, with real modesty. No fault can be found
with his Preface to the First Edition. He apologises
for the book having grown larger than he originally
intended, and says he has spent ten years in collect
ing his materials. " So many were the difficulties I
1 " Ma capitando a Mantoa un che si ste' con Andrea, mentre si fe' quest'
opera, et fu creatura d' Ottaviano, aveva veduto Andrea lavorare quel
quadro, scoperse la cosa. " First (Torrentino) Edition.
" Ma capitando a Mantoa Giorgio Vasari, il quale, essendo fanciullo e
creatura di Messer Ottaviano, aveva veduto,3' etc. Second (Giuntina)
Edition.

78 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
encountered that at times I should have given up
in despair, had it not been for the kindness and
generosity of a large number of friends, to whom I
am eternaUy grateful for their encouragement. It is
because of them that I went ahead bravely. I thank
them for their loving assistance and for information
and advice given when I was in perplexity. ... I
neither expect nor delude myself with the hope of
making a name for myself as a historian or writer of
books. I have not thought of such a thing. My
business in life is to paint, not to write. And I have
put together these notices, or memorials, or rough
sketches (as 1 prefer to call them) so that some person
of higher attainments and equipped with aU those
excellences which befit the true writer, may in
sweeter tones and a more exalted style extol the
merits and immortalise the names of these glorious
artists whom I have merely rescued from the dust
and oblivion of time which already in part concealed
them. ... I have written as a simple painter should
write and in my own language. Whether it be the
Florentine tongue or the dialect of Tuscany I shall
not pause to consider : nor yet whether I ought to
have used so many of the technical words belonging
to my craft. I had to use them so as to make myself
understood by my fellow- workmen." He mistrusted
his own abilities to such an extent that he gave the
whole book into the hands of a friend " with full and
entire liberty to cut it about to suit his own taste, so
long as he neither interfered with the substance nor
sense " of what was written. " I have not set out
for the purpose of teaching people how to write in
the Tuscan tongue : my intention was just this — to
write about the lives and works of the artists."
Yet with this great work in hand, it is astonishing

PROGRESS OF THE "LIVES" 79
to note the quantity of canvas he found time to cover
with paint while it was in progress, labouring alter
nately with his brushes and his pen ; justifying the
sarcasm of Benvenuto Cellini : —
" A chi piace il far presto ; un, meglio e tardo
Or se Dio presta vita aU' Aretino
Gli e per dipingere tutto questo mondo."
In October Vasari left Rome for Florence, with, we
may presume, a goodly pile of manuscript under his
arm. In Florence, by order of the Pope (Paul III),
he painted a Last Supper in the refectory of the
Murate, a picture which went, later, to the church of
Santa Croce. Then followed a Marriage of Santa
Caterina, for the monastery of Bigallo, outside
Florence ; and a Pieta and a San Girolamo, both of
which were despatched to an unnamed patron in
France. He also completed a picture which had
been begun for Bastiano deUa Seta for the Cathedral
of Pisa, and foUowed it up with a Madonna, for his
friend Simone Corsi.
From this bare record of his paintings it is neces
sary to turn to the progress of the Lives. The book
which he had undertaken more as a pastime than
anything else assumed increasing importance, and the
flattering encouragement of his friends had the effect
on Vasari of spurring him to fresh efforts. The
welfare of the book rapidly became the ruling factor
of his Hfe. For more than a year he was its slave,
painting only so as to minister to the needs of his
favourite child. He spared not himself, and he did
not spare his friends. A specimen extract was sub
mitted to Annibale Caro, that prince of letter writers,1
1 It is much to be regretted that the Lettere Familiari of Annibale
Caro have not been translated into English. He was a man of keen and
kindly wit, with a facility of expression which gives his letters a vivid

80 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
with a request that he would pronounce judgment
thereon. Caro replied in a letter calculated to inflate
the budding author's vanity to bursting-point.
" You have added to my span of life," he writes on
December 11th, 1547, "by aUowing me to see this
fragment of your Commentary on the Artists of
Design, and 1 greatly enjoyed reading it through. In
my judgment it is a work which ought to be read by
everybody, not only because of the famous men who
figure in its pages, but also, so far as 1 can judge
from the specimen before me, on account of the in
formation it contains touching many events and many
times. It seems to me to be weU written, in a pure
style, with much care. I would only suggest that
sundry unsatisfactory transpositions in the wording
should be altered, and that where, in pursuit of an
elegant style, you have placed the verb at the end of
the sentence, you should put it back again into its
proper position. In this kind of composition such
phrasing is out of place and displeasing. I should
prefer to see a book of this sort written exactly as
you would speak: it should be natural rather than
full of metaphors and hyperbole, and chatty rather
interest even after the lapse of more than three centuries. His letter to
Giovanfrancesco Leoni, entirely occupied with a dissertation upon the
unusual dimensions of Leoni's nose, is a masterpiece of humour. " How
blessed are you," he cries, " who carry upon your face what is at one and
the same time the wonder and consolation of aU who behold you ! AU
who see it are astounded : those who are allowed to touch it are enrap
tured ; the whole world is the more glad because such a thing exists, and
everyone wants to possess it for himself. All the poets sing about it, all
the prose writers are scribbling about it, all the orators are making speeches
on the same subject. I could even imagine the Sibyls prophesying about
it ; that Apelles would like to paint it, and Polycletus want to carve it.
Michelangelo would immortalise it in all three of the arts. . . . O perfect
nose ! O prince among noses ! O divine nose ! O nose blessed beyond
all other noses ! Blessings on the mother who gave you such a nose, and
blessed be everything you smell," etc.

CARO'S LETTER 81
than stilted. But your book is just what it ought to
be, except for a few little things here and there, and
these you will readUy detect and alter when you
come to read it over again. For the rest, I rejoice
that you have undertaken so great and useful a work,
and I am confident that it wUl live for ever, especially
as such a history is much needed and will prove of
the greatest interest."1
This letter raises an interesting question with re
gard to the preparation of the Lives. Vasari, still
the slave of the book, was eager to find someone who
would undertake to correct it, as already related in
his Preface. Gian Matteo Faetani, Abbot of Santa
Maria di Scolca at Rimini, offered to give the copy
ing of it to one of his monks, and promised to revise
the whole work himself. Giorgio, in return, was to
paint a picture for the conventual church. The
Autobiography places the date of this agreement in
1547, but in the Life of Francesco Salviati Vasari
contradicts himself by saying that he spent the whole
of 1548 in Rimini. That the latter version is correct
becomes obvious when it is recollected that so late
as December, 1547, the biographer submitted his
book to Caro for an opinion. It is in the last degree
improbable that Vasari would have insulted the
Abbot, after he had revised the book, by subjecting
it to the criticism of even so eminent a scholar as
Annibale Caro ; nor is it more probable that in such
a case there would still have lingered faults such as
those to which Caro calls Giorgio's attention.
The journey to Rimini, therefore, could not have
been made before the middle of December, 1547, and
it is far more likely to have been in the spring of
the following year that Giorgio began to paint the
i Bottari, Vol. Ill, No. 94.

82 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Adoration of the Magi which once hung over the
high altar of the now demolished church of Santa
Maria di Scolca.
This Adoration is described by the painter with
obvious pride. He tells us that he made one of the
kings black of hue and set him in the midst of
swarthy-visaged courtiers, that the second was a
white man and had a suite to match, and that the
third king was neither black nor white but brown,
having attendants who Hkewise were neither black
nor white but brown. Then there were a couple of
side panels into which were crowded such members
of the train as had been squeezed out of the centre
piece, all in the finest of clothes and accompanied
by a troop of "horses, elephants and giraffes." This
work finished, Vasari found employment in the
church of San Francesco in Rimini, painting a
Stigmata for the high altar : ' and because the moun
tain was barren, and therefore of a brown colour, and
both St. Francis and his companion were dressed in
their brown habits,' the artist placed a great sun in
the heavens ; and in the sun was the Christ, sur
rounded by seraphs, so as to break the monotony of
colour. Once more Vasari has forgotten : for the
St. Francis, which is signed and dated georgius
vasarius arret, faciebat mdxlviii, is very different
from the description in the Autobiography, the Saint,
strangely enough, being actually clothed in a white
habit. The picture is one of Vasari's worst.
These pictures fell under the critical lash of Alga-
rotti, for writing to Mariette in 1761,1 and describing
the works of art in Rimini, he says, referring to the
Stigmata, that Giorgio " would have done far better
1 Bottari, Appendix to Vol. VII, Letter No. 31. Francesco Algarotti
to Giovauni Mariette, June 10th, 1761.

HIS HOUSE IN AREZZO 83
not to have put his name to it." And in speaking of
the Adoration he writes: "You wiU remember how
Vasari, in describing this work, says that he painted
two other pictures to go on either side, containing all
that there was not room for in the central panel;
camels, giraffes, servants, attendants and the courtiers
of the three kings. These are no longer there ;
and, to tell the truth, it is no great loss. Such a
representation in three acts must have been like a
Chinese comedy."
From Rimini, with the Autobiography as our only
guide, we follow Giorgio to Ravenna, where he
painted for Sant' Apollinare in Classe the Deposition
from the Cross which now hangs in the Pinacoteca.
The house which he had purchased in Arezzo some
time previously had been progressing slowly while
Vasari was working at, and for, his book. It must
be admitted that Giorgio showed commendable fore
sight in purchasing this house ; for, making due
allowance for the narrowness of the street in which it
stands — a failing which is common to the streets of
most Italian towns — its position is pleasant enough.
The city climbs steeply up the northern slopes of a
hill, and Vasari's house, in a street which has been
given the all too modern name of the Via Venti Set-
tembre, occupies an elevated position well removed
from the more noisy business centre. It is a large
house, even as Italian houses go, with a tolerable
frontage to the street and a raised and terraced garden,
interspersed with shady walks and green avenues. A
cursory visit to it reveals the fact that Vasari had got
on in the world. His attitude towards life is not
that of the time when the plague had robbed him of
his father and threatened the family with extinction.
The Casa Vasari ranked among the best, and its

84 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
decorative frescoes were to be the monument of his
art. It was to be covered with frescoes within and
without, and the whole summer1 was to be devoted
to this labour of mingled pride and pleasure. He
was going to decorate the front of the house with
frescoes, then the sitting-room was to be similarly
treated, and after that three of the other rooms :
and the designs, which were already sketched out,
included views of all the places where the artist had
worked and gained the wherewithal to pay for his
building operations — " as if, so to put it, they were
bringing their tribute to my house."
It might be supposed, from the account of Vasari's
occupation at this time, that he intended to get
married and settle down quietly in his new home.
Nothing was further from his thoughts, however, if
we may draw a conclusion from so much of his scheme
as he was able to carry out. Commissions showered
upon the artist wherever he went, and now interfered
with the realisation of his project. All that he
finished at this period was the sitting-room ; and in
one of the thirteen panels he made it abundantly
evident that no thought of marriage, either present
or future, was in his mind. The panel referred to
contained, " as a sort of joke," a representation of a
bride leaving her father's house to take up her abode
with her husband. One hand stretches towards the
paternal dwelling and holds a rake, while the other
hand grasps a lighted torch. This Vasari describes
as an allegorical picture, and the meaning of it might
be hard to guess did he not himself enhghten us.
The rake indicates that before leaving her father's
1 From the context of the Autobiography it is clear that Vasari intends
the summer of 1547 to be understood. The work cannot have been begun
before 1548,

HIS HOUSE IN AREZZO 85
roof the bride collects every available and portable
article for her own future use ; and she holds the
torch before her to signify that " as soon as she enters
the home of her husband she becomes a veritable
firebrand, consuming and destroying wherever she
goes." When at length Giorgio did marry, it would be
interesting to know what explanation he gave his
wife of this "allegory," but as a matter of fact the said
aUegory is so veiled in uncertainty that it may be
doubted whether anyone would be likely to solve the
riddle. Out of a tangled mass of humanity there
emerges a female figure holding a rake and a torch :
the rest is conjecture. It might as well represent a
provident housewife who, apprehensive of approach
ing rain, has decided to get up in the night and
gather the hay which is intended to form the winter
sustenance of the family goat.
How much time was devoted to the embellish
ment of his house is not clear. According to the
Autobiography, Giorgio was still at work upon it at
the end of 1547 and the beginning of the following
year.1 Very little of the outside received any decora
tion at all, and the only indication of its artistic
owner is to be seen in the representation of an
Egyptian colonnade on one of the annexes. Inside,
he painted the sitting-room already referred to, which
contains the " bride " and the views of the several
cities in which Vasari had worked. It is a handsome
enough room, and the decorations are the work of
one who was evidently working for love ; not to gain
money or in a race against time. It is curious to
note that, in his native city of Arezzo, there is a
greater sense of peaceful calm in all his paintings
1 Mentre ch' io mi stava cosi passando tempo, venuto l'anno 1548," etc.

86 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
than will be found, for instance, in his large panels in
the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence. In like manner he
decorated the ceilings of the chief bedrooms.
These works were done at the best period of his
art ; for the same year that saw the completion of
such of these works as were destined to be finished
also brought him instructions "to paint the Feast
of Ahasuerus in the monastery of SS. Fiore and
Lucilla." From the contract for this work, still
proudly guarded in the Biblioteca of Arezzo, we
know that the agreement was made on July 13th,
1548. The work itself is signed and dated 1549.
The Feast of Ahasuerus, or as it is called in the con
tract, the Story of Esther, is the best of Giorgio's
works. It gave the greatest satisfaction to aU who
beheld it, and in especial it pleased the painter, who
is at considerable pains to conceal his contentment.
His desire had been to express both majesty and
grandeur, but he does not feel capable of deciding
whether he has achieved his object or no. On this
occasion he felt caUed upon to put aU his strength
into a supreme effort to do " something out of the
common " ; and, be it whispered, in his own estima
tion he has succeeded. " In fact," he says, glowing
with pride at the reminiscence of his pictorial feat,
" if I were to believe all I heard said about my work
I might have persuaded myself that I had reaUy ac
complished something. I know full well how it
ought to have been done, and how it would have
been done if my hand had been capable of carrying
out the conception of my brain. In very truth — this
at least I say in all frankness — I put the utmost dUi
gence and care into it." The custodian of the Badia,
by the way, claims that Ahasuerus and Esther are
respectively the portraits of Vasari and his wife.

CONTEMPORARY OPINION 87
Vasari, however, had no wife at the time ; and while the
lady whom he married in the following year appears
to have been as devoid of character — judging from
Vasari's portrait of her on the altar erected over the
tomb of his ancestors — as the Esther in the picture,
it is certain that the fair-haired Ahasuerus with the
deHcate pink complexion bears no resemblance what
ever to the painter himself.
Four minor works are mentioned in the Auto
biography as having been done after the Feast of
Ahasuerus and before his return to Florence : a
Portrait of Luigi Guicciardini, brother of the his
torian, a Virgin and Saints for San Francesco di
Castiglione Aretino, a Banner for the Compagnia di
San Giovanni de' Paducci, and a scheme for laying
out a vast garden for Cardinal del Monte — afterwards
Pope Paul III — at the foot of Monte San Savino, a
work which was never carried out.
Vasari's return to Florence towards the end of
1549 marks the beginning of a fresh epoch in his
career. Within a few months his patron, Cardinal del
Monte, was to become Pope and to employ Vasari
on important works in Rome ; and Giorgio — despite
his picture of the bridal homecoming — was to settle
down as a married man.
Before narrating the singular reasons which led him
into the conjugal noose, there is a letter to him from
Caro which refers to a picture done at this period ;
and as it throws a vivid Hght upon the estimation in
which Vasari's work was held by his contemporaries,
it may be of interest to quote from it. As soon as
the painter reached Florence he set to work upon a
picture which had been long promised to his friend.
Caro had selected the subject himself, and the letter
contains a comprehensive description of the lines the

88 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
composition is to follow, together with an honest, if
perhaps unpalatable, criticism. "I should Hke," writes
Caro on May 10th, 1548, a year before the picture
was commenced, "to have a first-rate work from your
hand, partly for my own delectation and partly for
your benefit, so that I can show it to those who speak of
you as a rapid rather than as a good painter. I spoke
to Botto about it, but I do not want to bother you
until you have leisure to begin it. But since you have
offered to set to work at once you can imagine how
glad I am ; though whether you do it quickly or take
plenty of time over it I leave to you, for I fully beheve
that it is possible to work both quickly and well when
the spirit moves. In this respect painting resembles
poetry. I admit that people say you would paint
better if you painted in less haste, but though in this
case they are probably right, it does not foUow as a
necessary conclusion ; for it is equally true that a
laboured production, one that lacks conviction and is
not finished with the same enthusiasm that marked
its commencement, is equally bad." 1 Then, proceed
ing to discuss the subject of the picture, he suggests
that it should consist of two nude figures, " as this is
the branch of art which is best calculated to show a
painter's skill. Beyond these two principal figures I
am not anxious for the composition to include any
others, unless they are minor figures in the back
ground. It seems to me that the composition would
thus throw the chief figures into greater prominence.
If you care to receive a suggestion from me, I should
say that the story of Venus and Adonis affords an
opportunity for delineating two of the most shapely
models you can find, though the subject has already
been done. ... If you do not wish to have more
1 Bottari, Vol. II, No. 2.

CONTEMPORARY OPINION 89
than one figure, then I would suggest a Leda, and
particularly I would like you to bear in mind that by
Michel Angiolo, as it gives me renewed pleasure each
time I see it."
This picture was sent to France, whither another
of his, Psyche and Cupid, also went. The Endymion,
in which Tommaso Cambi, " very handsome, learned,
courteous, and gentle, caused himself to be painted
entirely naked," was done at this period, Cambi
having been prompted to this strange desire by the
sight of Vasari's last-named work. We know also
of another picture which was executed during this
visit to Florence, the Portrait of Pietro Aretino 's
Mother, though it is not mentioned in the Autobio
graphy.1
1 There are two letters in Bottari (Vol. Ill, Nos. 78 and 79) from
Aretino to Vasari which deal with this portrait. In the first of them
Aretino asks the painter, as a great favour, to undertake the work. " I
do more than ask, I entreat you in the name of our cordial friendship to
put everything else on one side." He teUs Giorgio that, thanks to his
weU-known ability with the brush, such a portrait wiU seem like the
actual reality ; and that when he sees the counterfeit it will be as though
he were in her presence, although she is dead. The painter will find her
portrait "over the doorway of St. Peter's, where she stands in the
attitude of the Virgin of the Annunciation."
How widely different are the characteristics which go to make up the
sum of our human nature ! Pietro Aretino's affection and veneration for
his mother are manifest in these letters to Vasari : yet when he died the
best his friends could find to say of him was that he maligned everybody
save God Almighty, and Him he knew not of.
" Qui giace l'Aretin', Poeta Tusco,
Chi disse mal d'ogniun', fuora che di Dio,
Scusandosi, dicendo, io noi' conosco."
The second letter, dated May, 1549, acknowledges the safe arrival of
the picture.

CHAPTER V
JULIUS III
Vasari marries — His views on matrimony — Julius III elected — Vasari
hastens to Rome — Publication of the Lives — Discontent of Vasari in
Rome — Tomb of Cardinal del Monte — Vigna Giulia — Homesickness —
Facade for Sforza Almeni — Vasari leaves Rome in disgust.
IT is difficult to arrive at any conclusion with
regard to Vasari's opinion of the gentler sex.
He was singularly free from the vices of the age,
and seems to have been but little contaminated by
his up-bringing in the dissolute court of Alessandro
de' Medici. Of love or love-making there is not
the smallest hint anywhere to be found in his
letters. Whatever may have been his views, Giorgio has
left no record of them ; and when he speaks of his
marriage in the Autobiography, he gives us to under
stand that it was, so to speak, by an unavoidable
accident that the noose was slipped over his head
and the ring on to a woman's finger. It was due to
no carelessness or negligence on his part; it was
just another turn given by Dame Fortune to her
wheel. It happened like this. He had reached the age of
thirty-eight and was still a bachelor. One day, having
journeyed to Bologna to visit Cardinal del Monte,
and whUe staying with him, the conversation fell
upon the subject of matrimony. The Cardinal told
Giorgio he thought it was high time that he took unto
90

MARRIAGE 91
himself a wife. Giorgio at first seems to have been
ungaUant enough to turn a deaf ear to all per
suasions. The Cardinal argued and cajoled. Giorgio
persistently refused. He did not want to get
married, and that was the truth of it. The Cardinal
stuck to his guns. Giorgio stuck to his guns. At
length the Cardinal opened another line of attack,
and began to enlarge upon the advantages which
Giorgio would reap if he sought the hand of Nicco-
losa, the daughter of Francesco Bacci of Arezzo.
In short, the prelate "brought so many unanswer
able arguments into play" that the painter con
sented, with a certain lingering reluctance, to do
what hitherto he " had been careful to avoid, that is
to say, to take a wife." And with wholly admirable
self-abnegation he adds : "And so, as it was the
Cardinal's wish, I took the daughter of Francesco
Bacci, a noble of Arezzo." Surely this noble act
entitles Giorgio Vasari to stand beside the Roman
Lucretia !
Vasari's attitude towards matrimony is inexplic
able. The only reason for his reluctance that can be
put forward is that his work took him from place to
place, and that he might not find it convenient to
drag a wife and a possible family about wherever he
went. He seems, too, to have regarded the wedded
state as an obstacle to his ambition, recalling perhaps
the story of Paolo UcceUo, who sat up far into the
night studying the laws of perspective, replying —
whenever his wife suggested that it was time for him
to come to bed—" Oh, what a beautiful thing is this
perspective ! " Vasari would have no such obstacles
in his path ; and if the truth were known, he felt
that whatever time he spent in his own home was
time lost, and that the petty matters of domestic

92 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
procedure proved irksome after the life of the court.
We do not find these sentiments expressed in the
Autobiography, but in a letter to Albergotti he
makes it evident that he considers a wife a burden
and the influence of home other than elevating. " I
am suffering the penalty," he says, "of all who
remain in their own homes, contented with a few
grape vines, a few square feet of ground, and a wife
tied round one's neck like a millstone. A man in
that condition can never raise his eyes or his ambi
tion above sordid things."
This Niccolosa Bacci — "La Cosina," as Vasari
came to call her when they were better acquainted —
seems to have been related to Pietro Aretino.
Directly after his marriage the happy bridegroom
returned to Florence, whUe his bride leaps back into
oblivion with the same startling suddenness that
marks her first, so far as we know, intrusion into the
life of her lord and master. We hear no more
of her for some years, and Giorgio's love letters, if
he ever wrote any, have disappeared. When he
mentions her in his correspondence it is generaUy to
say that she is grumbling at his long absences ; and
when he follows the fashion of the day by composing
sonnets in her honour, he almost invariably takes the
opportunity of telling her that away from her side
life is not worth living, and that he is fading away for
lack of her society. In one sonnet he says that if
she is feeling sad about their separation she wiU be
able to guess all the more shrewdly how much worse
he feels. If he but had his own way, the sun would
neither rise nor set before he would be on his way
home. He suffers strange maladies for want of her.
Sometimes he "burns like a red-hot furnace"; at
other times he finds the words freezing on his lips,

VASARI'S VIEWS ON MATRIMONY 93
while " the snow in the sunlight is not more cold "
than he is.
" Se il mio starti lontano a te displace,
Consorte cara, a me dispiace e duole,
Che non si leva o colca in nel cielo sole
Ch' io posi quest' afflitta anima in pace.
Ardo tal'or quai accesa fornace
M'agghiaccia ancora in bocca le parole,
Divento come fredda neve al sole,
E quella fonte d'Empiro intinta face.
Pur vivo di speranza e di disio
Di venir presto a te."
And in another sonnet he admits that his " fruitless
quest for greater fame and greater wealth keeps him
from her, his cara consorte." Nobody can appreciate
better than he does her nobleness of mind and faith
fulness to him, and that it is her little Giorgio that
she wants and not his possessions. If his erring
nature bids him resolve to absent himself from her
company, at least she must believe that his real desire
is to have her ever near him.
" Conosco ben che la mia vana sorte,
Per acquistar piii fama e piu richezze,
Mi tien lontan da te, cara consorte.
Non e chi piii di me stimi et apprezze
La nobilta tua e la tuo (sic) fede,
E ch' ogn' altro mio ben odi e disprezze ;
Ma quello honor, che drento al cor mi siede
Di lasciarti immortal con meco in terra
Far ch'l mio occhio 6 cieco e piii non vede.
Or se l'animo mio, ch'in ver tropp'erra
Di starti si lontano e risoluto
Volerti appresso fin che stara'n terra
Conoscendo che'l tempo, ch'ho perduto
In cose vane, mai piii si racquista,
Ne creder ch'un ch'ha fame, sia pasciuto.
Hor, poi che chiara io ho dai ciel la vista,
E che'l mio mal conosco e la tua voglia,

94 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Vo' lasciar questa vita amara e trista.
Cavero te di pensier e me di doglia
Col venir io costa, o tu a Roma :
Questo e un si, ch'al cor mai piu si spoglia.
Che il portar ogni di si grave soma
Di pensier, di fatiche, e non sapere
Perch'io le facci, il cervel mio si doma.
Che mi varra dopo molt'anni havere
Figli di te, e non poter mostrargli
Le virtu, che si fanno huomin tenere ?
Che varria lor, s'io potessi lassarli
Richezze e non havessin' altro intorno
Che gente che studiassino in rubarli ? "
Giorgio's wife was obliged to find such solace in
these sonnets as she could. Her husband was much
too busy and had become far too great a man — in his
own opinion, at least — to be able to neglect the caU
of duty for the enjoyments of conjugal bhss. Duty
with him consisted of an honest desire to please his
friends, but underneath it there lay the seeds of a
boundless ambition. A true child of the times, he
knew perfectly well that he could not afford to lose
the patronage of the wealthy ; and fortunately enough
for him, he was, as we gather from his letters, toler
ably expert in the art of adulation. Popes and pre
lates, kings and emperors, all were divinely appointed ;
but they were appointed chiefly for the purpose of
employing the little artist who came from Arezzo.
In return he showed himself ever ready and wUling
to do their behests. He worked for them to the best
of his ability, partly because he wished to please —
and this quite apart from the financial side of the
question — partly because he could not live without
their favours, and partly, it must be confessed, be
cause he did not believe that there lived anybody else
who could design or paint quite so well as himself.
In his dealings with his equals he was generous, kind

DEATH OF PAUL III 95
and affectionate — witness the many letters written by
him to Vincenzo Borghini, Prior of the Ospedale
degli Innocenti, who became his hfelong friend.
Then, too, we have the testimony of Vinta, one of
Duke Cosimo's secretaries, who tells his master that
Giorgio has got himself into debt, chiefly because all
his numerous friends, and every person coming from
Arezzo, make his house their headquarters, and that
consequently his earnings are eaten up by the de
mands of hospitality.
Vasari's first work after he had left his wife in
Arezzo among his other possessions, and had himself
returned to Florence, was to paint a Madonna for
Bindo Altoviti, after which he received instructions
to decorate the chapel of the Martelli family. The
Lives, meanwhUe, were approaching completion, and
by order of Cosimo the business of printing them
was put into the hands of Lorenzo Torrentini, the
ducal printer. But while Giorgio was in the midst
of revising the sheets Paul III died, on November
10th, 1549, and Cardinal del Monte visited Florence
on his way to attend the conclave, confident that he
would be elected to the vacant see. This view was
also held by Giorgio, and consequently it was a
matter of policy, as well as of personal pleasure, for
him to take the opportunity of paying his respects to
the Cardinal on whose account he had got married.
He found his patron full of the approaching election,
and already making arrangements for the future.
" I am going to Rome," he tells Giorgio, " and as
suredly shall be made Pope. If you have any work
in hand, finish it as quickly as may be"; then, as soon
as the news reaches you, hurry to Rome without
waiting for further instructions."1
1 Vite, Vol. VII, p. 693,

96 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
The Cardinal was duly elected as he had prophe
sied, and on February 8th, 1550, ascended the papal
throne as Julius III. Shortly afterwards Vasari pre
sented himself at the Vatican, fuU of hopes for the
future, and believing that at last Providence was
about to reward him bountifully for the labours and
vexations of the past. He did not wait even to see
the Lives issued from the press, but hurried away,
scarcely stopping to take farewell of his friends.
Cardinal del Monte and Julius III proved to be
two vastly different people. The four years of
Vasari's sojourn in Rome sufficed to make him
almost hate the very name of Pope ; for in addition
to the growing feeling of exile from his native land
(and, let us hope, from his wife), he was daily subject
to petty worries that were nearly insupportable.
The Pope, he found, resembled nothing so much as
a weathercock. He changed his mind without the
smallest provocation, and even then could not be
relied upon to adhere to his later decision.
" Un papato composto di rispetti
Di considerazioni e di discorsi,
Di piu, di poi, di ma, di si, di forsi,
Di pur, d'assai parole senza effetti,
Di pensier, di consigli, di concetti,
Di congetture magre, per apporsi,
D'intrattenerti, purche non si sborsi,
Con Audienze, Risposte e bei Detti." 1
These things vexed the soul of the artist, and he
blames his august patron for whatever mistakes he
may have made during this visit to Rome. " I was
always at the beck and call of that Pope, and he
kept me running about all the time," he says in the
Autobiography, and it is difficult to repress a smile
1 F. Berni, Opere Burlesche, No, 25, London, 1721,

PUBLICATION OF THE "LIVES" 97
at the droU picture his words suggest. We see him
at work upon the tomb of the first Cardinal del
Monte, unable to complete his schemes because the
Pope wiU not decide whether it is to be erected in
San Pietro a Montorio or in the church of the
Florentines ; we see him sitting at his work in Rome
and wondering what sort of a mess Torrentini is
making of the Lives in his absence ; and then we see
him painting the portrait of the Pope, asking him to
sit still and not fidget about quite so much, " which
I believe he would have done if the sudden twinges
of gout hadn't forced him to make a wry face."1
The Lives were finaUy published early in 1550,
presumably towards the end of February ; for on
March 8th he writes to Cosimo de' Medici to say
that he is sending the volumes. His tone is not the
same as that adopted in the Preface. He feels that
he has done a splendid work, and has conferred a
boon on the arts by bringing his abilities to bear
upon them, for he says : " What I am sending you is
the result, not of two months' work, but of ten years'
study, and I hope that you will realise while reading
them the love, the practical knowledge and sound
judgment that I have of and for these beautiful and
noble arts ; and also that you wiU realise the dili
gence with which I have completed the work, rob
bing myself of my own leisure in order to do them
such honour as lay in my power." He considers
this a suitable occasion on which to ask some little
favours on his own account ; for being, as His High
ness is aware, in the service of His Hohness, he has
asked Carlo Lenzoni to present the books to the
1 " Gia piii volte (ho) supplicato sua Santi ta a star ferma ; e se la gotta
non gli avesse fatto un viso amaro dai male, egli n'era contento "
(Letter to Francesco Bonanni, May 18th, 1550).
H

98 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Duke as soon as they are finished, and at the same
time to present a little petition with regard to some
of his property. But Carlo is ill, and the Duke has
gone to Pisa, so Giorgio thinks it better to write
than wait. Perhaps the most important part of the
letter is that in which he speaks of the many years
he has been in the service of the Medici, and in
which he reproaches the Duke, in a half-apologetic
manner, for not having employed him as yet, whUe
at the same time he throws out a hint that he would
be glad to get away from Rome. He speaks of him
self as " a servant of no importance, and in no way
deserving of His Highness's favour, nor yet to be so
much as thought about by so great a Prince " ; and
he comes to the conclusion that the reason why
Cosimo has never given him anything to do is to be
found in his own resolve to wander from place to
place, doing such work as came to hand. He now
hints that he would have been wiser if he had stayed
at the court of the Medici, thus definitely admitting
that his friends had been right when, after the mur
der of Alessandro, they had endeavoured to dissuade
him from his rash vow to avoid the society of
courts. And now Giorgio had to plead guilty to another
mistake. He found that he was at the mercy of the
Pope's least whim, and he could see no way out of
the dilemma in which he had placed himself. He
had been glad enough to leave the Martelli chapel
unfinished in order to become painter to a Pope, but
now he would have given all his chances of preferment
and all the splendours of the papal court to be once
more at work in Ottaviano's house, finishing the
picture which had been commissioned by the heirs of
Gismondo Martelli for the family chapel in San

IO-M1J UF CARDINAL DEI, MONTE
(Rome: S. P'utro in Montorto)

TOMB OF CARDINAL DEL MONTE 99
Lorenzo, the picture which, as future events showed,
was to be the means of his entering the ducal service.
It represented the 3Iartyrdom of San Gismondo and
his wife and children, who, as the legend teUs, were
cast into a bottomless weU by some tyrannical king.
Cosimo saw it when visiting his kinsman and was
well pleased ; so pleased that Vasari received an
invitation to return to Florence when his work in
Rome was completed. But the time was not yet
come ; and whUe striving to satisfy His Holiness in
Rome, Giorgio's thoughts turned not once but often
to the City Beautiful beside the Arno, and to the
bright vision which Cosimo's message had called up.
A Benvenuto Cellini would have found a simple way
out of the difficulty by packing up his baggage and
setting out for Florence without troubling to take
leave of the Pope, and there he would have boasted
and squabbled until the resentment of the Pope had
cooled down. But no such thought entered Giorgio's
head ; and if it had he would have lacked the courage
to put it into execution.
Julius kept him occupied. Michelangelo was asked
to supervise Giorgio in the matter of the tomb for
the Cardinal del Monte, and at least one journey to
Carrara was undertaken by Vasari, as we learn from
the Life of Michelangelo, for the purpose of selecting
the marbles. With the exception of this expedition,
however, and two flying visits which he seems to have
paid to Florence — in one of which he contrived to
complete the Martelli chapel— the biographer re
mained in Rome, disconsolate and lonely, penning
third-rate sonnets to his wife whenever she wrote to
ask him if he ever meant to come home again. His
chief solace lay in his proximity to Michelangelo,
whom, he tells us, he visited every day, and who

100 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
really seems to have held the little painter in con
siderable esteem. It may be noted in passing that
this esteem does not appear to have extended to his
work as an artist ; for when Michelangelo finds him
self compelled to say something about Giorgio's
designs for the work at the Palazzo Vecchio he takes
refuge in ambiguities.
" Touching the pictures," he writes, " it seems to
me that I have seen something marveUous ; as, indeed,
everything that is or shall be done under the shadow
of your Excellency ought to be " : 1 a remark which
deserves to be recorded if only on account of its
evasiveness. We are not told what Cosimo thought of the
Lives, but he seems to have listened to the supplica
about the property, as, writing to a friend on
May 18th, 1550, Vasari says he is glad to hear that
" the Frassineto affair " is being attended to, and that
he hopes it will be concluded to the satisfaction of
the Duke. He adds once again, emphasising his
anxiety to enter the service of Cosimo, that although
he has placed himself under the yoke of the Pope
his heart is still in Florence, and he can think of
nothing else but the Duke and the Duke's magnifi
cence. Nevertheless the artist was in high favour in
Rome, and was admitted to the familiar company of
His Holiness, as may be gathered from a letter
written by Pietro Vettori.2
The four years of his stay in Rome are passed
over with little comment in the Autobiography, and
there are very few letters extant which were written
1 Le Lettere di Michelangelo. G. Milanesi, Florence, Le Monnier, 1875.
Letter No. 489, to Cosimo de' Medici, April 25th, 1560.
2 Gaye, Carteggio Inedito, Vol. II, footnote to Letter No. 268. " Per
quel che ritraggho da Giorgio Vasari, che e spesso a gli orecchi di sua
Santita et molto dimestico del Signor Baldovini," etc.

VIGNA GIULIA 101
at this period. From the former we learn that in
1553 he painted a Beheading of the Baptist for the
church of the Misericordia, and that he designed and
decorated two loggie for Bindo Altoviti. He also
painted a Conversion of St. Paul, taking considerable
pains to make it different from that done by Michel
angelo in the Pauline Chapel, lest the two pictures
should be mistaken for the work of the same hand ! 1
He claims, too, to have got out the original designs
for the Vigna Giulia, and the Autobiography
betrays his annoyance at the work having ultimately
been carried out by another architect, Giacomo
Barozzi da Vignola, better known in England by the
single name of Vignola. " I was the first," he says,
" to work out the scheme for the Vigna Giulia . . .
for although the work was actually carried out by
others, it was always I who put the ideas of the
Pope on paper, and then submitted them to Michel
angelo for revision and correction." The designs for
the Vigna were done in 1553. Vasari seems actuaUy
to have begun the work, as Bartolomeo Ammannato,
the Florentine sculptor and, subsequently, architect,
executed two figures for a fountain in the cortile as
well as other work, including a loggia which was in
close proximity to the fountain.
As Ammannato was a great friend of Vasari's and
consequently figures more than once in these pages,
it may be well to say something more about him.
He was the pupil of Francesco Sansovino, under
whom he worked on the beautiful Libreria di San
Marco in Venice. His chief works were sculptural,
and accordingly we find him making the four statues
1 This very strange rendering of St. Paul's conversion is now in
S. Pietro a Montorio, in the same chapel as the tomb of Cardinal del
Monte.

102 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
which adorn the tomb of Cardinal del Monte. He
was thrown out of work by the death of JuHus III
and followed his friend back to Florence, where
Vasari obtained work for him under Cosimo. Until
this period he had worked chiefly as a sculptor, but
the destruction of the Ponte Santa Trinita in 1557
gave him the opportunity of becoming an architect,
though the design for the Palazzo Ruccellai in Rome
is attributed to him by at least two writers of repute.1
At a later date he became architect to the Palazzo
Pitti in Florence, and to him the internal quadrangle
is to be attributed. His best achievement in architec
ture is the Palazzo del Governo at Lucca, begun in
1578 but never finished. What there is of it shows
sufficiently well what it might have been, for though
not more than half was ever built, there is a breadth
and balance in the design — it is based on the Palazzo
Farnese at Rome — which is worthy of the traditions
of the best period of the Renaissance. He married
wisely and well, for his wife, Laura Battiferri, a lady
of attainments with whom the greatest scholars of
the day were not above exchanging sonnets, brought
him a considerable fortune, much of which was spent
in endowing the CoUegio di Giesu in Florence. He
died in 1592. His portrait, as well as that of Laura,
is to be seen in Alessandro Allori's picture of the
Wedding in Cana of Galilee.
But to return to Giorgio. The scant testimony of
the biographer's own account is supplemented in
a very meagre way by his letters. There are only
two extant which belong to the year 1550, both of
which have already been noticed. Representing his
correspondence of 1551 there are three letters, two of
1 Baglione, Le Vile de' Pittori, etc., 1773 ; Baldiuucci, Notizie de'
Professori del Disegno, da Cimabuc in qua, 1845-7.

THE "PAZIENZA" 103
them of no interest and the third merely indicating
that he is about to visit Arezzo on business. There
are no letters at all for the following year ; and it is
not until we come to 1553 that we again hear
definitely of what he is doing. In a letter to
Minerbetti, Bishop of Arezzo, he says that he is
painting a Pazienza, in which he portrays in alle
gorical form his own patience and longsuffering with
the caprices of the Pope, while awaiting permission
to depart from Rome. Patience is represented by
the figure of a woman standing upright. ' She is of
middle age, and neither wholly draped nor wholly
nude, to signify that she desires neither poverty nor
riches. She is secured to a rock by a chain fastened
to her left foot (as that is the least noble part), and
her hands are left unbound to show that she could
release herself if she wished. She extends her arms
as if to tell us that she will not desert her post until
the drops of water falling from the clepsydra, drop
by drop, have eaten away the rock, while with fixity
of gaze she contemplates the enduring stone, patiently
wondering how long a time must pass before her vigil
is ended, patiently waiting with the same forlorn
hope that all must experience who strive to complete
their obligations in spite of annoyances and discom
forts.' This picture is now in the Pitti GaUery at
Florence, where it is ascribed to Francesco Salviati.
It may be, of course, that Salviati plagiarised Vasari's
idea, or that Vasari copied from Salviati, but such a
supposition does not appear tenable : and the work
aUuded to exactly corresponds with Vasari's descrip
tion. Patience has her hands free and her left foot
in shackles ; she has no more clothing than is
suggested in Vasari's letter ; and she gazes with
some degree of longing at the clepsydra. It is a

104 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
pity that Giorgio should not get the credit for this
work, for it is decidedly above the level of his other
productions : and this is only to be expected, seeing
that presumably, as he was merely killing time in
Rome, he had ample leisure in which to proceed
without his usual disastrous haste. Here we have
the picture of all Giorgio is suffering. In another
letter to the Bishop he says that he is doing the designs
for the Vigna, and describes, in happy vein, the work
he has still to do. "I had no sooner arrived " — he
had just been to Arezzo— "than Nostro Signore told
me to get out the drawings for the Vigna : so, when
I have disposed of Ceres with her harvest-laden car
drawn by winged snakes, and all the women and
children and priests who offer her the first fruits of
the earth with the incense of corn (gV incensi del
frumento) : and when I have got rid of Bacchus and
his grapes and vine leaves and other accessories ;
when I have settled Silenus, Priapus, all the satyrs,
wood nymphs, and bacchanals ; the presiding deities
of the fountains (with their usual sacrifices) ; the
spirits of the water-springs and the whole array of
flower-bedecked river ledges ; and when at last the
softest breezes and western winds have breathed Hfe
into my figures — why then, after I have sketched it
all out, there will still remain the colouring, aU of
which I shall have to do with my own hands." But
for this he would be back in Arezzo, hoeing up the
weeds in the garden he loves so much.
Towards the end of the year homesickness had
reached an acute stage with Giorgio, helped on,
doubtless, by the terrible Roman summer. In a
strange metaphor he writes to Ricasoli, Bishop of
Cortona, to say that " the tree of his peregrinations
has begun not only to shed its leaves, but to dry up

PAZIENZA
(Florence : Pitti Gallery)

HOMESICKNESS 105
at the roots," and that nothing could please him
better than to return to Arezzo. In yet another
letter to the Bishop, which, though dateless, must
have been written about this time, he says that he
will set out for Tuscany right willingly as soon as he
has satisfied aU the capricious requirements of the
Pope ; the more so as about this time he received an
intimation that the Duke of Florence was ready to
employ him as soon as he could get away from
Rome. He is far from all his relations and friends ;
there are no children at home to make the household
complete, a fact which caused perpetual sorrow to
the painter and his wife. When he felt particularly
homesick, he would morahse at considerable length
and in indifferent verse upon the futUity of striving
to build up a great reputation when there seemed no
possibility of his founding, so to speak, a dynasty
of Vasarian artists to perpetuate his name. Two
sonnets have been preserved in which he refers to
the subject. In one of them, after taking himself
to task for being too ambitious, he confesses in
sorrow that though he stUl may strive to leave a
glorious monument to himself in his buildings and
pictures, yet, after aU, whatever he does wiU be done
in vain. The true monument — a family of little
Giorgio Vasaris — will never adorn the world.
" Desire of Fame ! That cause of so much sorrow
Engulfs my hours of pleasure and of play —
Cease, then, my soul, to seek a better Morrow
Since the pursuit but robs thee of To-day."1
1 " Desio d'onor, cagion di tanta doglia,
Tu studi al mio piacer chiuder le porte ;
Auima, non sperar in miglior sorte,
Poiche '1 vano tardar del ben ti spoglia.
Lassa il fallace tuo cammin che scuro
Restera doppo te, ancor che chiaro

106 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
But to return to the letter, which, as it voices
exactly the same sentiments as the first of the two
sonnets, seems to have been written about the same
time. " 1 am more tired than rich," he says, " far
from my wife, childless, separated from my house
hold gods and deprived of the company of my
friends. And although ambition and avarice be
tween them might lead me to stop where I am so
that, in addition to my manifold works, I might
leave a goodly competence to those that come after
me ... I have no intention of leaving them so
much that they will be enabled to spend the rest of
their days in luxurious idleness, and finish up by squan
dering all that I have been at such pains to earn." He
has had quite enough of the splendours and adulations
of court life. " Instead of the seductions of court
life, 1 could do very well with a house with a Httle
garden, wherein I could be lazy when 1 felt like it, if
it were coupled with some sort of work that would
occupy several years — something that 1 could finish,
or that would end by finishing me (che o leifinisse me,
o io finissi lei) — with food sufficient for my old
mother, my wife, myself, one servant and the lad
who looks after a worn-out nag unable to draw its
own water or keep its coat in order. Beyond that,
if I should want clothes or anything else for the
household, I could always paint a saint or two for
Pensi lassar per fama in muri e 'n legni,
Muovi 1' almo tuo cieco, a i prieghi duro
Da chi ti chiama e tien piu che se caro
Non far piu notte e giorno opre e disegni."
In the other sonnet he says that only his faith in God prevents his
giving way to despair : —
" Se la speranza mia e tua, ch'c in Dio,
Non fussi tal che mi porgessi aiuta
Disperarci di noi non lasciar prole."

HOMESICKNESS 107
some of my friends, and so find the necessary money."
Above all things he wants to get away from Rome,
and firmly believes that, were he anywhere else, he
would accomplish wonderful things. He implores
the Bishop to do what he can to secure his return to
Tuscany, and points out how much of the credit of these
hypothetical achievements would accrue to the good
Bishop himself. " If you, who have already earned
the name of benefactor, should enable me to come
home, and if I were to accomplish something re
markable, what would the world in general say, and
artists in particular ? I do not want to press you,
nor do I ask more than your affection for the prince
demands." He concludes by telling him that he
would thus " restore a son to his mother, a husband
to his wife, a companion to his friends and a servant
to himself"; he would be in a position, in the light
of these inducements, to guess how great a favour he
would be conferring upon mankind at large.
These outpourings of a vexed spirit failed to pro
duce the desired effect, not because Cosimo was un
willing to have him, but — to use Vasari's own words
— 'because while he does not feel that he has any
obligation towards the citizens of Rome, he does
feel that he has a duty to Rome herself, and he
would not Hke to go away with a guilty conscience.
And besides, not being a priest, he might find it
difficult to invent plausible excuses, if anyone were
to accuse him of ingratitude' — a sarcasm which is
made all the more trenchant by its being addressed
to a Bishop. As time wears on we find Vasari
growing more and more discontented with Rome,
and expressing his opinion of her ecclesiastics in un
measured terms. The little painter, in fact, is losing
his temper. The Bishops and Cardinals no longer

108 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
command his fawning admiration : they have become
merely a lot of "asses decked out in sUk," and he
quotes a saying of Michelangelo with evident relish
to the effect that " aU who begin by making donkeys
of themselves for princes to drive may expect to be
kept in harness for the remainder of their fives."
He doesn't ever again want to listen to a sonnet
composed in his honour, he doesn't care in the
least for epigrams written to praise his work, and
he is sick and tired of being made a fuss of, the
reason being that these praises and ambition between
them have turned his head. He implores the Bishop
to pray God send him back to Arezzo with speed
and in safety.
It must not be supposed that Vasari was in a
similar frame of mind during the whole of his stay
in Rome. There were moments when the old desire
for work absorbed his entire being. Unable to get
back to his home, he did the next best thing in
getting out designs for works which were to be done
as soon as the Pope and Providence allowed him to
return to Tuscany. On this occasion Sforza Almeni,
chief chamberlain and prime favourite of Cosimo de'
Medici, was his employer ; for Sforza had decided to
have the front of his house decorated with frescoes.
It was to this work that Vasari set hand, and for a
little while most of his correspondence is full of
descriptions of the cartoons and the manner in which
he proposes to deal with his theme, the Life of Man.
He shows it to Michelangelo : for " one day that
rarest and most divine old man1 was in my rooms,
and when he saw the drawings he was delighted, and
praised me, as is his wont, for the novelty of the
1 "111 mio rarissimo e divinissimo Vecchio." See Vasari's letter to
Almeni, dated October 14th, 1553.

FACADE FOR SFORZA ALMENI 109
accessories, the originality of the composition and
the great number of the figures." The finished
sketches were sent to Almeni, accompanied by a
long rigmarole describing the whole thing, and not
omitting the smallest detaU. This description stiU
exists, but it is too long for quotation and would
afford but uninteresting reading. An idea of it may
be gathered from a part of the proem, in which
Giorgio expresses himself thus : —
" The Life of Man, albeit each one of us is destined
to pass all his days in experiencing and supporting its
vicissitudes, is the most noble subject that it is pos
sible to depict upon the facade of a house." After
much prosing of a similar nature he proceeds to the
description, and concludes with this truly Vasarian
conceit : " I shaU be much obliged if you wUl refrain
from exhibiting the cartoons, for not only would such
a rough sketch bring very little honour either to
myself or to you, but I have known of similar cases
in which other people, having seen sketches hke
these, have pirated the whole composition before the
original scheme had been executed."
It would appear that at this time, the end of 1553,
the tomb of Cardinal del Monte was already com
pleted, and that Giorgio only remained in Rome in
order to finish a loggia, which he had undertaken for
Bindo Altoviti ; for, on October 26th, he writes to
Minerbetti to say that " the work on the loggia is
proceeding at a great pace," and that he is pushing it
on as fast as possible in order to get away. But stiU
his release was delayed by one thing and another,
and two weeks later he writes again to Minerbetti,
this time in a state of utter dejection : "If only
Dame Fortune were as prompt in rewarding me
according to my merits as she is in making me a

110 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
beast of burden for people who don't appreciate
either merit, worth or faithful service, I could then
afford to be more liberal in my dealings in return. I
believe, Moimgnore, nay, I am positive, that after
this letter you will receive no more from me dated
from Rome, but from my own country of which you
are the spiritual pastor. I can imagine my wife's
delight when she received my baggage, and I expect
she is preparing a good stout cord to tie me up with,
so that I shall not again escape. And there is my
poor old mother wishing aU the time that these
wheels within wheels which for the good of others
deprive her of the pleasure of seeing me, could break
off short at their axles. There is Ser Paolo breath
ing more freely at the sound of my approaching foot
steps, knowing that the carelessness and neglect of
hirelings Avill soon come to an end. The very stones
of my house must surely settle more solidly together
at the news that I am coming, and my desolate
chests and store-rooms, now so empty, must rejoice
at the thought that I shall so soon return to fill
them up ! Then there is my garden thirsting for
want of me ! I know that it put forth fresh buds
when it heard the glad tidings, for all the old leaves
have most assuredly dried up and withered, knowing
that I have to work so hard for others that strangers
are sent to cut the grass and gather up the leaves
that fall just now over the bountiful earth Hke an
autumnal covering. I picture to myself the gladness
of my friends, my family and all who are waiting to
see this harassed being emerge from this purgatorio
or inferno de' vivi, as Petrarch calls it. I am fuU of
compassion for my poor little property at Frassineto,
for every day it used to cry aloud for me to come
home and enjoy its sweet-flavoured bread as a reward

HOMESICKNESS 111
for my labours : and when it found that I turned a
deaf ear to its entreaties, it sought refuge in the arms
of Mother Chiana, hiding itself under her muddy
waves, until the bed of those two little streams
which water the land on the further side were filled
to overflowing with the ruin of the rains, the seed-
lands flooded, the banks broken down and the
ditches fiUed to their marges ; and aU this just for
the purpose of showing me that though I seem to
care so Httle for what my fields have done for me, they
stiU mean to defy me and to make me come home."
The passage is exceedingly difficult to translate : for
that matter Vasari is always difficult to foUow
whenever he grows poetic — but it is clear that his
property had suffered greatly from the autumnal
rains, and that he is in high spirits at the thought of
returning to Tuscany so soon. The immediate cause
of his jubilation is that on the day this letter was
written he had completed Bindo Altoviti's loggia,
and that in ten days' time he would be free to go
home, so that his friends and his family may enjoy
his society for the rest of his days. His spirit, he
says, has long ago put on its travelling suit, its riding
boots and its spurs, and has packed up its baggage.
" Ridurremi a quel pover loco ch'io
Sudai piu volte, e con piacere onesto
Finse il pennel 1' umido, il caldo e'l gielo,"
as he puts it in one of his sonnets addressed to his
wife. Yet stiU there were delays. On November 26th
he is still in Rome, and stUl putting the finishing
touches to Bindo's loggia, having done so much work
on it in the last three weeks that he is both astonished
and amused at the manner in which he has tackled

112 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
the work.1 It is nearly his last letter from Rome,
and he has already sent off some of his baggage and
has taken farewell of all his friends.
Thus ended the four years of self-imposed exUe ;
with but one regret, that he had not been allowed to
finish the Vigna Giulia. It is evidently to this that
he refers in the Autobiography when he speaks of his
return to Tuscany: " I at length made up my mind
that it was no use waiting, and that 1 was only wast
ing time in trying to serve him (Julius HI). So,
notwithstanding that 1 had made all the drawings
for the frescoes in the loggia above the fountain, I
finally decided that at all costs I would depart and
enter the service of the Duke of Florence."
1 rite, Vol. VIII, Letter No. 54, to Sforza Almeni.

