SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIVES 
 
 OF 
 
 CORREGGIO, 
 
 AND 
 
 PARMEGIANO. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, 
 ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN. 
 
 1823 . 
 
T. C. Hansard, Printer, Peterborough-court, Fleet-street, London. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE original materials for these 
 Sketches were collected at Parma and 
 Rome, during a short excursion into 
 Italy, in 1785 and 1786. They were 
 subsequently communicated to several 
 artists of eminence, and different per¬ 
 sons conversant in the fine arts, who, 
 like the writer, were sensible of the 
 errors and defects which prevailed 
 in the printed accounts of Correggio 
 and Parmegiano, published in this 
 country. A diffidence of his own 
 knowledge of painting, however, pre- 
 
VI 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 vented him from giving them to the 
 public, and he conceived, that as the 
 materials were principally drawn from 
 the works of Ratti, Tiraboschi, and 
 AfFd, they would not long remain 
 unknown to the English reader. But 
 as several years elapsed, without any 
 material correction of the errors,* 
 which disfigured our biographical ac¬ 
 counts of these two painters, the 
 undertaking was resumed, at the 
 suggestion of persons eminent in 
 the art, and the outline has been en- 
 
 * We must except from this remark the brief notices 
 in James’s work on the Italian schools of painting; 
 West’s Lectures, contained in Galt’s account of his 
 life; and Bryan’s Dictionary of Painters. But these 
 works, from their very nature, cannot admit those 
 details, which are requisite to satisfy the inquisitive 
 Reader, 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. vii 
 
 larged and corrected, by a perusal of 
 works of later date, printed abroad, 
 of which an account will be given 
 in the Introductory Observations. 
 Although these Sketches have been 
 some time finished for the press, the 
 author still suspended the publication, 
 under the impression that the task 
 would be satisfactorily performed by 
 some other hand, particularly since 
 the researches of Pungileoni, the 
 latest biographer of Correggio, have 
 brought so many valuable documents 
 to light. But finding that no one has 
 yet availed himself of these advant¬ 
 ages, he submits with diffidence these 
 Sketches to the English reader, from a 
 hope that many parts will at least 
 possess the attraction of novelty. 
 
 Several of the notes and illustra- 
 
Viii ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 tions being too long to be conveniently- 
 subjoined to the text, will be found 
 at the end of each chapter, according 
 to their respective references. 
 
 June 25, 1823. 
 
( ) 
 
 For the Head prefixed to this work, and 
 mentioned in the third chapter, p.194, the writer 
 is indebted to the kindness of John Jackson, 
 esq. R.A., who copied it from a portrait near 
 the door of the cathedral at Parma, considered 
 as that of Correggio. 
 
Denominations, and Value of the Foreign Coins 
 mentioned in this Work. 
 
 In these pages the foreign denominations 
 of money are retained; for it would be diffi¬ 
 cult to reduce the different sums mentioned to 
 the English standard, without conveying a 
 false impression; the relative value of money in 
 different countries, and different ages, being too 
 variable to be subjected to any accurate crite¬ 
 rion. We shall, therefore, only observe, 
 that the gold ducat, so frequently mentioned, 
 is rated by Tiraboschi as equal to a Vene¬ 
 tian Zecchine; which varied in value accord¬ 
 ing to the price of gold, from 9s. 6d. to 
 10s. 6d., and therefore its average value is 
 10 shillings. Its positive value at the time of 
 Correggio, may be estimated, by the consider¬ 
 ation, that an acre of land sold for about ten 
 of these ducats;, and consequently that, accord¬ 
 ing to the prices of this country, it was worth 
 at least six times its nominal amount, at the 
 present day. 
 
f 
 
 xi 
 
 The scudo d’oro or gold crown was an ima¬ 
 ginary coin, equal to about 7s. 6d. sterling j 
 and the Roman current' crown to 5s. bearing a 
 similar proportion to our present money. 
 
 The lira was also imaginary, and appears to 
 have been subjected to a trifling variation, at 
 different times and places, as is shewn by the 
 following records of payments, made to Cor¬ 
 reggio, for his works at Parma, wherein in one 
 instance the ducat is rated at 5 lire imperiale, 
 and in the other at about 5|. 
 
 Item il soprascritto pittore debe fare lire cento 
 imperiali videl. ducati mnti d’oro a lui nume- 
 rati, &c. Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 170. 
 
 “ Habuisse et recepisse ducatos septuaginta 
 sex auri et in auro et sol. tredecim imp. pro 
 completa solutione ducator. ducent. septuag. qnq. 
 auri et in auro largos, in rationem librar. quinque 
 et sol. septem pro singulo ducato, &c.” Ib. 
 
 p. 201. 
 
 Hence the imperial lire mentioned in these 
 pages, may be rated according to the value 
 of the ducat, at about 2 shillings of English 
 money. 
 
 It is also necessary to observe, that 
 some authors have been led into an erroneous 
 
GENEALOGICAL TABLE of the FAMILY of ALLEGE!. 
 
 Antonio, 
 
 living about 1400. 
 
 Giacomo, 
 meat. 4 May, 1446. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 ANTONIO DE’ ALLEGRI, 
 
 SUIINAMED 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 B 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 The accounts delivered to poste¬ 
 rity concerning the family and life of 
 the celebrated Correggio, were long 
 extremely scanty and uncertain. His 
 life published by Vasari, in the “Vite 
 de’ piu eccellenti Pittori, Scultori, ed 
 Architetti,” is full of errors and incon¬ 
 sistencies ; while many subsequent 
 authors did little more than copy this 
 
IV 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 superficial narrative, and disfigure it 
 with additional inaccuracies. 
 
 Hence have arisen the most con¬ 
 tradictory and discordant opinions. 
 Some writers consider Correggio as 
 descended from an obscure family, 
 and living in indigence; they repre¬ 
 sent him as vending his works at a 
 low price, and occasionally descend¬ 
 ing to paint signs for apothecaries 
 and inn-keepers, and the portraits 
 of persons of mean condition. 
 
 Others, on the contrary, derive his 
 origin from the illustrious family, who 
 were distinguished in the fourteenth 
 and fifteenth centuries, as Princes of 
 Correggio. They suppose him pos- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 V 
 
 sessed of considerable property, and 
 have conferred on him a shield of 
 arms, in which the horse, deemed 
 a proof of nobility, is the chief 
 bearing. 
 
 Not only his lineage, but even the 
 time of his birth and death have 
 been differently represented. Vasari 
 records the period of neither, and 
 dates his principal works about 1512, 
 when he had scarcely attained his 
 nineteenth year. 
 
 According to some, Correggio is 
 represented as having received a 
 classical education, and as intimately 
 versed in sculpture, architecture, 
 mathematics, and philosophy; an 
 
VI 
 
 Correggio: 
 
 assertion which has been as stre¬ 
 nuously denied by others, and all his 
 excellence attributed solely to the 
 efforts of native genius, which, 
 without a preceptor, and deprived 
 of the advantages of a liberal edu¬ 
 cation, supplied those deficiencies 
 from the resources of the mind. 
 
 Pages are written on one side, to 
 prove that he passed his whole life 
 at Correggio and Parma, and never 
 saw the master-pieces of his con¬ 
 temporaries ; and, on the other, no 
 less arduous efforts are made, to shew 
 that he visited Rome and Florence, 
 and caught a sudden spark of inspi¬ 
 ration from the works of Raphael 
 and Michael Angelo. 
 
I NTRO DUCTION. 
 
 vii 
 
 Some of these erroneous conjectures 
 were first corrected by his admirer 
 Mengs, in the series of Treatises inti- 
 tled : “ Considerations on the Design, 
 Chiaro Scuro, Colouring, Composi¬ 
 tion, Drapery, and Harmony, of Ra¬ 
 phael, Correggio, and Titian”— 
 “Taste, Design, Chiaro Scuro, Co¬ 
 louring, Composition, Ideal, of Cor¬ 
 reggio ”—“ Memoirs concerning the 
 Life and Works of Antonio Allegri, 
 denominated Correggio”—and “ Re¬ 
 flections upon the Excellence of Cor¬ 
 reggio.” These tracts were trans¬ 
 lated from the original Italian into 
 English, and published in three 
 volumes, in 1796. Some additional 
 corrections and notices were fur¬ 
 nished by Ratti, the echo of Mengs, in 
 
Vlll 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 a work intitled “Notizie Storiche sin¬ 
 cere, intorno la Vita e le Opere del 
 celebre Pittore Antonio Allegri da 
 Correggio,” printed at Finale in 1781. 
 But we are still more indebted for a 
 further elucidation of the subject, to 
 the laborious investigations of the 
 learned Tiraboschi, ducal librarian at 
 Modena, who gave a sketch of the life 
 of this distinguished painter, in the 
 “ Storia della Litteratura Italiana,” 
 and enlarged it in the 6th volume of 
 the “Biblioteca Modenese,” pub¬ 
 lished in 1786.* In these biographical 
 narratives, he, in numerous instances, 
 separated truth from falsehood, and 
 facts from traditional information; 
 
 * Article Correggio. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IX 
 
 and although, from the scantiness of 
 contemporary notices, and the pau¬ 
 city of authentic documents, some 
 obscurity still remained, yet Tira- 
 boschi ascertained the lineage and 
 station of Correggio, the era of his 
 birth and death, the places of his 
 residence, the prices which he ob¬ 
 tained for some of his principal works, 
 and the chief incidents of his life. 
 Further lights were elicited by Lanzi, 
 in his brief, but able sketch of the 
 life of Correggio, in the “ Storia 
 Pittorica dell’ Italia.” The obscu¬ 
 rity which still remained, has finally 
 been as much removed, as could be 
 expected, from the distance of time, 
 and the changes and revolutions of 
 society, by the indefatigable re- 
 
X CORREGGIO. 
 
 searches of Signor Luigi Pungileoni, 
 in his “ Memorie Istoriche di Anto¬ 
 nio Allegri, detto il Correggio,” pub¬ 
 lished at Parma in three volumes 
 octavo, 1817, 1818, 1821. 
 
 From these authors, the foundation 
 of the ensuing narrative is principally- 
 drawn, although we have not neg¬ 
 lected to consult the accounts of 
 other biographers and writers on 
 the fine arts. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Birth, Parentage, and Education of Antonio 
 de' Allegri, mrnamed Correggio—Conjectures 
 relative to his early Instructors in the Art of 
 Painting, Mantegna, Bianchi, and others — 
 Studies Anatomy under Doctor Lombardi — 
 His early Progress in his Profession—Paints 
 an Altar-piece for the Franciscan Convent of 
 Minor Friars at Correggio—Paintings exe¬ 
 cuted for the Hospital of Mercy, and the 
 Church of St. Nicholas at Carpi; also 
 the St. George, for the Church of St. Pietro 
 Martire, now preserved in the Gallery at 
 Dresden—His Marriage—Prosperous Si¬ 
 tuation of his Family—The three Pictures of 
 the Marriage of St. Catherine. 
 
 Antonio de’Allegri, usually called 
 Correggio, was born in 1493, or 1494/ 
 The family from which he was des* 
 
12 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 cended, had been long settled at Cor¬ 
 reggio, and bore the appellation of 
 Allegri; for we find one of that name 
 recorded in 1329, as doing homage to 
 the princes of that city. A descend¬ 
 ant of this man, Giacomo, was father 
 to Antonio, the first of whom any 
 distinct information can be procured, 
 and who was living at Correggio 
 towards the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century. His grandson, Antonio, had 
 by his wife, Francesca Toano, four 
 sons, of whom two survived. Lorenzo, 
 the younger, was a painter by pro¬ 
 fession ; and the elder, Pellegrino, 
 espoused Bernardina Piazzoli, or Aro- 
 mani, by whom he had three daugh¬ 
 ters, two of whom died young, and 
 an only son, Antonio, the celebrated 
 painter, and the subject of this narra¬ 
 tive. Antonio bore various appella- 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 13 
 
 tions; Allegri, his family name, de 
 Allegris, and Laetus, the synonyms in 
 Latin, and the Italian derivative Lieto; 
 but these, according to the custom of 
 the time, are lost in the appellative 
 Correggio, taken from the place of his 
 birth. 
 
 The city of Correggio had long 
 flourished, as the capital of an inde¬ 
 pendent principality, and its sove¬ 
 reigns are justly commemorated as 
 the patrons of literature and the arts. 
 At the close of the fifteenth century, 
 the government was jointly exercised 
 by Manfredo, Nicolo, and Gilberto, B 
 members of the same illustrious 
 family, the last of whom was the 
 husband of Veronica Gambara, c so 
 renowned for her protection and cul¬ 
 tivation of letters. In a city where 
 
14 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 literature and the arts were thus 
 favoured, and their professors encou¬ 
 raged and patronised, the means of 
 liberal education were not deficient; 
 and hence we find that Antonio was 
 carefully instructed, under the auspices 
 of his father, Pellegrino, a tradesman 
 of moderate property, and, as such, 
 entitled to the appellation of maestro 
 or master,* then a respectable dis¬ 
 tinction. Antonio acquired the rudi¬ 
 ments of knowledge under Giovanni 
 Berni, a native of Placentia, and was 
 afterwards instructed by Battista Ma- 
 rastoni, a Modenese, in rhetoric, and 
 the other branches of polite literature. 
 
 In general, the masters of persons 
 eminent in painting are well known. 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. i. p. 6. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 15 
 
 Perugino was distinguished as the 
 instructor of Raphael, and Bellini as 
 the master of Titian; but we have 
 no specific authority, to ascertain by 
 whom this paragon of the art was 
 taught. We have reason, however, to 
 conclude, that his talent for painting 
 was developed at an early period; 
 and from the tradition of his native 
 place, it is not unlikely that he ac¬ 
 quired the first rudiments of design 
 under his uncle Lorenzo. From him, 
 however, he could have derived little 
 more than the elements of his art; for 
 Lorenzo was never sufficiently emi¬ 
 nent to rescue his own name from 
 oblivion, and is, in fact, mentioned in 
 documents of the age, in terms which 
 would rank him as little higher than 
 a house-painter of the present day. 
 In the Rime of Vittoria Colonna, 
 
1G 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 printed at Bologna in 1543, the com¬ 
 mentator, Rinaldo Corsi, observes, 
 “Like one of our painters of Correggio, 
 named master Lorenzo, who, wishing 
 to delineate a lion, drew a goat, and 
 affixed to it the title of a lion.”* 
 
 The researches of Pungileoni ap¬ 
 pear indeed to prove, that several 
 artists of merit flourished at this 
 time at Correggio. Among these he 
 particularly specifies Antonio Barto- 
 lotto, whose family appellation was 
 Ancini, but who adopted the name 
 of his father Bartolotto. He is some¬ 
 times mentioned by the name of 
 Tonino, the diminutive of Antonio. 
 The only authentic specimen of his 
 pencil yet extant, resembles so 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 25. 
 
nearly the early style of Correggio, 
 as to justify the inference, that our 
 young painter was either formed by 
 his instructions, or profited by the 
 study of his works. This painting, in 
 fresco, exhibits a Madonna and Child, 
 with an angel presenting a basket 
 of cherries; St. Quirino offering a 
 model of the town of Correggio; and 
 St. Francis displaying his stigmata 
 or wounds. Some branches of laurel 
 or palm, the foreshortening of the 
 infant’s leg, and the graceful air of 
 the heads, together with the intro¬ 
 duction of two rabbits, partake 
 strongly of the peculiarities of Cor¬ 
 reggio, to whose pencil this perform¬ 
 ance has even been attributed. Bar- 
 tolotto is frequently mentioned in 
 conventual registers, from 1510 to 
 1513, as being employed in different 
 
works by the monks, though the 
 sums which he received were ex¬ 
 tremely small, as the highest pay¬ 
 ment specified is twenty-one lire, or 
 four ducats.* The time of his birth 
 and death is equally uncertain. 
 
 To other painters of greater cele¬ 
 brity the honour of instructing Cor¬ 
 reggio has also been attributed ; for 
 in the neighbourhood, two of con¬ 
 siderable eminence, namely, Andrea 
 Mantegna and Francesco Bianchi, 
 were established, under whom tradi¬ 
 tion has placed our young artist. 
 
 Andrea Mantegna,® after studying 
 under Squarcione, and Giacomo 
 Bellini, the founder of the Venetian 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 27. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 19 
 
 school, and after visiting Florence, 
 Rome, and other principal cities of 
 Italy, had settled at Mantua. He 
 was distinguished as the cultivator, if 
 not the inventor of foreshortening, in 
 which Correggio so much excelled. 
 Although our young painter had 
 scarcely reached the age of 13 before 
 the death of Andrea, which hap¬ 
 pened in 1506, yet, as he was a 
 youth of singular genius and indefa¬ 
 tigable industry, he might have re¬ 
 ceived at so early an age instruc¬ 
 tions from this celebrated master, 
 whose style, according to the opinion 
 of Mengs, Lanzi, and others, he seems 
 to have caught in his early produc¬ 
 tions. At all events, he might have 
 studied under his sons Ludovico and 
 Francesco, who succeeded to the 
 school established by their father, 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 and might have profited by the rich 
 collection of models and copies, 
 which it contained. This opinion 
 would be strongly corroborated, could 
 we give full credit to the statement 
 of the Abate Lanzi, that several of 
 Correggio’s juvenile productions are 
 still preserved at Mantua, and dis¬ 
 play the germ of future excellence, 
 blended with the stiff and rigid style 
 of the old school. The pictures, how¬ 
 ever, which he mentions, as attri¬ 
 buted to Correggio, are authenticated 
 by evidence too slight, to form a 
 valid foundation for argument.* 
 
 The other painter under whom 
 Correggio is said to have studied, was 
 Francesco Bianchi, E who was distin- 
 
 * Lanzi, Storia Pittorica dell’ Italia, t. vi. p. 69.. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 21 
 
 guished for his fine colouring and 
 graceful airs, two perfections which 
 eminently mark the works of our 
 painter. From the vicinity of Cor¬ 
 reggio both to Mantua and Modena, 
 and the reputation which Mantegna 
 and Bianchi enjoyed at the time, we 
 are inclined to assent to the opinion, 
 which has been delivered down by 
 tradition, that either directly or indi¬ 
 rectly, he owed the first improvement 
 of his great talents to these two mas¬ 
 ters . Correggio did not, however, con¬ 
 tent himself with a mere mechanical 
 practice of his art; for his pictures dis¬ 
 play an intimate acquaintance with the 
 principles of perspective, sculpture, 
 and architecture, as well as with the 
 philosophy of colours; and, above all, 
 his knowledge of anatomy is generally 
 recognized, in his accurate delineation 
 
22 
 
 CORREGGI O. 
 
 of the human form. From whom he 
 drew his acquaintance with the former 
 sciences is unknown; but his recent 
 biographer, Pungileoni, has enabled 
 us to ascertain his instructor in 
 anatomy : this was Doctor Giam¬ 
 battista Lombardi/ a native of Cor¬ 
 reggio, who had been professor at 
 Bologna, and afterwards at Ferrara. 
 He finally settled in his native town, 
 as physician to Nicolo, a prince 
 of the reigning family, towards 
 the beginning of the 16th century, 
 and was held by him in high consi¬ 
 deration. 
 
 With this learned physician Correg¬ 
 gio long continued in habits of the 
 strictest intimacy. A manuscript, on 
 parchment, of the Geographia of 
 Francesco Berlingheri, in which the 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 23 
 
 autograph of Lombardi appears, with 
 the date of Feb. 1st, 1488, is supposed 
 to have been presented by him to 
 Antonio, on the 2nd of June, 1513, 
 from an autograph of that date, “An- 
 tonius Allegri, die 2 de Zugno, 1513.” 
 It is conjectured to have been a gift 
 by Lombardi, in return for his por¬ 
 trait, which Correggio is said to 
 have painted about that period. This 
 portrait is considered by Pungileoni 
 as that of the Physician now pre¬ 
 served in the Gallery of Dresden, 
 which is much admired for the beauty 
 of the colouring, and the expression 
 of gravity and intelligence blended 
 in the countenance. Their sub¬ 
 sequent intimacy is proved, by the 
 attendance of Lombardi as godfather 
 at the baptism of his son Pomponio, 
 in 1520; and as Lombardi lived 
 
24 
 
 CORKJBGGIO. 
 
 till 1524, the young painter must 
 have derived considerable advantage 
 from his extensive knowledge * in 
 other sciences, as well as in that of 
 anatomy. 
 
 Many pictures and sketches have 
 been commemorated, as executed by 
 Correggio in this early period of his 
 career. He is said to have painted 
 landscapes and other pieces, which 
 were sometimes given to his friends, 
 and sometimes sold publicly at his 
 native place. Among these we may 
 perhaps rank the curious and interest¬ 
 ing sketch, now in the collection of 
 the Marquis of Stafford, and formerly 
 preserved in the Gallery of the Duke 
 of Orleans. It is slightly coloured. 
 
 * Fungileoni, t. i. pp. 19, 128, 170; t. ii. p. 51. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 25 
 
 and represents a Muleteer conduct¬ 
 ing a loaded Mule and a Foal, and en¬ 
 gaged in conversation with a peasant. 
 It is supposed to have been once used 
 as a sign to an inn, though on what 
 authority is now unknown. 
 
 But whatever uncertainty may 
 prevail, with regard to the instruc¬ 
 tors of Antonio, or the objects of his 
 youthful studies, we cannot doubt 
 that he was distinguished in his pro¬ 
 fession, before he had completed his 
 twenty-first year; for none but emi¬ 
 nent painters were then employed 
 in decorating the altars of rich con¬ 
 vents and religious houses. G 
 
 The sum of one hundred ducats 
 having been bequeathed to the Fran¬ 
 ciscan Convent of Minor Friars at 
 
Correggio, for the erection of an altar- 
 piece in their church, they selected 
 Antonio Allegri for the work; and 
 with the consent of his father, Pelle¬ 
 grino, he entered into an agreement 11 
 for the purpose, on the 30th of August, 
 1514. The price stipulated was one 
 hundred ducats, of which fifty were 
 paid in advance, exclusive of the wood, 
 which was provided by the community, 
 at the expense of twenty-two ducats 
 more. Ten ducats were also assigned 
 for leaf gold, besides the charge 
 for erecting the scaffolding and other 
 preparations. This sum, as his recent 
 biographers justly argue, indicates no 
 ordinary degree of reputation, and 
 completely refutes the idle assertions 
 of Vasari and his superficial copyists, 
 that Correggio was ill paid for his 
 works; since such a recompence, 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 27 
 
 according to the comparative value 
 of money, would be deemed a liberal 
 reward, for so young an artist, even 
 at the present day. 
 
 This altar-piece represented the 
 Virgin, supporting the infant Saviour 
 in her lap, with St. Joseph on one 
 side, and on the other St. Francis, 
 kneeling. The height was 2 braccia, 
 and the breadth If, or nearly 5 feet 
 by 4. The painting remained in its 
 place until August, 1638, when it was 
 stolen, and an inferior performance 
 substituted, as was supposed, by a 
 Spanish painter, who, by the permis¬ 
 sion of the governor, Annibale Molza, 
 was suffered to take a copy. 
 
 The loss of so valuable a piece was 
 regarded as a public calamity, and 
 
28 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 almost occasioned a commotion; for 
 after the convocation of a general 
 council, above two hundred persons 
 of all ranks assembled in the anti¬ 
 chamber of the governors palace, to 
 complain of the robbery, and demand 
 justice on the offenders. A deputation 
 of nobles was also sent to the Duke of 
 Modena and to the Bishop of Reggio, 
 for permission to prosecute the Friars, 
 who had connived at the theft. Memo¬ 
 rials were presented to the Pope, to 
 the sacred college, and to the general 
 and provincial of the order; but all 
 these efforts were ineffectual, and no 
 traces of the original have been since 
 discovered.* 
 
 Another proof of early eminence is 
 
 * From documents quoted by Tiraboschi. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 29 
 
 a piece, which he probably painted 
 about the same period, for the bro¬ 
 therhood of Santa Maria, or the Hos¬ 
 pital of Mercy, at Correggio. It is 
 described as an altar-piece, in three 
 compartments, of which the centre 
 represented God the Father, and the 
 two others, St. John and St. Bartholo¬ 
 mew. This painting was purchased, in 
 1612, by Giovanni Siro, the last prince 
 of Correggio, 1 at the price of three 
 hundred ducatoons, and is either lost, 
 or has passed into obscure hands.* 
 
 As these pictures are both lost, we 
 have no means of comparing the 
 style of his early pencil with that 
 of his later years, except from a 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. pp. 82, 83, where the documents 
 relative to the sale of the picture are printed. 
 
30 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 piece, which is now preserved in the 
 gallery of Dresden, and which Mengs 
 conjectures to have been painted about 
 this period of his life, as an altar- 
 piece for a chapel, in the church of 
 St. Nicholas, at Carpi. Here he is 
 supposed to have been in 1512, from a 
 deed in which an Antonio Correggio 
 appears as a witness. K It represented 
 the Virgin and Child sitting on a kind 
 of throne, under a canopy of the Ionic 
 order, with the figures of St. Cathe¬ 
 rine and St. John the Baptist on one 
 side, and those of St. Francis and St. 
 Anthony of Padua on the other. It 
 also bears his inscription of “Antonio 
 de Allegris.” It is painted on wood, 
 and the dimensions are 10 French feet 
 4 inches, by 8 feet 6 inches. 
 
 From the old records of a law-suit, 
 
CHAP. T. 
 
 31 
 
 it appears that there was a picture of 
 the Virgin and Child, with figures of 
 other Saints, by Correggio, in the 
 chapel belonging to the family of In- 
 visiati, in the church of St. Nicholas, 
 at Carpi; and Tiraboschi conjectures, 
 from the dress of the figures, that the 
 piece now preserved at Dresden, is 
 this identical performance, because 
 they are habited like the Friars be¬ 
 longing to that convent. 1 According 
 to the opinion of Mengs, it is in the 
 first style of Correggio, executed, in 
 general, with great spirit and softness, 
 though with a little harshness in the 
 contours. “ The colouring,” he ob¬ 
 serves, “is true and rich, and in a style 
 between that of Perugino and Leo¬ 
 nardo da Vinci. The head of the 
 Virgin,” he adds, “ greatly resembles 
 those of da Vinci, particularly in the 
 
32 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 cheeks and in the smiling counte¬ 
 nance. The folds of the drapery ap- 
 h pear as if done by Mantegna, that is, 
 in the mode of encircling the limbs, 
 but they are less dry and more grand.” 
 
 The next performance in order of 
 time, appears to be the picture which 
 is also preserved in the Gallery at 
 Dresden, formerly called the St. 
 Pietro Martire, and now known by 
 the appellation of the St. George,” 
 which was executed for the brethren 
 of St. Peter the Martyr, at Modena. 
 It represents the Virgin holding the 
 Child in her lap, seated on a throne 
 surmounted with an arch, supported 
 by two golden figures of Cherubim. 
 On the right, near the Virgin, is St. 
 Peter the Martyr, in the attitude of 
 intercession; on the left, St. Gemi- 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 33 
 
 niano, taking from the shoulder of an 
 Angel the Model of a Church, as if to 
 present it to the infant Saviour, whose 
 hands are eagerly stretched forth to 
 receive it. In the front are the two 
 figures of St. John the Baptist and 
 St. George, whose attitudes are com 
 trasted with singular skill. St. John, 
 who is represented as in the flower 
 of youth, is partly turned towards 
 the front, and pointing to the infant 
 Saviour, as if to solicit attention. 
 He is drawn nearly naked; and the 
 anatomy is not only well studied, but 
 designed with the usual grace of Cor¬ 
 reggio. On the opposite side, St. 
 George, who gives the appellation to 
 the piece, is exhibited as half turned, 
 and looking towards the spectator. 
 He is bareheaded, but in armour, 
 with the right foot trampling on the 
 
 D 
 
34 CORREGGIO. 
 
 head of a dragon, and holding a lance 
 in the left hand. His form combines 
 manly dignity with graceful ease; and 
 is so bold in the relief, that it appears 
 to be starting from the canvas. 
 
 In the front, between these two 
 striking figures, are four small Angels 
 of peculiar beauty, and strongly con¬ 
 trasted in attitude. Two on the base 
 of the throne are attempting to place 
 the helmet of the Christian hero on 
 the head of a third, and in front is 
 the fourth, in the act of drawing his 
 sword, with an air of infantine and 
 fascinating playfulness. M Guido, who 
 is as well known for his acute and 
 whimsical remarks, as for his pro¬ 
 fessional merits, was so delighted 
 with these exquisite figures, that he 
 asked a friend who had recently re- 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 35 
 
 turned from Modena, “ Have the 
 children of Correggio grown up and 
 walked, or are they still to be found 
 in the picture of St. Pietro Martire, 
 where I last left them ? ” N 
 
 The picture is 10 French feet in 
 height, and 6 feet 8 inches in breadth. 
 It was placed as an altar-piece; and 
 from the original design, formerly in 
 the possession of M. Marietti, at 
 Paris, the body of architecture in the 
 painting was connected with a similar 
 architectural decoration, delineated 
 on the wall, which must have consi¬ 
 derably heightened its effect. 
 
 This performance is highly valuable 
 as a specimen of his second, or inter¬ 
 mediate style ; M for though it is far 
 superior to the picture last mentioned, 
 d 2 
 
36 
 
 CORREGGIO 
 
 in the elegance of the contours, the 
 harmony of the colouring, - and the 
 character and movements of the figures, 
 it is yet comparatively inferior, in that 
 general and magic effect of the clear 
 obscure, which marks the productions 
 of his best style. The colouring of 
 the figure of St. George strongly re¬ 
 sembles that of Giorgione. 
 
 We cannot doubt that Correggio 
 was constantly employed at this 
 period; but we have authentic docu¬ 
 ments to ascertain the date of only a 
 single picture. This was an altar- 
 piece for the church of Albinea, 
 which is now lost, and of which the 
 subject is unknown. The price is 
 not ascertained; but a record remains, 
 proving that the parishioners paid 
 him thirty soldi a day for his main- 
 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 37 
 
 tenance, during the time of his work, 
 and his final receipt is extant, dated 
 14th October, 1519, for the last pay¬ 
 ment of four gold ducats, in full of 
 all demands.* It is also said, that 
 this picture was removed from the 
 church, by Alfonso, Duke of Modena, 
 who replaced it with a copy by Bou¬ 
 langer, his painter, and forgave the 
 community a debt due to the ducal 
 chamber. We adduce this merely as 
 another proof that Correggio was em¬ 
 ployed in painting for convents and 
 churches, and therefore that his repu¬ 
 tation was at this time established. 
 
