Gubbio and Castel Durante.

Although probably not among the earliest manufactories or boteghe of Italian enamelled and painted wares, Gubbio undoubtedly holds one of the most prominent positions in the history and development of the potter’s art in the 16th century. This small town, seated on the eastern slope of the Apennines, was then incorporated in the territory of the dukes of Urbino under whose influence and enlightened patronage the artist potters of the duchy received the greatest encouragement; and were thus enabled to produce the beautiful works of which so many examples have descended to us. Chiefly under the direction of one man, it would seem that the produce of the Gubbio furnaces was for the most part of a special nature; namely, a decoration of the pieces with the lustre pigments, producing those brilliant metallic ruby, golden, and opalescent tints which vary in every piece, and which assume almost every colour of the rainbow as they reflect the light directed at varying angles upon their surface. The woodcut (p. 112) represents a vase of great interest and beauty; no. 500 in the South Kensington collection. It is early in date; probably about 1500. The admirable way in which the moulded ornament is arranged to show the full effect of the lustre, and the bold yet harmonious design are worthy of observation. That the Gubbio ware was of a special nature, and produced only at a few fabriques almost exclusively devoted to that class of decoration, is to be reasonably inferred from Piccolpasso’s statement; who speaking of the application of the maiolica pigments says, “Non ch’io ne abbia mai fatto ne men veduto fare.” He was the maestro of an important botega at Castel Durante, one of the largest and most productive of the Umbrian manufactories, within a few miles also

of those of Urbino, with which he must have been intimately acquainted and in frequent correspondence. That he, in the middle of the 16th century, when all these works were at the highest period of their development, should be able to state that he had not only never applied or even witnessed the process of application of these lustrous enrichments is, we think, a convincing proof that they were never adopted at either of those seats of the manufacture of enamelled pottery. Although much modified and improved, lustre colours were not invented by Italian artists, but were derived from the potters of the east, probably from the Moors of Sicily, of Spain, or of Majorca. Hence (we once more repeat) the name “Majolica” was originally applied only to wares having the lustre enrichment; but since the decline of the manufacture, the term has been more generally given: all varieties of Italian enamelled pottery being usually, though wrongly, known as “Maiolica.”

The Gubbio fabrique was in full work previous to 1518; and the brilliantly lustred dish, which we engrave, now at South Kensington is before that date. That some of these early bacili so well known and apparently the work of one artist were made at Pesaro, whence the secret and probably the artist passed to Gubbio, is far from improbable. The reason for this emigration is not known, but it may be surmised that the large quantity of broom and other brush-wood, necessary for the reducing process of the reverberatory furnace in which this lustre was produced, might have been more abundantly supplied by the hills of Gubbio than in the vicinity of the larger city on the coast. That the process of producing these metallic effects was costly, we gather from Piccolpasso’s statement that sometimes not more than six pieces out of a hundred succeeded in the firing.

The fame of the Gubbio wares is associated almost entirely with one name, that of Giorgio Andreoli. We learn from the marchese Brancaleoni that this artist was the son of Pietro, of a “Castello” called “Judeo,” in the diocese of Pavia; and that, accompanied by his brother Salimbene, he went to Gubbio in the second half of the 15th century. He appears to have left and again returned thither in 1492, accompanied by his younger brother Giovanni. They were enrolled as citizens on the 23rd May 1498, on pain of forfeiting 500 ducats if they left the city in which they engaged to continue practising their ceramic art. Patronised by the dukes of Urbino, Giorgio was made “castellano” of Gubbio. Passeri states that the family was noble in Pavia. It is not known why or when he was created a “Maestro,” a title prized even more than nobility, but it is to be presumed that it took place at the time of his enrolment as a citizen; his name with the title “Maestro” first appearing on a document dated that same year, 1498. Piccolpasso states that Maiolica painters were considered noble by profession. The family of Andreoli and the “Casa” still exist in Gubbio, and it was asserted by his descendant Girolamo Andreoli, who died some 40 years since, that political motives induced their emigration from Pavia.