CHAPTER VI
FLORENCE
Cristofano Gherardi— Tasso, and the Stanze Nuove in the Palazzo
Vecchio — Michelangelo's letters — War in the Val di Chiana — Battle of
Marciano — Vincenzo Borghini — Michelangelo and St. Peter's — Vasari
appointed architect to the Palazzo Vecchio — Death of Gherardi —
Church of the Florentines in Rome — Baccio Bandinelli — Dialoghi.
UPON his departure from Rome Vasari went
first to Arezzo, and there painted, as a mild
form of relaxation, the Pazienza which has already
been mentioned. Thence, after a short stay, he went
to Florence to pay his respects to the Duke and to
kiss his hand. Cosimo received him almost with
cordiality, and immediately began to cast about to
find something for him to do. Sforza, at the same
time, was anxious to proceed with the facade of his
house, and as Vasari appeared likely to be entirely
taken up with work for the Duke, it became neces
sary to find a substitute capable of executing the
Life of Man from Giorgio's cartoons. This circum
stance gives the biographer an opportunity of ob
truding on his readers with an account of how he
befriended Cristofano Gherardi in a time of trouble.
Cristofano Gherardi dai Borgo San Sepolcro — to
give him his full name and distinction — was, as we
have already had occasion to note, one of Vasari's most
intimate friends. He had been implicated — only
remotely, it is true — in the political disturbances
which arose after the murder of Duke Alessandro
I 113

114 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
in 1537, but for such share as he had taken he
received sentence of banishment. That sentence
was still in force when Vasari returned to Florence,
and when he was asked to name a substitute for
himself in the matter of the frescoes, it occurred to
the kind-hearted little painter that here was a capital
opportunity for reinstating his friend in favour. He
went to Almeni, therefore, and told him that the one
man who was suited to the work was under sentence
of banishment, and so could not be employed.
Representations of a like nature were made to the
Duke by both Giorgio and Almeni, and in the end
Cosimo agreed to remove the ban, and even to
receive Cristofano in person. Vasari relates that
when the offender appeared before the Duke he was
greatly surprised to see, " not some great strapping
ruffian," but the " very best httle fellow (omicciatto)
in the world."1
Giovanni Batista Tasso,2 a carpenter whom Cosimo
had raised to the dignity of architect to the Palazzo
Vecchio, was then engaged in planning the Stanze
Nuove, and Vasari received instructions to decorate
them as soon as the walls were ready. The other
palace of the Medici — the Pitti — had been pur
chased by Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo, from
the Pitti family in February, 1549, but as the buUd-

1 rite, Vol. VI, p. 231.
2 The epitaph written by il Lasca is sufficient indication of the opinion
held by his contemporaries as to the merits of this architect : —
" II Tasso e qui sepolto, il quai fu prima
Maestro di legname, e poi divenne
Intagliatore, e tanto salse in cima,
Che di quell'arte il principato tenne ;
Poi fatto audace con piii pregio e stima
Cercando al ciel volare, arse le penne,
E cadde in terra da si alto volo,
Non sendo architettor ni legniuolo."

TASSO, AND THE "STANZE NUOVE" 115
ing was still unfinished, and the Duke and his court
were comfortably established in the Palazzo Vecchio,
he seems to have preferred to remain where he was,
enlarging the buUding to suit his requirements, while
Bartolomeo Ammannato, another of Vasari's friends,
superintended the completion of the Pitti. Cosimo
continued to reside in the Palazzo di Piazza, or de'
Priori, or della Signoria, as it was variously called,
until 1550, when he removed to the Pitti. It was at
this date that the older palace began to be called the
Palazzo Vecchio, to distinguish it from the newer
ducal residence.
The Stanze Nuove were a suite of rooms at the
back of the Sala Grande, and were built upon the
remains of the Palazzo del Capitano and the Palazzo
dell' Esecutore. These additions seem to have in
cluded all that portion of the Palazzo which extended
to the Via dei Leoni and the Via de' Gondi. Vasari
tells us that these additions were begun in the year
before his return from Rome, namely in 1552, but
as a matter of fact Tasso had been at work upon
them since 1548.1
This T&sso—legnaiuolo, as all his contemporaries
are careful to add, as though fearing lest he should
really be mistaken for an architect — was an odd per
son, and a member of an odd chque with stiU more
odd propensities. The head of this band was a
certain Iacone, and the chief recommendation for
membership seems to have been personal uncleanli-
ness. Vasari tell us, though his account is probably
over-coloured, that they never washed nor had their
rooms swept out, while their beds were made once
every two months. They ate their meals off drawing
1 See Aurelio Gotti, Storia del Palazzo recchio in Firenze. Florence,
Civelli, 1889.

116 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
paper in lieu of the more usual table Hnen, and in
dulged in other eccentricities of that sort. Giorgio, of
course, would have nothing to do with them and
their evil ways, regarding them as so many idle
vagabonds who wilfuUy threw away their chances.
Indeed, one day he told them so, and he teUs us that
he told them so. They were standing laughing and
enjoying themselves in the streets of Florence one
day, when who should come in sight but the virtuous,
prosperous and upright Giorgio, mounted on a horse
and followed by a servant. The sight seemed to
tickle Iacone's fancy, and before Vasari had reached
the little party they had already decided to amuse
themselves at his expense. But Giorgio rebuked
them gravely, even severely and with much sarcasm.
When Iacone greeted him flippantly, he replied in
sentences that ought to have been carved over his
tomb: " I find myself exceedingly well, I thank you,
my good Iacone. I once was as poor as you and
your friends here are, but now I am worth three
thousand crowns and more : once you thought I was
a fool, but now friars and priests alike find that I am
a man of worth : once I was your servant, but now
this man who rides behind me waits on me hand and
foot and takes charge of this my horse : once 1 wore
the common cloth that all poverty-stricken painters
have to wear, now I am clad in velvet : once I was
obliged to go about on foot, now I go on horseback.
Therefore, you see, my good Iacone, I find myself
very well indeed. God bless you ! " And Giorgio
rode on with dignity befitting his station, satisfied,
no doubt, that Iacone and his friends had received a
crushing rebuke.
As some time would elapse before the walls were
ready for him to commence the decorative work

FACADE FOR SFORZA ALMENI 117
Vasari obtained leave of absence from the Duke,
and spent a couple of months " between Arezzo and
Cortona," in which latter city he had to complete an
unfinished work for the Compagnia di Gesu Cristo,
consisting of the three large panels from the life of
our Lord, and scenes from the Old Testament. The
greater portion of it, however, appears to be the
work of Cristofano.
By September, 1554, the facade for Almeni
would seem to have been finished, for in a letter from
Frozino Lapini to Antonio Gianfigliazzi, written on
the 28th of the month, Lapini says : " No sooner
had you and your famUy gone away from us than
those paintings by the Aretino in the Via de' Servi,
which you were so anxious to see, were uncovered.
... I really cannot decide whether I ought to
devote the chief portion of my description, and the
greater praise, to the subtleness of the composition
and the ability of the artist, or to the wonderful
imagery of the aUegory and the ingenuity with which
it is set forth. It seems impossible that it could
have been better done." II Lasca refers to these
frescoes in a sonnet addressed to Sforza, the frescoes
in which —
"'' Oggi il grande Aretin, vostra mercede,
Ha col giudizio e col pennel dimostro
Quanto far possa la Natura e l'Arte ;
Che chi mira da fuor l'albergo vostro,
Miracol tale e cosi fatto vede
Che attonito e stupito indi si parte."
It was at this period that matters between the
Florentine fuorusciti, aided by the French, and the
forces of the Duchy came to a head in the Val di
Chiana, plunging the whole of the Tuscan territory
into uncertainty and doubt. The echoes of these

118 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
disturbances which are to be found in Vasari's corre
spondence are, as usual, faint : for unless the painter
were directly affected either in person or property, he
is rarely troubled by wars or rumours of wars. In
fact, Michelangelo rebukes him for his indifference in
a letter bearing date " the I-don't-know-what-th " of
April, 1554. " My dear Giorgio," he writes, " I had
much pleasure in reading your last letter and to see
that you still remember the poor old man ; and more
because you were present at the ceremony you speak
of, and have seen the birth of another Buonarroto.
For this information I thank you as much as I can,
or know how to (quanto so e posso), but I entirely
disapprove of these pomps and vanities, because no
man ought to rejoice when all the rest of the world
is in tears. And so 1 think that Lionardo1 shows
little judgment in celebrating the birth of a child
with rejoicings that ought to be reserved for the
death of one who has ended a life of good deeds. I
have no news to tell you. I thank you from the
bottom of my heart for the love you bear me, even
though I am unworthy of it. Everything here is
much as usual. The I don't-know-what-th of April,
1554." Three months later the war touched Vasari with a
vengeance. It was while he was still "between
Arezzo and Cortona " that matters came to a crisis,
and he writes to Simone Botti saying that aU his
crops are in a wretched state, and that it is almost
impossible to persuade the farm hands to sow any
thing at all. Even if he supplies the seed himself
he is very doubtful whether they can be got to sow
it, unless the outlook improves. This letter was
1 Lionardo Buonarroti, nephew of Michelangelo and father of the
infant referred to in the letter.

WAR IN THE VAL DI CHIANA 119
indited from Arezzo, and shows that the writer was
at his own home on July 4th, struggling to re
organise the management of both his property and
his finances. It would appear that he was obliged
to give over trying to put heart into his labourers by
the arrival of the belligerent forces ; and he beat a
hurried but certainly wise retreat to the safe walls of
the capital. Of what happened to his property
during the campaign which ended at Marciano he
has left a succinct account in his letter to Michel
angelo, dated the 20th August.
" And now, although the French have burnt my
houses, cottages and granaries, and have carried off
all my cattle,1 yet I thank God for it, because by
His grace they have thus brought about their own
undoing in this very valley of the Chiana." It is
thus Vasari speaks of the rout of Piero, leaving us
to cull the details from other sources. The Floren
tine army which had set out to assail Siena in
January, 1553, had met with varying successes
during the eighteen months of the campaign, but
on August 2nd, 1554, the forces of Piero Strozzi
were finally overthrown at Marciano in the Val di
Chiana. Later in the day three couriers, following
each fast on the heels of the other, dashed into the
city to bring the glad tidings, wearing, as Lapini tells
us, garlands of flowers about their helmets, and carry-
branches of olive as a token. The submission of
Siena followed in April of the next year. Amid the
rejoicings with which the tidings were welcomed
there was, almost necessarily, a certain amount of
1 " On the 18th of the said month (July) the army of Piero Strozzi
overran the country as far as Arezzo, and then camped near Civitella and
Foiano. And they took welcome booty in the shape of corn and cattle,
for they were in great need and suffered much for the want of food "
(Lapini, Diario).

120 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
disappointment among the secret enemies of the
Medici in Florence, and Vasari hints at this in his
letter to Michelangelo when he says that there has
been trouble in the city, adding, however, that it is
only the wicked — that is to say, those who would
oppose the Duke openly if they dared — who have
anything to fear, as the adherents of the Medici live
in favour, not only with Cosimo, but with God Him
self. If we are to believe the Autobiography, Giorgio
Vasari was sufficiently well off to be able to bear
these losses. He was " splendidly and generously
rewarded by the magnanimous Hberahty of this great
Duke, not only with a salary and presents of money,
with houses in the country and in Florence where he
might work with greater convenience, but also with
the supreme office of the gonfalonier ato of Arezzo,"
a position which he might delegate to a substitute.
These emoluments, however, did not accrue to him
until the following year, and Sig. Scoti-Bertinelli
quotes a document in the Archivio Storico di Firenze1
which shows that Vasari was definitely taken into
the Duke's service as pittorc stipcndiato, with a
monthly salary of twenty-five florins, on March 1st,
1555. The statement made in the Life of Salviati,
touching his invitation to France, is also shown to
be incorrect by the same document. He says that
Andrea Tassini had been told in 1554 to send a
painter into France, and that he asked Giorgio
Vasari to go, who replied that "not for any salary,
promise or expectation would he depart from the
service of his lord the Duke."
The year thus auspiciously begun is one full of
interest to our subject. Through the medium of the
1 Filza, No. 3491, f. 6.

VINCENZO BORGHINI 121
document just mentioned Vasari commenced his long
and faithful service with Duke Cosimo, and was
chosen by him to succeed Tasso as architect to the
Palazzo Vecchio. It is of interest also because in it
begins that long series of letters which passed be
tween Vasari and Vincenzo Borghini, Prior of the
Ospedale degh Innocenti, and from which we obtain
the most vivid glimpses of his personal character.
Borghini was five years younger than Giorgio, and
although the first of these letters is dated on the 4th
of January, 1555, it is clear that the two men were
already friends. "Behold me, Signor Spedalingo
mio — me, your Giorgio — back again from Rome,
freed from the worries of Julius III, and having
despatched the business of both Montorio1 and the
Vigna ! "
Having secured his own return from Rome, Vasari
next endeavoured to entice Michelangelo back to
Florence, acting on the Duke's instructions, who
was himself so desirous of having the great artist
near him that he sent a special messenger to Rome
to treat with him. Giorgio had already appealed to
him to leave Rome in the same letter that speaks of
the damage wrought by the French, imploring him
to bring " his soul, and with it his body, to its native
land, so that his fellow-countrymen may have the
pleasure of gazing upon him once more before he
goes to join the spirits of famous men who are now
the ornament of Heaven " ; adding that the Duke's
sole desire is to enjoy his society, and not to plague
him with the worries of work. " Flee from that
rapacious Babylon as Petrarch your fellow -citizen
did." To these entreaties Michelangelo refused to
1 The tomb of the Cardinal del Monte in the church of San Pietro a
Montorio.

122 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
listen, and in May there is a letter from him to
Vasari explaining his reasons.
"I was made to undertake the work upon St.
Peter's against my will, and up to the present I have
laboured at it for eight years, not only without re
muneration, but even to my own sorrow and hurt.
Now that the work is really progressing and there is
money in hand, and especially as we are almost
ready to begin the dome, I think it would spell
ruin to the building if I were to desert it at this
juncture. The whole Christian world would cry
shame on me, and in the Day of Judgment this
would be accounted to me for a grievous sin that I
had committed."1
The death of Tasso in May of this year afforded
Vasari what may justly be considered the oppor
tunity of his later life : for the Duke, desiring that
the Palazzo Vecchio, "built on no regular plan, a
piece at the time and more to suit the convenience
of officials than according to a preconceived scheme,"
should be reconstructed as far as possible, appointed
Vasari in place of the dead architect. "To this
work," he tells us, "albeit that it seemed an under
taking beyond my abUities, I set hand, and made, as
best I might, a very large model, which is now in
the possession of his ExceUency."
The Autobiography mentions the painting of the
Sala Grande almost in the same sentence as the de
signs for altering the palace, as though the two
works were done immediately after the death of
Tasso. That this was not the case we learn later
on, for when we come to the account of the prepara
tions for the wedding of Francesco de' Medici, son
and heir of Cosimo, we find that Giorgio was obliged
1 Le Lettere di Michelangelo, cit., No. 457, May 11th, 1655.

THE PALAZZO VECCHIO 123
to hurry on with the painting so as to get it done for
this event, which took place in 1565. Vasari, ap
parently, having more or less carefuUy traced the
course of his life through aU his wanderings until
his safe arrival in Florence under the protecting
wing of the Duke, at this point loses aU semblance
of consecutiveness and does not think it necessary to
observe chronological rectitude in his narrative. The
difficulties and dangers are past ; Florence and the
ducal service have been his goal ; and, having
reached that goal, he is only careful to record his
journeyings and works, without paying much atten
tion to the sequence. It may be, however, that the
hasty revision of the Autobiography, undertaken at
the very last moment before the Second Edition
went to press, is responsible for this lack of coher
ence. It is only by the Hght of his letters that the
story can be pieced together.
The ravages of time have robbed us of whatever
letters he may have written during the first few
months of his appointment as architect to the
Palazzo Vecchio, but it is clear that the work was
progressing favourably, and that much of it was
approaching completion by the end of the year.
We know also, on the evidence of the actual docu
ment, that the contract for the new choir in the
Cathedral at Arezzo was signed by Vasari on
November 19th, and it is natural to suppose that
some portion of the previous months had been spent
in preparing the drawings for the work. On the
same day he was taken Ul, but recovered before the
end of the year, as there is a letter from him to
Bartolomeo Concini, dated January 8th, 1556, in
which he complains that his work in the Palazzo
Vecchio is nearly suspended for want of instructions,

124 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
due perhaps to the state of affairs in the neighbour
hood of Florence. Of the outlook at the time
Vasari gives us a ghmpse, in so far as his own
property was concerned. The ducal emissaries have
been scouring the Val di Chiana as weU as other
places for provender for the army, and some of them
have discovered that Vasari had managed to save a
little corn when his lands were ravaged by the
French. He is in deadly terror lest they should
take it away, although he has express permission
from Cosimo to retain it for his own use. It is only
" a hundred and sixty bushels (staia) of wheat that I
want for my own use, but I am very much afraid,
although they have been told I have permission to
keep it, that they will not let me. Would vostra
Signoria have the kindness to send me a letter to
this effect, so that I may not be deprived of what has
already been given me ? "
With the death of Cristofano Gherardi in this year
Giorgio lost his most able assistant. Cristofano had
been his constant helper for twenty-four years, and
the effect of this loss was considerable, having regard
to the extent to which the master relied on his
assistants. Cristofano has been to him " as the half
of himself," and he tells Cosimo that, on account of
his death, the work will have to proceed more slowly.
Giorgio's grief found an outlet in the following
epitaph, which is worthy to be recorded if only as
embodying the biographer's tribute to his friend's
talent : —
" Tace qui estinto in terra il Gran Pittore,
Cristofor, che fu pari alia natura ;
Morte invidiosa il messe in sepoltura
Malgrado suo, la fama or' lo tra' fuore.
Dispense- si ben' gl'anni, i mesi e ore
Havendo a gl'animali e a i corpi cura,

DEATH OF GHERARDI 125
Le piante, l'erbe, i frutti, e chiara e scura
Fe' l'aer' bella e cosi '1 tinto orrore.
Or chi ama virtu meco si doglia,
Che sian rimasti d'ogni lume spenti
In questo mortal career, cieco e nudo.
Dorranne a Roma, e Flora, e gran lamenti
FarA la patria sua, e'l Tebro crudo,
Poi che scurato alia Pittura e'l Sole."
One would like to know if Vasari really meant
that last line : if he really — feeling the red blood
coursing through his own veins — thought that when
Cristofano died " the Sun turned away his face from
Painting."
Vasari had, in the meanwhUe, moved into a new
house so as to be near the Palazzo Vecchio and to
enable him to go to and from his work under cover.
From Vasari's report to Cosimo we learn that the
Sala of Lorenzo il Vecchio is now being decorated,
all the other rooms have been plastered, and the
Scala Grande is so far forward that the decorations
in relief are already in hand, as well as the painting.
The other staircase, that leading to the terrace on the
roof, is also being built, and the architect waxes
enthusiastic over the discovery of an old wall in the
spot fixed upon for the foundations.
" Listen to this, my lord," he says, " concerning
the staircase that was agreed upon, leading to the
terrace. When we began to pull down those rooms
Castraverde used to have, I discovered so many arches
supporting the walls of the upper floor that I decided
to build a cross wall under the first six steps in the
lower room which used to be the Contract Office.
... I was in constant fear because your most
illustrious ExceUency had so often told me that it
would be impossible to get a proper foundation there.
Well, it had to be done ; and so I set the excavators

126 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
to work. We had not got out more than three feet
of soil when we stumbled across a wall five feet
thick, which had once been part of a tower, not
only in the very spot where it was wanted, but so
much more solid than I should have made mine that
it will strengthen and tie in the whole of that angle
of the building." After this outburst he returns to
what is being done at the Pitti, and says that every
thing there is in a terrible mess, and that it will
require a lot of time and money before it can be
put straight.
Vasari had not accepted Michelangelo's refusal to
return to Florence as final. He kept himself fully
informed as to the course events were taking in
Rome ; and when, at the beginning of 1557, he
learnt that the works at St. Peter's were standing
practically idle, he again, with the fuU concurrence
of the Duke, renewed his entreaties with Michel
angelo. " I have been informed by many persons
coming from Rome that the progress of your work
on St. Peter's has almost stopped, and that you are
undecided whether to give up your position and
come here or not." The Duke, "moved by his
affection towards you, told me this evening that he
is going to write to you, and commanded me to write
as well, to assure you that you will be given every
thing you can desire, and that his Excellency wiU
meet all your wishes in the most generous spirit."
If Michelangelo would care to have his company,
Giorgio is perfectly ready to go all the way to
Rome to act as escort. To this Michelangelo replied
in a letter full of sadness and the suggestion of
despair. " Messer Giorgio, my dear friend : God is my
witness how much against my will it was that Pope

NANNI DI BACCIO BIGIO 127
Paul forced me into this work at St. Peter's ten
years ago. If the work had been continued without
intermission from that time forward, it would by now
have been as far advanced as I had reason to hope,
and I should have been able to come to you." He
cannot, dare not leave St. Peter's ; partly because
his departure would be all too welcome to certain
unscrupulous persons and would be the ruin of the
buUding. Chief among the unscrupulous persons —
— though he does not mention him by name — was
Nanni di Baccio Bigio, who, having a Httle favour
with the Pope, never ceased in his efforts to supplant
Michelangelo, using the most absurd accusations to
support his own candidature. One of his devices was
to send his wife to Florence, escorted by Jacopo del
Conte, saying that he could not accompany her him
self as he was too busy in Rome, trying to undo the
damage which was dafly being wrought to St. Peter's.
It was from Jacopo that Michelangelo's supporters
learnt the lies that Nanni was disseminating, and a
letter fuU of warning was sent to the artist by
Giovanni Francesco Ughi, from which we learn the
nature of these accusations. Nanni declared that
Michelangelo was totaUy ignorant of architecture,
and kept a "ghost" in the person of a Spaniard
whose knowledge, likewise, was manco che manco —
less than nothing : that Michelangelo was in his
second chUdhood : that he worked at night so that
his errors might not be seen : and that he caused the
Deputati to waste enormous sums on needless works.
More than this, he had the courage to approach Duke
Cosimo and to ask his assistance in supplanting the
architect of St. Peter's, receiving a rebuke which
should have — but did not — put an end to his machi
nations in this direction, " We shaU never," wrote

128 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Cosimo, replying in a letter which does him the
greatest honour, " lend our support to such an action
so long as Michelangelo continues to live, for it
would be too great an insult to his genius and the
love we bear him."
Michelangelo's other reason for remaining in Rome
was that he had certain obligations there, in addition
to a house and property valued at several thousand
scudi, and if he goes off without the Pope's permis
sion he is doubtful what will be the fate of his
possessions. Vasari was obliged to desist from his persuasions,
finding them useless ; and he handed Michelangelo's
replies to Cosimo for his perusal, taking the oppor
tunity of posing, as he loved to do, as one of the
great artist's most intimate friends. " I who know
him so well and can enter into his feehngs," he
remarks, " seem to see him trembling with fear and
glowing at the same time with affection for yourself:
indeed, I am in the fuUest sympathy with him."
Cosimo, too, was forced to accept Michelangelo's
excuses : but with what regret may be gathered from
the letters wherein he finds occasion to refer to him.
When the Deputati sopra la Fabbrica in charge of
the church of the Florentines in Rome desired to
have the plans provided by Michelangelo altered, the
Duke rebuked them sharply: "As the design for
the church of our nation, which we sent you by the
hand of Tiberio Calcagni, was made by Michelangelo
himself, there is nothing that can be added to it,
nothing that can be withdrawn. We are greatly
pleased therewith, and consider it as being in every
way worthy of so excellent an artist, as weU as to be
built by our own people." And on the same day
(April 30th, 1560) he writes to Michelangelo, as

CHURCH OF THE FLORENTINES 129
though to excuse the want of respect shown by the
Deputati: "To presume to praise anything that
comes from your hand seems almost to detract from
its excellence, seeing that it is impossible to admire
your work sufficiently. We do not wish to fall into
this error, desiring only to say that we are so much
in love with (ci ha inamorato) your design for the
church of our nation that it grieves us to think it has
stiU to be built."1
Giving up all hope of winning his friend back to
Florence, Vasari turned his attention to the work he
had in hand. In one letter he has to complain that
it is now three weeks since his men were paid, and he
asks what he is to do under the circumstances. From
a second we learn that another new house has been
given him by the Duke, and that he has just moved
in on the very day the letter was written. " I shaU
have a rare tale of gratitude to tell you," he writes to
the Duke, " for I have to-day moved into the new
house you gave me, with aU my family, and I am all
1 See Gaye, Carteggio, Vol. Ill, Nos. 40 and 41. A very interesting
light is thrown by Vasari, in his Life of Jacopo Sansovino, upon the intense
rivalry existing between the various States, which at times led them to get
voluntarily into difficulties in order to show their ability to get out of them
again. Before the church of the Florentines was built the Spaniards and
Frenchmen in Rome already had their national and particular places of
worship. Florence, therefore, as the chief city of Tuscany, must also have
hers, designs for which were made at various times by Raffaello, Antonio
da San Gallo, Peruzzi and Jacopo Sansovino — to say nothing of the designs
of Michelangelo just referred to. The site extended along the Tiber, and
to carry out Sansovino's plan it would be necessary to encroach upon the
river, carrying a portion of the structure upon piles. So far from this
being an obstacle in their path, the Florentines hailed the opportunity for
" showing off" with joy : " and because it would cost more and was a far
more magnificent way of doing it, the church was begun on this plan." It
may be added that the work was abandoned during the pontificate of
Adrian VI, and that Sansovino finaUy fled to Venice upon the sack of
Rome, so that we owe the beautiful Libreria di San Marco to the catas
trophe of 1527.

130 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
eagerness to tell you that I am more your devoted
servant than ever."1
We have no further information as to what the
biographer was doing in Florence until the AprU of
the following year, when there is a letter from him
to Borghini, written in such a happy vein that we
may surmise the world was going very weU indeed
with the little painter. " Signor Hospitaller mine,"
he begins; "I call you mine because there is nothing
in this world that is more mine than you are, for you
are my refuge in all times of trouble ; and I verily
beheve that when the good God sent me into the
world, He decided to send you after me for my per
sonal convenience. The consequence is that I am
something like a small vine stuck on a large pole, and
that makes me look bigger than I am. The boy and
the mules you kindly lent me behaved so well that,
were I with you, I would straightway build them a
triumphal arch with festoons and sacks of corn.
Thanks to your kindness we all got here safely ; and
though I may be used to the company of priests, I
wiU not say 'God reward you for it' for fear of seem
ing a hypocrite. But indeed I am much obhged to you,
and you have heaped up kindness on kindness until,
after God, I bear most affection for you, not even
1 nte, Vol. VIII, Letter No. 64. The text of this letter appears to have
been tampered with, as it is difficult to believe that Vasari wrote in the
terms attributed to him. It is the kind of letter he might have written to
an equal, but it is certainly not couched in the form he usually observes
when addressing the Duke. He is made to use the " lei,'' and to say that
he is "piii vostro che mai." In every other letter he approaches Cosimo
with the utmost respect, and invariably calls him "vostra Eccellenza
illustrissima" — your most illustrious Excellency. There appears to be no
reason for this sudden and uncharacteristic lapse into familiarity with his
august patron. Sig. Scoti-Bertinelli affirms, on what authority 1 do not
know, that the majority of Vasari's letters were not only copied out, but
edited by his nephew, who altered their sense so as to put his uncle in a
better light.

BACCIO BANDINELLI 131
excepting the Duke himself," — or, he might have
added, his wife. " Well, as soon as ever the Easter
hohdays are over I shall move heaven and earth
to get to you so as to enjoy a little more of
your society than I have done of late. Things
are going on here exactly as you would have them,1
and there has been no necessity to depart from
what was agreed upon. I have nothing more to
say at present, except that I am always at your
service. Take care of yourself, and continue to love
me." Vasari's popularity at court brought around him
the inevitable jealousies. Chief among his rivals
was Baccio Bandinelli, who viewed his advancement
with much concern. He supported, as best he
might, the appointment of Giorgio as successor to
Tasso at the Palazzo Vecchio ; but when he learnt
that the Duke intended to erect a palace at Pisa —
presumably the Palazzo de' Cavalieri, which, as we
know, was subsequently confided to Vasari — in addi
tion to the works already in progress, he resolved at
all costs to enter into active competition, and ap
proached the Duke through the Duchess. " As
your ExceUency," he writes, "seems to have em
ployed a great many architects at various times,
it may please you to employ me for the contem
plated palace at Pisa. Being your faithful servant,
I wUl show you whether I know anything about
architecture or not ; and whether I am capable of
judging what sort of a habitation is suitable to the
position, requirements and comforts of so great a
1 i.e. the alterations in the palace. From this time forward all Vasari's
work in Florence was done, if not entirely upon lines laid down for him
by Borghini, at least with his collaboration. The proofs of this state
ment are to be found in many documents still forthcoming, which will he
dealt with in their sequence.

132 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
prince."1 To this letter, in which the writer is at small
pains to conceal his overpowering conceit, the Duke
seems to have made no reply ; and in any case the
appeal would have proved useless, as the would-be
architect died in the foUowing year. The crime that
Vasari imputes to him, of having wUfully destroyed
Michelangelo's cartoon for the Battle of Pisa, is by
no means proved, but it would be idle to pretend
that the Cavaliere Bandinelli could ever have been a
desirable acquaintance, even in the days of the six
teenth century.
Vasari, meanwhile, proceeded with his work en
tirely undisturbed by the efforts of his enemies. He
made so many designs for the Palazzo Vecchio that
the Duke was astonished, and he began an elaborate
model of the whole building, showing both the old
work and the new. In fact, as he himself teUs us,
his head was " full of lines, fortresses, and ideas,"
and he implores Borghini, who had gone into the
country, to hurry back, as he has nobody to whom
he can unburden himself. The summer of this
year was partly devoted to the composition of the
Dialoghi on the subject of the decorations in the
Stanze Nuove, which were then nearly finished.
The rough copy was evidently submitted to Bor
ghini for revision and amendment, as, when Cosimo
expresses a wish to see it, Vasari writes to Borghini
asking for its return as soon as he has read through
the portions which have been added, so that he may
copy it out for the Duke. The copy must have
1 Gaye, Vol. Ill, No. 5, dated May 30th, 1558. "Havendo Vostra
Eccellenza in varii tempi manegiato diversi Architetti, piacendo maneg-
giar me nel nuovo edifitio del palazo di pisa, chome fedel servo li
mostrerro se io mi intendo d'architettura, e si io conosco chome vuol
essere labitatione dun principe grande quanto shaspetta al honor, utile
etdiletto."

" DIALOGHI " 133
been beautifully written, as it took him untU the
beginning of the following year to complete, when it
was presented to Cosimo. These Dialoghi, although
they were not published until 1588, fourteen years
after Vasari's death, were written, with the exception
of the "Terza Giornata," in 1557. The "Terza
Giornata," treating solely of the Sala Grande, was
added in 1567. They are of little interest, and
consist chiefly of an elaborate description of all
the paintings done by Vasari in the new rooms,
presented in the form of a series of conversations
supposed to take place between the painter and
Francesco de' Medici. The young Prince is made
to ask a succession of perfectly inane questions in
order that Giorgio, in answering them, may exhibit
his knowledge. In the opening lines we are given a
picture of the artist overcome by the heat and un
able to work.
Prince. " What are you doing to-day, Giorgio ?
You are neither sketching out new pictures nor
proceeding with those that are begun. This heat
must assuredly be as trying to you as it is to me ;
for, as I found it too hot in my own apartments for
me to sleep, I came into those you have painted,
to while away the time, and to see whether it is
cooler in here."
Giorgio. " Your Excellency is most welcome ;
but tell me, do you often go about thus un
attended ? "
Prince. " I have come in here unattended be
cause I sent a short time ago to see what you
were doing; and they told me that you were
pacing up and down the room with your belt un
buckled, looking the picture of misery and doing no
work."

134 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Giorgio. " That is quite true, my Lord. In this
heat I have no inclination to work. One cannot
work for ever ; and, as your Highness must be
aware, everything that moves grows tired some
time or other. Therefore do not marvel if we
proceed but slowly with the work, especially as we
are approaching the completion of it."
After this quite aimless commencement the
Prince remarks that Giorgio has promised to ex
plain the meaning of the whole series of paintings,
and that if he is still of the same mind there is no
better opportunity than the present. Giorgio, of
course, is still of the same mind, and straightway
begins. They pace from room to room, the Prince
exhibiting an unquenchable thirst for information,
and Giorgio appearing in the light of an encyclo
paedia of learning. Sometimes the Prince is made
to ask questions which enable the painter to explain
away mistakes he has made ; and there is a delight
ful explanation put forward for the introduction
of only three figures where there ought to have
been two dozen. The Prince and his guide have
entered the Sala degli Elementi, and the eye of the
former is immediately attracted by three ladies
wearing butterfly wings and attending the Chariot
of the Sun on its daily journey. He turns to
Giorgio and asks who they are.
Giorgio. "These are the Hours, whose duty it
is to bridle the horses of the Morning, and to go
before them all day long. I have given them wings
so as to make them seem lighter than air, for we
have nothing on earth more fleeting than the
Hours." Prince. " What a beautiful idea ! But tell me,
are there not twelve hours in the day and another

"DIALOGHI" 135
twelve in the night ? Why, then, have you depicted
but three ? "
"Because," says Giorgio with unshaken gravity,
"some of the others have gone on in front and
the rest are a long way behind. Painters are allowed
to do that sort of thing when there is not enough
room in the picture for them all."
With these extracts we may leave the Dialoghi.
The Sala Grande had still to be reconstructed,
and it would seem that the greater part of this
year was spent by Giorgio upon the model for it.
He himself is silent upon the matter both in the
Autobiography and in his letters ; and the only
glimpse we have of him comes through the medium
of an amusing complaint made by the Lucchese
Ambassador. In one portion of his work in the
Palazzo Giorgio had divided the whole space into
three principal panels, and in one of them he painted
the Capture of Siena, while the second contained
a representation of the Capture of Pisa. The third
space was still blank when the Ambassador,
happening to be in the room, asked Vasari what
he intended to paint in it. " Oh," said Giorgio,
" I am going to wait until I can depict the Capture
of Lucca ! " The indignation of the Ambassador
may be more easily imagined than described, and
a strong protest was addressed to the Maestro
Generate di Altopascio, who, however, affected to
treat the matter as a joke, saying that the freedom
of speech of a painter ought not to be taken
seriously. Julius III had died in 1555, and Marcellus II,
who succeeded him, only survived his election by
twenty-one days. On March 23rd of the same year
the choice of the conclave fell on Giovanni Pietro

136 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Caraffa, who adopted the name of Paul IV. Paul
died on August 18th, 1559, and on the following
Christmas Day Giovanni Angelo de' Medici was
raised to the vacant see as Pius IV. The interval
between the death of a Pope and the election of his
successor was a trying time for all who were even
remotely concerned with politics. Upon the result
of these elections much depended, for it was natur
ally a matter of vital importance to the ruler of each
several state to secure, if possible, the election of a
prelate friendly to himself. For seventeen weeks
after the death of Paul the civilised world waited
with anxiety for the decision of the conclave, and
the Florentine court grew apprehensive of what the
final result would be. Had the business been left in
the hands of Giorgio Vasari, as he laughingly says in
a letter to Borghini, we are let into the secret of
whom he would have chosen. " JReverendo Signor
Spedalingo, if it were not that I do not want to put
you to any inconvenience, seeing that you have fled
from home so as to get a Httle quiet, I should have
come over this morning and planted myself upon
you. But Santa Lucia has given me a kind heart
to-day, and so I am writing instead . . . send me
word by my serving man whether I am to come, or
stop where I am, or wait further instructions, or
what I am to do, or what you would like me to do.
I belong more to you than I do to myself — I think
you will agree that I was born simply for the benefit
of other people. I kiss your forehead with that
tenderness which springs from my love for you,
which is infinite. I would to God that, as they
cannot settle on a Pope, they would choose you.
You deserve to be made Pope, King and Emperor
all in one. With this I wiU conclude. I am writing

LETTER TO BORGHINI 137
this in the Palazzo (which, by the by, is driving me
mad) on the day of the Virgin Martyr, who delights
the hearts of all priests and friars with gifts of wax
candles and imitation eyes" — that is to say, Santa
Lucia, whose festival faUs on December 13th.

CHAPTER VII
SECOND EDITION OF THE " LIVES "
Visit to Rome with Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici — The journey described
by Vasari — Michelangelo — Sala Regia — Vasari's chapel at Arezzo —
Palazzo Vecchio again — Report on adjacent property — Uffizi — Cosimo's
tour of inspection — The Palazzo de' Cavalieri at Pisa — IUness of
Vasari's wife — Second edition of the Lives begun — Borghini's share in
them — Death of Giovanni, Garzia and the Duchess Eleonora.
THE new Pope, Pius IV, shared the ambitions
of his race, and, foUowing the precedent of
Clement VII, immediately looked out for a suitable
member of the family whom he might raise to the
dignity of a Cardinal. His choice, in default of
any one older, fell on Giovanni, second son of the
Duke Cosimo, a lad who had not yet completed his
seventeenth year ; and on the last day of January,
1560, Giovanni de' Medici, although not as yet or
dained so much as a deacon, became a Cardinal of
the Church. He set out for Rome soon afterwards
to receive the hat from the Pope, and Giorgio Vasari
accompanied him, writing full and particular accounts
of their triumphal progress to his friends from every
stopping-place. They arrived at Siena in the begin
ning of March, having been received at CoUe on the
way with transports of delight, whUe the recently
conquered Sienese found it advisable to greet the
son of their new Signore with every magnificence
and an exhibition of more affection than they perhaps
felt. On March 23rd the travellers reached Bolsena,
and Vasari wrote to Borghini, again reverting to
138

THE JOURNEY TO ROME 139
their reception at Colle. "When I described our
arrival at Siena," he writes, " I told you also what
happened at Colle, when the crowd began to shout
'Papa! Papa!' instead of 'Palle! Palle!' It was
enough to scare the womenfolk. About the priest
at Monte Oliveto I shaU say nothing, for our party
was so large that we should have eaten the monks
out of house and home if it had not been for the
presents which were showered upon us from all sides.
But at Pienza it was a beautiful sight to see about
fifty little children, who might almost have been your
own,1 with garlands of olives on their heads and
branches of it in their hands, who came out to meet
us, all dressed in white. But what I liked best,"
added Giorgio naively, "was the quantity of wine
and wild plums2 we got at Monte Alcino, which will
enable us to finish our journey like fat abbots." The
entry into Rome was to be made the occasion for a
magnificent reception. From these letters it appears
that several Cardinals were visited by Giovanni de'
Medici on his way, and they vied with each other
in their endeavours to do him honour. Thus, at
Ronciglione, Cardinal Farnese gave a banquet
"which was stupendous," while that same evening
the young Cardinal was called upon to partake of
another feast at Bracciano, given by Cardinal Santa
Fiore, which Giorgio describes as being " not merely
a banquet, but almost a wedding feast." " In fact,
Signor mio, I have never in my life seen so much
rejoicing as greeted us on this journey." On the
Thursday evening they arrived in Rome, and were
received by four thousand horsemen, a hundred
1 This is not a reflection on Borghini's character, but refers to the
children who were under his charge in the Ospedale degli Innocenti.
2 Prugnoli. These seem to be some sort of wild sloes.

140 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
coaches, an enormous crowd of people and half a
dozen Cardinals. The young Giovanni bore himself
throughout with all the dignity of a much older
man, and won the admiration of all beholders. "He
bears himself," says Giorgio, " as if he had been born
a Cardinal." This visit is referred to by the biographer in the
Life of Michelangelo, and he takes the opportunity
of saying that he went as " the servant and friend" of
the Cardinal and because it suited his own con
venience.1 He does not mention it in his Auto
biography, perhaps because he has already described
the principal events in the Lives of Michelangelo and
Francesco Salviati. In one respect, however, these
accounts do not agree with the testimony of his
correspondence, from which it appears that, instead
of going to Rome for his own convenience, he went
by order of the Duke, and for a definite purpose.
He was sent to Rome to show the model for the
proposed alteration of the Sala Grande to Michel
angelo, and to ask his advice. In the letter in which
he informs Cosimo of his departure,2 he says that as
he has received instructions to consult with Michel
angelo about the Sala, he wiU be grateful if the Duke
will write and ask him to give Vasari the full benefit
of his advice upon all the points that will be laid
before him ; and later on, after the arrival in Rome,
Vasari sends the Duke a long account of what he has
been doing.
1 " Ando il medesimo anno Giovanni cardinale de' Medici, figliuolo del
duca Cosimo a Roma per il cappello a Pio quarto, e eonvennc, come suo
scrvitore e famigliare, al Vasari undar seeo, che volentieri vi ando " ( rite,
Vol. VII, p. 258).
2 rite, Vol. VIII, Letter No. 94, dated March 5th, 1560. Milanesi is
certainly wrong in attributing this letter to the following year, as it un
doubtedly refers to the incidents of the journey undertaken in 1560.

MICHELANGELO 141
" As soon as I arrived," he says, " I went to call
upon my grand Michelangelo. He did not know I
was here, and received me as a father would receive
a long-lost son, faUing upon my neck with a thousand
embraces and weeping for joy. . . . We spent the
whole of Monday and Tuesday discussing the model
for the Sala Grande and the subjects for the paint
ings ; for I have brought everything with me. I will
do my utmost to profit by the time I spend with him,
and will get as much instruction out of him as I can."
He has aged considerably since Vasari last saw him,
and is scarcely able to move. Despite this increasing
infirmity, Michelangelo contrived to ride to St.
Peter's one day, and showed his visitor the model
for the dome, " a most extraordinary and notable
piece of work." Their conversation during these
interviews was chiefly concerned with the Duke and
the benefits God has vouchsafed to him, Vasari,
apparently, being one of them ; for he quotes Michel
angelo as having said that " since he himself was not
found worthy to serve the Duke in his prime, he
thanked God that Vasari had been sent in his
stead."1 With the single exception of the pleasure derived
from the society of Michelangelo, Vasari found little
enjoyment in Rome. " I am quite well," he tells
Borghini, "and visit Michelangelo every day. I
spend my evenings with Salviati, and my mornings
with our Cardinal ; so now you know the sort of life
I am leading." And then, in spite of what he has
just said, he adds : "Poor old Salviati has only had
the pleasure of seeing me twice. I haven't a soul to
call my own, so send me your full sympathy, anima
mia ! If ever I escape from this place I will be all
1 Letter No. 73, dated April 9th, 1560.

142 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
yours once more. Ah, me ! what a dearth there is,
Signor mio, of men who do good for good's sake ! I
wonder that I am not swallowed ahve ! Just at
present I am in the greatest demand with every
body ; and, after all, even I am nothing won
derful ! "
Francesco Salviati was, at this time, in a state
of much despondency — he was ever di natura malin-
conico, as Vasari teUs us — because Pius IV had de
cided to complete the Sala Regia, but could not
make up his mind whether to give the work to
Salviati or DanieUo da Volterra. The uncertainty
preyed on Salviati's mind, and as soon as Giorgio
arrived he told him all his troubles. Vasari, " greatly
appreciating his merits, told him that he had managed
his affairs very badly indeed, and that for the future
he had better get Giorgio to arrange everything."1
Vasari's good opinion of himself had led him into
arrogance. If further proof were needed, it is only
necessary to foUow up the story of the Sala Regia.
Being asked by the Pope to decorate a portion of it,
Giorgio sees fit to reply that " he has one to do for
the Duke which is three times as large ; and that he
was treated so badly by the late Pope Juhus III, for
whom he had done much work on the Vigna, at
Monte San Savino, and elsewhere, that he no longer
knew what to expect of certain people."
But though Vasari had lost all faith in Popes and
in Rome, Michelangelo, even in extreme old age,
held potent sway over the susceptible heart of his
admirer. " Oh, my dear Don Vincenzo," he exclaims
Vite, Vol. VII, p. 35. According to a marginal note which Milanesi
says is to be seen in a copy of the Vite preserved in the Corsini Library,
this advice of Vasari's gave rise to a saying in Rome, " Lascia fare a
Giorgio" — you leave it to Giorgio !

MICHELANGELO 143
after one of his daily visits, " my eyes rejoice at the
very sight of him ! " And what is more to the point,
through this famUiar intercourse Giorgio came to a
dim, though transient, understanding of his own
insignificance. He discovered that "what he had
thought to be an elephant was nothing larger than a
rat."1 This, however, is but a passing cloud obscur
ing his vanity ; for within a week he has again put
on all the airs of a great man, while with ill-simulated
humility he inveighs against the adulations and fawn-
ings that meet him at every turn. His final word is
that " this accursed Rome (Romaccia) is a living lie,
and a scandal in the sight of all who seek the paths
of virtue."
Vasari returned to Florence in April, and stayed
there until in August he went for a brief holiday to
Arezzo, partly for change of air, and partly to play
the country gentleman, wandering across his fields
and examining his crops and cattle. Arrived at his
country seat — in villeggiatura — he found that every
thing was in the old disorder, and that his labourers
cared for Httle beyond the payment of their hire, and
least of all for his interests. In consequence the rest
he had promised himself was disturbed by the neces
sity of reorganising the internal economy of his
estates ; and perhaps still more by the ambitious
scheme he had formed of erecting a family chapel
in the church at Arezzo. This scheme occupied the
greater part of his attention at this time, and is
mentioned in several of his letters. On September
25th he tells Borghini that he has been making the
necessary arrangements, but that while he would
prefer to endow a new one over the spot where He
the bones of his ancestors, the overseers of the
1 Vite, Vol. VIII, Letter No. 75, to Borghini, dated April 13th, 1560.

144 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
building urge him to endow the chapel of the high
altar as it is badly in need of restoration, and would,
in any case, have to be repaired. Vasari waived his
own wishes in the matter, and not only designed the
reconstruction of the chapel but defrayed all the
expenses out of his own pocket, adding a clause
to his will to the effect that the chapel of San
Giorgio in the Pieve d'Arezzo is to receive out of his
estate a hundred staia of grain yearly, and that fifteen
masses are to be said on St. George's day. On the
following day fifty masses are to be recited for the
souls of himself and his family, and in the event of
his family becoming extinct (in which case all his
property is to go to the Confraternita di Santa Maria
deUa Misericordia) a hundred masses are to be said
in place of the original fifty.1
This is the chapel to which he refers in the Auto
biography as having been " endowed by me, painted
by my own hand, and offered to the divine Goodness
in recognition, however unworthy, of my great debt
to the Almighty Who has deigned to shower upon
me so many benefits " ; and again, in the Life of
Pietro Laurati, he suddenly breaks through his
narrative when speaking of the Pieve d'Arezzo, in
order to dilate upon his own work. In these sacred
precincts he had learnt his letters in near proximity
to the resting-place of his forefathers ; and it is but
natural that the building, then falling into decay,
should have a warm place in his affections. Its
windows were small, and the church, in consequence,
dark. When Vasari, having passed through the fire
of his early trials came to be passing rich, the desire
to provide a more stately burial-place for his an
cestors came within the bounds of possibility. The
1 This will is given in extenso by Gaye, Vol. II, p. 502.

THE CHAPEL AT AREZZO 145
outcome was this chapel. The work was begun in
1560, but the necessary papal permission was not
obtained until Vasari's visit to Rome in 1567, when,
as he notes in the Autobiography, his Holiness
"with infinite kindness and favour" sent him the
brief " free of charge " for " the erection of a chapel
and decanato in the Pieve d'Arezzo (which is the
high altar of the said Pieve) under the patronage
of myself and of my family." The actual work
entailed the complete remodelling and restoration
of the church, which " you might describe as having
been brought back to life from death ; for in addition
to having let more light into it, for it was excessively
dark, by enlarging the old windows and adding new
ones, I took out the choir as well, which was in
front (of the high altar) and put it behind the altar,
to the great satisfaction of the clergy." Since the
days of Vasari another and equally comprehensive
process of restoration has befallen the church of
Santa Maria della Pieve. It is one which would
have given the biographer but small pleasure to see,
for it involved the reconversion of the building to
its original form, except with regard to the choir,
while the whole of Vasari's altar was carefully re
moved and re-erected in the Badia di Santa Fiore
in the centre of the city. His work, however, has
probably gained by the exchange ; certainly the
splendid church of the Pieve has, for nothing could
well have been more out of place than Vasari's florid
and gaudy design in its sturdy Romanesque setting.
In the Badia it is less incongruous, and the shade of
Giorgio Vasari may rest content that it is surrounded
by a greater number of windows, and can therefore
be more readUy seen. On the new altar, which stands
isolated, there is a picture towards the nave of

146 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
the Calling of Andrew and Peter, who are at their
nets, and towards the choir there is a St. George and
the Dragon, the latter the better work of the two.
On either side of the central picture there is an
oblong panel, in each of which are two saints ; whUe
the predella is of the usual type, divided into a
number of small panels. On the back there are
portraits of Lazzaro Vasari — Lazaro Fasario pictori
eximio, as he stiU persists in calling him — and of
Giorgio the elder, neither of which is likely to be
very reliable. But we have also portraits of the
biographer's father and mother, as weU as of himself
and " La Cosina." The father is represented as clean
shaven, and appears to be a man who treated the
world and its sorrows lightly, who lived well and
left its cares to others. Maddalena Tacci, on the
other hand, is clearly the one to whom he left these
same cares ; for Giorgio's mother wears a look of
anxiety. But as she outlived her husband for many
years, Vasari would naturally recollect the one as
a young man, while the other would remain im
printed in his memory as she was when she died,
a few years before the picture was painted, a woman
well over sixty years of age. The portraits of
Giorgio and his wife are full-length and life-size,
and he represents her as young, very fair, and with
refined features. She is evidently of good famUy
and exceedingly docile — the sort of wife we should
have expected him to choose, seeing that he had
to get married. She would sit at home patiently
in the stately Sala of the Casa Vasari, wearing a
silken gown suited to her surroundings and the
estate of her lord and master, gazing at the painted
allegories overhead, or looking out from her high
windows across that wonderful, fertile plain that

PALAZZO VECCHIO 147
stretches away towards Florence, wondering when
the great little man would be pleased to return.
Having made something of a martyr of her, it was
fitting that Vasari should place her upon a sumptu
ous altar, which, as he tells us, was finished " with
gold, inlay, painting, marble, travertine, breccia,
porphyry, and other stones."1
Returning once more to Florence he took up the
interrupted work in the Palazzo Vecchio, being
chiefly occupied with the alteration of the great
staircase. As usual, he is enthusiastic and fuU of
schemes for its improvement. He teUs the Duke
that he has hit on a " most ingenious " means of
getting over the difficulties which have arisen, and
describes his scheme in such a roundabout way as
to completely confuse his patron. The Duke rephed
that he could make neither head nor tail of Vasari's
description, but that two things were clear to him.
" The first is, that in order to carry up the stair
case according to your plans it wUl be necessary
to destroy every bit of the work already done, and
this I have no intention of doing ; the other is, that
your new arrangement wiU absorb the whole of the
landing between the statue of David and the en
trance to the Salotto, which would not only be
a mistake, but could not by any possible means look
well when finished." To this crushing reply Vasari
returned an humble apology for having expressed him
self so badly as to give the Duke a false impression,
and explained that his plans had been misunderstood.
FinaUy, the staircase had to wait over untU the
return of Cosimo to Florence, Vasari meanwhUe
proceeding with the other portions of the work.
Many of his official reports are still extant, but they
1 rite, Vol. I, p. 475.

148 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
are generally uninteresting. They report progress,
and usually contain a string of complaints. One
letter will stand for them all, and serve to illustrate
some of the difficulties lying in the path of an archi
tect at the court of Cosimo. On January 15th,
1561, Giorgio writes as follows : —
" I have taken up the floors of the first two rooms
looking towards the Piazza : the others I cannot get
at, as Donna Antonia refuses to let me touch them,
and has locked up all the doors. WiU your Excel
lency be pleased to say what I am to do under the
circumstances ? " Then : " I do not want to speak any
more about my own affairs, but if there is not a change
soon, what with the worry and the amount of work
I have in hand, I do not think it will be long before
I foUow Luca Martini ; 1 and then your ExceUency
will doubtless feel sorry that my wants were not
satisfied whUe I was still alive, as now I am put to so
much inconvenience."
To this letter Cosimo replied that Giorgio was to
get on with his work and not trouble his head about
anything that Donna Antonia might do to annoy
him, as the Duke's orders were given to Vasari and
not to the womenfolk of the house. As to his per
sonal grievances, he was to have patience untU
the return of the Duke, when everything would be
settled to his satisfaction.
In spite of the journey to Rome for the purpose of
obtaining Michelangelo's approval of the proposed
alterations in the Sala Grande, the actual work was
not begun for another three years. On February
16th, 1561, Vasari writes imploring the Duke to
inaugurate the new year (which, according to the
Florentine computation, began on March 25th) by
1 Martini had died a few days previously.

UFFIZI 149
allowing him to set to work on the Sala. Cosimo,
however, refused to give the requisite orders, prob
ably because he knew that Giorgio would have quite
enough to do in superintending the enlargement of
the Magistrati, better known to-day as the Uffizi
Gallery.1 Although the foundations for this work
were not begun until July, Vasari was already pre
paring his scheme in March, when he addresses a
report to his patron as to the value and extent of the
buildings which will have to be demolished to make
room for the new work.
" Most illustrious and excellent Lord," he begins,
" according to the instructions received from your
Highness, Messer Antonio de' Nobili and I have duly
caused the floors, ceilings and waUs to be measured
with the utmost care. We have had the quantities
of these materials priced, not in accordance with
what the buildings now yield in annual revenue, but
according to the amount and quality of the materials
in each house, in order that your illustrious Excel
lency may understand the matter more fully. I have
had the measurements taken by Master Bernardo di
Antonio, mason, and Master Pietro del Zucca, esti
mator, and the totals of the walling and carpenter's
work are hereto appended. It seems advisable to
send all the calculations so as to avoid confusion and
to show the value of each individual house.
"Fromthese figures your most illustrious Excellency
will see that the buildings adjacent to the Zecca, being
of better quahty, are worth more ; but if any work
is to be done at this point it wUl be necessary to
1 This scheme was on foot as early as 1545, as Lapini notes in his
Diario that " on March 11 they began to pull down the houses and shops
opposite the Zecca of Florence so as to prepare for the new street and
habitation of the Magistrati."

