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GIOEGIO GIULIO CLOVIO. 
 
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THE LIFE AND WOBKS 
 
 OF 
 
 GIORGIO GIULIO CLOVIO, 
 
 MINIATURIST, 
 
 WITH NOTICES OF HIS CONTEMPOlURIES, 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 ART OF BOOK DECORATION IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 JOHN W. BRADLEY, B.A., 
 
 Author of “A Dictionary of Miniaturists," 
 
 ETC., ETC. 
 
 WITH EIGHTEEN PLATES. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 BERNARD QUARITCH, 15 PICCADILLY, W. 
 
 1891. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 G> NORMAN AND SON, PRINTERS, HART STREET, 
 COVENT GARDEN. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 I HAVE been told — for my possible consolation — by 
 a long-established bookseller of the class formerly 
 more common than at present, and of whom the 
 Alduses, Stephenses, and Plantins are the elder 
 examples, that he has often been astounded at the 
 extent of popular ignorance respecting Cellini and 
 his autobiography. If this be so, what can be 
 expected with regard to his now obscure, but 
 once at least equally celebrated, contemporary 
 Giulio Clovio ? Nevertheless the subject is one 
 which, if not well known, ought to become so. 
 The importance of Miniature Art to the proper 
 understanding of the general question of artistic 
 culture and the progress of the Arts of Painting 
 and of Book illustration is no longer a matter of 
 special knowledge. For many years past it has 
 been steadily growing, and it only requires that 
 the Lives of its professors in various ages shall 
 be studiously set forth wherever materials can 
 be found, to put the Miniaturists on their true 
 ground and so give them that relative importance 
 to which they are entitled by virtue of their 
 labours, and by right of the inestimable services 
 
11 
 
 Prt'facr. 
 
 which in their somewliat hiimhler wav liave 
 
 remlered to the ^reat jurisilictioii of hiiinan culluiv, 
 kiKjwii coinjireheiisi Vfl y 1\V the hiift l)iit most 
 sii^nificant name of Ai‘t. 
 
 W e have hook atter hook plaeetl upon our shelves 
 (lealin«^ witli tlie well-known themes of Schools of 
 J\iintin<r. W'e have Lives without uiimlu r t>f the 
 well-known masters of those schools. It time 
 that a new track should he cut and some of tiu* 
 yet unknown or less known ones hrouoht lM*m*iitli 
 our purview. In the following Life, as will he sreii, 
 
 I have chietlv made use of foreign authorities ; and 
 es[H‘cially, thoii^di not hy any means hlindly. of 
 Sakeinski. I have vi*ntured to make a he^innino 
 in a new line, and for its admitted impeideetions and 
 errors I must, as in the ease of mv I )ietii>narv, or ii.s 
 it should he ealh‘d, Materials t4>wai*ds a I )i<’titumry, 
 of Miniaturists, thi'ow myself upon the indul;.,^ nc*e 
 and candour of mv lea^hus. I have other <’andi- 
 dates for notice lu'himi, l)Ut until this corv|»hjeus 
 of his art has found his place, the i*est must itMiiain 
 in their present 4>hscuiity, ainon;.^ the lon;.f-for;;«>tt<*n 
 tenants of the under- world. 
 
 John W. Hkahlky. 
 
 Birmingham, 
 
 Christmas^ 1800 . 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface i 
 
 Chronological Account, &c. ..... xi 
 
 Introduction . 1 
 
 Chapter I. — Introductory notes on Clovio’s family and 
 birthplace — Clovio born 1498 — State of affairs in 
 Croatia — His first tutors and work — At eighteen 
 years of age is invited to Rome — Precocity of 
 Italian artists — Clovio’s earliest patrons — The 
 Grimani family ....... 17-27 
 
 Chapter II. — Clovio’s first visit to Italy, 1516 — Proba- 
 ble character of his earliest commissions — Meets 
 Giulio Romano — Advised to keep to miniature — 
 
 Studies in the Thermae of Titus — Raffaello and 
 his drawings from the grottesche — Position of 
 Raffaello as commissioner for ancient buildings 
 — Clovio’s first coloured miniature — A copy from 
 Diirer — Other works — Goes to Buda — His ac- 
 quaintance with Francisco de Holanda and 
 Michelangelo — Conversations .... 28-41 
 
 Chapter III. — Francisco de Holanda and his Recol- 
 lections — Their somewhat mythical character — 
 Francisco’s object in Rome — Interviews with 
 
IV 
 
 Co'ntents. 
 
 PAUK 
 
 Michelangelo — The Marehesa Vittoria Coloimu 
 — Opinions of Michelangelo on j)ainters and 
 styles of painting — Visit to Clovio — The inven- 
 tion of working in points — Dispute . . . 4--71 
 
 Chapter IV. — The state of IMiniature Art in Italy — 
 
 The immediate {)redecessors and contemj)oniries 
 of Clovio — The ai t in other parts of Kiiro|H.* — 
 Distinguished miniaturists in the Netherlands, 
 
 France, Germany, S])ain, and Italy . . . 
 
 Chapter V. — Clovio’s various styles — llis (pialities as 
 an artist — The Sack of Home — Sufferings of 
 artists — Clovio at ^lantua — Sun Kutlino, and 
 Caiidiana — Works at this time — d'he House of 
 Farnese — Works executed for them — Koinantie 
 Episode — Cardinal Ippolitode’ Medici and Giulia 
 di Gonzaga — The Devises of Ippolito — Clovio at 
 Florence — Works executed for the (iraiul Duke, 
 and for ^largaret of Parma — The Devises of the 
 Farnese princes — Clovio’s declining health — His 
 troubles— llis last works — His death and jniblic 
 funeral ........ PJr»-l^7 
 
 Chapter VI. — Clovio’s work under Farnese patronage 
 — The supposed commissions for Philip II. — 
 
 The Bonde Psalter, and the copy of it at 
 ^7aples— The Vatican !MSS. — Dante — Lives of 
 the Dukes of Urbino, Muzio, Tullia d’Aragona, 
 Monterchi — The Stuart de Rothesay Horn’s — 
 
 Stanze di Eurialo cVAscoli — The Gonzaga Hours 
 — Other woi-ks . . . . 
 
Contents. 
 
 V 
 
 Chapter VII. — The Disputed Works — The Grenville 
 Victories — The Strawberry Hill Psalter — The 
 Ravenna MSS. — The Munich Offices — The 
 Naples Flora — The Paris Psalter . . . 208-243 
 
 Appendix I. — The Soane Commentary, &c. 
 Appendix II. — The Towneley Lectionary 
 Appendix III. — The Trivulzio Petrarch 
 Appendix IV. — The Psalter of Paul III. 
 Appendix V. — The Naples “ Offices ” . 
 
 . 244-253 
 . 254-260 
 . 261-262 
 . 262-270 
 . 270-274 
 
 Appendix VI. — The Grenville “Victories of Charles V.,” 
 
 called “ L’Aguila Triumphante ”... 275-289 
 
 Appendix VII. — Bonde’s account of the MS. executed 
 
 for John III. King of Portugal .... 290-304 
 
 Appendix VIII. — The Stuart de Rothesay MS. . . 304-311 
 
 Appendix IX. — Stanze of Eurialo d’Ascoli . . . 312-315 
 
 Appendix X. — The Gonzaga or Bodley Offices . . 316-323 
 
 Appendix XI. — The Silius Italicus of the Marcian 
 
 Library, Venice . ...... 323-328 
 
 Appendix XII. — A Missal in the Museo Borbonico at 
 Naples — A Small Book of Hours — Various works 
 attributed to Clovio ...... 328-336 
 
 Appendix XIII. — Richardson’s Notes. Extracts from 
 “ An Account of the Statues, Bas-reliefs, 
 Drawings, and Pictures in Italy and France, 
 
 &c.” With remarks. By Mr. Richardson. 
 
 {Lond. 1754. Small octavo.) .... 337-343 
 
VI 
 
 Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Appendix XIV. — A List of Clovio’s Works, given by 
 Vasari — A List of Works attributed by various 
 Authors to Clovio — Inventory .... 343-358 
 
 Appendix XV. — Engravings on Copper from Pictures 
 
 by Clovio ........ 359-367 
 
 Appendix XVI. — Pupils of Clovio — Portraits of Clovio 367-371 
 
 Appendix XVII.— Clovio’s Will 371-376 
 
 Appendix XVIII. — Documents. The Will and Letters 
 
 of Julio Clovio. ...... 376-392 
 
 Index 
 
 393-400 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. — Medallion Portrait from Cast in British Museum 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 2. — Autographs of Artists 
 
 3. — Ditto ......... 
 
 4. — Farnesb Palace, Rome ...... 
 
 5. — The “ Sakcinski ” Portrait . . . 
 
 6. — The “Yasari” Portrait . . . . . 
 
 7. — Medal and Portrait of Cardinal Farnese 
 
 8. — The “ Curzon ” Portrait 
 
 9. 10. — Two pages from the Stanze d’Eurialo d’Ascoli, 
 
 Imperial Library, Vienna . . . . 
 
 11, 12. — Two PAGES FROM THE “ SoANE ” ClOVIO, LoNDON 
 
 13. — Miniature from the Victories of Charles V., 
 
 British Museum 
 
 14. — Cartel from same MS 
 
 29 
 
 64 
 
 148 
 
 154 
 
 166 
 
 182 
 
 186 
 
 198 
 
 248 
 
 286 
 
 288 
 
 15, 16. — Two PAGES FROM THE StUART DE RoTHESAY 
 
 Offices, British Museum .... 308 
 
 17. — Death of St. Bartholomew, from a Drawing 
 
 attributed to Clovio, British Museum . . 358 
 
 18. — Adoration of Magi, from an Engraving after 
 
 Clovio, British Museum ..... 364 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 30, line 3 (note), for 1575 read 1515. 
 
 ,, 192, ,, 18, /or sometimes mtrf sometime. 
 
 ,, 194, ,, 0, ,, were rmcZ was. 
 
 ,, 201, ,, 4, ,, Monserchi read Monterchi. 
 
 ,, 202, ,, 15, ,, degna read degno. 
 
 ,, 206, ,, 11, ,, guache read gouache. 
 
 ,, 207, ,, 7, ,, not only means read means not only. 
 
 ,, 262, ,, 5, ,, Zeus read Zeno. 
 
 The reader is requested kindly to coirect other errors which have escaped 
 notice during printing. 
 
 The following note was accidentally omitted from p. 135 : — 
 
 “ Le Mus^e de Brera a Milan possMe une Miniature representant la schne 
 de la femme adultere, que fit Clovio d’apres un tableau de Palma le Vieux.” 
 — Labarte, J. : Hist, des Arts Industriels au Moyen Age, &c., II. 276. (Paris, 
 1872-5.) This is probably the miniature or picture supposed, by Sakcinski 
 and others, to be a copy of Titian. It should have appeared in the list on 
 p. 350. 
 
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A Chronology 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Principal Events in the Life and Times of Clovio. 
 
 1498 Clovio horn at Grizane^ in Croatia. Domenico Grimani 
 
 (Cardinal in 1493), now residing in Rome, is made 
 Patriarch of Aquileia, in his thirty-eighth year. 
 
 This year is the twenty-fifth of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella of Spain, the thirteenth of Henry VII. of 
 England, the seventh of Pope Alexander VI., the 
 sixth of Maximilian T. Emperor of Germany, the 
 fourth of Manuel of Portugal, and the first of 
 Louis XII. of France. Ca 0 sar Borgia created Duke 
 of Valentinois. Attavante, miniaturist of Florence., 
 forty-three years of age. Savonarola burnt in Florence. 
 Sandro Botticelli and Lorenzo di Credi are among his 
 disciples. 
 
 Michelangelo in Rome, whither he came in 1496, 
 in his twenty- first year. Amico Aspertini, painter 
 and miniaturist of Bologna, twenty-three years of age. 
 
 Amico da due penelle.'’ 
 
 1499 The Turks ravage Friuli in the Venetian States, and 
 (1) Antonio Grimani, father of Cardinal Domenico, is 
 
 general of the Christian army. Amerigo Vespucci 
 and Ojeda, employed by Manuel of Portugal in ex- 
 ploring the Xew World, discover Brazil. Expulsion 
 of Moors from Spain. Marsilio Ficino, the Platonist, 
 dies. JaJvoh von Olmutz completes the large Gradual in 
 2 vols., now in the Amhras Museum, Vienna. 
 
XU 
 
 A Chronology. 
 
 1500 The year of Jubilee. Birth of Charles V. 
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 1501 Csesar Borgia, made Duke of Romagna, becomes Master 
 
 (3) of Urbino. Monte di Giovanni illuminates an 
 E^istolarium: for the “ Opera ” of the Cathedral of 
 Florence. 
 
 Frederic III. of Naples dethroned by Ferdinand the 
 Catholic. End of the Aragonese dynasty in Naples. 
 Death of Gentile Bellini, aged eighty. 
 
 1502 Lucrezia Borgia marries her fourth husband, Alfonso of 
 
 (4) Este, afteerwards Duke of Ferrara. Henry VII. ’s 
 Chapel at Westminster begun (1502-19). Pius III. is 
 Pope for twenty-two days. Fra Fustachio working at 
 Siena. 
 
 1503 Julius II., Pope (1503-13), deprives Caesar Borgia of 
 
 (5) Urbino and imprisons him. All Naples becomes 
 subject to Spain by the victory of Gonsalvo di 
 Cordova over the French at the Garigliano. Godinho 
 luorks at Torre do Tombo on the Book of Armorials. 
 