 The successful traffic of his father, 
 Pellegrino, and his own no less 
 successful labours, essentially raised 
 the property and respectability of the 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 109. 
 
 t 
 
38 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 family. In 1492 and 1513, Pellegrino 
 had been appointed to present the 
 annual offering of the revenderoli, or 
 retailers, to the patron saint of the 
 city. But in 1518* he appears under 
 the more honourable distinction of 
 representative of the mercanti. In 
 consequence of this increasing pros¬ 
 perity, the father had now the satis¬ 
 faction to see both his son and 
 daughter advantageously settled. In 
 June, 1519, Catharine, his only sur¬ 
 viving daughter, espoused Yincenzio 
 Mariani, of St. Martino, in Rio, and 
 conveyed to him a dowry of one hun¬ 
 dred ducats. 0 Pellegrino even en¬ 
 gaged with his new son-in-law in the 
 cultivation of a farm, situated in the 
 Villa di Stioli, of which a lease for 
 nine years was granted to them by the 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 277. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 39 
 
 proprietor, Pietro de Scurtis, for the 
 sum of one hundred and fifty ducats, 
 payable within the space of a year, 
 fifty being deposited in advance.* 
 
 In the month of July ensuing, 
 Antonio espoused, in her seven¬ 
 teenth year, Girolama, daughter of 
 Bartolomeo Merlini, formerly an 
 esquire to the Marquis of Mantua, 
 and who had honourably fallen at the 
 battle of Taro, in November, 1503. 
 Her dowry consisted of a moiety of 
 certain houses, lands, and moveables, 
 held in joint property with her uncle, 
 Giovanni Merlini, for which she after¬ 
 wards received the sum of two hun¬ 
 dred and fifty-seven ducats.f In the 
 marriage deed of settlement she is 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 114. 
 t Ibid. p. 150—Tiraboschi, t. vi. p. 233. 
 
40 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 distinguished by titles at that period 
 applied only to persons of birth and 
 condition. 1 * She is said to have been 
 a woman of great beauty, and is sup¬ 
 posed by Pungileoni to have been 
 taken by her husband as the pattern 
 of the delightful picture called the 
 Madonna Zingarella, from the gipsey 
 costume exhibited in the head-dress 
 of the Virgin. 
 
 With these events of his life, we 
 shall connect three pictures on the 
 same subject, though probably not of 
 the same date, because one of them 
 is supposed to have owed its origin to 
 the nuptials of his sister. The sub¬ 
 ject of these pictures is the Marriage 
 of St. Catherine. 
 
 The first is a small painting, for- 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 41 
 
 merly in the possession of Count 
 Bruhl, prime minister to Augustus the 
 Third, King of Poland and Elector of 
 Saxony. It bears the inscription, 
 “ Laus Deo. Per Donna Matilda 
 d’ Este. Antonio Lieto fece il pre¬ 
 sente quadro, per sua divozione, anno 
 1517.” Although the authenticity of 
 this inscription has been questioned, 
 because there was no princess of 
 Este of the name of Matilda living 
 at this period, Mengs admits it to be 
 an original, and declares the painting 
 most beautiful. It is said to have 
 been presented to Count Bruhl by the 
 Duke of Modena, when his royal 
 master purchased the collection. It 
 descended to his son, and is now in the 
 imperial Gallery of St Petersburg!!.* 
 
 Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 108. 
 
42 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 The second belonged to the Farnese 
 Gallery at Parma, was conveyed to 
 Naples by Charles the Third, and 
 preserved in the collection of Capo 
 di Monte. It is in size about 11 
 inches by 9. The elegance and 
 beauty of this little piece have always 
 excited admiration. It has accord¬ 
 ingly been often copied by the best 
 painters, among whom we may reckon 
 Annibal Caracci, but still maintains 
 its character for inimitable excellence. 
 It exhibits a singular combination of 
 attitudes, united with the utmost 
 grace and simplicity. The Virgin 
 and St. Catherine are painted in 
 profile, the one sitting, the other 
 kneeling. The Saviour is exhibited 
 in front, as a boy of eight or nine 
 years, sitting on the lap of his mother, 
 one leg resting on the ground, and the 
 
other partly foreshortened, and bearing 
 in his countenance a peculiar expres¬ 
 sion of youthful curiosity and atten¬ 
 tion. But the singular art of the 
 painter is manifested in the disposition 
 of the six hands, which appear nearly 
 to touch each other, yet without con¬ 
 straint or affectation ; and the grace 
 with which the Virgin directs the 
 hand of the boy, in placing the ring 
 on the finger of the bride, is truly 
 admirable. The harmony of the piece 
 and the disposition of the lights and 
 shades, exhibit proofs of that excel¬ 
 lence which characterizes the pencil 
 of Correggio.® 
 
 Another picture on the same sub¬ 
 ject, with the addition of a figure of 
 St. Sebastian, and a representation 
 of his Martyrdom in the back ground. 
 
44 
 
 CORREGGIO 
 
 appears to have been painted by- 
 Correggio for his friend. Doctor Fran¬ 
 cesco Grillenzoni of Modena. R In 
 the possession of that gentleman it 
 was admired and copied by Giro¬ 
 lamo Carpi, who visited Modena, to 
 examine some of the works of Cor¬ 
 reggio, and who, by his communica¬ 
 tions to Vasari, has enabled us to 
 authenticate this painting. It is sup¬ 
 posed to be that now preserved in the 
 Royal Gallery of France, 
 
 By the same authority we are 
 enabled to ascertain the authenticity 
 of another painting, which has been 
 greatly admired. This is Christ ap¬ 
 pearing to Mary Magdalen in the 
 Garden, which first awakened the 
 admiration of Girolamo Carpi for 
 the compositions of Correggio. It 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 45 
 
 was then in the possession of the 
 Ercolani family at Bologna, appears 
 afterwards to have passed into the 
 hands of Cardinal Aldobrandini, and 
 finally, being purchased by Don Ramiro 
 Nugnez, duke of Medina de las 
 Torres, was transferred to the grand 
 collection in the Escurial. s 
 
 At this period of his life we find 
 Correggio principally resident in his 
 native town, as his name occurs, at 
 different epochs, in several public 
 documents. Of these, one deserves 
 especial notice. In 1517 he received 
 from his maternal uncle, Francesco 
 Aromani, a donation of a house and 
 parcel of land, and the gift is de¬ 
 scribed in the instrument, as a reward 
 for his merits and pecuniary assist¬ 
 ance, in the necessities of his uncle, as 
 
46 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 well as a proof of the esteem in which 
 the donor held the qualities of his 
 mind and heart. This deed also fur¬ 
 nishes evidence of the favour he enj oyed 
 with his sovereign; for it was executed 
 in the palace of Manfredo, and in his 
 presence, and sanctioned by his 
 authority. The donation, however, 
 did not take effect till after the death 
 of his uncle, and eventually exposed 
 him to a long and vexatious litigation 
 with the Aromani family, by whom 
 its validity was strongly contested.* 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. i. p. 88; t. ii. p. 127. 
 
NOTES 
 
 TO 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE OF CORREGGIO. 
 
 Note A . Correggio was born in 1493 
 
 or 1494. 
 
 No evidence has been produced of the exact 
 date of his birth or baptism ; but many writers 
 now coincide, in admitting the validity of the 
 date inserted in the monumental inscription 
 raised, at the beginning of the last century, to 
 his memory, in the Church of the Franciscans, 
 where his remains were interred. This in- 
 
48 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 scription states him to have died in 1534, at 
 the age of 40, which would fix his birth about 
 the beginning of the year 1494. Clementi Ruta, 
 who made many researches into his history, 
 distinctly states that he died of a malignant fever, 
 in 1534, at the age of 40 years and 7 months, 
 which would carry his birth to September or 
 October, 1493. This opinion is in a great 
 degree corroborated by the engagements into 
 which he entered for his works. For, in the 
 agreement with the Convent of St. Francesco, 
 at Correggio, dated August 30th, 1514, he is 
 mentioned in terms which shew that he was 
 then in his minority, or under 25, “ cum 
 consensu patris,” &c.; and in that with the 
 Fabric Masters of the Cathedral of Parma, 
 dated March 3rd, 1522, no mention is made of 
 the consent of his father, but the contract is 
 drawn in his own name, which proves that he 
 had then attained his majority. Comparing 
 these two periods, it is obvious that there can¬ 
 not be any material error in fixing his birth 
 in the latter end of 1493 or the beginning of 
 1494. These documents are printed in Pun- 
 gileoni, t. ii. p. 67 and p. 183. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 49 
 
 Pungileoni likewise refers to two autographic 
 letters, still extant in his native town, which, 
 he observes, seem to circumscribe his birth to the 
 period between the 1st of February and the 14th 
 of October, 1494. 
 
 We have thought it proper to lay these 
 various suppositions before the reader, because, 
 if they do not absolutely decide the point, they 
 at least limit the chance of error to a few 
 months. 
 
 Note B . Manfredo, Nicolo , and 
 
 Gilberto. 
 
 Nicolo died in 1508, and his son Galeazzo, 
 who succeeded him in the joint sovereignty, in 
 1517, Gilberto in 1518, and Manfredo in 1546. 
 
 Note C .... . Veronica Gambara. 
 
 This princess was one of the most accom¬ 
 plished and interesting women of the age. She 
 was the daughter of Count Giovan n i Fran- 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 cesco, of the noble family of Gambara, who 
 took their title from a small village in the 
 Bresciano. She was born at Prato Alboino, 
 in the vicinity of Brescia, in 1485. From her 
 earliest years she was devoted to the study of 
 polite and scientific literature, and her talents 
 were fostered and improved by the learned 
 Cardinal Bembo, from whose instructions she 
 derived that elegance of taste, which rendered 
 her so celebrated. She espoused Gilberto, 
 prince of Correggio, in 1508, and rendered his 
 court the abode of letters and philosophy. 
 Losing her husband in 1518, she divided her 
 time between the cares of government, the study 
 of letters, and the education of her two sons, 
 Gilberto and Ippolito, then in their minority. 
 She opened an academy, or literary society, in 
 her palace, and encouraged, by her presence 
 and example, the learned discussions of the 
 eminent men, whom she drew to her court. 
 In 1515 she paid a visit to Bologna, with 
 her husband, Gilberto, and attracted the notice 
 of Pope Leo X. and Francis the First, King 
 of France, both judges of literary merit, by 
 the last of whom she was warmly praised, as 
 the most accomplished woman he had ever seen. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 51 
 
 In 1530 she waited on the Emperor Charles 
 the Fifth at Bologna, of which city her brother 
 was governor. Her graces and talents so won his 
 favour, that he soon afterwards paid her a visit 
 at her own capital, which he repeated in 
 1532. Affection to her deceased husband in¬ 
 duced her to refuse all matrimonial connexions, 
 though of the most honourable kind; and the 
 cultivated talents of her two sons, whose merit 
 raised them to the Roman purple, afford 
 ample proof of her maternal care. 
 
 She died on the 13th of June, 1550. Her 
 various acquirements are the theme of general 
 admiration among the Italian writers, and she 
 appears to have held a correspondence with the 
 most celebrated characters of her time, princes, 
 warriors, and men of letters. She wrote Latin 
 with purity and elegance, but the works from 
 which her literary reputation is derived, are in 
 her native language, and have been published 
 under the title of Rime e Lettere di Veronica 
 Gambara. This collection has passed through 
 several editions. Her prose is pure and elegant, 
 and her verse has been honoured by a compa¬ 
 rison with the sonnets of Petrarch. 
 
 This account is principally drawn from the 
 e 2 
 
 
52 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 Biblioteca Modenese of Tiraboschi, art. Vero¬ 
 nica Gambara. 
 
 Note D . Andrea Mantegna. 
 
 Andrea da Mantegna was born of humble 
 parents, in the vicinity of Padua, in 1430, 
 and, at an early age, attracted the notice of 
 Squarcione, who had travelled into Greece, and 
 revived the study of the antique. Under 
 him, who had recently established a school 
 of painting at Padua, Mantegna improved 
 himself in the knowledge of design, perspective, 
 and expression, and was treated by him with 
 all the tenderness and affection of a father. 
 Perceiving, however, that the style of Squar¬ 
 cione wanted that richness of colouring, which 
 began to distinguish the school of his rival, 
 Giacomo Bellini, who was settled at Venice, 
 Mantegna irrecoverably offended him, by at¬ 
 taching himself to that master. In return, he 
 obtained the patronage of Bellini, espoused his 
 daughter, and was a fellow-pupil with his 
 brothers-in-law, Giovanni and Gentili Bellini, 
 the leaders of the Venetian school. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 53 
 
 Uniting, in an eminent degree, the charac¬ 
 teristics of Squarcione and Bellini, Mantegna 
 became so celebrated, as to obtain the patronage 
 of Ludovico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. 
 Removing, therefore, to that capital, he esta¬ 
 blished the school of art, which illustrated the 
 House of Gonzaga. He was next invited to 
 Rome, by Pope Innocent the Eighth, and, 
 though scantily rewarded for the labours of his 
 pencil, he availed himself of his residence in 
 that capital, to improve his knowledge of the 
 antique, and to study the productions of those 
 masters, who preceded Raphael and Michael 
 Angelo. 
 
 After the death of Innocent, in 1492, he 
 repaired to Florence, where new beauties were 
 offered to his discerning eye, in the works of 
 the Florentine masters, and in those of Fra. 
 Bartolomeo and Leonardo da Vinci; and he 
 returned to fix his permanent residence in 
 Mantua, improved in the practice of his art, 
 and enriched with an ample collection of models 
 and copies, which he had made from antique 
 statues and the works of the best painters. 
 From his few productions which are still 
 extant, we find that although he could not 
 
54 NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 entirely divest himself of the dry colouring of 
 Squarcione, he had imbibed that grace of 
 form, and beauty of countenance, which mark 
 the works of Leonardo da Vinci, whom he 
 seems to have imitated with peculiar zeal. 
 
 Mantegna is distinguished among the earliest 
 masters, after the revival of the art, for his skill 
 in fore-shortening, and in the clear obscure; and 
 that he was acquainted with both there seems 
 sufficient evidence. In the collection at Font- 
 hill Abbey is a picture from his pencil, the 
 subject of which is the Agony of Christ in the 
 Garden. The colouring is dry, and the dispo¬ 
 sition of the piece does not exhibit the skill of 
 later masters; but the figure of one of the dis¬ 
 ciples is fore-shortened in the boldest manner, 
 though there is not the slightest attempt to pro¬ 
 duce effect by means of the clear obscure. At 
 Hampton Court, however, another of his pic¬ 
 tures is preserved, exhibiting the triumph of 
 Caesar, in which the clear obscure is strikingly 
 introduced. 
 
 Mantegna died at Mantua, in 1506, and 
 was interred in the church of St. Andrea, 
 where a monument is erected to his memory, 
 surmounted with his statue in bronze. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 It was long supposed that Mantegna lived 
 till 1517, but Tiraboschi ascertained the period 
 of his death, to be in 1506, from the original 
 letters of his son. 
 
 V asari—Abecedario Pittorico —-T iraboschi, 
 Vita del Correggio, in the Biblioteca Mo¬ 
 denese—Ticozzi, Dizionario de’’ Pittori,—and 
 Lanzi. 
 
 Pungileoni asserts, on the authority of Anto- 
 nioli, who had examined documents on the 
 subject, that Antonio accompanied Manfredo, 
 one of the joint sovereigns of Correggio, 
 to Mantua, in 1511, while his native city 
 was ravaged by the plague. He adds, that 
 he was treated by that prince with great fami¬ 
 liarity, and lodged in his palace. During this 
 period he supposes that he studied the works of 
 Andrea Mantegna, Leon Bruno, del Costa, 
 and the elder Dosso, and derived advantage 
 from the rich collection of cameos, medals, 
 and antiquities, formed by the Princess Isabella 
 d’Este. But he is inclined to doubt that he 
 ever received instructions from Andrea himself, 
 who had then been dead five years; and he 
 denies that he could at this time have been 
 taught by his sons, because Ludovico, the 
 
56 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 elder, was dead, and Francesco was living, in 
 great distress, at Boscoldo. Of this visit, how¬ 
 ever, we find no positive proof; and even if it 
 were admitted, it would in no way weaken the 
 supposition, that Antonio had previously re¬ 
 paired to Mantua, while Andrea da Mantegna 
 was living. Pungileoni, t. ii, p. SO, 31, 32. 
 
 Note E. Francesco Bianchi. 
 
 Francesco Bianchi Ferrari was a native of 
 Modena, and flourished towards the latter end 
 of the fifteenth century. He is honourably 
 mentioned in the chronicles of the town, as 
 having painted many pictures of considerable 
 merit, and died on the 8th of February, 
 1510, without children, but possessed of con¬ 
 siderable property, which he devoted to pious 
 uses. 
 
 A passage has been generally quoted from 
 the Chronicle of Lancillotto, a contemporary, 
 which distinctly indicates him as master of 
 Correggio, namely, “ Francesco del Bianco, 
 pittor famoso, fu maestro del divino coloritore 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 57 
 
 Antonio da Correggio.” But the authenticity 
 of this passage is strongly contested by Tira- 
 boschi, who states it to have been interpolated 
 by the copyist, Spaccini. However, as Spac- 
 cini lived within a century of the time, and 
 was himself a painter, we may reasonably sup¬ 
 pose that he derived his intelligence from living 
 witnesses or tradition; and that there is some 
 foundation for the opinion that Correggio 
 studied under Bianchi. As the death of 
 Bianchi did not happen till 1510, Correggio 
 was then not less than sixteen, and must have 
 made essential progress in the art, since we 
 find that he painted a picture of considerable 
 merit before he concluded his 20th year. It 
 is likewise asserted, by Yedriani, that, in the 
 school of Bianchi, Correggio studied modelling, 
 and formed an acquaintance with the eminent 
 sculptor, Begarelli, who afterwards furnished 
 him with models for the figures in the cupola 
 of the cathedral at Parma. It is even further 
 said, that he assisted Begarelli in the beautiful 
 groupe of la Picta, in the church of St. Mar¬ 
 garet, of which the three best figures are 
 ascribed to him ; and the initials A A, found 
 under the arm of one of them, when they were 
 
removed, on the suppression of the church, have 
 supplied an additional argument for ascribing 
 them to Correggio, as indicating his name 
 Antonio Allegri. There is, however, an au¬ 
 thority of greater weight, in the additions to 
 Lancifiotto’s Chronicle, made by Spaccini, who 
 mentions that, in 1531, these figures were re¬ 
 moved from the portico before the church, and 
 states distinctly that they were by the hand of 
 Begarelli. Hence Pungileoni justly controverts 
 the opinion which assigns them to Correggio. 
 
 This fact is also confirmed by Father Mala- 
 zeppi, in his manuscript History of his Order, 
 finished in 1580. Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 196-7 
 —Lanzi, t. iv, p. 67—Tiraboschi, Bibliotcca 
 Modenese, t. vi, p. 330, 331. 
 
 Note F. Giambattista Lombardi. 
 
 Professor at Bologna, in 1490. He en¬ 
 joyed the favour of his sovereigns in a high 
 degree, was left as one of the regency, when 
 they quitted their capital to escape the infec¬ 
 tion of the plague in 1511, and was frequently 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 59 
 
 employed in the capacity of envoy to Mantua. 
 Pungileoni, t. i, p. 34. 
 
 He is supposed also to have presided over 
 the literary meetings held in the palace ol 
 Veronica Gambara. 
 
 Note G. convents and religious 
 
 houses. 
 
 Some have supposed that the earliest exer¬ 
 cise of Correggio’s talents was shewn in the 
 decoration of apartments m a palace erected by 
 Gilberto, prince of Correggio, in the suburbs 
 of that city. This assertion, however, rests 
 entirely on vague conjecture; for the palace has 
 been long destroyed, and no evidence is pre¬ 
 served, to prove that such paintings ever existed. 
 
 Note H. an agreement. 
 
 Antonius fil. Peregrini de Allegris ibi 
 
 praesens, per se cum consensu ejus patris pras- 
 
60 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 sentis et consensum dantis, promisit et solemn- 
 iter convenit Ven. Yiro Fratri Hieronimo de 
 Cataneis * # * se facere et pingere Anconam 
 unam, valoris et existimationis ducatorum centum 
 et plus, detractis lignamine et factura dicti lig- 
 naminis dictae Anconae, quam etiam lignamina 
 dictus Custos et Sindici teneantur suis sump- 
 tibus facere seu fieri facere ; et hoc fecit dictus 
 Antonius, quia dictus Custos promisit et solvere 
 convenit dare et exbursare dicto Antonio * * 
 ducatos quincjuaginta, completa ipsa Ancona, 
 et eum ipse Antonius ipsam Anconam valoris 
 ut supra pinxerit et compleverit. Et eo quia 
 ut supra dictus Custos dedit et actualiter nu- 
 meravit Do. Antonio praesenti ad se trahenti in 
 pecunia numerata ducatos quinquaginta * * # 
 Qua; omnia promisit dictus Custos et Antonius 
 habere rata, insuper juraverunt dictus Custos 
 supra pectus suum et dictus Antonius tactis 
 Scripturis. Actum in Burgo veteri terrae 
 Corrigiae, et in camera cubiculari dicti Ser An- 
 tonii ad terrenum .”—Dated 30 August, 1514. 
 
 Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 66. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 61 
 
 Note I. last prince of Correggio. 
 
 After enjoying its independence as an 
 Imperial fief, for several centuries, under its 
 native sovereigns, Correggio, in the middle of 
 the seventeenth century, was annexed to the 
 dominions of the House of Modena. The plea 
 for this transfer was, an accusation preferred 
 against the last prince, Giovanni Siro, for the 
 falsification of the coin. Being subjected to a 
 fine of 230,000 florins, which he was unable to 
 pay, his domain was occupied in 3633, by 
 the Spanish court, as a pledge for that sum, 
 which they advanced to the Imperial chamber. 
 The dukes of Modena being desirous of appro¬ 
 priating a territory, which was situated in the 
 midst of their dominions, obtained its transfer 
 from Spain, on the condition of reimbursing 
 the fine, and assisting the House of Austria in 
 the war in which they were then engaged 
 against the French and the Protestant powers. 
 The possession was at first conditional, but in 
 1649 it was rendered permanent by an agree¬ 
 ment with Maurizio, the son of Siro, who, for 
 
62 
 
 notes to chap. i. 
 
 a certain compensation, relinquished his title to 
 his paternal sovereignty. Muratori, Antichita 
 Estensi, t. ii, p. 54. 
 
 Note K. an Antonio Correggio ap¬ 
 
 pears as a witness. 
 
 Tiraboschi, t. vi, p. 257. Pungileoni ques¬ 
 tions this fact, and urges that the signature was 
 that of a military commander, who bore that 
 appellation. The point, however, is of little 
 consequence to the merits of the case; because, 
 whether he was or was not at Carpi in 15J 2, 
 the existence of a picture, by his hand, in the 
 Franciscan church in that town, at a later pe¬ 
 riod, is clearly established. 
 
 Note L . , . . . the friars belonging to that 
 convent. 
 
 Doubts have been entertained whether this 
 picture was painted for the Franciscans at 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 63 
 
 Carpi or those at Correggio. Among other 
 arguments, it has been urged, that the space 
 above the altar in the chapel of the Invisiati, 
 where it is said to have been placed, was too 
 small for the reception of so large a piece. A 
 phrase, however, in the documents of the law¬ 
 suit mentioned in the text, appears to designate 
 it with sufficient distinctness, for it is described 
 as the “ Tavola con la Santa Madonna e il 
 suo figlio ed altri Santi, di mano del Correggio.” 
 
 But, in the absence of more explicit evi¬ 
 dence, the question must be left in uncertainty. 
 The real point for consideration is undoubted, 
 namely, that it is one of the earliest perform¬ 
 ances of Correggio, which have come down to 
 posterity, and that it is in his first and compa¬ 
 ratively dry style. The curious reader, who is 
 desirous of further information, is referred to 
 Tiraboschi, p. 244, and Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 70. 
 
 Note M. second, or intermediate 
 
 style. 
 
 Pungileoni controverts the opinion of Mengs 
 that the St. George was painted before Correggio 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 began his great works at Parma, and conjec¬ 
 tures that it was executed in 1532. He founds 
 his decision on a proof far from being conclu¬ 
 sive, for it is nothing more than a vague passage 
 in the Chronicle of Lancellotti, stating that 
 the community of St. Pietro Martire, at Mo¬ 
 dena, in that year caused their school to be 
 painted, “ fece pitturare la sua scuola,” which 
 he interprets to mean an oratory or chapel. To 
 make no observation on the indistinctness of 
 this passage, it may as well apply to any other 
 painter as to Correggio, and cannot weigh against 
 the judgment of Mengs, on the internal evi¬ 
 dence of the picture itself. However beautiful 
 the figures, it is evidently of an earlier period 
 than when Correggio brought the science of 
 clear obscure to such perfection. Pungileoni, 
 t. i, p. 216. 
 
 Note N . of St. Pietro Martire where 
 
 I last left them. 
 
 Scannelli, quoted by Ratti, p. 97, note, and 
 Pungileoni, t. i, p. 219. Vasari, on the authority 
 of Girolamo Carpi, confirms the’account that this 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 65 
 
 picture was painted for that convent at Modena, 
 and was copied by him at no great distance of 
 time from its execution, T. iv. p. 412. 
 
 Not k O . a dowry of one hundred 
 
 ducats. 
 
 An acknowledgment of the payment of this 
 sum appears in the documents of Zanotti, 
 notary public. It was dated 26 June, 1521, 
 and executed in the villa of Gilberto, prince of 
 Correggio. 
 
 Note P. persons of birth and con¬ 
 
 dition. 
 
 “ Magister Antonius Allegris * * * acee- 
 perit in uxorem * * * honest am mulierem do- 
 minam Hieronymam, fil. q. Bartholomei Mer- 
 lini.” Her dowry is stated to consist of 
 “ domos, terras, res, et jura rationesque et 
 actiones spectantes.” Pungileoni, t, ii. p. 150. 
 
 F 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 fin 
 
 Note Q . the pencil of Correggio. 
 
 Two copies of the Marriage of St. Catherine 
 are preserved in the collection of Sir Richard 
 Hoare, Bart., at Stourhead. The first is a 
 drawing of the same size, and the second an 
 enlarged copy by Cavalucci, a painter of Rome. 
 
 Note R. Doctor Francesco Grillenzoni % 
 
 of Modena. 
 
 Vasari, Vita di Girolamo da Carpi, t. v. p. 
 312. This marriage of St. Catherine has 
 been engraved by Picart in two different ways. 
 In the first the St. Sebastian, and the represent¬ 
 ation of his martyrdom are introduced; and, 
 in the second, the saint is changed into an 
 angel, and the martyrdom omitted. 
 
COI! REGGIO. 
 
 67 
 
 Note S. collection in the Escurial. 
 
 Vasari, t. iii. p. 62, t. v. p. 311. We have 
 here taken implicitly the authority of Vasarj, 
 which is unquestionable, because it is directly 
 derived from Girolamo Carpi himself, whom he 
 knew at Rome in 1550, and of whose early 
 pursuits and studies he has given a minute and 
 interesting account. 
 
 F 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 Commencement of Correggio's Works at Parma 
 —Decoration of an Apartment in the Monas¬ 
 tery of St.Paulo—Contract with the Chapter 
 of St. John for the Decoration of the Cupola, 
 and other Parts of the Church—Description 
 of the Cupola—The Nativity of Christ 
 (or the Notte), the St. Jerome and St. 
 Sebastian—Engaged to paint the Cathedral 
 —Agreement with the Masters of the Fabric 
 —Description of the Cupola — Payments — 
 Suspension of his Labours—Remarks on the 
 Subject—The Leda and Danae painted, by 
 order of the Duke of Mantua, for the Emperor 
 Charles V—The Io—Conjectures on his 
 Situation and Employment subsequent to the 
 Suspension of his Works in the Cathedral — 
 Engagement with Alberto Panciroli—His 
 Death and Interment—His Children — Re¬ 
 marks on the Agony of Christ in the Garden 
 —The Pen itent Magdalen—Mercury teaching 
 Cupid to read, and Venus rising from the Sea. 
 
 WE now reach that period of Cor¬ 
 reggio’s life, in which he may be said to 
 
70 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 have established his reputation, and to 
 have shone forth, as the founder of a 
 new style of painting. From the 
 fame of his works, he seems to have 
 attracted considerable notice at Par¬ 
 ma ; A and as his aunt Oliva Aromani 
 was a native of that city, he probably 
 by her means became known to the 
 illustrious house of Montini. By the 
 Cavaliere Scipione, a member of that 
 family, he is said to have been patro¬ 
 nized and recommended to Giovanna 
 Piacenza, Abbess of the Monastery 
 of St. Paulo, a lady of great taste and 
 munificence, who was desirous of en¬ 
 riching her establishment with choice 
 specimens of art, and who had already 
 employed the ablest artists of the 
 city, in embellishing the church and 
 monastery, particularly Araldi in 
 decorating the choir. By this noble 
 
 X 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 71 
 
 lady he was engaged to paint the 
 sides and vault of an apartment, which 
 she had herself erected, with subjects 
 of classical antiquity, in fresco. Part 
 of the work has been obliterated, 
 but various figures and ornamental 
 decorations are still left, in high pre¬ 
 servation. Among these are an ele¬ 
 gant frieze, ornamented with drapery, 
 vases, and the heads of goats; Boys or 
 Cupids, sporting with animals, and 
 emblems of the Chase; a figure of Juno 
 suspended in the clouds by a chain, 
 with the anvils at her feet, as de¬ 
 scribed by Homer;* the Graces, and 
 the three sister Fates ; a Vestal with 
 a Dove, the emblem of virginity; a 
 
 * See an account of this singular punishment in¬ 
 flicted on Juno by Jupiter, II. e, 1. 19; Pope’s Trans¬ 
 lation, II. xr. 23. 
 
Satyr; a Priestess sacrificing; For¬ 
 tune standing on the Globe; and 
 over the chimney, Diana riding in a 
 triumphal car, drawn by hounds, and 
 evidently intended as the principal 
 figure. 
 
