house and that of a neighbour. On July 20th, 1529
(if the date of the version published in Milanesi's
Documenti, vol. iii. p. no, be correct), Bazzi ap-
pealed to the Sienese magistrates for restitution
of the property (as far as may be gathered) un-
lawfully retained : briefly detailing the facts and
adding a long list of the missing articles.
The bare circumstance that Bazzi lay sick in
Florence about this time, affords but a narrow
basis for the constructive criticism so freely in-
dulged in by his detractors; and far too much
stress has been laid on the mere accident of his
sojourn in a public hospital rather than a private
house. A mishap, followed by consequences to
the sufferer requiring prompt medical or surgical
attention, may well result in the stay, more or
less prolonged, of the most respectable in a public
institution ; and since we have no means of ascer-
taining the nature or duration of his malady, the
spiteful innuendoes with regard to the conduct of
his family or friends on this, and on a subsequent
occasion, are unfounded and unworthy of notice.
Contessa Priuli Bon's ^ conclusions are still more
beside the mark. If we will bear in mind that
during this period the Medici name was in extreme
* Priuli Bon, Op. cit., pp. 67-8. "The master was at Florence,
whether on business or pleasure we do not know, and, falling ill,
was nursed at the hospital of S. Maria Nuova. That the popular
painter, a welcome guest at many palaces, and known to most of the
monastic communities, should be so entirely without friends in the city
of the Medici as to be sent to a public ward of the great hospital, is a
matter of some surprise. But we have abundant evidence that Sodoma
was not liked in Florence, and this may largely accoi;int for Vasari's
biassed prejudice."
THE FLORENTINE "PALIO" 189
ill-odour in Florence, the family having been ex-
pelled from the city on May 17th, 1527 ; and if we
recall the fact that Bazzi was well known to have
enjoyed their special patronage^ we can more easily
make allowance for his friendless condition, if
deserted he was.
But should we not rather prefer a theory of our
own to explain two statements by our Aretine
biographer, which would '^^tv^v prima facie to defy
proved testimony? Could the Palio of S. Barnabas
that incident so graphically described by Vasari
not have brought about the S. Maria Nuova
episode, with its concomitant results? In view
of Vasari's admittedly fantastic chronology, the
suggestion that the notorious Palio and the S.
Maria Nuova illness are coincident, certainly bears
the air of extreme likelihood. Bazzi's horses are
known ^ to have competed, and Vasari says as
much, in Florence and elsewhere, on more than
one occasion. It does sound improbable that he
should have been assaulted, suffering grievous
bodily hurt, at a date (15 15-17) when he enjoyed
favour at court, and had virtually reached the zenith
of his social fame. On the other hand, a citizen of
hated Siena, and a friend of the exiled Medici to
boot, would conceivably receive short shrift,
especially as a victor, at the hands of a Floren-
tine mob at any time between May 1527 and
November 1529. Still more would such be the
case had he been suspected of a desire to jeer at
his public. In addition to this, could it be that
the authentic fact of our artist's illness in a public
^ Cf. p. 122 ^ seg. ante.
I90 FAME AND FORTUNE
hospital in Florence gave rise years afterwards to
the erroneous assertion that he actually died in
one in Siena?
To suggest, however, as Mme Priuli Bon does,
that he was personally unpopular in Florence
in the ordinary sense of the term, is, we would
submit, reading into history what is not written
there.
There are no recorded facts to diametrically
oppose or preclude the placing of the Palio incident
and the sequel at S. Maria Nuova in 1^27^', and
since the original document is no longer to be
found, and the late Sig. Milanesi himself is respon-
sible for correcting, in his Cojmnentary on Vasari,
the date given in his Docunienti, we are perforce
left in considerable uncertainty.^ That Bazzi,
trusting to Medicean influence, may have entered
hisyf;/^ Barb, to run in the Palio before the sudden
tumult drove his patron from the city ; and that,
unluckily for him, he may in all ignorance,
or even in bravado still have come to fulfil his
engagement, whilst the popular fury had not sub-
sided, is quite possible. The injuries received on
this S. Barnabas' day (June nth), though severe
enough to require treatment in hospital during a
^ A careful examination of the records of the Hospital of S. Maria Nuova
has unfortunately not brought anything to light.
