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 — John Shaqi
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
An artist of a better taste appeared in Vincenzio Catena, a wealthy
citizen, who obtained a good deal of celebrity by his portraits and
pictures for private rooms. His masterpiece consists of a Holy family,
in the style of Giorgione, ornamenting the noble Pesaro gallery; and if
he had produced nothing more than this, he would no longer be included
in the present epoch; but his other pieces, exhibiting more traces of
the old style, which remain at San Maurizio, at San Simeone Grande, at
the Carità, and elsewhere, authorise our enumeration of them here. They
are beautiful; but not sufficiently in the modern taste. His reputation,
however, while living, was so great, that in a letter written by Marc
Antonio Michiel from Rome, to Antonio di Marsilio in Venice, dated 11th
of April, 1520, when Raffaello was just deceased and Buonarotti infirm,
it is recommended to Catena to be upon his guard, "since danger seems to
be impending over all very excellent painters."[32] One Giannetto
Cordegliaghi enjoyed also a high reputation, if he be rightly named by
Vasari, who commends him for his soft and delicate manner, superior to
many of his contemporaries; adding, that he had produced an infinite
number of pictures for private persons. In Venice he is termed, I
suppose for the sake of brevity, Cordella; and to him is attributed the
beautiful portrait of the Cardinal Bessarione in the college of La
Carità, with a few other specimens, the rest having dropt into oblivion.
Probably his real name was double, _Cordella Aghi_. It is certain that
Zanetti read, upon a beautiful Madonna, belonging to the learned Zeno,
_Andreas Cordelle Agi, F._ This last is of the same family as Giannetto;
or perhaps also in place of Giannetto, Vasari ought to have written
Andrea; as instead of Jacopo he ought to have said Francesco Squarcione.
Nor can it be denied, that if we except the artists of Verona and
Friuli, this historian was deficient in information, as he himself
declares, relating to the Venetian School. It is sufficient to turn to
his proëmium of the life of Carpaccio, in order to observe how many
times, in a very few lines, he is guilty of making mistakes. Of Lazzaro
Sebastiani, he made two painters; two others out of Marco Basaiti,
dividing him into Marco Basarini and Marco Bassiti, and assigning to
each his several works. Moreover, he wrote Vittore Scarpaccia, Vittor
Bellini, Giambatista da Cornigliano, and confounded the labours of all
the three together. Elsewhere we meet with Mansuchi for Mansueti;
Guerriero and Guarriero, instead of Guariento; Foppa is made into Zoppa,
Giolfino into Ursino, Morazone into Mazzone, Bozzato into Bazzacco,
Zuccati into Zuccheri and Zuccherini; and thus he continued to blunder
through other Lombard and Venetian names, insomuch as almost to vie with
Harms, with Cochin, and with similar inaccurate foreigners.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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