 Death of Isabella of Castile ; she is succeeded by Philip 
 the Fair and Joanna. Columbus returns from his 
 fourth (last) voyage. Death of Caesar Borgia in Spain. 
 Raffaello at Florence. 
 
 1505 Naples ceded to Ferdinand of Aragon : the Two Sicilies * 
 (7) become Spanish until 1760. Louis XII. lays claim to 
 Milan. Michelangelo makes a design for the tomb of 
 Julio II. (a pen drawing now in the Uffizi), with forty 
 statues, the chief of which was the celebrated Moses. 
 Monte di Giovanni adjudged to execute the mosaic head, 
 of San Zenobio at Florence. Fra Fustachio working 
 there. Albert Altdorfer at Ratisbon. 
 
 1504 
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
A Chronology. 
 
 xin 
 
 1506 Death of Philip the Pair, aged twenty-eight, at Burgos ; 
 
 (8) insanity of his widow. Two devotional hooks formerly 
 belonging to Tier are preserved in the British Museum. 
 Their son Charles, aged six, is declared heir of Spain 
 and the Netherlands, and Ferdinand, aged three, of 
 Austria. Bramante, of Urbino, begins St. Peter’s at 
 Borne, and Julius II. lays the first stone, April I8th. 
 
 1507 Ximenes, Archbishop of Toledo, made Cardinal. Albert 
 
 (9) Diirer at Bologna. Michelangelo in Rome, now 
 working as a painter on the ceiling of the Sistine 
 Chapel, without assistance. (It was begun on May 
 10th, 1507, and finished in 1512.) 
 
 1508 Luther, professor of Philosophy at Wittemberg. Bologna 
 
 (10) in the hands of the Bentivogli, besieged by the Pope. 
 Monte di Giovanni executed a Manuale for the Cathedral 
 of Florence. Simon Bynnynck working at Bruges. 
 
 1509 Erasmus at Oxford : is made Greek professor at Cam- 
 
 (11) bridge. Henry YIII. of England (1509-1547), aged 
 eighteen. 
 
 1510 Ximenes founds the University of Alcala de Henarez, 
 
 (12) the birthplace of Catherine of Aragon (Latin Complu- 
 tum) ; and of Santiago di Compostella. Baffaelle 
 painting the “ Stanze ” of the Vatican. Luther visits 
 Rome, “built over hell.” Monte di Giovanni begins 
 a Missal for the Church of San Giovanni at Florence. 
 Ostendorffer working at Munich on the “ Turnier- 
 Buchf now at Munich., is made Court Painter to 
 William IV., Duke of Bavaria. Cardinal Georges 
 d’Amboise rebuilds the Chateau de Gaillon, and 
 employs several illuminators and copyists for his 
 
XIV 
 
 A Chronology. 
 
 1511 Nicolo Maccliiavelli Secretary of State at Florence. 
 
 (13) Raffaelle finishes the frescoes in the Stanze della 
 Segnatura. Death of Giorgione at Venice. Boccanlini 
 working at Florence. 
 
 Flourishing period of Italian and German schools of 
 painting. 
 
 1512 Gaston de Foix, aged twenty-four, killed at Ravenna. 
 
 (14) Raffaelle finishes the Galatea, &c. in the Farnesina. 
 Fray Constancio de Monte Olivas executes a missal fur 
 the Cathedral of Toledo, now in the Museum at Madrid. 
 Giovanni Fregoso Doge of Genoa. Albert of Rnin* 
 denburg, Teutonic Grand ^Master, sweai^s allegiance 
 to the Emperor. Rafl’aelle designs “Amzzi” for the 
 Vatican. 
 
 1513 Battle of the Spurs and of Flodden. Death of .Julius II. 
 
 (15) Leo X. elected Pope. (Giovanni de’ Medici, 1513-15’Jll, 
 Cardinal Pietro Bembo, and Jacopo Sadoleti, secre- 
 taries.) Palermo made seat of Spanish Viceroy. 
 George Glockendon, working at Nuremberg fw Albert of 
 Brandenburg, dies this year. 
 
 1514 Death of Aimc of Brittany. The Portuguese Ambassadors 
 
 (16) present to Leo X. an elephant, a panther, and other 
 animals and products of their newly-acquired territory 
 in the East. These animals figure in some of the 
 illuminated books of the time. Death of Bramante. 
 Raffaelle, aged thirty-one, continues the building 
 of St. Peter’s. Fray Felipe, miniaturist at Toledo. 
 B. Canderroa and Alonzo Vasquez work on the Missal 
 of Cardinal Cisneros. Clovio still at home; learns 
 drawing. 
 
A Clu'onology. 
 
 XV 
 
 1515 Francis I. becomes King of France (1515-47). Leo X. 
 
 (7) confers Urbino on bis nephew, Lorenzo de’ Medici. 
 
 Francis I. defeats the Italians, Swiss, and others at 
 Marignano, gaining thereby the Milanese and Genoa. 
 Scipio7ie Cavaletti works at Bologna. Birth of Hans 
 Mielich at Augshurg, and of Francisco de Hola^ida at 
 Lisbon. 
 
 1516 Death of Giuliano de’ Medici, Duke of Nemours {author 
 
 (18) of the curious device “ Glovis ” occurring in his hooks, 
 mistaken by Bandini for the name of Olovio). Spring- 
 inklee makes designs for the Hortulus Animoe. Simon 
 By^inynck works at Bruges. Luis Sanchez, miniaturist, 
 ivorks at Seville. 
 
 Olovio comes to Italy for the first time, and is employed 
 by the Grimani family. Domenico Grimani resides in 
 Borne, and is now fifty-jive years old. 
 
 1517 Rome again the chief seat of the Arts and Learning, 
 
 (19) which are munificently supported by Leo X. and 
 other Italian princes. Charles 1. now becomes King 
 of Spain and the Netherlands, aged sixteen (1516-1555). 
 The Reformation in Germany begins. Thirty new 
 Cardinals created at once. This creation brought 
 200,000 golden ducats into the Papal Treasury. 
 Death of Cardinal Ximenes, who had printed the 
 “ Complutensian Polyglott Bible ” at his own cost, 
 aged eighty years. The library of the Duke of 
 Urbino transferred to Mantua. Birth of the Cardinal 
 de Granvelle. Jacques Blastel works at Amiens. 
 Hans Sclidufellein works on the Tewrdannckhi’ at 
 Nuremberg. 
 
 1518 Birth of Palladio. Clovio makes drawings from medals, 
 
 (20) ^c. for Cardinal Grimani from 1518 to 1520. 
 
XVI 
 
 A Chronology. 
 
 1519 Death of the Emperor Maximilian, aged sixty. Com- 
 
 (21) petition for the Imperial Crown between the Kings 
 of England, France, and Spain. Charles I. of Spain 
 is elected, becoming Charles V. of Germany, at the age 
 of nineteen (1519-58). Birth of Katharine de’ ^ledici 
 at Urbino. The Genevan Reformers form an “ Eidge- 
 nossen” (oath-knot or bond), which the French trans- 
 form into Hngnenots. Death of Leonardo da Vinci in 
 the arms of Francis I., aged 75. Boccardino worlcs at 
 Florence. Matteo da Terranova 2vorJiS on the servicehoohs 
 at Monte Cassino (1519-24). ^Lonte di Giovanni com- 
 pletes the last of five Antiphonaries for the Cathedral of 
 Florence. Finishes also the missals for the Church of 
 San Giovanni. Godefroi executes a “ Ccesars Com- 
 mentaries for Francis I. 
 
 1520 Henry VIII. and Francis I. meet on the “ Field of tlic 
 
 (22) Cloth of Gold.” Soliman the Magnificent Sultan 
 (1520-66). Death of Rafiaello at Rome, aged thirty- 
 seven. Michelangelo at Florence. Geoffrey Tory u'vrks 
 at Paris ; executes the famous “ Diodorus." The 
 “ Complntensian Polyglott ” published. AVolsey builds 
 Hampton Court. Francisco de Villadiego ^vorhs at Toledo. 
 His miniatures exact in drawing and hrilliant in colour." 
 
 Clovio, at the persuasion of Giulio Pomano, his senior 
 hy six years, decides on following miniature painting 
 as a profession. 
 
 1521 War between France and the Empire (1521-6). Title of 
 
 (23) “ Defender of the Faith ” given to Henry VIII. for his 
 tract, “De septem sacramentis,” against Luther. Diet 
 of Worms . Luther, under the ban of the Empire, 
 is concealed at the Wartbimg. Hans Sehald Behain 
 illuminates the Brandenburg Missal, now at Ascha fen- 
 hurg. Hans Imhoff and Albert Aldegraver execute a 
 MS., now at Nuremberg . Death of Leo X. Adrian VI. 
 elected Pope (1522-8). Death of Emanuel, King of 
 Portugal, aged fifty two. John III. 
 
A CJn'on<jlo(jtj. 
 
 xvii 
 
 1522 The Duke of Ui^bino recovers his States. 
 
 (24) 
 
 1523 Death of Adrian VI. Clement VII. Pope (152.3-34). 
 
 (25) Death of Cardinal Grimani, aged sixty-two. Marino 
 Grimani (afterwards Cardinal) becomes Clovio’s patron. 
 The Constable de Bourbon enters the service of the 
 Emperor, and succeeds to Prospero Colonna’s command 
 in Italy. 
 
 Clovio invited hy Louis IT. of Hungary to Buda, and 
 executes for him a Judgment of Parisf Death of 
 Lricretia, 
 
 1524 Death of Bayard : “ Sans peur et sans reproche.” The 
 
 (26) Milanese again French. Death of P. Perugino. Card. 
 Campeggio influential in Germany. Order of Theatines 
 sanctioned by the Pope. The Hours of Francis de 
 Dinteville, Bishop of Auxer re {now in British Museum). 
 Callisto (la Lodi works on Antiphoriaries, ^'‘c. for the 
 Church of the Dicoronata at Lodi. 
 
 Pavia defended by Antonio de Leyra. Bourbon, Pescara, 
 and Lannoy all attempt its relief. Battle of Pavia and 
 capture of Francis I.: “Tout est perdu fors I’honneur.” 
 Death of Bonnivet. The Milanese become Spanish. 
 Order of Capuchins founded. 
 
 Antonio da Girolamo works at Florence. Boccardino 
 still there. 
 
 \ 526 Francis I. prisoner at Madrid. Cedes Burgundy, Flanders, 
 
 (28) and Milan to the Emperor, and is released. Constable 
 de Bourbon made Duke of Milan and Imperial Vicar. 
 
 . Battle of Mohacz and death of Louis II. of Hungary, 
 aged twenty. Dispersion of the Corvina Library. 
 
 Clovio escapes from Buda and goes home into Croatia, 
 thence returns to Dome, and employs himself in copying 
 Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel. Enters the service of 
 Cardinal L. Campeggio. 
 
 K 
 
 1525 
 
 (27) 
 
XVlll 
 
 A Chronology. 
 
 1527 Rome stormed and sacked by the Germans and Spanish. 
 
 (29) Bonrbon killed. Cellini employed by the Pope to 
 direct the artillery at St. Angelo. Matteo da Terranova 
 ivorhs at Perugia. The Medici expelled from Florence 
 and their museum and library ransacked. Alvarez works 
 at Lisbon. Francisco de Holanda employed by John Til. 
 of Portugal. Clovio with difficulty escapes from Pome 
 to Mantua. 
 
 1528 The Venetians under the Duke of Urbino retake Pavia, 
 
 (30) and the Genoese under Andrea Doria expel the 
 French from Genoa. Death of Albert Diirer, aged Jifty- 
 seven. Birth of Federigo Baroccio at Urbino. T^Tonte di 
 Giovanni finishes the second of two Antiphonaries for 
 Cathedral of Florence. This is the last of his recorded 
 works. Jean B. Guety employed as miniaturist and 
 decorator at the French Court. 
 
 Clovio., whilst at the monastery of S. Buffi no, near 
 Mantua, becomes a Scopefine monk, calling himself 
 Brother Julius, in gratitude to Giulio Pomano. wdiom 
 he kneio in Pome, and now again met at Mantua. 
 The apocryphal portrait at Vienna inscribed “ Julius 
 Clovius Croatus, sui ipsius officiator an. cetat. 30, saluf. 
 1528.” Before leaving Pome he appears to have been 
 engaged upon the Missal for Cardinal Grimani, with 
 most masterly miniatures.'^ Once in the collection of the 
 Duchess of Portland. A similar MS., or rather a Papal 
 Lectionary, came into the possession of Mr. Webbe, 
 and afterwards of Mr. Toivneley, and hence called 
 “ the Towneley Clovio." It contains six large illumi- 
 nations. {See Appendix.') 
 
 1529 Diet of Speyers. Reformers protest against its decrees. 
 
 (31) Solyman besieges Vienna in September, but retunis 
 in October. Clement V. and the Empeix)r meet at 
 Bologna. Great festivities, and artists employed on 
 the decorations, triumphal arches, &c. 
 
 Clovio still at Mantua. Geoffrey Tory works at Paris. 
 
XIX 
 
 A Chronology, 
 
 1530 Charles V. crowned at Bologna — the last Imperial Coro- 
 
 (32) nation in Italy. Restores the Medici. Confession of 
 
 Auofsburo*. 
 
 Renaissance of the arts in France. Louvre begun. 
 Death of Andrea del Sarto, aged forty- two, and of the 
 poet Sannazzaro. Simon Bynnynck executes the famous 
 “ Portuguese Genealogies ” for the Infant of Spain. 
 Perinodi Perugia, Perusinus^^ (Pietro Cesarei). Albert 
 Glockendon horn at Nuremberg. The beautiful Hours 
 of Gra^ivelle, now in British Museum, executed for the 
 minister of Charles V., Nicolas Perrenot. Francisco de 
 Holanda goes to Italy about this time. 
 