 Not only from records of some 
 antiquity, but from internal evidence, 
 these paintings are proved to owe 
 their existence to the pencil of Cor¬ 
 reggio ; and they have been con¬ 
 sidered particularly valuable in the 
 history of art, as furnishing a proof 
 of the time at which he adopted his 
 last and best style; for, the fore¬ 
 shortening is singularly bold, the 
 clear obscure presents all the magic 
 of his pencil, and the beauty and 
 grace of the figures are inimitable. 
 The date of the work is fixed. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 73 
 
 with every appearance of truth, about 
 the year 1519,* and it was therefore 
 the earliest of his productions at 
 Parma. This painting owes its cele¬ 
 brity to the diligence of father Affo, 
 who examined it minutely, and spared 
 no research into its history. It was 
 commemorated by Lanzi ;•)' and Pun- 
 gileoni has not only minutely de¬ 
 scribed it, but given a sketch of the 
 various opinions as to its merits and 
 history.J 
 
 He is also said to have soon after¬ 
 wards decorated a small cupola for 
 the monks of St. John, with a repre¬ 
 sentation of the Assumption of St. 
 
 * The chimney bears the date of 1514, probably 
 the period of its construction. 
 
 t T. iv. p. 47.- X T.i. p. 77, and t. ii. p. IIS — 
 
 Servitor di Piazza, Dial. 3. 
 
74 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 Benedict; but this work is now de¬ 
 faced.* 
 
 The admiration which these and 
 other different performances excited, 
 doubtless induced the monks of St. 
 John to engage him in ornamenting 
 the grand cupola, and other parts of 
 their church. The original agreement 
 has not been discovered, but various 
 entries have been found in the books 
 of the convent, between 1519 and 
 1536, which prove, that for adorning 
 the cupola he received, as Tiraboschi 
 asserts, 272 gold ducats, and 200 
 more for other parts of the fabric. B 
 The last payment of 27 gold ducats 
 was made on the 23rd of January, 
 1524, and the acknowledgment of 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 75 
 
 the painter, under his own signature, 
 is still extant. 
 
 The subject is the Ascension of 
 Christ in glory, surrounded by the 
 twelve Apostles, seated on the 
 clouds ; and in the lunettes the four 
 Evangelists, and four Doctors of the 
 church. The situation of the painting 
 presented difficulties which none but 
 so great an artist could have over¬ 
 come ; for the cupola has neither 
 skylight nor windows, and conse¬ 
 quently the whole effect of the piece 
 must depend on the light reflected 
 from below. The figures of the Apos¬ 
 tles are chiefly naked, gigantic, and 
 in a style of peculiar grandeur. 
 
 Besides the cupola, various parts 
 of the same church were adorned by 
 
76 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 his hand. He decorated the tribune, 
 which was afterwards demolished to 
 enlarge the choir,* and was so highly 
 esteemed, that Cesare Aretusi was 
 employed by the monks to copy it 
 for the new tribune. He painted 
 also, in fresco, the two sides of the 
 fifth chapel on the right hand, the 
 first representing the Martyrdom of 
 St. Placido and St. Fla via, and the 
 second a dead Christ, with the Virgin 
 Mary swooning at his feet. Of these 
 paintings Mengs particularly admires 
 the head of St. Placido, and the ex¬ 
 quisite figure of the Magdalen in the 
 last-mentioned picture. 
 
 The pleasure which the monks 
 derived from his works, even in their 
 
 * A fragment of this painting is said to be still preserved 
 in the Ducal Library at Parma. — Servitor di Piazza. 
 
CHAP II. 
 
 77 
 
 incipient state, and their satisfaction 
 with his conduct in general, is mani¬ 
 fested by a remarkable document. 
 This is a letter or patent of confrater¬ 
 nity, passed in the general assembly 
 of the order, held at Pratalea, in the 
 latter end of 1521 ; a privilege which 
 was eagerly sought at this and earlier 
 periods, and seldom conferred on per¬ 
 sons not eminent for rank or talents. 
 It conveyed a participation in the 
 spiritual benefits derived from the 
 prayers, masses, alms, and other 
 pious works of the community, and 
 was coupled with an engagement to 
 perform the same offices for the re¬ 
 pose of his soul, and the souls of his 
 family, as were performed for their 
 own members.* 
 
 * Tiraboschi, t. vi. p. 263. 
 
During his stay at Parma, Cor¬ 
 reggio was engaged in other works. 
 One of these is the Flight into Egypt, 
 or the Madonna della Scodella, so 
 called from a bason, which the Virgin 
 holds in her hand. It was originally 
 an altar-piece for a chapel in the 
 church of St. Sepolcro, belonging to 
 the Lateran Canons. According to the 
 opinion of Mengs, the beauty of this 
 picture was injured by a Spanish 
 painter, who obtained permission to 
 copy it; but Pungileoni asserts, that 
 it still exhibits traces of the masterly 
 hand, which produced the St. Jerome 
 and the Notte.® 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 79 
 
 infant Jesus on one arm, and, with a 
 bason in her right hand, taking water 
 from a spring. Joseph appears arrang¬ 
 ing the branches of palm, as if to 
 screen her from the heat, and at the 
 same time gathering dates. Towards 
 the edge of the picture, is an angel 
 taking charge of the ass, which had 
 borne the mother and child; and 
 above flit a beautiful groupe of 
 angels, surrounded with glory.* The 
 author saw it remaining in its original 
 situation in 1785. 
 
 Perhaps it may here appear not 
 superfluous to advert to a painting 
 ascribed to Correggio, less from its 
 actual state of preservation, than from 
 its history. It is a Madonna in fresco. 
 
 * Voyage d’un Amateur des Arts, t iv. p. 49. 
 
80 
 
 CORREGGIO 
 
 in the same grand style as the figures 
 in the cupola of St. John, supposed 
 to have been originally painted as a 
 decoration for the house of a friend in 
 Parma; but it is said to have attracted 
 so much veneration, as to have become 
 an object of worship. The house was 
 accordingly converted into a chapel, 
 the ascent to which is formed by 
 twelve steps, and has, consequently, 
 received the appellation of the Chapel 
 of the Madonna della Scala. The 
 head of the Virgin has been surround¬ 
 ed, by some votary of wretched taste, 
 with a silver crown in relief. The 
 colours are much faded, as if painted 
 in bistre ; but the design still exhibits 
 striking traces of the grace and gran¬ 
 deur of Correggio.* 
 
 * Voyage d’un. Amateur des Arts, t. iv. p. 50. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 81 
 
 While he was employed in this 
 undertaking, Correggio fixed his resi¬ 
 dence in the Borgo Pescaro, near the 
 church; but during the colder season, 
 when he could not work in fresco, he 
 appears to have returned to his native 
 place. Passing through Reggio, in 
 one of his journeys, he received a 
 commission from Alberto Pratonero, 
 which produced one of his finest pic¬ 
 tures, The Nativity, or, as it is now 
 called. La Notte. The agreement 
 was signed on the 14th of October, 
 1522, and the price fixed at two hun¬ 
 dred and eight lire di Moneta Vec- 
 chia, which Tiraboschi* estimates at 
 47-| gold ducats. 
 
 This picture is doubtless the most 
 
 * T. vi. p, 267. 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 singular, if not the most beautiful 
 work of this great master. Adopt¬ 
 ing an idea hitherto unknown to 
 painters, he has created a new princi¬ 
 ple of light and shade ; and in the 
 limited space of nine feet by six, has 
 expanded a breadth and depth of 
 perspective which defies description. 
 The time he has chosen, is the adora¬ 
 tion of the shepherds, who, after 
 hearing the glad tidings of joy and 
 salvation, proclaimed by the heavenly 
 host, hastened to hail the new-born 
 King and Saviour. On so unpro¬ 
 mising a subject as the birth of a 
 child, in so mean a place as a stable, 
 the painter has, however, thrown the 
 air of divinity itself. The principal 
 light emanates from the body of the 
 infant, and illuminates the surround¬ 
 ing objects; but a secondary light is 
 
CHAP. IT. 
 
 83 
 
 borrowed from a groupe of angels 
 above, which, while it aids the gene¬ 
 ral effect, is yet itself irradiated by 
 the glory breaking from the child, and 
 allegorising the expression of Scrip¬ 
 ture, that Christ was the true light of 
 the world.* Nor is the art with which 
 the figures are represented, less admir¬ 
 able than the management of the 
 light. The face of the child is skil¬ 
 fully hidden by its oblique position, 
 from the conviction, that the features 
 of a new-born infant are ill adapted to 
 please the eye; but that of the Vir¬ 
 gin is warmly irradiated, and yet so 
 disposed, that in bending with ma¬ 
 ternal fondness over her offspring, it 
 
 * This groupe was particularly admired by Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, and imitated by Rembrandt in 
 his picture of the Annunciation. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 CORREGG 10. 
 
 exhibits exquisite beauty, without 
 the harshness of deep shadows. The 
 light strikes boldly on the lower part 
 of her face, and is lost in a fainter 
 glow on the eyes, while the forehead 
 is thrown into shade. The figures of 
 Joseph and the shepherds are traced 
 with the same skilful pencil; and the 
 glow which illuminates the piece, is 
 heightened to the imagination, by the 
 attitude of a shepherdess, bringing an 
 offering of doves, who shades her 
 eyes with her hand, as if unable to 
 sustain the brightness of incarnate 
 Divinity. The glimmering of the 
 rising dawn, which shews the figures 
 in the back ground, contributes to 
 augment the splendor of the prin¬ 
 cipal glory. “The beauty, grace, 
 and finish of the piece,” says Mengs, 
 “ are admirable, and every part is 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 85 
 
 executed in a peculiar and appro¬ 
 priate style.” 
 
 It is uncertain when this picture 
 was finished, for it was delayed by 
 his other avocations, and he had long 
 to struggle with the impatience of the 
 Pratoneri for its completion.* An 
 inscription, still extant, proves, that 
 it was not fixed in its destined place, 
 the chapel of the Pratoneri, in the 
 church of St. Prospero, at Reggio, 
 till 1530. It was in 1640 E removed 
 surreptitiously, and probably by order 
 of the reigning Duke of Modena, who 
 substituted a copy; and, with the pic¬ 
 tures already described, it was finally 
 transferred to the Electoral Gallery at 
 Dresden. 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 196. 
 
86 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 The St. Jerome, the second of these 
 pieces, was painted for Briseis, a 
 noble lady of Parma, the widow of 
 Horatio or Octaviano Bergonzi. The 
 commission was given in 1523/ and 
 the stipulated price was four hundred 
 lire, which Tiraboschi estimates at 
 eighty golden crowns. We are in¬ 
 formed likewise, that Correggio was 
 lodged and maintained during the pro¬ 
 gress of the picture, and was besides 
 gratified with occasional presents. 
 
 Of this celebrated painting, Annibal 
 Carracci speaks in terms almost 
 amounting to adoration, and his 
 eulogy is fully corroborated by Mengs. 
 After apologizing for the common 
 anachronism of making St. Jerome 
 contemporary with Christ, this artist 
 critically investigates the merits of 
 
CHAP. II 
 
 87 
 
 the piece. “ It represents,” he observes, 
 
 “ the blessed Virgin and Child, with 
 St. Jerome in the act of offering his 
 writings to the infant Jesus. Between 
 the infant and the saint is an angel, 
 pointing to some passage in the book. 
 St. Jerome himself is represented 
 with a violet drapery, carelessly 
 thrown over his shoulders ; and the 
 naked parts of the body are depicted 
 with a perfect knowledge of anatomy, 
 and the highest beauty of colouring. 
 At his feet is his majestic emblem, 
 the lion. On the opposite side is 
 Mary Magdalen, bending to kiss the 
 foot of Jesus, with a countenance ex¬ 
 pressive at once of respect, love, and 
 adoration; and nearly behind her, is 
 an angel smelling to a vase, to in¬ 
 dicate the offering made by her of the 
 box of precious ointment, mentioned 
 
88 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 in Scripture. This picture merits a 
 high place among the most beautiful 
 paintings of Correggio, and may be 
 justly compared with the small Mag¬ 
 dalen and the celebrated Notte. It 
 exhibits a body of colour unexampled 
 in richness, and, at the same time, the 
 almost incompatible quality of equal 
 clearness. With this the tints are 
 bright and varied, yet so intimately 
 blended, that they appear infused into 
 each other, like wax melted on the 
 fire.” Mengs adds, “Although the 
 whole composition is wonderful, yet 
 the head of the Magdalen is pre-emi¬ 
 nent in beauty ; and he who has not 
 seen it, is ignorant of the effects which 
 the pencil can produce.” 
 
 This picture was given by the pur¬ 
 chaser to the church of St. Antonio 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 89 
 
 Abbate, at Parma, in the year 1528. 
 One of the abbots having entered into 
 a treaty for its sale to the King of 
 Portugal, at a considerable price, 11 the 
 community appealed to the Sovereign, 
 the infant Don Philip, by whose 
 order it was transferred to the cathe¬ 
 dral. In 1756 it was placed in the 
 Academy of Painting, which he had 
 then instituted. Here the writer 
 of this narrative saw it in 1786, 
 and admired, not only its beauty, but 
 its wonderful freshness, for it appeared 
 as perfect as if just taken from the 
 easel. It was removed by the French, 
 in the plunder of Italy, and was one 
 of the most conspicuous ornaments of 
 the Louvre. When the spoils of 
 nations were again wrested from 
 France, it was restored by the Allied 
 
90 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 Powers to its original situation, and 
 still attracts to Parma the admirers 
 of Correggio, and the lovers of the 
 fine arts. 
 
 It is here proper to advert to 
 another picture of great celebrity, of 
 which Pungileoni seems justly to fix 
 the date about this period. This is 
 the St. Sebastian, which was painted 
 for the confraternity of St. Sebastian, 
 at Modena; but not, as Mengs con¬ 
 jectures, in fulfilment of a vow, made 
 when the city was visited by the 
 pestilence. 
 
 The subject is the Virgin in glory, 
 bearing in her arms the infant Jesus. 
 She is surrounded with clouds, amidst 
 which are flitting beautiful groupes 
 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 91 
 
 of cherubim and seraphim, and 
 below are the figures of St. Sebas¬ 
 tian, St. Geminiano, and St. Roque. 
 St. Sebastian, from whom the picture 
 takes its name, is represented as tied 
 to a tree, in a posture of supplication. 
 He is naked from the girdle upwards, 
 and furnishes a striking example of 
 the exquisite knowledge of the painter 
 in anatomy; for while the counte¬ 
 nance expresses ardour and hope, the 
 tense nerves, turgid veins, and swollen 
 muscles, convey the strongest indi¬ 
 cation of extreme, yet patient anguish. 
 The St. Geminiano appears listening 
 to one of the angels near the Virgin ; 
 while, at his feet, a young female, of 
 supernatural beauty, holds up, as if 
 to present to the infant Jesus, the 
 model of the church of Modena, of 
 which that saint is patron. St. Roque 
 
92 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 is depicted behind, resting on a rugged 
 bed of rock, as if abandoned and in¬ 
 fected by the plague. 
 
 But the grace of the figures, how¬ 
 ever striking, is not the highest merit 
 of the picture; for the disposition 
 of the lights and shades, and the 
 surprising harmony of the whole, 
 have awakened the admiration of the 
 most profound judges. Mengs, in 
 particular, dwells with rapture on the 
 blaze of glory diffused over the piece, 
 which, though consisting only of a 
 bright yellow, is so admirably scat¬ 
 tered, and so skilfully contrasted with 
 the shadows, as to produce the full 
 effect of the sun-beams, without dimi¬ 
 nishing the spirit of the figures, or the 
 lustre of the tints. From this glow 
 of radiance, the Virgin and Child ap- 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 93 
 
 pear to emerge, as from an obscure 
 ground; and to give their figures the 
 full effect, the light is partially and 
 fancifully distributed on those below. 
 
 Mengs considered the St. Sebastian 
 as one of Correggio’s best productions 
 before he was employed at Parma. 
 In this instance, however, he does 
 not seem to have manifested his usual 
 discernment; for the whole character 
 of the piece, and in particular the 
 management of the clear obscure, 
 seem to assign it to a more advanced 
 period, when the painter had attained 
 his last and best style. This opinion 
 is corroborated by historical evidence; 
 for, according to the Chronicle of Lan- 
 cillotto, as quoted by Pungileoni, 
 the church of the community of St. 
 Sebastian was not rendered fit for 
 
94 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 divine service till 1524; and it is 
 not likely that the picture would have 
 been ordered and painted, seven years 
 before the church, for which it was 
 designed, was ready for its reception. 
 Here we find it soon after the death 
 of Correggio ; for it was one of the 
 pictures copied by Girolamo Carpi, 
 before the middle of the sixteenth 
 century.* 
 
 The St. Sebastian was taken from 
 the church by Alphonso, the fourth, 
 Duke of Modena, who, as a compen¬ 
 sation, gave the community a copy, 
 and defrayed the expense of painting 
 their choir by Colonna and Metelli. 
 It passed, with the rest of the Mode¬ 
 nese collection, to the Gallery of 
 Dresden, where it is still preserved. 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. i. p. 154..—Vasari, t. v. p. 313. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 95 
 
 Its dimensions are 9 French feet 7 
 inches, by 8 feet 6 ~ inches. 
 
 The high credit which Correggio 
 had derived from his various perform¬ 
 ances, procured him new commis¬ 
 sions before he had finished the works 
 in which he was engaged. Scarcely, 
 therefore, had he commenced his 
 operations in the church of St. John, 
 when he was solicited to paint the 
 cupola, and other parts of the cathe¬ 
 dral. The contract, which he signed on 
 the 3rd of November, 1522, is preserv¬ 
 ed in the archives, and was lately pub¬ 
 lished by his biographer, Pungileoni, 1 
 from a copy taken and authenticated by 
 a notary public, in the year 1803. 
 
 In the estimate, or plan, which he 
 drew up at the desire of the chapter. 
 
96 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 and which is still preserved in his 
 own hand-writing, he required twelve 
 hundred gold ducats, including one 
 hundred for leaf-gold; the scaffold¬ 
 ing, lime, and other requisites to be 
 provided by the chapter; but in the 
 contract itself this sum was reduced 
 to one thousand, exclusive of the one 
 hundred for leaf-gold. For this he 
 engaged to paint the choir and 
 cupola, with its arches and pillars, as 
 far as the altar, exclusive of the 
 lateral chapels, in imitation of living 
 subjects, bronze, or marble, according 
 to the plan prescribed, and in con¬ 
 formity to the nature of the place, 
 comprising, in the whole, a surface 
 of 154 square pertiche or perches.* 
 
 * The Italian pertica is equal to 17 J feet English 
 in length. 
 
CHAP. ir. 
 
 97 
 
 The masters of the fabric were, on 
 their part, to furnish one hundred 
 ducats, in leaf-gold, for ornamenting 
 the said painting, and to provide 
 the scaffolding and lime, as well as 
 to defray the expense of preparing 
 the wall. K 
 
 The difficulties with which Cor¬ 
 reggio had to contend in the decora¬ 
 tion of the cupola of the cathedral, 
 were still greater than those in the 
 church of St. John, and he has van¬ 
 quished them with superior skill and 
 felicity. This dome, which is nearly 
 thirty-nine feet in diameter, is octa¬ 
 gonal, the compartments diminishing 
 as it rises; and it is not surmounted 
 with a lantern, but towards the lower 
 part enlightened by windows, ap¬ 
 proaching to an oval form. On this 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 surface he has delineated numerous 
 groupes of figures, with extraordinary 
 boldness and effect; though, for the 
 sake of variety, he has partially 
 adopted a smaller scale than in the 
 cupola of St. John. The subject is 
 the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. 
 She is represented with an air, in the 
 highest degree indicative of devotion 
 and beatitude, as rising to meet 
 Christ in the clouds, surrounded by 
 the heavenly choir of saints and 
 angels; while beneath, the apostles 
 behold her reception into glory with 
 the most dignified expression of 
 reverence and astonishment. Over 
 the whole is an effusion of light, 
 which produces an impression truly 
 celestial. 
 
 The figures, which are depicted in 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 99 
 
 the upper part of the dome, are fore¬ 
 shortened with consummate skill. 
 Mengs, who saw them near, and 
 judged of them as an artist, appears 
 astonished at their boldness, which 
 he calls “ sconcia terribile,” particu¬ 
 larly that of Christ, which occupies 
 the centre. But the effect, when 
 seen from below, proves that the 
 painter had deeply studied this deli¬ 
 cate branch of art; for nothing can 
 exceed the bold and exquisite manage¬ 
 ment of the light and shade, and the 
 beautiful proportion in which the 
 figures appear to the eye, except the 
 life and spirit with which they are 
 animated, and the general harmony 
 of the whole. 
 
 In decorating the lower part of the 
 cupola, Correggio has displayed un- 
 h 2 
 
100 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 diminished resources. He has figured 
 a species of socle, or cornice, which 
 runs round the whole cupola, yet at 
 such a distance as to afford a space 
 between the windows for the Apostles, 
 who appear, some single, some in 
 pairs, surrounded with angels, and 
 delineated in the same grand style 
 as those in the cupola of St. John. 
 Yet, although placed on the very 
 lines of the angles, formed in the 
 dome, they are so artfully disposed 
 and foreshortened, as to appear 
 painted vertically on the cornice. 
 To unite these with the principal 
 figures, he has distributed above, 
 and on the socle, groupes of angels, 
 some with torches, others bearing 
 vases and censers, and of an inter¬ 
 mediate size, between the gigantic 
 figures of the Apostles, and the light 
 
CHAP. II. 101 
 
 and airy forms of the celestial choir 
 above. 
 
 But a striking proof of his taste 
 and skill is manifested in the four 
 lunettes, between the arches support¬ 
 ing the cupola. Here he has feigned 
 the architecture to form four capa¬ 
 cious niches or shells, in which he has 
 introduced the patrons of the city, 
 St. John the Baptist, St. Hilary, St. 
 Thomas, and St. Bernard degli Uberti, 
 in magnitude equal to the Apostles, 
 resting on clouds, and attended by 
 angels. Depicting the light, as trans¬ 
 mitted from the groupes above, he 
 has so naturally thrown it upon these 
 figures and their angelic suite, that 
 they appear as if detached from the 
 wall, and animated with more than 
 human spirit and grace. 
 
102 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 He has added various decorations, 
 consisting of festoons of fruits and 
 flowers, painted with no less truth 
 than the figures, which produce the 
 happiest effect, and give harmony and 
 variety to the whole composition. 
 
 This performance is described by 
 Mengs, as the most beautiful cupola 
 ever painted, and by Ratti as a 
 prodigy of art; and we shall hereafter 
 find, that it called forth the warmest 
 testimony of approbation from the 
 Carracci, the founders of the Bolognese 
 school. Mengs justly observes, that 
 one of its peculiar excellencies con¬ 
 sists in the number of figures, the 
 grouping and disposition of which re¬ 
 quired such consummate science, 
 fancy, and skill. So admirably indeed 
 has Correggio adapted his performance 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 103 
 
 to the place, that the architecture ap¬ 
 pears rather to have been planned 
 for the painting, than the painting 
 designed for the architecture. 
 
 In comparing this cupola with that 
 of St. John, we are struck with the 
 singular contrast which they present. 
 In the latter, the figures, all bold and 
 gigantic, evince the highest degree of 
 sublimity and majesty ; while in the 
 former, their variety, their number, 
 and their disposition display the rich¬ 
 est fancy, the finest taste, and the 
 utmost fertility of invention, com¬ 
 bined with the most perfect art. 
 In fact, to the grandeur of his first 
 conception, Correggio has here united 
 an equal degree of beauty, elegance, 
 and grace; and were it not for histo¬ 
 rical evidence, and the characteristic 
 
104 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 traces of his pencil, we should be led 
 to consider these two wonderful per¬ 
 formances as the works of two dif¬ 
 ferent masters. 
 
 In order to overcome the difficulties 
 which the peculiar shape and angles 
 of the dome presented, many of the 
 figures are supposed to have been 
 painted from models in chalk, said 
 to be formed by his friend Be^ 
 garelli, whose skill as a statuary 
 received the praise even of Michael 
 Angelo. It is also a curious fact, that a 
 model of this kind was found towards 
 the close of the last century, on the 
 soffit of the cupola, by Giuliano Tra- 
 ballese, a Florentine painter, and di¬ 
 rector of the Royal Academy at Milan.* 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 105 
 
 At all events, the sedulous attention 
 of the painter in the design and com¬ 
 position of this his greatest work, is 
 proved by the numerous sketches and 
 cartoons of various portions, which 
 are still extant in Italy. L 
 
 He seems to have commenced this 
 cupola as late as 1525, or 1526 ; for 
 on the 29th of November 1526, he 
 received the sum of seventy-six 
 gold ducats, as the last payment of 
 the first instalment of two hundred 
 and seventy-five ducats ; and in 1530 
 an entry occurs in the private archives 
 of the chapter, recording the payment 
 of one hundred and seventy ducats, 
 as the last part of the second instal¬ 
 ment, promised for this performance. M 
 No document, however, has been 
 found to prove the receipt of any 
 
106 CORREGGIO. 
 
 other payment, and the work appears 
 to have been prosecuted only at in¬ 
 tervals ; as we observe that, during the 
 colder season, he removed to his 
 native city, and was frequently ab¬ 
 sent, in consequence of law-suits with 
 the family of his wife. His work was 
 also obstructed by his other engage¬ 
 ments, and likewise by the feuds and 
 warfare, which at this period agitated 
 Parma, and the neighbouring parts of 
 Lombardy. It has even been sup¬ 
 posed, and not without foundation, 
 that some dispute arose between him 
 and the canons of the cathedral, who 
 are said to have disgusted him by their 
 tasteless interference. An anecdote 
 has been related, that while he was 
 employed in the work, they were so 
 dissatisfied with the smallness of 
 many of the figures, N that they ap- 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 107 
 
 pealed to Titian, who visited Parma 
 in the suite of the Emperor Charles 
 the Fifth, for his opinion, whether they 
 should cancel the whole, or suffer the 
 painter to proceed; and that they 
 were diverted from their purpose by 
 the reply of Titian, that it was the 
 finest composition he had ever seen. 
 But whatever may be the truth or 
 falsehood of this anecdote, if we may 
 rely on an expression of Bernardino 
 Gatti, one of his scholars, he had 
 conceived some deep chagrin from the 
 conduct of his employers; for Gatti 
 being engaged to paint the chapel of 
 the Steccata, made many objections, 
 and required many securities, assign¬ 
 ing as a reason, that he was unwilling 
 to remain at the discretion of so 
 many masters, and adding to his 
 friend, “ Remember what was said 
 
108 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 to Correggio respecting the cathe¬ 
 dral.”* 
 
 His latest biographer, Pungileoni, 
 has indeed proved, that so far from 
 having completed his original under¬ 
 taking, he left even a part of the 
 cupola itself unfinished; for he has 
 adduced documents, shewing that the 
 completion of the task was first as¬ 
 signed to Georgio Gandini, 0 one of his 
 scholars, and after his death, in 1538, 
 to Girolamo Bedoli, surnamed Maz- 
 zola. The contract with this painter 
 evidently implies that some dissatis¬ 
 faction had been conceived against 
 Correggio by his employers, on a point 
 which evinces their inability to esti¬ 
 mate the merits of his pencil; for a 
 
 * This letter of Gatti, containing this remark, is 
 quoted in the Servitor di Piazza. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 109 
 
 part of the engagement consisted in a 
 stipulation, that Bedoli should remove 
 the gilding laid on the cupola by 
 Correggio, which is said to have been 
 of inferior metal, and replace it with 
 pure leaf-gold, employing oil size Q as 
 the medium of adhesion. Another 
 memorandum, preserved in the books 
 of the chapter, contributes to throw 
 some light on the close of the transac¬ 
 tion ; for in the register stating the 
 expenses from 1549 to 1550, we find 
 an entry, that the heirs of Antonio, 
 the painter of Correggio, were in¬ 
 debted to the establishment in the 
 sum of one hundred and forty lire, 
 which he had received in advance 
 before he died, and left his work in¬ 
 complete.* 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. iii. p. 230. 
 
CORREGGIO. 
 
 Acute observers have also succeed¬ 
 ed in discriminating the boundary of 
 Correggio’s labours; for it appears 
 that he intended to delineate ten 
 figures of children round the socle, 
 but finished only six. The re¬ 
 maining four, which are under the arch 
 leading into the capella maggiore, 
 or choir, with the accompanying or¬ 
 naments, were added by Bedoli, and 
 their execution is so inferior, that it 
 serves only to manifest the unrivalled 
 superiority of the original designer.* 
 
 During the suspension of his works 
 at the cathedral, Correggio received 
 a commission, which indicates the 
 high reputation he then enjoyed in 
 Lombardy. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Frederic, the second Duke of Man¬ 
 tua, desirous of presenting the Em¬ 
 peror Charles the Fifth with two ex¬ 
 cellent pictures, selected Correggio to 
 paint them. R The subjects, according 
 to Vasari, were Leda and Venus ; but 
 according to Mengs and Ratti, with 
 more probability, Leda and Danae. 
 They were said to be so well executed, 
 that Julio Romano, who was at the 
 court of Mantua, declared he never 
 saw such excellent colouring. A cu¬ 
 rious anecdote is recorded of their 
 subsequent fate. Being sent by the 
 Emperor to Prague, they were after¬ 
 wards taken by the Swedes at the 
 sack of that city, and conveyed to 
 Stockholm, by order of Gustavus 
 Adolphus. On his death, being neg¬ 
 lected, they were discovered in the 
 reign of Christina, degraded to the 
 
112 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 purpose of window-shutters in a 
 stable, by Bourdon, a French painter, 
 whom she patronized. They were 
 repaired by her order, conveyed to 
 Rome, and after her decease, came 
 into the possession of Don Livio 
 Odescalchi, Duke of Bracciano,* by 
 whose heirs they were sold to the 
 Regent, Duke of Orleans; but by 
 the order of his son, who was shocked 
 at the nudity of the figures, the pic¬ 
 tures were cut in pieces. A similar 
 fate, according to Mengs, happened 
 to the Io, ascribed also to Correggio, 
 which was in the same collection, 
 and probably obtained in the same 
 manner from the heirs of the Duke 
 of Bracciano; for the Duke of Or- 
 
 * Don Livio Odescalchi was related to Cardinal 
 Azzolino, who was the legatee of Christina. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 113 
 
 leans himself cut out the head, and 
 burnt it. Coypel, a French painter, 
 afterwards collected the remnants of 
 the piece which were not destroyed, 
 and to which a new head was added 
 by another artist; and the picture 
 sold to the King of Prussia for a great 
 price, and placed in the Gallery of 
 Sans Souci. A Danae, supposed to be 
 painted by Correggio, was preserved in 
 the Orleans collection, as acquired 
 from the heirs of Christina. It was 
 purchased by Mr. Hope, and is now 
 said to be at Paris. 
 
