Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 02 (of 10): Berna to Michelozzo MichelozziVasari, Giorgio
History
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 02 (of 10): Berna to Michelozzo Michelozzi
Vasari, Giorgio
Art, Italian; Artists -- Italy -- Biography
it less valued by his son Giulio, a youth of singular goodness and
judgment, a friend to lovers of art and to all men of excellence. In the
house of Giovan Battista d'Agnol Doni, a gentleman of Florence, there is
a Mercury of metal in the round by the hand of Donato, one braccio and a
half in height and clothed in a certain bizarre manner; which work is
truly very beautiful, and no less rare than the others that adorn his
most beautiful house. Bartolommeo Gondi, of whom we have spoken in the
Life of Giotto, has a Madonna in half-relief by the hand of Donato,
wrought with so great love and diligence that it is not possible to see
anything better, or to imagine the fancifulness which he gave to her
headdress and the loveliness that he put into the garments which she is
wearing. In like manner, Messer Lelio Torelli, First Auditor and
Secretary to our Lord the Duke, and no less devoted a lover of all the
honourable sciences, arts, and professions, than he is excellent as a
jurist, has a marble panel of Our Lady by the hand of the same
Donatello.
[Footnote 22: Vasari says Fra Ber.... Fra Bernardo has been suggested,
but nothing is known of him. It is more reasonable to read Fra
Bartolommeo (della Porta).]
But if one were to give a complete account of his life and of the works
that he made, it would be a far longer story than it is our intention to
give in writing the Lives of our craftsmen, seeing that he put his hand
not only to great things, of which there has been enough said, but also
to the smallest things of art, making the arms of families on the
chimneypieces and on the fronts of the houses of citizens, a most
beautiful example of which may be seen in the house of the Sommai, which
is opposite to that of the baker Della Vacca. For the family of the
Martelli, moreover, he made a coffin in the form of a cradle wrought of
wicker-work, to serve for a tomb; but it is beneath the Church of S.
Lorenzo, because no tombs of any kind are to be seen above, save only
the epitaph of the tomb of Cosimo de' Medici, and even that one has
its entrance below, like the others.
[Illustration: THE ENTOMBMENT
(_After the relief by_ Donatello. _Padua: S. Antonio_)
_Alinari_]
It is said that Simone, the brother of Donato, having wrought the model
for the tomb of Pope Martin V, sent for Donato to the end that he might
see it before it was cast. Going to Rome, therefore, Donato found
himself in that city at the very moment when the Emperor Sigismund was
there to receive the crown from Pope Eugenius IV; wherefore he was
forced, in company with Simone, to occupy himself with making the
magnificent preparations for that festival, whereby he acquired very
great fame and honour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account