Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 03 (of 10): Filarete and Simone to MantegnaVasari, Giorgio
History
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 03 (of 10): Filarete and Simone to Mantegna
Vasari, Giorgio
Art, Italian; Artists -- Italy -- Biography
Besides this, he made four Sibyls on the vaulting, and an ornament above
the arch on the front wall without the chapel, containing the scene of
the Tiburtine Sibyl making the Emperor Octavian adore Christ, which is
executed in a masterly manner for a work in fresco, with much vivacity
and loveliness in the colours. To this work he added a panel wrought in
distemper, also by his hand, containing a Nativity of Christ that should
amaze any person of understanding, wherein he portrayed himself and made
certain heads of shepherds, which are held to be something divine. Of
this Sibyl and of other parts of this work there are some very beautiful
drawings in our book, made in chiaroscuro, and in particular the view in
perspective of the Ponte a S. Trinita.
For the Frati Ingesuati he painted a panel for their high-altar, with
certain Saints kneeling--namely, S. Giusto, Bishop of Volterra, who was
the titular Saint of that church; S. Zanobi, Bishop of Florence; an
Angel Raphael; a S. Michael, clad in most beautiful armour; and other
saints. For this work Domenico truly deserves praise, for he was the
first who began to counterfeit with colours certain trimmings and
ornaments of gold, which had not been done up to that time; and he swept
away in great measure those borders of gilding that were made with
mordant or with bole, which were more suitable for church-hangings than
for the work of good masters. More beautiful than all the other figures
is the Madonna, who has the Child in her arms and four little angels
round her. This panel, which is wrought as well as any work in distemper
could be, was then placed in the church of those friars without the
Porta a Pinti; but since that building, as will be told elsewhere, was
destroyed, it is now in the Church of S. Giovannino, within the Porta S.
Piero Gattolini, where there is the Convent of the aforesaid Ingesuati.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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