Bulletin 28, 1976

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Speculations on Two Drawings
Attributed to Giorgio Vasari

by David McTavish

Pages 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Notes

34 Evidently there was one exception to this geographical formula, for Vasari in his letter to Ottaviano de' Medici, Le Vite, vol. VIII, pp. 286-287, and Frey, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 115-116, says there was also a painting representing the Arno. But he does not mention this subject in his description of the apparato in the "Life of Cristofano Gherardi," Le Vite, vol. VI, p. 224, and it is possible that in the letter he was simply flattering his Florentine patron.

35 No. 1958: 42. The inscriptions "fama" and "pallas" below the niches are in Vasari's own hand; the others not. published first by Schulz, op. cit., pp. 501-502 and fig. 13.

36 The inscriptions are referred to in Vasari's letter to Ottaviano de' Medici, Le Vite, vol. VIII, pp. 285-286, and Frey, op. cit., vol. I, pp. l 13-114.

37 Le Vite, vol. VI, p. 224; ibid., vol. VIII, pp. 285-286, and Frey, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 113-114. In the hope that more of these niche figures may be recovered, it might be noted that full descriptions of the figures of Justice, Religion, Fame and Fortune are provided by Vasari in his letter to Ottaviano de' Medici (ibid.). In his "Life of Cristofano Gherardi," Le Vite, vol. VI, pl 224, Vasari simply gives a (somewhat conflicting) list of the virtues: "l quadri dalla banda rit ta erano tramezzati da queste Virtù collocate nelle nicchie; Liberalità, Concordia, Pietà, Pace e Religione. Dirimpetto, nell' altra faccia, erano la Fortezza, la Prudenza civile, la Iustizia, una Vettoria con la Guerra sotto, ed in ultimo una Carità."

38 Le Vite, vol. VIII, p. 285, and Frey, op. cit., vol. I, p. 113; "nella prima nicchia era una Prudenza con due facce, una di vecchio, l'altra di giovine, con una spera, mostrandovisi drento..."

39 Le Vite, vol. VIII, p. 286, and Frey, op. cit., vol. I, p. l 14: "...la Pacc ornata con vari panni succinti, alzando la testa al cielo, faceva atto di ringraziarlo, e sotto aveva pure assai armi e trofei, li quali abbruciava con una face."

40 Le Vite, vol. VI, p. 224; ibid., vol. VIII, pp. 285-286 and Frey, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 113-114.

41 It is also possible that during the preparation of the apparato the lighting arrangements were changed, for the drawing in Amsterdam shows the light coming from the right, whereas the detailed study in the Louvre (see note 27) for the rectangular painting in the middle of the same bay shows the light falling from the left.

42 Some of Veronese's figures at Maser, especially those in niches, may also be compared to Vasari's figure of peace.

I should like to acknowledge my debt to Mmme Catherine Monbeig-Goguel and Mr Philip Pouncey, both of whom generously shared with me their knowledge of Vasari and sixteenth-century art in general.

After this article has been accepted for publication, an article by Signor Alessandro Cecchi appeared, in which he made a number of the same conclusions concerning the purpose of Vasari's drawings of allegorical figures: "Qualche contributo al corpus grafico del Vasari et del suo ambiente," Il Vasari Storiografo e Artista, Atti del Congresso Internationale nel IV Centenario della Morte, Instituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento, Florence, 1974, pp. 146-149.

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