Quod vix mille bourn possent iuga iuncta movere,
Et quod vix potuit per mare ferre ratis,
Buschetii nisu, quod erat mirabile visu,
Dena puellarum turba levavit onus.1
As I referred above to the church of SS. Apostoli at Florence, I should add that on a marble slab on one of the sides of its high altar there is an inscription which runs:
viii. v. die vi APRILIS in resurrectione DOMINI KAROLUS Francorum Rex a Roma revertens, ingressus Florentiam cum magno gaudio et tripudio susceptus civium, copiam torqueis aure is decoravit.… ECCLESIA Sanctorum Apostolorum. In altari inclusa est lamina plumbea, in qua descripta apparet praefata fundatio et consecratio, Jacta per ARCHIEPISCOPUM TURPINUM testibus ROLANDO et ULIVERIO.2
The construction of the cathedral at Pisa revived in many craftsmen throughout all Italy, but especially in Tuscany, the ambition to create beautiful works of art. It encouraged the building of the church of San Paolo in the city of Pistoia; this was started in 1032 in the presence of Blessed Atto, bishop of Pistoia, as we can read in a contract, too long to quote here, which was drawn up at that time.
I must also add that some time later in the year 1060 the circular church of San Giovanni was built on the very same square, opposite the cathedral. It is an amazing thing, and almost unbelievable, that it took two weeks and no more to erect and complete the columns, pilasters, and vaulting of this church, as is recorded in an ancient document in the cathedral’s office of works. In the same record, which anyone may consult, it is written that a tax of a penny on every hearth was imposed to raise funds for building the church, although it does not say whether this means a gold or copper coin. And at that time, the record also tells us, there were thirty-four thousand hearths in Pisa. The building certainly took a great deal of money and proved very difficult to bring to completion, especially the vaulting of the tribune which is pear shaped and covered on the outside with lead. The exterior is rich in columns, carvings, and histories, and the frieze of the centre door has a figure of Jesus Christ with the Twelve Apostles carved in bas-relief in the Byzantine style.
At the same time, namely 1061, the Lucchese, in rivalry with the Pisans, started building the church of San Martino at Lucca, using the designs of certain pupils of Buschetto as there were then no other architects of Tuscany. Attached to the main façade of the church is a marble portico with many ornaments and carvings done in memory of Pope Alexander II, who was bishop of Lucca just before he was raised to the pontificate. And there are nine lines of Latin verse telling the full story of the building of the church and of Alexander himself; these are cut in marble, in antique lettering, between the doors under the portico. The façade has several figures, and under the portico there are many bas-relief carvings in marble, in the Byzantine style, depicting scenes from the life of St Martin. The best carvings, however, which are over one of the doors, were done a hundred and seventy years later by Nicolô Pisano, and finished, as I shall recount later on, in 1233, the original wardens being Abellenato and Aliprando, as is plainly described by some words cut in marble on the same site. These figures from the hand of Nicolô Pisano show how greatly he advanced the art of sculpture.1 Most if not all of the buildings erected in Italy from that time up to 1250 were similar to the above, because over all those years there was little or no progress or improvement in architecture, which remained confined within the same limits, continuously illustrating the same crude style; many examples still survive, but I shall not draw attention to them now as there will be opportunities later on.
During the period we are discussing good paintings and sculptures remained buried under the ruins in Italy, unknown to the men of that time who were engrossed in contemporary rubbish. For their works they used only the sculptures or paintings produced by a few remaining Byzantine craftsmen, either clay or stone figures or pictures of grotesque figures with only the rough outlines drawn in colour. These Byzantine artists, being the best there were and in fact the only surviving representatives of their profession, were brought to Italy where they introduced their manner of sculpture and painting along with mosaic. Thus, the Italians learned how to copy their clumsy, awkward style and for a certain time continued to employ it, as I shall describe later.
The men of that time had no experience of anything better than those imperfect productions, which were regarded as great works of art, villainous though they were. And yet, helped by some subtle influence in the very air of Italy, the new generations started to purge their minds of the grossness of the past so successfully that in 1250 heaven took pity on the talented men who were being born in Tuscany and led them back to the pristine forms. Before then, during the years after Rome was sacked and devastated and swept by fire, men had been able to see the remains of arches and colossi, statues, pillars, and carved columns; but until the period we are discussing they had no idea how to use or profit from this fine work. However, the artists who came later, being perfectly able to distinguish between what was good and what was bad, abandoned the old way of doing things and started once again to imitate the works of antiquity as skilfully and carefully as they could.
I want to give a simple definition of what I call old and what I call ancient. Ancient works of art or antiques are those which were produced in Corinth, Athens, Rome, and other famous cities, before the time of Constantine up to the time of Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus. Old works of art are those which were produced from the time of St Silvester by a few surviving Greek artists, who were dyers rather than painters. As we described earlier, the great artists of earlier times died out during the years of war, and the few Greeks who survived, belonging to the old not the ancient world, could only trace outlines on a ground of colour. We have daily evidence in the countless mosaics done by the Greeks which can be seen in every old church in all and every city in Italy, notably in the cathedral of Pisa and St Mark’s at Venice. Over and over again they produced figures in the same style, staring as if possessed, with outstretched hands, on the tips of their toes, as can still be seen in San Miniato outside Florence, between the doors of the sacristy and the convent, and in Santo Spirito in the same city, all along the cloister leading to the church, and similarly in Arezzo, in San Giuliano and San Bartolommeo and in other churches, and in old St Peter’s at Rome, in the scenes all round the windows; the way they are drawn, they all resemble grotesques rather than what they are meant to represent.
