The reader, having patiently followed me along the intricacies of the Pavement, and the ramifications of its history, will now like to know something more detailed about the men who made it. To satisfy this wish, I have collected from various sources, chiefly from Milanesi, the following notes.

Padre Micheli144 gives no less than forty-one names of workers of various sorts on the Pavement. To these the writer in Miscellanea145 adds three more; and if with them we include the six artists and sculptors, who, since the middle of the eighteenth century, and up to the present day, have restored, replaced, and made additions, we arrive at a total of more than fifty men, who have, in one way or another, contributed to this beautiful work.146 Of these, many remain but as names recorded in documents concerning the Pavement, and are heard of nowhere else; of others we catch a few glimpses in the pages of Milanesi; about a dozen were celebrated in their day as painters and sculptors, in the somewhat limited world of Sienese Art, and have left specimens of their work elsewhere; while two alone, Pinturicchio and Beccafumi, have attained world-wide fame.

I propose then to take the names of these men, according to the dates of the first work contributed by them to the Pavement.

Thus we begin with:

1.1369.Antonio di Brunaccio.

This earliest name, connected with work on the Pavement, is of a man, about whom we do not know very much. In 1362, we find him witnessing two contracts made between the Operaio and a certain Francesco di Tonghio, for woodwork (stalls and a lectern) made for the Choir of the Duomo. He is among the sculptors, whose names are entered in the Book of Arts and Crafts of the City of Siena, under date 1363, and in the following year, he binds himself to do certain work in the Cathedral, and the Cappella di Piazza. In 1369, we read of his making a small lion, to adorn a fountain in the Palazzo Pubblico. He was, perhaps, the son of a certain Brunaccio di Santa Colomba, a sculptor, who signed the Sculptors’ Brief in the thirteenth century, quoted in the Nuovi Documenti.147

2.1370.Sano di Marco.

This man’s name is also among those of the sculptors working in Siena in 1363. Milanesi mentions a daughter of his called Valentina, who married a sculptor named Paolo di Pietro, of the parish (Popolo) of San Stefano: but there is no other record about him.

3.1370.Francesco di Ser Antonio.

Appears to have been a painter, and we find his name on the list of artists flourishing in Siena in 1402.148 He was also consulted in 1376 as to the walls of the Cappella di Piazza; and was witness to a contract made with Giacomo di Buonfredi, called Corbello, for certain work done on the faÇade of the Duomo. He must not, however, be confused with Francesco d’Antonio di Francesco, the goldsmith, who lived many years later.

Of these men, and their work, nothing is known, but the notices already quoted.

6.1398.Sano, or Ansano di Maestro Matteo.

Of this sculptor and architect, notices exist from 1392 to 1429. He was a native of Siena, and might have been the son of the Matteo di Bartolo mentioned above, although we cannot prove it. He married twice: first, Cristofora di Cecco di Domenico; and secondly, after her death, a certain Madonna Bartolommea. In 1402, we find him witness to a contract, given to Giacomo di Giovanni, “a key-maker” (chiavaio) to make an iron railing round the pulpit in the Duomo in Siena. In 1404, he held the post of Petrone, or valuer, to the Commune, and Director of the City water-supply, and was re-appointed in 1407. In 1408 and in 1409, we also find him recommending Cristoforo di Francesco, a Sienese sculptor, first to the Orvieto Cathedral authorities, and then to the Signoria of Siena. He was, in 1416, elected Castellan of the fortalice of Montalcino, but, being engaged to assist Giacomo della Quercia in his work on the Fonte Gaia, sent Maestro Giovanni di Giacomo, as his lieutenant.149 He was Capo-maestro of the Duomo at Orvieto for various periods during the years 1407–1425, and during that time he made the font there.150 He also added a new chapel to the Cathedral. In 1416, he too was among the artists employed on the Font in the Baptistery at Siena, and in 1426–27, he was called to Perugia to superintend the drainage works of Lake Thrasymene. Among the Sienese State Records of 1427–28 are three letters from the Signoria to him, apologizing for not sending him an apprentice, but recalling him home: together with letters addressed, one to the Pope’s Legate, Bishop Pietro Donato, and the other to Antonio Casini, Cardinal of San Marcello, asking leave for him to return: the object being, that he should build the Loggia di S. Paolo, (now the Casino dei Nobili). Among the documents extracted by Signori Borghesi and Banchi, we find several referring to work done by Sano at Perugia: among other things, the construction of a mill at Ragulano. We also learn that, for the months of May and June, 1414, he was Gonfaloniere of the Compagnia di Rialto e Cartagne. He had two daughters: Caterina, born on July 30th, 1405; and Mattia, who married Gherardo di Niccolo.151