 1531 League of Protestant princes at Schmalkald. Death of 
 
 (33) Louise of Savoye, mother of Francis I. Clovio goes to 
 Candiana, near Padua, and receives instructions from 
 Girolamo dai Libri. 
 
 Cardinal Grimani, Papal legate at Perugia, obtains a 
 papal dispensation for Clovio and invites him to Perugia. 
 
 1532 Alessandro de’ Medici, Podesta of Florence, made Grand 
 
 (34) Duke by Charles V. 
 
 Clovio busily engaged at Perugia for Cardinal Marino 
 Grimani. Bon Ambrogio da Cremona works at Ferrara 
 and Bart. Neroni at Genoa. 
 
 1533 Death of Ludov. Ariosto, aged fifty-nine. Katharine de’ 
 
 (35) Medici becomes Duchess of Orleans. Marguerite of 
 Kavarre publishes her Heptameron and Rabelais his 
 Gargantua. Clovio still at Perugia. 
 
 1534 Death af Clement YII. Cardinal Aless. Farnese the elder 
 
 (36) made Pope as Paul III. (1534-1550). Luther’s Ger- 
 man Bible published by Hans Lufft, of Wittemberg. 
 Ercole II. Duke of Ferrara (1508-59). Aless. Farnese 
 the younger made Cardinal, aged fourteen (1520-1589). 
 Death of Correggio, aged forty. Barbarossa captures 
 Tunis. The Portuguese genealogies left unfinished 
 owing to the death of Prince Ferdinand. Clovio still 
 at Perugia. 
 
XX 
 
 A Chro'nology, 
 
 1535 Charles V. and Andrea Doria retake Tunis. Twenty 
 
 (37) thousand captives released. Antonio de Leyva holds 
 Milan for the Emperor — it is claimed by Francis I. 
 
 Clovio illuminates the 'poem of Eurialo d'Ascoli on 
 the subject of the capture of Tunis. The iMS. is now in 
 the Imperial Library at Vienna. Sigismunda Fiessa 
 ceases to icorh on choral boohs at Ferrara. Albert 
 Glochendon the Elder illuminates the Booh of Hours 
 now at Vienna. 
 
 1536 Papal Bull “In Caena Domini.” War between Francis 1. 
 
 (38) and Charles V. Death of Erasmus and of Garcilasso 
 de la Vega. Execution of John of Leyden. .1. 
 ISadoleto, Eeginald de la Pole and P. CaraHa created 
 cardinals. I'rancis de Buytragoicorhs at Toledo. JJeath 
 of Liberale da Verona, aged eight y-Jive. Clovio still 
 at Perugia. 
 
 1537 Aless. de’ Medici assassinated. 
 
 (39) Cosimo I. succeeds as Grand Duke (1537-74). 
 
 Eleanora of Este born (died 1581). 
 
 Jean vayi Battel worhs on the IIS. of the Toisoyi d' Or 
 at Malines. Splendid Carnival at Rome in honour of 
 ]\Iarguerite of Austria. Marriage of Ottavio Farnese 
 to Marguerite of Austria, widow of Aless. de’ ^ledici 
 (died 1586). Francisco de Holanda describes tbe 
 festivities, and tells us that it was on this Sunday 
 night that he first went to Yittoria Colonua’s with 
 Clovio and met Michelangelo. Yittoria Colonna’s poems 
 published. Clovio and Holanda, icitli Michelangelo, 
 visit Vittoria Colonna. 
 
 1538 Pietro Bembo (1470-1547) made Cardinal. 
 
 (40) 
 
 1539 Revolt at Ghent. Clovio still ivorhing for Cardinal 
 
 (41) Grimatii. 
 
A Chronology. 
 
 XXI 
 
 1540 Deatli of Guicciardini, aged fifty-eiglit. Clovio leaves 
 (42) Cardinal Grimani who very univillingly parts with him^ 
 and goes to live with Cardinal Farnese^ then twenty 
 years of age^ in Rome. A young German lady, named 
 Clavio, comes to Fame to learn miniature painting 
 under Clovio. Bernardo de Orta, miniaturist at Seville, 
 father of Diego di Orta. Albert Glochendon works at 
 Nuremberg. 
 
 1541 Solyman, master of Hungary, makes Buda a paslialik. 
 (43) Aless. Cartara works at Padua. Yittoria Colonna goes 
 to Viterbo to visit Cardinal de la Pole. 
 
 1542 Portugal at the zenith of prosperity. Fourth war 
 
 (44) between Francis I. and Charles V. Christopher di 
 Madruccio made Cardinal of Trent. Clovio executes a 
 Latin Psalter for Pope Paul III. which combines the 
 styles of his tiuo great models, Paffaelle and Michel- 
 angelo.* Vincenzo Paimondi works on choir-books of 
 the Vatican chapel till 1552. Yittoria Colonna and 
 Cardinal Pole under surveillance of the Inquisition, 
 by order of Cardinal Caraffa (afterwards Paul lY.). 
 Yittoria corresponds with Michelangelo — letter in 
 British Museum. 
 
 1543 Y esalius of Brussels published his “ Anatomy,” with plates 
 
 (45) by Titian. Campaign of Charles Y. against the Duke 
 of Cleves (see the Heemskerck victories of Charles Y.). 
 Philip, son of Charles Y., and Duke of Milan, marries 
 Maria of Portugal. Federigo Zuccaro born at Urbino. 
 Death of Hans Holbein in London, aged forty-six. 
 
 1544 French vacate Italy. Peace with Germany. Birth of 
 
 (46) Tasso. Jean Cousin works at Paris. 
 
 * Now in the National Library, Paris. 
 
XXll 
 
 A Chronology. 
 
 1545 Council of Trent formally opened in December. Birtb 
 
 (47) of the ill-fated Don Carlos, son of Philip of Spain, and 
 of Lucrezia de’ Medici, afterwards Duchess of Perrara 
 (1558-61). Death of Albert of Brandenburg, patron 
 of Diirer and the Glockendons. Georg Iloefnagel horn 
 at Antwerp. 
 
 1546 Charles V. and Maurice of Saxony defeat the Protestant 
 
 (48) princes at Muhlberg (one of the Heemskerck victories). 
 Death of Francis I., aged fifty-thi'ee, succeeded by 
 Henry II., husband of Katharine de’ Medici. Death of 
 Cardinal Marino Grimani, Clovio’s former patron. Pier 
 Luigi Farnese made Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Clovio 
 illuminates a Latin Missal for Cardinal Farnese, dated, 
 once in the Royal Library at Kaples, and a choir-hook, 
 said to he at Capo di Monte. Sakcinski thinks the 
 latter very douhiful (p. 40), hut see Voyage d'un 
 Amateur, III. 36. 
 
 1547 Death of Henry VIII. Pier Luigi of Parma assassinated. 
 
 (49) Ottavio Farnese Duke of Parma (1547-86). About 
 these years since 1542 Clovio executes certain miniatures 
 for the Cardinal of Trent. Battista Castello and Nicolas 
 Hilliard horn. 
 
 1548 Jeanne d’Albret marries Anthoine de Bourbon. Diet of 
 
 (50) Augsburg and second “Interim.” Clovio 'paints a Pietd 
 'with five figures and pnother Madonna for Aless. Farnese 
 as a present to his grandfather, Paul III. It is now at 
 Florence. Alfonso of Este married to Giulia della 
 Ro’^ere (she died 1563). Baroccio studies in Rome. 
 Jean Hubert ivorks at Paris. 
 
 1549 Death of Paul III., aged eighty-two. Julius HI. succeeds 
 
 (51) after three months (1550-5). Gerard Horenhout still 
 working at Ghent. The MS. of Francisco de Holanda 
 dates from this year. 
 
• • • 
 
 A Chronology. 
 
 XXlll 
 
 1550 Yasari publishes his “Lives of the Painters.” Clovio 
 
 (52) paints a Madonna for Julius III. with the pope* s portrait 
 kneeling at her feet. ^ F. Zuccaro goes to study at Borne. 
 Baroccio returns to TJrhino. Anna Seghers works at 
 Antwerp. F. di Gastello works prohahly at Paris. 
 
 1551 Ottavio Farnese seeks the aid of Henry II. of France 
 
 (53) against his father-in-law about Piacenza. Clovio 
 remains at Borne. Diego de Arroyo works at Toledo and 
 Madrid. Godfrey Dug el works at Wittemhurg. 
 
 1552 Landgrave of Hesse liberated and the “ Interim ” revoked. 
 
 (54) Death of Paolo Jovio and of Francis Xavier. Fxpleta 
 works at Saragossa. 
 
 1553 Death of Edward YI. and accession of Mary I. (1553-8). 
 
 (55) Death of Maurice of Saxony and of Rabelais, also of 
 Georg Glockendon the younger. Clovio is invited to 
 Florence and works there for Cosimo I. painting a Stahat 
 Mater inscribed Julius Macedo fee. a. 1553.” On his 
 return to Borne he receives a reguest from Philip of 
 
 . Spain to execute a series of miniatures, supposed by 
 some authors to be the scenes from the victories of his 
 father, already engraved by Heemskerck. (Sakeinski, 
 p. 26.) Birth of Henry of Xavarre (afterwards Henry 
 lY.) and of Edmund Spenser. 
 
 1554 Philip of Spain marries Mary of England and becomes 
 
 (56) King of Naples and Sicily, but not of England. About 
 this time, if at all, Clovio paints the additional minia- 
 tures to the Vatican Dante (Sakeinski, p. 33) and executes 
 those of the Lives of the Dukes of Urbmo, also in the 
 Vatican. Also an alleged copy of the Stanze di Furialo 
 d^Ascoli, probably that other poem now in the Industrial 
 Museum at Munich. 
 
 * If only painted at this time, this cannot be the picture, as 
 stated by Sakeinski, which was sent by Paul III. (1534-49) as a 
 present to the Emperor Charles V. on his return from Tunis. 
 (Sakeinski, p. 22.) 
 
XXIV 
 
 A ChronolocnL 
 
 1555 Philip leaves England and by Charles’s abdication re- 
 
 (57) ceives the ISTetherlands. The Duke of Savoy appointed 
 viceroy. The Diet of Augsburg confirms religious free- 
 dom of Protestants. Death of Julius III. Marcellus 
 II. succeeds, and after a brief space Paul IV. (Giov. 
 Pietro Caraffa, an ascetic, founder of the Theatines, 
 aged eighty). The Colonna Family despoiled by the 
 Pope, for his own relations. (1555-9.) 
 
 Clovio paints a choir-hooh for S. Salvatore, Borne 
 (Lecomte II. I.) Fra Eustachio dies at Florence, aged 
 eighty -three, and Girolamo dai Lihri at Verona, aged 
 eighty-one {Bernasconi). Andres Barnirez and Padilla 
 tvorh at Seville. 
 
 1556 Truce for five years between France and Germany. 
 
 (58) Charles V. abdicates Spain, Ac., to his son, and the 
 Imperial dignity to his brother Ferdinand. He retires 
 to the Monastery of St. Yuste, near Phicencia, in 
 Spain. Paul IV. interferes. Philip II. cedes Piacenza 
 to the Duke of Parma. Death of Ignatius Loyola, 
 aged sixty-five, and of Joh. Sleidan the historian of the 
 Reformation. Clovio paints another choir-hook , or com- 
 p)letes the one begun in 1540; also several others said to he 
 at Seville, probably mainly the work of his assistants. 
 (“ Conca : Viaggio di Spagna, III. 284.”) Mercator 
 publishes his chart of the world. Albert Glockendon 
 works at Xilremberg. Isaac Oliver born (d. 1617). 
 
 1557 Battle of St. Quentin. Philip vows the Monastery of 
 
 (59) S. Lorenzo of the Escorial in honour of the Saint 
 on whose festival the battle was fought. Valetta, in 
 Malta, founded by the Grand Master Jean de Valette. 
 
 * Clovio pamts a choir-book once in church of St. 
 Salvatore at Venice; also a small book of Prayers for 
 
 * Sakcinski, p. 41, note. Biblioteca degli Uom. Illustri della 
 Congregaz. dei Canonici Eegolari del S.S. Salvatore Lateran- 
 ense, &c., da Prospero Cavaliere, ed arricchita da D. Vincenzio 
 Garofali. Yelletri, 1836, I. 14-22, nota. 2. 
 
A Chronology. 
 
 XXV 
 
 Cardinal Farnese, called the Flora, and now at 
 Na'ples. {This MS. is rather doubtful, its character 
 being decidedly more Netherlandish than Italian. See, 
 however, Giustiniani : Guida pel Reale Museo Borbonico. 
 Nap. 1824, 338.) Also a lovely MS. kept in the 
 Monastery of S. Groce in Gerusalemme, Rome, and 
 seen by Richardson in the possession of Marc Antonio 
 Sabatini {Appendix). Birth of Bernardo Gastello, the 
 illustrator of Tasso’s “ Gerusalemme Liberata.” Death 
 of Vincenzo Raimondi. 
 
 1558 Death of Charles V. at St. Tuste, aged fifty-nine. 
 
 (60) Ferdinand Emperor (1558-64). Hungary and Bohemia 
 added to the Empire. Clovio at Piacejiza with bad eyes. 
 
 1559 Death of Ercole, Duke of Ferrara. Spanish Inquisition. 
 
 (61) Reign of terror at Toledo. End of French wars 
 in Italy. Mans Mielich completes the magnificent 
 Penitential Psalms and Motets at Munich. 
 
 Francis II., husband of Mary Queen of Scots, 
 becomes King of France, aged sixteen (1559-60). 
 Clovio cured of his blindness. 
 