The Greeks also produced countless pieces of sculpture, examples of which we can still see in low relief above the door of San Michele, in the Piazza Padella at Florence, and in Ognissanti, and in many other places. Among examples to be seen on tombs and on the doors of churches are figures, acting as corbels to support the roof, which are so clumsy and ugly and made in so gross a style that it is impossible to imagine anything worse.
So far I have been talking about the origins of sculpture and painting, perhaps at greater length than was called for at this stage. However, the reason for my doing so has been not so much my great love of the arts as the hope that I would say something useful and helpful to our own artists. For from the smallest beginnings art attained the greatest heights, only to decline from its noble position to the most degraded status. Seeing this, artists can also realize the nature of the arts we have been discussing: these, like the other arts and like human beings themselves, are born, grow up, become old, and die. And they will be able to understand more readily the process by which art has been reborn and reached perfection in our own times. And if, which God forbid, because of indifference or evil circumstances or the ruling of Providence (which always seems to dislike the things of this world proceeding undisturbed) it ever happens at any time that the arts once again fall into the same disastrous decline, then I hope that this work of mine, such as it is, if it proves worthy of a happier fate may, because of what I have already said and what I am going to write, keep the arts alive, or at least may inspire some of the more able among us to give them every possible encourageme
nt. In this way, my good intentions and the work of outstanding men will, I hope, provide the arts with support and adornment of a kind which, if I may be allowed to say this outright, they have been lacking hitherto.
But now it is time to come to the life of Cimabue who, since he originated the new way of drawing and painting, should rightly and properly be the first to be described in my Lives, in which I shall endeavour as far as possible to deal with artists according to schools and styles rather than chronologically. I shall not spend much time in describing what artists looked like because their portraits, which I have myself collected diligently with no little expenditure of time and money, are far more revealing as to their appearance than any written description could ever be. If any portrait is missing, this is not my fault but simply because it was impossible to find it anywhere. And if any of the portraits happens to appear dissimilar to others that may have been found, I should remind the reader that a portrait made of someone when he was, say, eighteen or twenty, would never resemble one made fifteen or twenty years later. As well as this, remember that you never get as good a likeness with a black-and-white reproduction as with a painting; and apart from that, engravers, who have little sense of design, always rob the image of something, because of their lack of knowledge and ability regarding those small details which make a good portrait, and their failure to capture the perfection which woodcuts rarely if ever achieve. The reader will appreciate the exertions, the expense, and the care that have gone into this work when he sees that I have as far as possible used only the best originals.
LIFE OF CIMABUE
Florentine painter, c. 1240–1302?
THE flood of misfortunes which continuously swept over and submerged the unhappy country of Italy not only destroyed everything worthy to be called a building but also, and this was of far greater consequence, completely wiped out the artists who lived there. Eventually, however, by God’s providence, Giovanni Cimabue, who was destined to take the first steps in restoring the art of painting to its earlier stature, was born in the city of Florence, in the year 1240. As he grew up he was seen by his father and by others to be of excellent character and intelligence, and he was sent for schooling to a family relation who was then teaching grammar to the novices at Santa Maria Novella. But instead of studying his letters Cimabue spent all his time, as if inspired, covering his paper and books with pictures showing people, horses, houses, and the various other things he dreamt up. And fortune certainly looked kindly on this instinctive talent, for it happened that the rulers of Florence decided to send for some Greek painters, solely in the hope of restoring the art of painting which at that period was not so much in decline as altogether lost. Among other projects, these craftsmen started to decorate the Gondi Chapel, situated next to the principal chapel of Santa Maria Novella, which is still there though its roof and walls have been almost wholly destroyed by time. Now Cimabue, taking his first steps in the art which attracted him, was always playing truant to spend the whole day watching those artists as they worked. As a result his father and the Byzantine painters decided that he had an aptitude for painting and that if he gave his time to it he could be expected to do extremely well. So, to Cimabue’s delight, his father made an agreement for him to work under those artists; and subsequently, helped by his natural talents, he applied himself so well that he easily surpassed those who taught him, both in drawing and colouring. As for them, they were unambitious men and the work they executed in Florence was, as we can see today, carried out in the stuff contemporary style of that period, not in the fine antique style of Greece. So although Cimabue imitated those Greeks he vastly improved the art of painting and raised it far above their level; and he won honour for his native place by the work he did and the fame he acquired. In Florence we have evidence of this in the paintings he has left, such as the altar dossal at St Cecilia, and a panel of the Madonna in Santa Croce, which is still hanging where it was placed on a pillar at the right-hand side of the choir. After this he did a small panel picture of St Francis, on a gold ground, drawing the saint to the best of his powers from nature; and this was a new departure for that time. He added scenes telling all the story