150 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
destroy a portion of these buildings, as the building
line, taken from the front of the Zecca, cuts through
them and will be interfered with by the rear portions
of the houses along the street leading to Volta de'
Girolami. As your illustrious Excellency will note
from the plan, it will be necessary to leave a small
courtyard, about ten braccia 1 wide, where the stair
case leading to the upper rooms will be, in order to
get light for the Audience Chamber and the halls
of Chancery of the Magistrati. This wiU leave very
little that could be saved, and the remaining space
might be added to the front rooms so as to make
them of greater importance. The Signori Otto di
Pratica who now occupy these buildings could be
moved into the aforesaid rooms, and instead of pay
ing rent for the whole would only have to pay for
such part as they occupy. The houses affected are
thirteen in number, and I have placed a mark against
them in the estimate.
" On the other side, towards San Pier Scheraggio,
none of the houses are worth anything, as they are
very old and the material very much decayed. It is
a matter for surprise that anyone should live in them,
and it is only the fact that they He so near the Palace
which gives them any value at all. I have nothing
further to report at present ; but your Excellency
will doubtless be able to decide what is to be done.
I have never seen a more filthy set of pig-styes than
these houses are, and I am of the opinion that if they
were elsewhere nobody would live in them.
" Should your Highness resolve to proceed with the
work, it would be advisable to call in two other
persons to make a confidential report and to see
whether there is any variation in the price. I do
1 About 19 feet.

UFFIZI 151
not believe that this will be the case if they are men
who know their business.
" In the meantime I am proceeding with the model.
I find that as the floor of the Zecca is four and a half
braccia above the level of the river there will be room
for a range of stables, which could also be reached
from the houses at the rear. All this your most
illustrious Excellency will see from the new model
which I am having made with every possible atten
tion. I am supplying all the necessary conveniences
and offices to each suite of rooms, without departing
from the general scheme laid down by your Ex
cellency, and the work is proceeding favourably.
The painting in the little room is nearly finished, and
for a week I have been working with my own hands
to hurry it along so that the rest of the new apart
ments can be completed. As your Excellency will
see from the memorial placed by me in the hands of
Signor Montalvo,1 I await instructions from your
Highness with regard to these rooms, holding myself
ever ready to execute your commands. The plaster
ceding in the writing-room is now being modelled and
the floor is being laid. The room under it is quite
finished, but the large chest there had to be taken
away in pieces. All this Signor Montalvo wiU ex
plain in detail, as he was present when the work was
done. " There is nothing further to report, but I implore
your Excellency to grant my former application " —
that is to say, the settlement of his own personal
1 Antonio de Montalvo. He succeeded Sforza Almeni as chamberlain
to the Duke in 1566, when Cosimo, enraged by Sforza's betrayal of an
important secret and his subsequent disregard of his wishes, killed his
erstwhile favourite in a moment of mad passion, transfixing him with
a pike that unhappily lay near at hand. The story is told in full by
Saltini, Tragedie Medicee Domestiche (Florence, Barbera, 1898).

152 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
affairs — " so that my mind may be at rest and the
work completed in peace and quietness, enabling me
to end my life in your service ; in the reahsation
that, after God, all my prosperity and happiness
emanate from yourself.
" Humbly and with all my heart I prostrate my
self before you."
The abject self-effacement of the architect in this
grand finale must have been distinctly pleasing to his
noble patron ; and, as we have already noted, the
foundations were begun in the following July. There
after, until some time in 1569, Vasari and his trusty
men laboured at the work with unabating zeal ; and
it is pleasant to note that even in the "good old
days " the budder and contractor was much the same
sort of individual as he is to-day. This at least is the
inference to be gathered from three letters published
by Gualandi,1 referring to the church of San Pier
Scheraggio, mentioned in the report of Vasari. This
building, long since removed, stood inconveniently
near the Uffizi de' Magistrati ; so near, in fact, that
the architect seems to have used it as a highly con
venient builders' yard and workshop. For more than
a year the main doorway was blocked by a large
mound of builders' rubbish, so that, as the priests
complained to Cosimo, it was utterly impossible to
hold service there. At times, too, the blocks of stone
intended for the new work would, in a spirit of play
fulness, slip from their positions and faU with a crash
through the roof of the church. This must have
been very disconcerting for the parson, but his
remonstrances met with little sympathy from Cosimo.
When he wrote to complain that " the Overseers of
the Fabric have brought timber, tool-chests, earth
1 Nuova Raccolta di Lettere, Bologna, 1844, Vol. 1, No. 52.

UFFIZI 153
and rubbish into the church, saying they were acting
on behalf of your Highness," the Duke referred him
back to the Overseers, teUing him " to see what they
have to say about the matter. We leave the care of
the church to those whom it concerns, for as it lies
under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop it can be no
affair of ours." Those who have read the Diario of
Landucci, too, wUl recollect his observations with
regard to the preparations of those who were building
the Palazzo Strozzi. " At the same time they began
to pull down the houses, a great number of labourers
and foremen being employed in the work. All the
neighbouring streets were blocked with stone piled
mountain-high, and with mounds of rubbish which a
string of mules and donkeys were engaged in carrying
away, returning with loads of gravel ; with the result
that it was almost impossible for foot passengers to
get past the scene of these operations. We trades
people" — Master Landucci was a grocer — "who had
our shops near by lived in a perpetual atmosphere of
builders' dust, suffering much annoyance from the
number of people who stopped to gape at the pro
ceedings, and from the number of beasts of burden
which could not be persuaded to pass the spot."
This, however, is a digression, and carries us away
from the regular course of Vasari's life under the
Duke of Florence. We have no means of ascertain
ing what the personal troubles were to which the
biographer alludes, but that they were serious and
financial seems clear. They worried him to such an
extent that he feU ill whUe in attendance on the
Duke during a tour of his territories in 1561. An
account of this illness and its happy issue is pre
served in a letter to Borghini, in which Vasari
describes how the fever attacked him at Leghorn,

154 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
and how sympathetic the Duke had shown himself,
even to the extent of granting all that Giorgio had
asked for in his letters from Florence. Cosimo had
gone on to Antignano, but as the painter was too iU
to travel, he remained behind at Leghorn, thus gain
ing a little respite from those fatiguing journeys on
horseback. " The long day's rest I got yesterday,"
he tells Borghini, " has done me a lot of good, but
the Duke's having granted all my requests last night
has quite cured me ; for I took the opportunity of
putting before him a memorial in which I asked for
a great many things, and he signed it with his own
hand. I am very delighted. To-day Guidi is going
to write the letters of authorisation : and he sends
you his compliments. So to-morrow I shaU set out
on my way to you, happy and contented. 1 will not
send you the particulars because I shall be able to
tell you them myself all in good time."
The remainder of this year was occupied with the
work in the Palazzo and the building of the Uffizi.
In November Cosimo and the Duchess returned to
Florence, and as, in a letter to Borghini dated
November 21st, 1561, Vasari says that they "are
exceedingly pleased with the stanze di sopra, it is
clear that the architect fulfilled his promise and had
completed them before the arrival of his patron.
Cosimo de' Medici, having reduced the whole of
the Sienese territory to obedience, and having, more
over, been confirmed by Imperial decree in the
possession of his conquests, devoted a portion of
each year to a tour of his dual Duchy. He was
eager not only to fortify his frontier, but also to
instil into his subjects an affectionate regard for his
person. Whenever, on these pilgrimages, there was
anything of an artistic or architectural character to

THE PALAZZO DE' CAVALIERI 155
be done, Vasari was sent for in a great hurry, and
had to rush off to his patron, no matter what the
weather might be. That these journeys were not
always to the painter's taste we have ample evidence ;
but, particularly in these matters, Cosimo's word was
law. Not even his children were spared the fatigues
and dangers of these pilgrimages, and not aU the
remonstrances of the court physicians could avail to
remove him from his determination to take his three
young sons, Giovanni, Garzia, and Ferdinando, upon
that ill-fated journey which at the end of 1562
deprived him, at one blow, of his wife and two of his
sons. Still less, then, might Vasari hope to evade
the will of the Duke.
When, therefore, the Duke decided to alter the
official residence of the Commissario at Pisa and
transform it into the Palazzo de' Cavalieri di Santo
Stefano, an order of knighthood founded by himself
for the purpose of protecting the coast against the
inroads of pirates, he sent for Giorgio, who reached
Pisa on the day of the Epiphany, after a most
unpleasant journey, " half dead from the mud under
foot, the floods around and the rain overhead, which
did not cease all the way from the Badia di San
Savino to Empoli." " I dried myself," adds Giorgio
laconicaUy, " and went to bed . . . and this morning
I am none the worse for the experience." His work
at Pisa may still be seen, though the original sgraffiti
have long since crumbled away with the plaster on
which they were cut. The front of the building has
recently been re-plastered, and again decorated in
the old manner, while vestiges of the older work
between the topmost windows, which had suffered
less hurt because they were protected by the generous
projection of the roof, are blended with the restora-

156 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
tion. One might, indeed, wish that aU restorations
were as satisfactorily carried out, for the appearance
of the building is exceedingly rich and handsome.
In front of it there stands a statue of Ferdinand,
third Granduca of Tuscany, which guide-books per
sist in acclaiming as Cosimo, despite the fact that
" Ferdinandus III " is writ large upon the pedestal.
As far as the church of the CavaHeri is concerned, a
different story must be told ; for the facade is the
work of Talenti, while the ceiling is by Cristoforo
AUori and others. The plan is probably Vasari's ;
and the campanile which later on figures in his
correspondence is stiU to be seen : a not very original
structure of red brick surmounted by a lantern of
white marble, with enrichments of the same in the
belfry storey.
The alterations to these two buildings were but
one of the many works over which Vasari had con
trol at this period. It is difficult to beheve that he
was able to superintend these operations in Pisa
while at the same time he was proceeding with the
work in the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi at
Florence. Yet such is the case. We cannot wonder
if " La Cosina " grumbles once more at his prolonged
absences and refuses to be pacified with a fresh batch
of sonnets. We do not know whether these later
poems of the painter-architect were more unsatis
factory than usual, but something has evidently
occurred which reduces his wife to a state of grievous
ill-health. Vasari was much troubled at her con
dition, and in a letter dated May 9th. 1562, he refers
to it. " Nothing seems to give her pleasure," he
writes, " and nothing seems to annoy her." She is
getting worse, and he is waiting to see "what God
has in store for him." It is noticeable that in his

SECOND EDITION OF THE "LIVES" 157
hour of trial he throws off the gloss of the courtier
and speaks of the Duke, not as " his most illustrious
Excellency," but as " Cosimo," pure and simple.
But even with his wife in a state that caused him
great anxiety, Giorgio remained true to his ambitions
in life. No portion of his work was neglected, and
the same letter which speaks of her illness contains
the first intimation that he is preparing the Second
Edition of the Lives. It is instructive that the letter
containing this reference should be addressed to
Vincenzo Borghini, his lifelong friend and adviser ;
and the question immediately arises as to what share
Don Vincenzo had in the production of these famous
volumes. In the Priorista di Giuliano Bicci there occurs the
following reference to the two editions of the Lives :
" I remember hearing Don Miniato Pitti say that
when Giorgio was preparing the First Edition he gave
him a good deal of help, and told him a lot of anec
dotes, together with a multitude of lies (vi messe molte
novelle e infinite bugie). For the Second Edition
Giorgio asked help of nobody, but elaborated and
embroidered his so-called facts to such an extent that
Don Miniato could scarcely recognise the old lies in
their new dress, so wonderfully had Vasari contrived
to mix them up."1 It is highly improbable, however,
that there is any truth in this statement. In the first
place, Don Miniato Pitti was one of Vasari's earliest
friends and well-wishers, and had given him employ
ment during the unsettled days of the siege of
Florence both in Pisa and Arezzo, so that it is
extremely unlikely that he would have willingly
misled his former protege" in so important a matter
as the Lives. In the second place, it is untrue that
1 Scoti-Bertinelli, op. cit., p. 65, and Gaye, Vol. I, p. 150 footnote.

158 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Vasari " asked help of nobody " in the preparation of
the Second Edition, for such independence would
not have been in keeping with his conduct on other
occasions ; witness the First Edition submitted to
Gian Matteo Faetano of Rimini, and the additions
to the Dialoghi which, in 1558, were sent to Borghini
for approval. Borghini, indeed, acted as censor to
all Vasari's later writings, and often supplied the sub
jects and suggested the composition of his pictures.
What is more natural, then, than that Vasari should
have recourse to his friend for assistance in the
preparation of the Second Edition of the Lives'.
This theory, firmly believed in by both MUanesi
and Bottari, was only a theory until Signor Scoti-
Bertinelli, in the course of his researches, unearthed
several documents of the highest interest. The first
of these is a draft copy of the dedicatory letter pre
fixed to the original edition and addressed to Cosimo.
It is in Borghini's handwriting, and is accompanied
by a letter to Giorgio, clearly showing that, if he did
not write the actual dedication in its final form,
Borghini at least inspired it. But far more interest
ing were two other documents discovered by the
same writer. One of them is entitled " Per le Vite
di M. Giorgio," and is also in Borghini's handwriting.
It is identical in substance with a portion of the
Proemio to Volume I, the only difference being that
Vasari has rephrased it. The other document is
merely headed " M. G. V." (Messer Giorgio Vasari),
and forms part of a treatise on drawing.
It would be tedious, as weU as unnecessary, to
adduce all the arguments of Signor Scoti-Bertinelli,
but his conclusion — that these documents are separate
pages torn by chance from a notebook containing the
additions which were to be made to the Second

°I DIVERSI
c /zrroRi
*Cc-4JVriCHIFMODEBWi

FROXTI.sPIECE TO VASARFS "LIBRO DI PI>EGXL
(Florence : I ffizi Gallery)

BORGHINI AND THE "LIVES" 159
Edition — is supported, rather than otherwise, by such
notices as appear in Vasari's letters. There is also
the curious " Literary Testament " of Vasari,1 ad
dressed to Borghini by the biographer before one of
his visits to Rome. It bears no date, but certainly
refers to the Second Edition. Borghini, among other
things, is to "revise, abridge, cancel, add to or
supplement the work as may be necessary." He is
also to look carefuUy over the title-page of the work,
and to see that the author is described as " Giorgio
Vasari, pittore aretino," as in the Third Part of the
earlier edition there is no mention of his being a
painter. Borghini is left absolutely free to do any
thing that will add to the value of the work.
While on this subject of the Lives it may be
interesting to add a short note as to the fate of
Vasari's Book of Drawings. He seems to have been
fortunate enough to secure examples in pencil, black
and white or colour, of the work of nearly every
artist mentioned in his volumes. The market value
of such a coUection at the present day would amount
to a fabulous sum, and it is to be regretted that the
result of so many years of patient toil has been to
some extent scattered. We know that Vasari re
garded his book as a great treasure, and we know
that he carefully bound aU the sheets together and
designed a special title-page, in which, as might have
been expected, he included the portrait of Michel
angelo. The drawing, in pen and ink heightened by
washes of grey, is now in the Uffizi, and bears the
following inscription: "Disegni di diversi pittori ecc. ti
antichi e moderni," and clearly formed part of the
cover for the celebrated Libro di Disegni, or Book of
Drawings. Most of these are now in the Uffizi.
1 Gaye, Carteggio, Vol. Ill, No. 300.

160 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
In the letter last quoted, in which Giorgio refers to
his wife's illness, he says he wishes Borghini would
send on the written matter he has got for him, and
though it may be argued that these papers need not
necessarily be concerned with the Lives, a sentence
in the next letter, written three days later, seems to
offer proof positive that Vasari did refer to the pre
paration of the new edition. " I expect to be able to
come and spend Whitsuntide with you," he says,
"but as you have not told me whether you have
those writings of mine and the Lives, I am afraid
that my coming may prove to be a waste of time."
Clearly, then, Vasari intended to spend his holidays
with Borghini discussing the revision of his book.
The closing days of the year 1562 were marked by
the terrible calamity already referred to. The old
story of this tragedy which the gossip-mongers of
the last two centuries loved to teU has long since
been proved false. We now know that the youthful
Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici was not mortally
stabbed by his brother Don Garzia, a lad of fifteen,
during a quarrel as to whose dog had pulled down
the quarry whde they were out hunting together;
and we know that the story of the Duke having
killed Don Garzia with his own hand beside the body
of his victim, as an act of just retribution, is equally
untrue. The unadorned facts of the case are
sufficiently moving.
In the middle of October the Duke decided to go
on one of his progresses throughout his territories,
and, furthermore, he elected to take the whole of his
farmly with him, despite the warnings of the court
physicians that the air of the Maremme was Hkely to
prove harmful to them. On November 5th the court
was at Massa Marittima, and ten days later, at

DEATH OF GIOVANNI AND GARZIA 161
Rosignano, Cardinal Giovanni fell ill with malarial
fever, after the fatigues of the hunt. At the same
time Don Garzia, his younger brother, was struck
down by the same enemy, but the symptoms in
neither case gave rise to any anxiety. Two days
later, however, the condition of Giovanni proved
serious, and on the 20th he died in his father's arms.
The tragedy that was enacting is best followed by
means of extracts from Cosimo's letters to his eldest
son, Francesco, at that time at the Spanish court.
" Don Gartia and Don Ernando,"1 writes Cosimo
on the day of Giovanni's death, "have both had a
touch of the fever, but they will be quite well by to
morrow, when we shall all go to Pisa." Garzia,
however, was still in the grip of the malaria, and the
journey proved too much for his state of health. He
grew rapidly worse, and on December 5th the
doctors gave up all hope of saving him. Seven days
later he breathed his last.
The consternation that reigned in Florence, where
only the most meagre information as to what was
happening at Pisa was to be obtained, may be
imagined. The body of Giovanni had been sent back
to the capital and there buried with all the pomp
suitable to his dignity, and within three weeks —
almost before the catafalque had been removed from
San Lorenzo — another sad procession, bearing the
corpse of his brother, entered the city gates. Nor
was this all. The Duchess had long been in a deli
cate state of health and suffered from a troublesome
cough. She was ill-prepared to support the loss of
1 Ferdinando de' Medici, fourth son of the Duke. He was made a
Cardinal in succession to his brother Giovanni in the following year, and
on the death of Francesco, who became second Grand Duke of Tuscany,
resigned his cardinalate in 1587, and was crowned third Grand Duke. He
married Cristina of Lorraine.
M

162 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
her son Giovanni, and his death had been a great
shock to her. Her fears for the life of Garzia re
duced her to a condition from which only one issue
was possible. Five days after Don Garzia breathed
his last Eleonora di Toledo, Duchess of Tuscany,
closed her eyes for ever, ignorant that Garzia was
already awaiting her in the impenetrable Beyond.
The closing scenes of this drama are described with
pitiful simplicity in Cosimo's letters to Francesco
bearing the sad intelhgence. He endeavours to con
sole himself and his son with a philosophy which, aU
too clearly, cannot lessen his own sorrow, and he
seems to say with the poet : —
" But not all the preaching since Adam
Can make Death other than Death."
Two pages of this letter are taken up with the
struggle of the stricken man to come to the point
and broach the terrible news. He cannot. Then,
hurriedly, he tells how Garzia " went back to God,
rejoicing as though he went to a bridal . . ." "But
how can I finish this letter," he cries in anguish,
" being called upon to speak of a grief stiU greater ?
. . . With the help of God, let me tell you what
remains." The story of her last moments is unfolded
with simple directness. He tells of her grief for
Giovanni, and how they dared not give her news of
Garzia. But she guessed what they feared to tell
and prepared to foUow him ; so, finally, " with in
credible fortitude, and chatting to us all the time, she
gave back her soul to God, dying almost in my own
arms. Three days before the end she confessed and
received the Sacrament, and the day before she died
she asked to be given Extreme Unction. Then,
having first attended to her spiritual welfare, she

THE DUCHESS ELEONORA 163
divided up her possessions in my presence among her
servants and attendants. During the last two days
she retained full consciousness and lay on her bed
waiting, nearly always with the crucifix clasped in
her hands and speaking calmly of the approach of
death as though it were an ordinary matter. Her
speech remained with her until the last hour, and she
recognised all who were around her."

CHAPTER VIII
PALAZZO VECCHIO
Shortage of money for architectural works — Progress of buildings —
Column of Santa Trinitii — The stairs in the Palazzo Vecchio — Vasari's
glowing accounts of it — Death of Michelangelo — His funeral.
THE bereavements which had so suddenly faUen
upon the Duke had, externally at least, little
effect upon him, for on January 19th, 1563, Giorgio
tells Borghini that he left the Duke at Pisa well
and contented ; also Don Arnando (Ferdinando),
who was practically free from fever. "Although
the red hat has arrived for him, he is not yet aware
that he has been made a Cardinal, nor even that the
Duchess and the others are dead. I left the Duke
greatly consoled, but had considerable difficulty in
getting away from him. He was glad to see me,
and I have come away with a great many things
settled up, so that I have plenty to go on with."
One of the undertakings referred to in this letter
seems to have been the continuation of the Sacristy
of San Lorenzo, which Giorgio put in hand, foUow
ing out the instructions which Michelangelo had
written out for his guidance. There is a letter from
Giorgio to the Duke on the subject, in which he
complains of the little respect paid by the priests to
Michelangelo's work ; for when he first went in to
take his measurements he found that during the past
winter they had warmed the place with charcoal
164

SHORTAGE OF MONEY 165
braziers, "for aU the statues and the walls are
covered with soot. It is a positive disgrace ; and
what makes it worse is that orders were given last
year that the prior was to have a chimney made in
one of the recesses, and it has never been done."
Vasari drew up a scheme for the completion of the
Sacristy, by which the work still to be done would
be apportioned among the members of the Acca
demia, then recently reorganised.
In spite of the famine produced by the almost
incessant bad weather of the past few years, Cosimo
continued to plan new works, so that in the beginning
of the year it is not surprising to know that there
was a general shortage of money both for the Palazzo
Pitti and the Uffizi in Florence and for the Palazzo
de' Cavaheri at Pisa. Not only was there Httle to be
had for building operations, but Vasari's pay also fell
into arrears. We find him waylaying the Duke and
assailing him with petitions setting forth his most
pressing needs and putting himself in the position of
the Duke's benefactor. " Illustrissimo e Eccelleu-
tissimo Signor mio," he writes, " I take the liberty of
sending you the present memorial, in spite of the
fact that I explained verbally to your Highness
yesterday morning how much I was in need of
money, and also in spite of your Highness's generous
promise that I should receive satisfaction. The pro
perty of Buonagrazia in Valdarno, which has been so
often promised to me, is now vacant, and I take
this opportunity of again asking you to bear me
in mind, reminding you at the same time of all
that I am doing on your behalf" (quanto fo et opero
per lei).
In fact, to judge from the correspondence which
passed between the Duke and his various advisers,

166 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
there was something of an architectural crisis in
Tuscany ; and whatever money did come to hand was
eagerly grabbed up by the first arrival on the scene.
As a result of these difficulties the ducal architects,
Provveditori and builders showed the utmost anxiety
to impress their patron with the amount of work
they were doing, and by harassing him with un
necessary letters and details moved him to wrath.
On January 30th the Provveditori for the Uffizi
wrote to complain that, owing to the bad times
prevailing and the amount of money that was being
spent on the Cavalieri at Pisa, they could get nothing
for the prosecution of their own work, although they
only required the mere trifle of 150 scudi per week ;
and about the same time there is a letter from
Bartolomeo Ammannato, architect to the Pitti, in
which he says that " Messer Tommaso (de' Medici)
gave orders for 250 scudi to be paid on the last three
Saturdays, but for Saturday next there wiU only be
83 scudi. As we are in need of timber, tiles and
lime, this sum will not be enough." The Provveditori
for the Uffizi, in their report to the Duke, added a
detailed account of what they proposed to do, and
this information was repeated by Vasari in another
letter on the following day, and yet again by
Bernardo Puccini. These unnecessary repetitions
annoyed his most illustrious Excellency, as we
have already said, and the original letter from the
Provveditori bears a marginal note to the effect that
"his Excellency doesn't want letters from so many
people, but one only signed by them all." It is
evidently the memorandum taken down by the ducal
secretary, for within a few days the Provveditori
received the following dignified and characteristic
rebuke : —

LOGGIA OK THE UFFIZI TOWARDS THE ARNO, FLORENCE
(CnKKIUi)l; ACROSS I'ONTK \ECCHlu IN D1SIANCE)

PROGRESS OF BUILDINGS 167
"To the Provveditori of the Work on the new
Site, February 9th (1563).
" The information you give us in your letter of the
30th has already reached us from other sources.
Therefore, as we have matters of far greater import
ance to occupy our attention, and in order to avoid
these petty annoyances for the future, we desire,
touching the said works, that you will send us but
one letter at the time, and that the said letter shall
be signed by Giorgio (Vasari) and Puccino on your
behalf. We have already told both of them sepa
rately, and we now repeat the same to you, that the
work must be carried up equally in every part,1 in
order to avoid the appearance of its having been built
in pieces and dovetailed together. The whole buUding
is to proceed equally. No part whatsoever is to be
completed until we have seen how it looks, as we do
not wish to be obliged to puU it down again, as we
should have to do if it failed to give us satisfaction."
In spite of the serious financial outlook Cosimo
resolved to undertake yet another important work,
the completion of the great staircase in the Palazzo
Vecchio and the decoration of the Sala Grande.
Vasari, as before, was put in charge of the matter,
and there is a letter from him to his patron, dated
March 3rd, 1563, in which he expresses his gratitude
for the Duke's resolve to proceed with the work, and
his own expectation of eclipsing everything that has
ever been done in the way of staircases and Sale.
" It will surpass everything that has ever been done
by mortal man in size and magnificence, in decorative
stonework, in statues, bronzes, marbles and foun-
1 Vasari and his collaborators proposed to carry up the end facade
(towards San Pier Scheraggio) first, and having completed that, to proceed
with the other portions.

168 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
tains, as well as in the originality of the paintings it
will contain. The designs for both the ceihng and
the walls are already being prepared." He goes on
to prophesy that the work wiU excel the glories of
the Venetian Senate and all that has ever been
achieved by kings, popes and emperors.
" Having first thanked God," he continues, "I thank
you, my sweetest master (Signor mio dolcissimo), for
having given me so honourable and worthy a task ;
for through this work my ability as an artist, such as
it is, wiU be perpetuated throughout all time, coupled
with your august name ; and in addition to the
honour I hope to gain from this undertaking, I shaU
enjoy still greater rewards from your liberality. And
because words fail to express my gratitude for the
compliment you have paid me in this matter, and
since I have no other means at command than that
of diligence and hard work, I do assure you that all
my work shall be full of beauty, full of fire, of power
and vivacity, and carried out to the best of my
judgment." The rest of the letter consists of a
rough outline of the proposed decorations, and to it is
appended a sketch diagram. From the tone of the
letter it is clear that Vasari already hears in imagina
tion the applause that will greet the uncovering of
his masterpieces, and his prayer is that the Almighty
will give him health and strength both of body and
mind, so that he may " finish the work in absolute
perfection, to the glory of God, of himself, and of the
Duke." To this letter Cosimo replied on the 14th, in terms
which ought to have given the artist the fuUest satis
faction. " The description given in your letter of
the 3rd, as also the sketches enclosed therein of the
Sala Grande and its ceding, have pleased us mightily.''

PROGRESS OF BUILDINGS 169
He then goes on to criticise several points, among
them the composition of the picture dealing with the
capture of Siena. Vasari has represented the Duke
as surrounded by a group of advisers ; but Cosimo
will have none of them, explaining with conscious
pride that he achieved the subjugation of the city
without external assistance. " The group of counsel
lors which you have placed about our person where
you represent us in the act of deliberating upon the
campaign against Siena, is not in the least necessary
as we acted entirely alone in the matter. You can
fill up the places of these counsellors with figures
representing SUence and some other of the Virtues."
The contracts for the masonry and carpenters'
work were signed on April 23rd. The masonry was
to cost 2000 florins, and the estimate for the new
roof amounted to 4894 florins.1
Vasari, though he could not hope to begin his own
work in the Sala for another year or so, had his
hands full. In Pisa he still had the buildings for the
1 See Gaye, op. cit., Vol. Ill, p. 103. The originals of these contracts
are preserved in the Biblioteca of the Palazzo Pitti, in a volume bearing
the inscription : — " This book belongs to the illustrious and exceUent
Duke Cosimo."
The mason, Master Bernardo, who was one of Vasari's right-hand
men, and accompanied him on his tour through Italy some years later,
agrees to "increase the height of aU the walling of the said Salone,"
and to make the total internal height twelve braccia (23 feet), doing
the work "in a. proper manner with stone of good quality and not
taken from the Arno, with slaked lime mixed with a small proportion
of sand. The actual words here are calcine colate, grasse e non piene di
rena. Calcina grassa is mortar consisting of lime mixed with a very
small proportion of sand, and is the converse of calcina magra, in which
the quantity of sand is proportionately in excess. The work is to be
of the thicknesses of the old work, and is to have all projections, etc.,
in every way corresponding to the existing portion. He binds himself
to build under each bressummer (eavatto) a pilaster constructed with paving
bricks (mezane campigiane — that is, bricks above the ordinary size and
chiefly used for pavings), and to turn arches between the said pilasters
similar to those in the existing work, over the window openings, an

170 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Cavalieri to superintend, and in Florence he seems
to have been partly responsible for the erection of
the granite column in the Piazza di Santa Trinita,
which, having been given to Cosimo by the Pope,
was raised in Florence in commemoration of the
victory over the French under Piero Strozzi at
Marciano in 1554. It was brought from the Baths
of Caracalla, and from the fact that it was nearly
a year on its journey from Rome it may be argued
that the task was no light one, especiaUy as after
having been brought as far as Signa by water, the

to replace the stonework of the windows together with their fastenings.
The word translated "fastenings" is in the original rendered by arpioni,
the pivot portion of the hinge on which the casement frames were hung.
From this description it would appear that the Florentine windows must
have been far from draught-proof.
He is to " render and set" in plaster round the windows both in
ternally and externally. The walls above the level of the ceiling (where
they would not be seen) are to be rendered only, as a protection against
damage from rats and mice. " In all these walls the whole of the work
is to be undertaken by the said Master Bernardo, who is to supply
all timber, scaffolding, etc., all of which, with the other materials, are
to be approved by the architect or his representative."
The contractor then proceeds to bind himself to take down the old
ceiling with all requisite care, and to save as much of the stuff as he can ;
this he may use for his scaffolding. He binds himself, further, "to
build the portion above the work of (Baccio) Bandinelli, where the three
large windows are situated, together with the corridor, upon three or
more corbels, according to the requirements of sound work." He is
to proceed in the same manner above the work of Ammannato ; and,
further, binds himself to build into the masonry all the necessary cramps
for the decorative stonework surrounding the paintings on the walls.
"He promises ... to complete the said work within three years
from the first day of August, 1563."
" On the other part . . . Messer Filippo di Giovanni dell' Antella,
bursar, agrees to pay to the said Master Bernardo the sum of two
thousand florins, at the rate of seven lire to the florin, within three
years." The carpenter, one Master Battista, son of Bartolomeo Botticelli,
then makes his declaration to the following effect : He agrees to "carry
out all the work in the ceiling with timber of good quality, dry and well-
seasoned, with all the mouldings, lengths and thicknesses shown on the

¦ %?¦<¦¦

M M

COLUMN OF SANTA TRINITA 171
remainder of the distance had to be accomplished
over rough roads, the column being hauled over
rollers by means of winches. On April 21st Vasari,
accompanied by Bartolomeo Ammannato, went down
to Signa, whither the column had just arrived, to
consult as to the best method of landing it from
its barge. Vasari, however, was prevented from
taking part in the proceedings, for a letter written
by him on the following day says that he is unwell
and has gone to bed, hoping that it is only a slight
indisposition. He returned to Arezzo, and though
model . . . together with all carved work shown thereon ; to place
rosettes or carved pendants (literally, rosettes or diamond-facetted pro
jections), whichever will look best, in the moulded strips between the
painted panels, six braccia apart, according to the said model. To place
fifty inscriptions upon the underside of the beams, with masks, vine-
pattern ornaments or other enrichments at the ends, the lettering to be a
quarter (of a braccio?) in height. In all the angles of the octagons,
twenty-four in number, to place the arms of his illustrious Excellency,
that is to say, the Capricorn, the turtle and anchor, etc., all to be carved
in half relief and (large enough) to fill the spaces : and in the circular
spaces in the angles he agrees to place four large coats of arms, carved in
half relief, with the ducal crown, palle, etc., according to the said design.''
" He agrees to . . . construct a cornice round the said Salone in con
formity with the said model, divided into bays by large corbels similar to
those in the model, and to carve a band of egg-and-tongue ornament with
other enrichments in the cornice. ''
" He binds himself to form behind the cornice and ceiling a sufficient
framework to keep it firm, consisting of large and stout beams with joists
and boarding to take the weight of the ceiling between the bressummers.5'
" He undertakes not to remove his staging . . . until the painters
have completed the decoration of the ceiling and the gilding thereof. ''
" Finally, he binds himself to form eleven panels in the ceiling, each
eight braccia across ; four of them to be square, four octagonal and the
other three circular. Similarly he will make twelve panels, each nine
braccia high and four in width ; also sixteen panels four braccia square,
all the said panels being formed with due care, with straight and well-
seasoned battens."
The work is to be completed, like the former contract, within three
years commencing from the 1st August, 1563, and the contract price
which Filippo dell' Antella agrees to pay on behalf of the Duke is 4894
florins.

172 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
he continued to work at his chapel, it was not until a
month had passed that he was able to report to
Cosimo that he was "beginning to feel a little
better." Ammannato accordingly looked after the landing
of the column alone. Ten days were occupied in hoist
ing it on to the shore, and on May 1st Ammannato
was able to report to the Duke that the disembarka
tion had been safely carried out. There stiU re
mained the stupendous task of hauling it to the
capital, and it was not until four days before
Christmas that it arrived in Florence, having taken
nearly eight months to traverse the ten mUes which
separate Signa from that city. Another eighteen
months were devoured in preparing a suitable base,
and finally, on July 11th, 1565, it was raised into
the position it now occupies.
In addition to this, Vasari had still the great
staircase of the Palazzo Vecchio to finish. It was
indeed true, as Vasari had said, that the palace was
a collection of odd apartments rather than a homo
geneous buUding. It had seen many changes since the
days when Arnulfo di Cambio first began its construc
tion in 1299. In 1453-4 Michelozzo Michelozzi had
made some attempt to reduce the palace to orderly
convenience, and though the biographer teUs us that
he was incapable of planning a new staircase, the
truth seems to be that he had no time to attempt it,
as he followed Cosimo the Elder into exUe when the
Medici were driven from Florence in 1454. The
Sala Grande, in some sense the monument of
Girolamo Savonarola, was commenced under his
auspices — the auspices of him who told the Floren
tines that " the only government that can suit us is
the government of the citizens, and that which is

THE PALAZZO VECCHIO 173
universal.'' The older parliaments had become the
pseudo-legal cloaks under which the Medici masked
their acts of despotism, and for these Savonarola
wished to substitute a great council which was to be
the work, not of man, but of God. Within the
Palazzo de' Signoria there was no chamber sufficiently
large to receive the councU thus created, and in 1495
Cronaca was appointed to erect the Sala Grande.
By the end of the following year this work was
almost complete, the little amount of decoration
allowed by the Frate, who three years later caused
" the Vanities " to be burnt in the public square,
adding nothing to the time required for its con
struction. Savonarola, the self-appointed mouthpiece
of the wrath of God, had but little time to devote to
the refinements of life. The tragedy that was here
enacted is too well known to call for repetition, but
it is pleasant to note that a colossal figure of this
latter-day prophet has now been placed in a position
of honour in the Sala where once his voice was heard,
and that four centuries after his martyrdom a bronze
tablet has been placed over the spot where he died.
The ceding was of simple framed timbers, with
a meagre cornice surrounding it. The Sala, as
Cronaca finished it, was so vast that the few windows
supplied by him were insufficient for their purpose.
Such as it was, however, it was allowed to remain
untU the days of Duke Cosimo, Cronaca meanwhile
being engaged upon altering the staircase that had de
fied Michelozzi. " It was six braccia in width and built
in two flights," says Vasari, who had the honour of
pulling it down again some seventy years later. " It
was enriched with carvings in macigno, with Corin
thian pilasters and capitals, double cornices and arches
of the same stone. The vaults were semicircular.

174 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
The windows were ornamented with columns of
mischio, with carved marble capitals." l
This staircase Vasari entirely rebuilt. When com
pleted it met with approval on all sides, and —
though we may disapprove of Vasari's want of taste
in the matter — fully deserves the encomiums he is
not too modest to bestow upon it when describing
the preparations for the wedding of Francesco de'
Medici. The difference between the old stairs and
the new is humorously described in a contemporary
dialogue2 supposed to take place between two men,
Pubblio and Marchetto, who are discussing the
recent changes in the city. Pubblio happens to
remark that when, in the olden days, Federigo da
Bozzolo rushed into the palace to queU the insurrec
tion that was threatening among the people in 1527,
he had much difficulty in mounting the stairs. " In
deed, he got rather red in the face, and being a very
fat man he found that the effort of running up so
many plaguey steps and then running aU the way
down again, made him feel exceedingly hot. Nowa
days, since their Highnesses (the Medici) have had
them altered and made so very convenient, you
don't notice whether you are going up or coming
down." "Ah," says Marchetto reflectively, "truly an
amazing piece of architecture ! But tell me, why
were the old steps made so steep ? "
" That," responds his friend without the least
hesitation, "was done so that when the citizens
1 rite, Vol. IV, Life of Cronaca. " Macigno " is a greenish grey
sandstone. " Mischio " is a conglomerate, and apparently the same as
breccia. 2 Apologia dei Capucci, Magliabecchiana MSS. Quoted by Gualandi,
Memorie Originali Italiam risguardanti le Belle Arti (Bologna, 1840),
Fourth Series, No. 117.

THE PALAZZO VECCHIO 175
wanted to come and argue with the Government
they should get out of breath on the stairs and, by
the time they reached the top, be quite incapable of
ventilating their grievances. But now everything is
changed, and there is a doctor1 at the head of
affairs who has all sorts of elixirs and precious dis
tillations always at hand. Whenever he applies
these medicaments to the noses of Senators or
Magistrates they straightway make a bolt for the
street, and so the stairs have been made pleasing
and easy of descent in order to assist their exit."
Giorgio never ceased to regard this staircase as one
of his masterpieces. In his opinion, perhaps, it was
only surpassed by the great chamber to which it led
the way, and of which the artist has left several
accounts. In the Autobiography he relates how
Cosimo resolved to heighten the roof and decorate
the walls and ceiling, " a most stupendous and im
portant work, and one that might well have been
beyond my abilities, though it certainly was not
beyond my ambition. But whether it was that
the confidence of my Prince and the good fortune
attending all his undertakings gave me greater skUl
than usual ; or whether hope and opportunity com
bined to assist me ; or whether — and this I ought to
have placed first — God gave me strength necessary
for the purpose ; these are things that I know not.
I undertook the work, and, as may be seen, I com
pleted it, in spite of the predictions of others, not only
in less time than I had promised or than the work
deserved, but less even than I or his most illustrious
Excellency had believed possible. I quite think that
he was astonished, and more than satisfied, seeing
1 The word used in the original is " medico,'' a pun on the family
name of the Duke.

176 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
that I got it done in the nick of time, just when he
had the most need of it for the greatest of aU possible
occasions : and, so that you may know the reason of
my solicitude, that was because he had arranged a
marriage between his son Francesco and the Arch
duchess Giovanna of Austria, sister of the Emperor
MaximUian and daughter of Charles V. And here
I leave you — not only you who are artists, but all
other folk as well — who have seen the vastness of the
work to think about it for yourselves. The greatness
and the terrible nature of the occasion (la quale occa-
sione terribilissima e grande) must be my excuse if
through haste I have not given complete satisfaction
in all these pictures of wars on land and wars at sea,
sieges of cities, batteries, assaults, skirmishes, build
ing of cities, great councils, ceremonies both ancient
and modern, with triumphs and a thousand other
incidents." He thought it his duty, he says, to do
all he could to get it finished, so that this room could
be used for the more important ceremonies of the
approaching festivities ; and, as though afraid to
spoil his work by not saying enough about it, goes on
to tell the reader that in this one ceiling he has repre
sented pretty nearly everything that the mind of
man is capable of imagining. There are bodies and
faces, robes and draperies, helmets, vizors and other
head-pieces ; there are cuirasses, horses, trappings
and harness ; every sort of artiUery ; ships, tempests,
rain, snow and ' many other things that he cannot
think of at the moment.' Whoever sees the work
will readily guess the anxiety it caused him and the
many nights he lay sleepless on his bed thinking about
it ; and though it is true that he had the assistance
of his pupils, sometimes he found them useful, some
times not, and very frequently he was obliged to re-

H -"

THE PALAZZO VECCHIO 177
paint all that they had done in order to bring it into
line with the rest of the work as regards maniera.
The self-appreciation of this account, however,
pales into insignificance in comparison with the
unblushing admiration with which he speaks of it
when describing the wedding of Francesco. This
" description," indeed, is little else than a string of
superlatives applied to his own achievements. The
Sala is reached by means of " agiatissime scale " ;
and within is the " stupendous and most sumptuous
ceiling, admirable for the variety and number of its
exceedingly fine (rarissime) paintings ; admirable for
the highly original conception (ingegnosissima inven-
zione) and wonderful richness (richissimi) of its sub
divisions and for the infinite quantity of gilding that
glitters on every point ; but perhaps still more admir
able because it is the work of one man alone, and was
completed in an incredibly short space of time."1 He
continues this modest statement by saying he doubts
whether there could be found a hall of greater size
anywhere, or one that afforded more scope for the
artist : " but beyond all question it would be impos
sible to find in the whole world anything more rich,
1 Descrizione dell' Apparato fatto . . . per le Nozze . . . di Francesco
de' Medici. A reprint of this work appears in the Sansoni Edition of the
rite, Vol. VIII. The blame for this self-laudatory outburst cannot be
entirely attributed to Vasari. Throughout his career the simple-minded
painter placed more faith in the opinion of others than in his own.
Domenico Mellini had already published a description of these works, and
had been unstinting in his praises of their author. So greatly did Vasari
believe Mellini's eminently favourable criticism to be justified, that his
own description is copied almost verbatim from Mellini's book. The latter
writer, in speaking of the Sala Grande, says that "in size, beauty, rich
ness and splendour it surpasses not only every other rich and ornate hall
in Europe, but in the whole world.'' Further description he withholds,
as Vasari himself is about to write on the subject, "whose book will
shortly be published." Speaking of Vasari and the works of the Palazzo
Vecchio in general, he expresses once more the same sentiments as are
found in Vasari's description. He describes the artist as "a most excel-
N

178 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
more beautiful, more ornate or better arranged than
the Sala Grande appeared on the day that the Co-
media was recited."
The "incredibly short space of time," it may be
observed, was a period of about eighteen months, as
we shall see that Vasari was already at work on the
Sala in October, 1564, and that it was not com
pleted before the state entry of Francesco's bride
on December 20th, 1565. Moreover, on referring to
the Dialoghi, it is difficult to reconcile the state
ment that it was the work of " one man alone " with
the information he gives the Prince during the
course of those tedious conversations. Among the
portrait heads in the large panel representing the
triumphal return of the Florentine army from Siena
— it is the panel on the left-hand side of the central
circular picture, looking towards the statue of Savo
narola — he points out " Maestro Bernardo di Mona
Mattea, the worthy mason who was responsible
for the work of raising the roof of the chamber
fourteen braccia (about 27 feet) above the original
level, and who carried up all the waUing under it and
the rooms we have just visited." Another head is
lent painter and elegant architect, deserving the highest encomiums and
eternal praise : for he was the sovereign master, architect, and sole execu
tant of the marvellous enrichments, such as have never before been seen
in our day, in the cortile and the staircases involved in the restoration of
the Palazzo, and of all the paintings. And what is beyond the power
of imagination and belief is the wondrous rapidity with which he has done
it all. For when his illustrious Excellency desired to heighten the afore
said Sala — a work which at any time would be a serious undertaking and
exceedingly hazardous— and to decorate it in honour of the welcome
arrival and felicitous marriage of her Highness, he raised the roof fourteen
bi-accia. And this he did, not only when it was of great importance that
it should be done, but he finished it and brought it to perfection in two
years, far less time than was thought possible. He did the same with the
useful and ornamental corridor by which he joined the Palazzo di Piazza
(Palazzo Vecchio) to the Pitti, in the space of five months, stupefying
everybody that saw it."

THE PALAZZO VECCHIO 179
that of Batista Botticelli, the joiner who framed
the ceiling ; and a third represents Messer Stefano
Veltroni dai Monte Sansavino, who was responsible
for all the gilding. Here, too, is depicted the robust
form of Vincenzo Borghini himself, together with
Giovambatista Adriani,1 both of whom " were of the
greatest possible assistance to me with their sug
gestions." Then comes Giorgio Vasari, accompanied
by Batista Naldini, Giovanni Strada, and Jacopo
Zucchi, " youths of great promise in our profession,
who have all three helped me to bring this work to
perfection, and without whose assistance I could not
have finished it in a lifetime." Vasari himself may
readUy be recognised by the likeness to his known
portraits. He holds a paper in his hand, doubtless
a sketch design for the ceiling itself. Adriani, a
middle-aged man with an iron-grey beard, is on his
right, and Borghini, rotund and good-natured, clad
in clerical garb, is on his left.
The Palazzo Vecchio, too, after Giorgio had
brought his master mind to bear on its problems,
was the chief thing that excited the curiosity and
admiration of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio in his old age.
Vasari himself vouches for the fact, for he tells us
how Ridolfo's anxiety to see these marvels was in
tensified by the many reports that reached him ; " so
one day, while the Duke was absent from Florence,
he caused himself to be carried in his armchair to the
palace, where he stayed and had lunch, examining
everything. The whole palace was so different from
what he remembered it that he did not recognise it
again, and that night, as he was being carried home,
1 Adriani, it will be remembered, wrote a letter to Vasari containing a
short history of painting from the earliest days of the art. It was printed
as an introduction to the Vite.

180 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
he said, ' Now I can die happy, for I shall be able to
tell our artists in the Beyond that I have seen
what was dead brought back to life, what was
liideous made beautiful, and what was old restored
to its youth.'"1
One more incident connected with the Sala Grande
— or if not with the Sala, with one of the other rooms
in the Palazzo Vecchio painted by Vasari — is worthy
to find a place here. It is the story which in all
probability was first set on foot by Settimanni,2 and
was worked up into a little masterpiece of dramatic
art by Dumas.3 This is the story as the French
novelist, giving full rein to his splendid imagination,
tells it : —
" One day, when Giorgio Vasari, concealed from
view by the scaffolding, was painting the ceiling of
one of the rooms in the Palazzo Vecchio, IsabeUa4
came in, and being quite unaware that she was not
alone, settled herself on a couch. It was about mid
day, and as it was very hot she drew the curtains
about her and presently fell asleep. Shortly after
wards Cosimo also entered the apartment, and
catching sight of her, went to where she lay. A
moment later Isabella uttered a piercing shriek. At
this terrible cry Vasari resolutely looked down no
more, but closed his eyes as though he, too, were
asleep. " Suddenly Cosimo recollected that this was the
1 rite, Vol. VI, p. 540.
2 Diario, printed in Vol. IV, R. Archivio di Stato di Firenze. Setti
manni merely says that Giorgio was an unwilling witness of the event
about to be related, and immediately turned his face away, "feeling no
inclination to paint any more that day."
3 La Galerie de Florence . avec une texte en Francais par Alexandre
Dumas. Florence, 1842.
4 Isabella Romola de' Medici, second daughter of the Duke. She was
born in 1542, and married the Duke of Bracciano.

; Z
; -

THE PALAZZO VECCHIO 181
room in which the artist was at work. He raised
his eyes to the ceiling ; his glance fell on the scaffold
ing. An idea struck him. In a minute he had
mounted the ladder with noiseless tread, and on
reaching the platform saw the form of Vasari, who,
with his face turned to the wall, lay fast asleep.
He walked towards the prostrate figure, drew his
dagger, and advanced its point slowly towards his
breast to assure himself that he was indeed sleeping.
Vasari made not the shghtest movement, his breath
ing continued calm and regular, and Cosimo, con
vinced that his favourite painter had really been
oblivious of what had passed, replaced his dagger in
its sheath and descended from the scaffolding.
" At his customary hour Vasari left his work and
went home. The following day he returned to his
task at the usual time. His presence of mind had
saved him ; for had he endeavoured to flee he would
inevitably have been lost : in whatsoever place he
might try to conceal himself, either the dagger or
the poisoned meats of the Medici would have found
him out.
" This episode happened about the year 1557."
It is disappointing to think that so interesting an
anecdote is false from beginning to end, but truth
will out, according to the old adage ; and the truth
in this particular case is that Isabella was at the time
betrothed to Paolo Giordano Orsini, Duca di Brac
ciano, and that the Medici had gone to live in the
Palazzo Pitti some years before this event is sup
posed to have taken place.
The story of the Sala Grande has caused us to
wander from our more immediate subject. It was
whUe the painter was awaiting the handing over of
this apartment by the contractors that the news of

182 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Michelangelo's death, in January, 1564, reached
Florence. As may be supposed, Giorgio felt the
loss very keenly, but the letter in which he sends his
condolences to Lionardo Buonarroti is a curious
mixture of sentiment and business instinct. It is
true that Giorgio was genuinely grieved ; but at the
moment he was entirely possessed with the thirst for
" copy," and it was perhaps a gloomy satisfaction to
him to think that his next edition would now con
tain a complete life of Michelangelo, with a fitting
account of his death and burial. " I have received
the news of the death of mio Messer Michelangelo
with the most profound sorrow, for he was my father
in affection quite as much as he was your uncle by
the ties of blood. I was sorry to learn that you
did not get back before the end. I feel convinced
that the God who sent him to us as a miracle among
men, both as regards his genius and saintly example,
has gathered him into His own arms so that one
who did so much to beautify the world with his
hands may henceforth ornament Paradise with the
presence of his soul." Immediately foUowing this
extravagant tribute comes a request for information
as to Michelangelo's later years, " from 1550 to the
present day, touching both the progress of St.
Peter's and his private life ; for within the next
three months the new edition of the Lives will be
in the printer's hands, and I wish to give honourable
notice of the closing years of his life. If you can
put your hand on any of his sonnets, or songs or
other compositions you might send them as well;
and if you should happen to come across any letters
from princes or other eminent people, I should be
glad to have them so as to give additional lustre to
his memory."

DEATH OF MICHELANGELO 183
Vasari's sorrow at the loss of his master found
another outlet in verse, and in a sonnet still pre
served he complains that Michelangelo has left
him behind in " this prison of horrors, where fraud
and cheating are the fashion, where aU that is good
dies, and where the envious only remain to eat out
their own hearts."
"Vasar, ch' in questo career pien d'orrore
Sol t'ha lassato, ove l'inganno e frode
S'annida, e '1 ben si muor, l'invidia rode
Se drento, e di pieta spento e'l valore.
Ne fia spenta per6, chi innanzi a gl' occhi
Vedra la vita tua, o Buon Arroto,
Ch' eterno potra farsi etimmortale."
The body was smuggled out of Rome by Lionardo,
concealed in a bale of merchandise,1 for neither the
Pope nor the people of Rome would willingly have
given up the precious spoil. Vasari had charge of
the funeral arrangements, and there is a letter from
him to Lionardo which corroborates the informa
tion given by the diarist. In acknowledging the
debt of gratitude Florence owes to Lionardo,
Vasari says : " If you had sent us some great
treasure it could not have been a more welcome
gift than these hallowed and peerless remains. . . .
I have not allowed them to be removed from the
shell, but have had them sealed up at the customs
office, pending instructions from his illustrious
ExceUency." Cosimo took a personal interest in the honours
that were to be paid to the illustrious dead, com
manding Benedetto Varchi, the historian, to deliver
1 " A di X di Marzo, 1564, venerdi a ore 20, arrivo in Firenze il
cadavere di M. Buonarroti, trafugato di Roma da Lionardo, suo nipote,
in una bal la di mercanzia" (A. Lapini, Diario Fiorentino).

184 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
the funeral oration, and readily granting Vasari's
request that the actual ceremony might take place
in San Lorenzo after Easter, in order that Lionardo
might be present. " I believe," writes Giorgio,
" that it will be such a funeral as has never fallen to
the lot of either Pope, King or Emperor ; and I
may add, that if you had sent the bodies of both
St. Peter and St. Paul you could scarcely have
won more gratitude from their Excellencies, or from
the citizens, artists and people of this city." He
adds his private conviction that " God has given him
rest in Paradise," and he knows that Michelangelo is
praying that Vasari, " who revered him so much in
this world, may be with him in the next, and may
there continue to admire him."1
It would appear that Giorgio had some difficulty
in obtaining the information he wanted to complete
the Life of Michelangelo ; for at the end of April
he again writes to Lionardo acknowledging the
receipt of certain letters and the notes sent by
Daniello da Volterra and Antonio Amelini di Fano,
touching the life of his hero, but complaining that
none of them do more than expatiate upon his vir
tuous and upright mode of life. Details such as
these he is in a position to supply from his own
knowledge. " My desire is that la Signoria vostra
will condescend to give me some information on
matters of art. I would like to know, for instance,
something about the timber-work for the dome of
St. Peter's as shown in the stone model, and the
worries and vexations which beset him in the time
of Pope Paul IV, as well as what occurred at the
same time with regard to Nanni Bigio dell' Ontacho
and Fra Guglielmo (della Porta). I have already
1 rite, Vol. VIII, Letter No. 125, to Lionardo, March 18th, 1564.

