The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 1 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth CenturyLanzi, Luigi
History
The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 1 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
Lanzi, Luigi
Painting -- Italy -- History
Michelangiolo? The portraits of Bonarruoti ascribed to his own hand, are
also, in my opinion, supposititious. Vasari knew of no likeness of him
except the figure cast in bronze by Ricciarelli, and two portraits, the
one painted by Bugiardini, the other by Jacopo del Conte. From these are
derived the very old and well known portraits, preserved in the ducal
gallery, in the collection of the Capitol, in the Caprara palace at
Bologna, and that in the possession of Cardinal Zelada at Rome.
Franco, Marco da Siena, Tibaldi, and other foreign artists, who have
imitated Michelangiolo, shall be noticed under their respective schools.
The Florentine school abounded in them, and these we shall consider all
together in the succeeding epoch. I shall here only notice two, who
lived on intimate habits with him, who executed works under his own eye,
and for a long time received directions from his own lips; circumstances
which cannot be said of Vasari, of Salviati, nor of any other able
artist of his school. One of these was Francesco Granacci of Florence,
characterized by Vasari as an excellent artist, who derived much of his
merit from his early intimacy with Michelangiolo. He was the fellow
student of the latter, under Domenico Ghirlandaio, and also in the
garden of Lorenzo; and from his precepts, and by studying his cartoon,
he enlarged his own manner, and approached near the modern style. After
the death of his master, he remained with the brothers of that artist,
to complete some of the works of the deceased, and was employed in
painting some Holy Families, and cabinet pictures, in distemper, which
might easily pass under another name, as they resemble the best
productions of that school. In his new style he never entirely abandoned
the simplicity of the old manner; but there is a specimen in the church
of S. Jacopo without-the-walls, more studied in design, and more
determined in the colouring. In this picture S. Zanobi and S. Francis
appear near our Lady under a lofty canopy; a subject then familiar in
every school. His style seems more matured in an Assumption which was in
S. Pier Maggiore, a church now suppressed: here he inserted, between two
other figures, a S. Thomas, wholly in the manner of Michelangiolo. Few
other considerable paintings can be ascribed to this artist, who was
left in easy circumstances by his father, and painted rather as a
commendable amusement than from necessity.
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