7.1398.Luca di Cecco.

A sculptor, whose signature is also found attached to the document mentioned above. In 1375, and again in 1377, his name occurs as witness to contracts for works of art: the first, a picture for the High Altar of the Duomo, to be made by Lorenzo di Vanni and Nuccio di Neruccio: the second, a marble statue by Mariano d’Agnolo and Bartolommeo di TommÈ, for the Cappella del Campo. In 1386, he was commissioned to make some marble steps for the interior of the Duomo.

8.1405.Cecco di Giovanni.

Another unrecorded artist.

9.1406.Marchesse d’ Adamo.

Of this man, or of his stonemason companions from Como, we hear nothing more than the short notice I have given already. We know that Comacene and Lombard workmen, especially masons and sculptors, were labouring in great numbers all over Italy at this period, and that they have left their traces very markedly, throughout all Tuscan and Umbrian Art. We know also, that the stone workers of Siena made a compact with those of Lombardy, residing and working in that town, on the 5th of December, 1473, whereby they gave to them certain privileges on payment of suitable fees.152

10.1423–33.Domenico di Niccolo del Coro.

This great artist was born about 1363, and belonged to the noble family of Spinelli. He was one of the cleverest and most prolific workers of his day. His principal trade was that of a wood-carver; and he is said to have obtained his surname of del Coro from his ability and success in designing and carving Choir-stalls. From 1413 to 1423, he held the post of Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo of Siena, and we have records of work done by him in glass, as well as in stone and wood. He worked on the older Fonte Gaia, made designs for an intended loggia (on the site of the present Casino dei Nobili), to face into the Piazza del Campo,153 and was sent for to Orvieto to advise about the repair of the roof of the Duomo there. The panels, inlaid with the Symbols of the Creed, for the stalls of the Chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico, executed by him between the years 1415–1428,154 after designs said to be by Taddeo Bartoli,155 are works of exceptional beauty. After a long life, in January 1446–7, we find him, at 84 years of age, begging the Signoria of Siena to grant him a pension. A sum of two florins a month was allowed to him, but he could not have enjoyed it for long, since after 1450 we entirely lose sight of him.

11.1423.Agostino di Niccolo.

The only specimen of this artist’s work we know of in Siena, is that on the Pavement. We have no other record of him except that in 1405, or perhaps even earlier, he was working at Orvieto, in company with a certain Nanni di Giacomo (a cadet of the noble house of Castori, or Amidei), a native of Lucca, but resident in Siena, and during the next year, with an artist named Orbetano, called il Mastro, also a Sienese.

12.1423.Bastiano di Corso.

Concerning this artist, we know that he came from Florence, lived a long time in Siena, and died rather before 1455. His family name was Giuliani, and he married Francesca di Cristoforo Pastella, by whom he had four sons: Taddeo; Cristoforo (born 1422); Corso (of whom presently), and Giuliano, who married, in 1469, Marianna, daughter of Pietro Paoletti. Both of these were sculptors, like their father. Milanesi gives many notices of work in marble done by this artist, in company with his sons, in the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Hospital of Sta. Maria della Scala, and the Loggia di S. Paolo.

13.1426.Paolo di Martino.

Of this man, beyond the records of him in connexion with the Pavement, scarcely anything is known. He appears once, as witness to a contract for some carved figures for the Duomo. A curious fact occurs also, as to work done by him in the before-mentioned Chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico. In 1414, he, his brother Antonio, and a certain Simone d’Antonio, were commissioned to decorate the stalls of that Chapel. Their work seems not to have given public satisfaction, with the result that the commission was taken away from them, and given to Domenico del Coro, who, as we have seen, executed his task triumphantly.