DEATH OF MICHELANGELO 185
written to Messer DanieUo Ricciarelli (da Volterra)
about it, as I intend, after giving some account of
his exemplary life, to draw attention to the great
patience with which he supported the insults heaped
upon him by evil-minded persons." There is also
another letter to Lionardo urging him to send the
information asked for "concerning St. Peter's from
'50 onwards."
Vasari had a particular reason for wishing to make
the Life of Michelangelo complete. Since the pubH-
cation of Giorgio's First Edition, Condivi, a pupU of
the great master and inmate of his house, had taken
the field with another Life, and Giorgio regarded
this as a direct infringement of his own preroga
tives. This it is that explains the presence of sundry
veiled attacks on nobody in particular which have
found their way into the Vasarian account. " I have
to thank God for many blessings,' writes our Giorgio
in the Second Edition, " for more blessings than
usuaUy faU to the lot of a member of our profession :
and among the greatest of these I count the
chance by which I was born during the lifetime of
Michelangelo, that I was considered worthy of having
him for my master, and that he treated me as his own
famihar friend. This friendship is known to every
body, and the letters I have by me which he wrote
to me would alone be sufficient to prove it. As a
matter of fact, I am indebted to his kindness for
much of the information about himself which I am
using : so that I am in a position to teU of many
things, and aU of them true, which are unknown to
any other person." This, of course, is simply a hit
at Condivi, whose Vita di Michelangelo he hoped to
discredit whUe covertly modelling his own version
upon it to a very large extent.

186 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
In spite of having to superintend the preparations
for the funeral, Vasari found time to visit Arezzo,
and it is evident that in March he was at his native
town engaged in the pleasant task of painting pictures
for his own chapel. This we learn from a letter to
the Bishop of Cortona, telling him that if he had
gone to visit Giorgio whUe at Arezzo he might have
had the privilege of seeing a painting which he
(Giorgio) had just done, " at a great cost and with
rich decorations, for the chapel and high altar of the
Pieve." The funeral took place on July 14th. Cosimo
had just previously resigned the government to his
son Francesco, perhaps in imitation of the example
set by the Emperor Charles V ; but whUe the
abdication of the latter was permanent and sincere,
the former kept the reins of government so near
to his own hand that at any time he might grasp
them once more and direct the policy of the State.
The chief reason for his resignation is to be found
in the state of his health, which had begun to cause
uneasiness in the previous year when his system
showed the first symptoms of gout. In October
of the same year he suffered from stone, and this,
together with one or two slight apoplectic seizures,
counselled him that it would be wise to pave the
way for Francesco, his successor. He retired from
Florence as a place of permanent residence, and
passed increasingly long periods either at Pisa or
Poggio a Caiano. He was at the latter place at the
time of the funeral, and thither Giorgio, as respon
sible to the Duke for the proper carrying out of the
ceremony, sent his official account. " This morning,"
says Giorgio, " and this is the 14th of the present
month, the obsequies of the divine Michelangelo

FUNERAL OF MICHELANGELO 187
took place, to the complete satisfaction of everybody
concerned. San Lorenzo was filled to overflowing
with people of note, besides a large number of noble
ladies, and so many foreigners that it was a strange
sight to see them all. The utmost decorum was
maintained at all the doors, and everything passed
off quietly. . . . Benvenuto (Cellini) did not trouble
to put in an appearance, and San Gallo also elected
to stop away, a thing that has given rise to a deal
of chatter."
That San Gallo stayed away out of spite is prob
able, knowing as we do the ill-will he bore the dead
artist ; but Vasari is unjust in attributing the same
motive to Benvenuto, who, as a matter of fact, was
himself too ill to attend the funeral. On the con
trary, his conduct was all that could be desired, and
a remarkable contrast to that of the man we meet
in the Memoirs. His selection as one of the four
artists appointed to plan the arrangements for the
sad ceremony he considered in the light of a great
honour done him by the Accademia, and the letter
to Borghini, in which he sets out his ideas on the
subject, is fuU of modesty and kindhness. "Above
all," he concludes, " I beg you of your goodness not
to let anyone see what I have suggested, and par
ticularly not to let your Messer Giorgio (Vasari) see
it, for he is fertile in invention and an able designer ;
and if he sees my scheme his own inventiveness may
be unconsciously influenced. I should be very sorry
indeed if his intellectual liberty were in any way
tampered with in this matter."
This is somewhat different from the sentiment ex
pressed in one of his sonnets, where he says that the
only thing that annoys him is to see Borghini going
about Florence followed by that little mongrel dog

188 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Giorgio, both of whom God has allowed to fill the
earth with every sort of artistic monstrosity : —
" Mi noia sol de' Nocenti '1 Priore,
E l'empio botol suo crudel Giorgetto :
Par che sol a questi Dio abbia eletto
Per far nel mondo d'ogni sorta errore."

CHAPTER IX
PREPARATIONS FOR FRANCESCO DE' MEDICl's WEDDING
Cartoons for the Sala Grande — Tomb of Michelangelo — Corridor across
the Arno — Preparations for Francesco's wedding — Borghini's report.
A LTHOUGH the death of Michelangelo did not,
-L\- and could not, in any way affect the position of
Vasari as an artist, it is interesting to observe that
Giorgio held a different view of the matter. If
Michelangelo may be compared to Elijah, it was
Giorgio who played the part of Elisha and on whom
the mantle of the prophet fell. All the giants of art
were dead ; Giorgio himself had helped to bury the
last and greatest of them all. The sole survivor,
the indisputable successor of these masters, was
Vasari — he had no doubt upon that point whatsoever.
And this is the view we find set forth in the letter to
Cosimo written on July 14th. The funeral is over
and has been described : it only remains for the
Duke and his faithful painter to provide for the
future of the arts. Vasari is nobly willing to bear
his portion of the responsibUity. " As for myself,"
he says, " I have always been anxious that you should
assist all those who require help ; and, as your High
ness has seen in the past, and wUl have daily oppor
tunity of observing, I shall spare no pains to keep
these noble arts alive and to advance them by means
of my paintings, my writings, and by every other
means within my power." As a consequence of this
189

190 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
heroic resolve it was only natural that the Sala
Grande should be thought out with extra care ; and
the subjects were discussed by all the chief scholars
of the court. Borghini, as usual, was the ruling
spirit in these debates, and most of Cosimo's letters
concerning the ceiling are addressed to him and not
to Vasari. Vasari, it is true, made frequent pilgrim
ages to the Duke's place of retirement at Poggio
a Caiano for the purpose of conferring with his
master, but it is by no means clear that his share in
the proceedings lightened the labours of the others,
as the following extracts tend to show : —
"Giorgio Vasari," writes Borghini to the Duke on
November 4th, 1564, "has just returned from his
visit to your illustrious Excellency, and teUs me that
you have settled the subjects for all the remaining
panels in the ceding of the Sala. They have now
been drawn out and arranged according to your
Excellency's instructions, with but one exception.
It is the panel in which, as he tells me, your Ex
cellency wishes to have portrayed the fact that
Florence has never been taken by an enemy."
Borghini sensibly observes that "it is impossible to
paint the picture of a town never having been
captured," and suggests as an alternative the Defeat
of Radegaisus by Stilicho under the Walls of Florence,
after the city had been hard pressed by the besieging
army. From Vasari's letter of the same date we learn
that his advisers were considerably exercised over the
matter. " The Prior degli Innocenti is nearly dis
tracted with arguing about the picture your illustrious
Excellency has asked for, first with Messer Lelio
(Torelli) and then with other learned persons. I
think they have now hit upon something that wiU do,
and I expect there will be a letter from him with

THE SALA GRANDE 191
this to explain what they suggest." Cosimo, instead
of being pleased with the eagerness of his servants
in Florence, who were willing to attempt even the
impossible on his behalf, told them — in a round
about way, it is true — that they were a set of stupid
bunglers, and that Vasari was worse than the rest.
" Either he entirely misunderstood us," he writes on
November 12th, " or else we were unable to explain
the matter as we desired. We wish you to under
stand that the idea of Florence never having been
subjugated did not so much as enter our head, see
ing that the contrary fact is well known. What we
did say was that she had never been sacked and
destroyed, and we made the remark when speaking
of the picture representing the rebuilding of the
city, and to prevent him from doing something
idiotic (qualche absurdo). It was for this reason that
we mentioned it to Giorgio. However, we are glad
that the question has arisen, for your studies and
researches into the matter are of great interest . . .
and may, perhaps, come in useful for the picture
that is stiU wanting, especially as the episode is
a well-known one and full of incident. At the
present moment we are inclined to be very pleased
with the notion."
The subject of this picture, however, was not so
easily disposed of ; and while Giorgio proceeded with
the others, Borghini, the Abbot Giusti (secretary to
the Duke), Pier Vettori and Adriani continued to
wrangle for weeks over the last of the series. Exactly
what the difficulty was is not clear ; but on Novem
ber 23rd Vasari acknowledges the receipt on that
date of " the final decision with regard to the picture
that is stiU lacking. It has arrived in the very nick
of time, for it is the only part that was wanting in

192 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
the whole scheme of the ceding. I have already
begun it. As to the seven panels which have still
to be drawn out in colour — I have drawn out the
other thirty-two — I hope to have them aU sketched
out by the end of January. We have uncovered
a piece of the ceiling, about a braccio square, com
plete with its gilding and all, and it makes a splendid
show ; and although it is thirty-three braccia above
the floor, everything is clearly discernible down to
the smallest detail, and I am delighted with it."
Four days later there is another letter from Vasari,
this time to Giusti, saying that he has stopped work
on the last of the pictures as Borghini has just been
to see it, and they both feel doubtful whether it will
be approved by the Duke. It has been decided that
Giorgio shaU wait until Cosimo has been consulted.
" It doesn't matter a scrap to me," writes Giorgio,
adopting a superior tone on the strength of the im
portant work on which he is engaged, "because I
haven't done the cartoon yet : but if I had done it
I certainly should not begin a fresh one now, because
I am quite worried enough as it is with these thirty-
nine pictures, all so full of figures : and I assure you
that it is impossible to alter the attitude of any one
of them, because all that human ingenuity can do
has already been done."
The real fact of the matter seems to be that
Borghini, after having won the approval of the Duke
for his suggested picture of the Defeat of Radegaisus,
wished to change his mind without incurring dis
favour : for, after stopping Vasari as already related,
he writes to Giusti to say that he thinks the subject
chosen might with advantage be replaced with another.
The letter is dated November 23rd.
" To tell the truth," he writes, " seeing that it will

Giorgio Vasari

TOMB OF MICHELANGELO
{Florence: Santa Croce)

TOMB OF MICHELANGELO 193
be hung in a public place where everyone can see and
pass judgment on it, this picture requires to be
thought out with particular care. For this reason
I have decided to put before his illustrious Excellency
this consideration : that though the story of the rout
of Radegaisus is a splendid subject, and quite in con
formity with the remainder of the pictures, yet it
would be better stiU to represent in its place that
time when Constantine the Great was Emperor and
Saint Silvester Pope ; when this city of ours, although
there may have been a few within her waUs who had
secretly embraced the doctrine of Christianity, re
ceived for the first time, openly and without fear,
the Christian Faith and Baptism and the symbol of
the Cross : and having cast out the image of Mars,
dedicated the temple that once was his to God and
to Saint John Baptist. The conversion of a city
from a false to the true religion is a most notable
event, and one fuUy worthy to be recorded."
The ceaseless energy of Vasari must account for
the many works he was able to accomplish at this
period. It is unnecessary to recapitulate all that
was still in progress in Florence and elsewhere ; yet,
busy as he already was, he seems to have been
unable to refuse new responsibilities. He cared httle
for fatigue, and spared himself neither in body nor
mind. In the midst of his work he readdy under
took to design the tomb which now marks the
resting-place of Michelangelo in Santa Croce, doing
so " for love of an old man who loved me much and
out of admiration for his virtues,"1 and perhaps for
fear lest another should outstrip him in honouring
his hero.
Nor did these arduous labours have an ill effect
1 nte, Vol. VIII, Letter No. 131, dated November 5th, 1564.
o

194 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
upon his health, although by nature he was delicate
and scarcely fitted for hard and continuous effort.
" I am in excellent health," he writes to the Duke at
the end of the month, " though I cannot teU the
reason, seeing that never before in my life have I
had heavier responsibilities nor more work upon my
hands. I am in better health than I ever enjoyed,
and this 1 attribute to the dispensation of God and
to the guiding genius of your ExceUency, before
whom all difficulties disappear."
These works engrossed his attention untU the
marriage which Cosimo had been negotiating be
tween his son Francesco and Giovanna of Austria
was finally settled. The news was received in Flo
rence with the utmost satisfaction, and the day after
its publication a solemn thanksgiving was celebrated
in Santa Maria del Fiore. Never before had there
been so much bustle, even in the busy streets
of Florence, as was witnessed during the months
that must elapse before the actual ceremony on
December 20th, when Francesco led his bride to
their princely apartments in the Palazzo Vecchio.
Foundations were hastily begun in Piazza di Santa
Trinita for the column that had been sent from
Rome, and the corner of the Ringhiera before the
Palazzo Vecchio was rapidly removed to make room
for Ammannato 's fountain and colossal figure of
Neptune. The most urgent works, as usual, were
confided to Vasari; and the corridor across the Ponte
Vecchio which had hitherto been a project in the air,
became, almost as if it had been called into existence
by a magician's wand, an accomplished fact. In
this, as in all the other undertakings of the period,
rapidity was the chief object, and to judge from the
wording of the contract, the drawings were not even

CORRIDOR ACROSS THE ARNO 195
finished before the work was begun. Bernardo
d' Antonio undertakes, as the master buUder, to finish
by the end of September foUowing, 1565, a cor
ridor by means of which it will be possible to go
from the Palazzo Principale di Piazza (Palazzo
Vecchio) to the Palazzo de' Pitti. It is to foUow
Lungarno as far as Ponte Vecchio and is to be
covered in with an arcade ; across the bridge it is to
be carried over the shops and dwelling-houses ; when
the "house of the heirs of Matteo ManeUi" is
reached, the corridor is to be carried outwards upon
corbels, so as to interfere in no way with the privacy
of the ManeUi. The said corridor is to have a roof
of tiles, and is to be ceiled underneath with plaster,
adorned with suitable enrichments, aU in accordance
with such instructions, drawings and details as shall
from time to time be received from "the magnificent
Messer Giorgio Vasaro [sic'], painter and architect to
his most illustrious ExceUency."1 This corridor alone
might serve to show the magnificent scale on which
the Medici were in the habit of building. To pass
from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti it was neces
sary to connect the former to the Uffizi by a bridge ;
then, after traversing the eastern wing and the south
end of the Uffizi, a great flight of steps leads out of
the western wing down to the level of the roofs of
the botteghe on Ponte Vecchio. A sharp turn to
the left leads out over Lungarno, and from thence,
turning to the right, the corridor is carried on a
series of arcades to the bridge. It then turns once
more to the left and crosses the river over the roofs
of the shops, breaking out on corbels so as to pass
the house of the ManeUi. On the further side it
crosses over the Via de' Bardi and disappears behind
1 This contract was signed on March 12th, 1565.

196 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
the houses fronting the Via Guicciardini. In the
Piazza di Santa Felicita it may be seen over the portal
of the church, on the south side of which it again
disappears from view, only reappearmg as it passes
along the Giardino di Boboli and enters the Pitti.
From door to door the distance traversed is about
eight hundred metres, or half a mile. It was a more
serious undertaking than would at first sight appear,
and that Cosimo was anxious to see it completed is
apparent from a letter to Vasari, wherein we find him
urging his architect to employ more men and get the
work in hand at all points at the same time. " We
are highly desirous," the letter runs, " that the
masonry of the corridor shall be finished in as short
a time as possible, and we have decided that a great
effort must be made before the harvest season begins,
when all the contadini will be busy. The work must
be pushed forward, and this we trust you are doing.
In order to expedite the matter wre desire you to set
the labourers to work at aU points, so that the whole
of it will be in hand at the same time, and therefore
reach completion with greater celerity." This is the
work which Vasari finished " in five months, although
it looks more like the work of five years." As a
matter of fact it took eight months to complete ; for
Lapini, the diarist, says that "on the 19th of March,
1564 (1565 common style) . . . the foundations for
the first pilaster of the corridor were begun, and
afterwards the others, in their order " ; whde he
notes, at a later date, that " the said corridor, leading
all the way to the Palazzo de' Pitti, was completed
at the end of November, 1565."
At first sight it may appear singular that after
carrying his corridor through, or over, all obstacles,
Cosimo should have decided to carry it round the

CORRIDOR ACROSS THE ARNO 197
house of the ManelH. Thereby hangs a tale, or —
if we care to listen to the detractors of Cosimo— many
tales. The true one shows the Duke in an unfamUiar
light, and is related by Mellini ;J the others, though
possibly more romantic, are totally untrue. Mellini
relates that the building in question — the home of
Matteo's heirs — stood in the way of the corridor, and
that the Duke had asked permission to carry the
work through it. When ManelH pointed out what
appears to be tolerably obvious, namely, that this
would mean the destruction of the house in question,
the Duke gave orders for the corridor to be carried
round the building on corbels, remarking quietly that
" every man should have the right to do what he
liked with his own property." In the other stories,
which were diligently propagated by his enemies,
Cosimo is made to come daily to watch the progress
of the work, where, looking down by chance one day
upon the houses below, he catches sight of the fair
face of Cammilla MartelH. Having told so much of
the story, it seems almost superfluous to say that the
Duke falls in love on the spot. It is, of course, true
that Cammilla was Cosimo's mistress for some time,
but this love affair did not come about in the way
the story-tellers would have us believe. The facts
which go to spoil so gentle a romance are that the
Martelli had no house within sight of the bridge, and
that the corridor itself is so low that it would not
have been possible for the Duke to look down upon
it, even if it had been visible.
The corridor was but one of the special prepara
tions made for Francesco's wedding. The entrance
of the bride was to be the occasion of a magnificent
1 Ricordi ai Oostumi, Azioni e Governo del serenissimo Gran Duca Cosimo I.
Florence, 1820.

198 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
procession, designed so as to display the opulence of
the Medicean capital, and the streets through which
she would journey to the Duomo and thence to the
Palazzo Vecchio were to be decorated in a suitable
manner. It is to be observed that though the pro
cession and decorations were somewhat on the lines
of those of to-day, that cumbersome machine, the
" Executive Committee," had not been invented.
The method of those days was far simpler. There
were, there could be, no petty jealousies, no squabbles
and no delays. Vincenzo Borghini was told to draw
up a scheme for the whole business, and by the
beginning of April he was able to put his proposals
before the Duke. They were as foUows : —
" First of all, as the entry (of the bride-elect) wiU
be made through the Porta al Prato, there ought to
be a triumphal arch at that point : and as first im
pressions are invariably of very great importance, it
ought to be made as beautiful and monumental as
possible. " In the next place, I think it would be a good
idea to have something at the entrance to Borgo
Ognissanti, though I should not be inclined to spoil
the view of that part of the city by an arch. It
would be more satisfactory to have a couple of
statues there, one on each side, raised on lofty
pedestals.1 If you would rather have an arch, there
is ample room for it, and any form of ornamentation
would look well there.
" Thirdly, in front of the church of Ognissanti, in
1 Borghini's idea, as he explains later, was to have two colossal female
figures, representing Austria and Tuscany, one on either side of the
roadway, extending their arms across the road and holding a laurel
wreath between them over the spot where the bride would pass. This
seems to have been the only symptom of originality shown in the whole
scheme.

BORGHINI'S REPORT 199
the Square, there could be some decorative feature ;
either a pyramid or an equestrian statue or something
of a similar nature. This is one of the places that
need not be considered for the moment, untU we
have seen how the rest of the route works out, and
whether there wiU be too much or too little decora
tion. " In the fourth place, at Canto de' Ricasoli (where
it joins the Ponte alia Carraia), as it is at this point
that the procession will turn into Lungarno, I think
that some kind of embellishment will be necessary ;
but whatever we put there ought not to be carried
up any higher than the first-floor windows of the
Bishop's house ; for above them there is that painted
decoration work which — though it may not be the
finest painting in the world — is pleasing to the eye
and looks quite well from a distance. On the other
hand, if we put something particularly beautiful
underneath it, it may be necessary, after all, to hide
the painting.
" In the next place, at the angle of the ruined
bridge of Santa Trinita,1 as well as at the end of the
1 The bridge was ruined by the sudden rising of the Arno on Sep
tember 13th, 1557. One of the worst floods ever known in Italy, it did
incalculable damage, especially in Florence, where large tracts were sub
merged to a depth of nearly seventeen feet. From contemporary accounts
it appears that there had been heavy rains on the previous day in the
valley of the Sieve, with the result that the stream overflowed its banks
and burst into the upper reaches of the Arno in a mighty wave. The
Arno, thus reinforced, rose several feet, then rushed with devastating force
upon the city, carrying upon its swirling, angry waters the trees which
had been cut down and stacked by the peasants at the river's edge ready
for winter use. In a moment — as though it were a liquid battering-ram —
the floating mass came roaring under the Ponte aUe Grazie, pausing as the
stout piers broke its force, then dashing onwards under the Ponte Vecchio.
At the next bridge, the Ponte a Santa Trinita, the tree trunks, which
by the whim of fortune had spared its fellows, came broadside across the
arches, blocking them. Log piled on log with incredible rapidity until a
dam had formed itself across the whole width of the river. The storm-

200 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
street opposite (which would be seen by anyone
coming from Lungarno), there ought to be some
thing ; but the decorations here should be so arranged
that the eye is pleasantly and gradually led from one
object to another, meeting in every direction with
something beautiful.
" At Santa Trinita there need not be any special
preparation, as the column and its accessories wdl be
erected there, and could not be improved upon.
" Then, at the corner, or Loggia de' Tornaquinci,
it seems to me that it would be a good idea to have
a stately and magnificent arch, so as to mask the
turnings and irregularities of the streets at this point,
the more so as it will be visible aU the way down the
Strada di Santa Trinita.
"In the Piazza di San Michele there might be a
statue or similar object ; but this is another spot that
can be considered later on, as I have suggested with
regard to Piazza d'Ognissanti.
" The Canto de' Carnesecchi wUl require a lot of
thinking about, because the place is an ugly one,
with streets of all sizes opening into it. We shall
have to do something to make it look more im-
flood, checked for an instant in its course, leapt at the obstruction, and
with a mighty, shuddering roar the bridge was swept away. The torrent
passed on its way to the sea, leaving a fretted gap stretching from shore
to shore. So instantaneous had been the disaster that those who were on
the bridge had no chance of saving themselves. Two children alone
escaped as by a miracle, and were left standing upon an isolated pier in
mid-stream, where they remained for two days, being kept from starvation
by the inhabitants of the Palazzo Strozzi, who contrived to pass them wine
and bread by means of a cord dropped from the palace roof. The damage
done was enormous, and when the waters had subsided the city was found
to be half buried under a bed of mud. It is said that when Cosimo saw
the condition of his once beautiful capital he burst into tears.
The Ponte a Santa Trinita was rebuilt by Bartolomeo Ammannato, the
work occupying three years, and being completed in 1570 at a cost of
70,000 scudi.

BORGHINI'S REPORT 201
portant, seeing that the procession will round this
corner, and an altogether different scene will be
suddenly presented.
" At the principal door of the church of Santa
Maria del Fiore it would be well to erect a special
and magnificent portal suited to the importance of
the building. If it is designed by an artist of ability
it might come in useful later on when the new facade
and doors are being erected ; in any case, it would
serve to give some idea of how this front should look
when completed.1
" In the Piazza di San Pullinare there ought to be
a group of statuary, either of figures or something
of the sort, because here the view extends as far as
Canto de' Pazzi and the spice warehouses, which are
miserable erections, and require to be touched up for
the occasion. At this point, however, it will be
necessary to consider more carefully which route is
to be followed, for the one chosen — from San Firenze
by way of the corner where the lions used to be kept,
and thence to the Piazza (de' Signoria) — presents two
difficulties. The first is that the spot where one
turns into the Borgo de' Greci is Httle adapted to
receive any form of decoration that will look well,
and this is just where it is most necessary. How
ever, this can be gone into if your Excellency decides
to come round that way. The second difficulty is the
greater of the two, for the view of the Palazzo and
the entrance from this side is not very attractive, so
that the effect on turning the corner will be rather
disappointing. I have merely mentioned this in
1 Vasari, in his description already quoted, mentions that the Duomo
was enriched with a sumptuous portal with wooden doors, which were
divided into panels in the same manner as those of the Baptistery. These
were filled with bassi-rilievi in terra, gilded. They were so excellently
done that he expresses a wish that they could be cast in bronze.

202 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
order to put forward all the questions that have
arisen. It was thought that the procession might
go by way of Canto di San Pullinare and turn down
by the Garbo, going thence straight to Canto del
Diamante and from there turning into the Piazza,
so that the Palazzo, the three Giants of the Loggia
and the Magistrati would then all come into view
at the same moment. Nothing better could be done
than this, for it will allow the Princess's escort to
open out in the Piazza and form an avenue all the
way to the Palazzo. In this respect it would be
impossible to wish for a more effective approach, but
it has one drawback in the narrowness of the Garbo.
It might be remedied in part by puUing down the
huts1 and one or two low waUs that are in the way,
as was done in even wider streets for the state entry
of Pope Leo. After all, the Via de' Tornabuoni is
not much wider than this, and we are obhged to pass
through that. However, I think it wise to mention
the matter so that your Excellencies may decide
what is to be done.
" Going from San Firenze towards the Piazza
there will have to be a triumphal arch, and it wdl
have to be erected to suit the width and proportions
of the site, and should be made especially graceful ;
but if the procession follows the Garbo route I should
place this feature at Canto del Diamante, though
instead of an arch I should put a painted background,
1 "Tetti bassi," literally, "low roofs." As, however, it would not in
any way have improved the appearance of the neighbourhood to have
stripped the buildings of their roofs and left the walls standing in the
guise of ruins, it seems that Borghini proposed to pull down these erec
tions altogether. Landucci, THario, uses the term when speaking of
an old-clothes shop. It may perhaps be translated as a "booth."
" Aprimo lo Speziale del Re, in Mercato Vecchio, ch'era prima un
rigattiere, ch'erano tetti bassi."

BORGHINI'S REPORT 203
Hke the one that was put up at San Felice in the
Piazza for the entry of the Emperor, grafting it on
to the waUs of the speziale del Diamante and carry
ing it across to the road leading to Mercato Nuovo.
I shaU have more to say about this when speaking
of the detaUs.
"As Ammannato's marble statue of the Giant
with its accessories is to be placed just beyond the
Palazzo (where the Lion used to be), this portion
is exceUently provided for.
" At the entrance to the Palazzo itself I should
put an imposing portal. This is the place where
aU the pomp and ornamentation wUl come to an
end, so I should Hke to make a triumphal arch of
this portal, and to make it as rich and magnificent
as it can be made. Nearly always it is the begin
ning and the finish of these things that are most
criticised, and which make the most permanent im
pression on the mind of the beholder."
Thus carefuUy does Borghini go over the whole
course to be traversed, suggesting a detaUed treat
ment for every point requiring embeUishment. As
far as the palace is concerned, he says that "as
Giorgio, whose abihty and dexterity call for no
comment, is already in charge of the works there,
I don't think we need trouble ourselves very much
about that portion."' "With regard to the Sala
Grande," he continues, "the whole work on the
ceiling — paintings, stucchi and gUding — have been
put in hand with such promptness as to promise
well for its being quite ready for the festivities."
Borghini not only had charge of the initial pre
parations for the decoration of the city, but was
also responsible for the accessories ; for his letter to
the Duke contains suggestions as to the advisability

204 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
of having musicians placed at various points, and
concludes with a list of the available artists, with
notes as to how much work each may be expected
to do. "I have not yet referred to the question of
music, but I have observed that in aU simUar affairs
it is the custom to station singers and musicians on
the various triumphal arches, whose duty it is to
salute the new-comers, and act as heralds of pros
perity and happiness, using a form of salutation
suited to the occasion. This is a point on which
I have not yet made up my mind ; we might have
them, and we might just as well leave them out.
It is my private opinion that on such occasions,
where there is a great concourse of people, and, to
tell the truth, where there is a lot of commotion
and noise arising from the jostling of men and
horses, mingled with shouts and acclamations and
one thing and another, there is very Httle chance
of the musicians being heard at all." As to the
artists, he suggests that Giorgio Vasari shaU be
instructed to prepare designs for all the decorations
(with a few notable exceptions), and advises that
Giovanni Caccini should be appointed overseer.
Then there is "San GaUo, who is very old, but
may perhaps do something." Benvenuto Cellini is
in Florence, and available, but Borghini is evidently
in doubt as to whether he can be rehed upon for
anything. "If only he could be persuaded to do
the eighth part of all the things he talks about,
even that would be a considerable amount ; but to
tell the truth, he is getting too old for certain kinds
of work."
Proceeding to discuss the details of these festivi
ties, Borghini shows that he has made a careful study
of all the previous pageants of which record has been

WEDDING PREPARATIONS 205
kept ; and he further shows himself no mean poli-
tician by the way in which he endeavours to suit his
scheme to the taste of the " Germans." He proposes
to put a fountain of running wine somewhere along
the route, " as I understand that the German people
are mightily pleased with fountains that squirt wine
instead of water ; and knowing that such things are
a chief feature of their rejoicings, I think it would be
an excellent plan to have one here (at Ponte alia
Carraia) pumping out streams of wine in two direc
tions . . . and accordingly I have made a rough
sketch of it, to the best of my abUity, to show the
sort of thing 1 mean, but of course it can be greatly
improved upon." The sketch referred to was ap
pended to the letter, with many others, showing the
different portions of the decorations and incorporating
Borghini's ideas. He says that most of the drawings
were made by Vasari, and apologises for his own
attempts with simple frankness. " They aren't worth
looking at, but they will serve to give you a faint
idea of what I mean. They are all out of proportion
and I have drawn them badly." The scenic arrange
ments for the Comedie which were to form a part of
the festivities were left in Vasari's charge, for Bor
ghini tells the Duke that " Giorgio is sending with
this a design for the theatre for the Comedie and
other spectacles which are to take place in the Sala ;
and has arranged it so that it can be put up and
taken down with ease, and can be put away for future
use. In concluding this long missive Borghini adds a
few general hints as to the conduct of these prepara
tions. " I think it would be an excellent plan to
observe the utmost secrecy throughout our opera
tions," and he explains that he has other reasons for

206 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
making the suggestion beyond the desire of stimu
lating the curiosity of the Florentines. There was an
acute rivalry between the courts of Tuscany and
Ferrara, as, indeed, there was between all the Italian
courts, in the matter of which should display the
greater magnificence. Borghini had not forgotten
the recent celebrations in Mantua on the occasion of
the raising of Luigi d'Este, Bishop of Ferrara and
brother of the Duke of Mantua, to the cardinalate ;
when Leone Leoni, as he tells Michelangelo in one
of his letters, had charge of the most extraordinary
and wonderful pageant that the world had ever seen,
" with monsters, islands, real water, battles on land
and sea, and all Paradise and Hell in it. I am doing
it with the aid of three hundred other men, as an
atonement for my past iniquities. We have turned
the city into a sort of Devil's auction, and I have got
the name of a destroying angel, for there isn't a stick
of wood left, not a single nail, not an inch of canvas
nor anything else. If I had been an earthquake
I could not have swallowed them up more com
pletely." The sister of Francesco's bride, the Archduchess
Barbera of Austria, was betrothed to the son of the
Duke of Ferrara, and the Ferrarese wedding was to
take place before that in Florence. Cosimo, indeed,
had asked for the hand of Barbera for his own heir,
as being the elder daughter, but was dissuaded on
account of the disparity between their ages. The
rivalry between Florence and Ferrara was therefore
peculiarly intense at the moment, and Borghini well
knew that every nerve would be strained to reach an
unsurpassable limit of splendour in the preparations
for Barbera's wedding. It accordingly formed no
part of his scheme to give the rival city the smallest

WEDDING PREPARATIONS 207
inkling of the tremendous preparations that were on
foot in Florence. "As there is going to be this
wedding in Ferrara," he writes, " it will be as well
not to let them get wind of what we are doing, for
they will assuredly enter keenly into competition,
and when they have done all they can to create a
record, we may have to make an extra effort to beat
it." In order to obtain the requisite secrecy the chief
portion of the work is to be done in the workshops :
" and the contractor who undertakes the preparation
of one arch shall receive only such information as
concerns his own work, and nothing more. This
should be quite possible if the man in charge of the
whole 'thing is a good organiser and thoroughly
suited for his post."
The story of these preparations is taken up strongly
in Vasari's letters. By the beginning of June the
little painter had sketched out more than half the
work, and was already beginning to feel worried.
Everything worried him on this occasion : he was
worried because the Duke refused at first to aUow
Caccini to leave his work at Pisa and take charge in
Florence ; then, when Caccini did take over the
management of the preparations, he was worried
because Caccini was not so useful as he had hoped.
The intractability of some of his assistants afforded
another opportunity for worrying, and the absence of
Borghini from the capital worried him more than all
his other troubles put together. It seems almost as
if Giorgio and his friend Vincenzo, during the stress
of this undertaking, got on each other's nerves at
times, for their letters not infrequently crossed, and
proved mutually unsatisfactory. " I shall be glad,"
writes Borghini on June 10th, "if you will let me
have drawings or sketches of the arches. It does

208 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
not matter very much if they are rough, as aU I
want is the general arrangement and principal
dimensions, for there are a thousand things, shields,
armorial bearings, portraits and mottoes, to be fitted
in, and unless I know the form of the arch I cannot
finish my arrangement of them." " I should like to
remind you," he continues, "that his Ulustrious Ex
cellency ... at the consultation held in his chamber
. . . left it for me to do all the inventing, and for
you to do all the carrying out. This decision he
ratified in council on the first of May." On the
same date there is a letter from Giorgio to his
friend reporting progress, from which we gather that
the artist had finished the drawings for all the deco
rations as far as the palace doors. " I wiU send
them with the others," he says, "and I hope to
finish them all by to-morrow. In the meantime you
can amuse yourself with the cortile, for there is a
great deal for you to do there." It may be noted in
passing that Borghini exhausted the whole range of
mythological and allegorical story in this cortile,
where, as he expresses it, " we have already put all
the Virtues, all the Gods, all the Graces and aU the
Joys. I really don't believe there is anything we
have left out."
But to return to the letter of Giorgio. "The
Duke has answered Caccini's letter about this busi
ness by saying that he has two more years' work for
him to do at Pisa. I rather think that Messer
Sforzo (Almeni) has been trying to get the place for
Benedetto Uguccioni, but I hear very little. His
Excellency wants to have Santa Maria del Fiore
whitewashed, so that -will be something for S. Carlo
and Antonio Miniati to do. I will do my best to
get Caccini appointed."

WEDDING PREPARATIONS 209
It was apparently in response to this letter that
Borghini wrote the one given by Bottari1 in which
he criticises Vasari's design for the group which it
was proposed to place at the ruined Ponte a Santa
Trinita, and incidentaUy demonstrates the very large
share the Prior had in Vasari's work at this period.
" I like the drawing you send me, and I think it will
look well. There are one or two things about it,
however, which I do not like. In the first place, the
Seas"— by which he means the allegorical figures
representing the Seas — " appear to me to be rather
small, and although I certainly don't want them to
be a pair of thundering great giants (gigantacci), I
want them to be larger than life-size. The figured
dimensions on your drawing lead me to think that
they wUl not be very big, but perhaps 1 have mis
understood you. Being Seas, I don't want them to
have vases in their hands, because those are the
attributes of Rivers. Put them, instead, on the backs
of marine monsters, with other strange sea animals —
whales and the like."
In his next letter Vasari sends Borghini the designs
for the commemorative medals with the request that
the Prior will put a suitable inscription to each,
adding that the Duke wants them to be " short,
incisive and elegant." " In the meantime I am
getting on with the arcades and walls of the cortile,2
1 Bottari, Raccolta di Lettere Inedite, Vol. I, No. 59.
2 The letter is dated June 13th, 1565. Lapini, Diario, notes that
" during the present month of June the work of painting the loggie and
courtyard of the Duke's palace was begun, together with all the modelled
work and gilding of the columns. And this was done in honour of the
approaching marriage of the Prince Francesco, and for the coming of the
most Serene Giovanna, his bride-elect. This work was done with the
utmost rapidity. On the 4th October the painting of the loggie was
completed, and the columns above mentioned were brought into the state
of perfection in which they are now to be seen ; and it is passing wonderful
P

210 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
which I have just begun. We may as weU make up
our minds that we are going to reap little satisfac
tion from the work we have undertaken, because the
people with whom we have to deal are eviUy minded
and envious, and wdl put all the obstacles they can
in our way. This hint will be enough for you.
Lorenzo del Berna has already refused to do the arch
at Canto aUa Paglia, because he wants to do some
thing different from what is being done at the Prato.1
The position is pretty much the same everwhere, but
I need not trouble you with petty details. I shall
aUow myself no rest untU everything has been put
in order, for Caccini is not used to this sort of thing,
and, as a consequence, everything is behindhand— or
else it has to be altered. If we go on in this fashion
nothing wdl be ready in time. I have been on
horseback the whole morning, riding from place to
place arranging things. One has got to keep on the
move for fear of faUing asleep. In one respect I am
glad to know that you have gone away for your
health's sake and the good of the work, for you will
that all this work could have been done in so short a time. The whole
work was the invention of Maestro Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo." It is to be
regretted that Vasari has been allowed no share in the praise bestowed
upon the sumptuous appearance imparted to this famous courtyard by the
delicate ornamentation of the columns. There can be no doubt whatever,
in view of the extracts given above, that Vasari schemed the work, even
if he did not make full-size cartoons of the actual details ; yet the inscrip
tion in the cortile, placed there in 1812, makes no mention of him. It
records that it was beautified in this manner for the wedding, after having
been built by Arnulfo in 1298 and altered by Michelozzi in 1434. It
states that the vaults and lunettes were painted by Stefano Veltroni of
Monte San Savino, Marco da Faenza, and Francesco Salviati ; that the
stuccoes on the columns were the work of Pietro Paolo Minocci da Forli,
Lionardo Ricciarelli da Volterra, Sebastiano del Tadda of Fiesole, and
Lionardo Marignolli of Florence ; the views of German cities were executed
by Sebastiano Veronese, Giovanni Lombardi of Venice, and Cesare Baglioni
of Bologna. All this seems distinctly unfair to Vasari.
1 That is to say, at the Porta al Prato.

WEDDING PREPARATIONS 211
be able to rest and at the same time complete your
preparations in peace and quietness ; but my not
having you here to consult with on certain matters
of importance rather complicates things. If I can
get the arch at the Paglia settled up by this evening
I will let you know in the morning, and send the
design with the others and all that I have done so
far. In the meantime you might send back all the
drawings for the Tornaquinci and the Sale,1 as well
as the four figures in relief that are to go in the
courtyard. You might also be thinking about those
others for the pilasters near by." Four days later we
learn that the truculent Lorenzo del Berna has sub
mitted and is getting along with his work. Giorgio
himself, however, is surrounded by worries and vexa
tions. " I have got so much to do, and so many
things keep going wrong, that sometimes I positively
don't know where 1 am ; but in spite of all this I still
continue to go ahead somehow, and see that at least
the most important works are being done. 1 am far
more worried about you than about anything else, for
I know you have a terrible lot of work upon your
shoulders. However, it's aU got to be done, and I
expect we shall get through with it as we have done
on previous occasions, so I shall say no more about
it. We must leave it in the hands of God, do what
we can, and take care not to break down under the
strain. If that were to happen everyone would laugh
at us and say that it served us right ! So, in one
respect, I am very glad you are not here, for to
be out of all the worry is a great thing. We have
got enough work before us and to spare — well, since
we have got to dance, let us do it gracefully ! . . .
As for the Sala, the ceiling is approaching com-
1 i.e. the arch that was to go near the Dogana del Sale.

212 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
pletion, and aU hands are now at work on the court
yard. That Francesco from Poppi is quite good at
fresco, and the twelve canvases for the Sala are
progressing. The Sala is now closed, and as that
Venetian, or Pistolese, or Veronese — whichever he is
— has just arrived,1 and I have received the remaining
sketches for the drop-scene, they will have to work
all day next Monday, as I mean to finish it off once
and for all."
1 Sebastiano Vini, a native of Verona, but residing at Pistoia.

CHAPTER X
WEDDING OF FRANCESCO DE' MEDICI
Preparations for the wedding— Arrival of the bride, Giovanna —
The wedding ceremony and festivities.
VASARI was not alone in desiring the speedy
return of Borghini to the scene of action. Both
the Duke and Francesco were getting nervous at
his prolonged absence, and seem to have asked about
the Prior every time they met Giorgio. " I have
little to tell you," he writes on the day following the
despatch of the last letter, " except that a great
many people here are waiting for your return, myself
the first among them. The Duke has asked when
you will be here : twice I told him I would write to
you if his Excellency wanted you back in a hurry,
but he replied that if you were back in time for San
Giovanni it would be soon enough. Then, yester
day, the Prince asked me when you were coming,
and I told him the same thing. He was quite
satisfied." The difficulties that surrounded the position of the
Duke are in some measure iUustrated by these
letters and the minor writings of Vasari. The Medici
had many enemies in Florence, and though they
might not find it convenient to indulge in any out
ward show of hostility, they were nevertheless ready
at all times to seize upon any opportunity that pre
sented itself for weakening his influence. Vincenzo
213

214 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Borghini had suggested that the triumphal arch near
the Dogana del Sale should be dedicated to "Pru
dence," the various phases of which could be well
illustrated in the traditional policy of the Medici
family and by scenes from the lives of its noblest
members. To this the Duke seems to have consented
readily enough. When, however, it was further
suggested that, inasmuch as the family had reached
its climax of virtue in the person of the present
Duke, the whole theme should be illustrated by
scenes from the life of Cosimo alone, he seems to have
feared lest such a display of arrogance should become
a weapon in the hands of his enemies. Vasari, who
suffered from no qualms of conscience where the
honour of his patron was concerned, told him that
it was his duty to humanity to let Borghini have his
way, using, no doubt, the same arguments as he
afterwards incorporated in his Descrizione dell' Ap-
parato : —
" It is beyond doubt that he is the most resplendent
scion of this most honourable family that the world
has ever seen ; and therefore aU their magnanimous
actions and virtues may best be symbolised and dis
played to the public view by depicting scenes
taken from the life story of him alone." To this
patent flattery Vasari was not ashamed to add
that the statement was so undeniably true that in
making it he ran no risk of being accused of adula
tion. Cosimo at length consented, and Borghini began
to elaborate his ideas for the arch. All the actions
of the Duke, his benevolent rule, his conquests, his
affection for his family, were duly set forth and
forwarded to Vasari, who as duly placed them
before his patron for approval. In one scene Bor-

COSIMO DE' MEDICI
(London: National Caliuy, Xo. joj)

WEDDING PREPARATIONS 215
ghini had depicted the Duke in the company of his
late wife, "for whom, while she yet lived, his love
was so great that he might have indeed been called
the Mirror of Conjugal Affection." Cosimo, how
ever, in the three years that had elapsed since her
death, has somewhat fallen from this noble rectitude,
having found complete, if illicit, solace in the arms
of Leonora degh Albizzi. As a consequence, when
Vasari received the details of Borghini's scheme, he
had considerable misgivings as to whether the Duke
would altogether relish this aUusion to his erstwhile
fidelity, knowing as he did the amours in which his
lord was engaged. Borghini, too, was doubtful as
to the manner in which the Duke would receive the
proposed scheme, for in his covering letter — in
which he calls Giorgio " my dearest Messer Giorgio
and alleviator of my burden" — he enjoins him to
use circumspection in broaching the subject, and
above all to wait for a propitious moment. Vasari
would willingly have left the task of laying the
scheme before the Duke to another had this been
possible, and he warned the Prior that the Duke
would not be pleased with the suggestion. There
being no way out of it, Giorgio nerved himself for
the interview, and waited until a suitable oppor
tunity presented itself. He relates that the Duke
was pleased with the beginning of Borghini's letter ;
but "when I came to that part about the Duchess
he grew agitated." Vasari was equal to the occa
sion, and with artful persuasions won consent for the
scheme. He teUs us that the Duke " declared with
a laugh : ' Why, little by little you have brought
me to such a condition that 1 am ready to do exactly
as you wish, and everything you do gives me entire
satisfaction!' ... So this is the end of Number

216 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Eleven,1 and I am now waiting for you to send me
the subjects, as they wiU want careful consideration
both from you and me, for his most illustrious Ex
cellency has made many suggestions with regard to
them. These I need not specify at present, seeing
that the matter is not yet in hand. But it is a
satisfaction to know that he is content, and that the
thing is settled." Vasari was beginning to feel the
effect of this hard work, and if it were not for his
determination to see the business through he would
break down under the load he has to carry. This
is his condition on June 19th, 1565. Two days later
he is in better spirits, due to his having had a long
conversation with the Duke, at the end of which his
patron praised him without stint for his achieve
ments in the palace. As a consequence Vasari finds
an outlet for his elation in nonsensical letters to
Borghini. " Magnificent and Reverend Signore," he writes,
" I wait for you more anxiously than I wait for the
Messiah, and if you think I am joking, you are
wrong. On the contrary, it is you who joke with
me. The drawings you send do not merely surprise
me, they stupefy me ; because the art of drawing, in
addition to being difficult, demonstrates both the in
ventive power and the ability of the draughtsman. In
your case it shows not only both these things, but
your goodwill as well. I have good cause to wish
you well, because I know the sort of man you are ;
and I love you, and you love me ; so that if only I
had half a Duke who knew me as weU as you do, and
1 In order to facilitate matters each portion of the decorations was
given a distinctive number, and both Vasari and Borghini adopt these
designations throughout their correspondence. "Number Eleven" was
the triumphal arch at the Dogana del Sale.

CORTILE OF PALAZZO VECCHIO, FLORENCE

WEDDING PREPARATIONS 217
if I were only a quarter-part of his illustrious Excel
lency and knew as much about your worth and
amiabihty as I do now, I shouldn't leave you to look
after a parcel of babies ;a but you should be put in
charge of all the wisest old men in the city. Now
you had better go out for a stroll, as I don't want
our friendship to Father- John -ify the sincerity
of my intentions, or your goodness and amiability.2
So I shall stop this, as I don't mean to joke any
more. " In that little matter of the Duchess I have
indeed done you a good turn. This morning I was
talking with his illustrious Excellency all the time
the procession 3 was passing, standing at a window in
Anton Francesco Gondi's house, waiting to see his
illustrious Excellency the Cardinal go by in his vest
ments, following in the wake of the Holy Sacrament
—we talked, I say, of many things that cannot and
ought not to be written down. This, however, I
may say, that so far as the Duchess is concerned, he
leaves it all to us, and we can do what we like. The
finishing touch was put to my triumph when he saw
that the courtyard was begun — and begun, too, in
such a manner as to warrant that it would bring
honour and glory to himself when finished — for he
turned round and said, ' Giorgio, thou hast almost
deprived me of the power of speech ; thine achieve
ments surpass the bounds of possibility ! ' I only
1 Borghini, as already noted, was Prior of the Ospedale degli Innocenti,
an asylum for children.
2 " Ora andate a spasso che non vorrei che lamicitia nostra sergiovan-
nare la candidezza del animo mio," etc. The word " sergiovannare " is
an invention on the part of Vasari, and alludes to a certain priest, Ser
Giovanni, the mutual friend of Giorgio and Borghini.
3 The procession of Corpus Domini. Vasari's letter was written on the
day of the festival.

218 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
hope he will be of the same mind when it is finished !
I await your return, as I want your opinion, and
there are many points to be settled. I suppose you
will be here on Sunday, as you daren't stop away
any longer than that. And now — still waiting — I
must close this letter. May God send you back safe
and weU."
We are left to guess whether the eyes of Giorgio
were gladdened by the sight of Borghini on the
following Sunday, but we may surmise that the
Prior did return to Florence from the fact that
the letters from Vasari cease abruptly at this point.
They begin, however, towards the end of August
again ; but the information they contain as to the
progress of the work is exceedingly meagre. On
September 22nd, Giorgio tells Borghini that most of
the work being done in the shops is approaching
completion : " the Duke has ordered that the timber
ing along the route" — to which the painted canvas
was to be affixed — " is to be begun at the very latest
by the middle of November.1 As you already know,
the Prince sets out in a week's time, so you wiU have
to come back immediately in order that he may con
fer with you on several matters of importance before
he goes. The Duke has asked for you a good many
times. On each occasion I replied that you were
out of town, intent upon the inscriptions. In fine,
by the end of this week it will be absolutely impera
tive for you to come back here to put the finishing
touch to everything." " I have little more to say,"
he adds, "except that I am feeling excessively
1 <CE che a mezzo Novembre sara il piu lungo." The Archduchess
entered Florence on December 20th, so that there was a whole month
allowed for putting up the decorations. Lapini, Diario, notes that the pre
parations in the streets and piazze were begun on November 11th, and
that they remained in position until the 29th of January following.

WEDDING PREPARATIONS 219
melancholy. The Giant1 is getting nearer to the
fountain, and the corridor is ready for people to
walk across it. The Duke has been across, and is
weU pleased."
There is one more letter in which Vasari gives the
Prior an account of his progress as well as of his
woes. It bears no precise date, but was written in
September four days before Borghini's return to
Florence again put an end to the correspondence.
In it he expresses his joy that Borghini has nearly
finished all he has in hand for the wedding, and he is
delighted to hear that Pier Vettori has "praised
everything." " Marcellino2 is to arrive on Monday without fail,
and the end of next week will see the ceiling com
pleted, the scaffolding down, and the blank places
filled up with cartoons ; for his Excellency wants the
pictures to be put up and joined together with sheets
of paper so that they can be removed in a few
minutes." " I am worn out and troubled with an
everlasting headache. I should like to get these
pictures off my hands and go away for a week's
holiday : I feel half dead." This is the last mention
of these preparations to be found in Vasari's writings,
though he has described the completed work else
where.3 Strangely enough, he scarcely refers to them
in the Autobiography ; and when his letters again
1 This is the statue by Ammannato to which Borghini refers in his
letter to Cosimo outlining his suggestions for the decorations. On
March 1st the Lion, or Marzocco, which stood at the angle of the Rin
ghiera before the Palazzo Vecchio was removed : " and that portion of the
Ringhiera that was towards the Dogana was levelled with the ground, the
foundations for the fountain and the base of the statue of Neptune being
laid upon the site just cleared " (Gotti, // Palazzo recchio in Firenze, cit.).
2 Giovanni Battista Adriani.
3 Descrizione dell Apparato fatto . . . per le Nozze, etc., printed in
Vol. VIII of the Sansoni Edition of the rite.

220 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
take up the story of his life the wedding is over, the
decorations that involved him in so much trouble and
labour have been taken down, and Giorgio is mildly
abusing his masters for not allowing him a holiday
after the hard work of the previous year. Such
information as he gives us is amplified by the con
temporary witness of Domenico Mellini, who wrote
an account of the wedding preparations as well as of
the actual festivities.1
From Mellini we learn that Vasari was too occu
pied to be able to do any actual work himself beyond
that of preparing the cartoons ; while the pictures
which were hung in the Sala Grande and pieced
together with paper were actually only ten in num
ber, and not twelve as originally proposed. " Of the
ten pictures of the cities which are in the Sala and
were designed by Messer Giorgio, those representing
Siena, Pisa, Montepulciano and Cortona were
finished in a most excellent manner by Alessandro
del Barbiere, the Florentine. Those of Borgo and
Prato were the work of Maestro Giovanni Lombardi,
of Venice ; those of Pistoia and Fiesole were done
by Maestro Bastiano (Vini), of Verona ; and Rurino,
the Piedmontese, painted that of Arezzo. The large
figures, representing the founders of these several
cities, with the greater number of the putti above
the festoons, were painted by that excellent artist
Lorenzo Sabatini, of Bologna, by whom were also
painted the figures in the vestibule and anteroom
between the Sala Grande and the Sala de' Dugento.
The whole work was executed in fresco in an admir
able and beautiful manner. The perspective2 and its
1 Descrizione dell' Entrata della Sercnissima Reina Giovanna d' Austria
. . . in Firenze, Florence, 1560 ; and Descrizione dell' Apparato della
Gomedia . . . nelle rcale Nozse, Florence, 1566.
2 The painted background which formed the setting for tlie Gomedia.