2 The reason of Milanesi's correction might be sought for in the fact
that the year 1528 was marked in Florence by a serious visitation of the
plague ; whilst the great siege and the political disturbances preceding
it covered the following twelvemonth. A legitimate doubt would
therefore arise whether any public diversions could have taken place
during these years. Although we are bound to remember the celebrated
Giuoco di Calcio, played on February 14th, 1529, and immortalized by
Francesco Domenico Guerazzi in cap. xxvii. of his work on the Siege of
Florence. See Hey wood, Palio and Ponte at., p. 174.
GIOMO DEL SODOMA'S THEFT 191
part of the month of July, might not have pre-
vented his return to Siena by the 20th of that
month. ^ Giomo and his companion were justified
in removing certain articles from the studio " by
order" ; and the suit for restitution was doubtless
due to their tardiness in restoring the property ; for
the custody of which they had selected so unusual
a receptacle as ** a lean-to " fowl-house with a roof
made of rubble. That Bazzi had neither been
absent long, nor had intended, when he left home,
to be gone for any lengthy period, is evident from
the circumstance that his pupil was entrusted
with the keys of the workshops, etc. The list of
things removed is a curious one, and possesses
special interest, since it affords renewed evidence
of our artist's taste for sculpture ; and again points
indirectly to the early influences and example of
Leonardo da Vinci. Similar herein to that versa-
tile artist and thinker, Bazzi preserved among his
treasures a work on Necrornancy, and likewise a
manuscript Treatise on Painting, comprisingadvice,
notes, recipes for painting materials, etc., such as all
Renaissance craftsmen took pains to compile, and
preserve with particular care.^ On August 6th in
that same year, the question at issue between master
and man seems to have been settled, and Bazzi
acknowledged the return of the bulk of the articles
claimed.
^ His Duomo commission bears date August 31st of that year.
^ The names of two other not uninteresting personages occur in this
document. One is Madonna {^Beatrice) donna di decto chavalliere, to
whose house in Vallerozzi certain things are said to have been taken ;
and the other is Niccolb spadaio suo cognato (Bonelh), the second
husband of Giomo's sister Elisabetta. ^&t, post, p. 240.
192 FAME AND FORTUNE
In the absence of the document, setting the point
of date finally at rest, the events above described
may just as well have occurred in i^zj as in i^sg ;
but we possess no record of work done in 1528, and
it is not until the year 1529 is drawing to a close,
that we stand once more on the firm ground of
written testimony.
On August 20th and September 2nd of this year
(1529)^ we find the Sienese authorities sentencing
six butchers, whose names are set forth at length,
to pay certain amounts in fines as the penalty for
their ill-doing ; which sums are to be set apart for
the decoration of the Sala delle Balestre in the
Palazzo Comunale.
The work of the most celebrated Early painters
of the Sienese school had long decorated the walls
of this great Hall known also by the name of
'' II Mappamondo''\ but a considerable period had
elapsed since the completion of the last frescoes.
We can only hazard a guess at the motives which
induced the Sienese authorities, after a lengthy
interval, to decree the renewal and completion of
their palace decoration ; and no certain dates are
available until April 5th, when Beccafumi was
commissioned to decorate the Council Chamber
(Sala del Concistoro), with a ceiling still to be seen
there, which pleased Vasari exceedingly.^
^ Archivio di Stato di Siena. Scritture Concistorialt, ad annum :
3oAgosto, and 2 Settembre, 1529.
^ Archivio detto. 1529, 5 Aprile. Rogiti di Ser Sigismondo
Trecerchi, Filza i, No. 221.
^ Vasari, Oj>. cit., vol. v. p. 640. Milanesi observes here (note 2)
that this work was not completed until 1535, so that even Beccafumi
did not hurry his labours.