Maestro Giorgio was an artist by profession, not only as a draughtsman but as a modeller, and being familiar with the enamelled terra cottas of Luca della Robbia is said to have executed with his own hands and in their manner large altar-pieces. We were once disposed to think that great confusion existed in respect to these altar-pieces in rilievo, and were inclined to the belief that although some of the smaller lustred works may have been modelled by Giorgio the larger altar-pieces were really only imported by him. Judging from the most important which we have been able to examine, the “Madonna del Rosario” portions of which are in the museum at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, it seemed to approach more nearly to the work of some member of the Della Robbia family. This fine work is in part glazed, and in part coloured in distemper on the unglazed terra cotta, in which respect it precisely agrees with works known to have been executed by Andrea della Robbia assisted by his sons. There are no signs of the application of the lustre colours to any portion of the work, but this might be accounted for by the great risk of failure in the firing, particularly to pieces of such large size and in high relief. Be this as it may, from a further consideration of the style of this work and the record of others, some of which are heightened with the lustre colours, and the fact stated by the marchese Brancaleoni that a receipt for an altar-piece is still preserved in the archives of Gubbio, we are inclined to think that history must be correct in attributing these important works in ceramic sculpture to Mº Giorgio Andreoli. If they were his unassisted work, he deserves as high a place among the modellers of his period as he is acknowledged to have among artistic potters.

To go back twelve years in the history of the products of this fabrique, we have in the South Kensington museum a very interesting example of a work in rilievo, no. 2601, a figure of S. Sebastian, lustred with the gold and ruby pigments, and dated 1501. Notwithstanding its inferiority of modelling when compared with later works, we are in little doubt that this is by Mº Giorgio’s own hand, agreeing as it does in the manner of its painted outline and shading with the treatment of subjects on the earlier dishes, believed to be by him. We must also bear in mind that an interval of twelve years had elapsed between this comparatively crude work, and that beautiful altar-piece whose

excellence causes us some doubt in ascribing it to his unaided hand; and we may observe at the same time an equal difference in the merit of his own painted pieces. The small bowl here engraved is of about this period, and is characteristic of a style of ornament commonly found upon Gubbio ware.

This is now at South Kensington. We add also another piece, no. 8906; well worth the attention of a student, as exhibiting the full power

attainable by the introduction of the lustre tints. The yellow has a full rich golden tone, and the ruby a pure vivid red.

Passeri states that Giorgio brought the secret of the ruby lustre with him from Pavia, and M. Jacquemart infers that he must have produced works at Pavia before going to Gubbio; but we are inclined to think with Mr. Robinson that it was from an artist previously working at Gubbio that he acquired the art and the monopoly of the ruby tint; and it is by no means improbable that this artist, or his predecessor, may have emigrated from Pesaro as stated above. The following conclusions arrived at by Mr. Robinson after the careful study of a vast number of examples of the Gubbio and other works are endorsed by the writer, who, having contributed some few of the facts upon which those conclusions were based, has himself examined the contents of the principal European collections. Those conclusions are:—

Before entering upon the subject of maestro Giorgio’s own works it will be necessary to glance at the earlier productions of his predecessors and probable instructors. In the absence of more positive evidence of the manufacture of early lustred wares at Pesaro, and with a view to keeping all the lustred wares together as much as possible, we have thought it more convenient to include in the large catalogue those pieces which may probably have been made at that city among the lustred wares of Gubbio, always affixing to each such piece the name of Pesaro and of Gubbio with a (?), and arranging them as a separate class. And in order to facilitate the methodical study of the rise and development of the art at Gubbio we have classified the lustred wares in the following manner, and in probable sequence of date:—

Of the first class A. are those early “mezza-maiolica” dishes having a lustre of a peculiar pearly effect: these are frequently painted with portraits and armorial bearings, and have by many writers been ascribed to the Diruta potteries. At South Kensington, no. 7160 is a characteristic example of the usual type, while in no. 1606 we have an early specimen of the ruby lustre. On the back of no. 3035 is found the only mark with which I am acquainted on pieces of this class; the well-known Gubbio scroll executed in manganese colour on the course yellow glaze.

Class B. is important as connecting the former with the works of the Gubbio furnaces. No. 7682 is a typical piece, bearing another variety of the Gubbio scroll mark in dark colour.

Class C. contains of course the cream of the manufacture, being the works assigned to Mº Giorgio’s own hand. The museum series is very complete, containing specimens from the earliest period of his unsigned work. The deep tazza and large plateau, both of which we engrave, are admirable examples of this period. The first dated piece in any collection which we have every reason to believe a work of maestro Giorgio, is the

rilievo of S. Sebastian (shown in the woodcut, p. 116). Other but undated works in rilievo exist, which, as in this instance, are heightened with the gold and ruby pigments. The earliest example having a mark which may perhaps be that of Giorgio, and painted by him, is a small plate in the possession of Monsignore Cajani; a central medallion with half figure of S. Petronio, surrounded by a border of the style of the early wares, beautifully and carefully drawn and lustred with ruby and gold; it is marked at the back with a sort of G, intersected by a cross and a paraphe, or flourish: see p. 122.

We now come to the period of Giorgio’s signed pieces, some of the first of which show to what perfection he had brought his art.