 Pius IV. (Giovanni Angelo Medici) Pope (1559-6). 
 
 Clovio said to have painted a Psalter for John III. 
 
 of Portugal. 
 
 Bonde : — see Appendix. Me goes to Correggio. 
 
 1560 Death of Andrea Doria, aged ninety-four ; also of 
 
 (62) Melanchthon, aged sixty-three, and of Francis II., 
 who is succeeded by Charles IX., another son of 
 Katharine de’ Medici, aged ten (1560-74). 
 
 Clovio finishes the little Booh of Prayers which Vasari 
 says took nine years to paint {Sake. 43). Me works for 
 Cardinal della Rover e perhaps on one of the MSS. now 
 kept at Ravenna. Me remains at Correggio until June 
 at least. Begins to fail through broken health and tries 
 the baths at Lucca. 
 
 G 
 
XXVI 
 
 A Chronology. 
 
 1561 Antonio Perrenot becomes Cardinal Arclibp. of Maliues. 
 
 (63) Great prosperity of England under Elizabeth. Ascen- 
 dancy of the House of Guise in France. Birth of 
 Annib. Carracci. Clovio imints a ‘‘‘‘ Judith ’\for Mar- 
 guerite of Farma. He returns to Rome, ivrites to Fiihe 
 Cosimo thanking him for the invitation to Florence and 
 alludes to Vasari. 
 
 1562 Maximilian, son of Ferdinand and cousin of Philip II., 
 
 (64) made King of the Romans. Birth of Lopez de Vega. 
 Paulus Manutius, printer at Rome. Caspar Harteli 
 paints the Antiphonary now at St. Gall (Exhibited 
 in London in 1885.) 
 
 1563 Assassination of Duke of Guise. Death of Giulia, Duchess 
 
 (65) of Ferrara. Francisco de Uolanda, the Fortuguese 
 architect and miniahmst, luorks in Castille. 
 
 1564 Maximilian II. becomes Emperor of Germany (1564-76). 
 
 (66) Intolerance of Granvelle in the Xetherlands, which is 
 protested against by Marguerite of Parma, the Regent. 
 Death of Michelangelo., aged ninety. Birth of Shake- 
 speare. Fedro de Ohregon works at Toledo. Clovio' s 
 health begins to fail seriously. 
 
 1565 Philip II. marries Maria of Portugal, and Alfonso II. 
 
 (67) of Este marries Barbara of Austria (d. 1572). 
 
 Fetruccio Uhaldini ivorks in England. 
 
 1566 Pius V. Pope (Ghislieri, 1566-1572). Persecution in the 
 
 (68) Netherlands continues. The compromise of Breda 
 presented by three hundred nobles, obtains for them 
 the name of “ Gueux ” — beggars — from the Regent. 
 Greatest splendour of Tui’kish Empire. Cristobal 
 Ramirez of Valencia works oJ the Escorial till 1572. 
 Clovio complains that he cannot luork as usual because 
 of the excessive heat and of iveakness in his head. 
 
A Chronology. 
 
 XXV] 1 
 
 1567 Alva appointed to the Netherlands. Counts Egmont and 
 
 ( 69 ) Hoorn arrested. Marguerite of Parma resigns the 
 Regency. 
 
 1568 Escape of Mary Queen of Scots from Lochleven Castle 
 
 (70) and defeat at Langside. Imprisoned in Englantl. 
 Death of Don Carlos. Flemings migrate to England 
 by thousands. Ferrante Pasta works at Verona. 
 
 1569 Assassination of Conde. His nephew, Henry of Navarre, 
 
 (71) becomes leader of the Catholics. Defeat of Coligny at 
 Montcontour. The Pope crowns Cosimo de’ Medici 
 Grand Duke of Tuscany, and offends the Emperor, 
 the King of Spain, and the Duke of Savoy. 
 
 1570 Philip II. marries his fourth queen, Anne, daughter of 
 
 (72) the Emperor Maximilian. At the same time Charles IX. 
 of France marries her sister Isabella. Death of Cellini, 
 aged seventy. Nicholas Hilliard works in London. 
 Paris Nogari at Borne. 
 
 1571 Battle of Lepanto gained by John of Austria. Berretta 
 
 (73) works on the Pavia Graduals, now at Milan. 
 
 1572 Henry of Navarre marries Marguerite of Valois, a week 
 
 (74) before the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Accession 
 of Pope Gregory XIIL, 1572. Rejoicings in Rome 
 and Madrid over the Massacre of the Huguenots. 
 Death of Hans Mielich at Munich. Fray Martino de 
 Palencia works at the Fscorial. Clovio invited to the 
 
 \ 
 
 Fscorial hut declines. 
 
 1573 Don John of Austria captures Tunis. Alva’s cruelty at 
 
 (75) Haarlem. He is recalled. Cristobal Bamirez of Valencia 
 works at the Fscorial. 
 
 1574 Death of Charles IX. Henry III. (who had been elected 
 
 (76) King of Poland) succeeds. Siege of Leyden. 
 
 F. Zuccaro comes to Fngland. Hans Lenker, of 
 Munich, probably 'paints the beautiful Book of Hours, 
 attributed to Clovio, for Albert V. 
 
XXVI 11 
 
 A Chronologif. 
 
 1575 Henry of Xavarre leaves the Court and puts himself at 
 
 (77) the head of the Protestants. Jubilee at Rome. Tahso, 
 at Ferrara, publishes his “ Gerusalemme Liberata.” 
 Francesco de’ Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. Fray 
 Martino fie Valencia, iSicolas de la Torre de Valinaeia, 
 luorlc on the choir-hoohs of San Lorenzo of the Escorial. 
 These volumes, *21(1 in number, occupy sevt-nteen years 
 to complete (1572-1589). Fray Lieyo de Orta ami Fray 
 Viego del Salto, Ayustiniano, work on the chotr-books at 
 Seville. Rernard Gastello, in Italy, designs engiiivings 
 tor Tasso’s “ Gerusalemme.” 
 
 1576 The troops of Don John of Austria, who is made Gover- 
 
 (78) nor of the Netherlands, not getting their pay, plunder 
 Antwerp. Iloefnayel, the goldsmith, robbed and mined. 
 I'acitication of Ghent. 
 
 Sudden death of Maximilian II. at Ratisbon, aged 
 thirty-nine. 
 
 Fray J). del Salto works at the Cathedral of Seville. 
 'ritian dies of plague at \'eniee, age ninety-nine. 
 Seventy thousand persons jierish iluring the epidemic. 
 Death of Hans Sachs, the “cobbler poet ” of NiireinlH rg. 
 Death of Sir Antonio More. The portrait of a holy in 
 fur at Vienna, said to be by Clovio. 
 
 1577 (ireat tire at Venice, many of Titian’s paintings de.sti\»yed. 
 
 (79) The church of the Redentore built to commemorate 
 the staying of the plague. 
 
 Francisco Hernandez works at the Escorial. Clovio 
 very injirm and incapable of tcork. 
 
 1578 Death of Don John of Austria. The Duke of Parma 
 
 (80) becomes Regent. G. Iloefnayel visits Clovio at Ibane, 
 and is so attracted by his work that he resolves to imitate 
 his manner. Claudio Massarelli and Apollonio Bvoti- 
 fratelli, miniaturists at Home, also follow Clovio' s style., 
 but with marked inferiority . Death of Clovio. aged 
 eighty. 
 
LIFE OF GIORGIO GIULIO CLOVIO, 
 
 MINIATURE PAINTER. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 T may seem curious in the present age 
 of literary activity of every kind, that 
 so little reliable material for biography 
 has accom2)anied the marvellous handi- 
 work of Mediaeval Illuminators, and 
 the earlier practitioners of the art of 
 Miniature Painting whose admirable 
 productions have reached us, or whose names have 
 been handed down with repeated echoes of astonish- 
 ment and praise. Though well known to their con- 
 temporaries, and indeed often so famous as to be 
 spoken of in all cultivated society, it has mostly 
 been their fate to be finally chronicled in the well- 
 worn words of the poet : 
 
 Pulvis et umbra sumus. 
 
 Of those who lived in prae- Christian times, only 
 a bare record of names — so few that they can 
 be counted on the fingers — has found its way into 
 
 1 
 
2 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 literature. Pliny seems to be really the only Latin 
 author extant, who has made any mention of the 
 art or told us the least fragment respecting those 
 who practised it. From Lala of Cyzicus to Gode- 
 schalk, from Auofustus to Charlemaone, their 
 biography is all but an absolute blaid^. And until 
 the middle of the sixteenth century the biography 
 of art of any kind is chiefly confined to brief and 
 inflated eulogies, in which the writer paid infinitely 
 greater attention to the balance of liis periods, or 
 the jingling barbarism of his own rhytlims, than to 
 truthful criticism of the artist, or the facts concern- 
 ing his performances. In the age when a man of 
 letters and one possessed of no small litemiy culture, 
 who could discourse so learnedly on music as to be 
 almost incomprehensible to the modern musician, 
 could devote his energies to the composition of a 
 poem in pi-aise of baldness, the supreme embellish- 
 ment of which consisted in usino’ no word that did 
 
 O 
 
 not begin with the letter C, because written in 
 honour of Carolus Calvus, what possible shadow of 
 veracity could be expected, had tliis representative 
 litterateiir happened to thiidi of conferring im- 
 mortality on the painter of the Golden Gospels 
 of Epternach or the Sacramentary of Metz ? If 
 Hucbald be considered, however, as really not 
 the sort of man for our purpose, let us select a 
 greater. Let us ask Phabanus Maurus, and we 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 3 
 
 might be fortunate enough to possess a treatise 
 in which the Gospel book of Charlemagne would 
 figure in twenty or thirty wonderfully constructed 
 anagrams like those of the famous composition 
 In laudem crucis,” compared with which the 
 atrocities of modern society journals are simply 
 amusement for uncropped babes. Yet, with all 
 this marvellous ingenuity, mediaeval biographies are 
 mostly dry and windy wastes. Artists are, indeed, 
 recognized and praised, but the story of their lives 
 is often vexatiously thin and evasive. Of many but 
 a little earlier than Vasari we know next to nothing. 
 Even of those whom he personally knew, and with 
 whom he, a professed biographer, had conversed, 
 he says but provokingly little, and that little mostly 
 from hearsay. It was not because he thought them 
 beneath his notice, for what he has recorded is 
 unstinted in terms of honest admiration. But it 
 seems to have been a case which Nature felt to 
 be appropriate, that they whose works are hidden 
 from the public eyes, should themselves be dropped 
 out of public recollection. Notwithstanding that 
 the same kind of unmeasured panegyric has 
 been lavished on the art and on those who have 
 engaged in it, from immemorial time, and during 
 every period of its existence, it has been the fate 
 of almost everything beyond the names of these 
 accomplished persons, constantly to be forgotten. 
 
 1 
 
4 
 
 Lift of Gtorfjio Giulio Clox'io. 
 
 Ill every age there has lieeii some name that has 
 transcended the liorizon of contemporary renown, 
 and lias been transciihed into the roll ot the im- 
 mortals. Extraorilinary manual skill, which to our 
 modern and saturated criticism ify simply the out- 
 come of patient and perse\ering assiduity, was to 
 the eyes ot our remote ancestors a .something 
 marvellous it not miracukius, and was accepteil 
 with an easy credulity as the pneternatural or 
 su[)crnatural result of angelie eollalHiration. I'he 
 faultless penmanship ot the Hunk iff htlls and the 
 (lospels of Maiel Ihigid, the magnitieeiit initials 
 diawn by Sintramn of the Woiuliauis Hand, the 
 masterly designs of the monk Silvestro, and a score 
 of other e<|ually famous achievements, have rcsult^-d 
 down to the pri'scnt moment in the empty shadow 
 ot a name and the mere echo of a reputation. 
 To this leputation belongs .scarcely a single thi'ob 
 of true human sympathy, there is im living utteramv* 
 that brings us a hair s-l»readth nearer to the actual 
 lives of these wan toilei*s of the past, unless it 
 be, here and there, the plaint of the copyist himself 
 who, wearied in his work, s|K*aks .sometimes .siully of 
 his palsied fingers or the failing keenness his tired 
 eyes. Usually it is not a man or woman that we 
 know, but merely a hand. Kich it may l>e, with 
 sacred or historic allusion, but calm as the ln>ary 
 hieroglyphs on the syenite tablets of Gizeh, or the 
 
Life of niorcjio niulio Clovio. 
 
 5 
 
 tantalizing of Abu Siinbel. And the pity of 
 
 it is that the ne<jfleet and oblivion which have over- 
 taken these famous drauo-htsnien has been broimht 
 
 O O 
 
 upon them partly, it is true, by their own unselfish 
 modesty, but chiefly by the nature and circum- 
 stances of the art itself It was never produced in 
 a manner calculated to catch the eye of the passing 
 crowd, or to advertise the artist’s name or kindred 
 to an admiring and grateful posterity. Their most 
 precious work was always intended to be enclosed 
 in books. It was always practically inaccessible to 
 the multitude.* 
 
 The o-enerations to whom the contents of some of 
 
 O 
 
 these volumes were known or not yet obsolete, at 
 length passed away, and Avith them the knoA^dedge 
 Avhich at one time Avas too common to requii'e a 
 record, and authentic enough to demand no docu- 
 mentaiy attestation. Occasionally the pious routine 
 of a monastic register has placed the performance 
 of the scrij)tor or miniator among the virtuous deeds 
 
 * II n’en est pas cles MSS. comme cles tableaux, la curiosite 
 legitime du public n’a pour se satisfaire, que la complaisance des 
 conservateurs ; sans doute un grand nombre d’entr’eux com- 
 prennent leur mission et donnent aux gens serieux toutes les 
 facilites desirables, mais elles sont loin d’avoir le caractere 
 general des exhibitions qui se font dans les musees. Le nombre 
 est immense des voyageurs qui out passe dans les capitales sans 
 'pouvoir contempler les merveilles de Tart des miniaturistes et des 
 calligraphes. — Les Evangiles des Limanches, Ptie. III. Notices 
 
 du BrAnaire du, Cardinal Grimani, I. 
 
