The Cathedral Builders: The Story of a Great Masonic GuildScott, Leader
History
The Cathedral Builders: The Story of a Great Masonic Guild
Scott, Leader
Cathedrals; Church architecture; Guilds
Thus we see that Arnolfo at the most only worked eleven or twelve
years at a building which took more than a century to finish. How much
did he accomplish? Probably not more than the foundations and the
design which he left, and which may be seen to this day; for it is
usually understood that the church in the fresco of the Spanish chapel
represents the Duomo as Arnolfo designed it. After his death Florence
fell upon warlike times, and was unable to continue the work till
1331, when the "city being in a happy and tranquil state, recommenced
the building of the church of Santa Reparata, which had for a long
time been in abeyance, and had made no progress, owing to the many
wars and expenses which the city had undergone." The deed goes on to
relate that the Arte della Lana was placed at the head of the
administration, and that a tax of two denari per libbra on all moneys
paid to the Commune should be appropriated for the expense, as had
been decreed before. They further added another tax on the customs, so
that the two amounted to 12,000 _libbre picciole_ a year. Besides
this, every shop in Florence was to have a money-box where they were
to place _il denaro di Dio_ (tithes) on all they sold.[250] I quote
this to show how cities in the good old church-building days paid
their architects. It is probable that the schools of the guild had
continued in this interval, though the _Magistri_ may have had to seek
work elsewhere, for by July 18, 1334, we find Giotto as a _Magister_,
selected as architect of the Campanile, though he seems to have had
very little to do with the Duomo. His marvellous tower, in its varied
colouring and artistic effect, shows the hand of a painter rather than
an architect. He did not live to see his work completed, for on
January 8, 1336, he died, soon after his return from Milan, where he
had been sent in the services of the Visconti, and had a public
funeral at the expense of the Commune in Santa Reparata. The fact
that the work of his tower went on in his absence, proves that he must
have had brethren in the guild capable of carrying out his plans. As
the foundations were only laid in July 1334, and Giotto died in
January 1336, after a long absence at Milan, one wonders how he found
time to sculpture the reliefs in his Hymn of Labour. However, we must
take Ghiberti's testimony for it. In his second _Commentary_, Ghiberti
says[251]--"The first line of reliefs which are in the Campanile which
he erected were sculptured and designed by his own hand. In my time I
have seen his own sketches beautifully drawn." A contemporary
anonymous commentator on Dante writes[252]--"Giotto designed and
superintended the marble bell-tower of Santa Reparata in Florence, a
notable tower and costly. He committed two errors--one that it had no
base, and the other that it was too narrow. This caused him such grief
that, they say, he fell ill and died of it." I think indeed that if
Giotto had found any error he would have rectified it in the plans
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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