The earliest known signed and dated piece is in the collection of Mr. Robert Napier; the border is decorated with trophies, &c. among which occurs the date 1517 written in blue, while at the back 1518 is pencilled in lustre colours. Another plate of the same service and having the same initials of the owner, a piece of exceeding beauty for the quality of the lustre colours, is in the British museum; we give (p. 123) a facsimile of the central initials and of the date on the back: and also a woodcut (p. 124), from a small tazza at South Kensington of about the same period.

Mr. Robinson speaks of this specimen as “being of the most perfect technique of the master; and that, although he was not a powerful draughtsman, yet this single piece would suffice to establish his claims as a colourist.”

Mº Giorgio’s manner of decoration consists of foliated scrolls and other ornaments terminating in dolphins, eagles, and human heads, trophies, masks, &c.; in the drawing of which he exhibited considerable power with great facility of invention. These “grotesche” differ materially from those of Urbino and Faenza, approaching more to the style of some of the Castel Durante designs. In the drawing of figures, and of the nude, Giorgio cannot be ranked as an artist of the first class. From 1519 his signature, greatly varied, occurs through succeeding years. It would be useless to repeat the many varieties, several of which will be seen in the large catalogue and among the marks on specimens in other collections. We believe that to whim or accident may be ascribed those changes that have tasked the ingenuity of connoisseurs to read as other names. His finer and more important pieces were generally signed in full “Maestro Giorgio da Ugubio” with the year, and sometimes the day of the month. About the year 1525 he executed some of his most beautiful works; perhaps the finest large dish, and of the highest quality which has been preserved to us, was lately in the possession of the baronne de Parpart; we understand that it has been sold for £880. In that piece a rich grotesque border surrounds the subject of Diana and her nymphs, surprised by ActÆon; on p. 125 is a fac-simile, half size, of the signature at the back.

In the next division D. are the works of the fabrique under Giorgio’s direction, and pieces which though manifestly painted by other hands are signed in lustre with his initials or full signature. We have no means of learning what part his brothers undertook in the manufactory. A separate division has also been formed of the works ascribed to or signed by the artist who used the letter N, variously formed, as his monogram. Mr. Robinson has ingeniously suggested that this letter, containing as it does the

three, V I and N, may really have been adopted by “Vincenzio,” the only one of his sons known to have assisted. He succeeded Mº Giorgio in the fabrique, where he was generally known as Mº Cencio. Brancaleoni states that he worked with his father till 1536, when he married and set up for himself. There is little doubt that although Mº Giorgio may himself have occasionally applied the lustre pigments with his own brush to the pieces painted by other artists at other places, the majority of those so enriched were executed by his son or assistants. M. Darcel thinks that this practice did not begin earlier than 1525, in which view we are inclined to agree.

Under division F. will be found works of this kind, among which the more interesting at South Kensington are no. 8886, a fine portrait plate; 4726 having the painter’s date and mark, and that of him who lustred it; the very remarkable plaque 520, the work of Orazio Fontana, with the monogram of Giorgio; and the small plate 8907, dated in lustre colour as late as 1549.

The last division G. contains works ascribed to him, and examples of the decadence of the lustred wares.

Before closing our observations on the splendid products of this abundant pottery, we will refer to several marks which occur on pieces in all probability made and painted there but some of which we are unable to explain. A plate with bust portrait of a warrior, in the collection of M. Meurnier, of Paris, having four coats of arms on the border and the letters Y. A. E., is inscribed on the face with the name “Gabriel. da. Gubbio.” This doubtless is a portrait plate, and the letters may allude to the families or individuals whose arms are blazoned. “Gualdo” is said to be inscribed on a brilliantly lustred specimen which we have failed to trace, and pieces in the Louvre have been doubtingly classed under that name by M. Darcel. A man’s head, rudely sketched in lustre colours, occurs on the back of a plate in the British museum, more probably an artist’s whim than an intentional mark. The letters MR combined occur on a lustred piece, perhaps a monogram of M. Prestino. The letter P, variously formed, may also probably be his initial.

About 1560-70 the use of the lustre pigments would seem to have been almost discontinued; the secret of their proper composition and manipulation was lost during the general decline of Italian artistic pottery, and the death of Guid’ Ubaldo II. in 1574 was the “coup-de-grÂce” to the already much deteriorated wares of the duchy.