Lift of (jionjw (iiulio 0orio. 
 
 (> 
 
 of a fraternity. Hence it Boinetiines happens that 
 the notices which ha\'e <lescendecl from these far-otf 
 centuries are eitlier, on the one hainl, the partial 
 laudations of loyal friendship, or, on the other, the 
 Hatulent memoranda of ordinary conventual annals. 
 The works, then, the master-miniaturists, unlike 
 those of the master-paintei's, are not reached hy the 
 general j)ul)lic. It cannot he expected that an artist 
 whose nol)lest efforts are hid<len awav hrtween the 
 hossy and poinleroiis covers of a choir-lwMjk, or kept 
 jealously protected under h)ck and key, should enjoy 
 tlie popularity of one whose masterly achieveiiu-nts 
 are accessible to every visitor, over the hioh altar 
 of a cathedral, or on the inviting w all -screens (»1 a 
 public gallery. 
 
 For this very reason, whilst all varii ties and forms 
 
 of art, savage or polite, when every .scrap of a 
 
 sketch-book and every fraLrnu*nt of a legend is 
 
 greedily picked up concerning artists who are alri*a<ly 
 
 known, it seems oidy rea.sonable that .some effort 
 
 % 
 
 should at length be made to bring into more general 
 notice the labours of the le.ss known, or it may be 
 unknown artists who, earlier in the long career of 
 art, were neyertheless co-workers with their later 
 and perhaps abler brethren, and, in their humbler 
 way, ha\e contributed to its advancement and 
 perfection. But as to their inferiority as artists, 
 in point ot tact the best miniaturists were seldom 
 
Life of (iiorrjio (riulio Clovio. 
 
 7 
 
 far beliind tlio best painters of their own time, and 
 in certain definite localities and periods were dis- 
 tinctly in advance of them. The time has been 
 when the miniaturist was the only artist who prac- 
 tised painting*. He is therefore for such a time an 
 invaluable link in its chain of history. At no time 
 very far behind the best of painters, even in the 
 golden age of the Italian Kenascence, the best 
 miniaturist has always been notably ahead of the 
 maestri dozzinaJi with whom Italy has abounded 
 at every e2)och. Not a few great and well-known 
 painters have also practised miniature, but, as a 
 rule, the professions have remained distinct. If by 
 occasion Haffaello, or Da Vinci, or Tiziano accepted 
 an iiiHuential commission for a Royal service-book, 
 or a ducal biography or diploma, the fact is usually 
 visible in the document itself. It is sure to be 
 masteily, but it may fail in the qualities for which 
 miniature art is femous. Indeed, it may be a little 
 picture ; but it will not strictly be a miniature. F or 
 the miniaturist possesses a code of rules and precepts 
 quite peculiar to himself, and which the ordinary 
 painter must study and observe as carefully as he 
 observes those suited to his larger work, or he must 
 take a secondary place. The stroke of his brush 
 will betray him. His very skill will render him 
 impatient. His impetuosity will demolish his claims 
 to delicate and exquisite polish. The rapid execution 
 
8 
 
 Life of Giorgio Ginlio Clovio. 
 
 of his larger maimer, -will impede his progress, and 
 the masterly sweep of the pencil with which a Paolo 
 Veronese or a Tintoretto would complete at once 
 and for ever a tress of hair, would prohahly sweep 
 the whole miniature into irrecoverahle liinho. Hence 
 the painter has usually kept to his easel, the 
 miniaturist to his pad, or his folio. 
 
 ^Miniature art was the only form of Art perinittoil 
 to survive the wasting inn»ads of harharisni, and to 
 hand down the [>ictorlal traditions of anti<juity to the 
 ej)och of the Pevival. Hut it m»t oidy survivod, it 
 o;rew and streimthened, and even when Paintintr 
 
 O O' o 
 
 was again at its climax. Miniature was a value*!, 
 and in a certain .sense, popular profossioii. ValiKsl 
 inasmuch as it was held in the hij/hest esteem l»v 
 the wealthiest patrons, ami popular among those 
 whose means enahled them to encourage it hv their 
 purchases. 
 
 \\ ith regard to the growing interest of the j)uhlic 
 in this class of work, we need only point to the 
 trouble which is now taken in all our museums ami 
 public collections to render examples accessible, 
 and even to make the study of them educational. 
 W ithin the last few years show-cases have been 
 provided, in which are placed careful ly-.selected 
 examples oi illuminated books, arranged in geogra- 
 phical or chronological order. Ordinary sight-seers 
 are thus enabled easily to make the acquaintance of 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 9 
 
 tlie illuminators, and an oppoi’tunity is afforded for 
 the historic study of an important section of Early 
 Christian Art — not the least amonof the advantao-es 
 offered by the display. The facilities, too, of 
 improved methods of reproduction are constantly 
 bringing forward examples of ancient documents, 
 and, as in the case of the Pala3ographical Society, 
 laying accurate and excellent fxesimiles on the tables 
 of those who can afford the luxury. To the earnest 
 student of Art the great museums in every city here 
 and on the continent are practically free of access, 
 and knowledge on the subject is becoming every day 
 easier of acquisition. The sales of great Collections 
 of ]\ISS. have not only contributed to the spread 
 of this kind of knowledo-e, but in so doin^ have 
 awakened an interest in the works of these long- 
 foro’otten woi'kinen. Then, to streno-then this inte- 
 rest, wi’iters on art have repeatedly called attention 
 to the important place occupied by Miniature art in 
 the general history of Painting. In the History 
 of the Formative Arts, by Schnaase,* a work which 
 
 * Schnaase (C. J. F.) Gescliichte der bildenden Kiinste, 2nd Ed. 
 Diisseldorf, 1866, &c. 8 vols. 8vo. Lecoij de la Marche {A.) Les 
 Manuscrits et la Miniature {Bibliotheque de V Fnseignement des 
 Beaux- Arts) . Woltmann Sf Woermann: History of Paintmg,Bing\. 
 Translation. Edited by S. Colvin, and translated by A. H. Keane 
 and Clara Bell. But tlie list is inexhaustible. The reader 
 must search the Indexes of French, German, and Italian 
 periodical literature to find how extensive it really is. Among 
 
10 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giv.lio CJorio. 
 
 it would be superfluous to praise notwithstanding its 
 defects, for its philosophic spirit and masterly grasp 
 of general truths, a passage of considerable length 
 is devoted to this very discussion, while monographs 
 and magazine articles crowd the pages of foreign 
 bibliography, expressly dealing with the rich stores 
 of material hoarded within the splendid h»lios of 
 Mediaeval books. Xot to tfo verv far afleld, an 
 excellent and popular art history by Wtfltmann and 
 Woermann is now accessible to Kn<rhsh ivaders, and 
 presents a full and very accurate resume of the 
 means by which a knowledge of the subject may be 
 ac([uired. Many lai*ge and e<jstly pui)lications Iiave 
 aimed at facsimile reju-odiiction, and magnificent 
 examples are to be found in our great Jhii»lie 
 Libraries. 
 
 Art is ]noverbially a wide subject, for the prac- 
 tical workintr out of scientific knowledire into material 
 form takes a lon<r time. Hut it is only when we oet 
 beyond the range and reach of our ordinary guides 
 that we seriously realize the truth of the old adage 
 of the physician, Ars longa, vita brevis, in the l)ound- 
 
 Englisli exfimplcvS may bo named Humphreys : The Books of the 
 Middle Ages, and WesttBood : Valceographia Saera Fictoria and 
 Ayiglo- Saxon Illuminated MSS. But the reader of the first 
 named of these splendid works should be warned not to place 
 too much reliance upon the printed text, for it is inaccurate in 
 the extreme. He will have also to beware of the attributions 
 in Dr. Waagen’s interesting Art Treasures in England. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 11 
 
 less prospect before us. One palpable evidence of 
 the existence even yet of unexplored territory is the 
 fact that, notwithstandinof the unwearied diliofence 
 of many generations of writers, there still remain in 
 civilized Europe outlying nooks possessing curious 
 lists of native artists, whose very names are unknown 
 beyond their own contracted frontier. One such 
 locality, for the most part unexplored, is that narrow 
 strip of sea-board which lies along the North-Eastern 
 shore of the Adriatic. In its wider ancient and 
 mediaeval histoiy, and under the illustrious name of 
 Illyria, the territory of which it formed a part was 
 the home of art-culture as it was of heroism. In 
 the sixteenth century South Slavonia could boast 
 a succession of sculptors, painters, and architects, 
 some of whom were sufficiently famous to find 
 employment in the embellishment of Italian cities.'^ 
 Others found their way to the courts of Prague, 
 Budapest, Vienna and Rome. Several acquired a 
 European reputation. Of those employed in Italy, 
 as their works consist usually of architecture or 
 decoration, the English reader seldom learns more 
 than the names — a poor and barren satisfaction, and 
 
 * The architect of the Palace of Urbino was Laca Schiavone 
 (the Slavonian) of Lowrana. Matthias of Spalatro, George of 
 Sehenico, Matthias Gojkovic, ISTicolans Tverdoj, Wenceslans 
 Bojaar, were architects whose works were known in Italy. 
 Among painters we find Bernard of Parenzo, Benedict and 
 Victor Carpaccio of Capo DTstria, and many others. 
 
12 
 
 Life of (jiorf/to Gndio Clorw. 
 
 one for which, considering their uncouthness, he has 
 but little o-ratitude. The habit of calling them by 
 their baptismal rather than by their gentile names, 
 with perhaps the general appellation of Schiavoiie, 
 is moreover a constant source «>f mystitication ; ami 
 
 unless the reader possesses not only a fair knowledge 
 of Italian nomenclature, but also some itlea of 
 Illyrian, he will encounter the risk of many a fruit- 
 less chase.* 
 
 The present l»iographical sketch is founded on 
 materials ne\er l»et*ore pi'eseiitotl in fmglish. It 
 contines itself to such facts as are confirmed either 
 by original documents still extant, or l)V the testi- 
 mony of I’eliable conteinporai-ies. It d«»es not 
 pretend to discuss all the wiM and improiiable ami 
 ill-founded ti’aditions that are in exist<*nee with 
 regard tt) the illustrious miniaturist. With ri*gard, 
 however, to one or two important (jiiestions which 
 are still matters of dispute, an attempt is made to 
 ascertain the truth, as nearly as may be possible, in 
 the absence of direet evidence. For such as may be 
 termed the critical ami descriptive portion, reliance 
 
 * Amorg the scholars and miniaturists employed by thepi'eat 
 ^latthias Corvinus, of Hungary, \yas Felix of Ragiisa (Felice 
 Ragusino). In the Lexicon of South Slayonic artists, hy Sak- 
 cinski, he is giyen as Felix Dubrovebanin. Naturally, at first 
 glance, we should suppose that we had found the real family 
 name of the Ragusan. But it is no such thing. Duhroychanin 
 is simply “ natiye of Dubrova,” and Dnbroya is Ragusa. 
 
Life of Gioryio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 13 
 
 lias been placed only upon the opinions of the best 
 and most competent eye-witnesses ; or, where it has 
 been possible, upon the writer’s own personal know- 
 ledge obtained from the frequent examination of 
 well-authenticated examples in various European 
 libraries. The writer, therefore, has refrained from 
 repeating many random and unauthenticated state- 
 ments which have hitherto passed current as bio- 
 graphical facts. Xor has he thought it necessary 
 merely to re-echo uncritical and sometimes unde- 
 served euloo-iums. AVith such material as he has 
 
 O 
 
 been al)le to collect, he has endeavoured to make 
 out at least a truthful story, and to place his subject 
 in such a light that his readers may gain a fair 
 undei-standino- of it without exao-o’eration and 
 
 o oo 
 
 without romance. The memoir takes up the period 
 and career of an ai-tist of undoubted ability, if not 
 genius, heretofore for the most part erroneously 
 dealt with, and concerns itself with an art usually 
 passed over as not quite worth the trouble of 
 accuracy.* 
 
 AYe shall have to follow neglected or forgotten 
 byways, and shall ramble at leisure along paths now 
 
 * I regret to say that even in so heantifnl and conscientions 
 a work as that of Dr. Profert, many of the old exploded doctrines 
 with regard to certain miniatures and miniaturists remain 
 uncontradicted. On the later portrait-miniaturists his authority 
 is excellent ; on the subject-miniaturists of the fourteenth and 
 fifteenth centuries he has been misled more than once. 
 