14.1434.Domenico di Bartolo di Ghezzo da Asciano.

We find the name of this artist on the Roll of Sienese Painters in 1428. Vasari would have us believe, that he was the nephew of Taddeo Bartoli. This, however, is proved to be erroneous, because we know that Taddeo was the son of a barber, one Bartolo di Maestro Mino: that his brother died childless; and that his sister Petra married a notary of Radicondoli, named Ser Antonio Gennari. Domenico Bartoli was a member of the well-known Ghezzi family of Asciano, and a picture by him is still to be seen in the Church of St. Agostino in his native town. He was born about 1400, married in 1440156 Donna Antonia Pannilini, and died in 1446.157 He was an artist of very great merit. His finest works are his frescoes in the Pellegrinaggio of the Hospital of Sta. Maria della Scala at Siena, which were painted in 1443–44.158 These frescoes throw a vivid light on the manners, customs, costume, and style of architecture of the period in which he lived, and form a remarkable picture of Sienese life at that date. It is, moreover, most interesting to note how much the decorative effects, employed by him in his work, foreshadow the coming Renaissance.

15.1434.Giacomo d’Antonio.

Appears to have been merely a workman (manovale), as, except the record quoted, no other notice appears of him among those hitherto extracted.

16.1447.Pietro di Tommaso del Minella.

A native of Siena, this famous sculptor and architect was born on the 21st of December, 1391. He was son of a certain Tommaso, surnamed Minella and had two brothers, Antonio and Giovanni (both workers in wood), the latter of whom became a Franciscan monk, and Rector of the Hospital of Sta. Croce. Pietro was a favourite pupil of Giacomo della Quercia, who left him ten florins in his will; and he worked with that great master on the famous Font in the Baptistery. From 1431 to 1433, he was Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo at Orvieto, and with his brother Antonio, executed some works there in intarsia on the stalls. In 1437, Quercia gave him some commissions in connection with the Loggia di S. Paolo, and in 1439 he was employed to make the choir for the Chapel of the Hospital of Sta. Maria della Scala. Out of this much litigation arose, which was settled by the giving of a dowry to his daughter.159 In 1441, he and his brother Antonio were commissioned to make a new Bishops’ Throne for the Cathedral at Orvieto,160 adorned with figures of SS. John and Costanzo; but apparently, whether for want of funds or for what reason does not appear, the work was never completed.161 He remained at Orvieto until March, 1444, when he returned to Siena, where he had been commissioned by the Council to execute further work on the Loggia di S. Paolo.162 In August of that year he was in treaty to go back to Orvieto, and we find a document, showing that he asked in payment for his services 120 ducats and a house, but agreed to accept 110 without the house, arranging to come to Orvieto about the middle of October to complete his bargain.163 In September, however, he was promised by the Camarlingo (perhaps the Treasurer) of the Opera del Duomo at Siena, the post of Capo-maestro there. This appointment, however, he did not at first obtain, though he was employed on the tomb of Carlo Bartoli, Bishop of Siena, for which he received, as his share, a sum of 38 lire 8 soldi;164 and in the following year on the Chapel of S. Crescenzio in the Duomo.165 At last, in 1447, he was appointed Capo-maestro, and during his occupation of the post, he designed the Church of S. Ansano. He died in August, 1458, having married Cristofora, daughter of Maestro Pannucci, surnamed Cinquino, and had by her three sons—Tone (Canon of the Duomo), Niccolo, and Sano, who died in 1498, having married Polissena, daughter of Arnoldo di Fortunato, by whom he had six sons.

Of the first and second of these three men nothing is known but their names, and the notice which records their work, described in the last chapter. As I have suggested, Nastagio di Guasparre and Guasparre d’ Agostino may have been father and son, or master and pupil. I have also referred to the fact that Guasparre d’Agostino painted frescoes of the Crucifixion and Burial of Christ in the apse over the altar of the Baptistery,166 and was commissioned to paint some scenes from the life of S. Bernardino for the Sacristy of the Duomo. We are told also by Milanesi167 that he was the master of Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi.