 Before the close of 1532, Correggio 
 resided in his native city, and we find 
 him mentioned in a document in De¬ 
 cember that year, a few days before 
 the second visit of Charles the Fifth 
 to that place. Soon after the de- 
 
 i 
 
114 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 parture of the august monarch, he 
 was also engaged in a proceeding in¬ 
 dicative of the high estimation in 
 which he was held by his sovereigns ; 
 for he appears as a witness to the deed 
 by which Manfredo, prince of Cor¬ 
 reggio, constituted as his procurator 
 Paulo Brunorio, to receive from the 
 Emperor the investiture of his fiefs. 
 Whether he was presented on this 
 occasion to the Emperor is now un¬ 
 certain ; but the commission which 
 he had previously received from the 
 Duke of Mantua, and the favour of 
 his own sovereigns, would suggest 
 the inference, that he was not unno¬ 
 ticed by the head of the empire. At 
 all events, he still continued his resi¬ 
 dence at Correggio, where he was 
 probably employed in painting his 
 later works ; for the recurrence of his 
 
 
 
CHAP. IT. 
 
 115 
 
 name as a witness, in several public 
 documents, proves that he was there 
 in January 1533, and subsequently to 
 September the same year. In the 
 ensuing January we find another proof 
 of the favour of his sovereigns; for 
 on the marriage of Ippolito, son of 
 Gilberto, by Veronica Gambara, to 
 Chiara da Correggio, daughter of Gian 
 Francesco, he was selected as one of 
 the witnesses to the marriage deed, by 
 which the bride received a dowry of 
 twenty thousand gold crowns.* 
 
 The last document extant relative 
 to his labours, proves, that he was 
 not unoccupied in his profession; for, 
 in the beginning of 1534, he received 
 a commission from Alberto Panciroli, 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. i. p. 247. 
 i 2 
 
116 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 father of the celebrated Guido, to paint 
 an altar-piece. The price and subject 
 are not known, but be received in ad¬ 
 vance twenty-five golden crowns. 
 Before, however, he could enter on 
 the execution of his performance, he 
 was seized with a malignant fever,* 
 and died suddenly at Correggio, on 
 the 5th of March, 1534, in the 41st 
 year of his age. On the next day, 
 he was buried in the family sepulchre, 
 in the Franciscan convent of Minor 
 Friars, and the following is the brief 
 and simple record of a loss so fatal to 
 the arts : 
 
 “ Ai di 5 di Marzo mori Maestro Antonio Allegri, 
 depintore, e fu sepolto a 6 detto, in Francesco, sotto 
 il portico.”! 
 
 In the sexton’s book we also find 
 
 * Ratti, p. 125. 
 
 t Ibid. p. 126. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 117 
 
 an entry relative to the fees paid for 
 his funeral, and the services afterwards 
 performed for the repose of his soul. s 
 The fulfilment of the engagement with 
 Alberto Panciroli being thus pre¬ 
 vented by his death, his father, on 
 the 15th of the following June, re¬ 
 paid to Paulo Burani, the agent of 
 Alberto, the twenty-five crowns which 
 he had received in advance; and the 
 acquittance, which is still extant, 
 alludes to the fact of his sudden and 
 untimely decease.* 
 
 We have already stated, that An¬ 
 tonio Allegri espoused Girolama, of 
 the family of the Merlini. Some 
 authors, however, have involved even 
 this incident of his life in doubt, by 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 252. 
 
118 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 giving him two wives, Girolama and 
 Jacobina, the last from a palpable 
 mistake in the baptismal record of his 
 third daughter, in 1527, in which his 
 wife is called Jacobina. The falsity 
 of this inference is, however, fully 
 proved, by a document, which shews 
 his wife, Girolama, to have been 
 living on the 22nd of March, 1528; 
 for her father-in-law, Pellegrino, is 
 then said to have acted in her name, 
 and on her behalf.* 
 
 Pungileoni is of opinion, that she 
 died soon after this period; but his 
 supposition appears to rest on proofs 
 too vague for a positive conclusion. 
 These are, a passage in the will of Pel- 
 
 * Nomine et vice Hieronimse, uxoris ejus filii, &c. 
 Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 227, 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 119 
 
 legrino, executed in 1542, in which 
 she is mentioned as dead; and the 
 absence of any record relative to her 
 sepulture in the church of St. Fran¬ 
 cesco at Correggio, where she direct¬ 
 ed her body to be buried, in a testa¬ 
 mentary disposition, made before her 
 marriage. From such data, and from 
 the silence of every subsequent re¬ 
 cord respecting her, he infers that she 
 did not die while she resided with her 
 husband at Correggio, and therefore 
 that her life must have terminated 
 during his stay at Parma, while he 
 was engaged in painting the cupola 
 of the cathedral. 
 
 It would, however, be of little im¬ 
 portance to ascertain the period of 
 her death, had not that event been 
 adduced as one of the causes which 
 
120 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 prevented him from completing his 
 labours at Parma, by the affliction in 
 which he was involved, in conse¬ 
 quence of such a loss. But we 
 must leave this fact still in 
 doubt for want of evidence suffi¬ 
 ciently decisive, and can only con¬ 
 clude, with certainty, that she did not 
 survive her father-in-law, who died 
 in 1545. 
 
 By his wife, Girolama, Antonio had 
 a son named Pomponio, who sur¬ 
 vived him. She bore him also three 
 daughters, during the time he was 
 employed in painting the two cupolas 
 at Parma; for their births and baptisms 
 are recorded in the register of the con¬ 
 vent of St. John. T 
 
 Two of these daughters died 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 121 
 
 young; but the eldest, Francesca, 
 in 1546, espoused Pompeo Brunorio, 
 and received from her paternal 
 grandfather a legacy of no less than 
 two hundred and fifty gold du¬ 
 cats. 11 
 
 In this narrative we have hitherto 
 confined our remarks to those paint¬ 
 ings which, from authentic docu¬ 
 ments, are undoubtedly the pro¬ 
 ductions of Correggio. Of his other 
 works many still exist; and though 
 they cannot historically be traced to 
 his hand, yet their peculiar charac¬ 
 teristics have induced the ablest 
 judges to pronounce them his com¬ 
 positions. Of these, only four will 
 be noticed, which, from the superior 
 excellence of the clear obscure, ma¬ 
 nifest his pencil. 
 
122 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 The subject of the first is the Agony 
 of Christ in the garden. Our Saviour 
 is represented in the act of prayer, 
 with an angel in the air, pointing 
 with one hand to the cross and crown 
 of thorns, which are partly lost in 
 shade, and partly irradiated in the 
 foreground, and the other elevated, 
 as if indicating the will of his Father, 
 that he should be the propitiatory 
 sacrifice for the sins of the world. 
 Both these figures are boldly fore¬ 
 shortened, particularly that of the 
 angel, which appears to float in air. 
 The expression is of the highest and 
 most affecting character. The sorrow 
 depicted on the face of the angel, 
 though in profile, is unparalleled, and 
 strikingly contrasted with the dignified 
 resignation manifested in the counte¬ 
 nance of the Saviour. The execution 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 123 
 
 is excellent, but the management of 
 the clear obscure peculiar to Cor¬ 
 reggio. The light seems to descend 
 from Heaven, and is reflected from 
 the body of Christ on that of the 
 angel. In the distance appear three 
 of the disciples, and beyond are the 
 officers and soldiers with the crowd. 
 In this picture, as in the Notte, the 
 most refined skill is manifested in the 
 representation of the distances, and 
 the gradations of the lights ; and this 
 beauty is here more striking, because 
 so powerful an effect is produced on 
 a scale extremely limited. At the 
 first glance, only the figures of Christ 
 and the angel are seen, illuminated 
 with the glow of aethereal light; and 
 the rest of the picture appears enve¬ 
 loped in nocturnal shade. On a 
 closer examination, however, the 
 
124 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 other figures seem to emerge, and, 
 as the eye dwells on the painting, the 
 outline of the trees, the foliage, and 
 the minuter details of the fore-ground, 
 become gradually visible; thus exhi¬ 
 biting the true and almost inimitable 
 effect of nature. x On the whole, 
 this picture, for harmony, brilliancy, 
 and expression, is a matchless pro¬ 
 duction.* Its dimensions are 1 foot 
 4 inches and f, by 1 foot 3 inches 
 and 
 
 Tradition absurdly states, that this 
 gem was given by the painter to his 
 apothecary, in discharge of a paltry 
 debt of four crowns, and soon after¬ 
 wards sold to one of the Visconti 
 
 * A beautiful and faithful copy of this exquisite 
 picture has been made by John Jackson, Esq. R. A. 
 
CHAP. II, 
 
 125 
 
 family for five hundred. All that we 
 know of its history is, that it was pur¬ 
 chased for Philip the Fourth, of Spain, 
 by the governor of Milan, at the price 
 of seven hundred and fifty Spanish 
 doubloons, or 1,500/. sterling, and 
 transferred to the palace of Madrid. 
 It remained there till the invasion of 
 Spain by the French, and on their re¬ 
 treat, was purloined by Joseph Buo¬ 
 naparte, and concealed, with other 
 paintings, in the imperial of his car¬ 
 riage, in his flight from Madrid. It 
 was, however, taken by the troops of 
 our victorious army, and now graces 
 the collection of the Duke of Wel¬ 
 lington, 
 
 The second of these small but ex¬ 
 quisite pieces, is the Penitent Mag¬ 
 dalen, esteemed by many as the most 
 
126 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 fascinating of all his works. For 
 whom, or at what period it was 
 painted, is unknown, though the ex¬ 
 treme care with which it is finished, 
 proves that it was executed for some 
 person of consequence, and probably 
 towards the latter part of his life, 
 when he had carried the clear obscure 
 to the highest perfection.* From the 
 earliest accounts extant, it was origi¬ 
 nally in the possession of the Dukes 
 of Modena, and was considered as 
 such an inestimable treasure, that 
 whenever they quitted their capital, 
 they conveyed it with them in a spe¬ 
 cies of case, purposely formed in their 
 carriage. It was no less highly prized 
 by Augustus the Third, King of Po- 
 
 * Pungileoni conjectures that this Magdalen vras 
 painted by Correggio for the princes of Correggio, in 
 order to be presented to the Emperor. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 127 
 
 land and Elector of Saxony, who 
 purchased it at the price of twenty- 
 seven thousand Roman crowns, mount¬ 
 ed it in a silver frame, adorned it with 
 precious stones, and always kept it 
 locked up in a case in his private 
 apartment. After his death, being- 
 transferred to the Picture Gallery of 
 Dresden, it was stolen a few years 
 ago, by an unknown hand, but 
 recovered by the offer of a great 
 reward 
 
 The piece is painted on copper, 
 and in dimensions does not exceed 20 
 inches by 15. The Magdalen is 
 represented in a grotto, reposing 
 on the ground, leaning on one arm, 
 and perusing the Holy Scriptures, 
 which rest on the other. The whole 
 is thrown into shade, except the book. 
 
128 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 the upper parts of the figure, and 
 the feet, which are naked. The 
 arrangement of the light is peculiar, 
 yet interesting, and admirably calcu¬ 
 lated to attract the attention to the 
 distinctive beauties of the female form; 
 for it falls in an oblique direction, and 
 is reflected from the sacred volume on 
 the arms, bosom, and countenance. 
 Over the shoulders is thrown a dark 
 blue drapery, which pleasingly con¬ 
 trasts with the carmine tints of the flesh. 
 A slight gleam of light is again caught 
 on the feet, which are naked and fore¬ 
 shortened, and within the dark part 
 of the picture; and it is gradually lost 
 in the back ground, which exhibits a 
 deep yet warm tint, subordinate to 
 that of the blue drapery. The 
 countenance is lovely, and the ex¬ 
 pression placid and intelligent. The 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 129 
 
 head is characterized by extreme sim¬ 
 plicity, and the beauty of the hair is a 
 subject of general admiration, not 
 only from the softness of the colouring, 
 but from its lustre and delicacy, ap¬ 
 pearing, to use the expression of 
 Mengs, “as if each hair was painted 
 singly.” 
 
 Another subject seems to have em¬ 
 ployed the pencil of Correggio, and 
 its execution is praised unequivocally 
 by the ablest judges. It is called the 
 Education of Cupid, and represents 
 Mercury teaching the infant deity to 
 read, in the presence of Venus. The 
 goddess of beauty is depicted with 
 ineffable grace. The Cupid exhibits 
 all the innocence of his age; his hair 
 is exquisitely finished, and his wings, 
 which are placed behind the shoul- 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 ders, so beautifully touched and so 
 naturally adjusted, as perfectly to 
 reconcile the eye to this fiction of 
 painting. The Mercury displays all 
 the flower of youth. A duplicate of 
 this piece exists. That which Mengs 
 considers as the original, was pur¬ 
 chased by the Duke of Alva, from the 
 collection of Charles the First, King 
 of England, and was preserved in 
 1793 in the palace belonging to that 
 family at Madrid.* The other, which 
 is also admitted to be by the pencil of 
 Correggio, first belonged to the Odes- 
 calchi family, was afterwards trans¬ 
 ferred to the Gallery of the Duke of 
 Orleans, and, at present, we believe, 
 is to be found in the collection at 
 Sans Souci. 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ill. p. 145. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 131 
 
 Nor can we finally omit to notice 
 the enchanting picture of Venus 
 rising from the Sea, supported on 
 the shoulders of two Tritons. A 
 lover of the arts, who appears to 
 have examined it with a discerning 
 eye, dwells with rapture on the ex¬ 
 quisite form of the goddess, the beauty 
 and seducing air of her countenance, 
 and the truth and brilliancy of the 
 tints. He speaks with equal delight 
 of the expression of astonishment and 
 admiration manifested by the two 
 Tritons.* It was in 1777 or 1778 in 
 the possession of M. Bayer, an emi¬ 
 nent antiquary and architect at Rome. 
 
 Other pieces are mentioned in vari¬ 
 ous collections, with various claims 
 
 * Voyage d’ un Amateur des Arts, t. iv, p. 44. 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 CORE EG GIO. 
 
 to authenticity. Of some of these, 
 different duplicates or copies exists 
 others have been much damaged, or 
 altered, and even partly effaced. On 
 the merits or originality of these, we 
 shall not presume to decide, but refer 
 the curious reader to the catalogues . 
 given by Mengs, Ratti, Tiraboschi, 
 and Pungileoni, the object of this 
 sketch being chiefly to elucidate the 
 few events of Correggio’s life, to re¬ 
 concile discordant opinions, and to re¬ 
 cord the history of those works which 
 indisputably emanated from his hand.* 
 
 * Various authors have endeavoured to compile 
 specific catalogues of the works of Correggio, but 
 have failed in the attempt; and Pungileoni, his latest 
 biographer, after enumerating the pieces ascribed to 
 his pencil in different countries, in a list which fills 
 fifty pages, concludes with acknowledging that it is 
 impossible to ascertain the authenticity of many of 
 these pictures.—Pungileoni, t. iii. p. 129 to 179, 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 Note A . to have attracted notice at 
 
 Parma. 
 
 i 
 
 A few remarks are here necessary, to shew 
 the situation of Parma during the time that 
 Correggio was employed in the works which 
 illustrate that city. 
 
 Like many other places of Italy, Parma, 
 with its appendage, Placentia, had been the 
 subject of perpetual struggles and feuds ; some¬ 
 times independent, and sometimes ruled by the 
 neighbouring princes, among whom we may 
 enumerate those of Correggio. It subsequently 
 fell under the dominion of the dukes of 
 Milan, of the family of Sforza, in whose 
 possession it remained till the irruption of 
 the French into Italy. During the calamities 
 to which the House of Sforza were exposed, 
 it was ceded, in 1513, to Pope Julius the 
 Second. But, on the invasion of Italy by 
 
184 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 Francis the First, it was transferred to him, in 
 1515, by Pope Leo the Tenth. In 1521, 
 after the disasters of the French arms, it re¬ 
 turned to the dominion of the Holy See, and, 
 notwithstanding the commotions which then 
 desolated Italy, it continued a domain of the 
 church till 1534, when it was erected into a 
 duchy by Pope Paul the Third, and conferred 
 on his natural son, Peter Louis, the founder of 
 the Farnese dynasty. 
 
 Note B . the nave, and other parts of the. 
 
 fabric. 
 
 Much confusion prevails relative to the price 
 which Correggio received from the monks of 
 St. John, for decorating the cupola and 
 other parts of the church. This has arisen 
 from the diversity of the payments, which were 
 made at different times and by different persons, 
 and consequently entered in different books. 
 Father Affo, who examined the registers of 
 the monastery, stated the whole of the pay¬ 
 ments to Correggio, for the cupola, between 1521 
 and 1524, to have amounted to 272 gold 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. IX. 135 
 
 ducats ; and at the same time he published the 
 final receipt of Correggio for 27 ducats, dated 
 23 Jan. 1524. Vita del Parmegianino, p. 22, 
 note. The author of a Guide to Parma, under 
 the whimsical title of Servitor di Piazza, 
 quotes the whole amount of these payments, 
 from the Ledger No. 4, comprising the period 
 between 1519 and 1528, at 272 gold ducats, 
 for the different decorations in every part of 
 the church. Pungileoni, with his usual 
 accuracy, cites three several statements, from 
 as many books, which, though varying in the 
 items, make the same total of 272 gold ducats. 
 But father Zapata, as quoted by Tiraboschi, 
 after examining the registers, as well as a 
 cash-book now lost, comprising the period 
 between 1524 and 1536, distinctly states the 
 various payments made to Correggio for all his 
 labours in the said church at 472 gold ducats. 
 Tiraboschi, t. vi, p. 259, 260. To this ac¬ 
 count, as derived from a book, later in regard to 
 date, and consequently more accurate and com¬ 
 prehensive in its details, we are inclined to give 
 our full assent, more particularly, as it was 
 lost before the researches of Affo and Pungi¬ 
 leoni. 
 
136 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. XI. 
 
 Note C . the Virgin Mary swooning at 
 
 his feet. 
 
 It has been generally supposed that Annibal 
 Carracci copied this tribune ; but Pungileoni 
 has proved that the copy was made by Aretusi. 
 
 Note D . the St. Jerome. 
 
 Bygge, in his Travels in the French Repub¬ 
 lic, asserts that, for this picture, Augustus the 
 Third, King of Poland, and Elector of Saxony, 
 offered 20,000 zecchines. 
 
 Note E . Jt was in 1640 removed surrep¬ 
 
 titiously. 
 
 Extract from a document belonging to the 
 church of St. Prospero. 
 
 “ Kal. Maj, a partu Virginis, 1640. 
 
 Tabula Jesu Christi natalia representans, 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. IX. 
 
 137 
 
 opus clarissimi pictoris Antonii h Corriggio, 
 ab ecclesia S. Prosperi noctu ablata * * * 
 omnibus civibus maximum dolorem attulit. 
 Pungileoni, t. ii. 212. 
 
 Note F . the commission was given in 
 
 1523. 
 
 Pungileoni mentions a sketch or first design 
 of this picture on oiled paper, which he considers 
 as by the hand of Correggio, dated January, 
 1524 : it was in the possession of Signor Fran¬ 
 cesco Maria Trezzi, of Parma, who purchased 
 it in 1792. Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 190. 
 
 Note G . gratified with occasional 
 
 presents. 
 
 If we compare the prices paid for the St. Je¬ 
 rome and the Notte, even with that of his earliest 
 work, which was 100 ducats, they seem dispro¬ 
 portionately small, particularly when we consider 
 
138 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 that he was now in the height of his reputation, 
 and liberally paid for the decoration of the 
 churches at Parma. We must, therefore, sup¬ 
 pose that he was remunerated in some other 
 shape, particularly in provisions of various 
 kinds ; and that he was besides provided with 
 the materials for executing the painting. 
 This custom appears to have been common, 
 as we find from many instances in the lives of 
 other painters. 
 
 Note H .j for its sale to the King of Por¬ 
 
 tugal at a considerable price. 
 
 Bygge, mentions that this offer was made in 
 1749, and that the price tendered was 40,000 
 zecchines. 
 
 Note I . published bp his biographer , 
 
 Pungileoni. 
 
 Copy of the agreement made with the Fabric 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 189 
 
 Masters of the cathedral for painting the cupola 
 and other parts of the church :— 
 
 “ Gratis undequaque inserviens Excellentis- 
 simo Serenissimo Domino Comiti Domino 
 Bertioli Prsesidi meritissimo supremi consilii 
 justitiae et patriae Parmae et Vast all a:. 
 
 “ Reperitu'r in filfia llogitorum originalium 
 contractuum receptorum ad quondam Dominum 
 Stephanum Dodi, alias Notarium publicum 
 Parmensem, existentem in hocce archivio pub¬ 
 lico Parmae, inter caetera, adesse instrumentum 
 tenoris sequentis, videlicet: 
 
 “ Milesimo quingentesimo vigesimo secundo, 
 Indictione decima, die tertia mensis Novembris. 
 
 Reverendi Dominus Pasculius de Baliardis, 
 et Galeaz de Garimbertis o Ambo Canonici Ec¬ 
 clesiae Parmensis, Dominus Magnificus, Eques 
 Auratus Dominus, Scipio dalla Rosa, Parmen¬ 
 sis; omnes Fabricantes Ecclesiae praedictae Par¬ 
 mensis et quilibet ipsorum tenoris praesentis 
 publici instrument et omni meliore modo, sic 
 jure et causa quibus magis et melius potuerunt 
 et possunt dicto nomine et nomine vice fabricae 
 praedictae Parmensis ecclesiae sese convenerunt 
 et conventionem fecerunt et faciunt cum ma- 
 gistro Antonio de Corriggio pictore, praesente, 
 
140 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 conducente, stipulante, et recipiente pro se suis- 
 que haaredibus et successoribus, laborarium pic- 
 turse ecclesiae praedictae, hoc modo, et cum pactis, 
 modis, et conditionibus infrascriptis, videlicet: 
 
 “ Primo che detto Maestro Antonio sia obbli¬ 
 gato, quanto tiene il choro, la cupola co’ suoi 
 archi et pilli, senza le capelle laterali, et directo 
 andando al Sacramento, fassa, crosera, et nicchie 
 con le sponde, et cio che di muro si vede su la 
 capella infino al pavimento, et trovatolo circa 
 a 150 pertiche quadre, da ornare de pitture con 
 quelle istorie vi saranno date, che imitano il 
 vivo, o il bronzo, o il lnarmo, secondo richiede 
 a li suoi lochi et il dovere della fabrica, et a 
 ragione e vagghezza de ipsa pictura a sue spese. 
 
 “ Item che predicti Domini Fabricanti siano 
 obbligati et cosi promettono a dicto maestro An¬ 
 tonio, ducati cento in foglio per ornar dicte 
 picture et opera, et per la mercede sua de dicta 
 pictura, ducati mille de oro, et de dargli ponti 
 facti et la calcina da insmaltare, et le mure in- 
 falbato a la spese de dicta fabrica. Ex pras- 
 dicta omnia effectura extendantur in forma cum 
 juramento et clausulis consuetis, de stillo mei 
 notarii infrascripti, et hac omnia in prsesentia 
 reverendorum 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 141 
 
 “ Domini Jacobi de Colla, 
 
 “ Domini Floriani Zampironi, 
 
 “ Domini Latantii de JLalluta, 
 
 “ Domini Eustachii de Ruore, 
 
 “ Domini Jois Marci de Carissimis, 
 
 “ Domini Latini de Baliardis, 
 
 “ Domini Stephani Desa, 
 
 “ Domini Jois Francisci de la Rosa, 
 
 “ Domini Antonii de Rianis, 
 
 “ Domini Camilli de Rianis, 
 
 “ Domini Palencii de Garimbertis, 
 
 “ Domini Ugolini de Lusebris. 
 
 “ Omnium canonicorum dictae ecclesiai Par- 
 mensis, praedictis omnibus consentientium, 8ic. 
 
 “ Peritia qua adest inserta in hoc conven- 
 tionum instrumento, est tenoris sequentis, sci¬ 
 licet . . . 
 
 ‘ e Visto diligente il lavoro che per ora val 
 con vostre signorie, mi pare, piacendo a quello 
 di patuire, che a pigliando quanto tiene il coro, 
 la cupola con suoi archi e pilli, senza le capelle 
 laterali et dintro andando al Sacramento, fassa 
 crosera e nicchie, con le sponde et cio che di 
 muro si vede, in la capella infino al pavimento, 
 et trovatolo circa a 150 pertiche quadre da 
 ornar di pittura, con quelle istorie mi sara dicta 
 
che imitano o il vivo o il bronzo o il marmo, 
 secondo richiede ai suoi lochi e il dovere della 
 fabbrica, et le ragioni e vaghezza da essa pictura, 
 e cio a mie spese de 100 ducati de oro in foglio 
 et de colori et de calcina smaltade, che sara 
 quello dove io pingero sopra, non si potra con 
 l’onore del loco e nostro fare per manco de 
 ducati 1200 de oro, et con il commodo de queste 
 cose 
 
 “ 1. Prima dei ponti, 
 
 2. De la inserbadura, 
 
 3. De la calcina da smaltare, oltre a lo in- 
 serbare. 
 
 “ 4. De un camerone o capella chiusa per 
 far li disegni. 
 
 “ Actum Parmae in ecclesia Parmensi prae- 
 sentibus ibidem venerabili Domino Patro de 
 Tebaldis, Domino Sebastiano de Belletis pres- 
 biteris Parmensibus et Laurentio de Palma 
 clerico Parmensi testibus omnibus notis. 
 
 Subscripts—Rogatus per me Stephanum 
 Dodum Notarium. Ita ut supra reperiri at¬ 
 testor ego notarius archivista infrascriptus 
 ideoque hie pro fide me subscripsi, solitoque ar- 
 chivii prsedicti sigillo muniri hac die 12 Plorilis 
 anni XI Reipublicse Gallic® (2 Maj. 1803). 
 
notes to chap. II* 
 
 143 
 
 F. C. Carolus Callegari, Arch. Pungileoni, 
 t. ii, p. 182. 
 
 Note K . the expense o f repairing the 
 
 wall. 
 
 This appears to have been done by an agree¬ 
 ment with Toria dell’ Erba, mason, who, for the 
 sum of 200 imperial lire, engaged to remove 
 the former plastering of the cupola, and to lay 
 the ground of new stucco. 
 
 Note L . still extant in Italy. 
 
 Mr. Ford, of Gloucester Place, possesses a 
 sketch which he purchased at Naples, and 
 which is said to be an original design by this 
 inimitable master, for the dome of the cathedral; 
 it bears an inscription at the back AN. A L. 
 pinxit in Modena, 1522, which is the very 
 year that the contract was signed with the 
 Masters of the Fabric, and in which he con- 
 
144 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 eluded the agreement at Reggio for the Notte. 
 It is painted on thin cotton canvas, and is of 
 an octangular form, to correspond with the 
 shape of the dome. The groupes of figures and 
 the distribution of the light appear, in general, 
 similar to the painting of the dome; but in 
 particular parts are important variations, which 
 strongly indicate this sketch to be an original 
 and preparatory design: for instance, the repre¬ 
 sentation of the Almighty is introduced in the 
 sketch, but not in the painting; and the 
 Christ, who is represented as an adult on the 
 dome, appears in the sketch as an infant on the 
 bosom of his mother. 
 
 The sketch is stated to have been originally 
 purchased at Modena, where it was executed, 
 and to have remained, in the possession of the 
 same family at Naples, upwards of seventy 
 years. 
 
 From Mr. Ford’s printed description of 
 this curious production. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 145 
 
 Note M . second instalment promised for 
 
 this performance. 
 
 In Ratti, p. 72, the precise terms of the entry 
 are thus given— <£ Pro resto secundi termini 
 sibi promissi, pro pictura per eum facienda in 
 ecclesia majori.” 
 
 Note N . dissatisfied with the smallness of 
 
 the figures. 
 
 Some have related, that one of the canons, 
 in reference to the smallness of some of the 
 figures, complained that Correggio had painted 
 a fricassee of frogs (guazzetto di rane) ; others, 
 that this contemptuous remark was made by 
 one of the workmen. Lanzi. 
 
J 46 
 
 NOTES TO CHAT. II. 
 
 Note O . the task was Jirst assigned to 
 
 Georgio Gandini. 
 
 The contract with Gandini is extant, and 
 given by the indefatigable biographer of Cor¬ 
 reggio. It serves more fully to shew the por¬ 
 tion of the engagement which he failed to com¬ 
 plete ; for Gandini was bound to ornament the 
 capella maggiore or choir, the tribune or altar- 
 end, and the faces of the two lateral chapels, toge¬ 
 ther with the pillars. The subjects given, were an 
 ornamented cross in mosaic, on a field of gold, 
 on the vault of the choir. On the four sides of 
 this cross, the figures of the saints, whose bodies 
 are deposited in the cathedral, and other 
 churches of the city. In the clouds, a field of 
 pure azure. The fa 9 ades of the two lateral cha¬ 
 pels to be also ornamented with painting. On 
 the right, the mission of the Holy Ghost with 
 the Virgin Mary, the Apostles, and other dis¬ 
 ciples, not less than 72 in number. On the 
 left, the death and sepulture of the Virgin, 
 with the Apostles, and other figures necessary 
 for the completion of the picture. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. IX. 
 
 147 
 
 On the vault of the tribune, a niche where 
 the host is deposited, a Christ in glory, in the 
 act of ascending, accompanied with angels; on 
 the one hand the Virgin, St. John the Baptist, 
 St. Peter, and St. Paul; and on the other, the 
 people of Parma. 
 
 From the base of the painting to the pave¬ 
 ment, imitations of marble and bronze, and the 
 pillars to be ornamented in the same manner. 
 
 The price stipulated for this great work, 
 was 350 scudi d’oro al sole. 
 
 Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 30. 
 
 Note P . Girolamo Bedoli, surnamed 
 
 Mazzola. 
 
 Extract from the Agreement between the 
 Fabric Masters of the cathedral of Parma, and 
 Girolamo Mazzola: as interpreted by Doctor 
 Callegari: 
 
 “ Item sia tenuto esso M. Jeronimo repo- 
 nere in la capella quel oro gli e gia posto per 
 quondam M. Antonio da Correzzo cum li 
 stagnoli, in questo modo, cioe levato via prima 
 l 2 
 
 
148 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 quel oro li era gia su li stagnoli reponere tutto 
 quello sara necessario a mordente grasso, dando 
 li signori fabricanti e facendo loro fare li ponti 
 necessarii, et queste cose per quel pretio e mer- 
 cede sara judicato per il reverendo marchese 
 Jo. Francesco de la Rosa et magnifico mar¬ 
 chese Bartolommeo del Prato, et secondo loro 
 arbitrio.”—Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 230. 
 