14 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 quite forsaken, but once busy with the tread of 
 many feet. Our road will not be the beaten high- 
 way of Art History. Had it been so probably it 
 need not have been followed. The guide at least 
 would have found the landmarks more reliable. 
 But what can a traveller learn about a countiy 
 which he visits only at the same familiar points, 
 and traverses by the same familiar I'outes ? They 
 may be entii*ely worth his attention, but they have 
 been seen and celebrated by a well-known succession 
 of visitors such as himself What can he know of 
 the secluded valleys — of the lonely uplands — of the 
 swarming villages ? He has passed them by. The 
 necessity for following the regulation route forbids 
 byways and discourages individual exploration. It 
 is sufficiently uncomfoidable for the ordinary tourist 
 to find himself whei*e roads are few and ruo-cred 
 
 OO 
 
 and hostelries unknown. It is uncomfortable for a 
 writer to find himself, after considerable progress, 
 committed to a subject where recorded facts are 
 few and indistinct, and where almost all diance 
 of finding the way depends on the persevering 
 determination to pry into every literary corner, 
 overturn every stone of document, and prowl 
 about every mouldering ruin of a memorandum. 
 But as the circumstances of travel are changing, 
 and a new and vigorous curiosity seizes the public 
 mind for scenes about which the ordinarv traveller 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 15 
 
 has nothing to relate, so there is a corresponding 
 curiosity setting in towards the exploration and 
 unearthing of even the humblest creation that has 
 served as a way-mark in the history of by-gone art. 
 Here, then, is offered a glimpse into a scene, that in 
 its far-off perspective now seems only a sequestered 
 vale in the Art world of the sixteenth century. 
 Yet it is a scene full of life and activity — of just 
 such human interest and movement and passion as 
 exist in our very midst. It presents men whose 
 names in the cultured days of the Emperor Charles 
 the Fifth, of the Medici Princes, of the Parnese 
 and Della Rover e Popes, and during the exciting 
 time of the great Tridentine Council, rang through- 
 out artistic Europe. As to Clovio himself, if we 
 omit the five foremost masters of the Renascence, 
 Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raffaello, Correggio, 
 Tiziano, no one in his own time stood higher in 
 reputation. The lavish epithets of eulogy employed 
 by every writer who has mentioned his name may 
 be taken for what they are worth — mostly echoes. 
 Yet they imply an importance and character which 
 is worth examination. To those who have not seen 
 with their own eyes the productions of the artist’s 
 hand, and who do not care simply to pass on the 
 parrot-like phraseology of mere compilation, there 
 seems nothing but gross and ignorant panegyric. 
 Vasari as the mouthpiece of contemporary opinion 
 
IG 
 
 Lifo of (Jiunjiu (Jiulio Clonu. 
 
 calls him : “ il maravigliosu,” “ il piccolo Michcl- 
 agnolo,” “ il principc dei miiiiatori and this is the 
 tone of all after-comers. Loinazzo speaLs of him 
 as “il miraijile,” “runicu.*' l^anzi, even: “il restaura- 
 tore delle arti.” Zani : “il Katiaello dei Miniatori.” 
 Kosiiii: “ insupmato miraculo.su.” And so on. Xagler 
 referring tu his productions says, “ Alles hat ein 
 rafaelisches gepriige.” In short the uni versed 
 testimony is that he was the most famous minia- 
 tiu ist of his own time, and his time was that of the 
 most taiuous artists of the modern world. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introductory notes on Clovio’s family and birthplace — Clovio 
 born 1498 — State of affairs in Croatia — Ilis first tutors 
 and work — At eighteen years of age is invited to Rome 
 — Precocity of Italian artists — Clovio’s earliest patrons 
 — The Grimani family. 
 
 Q_IORGIO CLOVIO, in his native language 
 Juraj Gloviclisich (Glovichic), was by birth a 
 Croatian. He was a native of Grizane,* a villasre 
 near the Adriatic Sea, and within the territory of 
 the town of Modrush.t The town is not easy to 
 find in modern maps ; but in the careful atlas of 
 Ortelius it is given near the extremity of the 
 little river Mrenitza — a confluent of the Save — as 
 Modrusch. It was only a small town lying among 
 the hills which skirted this rugged coast, but as the 
 
 * The “z” is pronounced like the French ‘"j.” Grizane is 
 in the diocese of Modrush, as before stated. In documents of 
 the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it is called Krizane, and 
 lies in the district of Yinodol, between Bakarac and Bribir. 
 Formerly it had appertained to the family of the Frangipani, 
 but in 1474 Count Martino Frangipani made it over by will to 
 the Franciscan monastery of Tersat which he had founded. In 
 this will he states that he bought the village of his niece 
 Margaretha, sister of Count Bartolommeo Frangipani. In a 
 Glagolitic document of 1596 there comes under the seal a 
 signature of one Bernac Glovichic of Grizane. The name occurs 
 repeatedly on similar documents, 
 t Or Modrus. 
 
 •7 
 
18 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 chief place of the district, gave its name to the 
 lordship, once in possession of a branch of the great 
 Illyrian family of Frangipani."^ At the close of the 
 fifteenth century, the Ban or ruler of Croatia was 
 John Corvinus, son of the Great Matthias of 
 Hungary.t He held his viceroyalty under Ladislas, 
 and administered the province with prudence and 
 ability. After a brief resignation in 1499, he 
 resumed it until 1504, when he died. His illegiti- 
 macy, though it may have deprived him of his 
 father’s crown, did not deny him the compensation 
 of a marked share of his father’s genius, nor of his 
 natural capacity as a ruler of men. tlis infiint son 
 
 * In dissentione ilia qiise crat inter Fridericum Imperatorem 
 et Regem Mattliiam plnrimi Croatias procernm Friderico adh»re- 
 bant, cum primis Yero Frangepani, ut ideo a Mathia Rege 
 privati ecntiqne castris plurimis fuerint. Anno 1464, Martinus 
 Frangepanns gratiam meruit, at cessa Regi Castro Krupa, quod 
 a Teutonicis redemerat castra Regia Kostanicza, Sztenicbniak. 
 Lipovch cum borum pertinentibus lege ea accepit nt a morte 
 sua continno ad Regem devolvantur. — Balthasar Adam Kereselich 
 de Corhavia ; de Begnis Dahnatice Croatice Sclavonice. Notitice 
 Prceliminares, 290. Fol. Zagrah. n. d. And for other services 
 of the said Martin, other properties were bestowed on him, 
 which were held bj successive counts Frangipani, especially the 
 Castle of Bachar. — Ih. 291. 
 
 t Croatiam, si non totam, majorem profecto ejus partem, 
 Matthias Rex, ob bella cum Turcis aliisque habita, militaris 
 jurisdictionis jurisque tenuit et gubernavit. 1496. Mandat 
 Vladislaus Joanne Corvino Sclavonite, Dalmatise et Croatiae 
 Bano, ut, &c. — Ib. 301. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 19 
 
 Christopher died the following year, and thus the 
 race of the magnificent King Matthias became 
 extinct within seven years of his own death. 
 
 In the early days of the sixteenth century the 
 territory was claimed by Venice, but it was soon 
 fated to relapse into a debatable land. Giorgio was 
 born in the year 1498. The exact name of his 
 family is difficult to make out ; but as a fellow- 
 countryman seems to have the best right to an 
 opinion on this point, I have followed the state- 
 ment of Sakcinski, the learned compiler of the 
 Lexicon of South Slavonic Artists, who decides 
 on the one I have already given. To the rest of 
 Europe the artist has always been known by his 
 Italianized name of Clovio. The name Giulio or 
 Julius signed to many of his pictures, and by which 
 in later life he was universally known, was not 
 baptismal, as assumed by Vasari, but was taken up 
 under peculiar circumstances out of respect and 
 gratitude to one of his earliest and sincerest friends. 
 It is almost needless to say that the supposed family 
 name of Grovato or Grovata is simply a misreading 
 of his customary signature Crovato or Crovata,"^ a 
 term applied to him according to sixteenth century 
 usage, and adopted by himself as a native of Croatia. 
 Nothing in those days was commoner than this 
 
 * As to tlie “ o ” or “a” of the termination, that is accordirg 
 to its Italian or Croatian spelling. 
 
 2 
 
20 
 
 oj (jiotyio (jiulio Clociu. 
 usaoe. Pietro Variucci was Pietro Perutrino. l^iolo 
 
 O O 
 
 Caiiliari was l^iolo Veronese. Antonio Alkwi was 
 
 o o 
 
 always better known as Correggio. The custom 
 was universal, and accordingly (jiulio Clovio )>ecanie 
 known as Julio Cnjvato. 
 
 W itli regard to his childhoud, we have no preeise 
 intorniatioii. It is most proljahle that until al)out 
 his eighteenth year he lived with liis parents at 
 (hizane. The family seemed to have been tolerably 
 well-to-do, for a Macedonian ancestrv is alluded to 
 as denoting a position ot some eonsiileration, p< »ssibly 
 as nol)les — at least as substantial cultivators of the 
 
 soil. “Macedo ’’ is one ot the names bv whieh 
 
 % 
 
 Clovio’s signature is fre<|Uently accompanied, and 
 there is a cei tain Captain ( Juiilo Clovio related to 
 our artist, who is assumed to be a man ot res|>ectahle 
 social ])osition in those military times. According to 
 the custom of the aire, ( iioroio woiiM receive the rudi- 
 nients of education from .some nei«diiM)urin<r monastic 
 school ; and whilst thus enoa<red was <loubtle>s 
 
 ' O O 
 
 encouraLTed to follow his natural oift for drawin;r» 
 since almost all the cloisters of .Southern Slavonia 
 coukl then boast their calligraphers and illuminators 
 of books.* 
 
 When about eiirhteen years of he is mentioned 
 or the tirst time by his contemporary, Giorgio 
 ^ asari, as being already in the employment of one 
 * Sakcin^ki, Lebeu^ S'c. German translation. 
 
Life of (hoi'ifio (unlio Clovio, 
 
 of tlie most distiimuislied fiimilics in Venice. How 
 
 O 
 
 one so young sliould come to be favoured with any 
 important commission may be the more easily 
 accounted for if we pay attention for a moment to 
 tlie political history of the time. For even in those 
 days of artistic precocity, and in that supremely 
 favoured land of artistic culture, it was not every 
 promising youth of eighteen who slipped easily into 
 a valuable appointment. At the same time, youth- 
 fulness was no drawback to the chajice of veiy 
 important commissions. The miniaturist Liberale, 
 when invited to illuminate the choir books of Monte 
 Oliveto Maggiore of Siena, was only sixteen.^ 
 Pierino del Ahiga, who 2)ainted the Old Testament 
 subjects in the Loggie of the Vatican — known as 
 Paffael’s Bible — was no older when he executed 
 the frescoes from his master’s sketches, t Raffaello 
 himself was eioirteen when he went to assist 
 
 O 
 
 Pinturicchio at Siena. When he painted the 
 Sposalizio,” he was twenty-one. As to Clovio, it 
 is not difficult to imagine how he became known 
 to the great family of Grimani. About the time of 
 his birth it happened that the renowned Venetian 
 Admiral, Antonio Grimani, was employed by the 
 
 * Vasari: Vite, ^c. Ed. Lemonnier, Firenze. Vol. ix.p. 170, 
 note 4. Bernasconi : Studij sopra la Storia della Pittura Italiana 
 dei Secoli XIV. ed XV. ^c. Verona, 1865. 8vo. p. 244, ^c. 
 t Wilson (G. H.) Life of Michelangelo, p. 9. 
 
22 
 
 Life of Giorfjio (jiulio Clovio. 
 
 Italian League as captain-general of the eonihiiK-cl 
 forces of Christendom against the Turks, who were 
 then striving to force their way across Europe. 
 They had already obtained a footing in Croatia, 
 whose last monarch, to save his country, had made 
 over his rights to the kiims of Huimary. The 
 Magyar claims, however, were vigorously disputed 
 both l>y the Turks and Venetians, and in the 
 last decade of the fifteenth century, eacli power 
 had seizerl various districts, and by sheer i’orce 
 exercised a variable and precarious militaiy autho- 
 rity in them. The natural result was an inces.^uit 
 [)etty warfare, in the coiii.se of which (Irimani was 
 drawn towards the neighbourhood of Modru>h. At 
 such a time it is impo.ssible that Clovio’s family 
 could have escaped their share of retjuisitioning and 
 otlier incitlental discomforts in.separable from a 
 theatre of war, and the more sulistantial the home- 
 stead, the more likely it was to come under the 
 notice of the noble and lionourable Commander. 
 From the respectful way in whicli the young artist 
 was afterwards treated by every member of tlie 
 Grimani family it seems natural to believe that 
 valuable service liad been rendered to the admiral 
 during the campaign of 1499. It is equally natural 
 to conclude that as the boy grew in skill l^eneatli 
 the fostering care of the good fathers of the monas- 
 tery he would be brought by them, according to a 
 
Life of (Jio)'(jio (Jiulio Clovio. 
 
 23 
 
 coiniiion practice, under the notice of the territorial 
 nobles of tlie district. Not loii^x before his birth 
 the iinniediate lords of Grizane had been tlie Fran- 
 gipani, and their iiiHuence as patrons was still 
 powerful in tlie neiglibourhood. They then — by a 
 courteous usage frecjuent among the cultivated nobi- 
 lity of Italy, and of wliicli we meet with numerous 
 instances in the familiar letters of Cardinal Farnese^ 
 — would pass tlie artist’s name with their recom- 
 mendation to those of their correspondents whom 
 they knew to be interested in such matters. In 
 this manner without any departure from the 
 ordinary course of events the Clovios might have 
 been brou^xht back to the recollection of the 
 Grimani, and the youth introduced to the service 
 in which we find him when first he comes personally 
 beneath our notice. But whatever may have been 
 the actual course of his education or experience, or 
 of his introduction to his earliest patron, it is 
 asserted as a fact that within twenty years of the 
 time when the now ao^ed admiral visited his birth- 
 place, Clovio was established in the employment 
 of one of the admiral’s sons. Vasari, as already 
 mentioned, says that at the age of eighteen he 
 came into Italy and placed himself in the service of 
 Marino, Cardinal Grimani, with whom in the space 
 of three years he attained such skill in drawing, as 
 
 * Brit. Mils. Add. MSS. 
 