ARRIVAL OF THE BRIDE 221
accessories, although designed and invented by
Messer Giorgio, were carried out by Prospero Fon-
tana, of Bologna, a most excellent painter and a man
of sound judgment. The drop-scene was sixteen
braccia in height and twenty braccia wide, and bore
a representation of a magnificent hunting expedition
placed amid beautiful scenery. It was painted by
Federigo Zucchero, of Sant' Angelo in Vado, who
showed in this undertaking how well he was ac
quainted with the art of painting, and proved himself
to be a great master of his art."1
At length, after a week of incessant rain which
must have been exceedingly depressing to all con
cerned, the important day dawned bright and smiling
to welcome the bride and her escort. " On the six
teenth [sic] of the said December, being a Sunday,
the queenly {regina) Giovanna, wife of Prince Fran
cesco, entered the city by way of the Porta al Prato.
For the past eight days it had rained without pause ;
but the sun shone on the day she came. And in her
train came a goodly company of Marquises, Counts
and Cavaliers : and the whole court of Duke Cosimo,
with the chiefest citizens of Florence, all in splendid
array, went out to meet her. Likewise all the clergy
from the Duomo and from San Lorenzo went out to
meet her at the outer gate of the Porta al Prato.
When she had arrived at the outer gate of the Porta
al Prato, the queen [sic] kneeled down ; and Bishop
Concino, with suitable words, held forth a Crucifix
for her to kiss. Afterwards Messer Tommaso de'
Medici, Cavalier of Christ, presented her with a
wondrous crown of gold set with priceless gems and
borne upon a golden salver : and when he had pre
sented it the Archbishop of Siena and the Bishop
1 Mellini, op. cit.

222 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
of Arezzo, Messer Bernardetto de' Minerbetti, took
the crown into their hands and together they set it
on her head, where it ever remained until the great
palace of the Duke was reached. She was accom
panied by fifty young men, all nobles of Florence,
bearing a costly baldacchino of cloth of gold.
These youths were all of them dressed in splendid
garments." Thus Lapini describes the arrival of the
bride. And where was Vasari, the man who had con
tributed so largely to the success of the occasion?
We are not informed, but it is to be hoped that he
was able to don his best cloak and gold chain, and to
mingle with the throng of gady dressed Florentines
who filled the streets. For him the most important
day was still to come ; for the Messa del Congiunto,
followed by the recitation of the Comedia and the
wedding feast, did not take place until the Thursday
after Giovanna's arrival. His triumph would come
when all the guests were assembled in the Sala
Grande. It was he who had contrived aU the some
what intricate preparations in this vast haU : he had
planned the movable stage on which the Comedia
was to be recited, as well as aU the tables and
benches which would be required for the sumptuous
banquet, by which the play was to be followed.
Moreover, he had been instructed to clear the Sala
of all encumbrances, so that the guests of the Medici
might dance at their pleasure. The arrival of Gio
vanna of Austria could have been no holiday for him,
therefore— architect, painter, author, stage-manager
and master of ceremonies by turns.
It happened that in the midst of the preparations,
and eleven days before the state entry of the Arch
duchess, the Pope, Pius IV, died; and the ceremonies

WEDDING FESTIVITIES 223
were consequently robbed of some of their splendour
by the absence of the Cardinals and many other men
of note, whose personal interests, being involved in the
now pending election, kept them within their own
territories. The rejoicings in Florence were not
allowed to suffer, however. The guests who had
been bidden to the feast came upon the day ap
pointed, and were ushered into the Sala Grande — or
as many of them as the Duke thought fit to admit ;
for we are told that when a company of three hundred
and sixty ladies had arrived (and Vasari vouches for
it that they were all " the most beautiful, the richest
and the most exalted noblewomen, with their lords,
cavalieri and gentlemen of like estate ") the Duke
ordered the doors to be closed. The later arrivals
received a polite intimation that they could not be
admitted. It is not our province to speculate upon
the probable mood in which the later arrivals returned
to their own homes.
The guests having been arranged in their respective
seats, the signal was given for the Comedia to begin ;
and here it may be noted that the curtain, instead of
rising, as in a modern representation, was allowed
to faU, thereby disclosing the stage and its scenery.
" When the curtain fell," says Vasari, " it seemed as
if Paradise itself with choirs of angels had suddenly
unfolded before their eyes." The play was of the
usual type. Venus, Cupid, and the whole range of
heathen mythology figured in it, twanging lutes,
exchanging platitudes, lauding the bride, the bride
groom, the Medici and the Imperial house of Austria,
and utterly failing to relieve the intolerable monotony
with dreary madrigals.
At the conclusion of the play — when the curtain,
presumably, had risen after the final tableau of Love

224 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Triumphant — aU the guests retired to another apart
ment, while a host of carpenters puUed down the
stage and seats, erecting in their stead the tables for
the banquet, a performance which must have taken
considerable time if Mellini is correct in stating that
the stage could not be erected and taken down
again in less than eight hours. The transformation
effected, "their Highnesses returned to the Sala,
foUowed by the whole company of noble ladies.1
And when aU were seated in their appointed
places, many hours were devoted to feasting and
pleasant intercourse. How magnificent, how regal
and how rich was the banquet may be judged
from the description thereof which we have already
written." It speaks well for Florentine digestions that after
" many hours " of continuous eating the guests were
ready to pass what remained of the evening in dancing.
Perhaps they were inured to this kind of entertain
ment, for — again, if Melhni is to be beheved — they
would have gone on dancing for ever, "had not
Aurora grown jealous of their joy and interfered," a
musical way of saying that the guests went home
with the milk. Other festivities followed. There
were representations of various kinds, with bull-fights
on Sundays in the Piazza di Santa Croce and before
the church of Santa Maria NoveUa ; while at one
time a mimic castle was erected in front of the latter
building, which withstood all the most ferocious
attacks of its besiegers for nearly two days, towards
the end of which a breach was effected in the heroic
canvas walls which for forty hours and more had so
boldly defied the enemy while quivering with every
1 Mellini, from whom this extract is taken, entirely ignores the gentle
men who must have been present.

WEDDING FESTIVITIES 225
gust of wind. Finally there were six notable
masquerades ; until the celebrations graduaUy
merged with those annual Carnival games which
only end with the midnight clang of Shrove
Tuesday.

CHAPTER XI
THE TOUR OF ITALY
Vasari is instructed to decorate the waUs of the Sala Grande — His
journey through Italy — Perugia — Notes for the Lives — Rome—
Daniello da Volterra — Travelling in the sixteenth century — "Um-
brelhes" — Inns — Bologna — Milan — Cenacolo — Vasari on Gothic art —
Certosa di Pavia — Cremona — The Anguisciola — Return to Tuscany.
IT would appear that, after the wedding of the
Prince, Vasari was on the verge of a break
down. It has been well said that during the whole
of the preparations he had played the part of Atlas,
carrying a world of work upon his shoulders. It is
no wonder if, when a part of the load was removed,
he felt severely the effects of all he had borne and
done. The reader of the somewhat scanty notices
which appear in the Autobiography may hardly
realise to the full what he was called upon to accom
plish in an exceedingly short space of time. "I
should like to add," he states simply, "that almost
at the same time " — that is to say, while he was still
busy with the tomb of Michelangelo, the Sala
Grande, the other works in the Palazzo Vecchio,
the church and palace for the Cavaheri at Pisa and
the corridor across the Arno — " I had to prepare
designs for all the arches which formed part of the
celebrations in Florence in connection with the
wedding, so as to enable his Excellency to order all
things according to his liking. And afterwards I
had to finish a considerable portion of the work
226

OVERWORK 227
myself, in order to get it done in time." And on the
same page he says : " For a long time, concurrently
with these buddings, I have been steadily proceeding
with the Loggia and extensive buildings for the
Magistrati," a commission which a present-day archi
tect might be disposed to consider quite sufficient to
occupy his whole time. Yet this is not all. " Be
sides these things I was obliged, on account of this
same wedding, to enlarge and reconstruct the ap
paratus used in the tribune of Santo Spirito for the
ceremony which previously had always taken place
in San Felice di Piazza,1 making it as strong as
possible in the hope of avoiding the accidents which
have hitherto usually marked the celebration of this
festival," an aUusion, probably, to the accident which
had happened during the visit of the Duke and
Duchess of Milan in 1471, when, in the course of the
sacred play representing the Descent of the Holy
Spirit, the church had been set on fire.
Vasari richly deserved the holiday he craved for,
but for a whde it looked as if he were doomed to
disappointment. On March 18th, 1566, he writes to
the Rettori della Confraternita d'Arezzo saying: "I
am exceedingly sorry to tell you that these my lords
and patrons, after having granted me leave of absence
for four months to come to Arezzo for a little rest,
have repented ; and now I shall have to begin another
big work. If this turns out to be the case, I shall be
forced to relinquish the hope I had already formed
of preparing a memorial of myself, and presenting it
when done to your holy and pious institution. Should
1 " On the eighth day of the said June the cielo was begun in Santo
Spirito, here in Florence ; and that was done so that the feast of the
Annunciation of the Madonna might be celebrated there in honour of
the coming of la serenissima Giovanna, bride of our most illustrious Prince
of Florence '' (Lapini, Diario).

228 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
this be contrary to the wishes of their ExceUencies
and the will of God (whom I ought to have put
first, seeing that He governeth all things) you must
be satisfied with the good intention : and whenever
I have the opportunity I will confer some benefit on
your house."
From the Autobiography it becomes clear what
was the nature of the new work ; and it is evident
that Vasari did not, after all, lose his holiday. Cosimo
had decreed that the walls of the Sala Grande should
be decorated with paintings simUar to those already
executed in the ceiling. At any other time this
commission would assuredly have fiUed the soul of
Giorgio with happiness and gratitude towards his
magnanimous patron ; but at the moment his one
idea was that of freeing himself from Florence, and
not even the chance of adding to those proofs of his
ability which were to keep his memory green for all
time and place him on an equality with Michelangelo
and Raffaello could compensate him for the imminent
loss. When he came to write the Autobiography
these feelings had passed away, leaving him only
grateful to God and the Medici. " For these and
all my works, without making excuses for the mani
fold imperfections they contain and of which I am
fully aware, if I shall be found to have done anything
of merit, I render thanks unceasingly to God, through
Whom I trust to receive such help in the formidable
task of decorating the walls of the Sala, that when it
is finished I shall see my masters fully satisfied : those
patrons who during the past thirteen years have
afforded me so many opportunities of doing great
works, for my own honour and benefit ; so that at
the end, when I am worn out, old and feeble, I may
finish my days in peace and happiness. And though

Giorgio Vasari CORONATION OF CHARLES V
( Florence: Palazzo I'ecc/iio)

HIS JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY 229
the works I have written of above have, for divers
reasons, nearly aU been done in the greatest haste,
this last I hope to accomplish at my leisure, since
the lord Duke is content that I hurry not, but pro
ceed as best suits me, taking such rest and recreation
as I myself shall desire. For this reason, seeing
that I was much in need of a holiday after the
fatigues occasioned by the above works, he gave
me permission last year to spend several months in
travel." Beyond his desire to rest from his labours, Vasari
had another object in view when he proposed to
travel. The Second Edition of the Lives, which as
we have seen was already in preparation, had prob
ably been pushed on one side by the late festivities,
and the biographer naturally wished to take the
opportunity which now presented itself of journeying
through Italy and of verifying first hand much of the
information which in the previous edition he had
perforce taken on hearsay. Indeed, in his Life of
Benvenuto Garofalo he tells us that as he had not
been able to explore the art treasures of Italy since
his journey of 1542, he decided, " at whatever cost,"
to make another tour for the purposes of his book.
At the end of March, accordingly, he set out on
his travels, arriving at Arezzo after a journey through
mud and rain, on his way to Perugia, whither he was
carrying three large pictures for the monks of San
Piero de' Cassinesi.1 The pictures had evidently been
less fortunate than himself, for the mule on whose
back they had been loaded was taken ill on the road,
1 " I have forgotten to say that the year before " — the year before his
second visit to Rome, which he has just been describing — " when I went
first to kiss the feet of Pius V, I journeyed by way of Perugia, in order to
put into their places three large pictures I had done for the refectory of
the black monks of San Piero in that city" (Vite, Vol. VII, p. 707).

230 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
and it was only with great difficulty that the miser
able beast was dragged as far as Quarata. " It was
with the utmost difficulty that I got the pictures for
Perugia as far as Quarata," writes Vasari from Arezzo
at the beginning of April, " for the mule that ought
to have transported them fell ill and could scarcely
carry the load. This morning fresh mules are being
sent to Quarata to bring them along. I shan't move
from here until they are safely under way again.
The cellarer has come from Perugia to take the
business in hand. I will let you know how we get
on ; but for the life of me I can't imagine how they
managed to get on to such an awful road. God for
give all this rain ! "
The difficulties of the muddy roads were quickly
overcome, for three days later Vasari wrote to Bor
ghini from Perugia giving him the promised report,
and describing his triumph without a suspicion of a
blush. " Most Reverend Signor HospitaUer mine,
the pictures have arrived here safely, and when they
were unpacked I found that they were none the
worse for their adventures. If it is true that they
were not opened until I reached the convent, the
only reason for it is that I got there before they had
time to undo them." It reads Hke the arrival of
Santa Claus at Christmas. " The monks, and even
the Abbot himself, could scarcely conceal their im
patience to see what was in my packages. As soon
as I had got out of my riding-boots we undid them,
the Abbot and every single soul in the convent
crowding round. I thought they would all go mad
with delight when the pictures were disclosed, espe
cially the Abbot, who said they were just what he had
hoped for ; and then everyone bestowed no end of
praise both on you and me. They tell me that these

PERUGiA 231
are better than the paintings in the refectory of the
Badia at Arezzo." They have since been removed
to one of the chapels in the church, and lead us to
suppose that the Abbot and his friends must have
been very easy to please. The subjects are the
Marriage in Cana of Galilee (with a portrait of the
artist's wife), a St. Jerome, and a St. Benedict, the
latter dated 1566.
" They have already been hung in the refectory
here, and harmonise exceedingly well with the other
decorations. I shaU devote the whole of to-day to
giving them the finishing touches. Then I am off
to Assisi, and if possible I hope to be in Rome
on Saturday. We have had good weather and are
a jovial company, so that I already feel much better,
thanks be to God. I left matters in Arezzo only so-
so : they must possess their souls in patience until I
get back."
" I have no more to say, except that I hope you
are well and wUl not forget to pray for my return in
safety and health. I wiU let you know what I am
doing from time to time. TeU Giacomo Giunti that
I had written out that bit he wanted and then stuffed
it into my pocket so as to send it with this letter ;
but yesterday morning, when I went out to see some
ancient relic near Cortona, called the Grotto of
Pythagoras or Archimedes, I must have dropped
it when I took out my book to make a sketch. I
haven't another copy with me, so he will have to
wait tiU I get to Rome, when I will write it all out
again and send it at the earliest opportunity."
Vasari kept his word in the matter of writing to
his friend, and it is by means of these letters that we
are enabled to accompany him on his travels, gaining
on the way fresh glimpses of his character and gather-

232 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
ing a hint of the respect with which he was every
where received. If the pictures are drawn in too
bright colours the fault is not so much Giorgio's as
of the period in which he lived ; and if we cannot
quite believe in the crowds that at times flocked out
of the cities to greet his approach, this very inability
to believe enables us to form a truer estimate of his
innocently vain and simple nature. AU the strange
mixture that went to make up the sum of his charac
ter is to be found in his next letter to Borghini,
written from Rome on April 14th, two days after his
arrival. In it he is grave and gay, almost in the
same moment ; in it the desire to profit by the death
of a friend struggles for the mastery with a certain
sense of personal loss ; and yet, in the same missive,
he descants on the pleasures of theatre-going in one
sentence, and in the next refuses to seek out Anni
bale Caro, urging as an excuse that he wishes to
devote all his time to his spiritual welfare. It is
a remarkable medley, the out-pouring of an active
mind which finds itself free for a little space from
every care.
" Reverendo Don Vincenzo mio," it runs, " I wrote
to you from Perugia to say that the pictures had
arrived, that all I had to do was to put them up, and
that I had Master Bernardo and Jacopino to help me.
They look very well, and I expect the Abbot has
already written to you to tell you what he thinks
about them. The lighting is exactly right, and they
are more satisfactory than those of Arezzo. They
have done wonders for me, I can tell you, for I have
now got orders to do a picture for the Blercanzia of
Perugia, which is to be hung in San Lorenzo— a
thing that ten years ago they wanted to give to
Titian or Salviati or some other great painter. But

DANIELLO DA VOLTERRA 233
the sight of my achievements settled them. It is to
be on canvas, Hke these are. And that's aU I have
to say about the pictures for Perugia. . . .
" I was obliged to stay in Perugia three days longer
than I wanted to on account of the rain ; then I went
through Assisi, FoHgno and Spoleto — where I went
and had another look at Fra FUippo's chapel in the
Cathedral. It is a beautiful work — what a painter
he was ! We reached Rome on Wednesday in Holy
Week. I have improved in health so much that
people here say I don't look a day older than when I
was in Rome last, though I can't say the same for
them, for if the climate of this part of the world deals
havoc with marble statues and painted pictures,
bethink you what must happen in the case of living
people who never aUow themselves any rest. It is
sufficient indication of this that DanieUo da Volterra
went off in less than four days, departing this life,
they teU me, in a fit of temper because his horse1
didn't turn out a success at the first casting, and he
would have to do it aU over again. The mould is
stUl in the ground, and now the man who made
it wiU soon be in the same place. 1 trust God wUl
forgive him, whUe I make due enquiries of his friends
so as to be able to add his life and portrait to the
Lives. " I have derived much pleasure from my visits to
the theatre, for you know I was ever fond of the play
whenever I could find one to go to. I had a long
talk with Niccolo del Nero about it.
" I wUl fulfil your wishes with respect to Messer
Annibale Caro, but I have not been to see him yet.
I haven't been to see anybody, because during these
1 The equestrian statue of Henri II of France which Caterina de'
Medici, his widow, had commissioned from Daniello.

234 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
holy days I want to give myself up entirely to the
welfare of my eternal soul.
" If Don SUvano has arrived in Florence, I shall
be much obliged if you will tell him that the Lives
are being pushed forward, and that I am writing him
a letter to accompany this which he can either give
to my brother Ser Pietro or to you, in order that the
work may not be delayed. I shall also be glad if
you wiU give all the letters to Ser Pietro so that he
may send to Arezzo those that are addressed to
Arezzo, and give the others to the persons for whom
they are intended.
" I have seen pretty nearly everything there is to
be seen : some things I like, the rest I don't. Of all
the works of the present generation — with the excep
tion of Salviati's performances — there is not one that
I care for, although these artists are supposed to be
men of talent. This must suffice for the present : we
shall have plenty of opportunity for discussing these
things later on.
" P.S. — I have just seen Annibale Caro and given
him your message. He expresses great affection for
you, and says he will do as you desire."
As in duty bound, Giorgio visited the Vatican and
kissed the foot of the Pope, Pius V, who received
him with much favour and promptly gave him instruc
tions to paint a picture, which, however, the artist
might execute in Florence and carry to Rome in
person in the following year.
Although his stay in Rome did not exceed five
days, Vasari contrived to accomplish a good deal of
useful work during that time, making sketches which
were to be of service for the new paintings in the
Sala Grande, and shedding an arrogantly negative
patronage over the younger generation of artists

HIS JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY 235
which had arisen since his last visit to the city. In
one letter he writes : "I have given considerable
satisfaction here, and on aU sides they have received
me in a most flattering way1 . . . there is no
building going on here whatsoever, and nobody is
having anything painted. All the budding artists
are graduaUy slipping away, and I can't get any fresh
drawings because there aren't any. Those by the
older artists I obtained long ago, and they are already
in my book."
Leaving Rome in the middle of April, Giorgio
continued his voyage of discovery, seeking for nas
cent genius in Narni, Spoleto, Val di Varchiano,
Tollentino, Macerata, Terni, Ricanati and Loreto in
vain. His journey was carried out with the same
rapidity and despatch that marked his achievements
in the sphere of art, and not even the attractions of
Ancona could detain him more than a few hours.
" Here we found many of our friends and saw a
great many things. Last night my old friend,
Cardinal di Gambero, gave me a very kind and
flattering reception. We visited a number of build
ings, but I haven't time either to describe or discuss
them now. I am very much interested to see these
things and compare them with ours at home : ours
are better designed, better proportioned, better built
and far more original. Every person I talk to seems
to be not only aware, but wiUing to confess that our
Duke and his undertakings have no rivals " — the
" undertakings " to which the traveller refers being,
no doubt, the Uffizi, the Cavalieri at Pisa and the
other buildings which he had himself designed.
1 " Io ho satisfatto assai, e da tutti ho auto gran carezze." Letter No.
164, to Borghini, written on April 17th, the day of his departure from
Rome.

236 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
" We are all well," he continues, " and pursue our
journey on horseback in the best of spirits. It is
doing me no end of good, and I thoroughly enjoy
the ride and the ever-changing scenes that confront
me at every turn of the road."
The desire to pause for a moment and endeavour
to sketch the equipment of the traveller is irresist
ible. At the period with which we are concerned the
usual costume of a horseman consisted of a cappa, or
voluminous cape, a gabbano, or species of cloak with
sleeves (which were generaUy allowed to hang
empty), the garment being prevented from slipping
off by a more or less ornate clasp fastened at the
throat, or a tabarro, the modern equivalent of which
is the heraldic tabard, a tunic without sleeves but
with slits through which the arms were passed. These
garments were made of panno — the generic term for
cloth of all descriptions — or of rascia, a coarse
woollen material suitable for winter wear. When
he intended to make a long journey the horseman
clothed himself in feltro, donning a cap of cloth,
velvet or feltro, into which a feather was stuck,
secured by a jewel. His feet were shod with capa
cious riding-boots, furnished with spurs. A rapier
usually formed part of his equipment, and though it
is difficult to imagine the timid Giorgio pricking his
way bravely through unknown perils with his trusty
sword buckled at his side and a devil-may-care ex
pression replacing his usual gentle mien, it is still
more difficult to think that he would have risked his
precious life without one. As to whether he would
have known how to use it in an emergency is quite
another matter. For aught we know he may also
have carried a musket, even as the horsemen whom
Tom Coryat met a few years later between Padua

SIXTEENTH-CENTURY TRAVELLING 237
and Verona did, who were for the most part " fur
nished with muskets ready charged, and touch-boxes
hanging by their sides full of Gunpowder, together
with little pouches full of bullets, which is a thing
commonly used in most parts of Italy that a man
shaU scarce find a horseman in any place riding with
out them. I heard that this is the reason of it:
because the people of the country are so given to
villainies that they will rob, rifle and murder passen
gers if they are not sufficiently provided to protect
themselves against them." But perhaps another
reason for their going about thus armed was to be
found in another statement made by the same writer.
Speaking of Susa, he says : " At the townes end cer
tain searchers examined us for money, according to
a custome that is used in many other townes and
Cities of Italy. For if a man doth carry more
money about him than is warranted or allowed in
the country, it is ipse facto confiscated to the Prince
or Magistrate in whose territory a man is taken."
There were professional robbers in Italy as well as
amateurs. That fascinating observer, William Thomas, in his
Historye of Italye, also makes the same complaint.
" One greate faute there is, for almost no straunger
can travaile the realme unrobbed, specyallye betwene
Rome and Naples."
This not altogether pleasing picture of the
traveller's lot has, however, its reverse side ; for
Tom Coryat teUs us that fans, " curiously adorned "
with pictures of "amorous things tending to dalli
ance," were quite as ubiquitous as muskets, and —
lest the reader shall mistake their use — he explains
that they are contrivances which "both men and
women of the country do carry to coole themselves

238 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
withall in the time of heat, by the often fanning
of their faces." But whatever interest Tom took
in these fans was forgotten upon the first occasion
that a horseman carrying an umbreUa came in sight.
He had never seen such a thing before in his life,
and was all agog at the novelty, not realising that
the heat of the Italian sun rendered some such con
trivance an absolute necessity, and that nearly every
horseman carried one. The entry in his " Crudities "
makes it clear that the " vmbrellass " of his day were
not built on quite the same lines as the umbreUas
of the present year of grace. " Also many of them,"
he says, " doe carry other fine things of a far greater
price, that wdl cost at the least a ducket, which they
commonly call in the Italian tongue vmbrellass, that
is, things that minister shadow unto them for shelter
against the scorching heate of the Sunne. These
are made of leather something answerable to the
forme of a little cannopy, and hooped in the inside
with diuers little wooden hoopes that extend the
vmbrella in a pretty large compasse. They are vsed
especially by horsemen, who carry them in their
hands when they ride, fastening the end of the
handle vpon one of their thighes, and they impart
so large a shadow vnto them, that it keepeth the
heate of the sunne from the vpper parts of their
bodies."1 Montaigne, in his Journal du Voyage en Italic,
makes some curious observations on the subject of
travelling in Italy in his day, particularly with regard
to the method of advertisement adopted by the
various innkeepers. Within the towns no man
dared cry up the attractions of his house, and
1 " Coryat's Crudities, hastily gobbled vp in five Moneths Travells in
France, Savoy, Italy," etc., 1611.

INNS 239
accordingly it became necessary to do aU the tout
ing along the roads that stretched, dusty and white,
through the campagna. Hours before the traveller
reached his destination the agents of the innkeepers
would be met with, each one vociferating a Hst of
the unique attractions offered by the particular inn
to which he was attached. Sometimes, if business
were slack, mine host himself might be met with on
the road, ready to proffer the most sumptuous re
past and the softest of beds in return for the sohcited
patronage ; so that it was no unusual thing for a
"likely" traveller who had, perhaps, set out with
but one attendant, to arrive within sight of the city
with an imposing escort of gaily-dressed horsemen
and lackeys, aU shouting, wrangling, gesticulating, and
competing in a thousand ways as to who could make
the most tempting offer. Then, as the traveller
slackened pace under the gateway, his escort melted
away as if by magic ; and while he entered the city
alone his late tormentors scampered away in a cloud
of dust to waylay the next arrival.
Between Florence and Rome he notes that " they
charge five Giulios (worth about sixpence apiece)
for the hire of a horse, and two for the post, and
they make the same terms if the horses are hired
for two or three posts, or for several days, in which
case the traveller has no trouble about the horses ;
for, from one place to another, the innkeepers take
charge of those belonging to their neighbours, and,
moreover, they wiU make a contract under which
you may be supplied with a fresh horse elsewhere
on the road in case one of your own should fail."
His lodging for the night, presumably including
refreshment, generally cost about four giulii, and the
accommodation was for the most part clean and

240 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
wholesome, as it is to the present day, even in the
miserable inns of the most benighted vdlages. Only
near Viterbo and in Florence did he find the accom
modation bad ; for he notes that when he reached
the former town he was " hoarse, and had a bad cold
through having slept in my clothes last night on
a table at San Lorenzo, by reason of the vermin,
a misadventure which only befell me at Florence
and this place." On the return journey he again
passed through San Lorenzo, but, profiting by past
experience, refused to sleep there, riding on after
supper another thirty-two miles to Chirio, a fact
which speaks volumes for the uncleanness of the inn
at San Lorenzo. And as he rides on in the gather
ing dusk good Monsieur de Montaigne faUs to call
ing down blessings on the head of Francesco de'
Medici, the reigning Grand Duke, who has put the
roads into such excellent repair. " AU these roads
have recently been levelled by order of the Duke
of Tuscany, a work of the greatest service to the
public. May God reward him, seeing that he has
made what were the hardest roads to traverse to be
as easy as the city streets."
But to return to Giorgio, whom we left at Ancona
with the Cardinal di Gambero. The sights of the
city detained him only a few hours, and then he
hastened through Ravenna — where, as he tells us, he
made a careful drawing of the Rotonda (San Vitale)
— and Rimini to Bologna, working himself up to a
more liberal appreciation of the works of art to be
found outside his beloved Tuscany. " My eyes are
being gradually opened, and I am confirmed in my
opinion that the arts are better understood, and the
artists more enterprising, in this district than in any
other part of the country. I shall have a wonderful

BOLOGNA AND MILAN 241
lot to tell you when I come home." Somewhere
upon the road between Ancona and Bologna, or it
may have been in Bologna itself, Vasari fell in
with the Abbots of Arezzo and Perugia, for both of
whom, it will be remembered, he had fulfilled com
missions. Finding that they were aU bound for
Modena they agreed to make the journey in com
pany, and it would be interesting to know whether
the remarkable ovations with which they were re
ceived everywhere, and which Vasari describes in his
letters to Borghini, were due to the presence of the
artist or the prelates. "All goes well," he writes,
" and honours are raining down upon our heads.
The common people simply run behind us like mad
things aU the time." Yet with it all — with all this
flattery which Giorgio unquestionably took unto
himself, he was beginning to feel homesick, even as
he had done in Rome during the four years he had
fought against the whims of Julius III. Amid all
the throng of friendly strangers he sought in vain
for one who should take the place of his own Vin
cenzo Borghini. "Wherever I go I meet many
friends, many great minds ; but I look in vain for
anyone like you — you, the best thing I have on
earth and whom I love so much." Not even his
wife, " La Cosina," seems to have been more dear to
him than the Prior degli Innocenti.
Thus he continued upon his journey, keeping up a
running commentary in letters to his friend. At
Modena he gathered fresh inspiration from Cor-
reggio's work, as well as at Parma and Reggio.
Thence he went to Piacenza, and so to Pavia, pass
ing the world-famous Certosa on the way, and stop
ping finally in Milan, where there was much for him
to see. Leonardo's Last Supper, we may note, had

242 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
already lost all the glory of its freshness, for Giorgio
laments that it "is in a very bad way, and nothing
remains of it but an indistinct blur."1 The immense
Castello, which has now shrunk to the shadow of its
former self, was an almost impregnable fortress, a city
within a city ; " distinguished by many spacious and
goodly greene courts, which are invironed with faire
rows of houses like streets . . . also in these courts
as it were certaine market places, there are usually
markets kept : of these courts I saw foure or five
severaUy." The pride of the garrison was a culverin
" which was said to carry a buUet at the least eight
miles, which I doe hardly beleeve to be true," while
the circuit of the walls was defended by at least two
hundred pieces of ordnance, an unprecedented arma
ment at the period.
"My last letters," writes Giorgio on May 9th,
" were despatched to you from Bologna on the 28th
of last month. I set out thence for Modena with
Father Abbot of Arezzo and his brother of Perugia,
and there (at Modena) I saw many works by Cor-
reggio as well as at Parma and Reggio. I had to
stop two days at Parma on account of the rain.
Sunday morning, having spent Saturday in Piacenza,
we started for Pavia, and there I had a good look at
all the work of the Goths." His attitude towards
" Gothic" art was already well known to Borghini from
the Introduction to the Lives, and therefore there was
no occasion for him to enlarge upon the subject.
But it may not be out of place to recall at least in
part Vasari's criticism. He described it as a bar
barian and monstrous style devoid of all order, while
the number of buildings they had erected he con-
1 Vite, Vol. VI, Life of Benvenuto Garofalo, p. 491. "Non si scorge
piu se non una macchia abbagliata.''

CERTOSA DI PAVIA 243
sidered positively appalling. For him the style
consisted of a confusion of niches and pinnacles,
crockets and scrolls, piled up in such a way that he
was always expecting to see the whole erection
crumble into ruins at his feet. And, what was
worse, these buildings were not few and far between,
but "all Italy is filled with their abominable erec
tions." This remarkable tirade ends with a prayer
that the nations of the world may henceforth be
preserved, by Divine intervention, from the per
petuation of such a style. This attitude, it should
be noted, was the attitude of nearly all the artists of
the Renaissance towards what was called the " Ger
man Style," and a further echo of it is to be found
in the poems of Benvenuto Cellini : —
"... architettura
Storpiata e guasta alle mani de' Tedesehi."
" I made a quantity of notes," the letter continues,
" but I haven't drawn anything out yet as 1 have
nothing of much importance, but I will send you
something to satisfy your curiosity. On the Monday
I went to the Certosa di Pavia. It is a great and
notable affair, but built by people of little judgment,
who, however, have taken a deal of trouble over it.
It is wonderfully elaborate, but there are some ' im
possible' details." He is mightily impressed with
the carvings intended for the tomb of Gaston de
Foix, which are lying about in the Certosa, and
grieves over their neglected condition. " FinaUy we
got to Milan, and there we had such a reception ! It
would take too long, even if it were possible to do
so, to describe all the extraordinary attentions that
were paid us, and the crowds of people that came
out to honour our arrival. I have been received

244 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
everywhere and by everybody with marked respect,
as if 1 were somebody of note. They seem to con
sider it almost a miracle that a man who has so
much work on hand and so many obstacles to over
come as I have, should be able to shake them aU off
and go about the country inspecting the works of
other people. Messer Lione, my compatriot, went
nearly mad with delight. He has done and is doing
such wonderful things, that if Michelangelo could
come to life again and see the style in which he hves,
he would certainty say that the art which has put
him on such a pedestal is different from what it was
when he practised it ; for truly these masters are no
longer philosophers, but princes. I am glad to think
that it is so, and that I have lived long enough to see
such an art emerge from its surroundings of robbery
and jobbery. Now I must close. To-morrow I set
out again, turning my face towards the open country.
I am going to Lodi first, then to Cremona, Brescia
and San Benedetto di Mantova, arriving — if it please
God — on Monday. When I have seen the sights
and visited your friends the Padri, I shall go on to
Mantua to have another look at Giulio Romano's
work. Then I go on to Verona, Vicenza and Padua;
and finally, I expect to be in Venice three days before
the Ascension. From thence I will write and tell
you when I am setting out for home. That wdl be,
if nothing occurs to upset my plans, any time
between the end of the month and the third of June.
It won't be the fourth, because that is the anniversary
of the rebellion of the Aretines. In the meantime,
if you care to give me the news, you might tell me
how my friend Messer Giovanni Caccini is, what
people thought of the arches and other decorations,1
1 For the entry of Giovanna of Austria,

THE ANGUISCIOLA 245
and whether they have been taken down yet. Tell
me also if Battista's affairs and mine are going on
satisfactorily, if the chapel is finished, and what
is happening at the Magistrati. And tell me how
Messer Bartolomeo Gondi is getting on, and
whether you have had any talk with the Duke.
I know nothing whatever of anything, and your
giving me the news will help me to decide whether
to delay my return or hurry back as quickly as
possible." His arrival at San Benedetto di Mantova is duly
chronicled in a further letter to Borghini, from which
we learn that the weather has again delayed his
progress. The rain came down so incessantly that
Messer Bernardo, his travelling companion, watered
the wine with it, and the road from Milan to Brescia
was in such a state that both riders and horses
suffered greatly. The weather did not, however,
prevent their visiting Cremona for the express pur
pose of seeing the works — " marvels," he calls them
— of Sofonisba Anguisciola, the " lady " artist, who,
with her magnUoquently named sisters Lucia, Europa,
Anna and Minerva, had, as an old writer quaintly
expresses it, " overcome the feminineness of her sex "
and proved herself proficient with the brush. But
Vasari does not enlarge upon her achievements,
having already written of her in the Lives. At the
time of his visit Sofonisba was away at the court of
Madrid, but Giorgio had the satisfaction of meeting
Europa, "who is still quite young, but abounding
in grace and intelligence," while even the baby —
Anna — already showed promise of following in the
footsteps of her sisters, drawing con molto profitto.
He was profoundly impressed by the ability of all
the members of this talented family, describing their

246 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
home in Cremona as the " abode of Painting and of
all the Virtues " ; quoting Ariosto in their praise : —
" Le donne son venute in eccellenza
Di ciascun' arte, ov' hanno posto cura,"
and attempting to solve the mystery of their excel
lence by putting this conundrum to his readers : " If
womenfolk, as we know, are able to bring living men
into the world, is it so very wonderful that those of
them who list can reproduce their lineaments on
canvas ? " In the letter he dismisses them with a
sentence, and turns again to the recital of his own
triumphs and his reception " with unspeakable
caresses " at San Benedetto. He purposes to be in
Venice as soon as he has explored Verona, Vicenza
and Padua. One thing alone in this letter is worthy
of note: he has at length written to his wife, and the
letter is enclosed in this one to Borghini, who is to
give it to Ser Pietro, and he is to send it to her at
Arezzo. Let us hope it reached her.
Giorgio's expectations of returning by the beginning
of June were apparently reaHsed, for on May 27th he
was in Ferrara and writing to the Duke. As usual
the weather had been playing him tricks, and every
river that lay in his path was swoUen into a torrent.
" I have got as far as Ferrara," he writes, " but I am
so worn out with the sea voyage (from Venice) to
Chioggia and the rest of the rivers [sic] that I have
not the courage to go a step further. However, by
God's grace, I am safe and well, and abounding in
energy. I shall have something to tell you about all
the wonderful things I have seen, and I sincerely
hope to finish my travels with less discomfort, as it
has now turned hot and I shall have only the
dust to contend with, though I expect to find the

RETURN TO TUSCANY 247
whole world under water as soon as I get past
Pianoro." Thus ends this wonderful journey, of so much im
portance in view of the Second Edition of the Lives
which was so soon to be published.

CHAPTER XII
ROME AND ST. PETER'S
Madonna dell' Umilta at Pistoia — Finishing touches to the Lives — Federigo
Zucchero and the Lives — His own writings — Sala Regia — Vasari's
visits to Rome — St. Peter's — Sistine Bridge — Pirro Ligorio — Santa
Maria Novella, Florence — The "Arrotino."
UPON Vasari's return to Florence in June, 1566,
he devoted himself almost exclusively to putting
his notes in order and to the completion of the new
edition. There seems to have been a convenient lull
in his budding operations, and the only undertaking
of this nature of which we find mention is the dome
of the Madonna dell' Umilta at Pistoia. This church
had been commenced some time previously, and in
stead of employing an architect Cosimo had placed
Vitoni, who — like Tasso — was a carpenter, in charge
of the work. Vitoni set about it with that blissful-
ness which is said to accompany ignorance, and
speedily got himself into difficulties by weakening
the drum on which the dome was to stand and
splitting the substructure into two separate rings by
a succession of intramural passages. The work came
to a standstill, and Vitoni escaped from his troubles
by dying at a convenient moment. After his death,
according to Vasari, no architect had the temerity to
undertake the raising of the dome, and matters re
mained thus untU the return of Vasari from Rome.
It is, indeed, probable that, coming as he did fresh
from St. Peter's where he had renewed his acquaint-
248

INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE MADONNA DELL' UMILTA, PISTOIA

THE "LIVES" 249
ance with the expedients adopted successively by
Antonio da San Gallo and Michelangelo for
strengthening the work of Bramante, Giorgio Vasari
was, of all architects then living, the most likely
to bring Vitoni's work to a successful issue. Be the
matter as it may, he was sent to Pistoia shortly after
his return to Tuscany, and was so far fortunate in
the precautions he took that the contract for the
completion of the church was signed in the following
year.1 But his chief and aU-absorbing study was un
doubtedly the completion of the book. In the still
silence of the terrible, relentless heat which only
those who have spent a summer in Italy can fully
appreciate, we see him sitting indoors, with windows
wide open and lattice shutters shut, his mantle thrown
off and the great beads of perspiration coursing each
other down his face, while he writes the Autobio
graphy, so often quoted in these pages, which was to
be the worthy coping stone of his literary edifice.
This picture is suggested by a letter to Borghini,
written in July. Borghini was away at Poppiano, a
country place in the Casentino to which he migrated
annually so as to escape the heat of Florence during
the summer, and Vasari, confined in the stifling city,
is at little pains to conceal his envy.
" I send you greetings from out of all this heat,"
he writes, "though judging from the song the cicale
are singing hereabouts I suspect that it is not much
cooler where you are. But at least you are a free
agent, and are at Poppiano." " I am sending you,"
1 Not even Vasari, however, has been quite successful, for the four tiers
of tie rods which encircle the lower portion of the drum are painful wit
nesses of the threatened failure of the dome. It is to be hoped that it will
remain standing, for its contour is exceedingly graceful, and it forms a
notable landmark as one approaches the city.

250 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
he says later on in the same letter, " the abstract of
my Autobiography, done up in a sealed packet.
Please pick out for me the portions you consider
interesting. There are also some other notes to be
added at the end of the book which I have only just
prepared. You know better than I do how to fit
them in, and it may help you to whde away the
time." He is glad to think that Borghini wiU not
return untU the " fury of the heat is passed."
The excessive heat continued without a break
until days ran into weeks and weeks threatened to
run into months without a sign of the clouds which
herald the approach of a welcome, cooling storm.
Yet such is the perverseness of human nature that
when, after having complained of the heat, a sudden
storm brought the temperature down with a run,
Vasari was put out of temper because he found him
self feeling chilly. This, combined with the news
that his crops were turning out badly and that his
mother-in-law was breathing her last at Arezzo just
at the moment when he had planned to go there for
a little relaxation, must be held to account for the
tone of his next letter to his friend. " Most magnifi
cent and reverend Signor mio," he begins, "you must
be remarkably busy with your writing and other
occupations since the recollection of me sweltering
in the heat here never seems to cross your mind.
The rain has put everything right again — it has even
brought the Duke back, for he was here last night,
talking with me. This morning he had breakfast
with his Highness (Francesco) in the palace. I was
present," says Vasari, a remark which may lead the
reader to suppose that Giorgio was one of the guests
at table. He was present, however, merely as an
onlooker, for it was Cosimo's custom to take his

LETTER TO BORGHINI 251
meals in public — that is to say, the doors of the room
were left open, and any of his subjects who wished
might enter without hindrance. The Duke sat at
the head of the table, in a high-backed chair with
a canopy over it, and when the repast was finished
he more often than not engaged those about him in
conversation. It was held to be the most propitious
occasion for asking favours, and it is therefore to be
supposed that there was generally a goodly number
of spectators present, each armed with some humble
and dutiful petition. " I was present, and he asked
me where you were. I told him that you had gone
to Poppiano so as to escape the heat, and that you
weren't feeling very well. He merely replied that it
was high time you came back. It is thought that
his illustrious ExceUency will stay here a week, and
then, I fancy, he will go to Poggio. He is looking
wonderfully weU, better than I think I have ever
seen him look. ... I am anxiously awaiting Ser
Pietro's return from Arezzo, for my harvest has
been an exceedingly poor one, and I shall scarcely
have four hundred bushels of grain to garner, and
not so much as a cupful of oats — and this after all I
have spent on my crops ! God give me patience,
but my trustfulness seems to end in my getting
nothing I want. I was thinking of going over there,
but as I hear that La Cosina's mother has been given
Extreme Unction and I don't care about participating
in deathbed performances, I have postponed my
visit. I shall have to go sooner or later though, and
take Veri de' Medici so as to get the river banks put
in order. If you come back this way I shall hope
to see you. I should have come over, only I am aU
alone in the house."
What happened to his mother-in-law we are not

252 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
told, but it is to be inferred that she died, as La Cosina
came to Florence a few days later and stayed with her
affectionate and doting husband, returning to Arezzo on
September 2nd. A month later Giorgio seems to have
joined her, as on October 2nd he writes to Borghini
from Arezzo, abusing him for his silence. " You have
taught me a great deal," he writes, " but I refuse to
learn from you the habit of not writing to those who
love me as I love you. It is now more than a month
since I last saw or heard from you — God forgive you !
I have written to you three times (including this),
and if my letters have been short I have at least told
you that I am alive. I shall be returning to Florence
about Friday or Saturday, if nothing happens to
upset my plans." He is leaving Arezzo with a fair
prospect of settling his affairs satisfactorily.
The picture for the Pope, which was to take him
to Rome again in the foUowing year, is briefly re
ferred to in several letters of this period, and many
other pictures which cannot with certainty be identi
fied are also mentioned. In the letter already quoted,
that in which he refers to his Autobiography, he
speaks of a cartoon for Cardinal Montepulciano, and
of a picture for Biffolo, the subject being Christ
parting from His Mother. The Pope's picture is
already sketched out. In another letter he mentions
that he has given Ser Gostantino's pictures to Crocino
so as to have them copied, and he tells Borghini that
" the two pictures for the Badia are sketched out,
as well as that for Filippo and the one for the Pope,
so that when you return you will be able to see them.
I am just going to begin the picture for Bishop
Strozzi (of Volterra)." The picture here referred to
seems to have been the Crucifixion, painted for Sta.
Maria Novella^ and now hung in the sacristy. Vasari

FEDERIGO ZUCCHERO 253
also painted the portrait of the Bishop, but all the
information we have concerning this picture is con
tained in a madrigal written by G. B. Strozzi : —
" Di bel Vaso arte fuore
Tragge un si vivo suo vermiglio e bianco
E natural colore,
Che non verra, per tempo od altro, manco :
Ne piu d'Apelle par quel primo onore ;
E ragion e, tant' anco
Piu ricchi scettri, e piu chiare ghirlande
Ha il buon nostro Alessandro, ed e piu grande."
It is impossible to say whether the " vermihon and
white " has fulfilled the prediction of the poet, for the
present resting place of the picture is unknown.
By the end of the year the last sheets of the book
were in the hands of Giunti, the printer, though
Vasari was stiU dUigently gathering information from
all sources, for at the end of November we find him
writing to Lionardo Buonarotti, asking him to remind
Federigo Zucchero that he is waiting for information
about Taddeo, Federigo's brother. " Please ask him
to send what I have asked for as soon as he possibly
can, for the printers have nearly got to the end of
their work, and I cannot get them to delay, as they
want to get the book finished." Federigo was a man
of uncertain temperament, and seems to have had a
well-defined dislike for Vasari. He delayed sending
the desired information, and a week later the bio
grapher wrote again to Lionardo, urging him to stir
him up. " I beg you to ask Federigo Zucchero for
the information I want, as the printers have nearly
finished, and they refuse to wait any longer. I
implore you to see that the notes are sent off at
once : if you do this I shall be exceedingly grateful."
There is also an enclosure in the letter addressed to

254 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Giulio Mazzoni, asking for certain information con
cerning the life of Daniello da Volterra.
The sequel to these messages to Zucchero is ex
ceedingly interesting. Whether Vasari ever received
the assistance he sought is not clear, but from his
later letters it would seem that Federigo ignored
his request ; in any case, seeing that he had the
opportunity of supplying correct information, what
ever mistakes are to be found in the Life of Taddeo
as Vasari wrote it must be ascribed, not to the
biographer, but to Federigo. Either he wilfully
supplied a misleading account of his brother's hfe,
or else he equally wilfully refused to supply any
account at all. When at length the Lives appeared,
Zucchero was the first to attack the author, though
his scurrilous diatribes were never pubHshed. They
took the form of marginal notes added to his own
copy of Vasari's Second Edition, and exhibit a degree
of hatred for which it is difficult to account. Mdanesi
is disposed to think that Federigo wished to surpass
Vasari both as painter and as writer, but perhaps the
chief reason for his dislike is to be found in Vasari's
preference for the works of Francesco Salviati, while
Federigo considered his own brother to have been
the better artist. Vasari, on the other hand, was
either unconscious of Federigo's hatred or too mag
nanimous to notice it, for he speaks most highly of
his work, especially in Santa Maria dell' Orto in
Rome, where " his performances were such that one
saw the first evidence of the great abdity he has since
manifested."1 Regarding Federigo's claims as an
author, there is little to be said in his favour. He
wrote several books, the most pretentious of them
being entitled Idea de' Pittori, Scultori ed Architetti,
1 Vite, Vol. VII, p. 85.

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FEDERIGO ZUCCHERO, 1!V HIMSELF
(Florence: ('ffizi Gallery, Xo. J20)
FEDERIGO ZUCCHERO 255
a bombastic rigmarole in which he seeks to reduce
everything, concrete and abstract, to the rules of
design. It will be sufficient to quote the epilogue
to this piece of shallow profundity for the reader to
gather what the rest of the book is like. It runs as
follows : —
PROPERTY AND QUALITY OF DESIGN.
Name.
Divine Scintilla.
Quality.
Circumscription, mensuration and form.
Substance.
Form and shape without substance of body.
Appearance.
Linear simplicity.
Definition.
Form of all forms.
Light of the intellect and mainspring of all undertakings.
Instruments.
The pen and the pencil.
THE END, PRAISE BE TO GOD.
The marginal notes to the Vite deal chiefly with
the account of Taddeo. Nearly every statement
made by Vasari is traversed by his malignant anno-
tator, though Giorgio seems to have dealt not
altogether unfavourably with his subject. The worst
he says of him is quoted as the opinion of others,
and is given for what it is worth, namely, that many
artists have blamed him, saying that a "certain
avariciousness led him to undertake every sort of
work and to get others to do it for him, thereby
gaining money that might have enabled many to

256 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
gain an honest livelihood." It sounds as if Taddeo
was a contractor for painted work on a large scale,
and it is admittedly not a kind thing to say about
another man. Vasari is acknowledged on all hands
to have been an inveterate gossip, and on-dits were
eagerly seized upon by him for use in his biographies.
Federigo answers the accusation in his marginal
notes with fury : " It is an abominable lie to say
so ! " For the rest, it would appear that Taddeo
and Giorgio were on terms of friendship, for when
the former visited Florence he was entertained by
Vasari, who was "amico suo," and aUowed to see
the work in the Sala Grande which was already
begun. Federigo scratches out " amico suo " and
substitutes " amico finto e maledico senza ragione "—
false friend, and backbiter without a cause.
Then, because Vasari passes over Taddeo's work
in the Duomo at Urbino with a mere mention,
Zucchero falls on him, seeking to rend him to pieces :
" And if these paintings had been done by one of his
Florentines he would have praised them up to the
skies." In particular he resents Giorgio's praise of
Salviati, for when he gives it as his opinion that
Taddeo did not equal Salviati in the works at
the Palazzo Farnese, Federigo retorts marginally:
" Obvious prejudice and maliciousness this praising
Salviati's work here more than it deserves, and then
blaming Taddeo."
There is more justice, however, in his remarks
concerning the Sala Regia, or Sala de' Re. In the
Life of Taddeo Giorgio gives the following account
of the matter, an account by no means untainted by
conceit and arrogance : " In the meantime his Holi
ness, wishing at all costs to complete the decoration
of the Sala de' Re, after the many disagreements

SALA REGIA 257
between Daniello (da Volterra) and Salviati which
have already been described1 . . . gave instructions
to the Bishop of Forli" — Monsignore Tantecose,
Milord Busybody, as Michelangelo used to call him
— " as to what he wanted done. The latter wrote
to Vasari on the 3rd of September in the year 1561,
saying that as the Pope had decided to complete
the Sala de' Re, he had been ordered to find a suit
able man to undertake the business once and for
all. Under these circumstances, as well as moved
thereto by their longstanding friendship and other
considerations, he asked him (Vasari) to obtain leave
of absence from the Duke and come to Rome so as
to do the work, adding that it would bring him much
honour and renown, and would give sua Beatitudine
(the Pope) the utmost satisfaction. He concluded
by asking for an immediate reply. In answer to
this appeal, Vasari wrote saying that he found him
self exceedingly comfortable where he was, and that
as he was receiving far more liberal remuneration
from the Duke for his services than he had ever had
in Rome from any of the Popes, he desired nothing
better than to remain in the employ of his Ex
cellency, for whom he was then engaged in deco
rating a far greater Sala than the Sala de' Re ; and
that in Rome itself they could not fail to find men
1 Francesco Salviati, even if we judge him only from Vasari's partisan
account, seems to have been an uncommonly bad-tempered and ungrate
ful person. He availed himself of Riccio's influence to obtain employ
ment in the Sala Regia, getting Pirro Ligorio to support his application.
Having been given the work he rewarded his two benefactors by speak
ing every ill of them. His rival Daniello da Volterra had already
completed a picture in the Sala, and Francesco's first act was to destroy
every trace of it. Ligorio revenged himself by getting him dismissed.
These are the squabbles to which Giorgio refers. Salviati died in 1563
regretted by few — perhaps by none, with the exception of his friend and
biographer.

258 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
who were suitable for the purpose in hand."
Federigo's comment on this is : " Self-appreciation :
gibble-gabble without rhyme or reason." His dis
like for Salviati finds vent and relief among these
notes, for when Vasari, describing the death of that
artist, says that "the Cardinal Sant' Angelo fully
realised how much he had lost through the death
of Salviati," Federigo ran his pen through the word
"lost" and wrote instead "gained."
Lastly, Federigo has another thrust at the bio
grapher when he describes how Taddeo came to be
employed in the Palazzo Farnese. " As there was
a scarcity of good painters in Rome," says Vasari,
" the Signori resolved, as there was nobody else, to
give instructions that the Sala Maggiore of the
Palazzo should be painted by Taddeo." This is
hardly a complimentary way of putting it, and
Federigo's retort is, under the circumstances, excus
able. " There was still, however, Giorgio Vasari to
be found in Florence," he says, " and I marvel much
to think that they did not send for him without
more ado, and give him the chance of letting off
another impertinent and vainglorious squib, hke the
one about the Sala Regia."
At the risk of wearying the reader, we must quote
another instance of Federigo's malignant dishke for
Vasari, which followed him even after he had lain
long in the grave. It is contained in a letter given by
Bottari.1 In it he returns to the old theme, criticising
both the author and the Lives. " I always held the
painters of Lombardy in high esteem," he writes,
" but I now consider that they are deserving of even
more credit than they get. This part of the country
(and particularly Milan, which is the capital) is full
1 Raccnlta, Vol. VII, appendix, No. 34.

