Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 09 (of 10): Michelagnolo to the FlemingsVasari, Giorgio
History
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 09 (of 10): Michelagnolo to the Flemings
Vasari, Giorgio
Art, Italian; Artists -- Italy -- Biography
Of Jacopo del Conte, a Florentine, who like those named above dwells
in Rome, enough will have been said, what with this and other places,
after certain other particulars have been given here. This Jacopo,
then, having been much inclined from his earliest youth to portraying
from the life, has desired that this should be his principal
profession, although on occasions he has executed altar-pictures and
works in fresco in some numbers, both in Rome and without. Of his
portraits--not to speak of them all, which would make a very long
story--I shall say only that he has portrayed all the Pontiffs that
there have been from Pope Paul III to the present day, and all the
lords and ambassadors of importance who have been at that Court, and
likewise the military captains and great men of the house of Colonna
and of the Orsini, Signor Piero Strozzi, and an infinite number of
Bishops, Cardinals, and other great prelates and lords, not to speak
of many men of letters and other men of quality; all which has caused
him to acquire fame, honour, and profit in Rome, so that he lives
honourably and much at his ease with his family in that city. From his
boyhood he drew so well that he gave promise, if he should persevere,
of becoming excellent, and so in truth he would have been, but, as I
have said, he turned to that to which he felt himself inclined by
nature. Nevertheless, his works cannot but be praised. By his hand is
a Dead Christ in an altar-piece that is in the Church of the Popolo,
and in another that he has executed for the Chapel of S. Dionigi in S.
Luigi, with stories, is the first-named Saint. But the most beautiful
work that he ever did was in two scenes in fresco that he once
painted, as has been told in another place, in the Florentine Company
of the Misericordia, with an altar-picture of Christ taken down from
the Cross, with the Thieves fixed on their crosses, and the Madonna in
a swoon, painted in oil-colours, all beautiful and executed with
diligence and with great credit to him. He has made many pictures
throughout Rome, and figures in various manners, and has executed a
number of full-length portraits, both nude and draped, of men and
women, which have proved very beautiful, because the subjects were not
otherwise. He has also portrayed, according as occasions arose, many
heads of noble ladies, gentlewomen and princesses who have been in
Rome; and among others, I know that he once portrayed Signora Livia
Colonna, a most noble lady, incomparable in her illustrious blood, her
virtue, and her beauty. And let this suffice for Jacopo del Conte, who
is still living and constantly at work.
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