Those beautiful colours, known to the Italians as “rubino,” “cangiante,” “madreperla,” “a reverbero,” and to the French as “reflet mÉtallique,” “nacrÉ,” &c. have been to a certain extent reproduced. Unfortunately many pieces made in the manufactory at Doccia have, after chipping and scratching, been palmed upon unwary amateurs as ancient specimens by unprincipled dealers at Florence and elsewhere. Some of these modern examples are in the ceramic gallery at South Kensington. The most successful reproduction of the famous lustre has however been made at Gubbio itself by an able young chemist and artist, Luigi Carocci. Some of his productions are excellent, though far from having those artistic qualities so apparent in the finer specimens of maestro Giorgio’s work.

Although there can be little doubt that Castel Durante was one of the earliest sites of the manufacture of enamelled pottery in Italy, as well as one of the most fruitful not only of produce but of those potters who in their own city, and at other establishments founded by them in various parts of Italy, spread the fame of the Durantine wares and the Durantine artists throughout Europe, it is remarkable that so few pieces have descended to us, upon which the names of their authors are recorded, or of the “boteghe” in which they were produced. Long lists are given by Raffaelli and other writers, but to identify the works of their hands is generally denied us, from the absence of signed examples by which their style can be known.

From Castel Durante came the Pelliparii who on establishing themselves at the capital city of the duchy took the name of Fontana, to which is attached some of the greatest triumphs of their art. “Francesco,” the able painter who probably worked at Urbino and afterwards at Monte Bagnolo near Perugia, was as he styled himself “Durantino.” A new life seems to have been given to artistic pottery in Venice by the immigration of a Durantine artist Francesco del Vasaro in 1545; and even later in the history, when the independence of the duchy was oppressed and local patronage had waned, another potter, Mº Diomede Durante, tried his fortune at Rome. Others went to France, Flanders, and Corfu, spreading the art which attained important development at Nevers, at Lyons, and other French centres.

Castel Durante, which rose from the ruins of Castel Ripense in the thirteenth century, took the appellation of Urbania under the reign and in compliment to her native Pope, Urban VIII. It is now a small dull town on the banks of the Metauro, on the post-road from Urbino to Borgo San Sepolcro, and about thirteen Italian miles distant from the former city. The alluvial banks and deposits of the river furnished the material for her pottery.

Signor Raffaelli, in his valuable “Memorie,” surmises that the manufacture of glazed pottery, as an art, was introduced at the time when monsignor Durante built a “Castello” at the badia of St. Cristoforo at Cerreto on the Metauro, in 1284, as a place of security for the Guelphs. Seventy years afterwards in 1361 the then deceased maestro Giovanni dai Bistugi of Castel Durante is referred to, who probably was so named to distinguish him from the workers in glazed ware. This glazed ware was doubtless the ordinary lead glazed pottery or “mezza” ware, which preceded the use of that with stanniferous enamel and does not, as M. Darcel would suggest, afford any proof that the use of this enamel was known here before its application or stated discovery by Luca della Robbia. At that time even these lead glazed wares were little known, and it was not till 1300 that they seem to have become more generally adopted. Thenceforward their manufacture continued, for in 1364 a work is mentioned on the bank of the torrent Maltempo at “Pozzarelli,” perhaps so named from the pits dug for extracting the loam. The early wares were coarse, painted with coats of arms and half figures, the flesh being left white and the dress in gay colours. In 1500 both the “mezza” and the enamelled wares, as well as the “sgraffio” work, were made. The beautiful “amatoria” plate which we engrave was about this date, and shows the beginning of a style of decoration which afterwards prevailed in a more developed form at this fabrique. The manufacture was at its perfection about 1525 and 1530, and continued to produce good wares even till 1580. It would appear that the great artists only painted the more important subject of the piece, leaving the ornamentation to be finished by the pupils and assistants.

Piccolpasso informs us that the earth or loam gathered on the banks of the Metauro, near Castel Durante, is of superior quality for the manufacture of pottery. A variety called “celestrina” was used for making the seggers, “astucci,” when mixed with the “terra rossa;” but for the finer class of work the loam deposited by the river which when washed was called “bianco allattato,” and when of a blue shade of colour, was reserved for the more important pieces. The turnings of this variety mixed with the shavings of woollen cloth were used to attach the handles and other moulded ornaments, and was known as “barbatina.” The red pigment of Faenza, called “vergiliotto” was not used at Castel Durante. We presume this colour to be that ochreous red employed for heightening and shading the draperies, &c. by the painters of the Fontana fabrique at Urbino, and that of Lanfranco

at Pesaro, and some others; if so, the absence or presence of it would be useful as evidence in determining the origin of a piece.

