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
But to return to the beautiful works of Domenico; in that chapel, first
of all, are the four Evangelists on the vaulting, larger than life; and,
on the window-wall, stories of S. Dominic, S. Peter Martyr, S. John
going into the Desert, the Madonna receiving the Annunciation from the
Angel, and many patron saints of Florence on their knees above the
window; while at the foot, on the right hand, is a portrait from life of
Giovanni Tornabuoni, with one of his wife on the left, which are both
said to be very lifelike. On the right-hand wall are seven scenes--six
below, in compartments as large as the wall allows, and the last above,
twice as broad as any of the others and bounded by the arch of the
vaulting; and on the left-hand wall are also seven scenes from the life
of S. John the Baptist. The first on the right-hand wall is the
Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, wherein patience is depicted in
his countenance, with that contempt and hatred in the faces of the
others which the Jews felt for those who came to the Temple without
having children. In this scene, in the part near the window, are four
men portrayed from life, one of whom, old, shaven, and wearing a red
cap, is Alesso Baldovinetti, Domenico's master in painting and in
mosaic. Another, bareheaded, who is holding one hand on his side and is
wearing a red mantle, with a blue garment below, is Domenico himself,
the master of the work, who portrayed himself in a mirror. The one who
has long black locks and thick lips is Bastiano da San Gimignano, his
disciple and brother-in-law; and the last, who has his back turned, with
a little cap on his head, is the painter David Ghirlandajo, his brother.
All these are said, by those who knew them, to be truly vivid and
lifelike portraits. In the second scene is the Nativity of Our Lady,
executed with great diligence, and, among other notable things that he
painted therein, there is in the building (drawn in perspective) a
window that gives light to the room, which deceives all who see it.
Besides this, while S. Anna is in bed, and certain ladies are visiting
her, he painted some women washing the Madonna with great care--one is
getting ready the water, another is preparing the swaddling-clothes, a
third is busy with some service, a fourth with another, and, while each
is attending to her own duty, another woman is holding the little child
in her arms and making her laugh by smiling at her, with a womanly grace
truly worthy of such a work; besides many other expressions that are in
each figure. In the third, which is above the first, is the Madonna
ascending the steps of the Temple, with a building which recedes from
the eye correctly enough, in addition to a nude figure that brought him
praise at that time, when few were to be seen, although it had not that
complete perfection which is shown by those painted in our own day, for
those masters were not as excellent as ours. Next to this is the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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