PALAZZO PUBBLICO 193
The volumes of the Corporation Contracts and
Resolutions (Scritture and Deliberazioni Concis-
toriali) contain a number of entries concerning
Bazzi's work: notices of payments made on account,
and directions of various sorts.^ Although con-
tinual reference is made to the San Vittorio fresco,^
two notices only record San Ansano. As the first
of these two is of no slight importance, it is advis-
able to quote the entry, dated August 31st, in
extenso^ translated as follows :
1529. Item. A commencement has been made in the
Hall of the Balestre for the painting of two beautiful
figures that is to say, one of S. Vittorio, and the other
of S. Ansano, by the hand of Sodoma ; and for such work
he has been given already nine scudi that is to say, sixty-
three lire. It will be well to carry the work to its end.
If, then, we should place Bazzi's illness in this
year, these paintings must have been commenced
1 It is amusing to note that on one occasion (Oct. 29th, 1529) the
treasurer, the Magnificus Lapus, not having any ready money, pawned
the silver necklace of " // Capitaneus Cuiciis " in order to pay the artist
70 lire.
2 Langton Douglas (History of Siena a'f., p. 404) suggests that this Saint
was chosen to commemorate the battle of Camollia. The connection,
however, is scarcely "obvious" for nearly three years had elapsed before
this work was even contemplated. Nevertheless the reader may be
recommended to study Mr. Douglas' graphic and stirring account of the
events of this period. But his suggestions, both as regards this painting
and the Madonna di S. Caiisto, though worth consideration, are not
final. See Giovanni Antonio Pecci, Raccolta Universale di tutte P
iscrizioni arme e altri Monumenti esistenti nel 3" de S. Martino fino a
questo presente anno, 1730. Libro secondo. MS. Biblioteca Comunale,
Siena. Pecci, Op. cit., p. 140'-, calls the figure S. Galgano.
^ Archivio detto. Scritture Concistoriali, Filza 41. Not. ai Succes-
sori della Signoria del detto anno. " 1529. Item se e dato principio nella
Sala delle Balestre far dipingere due belle figure ciob una di Sancto
Vectorio, e 1' altra di Sancto Ansano per le mani del Sodoma, e per
tale opera si li e dato gik scudi nove, ciob lire sesanta tre. Sara bene
mandarla a fine."
13
194 FAME AND FORTUNE
at some date in the spring. That vS. Vittorio
was nearing completion in August is shown by
the fact that on September 21st Beccafumi and
Bartolommeo di David ^ are summoned to value
the work.^ The estimates both of Beccafumi and
his colleague seem to have failed to satisfy the
parties ; and Baldassare Peruzzi was called in on
September 26th to arbitrate.^ The Signoria,
however, in spite of differences, did not with-
hold their patronage from the artist, for in that
selfsame September entry we find the Corporation
acting apparently at the instance of Francesco
Tolomei, then " Operaio'' (Director of the Fabric of
the Duomo) commissioning another painting for
the same room : i.e. a figure oi i\iQ Blessed Bernardo
Tolomei, his famous ancestor.* The 5". Ansano
fresco meanwhile appears to have remained un-
completed so late as the following February.^ No
greater diligence marked the progress of the B.
Bernardo painting, which, were it owing to delay
in the payments on account, or to wilful procrasti-
nation on the artist's part, was not finally concluded
^ Concerning Bartolommeo di David, Milanesi quotes a number of
entries. He appears to have been the founder of a family of painters
who, while none were artists of first-rate distinction, yet all enjoyed a
certain measure of public recognition. His daughters, Medea and Giulia,
married respectively the painters Michelangelo d' Antonio called lo Scala-
brino and Antonio di Michelangelo Passalacqua. This master was
summoned on another occasion to value work by Bazzi in the
Cappella di Piazza.
2 Archivio detto. Scritture Concistoriali, 21 e 23 Settembre, 1529.
Cf. also Concistoro Deliberazioni, vol. 978, fol. 13, 21 Settembre, 1529.