24 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 far as to exceed what was expected of him, as 
 mioht be seen in several drawiims of medals which 
 
 o o 
 
 he made for that nobleman. They are, indeed, 
 most minutely executed with the pen, and with 
 extreme and, S(j t(j speak, incredible diligence.'^ It 
 is well to bear in mind that Vasari is the father of 
 Art-biography, so as to make tlue allowance for the 
 pioneer in a new field. The labour of producing a 
 work of the nnmnitiule of his “Ifives” must have 
 
 O 
 
 l)ccn enormous, and the difhcultv of obtainiim 
 accurate information on every p»int, at times very 
 great indeed. I have, my.self, no .sympathy with 
 the growing practice of decrying this most useful 
 and interestiiiLT writer. Kvervl>odv knows his in- 
 accuracy in points of detail. If, therefore, I venture 
 to correct any little error that falls in my way, I do 
 so with a most sincere respect on the whole for his 
 invaluable work. It is devoutly to i>e wished that 
 we had more of it, and that the volume i>f lettei*s, 
 the contents of which are on record, might still i»e 
 found, together with tho.se portfolios and books 
 of drawinofs to which he oceasionallv refei's.'^ In his 
 mention of Clovio’s, just quoted, there is a slight 
 confusion. Marines Grimani was not created car- 
 dinal till 152(>, while Clovio’s introduction must 
 have occurred in 1516. The fact that ^larino 
 
 * TiYe, yc. Ed. Sansoni. 
 
 t These to some extent are certainly dispersed. 
 
Life of Giorgio (Jiulio Clovio. 
 
 25 
 
 Grimani was afterwards, for many years, the patron 
 and sincere friend of Clovio, was well known, hence 
 Vasari’s mistake. But in 151G it was Cardinal 
 Domenico Grimani who was the great art-patron 
 and hook-collector of the family. It was he who 
 bought of one Antonio, of Sicily — a dealer in MSS., 
 not an artist, as the anonimo of Morelli mistakenly 
 imagined — the celebrated Franciscan Breviary which 
 bears the Grimani name, and is still jealously 
 presei'ved as the greatest treasure in the Marcian 
 Library at Venice.* 
 
 At the time of Clovio’s en^ajxement, Domenico 
 was residing in Rome, where he possessed one of 
 the best libraries in Eui-ope, a library afterwards 
 ti‘ansferi*ed to Venice, and spoken of by Erasmus 
 with unqualihed enthusiasm. t With him, under 
 the chai-acter of an exile, resided his venerable 
 father, the once popular admiral, consigned to per- 
 
 * Speaking of inaccuracies, in a notice of Clovio by A. R-on- 
 chini, in Atti e Memorie, ^c. iii. 259-270, several very needless 
 errors are committed. For example, Roncbini calls Clovio’s 
 birthplace Grifone, This is a misprint copied from Baglione. 
 Then “ S’acconcio a servizio del Veneto patrizio Marino Gri- 
 mani poi Cardinale ” copied without examination from Vasari. 
 Vasari indeed, by a simple error, says Cardinal Marino : Ron- 
 chini emphasizes the error itself by adding “ poi,” whereas 
 Marino, as stated in the text, was not made a cardinal until 
 1526. 
 
 t It was to Cardinal Domenico Marini that Erasmus dedi- 
 cated his Paraphrase on the Epistle to the Romans. 
 
26 
 
 Life of Giorfjio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 petual banishment for having, whilst in command 
 of the fleet in 1499, been guilty of permitting the 
 Turks to capture Lepanto. Antonio’s original sen- 
 tence had been one of imprisonment for life, but the 
 dread of a punisliment so severe and so undeserved 
 had brought Domenico to Venice with a petition 
 that his father might be permitted to retire from 
 Cherso to Koine, and thus it came to pass that 
 when the young Croatian artist was brouglit to 
 work for the cardinal, it was to Kume, and not to 
 Venice, or Mantua, or A(juileia, tlie other cities in 
 which Cardinal Crimani had resided. It was in 
 Koine that he tii*st made the ae<|uaintance of Ciulio 
 Koinano. Home was the artistic starting-jK)int of 
 his career, and always looked forward to as the goal. 
 Koine was the place in which, notwithstanding 
 many enforced and painful wanderings, he laboured 
 longest, and achieved his g'reatest successes, in 
 wliich he formed his life-long friendships, and in 
 wliich he finished his exceedinolv loim and laborious 
 career. Soon after his arrival in Koine, the turn of 
 events in Venice led to the recall of the aged father 
 of his patron. Antonio Grimani was restored to all 
 his forfeited honours, and, although in his ninety- 
 seventh year, elected to the Dogeship. His election 
 took place in 1521. In 1523 he died. Domenico 
 died in the same vear, but the death of the noble- 
 hearted cardinal did not compel Clovio to seek a 
 
Life of Gionjio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 27 
 
 new employment. He passed, bequeathed, as it 
 were, by liis master’s will, into the service of Marino 
 Griniani. This distinguished churchman was at 
 that time patriarch of Aquileia, and had become the 
 fortunate inheritor of the priceless treasures of 
 literature and art collected by his uncle Domenico. 
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 <0 
 
CllAFTEH II. 
 
 Clov'io’s first visit to Italy, lol6 — Probable character of bis 
 earliest coriiinissions — Meets Giulio Koiuano — Advised to 
 keep to miniature — Studies in the Therma* of Titus — 
 KalYaello and his dniwin^s fit>m the grottesche — Position 
 of Ratt'aello as commissioner for ancient buildings — 
 Clovio’s first coloured miniature — A copy fi-om Diii*er — 
 Other works — Goes to liuda— His acquaintance with 
 Francisco do Holanda and Michelangelo — Conver- 
 sations. 
 
 })un-(lni\vin^.s which tVinncMl Clovio’s in- 
 troduction to Italian jiatrona^c were of a very 
 small size, worked, .says \ a.stiri, “con extrema e 
 (jiiasi incredihile dili^enzii.” It is m»t impossilile 
 that the lon</ attention which he mive to this work 
 
 o o 
 
 in reality developed out of* his general ability as an 
 artist — that special turn lor nunute finish which 
 so powerfully attracted the admiration of his con- 
 temporaries. We may form some idea of the 
 performance, in looking at the beautiful but far less 
 famous pen-drawings of Enea Vico and Ottavio 
 Strada, several volumes of which, precisely similar 
 ill character, are preserved in the British Museum.* 
 
 * XII. C(Tsani7ny vianu Vici. Squ. 8°. Harl. ^fSS. 
 
 5381. Octavius de StradUj Simbola Remanor. Imperatorum^ iS'c., 
 sm. jol. 1597. Add! MSS. 30065. 
 
liolhra ^caffejrza (jurtufLU”"' 
 
 da (Parma^ 
 
 yfuWti^i^rno ic'fv-yt’’ 
 
 AUTOGRAPHS OP ARTISTS 
 
 ENEA VICO JULIO ROMANO MICHELANGELO CLOVIO. 
 
 From existing documents. 
 
Life of G iovijio (Hulio Clovio. 
 
 29 
 
 These very neat and clever drawings also represent 
 medals, or devices intended for them, and it is 
 scarcely likely that the work of a mere boy, however 
 |)romising, would surpass very greatly that of a 
 veteran artist and engraver like Vico, or a practised 
 draughtsman like Strada.* The decided success of 
 the young artist in the little drawings executed for 
 Domenico Griniani, led his friend and adviser Giulio 
 Romano to urge his entire devotion to miniature. 
 Every one who saw them gave him the same advice. 
 Indeed, when with the love of change incident to 
 youth, being inspired by the sight of Romano’s own 
 work, he thought of dropping his present occupation 
 and applying himself to fresco or oil-painting, Giulio, 
 who seems ever to have been his sincere and faithful 
 friend, earnestly begged him by all means not to 
 think of relinquishing what was so manifestly his 
 true vocation, and the one in which he would by-and- 
 by inevitably acquire distinction. Romano himself, 
 moreover, taught the youthful draughtsman his own 
 method of mixing and applying colours, together 
 with the use of gum-water in place of the older 
 vehicles as a medium for water-colours. To this 
 extent Clovio may be said to have been the pupil of 
 
 * Yico was one of the best penmen as well as engravers of bis 
 time. A letter reproduced by Milanesi shows him to have been 
 quite the equal of such professional copyists as Yerrazano or 
 Yespasiano Amfiareo. 
 
30 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Giulio Romano. It will be remembered that Giulio 
 Pippi, called “ II Romano/’ was one of, if not the 
 ablest of that skilful band of artists whom Raffaello 
 chose to assist him in the decorations of the Vatican 
 
 Loggie,” or open galleries of the Papal Palace in 
 Rome. Three years before that which brought 
 Clovio to Rome, Raffaello had been appointed 
 inspector of public edifices and antiquities in Rome 
 and its neighbourhood, an office which involved the 
 duty of examining ruins, and all discoveries of stones 
 and marbles within a radius of ten miles. It also 
 gave him a commission to collect sculptures, inscrip- 
 tions, and any other relics he might meet with, to 
 be preserved for the advancement of letters, and for 
 the elegance of the Latin tongue."^ Hence his official 
 
 * The Brief of Leo X. appointing Bahaello to the post of 
 Superintendent of Antiquities is dated: — Borne, 27th August, 
 1575. As the document is interesting I translate it from 
 Gruyer: Uapliael et V Antiquit e, I. 435 : — 
 
 To Raffaello of Urbino. 
 
 “It is of the greatest importance, for the works of the Roman 
 Temple of the Prince of Apostles, that the stone and marbles, of 
 whicli a great quantity is of necessity required, should bereajdily 
 obtained in the localities brought together by us. And since 
 we know that Roman remains should furnish an abundance of 
 them, that almost everybody takes the marbles of all kinds for 
 building purposes in and about Rome, and that it is the same 
 witli the materials found in turning up the soil, we name you, 
 seeing that you have received from us the superintendence of 
 tlie works, Inspcctor-in-Chief of all the marbles and stones which 
 shall be exhumed from this day forth, in Rome, and within a 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 31 
 
 position gave him the right to be among the first to 
 examine the newly-discovered paintings in the Baths 
 of Titus, then being exhumed on the Esquiline, an 
 opportunity which he seized for the purpose of 
 making careful and detailed copies of those eminently 
 beautiful examples of ancient art. Some of the 
 drawings he made with his own hand. Others he 
 entrusted to his assistants, and there can be no 
 doubt that Clovio acquired some of his earliest and 
 most permanent characteristics and principles of 
 colouring from these very studies, if not indeed from 
 
 distance of ten miles therefrom, that yon may purchase them 
 should they prove of service for the construction of the Temple. 
 We, therefore, admonish all persons, of vs^hatever condition, 
 whether of noble family and high in dignity, or of lower, or even 
 of the lowest rank, that before all, they shall assist you in your 
 quality of Superintendent, with all the marbles and stones, of all 
 kinds, which shall be discovered within the circumference which 
 we have indicated. Whoever shall not obey this admonition, 
 after a delay of three days, shall be subject to a fine of 100 to 
 300 ducats of gold, according to your will. Besides, inasmuch 
 as it has been reported that persons have inconsiderately pos- 
 sessed themselves (or made use) of antique fragments of marble, 
 on which are found inscriptions which often contain memorable 
 things, and which ought to be preserved for the advancement of 
 letters and for the elegance of the Latin tongue, but which in 
 such wise are lost, we enjoin upon all such as carry on the pro- 
 fession of stone-cutters in Borne, not to break nor chip stones 
 bearing inscriptions, without your consent, under pain of the 
 same fine, should they disobey our commands. 
 
 “ Given at Bome, this 27th day of August, in the Third 
 Year of our Pontificate ” (^.e. 1515). 
 
32 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 working with the rest among the actual frescoes of 
 the Thermse. We know that from this time even 
 Raffaello himself somewhat modified his system of 
 colouring, and that the decorations executed under 
 his direction and from his designs in the Loggie of 
 the Vatican and elsewhere, are the direct outcome 
 of the enthusiasm created by the grottesclie as 
 they were called, of the old Imperial Baths. The 
 most striking peculiarity of this ancient colouring, 
 apart from its somewhat singular gamut, consists in 
 the delicate and dainty introduction of colour into 
 the folds and recesses only of the draperies, and the 
 shaded sides of the figure, and its almost entire 
 exclusion from the highest lights, except that, at 
 times, the latter are tinted with a faint and tender 
 nuance of the complimentary hue. This system of 
 colouring, more or less pronounced, is observable 
 in all the decorations carried out by the artists 
 who made the aforesaid studies. Of this char- 
 acter are the so-called arabesques or grottesclie 
 of the Farnesina,'^ of the Villa di Madama near 
 
 * The villa called the Farnesina, or “little Farnese,” to dis- 
 tinguish it from the Palace begun by Cardinal Alessandro 
 Farnese the elder, afterwards Pope Paul III., is situate on the 
 right bank of the Tiber, near the end of the long narrow street 
 called the Lungara. It was built by Baldassare Peruzzi at 
 the expense of the great Roman Banker Agostino Chigi, to 
 rival the palace of the Riarii (now called the Corsini), which 
 stood on the other side of the same street. The decorations 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 33 
 
 Rome,'^ and of the Palazzo del ‘‘T.” at Mantua, t and 
 in short of every piece of decoration from the 
 sixteenth century to the present time over which 
 these masters in ornament have had any influence, 
 
 were executed partly from the designs of Raffaello, by Giulio 
 Romano [this has been recently disputed, and the decoration 
 designs accorded to Peruzzi, while the plan of the whole is given 
 to RafPaello], Francesco Penni, and Giovanni da Udine — the 
 three greatest decorators of the age. There were also important 
 paintings by Sebastiano del Piombo. But its great attraction 
 is the series of twelve pictures containing the story of Psyche 
 from Apuleius, after the designs of Raffaello. 
 