VISIT TO ROME 259
of rich people and of monasteries and friaries which
spend large sums of money, so that it is unnecessary
for native artists to go and work outside the district,
and therefore they are little known beyond their
own thresholds, especially as few people of real in
telligence ever come here. It is true that Messer
Giorgio came and saw something ; but his eyes were
blind to the work of these exceUent artists, and he
was always more sparing in praise than in blame.
He wasn't capable of praising anyone but his own
beloved Tuscans, and these he extoUed whether their
work was good or bad — God have mercy on him !
The truth is that his head got so sweUed by the
patronage of Michelangelo and Duke Cosimo that
he treated as an unredeemable outcast anyone who
refused to touch his cap to him in respectful saluta
tion. You know how he treated my poor brother,
although everybody says there wasn't one Tuscan
who was his superior — not even poor Giorgio, whose
sum of knowledge was how to paint quickly and
cover the walls with figures, like a billsticker."
In the following February Vasari set out for
Rome, taking with him the Pope's picture. The
subject was the Adoration of the Magi, and the work
was intended for the walls of the new church which
the Pope was building at Bosco, near Alessandria
della Paglia. As soon as Pius heard that Vasari's
task was done he sent word desiring him to take the
picture to Rome in person, " for his own satisfaction,
and as he wished to confer with me about some of
his projects " — the words are Vasari's own — " but
chiefly because he wanted to discuss the work at St.
Peter's, the completion of which he had very much
at heart." He sent the artist a hundred crowns for
his journey, but it does not seem to have been

260 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
enough — or else Vasari seized the moment as being
a suitable one in which to ask Cosimo for something
on account for work done and materials consumed —
for there is a letter from " Giorgio Vasari, your most
humble servitor " to his " most illustrious and most
excellent Lord," in which the writer waxes eloquent
over his own services, and begs for a recognition in
cash, " seeing that I have been instructed to begin
the decoration of the walls of the Sala Grande, a
work which 1 shall be able to do with greater skill if
I have assistance of a monetary nature. ... I beg to
remind your Highness that the Giorgio who thus
petitions you is already advanced in years " — he was
fifty-six — " and requires help for many reasons, as he
has many nephews and nieces, besides poor relations.
Therefore, with the most earnest solicitude I lay my
case before you, beseeching the Lord God to keep
you in health and happiness." Poor Giorgio ! he
spent a good deal of time in asking for arrears, and
in return received a great many promises, few of
which seem ever to have been redeemed. On the
present occasion Vasari was told to "get away to
Rome and come back quickly : his Excellency will
not forget you. In the meantime say what it is you
want, and by the time you return everything will be
put right. February 18th, 1566 " (1567 common
style). This is just what Vasari could not do. When
these money matters came to the settling point he
found himself quite unable to "say what it was he
wanted." Vasari, as we shaU see later, refused to
name a fixed sum, and probably, therefore, came off
badly in the end.
There are two letters in which he describes his
arrival in Rome. One of them is a strictly formal

ROME 261
document addressed to Francesco de' Medici, very
much in the form of a report, and the other is one
of his familiar, chatty letters to Borghini. As a
consequence, the latter is the one which gives us
most information. "I got to Rome quite safely,"
he begins, " and so did the picture. I had no sooner
arrived than the Pope wanted to see it, not even
giving me time to take off my riding-boots. So it
was taken into the guardaroba, and there he saw it,
and liked it very much. I talked with him for more
than an hour about our Padroni ; then, when he
had seen enough of the picture, he recollected that
I had been travelling ever since breakfast-time last
Tuesday, and sent me to bed. He has given me
rooms in the palace itself, and they are the very
same ones that his Holiness uses in the winter.1 In
the days of Paul IV there was a chapel here.
" The Pope wants one or two things done, which
I will explain in my next letter ; but among them
there is to be another picture, like the one in your
Badia, with two others— one on either side — some
thing like those I did for Camaldoli. They are for
the high altar of the church in Bosco. I have re
ceived orders to examine the substructure of the
Ponte Sisto, which is in a dangerous state ; also the
works at St. Peter's, from which Pirro (Ligorio) has
just been dismissed, though not before he has made
I don't know how many mistakes. These the Holy
Father wants put right if possible — but you shall
have the news later on."
It is to Pirro Ligorio, who succeeded Michelangelo
1 " Che son le medesime di Sua Santita, ch' egli adopera il verno."
This must surely be an exaggeration, for it is highly improbable that any
one would be allowed to occupy the Pope's private apartments. And,
seeing that Vasari arrived in February, how comes it that Pius was not
using his winter quarters himself?

262 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
as architect to St. Peter's, that Vasari alludes in the
Autobiography when he says that " I urged him
(Pius V) not to allow the design of Michelangelo to
be departed from at St. Peter's " ; for Pirro had ideas
of his own, and would have carried them into effect
had not his career as Surveyor to the Fabric (or its
sixteenth-century equivalent) been opportunely cut
short. Vasari tells us more of what the troubles
were when dealing with the Life of Michelangelo,
most of it being told with an air of importance en
tirely befitting the occasion. "And for the time
being," he says, " that Pope — quel Papa — refused to
listen to the suggestions of anybody else, as Vasari
had clearly demonstrated the manner in which he
(Michelangelo) had given life to the building. He
also obtained a promise from his Holiness that,
touching the designs, he would allow nothing to be
done without consulting him (Vasari) first." Vasari,
indeed, seems to have been regarded by the Pope as
Michelangelo's successor and the repository of all his
secrets, so much so that a few years after the death
of the architect of St. Peter's, Giorgio was com
manded to call together the overseers of the fabric
and deliver to them a lecture, to the end that they
might hear and receive his instructions as the inter
preter of Michelangelo's plans. With the same
purpose in view of assuring that Michelangelo's plans
should not be forgotten, Giorgio carefully described
the model which had been made ; " so that if ever it
happens — which God forbid — that the progress of
this work should be hindered by the envy and malig
nity of presumptuous individuals now that he is dead,
as it was during his life, these writings of mine,
whether they be good or bad, will be found of value
by those who come after and desire faithfully to carry

ST. PETER'S 263
out the scheme of this rare genius." So many and
so seemingly insuperable were the difficulties that
beset the completion of this vast pile that many be
lieved it would never be finished. Its appearance at
this time has fortunately been described by an
EngHshman, then on a tour through Italy. He
speaks of the remains of classic days, describing them
delightfuUy as " the wonderfull maiestie of buUdings
that only the rootes thereof do yet represent," then
turns his attention to his own time, and after deplor
ing "the pryde and abhominacion that the Churchmen
there mainteign," speaks of St. Peter's. " The newe
buUding, if it were finished, wolde be the goodliest
thyng of this worlde, not onelye for the antike piUers
that ben taken out of the antiquities, and bestowed
there, but also for the greatnesse and excellent pro-
porcion that it hath. Neverthelesse it hath been so
many yeres a doing, and is yet so unperfect, that
most stand in dout, whether ever it shalbe finished
or no."
But to return to Vasari's letter. " I have had
a great reception here," he goes on to say, " and
yesterday I had to go in a coach with Cardinale
Alessandrino and Commendone to see I don't know
how many building sites " : an expedition which,
from its possibihties, seems to have made his mouth
water. In Rome Giorgio came across an old acquaintance
against whom he had a grudge, and tells us how he
paid it. " I can't think of anything else I want to
say, except that I have had a little talk with Lottino.
I pulled his ears for him, so now I think he is con
vinced of the error of his ways. He says he didn't
know, but that he does now ; and he is going to
speak and act differently for the future." One

264 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
would like to know what Lottino had done to incur
Giorgio's wrath and to drive him to such extreme
measures. It is a peculiarity of Vasari's correspondence that
whenever his thoughts begin to slacken in pace he
fills up the gap with, " Now I must close," or, " I
have nothing more to tell you." This done, the
stream of thought flows on again ; and many letters
continue for more than a page after he has said all
he has to say. The present letter is a case in point,
for he continues with : " I have had enough to do,
for every day I have had to be at the disposal of his
Holiness, so that I have not had time even to visit
the Abbot of Rome." He found time, however, to
pick up information for the Lives, especiaUy for the
Life of Taddeo Zucchero, which stdl continued to
be a thorn in his side, for he teUs Borghini that the
Life is nearly ready : " I hope to send Corneto the
Life of Taddeo in my next letter. In the meantime
greet Batista (Naldini) in my name, and find out if
he is doing anything ; also Messer Andrea (Pasquale,
court physician to Cosimo). I expect to set out
from here directly after Easter, if I am good,1 and
in the meantime salute all my friends for me,
especially Messer Giambatista Adriani, and ask him
not to forget what he has promised to do for my
book " : referring to the prefatory history of painting
which, as we know, Adriani prepared for inclusion in
the Lives.
The letter to Francesco is of a more political
nature, and from it we are led to conclude that
Vasari was charged with a special mission to the
Pope. "I kissed his feet in the name of your
illustrious Excellency," says Giorgio, " and he asked
1 " S' io sari) valentuomo."

ROME 265
me how you were, and wanted to know a great
many things about your Highness. When he had
inspected the medallion portrait of the Duke he
enquired whether I had one of your Excellency. I
said I had not got one, which is the truth. I think
he would like to see one. I beg your Highness
to have one sent, either in silver or lead, and I can
say that I had it by me. He seems to hold you in
particular affection. Then I kissed his feet again on
behalf of her Highness, asking the Holy Father,
when he says Mass (as he does every day), to pray
God help her in her approaching confinement." He
finds the papal court very different from what it was :
it is " such an extravagant metamorphosis " that he
is quite bewildered.
For a month Giorgio remained in Rome, assisting
Pius to frame his schemes, gathering still more notes
for the Lives, and writing home every now and then
to ask whether Tanai de' Medici and his builder,
Maestro Bernardo, were preparing the walls of the
Sala for his pictures. Among the works undertaken
for the Pope was what he calls a " macchina grandis-
sima,"a sort of triumphal arch with more than thirty
pictures in it, intended for the church of Santa Croce
del Bosco, already mentioned. In addition, Pius
wanted to erect a magnificent chapel, but Vasari,
foreseeing that it would be a work requiring a con
siderable amount of time and perhaps interfering with
his own work in Florence, managed to dissuade him
from the project. " I offered to do the designs," says
Vasari in one of his letters, " and to give him the
benefit of my advice ; but he refused, saying that
unless 1 do the whole thing myself it wdl be a failure,
the more so as he has been disappointed more than
once in similar undertakings during the past year."

266 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
It is almost excusable, when his Holiness was saying
such pretty things to our artist, if his head was
turned by this flattery. " I never go outside the
Vatican now," he writes, " and I am getting so puffed
up that I begin to look like a barrel filled to bursting
point. I am discovering that I am a greater man
than I thought. ... I am now engaged in making
designs and models for his private enterprises. St.
Peter's is getting into shape again ; and so, in spite
of hard work and all this ceremonial, I am fully
determined to get all I have in hand finished by the
end of the week. Everything here seems to fall into
ruins, and as I have already written too long a letter
and have stiU to write to my Padroni, I shall have to
stop ; but I shall be greatly obliged if you wdl ride
over to Santa Maria Novella to see how the work is
going on, and how the Strozzi chapel is looking. Let
me know the result of your visit." This is the only
reference in his letters to his unfortunate architec
tural exploits in this church. The blame for the
removal of the tramezzo is generally laid entirely at
Vasari's door, though in reality Cosimo was respon
sible for the alteration. On October 5th, 1565, the
Operai della Chiesa wrote to the Duke, clearly
demonstrating that he had already announced his
intention of having the tramezzo removed and the
high altar brought forward long before Vasari was
told to carry out the work. The letter, in fact,
was written for the purpose of discovering who was
to be the architect, and concludes : " The Operai of
the said church, your most humble and obedient
servants, earnestly beg that your illustrious Ex
cellency will give instructions to whatever architect
is to be employed, so that he may be enabled to carry
out the works which your illustrious Excellency

SANTA MARIA NOVELLA 267
intends to have done." There is a memorandum
attached to this missive which says that Giorgio
Vasari is to be the architect, and it is therefore prob
able that Cosimo's ideas on the subject had taken
definite form before Vasari was given his orders,
though it is not unlikely that he had been con
sulted. The architect's report, formulated at a later
date, included arrangements for bringing the high
altar into the old choir and building a new double
choir in the rear of it, doing as little damage as
possible to the stalls and frescoes. Furthermore, it
provided for the removal of the heavy screen or
tramezzo (here called a Ponte) which separated the
choir from the nave, the adjacent tombs being
removed to different sites. The four altars which
stood against the screen were to be merged into one,
to be erected elsewhere. The estimate was made on
January 10th, 1566.
Such a drastic rearrangement necessarily involved
the destruction of many features and ornaments
which we would gladly have seen in Santa Maria
Novella to-day. Had it not been for this mistaken
piety on the part of Cosimo the wonderful series of
frescoes by Masaccio might still adorn the walls of
the church. But it was Cosimo's wish, not Vasari's
whim, that wrought the harm. True, Vasari writes
eulogisticaUy of the work in his Autobiography, but
we could scarcely expect him, courtier that he was,
to have blamed the work of his patron in a book
dedicated to that patron. Vasari carried out the
instructions of his master in all things, and he saw
that it was good, even if sometimes it appeared to
other people in a different light. " He (the Duke)
has just lately caused me to remove the tramezzo
from the church of Santa Maria Novella, which spoilt

268 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
all its beauty, and we built a new and very rich
choir behind the high altar, taking away the old one
because it filled up the greater portion of the rest of
the building. It looks like a magnificent new church,
which, indeed, is what it reaUy is."
Vasari carried out similar alterations in other
churches, noticeably in the church at Arezzo, and
here the removal of the old choir seems to have been
his own idea, as it was part of the work done at his
expense when he erected the Vasari chapel, which
has already been mentioned elsewhere.
The new mode of arrangement seems to have in
curred the disapproval of Lapini, who, in speaking
of Santa Maria Novella, curiously enough applies to
Vasari's alterations the identical words which Vasari
had applied to the work he had been instructed to
destroy. Vasari wrote that the tramezzo toglieva
tutta la sua bellczza — that the screen spoilt all the
beauty of the church. The entry in the Diario is :
" On April 23rd, 1566, they finished pulling down
the old choir of the aforesaid church " — and with it
the tramezzo — " which had stood for many and many
years. But it spoilt all its beauty — guastava tutta la
sua bcllezza. And not alone was the choir of this
church ruined, but of all the other churches as well
(for there were many that had these screens across
them). Those who removed them considered that
their churches were thereby greatly improved and
beautified. The Dominican Fathers were the first
to remove the screen from the church and the choir
from before the high altar, building behind the said
altar the new and beautiful choir which is to be seen
now. The removal of these choirs was welcomed by
the majority of the people."
The removal of the choir entailed the destruction

THE SISTINE BRIDGE 269
of its enclosing wall, and consequently of the
chapels which had been built against it externaUy.
The removal of the screen deprived all who sought
quiet of a convenient place within which they
might retire unseen and undisturbed for prayer and
meditation. Of the things which, as Vasari notes, were " falling
into ruins " in Rome, the chief was the Sistine Bridge,
which corroborated Vasari's remark by breaking down
shortly afterwards, being thereafter known as the
Ponte Rotto. The catastrophe was partly caused by
the bungling of Pirro Ligorio who was called in to
repair it, and partly by the parsimony of Rome.
" The Tiber will have to look after its own bridge,"
wrote Vasari, " as neither the Pope nor the Roman
people will undertake the expense of repairs."
It is significant of the change which had occurred
in Rome, and to which Vasari refers in his corre
spondence, that the splendid antiques which were
still from time to time unearthed became a drug in
the market, and might be secured for a quite inade
quate sum. While Vasari was in Rome he came
across several, and urged his patrons in Florence to
purchase them. Two of them were fauns, " about
the same size as the Bacchus of Sansovino, inexpres
sibly beautiful. They were found not long ago, and
I have experienced more pleasure in looking at them
than I have felt for a long time. Since Benedictions
are more in fashion at present than statues, I believe
they might be secured for less than a hundred
scudi each. If I were a rich man I would buy them
myself; but as I am not, I beg to suggest that they
would be very suitable for the palace. Let me know
what are your wishes in the matter. I will leave full
particulars with your Highness's Ambassador, so that

270 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
he can take charge of the transaction in case I have
already set out for home. If this Pope lives long
there can be no doubt but that there wiU be many
such statues going begging in Rome, and innumer
able objects of value wiU be thrown on the market.
I am bringing particulars of all I have seen." The
well-known " Arrotino," now in the Uffizi, was pur
chased at this time, also through Vasari's agency;
for though his letter describing the find has disap
peared, the Duke's reply still exists. It is as foUows :
"Replying to your letter of the 13th (of March,
1567), received to-day, we have to inform you that
we have decided to purchase, whatever the price may
be, the statue of the peasant sharpening his knife.
As the owner puts the price at eight hundred scudi,
and if you cannot persuade him to accept less, we
authorise you to settle for that sum and obtain
possession of the statue. You had better go with our
Ambassador and obtain permission from his Holiness
to remove it from Rome."

CHAPTER XIII
END OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Parsimony of Rome — Trouble with the printers of the Lives — Publication
of the Second Edition — Building activity of Duke Cosimo — Vasari's
monetary difficulties — His flatteries — His statement of accounts —
Preparations for painting the Sala Grande — The Montughi property
and the Cavalieri at Pisa — Cosimo becomes Grand Duke of Tuscany
and marries Cammilla Martelli.
PIUS V was not likely, under the circumstances
just related, to be popular with the artistic fra
ternity then residing in Rome. " The ancient splen
dour of this place," says Vasari, " has been superseded
by stinginess in living, dullness in costume and
simplicity in nearly everything else. Rome, in fact,
has become utterly commonplace. If Christ loved
the poverty-stricken and the city wished to follow in
His steps, she could not be going about it in a better
way, for she is well on the way towards becoming
positively beggarly." The great Vasari, on his ar
rival, was greeted with delight by the brethren of the
brush, for they hoped to see a revival of their caUing,
and hailed his coming as a good omen. When, how
ever, they learnt that he was not going to stay, and
that nothing was going to be done after all, their
disappointment may be imagined. " The stone
cutters, masons, carpenters, painters and sculptors
here had set much store upon my coming, for they
expected to see great things. Now they know I am
going away again, and that the Pope isn't going to
271

272 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
build anything, you can guess whether they are dis
gusted or not. There is absolutely nothing doing
here, and things are going from bad to worse." In
this letter, written to Borghini a week before the
biographer left Rome, there is a further reference to
the Life of Taddeo Zucchero. Giorgio was not
satisfied with it. He could evidently get nothing
satisfactory out of Federigo, and the odd scraps of
information he contrived to pick up here and there
were unreliable and scanty — too unreliable almost
for him to venture to incorporate them in the Lives.
Such as they were, however, he duly forwarded them
to Florence, and we are led to conclude that they
were being set up by Giunti. Then, at the last
moment, Vasari discovered that his manuscript was
too full of errors for him to dare to print it, and
accordingly he sent injunctions to the printer that it
was to be stopped. " As regards the Life of Taddeo,"
he writes, " if they have not begun to set it up, tell
them to leave it until after Easter, when I shall
be back again. There are a thousand and one things
to be corrected."
On March 21st, Vasari set out for Florence; or,
rather, there is a letter to Francesco in which he
states his intention of doing so. Whether or no
he kept his word we have no means of ascertaining,
as there is a gap in his correspondence. When again
he emerges from obscurity it is to play a new role,
that of understudy to the Duke. "The Duke of
Parma is coming here to-day, and our Duke has
gone to Sarrezano (Sarzana) so as to avoid having
the same set-out as he had with his brother Farnese.
I shall have to entertain him, so the Prince tells me."
The Lives reached their concluding stage, as far
as the manuscript is concerned, at the end of Sep-

TROUBLE WITH THE PRINTERS 273
tember, 1567. The innumerable delays had caused
annoyance to the Duke, who took a deep interest
in the undertaking, and it was probably fear of
losing the ducal patronage that made Giunti finish
the book with a sudden spurt. Vasari puts the
blame on Giunti, though it is difficult to see why,
as it was not until September 20th that he sent off
his own portrait, and even then it would appear that
his Life had still to follow, the concluding notice of
the Lives. " I have this very day drawn my own
portrait with the aid of a looking-glass. I drew it
on wood, and if Messer Cristofano1 at Venice only
does it justice it will be quite a pleasing head, as
I have made a good thing of it. I shall send it off'
to Venice this evening. In the meantime, Cino is
wrangling with Giunti, who refuses to print the
descriptions of all those masques, state processions
and triumphal entries. He says it means ruin to
his printing-house. At last I had to speak to the
Duke about it, who replied that they were to get
on with the work and look sharp about it. I have
written to Cino to tell him all this, so I don't think
he ought to have much trouble in settling the matter.
I told him also that I would like to add my own
Life, for the benefit of those who want to know some
thing about me, only 1 don't see exactly how to
do it."
" I have just heard that your wine-making will
be finished on Monday next, and I would dearly
like to be with you. This morning the Duke told
me he wanted to see the cartoon " — presumably that
for the great fresco of the Battle of Pisa on the wall
of the Sala Grande — "and as I couldn't get him
1 Christopher Coriolanus, the Flemish engraver, who was preparing
the blocks for the Second Edition,

274 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASART
to say when I was to show it him, I would like to
be here when he chooses to ask for it. I hope to
be able to fit in both things. I shaU have time
to make up my mind before it is too late. I should
like to come very much, as you will suppose, and
I should like to spend at least three days with you—
that would mean that I should be able to put in six
shifts at the wine-press.1 That ought to be enough,
and it would enable me to let off steam, which
would do me a power of good. But for all that,
I don't see exactly how it is to be done, though, as
I said before, I stiU have hopes of running over."
The Arno, he announces, is in flood, and the work
on the Ponte Santa Trinita has been stopped for the
present. The year 1568 saw the publication of the Second
Edition of the Lives, and accordingly we have not
the Autobiography after that date to be in turn
a help and a stumbling-block. It would appear as
though, just before going to press, Vasari made
a hurried survey of his own achievements ; and such
as were not already mentioned were jumbled to
gether into a few final paragraphs and sent to Giunti
almost before the ink on them was dry. In these
concluding sentences he describes briefly the Perugian
pictures, the Coronation of the Virgin for the church
of San Francesco at Citta di Castello (where it still
hangs) and the Crucifixion which was painted for "his
1 "Sei volte lo star nelle vinaccie.'' The word "vinaccia" is the
term applied to the seeds of the grapes after the must has been extracted.
It seems to apply, however, also to the whole resultant pulp after the
juice has been pressed from the fruit. The only interpretation to be put
on Vasari's words is that he intended to take off his boots and take his
tarn in tbe wine-tubs treading out the grapes, regarding the performance
in much the same light as the would-be strong man of to-day regards his
ten minutes with the dumb-bells or patent " exerciser" — as a means of
restoring health to a jaded system.

CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN
(Citti di Castello)

SECOND EDITION OF THE " LIVES " 275
dear friends Matteo and Simone Botti." In this
picture, as Giorgio himself tells us, the Crucified is
surrounded by "our Lady, St. John and the Magda
len, all of them crying." Then foUows the Annuncia
tion, now in the Louvre, but originaUy painted for
Santa Maria Novella. For Luca Torrigiani he
painted a picture with Venus and the Three Graces,
finishing it "with as much diligence and study as
was possible, not less to satisfy my own self than to
please a dear and cherished friend." Three other
pictures, a Dead Christ, Spring and Autumn,
were sent to France and there seem to have dis
appeared. There is a Crucifixion mentioned which
was done for the nuns of Luco di Mugello, a Portrait
of Antonio de' Nobili, and a Head of Christ. Another
treatment of the last subject was given by Vasari to
Mondragone, one of Francesco de' Medici's con
fidential servants : " I gave it to him," writes Vasari,
" because he is a great admirer of genius (!) and of
the arts, and to the end that whenever he looks
thereon he may remember how greatly I esteemed
him." At the moment of going to press he has in
hand (in addition to the Sala Grande cartoons) three
pictures : one of them a " cosa capricciosissima " for
Antonio de Montalvo, who succeeded Sforza Almeni,
a privy chamberlain to Cosimo ; the second a Corona
tion of the Virgin for the church of San Vincenzo at
Prato ; and the last an Assumption of the Virgin,
" which is almost completed," for the Black Monks
of Florence. The picture for Montalvo is still in
possession of the Marchesi Ramirez de Montalvo.
He tells us that the Duke built " palaces, cities,
gateways, loggie, piazze, fountains and country
places," and, "like Solomon," altered churches and
temples — referring, of course, to the changes made

276 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
in Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce. In the
latter church, by the way, there are still three pic
tures by Vasari, Christ carrying the Cross, the
Descent of the Holy Spirit, and the Incredulity of
St. Thomas.
" But because it would take too long to speak of
all the other pictures, designs innumerable, models
and masques which I have designed ; and because I
have already said enough and to spare ; for these
reasons I wiU say no more about myself, except that,
however great and important may have been the
works I have submitted for the consideration of
Duke Cosimo, I have never succeeded in equalling,
much less in outdoing, his own majestic conceptions,
which everyone will believe when they learn that he
intends to erect a third sacristy in San Lorenzo,
similar in size and general arrangement to that de
signed by Michelangelo, save only that it is to be
constructed of marble and mosaic ; wherein shaU lie
under honourable and worthy monuments his dead
children, his father, his mother, the magnanimous
Duchess Eleonora his consort, and himself. For
this work I have already made a model according to
his instructions and incorporating his ideas : and the
building, when completed, will be a truly royal and
magnificent mausoleum.1
" And this is enough of talking about myself,
who have worked hard for fifty -five years" — once
more Giorgio has forgotten his age, for in reality he
was a year older than he thinks — " and must continue
to live so long as it shall please God, to His honour
1 The projected sacristy was not erected until 1004, and Vasari's plans
and models were not used. The present building, tlie Cappella dei
Principi, is octagonal in form, and gorgeously decorated with coloured
marble mosaic.

THE "LIVES" 277
and in the service of my friends, as well and as long
as I am able, in ease, and for the betterment of these
most noble arts."
Thus ends the Autobiography, and with it the
Lives. Vasari's tone has changed since he wrote the
Preface to the First Edition, and the note of modesty
is missing. He is already famous as an author, his
book already immortal. "To tell the truth," he
says in the Preface to the Second Edition, "it is
rather a lucky thing for many of these painters that
through the beneficence of the Almighty, who gives
Hfe to all things, I have been spared long enough to
re-write nearly the whole of my book ; for I have
removed a great deal that had crept into it during
my absence, and have added many useful and im
portant things that were lacking." Yet even in
Vasari's own day there were some who did not
scruple to write to him and point out the mistakes
stiU lingering in his text. Gabriele Bombaso, for
instance, writes to Vasari in December, 1572, on
behalf of Prospero Clementi, to whom a copy of
the Lives had been sent, and after thanking him for
the gift, says : " But I am compelled to add on my
own behalf, that although Prospero is much obliged
to you, he has little reason to be obhged to the man
who gave you your information about himself and
his works. To begin with, he was born at Reggio,
and not at Modena, and he has never been spoken
of or considered as anything but a Reggiano that 1
know of. He is the nephew of the Bartolommeo
Clementi, sculptor and architect of Reggio, who is
mentioned by Cesarino in his Commentary on Vit-
ruvius." He then proceeds to point out the numerous
other errors in Vasari's account of Clementi.
We are left to map out the remaining six years of

278 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
his life as best we may from his letters. Fortunately
there are many of them, and though they do not
tell us all we should like to know, they at least
afford us glimpses of the chief events which occurred
in the life of one who had become, perhaps, the
greatest living artist of the day.
The first occurrence of importance after the com
pletion of the Lives was the baptism of Eleonora,
daughter of Francesco de' Medici, the child for whose
safe arrival Vasari had solicited the prayers of the
Pope. It is true that a son would have been more
welcome, but when the expected child proved to
be a girl the preparations for her baptism betrayed
no lingering disappointment. She was born on March
1st, 1567, and on February 28th of the following
year received the name of her paternal grandmother
in the baptistery of San Giovanni. Those who wish
to know how the building was decorated for the
occasion may read the full, and at the same time
tedious and dull, account sent the same day by
Vasari (who was responsible for the whole of the
arrangements) to Guglielmo Sangalletti, treasurer to
his Holiness.
Although Vasari had at length achieved celebrity
and had won for himself the post of supreme artist,
if we may so express it, at the court of Florence his
monetary difficulties increased rather than otherwise.
His salary was paid at irregular intervals, and, de
pending as it did upon the whim of the Duke,
Vasari was in the position of being in total ignorance
as to what were his assets. The Duke made many
promises, but these were found by the artist to be not
negotiable. As a last resource he sent in a bill, or
perhaps it would be fairer to describe it as an
estimate, for the paintings in the Sala Grande. After

HIS FLATTERIES 273
many years of experience he came to the conclusion
that it would be better to establish the price before
hand, instead of relying on his patron's generosity
for the just reward of his labours: for Cosimo's
generosity was often too heavily handicapped by
other claims to be altogether satisfactory to the
artist. Accordingly, instead of a "donation or
special remuneration over and above his ordinary
salary," he proposes that he shall receive: —
"For each of the IIII pictures in fresco . . 300 ducats.
For each of the two smaller ones in fresco . 200 ducats.
For each of the IIII paintings in oil on stone 100 ducats.
which, including all the X pictures above mentioned,
comes to 2000 ducats. There remains the XII
pictures in oil along the dado, and these, at 100
ducats each, come to 1200 ducats." Having ventured
so far he is overcome with timidity, and concludes :
"If your illustrious Excellency thinks I have charged
too much for anything, will your Highness please alter
it, because I wish the adjustment of the price and
everything else to be left entirely to your discretion.
Your supplicant has no other desire beyond that of
serving you and living in your esteem."
No truer word ever feU from Vasari's pen. Few
men in any time have lived so much as he did for
the favour of those whom God had placed over him ;
and perhaps few men in any time have found the
game quite such a paying one. " Whoever forms
the opinion that Vasari was a man of strong charac
ter falls into a very great error," writes Scoti-
BertinelU.1 " He was a true child of the times,
anxious to get on in the world ; he always knew
how the wind blew, and bowed to every gust ; and
1 0p. cit., p. 19.

280 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
he was, moreover, proficient in the difficult art of
flattery." It is, or it should be, unnecessary to remind the
reader of the flattery meted out by the ingenious
Giorgio to Michelangelo. What could be more
subtle than the wish expressed by his admirer, that
he might some day find himself in Paradise, if only
for the purpose of continuing there that admiration
for his divine Michelangelo which he had begun on
earth ? And that this flattery was thickly spread
over his correspondence with his friends is equally
evident, not only from some of the letters them
selves, but more often still from the modest dis
claimers of those to whom his letters were addressed.
There is one from Annibale Caro, in which he says
that the perusal of Giorgio's letter makes him blush :
" Messer Giorgio," he writes, " I should call you a
good fellow if it were not for the direction on your
letter — in which you caU me ' miraculous ' — and for
the letter itself, which is so full of ' most exceUents,'
' most learneds,' and other high-flown flatteries that I
have already blushed more than four times over it,
when I have been showing it to certain of my
friends." Vasari's disinterested desire to serve the Duke and
five only for his good opinion did not prevent him
from tackling Francesco on the same matter of his
emoluments. From a letter which is marked as
having been " read " on July 22nd of this year, and
which was therefore probably written shortly before
that date, we learn a little more of the conditions
under which Vasari served the Medicean household.
We also learn how many times he was able to get
" your illustrious Excellency " into one sentence.
" Most illustrious and most excellent Prince, some

HIS STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 281
time ago Giorgio Vasari, the humble servant of your
illustrious Excellency, reminded his most illustrious
and most excellent lordship the Duke that his most
iUustrious Excellency had promised to pay me for
the ceiling of the Sala Grande and for the other
works I have done in times past: and that, under
date of February 18th, 1566, he made that rescript
about my going to Rome, and that I was to say in
the meantime what it was I wanted, so that by the
time I got back everything would be arranged to my
liking. When I said that I should be quite content
with whatever his most illustrious Excellency de
cided to give me, he ordered me to set out in detail
exactly what I desired. Accordingly I asked for
three things : firstly, that certain properties in Val-
darno which his Excellency had granted to me by
rescript made so long ago as 1558, and which, with
out my knowledge of the fact, had subsequently
been incorporated in the lands of the Order of Santo
Stefano, should be restored to me, in accordance with
the original promise of his illustrious Excellency,
and that the Order should receive compensation ;
secondly, I asked that the house given me by your
Excellency in Borgo Santa Croce should be made
devisable to the children of Ser Pietro my brother ;
and thirdly, seeing that when first I entered the ser
vice of his most illustrious Excellency it was agreed
that, in addition to my ordinary salary, I was to
receive extra payment proportionate to the amount
of work done, and as I have always received re
muneration under this arrangement of such a nature
as to leave me not only highly contented but sincerely
grateful, I entreated him that for the future he would
pay me a definite sum, to be agreed upon before
hand, for the new work already done and for the

282 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
other I have still to do in the frescoes on the walls
of the Sala Grande." From this magnificent period,
the splendid phrasing of which must have cost poor
Giorgio a deal of thought — unless he got Borghini
to assist in its composition — we may infer that the
artist was not quite so contented and obliged by
the Duke's former generosity as he pretended ; for in
this letter he evinces a strong desire to ensure himself
against a possible disappointment. Vasari was none
of your gambling fellows, and the bird in hand was
to him not only worth more than the fabled two in
the bush, but more than all the fowls of the air.
" As far as the first two heads are concerned," the
letter continues, " I received a reply quite in accord
ance with my wishes and his generosity, thus
disposing of the matters in the past. With regard
to the third head, dealing with future works, and
particularly with the Sala Grande, he has considered
my suggestions (that I should be paid an estabhshed
sum for each piece of work, receiving payment in
proportion to my progress), but he has also had to
bear in mind that I am now rather in the service of
your most iUustrious Excellency than of himself, that
the orders I have to carry out are your orders, and,
in fine, that I am working for you. He says it is his
desire that all benefactions and acts of liberality shall
proceed from your illustrious Excellency, and that
for the future he wishes me to look for all remunera
tion and all benefits to the greatness and munificence
of yourself. In accordance with this resolution he
has written the following words on my application :
' The Prince wishes you weU, and it is he who has the
spending of the revenues accruing to the State.
With these specious excuses Cosimo shifted the
burden of paying Giorgio's salary on to the shoulders

VINTA'S LETTER TO COSIMO 283
of his son. Whether the artist was deceived by the
action of his patron does not appear ; and Giorgio
was too good a courtier to let it appear. The out
come of the matter is to be found in a letter to
Cosimo, presumably written by Vinta, which, although
it bears no date, evidently refers to Vasari's memorial.
The writer has, as we gather from the context, been
deputed to thrash out the whole matter with the
petitioner, to enquire into his circumstances, and to
ascertain exactly what he wants. The result of
Vinta's enquiries is best related in his own words : —
" Giorgio Vasari has made application to your
most illustrious Excellency touching the settlement
of his accounts. According to your Excellency's
instructions I sent for him, and am now able to
throw a little more light on the matter. When all
is said and done, his petition reduces itself to one
principal point, which is this : that he has served and
is still serving your Excellency, first as painter and
latterly as architect as well, and that he hopes (if his
efforts have given your Excellency satisfaction) that
you intend to give him some special reward, partly
as a sign of the said liberality and partly in recog
nition of his labours in times past. What he really
wants to know is, how much will this extra remunera
tion be ? He had been moved to make this enquiry
by the natural wish we all have to set our affairs in
order ; and he tells me that as his expenses have been
very heavy, and his finances at so low an ebb that he
has got into debt — which I can readily beUeve, as
everything is excessively dear ; and I know that when
anyone from Arezzo, or any of his friends, come here
(and he has many friends), they take up their quarters
in his house, so that it costs him a good deal for
hospitality — he considers that his best course is to

284 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
come to you with an open heart and lay the whole
matter before you ; renewing the dedication of himself
to the service of your Excellency, and, in particular,
to the completion of the paintings in the Sala Grande.
For, as your Excellency has decided to have the
work done, he is resolved to undertake the task, and
is further resolved (if he has not already shown the
stuff he is made of) to put his whole heart and soul
into the work so that your Excellency and the whole
world will be satisfied with the result. He spoke
particularly of the house he now lives in — which is
worth about a thousand crowns — and of the estate of
Montughi, and the upshot, as I gathered, is that he
wants to have a house with plenty of room in it and
a good light for his pictures, cartoons, designs, and
other things appertaining to his work. He would
have to enlarge his present house, and this he does
not want to do, as it would ultimately be of more
benefit to the owner than to himself; but if the
house were his own he would arrange it to suit
his purpose and for the exercise of his art. As to
the Montughi estate, this has not been confiscated,
but it is in the possession of the tax-gatherers
as surety for moneys due. He proposes that your
ExceUency should give him 1500 crowns, on the
understanding that he is to spend as much of the
money as may be necessary for the improvement of
the property. The estate is one that ought to have
a large sum spent on it. He also says that it would
be a great comfort for him to have a place to which
he could retire when he had to make cartoons for
important undertakings, and in which he could take
his ease without fear of molestation. Although
under this arrangement he would not become abso
lute proprietor of the place, he would at least feel

VINTA'S LETTER TO COSIMO 285
himself, to a certain extent, secure, and there would
thus be an appreciable return for the money advanced
by your illustrious Excellency and for what he has
spent himself. His principal desire is that his bodily
service shaU be linked up for ever to your Excellency
even as his heart-service 1 is, so that he need never
have to face the possibility of going away from
Florence. He has, according to your Excellency's
orders, received 500 scudi, which he has devoted to
the payment of his debts ; but both for this sum and
for the others which from time to time have been
given him he counts himself your debtor, and wishes
these amounts to be taken into consideration and
deducted from the total sum due. Nothing that
I have said, and no arguments of mine have been
able to extract from him a clear statement of how
much he wants, or of how much he thinks he ought
to have. In the whole affair he places himself in
your Excellency's hands, and although in his state
ment he has put down certain details, they are only to
be considered as a guide, not as points he wishes to
insist upon. He would much rather leave the final
settlement to the good will and liberality of your
Excellency, whose decision will most assuredly be
entirely satisfactory to him.
" The gist of the whole matter is that your Excel
lency should decide upon the sums you intend to
give the said Giorgio, both as annual salary and as
extra payment for work done and to be done. It
would be well, therefore, to settle the business
either in the way he suggests or in any other way
that seems good to your Excellency, providing also
for the future. In either case he leaves himself
1 " Come egli e fermo con 1' animo, cosi fermarsi anco col corpo "
(Gaye, op. cit., Vol, III, No. 237).

286 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
entirely at the discretion of your Excellency's
liberality." To this letter there was a paper attached which is
not without interest to the matter in hand. It con
tains a memorandum of the salary which was being
at the time paid to Vasari and his chief assistants,
and the funds to which these sums were chargeable.
It is dated March 10th, 1568 (1569 common style).
" Giorgio Vasari has twenty -five florins per month
as salary, the sum being paid out of your Highness's
list. In addition to this he has a provision of thir
teen crowns a month from the Fabbrica de' XIII
Magistrati, the sum being paid from the funds of
that building. His total provision for the year is
456 florins." Then follows a note as to the salaries
of his assistants, to which is appended : " I am in
clined to think that most of their work is done on
his (Vasari's) behalf rather than for you," a remark
which seems to imply that Giorgio was not quite so
scrupulously honest and upright in all his dealings as
he might have been.
That Vasari issued triumphant from his difficulties
we learn, not from himself, but from a chance letter
written to him by his cousin Stefano Veltroni. From
this it is clear that by the middle of September
Cosimo had acceded to all his requests, had granted
the succession in the matter of Giorgio's house in
Florence to his nephews and nieces, and had given
him permission to treat with Cavalieri for the property
at Montughi in Valdarno.
All this was highly satisfactory to the artist, who,
in addition to the above benefits, had been able to
ascertain what payment he was to receive for the
paintings in the Sala Grande. It may be presumed
that the following sonnet, written by Giorgio in

SATISFACTION 287
honour of his generous patron, was composed at this
time and expresses — in very inferior verse, it must be
confessed — his sentiments at the moment :—
" Alta vita, ch'al Ciel poggiando ascendi
E col tuo nome grande il mondo onori,
Pregiando le virtu piu ch'i tesori,
Et ogni tempo e spesa in essi spendi,
Ogni cosa di bel tu cerchi e prendi,
Senz' avaritia, e sempre fai favori
A ogni bello ingegno e aiuti e indori
Chiunque travaglia, perd in alto ascendi.
Tuo sono e sard, fin che quest' alma
Sta drento a questa spoglia, e poscia spero
Viver per l'opre mie con teco a paro.
Per te la virtu mia vive oggi in calma
Ne spero piu nel successor di Pietro
Ma in te, che troppo m'ami e mi tien caro."
In these lines we find the same sentiments, the
same conceits that dominate his whole character.
Cosimo is the most liberal and enlightened of art
patrons, delighting to pour out his favours on every
man of genius. Then, as if the inference were too
obvious to require more specific mention, Giorgio
proceeds to say that in return for this patronage he
considered himself bound in body and soul to the
service of his lord ; and that when he shall have
shuffled off this mortal coil, he hopes to live, through
his works, co-equal and co-immortal with the Duke
himself. Having, so to speak, bled his sense of gratitude
by this poetic outburst, Giorgio proceeded with the
cartoons for the Sala, endeavouring to pretend that
the work was beyond his capabilities ; doing so,
apparently, for the sole purpose of extracting flatter
ing entreaties from his numerous friends. " You
have got a chance," writes Veltroni in the letter last

288 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
quoted, " such as nobody in times past ever had, and
such as may never come again to a human being.
And given health, which is the gift of the Almighty,
how can you say you have little hope of living to see
it completed ? "
The negotiations for the purchase of the Montughi
property were carried to a satisfactory conclusion in
the following year, though we learn very little about
them from the correspondence. We know that
Vasari had set his heart immovably on the posses
sion of the property, because he tells Veltroni so,
explaining that it will add greatly to the value of his
other real estate both in Florence and Arezzo ; and
in August, 1569, we find him writing to the Cavalieri
and bargaining with them over the purchase price
of the live stock. He seems to be already owner of
the land itself, but the Cavalieri are very reluctant
about selhng him the pigs as well. The oxen, the
sheep and the chickens Vasari may have at a price,
but for some reason not explained the Cavalieri have
developed a special affection for the pigs, and, like
Pharaoh with the Israelites, refused to let them go.
But — such is the perverseness of human nature—
these pigs, while their fate hung in the balance, had
awakened a sympathetic chord in the responsive
bosom of Giorgio. Life at Montughi, where the
daily sight of the empty sty would be a perpetual
reminder of his loss, was not to be thought of, and
he refused to buy the oxen, sheep and other deni
zens of the farmyard unless the pigs were included.
Thus the negotiations reached an impasse, and just
when the reader becomes deeply interested in the
ultimate fate of the pigs the correspondence comes
to an abrupt end. Perhaps some faint and dusty
document yet lies hidden among the records of the

THE SALA GRANDE 289
Order of Santo Stefano which might settle their
bacon for ever.
It would seem that Vasari had still the con
struction of the dome of the Madonna dell' Umilta
in hand at this time, as there is a letter from Cosimo
to the Commessario at Pistoia, dated June 28th,
saying that the Overseers of the Fabric are to make
Vasari a present of a hundred crowns in recognition
of his services. Beyond this, however, and a letter
in which Giorgio asks the Duke's intervention to get
" La Cosina's " brother out of a scrape, we have
very little information as to the events of the year.
His whole time was probably taken up with the
preparations for the completion of the Sala, and we find
periodical complaints made by him as to the slow
ness with which the walls are being got ready for his
masterpieces. " The arrangement by which only one
mason is being employed increases the cost of the
work instead of saving money, as it is delaying every
thing. Neither I nor any of my assistants are able
to proceed with even the most important opera
tions." " The delay in the matter of the Sala is a
most serious thing, because this Giorgio of yours is
growing old, he is losing his sight, his powers are
diminishing, and Death has an odd knack of putting
an end to every story."1 The cartoon for the Battle
of Pisa was finished at the time this letter was
written, and Vasari and his assistants had retired to
the seclusion of the house near Santa Croce, and
were busy upon the cartoon for the picture repre
senting the downfall of Siena. At intervals Giorgio
emerged from his retreat to pay hurried visits to the
works for the Cavalieri at Pisa; and among his
1 nte, Vol. VIII, Letter No. 188, to Francesco de' Medici, September
22nd, 1569. tr

290 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
letters is one in which he thanks them with much
fervour for a present of a hundred crowns, "given
to me as an appreciation of my services to your
most sacred Order ; services which, as your lordships
have seen, have been given with the utmost willing
ness. I shaU strive to continue ever in the same
spirit, plying my task with the same honesty, dili
gence and affection that you have already recognised
in my work."
The building proceeded apace, and Vasari and the
Cavalieri vied with each other in their attempts to
get it done. Cosimo himself, as founder and bene
factor of the Order, took an absorbing interest in its
progress, and seems to have entertained fears lest he
should not live to see it completed. AU the archi
tect's plans were submitted to him for approval, and
sometimes we find Vasari telling the Cavalieri that
he has a batch of drawings ready, but that the Duke
is suffering too badly with the gout for him to be
able to get them approved. In December this year
the Duke had a very sharp attack, and Vasari, writing
on the third of the month, says that he has been
waiting to consult with him about the campanUe, the
bells, the pictures and the ciborium, but that his
Highness has been prevented from transacting any
business for a week past by his old enemy.
On the 18th December Vasari was aUowed to see
his august patron, and apparently gained permission
to commence the tower ; for on the last day of the
year he writes to the Cavalieri in some perturbation,
asking them to get on with the work as Francesco is
coming over to Pisa, and he fears lest he may be
angry at the little show they have made. " I shall be
greatly obliged if you will put the tower in hand as
soon as possible, for if his Highness should happen to

COSIMO'S LOVE AFFAIRS 291
find it in its present condition I should get into
very serious trouble with the Grand Duke."
The fact that Giorgio speaks of his patron as a
Grand Duke in this letter is significant of the great
changes which were taking place in the status of the
Medici family, and more especially in the life of
Cosimo himself. The story of the latter's love affairs
after the death of the Duchess in 1561 has often
been told, and each successive teller during the ensu
ing two centuries or so seems to have contrived to
omit a little more of the truth than his predecessor,
and to add a little more to the tissue of lies with
which the plain facts had become interwoven, until
the original narrative is scarcely recognisable under
its disguise.
Yet the plain unvarnished truth is sufficiently un
pleasant. For a few years after the death of Eleo
nora the Duke remained true to her memory ; but
in proportion as her image grew more dim, so
did the dark eyes of Leonora degli Albizzi appear
more bright and aUuring, until at length he suc
cumbed to her bewitchments. It is, of course,
impossible to gauge the morals of Italy in the six
teenth century by the accepted standard of England
in the present year of grace ; but that Cosimo was
ashamed of his lapses from the path of virtue is evi
dent from the fact that he tried to keep the matter
a strict secret. It was the divulgation of this
secret that cost Sforza Almeni his life, for he was
one of the few who knew of their guilty relations,
and in an evil moment for himself communicated his
knowledge to Francesco, Francesco remonstrated
with his father, but Cosimo was incapable of freeing
himself from the position he was in. The Duke's
remorse for having slain Sforza was of short dura-

292 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
tion, and failed to separate him from his paramour.
On the contrary, her power over him increased, and
he became little more than a puppet in her hands.
Wherever he went Leonora degli Albizzi accom
panied him ; his unwedded wife, unworthy of the
position she had half usurped ; descending to the
lowest depths of vulgar horseplay to show the
power she held over the man who ruled all Florence
and Tuscany. What picture could be more sad than
that drawn by Saltini of this once proud prince,
crippled with gout and leaning heavUy on the arm of
an attendant, or hobbling with the aid of a stick,
endeavouring to seat himself in his chair, and of
Leonora pulling the chair from under him, causing
him to fall heavily to the floor — aye, and cutting his
head open on the cruel stones as he falls ?
Leonora's rule was short, for in 1567 Cosimo
succumbed to the charms of a younger mistress in
the person of Cammilla Martelli, who was then in her
twenty-third year. With her he lived in seclusion
for two years, leaving the duty of ruling the state to
his son Francesco, and concerning himself only with
schemes for the aggrandisement of the famUy. One
of these schemes was concerned with the title of
Duke of Florence, which had been bestowed upon
him by the Emperor in days gone by. That title
had seemed sufficient at the time, but a successful
policy of expansion had added Pisa, Siena and the
whole of Tuscany to his duchy, so that the dignity
of a mere dukedom appeared incompatible with the
breadth of his possessions. He endeavoured, therefore,
to have the duchy elevated to the rank of an arch
duchy ; and when he found that his project was
resolutely opposed by the Austrian archdukes — who
were ill-disposed to admit the Florentine princes to

COSIMO BECOMES GRAND DUKE 293
an equality with themselves — turned his attention
towards securing for himself and his heirs the title of
Grand Duke of Tuscany. To this there was nobody
to object, and Cosimo duly became first Grand Duke,
being crowned by Pius V in Rome on March 5th
1570. The only stipulation of importance made
by his Holiness was that Cosimo, who before his
coronation had to confess the sins of his past life and
promise atonement, should, as an integral part of
that atonement, mend his ways by marrying Cam
milla Martelli. On March 29th following Cammilla
became his lawful wedded wife; but she never
became Grand Duchess of Tuscany.

CHAPTER XIV
PIUS V
Hurried visit to Rome with Cosimo de' Medici — The Cavalieri at Pisa —
Back to Rome — Paintings in the Vatican - Sangalletto on Vasari's
work — Knighthood — Return to Florence — Paintings in the Sala
Grande— First mention of the cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore — Back
to Rome to paint the Sala Regia — Battle of Lepanto — Death of Pius.
WHEN Cosimo de' Medici went to Rome in
1570 to be crowned Grand Duke of Tuscany,
as already related, Vasari was sent on in advance,
having, as he explains in a letter to the Cavalieri,
business of his own to transact with his Holiness,
connected presumably with his work in the Vatican.
But before leaving Florence Vasari was to receive
the honour of a visit from the Grand Duke for the
purpose of inspecting the progress made with the
decorations for the organ and other accessories in
tended for the church of the Cavalieri. " He came
to my workshop in Santa Croce," writes Vasari, " to
see the decorations for the organ, the gUding of
which has just been completed. He was so pleased
and satisfied with what he saw that he is determined,
through me and according to his own instructions, to
make his and your church" — the letter is to the
Chapter of the Order of Santo Stefano — " the state
liest and most sumptuous within the borders of his
territories." Vasari's visit to Rome was a short one, for by Lady
Day he was back again in Florence, whence we find
29-1

THE CAVALIERI AT PISA 295
him writing once more to the Cavalieri, reporting
the progress made in his workshop during his ab
sence, and asking for information about the cam
panile, which is still in course of erection. " I should
have come over myself before this if it were not that
I am worn out with travelling and bad weather, to
say nothing of the mental and bodily fatigues caused
by the Pope's affairs." There is also a note saying
he came back by way of Passegli — which seems to
be another name for the property at Montughi,
already mentioned as having been leased to Vasari
by the Order — and found, as tenants often do even
to this day, that there were sundry urgent repairs
necessary which ought to be done at the expense of
the landlords. " I came back from Rome through
PassegH, and I find that the ceilings and roofs of all
the houses have suffered badly through the severe
weather this winter; so much so that they are on the
point of coming down, a calamity which I prophesied
to you in writing some time ago. It is absolutely
necessary either that 1 should have them seen to at
once (the cost would be insignificant), or that your
surveyor should come and give orders what is to be
done. Send me word and I will show him how the
thing can be done well and cheaply."
By the beginning of April the work which Vasari
had in hand in Florence for the Cavalieri was com
pleted and ready to be transported. Two grave
questions immediately arose: the first being a
threatened strike among the gilders, who were dis
satisfied with the rate of pay, saying that it was
insufficient for the amount of intricate labour in
volved, and the other the problem of how to remove
the work in safety to Pisa. He suggests that the
Cavalieri had better address a petition to the Grand

296 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Duke, asking exemption from taxation both in Flo
rence and Pisa1 for all material sent by Giorgio on
behalf of the Order.
From the end of April, 1570, to the beginning of
December foUowing there is a gap in the correspon
dence. Vasari doubtless continued throughout that
time to give to the world proofs of his astonishing
genius, and to write fuU accounts of his achievements
to his friends ; but if he did so none of his letters
have come down to us. The hiatus closes with an
epistle to Vincenzo Borghini, written from Baccano,
where Giorgio is putting up for the night on his
way to Rome. " Magnifico e Reverendo Signor
mio," he begins, " I have not written to you before
this because during my stay at Arezzo I had so
much to do in arranging my affairs and those of Ser
Pietro that I thought I should go off my head.
However, I have settled up everything in such a
manner that I may now go on my way rejoicing and
with a tranquil mind. God be praised for every
thing ! "
" I have left instructions that all my land at San
Paolo, Cappucciolo and Frassineto "' — Giorgio had
joined the ranks of the landed gentry at last ! — " are
to be ploughed and cultivated before my return :
also that the boundary walls at Frassineto are to be
put in order, as agreed to by the provvcditore Gian-
figliazzi. The arrangements I have been able to
1 The tax here referred to is the same as the modern dazio, equivalent
to the French octroi dues. Each Italian town has its own Dazio
C'omunale, or civic customs bouse (quite distinct from the Dogana, or
Government Customs House), with a clearly defined schedule of taxatiou
for certain specified imports and exports. The moneys accruing from
these charges go to swell tlie civic treasury, while the charges levied by
the Dogana— whose field of activity is confined to the frontier— are the
property of the State.