 Note Q . employing oil size as the medium 
 
 of adhesion, &c. 
 
 It appears to have been frequently the cus¬ 
 tom with painters, even in later times, to 
 employ inferior metal in ornamental gilding ; 
 for I am informed by the rev. Mr. Porter, a 
 native of Italy, resident at Salisbury, that in 
 the contract made by the late Pope Pius the 
 6th for regilding the vaults of St. Peter’s, one 
 of the conditions was a clause, that it should 
 not be done “ a stagnuoli, ma in ori di zec- 
 chino.” The term stagnuoli describes the pre¬ 
 paration called in England, Dutch metal. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 149 
 
 Note R . selected Correggio to paint 
 
 them. 
 
 The exact period when these pictures were 
 painted is not known; Pungileoni assigns 
 to them the date of 1532, and grounds his opi¬ 
 nion on two entries in the books of private 
 expenses, preserved in the archives of the duke 
 of Mantua. These record a sum of £ 131. 5. 4. 
 as due in 1537 to “ Mastro Antonio da Corezo 
 pictor, per adequatio diun suo conto and as 
 these entries are contained in the same page, 
 with a similar memorandum respecting Sebas- 
 tiano and others, employed in the decoration of 
 the triumphal arches erected in 1530, he 
 assigns the original debt to Correggio to nearly 
 the same period.—Pungileoni, t. ii, p. 246. 
 
 On this point, however, it is proper to 
 observe, that Antonio Bernieri, one of the 
 scholars of Correggio, bore also the appellation 
 of Antonio da Correggio, and was at this period 
 in high reputation, and residing at Mantua; 
 and therefore this entry may have applied to 
 him. At all events, it is too vague to be 
 adduced in evidence. 
 
150 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. TI. 
 
 Note S . a Danae said to be painted by 
 
 Correggio. 
 
 By some persons it is supposed that the 
 pieces of the Danae were again collected, and 
 replaced in the same manner as those of the Io; 
 and indeed we find a painting on that subject, 
 ascribed to Correggio, classed among the pictures 
 in the catalogue of the Orleans collection. It 
 was purchased by Mr. Hope, sold after his 
 death, and is now said to be at Paris; but 
 much difference of opinion prevails among the 
 connoisseurs, whether it be an original or a copy. 
 
 Note T ....for the repose of his soul. 
 
 
NOTES TO CHAT. II. 
 
 151 
 
 Note U . register of the convent of St. 
 
 Giovanni. 
 
 1524. Francesca Letitia filia Antonii de 
 Allegris de Corriggia et Hieronyman uxoris 
 nascitur 6, baptizatur 26 Septemb. 
 
 1526. Catharina Lucretia filia Magistri 
 Antonii de Allegris de Correggio et Hieronymae 
 uxoris, nascitur 24 baptizatur 26 Septemb. 
 
 1527. Anna Geria filia Antonii de Allegris 
 et Jacobinan uxoris, nascitur 3 baptizatur 5 
 Octob.—Tiraboschi, t. vi, p. 242. 
 
 Note X . a legacy of no less than 250 
 
 gold ducats. 
 
 Item jure legati et jure institution^, reliquit 
 et legavit dictus testator, honest* juveni Fran¬ 
 ciscan ejus nepoti, et filian quondam magistri 
 Antonii Pictoris, filii legitimi et naturalis pran- 
 dicti testatoris et olim Dominan Hieronymas de 
 Merlinis, jugalium, scutos ducentum quinqua- 
 
152 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 ginta auri, &c.—Ratti. Abstract of the will 
 of Pellegrino, dated 19 November, 1538. p. 
 
 132. 
 
 Note Y . true and almost inimitable effect 
 
 off nature. 
 
 We owe some of these observations to Mengs, 
 who studied the picture, when at the palace of 
 Madrid, with an attentive and critical eye. 
 
 Note Z . carried the clear obscure to the 
 
 highest perfection. 
 
 Pungileoni conjectures that this Magdalen 
 was painted by Correggio for the princes of 
 Correggio, in order to be presented to the em¬ 
 peror. 
 
 Note AA. 
 
 On this subject we also refer the reader to 
 the works of Mengs, so often quoted, and to 
 the lectures of West, Fuseli, and Opie, as well 
 as to the remarks of sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 
= 
 
 • ■ 
 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Observations on the Style of Correggio—In¬ 
 vestigation of his Situation and Circum¬ 
 stances at the time of his Death — Refuta¬ 
 tion of the common opinion of his Obscurity 
 and Poverty—Examination of the Question 
 relative to his Studies at Rome—Account of 
 his son Pomponio, and of his principal 
 Disciples or Imitators. 
 
 To investigate the style of Correggio, 
 is to intrude into the province of pro¬ 
 fessors of the art. We shall, there¬ 
 fore, abstain from pronouncing 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 } 
 
 I 
 
 
 i 
 
 * 
 
judgment on contested points, and 
 confine our remarks chiefly to those 
 characteristics, by which he is gene¬ 
 rally and unequivocally admitted to 
 have been distinguished. 
 
 In design, Correggio has been 
 deemed inferior to the great masters 
 of the Roman school, but this charge 
 has been strenuously resisted by his 
 admirer Mengs. In fact, though in¬ 
 timately and accurately acquainted 
 with the human figure, he seems to 
 have studiously rendered design sub¬ 
 servient to harmony and grace. These 
 qualities constitute the leading prin¬ 
 ciples of his style, as well as his dis¬ 
 tinctive excellencies, and predominate 
 equally in his smaller and in his 
 larger compositions, in his cabinet 
 pieces, as well as in his magnificent 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 155 
 
 cupolas. His tints, lights, and sha¬ 
 dows are so skilfully balanced and 
 so artfully blended, as to excite in 
 the mind the pleasing, yet soothing, 
 sensation, created by the appearance 
 of the rain-bow, as described by 
 Ovid : 
 
 “ In quo diversi niteant cum mille colores, 
 Transitus ipse tamen spectantia lumina fallit; 
 Usque adeo quod tangit idem est; tamen ultima 
 distant.” Met. lib. 6. 
 
 “ A thousand colours gild the face of day, 
 
 With sever’d beauties and distinguish’d ray: 
 Whilst in their contact they elude the sight. 
 
 And lose distinction in each other’s light.’’ 
 
 With harmony and grace Correggio 
 united another characteristic, to which 
 his pictures owe their striking and 
 magical effect; namely, his clear ob¬ 
 scure, or disposition of lights and 
 

 
 
 
 156 CORREGGIO. 
 
 shades. By his admirable ma¬ 
 nagement of these accidents, his 
 figures are detached from their 
 ground, seem surrounded with air, and 
 deceive the eye and the imagination 
 with the truth and energy of real 
 life. To produce this illusion in the 
 highest degree, the light in some of 
 his finest pictures is purely ideal, as 
 in the Penitent Magdalen, the Christ 
 in the Garden, and particularly in 
 the Notte. 
 
 The powerful effect of these quali¬ 
 ties united, cannot be better exhibited 
 than in the words of Fuseli:— 
 
 “ The harmony of Correggio, 
 though assisted by exquisite hues, was 
 entirely independent of colour: his 
 great organ was chiaro oscuro, in its 
 most extensive sense. He succeeded 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 157 
 
 in uniting the two opposite principles 
 of light and darkness, by impercep¬ 
 tible gradations. The bland light of 
 a globe, gliding through lucid derni- 
 tints into rich reflected shades, com¬ 
 poses the spell which pervades all his 
 performances. The art of painting 
 had exhibited some of the highest 
 efforts of its power ; the sublime con¬ 
 ceptions of Michael Angelo, the 
 pathos and expression of Raphael, 
 and the magic tints of Titian: an¬ 
 other charm was yet wanting to com¬ 
 plete the circle of perfection, and this 
 charm was found in the harmony of 
 Correggio.” 
 
 But, although the general charac¬ 
 ter of his pencil is marked by har¬ 
 mony, softness, and grace, he mani¬ 
 fested one species of boldness, in 
 
158 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 which he equalled every other painter, 
 not excepting Michael Angelo him¬ 
 self. We allude to his foreshortening, 
 which he carried to the highest per¬ 
 fection. This quality he derived 
 from an intimate acquaintance with 
 nature, and an accurate knowledge 
 of anatomy; and though he has fre¬ 
 quently displayed it in such a manner 
 as to create surprise, yet the most 
 critical observer has never accused 
 him of exceeding the boundary of 
 truth, or degenerating into distor¬ 
 tion and caricature. 
 
 Correggio appears to have delighted 
 in the expression of the milder pas¬ 
 sions ; and in those of love, affection, 
 and tenderness, he is almost without 
 a rival. He has discriminated, with 
 equal felicity, the different shades of 
 
CHAP. HI. 
 
 159 
 
 grief; and has beautifully contrasted 
 them in the dead Christ, painted 
 for the church of St. John. It is 
 profound in the Virgin, tender in the 
 Magdalen, and chastened in the third 
 female figure. He has also manifested 
 his power of indicating manly dignity in 
 the St. George; and though he seldom 
 embodies the fiercer passions, he has 
 shewn his ability in that class of ex¬ 
 pression, by the figure of the execu¬ 
 tioner, in the Martyrdom of St. Pla- 
 cido, which was copied in the St. 
 Agnes of Domenichino.* 
 
 But perhaps the passion which 
 he has represented with the most 
 striking effect, is that of digni¬ 
 fied resignation. In the celebrated 
 
 * Lanzi, t. iv. p. 86. 
 
Ecce Homo, or Christ shewn to the 
 Multitude, the divine air of meekness 
 and patient suffering, which he has 
 given to the Redeemer of mankind, 
 awakens the sublimest emotions, and 
 embodies the animated descriptions 
 of Holy Writ.® The same remark 
 applies with equal truth to the Agony 
 of Christ in the Garden. 
 
 We cannot close our observations on 
 his powers of expression, without ad¬ 
 verting to a beauty which he possessed 
 exclusively; or, at least, shared only 
 with Leonardo da Vinci, namely, the 
 lovely and exquisite smile, which plays 
 on his female countenances, and which 
 has been distinguished by the epithet 
 of the Corrigesque, or the grace of 
 Correggio. This trait, as difficult to 
 describe as to imitate, has been hap- 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 161 
 
 pily indicated by Dante, the father of 
 Italian Poetry, in his 
 
 “ Della bocca il disiato riso.” 
 
 Inferno. 
 
 In this rare and fascinating expres¬ 
 sion, Correggio alone was capable of 
 discriminating the precise boundary 
 between grace and affectation, and 
 his delicate pencil was fully com¬ 
 petent to execute the conception of 
 his mind. His best copyists, even 
 the Carracci themselves, generally 
 failed in preserving this original fea¬ 
 ture ; and in many modern copies 
 and engravings, it often degenerates 
 into mere grimace . 0 
 
 He was skilful in the management 
 of his drapery, which is grand and 
 flowing, and not broken into minute 
 
 M 
 
 
162 
 
 CORREGGiu. 
 
 or angular folds. He was unrivalled 
 in delineating naked figures, an ex¬ 
 cellence which he owed to the trans¬ 
 parency of his tints, and his accurate 
 knowledge of the human form. 
 
 The poetical spirit, which animates 
 his compositions, has not been suffi¬ 
 ciently lauded, even by his warmest ad¬ 
 mirers. Without dwelling on the rich¬ 
 ness of his fancy, in his classical sub¬ 
 jects, or the fertility of his invention, 
 in his Cupolas, we may give, by way 
 of example, a few instances of this 
 peculiar happiness of thought. In the 
 Education of Cupid, he has not only 
 given plumage to the Mercury and 
 Cupid, but has poetically marked the 
 nature of love, and the volatile cha¬ 
 racter of the goddess of pleasure, by the 
 emblems of wings, and a bow. In the 
 
CHAP. lit. 
 
 163 
 
 lo, he has represented the dominion 
 of silence and solitude, by depicting 
 the Stag, the most timid of animals, 
 as drinking in tranquillity the waters 
 of the stream . 0 In the Christ in the 
 Garden, he has happily indicated the 
 approaching sufferings of the Re¬ 
 deemer, by the incidental display of 
 the instruments of the passion, partly 
 illuminated, and partly cast into 
 shade. Lastly, in the Notte, where 
 the light diffused over the piece, 
 emanates from the child, he has em¬ 
 bodied a thought, at once beautiful, 
 picturesque, and sublime. “This 
 idea,” as Opie observes, “has been 
 seized with such avidity, and pro¬ 
 duced so many imitations, that no 
 one is accused of plagiarism. The 
 reai author is forgotten, and the 
 m 2 
 
164 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 public, accustomed to consider this 
 incident as naturally a part of 
 the subject, have long ceased to 
 inquire, when, or by whom, it was 
 invented.”* 
 
 He is said to have employed the rarest 
 and richest colours, which he laid on 
 in a full body, and frequently re¬ 
 touched with the greatest care and 
 attention . 12 
 
 “ His colours,” says Mengs, “ are 
 inferior to none: he profusely used the 
 ultra-marine, in his drapery, in his 
 flesh, and even in his landscape, a 
 circumstance unusual in the works of 
 any other painter, on account of the 
 
 * Opie’s Lectures. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 165 
 
 excessive dearness of the colour. His 
 lakes are peculiarly rich, his white 
 also is exquisite, and still retains its 
 original brilliancy.” The clearness 
 and transparency of his colouring, ob¬ 
 serves another critic, are inimitable, 
 and stop at that exact medium in 
 which lies the purity and perfection 
 of taste. Thus, he excelled in de¬ 
 lineating the forms of angels re¬ 
 tiring and melting in the surrounding 
 aether: they seem the inhabitants 
 of heaven, crayoned in splendour, 
 pellucid in glory; their clear and 
 animated tints breathe a divinity, 
 they float in air, like the skirts of a 
 passing cloud ; they drop from the 
 skies, like rain through an April sun.* 
 
 * Webb on the beauties of painting. 
 
166 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 «_- gay creatures of the element 
 
 That in the colours of the rainbow lire. 
 
 And play i’ the plighted clouds.” 
 
 Comus, 1. 299. 
 
 Notwithstanding the beauty, soft¬ 
 ness, and enchanting effect of his oil 
 pieces, it would be unjust to estimate 
 the merits of Correggio from those 
 alone; for in some of them his genius 
 was confined by the nature of the 
 subject, and in some by the pur¬ 
 pose for which they were intended, 
 namely as altar-pieces, divided into 
 compartments, and destined for par¬ 
 ticular situations. To form a proper 
 conception of his eminent talents, we 
 ought to carry our view to his great 
 works in fresco, the two cupolas of 
 St. John, and the cathedral at Parma. 
 These, however, we lament to say, 
 are so far dilapidated and robbed of 
 
CHAP. lit. 
 
 167 
 
 their original beauty, as to aflord 
 no perfect idea of those magic powers 
 which awakened the delight and ad¬ 
 miration of the great masters of his 
 age. But, still, sufficient traces are 
 left, to prove that he fully merited the 
 enthusiastic strain of praise, which 
 has been invariably coupled with his 
 name ; and that he is justly entitled 
 to the elevated rank, in which he has 
 been placed with Raphael, Michael 
 Angelo, and Titian. 
 
 Albani, himself celebrated for beauty 
 of colouring and delicacy of expres¬ 
 sion, renders this tribute to his merits: 
 “ To those who admire only works 
 rapidly finished, and seek no farther, 
 I would say.how poor are the per¬ 
 formances of Correggio, Titian, Ra- 
 
168 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 phael, and others, which do not ex¬ 
 hibit bold strokes of the pencil; be¬ 
 cause if we examine the paintings of 
 Correggio, they are all blended, and 
 display no strokes, as no pencilling 
 is seen in nature—nature is so exqui¬ 
 sitely united, that she is in a manner 
 inimitable, and to approach her is 
 a grace, which has been bestowed 
 on Correggio, Titian, and Raphael 
 alone.” 
 
 After panegyrising the merits of 
 Titian, he adds in a tone of enthu¬ 
 siasm: “The other was Correggio, 
 who drew his origin from the Terres¬ 
 trial Paradise, and bringing from 
 thence divine wings, rose to the 
 angelic regions, to excite wonder by 
 the purity and simplicity of his style; 
 
without falling into that artificial 
 taste, which, however beautiful, is 
 far less delightful.” 
 
 “ I went,” says Annibal Carracci, 
 in a letter to his cousin Ludovico, 
 “ to see the grand Cupola, which you 
 have so often commended to me, and 
 am quite astonished. To observe 
 so large a composition, so well con¬ 
 trived ; and seen from below with 
 such great exactness; and at the 
 same time, such judgment,, such 
 grace, and a colouring of real flesh, 
 Good God, notTibaldo F , notNicolini G , 
 nor even I may say, Raphael himself, 
 can be compared with him. I know 
 not how many paintings I have seen 
 this morning; the Ancona or altar- 
 piece of St. John, and St. Catharine, 
 and the Madonna della Scodella going 
 
170 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 to Egypt, and I swear, I would 
 change none of these for the St. Ce¬ 
 cilia.* To speak of the grace of this 
 St. Catharine, who so gracefully lays 
 her head on the feet of the beautiful 
 little Saviour; is she not more 
 lovely than the St. Mary Magdalen ? 
 That fine old man St. Jerome, is he 
 not grander, and at the same time 
 more tender than that St. Paul,']' 
 which at first appeared to me a mira¬ 
 cle, and now seems like a piece of 
 wood, it is so hard and sharp. How¬ 
 ever you must have patience even 
 for your own Parmegiano, because I 
 now acknowledge, that I have learnt 
 from this great man, to imitate all his 
 
 * A well-known picture by Raphael. 
 
 t The figure of St. Paul preaching at Athens, in 
 one of the Cartoons at Hampton Court. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 171 
 
 grace, though at a great distance, for 
 the children of Correggio breathe and 
 smile with such a grace and truth, 
 that one cannot refrain from smiling 
 and enjoying one’s self with them.” 
 
 “ I write to my brother that he 
 must come, for he will see things 
 which he could never have believed, 
 —18th April, 1580.” 
 
 “ 1 have been to the Steccata, and 
 the Zocoli, and have observed what 
 you told me many times, and what 
 I now confess to be true; but I will 
 say, that, to my taste, Parmegiano 
 bears no comparison with Correggio, 
 because the thoughts and conceptions 
 of Correggio were his own, evidently 
 drawn from his own mind, and inven- 
 
 _MH <. - ■ 
 
172 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 ted by himself, guided only by the 
 original idea. The others all rest on 
 something not their own ; some on 
 models, some on statues or drawings : 
 all the productions of the others are 
 represented as they may be; all of 
 this man as they truly are. 
 
 “ The opportunities which Agostino 
 wished for, have not occurred ; and 
 this appears to me a country, which 
 one never could have believed so 
 totally devoid of good taste and of 
 the delights of a painter, for they do 
 nothing but eat and drink, and make 
 love. I promised to impart to you 
 my sentiments; but I confess I am 
 so confused that it is impossible. I 
 rage and weep, to think of the misfor¬ 
 tune of poor Antonio; so great a man. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 173 
 
 if indeed he were a man, and not an 
 angel in the flesh, to be lost here, in a 
 country where he was unknown, and 
 though worthy of immortality, here to 
 die unhappily 11 . He and Titian will 
 always be my delight; and, if I do 
 not see the works of the latter at 
 Venice, I shall not die content.*— 
 April 28, 1580.” 
 
 The question has been long agitated 
 whether Correggio ever visited Rome, 
 and profited by the study of the an¬ 
 tique, and the works of Raphael and 
 Michael Angelo. On this point the 
 only historical evidence, which has 
 been adduced, is a tradition recorded 
 by father Resta, and said to have been 
 derived through three generations. 
 
 * Felsina Pittrice, t. i. p. 355. 
 
174 CORREGGIO. 
 
 from the information of his wife. 1 
 As an authority so slight and doubtful 
 could not be seriously advanced, his 
 biographers and admirers have sought 
 in his works for more valid traces 
 of the models to which he recurred. 
 Mengs contends that his paintings ex¬ 
 hibit proofs of an acquaintance with 
 the antique, and the works of Raphael 
 and Michael Angelo. In the head of 
 the Danae, he traces a resemblance to 
 that of the V^nus de Medicis; and, in 
 the St. Jerome, and Mercury Teach¬ 
 ing Cupid to Read, he recognises imi¬ 
 tations of the Farnese Hercules and 
 the Apollo Belvidere; he also disco¬ 
 vers a resemblance to one of the 
 Children of Niobe, in the young man 
 who endeavours to escape from the 
 soldiers, in the picture representing 
 Christ betrayed in the garden. The 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 175 
 
 countenance of the Magdalen, in the 
 St. Jerome, he considers as an imi¬ 
 tation of Raphael; and, in the cupola 
 of the church of St. John, he perceives 
 a similitude to the grand style of 
 Michael Angelo, in the frescos of the 
 Vatican. K In corroboration of this 
 opinion, he adduces the sudden change, 
 which is perceived in the style of 
 Correggio, at an early period, as a 
 proof that he must have seen and stu¬ 
 died compositions superior to his own. 
 Ratti, the copyist of Mengs, coincides 
 with him in opinion. Lanzi cautiously 
 adopts the same sentiment; and Tira- 
 boschi, after comparing the testimony 
 on both sides, leaves the question 
 thus unsettled: “We cannot decide 
 with certainty that Correggio never 
 visited Rome, and yet there is no ar¬ 
 gument to prove, that he ever saw that 
 
176 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 capital.”* Pungileoni, with superior 
 advantages of research, pronounces a 
 contrary decision; and affirms, from 
 the evidence of a continued series of 
 unquestionable documents, in which 
 his presence is mentioned at Parma, 
 Correggio, and other parts of Lom¬ 
 bardy, during a number of years, 
 that, even if he did visit Rome, his 
 stay must have been limited to a very 
 short period. Finally, this opinion is 
 corroborated by the assertion of Or- 
 tensio Landi, who had resided some 
 time at Correggio; and who, in his 
 Sette Libri de’ Cataloghi, printed at 
 Venice by Giolito, as early as 1552, 
 says of our painter, “ He was a noble 
 production of nature, rather than of 
 any master: he died young without 
 
 * Tiraboschi, t. vi. p. 252. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 177 
 
 having been able to see Rome.”* 
 Were all other evidence wanting, this 
 testimony of a contemporary, who 
 must have collected his information 
 on the spot, and who published within 
 eighteen years after the death of Cor¬ 
 reggio, would of itself be decisive. 
 
 His occasional imitation of the an¬ 
 tique we are not disposed to question; 
 but this admission is far from justify¬ 
 ing the inference, that he actually vi¬ 
 sited Rome; for, in the collections of 
 Mantegna at Mantua, he must have 
 found numerous copies of the antique, 
 and in those of Isabella d’Este, and 
 the Ducal Gallery, statues, busts, and 
 relievos, sufficient to gratify his curio¬ 
 sity, and improve his taste. With 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 103. 
 
178 
 
 CORRE GGIO. 
 
 great deference also to the opinion of 
 Mengs, we have been unable to trace, 
 in the paintings of Correggio, which 
 have fallen under our observation, such 
 striking imitations of Michael Angelo 
 and Raphael, as would countenance 
 the conclusion, that he must have 
 studied and copied their works. In 
 style and character, on the contrary, 
 he widely differed from those two 
 great painters; and, in the tone of 
 colouring, as well as in the science of 
 clear obscure, which were his great 
 characteristics, they were compara¬ 
 tively inferior. 
 
 If indeed he imitated the produc¬ 
 tions of any other pencil, we should 
 rather seek for his models, in the works 
 of Leonardo da Vinci, from whom he 
 may have caught the first principle of 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 179 
 
 clear obscure, and whom he rivals in 
 the graces of his children, and the in¬ 
 effable smile of the female counte¬ 
 nance. We find also a similitude in 
 the fullness, richness, and transparency 
 of his colouring, to that of Giorgione, 
 the imitator of Leonardo, from whom 
 the Venetian school derived its cha¬ 
 racteristic excellence. We can scarce¬ 
 ly doubt, likewise, that he studied in 
 the works of Titian, then in the height 
 of his fame, those tints which approach 
 the animation of real life, and that 
 magic of colouring, which fascinates 
 and almost deceives the sight. L These 
 three painters had all attained the 
 perfection of their art at a period ante¬ 
 rior to the striking change which marks 
 the best style of Correggio, and their 
 performances he might have found in 
 many parts of Lombardy. To their 
 n 2 
 
180 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 several excellencies he united his own 
 superior knowledge of anatomy, and 
 unrivalled command of the clear 
 obscure. 11 
 
 With this view of the subject, we 
 shall lay little stress on the anecdote 
 so often repeated, that on seeing one 
 of the pictures of Raphael, Correggio 
 attentively examined it for a consider¬ 
 able time, and then exclaimed, “ I am 
 also a painter.” This tale rests on a 
 foundation as slight as the thrice-re¬ 
 repeated tradition derived from his 
 wife, and merits the censure which it 
 has received from Tiraboschi, “as a 
 popular and uncertain report, unwor¬ 
 thy the notice of an exact historian.” 
 
 We cannot close this sketch with¬ 
 out a few additional remarks, on a 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 181 
 
 point, which has occasioned great con¬ 
 troversy—namely, the question rela¬ 
 tive to the real circumstances and si¬ 
 tuation of Correggio. 
 
 Vasari has recorded a tradition, that 
 he died in extreme poverty, and the 
 victim of pecuniary distress. He 
 states that, having received at Parma 
 a payment of sixty crowns, which was 
 churlishly made to him in copper, he 
 walked to Correggio with this load, 
 from anxiety to relieve the wants of 
 his family. The weather being ex¬ 
 tremely sultry, he refreshed himself 
 with cold water, when thus heated 
 with exercise, and was consequently 
 seized with an inflammatory fever, 
 which hurried him to the grave in a 
 few days. This account of Vasari 
 carries internal evidence of its own 
 
182 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 falsehood. It is, in the first place, 
 related as a mere hearsay, a “ si dice”; 
 and it is grounded on aprinciple, which 
 shews an imperfect acquaintance with 
 the circumstances of Correggio. Vasari 
 lays great stress on the privations 
 which he suffered from the burthen of 
 his family, as if it was numerous; 
 whereas, Correggio never had more 
 than four children, two of whom 
 did not survive him; and the eldest, 
 Pomponio, was only in his four¬ 
 teenth year, at the time of his father’s 
 death. He likewise adds, that Cor¬ 
 reggio had reduced himself to extreme 
 misery by continual saving; which, if 
 admitted, would furnish a strong ar¬ 
 gument against his pretended poverty. 
 Lastly, the sum which he states to 
 have been paid in copper, must have 
 considerably exceeded two hundred 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 183 
 
 weight, a load which no man could have 
 carried on foot, the distance of several 
 miles. 
 
 This tale is therefore now justly 
 exploded, though an impression still 
 remains, justified in some measure by 
 the remark of Annibal Carracci, (see 
 p. 175) that Correggio lived neglected, 
 and died in indigence. In this, how¬ 
 ever, as in many other cases, opinion 
 has gone beyond the truth. That he 
 was not so well known and so libe¬ 
 rally rewarded, as Raphael, Titian, 
 Michael Angelo, Julio Romano, or 
 even some inferior painters, will not 
 admit of an argument; but, that he 
 lived in obscurity, and was meanly 
 remunerated for all his works, is dis¬ 
 proved by a brief review of the facts 
 which we have related. An obscure 
 
184 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 painter would not have been so fre¬ 
 quently employed by rich convents: 
 an obscure painter would not have 
 been selected to decorate the cupolas 
 of the church of St. John and the ca¬ 
 thedral at Parma; nor would an ob¬ 
 scure painter have been commissioned 
 by a Duke of Mantua, to execute pic¬ 
 tures, intended as a present for an 
 Emperor, when two such celebrated 
 masters as Titian and Julio Romano 
 were at hand. We readily admit, that 
 for some of his pieces the remune¬ 
 ration, as recorded, appears inade¬ 
 quate ; but, for his larger works, we 
 have a scale of comparison, in the sums 
 paid to other painters, which enables 
 us to decide, that he was as liberally 
 rewarded, as could have been expect¬ 
 ed, in his situation and circumstances. 
 Thus, while Correggio received 472 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 185 
 
 gold ducats for his works in the church 
 of St. John, and agreed for 1000 du¬ 
 cats to decorate the cupola and other 
 parts of the cathedral, Raphael had 
 obtained, according to Mengs, 1200 
 crowns of gold, or 800 ducats for each 
 room of the Vatican,* N which, consi¬ 
 dering the difference in the value of 
 money at the capital and at Parma, 
 the fame of Raphael, as the first painter 
 of the age, and the well-known libe¬ 
 rality of the popes, is not so dispro¬ 
 portionate a recompense, as would 
 justify the inference, that the talents of 
 Correggio were greatly undervalued. 
 But we have a still more satisfactory 
 criterion, in the sums paid to other 
 painters, employed in the same place, 
 and at the same period. For the sou- 
 
 * Mengs, v. iii. p. 9. 
 
186 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 them chapel of the cathedral of Parma, 
 Anselmi was to receive not more than 
 200 gold ducats; and for the large 
 chapel, only 120 were assigned to 
 Rondani. For the northern chapel, 
 Parmegiano was promised 145 du¬ 
 cats; and even after this painter 
 had improved his style, and increased 
 his reputation, at Rome and Bologna, 
 he engaged to paint the vault of the 
 Capella Maggiore, in the church of the 
 Steccata at Parma, for the sum of 400 
 gold crowns. The subject, accord¬ 
 ing to the sketch still preserved, was 
 to be the Coronation of the Virgin, 
 with many groups of angels, and nu¬ 
 merous other figures; and those which 
 are actually finished, attest the gran¬ 
 deur of the original design. We may 
 also adduce the instance of Costa, 
 who is called “ eximio pittore”, and 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 187 
 
 who received for a picture of Apollo and 
 the Nine Muses 30 ducats; and to the 
 elder Dosso, for a large picture, with 
 eleven figures, the same sum was paid. 
 
 Both these painters, are mentioned in 
 the preceding pages as having served as 
 models to Correggio, while at Mantua, 
 and as being patronised by the princes 
 of that illustrious house. 
 