Mil. Doc, vol. iii. p. 112.
^ AKcnwio deiio. Scritture e Deliberazioni dettiioX. 15,26 Settembre,
1529. (Three entries.) Nuovi Documenti cit. i p. 447.
'* Not S. Benedict, as Vasari {Op. cit., p. 391) states.
'' Archivio detto. Scritture detti, 28 Febbraio, 1529-30.
Photo : Aliuayi.
S. VITTORIO.
PALAZZO PUBBLICO, SIENA.
To/accp, 194.
.Ji^rnAatyA,. ybA,^/?'.
BAZZrS FRESCOES 195
until 1533.^ These paintings, like all Bazzi's single
figures and simpler compositions, are very fine.
Especially is this the case with the S. Vittorio,
whose head is one of the most virile and forcible
types he ever conceived ; while in the Blessed Ber-
nardo, with his long white beard, we have the most
spiritually impressive presentment of a venerable
saintly personage. The attendant //^///^ are alive
with that innocent charm and infantine playfulness
that Giovan-Antonio so well knew how to create.
But the weak point in these frescoes a fault to
which attention has been drawn by several writers
is that our artist, in straining after realism, has
sacrificed that restraint so essential to wall decora-
tion. He was not called upon to suggest that vS.
Vittorio is stepping down in person from his niche;
or that the catechumen, whom vS. Ansano is bap-
tizing, is a live penitent kneeling before the Saint.
Somewhere about this period, probably,^ Bazzi
executed one of the loveliest among his numerous
Holy Fmnilies painted for the altar of S. Calixtus
in the Duomo ; now set up in the Chapel of the
Palazzo Pubblico, close beside the frescoes just
described. Alfonso Landi in his Racconto, etc.,*
^ Or even owing to political disturbances ; for it was in 1530 that
the inroads of the Spanish troops into Sienese territory commenced.
Cf. Langton Douglas, Op. cii., p. 219.
^ Those above the Blessed Bernardo are represented with the Sienese
wolf, and may be paralleled with those above Roxana's couch in the
Farnesina, and over the altar of the chapel of the Contrada del Oca, in
S. Catherine's House, Siena.
^ Meyer {Op. at.) would, however, place it much earlier in 1516-17.
Here we cannot agree with that able critic. The work is too matured
for so early a date, and the landscape and composition resemble
closely other work of this period.
* Landi, Op. /., L. IV. 13, p. 24: L. IV. 14, p. 138.
196 FAME AND FORTUNE
gives a full account of this beautiful work, which
in his day still filled the place for which it was
painted; and it should be especially noted in this
connexion, since many writers including even
Frizzoni have here gone astray, that he dis-
tinctly describes the saint, represented holding
the fetters, as wS. Leonard} and not S. Calixtus.
This picture, together with its beautifully carved
frame, was removed from the Duomo to the
Palazzo in i68i,^ to replace a painting by Simone
Memmi, that, (according to Pecci,^) formerly hung
there.
Siena had by this time fallen under Spanish
control, and an Imperial Vicar ruled the town in
the name of the Emperor Charles V. The invaders
appear to have had their national chapel * in the
Dominican Church of S. Spirito; and our artist was
occupied theresimultaneously with thecompletionof
the frescoes in the Palazzo Pubblico. The S. Spirito
workconsistsof agreat tympanum painted in fresco,
in which the patron saint of Spain, S. James, on
horseback, slaughters the infidel Saracen. Two
shields on either side display the arms of Spain
and the Empire ; while below these stand the figures
^ This same Saint is to be met with elsewhere in paintings by Bazzi
and his School.
2 Milanesi (Vasari, Op. cit., p. 393, note 2) says that, according to some
authorities, this removal took place in 1704 ; but no reason has yet been
discovered for the change.
^ Pecci., Op. cit., p. 148. He does not, however, tell us what was the
subject or whither it went.