Signor Raffaelli thinks that many of the wares generally known as of Urbino were so called from the province, and frequently included those which were really the produce of Castel Durante. Passeri also speaks in high commendation of the Durantine wares, and Pozzi states that it was the rival of and only second to Faenza in the quality of its productions. The fatal blow to this branch of industry was the death of the last duke, Francesco Maria II. in 1631, when there being no longer a court the trade declined, money became scarce, and the artists emigrated.

Of signed examples of the wares of Castel Durante, the earliest piece known is the beautiful bowl belonging to Mrs. H. T. Hope which was exhibited in the Loan collection. The ground of this piece is of an intense dark and rich blue, entirely covered with a decoration of grotesques, among which occurs a shield of arms of the Delia Rovere family surmounted by the papal tiara and the keys, proving it to have been made for pope Julius II.; trophies of books, festoons of drapery and, above, a boy angel holding a “veronica” or napkin impressed with the face of the Saviour. At the sides other trophies, satyrs, cupids, and interlaced foliage are richly and harmoniously disposed, among which are two labels inscribed respectively “Iv. II. Pon. Max.” and “Tu. es. sacerdos. i eter.” “In the design and execution of the painting,” says Mr. Robinson, in his catalogue of that famous collection, “splendour of colour, and perfection of enamel glaze, this magnificent piece is a triumph of the art.” On the same occasion Mr. Morland exhibited a piece by the same hand, and we think we recognize variations of the same manner in two examples now in the South Kensington museum, nos. 1728 and 1735.

In the rich and even quality of the glaze, the tendency to that form of decoration known as “a candeliere” (as in the vase engraved), mixed grotesques, trophies of musical instruments, and cupids, in a style of painting which is free and at the same time firm and sure, and in the full yet soft colouring, we see in Mrs. Hope’s bowl a commencement of what became a very general manner in the decoration of the Durantine wares.

Of eleven years later we have the pharmacy jars which must have formed portions of a large and important service, one of which is in the British museum and another in the South Kensington. The signature on the British museum jar states, “Ne la botega d’ Sebastiano d’ Marforia,” and “A di xi de Octobre fece 1519,” and again at the base, “In Castel dura.” On p. 132 is a woodcut

of a mark in yellow, on a plate in the same museum, on which is the subject of Dido and Ascanius.

It would seem that this fabrique continued to flourish when those of Urbino and Pesaro had comparatively decayed; this may partly have been owing to the encouragement given by the duke Francesco Maria II. (1574 to 1631), who frequently resided at Castel Durante and took some interest in the manufacture. It however only produced at this period works of more general utility, artistic and ornamental pieces being the exception.

The wares of Castel Durante are generally to be recognised by a pale buff coloured paste, and great richness and purity of the

glaze. The plates (of which we give three woodcuts, from examples at South Kensington, nos. 8947, 8960, and 413) are rarely decorated at the back, but like those of Urbino and Pesaro are generally edged with yellow on the subject pieces, and with grey white on those having grotesques, which are in low olive tint on a blue ground. The colours are sometimes rather pale but harmonious and the carnations are of an olive tint, thought by some a distinguishing mark of the fabrique; while the absence of the ochreous red pigment so noticeable on the Urbino and Pesaro “istoriati” pieces is remarkable. In the draperies painted upon these wares blue and ochreous yellow predominate. Broadly treated grotesques and trophies of arms, musical instruments, books, &c. frequently painted in camaÏeu of greenish grey on a blue ground, are favourite subjects of ornament; these also

occur painted in rich colours, among which a deep clear brown

may be noted, and surrounding medallions having portrait or fanciful heads on a yellow ground. Subject pieces do not appear to have been so abundantly painted at Castel Durante as at the neighbouring fabriques, and such pieces to which the lustre enrichment has been added are still less frequent.

Many of the tazze the whole surfaces of which are covered with a portrait head may probably be assigned to this place, where there would appear to have been one or two artists who made almost a specialty of this style of decoration. The South Kensington museum is rich in these portrait plates; among them is a remarkable example on which a likeness of Pietro Perugino in full face is portrayed (p. 135) and which we are disposed to assign to this fabrique, but always with some hesitation. Another class of pieces which we believe to have been for the most part made at Castel Durante is that ornamented with oak branches painted yellow on a blue ground, and sometimes in relief, surrounding a small medallion central portrait or imaginary head.

Castel Durante seems to have supplied a larger number of pharmacy jars, vases and bottles, than any other fabrique perhaps with the exception of Faenza. The blue and yellow draperies of the earlier period were also a leading feature in the revival after 1730, and a washy green was also used; the drawing was good and some of the landscape pieces excellent, of careful finish, soft colouring and good aËrial perspective. It is very probable, however, that many pieces of this period were really the produce of Castelli or Naples.