20.1451.Corso di Bastiano.

Son of Bastiano di Corso, he married Nanna, daughter of a certain Simone di Niccolo, surnamed Calabrese, a maker of drinking vessels. He was, as we have seen, a sculptor like his father, with whom he worked. We read, besides, however, that he made the balcony of the Palazzo Pubblico,168 whence the sentences on criminals were read, and executed certain marble work at the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda.169

21.1459.Antonio di Federigo or Federighi (Federigi).

This sculptor and architect was one of the glories of Siena in his time. In one document, to be referred to later, he is called Tolomei (de Ptholomeis), but we have no record as to his birth or family. In 1444, he was among the artists employed on the tomb of Bishop Carlo Bartoli, and for his share in the work he received 15 lire. In 1451, he was appointed Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo at Orvieto,170 where he remained until 1456, living in considerable style.171 He had with him all the time his two pupils, Polimante of Assisi and Vito di Marco, both of whom were paid by the Duomo authorities. He was evidently held in high honour, for we find on April 7th, 1452,172 the Signoria of Siena writing to the heads of the Commune at Orvieto, to ask them to recommend him to the notice of the Duke of Calabria. In April, 1453, with safe conducts from the Republic of Florence and the King of Naples, he, with seven companions, went to Carrara to quarry marble, and in October of the same year he started for Corneto for a similar purpose; but was recalled on the 5th of the same month, to advise as to the roof of one of the Chapels in the Duomo, which threatened to collapse. In September, 1456, he made, and put into position, one of the statues on the faÇade. During this period he made statues of SS. Ansano, Vittore, and Savino for the Loggia di Mercanzia or S. Paolo (now the Casino dei Nobili), and executed the work before the doors of the Baptistery, to which we have already alluded. (Ill. XXII.) After 1456, he appears to have returned to Siena, for we find a number of references to a commission for the statues of SS. Peter and Paul, given first to Urbano da Cortona, then to Federighi, and lastly to Lorenzo di Pietro (Il Vecchietta); the special object of the last change being to keep that artist in Siena.173 From 1460 to 1462, he was engaged in the design and erection of the magnificent Loggia di Papa, built by Pope Pius II.; and in 1463, on the palace of that Pope’s sister, Caterina Piccolomini, called then Palazzo delle Papesse, but now styled Palazzo Nerucci.174 In 1469–70, we hear of work done by him at the Oratorio di S. Caterina in Fontebranda; in 1473 party to the contract made between the Sienese and Lombard workers in stone: and in 1480, he petitioned the authorities with reference to the drainage and water-supply of the town.175 Other noticeable works by him are the marble bench on the right-hand side of the Loggia di Mercanzia, before-mentioned; the basins of the two holy water stoups at the west end of the Cathedral Nave (attributed, wrongly, to Quercia); and the Chapel and Palace, outside the Porta Camollia, known as the Palazzo dei Diavoli.

22.1473.Urbano di Pietro di Domenico da Cortona.

This artist came with his brother Bartolommeo, in his early youth, from his native city of Cortona, to settle in Siena, where in 1451,176 they together undertook to build the Chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie, in the Duomo. In the same year he was commissioned, as we have seen, to make two statues for the Loggia di Mercanzia, but the commission was cancelled. In 1456, he made a statue of S. Bernardino for the Convent of the Osservanza, and a figure of S. Peter for the faÇade of the Duomo. In 1458, the Signoria of Siena deliberated as to the suitability of employing him, in company with Donatello, to procure alabaster from the Val D’Orcia, to decorate a room in the Palazzo Pubblico.177 Among the records of the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda, between the years 1465 and 1474, we find two notices of work by him: namely, a statue of the Saint over the Chapel door, and a holy-water stoup. In 1471, he had a dispute with Bastiano di Francesco, as to the price due for work done by the latter, in which Vecchietta was one of the two arbitrators. In the same year he was employed on the Palazzo delle Papesse, and in 1473, we find him also joining in the contract made by the Sienese sculptors with their Lombard fellow-craftsmen. In 1497–98, he was one of the arbitrators in a dispute between Giovanni di Stefano and his workmen.178 He died in Siena, on May the 8th, 1504, leaving, by his wife, Caterina Scotti, a daughter, Lucrezia, who married Ser Pasquale Griffi, of Montalcino; his son Tommaso having predeceased him. His finest works still existing are the decorations for the Chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie referred to above, which are now affixed to the walls of the Duomo, near the door leading to the Campanile stairs; and the tomb of Cav. Cristoforo Felice (Rector 1457–58 and 1460–65) in the church of S. Francesco in Siena.