of the life of St Francis, using twenty small pictures crowded with little figures on a gold ground. Then he undertook a large panel for the Vallombrosan monks in their abbey at Santa Trinità at Florence; and in this painting Cimabue took great pains to justify the reputation he had already secured, showing original powers of invention and depicting the Madonna, beautifully posed, carrying her son in her arms and surrounded by adoring angels, on a gold ground. When the panel was finished the monks put it over the high altar of their church; subsequently, to make room for the painting by Alesso Baldovinetti which is there today, it was removed to the side chapel of the south aisle. Then Cimabue worked in fresco in the hospital of the Porcellana, at the corner of the Via Nuova leading to Borgo Ognissanti. On one side of the façade, with the main door in the middle, he painted the Annunciation, and on the other Jesus Christ with Cleophas and Luke, all the figures being lifesize. And in this work Cimabue broke decisively with the dead tradition of the Greeks, for whereas their paintings and mosaics were covered with heavy lines and contours, his draperies, vestments, and other accessories were somewhat softer and more realistic and flowing. (To be sure, their crude, stiff, and mediocre style owed nothing to study, but came from blindly following what had been handed on year after year by painters who never thought of trying to improve their drawing and never sought after lovely colours or any creditable inventions.) After this, Cimabue was approached again by the same Father Superior who had commissioned the work for Santa Croce, and he painted a large Crucifixion on wood which can still be seen in the church today. The Father Superior was so well satisfied that he took Cimabue to the convent of San Francesco in Pisa, where he painted a panel picture of St Francis. The people there considered this work of rare quality, for they perceived an indefinable excellence, both in the attitude of the head of St Francis and in the fall of the drapery, which had not previously been attempted by anyone working in the Byzantine style, either in Pisa or indeed in all Italy. For the same church Cimabue then painted a large panel picture of Our Lady holding her son in her arms and surrounded by angels on a gold ground. After a short while this painting was removed to make room for the marble altar which is there now and put inside the church on the left by the door. For this work the Pisans praised and rewarded him generously. It was in Pisa, too, that at the request of the abbot of San Paolo in Ripa d’Arno, he did a small panel picture of St Agnes, surrounded by various small figures representing scenes from her life; today, this little painting is above the altar of the Holy Virgins in the same church.
These works made Cimabue famous. He was asked to the city of Assisi, in Umbria, where in collaboration with some Byzantine artists he decorated some of the vaults in the Lower Church of San Francesco, adding on the walls scenes from the lives of Our Lord and of St Francis. In these works he easily surpassed the Byzantine painters, and growing more ambitious he started painting some frescoes in the Upper Church without any assistance. In the apse over the choir he painted in four sections various scenes from the life of Our Lady: her death, her soul being carried up by Christ on a throne of clouds to heaven, and her coronation by Christ in the midst of a choir of angels, with a throng of male and female saints standing below. These have now been worn away by time and dust. He also painted a large number of scenes in the intersections of the five vaults of the church. In the first, above the choir, he showed the four evangelists, larger than life-size and so well done that even today one can see how good they are; and from the freshness of the colours used for their flesh one can see what great strides were made through Cimabue’s exertions in the art of fresco. He painted the second intersection with gold stars on a ground of ultramarine. In the third he painted several medallions showing Jesus Christ, his mother the Virgin Mary, St John the Baptist, and St Francis; there was one of these figures in each medallion and one medall
ion in each of the vault’s four sections. Between this and the fifth he painted the fourth vault, like the second, with a host of gold stars on a ground of ultramarine. In the fifth he depicted the four Doctors of the Church, each accompanied by a member of one of the four great religious orders. This was an exhausting work executed with tremendous diligence.
When he had finished the vaulting Cimabue worked in fresco on all the upper part of the wall of the north side of the church, painting eight scenes from the Old Testament between the windows up to the vault, near the high altar. He started with the beginning of Genesis and continued in order with the most famous subsequent events. And around the windows, to where they terminate at the triforium, he depicted events from the other books of the Old Testament in another eight scenes. Opposite these frescoes, in a further sixteen scenes, he painted incidents from the lives of Our Lady and Jesus Christ. On the wall below, over the main doorway of the church and around the rose window, he depicted Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles. This truly great work by Cimabue, so richly and skilfully executed, must in my opinion have astounded everyone at that time, especially as the art of painting had been completely unenlightened for so long. As for me, when I set eyes on it again in 1563 I thought it wonderfully beautiful and I was astonished at the vision Cimabue had shown, although he was surrounded by so many shadows. But it is worth remarking that of all the paintings those which he did on the vaults, being less damaged by dust and other accidents, are by far the best preserved. When he had finished these works, Giovanni made a start on decorating the lower parts of the wall, stretching down from underneath the windows. He completed one or two things; but then his affairs made it necessary for him to go back to Florence and he left the work uncompleted for Giotto to finish many years later, as I shall describe when the time comes.
Lives of the Artists Page 5