^ An epitaph, supported by two angels, on the wall of this chapel,
quoted by Pecci, (Op. cit., p. 70,) runs as follows: "D.O.M. Ferdinando
Alvarez de Soto Mayor, nobili Hispano in Jura Clariss. Licentiato,
eximiae continentiae Viro Senis Justitige Prefecto decessit An. Sal. 1556,
7 Kal. Octob. Amicorum eximia pietas posuit."
Of
^
Photo : Aliiiari.
S. SEBASTIAN.
DETAIL.
SPANISH CHAPEL, CHURCH OF S. SPIRITO, SIENA.
To face f>. 197.
THE SPANISH CHAPEL 197
of SS. Sebastian and Anthony Abbas. Framed
within this larger composition, and immediately
over the altar, are the following paintings on panel:
S. Nicholas of Tolentino and S. Michael (on either
side of an indifferent modern picture of S. Rosa) ;
whilst above, in another lunette, the Madonna,
attended by SS. Lucy and Cecilia, is investing
S. Alfonso (Ildefonso) with a Bishop's robes. We
g^ather from the records^ that the SS. Sebastian
and Anthony were painted by Jan. 20th, 1529-30,
and the panel lunette by the following April i6th.
No record has been traced concerning the other
works ; but we learn that our artist was paid
four florins {picholi) for S. Anthony, and six for
S. Sebastian ; the latter having been painted
apparently at the express wish of the Prior, Fra
Timotheo de Ricci. A pen-and-ink sketch for this
figure which may profitably be compared with
the more celebrated presentment of that saint in
the Uffizi is preserved in the Beckerath Coll.
in the Royal Museum at Berlin. Likewise, 2i first
idea for the S. James' tympanum is to be found
in the Uffizi portfolios (No. 1937). It is but a
faint outline sketch, in red chalk ; but in a certain
^ Archivio detto. Archivio del Patrimonio de^ Resti. Carte del
Convento di S. Spirito, Reg. H. vii. Quinterno di Ricordi della Sagrestia
e della Chiesa di S. Spirt to cominciato nel 1517, p. 332*-
1529. Ricorddo chome addi xx di gennaio 1529 more ordinario el pre-
decto sagrestano face fare alia chappella degli Spagniuoli uno S*' Ant-
dipingelo el chavalieri al quale dicte R. (fior.) : 4 plj. (picholi) laus deo.
Ricorddo come addi decto el padre priore fra Timotheo de Ricci fece
dipignere uno Santo Sebastiano nella cappella degli Spagnuoli e dipinge
lo e sopra dicto laus deo e costb R. (fior.) : 6 di picoli.
Ricordo come addi xvj d'aprile 1530 simisse alia chappella degli
Spagnuoli uno mexo tonddo drentovj la vergine, S*- Alfonso, Sta. Cecilia
e Sta. Lucia et 2 angeli dipissegli et sopra decto cavalieri laus deo.
198 FAME AND FORTUNE
sense the patron saint, depicted standing, is a more
restrained and imposing figure than the galloping
warrior now shown in the finished work.^ Delia
Valle^ tells us that this boldly conceived horseman
gave great satisfaction at the time ; and so pleased
the Emperor, when he visited Siena six years later,
that he said he w^ould be "willing to exchange all
his cavalry for that one horse." This expression
of admiration on the Emperor's part appears to
have given birth to the tradition of a spontaneous
Imperial grant of the title oi Count Palatine to Bazzi.
In connexion with the Spanish invaders and
their chapel, we should here quote the story as
told by Armenini,^ without which no Life of
Bazzi would be complete. Milanesi'' abridges the
anecdote as follows :
Giovannantonio had one day been grossly insulted by
a Spanish soldier belonging to the garrison of the city,
and being unable to revenge himself because of the
number of his companions around him, looked at him
attentively, and then returning home drew his portrait
from memory with lifelike features and colouring. Then
^ The chapel was restored in 1800 by Liborio Guerrini.