23.1473.Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo.

This artist, also known as Matteo da Siena, was born about 1435. It was erroneously supposed, that he was the son of Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia, the painter of Poggio Malavolti, and brother of Pietro and Benvenuto di Giovanni, also painters of repute. As a matter of fact, however, Matteo’s father was a certain Giovanni di Bartolo, a merchant of Borgo San Sepolcro, who had settled in Siena, by his second wife, Elisabetta, daughter of Andrea d’Ambrogio, a goldsmith: while Pietro was the son of another merchant, one Giovanni Pucci; and Benvenuto, of a certain Giovanni di Maestro Meo del Guasta of San Quirico. Moreover, Giovanni di Paolo of Poggio was quite an old man when, in 1480, he married a woman called Domenica, by whom he had no children, as we find that by his will, dated June 29th, 1482, he left her his sole heiress.

Matteo married twice; first, a certain Contessa, by whom he had no children; and secondly, Orsina di Francesco del Taia, by whom he had three sons and four daughters. He died in June, 1495. He was a distinguished painter, much admired in his day, and had a very distinct charm of his own, in spite of his somewhat rigid adherence to old traditions. Many of his pictures are still in their original places in the churches of Siena,179 and there are also some good specimens of his work in the Accademia delle Belle Arti in that town.

24.1473.Giovanni di Maestro Stefano di Giovanni.

Son of the celebrated painter, usually called Sassetta. We first hear of him in 1452, as appealing for judgment in the matter of the price of a fresco, over the Porta Romana, left unfinished by his father’s death; (subsequently completed by Sano di Pietro, and Lorenzo di Pietro, commonly called Il Vecchietta). In August 1446, he was commissioned, with the assistance of the goldsmith Francesco d’Antonio, to make a silver head of Sta. Caterina, for the Monks of S. Domenico in Siena.180 He made a model for the head, which Francesco executed in silver;181 and perhaps the tabernacle also, although that has been attributed to Vecchietta. In 1466–68,182 we find a petition, addressed to the Signoria, for the erection of two stone wolves outside the Porta Nuova, or Romana. These are generally supposed to have been the work of this artist. In 1477, he was recommended by the Signoria of Siena to Federigo, Duke of Urbino; and in 1481, was witness to the commission, given by the Opera del Duomo, to Urbano di Pietro, Antonio Federighi, Vito di Marco and Luigi di Ruggiero, to execute the Sibyls on the Duomo Pavement; one of which (the Cuman) we know was, in the following year, his work. In 1487, he executed the statue of S. Ansano (formerly attributed to Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi, of whom presently) in the Chapel of S. Giovanni in the Duomo.183 In 1427, in company with Giacomo Cozzarelli, and Domenico di Matteo, he made a valuation of the bronze doors, for the Libreria in the Duomo, executed by Giacomo Ormanni; and in the same year we read of the dispute with his workmen, to which we have alluded above. In 1497–98, he also executed two of the bronze angels184 for the High Altar of the Duomo. The celebrated sculptor, Lorenzo di Mariano, better known as Il Marrina, was one of his pupils.

Both these men appear to have been sculptors, and are associated together, as arbitrators, with Urbano da Cortona, in the dispute referred to above, between Giovanni di Stefano and his workmen. Of the former, we also find a record, under date August 11th, 1507, as arbitrator between Lorenzo di Mariano (Il Marrina) and Battista di Simone,185 and we are told that he was surnamed Baccelli, and died in 1531.186 Of Francesco we know nothing more, except that he also signed the contract with the Lombard sculptors.