 ' , j 
 
 The researches of his later biogra¬ 
 phers have not only disproved the tale 
 of his extreme indigence and obscu¬ 
 rity, but have brought to light many 
 facts, which enable us to form a more 
 accurate judgment of the real circum¬ 
 stances of his family. We have shewn 
 that he obtained some property by 
 the gift of his uncle, and that he re¬ 
 ceived a respectable dowry with his 
 Avife. Pungileoni also asserts, on the 
 
 
188 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 authority of indubitable documents, 
 that his family possessions continued 
 to increase, from 1526 till the period 
 of his death. The same writer has ad¬ 
 duced two proofs, that subsequent to 
 the suspension of his labours in the ca¬ 
 thedral, Correggio was not involved in 
 pecuniary distress; for, in 1531, soon 
 after the last payment, which he re¬ 
 ceived from that establishment, a record 
 has been found of a purchase which he 
 made from Signora Lucrezia Pusterla, 
 of Mantua, widow of a citizen of Cor¬ 
 reggio, of some landed property, si¬ 
 tuated in the Campagna del Ardione; 
 the price was 195 crowns of gold, of 
 which 95 were paid in advance. As 
 late also as the autumn of 1533, we find 
 evidence of another purchase, of landed 
 property, from Leonardo Gardini, only 
 a few months before his decease. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 189 
 
 Lastly, the registers of notaries, and 
 valuations of property, preserved in 
 the public records at Correggio, prove, 
 that at the very period of his death, 
 the effects of his father, besides per¬ 
 sonal property, consisted of 206 acres 
 of land, which, at the value of 10 
 ducats each, amounted to 2060 ducats. 
 He possessed also four houses in the 
 city of Correggio, and he had doubt¬ 
 less made other acquisitions, of which 
 no record is extant.* 
 
 We farther find proofs, that so far 
 from being unknown and neglected, 
 he was favoured by his native princes, 
 particularly Manfredo; and, from the 
 fact of his being' selected as a wit¬ 
 ness to acts executed in their palace. 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 278. 
 
190 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 and in which they were personally 
 concerned, we are fully justified 
 in inferring, that he was treated by 
 them with the utmost familiarity 
 and intimacy. Thus, without dwel¬ 
 ling on other instances, in 1532 he 
 attested the instrument by which 
 Manfredo constituted Pomponio Bru- 
 norio his procurator, to receive from 
 the Emperor the investiture of his 
 fiefs ; and in 1534, a short period 
 before his decease, he attended as a 
 witness to the acts relative to the 
 marriage, between Clara of Correggio 
 and Ippolito, son of Gilberto, by Ve¬ 
 ronica Gambara. Manfredo, his pa¬ 
 tron, also personally interfered in the 
 long-pending law-suit between him 
 and the Aromani, and by his interpo¬ 
 sition, brought it to a conclusion fa¬ 
 vourable to his interests. From these 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 191 
 
 data, and from the inheritance which 
 devolved on his son Pomponio, it is 
 evident, that Correggio could not have 
 lived in embarrassment and died in 
 poverty. 
 
 Correggio appears to have been far 
 less solicitous than most other paint¬ 
 ers, that his effigies should be trans¬ 
 mitted to posterity, for of him there is 
 no unquestioned portrait extant. That 
 which is prefixed to his Life, in the 
 Roman edition of Vasari, is evidently 
 false, for it exhibits the beard and 
 countenance of a man aged seventy. 
 It was taken from a collection of de¬ 
 signs, in the possession of Father Resta, 
 to one of which, representing a man 
 and his wife, with three sons and one 
 daughter, in me.an apparel, he gave 
 the name of the family of Correggio, 
 
192 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 forgetting that the family consisted of 
 three daughters and one son.* 
 
 Another portrait, with the title An- 
 tonius Correggius, and consequently 
 supposed to be painted by himself, 
 was preserved in a villa,. which be¬ 
 longed to the Queen of Sardinia, near 
 Turin, and engraved by Valperga; but 
 its authenticity seems justly ques¬ 
 tioned by Lanzi and Pungileoni. A 
 third, which was sent from Genoa to 
 England, bore an inscription signify¬ 
 ing that it was the portrait of Maestro 
 Antonio da Correggio, by Dosso Dossi, 
 and was accordingly engraved for the 
 Memoirs of Correggio, by Ratti, who 
 obtained a copy. Lanzi is however 
 inclined to infer that it is the portrait 
 
 * Lanzi. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 193 
 
 of Antonio Bernieri, the miniature 
 painter, who also bore the name of 
 Antonio da Correggio. 
 
 A copy of this portrait is still pre¬ 
 served in the Pinacotheca Bodoniana, 
 at Parma, and has been engraved, first 
 by Asioli, and since as a medallion, 
 by Professor Rocca, of Reggio. Pun- 
 gileoni, who is inclined to consider it 
 as genuine, has prefixed the medallion 
 to his life of Correggio. 
 
 Tiraboschi and Pungileoni mention 
 other supposed portraits and busts of 
 questionable authenticity; and Pungi¬ 
 leoni, in particular, adverts to a por¬ 
 trait still preserved near a door of the 
 Cathedral at Parma, which is exhi¬ 
 bited as a likeness of Correggio. It 
 is supposed to have been copied in 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 the middle of the sixteenth century, 
 by Lattanzio Gambara, from a more 
 ancient one of our celebrated painter, 
 in another part of the Cathedral; but 
 its authenticity is questioned, merely 
 on the ground, that it represents a man 
 of more advanced age than Correggio, 
 who only attained his forty-first year. 
 The portrait, however, as appears from 
 an accurate copy by Mr. Jackson, R.A., 
 does not warrant these doubts of its ge¬ 
 nuineness, for it displays no character of 
 an age more advanced, than the period 
 of life which Correggio attained. It 
 is, therefore, engraved for the frontis¬ 
 piece to these pages, as possessing at 
 least as good a title to authenticity as 
 any of the portraits extant. 
 
 Pomponio Quirino, the only son of 
 Antonio, was born in 1521, and bap- 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 195 
 
 tised at the Basilica of St. Quirino, in 
 Correggio, on the third day of Sep¬ 
 tember. 0 Inspired by the skill and re¬ 
 putation of his father, he embraced the 
 same profession, but could have ac¬ 
 quired from him little more than the 
 elements of his art, as he had not 
 reached the age of thirteen at his de¬ 
 cease. He probably continued the 
 practice of painting under some of his 
 father’s scholars, and in 1542, on the 
 death of his grandfather, Pellegrino, 
 became heir to considerable property. 
 Soon afterwards, he espoused Laura, 
 daughter of Ludovico Geminiano, with 
 whom he had a dowry of 300 golden 
 crowns. The favour which the princes 
 of Correggio had bestowed on his fa¬ 
 ther, was transferred to him; for, by 
 the influence of Manfredo, he was de¬ 
 clared competent to the management 
 o 2 
 
198 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 of his property, before he had attained 
 the age of twenty-five, the legitimate 
 period of majority in Italy. In the 
 latter end of 1545, he received a still 
 greater proof of attention; for the il¬ 
 lustrious spouse of Prince Ippolito, 
 from respect to the memory of his father, 
 condescended to be godmother on the 
 baptism of his first son. In 1546, we 
 find the first proof of the exercise of 
 his profession, in a fresco which he 
 executed for the price of 50 gold 
 crowns, in the Basilica of St. Quirino. 
 Unlike his father, he appears to have 
 been of a profuse and unsettled dispo¬ 
 sition. In 1550 he sold his paternal 
 mansion to Bernardino Paris, for the 
 sum of 109 gold crowns; and, after 
 disposing at different times of other 
 portions of his property, in 1551 he 
 alienated the remainder to the canons 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 197 
 
 of St. Quirino for 700 gold crowns. 
 Even in these transactions, he still ex¬ 
 perienced the favour of his sovereigns; 
 the transfer, which was contrary to 
 the customs of the country, being- 
 legalised by the special decision of 
 Prince Gilberto. After a short sojourn 
 at Reggio, he settled at Parma, and 
 was employed to paint the Capella 
 dei Popoli,. by the canons of the cathe¬ 
 dral, from whom he received 80 crowns 
 of gold. He subsequently engaged in 
 other works, yet appears to have gra¬ 
 dually declined in his circumstances, 
 from his careless and dissipated habits. 
 He lost his wife in 1560, but he him¬ 
 self lived beyond 1590, as he is men¬ 
 tioned in that year as an arbitrator, on 
 a painting executed by Giambattista 
 Tinti, for the confraternity of St. Maria 
 degli Angeli. We have no means of 
 
 
198 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 ascertaining his rank as a painter, 
 though he has evidently suffered in 
 public opinion, by a comparison of his 
 works with those of his father; but the 
 subjects of his pencil and the persons 
 by whom he was employed, suffice to 
 shew, that he was not without repu¬ 
 tation in his time. He had two sons 
 and three daughters, four of whom 
 survived him, and are distinguished in 
 the testamentary bequest of their ma¬ 
 ternal uncle, Ludovico Geminiano, p by 
 a legacy of an hundred gold crowns to 
 each. In the sons of Pomponio the 
 male line of Correggio became extinct, 
 and we have no evidence to ascertain 
 whether his grand-daughters were 
 married and left issue. At all events, 
 by the dissipation of Pomponio, the 
 family appear to have sunk into ob¬ 
 scurity. In the female line the race 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 199 
 
 is equally extinct, for Francesca, the 
 daughter of Antonio, and the wife of 
 Pomponio Brunorio, died at the age 
 of forty-seven, without issue. 
 
 The fame of Antonio Allegri gave a 
 new impulse to the art of painting in 
 Lombardy; and, though he seems 
 to have instructed few or no regular 
 scholars, he is placed at the head of 
 the Lombard school. Francesco Maria 
 Mazzola, usually known by the ap¬ 
 pellations of Parmegiano, or Parme- 
 gianino,* is supposed to have been one 
 of his scholars, though without foun¬ 
 dation, as he had distinguished him¬ 
 self before Correggio went to Parma. 
 Another of the same family, Francesco 
 Maria Rondani, called also Parme- 
 
 * See the next article. 
 
200 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 giano, because he was a native of that 
 city, has been ranked as his scholar, 
 with still less reason; for he was 
 born in the latter end of the same 
 century, and when Correggio appeared 
 at Parma, had reached the age of 
 eighteen and obtained a considerable 
 portion of celebrity. He, however, 
 wrought under him at the church of 
 St. John, and so far profited by his 
 works and instructions, that some 
 of his paintings have been mistaken 
 for those of our great master. He was 
 engaged to paint a large chapel at 
 the same time. He died in 1548. 
 
 Anselmi has been enumerated 
 among his scholars, with even less pro¬ 
 bability, for he was born at Sienna in 
 1491, and was therefore three years 
 older than Correggio. Of him, how- 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 201 
 
 ever, it may be equally said, that he 
 greatly profited by the works of Cor¬ 
 reggio, and imitated him with the 
 same felicity as Rondani. He appears 
 to have been living in 1554. 
 
 Bernardino Gatti, surnamed II So- 
 jaro, is one of those whom without 
 hesitation we may term a scholar of 
 Correggio. He was born about the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century ; 
 and, after receiving the first rudi¬ 
 ments of his art at Sienna, repaired 
 to Parma, for the instructions of Cor¬ 
 reggio, when in the commence¬ 
 ment of his reputation. He is justly 
 regarded as the most faithful and 
 ablest imitator of his master, and 
 has left many proofs of his talents 
 at Parma, Placentia, and Cremona. 
 The cupola of the Steccata at Parma, 
 
202 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 in particular, furnishes evidence of his 
 extraordinary merit. He died in 1571. 
 
 Another of his scholars, was Geor- 
 gio Gandini, a native of Parma. Of 
 his pencil we have no certain produc¬ 
 tion; but the estimation in which he 
 was held by his countrymen, is proved 
 by the choice made of him, by the 
 canons of the cathedral, to finish the 
 work left incomplete by Correggio. 
 He died young in 1538. 
 
 Antonio Bernieri, a native of Cor¬ 
 reggio, and descended from a noble 
 family, was born in 1516. He was 
 instructed by his illustrious country¬ 
 man, but afterwards devoted himself 
 to miniature painting, in which he at¬ 
 tained great celebrity. He is often 
 distinguished by the name of Antonio 
 
rise to many mistakes in the accounts 
 
 tions, and to have combined the grace 
 
 the bold design of Michael Angelo. 
 In particular, he made a copy of the 
 celebrated Notte, which is said almost 
 to rival the original. He wrought 
 chiefly in Reggio and Modena, and 
 
204 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 One painter, though not a scholar of 
 this distinguished master, deserves to 
 be here commemorated, as an admirer 
 and copier of his works, and as an imi¬ 
 tator of his style. This was Girolamo 
 Carpi, a native of Ferrara, and son of 
 an heraldic painter. Having acquired 
 a taste for the arts, under Benvenuto 
 Cellini, he became impatient of the 
 mechanical labours to which he was 
 subjected by his father, and, quitting 
 his home, repaired to Bologna. Here 
 he was struck by the picture of Christ 
 appearing to Mary Magdalen,® in the 
 likeness of the gardener, by Correggio; 
 and endeavoured to improve his style, 
 by copying this production. From Bo¬ 
 logna he was led to Modena, by the 
 same motive, and there copied the Mar¬ 
 riage ofSt.Catharine, the celebrated St. 
 George, or St. Pietro Martire, and the 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 205 
 
 no less celebrated St. Sebastian. 
 Thence he repaired to Parma, to study 
 the magnificent works in the church of 
 St. John and the cathedral, of many 
 parts of which he also made copies, 
 particularly of the Virgin ascending to 
 Heaven, the Apostles and Doctors of 
 the Church, and the accompanying 
 groupes of angels. By this species of 
 practice, his style and taste were much 
 improved; and, though he afterwards 
 studied the works of Raphael, Titian, 
 and Parmegiano, he chiefly confined 
 his imitations to the great example he 
 had first chosen. 
 
 He became a painter of considerable 
 eminence, and left many performances, 
 both in his native place and at Bo¬ 
 logna and Rome. Afterwards, devot¬ 
 ing himself to architecture, he was 
 
206 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 employed at Rome by Pope Julius III. 
 and, on returning to his native coun¬ 
 try, was gratified with the patronage 
 of his sovereign, Hercules, third Duke 
 of Ferrara. According to Vasari, he 
 died in 1556, at the age of fifty-five. 
 He was so accurate an imitator, that 
 some of his copies have been taken for 
 the originals of Correggio.* 
 
 Francesco Capelli, Giovanni Garolo, 
 Antonio Bruno, Daniello da Por, and 
 Maestro Torelli, or Tonelli, are enu¬ 
 merated, not as scholars of Correggio, 
 but as having either wrought under 
 his directions, or improved themselves 
 by the study of his works. Of these 
 painters, however, few productions 
 remain, and most of them questionable; 
 
 * Vasari, t. v. p. 311. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 207 
 
 and of their lives, very few facts have 
 been rescued from oblivion. We shall, 
 therefore, here close our remarks, as 
 we think it needless to enumerate every 
 one who imitated the style of Correg¬ 
 gio, and shall merely observe, that, 
 after his death, the reputation of the 
 Lombard school was ably supported by 
 Parmegiano, his coadjutors, and fol¬ 
 lowers. It is, however, a fact, ac¬ 
 knowledged by all judges of the art, 
 that no painter has since attained the 
 admirable grace, clear obscure, and 
 harmony, which characterise the works 
 of Correggio, as no succeeding painter 
 has been enabled to rival the exquisite 
 pathos and noble simplicity of Raphael. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. 11,1. 
 
 Note A. disposition of lights and shades. 
 
 Much confusion has been thrown on this 
 subject, by the adoption of the foreign term 
 chiaroscuro, or clear obscure, as we trans¬ 
 late it; when the simple words light and 
 shade, would convey all the meaning which 
 that term is intended to express. Its effect 
 cannot be better illustrated, than by adverting 
 to the appearance of a bunch of grapes, illu¬ 
 minated by rays of light, which Titian is said 
 to have used as a pattern. As some of the 
 grapes are struck directly by the light, others 
 thrown into shade, and some partake of both, 
 partly from the direct rays, and partly from 
 reflection, they furnish an apt exemplification of 
 the manner in which the lights and shades aid 
 and animate the disposition of a groupe of 
 figures in painting. 
 
 v 
 
210 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 Note B . the animated descriptions of 
 
 Holy Writ. 
 
 Two pictures of the Eccg, Homo are extant, 
 with strong claims to authenticity; one is in the 
 Royal Gallery of France, and is supposed to 
 have been derived from the family of Prati, 
 at Parma; and the other was in the Colonna 
 Palace, at Rome, in 1786, and appears to 
 possess superior pretensions to originality. 
 Tiraboschi, t. vi. p. 284, and Voyage d’un 
 Amateur des Arts, t. iv, p. 279. 
 
 Note C . often degenerates into mere 
 
 grimace. 
 
 One of the modern copyists of Correggio, 
 who may be exempted from this disqualifica¬ 
 tion, was Guttenbrun, a German artist of con¬ 
 siderable eminence, now dead. He was happy 
 in his imitations of this master, of which 
 he has left many proofs. Among others, is a 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 211 
 
 beautiful copy of the Marriage of St. Catherine, 
 at Naples, which is in the collection of Count 
 Woronzoff; and another, exquisitely finished, 
 on a small scale, of the Virgin and Child, in the 
 Notte, in the possession of the Countess of 
 Pembroke, at Wilton House. 
 
 We must likewise make another honourable 
 exception, in favour of Mr. Jackson, R. A., who 
 has so admirably copied the picture of the Agony 
 of Christ in the Garden. 
 
 Note D . the waters of the stream. 
 
 An Io, attributed to Correggio, is preserved 
 in the Imperial Gallery at Vienna, in which 
 the stag is depicted as drinking from an antique 
 vase, and not from a rivulet. This absurd re¬ 
 presentation essentially changes the character 
 of the piece, and suffices to throw discredit on 
 its authenticity as a work of Correggio, who 
 was so attentive to; character, and so accurate 
 an observer of nature. 
 
 Gemaelde der K. K. Gallerie, 1 part, p. 171. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 Note E. and frequently retouched with 
 
 the greatest care and attention. 
 
 * 
 
 In describing the colouring of Correggio, it 
 may not be improper to record the observations 
 of an artist on his mode of operation. We 
 give these remarks as related by Lanzi: — 
 
 “ An artist, who analyzed his mode of colour¬ 
 ing, said, that he washed the gisso, or first 
 coat, with boiled oil, on which he painted with 
 a strong impasto, or full body of colour, mix¬ 
 ing it with two-thirds of oil and one of varnish. 
 His colours must have been choice, and purged 
 of saline matter, which in process of time 
 greatly injures all paintings. This purification 
 was increased by the use of the boiled oil, which 
 absorbed the salts. He farther conjectured, 
 that Correggio warmed his pictures in the sun, 
 or by the fire, to blend and mingle his colours 
 together, as they appear rather melted than laid 
 on. Of their transparency, he was inclined to 
 attribute the cause, to a varnish, more powerful 
 than any known even to the Flemish painters, 
 whose varnishes are clear and shining, but not 
 equally strong.”—Lanzi, t. v. p. 84. note. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 213 
 
 The Richardsons supposed that he used a 
 priming of leaf gold. Pungileoni partly coin¬ 
 cides with them, with respect to his early pic¬ 
 tures, as, in the Madonna and Child, preserved 
 in the Gallery at Dresden, some threads of 
 gold leaf are observable in the extremities of the 
 garments, as well as in another picture, which 
 he calls the St. Martha. But, he concludes, 
 that he afterwards employed a composition 
 known only to himself, and that he invented a 
 varnish, which gave a peculiar lustre' and trans¬ 
 parency to his tints, t. ii. p. 35. 
 
 It is also mentioned, as a proof of his solici¬ 
 tude to attain perfection, that the material on 
 which his pictures are painted, whether of can¬ 
 vas or wood, is always of a superior kind. 
 
 Note F . not Tibaldo. 
 
 > 
 
 He alludes to Tibaldi Pellegrino, born at 
 Bologna in 1522, and one of the eminent paint¬ 
 ers of the Roman school. 
 
214 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 Note G ...... not Nicolini. 
 
 Probably, Nicolo Abate, a painter of the 
 Bolognese school, who was distinguished for his 
 happy imitations of Raphael and Correggio. 
 He was born in 1512; and, after exercising his 
 art with great applause in his native city, re¬ 
 paired to France in 1552, and decorated the 
 Royal Palace of Fontainebleau with paintings 
 in fresco. _ 
 
 Note H ...... here to die unhappily. 
 
 These expressions evidently refer to Correggio, 
 who is called by his Christian name, Antonio; 
 and prove that, either from the writings of 
 Vasari, or from traditional report, Annibal Car¬ 
 racci considered him as ill patronized by his 
 countrymen, poor in his circumstances, and un¬ 
 fortunate in his death. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. Ill, 
 
 215 
 
 Note I . the information of his wife. 
 
 This hearsay of a hearsay is said to have been 
 told by the wife of Correggio to her anony¬ 
 mous friend, Signora N. N. who died at the age 
 of ninety. This lady related it' to another 
 female friend, who lived to an advanced age, and 
 she retailed it in her turn to Signora Ottaviana 
 Donini, who is declared to have frequently 
 mentioned it to Father Resta, when in 1690 
 he repaired to Correggio, to obtain information 
 on the life of this great painter. Tiraboschi, 
 t. vi, p. 251. 
 
 Note K . in the frescos of the Vatican. 
 
 This remark of Mengs cannot apply, as 
 some have supposed, to the celebrated fresco of 
 the Last Judgment, in the Sestini Chapel, by 
 Michael Angelo, because that work could not 
 have been commenced before the death of Cor- 
 reggio, as it was not begun till after the ac¬ 
 cession of Paul III. in 1534, and not finished 
 
216 
 
 NOTES TO G1IAP. III. 
 
 till 1541. In fact, the only fresco of Michael 
 Angelo completed at an earlier period, was the 
 ceiling of the same chapel, in 1512. 
 
 Note L . that magic of colouring, which 
 
 fascinates and almost deceives the sight. 
 
 Some critics have supposed that Correggio 
 owed an improvement in his style to the works 
 of Julio Romano, which he might have seen at 
 Mantua. By a comparison of dates and facts, 
 however, it appears that Correggio must have 
 attained his best style, before Julio Romano en¬ 
 gaged in the service of the ,Duke of Mantua, 
 and long before he executed the celebrated fres¬ 
 cos in the Palace of the T.; for Julio could not 
 have left Rome earlier than 1525 or 1526; and 
 the Palace of the T. of which he was the archi¬ 
 tect, could scarcely have been sufficiently ad¬ 
 vanced to receive its decorations, before 1530 or 
 1531. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 217 
 
 Note M . unrivalled command of the clear 
 
 obscure. 
 
 Mengs gives many examples of a correspond¬ 
 ing character, between the productions of Leo¬ 
 nardo da Vinci and Correggio, which he consi¬ 
 ders as proofs of imitation. We have already 
 noticed the head of the Madonna, now in the 
 Gallery of Dresden, as resembling those of Leo¬ 
 nardo ; and Mengs, after adverting to the grace¬ 
 ful and smiling air of some children, in two 
 paintings by that master, at Madrid, adds, 
 “ these may have opened the way to Correggio 
 to attain that grace which we see in all his 
 works.” As Raphael, likewise, admired and 
 imitated the compositions of Leonardo, and 
 caught from him that improvement, which 
 marks his most perfect style, we may readily 
 account for the similarities which have been sup¬ 
 posed to exist between some of his works and 
 those of Correggio, without concluding that 
 Correggio must have visited Rome. 
 
218 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 / 
 
 Note N . for each room of the Vatican. 
 
 It is well known, that the paintings, exe¬ 
 cuted by Raphael in the Vatican, cover the 
 four sides of the apartments, which are very 
 lofty, and without fire-places or furniture. 
 Some are crowded w r ith figures, particularly the 
 Incendio del Borgo, and the Victory of Con¬ 
 stantine over Maxentius. The School of 
 Athens, which occupies only the end of one 
 apartment, contains no less than fifty-eight 
 figures, of the size of life. The Attila, and 
 the Deliverance of St. Peter from Prison, 
 appear to have employed Raphael and his scho¬ 
 lars at least two years, namely, from 1512, 
 when the Heliodorus was completed, to 
 1514. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 219 
 
 Note O ...... on the third day of September. 
 
 His baptism is thus recorded in the Register : 
 “ Pomponius Quirinus, fil. Antonii de Allegris, 
 die 3. 7bris 1521, Compatr. Mag. Joan Bap- 
 
 tista de Lombardis; Comater.de Fassis. 
 
 Pungileoni, t. iii. p. 60. 
 
 Note P . their maternal uncle, Ludovico 
 
 Geminiano. 
 
 Extract from the Will of Ludovico Gemini¬ 
 ano : “ Item jure legati reliquit Hieronyme et 
 Sulpicise fil. D. Pomponii de Allegris et D. 
 Laura, scutos centum pro quolibet earum dan- 
 dos * * * quando maritabuntur * * * Item jure 
 legati reliquit Antonio et Pompilio filiis D. 
 Pomponii et qm. D. Laura scutos centum pro 
 quolibet ipsorum. Pungileoni, t. ii. p. 265. 
 
220 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. III. 
 
 Note Q . the picture of Christ appearing 
 
 to Mary Magdalen. 
 
 This picture, when copied by Carpi, was in 
 the possession of the Ercolani family. Tira- 
 boschi conjectures that it was conveyed to Spain 
 by the Duke of Medina de las Torres; and 
 Mengs informs us, that in his time it was pre¬ 
 served in the grand vestry of the Escurial. 
 It probably remains there, as it does not appear 
 to have been among those purloined by Joseph 
 Buonaparte. A picture, however, on the same 
 subject, ascribed to Correggio, was preserved in 
 the collection of the Duke of Orleans. 
 
 \ 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 FRANCESCO MAZZO 
 
 SURNAMED 
 
 parmegiano. 
 
* 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ALMOST as many errors abound in 
 the account of Girolamo Francesco 
 Maria Mazzola, usually denominated 
 Parmegiano, and Parmegianino, as in 
 that of Correggio. His pictures are 
 often confounded with those of Fran¬ 
 
 cesco Maria Rondani, and of his cou¬ 
 sin, Girolamo Mazzola, who both bore 
 the designation of Parmegiano. These 
 mistakes have principally arisen from 
 the identity of their birth-place, and 
 
224 
 
 parmegiano. 
 
 the similarity of their appellatives; 
 although, to avoid such confusion, our 
 painter omitted his first name of Giro¬ 
 lamo, and always signed Francesco. 
 His talents have thus been often 
 undeservedly depreciated; for his two 
 relatives were inferior in merit, and 
 strikingly differed from him in one 
 peculiarity, namely, that of filling 
 their canvass with figures; whereas, 
 his field is never crowded to the 
 disadvantage of his subject. 
 
 These errors have been exposed 
 and corrected by Father Affo, his bio¬ 
 grapher, Vice Prefect of the Royal 
 Library at Parma, in a work intituled 
 “ Vita del Graziosissimo Pittore, Fran¬ 
 cesco Mazzola, detto il Parmegiani- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 225 
 
 no.” Parma, 1784, octavo. This is the 
 most authentic account extant, and 
 has furnished the principal materials 
 for the following sketch.* 
 
 * It is but justice to Mr. Bryan to observe, that, in 
 his Dictionary of Painters, he has judiciously availed 
 himself, as far as his limits would permit, of Affb’s 
 work. 
 
 Q. 
 
PARMEGIANO. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Parentage and Birth of Francesco Maria Maz- 
 zola, surnamed Parmegiano—His liberal 
 Education and attachment to Painting- 
 Instructed by his Uncles—Early Performan¬ 
 ces — Temporary Residence at Viadano — Re¬ 
 turns to Parma, and is employed in Painting 
 a Chapel in the Church of St.John—Engaged 
 to decorate part of the Cathedral, in conjunc¬ 
 tion with Correggio—Repairs to Rome for 
 the Improvement of his Style—Obtains the 
 Patronage of the Pope—Pictures painted du¬ 
 ring his stay in that Capital—Anecdote of the 
 Dangers he incurred, during the Sack of Rome 
 —Retires to Bologna—Introduces the Art of 
 Etching, and engraves several of his own 
 Pictures—Account of his principal Paintings 
 at Bologna. 
 
 Girolamo Francesco Maria Maz- 
 zola was born at Parma, and from 
 q 2 
 
228 
 
 PARMEGIANO. 
 
 that place derived the appellations by 
 which he is usually distinguished. By 
 foreigners, he is termed Parmegiano, 
 or the Parmesan; while, among his 
 own countrymen, he has been distin¬ 
 guished by the endearing diminutive 
 Parmegianino, as expressive of the 
 amiable qualities of his mind and per¬ 
 son, or as indicating the grace and 
 elegance of his pencil. He was de¬ 
 scended from an ancient family origi¬ 
 nally ofPontremoli, some of whom were 
 settled at Parma as early as 1305. Of 
 this family were three painters, sons 
 of Bartholomeo Mazzola; namely— 
 Philippo, Michele, and Pietro Ilario, 
 moderate in their kind, but who have 
 had the honour of being reputed mas¬ 
 ters of Correggio ; though, as Tirabos- 
 chi shews, without sufficient founda¬ 
 tion. An indifferent painting by Phi- 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 229 
 
 lippo is still preserved at Parma, 
 Christ Baptised in the Jordan by John 
 the Baptist, with this inscription: 
 “ Ppus Mazzolus, pt.” Pietro Ila- 
 rio painted as late as 1515, and was 
 employed in the church of St. John at 
 Parma. But Philippo was of greater 
 service to the art, in being father to 
 the celebrated painter, who is the sub¬ 
 ject of this narrative. 
 
 Various opinions are held of the 
 year of his birth; some even fix it in 
 1515, an evident error, as, on this sup¬ 
 position he could not have exceeded 
 his twelfth year, when he was engaged 
 to paint, in conjunction with Correg¬ 
 gio and others, the church of St. John 
 at Parma. Others say he was born in 
 1500. Vasari, who knew his cousin, 
 Girolamo, fixed his birth in 1504. 
 
230 
 
 PARMEGI ANO. 
 