2 Delia Valle, Op. cit, p. 273 : " Vogliono alcuni Sanesi, che capitatO
in Siena Carlo V., e condotto a vedere questa pittura, dicesse che egli
volentieri avrebbe cambiata in quel cavallo tutta la sua cavallerizza.
Tanto egli h ben disegnato ed ^ bello e fiero."
^ Armenini, Oj>. cit., p. 27. This story adds one more proof of Bazzi's
skill in portraiture. A further value is conferred upon it, inasmuch as
Armenini here tells us that he himself was intimately acquainted with a
personal friend of the artist, who spoke of the high honour that he
enjoyed in his lifetime among the best society in Siena. Armenini's
work appeared in 1578 oxA^ thirty years after Bazzi's decease whilst
the Pompe Sanesi and the notorious Dennunzia did not see the light
until 1649 : seventy years later.
* Vasari, Op. cit., p. 393, note i. See Appendix No. 22.
''THE ASSUMPTION" 199
presenting himself to the Spanish Governor/ he laid
before him the circumstances and demanded justice. The
Governor asked who the offender was, and he then pro-
duced the portrait from under his cloak, saying, as he
presented it, " Sir, here is his face : I cannot tell you any
more. The Governor and those around him- at once
recognised the soldier who had deserved punishment.
Such an event pleased the painter, since it was the occa-
sion of gaining him favour with the Governor and the
other gentlemen, from whom he secured help, favour, and
support. Armenini assures us that he had heard this tale
related by an old Sienese who had been a very intimate
friend of the celebrated artist.
In 1532 Bazzi completed the work commenced
many years before for the Compagnia di S. Bernar-
dino ; designing for them an A ssumption of the
Virgin. A comparison of this beautiful fresco
with the rest of the series painted in 1518^ marks
at once the advance the artist had made in force
of composition, and when he chose of restraint
in design. In spite of the awkward shape of the
panels a circumstance which had already seriously
hampered him he succeeded in producing a most
graceful, and yet impressive, re-enactment of this
passage in the Life of the Madonna. A large
number of nearly lifesize figures necessarily fill
the stage; but the appearance of crowding, so
irritatingly prominent in his earlier work, is here
* Romagnoli states that the Governor at this period was Giovanni di
Luna (?).
^ Archivio di Stato. Carta della Compagnia di S. Bernardino, 1532,
1 6 Giugno. It may be observed that the last payment recorded is only
two ducats ; so that it is to be presumed that other sums had been paid
to the master previously, of which no record now exists. Cf. Appendix
No. 15.
200 FAME AND FORTUNE
successfully avoided. The Mother of God, a con-
ception of ideal loveliness, is borne aloft on light
clouds swarming with joyous cherubs ; whose glee,
instinct with naive grace, is wholly free from the
street-arab mirth that disfigures the putti in the
earlier Coronation. Beneath the Celestial Vision
the awestruck Apostles are grouped with great
judgment and effect, and the types chosen for each
are suitable and expressive of their special individu-
ality. This is in a sense, perhaps, one of the most
pleasing and satisfactory among all Bazzi's com-
positions, but scarcely obtains the notice it deserves.
The subdued tone of the colouring has deadened
somewhat a condition, however, that scarcely
detracts from the general beauty.^
In the autumn of 1526, the Signoria of Siena
with a more plausible motive for their act than in an
instance referred to above determined to signalize
their victory over their enemies, by adorning all
the gates of the city, which so far had remained un-
decorated, with representations of the Virgin Mary,
their Heavenly Guardian and Mistress. To this
end they passed a resolution on October 25th,^
empowering a number of their body to carry out
this votive work; and certain taxes and fines due to
^ It is at about this period that, venturing to differ from Dr. Frizzoni,
who, by the way, has mistaken the subject {Op. cit., p. i68, note),
we should date the very beautiful, but sadly injured, fresco of the
Ascension in the Sozzini (now Fieri) chapel of the Collegiata at
Trequanda. The easy grace of the Saviour ascending to heaven, and
many of the leading characteristics expressed by the group below,