27.1482.Giuliano di Biagio.

Of this artist, we know nothing, beyond the reference to his work on the Pavement, of which mention has been made above. He appears, however, to have been not merely the mason, but also the contractor, who procured the marble for his own work.187

28.1482.Vito di Marco.

A German, who, with his brother Giovanni, came to settle in Siena, as a mason. He was, as we have seen above, a pupil of Antonio Federighi, and was employed under him, on the works at Orvieto. In 1473, he was also party to the contract between the Sienese and Lombard sculptors. In 1483–84, he was commissioned, in company with a certain Lucillo di Maestro Marco, to execute the tomb of Tommaso del Testa Piccolomini, Bishop of Pienza and Montalcino,188 which commission, through his absence from Siena, and the death of Lucillo, was transferred in the following year to Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi. In 1487, he executed the faÇade of the church of S. Andrew at Orvieto, in which city we find him still working in 1489–91. He died in 1495.

29.1482.Luigi di Ruggiero, surnamed L’Armellino.

This man also joined in the above-mentioned contract with the Lombard stone workers (1473). In January, 1486–87, we find the Signoria of Siena writing to Ottaviano, Count of Mercatelli, on his behalf, for arrears of salary due to him for work done.189 He also appears to have been a contractor, as well as a sculptor.190

30.1483.Bastiano di Francesco di Sano.

This man was a sculptor and a painter, but it is uncertain whether he is the same person, as the Florentine sculptor Bastiano di Francesco, who, with Francesco di Giovanni, was employed to build the tomb of Pope Pius III. in S. Peter’s at Rome.191 We do not know much about him, beyond the work which he did in the Duomo. In 1481, he assisted Guidoccio Cozzarelli, Benvenuto di Giovanni del Guasta, and Pellegrino di Mariano, in decorating the interior of the Cupola with sculpture and painting. We gather, that in 1484, he moved the beautiful tomb of Cardinal Petroni, by Tino di Camaino,192 from its original place near the present Cappella del Voto, to its present lofty position, by the Cappella di S. Giovanni. To him, in the same and following years, are also due the carved festoons, monstrous cherub heads, and painting and gilding round the east window (Occhio) of the choir. Twice we hear of him in legal difficulties: once, as we have mentioned already, with Urbano da Cortona in 1471; and again in 1477, when a certain doctor of laws, one Prospero Poccio, complained to the PodestÀ, that Bastiano would not finish a picture for him, that he had contracted to do.193 He appears to have lived in the Valle Piatta at Siena.194 (Ill. XXIII.)

31.1483.Benvenuto di Giovanni del Guasta.

This versatile artist was the son, as we have seen, of a certain Giovanni di Meo del Guasta, a mason from San Quirico. He was born the 13th of September, 1436, and died about 1518. He married Jacopa, daughter of Tommaso da Cetona, by whom he had three daughters, and a son, Girolamo, also a clever artist. In 1466, we find him in company with Sano di Pietro, valuing the decorative work on two chests, made by a certain Francesco d’Andrea, for Ambrogio Spannocchi. In 1481–82, as we have already noted, he was employed on the decoration of the interior of the Cupola in the Duomo, where he painted thirty-five figures, for which he received a sum of 105 lire.195 In the same year, he painted miniatures in the Antiphonaries, for the Duomo; one of which, the largest, represented “the Giving of the Keys to S. Peter,” for which he received 27 lire 14 soldi.196 That he was much admired in his day as a painter, is evident from the number of notices still to be found of payments made to him for banners, bier-heads and pictures of various sorts, by Convents and Guilds. Many of these still exist, either in the Churches for which they were painted, or in the Picture Gallery.197 In 1508, he was called as witness, in a lawsuit between Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti and the heirs of Neroccio Landi, as to the price of an unfinished picture by that artist. From the two inventories of his property, made in 1491 and 1509, and the list of goods bequeathed by him to his son Girolamo, we gather that he lived in houses of his own: first, in the district of Camollia; and latterly, in that of the Rialto in Siena.

32.1483.Neroccio di Bartolommeo di Benedetto Landi.