BACK TO ROME 297
make are most advantageous, as you shall hear all in
good time ; and if, when I come back, everything
turns out to have been finished to my liking, why
then I shall be able to rest there in peace, and pass
what remains of this troubled and burdensome life
in tranquillity. I stayed at Arezzo for a week as
Jacopino (del Zucca) was taken with a fever, but
with the help of the Almighty I was so far success
ful in combating it that I was able to bring him,
weak though he is but free from fever, to Baccano,
whence I now write you these lines to announce our
safety." He promised to write again from Rome
giving a full and circumstantial account of his ar
rival ; and it is to be inferred from his words that he
expected to make a sort of triumphal entry into the
papal city, a surmise which is strengthened by the
fact that he refused to travel in company with the
Cardinale Alessandrino, who was also bound for
Rome, fearing lest his own glory might haply be
dimmed by the presence of so high a church digni
tary, or that all the honours might be paid to the
Cardinal and he himself go short.
From the letter just quoted and those following it
is clear that Vasari had been " borrowed " from the
Medici by the Pope ; and on December 7th Giorgio
wrote to Francesco acquainting him with his safe
arrival, and giving an account of his favourable
reception at the papal court. " Serenissimo Principe,
Signor mio," he begins, " his Holiness had given up
expecting me, having been informed that your
Highness had decided to employ me this winter in
decorating your own apartments. He was delighted
when at length I arrived, and was introduced into his
presence by Cardinal Rusticcio in your name. He
asked me innumerable questions about your High-

298 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
ness and about her Highness your most serene con
sort." " He told me," Giorgio continues, " how very
much obliged he was to you for having spared me to
him. I have already begun work on the first chapel,
opposite his own room, and he is impatient to be
able to use it. I intend to keep hard at my work,
for there is a lot to be done, especially as in the other
two chapels, the stuccoes of which have just been
completed from my designs, the quantity of decora
tion increases daily, owing to fresh pictures being
added to the scheme. To tell the truth, my thoughts
are still in the Sala Grande rather than anywhere
else, but for all that I will serve him to the best of
my ability. It is only what I ought to do, for since
Raphael and Michelangelo have painted here it is
my duty to your Highness and myself not to fall
behind them. By the grace of God I have already
made an excellent beginning in the ceiling of this first
chapel, where I am painting the Fall of the Wicked
Angels. It is something quite new, but difficult and
full of variety." Perhaps Pius shared Vasari's behef
that he would, if not eclipse Raphael and Michel
angelo, at least equal them, for he gave orders that
not even the cardinals nor chamberlains were to be
allowed to see the work while it was in progress.
" His Holiness has expressed a wish that neither
cardinals nor chamberlains nor anybody else shall see
what I am doing, and so I have shut myself up in
complete seclusion. Every day his Holiness comes
to note what progress I have made, and everybody
pays me so much court that I have good reason to
be satisfied, though I know it is all done for the sake
of your Highness, on whom my tongue can never
call down enough blessings, to whom I can never
return enough thanks, and whom I can never suffi-

THE VATICAN 299
ciently praise." At this point the letter and its
flatteries become so involved that it is impossible
to render them intelligibly into English. Suffice it to
say that he hopes to commemorate for the benefit of
posterity, by means of such poor talent as he pos
sesses, that wonderful demi-god, Francesco de'
Medici. The artist was not a little flattered to find himself
so cordially welcomed in the Vatican, and though he
would have us believe that he considered his recep
tion due solely to the status of his patrons in Florence,
it is easy to read between the lines and to realise
what he really thought about the matter. In his
own mind he was satisfied that his own merit won
for him such distinction, and the affability of the
Pope was only what might be expected in one holding
an exalted position when receiving the homage of so
distinguished a person as Giorgio Vasari. Had not
Cosimo himself shown his deference to the master
mind of Michelangelo by speaking to him cap in
hand ? So Vasari, in a lesser degree, was received.
He had not to observe the pomp and ceremony which
was usually expected from visitors to the Vatican.
He was not obliged to conform to that strange
ceremonial of which Montaigne has left a practically
contemporary account : he may have been introduced
into the presence by the Florentine Ambassador, but
it may be supposed that the remainder of the state
performance — the genuflexion on entering the room,
the stealing round the walls instead of advancing
directly to where the Pope was seated, the second
genuflexion when the journey was half accomplished,
the third genuflexion at the outer edge of the holy
carpet some eight feet away from the throne, the
subsequent journey across the said carpet on both

300 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
knees in a sort of ungainly waddle, and then the
crowning bliss of lying full-length on the floor in
order to kiss the little white cross embroidered on
the Pope's scarlet slipper— all this, we may suppose,
was omitted, for it would have been excessively
tedious to have to go through the whole performance
every time he wanted instructions from his Holiness.
Instead, the Pope condescended to visit the painter
daily at his work, keeping the carpet business for
people of less outstanding merit. No wonder, then,
that Vasari was loud in his praises of Pius V, " than
whom few better have wielded the Keys since St.
Peter." Cosimo was less sanguine about Vasari's chances
of obliterating the fame of Raphael and Michelangelo,
though his letters to the artist were of a decidedly
cordial nature. " You are to remain there," he writes,
" as long as your services are required, using all dUi
gence, and endeavouring to give every satisfaction.
Kiss the most sacred feet of his Holiness in our name,
and assure him that nothing could be more pleasing
to us in this world than that we should be of service
to him. Tell him, also, that we consider it a par
ticular favour that he should deign to employ you,
our servant." Then, referring to Vasari's splendid
aspirations, he continues : " Take every care of your
health, so that, having as you say the work of so
many great men constantly before your eyes, you
may do full justice to yourself, and satisfy us by
giving satisfaction to his Holiness."
The favour shown him by the Pope, coupled with
the encouraging letters of the Grand Duke, raised
Vasari to a pitch of high enthusiasm. On the 1st of
January, 1571, he tells Francesco de' Medici that so
much of his work as is already done "has fairly

THE VATICAN 301
astounded his Holiness, who seems to be very
pleased," though it appears that it was the rapidity
of the artist's execution rather than the excellence
of his work which caused the surprise. " I hope to
take the opportunity afforded by these frescoes to
make manifest not alone the greatness of your High
ness, but also the ability which God has vouchsafed
to me ; from Whom in this more than in any other
of my works I gather fresh strength, renewed health
and greater power."
While thus Vasari added to his laurels in Rome,
there were vexations in store for him in Florence.
The roof of the Sala Grande, the roof he had himself
built and then decorated with his paintings, began to
leak. Fortunately for the curious, he has left a
record of what he felt when the news reached him.
" If it were possible for anyone to die of grief," he
writes, " I should already be in my grave." He says
that the Palazzo Vecchio is the " apple of his eye "
and the undertaking on which he has poured out the
best that was in him ; and seems to imply that the
roof has taken a mean advantage of him by leaking
during his absence. If it were not that he feared to
offend the Pope, he would have set out for Florence
immediately upon receipt of the news : but all things
considered — seeing that he would also have angered
the Grand Duke — Vasari was perhaps wise in re
straining his impulse and remaining where he was,
working, as he promised, at his frescoes in the
Vatican chapels, and finding odd moments in which
to elaborate the cartoons for the well-beloved Sala at
home. On February 10th he writes to Francesco
teUing him that he has already finished fifty-six
cartoons for the Pope, and that his HoHness, accom
panied only by Sangalletto, the papal treasurer, pays

302 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
visits of inspection to the work at frequent intervals.
" He seems to enjoy watching me, and talks to me a
good deal. He often speaks of your Highness, and,
indeed, it is abundantly clear that he loves you
greatly. He is always pleased when I tell him how
quick you are to encourage every sort of well-doing,
and at every word of mine he blesses you." One
would have thought that such a conversation would
become terribly monotonous. " It is just the same
thing if we are talking about the Grand Duke."
With all his endeavours to get the work finished
so as to be able to return to Tuscany, Vasari was not
destined to get on as fast as he would have Hked.
Already in February we hear that he does not want
July to find him still in Rome, though the quantity
of work has increased so much that " there is more
to do than would be required for one of the walls of
your Highness's Sala." The Sala — the apple of his
eye — fills his thoughts and his letters. He goes to
Rome because that is the wish of the Pope and of
the Grand Duke, but even there he has only one
of his assistants, Sandro del Barbiere, actually help
ing him with the frescoes, while the other, Jacopino
del Zucca, is kept busy — on the sly, as it were — with
the cartoons for Florence. " Jacopino is engaged in
putting together the several portions of the Battle of
Val di Chiana1 so as to form one great cartoon : as
for me, when I am tired of doing my frescoes in the
chapel I take a rest by getting on with the cartoons,
so that directly I get back to Florence I shall be able
to set to work in earnest." " I am getting on splen
didly with the frescoes, and when the time comes for
them to be uncovered I hope not only that his Holi
ness will be satisfied, but that my fellow-artists wiU
1 The Battle of Marciano.

THE VATICAN 303
view my efforts favourably, for that is the real test.
And if, at the same time, I were only to exhibit my
cartoon for the Sala to these noble lords and gentle
men, everybody would be thunderstruck (ho da fare
sbalordire ognuno), for they are both wonderful
achievements." Who shall say after this candid expression of
opinion that Vasari hid his light under a bushel?
Jacopo Marzuppini, in a sonnet addressed to the
artist, has put Giorgio's thoughts into verse, for each
line is as an echo of the sentiments expressed in
his letters. Both nature and art blushingly retire
before Vasari's achievements : his touch causes paper,
canvas, wood and marble to be no longer mere
paper, canvas, wood and marble, but to spring into
life ; while not even Michelangelo had the power to
produce such works as were done by the little painter
from Arezzo. Surely here we have an echo of
Giorgio himself ! " Now let that glorious city
Arezzo rejoice that she has given to the world so
priceless a treasure."
" Voi stupir fate, come io scrivo in carme
Natura e l'arte et con eterno ingegnio
Lo spirto date col dotto disegno
Alle carte, alle tele, a'legni, a'marmi.
II Buonarroto mai seppe mostrarmi
Si stupendo arteficio altero e degno,
Ond' io, per celebrarvi in questo regno,
Un Pindaro, un Apollo vorrei farmi.
Giorgio immortal, che dai mar Indo al Tile
Cercando il tutto non trovate il paro,
Che gia fate stupir huomini e Dei,
Hor goda Arezzo, citta signorile,
Ch'ha partorito si divin tesauro
Di cui ne veggio ogn' or quaggiu trofei."
One of these wonderful achievements — the first
chapel, that is to say — was consecrated and thrown

304 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
open to the public view on April 30th, the result
being recorded by the artist in another letter to
Francesco. " They say here, and I agree with them,
that it is the best thing that ever I did. His Holi
ness himself consecrated it, singing the pontifical
Mass with much jubilation. I have given him cause
for it, though such a remark ought to reach you
through other channels than through me. Suffice it
to say, that in whatsoever concerns the honour of God
and your Highness I always do my best, nor shaU
I ever be found wanting : and being as I am your
servant, I shall never cease to extol your name to
the skies, for I have no other object in life than that
of recording the glory, the honour and the fame of
your Highness." Even with his mind running on
what Rome is saying about his recent masterpiece,
he does not forget the Sala, for he tells the Prince
that the cartoon for the Battle of Marciano is almost
completed, requiring only ten days for the finishing
touches. Perhaps the most notable thing about Vasari's stay
in Rome during the winter of 1570-71 is the fact that
he condescended to allow his wife to stay with him,
apparently during the whole of Lent — and possibly
as a Lenten penance. " Madonna Cosina, my wife,
who has been staying here at Perdoni all this Lent,
has just gone away, having received many marks of
favour from his Holiness. He allowed her to be
taken over the whole of the palace (the Vatican),
permitting her to inspect those portions which women
are forbidden to enter, even to his own personal and
private apartments."
Lest we should be inclined to discount Vasari's
glowing accounts of his achievements, Providence,
not usually so thoughtful in these matters, has pre-

SANGALLETTO'S TESTIMONY 305
served for our reading the corroborating testimony
of an independent observer, Sangalletto, the papal
treasurer. " In order not to fall short in the execu
tion of my duty, and at the same time knowing that
I shall give pleasure to your Highness," he writes to
Francesco on May 11th, 1571, "I will now give
you an account of how our Messer Giorgio has been
acquitting himself. He has already finished one of
the three chapels, that of St. Peter Martyr. His
Hohness has had Mass sung there, and was himself
present with six Cardinals, being very pleased with
the work, as is everybody who has seen it. The
other two chapels are proceeding apace, and within
a fortnight the one dedicated to St. Stephen will be
completed. By the end of June the last, dedicated
to the Assumption of our Lady, will be done ; and
it is beyond contradiction that Messer Giorgio has
never done anything better than these present works.
Indeed, his Holiness could hardly be more pleased
than he is, and every day finds something fresh for
him to do, either in the construction of St. Peter's,
or in devising a way of bringing a supply of fresh
water into the city, or in restoring the church of San
Giovanni Laterano, or in something else of the same
sort ; so that I fear there is likely to be considerable
delay — I mean with regard to his return to Florence.
I venture to think, however, that this will not be
displeasing to your Highness, especially as the sacri
fice you are called upon to make gives such pleasure
to his Holiness."
At the end of June, or early in July, Vasari was able
to leave Rome, returning to Florence not the same
unadorned Giorgio whom we have hitherto met, but
the wearer of the golden spurs of knighthood, bestowed
upon him by Pius as a mark of his appreciation and

306 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
also as a compliment to the Medici. The Cavaliere
Vasari hastens to inform his clients, the heads of the
Order of Santo Stefano, of his new dignity, and it is
amusing to note that he is keenly alive to the financial
value of his exalted position. The golden spurs are
good in his eyes, but far better are the twelve
hundred crowns accompanying a Cavalierato di San
Pietro. " I have satisfied his Holiness mightily, and
have come away with something to the good, as he
has made me a golden-spurred knight of the Order of
San Pietro. It is worth twelve hundred crowns."
Immediately on his return to Florence Vasari
must have set to work upon the frescoes of the
Battle of Marciano with his characteristic im
petuosity, for on September 4th — that is to say,
little more than six weeks after his arrival — he an
nounces that the Sala Grande is finished ; and that
it is finished not only to his own satisfaction, but in
such a manner as to rejoice the heart of the Grand
Duke. As, however, the great fresco was not un
covered until the 5th of January, 1572. we are
unable to place much faith in Vasari's statement,
though it is likely that at the time he wrote the
more important parts of the work were sufficiently
forward for the success of the finished work to be
assured. However the case may have been, it is
certain that Cosimo was deUghted with Vasari's
achievement, for he immediately gave orders for
him to undertake the decoration of the dome of the
cathedral church, Santa Maria del Fiore.
Unfortunately opinions do not differ upon the
question of Cosimo's wisdom in arriving at this deci
sion, nor, in view of the remarkable inferiority of
these vast frescoes — even in comparison with some
of Vasari's own works— can it be considered that

SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE 307
Cosimo was justified in thus handing over Brunel-
lesco's dome to the disastrous brush of the bio
grapher, and, subsequently, of Federigo Zucchero.
If, as some think, the cupola rises internally to too
great a height, Vasari and his successor have certainly
contrived to reduce that impression: the bands of
exceedingly solid cloud on which the several tiers
of figures rest not only obscure the form of the
gigantic vault, but break up the angular lines of the
octagon, so that we are obliged to grope dimly after
the real form they have done so much to hide. One
could wish that Giorgio had succeeded sufficiently
to have left a faithful band of admirers maintaining
with no little heat their opinion that the Duke was
justified in ordering the work to be done. Such is
not the case. Vasari's contemporaries condemned the
result of his labours without a dissentient voice, and
later generations have endorsed their verdict with
the same unanimity. How much of the failure was
due to Vasari and how much is to be attributed to
Federigo Zucchero, who stepped into his shoes when
Giorgio died, must be enquired into later on ; but
this much must be urged on Vasari's behalf, that the
choice of his successor was singularly unfortunate.
From what we have already seen of Federigo we
know that he bore a grudge against Vasari, and we
also know that his was not the nature that could rise
above petty squabbles, even for the sake of the art
he professed to love ; and it is therefore extremely
unhkely that he cared to do his best to secure the
success of these frescoes, realising that all the credit
and all the glory would accrue to the author and
designer of the original scheme.
Vasari was sixty years of age when thus called
upon to commence the work he was destined not to

308 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
finish. Strangely enough we do not find him in
dulging in vain despairings that he may not live to
see its completion, as in the case of the Sala Grande.
He is deeply impressed by the magnitude of the
new undertaking, and fearful lest his powers may
prove unequal to the task. " The Grand Duke, as
a reward for the Sala Grande which I have just
completed, has given orders that I am to paint the
cupola. God give me the requisite strength, and do
you intercede with Him for me." In these simple
words the artist conveys the news to his friend the
Bishop of Montepulciano.
The remainder of this year is passed over in silence
by his correspondence, but Gaye 2 prints two letters
which help to bridge the gap. One is from the
Grand Duke to the Riformatori d'Arezzo, instruct
ing them to enroU Vasari's brother and his heirs in
perpetuity among the gonfalonieri of the city. The
artist himself had received that honour ten years
previously, a fact which is alluded to in the letter.
" Some time ago," the letter runs, " you elected
Giorgio Vasari as one of the gonfalonieri of your city
at our request. Now, seeing that the good service
he has rendered to us is deserving of acknowledg
ment and reward, we should be pleased if you wUl
confer the same honour upon Pietro, his brother, and
upon his heirs successively, out of regard to the said
Giorgio. We shall be glad if you wiU see to this."
The second letter is also from Cosimo, but addressed
to the Pope. From it we learn that Vasari has once
more been "borrowed." "Giorgio Vasari, the painter,
is about to return to serve your Holiness in all things
that may be required of him. I am more pleased
that he should work for you than for myself, counting
1 Oarteggio Inedito.

BACK TO ROME 309
it an honour that your Holiness should deign to em
ploy my servants, and knowing how much regard
and good- will you have for the said Giorgio."
The artist set out immediately ; and as we have a
letter from him to Borghini dated from Rome on
January 9th, 1572, it is clear that he had to forego
the pleasure of witnessing the uncovering of his
frescoes in the Sala and of hearing first hand the
praises that might or might not be bestowed upon
them. The public was allowed to see them for the
first time on the 5th, at which date the artist was
already on his way to Rome — as on the 18th he
writes to ask Borghini what Francesco thinks of the
great work — and Giorgio would have been obliged to
travel much quicker than was his wont if he traversed
the weary leagues between Rome and Florence in
four days, especially as the weather, even for that
time of the year, was unusually bad. " We are worse
off down here in the way of weather," writes Giorgio,
" than I ever remember to have been ; for we have
sunshine, high winds, rain and snow, heat and cold,
oftentimes aU in the same day. It gives me the cold
shivers even to think of it."
Nor was the bad weather all that at this time
gave the artist cause for complaint. He had been
despatched to Rome in order to decorate the walls of
the Sala de' Re in the Vatican, but for some time after
his arrival he was still kept in suspense, waiting for
instructions to begin the actual work. On the top
of these vexations came troubles with his assistants,
the causes of which are not discoverable, though they
are alluded to in his correspondence. From this we
learn that Vasari had decided to employ Giovanni lo
Stradano, but that for some reason or other Giovanni
had turned sulky and refused to accompany him, in

310 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
spite of the fact that the two had worked together at
least as far back as 1565 during the preparations for
Francesco's wedding. Another of his former assist
ants was then put forward, Jacopino del Zucca, but
the master refused to accept him, remarking that
Jacopino had not improved of late years, and had
become jealous and malignant towards him. Rather
than accept such service Giorgio would prefer to
work alone, even if such a course necessitated his re
turn to Rome in the following year.
The worry caused by the disaffection of his helpers
was not of long duration, and as before the end of
February he received definite instructions to begin
work in the Sala de' Re, the prospect of being able
to return at a reasonably early date to Florence,
there to put into execution his vast schemes for the
cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore, brightened con
siderably. The weather alone continued to fight
against him, though by preventing the commence
ment of the frescoes it afforded him more leisure to
paint two pictures for the Pope, a St. Jerome and
an Assumption of the Magdalene, and to prepare the
preliminary drawings for the cupola. Indeed, as was
the case when he was called to Rome in the midst
of his work in the Sala Grande, he thought more
of what he had to do for his ducal patron than for the
Pope. " I am not forgetting the designs for the
cupola, and this is a good place for me to think them
out in, as they will require a lot of scheming, and
the vault of Michelangelo's (the Sistine) chapel is an
excellent guide." It must not be imagined that
Vasari intended to copy Michelangelo's works. In
point of fact he had very little to do with either the
choice of his subject & or its general treatment.
Borghini's was the brain which once more drew up

THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO 311
the general scheme of decoration. In // Riposo1
Raffaello Borghini puts these words into the mouth
of Girolamo Michelozzi: " Avvertite, Messer Ber
nardo (Vecchietti) che egli si dice, che cotesta
invenzione fu trovata da Don Vincenzo Borghini,
gia Priore degli Innocenti," the composition of this
work was suggested by Don Vincenzo Borghini, at
that time Prior degli Innocenti.
The designs for the upper part of the cupola were
completed within three weeks after his arrival in
Rome, as we learn from a letter to Francesco, in
which we also catch a passing ghmpse of the great
Flemish sculptor who is so inappropriately known by
the name of Giovanni da Bologna.
"Most serene Prince, my only Lord," it begins,
"you will learn from the lips of Messer Giovanni
Bologna that I have already made a number of
designs for his Holiness, as weU for easel pictures as
for the Battle of the Turks,2 all of which I have
shown to him (Giovanni). I have also led him to
the feet of his Holiness, saying that he was another
of your Highness's servants, and one who is foremost
among sculptors. In the few days he has been here
he has already visited and sketched half Rome, and
this should be of the greatest profit to his future
works, as the days have been well spent. He comes
back to the service of your Highness with the most
lively satisfaction, while I remain behind to do what
shaU be required of me by his Holiness. There is
a great deal of work in the air ; but for all that, as
you wiU learn from Messer Giovanni, I have found
time to begin the cartoons for the cupola, and have
1 Published in Florence, 1730.
2 The Battle of Lepanto, the fresco which Vasari was engaged in
painting in the Sala de' Re.

312 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
partly done the drawings for the figures around the
lantern. What they are like I leave for him to say."
This was at the end of January, and a month later he
makes a further report to the Prince.
" Most serene and great Prince, my Master : If I
am dilatory in telHng you of my progress, the reason
is that, being obliged to do practically all the work
myself" — the difficulty with his assistants was not
as yet settled — "the amount to be done is so great
that I seem not to make much progress ; and albeit 1
work rapidly, continuously and wiUingly at it, his
Hohness would like to see me go faster stiU, for
he is an old man. I, too, should like to see the
thing more forward than it is, for I would rather
enjoy the comforts of my own home than suffer the
inconveniences and worries incident upon important
undertakings for other people. His Holiness has
finaUy decided that I am to do the Battle of the
Turks in the Sala Regia." A long description foUows,
and we learn that the artist spent much of his time
with Marcantonio Colonna and other generals so as to
glean from them the details of the combat. " There
is so much work in it, such a jumble of gaUeys,
masts, oars, banners and cordage that I frequently
lose heart, for it is the most complicated thing I ever
undertook. My hope is in the Almighty who brought
it about, that He will give me the same victory with
my brushes as He gave the Christians with then
ar ms." These observations refer only to the cartoons as
yet, for the winter lingered longer than usual, and
even at the beginning of March it was stiU too cold
for the actual work to be commenced. On the first
day of the month Vasari reports that " here we have
the same snowstorms, frosts and cold winds," a thing

DEATH OF PIUS V 313
unknown at so late a date ; but he adds that he
keeps uncommonly well — io sto arcibene — and is
immune from all seasonable ailments. He is in a
good temper, too, because, as he says, "I have at last
finished with the pin-prick conspiracies and vexations
brought about by our fellow-Academicians ; and if
only the frosts had allowed it I should already have
begun work on the frescoes. As it is, by to-day
week the cartoon for the Battle of the Turks will be
entirely finished." He goes on to say, as illustrating
the carefulness with which he sought to assure the
accuracy of his details, that on the previous day he
lunched with Marcantonio Colonna and Rumagasso,
a captain from whom he obtained much information
concerning the incidents of the fight. " It wiU cer
tainly be a splendid work, and you shall see it when
I come home, as I am going to pack the cartoon in
with the drawings for the cupola and bring it with
me." But it is often the unexpected that happens.
Exactly two months after the date of the letter from
which the above quotations are taken Pius V breathed
his last, and by so doing naturally brought Giorgio's
work to an abrupt conclusion. It was a misfortune
for the painter and his Florentine patrons, for Pius
had been on the most friendly terms with the Medici.
The knowledge of this fact probably gave to Vasari's
letters on this occasion their predominating note.
He hastens to condole with the Grand Duke on his
personal loss in the death of so good and pious a
man, in whom he has lost a father; to Francesco he
reports that his Holiness has died amid the tears of
all Rome and to the regret, perhaps the hurt, of the
whole Christian world. "God has snatched him
from us because of our sins." Then he continues

314 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
with a strange absence of logical sequence in his
ideas : " May He of His goodness give us another
as saintly who will look after His flock here below ;
for since the days of St. Peter himself there has
never been so holy a Pope." Fortunately the Battle
of Lepanto was already finished — "the best thing that
ever I did, and the largest and most carefuUy thought
out," as usual. But Giorgio's hopes have gone to
heaven with the Pope, though the fame of his works
will remain below and five for ever. Such is the
burden of his letter to Francesco, who also, says
Giorgio, has lost a father. The artist intends to
return to Florence, but without undue hurry, resting
a few days at Arezzo as he is half dead with the
work he has just completed. There is a postscript
in which he says : "I have just covered up the
picture, because the conclave wdl take place there.
It will not be uncovered until a new Pope has been
elected." Vasari's personal views on the subject are to be
found in a letter to Borghini, in dealing with whom
it was less necessary to keep in mind the political
import of his words. The Pope died, " regretted by
all the city and by the whole body of the faithful,
from what I hear. It is certainly a considerable loss
for our patrons. For me the loss is irreparable, as I
was just on the point of settling your business satis
factorily, having already presented the petition, and
was about to get something good for myself (ne
cavevo per me qualcosa). The best news I have to
tell you is that I have finished the fresco of the
Battle of the Turks; which will render me famous,
as, by the grace of God, I have never done anything
like it." He had, in fact, succeeded in adding his
name to the small list of immortal painters ; the

SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE 315
triumvirate was now complete, and the name of
Giorgio Vasari stood on a level with those of Michel
angelo and Raffaello. "I feel sure that when the
new Pope is elected I shaU be compeUed to come
back here and do more painting, for their Reverences
are very loath to let me go. However, there wiU be
plenty of time to think about that after the election.
At present there are other things to be thought of,
and may God do what is best for us all." Between
May and October we learn little of what the artist
was doing with himself. He seems still to have been
engaged upon the tomb of Michelangelo, and to have
devoted the rest of his time to the cartoons for the
cupola, making frequent journeys to the Citta di
CasteUo, whither the Grand Duke had retired with
his young wife, so as to consult with his patron con
cerning the numerous works in hand. " The Grand
Duke went away to Castello after the wedding in
the Palazzo Pitti," writes Vasari to Borghini on the
1st of October, 1572, referring to the marriage of
CammUla MarteUi's sister, "and I have had to go
over and see him nearly every day to arrange about
a new fountain and plans for his many buildings,
among them the new palace which is in buUding at
Capraia in the district of Pisa, a little church at
CoUe MingoH, and several fountains at Castello."
He also had to redecorate the organ in Santa Croce,
while the actual preparations for the frescoes in the
dome of Santa Maria del Fiore were already begun,
and already had caused some friction between the
clergy and the painter. According to Lapini, the
diarist, however, the first works of preparation had
been commenced in the previous February, whUe
Giorgio was stiU in Rome, and long before the death
of Pius smoothed the way for his return to Florence.

316 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
" On the twenty-sixth day of February, 1571 (old
style) was begun the work of preparing the scaffold
ing in the cupola of the Florentine cathedral, to the
end that the same might be painted . . . and on that
day the masons attached to the budding took down
certain balustradings which protected the highest
gallery at the springing of the dome over the older
sacristy. This was done so as to afford a base on
which the remainder of the scaffolding might be
erected." The scaffolding was finished, and Vasari began his
frescoes on June 11th, " on a Wednesday morning at
eleven of the clock," to quote the precise account
given by Lapini. " Before he began," the diarist
continues, " he caused to be celebrated at the Altar
of the Sacrament a Mass of the Holy Spirit, and
immediately after it was finished he began to do the
work. The said Messer Giorgio only painted the
Kings which are in the first tier beneath the lantern ;
and then he died. Federigo Zucchero foUowed, as
will be described in its proper place, and he began by
painting the octagon which is above the tribune of
San Zanobi, or, rather, of the Sacrament ; and one
by one he did the other sides of the octagon." So,
also, it will be our duty to give some account of
the work done by Zucchero " in its proper place " ;
but for the present we have still Vasari's letters to be
our guide, and the sequence of events demands that
we should follow them.
To return, therefore, to the letter to Borghini.
" I have managed to get my canvas screen up in
Santa Maria del Fiore, above the arches, with the
result that the priests are saying much worse things
about me than ever they did about Bronzino. How
ever, it is up at last, and they can now officiate in

SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE 317
the choir without impediment, at which all the city
marvels greatly, to see that I have managed to
stretch so large a curtain in such a manner, whUe
at the same time I can examine the effect of my work
from below as it proceeds, and show it to anybody I
wish. But what has put the finishing touch to my
troubles has been the wind, which has been blowing
so boisterously that I haven't been able to go out for
two days ; while on account of the Prince I have had
to stay in my room designing pots and vases until
three o'clock. Never mind ; I am alive and quite
weU. I went to Castello this morning " — he tells us
this quite forgetting that he has not been out for the
past two days — " to crave leave of absence, and have
got permission to stay away until Thursday next.
His Highness is exceedingly well, and inclined to
take liberties with his new-found health,1 so I expect
what I have heard is the truth, namely, that he is
about to remove to Poggio (a Caiano). If I can
smuggle myself away on Saturday, being the feast of
St. Francis, and if I am not left high and dry for
want of a nag, I shall endeavour to pay you a visit.
There, now you know exactly why I haven't been to
see you before."
1 The words used by Vasari are vuol pigliare un poco di legno senza
guardia. As it is inconceivable that the Grand Duke of Tuscany should
exhibit a desire to go out unattended for the purpose of gathering sticks,
I have ventured to translate the sentence as above.

CHAPTER XV
ROME
Gregory XIII— Vasari summoned to Rome by the new Pope— The Sala
Regia and the Massacre of the Huguenots — Approach of old age.
WHILE Giorgio was thus engaged in making
plans for the immediate future, the new Pope,
Ugo Buoncompagni, who on May 26th had been
elected under the name of Gregory XIII, had been
making other arrangements for the artist. The
result of Cosimo's having taken liberties with his
precarious health, too, helped to traverse the fulfil
ment of the artist's wishes. The Duke was taken
suddenly ill, so ill that Vasari felt disinclined to leave
the precincts of the palace ; and the projected visit
to Borghini had to be replaced by a letter of excuse.
" You must not be surprised," writes Vasari on
October 12th, " at my having failed to come and see
you, for to-morrow is the last day on which his
Highness has to take the sciloppo del legno.1 Yester
day I spent the whole day over there ; and now,
after having had something to eat, I am about to
return, getting Ser Pietro to write this for me so as
to save time while I am putting on my riding-boots.
His Highness feels much better in his head, eyes,
and legs, but there is no improvement in his voice."
The Grand Duke's health improved, apparently as
1 Literally "syrup of wood." Possibly the medicine was some decoc
tion of wormwood. 318

SUMMONED TO ROME 319
the result of his taking the sciloppo del legno, for
within three days after the letter to Borghini he
was able to receive Vasari in audience and discuss
the question of his going to Rome ; and what in that
case was to be done about the frescoes in the cupola.
The artist throughout had a presentiment that as
soon as he had settled down seriously to prosecute
his labours in Florence the dreaded summons to Rome
would arrive, and this proved to be the case. It was
in vain that he urged the Grand Duke to have him
excused, and it was equally useless for him to solicit
the mediation of Francesco. The policy of the
Florentine court made it imperative that the new
Pope should be put under an obligation, and Giorgio
was obUged to tear himself away once more from his
beloved cupola and set out for Rome, faithfully
carrying out the commands of his patron. How
little Giorgio relished the prospect, and how much
he dreaded this visit to the Vatican, is told in his
letters to Borghini.
" As I told you in my last letter, I had quite made
up my mind to come and see you : but all the time
I had a sort of presentiment, which — although it had
been decided by the Grand Duke that I was to pro
ceed with the cupola and think no more about this
trip to Rome, as I had heard nothing more from
them — robbed Hfe of all its pleasures by silently
urging me to waste no time, but to get on with the
cartoons, studies, and designs for the work, burning
the midnight oil in order to get them done. As
a result 1 have finished Michelangelo's picture,1 as
well as the one for Guidacci and a host of other
things that fiUed my mind and my house : hoping
1 The picture here referred to is possibly the portrait by Vasari now in
the Uffizi.

320 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
that if, finally, I had to go to Rome, I should be
able to lay this unction to my soul, that I had
nothing else in the world to worry me. Well ; I
divined rightly. Last Thursday there came a letter
from Cardinal Buoncompagno saying that the Pope
had resolved that I should finish the Sala Regia, that
I was to get ready to go to Rome as soon as possible,
and that he had himself ordered the letter to be
written. I went off the same evening to interview
the Prince, and told him that I did not want to go,
but would much rather stay here. He replied that
I had become one of the family, and that I must
talk to the Grand Duke about it. His Highness is
at Poggio, and I shaU ride over there to-morrow to
hear what he has to say. The worst of it, Signor
Priore, and the thing that troubles me most, is that
there are two pictures still to be done and they wiU
take me four months." He would give almost any
thing to be able to refuse the invitation, or rather
command, to go to Rome ; wishing to stay near
Florence all the winter, though not in the city itself,
as he is desirous of purchasing a villa he had seen in
the vicinity, which, being situated at a considerable
altitude, will, he thinks, enable him to escape the
effects of the winter air of Florence.
Cosimo, however, had already decided that the
new Pope's wishes must be obeyed ; for the following
letter was despatched from Poggio a Caiano on the
day after Vasari had penned his despairing epistle to
Borghini : —
"Most holy and blessed Father. The painter,
Giorgio Vasari, will shortly be on his way to Rome,
sent by me to do whatever your Holiness shall require
of him. I have commanded him to obey you im
plicitly ; and I esteem it a great favour that you

SUMMONED TO ROME 321
should deign to make use of my servants. The said
Giorgio will kiss the sacred feet of your Holiness in
my name. May your Hfe be a long and happy
one." Then, just as Giorgio had given up all hope of
being excused, came a further letter from Rome
teUing him he could remain where he was until he
received other orders, and this reprieve — although it
was rescinded anew within the space of a week —
filled the heart of the painter with joy and set him to
work upon the cupola with renewed energy and re
doubled zest. " I have had a letter from Rome to
say that, if I hear nothing to the contrary, I am
to stay here and get on with this work. Such an
intimation is more than welcome : if you come over
to see me, think how glad I shall be ! And if I come
over to see you, think how glad you wiU be ! " The
extract is from one of his characteristic letters to
Borghini. As already hinted, Giorgio heard something differ
ent all too soon, and upon receipt of the fresh sum
mons to Rome renewed his supplication with the
Duke. His entreaties, however, fell on deaf ears ;
but though Cosimo had decided that Vasari must
obey the Pope's wishes, he knew weU how to gild the
bitter pill his faithful servitor was to be obliged to
swaUow. This is Vasari's own account of the inter
view, as related in a letter to his friend. The Grand
Duke, it should be premised, was at Poggio a Caiano,
waiting for news of his daughter-in-law's confinement,
an event which was looked forward to with some
anxiety, as up to the present Francesco de' Medici
had no heir, and in the event of his death without
male issue the Grand Dukedom would of necessity
pass to Cardinal Ferdinando, his younger brother.

322 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
" Last Sunday I went over to Poggio and spent a
couple of hours with his Highness . . . finding an
exceUent opportunity to explain my views with re
gard to the cupola. I told him I thought it would
be better not to depart from the instructions he had
already given me ; that I wanted to give up all idea
of finishing this work in Rome ; and that I had
already sold my workshop there, telling Marcantonio,
my nephew, to come back here. I then handed him
the letter from Cardinal Buoncompagno to read, and
when he had finished it he turned to me, saying :
' Giorgio, I cannot see any means by which you
can escape from this visit to Rome: firstly, be
cause it is the first letter that his Holiness has
written to me, and I cannot refuse his request;
and secondly, because your going to Rome
will be of the greatest service to me. The un
usual position you wiU hold while in the Vatican
wUl be as useful to me as it was when you were
there before in the service of Pius V, the more
so as not one of our confidential agents is at the
papal court at the present moment.1 Therefore you
must get ready, so that I may send you on your
journey before the weather breaks up. I shall write
and tell his Holiness that I am sending you, and
that he does me a favour by making use of what
is mine ; and I shall ask him to send you back as
soon as possible, so that you may complete the

1 This seems to be an invention on the part of the artist, or else
Cosimo was anxious to flatter his vanity by giving this projected visit to
Rome a fictitious value. The Grand Duke's own son, Ferdinando,
Cardinal de' Medici, was at tho time in Rome, and might be relied on
to give his father timely notice of all that was going on. We have,
moreover, Vasari's word for it that Ferdinando was a persona grata with
the Pope. " Our Cardinal de' Medici," he says, " stands in the most
extraordinary favour with his Holiness."

Giorgio I 'i

MEDALLION PORTRAIT OF LORENZO DE' MEDICI
(Florence : Palazzo I'cic/iiol

THE GRAND DUKE'S INSTRUCTIONS 323
frescoes in the cupola. While you are there this
winter you wUl be able to get on with the cartoons
for it, and I am sure that as soon as you have done
your work in the Sala he will release you. Take
your assistants with you and get on as quickly as
you can, for the Pope is growing old ; you will have
a chance of getting paid for what you have already
done as weU as for what remains to do. You may
also be able to secure a position for that lad of
yours, Marcantonio, and if you do not, then I will
find him something to do in Pisa at the Sapienza.
You are to teU the Prince to answer Cardinal Buon-
compagno's letter ; and you are to tell him also that
I [sic] have been commanded to obey the Pope's
instructions, but that as soon as I have finished their
Reverences are to send me back, as during my absence
things here are likely to suffer ! " In the middle of
his story Vasari, flushed with the recollection of his
patron's flattery, forgets that he is reporting the
Duke's speech ; the construction of his sentence
breaks down lamentably, with the result that there
is a bewildering interchange of the first and second
persons. It is in such trifles as this that the real
value of Giorgio's letters to Borghini lies ; in them
we see the true Vasari, and not the courtier and time-
server. In his correspondence with the Medici, and
indeed with nearly everybody else, we find evidence
of carefuUy thought-out phrases, and utterances
which are more politic than indicative of the actual
thoughts of the writer.
When Vasari writes to Borghini his pen runs on
without restraint, and we see the man himself — im
petuous, affectionate, easily flattered and genuinely
pleased with the position of high importance he so
obviously holds at the Tuscan court. "He then

324 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
told me," the letter continues, "to go to Pistoia
immediately, as it was of the utmost importance
that the work there should be pushed forward, and
then to come back as soon as I had done aU there
was to do. I did as I was commanded, and came
back directly, to find that the letter to his Holiness
had already been sent off. On my way back I met
the Prince going to Poggio in company with the
Cardinal di Piacenza, and I told him I was about
to set out for Rome. He said he was very glad to
hear it, and that we should have plenty of time to
talk the matter over before my departure. It has
done nothing but rain all night, so I suppose you
will be coming back to Florence ; in which case I
shall at least go away with the consolation of having
seen you, though to tell the truth I undertake the
journey with a heart that is heavy enough. How
ever, as the Granduca remarked, in serving the Pope
I am serving God ; and as for the cupola, He wdl
do all for the best. And with this I shaU conclude
my letter."
There was, therefore, no door of escape, and being
of a philosophical turn of mind in his old age, he
devoted himself to the problem of how best to get
to Rome, finish the work, and come back to his
beloved cupola. On November 2nd he set out,
arriving twelve days later in the papal city, after a
journey in easy stages of twenty miles a day. He
congratulated himself on having encountered neither
wind nor rain nor snow on the way, and as a con
sequence he was able to congratulate himself still
further on the fact that he arrived in good health and
the best of spirits. He escaped the breaking up of the
weather only by a narrow margin, as the rains com
menced just as he was entering the gates of Rome.

"MASSACRE OF THE HUGUENOTS" 325
"Most serene Prince," he writes, on November
17th, describing his reception, " I arrived in Rome in
bad weather, and on the 15th I had an interview
with the Cardinal. After telhng me how very glad
he was that your Highness had sent me, he took me
immediately into the presence of his Holiness, who,
as soon as I had kissed his feet in the name of your
Highness and the Grand Duke, kissed me on the
forehead. He asked a great many things about
Florentine affairs, and about your Highness's famUy ;
and said he was anxious to hear whether the expected
infant would be a boy, adding that ' as soon as her
Highness begins to bring boys into the world she
would give up having girls altogether.' He then told
me he was determined to finish the Sala once and for
aU, to which I rephed that I would, without fad,
furnish the two great pictures which are still wanted,
and that afterwards we could think about the rest."
One of the two pictures is to be the Massacre of the
Huguenots, an event which was looked upon in Rome
in a somewhat different light from that in which we
are now accustomed to regard it, being accounted, in
fact, one of the most glorious events of Gregory's
pontificate. Vasari caUs it "that affair of the Hugue
nots," and Francesco de' Medici, replying to Giorgio's
letter, refers to it in much the same strain. He is
glad to hear that " his Holiness has, with his usual
good judgment, decided to have painted in the
Sala Regia so holy and noteworthy an action as
the retribution wrought on the Huguenots in
France." WhUe Vasari was detained in Rome he received
the most honourable treatment at the hands of the
Pope. The court was different from what it had
been under recent successors of St. Peter. Gregory

326 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
regarded his election in a serious light, and proceeded
to curb the worldly pomp and magnificence of his
cardinals. If there were no other testimony in
support of this statement, the word of Giorgio him
self might be enough, as more than once he refers to
the changes which have taken place since his last
visit to Rome. He describes the new Pope as a
kind man, and " though stern and of few words,"
he shows great affection for the painter. Else
where he tells us that "I do not see the Pope
every day, as I am busy in the Sala Regia. If I
am not sent for, or if I have nothing important
to say to him, I do not seek an interview, as
this court is governed in a very different manner
from what it used to be. The chief things I find
abounding in Rome are taciturnity and decorous
gravity." Under such circumstances it is surprising to find
that the Pope troubled himself about the personal
comforts of the artist at all, or that he cared whether
his lodging was good or bad. Two factors seem to
have smoothed Vasari's path : the first the circum
stance that the Grand Duke would note the treat
ment of his favourite with a critical eye, and the
other the increasing years both of artist and Pope.
Gregory elected to treat Vasari with every honour.
" His Holiness appears to be incredibly fond of me.
He has appointed for my use some of the finest
apartments in the Belvedere, painted and decorated
with historical scenes by " — oh, irony of fate ! —
"Federigo Zucchero. Two of the rooms in par
ticular are exceedingly fine; one of them has the
walls hung with tapestry, and contains luxurious
cloth-covered couches, so that really I doubt
whether Apelles or any other painter was ever the

DEATH OF BRONZINO 327
recipient of so much honour from any crowned
head." With all this it does not appear that Vasari was
able to accomplish much work during the earlier part
of his visit. He had spoken too soon of having
escaped from the Ul-effects of so tedious a journey,
for within a week of his arrival he was struck down
by a feverish cold, the cause of which he considers to
be the " bad weather I experienced on my journey,"
quite forgetting that he had shortly before told
Borghini how he escaped the chastisement of wind,
rain and snow. However, the main point is that
Vasari fell Ul and was prevented from getting on with
the " Huguenot affair " in the Sala Regia. The only
bright spot in this delay was the solicitude shown by
the Pope, who sent his own physician to attend the
invalid. " My own diligence and not having any
constitutional weakness have combined to make me
well again. And so that God might have me still
more in His protection, he gave orders that I was to
stay in bed for a fortnight1 so as to rest and avoid
such complications as might possibly supervene."
" He has turned the Cardinal Polacco out of the
Belvedere," he says later on in the letter, "so that
I might have better accommodation, and now I am
lodged like a king with so much gorgeousness that
I think it evident how very much esteem he has for
my patrons, my ability and myself." Bronzino, the
painter, is dead — he died on November 23rd — and
Giorgio, as usual, is plunged in grief that there is one
artist less in the world. " To tell the truth, Signore
1 Lest the reader should make a mistake as to who it was that told
Giorgio to stay in bed, it will perhaps be advisable to quote the actual
words : " E perche Dio tiene protezione di me, m'ha voluto tenere in
letto questi quindici di."

328 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
Priore, I weep bitterly for him, as it is a great loss.
God help the younger generation that our art be
come not extinct, which I greatly fear. Here there
are no artists left and no new men coming on :
nobody is wiUing to go through the drudgery of
learning." The mental and the physical condition of Giorgio
Vasari at the end of the year 1572 clearly indicate
that, like his well-beloved patron Cosimo de' Medici,
he was beginning to break up. In former years he
had been able to bear the fatigue of long journeys
and incessant activity in his calling without their
leaving a mark upon him. Now, however, he was
growing short-winded and, to be frank, was getting
somewhat wheezy with chronic catarrh. Old age
caught him in her grip long before he sighted the end
of life's allotted span, and death was soon to snatch
him away, not too full of years, at the age of sixty-
three. In spite of his adments and increasing in
firmities Giorgio struggled bravely on, though already
he foresaw that it would be the end of April, and
not of March, before he was able to return to
Florence. Perhaps he had a misgiving that, after
all, he would not live to complete the cupola ; and
he needed no spurring forward on the part of the
Pope. " I have already been to lunch on two occa
sions with the Castellan i1 he is extraordinarily fond
of me (che mi adora), and grieves to see how old I am
getting, just at a time when my services are most
needed. His Holiness, too, is perpetuaUy keeping
me up to the mark over this Sala, urging me to
finish it, believing — such is the great faith he has in
my abilities — that I shall do something that will
please him." Even in his old age Giorgio has lost
1 Jacopo Buoncompagno, son of the Pope.

APPROACH OF OLD AGE 329
nothing of his magnificent belief in his supreme
powers as an artist. He tells Francesco de' Medici,
in a letter dated January 16th, 1573, that " God has
seen fit to endow me, growing old as I am, with
greater powers than ever, so that before the coming
of the hot weather I shaU have brought my work to
perfection. Thus, through the medium of your
Highness who lent him my services, his Holiness
will be enabled to leave this notable and splendid
memorial of himself for the enjoyment of posterity.
When it is finished I shall come back again to serve
you until my life's end, in the terrible undertaking
of the cupola. Even now I contrive to give four
hours each day, either during the day or in the night,
to my designs and studies for this work, so that the
Almighty, in whose honour so great an undertaking
was begun, shall cause your name to resound through
all ages, during life, after death, and until the world
shall cease to exist."
It was the cupola that now filled Giorgio's thoughts
by day and his dreams by night, even as a few years
before the Sala Grande of the Palazzo Vecchio had
done. He would gladly have abandoned the Sala
Regia if that might be done without offending the
Grand Duke ; but though Cosimo knew fuU weU the
secret wishes of his servant, reasons of State forbade
his acceding to them. He kept the enthusiasm of
the artist at fever heat by telling him to use aU
despatch in the service of the Pope and to hurry
back to Florence. The letters of Cosimo were
couched in terms of affectionate condescension, even
to the extent of addressing him as magnifico nostro
carissimo; and Giorgio, lest the Duke should grow
cool in the matter, sent full and frequent accounts of
his progress with the cartoons. " If it were not," he

330 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
writes at the end of January, " that I fear to disturb
your Highness's lofty meditations, I should be only
too ready, although I am almost overpowered by the
immensity of what I have in hand — immense because
of the variety and number of things that are included
in it — I should be only too ready to write to you
every day, informing you with my pen of aU that I
accomplish with my brush both by night and by day
so as to get the work finished, and to be able to obey
your Highness's injunctions in the matter of getting
done quickly and then returning to Florence so as to
get on with the cupola." The usual appreciation of
his own abilities and the splendid undertakings of the
Grand Duke follows, concluding with these words :
" And I who through your beneficence may number
myself among the most favoured and fortunate of
my profession, after thanking God Almighty, ought
to be grateful to your Highness, seeing that you
have ever given me the opportunity of increasing my
fame by putting such important works under my
care, so that not only have my abilities been appre
ciated by your Highness, but they have also by that
means come to the knowledge of many Popes, many
exalted potentates and the whole world. Gifted by
Providence with good health and patronised by you,
I am now, at my advanced age, capable of more
continuous exertions than when I was a lad of
twenty." The artist's happy frame of mind reacted
on his body, and he felt able to undertake more
severe physical exercise than had lately been his
wont. Among the exploits of which he tells his
friend Borghini was the pious act of visiting the seven
churches in succession during Carnival, not forgetting
to pray in each of them for the spiritual welfare of
the Prior. The Pope, however, did not approve

PILGRIMAGES 331
of his running risks in these needless pilgrimages,
for " when his Holiness heard that I had visited the
seven churches on foot he reprimanded me for doing
so, although I wasn't a bit tired, and finished up by
absolving me from all my sins."