 From the baptismal register, however, 
 it appears that he was born on the 
 11th of January, 1503, and baptised 
 on the 13th, by the names of Girolamo 
 Francesco Maria. His father dying 
 when he was young, he came under 
 the care of his uncles and guardians, 
 Michele and Pietro Ilario. He receiv¬ 
 ed a classical education in his native 
 city, and was intended for one of the 
 learned professions; but, though not 
 deficient in application to his stu¬ 
 dies, he paid greater attention to the 
 easels of his uncles, and when not 
 engaged at school, employed himself 
 in designing. Observing the natural 
 taste of their nephew, his uncles pru¬ 
 dently instructed him in the art of 
 painting. From them he learned the 
 first principles of design, but doubt¬ 
 less received instructions, or at least 
 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 231 
 
 improved himself, by studying the 
 compositions of Francesco Marmitta, 
 a native of Parma, and esteemed, at 
 that period, the best painter of the 
 place * He is also, with some proba¬ 
 bility, said to have been the scholar 
 of Taddeo Ugoleto, who seems to have 
 been another master of eminence at 
 Parma. Notwithstanding, however, 
 his attachment to painting, he does 
 not seem to have neglected his other 
 studies, particularly history, mytho¬ 
 logy, and natural philosophy, as suf- 
 cient proofs of his progress in these 
 branches of knowledge appear in his 
 works. He was esteemed by his con- 
 
 * Marmitta afterwards distinguished himself as an 
 engraver of gems. Abecedario Pittorico, p. 316. Some 
 persons have asserted that Marmitta died in 1506, and 
 therefore could not have instructed Paimegiano. 
 
232 
 
 PARMEGI ANO. 
 
 temporaries a youth of a bold and lively 
 genius, yet of courteous and elegant 
 manners. He is generally supposed to 
 have been the scholar of Correggio, or 
 at least to have formed his early style 
 from that great master. But this opi¬ 
 nion is contradicted by facts; for, at 
 the age of fourteen, before Correggio 
 came to Parma, Mazzola had distin¬ 
 guished himself by painting the Bap¬ 
 tism of Christ, which was much ad¬ 
 mired, and in which that grace and 
 elegant lightness, afterwards conspi¬ 
 cuous in his works, were visible. This 
 picture was first placed in the church 
 of the Annunziata at Parma; but, to¬ 
 wards the end of the last century, it 
 was, according to the information of 
 Lanzi, possessed by the Counts of San 
 Vitale. Soon after this period, also, 
 the war which broke out between 
 
 
CHAP. 1. 
 
 233 
 
 Francis the First, and Pope Leo the 
 Tenth in Lombardy; and the approach 
 of a body of Papal troops to Parma, 
 induced his uncles to send him and 
 his cousin, Girolamo, to Viadano, 
 in the territory of Mantua, where, Va¬ 
 sari says, Francesco Mazzola painted 
 two celebrated pieces, a St. Francis, 
 for the Franciscan church, and the 
 Espousals of St. Catharine, for that of 
 St. Peter, not resembling, he adds, 
 the works of a beginner and a youth, 
 but of a master and a proficient. In 
 1522, he returned to Parma, where 
 his compositions raised him to great 
 notice; for, according to Vasari, he 
 finished some pieces, which he had 
 left imperfect at his departure; and, 
 among others, a beautiful painting in 
 oil, representing the Virgin with the 
 child on her bosom, attended by St. 
 
234 
 
 PARMEGI ANO. 
 
 Jerome and St. Bernardino di Feltre.* 
 Although he had scarcely completed 
 his twentieth year, he was, from such 
 striking indications of merit, subse¬ 
 quently selected to decorate the sides 
 and roof of two chapels near the en¬ 
 trance of the church of St. John, while 
 Correggio was engaged in painting 
 the dome. Several other of his la¬ 
 bours are still preserved at Parma, and 
 indicate his style, when he had seen 
 the works of Correggio, but not those 
 of Raphael and Michael Angelo. 
 
 He gave so much satisfaction in 
 these performances, that he was en¬ 
 gaged to paint the sides and roof of a 
 
 * Affo observes, that, in his time, this picture was 
 preserved in the chapel of the Dormitory, belonging to 
 the church of the Annunciation. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 235 
 
 chapel in the cathedral, in conjunction 
 with Rondani, while Correggio was 
 preparing to ornament the cupola and 
 choir; and the nave was consigned to 
 Alessandro Araldi.* The note of the 
 contract made Nov. 21, 1522, is still 
 preserved, in Italian, in his own hand, 
 as well as the instrument itself, by 
 which he agreed to execute four 
 figures in the divisions of the ceiling 
 of the Chapel, north of the Dome, in 
 which the altar of the Nativity was 
 situated, together with other decora¬ 
 tions. He was to finish his work in 
 the same style as that adopted for the 
 neighbouring Chapel, and to receive 
 145 ducats of gold, the Chapter pro¬ 
 viding scaffolding and other requi¬ 
 sites. As he was still a minor, his 
 
 * Pungileoni, t. i. p. 213. 
 
two uncles, Michele, and Pietro Ilario, 
 were witnesses and securities. His 
 cousin Rondani was to receive at the 
 same time, 120 ducats of gold for 
 painting another part of the Church; 
 and Michael Angelo Anselmi, for de¬ 
 corating a third Chapel, on the south, 
 the sum of 200. But Mazzola never 
 commenced his engagement, because 
 it was dependent on certain altera¬ 
 tions to be made in the Cathedral, 
 and on the termination of the labours 
 of Correggio, in the Church of St. 
 John, which did not occur till about 
 1524. Indeed as it was not resumed 
 at a subsequent period, it was pro¬ 
 bably cancelled by mutual consent. 
 
lent, he should fail to attain that emi¬ 
 nence 1o which he aspired. The re¬ 
 putation of Raphael and Michael An¬ 
 gelo awakened his curiosity and emu¬ 
 lation, and he formed the resolution 
 of contemplating the productions of 
 the Roman school, which presented 
 a new and peculiar character of gran¬ 
 deur and grace, united with correct¬ 
 ness of design. He therefore took his 
 departure in 1523 from Parma, at the 
 age of twenty, in company with his 
 uncle Michele. With the hope of ob¬ 
 taining the patronage of Clement 7th, 
 who had recently succeeded to the 
 papal chair, he carried with him three 
 pictures, which he had finished ex¬ 
 pressly to procure an introduction to 
 his Holiness. 
 
 The largest of these represented the 
 Virgin with the child on her bosom. 
 
taking fruit from the lap of an angel. 
 Another was intended to exhibit a 
 striking specimen of pictorial illusion. 
 It was a portrait of himself, delineated 
 on a convex surface of wood, exactly 
 representing the appearance displayed 
 by a mirror. The figure of the artist, 
 as well as the furniture and windows 
 of the chamber, in which he was 
 supposed to sit, were so artfully de¬ 
 picted, and so happily imitated, that 
 the whole appeared as if reflected from 
 a polished or glassy surface. Vasari, 
 who saw it, observes, that as he was 
 of a comely form, his countenance more 
 resembling an Angel than a man, his 
 effigies thus exhibited, appeared some¬ 
 thing divine. This picture, after pass¬ 
 ing through several hands, particularly 
 those of the celebrated Aretino, where 
 it was admired by Vasari, was said by 
 Bottari in his notes on that Author, 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 239 
 
 to be finally deposited in the Treasury 
 at Vienna. 
 
 Mazzola was well received by the 
 Pope. Although his Holiness was 
 accustomed to the excellent compo¬ 
 sitions of Raphael, he was much 
 struck with the works of the young 
 stranger, made him several presents, 
 and gave him great encouragement to 
 deserve his patronage. To manifest 
 his gratitude for the praises and re¬ 
 wards, which he obtained from the 
 Papal court, Parmegiano presented 
 to the Pope a picture, which proves 
 his knowledge of the clear obscure, an 
 excellence which he had caught from 
 the masterly designs of Correggio. 
 The subject was the Circumcision of 
 Christ, and it was remarkable for the 
 introduction of three different lights, 
 without affecting the general harmony. 
 The figures m the foreground were 
 
irradiated from the infant Jesus, the 
 second series from torches in the 
 hands of persons, bringing sacrificial 
 gifts; and the back ground was a 
 pleasing landscape, enlightened by the 
 early dawn. This piece which was 
 much valued by the Pope, was after¬ 
 wards in possession of the emperor 
 Charles the Fifth. 
 
 During his continuance at Rome, 
 Parmegiano studied with the utmost 
 diligence the antique, and the works 
 of the most celebrated painters; but 
 particularly those of Raphael, Michael 
 Angelo, and Julio Romano. Of Ra¬ 
 phael especially, he imitated the style 
 and manner, and as he resembled that 
 painter in beauty of countenance and 
 elegance of deportment, it was cur¬ 
 rently said, that the soul of Raphael 
 
megiano. He now added to his other 
 acquisitions the study of anatomy, 
 and proved the delicacy of his taste, 
 by avoiding the prominent defect of 
 Michael Angelo, who was reproached 
 with too great a display of anato¬ 
 mical knowledge. In fact he now 
 formed the style, which was peculiarly 
 his own, and which has been said to 
 unite the characteristics of Raphael, 
 Michael Angelo, and Correggio. 
 
 He expected to be employed in 
 painting the Hall of' the Vatican, 
 which John of Udina had already 
 stuccoed and divided into compart¬ 
 ments for the purpose; but his hopes 
 were fatally disappointed, by the pro¬ 
 gress of hostilities between the Em¬ 
 peror and the Pope, for the blockade 
 and siege of Rome absorbed the atten- 
 
242 
 
 PAltMEGIANO. 
 
 tion of Clement, and superseded the 
 cultivation of the Arts. 
 
 During his short stay at Rome, Va¬ 
 sari says, he painted several small 
 pictures, most of which became the 
 property of the Cardinal Ippolito de’ 
 Medici. Of his larger works, the 
 biographer specifies three; a round 
 picture of the Annunciation, which he 
 praises as singularly beautiful, and 
 which was painted for M. Agnolo 
 Cesis; a picture of our Lady and 
 Christ, with several Angels and a St. 
 Joseph, remarkable for the pleasing ' 
 air of the heads, the beauty of the 
 colouring, and the grace and skill with 
 which it is finished ; and a portrait of 
 Signor Lorenzo Cibo, captain of the 
 papal guard, which was said to be 
 equal to life itself. Finally he was 
 
 % 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 243 
 
 engaged to paint a picture for Ma¬ 
 donna Maria Buffalina da Citta di 
 Castello, which was intended to be 
 placed in the Church of St. Salvatore 
 del Lauro. It represented the Virgin 
 in the clouds, holding a book, with the 
 child on her knees; St. John kneeling- 
 on the earth, and St. Jerome asleep at 
 a distance; and from this figure it is 
 styled the Vision of St. Jerome. A 
 
 While he was engaged in this per¬ 
 formance, the memorable sack of 
 Rome, in 1527 occurred, and an anec¬ 
 dote is recorded of him, similar to 
 that which is related of Protogenes 
 the Greek painter, during the siege 
 of Rhodes by Demetrius. In conse¬ 
 quence of his fixed attention to this 
 work, he neither heard the roaring 
 of the cannon, nor perceived the 
 k 2 
 
244 
 
 PARMEGIANO. 
 
 tumult of the assault, till some sol¬ 
 diers rushed into his apartment, and 
 surprised him in the midst of his 
 labours. 
 
 Fortunately, the chief of the troop, 
 who entered his room, was a man of 
 taste, and being much struck with his 
 compositions, checked the rapacity of 
 his followers, and exacted from the 
 painter, only some sketches in pen 
 and ink, with which he was highly 
 gratified. 
 
 Another party more regardless of 
 the arts, insisting on money, he went 
 out to borrow a sum from a friend, 
 when he was seized by a third troop, 
 by whom he was imprisoned, until he 
 had found means to satisfy their de¬ 
 mands. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 245 
 
 A city recently sacked, and filled 
 
 • • r 
 with foreign troops, being an insecure 
 
 residence for an artist, he retired to 
 Bologna, where he lodged in the house 
 of a saddler, his countryman and 
 friend, and proposed to remain for a 
 time, with the view of etching his 
 best compositions, the art pf engraving 
 on copper having been recently dis¬ 
 covered. 
 
 During his residence at Rome, Par- 
 megiano is said to have invented the 
 Chiaroscuro B method of engraving- 
 on wood; and a print of his own Dio¬ 
 genes, in that style, is falsely attri¬ 
 buted to him, for it was done by 
 Hugo de Carpi, the inventor of that 
 method, whose name appears at the 
 bottom of the impression. Some 
 also ascribe to him the invention of 
 
246 
 
 PAKMEGI A NO. 
 
 etching on copper, and others of mez- 
 zotinto ; but both without foundation. 
 He seems, however, to have been 
 among the first who introduced etch¬ 
 ing into Italy, and to have greatly 
 improved the art. During his resi¬ 
 dence at Bologna, he not only made 
 many etchings of his own works, 
 which were much admired, but em¬ 
 ployed a skilful artist, named Ber¬ 
 nardo da Trento, to engrave others. 
 He was at length diverted from his 
 pursuit, by the treachery of Bernardo 
 who decamped, after stealing his 
 tools and designs. In consequence 
 of this loss, he resumed the pencil, 
 and painted many pictures for dif¬ 
 ferent individuals, and convents. 
 Among these are enumerated a St. 
 Roque, attacked with the plague; a 
 Conversion of St. Paul, with numerous 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 247 
 
 figures, a Landscape, and a Ma¬ 
 donna of great beauty, for his host 
 the saddler. Indeed several of his 
 most esteemed pieces were executed 
 in that city, and it is singular, that 
 during so short a stay, his pencil 
 should have been so wonderfully pro¬ 
 ductive. 
 
 One particularly distinguished for 
 its beauty, was that called the Ma¬ 
 donna della Rosa, which represents 
 the Virgin in the act of offering a 
 Rose to the infant Jesus, who rests 
 his hand on the globe. Of this pic¬ 
 ture a curious anecdote is related. 
 It is said to have been executed for 
 the celebrated Aretino, who was on 
 terms of friendship with the painter; 
 and critics who have examined it 
 minutely, have discovered faint traces 
 
248 
 
 P ARM EG I A NO. 
 
 of wings on the shoulders of the in¬ 
 fant, ornaments on the female, and 
 other proofs, that the original design, 
 was a Venus and Cupid, which was 
 certainly more consonant to the cha¬ 
 racter of the licentious satyrist, than 
 a religious subject. Some suppose, 
 however, that the painter changed his 
 purpose, and having thus transformed 
 it, presented it to Pope Clement 7th, 
 and others that it was sold to the 
 family of Zani, at Bologna; in whose 
 possession it continued till 1752, when 
 it was purchased by Augustus the 
 Third, King of Poland and Elector 
 of Saxony, for the price of 1,350 zee- 
 chines, and now adorns the gallery 
 at Dresden.* It is painted on wood, 
 
 * Affo, and Description de la Gallerie de Dresde. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 249 
 
 and in dimensions is four french feet, 
 by three feet 2 inches.* 
 
 Another was the celebrated picture 
 called the Madonna del Collo Lungo. 
 It represents the Virgin, with the in¬ 
 fant Jesus, sleeping in her lap, accom¬ 
 panied with a group of Angels, one of 
 whom holds a transparent vase, con¬ 
 taining the figure of an illuminated 
 cross. It was executed for the Church 
 of Sta. Maria de’ Servi, and after¬ 
 wards sold by the monks to Cosmo 
 the Third, great duke of Florence, who 
 placed it in the Pitti Palace, and 
 substituted a copy in the church. 
 This proceeding occasioned a process 
 between the Marchese Cerati, the 
 patron of the Church, and the Monks, 
 
 * Abrege de la Vie des Peintres, p. 135, Affb. 
 
250 
 
 PARME6I ANO. 
 
 but as the original was irrecoverable, 
 he deprived them of their copy . 0 
 
 Lastly the celebrated altar-piece of 
 the Convent of St. Margaret, de¬ 
 serves particular attention. It ex¬ 
 hibits the Virgin presenting the infant 
 Jesus to St. Margaret the Martyr, 
 and near are the figures of St. Benedict, 
 and St. Jerome, with an Angel. It 
 was greatly admired, and studied by 
 the Carracci; and Scaramucci relates, 
 that Guido being asked by a friend, 
 which he would prefer, this picture 
 or the St. Cecilia of Raphael, ex¬ 
 claimed after a long pause, in a trans¬ 
 port of enthusiasm “ Quella, quella 
 di Santa Margaretta del Parmegia- 
 nino.”* 
 
 * Oh, by all means this; this of St. Margaret by 
 Parmegianino ! 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 251 
 
 Parmegiano entertained a high opi¬ 
 nion of his profession, and was ex¬ 
 tremely jealous of his reputation; for 
 he never permitted any picture to go 
 out of his hands, till quite finished. 
 An instance of his punctilious delicacy 
 is recorded by his biographer at this 
 period. The emperor Charles the 
 Fifth being crowned at Bologna by 
 Pope Clement the seventh, Parme¬ 
 giano, after witnessing the ceremony, 
 drew from memory his portrait 
 crowned by fame, with a boy in the 
 character of an infant Hercules, offer¬ 
 ing him the globe. The Pope, who 
 was much delighted with the sketch, 
 sent it to the Emperor, who was no 
 less pleased, and desired to retain it; 
 but the artist excused himself, be¬ 
 cause it was unfinished. In a short 
 time Charles departed from Bologna, 
 
- 
 
 252 PARMEGIANO. 
 
 and Parmegiano thus lost the patron¬ 
 age which he otherwise might have 
 obtained from the Emperor. The por¬ 
 trait when finished, was presented to 
 the Pope, inherited by his nephew, 
 Cardinal de’ Medici, and afterwards 
 transferred to the gallery of Mantua, 
 where it probably perished in the 
 memorable sack of that city, in 
 1630. 
 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 Note A.. the Vision of St. Jerome. 
 
 Vasari says, the picture painted for Donna 
 Maria Buffalini, was intended to be placed in 
 the Church of St. Salvatore del Lauro, in a 
 chapel near the door. He adds that when 
 Parmegiano left Rome, he deposited it with 
 the Prati della Pace, in whose refectory it re¬ 
 mained several years. It was removed by Giulic 
 Buffalini to the church of the family at Citta di 
 Gastello. 
 
 Affo, after relating these facts, adds that it 
 remained in the refectory of the monastery of 
 St. Maria della Pace, till the time when Biondo 
 wrote; that it was removed by Giulio Buffalini, 
 and doubtless placed in the chapel of that noble 
 family, in the church of the Augustins. But in 
 consequence of the little care which was taken 
 of it, the Buffalini family caused it to be trans- 
 
254 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. X. 
 
 ferred to their palace, in which it remained in his 
 (Affo’s) time, and though considerably injured, 
 was regarded as a treasure. 
 
 This picture was purchased by the late Mar¬ 
 quess of Abercorn, who sold it to Watson 
 Taylor, esq., at his sale it has been recently 
 purchased by the Reverend Holwell Carr, at 
 the price of 8,050 guineas. 
 
 Note B . the Chiaroscuro Method of En¬ 
 
 graving. 
 
 This mode of printing was performed first by 
 means of two, and afterwards of three blocks of 
 wood. In the first mode the shades and outline 
 were impressed with one block, the tints of colour 
 with a second, and the lights were left blank. 
 In the second mode, one block was employed 
 for shade and outline, a second for the middle, 
 and a third for the bright tints; and the lights, 
 as before, were generally left blank. Vasari, 
 t. iv, p. 284. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. I. 
 
 255 
 
 Note C . deprived them of their copy. 
 
 Ratti, p. 150. AfFo, p. 75, states that he 
 saw and examined it in 1782, at the house of 
 Signor Guasti, whither it was removed during 
 the repairs of the church. It is now in the 
 Ducal Gallery at Florence. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 Return of Parmegiano to Parma-—Engaged to 
 decorate the Church of la Steccata—Terms 
 of his Agreement—Other Works—Delays in 
 his Undertaking—Enters into a New Agree¬ 
 ment with the confraternity of the Steccata — 
 Commences his Operations—Further Delays 
 —Imprisoned for the non-performance of his 
 Contract—His Release and Flight to Casal 
 Maggiore — Death—Burial and Testament — 
 Process between the Confraternity of the 
 Steccata and his Heirs—Remarks on his 
 Style , and the Characteristics of his Pencil. 
 
 After having increased his repu¬ 
 tation and improved his taste at Rome 
 and Bologna, Parmegiano was eager 
 to display his talents in his native 
 
 s 
 
258 
 
 parmkgiano. 
 
 city. He accordingly returned to 
 Parma in 1531, and was instantly en¬ 
 gaged to paint the principal chapel 
 in the church of La Steccata, dedicated 
 to the Virgin Mary, and then recently 
 built. 
 
 paving made a design, which 
 represented the coronation of the 
 Virgin, surrounded with groupes of 
 Angels, it was approved by the fra¬ 
 ternity, and he contracted to paint 
 the Chapel in fresco, for 400 gold 
 crowns, to be finished in 18 months. 
 In the following year he received half 
 the payment in advance. Some de¬ 
 lays in erecting the scaffolding, which 
 was to be furnished by the fraternity, 
 however induced Parmegiano to em¬ 
 ploy himself in decorating a ceiling 
 for the family of San Vitali, at their 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 259 
 
 palace of Fontanalato. The subject 
 was the story of Acteon; the light 
 was derived from a torch, in the 
 hands of a female figure; and a repre¬ 
 sentation of Ceres was deemed not 
 unworthy of the pencil of Correggio. 
 He was also engaged in other pic¬ 
 tures, particularly portraits, in which 
 
 he greatly excelled. 
 
 » 
 
 In these occupations he passed four 
 years, without fulfilling his contract 
 with the fraternity; but in compliance 
 with their remonstrances he signed 
 a new deed, on the 27th of September, 
 1535, engaging to finish the work in 
 two years, under pain of forfeiting 
 the payment. He at the same time 
 received a new advance of fifty gold 
 crowns, Francis Boiardi and Damiano 
 s 2 
 
260 
 
 PARMEOIANO. 
 
 Piazza being his sureties for fulfilling 
 the agreement. 
 
 In gratitude to Boiardi, he painted 
 for him a beautiful picture, the sub¬ 
 ject of which is Cupid forming a 
 bow. The God of Love is represented 
 with his back towards the spectator, 
 the right-foot resting on some books, 
 and the face partly turned to the 
 front. In the back ground is a small 
 Cupid, embracing a girl, whose atti¬ 
 tude evinces alarm and timidity. 
 These subordinate figures are sweetly 
 and naturally depicted, and the ex¬ 
 pression and attitude of Cupid him¬ 
 self, is in the highest degree charac¬ 
 teristic, elegant, and graceful. 
 
 We cannot pay a greater compli- 
 
vttAP. II. 
 
 261 
 
 ment to the merits of Parmegiano, 
 than by stating that this picture has 
 been attributed to Correggio, and as 
 such is enumerated in the catalogue 
 of the Imperial Gallery at Vienna, 
 where it now remains. It has also 
 been engraved by Francis Vanderstein 
 as a production of Correggio. 
 
 This picture was celebrated at an 
 early period; for soon after the death 
 of the painter, we find Francesco Doria 
 writing to his friend Carnesecchi, and 
 recommending him when at Parma to 
 examine the Cupid of Parmegianino, 
 then in the possession of the Cavalier 
 Boiardi. According to Vasari, it 
 descended by inheritance, with other 
 designs of our painter, to Marcantonio 
 Cavalea, the grandson of Boiardi, and 
 was afterwards supposed to have been 
 
262 
 
 PARM EG IANO. 
 
 carried into Spain, and to have formed 
 one of the ornaments of the Escurial. 
 Whether this was the fact, or by what 
 means it came into the possession of 
 the emperor, is equally uncertain; 
 though it may have passed as a pre¬ 
 sent from the court of Madrid to that 
 of Vienna, during the intimate con¬ 
 nection between the two branches of 
 the House of Austria.* 
 
 Another picture of the same cha¬ 
 racter, j ustly attributed to Parmegiano, 
 is preserved in the collection of Capo 
 di Monte at Naples. It represents 
 Cupid asleep and two genii archly 
 
 * Gemaelde der K. K. Gallerie, p. 1, p. 170. The 
 editor of this Catalogue states, that the picture has 
 been injured, particularly the body of the Cupid, though 
 the head is still perfect. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 263 
 
 attempting to steal his bow ; and dis¬ 
 plays all the playful elegance of his 
 pencil.* 
 
 After executing several other works, 
 which were no less admired, he com¬ 
 menced his labours in the church of 
 La Steccata, and completed the beau¬ 
 tiful figures of Adam and Eve, the 
 three Virgins, by some called Sibylls; 
 Moses breaking the tables of the law, 
 so much and justly admired; and the 
 ornaments in the vault of the presby¬ 
 tery. He proceeded, however, with 
 extreme dilatoriness, and was almost 
 continually engaged in executing pri¬ 
 vate commissions. Some attribute 
 his delays to a dread of having his 
 fresco paintings compared with those 
 of Correggio, in the Churches of St. 
 John and the Cathedral; others with 
 
 * Voyage d’ un Amateur des Arts, t. iii. p. 36. 
 
264 
 
 PARMEGIANO. 
 
 Vasari, to his pursuit of the philoso¬ 
 pher’s stone, but this imputation is 
 disproved, by the testimony of his 
 friend and scholar Fornari.* Some 
 also ascribe them to a propensity for 
 gaming; adding, that vexed with the 
 loss of a large sum of money at play, 
 he ascended the scaffolding, and de¬ 
 faced great part of his performance. 
 
 Affo has vindicated him from both 
 these imputations. Most probably 
 his delays arose from his profuse and 
 improvident temper; for having dissi¬ 
 pated the sums which he received 
 from the fraternity, he was compelled 
 for subsistence to engage in those 
 works, which would yield him a ready 
 supply of money. But whatever was 
 the cause of his neglect, he was 
 
 * p. 87. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 265 
 
 arrested and imprisoned, for not ful¬ 
 filling his contract. This disgrace 
 filled him with disgust and melancholy, 
 though to obtain his liberty, he seems 
 to have promised to complete the 
 work. But soon after his release he 
 escaped to Casal Maggiore, in the 
 territory of Cremona, where he for a 
 short time continued his labours, and 
 painted two pieces, which proved that 
 the vigour of his pencil was undimi¬ 
 nished. These were, a valuable picture 
 for the Church of St. Francis, of which 
 the subject is not specified, and ano¬ 
 ther, as an altar piecefor the Collegiate 
 Church, representing the Virgin in 
 the Clouds, and beneath St. John and 
 St. Stephen. To this period is also 
 ascribed the Lucretia, meditating her 
 death, with the poignard in her hand, 
 which for expression and force, as 
 
266 
 
 PARMEGIAIO. 
 
 well as purity of design, is called by 
 Vasari the most exquisite of his pro¬ 
 ductions/ 
 
 He did not, however, long survive 
 his liberation from prison, for he was 
 seized with a violent fever, which 
 hurried him to the grave, on the 
 24th of August, 1540, in his 37th 
 year, dying by a singular coin¬ 
 cidence at the same age as his 
 favourite prototype the inimitable 
 Raphael. His body, at his own re¬ 
 quest, was removed from Casal Mag- 
 giore, and interred in the Church of 
 the convent of Fontana, naked, with 
 a cross of cypress laid on the breast. 
 Being unmarried, and without chil¬ 
 dren, he left a testament, constituting 
 three of his friends as his heirs, to 
 the exclusion of his own relations. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 267 
 
 Against them a law-suit was speedily 
 instituted, by the confraternity of La 
 Steccata, to obtain compensation for 
 the non-fulfilment of his contract. 
 They defended the omission, on the 
 ground, that his employers had failed 
 to furnish the leaf gold required for 
 the work, and to remove and dispose 
 the scaffoldings ; but after a valuation 
 of the part which was finished, they 
 were enjoined to reimburse the con¬ 
 vent, by the payment of 150 Imperial 
 lire.® 
 
 The style of Parmegiano is evi¬ 
 dently grounded on that of Correggio, 
 though he successfully superadded 
 the characteristics of Raphael and 
 Michael Angelo. He is however far 
 removed from the-reproach of servile 
 imitation, and though he has so ad- 
 
268 
 
 PARMEGIANO. 
 
 mirably blended their respective 
 beauties, his style is exclusively his 
 own. His chief object was delicacy 
 and elegance, which he has evinced 
 in the air of his female figures, the 
 contrasts of his attitudes, and the easy 
 flow of his drapery. 
 
 He is indeed reproached as a man¬ 
 nerist, for carrying these peculiarities 
 to excess; and particularly in his 
 zealous imitation of the antique, is 
 said to have made the extremities of 
 his female forms, too slender for the 
 proportions of natural beauty. This 
 defect is remarked in one of his 
 finest figures, which is thence called 
 the Madonna del Collo lungo, or long¬ 
 necked Madonna. But although he 
 may in some degree merit the cen¬ 
 sure of sacrificing such essentials to 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 269 
 
 ideal elegance, he has fully proved 
 his ability to attain sublimity and 
 dignity. Of this, many proofs may 
 be drawn from his works in fresco, 
 and particularly from his celebrated 
 figure of Moses breaking the tables 
 of the law, which is highly impressive, 
 for the character of the head, the 
 majesty of the form, and the energy 
 and dignity of the attitude. Of this 
 figure. Sir Joshua Reynolds observes, 
 we are at a loss which to admire 
 most, the correctness of the drawing, 
 or the grandeur of the conception. 
 It furnished also to one of our most 
 celebrated lyric poets, the no less 
 animated description of the British 
 Bard: 
 
 On a rock whose haughty brow 
 Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood, 
 
 Robed in the sable garb of Woe, 
 
 With haggard eyes the poet stood. 
 
270 
 
 parmegiano. 
 
 Loose his beard and hoary hair, 
 
 Stream'd like a meteor to the troubled air ; 
 And with a master’s hand and prophet’s fire, 
 Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre.* 
 
 Among the excellencies of Parme- 
 giano, we may enumerate the appro¬ 
 priate and harmonious tone of his co¬ 
 louring ; and may equally commend 
 the judicious arrangement of his sub¬ 
 jects ; for he generally abstained from 
 crowding his field, and was thus en¬ 
 abled to give his figures their due 
 proportion and full effect. Indeed 
 almost the only composition mentioned 
 by his biographers, as departing from 
 this rule, is “ Christ preaching to the 
 Multitude,” which was preserved in 
 the Villa of Colorno belonging to the 
 sovereigns of Parma.j' Another ex- 
 
 * Mason’s Edition of Gray, v. 4. 
 f Lanzi, t. iv, p. 101. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 271 
 
 cellence was his skill and accuracy in 
 design, in which he has been justly 
 compared with Raphael. So ambi¬ 
 tious was he of perfection in this 
 branch of art, that he is said to have 
 made repeated draughts of his prin¬ 
 cipal figures ; and of the Adam in the 
 Steccata, in particular, no less than 
 three different sketches have been 
 discovered and engraved. Hence he 
 is said to have been slow and deli¬ 
 berate in his conceptions; forming 
 his plan with great care, before he 
 took up the pencil; and then finish¬ 
 ing his work, with that freedom and 
 decision, which called forth so warm 
 and enthusiastic an eulogium from 
 Albani. 
 