This great artist was equally celebrated, both as sculptor and painter. He belonged to the noble family of Landi, who are described as “of Poggio Malevolti”, to distinguish them from the family of Landi Sberghieri. He was born in 1447, and died in 1500. He was twice married: first, to Elisabetta, daughter of Antonio Cigalini, who died in 1483; and, secondly, in 1493 to Lucrezia, daughter of Antonio Paltoni, who bore him several sons, one of whom was a painter as was his father.198 Many of his pictures and statues still exist in Siena, in the places for which he designed them. In 1475, he appears to have quarrelled with Francesco di Giorgio; a dispute that was settled by the kindly offices of Sano di Pietro and Lorenzo di Pietro (Il Vecchietta). In the following year we find the same Sano di Pietro, with Francesco di Giorgio, valuing a picture, painted by Neroccio, for a certain Bernardino Nini. In the records of the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda,199 we find that this artist was paid 31 lire, for a wooden statue of the Saint, which still stands over the altar in that Chapel. In 1481, he was engaged to work for the Duke of Calabria, and also for the Abbot of the Benedictine Convent at Lucca. In 1484–85, he received the commission (originally given to Vito di Marco and Lucillo, but cancelled through the absence of the former, and the death of the latter), to execute the tomb of Bishop Tommaso del Testa Piccolomini.200 This tomb is now over the door, leading from the Cathedral to the stairs of the Campanile. In 1487, he was also directed to make the beautiful statue of S. Catherine of Alexandria for the Chapel of S. Giovanni in the Duomo; but his death left the work unfinished. We find two notices with reference to this work, dated 5th of February, 1487–88, and 21st of August, 1502201 respectively: the first recording the payment of an advance of 40 lire to the painter himself, and the other of a further payment (in accordance with the valuation of Giacomo Cozzarelli and Ventura di Ser Giuliano) of 202 lire more to his heirs. These heirs, as we have seen above, also had a lawsuit over another unfinished work of his, with one of his pupils, Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti. Milanesi quotes some interesting documents in connection with this lawsuit in his notes.202 The names of some of his pupils, besides the above-mentioned Giovanni Battista di Bartolommeo Alberti are as follows: Giovanni di Tedaldo, Leonardo di Ser Ambrogio de’ Maestrelli,203 Taldo di Vittore, and Achille di Pietro di Paolo del Crogio.204

33.1483.Guidoccio di Giovanni Cozzarelli.

This artist must not be confused with the more famous Giacomo di Bartolommeo di Marco Cozzarelli, who was a sculptor and worker in metal, nor do we know, whether or no, he was related in any way to the engineer Giovanni Cozzarelli, a notice of whose work on a bridge at Macereto, we find under date 3rd of November, 1487.205 This man was a painter of considerable ability, whose pictures may be studied in the Picture Gallery, and who executed some of the miniatures in the Duomo Antiphonaries. We read that in 1447, he was employed with Sano di Pietro, to decorate the Chapel (now destroyed) of the Madonna delle Grazie in the Cathedral; and that in 1481, he was employed on the decoration of the interior of the Cupola. Professor Luigi Mussini206 suggests that the Tavoletta di Biccherna (No. 34 of those preserved in the Archivio di Stato), representing The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, is by him.

Of these men nothing is known but the reference to them here.

36.1505–6.Bernardino di Benedetto or Betto (Il Pinturicchio).

Of this painter, and his work, so much has been written elsewhere, that I shall only attempt the briefest sketch of his life here.

He was a native of Perugia, was the son of a certain Betto or Benedetto, and was born in 1454. He had six children by his wife Grania: Adriana, who married Giuseppe, son of Giovanni of Perugia, and died in 1518: Clelia or Egidia, who married Girolamo, son of Paolo of Perugia, called Paffa, a soldier of the guard of Siena; Giulio Cesare (b. 1506); Camillo (b. 1509); Faustina Girolama (b. 1510); and Faustina, who married Filippo, son of Paolo of Perugia, or of Deruta. His frescoes in the Libreria of the Duomo, and the chapel of S. Giovanni, are among the most celebrated of Italian works of art. Vasari relates many more or less fictitious stories about his life and doings, which, though amusing to read, are not borne out by fact. He died in 1513, and was buried in the Church of SS. Vincenzo and Anastasia, the Chapel of the Contrada of the Porcupine (Istrice).

