The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 3 (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. 3 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
Lanzi, Luigi
Painting -- Italy -- History
Proceeding to the other disciples of Paul, and to his imitators, it will
not be found easy to enumerate them. For having been interested beyond
any other painter in the cultivation of an art, whose object is to give
pleasure, so he excelled all others in the number of his followers. We
are told by Zanetti, that many of them were also very successful, owing
to which, less accurate judges are apt to confound the master with those
of his school, if they do not cautiously attend to the two following
points, in which none will be found to equal him. These are, 1st, the
fineness and peculiar lightness of his pencil combined with sound
judgment; 2d, a very ready and spirited expression of grace, and a
dignity in his forms, particularly in the air of his heads. It must,
however, be observed, that his scholars, in the progress of time, for
the most part varied the grounds and the colouring, as they approached
the style of the succeeding epoch. Among the Venetians, there is only
enumerated by Zanetti the name of Parrasio Michele,[73] an artist who
enriched with the designs of Paul, and experienced in the art of
colouring them, produced several works worthy of him, more especially
that of a Pietà, adorning a chapel within the church of San Giuseppe, a
piece in which he added a portrait of himself. The people of Coneglia
have preserved the recollection of one of their citizens named Ciro, to
whom they attribute an altarpiece of the Nativity of Christ, as nearly
resembling the style of Paul as possible, for which reason it was
transferred from the church of the Riformati in that city to Rome; and
they add, that its author was a youth, who never attained to mature age.
Castelfranco boasts one Cesare Castagnoli as a pupil of Paul; though in
his numerous paintings in fresco he cannot be said to display much
power, at least beyond a certain degree of spirit, promptness, and
copiousness of ideas. A few less shewy and fanciful productions from the
hand of Bartolo, his brother, executed in oil, acquired for him higher
reputation than that of Cesare. Angelo Naudi, an Italian, is much
commended by Palamino for his labours in the royal palaces, and in
various churches in Spain, when painter to the court of king Philip.
There is reason to doubt whether he really received the instructions of
Paul, instead of imbibing his manner by dint of study and copying, like
Bombelli and many others; it being recorded of this writer, otherwise
very estimable, that in regard to masters he was apt to embrace opinions
by no means always true. Omitting the names of a great number of
foreigners, we make mention here only of the Veronese, in order that
their master should not appear unaccompanied by the noble train of
disciples bestowed by him upon his country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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