 “ Bold touches,” says that able 
 master, “ justly given in the proper 
 
272 
 
 PARMEGIANO. 
 
 place, are highly to be commended, 
 as the great Parmegiano has shewn. 
 In this respect he was a prodigy of 
 nature, sent into the world by 
 Heaven, to awaken the wonder of 
 mankind'; for by the frequent prac¬ 
 tice of design, he had so far acquired 
 this habit, that when he passed from 
 the conception of his subject to the 
 exercise of the pencil, his touches 
 were divine.”* 
 
 Parmegiano seems to have left 
 still fewer scholars than Correggio. 
 Indeed his errant mode of life must 
 have afforded little opportunity for 
 giving regular instruction ; and none 
 of his biographers attempt to assign 
 to him any other pupil than his cousin 
 
 * Felsina Pittrice, t. iv, p. 249. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 273 
 
 Girolamo Mazzola, who though a 
 painter of some merit, was consi¬ 
 derably inferior, and whose perform¬ 
 ances, as we have already observed, 
 have been sometimes mistaken for 
 those of Parmegiano. 
 
NOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 Note A . and Scholar Fornari. 
 
 Aflo attributes the tale of his devotion to 
 Alchemy, to the invention of ignorant observers, 
 who seeing him employed with crucibles in 
 preparing his colours, supposed him engaged 
 in the pursuit of the philosopher’s stone. The 
 imputation of a propensity to gaming, is traced 
 to a ridiculous mistake of the abbe Richard, 
 in the Description Historique de 1’ Italie. 
 Finding the following expression in Sandrart 
 “ Pergebat autem in supradicto quidem opere 
 fornicis, sed tarduis, quod seposita aliquando 
 pictura alchimiss dedisset operam: cum autem 
 una die plus perderet quam integra hebdomada 
 lucraretur, &c.” he considered the word c per- 
 deret’ as applied to gaming, and, in consequence, 
 not only accused him of having lost a consider¬ 
 able sum at play, but added that in a fit of 
 
XOTES TO CHAP. II. 
 
 275 
 
 vexation he defaced a part of his work, and fled 
 to Casal Maggiore. The first of these impu¬ 
 tations is, as Affb observes, an obvious error; 
 and the second is fully disproved by the records 
 of the lawsuit with his executors, in which 
 such a fact would have been infallibly adduced, 
 in order to establish the claim for damages set 
 up by the confraternity of the Steccata. Affb, 
 p. 99. 
 
 Note B . the most exquisite of his pro¬ 
 
 ductions. 
 
 This Lucretia is supposed to be lost, though 
 one by Parmegiano on the same subject is 
 enumerated in the Descrizione di cento quadri, 
 preserved in the Farnese Gallery, printed in 
 1725. These pictures were afterwards trans¬ 
 ferred to the palace of Capo di Monte at 
 Naples. Like the celebrated Cupid, the Lu¬ 
 cretia has also been ascribed to Correggio.— 
 Affb, p. 89.—Voyage d’un Amateur des Arts, 
 t. iv, p. 32. 
 
276 
 
 NOTES TO CHAP. XI. 
 
 Note C. by the payment of 150 Im¬ 
 
 perial lire. 
 
 This sum did not exceed thirty-eight gold 
 crowns, which is an additional proof of the fal¬ 
 sity of the assertion, that Parmegiano had de¬ 
 stroyed the greater part of his performance; 
 since the work, according to the contract, was to 
 be completed for 400, and he received in part 
 250. The portion which he had finished, must 
 therefore have been valued at 212, and con¬ 
 sequently, the money refunded, was not more 
 than one sixth of the whole advance. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ABATE, Nicolo, a happy imitator of Correggio, 214. 
 
 ABECEDARIO PITTORICO, cited, 35. 
 
 ACTJBON, story of, painted by Parmegiano, 259. 
 
 ADAM and Eve, figures of, in the Church of La Steccata, by Parme¬ 
 giano, 263. 
 
 AFFO, his notice of Correggio’s frescos in the monastery of St. Paulo at 
 Parma, 73. Cited respecting the cupola of St. John, 134. The 
 biographer of Parmegiano, 225. 
 
 AGONY of CHRIST in the Garden, a picture by Correggio, 122, 152. 
 Aptitude of its accessories, 163. Now in the Duke of Wellington’s 
 collection, 125. Admirably copied by Mr. Jackson, 211. 
 
 ALBANI, his tribute to the merits of Correggio, 167. His eulogium on 
 Parmegiano, 271. 
 
 ALBINEA, church of, an Altar-piece painted for, by Correggio, 36. 
 
 ALCHEMY, the pursuit of, erroneously imputed to Parmegiano, 264, 
 274. 
 
 ALLEGRI, ANTONIO. See Correggio.—Genealogical Table of the 
 Family, xi. 
 
 ALLEGRI, PELLEGRINO, the father of Correggio, 14. 
 
 ALLEGRI, LORENZO, the Uncle of Correggio, 15. 
 
 ALTAR PIECES, by Correggio; for the Franciscan convent at Correggio, 
 27. For the Hospital of Mercy, 29. For the church of St. Nicholas at 
 Carpi, 30. By Parmegiano, for the convent of St. Margaret at Parma, 
 250. 
 
 ANNUNCIATION, a picture by Parmegiano, 242. 
 
 ANSELMI, MICHAEL ANGELO, an imitator of Correggio, 201. 
 Decorates a chapel in the cathedral of Parma, 236. 
 
 ANTIQUE, Correggio’s occasional imitation of, 177. 
 
 ARALDI, ALESSANDRO, employed in decorating the cathedral of 
 Parma, 235. 
 
 ARETINO, the satirist, a friend of Parmegiano, 247. 
 
 AROMANI, FRANCESCO, an uncle of Correggio, 45. 
 
 ASCENSION, the subject of Correggio’s work in the cupola of St. John 
 at Parma, 75. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN, Correggio’s subject for the Dome 
 at Parma, 98 . 
 
 AUGUSTUS III. King of Poland, purchases various paintings of Cor¬ 
 reggio, 85, 94,127. The Madonna della Rosa, by Parmegiano, 248. 
 
 B. 
 
 BAPTISM OF CHRIST, an early picture by Parmegiano, 232. 
 
 BARTOLOTTO, supposed to have instructed Correggio, 16. 
 
 B EDO LI, GIROLAMO, surnamed Mazzola, employed in the Dome 
 at Parma, 108. Extract from agreement with the fabric masters, 147. 
 
 BEGARELLI, a statuary, the friend of Correggio, 104. 
 
 BERGONZI, BRISEIS, Correggio’s St. Jerome painted for, 86. 
 
 BERNI, GIOVANNI, an instructor of Correggio, 14. 
 
 BERNIERI, ANTONIO, a scholar of Correggio, 202. 
 
 BIANCHI, FRANCESCO, a supposed instructor of Correggio, 20. 
 Account of, 56. 
 
 BOIARDI, FRANCIS, a picture painted for, by Parmegiano, 260. 
 
 BOLOGNA, Parmegiano retires thither from Rome, 245. His paint- 
 ings in that city, 247. 
 
 BRUNO, ANTONIO, studied the works of Correggio, 206. 
 
 BRUNORIO, POMPEO, espouses the eldest daughter of Correggio/ 
 121. Mentioned in the will of her grandfather, 151. 
 
 BRUNORIO, PAULO, Correggio witness to a deed between him and 
 the prince Manfredo, 114. 
 
 BRYAN, Mr., his Dictionary of Painters, cited, 225. 
 
 BUFFAL1NI, DONNA MARIA, a picture painted for, by Parme¬ 
 giano, 243. 
 
 C. 
 
 CAPELLI, FRANCESCO, studied the works of Correggio, 206. 
 
 CARPI, a picture by Correggio at, 31,62. 
 
 CARPI, GIROLAMO, an imitator of Correggio, 204. 
 
 CARPI, HUGO DE, invents the chiaroscuro method of engraving on 
 wood, 245. 
 
 CARRACCI, ANNIBAL, copied one of Correggio’s pictures of the 
 marriage of St. Catherine, 42. His admiration of Correggio, 169 . 
 Considered him poor and unfortunate, 214. 
 
 CASAL MAGGIORE, works by Parmegiano during his reisidence at, 
 265. He dies there, 266. 
 
 CATHEDRAL of Parma, its cupola painted by Correggio, 97 . See 
 Parma. 
 
 CAVALUCCI, his copy of Correggio’s marriage of St. Catharine, 66 . 
 
 CELLINI, BENVENUTO, an instructor of Girolamo Carpi, 204. 
 
 CHARLES V., a portrait of, sketched by Parmegiano, 251. 
 
 CHIAROSCURO, explanation of the term, 209 . 
 
INDEX. 
 
 CHIAROSCURO method of engraving on wood, invention of, ascribed 
 to Parmegiano, 245. The process described, 254. 
 
 CHRIST, nativity of, a picture by Correggio, 81. See Notte. 
 
 CHRIST appearing to Mary Magdalen, Correggio’s picture of, 44 
 probably remaining in the Escurial, 220. 
 
 CHRIST preaching to the multitude, a picture by Parmegiano, 210. 
 
 CHRISTINA, queen of Sweden, two pictures by Correggio discovered 
 at Stockholm in her reign, 111. 
 
 CIBO LORENZO, portrait of, by Parmegiano, 242. 
 
 CIRCUMCISION, a .picture by Parmegiano, 239. 
 
 CLEMENT VII., pope, a portrait of Charles V. presented to him by 
 Parmegiano, 251. Patronizes that master,. 239. 
 
 COINS, FOREIGN, mentioned in this work, their denominations and 
 
 value, viii. 
 
 COLLO LUNGO, Madonna del, a picture by Parmegiano, 249. 
 
 COLOURS, the rarest and richest employed by Correggio, 164. Inimit¬ 
 able clearness and transparency of his colouring, 165, 179, 216. Eanzi s 
 remarks on his mode of operation, 212. 
 
 CORREGGIO, (ANTONIO DE’ALtEGRIJ remarks on the differen- 
 acconnts respecting, iii. Various errors corrected, vii. His birth, 
 11,12. His early instructors in painting, 15. Mantegna, 18. Bianchi, 20. 
 Studies anatomy under Hr. Lombardi, 22. Paints an altar-piece for 
 the Franciscan convent at Correggio, 26. Another .for the Hospital 
 of Mercy, 29. Another for the church of St. Nicholas at Carpi, 30. 
 The St. George for the £t. Pietro Martire at Modena, 32. His mar¬ 
 riage 39. His three pictures of the marriage of St. Catharine, 41. Of 
 Christ appearing to Mary Magdalen, 44. Commencement of his works 
 at Parma 70. In the monastery of St. Paulo, 71. In the church of St. 
 John 73.’ St. Placido and St. Fiavia, p. 76. The Madonna della Sco- 
 della’ 78 The Madonna della Scala, 80. The Nativity, called also, La 
 Ndtte 81 The St. Jerome, 86. The St. Sebastian, 90. Engaged to 
 naint the Cathedral, 95. His decoration of the cupola, 97. Interruption 
 of his labours, 106. The Leda and Danaii, 111. The Io 112. Engage, 
 ment with Alberto Panciroli, 115. His sudden death, 116,150. His chil¬ 
 dren 118. Remarks on the Agony in the Garden, 122. On the peni¬ 
 tent Magdalen, 125. On the Cupid learning to read, 129. On the 
 Venus rising from the sea, 131. Observations on his style, 153. Tribute 
 to his merits by Albani, l6r. And Annibal Carracci, 169. Question 
 relative to his studies at Rome examined, 173. Anecdote respecting 
 his allusion to Raphael, doubted, 180. Common opinion respecting 
 his noverty refuted, 181. No unquestioned portraits of him extant, 
 191: Account of his son Pomponio, 194. And of his principal disci- 
 pies or imitators, 200. 
 
 CORREGGIO, city and territory of, 13, sketch of its history, ° * 
 
 COSMO III. Buke of Tuscany, purchases the Madonna del Callo Lungo 
 by Parmegiano, 249. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 COSTA, price paid to him for a picture of Apollo and the Muses, 187. 
 
 COYPEL, repairs the lo, ascribed to Correggio, 113. 
 
 CUPID, learning to read, a picture by Correggio, 129* Its poetical 
 spirit, 162 . 
 
 CUPID forming a bow, a picture by Parmegiano, 260. Ascribed to 
 Correggio, 261. Cupid asleep, another picture by Parmegiano, 262. 
 
 D. 
 
 DANAE, a picture by Correggio, 111. Another on the same subject 
 ascribed to him, J13,150. Exact period when painted not known, 149. 
 
 DESIGN, Correggio’s excellence in, 154. 
 
 DRESDEN GALLERY, contains Correggio’s Notte, 85. His St. Se* 
 bastian, 94. His Magdalen, 127. 
 
 DORIA, FRANCESCO, his notice of Parmegiano’s Cupid, 261. 
 
 DOSSO, the elder, price paid to him for a large picture, 187. 
 
 DUCAT, GOLD, its value, viii. 
 
 E. 
 
 ECCE HOMO, two pictures of that subject, ascribed to Correggio, 210. 
 
 ESCURIAL, collection, said to contain Correggio’s picture of Christ in 
 the Garden, 45, 67 . 
 
 EXPRESSION, of the milder passions, a characteristic of Correggio’s 
 style, 158, l60. 
 
 F. 
 
 FELSINA PITTRICE, cited, 173. 
 
 FLIGHT INTO EGYPT, a picture by Correggio, 78. 
 
 FONTAINEBLEAU, palace of, decorated with frescos by Nicolo Abate, 
 214. 
 
 FONTANALATO, palace, a ceiling in, painted by Parmegiano, 259. 
 
 FORD, Mr., his account of a sketch by Correggio, for the dome at 
 Parma, 143. 
 
 FORESHORTENING, Correggio’s excellence ip, 158. 
 
 FORNARI, his testimony refutes an imputation against Parmegiano, 264, 
 274. 
 
 FRAN CISCAN convent of minor friars, at Correggio, an altar-piece, 
 painted for, by Correggio, 26. 
 
 FRESCOS of the Vatican, remark of Mengs on, noticed, 215. 
 
 FUSELI, his observations on the style of Correggio, 156. 
 
 G. 
 
 GAMBARA, Ippolito, Correggio one of the witnesses to his marriage 
 contract, 115. 
 
 GAMBARA, VERONICA, account of, 49. 
 
 GANDINI GEORGIO, employed to finish the dome at Parma, 108. 
 Task assigned to him, 146. A scholar of Correggio, 202. 
 
GATTI, BERNARDINO, a letter from, quoted, 108. A scholar of 
 Correggio, 201. 
 
 GEMINIANO, LUDOVICO, extract from his will, 219. 
 
 GEMINIANO, LAURA, espoused to Pomponio, the son of Correggio 
 195. 65 
 
 GILBERTO, prince of Correggio, tradition respecting, 59. 
 
 GIORGIONE, similarity of Correggio’s colouring to his, 179. 
 
 GRACE, a characteristic of Correggio’s style, 155. 
 
 GRAY, his description of the Bard, suggested by Parmegiano’s Moses, 
 269. 
 
 GRILLENZONI, Dr. F., a friend of Correggio, 44, 66. 
 
 GUAZZETTO DI RANE, a phrase applied to some of Correggio’s 
 figures, in the cupola of the cathedral at Parma, 145. 
 
 GUIDO, his remark on Correggio’s S. Pietro Martire, 35, 64. His 
 admiration of the St. Margaret by Parmegiano, 250. 
 
 GUTTENBRUN, a happy imitator of Correggio, 210. 
 
 \ 
 
 PI. 
 
 HARMONY, a characteristic of Correggio’s style, 155, 157. 
 
 IIOARE, Sir Richard, two copies of Correggio’s marriage of St. Cathe¬ 
 rine in his collection, 66. 
 
 HOPE, Mr., the purchaser of a Danae ascribed to Correggio, 150. 
 
 INVISIATI, family, a picture by Correggio in their chapel at Carpi, 31. 
 IO, a picture ascribed to Correggio, 112. Another at Vienna of doubtful 
 authenticity, 211. 
 
 JACKSON, Mr. R. A., his accurate copy of a portrait of Correggio, 
 194. Of the Agony in the Garden, 211. 
 
 JULIO ROMANO, his admiration of Correggio’s Leda and Danae, 111. 
 Notion that his works served as models to Correggio, refuted, 216. 
 His works studied by Parmegiano, 240. 
 
 L. 
 
 LANDI, ORTENSIO, affirms that Correggio never saw Rome, 176. 
 LANZI, remark on his biographical sketch of Correggio, ix. Cited on 
 his juvenile productions, 20. On the cupola of the cathedral at Parma, 
 145. On a figure in the St. Agnes of Domenichino, 159. O11 the 
 process of colouring practised by Correggio, 212. 
 
 LEDA, a picture by Correggio, 111. Period when painted not exactly 
 known, 149. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 LEONARDO DA VINCI, how far his works served as models to Cor¬ 
 reggio, 178. 
 
 LIRA, IMPERIALE, its value, ix. 
 
 LOMBARD School, Correggio placed at the head of, 199- 
 LOMBARDI, Dr. GIAMBATTISTA, instructed Correggio in anatomy, 
 22. Account of him, 58. 
 
 LORENZO, an uncle of Correggio, supposed to have taught him the 
 rudiments of painting, 15. 
 
 LUCRETIA meditating her death, a picture by Parmegiano, 265, 27o. 
 
 M. 
 
 MADONNA DELLA ROSA, a picture by Parmegiano, 248. 
 MADONNA DELLA SCALA, a fresco ascribed to Correggio, 79- 
 MADONNA DELLA 3COD3LLA, a picture by Correggio, 78. 
 MAGDALEN, PENITENT, a picture by Correggio, 125, 152. 
 MANEREDO, PRINCE, the patron and friend of Correggio, 190. 
 MANTEGNA, ANDREA, a supposed instructor of Correggio, 19- 
 Account of him, 52. 
 
 MANTUA, FREDERIC, second duke of, employs Correggio to paint 
 two pictures as a present for Charies the Fifth, 111. 
 
 MARASTONl, BATTISTA, an instructor of Correggio, 14. 
 MARMITTA, I’., supposed to have instructed Parmegiano, 23L 
 MAZZOL A, the family name of Parmegiano, 228. 
 
 MAZZOLA, GIROLAMO, his pictures often confounded with those of 
 
 Parmegiano, 223. , 
 
 MENGS, his treatises relative to Correggio, vii. His remarks on the 
 Ndtte 86. Oil the St. Sebastian, 93. On the dome at Parma, 102- 
 On the change in the style of Correggio, 174. On the remuneration he 
 obtained for his works, 185. 
 
 MERLINI, GIROLAMA, espoused to Correggio, 39,65. 
 
 MICHAEL ANGELO, question whether his works served as models 
 to Correggio, 174. His works studied by Parmegiano, 241. 
 MONTINI, SCIPION E, said to have patronized Correggio at Parma, 70. 
 MOSES, breaking the tables of the law, an admired work of Parmegiano, 
 263. 
 
 MULETEERS, an early sketch by Correggio, 24. 
 
 NICOLINI, probably Nicolo Abate, an imitator of Raphael and Correg. 
 ffio 214. 
 
 NOTTE, or the Nativity, a celebrated picture by Correggio, 81. Docu 
 mcnt cited on its surreptitious removal, 136. Fine diffusion of lig 
 
 through the piece, 163. . , 
 
 NOVELLARA, LELIO ORSI DA, his merits as a painter, 203, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 
 o. 
 
 ODESCALCHI, DON LIVIO, duke of Bracciano, once possessor of 
 the Leda and Danae of Correggio, 112. 
 
 OPIE, notices a fine incident in the Nolle of Correggio, 163. 
 
 ORLEANS, the regent duke of, Correggio’s Leda and Danae cut in pieces 
 by order of his son, 112. 
 
 ORSI, LELTO, an imitator of Correggio, 203. 
 
 OVID, his description of the rainbow, cited in reference to Correggio’s 
 style, 155. 
 
 P. 
 
 PANCIROLI, ALBERTO, engages Correggio to paint an altar-piece, 
 115. The undertaking prevented by Correggio’s death, 116. 
 
 PARMA, works of Correggio at, 6o. His decoration of the church of 
 St. John, 73. Of the cathedral, 95, 97. State of the city while Cor¬ 
 reggio was employed there, 132. Copy of agreement with the masters 
 of the cathedral, 138. Mr. Ford’s account of a sketch of the design 
 for the dome, 143. The birth-place of Francesco Mazzola, 227. His 
 paintings in the church of St. John, 234. 
 
 PARMEGIANO, GIROLAMO FRANCESCO MARIA MAZZOLA, 
 supposed to have studied under Correggio, 199- Mistakes respecting 
 him noticed, 223. His birth, £28, 22Q. His attachment to painting, 
 231. His early performances, 232. Engaged to decorate the church 
 of St. John, 234. And the cathedral in conjunction with Correggio, 
 235. Repairs to Rome, 237. Patronized by Clement VII. 23Q- 
 His vision of St. Jerome, 243. Anecdote of him during the sack of 
 the city, ib. Said to have invented the Chiaroscuro method of en¬ 
 graving on wood, 245. Introduces the art of etching into Italy, 246. 
 His picture of the Madonna della Rosa, 246. The Madonna del Collo 
 Lungo, 249. Altar-piece of the convent of St. Margaret, 250. Sketch 
 of Charles V., crowned at Bologna, 251. Engaged to decorate the 
 principal chapel of La Steccata at Parma, 258. Other works, 259- 
 Delays of his labours in La Steccata, 263. Arrested for not fulfilling 
 his contract, 265. His release and flight to Casal Maggiore, ib. His 
 death, 266. Remarks on his style, 267. His celebrated figure of 
 Moses, 269. Left fewer pupils than Correggio, 272. Origin of mis¬ 
 takes representing him devoted to alchemy and addicted to gaming, 
 274. 
 
 PIACENZA, GIOVANNA, abbess of St. Paulo at Parma, engages 
 Correggio'to decorate the monastery, 71. 
 
 POETICAL SPIRIT of Correggio’s compositions, 162. 
 
 POMPONIO QUIRINO, the son of Correggio, 120. Account of, 194, 
 Record of his baptism, 219- 
 
POR, DAN1ELLO DA, studied the works of Correggio, 206. 
 
 PORTER, the rev. Mr., notices a custom among Italian painters,, 148. 
 
 PORTUGAL, kiug of, price offered by him for Correggio’s St. Jerome, 
 138. 
 
 PRATONERO, ALBERTO, engages Correggio to paint the Nativity, 81. 
 
 PUNGILEONI, his researches relative to Correggio, x. Mentions 
 Bartolotto as one of his instructors, lfr. Mantegna, and Bianchi, 18. 
 Dr. Lombardi, 22. Notices concerning his early works, 29,37. His 
 pictures of the marriage of St. Catherine, 40. Documents determining 
 Correggio’s birth, 48. On the cupola of St. John, 74. Cited on the 
 contract for painting the dome at Parma, 95. On the artists chosen 
 for completing that work, 108. On the death of Correggio, 117* And 
 of his wife, 118. On his various works, 126, 130. Agreement for 
 those in the cathedral, 138. On the contract with Gandini, 146. And 
 Bedoli, 147. On the date of the Leda and Danae, 14Q. Of opinion 
 that Correggio never saw Rome, 176. Refutes the notion that he died 
 in poverty, I89. Notices a portrait of him in the cathedral of Parma, 
 193 . 
 
 PUSTERLA, LUCREZIA, record concerning, at variance with the 
 notion of Correggio’s poverty, 188. 
 
 R. 
 
 RAPHAEL, admired and imitated Leonardo da Vinci, 217. His 
 paintings in the Vatican, 218. Mentioned by Annibal Car¬ 
 racci, as ranking below Correggio, 169. Comparison of payments 
 made to him and Correggio, 218. His works studied by Par- 
 megiano, 240. 
 
 RATTI, his notices relative to Correggio, vii. Cited respecting the St. 
 Pietro Martire, 64. Respecting the dome at Parma, 104,145. Respect¬ 
 ing the death of Correggio, 116. On the will of Pellegrino Allegri, 
 151. On the change in the style of Correggio, 175. 
 
 RESIGNATION, dignified, that passion finely represented by Cor¬ 
 reggio, 159. 
 
 RESTA, FATHER, relates a traditionary anecdote concerning Cor¬ 
 reggio, 173, 215. 
 
 REYNOLDS, SIR JOSHUA, his admiration of Correggio’s Notte, 83. 
 of Parmegiano’s Moses, 269* 
 
 RICHARDSONS, their supposition respecting Correggio’s process of 
 colouring, 213. 
 
 ROME, question whether Correggio studied there, examined, 173* 
 Visited by Parmegiano, 239- Anecdote of him during the sack of the 
 city in 1527, 243. 
 
 RONDANI, wrought under Correggio at Parma, 200. Employed to 
 decorate the cathedral in conjunction with Parmegiano, 235. 
 
 ROSA, MADONNA DELLA, a picture by Parmegiano, 247. 
 
 RUTA, CLEMENTE, states the period of Correggio’s death, 48. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 s. 
 
 SCUDO D’ORO, Us value, ix. 
 
 ST. BENEDICT, ASSUMPTION OF, a work by Correggio, now 
 defaced, 73. 
 
 ST. CATHERINE, MARRIAGE OF, [three pictures on that subject 
 by Correggio, 40. One of them copied by Guttenbrun, 211. 
 
 ST. CATHERINE, ESPOUSAL OF, an early picture by Parmegiano, 
 233. 
 
 ST. FRANCIS, an early picture by Parmegiano, 233. 
 
 ST. GEORGE, a picture by Correggio, 32. 
 
 ST. JEROME, one of Correggio’s finest pictures, 86. Price said to have 
 been offered by the king of Poland for it, 136. 
 
 -, VISION OF, painted by Parmegiano, 243. Its different 
 
 possessors, 253. 
 
 ST. JOHN, church of, at Parma, cupola painted by Correggio, 74. The 
 monks reward him with a patent of confraternity, 77. Payments made 
 to him, 134. Extract from the register of the convent on the baptism 
 of Correggio’s daughters, 151. Parmegiano employed in decorating 
 the church, 234. 
 
 ST. MARGARET, convent of, its celebrated altar-piece by Partner 
 giano, 250. 
 
 ST. PAULO, monastery at Parma, embellished by Correggio, 70. 
 
 ST. PIETRO MART1RE, Correggio’s picture of, 32. Guido’s remark 
 on it, 35, 64. 
 
 ST. PLACIDO and ST. FLAVIA, a work by Correggio, 76. 
 
 ST. SEBASTIAN, a picture by Correggio, 90. 
 
 SAN VITALI family, a ceiling painted for, by Parmegiano, 259. 
 
 SIBYLLS of Parmegiano, 263. 
 
 SIRO, GIOVANNI, last prince of Correggio, purchased the altar-piece 
 of the Santa Maria, 29- 
 
 SMILE, exquisite, imparted by Correggio to his female countenances, 
 
 160 . 
 
 STECCATA, church at Parma, Parmegiano engaged to decorate, 258. 
 
 STYLE, observations on that of Correggio, 153. On that of Parme¬ 
 giano, 267. 
 
 T. 
 
 T, palace of the, notice on Julio Romano’s frescos in, 216. 
 
 TIBALDI, PELLEGRINO, noticed by Annibal Carracci, in speaking 
 of Correggio, 169- 
 
 TIRABOSCHI, his illustrations of the life of Correggio, viii. 27. His 
 account of Veronica Gambara, 49- Of Mantegna, 55. Of the pay¬ 
 ments for the cupola of St. John, 135. Mentions an anecdote related 
 by Resta, 215. 
 

 INDEX. 
 
 TITIAN, anecdote concerning his opinion of Correggio’s great work af 
 Parma, 107. His works studied by Correggio, 179. 
 
 TORIA DELL’ ERBA, his agreement respecting the cupola of the 
 cathedral at Parma, 143. 
 
 TRABALLESE, GIULIANO, curious fact disclosed by, 104. 
 
 TRENTO, BERNARDO DA, his treacherous conduct to Parmegiano, 
 246. 
 
 TREZZI, SIGNOR, purchased a supposed original sketch of Correg¬ 
 gio’s St. Jerome, 137. 
 
 U. 
 
 UGOLETO, TADDEO, an instructor of Parmegiano, 231. 
 
 f 
 
 V. 
 
 VANDERSTE1N, his engraving of Pavmegiano’s Cupid, as a production 
 of Correggio, 261. 
 
 VASARI, remark on his life of Correggio, iii. Cited respecting Andrea 
 Mantegna, 55. Francesco Bianchi, 58. Respecting Correggio’s early 
 works, 66. Adduces a tradition that he died in poverty, 181. Cited 
 on a picture painted for Donna Maria Buffalina, by Parmegiano, 243. 
 
 VATICAN, remark on Raphael’s paintings in the, 218. On Michael 
 Angelo’s frescos in, 215. 
 
 VENUS rising from the sea, a picture by Correggio, 131. 
 
 VERONICA GAMBARA, account of, 4p. 
 
 VINCI, LEONARDO DA, whether imitated by Correggio, 178- 
 Mengs’s remark on his works in reference to those of Correggio, 217. 
 
 VIRGIN in the clouds, a picture by Parmegiano, 265. 
 
 VOYAGE D’un Amateur des Arts, cited respecting the works of Cor¬ 
 reggio, 78,131, 210. 
 
 W. 
 
 WELLINGTON, Duke of, the possessor of Correggio’s picture of the 
 Agony in the Garden, 125. 
 
 Z. 
 
 ZANI, family of Bologna, possessed Parmegiano’3 Madonna Della 
 Rosa, 24g. 
 
 ZANOTTI cited respecting the dowry of Correggio’s sister, 65. 
 
 
 V “ 
 
 T. C. Hansard, Printer, 
 Peterboronghcourt, Fleet-street. 
 
 ISQ 3- I