37.1505–6.Paolo Mannucci.

Of this artist, nothing is known, but the notice already quoted, which states that he was employed to execute Pinturicchio’s design of the Allegory of Fortune. (No. 36.)

38.1518.Domenico di Jacopo di Pace Beccafumi, called Mecarino (or Mecherino).

This very celebrated painter and sculptor was the son of a certain Giacomo (Jacopo) di Pace,207 a labourer on the Podere of Cortine, near the Castle of Montaperto, and was born in 1486. This Podere was the property of the Sienese noble, Lorenzo Beccafumi, who, more than once held high offices in his native town. The boy early showed remarkable artistic promise, and used to amuse himself modelling animals, flowers, and leaves in clay. Lorenzo Beccafumi, one day seeing these efforts, and being struck by their promise, took him into his house, as a sort of servitor, but also gave him the opportunity of studying art. Near the house of the Beccafumi family, was then living an artist, named Mecarino, of poor ability and circumstances, but possessing a fine collection of drawings by good masters. These the young Domenico studied carefully, and on the death of Mecarino, by that artist’s special wish, assumed his name. In later years, he also added, by permission of his first patron, the name of Beccafumi. He was married twice. By his first wife, Andreoccia, of whose family and origin nothing is known, he had a son, Adriano, who died poor and childless in 1588. By his second wife, Caterina, sister of Pietro Cataneo, the Sienese architect and mathematician, he had two daughters: Ersilia (b. 1535), and Polifila (b. 1573), who became afterwards a Gesuate nun, under the name of Suor Cecilia. His work was very much sought after, and is to be found in all directions, in churches and palaces alike, throughout Siena. (Ill. XXV.) At one time, he came very much under the influence of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (called Il Sodoma), in whose company he worked, from 1518 to 1532, at the decoration of the Oratorio di S. Bernardino,208 but subsequently, became his rival and bitter enemy. One of his earliest works in Siena was, in 1513, the decoration in fresco of the faÇade of the Palazzo de’ Borghesi in the Piazza di Postierla, opposite the house of Agostino Bardi, soon afterwards adorned in similar materials by Sodoma.209 In February, 1515, he purchased a house, numbered 408, in the Via dei Maestri (now Via Tito Sarocchi), for which he paid 270 florins, and, in 1545, another house next door for 245 florins.210 We find him continually in request to value works of art of all kinds: panel-pictures, frescoes, bronze crucifixes, marble tombs, etc., and Guilds were always employing him to paint bier-heads and banners for them. Among the latter, we are told that he was engaged by the Compagnia di S. Sebastiano in Camollia, to complete Sodoma’s celebrated banner of S. Sebastian (now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence).211 In 1529, and again in 1535, he received commissions to decorate the Sala del Concistoro in the Palazzo Pubblico; and on the occasion of the visit of Charles V. to Siena (23rd of April, 1536), he, in company with Anton Maria di Paolo Lari (nicknamed Il Tozzo) and Lorenzo Donati, designed and erected a triumphal arch and other decorations, including a gigantic horse in papier-mÂchÉ, in honour of that Emperor.212 He was also famous as a worker in bronze,213 and among the works done by him in this metal, the most celebrated, now known, are six of the bronze angels, holding lights, affixed to the columns in the Choir of the Duomo. For this work he received 11,600 lire from the Opera del Duomo. According to a contemporary Register of persons buried in the Duomo, Beccafumi died on the 18th May, 1550, and was buried there: other authorities state that his death occurred in the following year.214 Giorgio di Gio. Simone was one of his pupils, and Giovanni Battista di Girolamo Sozzini (of whom presently) was another.

LOMBARDI PHOTO.]

[DESIGNED BY DOMENICO BECCAFUMI

XXV. THE STORY OF MOSES AND THE TABLES OF THE LAW (No. 52)