Who they were, and
what they were come thither to do, was explained, as with the others, by
four verses written above them:
Non pictura satis, non possunt marmora et aera
Tuscaque non arcus testari ingentia facta,
Atque ea praecipue quae mox ventura trahuntur;
Quis nunc Praxiteles caelet, quis pingat Apelles?
Now in the base of all these six vast and most beautiful canvases was
seen painted a gracious throng of children, each occupying himself in
the profession appropriate to the canvas placed above, who, besides the
adornment, were seen to be demonstrating with great accuracy with what
beginnings one arrived at the perfection of the men painted above; even
as with much judgment and singular art the same canvases were also
divided and adorned by round and very tall columns and by pilasters, and
by various ornaments of trophies all in keeping with the subjects to
which they were near. But, above all, graceful and lovely in appearance
were the ten devices, or, to speak more precisely, the ten reverses (as
it were) of medals, partly long established in the city and partly newly
introduced, which were painted in the compartments over the columns,
serving to divide the statues already described, and accompanying very
appropriately their inventions; the first of which was the Deduction of
a Colony, represented by a bull and a cow together in a yoke, and behind
them the ploughman with the head veiled, as the ancient Augurs are
depicted, with the crooked lituus in the hand, and with a motto, which
said: COL. JUL. FLORENTIA. The second--and this is very ancient in the
city, and the one wherewith public papers are generally sealed--was
Hercules with the Club and with the skin of the Nemaean Lion, but without
any motto. The third was the horse Pegasus, which with the hind feet was
smiting the urn held by Arno, in the manner that is told of the Fount of
Helicon; whence were issuing waters in abundance, which formed a river,
crystal-clear, that was all covered with swans; but this, also, was
without any motto. So, likewise, was the fourth, which was composed of a
Mercury with the Caduceus in the hand, the purse, and the cock, such as
is seen in many ancient cornelians. But the fifth, in accord with that
Affection which, as was said at the beginning, was given to Florence as
a companion, was a young woman receiving a crown of laurel from two
figures, one on either side of her, which, clad in the military
paludament and likewise crowned with laurel, appeared to be Consuls or
Imperatores; with words that ran: GLORIA POP. FLOREN. So also the sixth,
in like manner in accord with Fidelity, likewise the companion of
Florence, was also figured by a woman seated, with an altar near her,
upon which she was seen to be laying one of her hands, and with the
other uplifted, holding the second finger raised in the manner wherein
one generally sees an oath taken, she was seen to declare her intention
with the inscription: FIDES. POP. FLOR.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account