CHAPTER XVI
DEATH OF THE ARTIST
Failing health of Cosimo — Anxiety of Vasari to return to his master's
side — Portrait of Gregory XIII — Invitation to Spain — Completion of
the Sala Regia — Cupola to be Vasari's last work — Rome a benevolent
employer — Last days spent with the Grand Duke, discussing the car
toons for the Cupola — Death of Cosimo — Death of Vasari.
TIME, who thus began to treat Vasari with some
little harshness, dealt still more severely with
the Grand Duke, now fast becoming a chronic
invalid. Saltini tells us that two years before the
date with which we are now concerned Cosimo had
practically lost all use of his arms and legs, and
suffered so much with catarrh that he could scarcely
speak above a whisper. In February, 1573, his con
dition became worse, causing great alarm to all the
court. The unwelcome news reached Giorgio in
Rome, filling him with forebodings. " I had afready
heard what you tell me about the Grand Duke's
condition," he says in his letter to Borghini, " from
Cardinal de Cesis. You do well to say ' God help
him.' . . . The Almighty has already taken Pius V
from us : should He take the Grand Duke as weU, it
will indeed appear as if He were about to avenge
Himself upon us for our offences." The effect of
this illness sank deep into his spirit, and though it
did not cause him to slacken his pace with the car
toons for the cupola, it made him think very seriously
about putting his own affairs in order and preparing
332

HIS WILL 333
for the next world. It was at this time that he
added a codicil to his will providing for his wife and
disposing of several small sums of money for the
benefit of his nieces. Fortune, having persistently
turned a deaf ear to Vasari's desire for children of
his own, had given him at least five nieces, who are
mentioned by name in his will, and all of whom be
came nuns, as well as two nephews, to say nothing
of his brother Piero's children. His house in Arezzo
had been left to his own children in a former will,
with injunctions that they were not to turn their
mother out of doors. But when age had overtaken
him, and he knew that he was destined to die chdd-
less, he left this house to Piero's children, with the
proviso that no alterations of any kind were to be
made in its construction. To each child was be
queathed a room, but no partitions were to be built :
if they could not agree to live peaceably together,
they might divide up their several portions with
boarding, but the house was not in any way to be
interfered with. To his wife he left some property
at Capucciolo and a sum of 500 florins, from which,
however, was to be deducted such part of her dowry
of 800 florins as had not been paid. His property
at Frassineto, including lands, horses, mules, cows,
bullocks, sheep, goats, pigs and donkeys, was left to
the children of Piero. " Every day," the letter con
tinues, "I hear of the death of some friend or
another, cut off in the midst of a life of worry;
therefore I say to myself estote parati. ... I fear,
I tremble, for our Grand Duke. May it please God
to keep us from this terrible calamity. Yet it is
from God that all things proceed, the evil as well as
the good ; and all these things are come upon us for
our sins. I spend my time in frequenting the holy

334 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
places, praying for his speedy restoration and
for the welfare of my many benefactors, of whom
you are one. God is my witness how great an affec
tion I bear you." The letter, it is scarcely necessary
to state, is addressed to Borghini, and was written
partly so that his concern for the Duke might be
known in the proper quarter, and partly because he
thought it well to remind his friends that, whatever
his health might be, his artistic abilities were in no
way impaired. " Every day I am brought to a f idler
recognition of the abihty God has given me, for
whenever I find myself involved in a difficult and
complex piece of work my powers invariably rise to
the task imposed upon them. You wiU readUy be
lieve this when I say that alone I have completed six
great cartoons representing as many terrific events
(storie terribili), each one full of original ideas, of
figures, and of other things both beautiful and intri
cate ; that I have never done anything quite so
good, and that I am determined to complete the
whole work with my own hands, only employing my
assistants for the accessories, draperies, and other
portions which are of less importance, such as the
landscapes, buildings and simUar details."
After reading so far in Giorgio's letter it becomes
interesting to speculate on how much would be left
for the ingenuous painter himself to do. The faces
and hands, and finally the pompous inscription — in
which the artist proclaims that twelve Popes, in
thirty-nine years, employed a dozen painters to deco
rate the Sala Regia ; and that the thirteenth Pope,
the thirteenth of the name of Gregory, employed the
thirteenth painter, Georgius Vasari us pictor Aretin.
Cosmi Magni Actruriae Duds alunnum, who, to
make the cycle of thirteen complete, finished the

THE SALA REGIA 335
work in thirteen months — were all that could have
remained for him to achieve. But these he did
achieve, his fingers, as he tells us, moving " as fast as
a piper's," returning in the intervals, when he had to
give place to his assistants, to his princely apart
ments in the Belvedere, where he turned his atten
tion to the beloved cupola of Florence. " When I
come back I shall bring with me the scheme for the
whole vault . . . and you will see the best and most
carefully thought out drawings that I ever did, which
I hope will astound both the Grand Duke and your
self." Again the recipient of the letter is Borghini.
And while the cartoons were destined to astonish
the Florentines, the same treat was in store, so
Vasari thought, for the inhabitants of Rome, as in
another letter to Borghini, referring to the Sala
Regia, he says that although the weather is unusually
bad, the hills being covered with snow, he keeps
well, as " God, who seems to have an especial care
for me, makes me strong and vahant even in my old
age, so that nothing impedes my progress, and I get
through my work as bravely as any younger man
would do : and if I managed to amaze these Romans
with my former works, this last performance of mine
wUl assuredly leave them speechless with wonder."
A fortnight or so later he again refers to the same
topic, expressing his delight at the progress made,
and saying that whereas once he had been doomed
to count the time till his return to Florence in
months, he now counts it not even in weeks or days,
but in hours. He beUeves that by the middle of
April his task will be completed. "But I do not
yet know," he adds, " how much longer his Hohness
wiU keep me here, though every day seems as a
thousand years, and that for two reasons: first,

336 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
because I am greatly in need of rest, both bodily
and mental; and, secondly, because I have reached
such an age that even small delays may be serious.
However, I have indeed performed my knightly
duty, for by the grace of God all the designs for the
cupola are finished, and well finished, too, so that
anybody who knows anything about painting could
take the matter up and do the actual frescoes. The
only part I have not yet drawn out is the figure of the
Christ, and I have left that so as to have something
to occupy myself with during Eastertide and untd
my departure."
The delays which occurred before he was able to
turn his back on Rome were numerous and vexa
tious, the one bright spot in his life during the next
month being the news that Cosimo was getting
better, and was, for the time being at any rate, out
of danger. Apart from this, Fate was adversely
disposed towards the fast aging painter. She even
threatened to destroy one of his cherished pictures
in the Sala Regia, for no sooner had he com
pleted the fresco representing The Alliance made
between the Spanish, Venetians and Paul V, than
the news reached Rome that the Venetians had
seceded from the League. Gregory was intensely
mortified at this breach of faith, and he felt it the
more keenly as he was himself a Venetian. He
wished to have Vasari's painting obliterated, but
subsequently changed his mind, either because it had
been so recently completed, or else because he was
"won over by the beauty and amount of study
involved in the picture," both of which reasons are
put forward by Vasari at various times in his corre
spondence. To the colder reason of modern criti
cism there may appear a third and more cogent

PORTRAIT OF GREGORY XIII 337
argument for the preservation of this picture in the
fact that Gregory was in a great hurry to have the
Sala completed, and the proposed act would have
entailed considerable delay in the work.
Vasari was at this time engaged in painting a
portrait of the Pope, and seized the opportunity
afforded by lengthy sittings to crave permission to
depart now that the great task was finished. He
seems also to have presumed to give his Holiness
some excellent, if unsought, advice with regard to
the picture of the League during these sittings, and
relates the circumstance with satisfaction. " Yester
day I was with him for two hours finishing the
portrait, and we talked a great deal about that affair
of the League. He had quite recovered from his
anger, and it was a very fortunate thing that I was
there, as God opened my mouth and I gave him
much good advice." It is recorded, by the way, that
the mouth of Balaam's ass was once opened, and
that he, too, gave good advice to his master. " Then,"
the letter continues, " as I have already done half the
last picture and finished all the others, I said that
I would like to go back to Florence at the end of
May. To this he replied that, as I had laboured
industriously and done so much to please him, he
would do nothing to thwart my desires, but that if I
elected to stay he would be glad to retain my
services." Vasari had set his heart on returning to Florence,
and not aU the flattering proffers of the Pope, or
later of the King of Spain, could deter him. The
latter offered him the position of court painter with
a regular salary of fifteen hundred crowns a year and
extra payment for each picture completed, but Giorgio
would have none of it. Marcantonio Colonna was

338 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
commissioned to interview him on the subject and
was sent empty away. " I desire no further fame,"
says Giorgio in relating the incident in one of his
letters, " I seek no more worldly pelf ; and I do not
want to undertake any more big schemes with their
attendant worries. I thank God for the proffered
honour, but it only serves to make me go back more
contentedly to the enjoyment of my own little posses
sions : for I have performed so many feats of arms,
fought so many battles, and by my efforts ex
tinguished so many rivalries, that I have been enabled
to put by sufficient to serve me untU the earth covers
my bones. Therefore, Signore Priore, you may expect
me back ; and when I come I shaU have no other
wish than to finish the cupola in peace and quietness,
and after that to close my eyes in the eternal sleep."
The offers of employment which reached him from
all sides were exceedingly gratifying to the painter,
even though he turned away from their allurements.
The envy and mahce of his fellow-artists in Rome,
too, added not a little to his feeling of satisfaction.
" To be slandered by his assistants," he remarks, " is
the daily bread of him who endeavours to do his
duty " ; and as Vasari notoriously had more than the
usual share of these professional accessories, it is to be
presumed that he was envied and behed in proportion.
He rejoices that his task in Rome is nearly finished,
and gently rails at his friends in Florence for their
anxiety to see him at work on the cupola, aUowing
no interval for rest. " You keep on calhng, calling
me," he says, "to come and finish the cupola." "It
is the last cross I shall bear. . . . But I wiU have
courage, and faith in God. While He guides me
I fear nothing, neither Time, nor hard work, nor
even death itself."

COMPLETION OF THE SALA REGIA 339
It is his persistent dweUing upon his ability to
defy the attacks of time which shows most clearly
how Vasari must have realised that for him the sands
were fast running out : and though he generally con
trives to keep up a bold front, there are letters in
which he throws off the mask and confesses to a feel
ing of unwonted weariness. " This time," he says,
writing to Francesco on April 16th, " I am indeed
exhausted, and now that I have reached the age of
sixty years,1 the almost insuperable difficulties and the
worries consequent upon works of such a magnitude
are more than I can support. May the blessed God
from whom I received whatever ability I may have
and the opportunity of showing it in the commence
ment of so worthy an enterprise, give me grace and
strength to finish it. If there remains any time over
when it is done, I will devote it to His service and
praise." The Sala Regia, the cause of Giorgio's delay in
Rome, was completed during the same month of
April, and the consciousness of another imminent
triumph spreads a glow of happiness and expectation
over his next letters. " I have just uncovered some
of the pictures," he says, writing to Borghini on the
16th, " and I think they wUl make a stir, as for the
chief part they are the work of my own hands. If
the work has been arduous, the enhancement of my
reputation will be proportionately great. I only
hope it will have the same effect upon the payment
I am to receive ! To have painted such a Sala as
this, Signor priore mio, is a notable achievement, for
though it is not so large as the one in Florence there
is infinitely more work in it, and it stands in the
chief city of the world. Thanks be to God that such
1 He was sixty-one, and not sixty.

340 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
an enterprise was put into my hands without my
having to ask for it even, and that I have proved
equal to the task."
The high opinion held by the artist concerning
his work was endorsed by the Pope, who shortly
afterwards paid a private visit to the scene of his
labours. " Yesterday, the festival of the Ascension,
his Holiness sent for me saying that he desired to
inspect the new pavement and the pictures, which
are now practicaUy finished, while the Sala is stiU
closed to the public. So I had everything un
covered, and as a result gave great pleasure both
to him and myself, for this is the first time I have
been able to judge of the effect as a whole. My
dear Prior, that Pope and the few gentlemen who
were with him were full of astonishment, I can teU
you ! His Holiness stayed there for more than a
whole hour and used the greatest cordiaHty when
speaking to me, saying that I had never done any
thing better in my life. He promised that he would
find something for Marcantonio without fad, and said
that he would not forget me either. This evening
the whole court is buzzing with admiration, for the
news has spread that the Sala is finished. It has
been decided to throw it open on Corpus Christi, so
that will give time for the pavement to be finished
and for the inscriptions to be placed under the
pictures." He goes on to say that he is in need
of rest, not because he feels any bodily fatigue after
his labours, nor yet because he is tired of the atten
tions paid him at court, but because he yearns for
the comfort of his own home and the society of his
intimate friends, and is suffering from what we
should call nowadays brain-fag, "after having done
little else than think and scheme for seven months

CUPOLA TO BE HIS LAST WORK 341
on end." He considers this to be his masterpiece :
"It is going to be the most beautiful of aU my
works," he says, " for I have never managed to im
part so much vigour and relief to my figures before."
And this he has accomplished in spite of the diffi
culties and vexations caused by bad weather, of
which he says jokingly in one of his letters that if
his friends have found it cold in Florence it has been
far worse in Rome, for half the time he has been
obliged to work not in fresco, but in freddo,1 and
many a time I have felt the plaster freezing while
I worked upon it." Vasari's share in the Sala Regia,
as already shown, consists of three great panels, the
Massacre of the Huguenots, the Battle of Lepanto,
and the League between Pius V, the Spaniards and
the Venetians. These are the works which were to
rival Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling and the Stanze
of Raffaello, which lie beyond in the labyrinthine
palace of the Vatican. The Stanze, the Sistine, and
the Sala Regia are indeed monuments ; but while
the first two are the monuments of their painters'
greatness, the third is but the monument of Vasari's
conceit ; and, as Fate wills it, the present-day visi
tor's course through the Vatican is so arranged that
he passes from the mysteries and miracles of Raffaello
to the marvellous vault of Michelangelo : then, if he
wander so far, into the Sala, where Vasari's unin
spired and uninspiring frescoes strike a discordant
and quite unpleasant note.
Although Vasari refused to admit even to himself
that he was growing old, too old almost for work,
he was fully determined that the cupola should be
the last of his undertakings. He seems to have
arrived at this decision not because his artistic
1 " E io questo anno non ho lavorato in fresco, ma in freddo.''

342 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
powers were exhausted, but because he looked upon
each successive work as being better than the last,
and nearer to that perfection which he felt he was
about to reach in Santa Maria del Fiore. It is perhaps
for this very reason that we find the reiterated phrase
applied by him to the Sala Regia — " the best thing
that ever I did " — coupled with a recognition of the
superior powers which he believes the Deity had
endowed him with in his old age. The crowning
achievement of his life, the noble and perpetual
memorial of Cosimo de' Medici's reign, was to be the
cupola. After that Cosimo might die and Vasari
retire to his farm, forgetting that he had even been
the worthy successor of Michelangelo and RaffaeUo.
His fame was to live for ever in the cathedral
church of the Lily of Arno. It was in this frame
of mind that on May 16th, 1573, he wrote to Fran
cesco, mapping out the future that was only in part
to be his. "As by the grace of God and by dint
of working hard night and day 1 have been able to
continue with the painting of this Sala Regia, and
have finished it in such a way as to leave it the best
of all my works in Rome, I think I may say —
having arrived at an age when most men give over
working — that the hand of the Almighty God rules
mine as well as guides the actions of your most
serene Highness. It is my hope, being never so
happy as when serving your family, that I shall be
able to return to Florence and finish the great
cupola, that being the last work I mean to do."
He tells the Prince how anxious he is to get away,
and that on his arrival in Florence he "will so dispose
of the cupola as to add, by his efforts, still more
lustre to the already iUustrious name of the Medici.
Although the Sala was already finished and only

ROME 343
Waiting the day set apart for its public opening,
Giorgio was unable to escape from Rome as early as
he hoped. He was commissioned by the Pope to
paint portraits of Cosimo, Francesco and his wife ;
and was obliged to wait until sketches could be sent
from Florence. These minor works kept him hanging
about until the hot weather he so much dreaded
arrived and threatened to upset his equanimity alto
gether. It is almost in a state of despair that he
writes to Francesco saying that he now intends to
set out for Florence without fail on the first or second
of June, whether his paintings are finished or not.
The heat of Rome is insupportable, " beastly hot " —
un bestial caldo are his exact words, and he does not
intend to remain there any longer.
It does not appear, however, that the numerous
delays were due so much to the action of the Pope
as to the artist's intention of being present at the
unveiling of his work. We have seen that praise was
as nectar to him, and judging from the stir that had
been made in the Vatican when it became known
that Gregory had paid a private visit of inspection to
the Sala, Giorgio had reason to believe that his works
would receive a popular ovation when thrown open
to the pubhc gaze. It formed no part of his plans to
miss the reward of his labours, or to be absent while
sonnets perhaps were being penned in his praise ; and,
too, the question of payment had stUl to be settled.
In this last respect he was too skilled in the usages of
courts not to know that much depended upon striking
while the iron was hot, and, as is shown by the sequel,
he chose his moment so well that he issued from the
financial aspect of his undertaking triumphant and
rejoicing. It is interesting to note the change that
his feelings have undergone towards the Eternal City ;

344 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
he speaks of her no longer with his vituperative questa
Romaccia — this abominable, despicable, nothing-I-
can-say-about-it-is-bad-enough Rome — but as a kind
and generous benefactor. " This Rome," he writes
to Borghini, "has been a very good Rome to me
indeed. Many a time she has found me in rags and
sent me away with a fine coat on my back ; and this
time even the eyes of the blindest are opened to the
scope of my achievements. The Sala is a subhme
performance, and though God saw fit to deprive me
of all my envying assistants, that very fact obUged
me to worry through the whole thing single-handed,
and has in consequence been its own reward. Let
me give the praise to God. The Pope has grown so
fond of me that he is quite distressed at my approach
ing departure, and says he wiU ask my patrons to
send me back next winter. Well, well ; to be desired
of so many people — albeit I am a miserable Httle
mortal — is something to thank the Almighty for.
All the same, I am delighted at the prospect of
coming back to Florence, and am making my final
preparations. The business portion of the under
taking here is settled, so on that score I shaU come
back to you a satisfied and contented man. As for
Marcantonio, his Holiness has made him an aUowance
of a hundred crowns a year, with the promise of the
first place falling vacant, either a cavalicrato or what
ever it may happen to be. And, finaUy, the Datario
has become my very good friend ever since he saw
the pictures uncovered in the Sala. I am setting out
on my journey to-morrow, the first of June. I shaU
travel in easy stages, twenty miles a day, half in the
early freshness of the morning and the remainder in
the evening. I have excellent baiting places. The
Cardinal Farnese is going to put me up at Caprarola,

FLORENCE 345
Cardinal Simoncello at Orvieto, and Messer Piero
Bacci, the Governor, at Castel della Pieve. At Cor
tona the Bishop will entertain me during my stay ; at
Frassineto I shaU be with Mona Cosina, and at Arezzo
I shall find the rest of my relations. I will write to
you from thence, as I shall be remaining ten days,
after which I shall bring La Cosina by way of La
Verna to Camaldoli (where his Holiness has granted
permission for her to be lodged in the Badia da Basso),
and thence by way of Valle Ombrosa to Florence."
Thus ended the last of Vasari's visits to Rome, in
a little blaze of glory. He had been treated with
marked respect by a Pope who was by no means
as lavish with his favour as his predecessors had been,
and there is conscious pride in the heart of honest
bourgeois Giorgio as he recites the catalogue of nota-
bdities who are to have the honour of giving him a
bed for the night on his way back to Tuscany.
Upon his arrival in Florence the painter hurried to
pay his duty to the Grand Duke. We have no
means of knowing whether Vasari was surprised at
the great change which had taken place in the condi
tion of his patron — indeed, there is but little in
formation forthcoming which would serve to throw
a light upon the closing days of these two men, so
utterly dissimilar, and yet so strangely attracted the
one to the other. We have already had occasion to
remark the affection with which Vasari regarded all
the members of the Medici family, and his particular
attachment to the person of the Grand Duke ; and
Cosimo, when he had given over the cares of the
government to his son and lay upon a bed of sickness,
scarcely able either to move or make his wishes
known, found much solace in the society of the faith
ful painter whose whole life had been more or less con-

346 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
nected with his own. The elder by some eight years,
Vasari was a link with the past. He had witnessed
the murdsr of Alessandro, or had as nearly witnessed
it as any save the actual assassins, and had seen the
accession of the present Duke. During the thirty-
six years of his reign he had participated in nearly
every event of importance, with the exception of
those of a bellicose nature, and even these it had
been his duty to depict upon the waUs of the Sala
Grande as a lasting memorial of the same. The
honour which Cosimo hoped to win from future
generations by the magnificence of his buildings was
in part the honour of Vasari, for his was the mind
that first contrived them and which guided their
erection. If Cosimo founded the Order of Santo
Stefano, it was Vasari who planned and embellished
both the church and palace belonging to the order at
Pisa. If Cosimo reconstructed the Sala Grande of
the Palazzo Vecchio, Vasari's was the hand that did
the actual work ; and now that there remained but
one thing worthy to be accomplished in Florence —
the decoration of Brunelleschi's great dome — it was
still Vasari, old and feeble, who visited the sick-bed
of his dying patron to receive his faltering instruc
tions and to discuss details. This is the picture
sketched for us by Giorgio's hand : " I have spent
the whole of these holidays with the Grand Duke,
who likes to have me near him; and although he
does not speak, is always glad to hear what is going
on, and takes great delight in looking at the drawings
for the cupola I have to show him."
It was Vasari's intention to begin the actual work
directly after the festival of San Pietro, at the end of
June, but he was prevented, not by the illness of the
Grand Duke, but by his own feeble state of health.

o

CARTOONS FOR THE CUPOLA 347
The labour involved in climbing to the scaffolding
high up in the dome was such that his spirit shrank
from the attempt, and he put off the commencement
of his work from day to day. " I should have been
up long ago to work at the frescoes, but the catarrh
has been too much for me. I am trying to contrive
some sort of basket or cage in which I can be drawn
up to the scaffolding. Except for this I am as well
as usual, but if I do not feel better before the winter
comes on I shall have to move to a different lodging."
And so it goes on, the simple story of an old man
whose lifework is done gently sHpping into the grave
—just as he had wished it to be in one of his letters,
except that the cupola had stUl to be done. Some
times he mounts aloft and manages to do a spell of
painting ; sometimes the Grand Duke has a relapse
and Giorgio hovers within call, in case he may be
asked for ; sometimes again he seems to be getting
better, and then Giorgio is ever ready with a new
drawing or a fresh scheme to show his patron and
to keep alive his interest in the things of this world.
Vasari was wilHng even to neglect the great work if
by so doing he could give pleasure to his master.
" Yesterday the Grand Duke was very pleased be
cause I showed him a new drawing, and he kept me
talking about it until four o'clock." This letter,
dated July 18th, 1573, is the last of those written by
Vasari still extant ; after it there comes unillumined
silence — not yet the silence of death, but a silence
through which no glimpse of the failing artist reaches
us. How he watched beside his patron, the once
mighty Cosimo, now laid low and more impotent
than a babe, we guess rather than know of certain
knowledge; we see him, old and grey, stimulating
his fading powers into momentary vigour whenever

348 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
the great Duke rallied from the torpor which was
slowly enveloping his faculties, so that there might
be some new drawing to show " when he recovered."
And doubtless Giorgio would talk of the future and
of the mutual glory that would be theirs when the
cupola was numbered among things accomplished;
for hope is as inextinguishable in the heart of age as
in the heart of youth. It was nothing significant to
Vasari that he preferred to ascend into the cupola in
a basket rather than by the laborious climbing of
immeasurable ladders ; it did not teU him that he was
attempting more than was in him to achieve. Except
for the catarrh he is as well as usual. It is a passing
cold, or the unsuitable weather — certainly not the
infirmity of age — that retards the progress of the
work. As soon as he has got over his indisposition
he will go up into the dome and work away night
and day at the frescoes, for he wUl certainly be caUed
back to Rome when the autumn comes, so that it is
most important to push forward with the Florentine
frescoes in the meantime. Sometimes the thought
troubles him that the Granduca may not, after all,
live long enough to witness his servant's triumph;
and then it is that Giorgio works for longer hours,
plying his brush faster and more furiously than ever
in the vain race with death. But always Cosimo is
to be the victim, and not Giorgio Vasari, his faithful
painter. For nearly a year after Vasari penned that last
letter Cosimo continued the losing struggle for Ufe,
the artist remaining ever at hand, during such time
as he was not engaged upon his frescoes, to learn the
latest news from the sick-room and to be permitted
sometimes to visit the illustrious sufferer. In the
meantime the very frescoes halted, as if the mechan-

DEATH OF COSIMO 349
ism by which they were to be evolved had suddenly
lost its motive power and the wheels were running
down. Gradually the Grand Duke sank ; gradually
the progress of the frescoes slackened, and Giorgio's
heart grew heavy within him. He realised now that
his patron would not live to share his triumph, and
this realisation seems to have sealed the fate of the
frescoes. On April 24th, 1574, Cosimo de' Medici,
first Grand Duke of Tuscany, passed to his eternal
rest, and among those who mourned him none per
haps was more sincere in his grief than the painter,
who lingered sorrowfully untU the last, and then
crept away with a heavy heart to his own home.
With the death of his patron his interest in the
cupola and all desire to proceed with it vanished.
Le roi est mort sounded his death knell, and no new
hope sprang for him from the subsequent cry of Vive
le roi !
"I am plunged into the deepest grief, as your
Highness will readily imagine, by the death of the
Cavaliere Messer Giorgio, my brother, which has just
taken place. May his soul rest in peace." So wrote
Pietro Vasari, on June 27th, to Francesco de' Medici,
only sixty-four days after the decease of Cosimo.
Who shall say that the loss of his beloved master
did not hasten the artist's dissolution ? He seems to
have suffered from no specific disease, but to have
slipped quietly away from his moorings and launched
into the eternal. Beyond Pietro's letter and a short
notice in a manuscript preserved in the Biblioteca
deUa Pia Confraternita di Santa Maria at Arezzo
there is nothing to be learnt that we do not already
know. " On June 27th, 1574, there died Messer
Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo, a painter and architect of

350 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
great merit. He was the architect of the whole of
the new buildings near the Zecca in Florence for the
Magistrati : he painted the walls and ceding of the
magnificent salone which belongs to the Duke; he
commenced the paintings in the dome of the Floren
tine Cathedral, but only completed the groups of
kings under the lantern ; and executed many other
works which are to be seen here in Florence."1
1 Lapini, Diario.

CHAPTER XVII
THE CUPOLA
Vasari's place in art— His belief in himself— Fate of the Cupola of Santa
Maria del Fiore — Zucchero appointed to complete it — Lasca's satirical
verses concerning the completed work.
SO died Giorgio Vasari, .haying indeed -rendered
himself immortal, but not by his skill as architect
and painter. He considered himself to be a consum
mate artist ; he believed himself the worthy successor
of Michelangelo and RaffaeUo, and that the popes
and princes he served would gain additional lustre
from the works he did for them. He was to live
among the immortals, he knew that ; yet he mistook
the source of his immortality. Had he been told
that as a painter he would run the risk of sinking
into the realm of the forgotten but that he would
five for ever as the historian of the artists, he would
have laughed his interlocutor to scorn, or perhaps
have boxed his ears as he did Lottino's.
Vasari was not entirely to blame for this lack of
the sense of proportion. The tide of the Renaissance
was already on the turn when first he saw the Hght
in Arezzo. He himself considered that the period of
trial and experiment in art was over, and that he and
his contemporaries had but to follow the lines denned
by their predecessors in order to reach perfection.
"No one," he exclaims, "who is a painter nowa
days cares any more to strive after new compositions,
new attitudes or new folds for drapery ; for new
modes of expression or for sublimity in all the varied
351

352 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
effects obtainable in art. All the perfection that can
possibly be given to works of this kind has already
been imparted to these figures (in the Sistine chapel)
by Michelangelo." It was enough that the would-be
artist possessed a certain dexterity with his pencil and
knew how to handle a brush. If he were an adept
in the laws of perspective and had a few ideas to
boot — or a good friend to supply the deficiency —
there was no knowing to what eminence he might
rise. This is Vasari's profession of faith, and this is
the equipment by means of which he beheved himself
capable of rivalling the greatest painters the world has
ever known. That this is so his paintings bear ample
testimony. He was gifted with most of the parts"
that go to make up the artist, yet there is always
missing that semi-divine touch that would give his
work individuality, raising his vast productions from [
their monotonous level of uninspired mediocrity into ^
the ranks of the world's masterpieces. His was an ,
art to which there was only a physical Hmit: and
whde Borghini supplied the subjects and settled the
minutiae of dress and accessories, Giorgio worked away j
for dear life at canvas or waU-space, justifying Cel-y
lini's simulated terror lest he should live long enough
to cover all Florence with his efforts.
The biographer of artists, Vasari knew better than
anyone else what course the arts had taken : he knew
which of his predecessors had risen to eminence;
and when he, too, in process of time rose to a hke
position, he was blinded by conceit and self-satisfac
tion to the true source of the favours showered upon
him. It is as though he said to himself: " RaffaeUo
and Michelangelo were great painters to whom were
given the most important commissions in Rome and
elsewhere : I follow in their footsteps both in Rome

HIS PLACE IN ART 353
and Florence: Duke Cosimo welcomes me at his
court, and the Pope begs me from him as a personal
favour — therefore I also am a great painter." Such
logic, while faulty, is human and comprehensible; and
perhaps Vasari is the more lovable just because he
did lack that sense of proportion and view himself
through a glass that not only magnified, but was rose-
coloured into the bargain.
It is strange to reflect how exactly the verdict of
posterity has reversed Vasari's judgment. It is poss
ible to believe that not a few of those who are quite
famihar with his name as a writer are unaware that
he was a prominent artist in his own day, and many
who have seen his extensive frescoes in Florence may
yet learn with surprise that after the death of Michel
angelo he was caUed in as consulting architect to St.^
Peter's at Rome.
He stands among the immortals, not as an archi
tect, stdl less as a painter, but as the historian of art ;
the first to set himself to collect the fast fading
records of those great old masters who overcame the
difficulties of draughtmanship and perspective, and
whose genius triumphed over all the subtleties of ex
pression and motion. Many a painter whose name
is passing weU known would have sunk into oblivion
had not Giorgio enshrined him in the Lives: and
now those same Lives, written by one whose hand
was "more fitted to wield the brush than the pen,"
have become his own monument, to last as in his
fond blindness he hoped of his paintings, "during
life, after death, and until the world shall have ceased
to exist." " Gira qui gli occhi, o tu, che varchi, e'l passo
Arresta : qui di Giorgio e '1 carnal velo,
E la fama empie il mondo, e vola al cielo :
Onora il tempio, il nome, il spirto, e'l sasso,"
2 A

354 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
The body of the dead painter was taken to Arezzo,
con grandissimo onore, but not untd four years later,
as we learn from the manuscript at Arezzo already
mentioned. He seems to have been first buried at
Florence : for the old forgotten and unknown writer
who has left us this record says : " On the seven and
twentieth day of June, and in the year 1574, there
died Messer Giorgio Vasari, who had been held in
much favour by the Pontiffs Pius V and Gregory
XIII : also by the Granduca Cosimo and Francesco.
And in the year 1578 his body was taken thence from
Florence to Arezzo, being escorted all the way by
fifty torches." After four years he was buried with
becoming solemnity in the chapel he had designed
and adorned in the church of the Pieve d'Arezzo ;
mourned, though on account of his lengthy absences
he could scarcely have been greatly missed, by his
wife, his brother and numerous nephews and nieces.
The name he had been at such pains to render
famous, hoping in his chUdlessness to see it per
petuated in his brother's sons, was, however, doomed
to early extinction, for a few years after the death of
the painter we find the Confraternita di Santa Maria
della Misericordia, to whom the property was to
revert when the family died out, in the enjoyment
of his revenues.
Nor was there a better fate in store for the un
finished frescoes in Santa Maria del Fiore. As
already related, only the first range of figures under
the lantern was completed when Giorgio laid aside
his brush for ever. For the space of two years
nothing further was done, but in August, 1576,
Francesco de' Medici, now Grand Duke of Tuscany
in the place of his father, called upon Federigo
Zucchero, Vasari's arch-enemy, to finish the work.

FEDERIGO ZUCCHERO 355
No worse choice could have been made, and had
Francesco been able to peep at the marginal notes in
Federigo's copy of the Lives, he might well have
hesitated before making such a selection. A recent
writer1 goes so far as to state that Federigo "destroyed
all that Vasari had already painted, for the satisfac
tion of replacing it with his own compositions,"
adding that as the work was completed in 1579
Zucchero proved himself to have been as rapid an
executant as his predecessor, by decorating practically
the whole cupola in five years. For this statement,
however, there appears to be no substantial basis, as
Lapini, the contemporary diarist, is very exphcit in
his entry. "And on the thirtieth day of the said
month of August, 1576, Messer Federigo Zuccheri
[sic] of Urbino, a painter by calling, began to paint
in the cupola of the cathedral of Florence, at
the spot where Messer Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo left
off. The latter had begun to paint it himself, but
he painted only the figures of the kings which are
under the lantern, and these are all in the first range.
Then he died, and Maestro Federigo Zucchero painted
all the remainder." From this notice it is clear that
Zucchero worked more quickly than M. Muntz
supposes, as instead of five, it only took him three
years to complete a vast undertaking which, in the
words of Raffaello Borghini, might very reasonably
have occupied a man his whole life.
" And on the nineteenth day of the said August
(1579), on a Saturday, the newly painted cupola was
uncovered and the great screen taken away in such
wise that the said work could be seen without im
pediment. And when it was disclosed some said one
thing and some another : some said that the cupola
1 E. Muntz, Florence et la Toscane, Hachette, Paris, 1901, page 201.

356 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
appeared less high than formerly : some said that it
had been more beautiful before the work was done,
and that it appeared diminished in size. Some said
exactly the opposite, and many were the opinions
held and expressed, as is the case in nearly every
question that arises in life. Nevertheless, by people
of sound judgment who are not led Mindly by the
voice of fashion, it was considered to be a splendid
and brilliant work."
The mouthpiece of the voice of fashion to whom
Lapini alludes was Anton Francesco Grazzini,
better known as il Lasca, who wrote a long poem
satirising the performance of Vasari and Zucchero,
saying that it was undertaken with little sense and
less judgment : —
..." Quel lavoro
Che gia con poco senno e men giudizio
Fu cominciato da Giorgin' Vasari."
He regrets that a foreigner — by which he meant
someone not a Tuscan — had to be called in to finish
the work, but admits that Federigo had no equal
among the painters then living : —
" II quai per dire il vero,
Nel disegnare, e maneggiar colori,
Ha poeh' oggi, o nessun, che gli sia pari."
He then turns to the task of criticising the result
of their labours, but refuses to disclose his own
opinion, preferring to tell us what " the public "

thinks.

Ringraziato sia '1 ciel, pur s'e veduto
La cupola scoperta
Piii e piu giorni stare ;
E quel tempo e venuto,
Ch'ognuno a suo piacere
L'ha potuta vedere,
E ben considerare,

LASCA'S SATIRICAL VERSES 357
E dime apertamente il suo parere.
Io voglio il mio tacere,
Ma ben quel raccontare
Del popolo tutto, che generalmente
Torcendo il grifo, dice che gli pare
Che al mondo non si sia
Mai fatto la maggior gagliofferia ;
E i due pittor non resta d'ingiuriar."
Poor Giorgio ! It was perhaps well for him that
he did not Uve to see the work finished after all. It
would have killed him to be told that no names were
bad enough for him, and that his would-be master
piece was the most execrable bit of bungling ever
done with paint. The blame is entirely laid on
Vasari, for Zucchero only carried out his designs.
" Pur il secondo non si pu6 imputare,
Ne dee da nessun esser biasimato,
Sendo stato chiamato
Quell' opera a finire,
Che scambio d'abbellire
La cupola, abbruttisce, abbassa e guasta.
Io parlo per ver dire ;
Non per odio d'alcun, ne per disprezzo ;
Ma ben Giorgin d'Arezzo,
Giorgin', Giorgin', debb'essere incolpato."
Vasari is the sole culprit, and he has been led
either by greed of gain or by envy, or perhaps by
the hope of fame presumptuously to attempt the
painting of the cupola.
" Giorgio fece il peccato,
Che del guadagno troppo innamorato,
O dall' invidia, o dall' onor tirato
E come architetto poco intendente
Presuntuosamente il primo e stato
La cupola a dimingere."
Then follows a detailed attack, during which
U Lasca likens the dome to a foot-bath or a saucepan

358 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI
instead of the stately hemisphere that Brunellesco
left it :—
" E mensole e cornici ivi entro a fingere
Senz'ordine e misura
Accioche dalle mura
Non cadessero in coro
Quelle sue figuracce d'oro in oro.
E dopo ha per ristoro
Quegli ottangoli guasti o riturati,
O dipinti o impiastrati,
Che sendo larghi abbasso
S'andavan ristringendo appoco appoco,
Tanto, che passo, passo
Si conduceano al terminato loco,
Che alia lanterna poi si congiugneva,
Con tanta grazia e tal proporzione,
Ch'ognun, che la vedeva,
Gli occhi e'l petto s'empieva
Di meraviglia e di consolatione.
Or pare alle persone,
Sendo tanto abbassata,
Ch'ella sia di venta ta
Un catinaccio da lavare i piedi,
O una conca da bollir bucati."
" Where are now those giants of art ? " he cries in
fine scorn. Where are Michelangelo and the rest,
that their wrath may fall on Vasari ? In particular
he invokes the spirit of Benvenuto Cellini because he
was a man without fear or favour unto any person,
and had a deep reverence for the majesty of this
dome, whose beauty he never ceased to admire. He
pictures CeUini tearing his hair — his own, not Vasari's
— and raging through the streets of Florence at this
insult to the dome, looking for Vasari, to take him to
some secluded spot and then crucify him.
" O Michele immortale, Angel divino,
Lionardo, Andrea, o Pontormo, o Bronzino,
O voi tutti altri degni d'ogni pregio,
Perche non siate or vivi ?

LASCA'S SATIRICAL VERSES 359
Pur fra color, che son di vita privi,
Vivo vorrei Benvenuto Cellini,
Che senza alcun ritegno o barbazzale
Delle cose malfatte dicea male :
E la cupola al mondo singolare,
Non si potea di lodar mai saziare :
E la solea chiamare,
Alzandola alle stelle,
La maraviglia delle cose belle.
Certo non capirebbe or nella pella,
In tal guisa dipintala vegendo ;
E saltando e correndo e fulminando,
S'andrebbe querelando,
E per tutto gridando ad alta voce
Giorgin d'Arezzo meterebbe in croce."
This is the final judgment : that Vasari is worse
than a robber or a murderer, and that nobody would
die of grief if one fine day it was found that the dome
had been carefuUy whitewashed !
" Oggi universalmente
Odiato dalla gente,
Quasi pubblico ladro o assassino :
E'l popolo Fiorentino
Non sara mai di lamentarsi stanco
Se forse un di non se le da di bianco."
And this is what " the public " thought about the
work which was to cause the names of Cosimo de'
Medici and Giorgio Vasari to "resound throughout
all ages, during life, after death, and until the world
shall have ceased to exist."

THE END

INDEX

Adriani, G. B., 179, 191, 219, 264
Albizzi, L. degli, 215, 291
Algarotti, cit, 82
Allori, C, 156
Almeni, Sforza, 108, 113, 291
Amaseo, R., 72
Amelini, A., 184
Ammannato, Bart., 101, 115, 166,
171, 194, 200
Anguisciola, S., 245
Antonia, Donna, 148
Antonio, Bernardo di, 149
Aretino, Pietro, 89
Arezzo, 12, 146
„ San Bernardo, 12
„ Cathedral, 123
„ Comp. di San Rocco, 37
„ Sta. Fiore, 145
„ Sta. Maria della Pieve, 268 ;
Vasari's Chapel, 143
„ Vasari's House, 69, 65, 85,
333
Arrotino, 270
Austria, Barbera of, 206
„ Giovanna of, 194
„ Margherita of, 35
Bacci, Niccolosa. See Cosina, La
Baglione, cit., 102
Bagnacavallo, B., 71
Baldinucci, cit., 102
Bandinelli, B., 6, 131
Barbiere, A. del, 220, 302
Berna, L. del, 211
Bigio, Nanni di Baccio, 127
Bizzera, 71

Bologna, Giov. da, 311
,, S. Michele in Bosco, 54
Bombaso, G., 277
Borghini, R., cit., 311
„ Vincenzo, 95, 121, 179,
190, 191, 214, 241, 249, 310, 334 ;
his share in the Lives, 157 ; report
for Wedding of Francesco de'
Medici, 198
Borgo, R. dai, 31, 32
„ G. P. dai, 71
Bosco, near Alessandria della
Paglia, 269
Bottari, cit., VII, 209, 258
Botti, 274
Botticelli, B., 179
Brescia, 244
„ R. dai, 11
Bronzino, 327
Buonagrazia in Valdarno, 165
Buonarroti, L., 253
„ Michelangelo. See
Michelangelo
Buoncompagni, Ugo. See Gregory
XIII
Caccini, G., 204, 207, 244
Calcagni, T., 128
Camaldoli, 47, 48, 62, 63
Cambio, A. di, 172
Cappucciolo, 296
Caro, A., 72, 76, 79, 87, 280
Cavalieri di Santo Stefano, 40
Cellini, B., 4, 16, 79, 187, 204,
243
Charles V, 7, 12, 29

361

362 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI

Clement VII, 5, 23
Clementi, P., 277
Colle, R. dai, 71
Colonna, Marcantonio, 312, 313,
337
Concini, B., 123
Condivi, his Life of Michelangelo,
185
Conte, Iacopo del, 127
Coriolanus, C, 273
Cortona, 117
Coryat, T., cit., 62, 63, 236, 238
Cosimo, A. di, 35
Cosina, La, 92, 146, 252, 304, 345
Cremona, 244
Cronaca, 173
Cungi, G., 51, 54
Cybo, Cardinal, 41
Dialoghi, 178
Dumas, cit., 180
Faetani, G. M., 81
Fans, 237
Farnese, A. See Paul III
Florence, Bridge of Sta. Trinita,
199
„ Column of Sta. Trinita,
170, 172, 194
„ Corridor across the Arno,
194
„ Sta. Croce, Tomb of
Michelangelo, 193
„ Fortezza da Basso, 25
„ Fountain of Neptune,
194, 203, 219
„ S. Lorenzo, 98, 164, 276
,, Sta. Maria del Fiore,
201, 306, 310, 315, 323,
329,335,338,341,347,354, 355
„ Sta. Maria Novella, 262,
266
„ Palazzo Pitti, 114, 166
„ „ Strozzi, 153

Florence, Palazzo Vecchio, 122,
147,167,172,179,190; Cortile, 208, 217 ; Sala
Grande, 122, 135, 167,
173, 180, 190, 203, 211,
219, 228, 260, 264, 273,
278, 281, 286, 287, 289,
301, 302, 304, 306, 309,
346 ; Stanze Nuove, 114,
115, 125, 132, 154, 234
„ S. Pier Scheraggio, 152
„ Uffizi, 149, 166, 319, 350
Fontana, P., 221
Foschi, Fra S., 71
Francesca, Madonna (wife of O.
de' Medici), 36
Frassineto, 296, 333, 345
Gallo, A. da San, 129, 187, 204
Gandolfo, 72
Gaye, cit., 159, 169, 303
Gherardi, C, 32, 54, 113, 117, 124
Ghirlandaio, R., 179
Giovio, Bishop, 19, 72
Giunti, Giacomo, 231, 253, 275
Giusti, Abbot, 191
Gothic Architecture, 242
Gregory XIII, 318, 326, 340, 354
Gualandi, cit., 152
Guicciardini, L., 32
Iacone, 115
Inns, 238
Julius III, 87, 90, 95, 96 ; his
character, 96, 97 ; death, 135
Landucci, cit., 153, 202, 203
Lanzi, cit., 62
Lapini, cit., 25, 119, 149, 183, 196,
209, 218, 222, 227, 268, 315, 350,
355
Lapini, Frozino, 117
Lasca, il, cit., 117, 356
Lenzoni, C, 97

INDEX

363

Leoni, Leone, 244
Ufe of Man, 109
Ligorio, P., 257, 261,269
Lippi, Fra F, 233
Lives of the Painters, 233, 249, 274;
their inception, 72 ; progress, 79,
95, 264 ; correction by Faetani, 81 ;
publication, 97 ; second edition,
157, 229, 253, 272 ; criticism of,
277
Lodi, 244
Lombardi, G., 220
Lottino, 263
Lucca, Palazzo del Governatore, 102
Manelli, House of, 195, 197
Manno, 4, 11
Mantua, 244
Marcellus II, 135
Marciano, Battle of, 119
Marsiglia, G. da, 5
Martelli, Cammilla, 197, 292
Martini, Luca, 148
Marzuppini, Jacopo, 303
Masaccio, 267
Mattea, B. di Mona, 178
Mazzoni, G., 254
Medici, Alessandro de', 5 ; his
government, 23 ; betrothal, 31 ;
his death, 38
Medici, Caterina, 22
„ Cosimo the Elder, 172
„ Cosimo, Granduca, 41, 99,
113, 114, 125, 126, 147,
154, 160, 166, 168, 180,
199, 290, 294, 300, 315,
317, 320, 322, 329, 332,
336, 345, 348; his opinion
of Michelangelo, 127 ;
retires from the govern
ment, 186 ; building oper
ations, 195, 213, 250 ; his
death, 349
„ Ferdinando, 155, 161, 164,
321, 322

Medici, Francesco, 59, 194, 230,
297, 321, 354
„ Garzia, 155, 160, 161
„ Giovanni, 138, 155, 160, 161
„ Giulio, 40
„ Ippolito, 5, 15, 24, 29
„ Isabella, 180
„ Lorenzino, 37
„ Lorenzo, 3, 5, 18, 20, 33,
55
„ Ottaviano, 19, 21, 36, 51,
62, 67, 68
„ Tanai, 265
„ Tommaso, 166
Mellini, cit., 177, 197, 220, 221
Michelangelo, 65, 67, 108, 118, 121,
126, 142, 261, 280, 352; David,
8 ; Cartoons for Battle of Pisa, 6;
his death, 182 ; funeral, 186
Michele, San, in Bosco. See
Bologna
Michelozzi, Michelozzo, 172
Milan, 241, 243
Milanesi, G., cit., vii
Modena, 241, 242
Molza, 72, 76
Montaigne, cit., 41, 238, 299
Montalvo, A. di, 151
Monte, Card. del. See Julius III
Monte Sansovino, 52
Montughi, 284, 286, 288, 295
Mugello, Luco di, 275
Muntz, E., cit, 355
Naldini, B., 179
Nannoccio da San Giorgio, 11
Naples, 69
„ Cathedral, 70
„ S. Giovanni a Carbonara,
70, 71
„ Monte Oliveto, 70
„ Museo Nazionale, 70
Nobili, Ant. de', 149
Padua, 244

364 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI

Parma, 241
Passerini, Card. Silvio, 5
Paul III (Farnese), 29, 66
Paul IV, 136, 138
Pavia, 241, 243
Perugia, 229
„ S. Piero de' Cassinesi, 229
Peruzzi,129
Piacenza, 241
Pictures : — Abraham Entertaining
the Angels, 55 ; Adoration of the
Magi (for Pius V), 259; ditto
(Rimini), 64, 82 ; Alliance be
tween Spain, Venice, and Paul V
(Sala Regia, Vatican), 336 ; An
nunciation (Louvre), 275 ; ditto
(Murate), 28 ; Assumption (Black
Monks, Florence), 275 ; ditto
(Monte San Savino), 52 ; Assump
tion of the Magdalene (Pius V),
310 ; Autumn (to France), 275 ;
Banner (for Comp. de' Paducci),
87 ; Battle of Satyrs, 18 ; Battle
of Lepanto (Vatican), 311 ; Be
heading of the Baptist, 101 ; S.
Benedict (Perugia), 231 ; S. Blaise
(Lucca), 68 ; Calling of Andrew
and Peter (Arezzo), 146 ; Con
ception (Lucca), 67 ; ditto (SS.
Apostoli, Florence), 59 ; Con
version of S. Paul (Rome), 101 ;
Coronation of the Virgin (Citta
di Castello), 274; ditto (Prato),
275 ; Crucifixion (for Botti), 274 ;
ditto (Luco di Mugello), 275 ; ditto
(S. M. Novella, Florence), 252 ;
Christ Carrying the Cross (Sta.
Croce, Florence), 276; Christ Part
ing from His Mother, 252 ; Dead
Christ (France), 275 ; another,
56 ; Head of Christ, 275 ; Depo
sition (Arezzo), 46 ; ditto (SS.
Apostoli, Florence), 57 ; ditto
(Pamfili Gallery), 66 ; ditto (Pisa
Cathedral), 69 ; ditto (Camal

doli), 53; ditto (Ravenna), 83;
Descent of the Holy Spirit (Sta.
Croce, Florence), 276 ; Endy-
mion, 89 ; St. Eustace (Lucca),
68 ; Feast of Ahasuerus (Arezzo),
86 ; St. George and the Dragon
(Arezzo), 146 ; St. Gregory at
Supper (Bologna), 55 ; Incredu
lity of St. Thomas (Sta. Croce,
Florence), 276 ; St. Jerome
(France), 79 ; ditto (Perugia),
231 ; ditto (Pius V), 310; St.
John, 56 ; Justice Punishing Vice,
etc. (Naples), 71 ; Last Supper
(Sta. Croce, Florence), 79 ; Ma
donna (Simone Corsi), 79 ; ditto
(Altoviti), 95 ; Marriage of St.
Catherine (Bigallo), 79 ; Marriage
in Cana (Perugia), 231 ; Martyr
dom of S. Gismondo, 99 ; Massacre
of the Huguenots (Vatican), 325 ;
Misericordia,101 ; Nativity (Cam
aldoli), 52 ; ditto (Nuns of Sta.
Margherita), 65 ; Pieta (France),
79; Portrait of L.Guicciardini, 87;
ditto of P. Aretino's Mother, 89 ;
ditto of Gregory XIII, 337; ditto
of Michelangelo, 319 ; ditto Ant.
de' Nobili, 275 ; ditto Alessandro
de' Medici, 21 ; ditto Lorenzo de'
Medici, 20 ; Presentation in the
Temple (Naples), 70 ; Psyche
and Cupid (France), 89; Resur
rection, 56 ; Sacrifice of Abraham,
21 ; Spring (France), 275; Stig
mata (Rimini), 82 ; Venus and
the Graces (Torrigiani), 275 ;
another, 18 ; Venus and the
Swan (O. de' Medici), 59 ; Virgin
and Child (Camaldoli), 51 ; Vir
gin and Saints (Pisa), 69; ditto
(Castiglione Aretino), 87
Piombo, Frate del, 15
Pisa, Palazzo de' Cavalieri, 131, 155,
166, 289 294

INDEX

365

Pistoia, 248, 289, 324
Pius IV, 136, 222
Pins V, 234, 261, 262, 271, 297, 301,
354 ; his death, 313
Plague, 9
Pollastra, G., 4
Poppi, F. da, 212
Puccini, B., 166
Pupini, B., da Treviso, 66
Raffaello, 129
Ravenna, 83
Reggio, 241
Rimini, 81, 82
Romano, Giulio, 77
Rome, 65, 67, 71, 259, 271
„ Church of the Florentines,
128
„ Palazzo Farnese, 66, 258
„ „ Ruccellai, 102
„ S. Pietro in Montorio, 99,
101, 109
„ S. Pietro in Vaticano, 122,
126, 141, 182, 259, 261,
353
„ Vatican, 256 ; Sala Regia,
142, 256, 309, 311, 320,
325, 334, 336, 339, 340
„ Vigna Giulia, 101, 104
„ Ponte Sisto, 261, 269
Roviale, 71
Rumagasso, 313
Rurino, 220
Sabatini, L., 220
Saltini, cit, 42, 151
Salviati, F., 5, 11, 13, 103, 141, 234,
257
Sangalletto, 301
San Gallo, A. da, 66
Sansovino, I., 17
Sarto, A. del, 6
Savonarola, 172
Scoronconcolo, 38
Scoti-Bertinelli, cit, 74, 130, 157,
158, 279

Settimanni, cit, 180
Signorelli, Luca, 3, 4
Strada, Giov. della, 179, 309
Tacci, Maddelena, 3, 146
Taldi, Lazzaro de'. See Vasari,
Lazzaro
Talenti, 156
"Tantecose," Monsignore, 257
Tasso, G. B., 114, 122
Thomas, William, cit, 237
Titian, 17
Toledo, E. di, 114, 162
Tolomei, C, 72, 76
Torrentini, L., 95
Torrigiani, L., 275
Tramezzi, 266
Travelling, 62, 236
Tribolo, 35
Turini, A., 28
Udine, G. da, 27
Ughi, G. F., 127
" Umbrelhes," 238
Vaga, P. del, 67
Varchi, B., 183
Valeriano, P., 6
rasaio, 3
Vasari, Antonio, 3, 10
„ Giorgio the Elder, 3, 146
„ „ „ Younger, birth
and parentage, 3 ; stormy days in
Florence, 7 ; death of his father,
10 ; early pictures, 11 ; goes to
Pisa, 11 ; returns to Arezzo, 12 ;
visits Rome and studies anatomy,
13 ; his task in life. 14 ; returns
to Arezzo ill, 19 ; enrolled a
painter, 20 ; family affairs, 27 ;
second sister becomes a nun, 28 ;
study of architecture, 29 ; pre
parations for arrival of Marg
herita of Austria, 31 ; his share
in the work and its success, 33 ;

366 THE LIFE OF GIORGIO VASARI

his grief at death_of_Alessandro,
43T~opinion of Alessandro, 45 ;
return to Arezzo, 46 ; visit to
Camaldoli, 48 ; visits Rome for
study, 51 ; works at Camaldoli,
Monte San Savino, and Bologna,
51 ; returns to court life, 57 ;
purchase of house at Arezzo, 59 ;
decoration of new house, 65, 85 ;
visit to Rome, 65 ; competition
for cornice, Farnese Palace, 67 ;
visit to Naples, 69 ; story of the
Lives, 72 ; their jprogress, 79 ;
visit to Rimini, 81, 82 ; Ravenna,
83 ; his views on matrimony, 84,
90 ; contemporary opinion of his
workj_87 ; his _sannats,~92--^1lua.
view of life, 94 ; goes to Rome
to serve Julius III, 96 ; publica
tion of the Lives, 97 ; discontent,
99 ; homesickness, 104 ; designs
for Almeni's house, 108, 113 ;
Loggia for Altoviti, 109, 111 ;
return to Florence, 113 ; enters
service of Cosimo, 113 ; inter
view with Iacone, 116 ; his pro
perty destroyed, 118 ; " pittore
stipendiato," and invited to
France, 120 ; appointed architect
to the Palazzo Vecchio, 122 ;
his rivals at court, 131 ; his re
partee, 135 ; visit to Rome with
Card. Giovanni de' Medici, 138 ;
his conceit, 142, 298, 301, 303,
304, 314, 329, 330, 334, 335, 339,
341", 344 ; the family chapel, 145 ;
progress of Pal. Vecchio, 147 ;
illness at Leghorn, 153 ; work
for the Cavalieri at Pisa, 155 ;
his literary testament, 159 ; Libro
di Disegni, 159 ; financial diffi
culties, 165, 278 ; opinion ofjiis
own work, 175 ; -grief_a.t-death
of Michelangelo, 183 ; Life of

Michelangelo, 184 ; Vasari and
the future, 189 ; corridor across
the Arno, and other preparations
for wedding of Francesco de'
Medici, 1 96 ; his opinion of
Cosimo, 214 ; over-work, 227 ;
reasous for his journey through
Italy, 229 ; Perugia, 229 ; Spoleto,
Rome, 233 ; Ravenna, 210 ; Milan,
241, 243 ; his opinion of Gothic
architecture, 242 ; Cremona, 245 ;
Autobiography, 249, 273, 276;
his mother-in-law, 251 ; Life of
Taddeo Zucchero, 253 ; F. Zuc
chero, 254 ; summoned to Rome,
259 ; St. Peter's, 201 ; return to
Florence, 272 ; portrait for the
Lives, 273 ; his satisfaction with
the_^Lives, 277 ; as courtier and
flatterer, 279 ; statement of ac
counts, 280; his hospitality, 283;
approach of old"~age7~289 ; visits
Rome with Cosimo, 294 ; back
to Rome to serve Pius V, 296 ;
as a man of property, 296 ; his
works in the Vatican, 298 ; his
life in the Vatican, 305 ; knight
hood, 305 ; cupola of Sta. Maria
del Fiore, 307 ; Gonfalonierato,
308 ; summoned to Rome to de
corate the Sala Regia, 308 ; return
to Florence on death of Pius V,
314 ; agaiu to Rome to serve
Gregory XIII, 319 ; his character,
323 ; interview with Gregory, 325 ;
changes in Rome, 326 ; illness,
327 ; concern for Cosimo de'
Medici. 332 ; invited to Spain,
337 ; his rivals, 338 ; apprecia-
tion of JRome, 343 ; return to
Florence, 344 ; closing days. 345 ;
his death, 349 ; his place in art.
351 ; his funeral, 354
Vasari, Lazzaro, 1, 146
„ Marcantonio, 322, 340, 344

INDEX

367

Vasari, Pietro, 318, 349
Veltroni, S., 32, 54, 179
Vermin, 240
Verona, 244
Vespucci, N., 6
Vettori, Pier, 191, 219
Vicenza, 244
Vinci, Leonardo da, Last Supper,
241
Vini, S., 220

Viniziano, Sebastiano, 16, 67
Vitoni, 248
Volterra, Daniello da, 184, 233,
254, 257

Zucca, Iacopo del, 179, 302, 310
Zucchero, F., 221, 253, 258, 259,
307, 316, 326, 354, 359
„ Taddeo, 253, 258, 264

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