 * The Villa Madama (which must not be confounded with the 
 Palazzo di Madama in the city) is a mansion built by G. Romano 
 from Raffaello’s plans, for Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, afterwards 
 Clement VII. Like the Palazzo, it obtained its name from 
 having been, when in the possession of the Farnese family, the 
 residence of Margaret the celebrated daughter of Charles V., 
 who, first married to Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence, 
 became, after his assassination, the wife of Ottavio Farnese 
 Duke of Parma, then some years her junior. It was built on 
 a spur of Monte Mario, on the road to the Ponte Molle. Its 
 decorations were executed by G. Romano and Giovanni da 
 Udine. Like the rest of the Farnese possessions, it became 
 eventually the property of the Bourbon Kings of hTaples. 
 
 t The celebrated Palazzo del T., so called, it is said, from the 
 resemblance of its plan to the letter T, was designed by G. Romano, 
 for the Duke of Mantua. The original intention of the Duke had 
 been to alter certain stables into a residence of very modest pro- 
 portions, but Giulio’s plans were so beautiful, and displayed such 
 manifest ability, that the Duke was induced to have them put 
 into tangible shape. The decorations have been repeatedly 
 described. 
 
 3 
 
34 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 or in which the principles of ancient Roman painting 
 have survived. ^ It is indeed so decidedly a Cloviesca 
 peculiarity, and one so slavishly imitated by his 
 copyists, that many works have been hastily attri- 
 buted to him simply on the strength of it alone. 
 
 It does not seem unlikely that Clovio, on his 
 engagement by Cardinal Grimani, had already found 
 his way to Venice. In fact, coming by the usual 
 route from the Istrian side of the gulf, he could 
 scarce!}^ avoid making Venice his first important 
 resting place. Besides, it was the home of his 
 j)atron’s family. At that time, too, the fame of 
 Albrecht Dlirer, who had recently visited the island- 
 city, was in everybody’s mouth. Quite a furore of 
 admiration had set in, and Italian artists, engravers 
 especially, were already busy copying the quaint 
 but vigorous productions of the great Nuremberg 
 draughtsman. 
 
 Vasari relates that the first piece of miniature 
 painting in which Clovio attempted colour, was a 
 Madonna, from an engraving by Albrecht Dlirer. 
 Clearly the young Croatian stranger was smitten 
 with the prevalent momentary frenzy, but whether 
 at Venice or Rome is of no consequence. The 
 engraving in question forms the frontispiece of one 
 
 * The ceilings and pilasters of the Pamfili-Doria Palace in 
 Rome, painted by Gennazini, are, as to colouring, executed 
 precisely in the same manner. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 35 
 
 of Dlirer’s largest books of engravings, called 
 Epitome in Divse parthenices Marise historiam,”* 
 which had been published at Nuremberg in 1511, 
 and was already, doubtless, in Domenico Grimani’s 
 library in Rome. It is a large folio — the largest 
 and most important of the three great books” — 
 and had only appeared in a complete form in the 
 above-named year, the beautiful frontispiece being 
 then issued for the first time. The three books were 
 the Apocalypse,” the Great Passion,” and this 
 Marienleben,” or life of the Virgin. They con- 
 sisted respectively of sixteen, twelve, and twenty 
 sheets of wood-engravings, of the finest and most 
 elaborate work perhaps ever produced on wood. Of 
 course, in 1519 the woodcuts of the great German 
 masters were not merely a novelty, but a marvel of 
 technical skill. They took the school of Raffaello 
 by storm. Among those who strove to imitate 
 both the wood and copper plates, Marc Antonio 
 Raimondi even went so far as to copy, not only 
 Diirer’s designs, but also his well-known monogram 
 upon them, and to sell the copies as Dtirer’s 
 own work. This was carrying the flattery of 
 
 * A very fine copy of the volume is to be seen in tbe British 
 Museum Library. It is one of the first edition, and the 
 impressions exceedingly choice and brilliant. There is also a 
 reproduction of its beautiful title-page, in L' Art pratique, 1879. 
 No. 77. Leipzig : G. Ilirth. 
 
 3 * 
 
36 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 imitation beyond all reasonable bounds, and Dlirer 
 was put to considerable trouble and expense, including 
 one or two journeys into Italy, before the fraud was 
 effectually exposed, and his own rights vindicated. 
 
 The great title-page copied by Clovio and turned 
 by his skill into a charming miniature painting, was 
 one truly worthy of all the loving labour he bestowed 
 upon it. The Virgin mother is represented as 
 holding the infant Christ to her bosom. She is 
 seated on a rich cushion placed on a crescent moon 
 — a starry crown hangs over her head while a dense 
 and powerful radiance flashes from her person on 
 every side. Dlirer probably never designed a nobler 
 or more graceful figure. 
 
 Besides this Madonna, Clovio now began to paint 
 many other miniatures, in some of which he at- 
 tempted original composition, and being astonish- 
 ingly successful, obtained so widespread a reputation 
 that within a very few years he was invited to one 
 of the most splendid Courts in Europe. In 1524, 
 at the request of the celebrated Alberto Pio da 
 Carpi, he accompanied that nobleman to Buda, the 
 famous royal city of Hungary, and was introduced 
 to the young King, Louis II., the luxurious, chival- 
 rous, ill-starred successor of great Matthias Corvinus, 
 who had been the most magnificent of book-collectors. 
 No more congenial field for the exercise of Clovio’s 
 special talents could have been imagined. The 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 37 
 
 Corvina Library still existed in almost its original 
 completeness and splendour, containing the master- 
 pieces in book decoration of all Clovio’s greatest 
 predecessors and contemporaries. What a banquet 
 for the enthusiastic illuminator ! Those truly regal 
 presses, so gorgeously described by Schier* after 
 Naldi’s panegyric, held the finest works of Gherardo, 
 Monte di Giovanni, Fra Eustachio, and Attavante; 
 and numerous other masterpieces of the miniaturists 
 of Verona, Siena, Milan, Florence, and Rome. To 
 these fascinating volumes there can be no doubt 
 Clovio would at once have ready access, for he 
 obtained an immediate commission from the King 
 to add to the collection something from his own 
 excellent though still quite youthful hand. Un- 
 happily for himself, his stay in this artistic paradise 
 was but of short duration. He reached Buda, as 
 stated above, in 1524. In 1526 was fought the rash 
 and disastrous battle of Mohacz, in fleeing from 
 which the over-hasty Louis lost his life, and the 
 issue of which threw the royal city with all its 
 treasures into the hands of the Turkish soldiery. 
 There is no need to enlarge upon the excesses of 
 that terrible capture. City and fortress were 
 sacked, and most of the contents of the royal 
 palace and library stolen, or mutilated, or reduced 
 
 * Xystus Schier : De lieaia Budensi Bill. Matthice Gorvini. 
 Naldus Naldius : De Laudib. auyustce bibliothecce. 
 
38 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 to ashes. The mischief was not so complete as has 
 often been asserted, but quite sufficient to destroy 
 its prestige, for the vast hoards of the Corvina were 
 speedily dispersed. It is nevertheless sadly true 
 that rich bindings were ruthlessly torn to pieces 
 for the sake of the gems, or precious metals with 
 which they were adorned, and priceless miniatures 
 cut roughly from the once cherished volumes and 
 bartered for draughts of wine or trifling sums of 
 money among other loot of the hapless city. The 
 copyists and illuminators, of whom Corvinus had 
 maintained a regular well-organized staff, and who, 
 in part, had been retained by Louis, fled for their 
 lives. Clovio did not return direct to Italy, but 
 made his way hurriedly to his native village. Here 
 he was still pursued by misfortune, for the town of 
 Modrush was immediately captured and destroyed 
 by the merciless conquerors of Mohacz. 
 
 During his brief stay at Buda, Clovio painted for 
 the King a chiaroscuro ” — as the Italians call a 
 monochrome modelled in brown or grey — of the 
 Judgment of Paris; and for the Queen Maria 
 (several extracts from whose memorandum books 
 have recently been brought to light), a classical 
 composition relating to the story of the Roman 
 Lucretia, together with a number of other subjects, 
 many of which are no doubt still in existence and 
 carefully preserved, though possibly not identified 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 39 
 
 as the work of Ciovio. Later in the same year in 
 which he and his fellow-artists fled from Buda, we 
 find him again in Rome, only, however, to fall into 
 still deeper and more overwhelming misfortunes. 
 At this time he is mentioned as being, though only 
 for a brief period, in the service of the well-known 
 diplomatist. Cardinal Campeggio. During this 
 engagement he painted a Madonna and other im- 
 portant miniatures, and was already recognized as 
 an experienced and most accomplished artist. But 
 being anxious to acquire a nobler and more masterly 
 style, as he thought — having fallen evidently under 
 the irresistible influence of Michelangelo — he dili- 
 gently applied himself to copy the works of that 
 great master. The task he performed most slavishly. 
 Michelangelo had completed the ceiling of the 
 Sistine Chapel in 1512, and for fourteen years that 
 marvellous tour de force of the painter’s art had 
 been the admiration of every visitor. Not obscure 
 and honeycombed then as it is now, but in all the 
 vigour and freshness of perfect finish and unrivalled 
 chiaroscuro; no wonder that Ciovio, coming again 
 to it fresh from far-off scenes and other styles, should 
 feel anew all the masterfulness of its force — all the 
 learning and nobility of its design, and so yield to a 
 desire for a more dignified and masterly style himself. 
 In 1526 Rafiaello had been dead six years, and Michel- 
 angelo for the last seven years living in Florence, 
 
40 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 nor did the stern old man return to Rome until 
 1534, when he began his Last Judgment. But 
 from this time till his death in 1564, Michelangelo 
 became the personal friend and sage counsellor of his 
 illustrious imitator, who eventually so mastered his 
 characteristics in another manner of painting as to 
 win the soubriquet of the Michelangelo in little.” 
 The habit of copying or imitating that energetic and 
 most sculpturesque of painters was by no means a 
 transient fancy, for if in 1526, or soon after, we find 
 Clovio studying and copying the Sistine ceiling, 
 twenty years afterwards we again find him executing 
 a Last Judgment which seemed to differ only in 
 dimensions from the colossal fresco of the Sistine 
 Chapel. 
 
 A singularly interesting memento of these studies 
 occurs in a little book of offices belonging to the 
 British Museum Library."^ At the foot of fob 91 6, 
 beneath the miniature of David’s penitence, and 
 forming the centre of the lower border, is a David 
 and Goliath, frankly and directly copied from the 
 same subject in the corner of the Sistine ceiling 
 between Zacharias and the Erythraean Sibyl. The 
 only alteration made by the miniaturist has been 
 to adapt a background. As yet Clovio may not 
 have been personally acquainted with the sensitive 
 
 * Additl MSS. No. 20927 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 41 
 
 and taciturn Florentine, who was still and had been 
 for many years a wilful absentee from Rome. But 
 we learn from the curious — if genuine — memoirs of 
 Francesco de Holanda, the Portuguese miniaturist 
 and architect, that in their later years the two quiet 
 and religious-minded artists lived in sincere mutual 
 respect and affection, and that they were accustomed 
 to meet from time to time, either in the little convent 
 of San Silvestro on the Quirinale, as the guests of 
 the grave and learned Vittoria Colonna, or in her 
 palace down by the Piazza of the SS. Apostoli, 
 where overlooking, or it may be strolling in the 
 garden which is now a wilderness, amid a select circle 
 of artists, scholars, and distinguished visitors, they 
 would hold friendly converse and lengthy argument 
 on questions of art, literature, or theology. On these 
 occasions it would be the object of listeners to draw 
 the usually silent Michelangelo into some impas- 
 sioned explanation or defence, or to engage Clovio 
 or Valerio Bello, or Francisco de Holanda, or it 
 might be the passing visitor, in some warm yet 
 friendly discussion of the painter s art. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 Francisco de Holanda and his Recollections — Their somewhat 
 mythical character — Francisco’s object in Rome — Inter- 
 views with Michelangelo — The Marchesa VittoriaColonna 
 — Opinions of Michelangelo on painters and styles of 
 painting — Visit to Clovio — The invention of working in 
 points — D ispnte. 
 
 As tlie MS. of Francisco de Holanda, according to 
 the statement of a recent traveller in Portugal, has 
 disappeared from the place where it was formerly 
 preserved, and therefore the only accessible notice of 
 it is to be found in the pages of Count Racsynski’s 
 Letters from Portugal, the reader will perhaps 
 pardon a digression — relating as much to Michel- 
 angelo almost as to Clovio. Not finding it possible 
 to meet with the original text for the reason just 
 given, I have made extracts from the French version 
 published by Racsynski, and which seems to be 
 sufficiently reliable,^ on matters relating to the 
 
 * The translation from Holanda’s MS. into French was made 
 in 1843 by M. Roqnemont, portrait painter. The MS. was found 
 by Racsynski in the Library of Jesus at Lisbon, and published 
 by him in his “ Letters” addressed to the Artistic and Scientific 
 Society of Berlin. Mr. Charles Clement has noted the person- 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 43 
 
 present topic. The thoroughly garrulous and 
 gossiping character of the memoranda made by the 
 worthy Portuguese will be seen at once from the 
 way in which he introduces himself and his object 
 in visiting Rome. 
 
 My intention,” he says, in going into Italy, 
 whither I had been sent by my King, was not to 
 seek any greater honour or emolument than the 
 fulfilment of my duty. I had no ambition to get 
 near the Pope and the Cardinals. The Almighty 
 and the city of Rome itself are my witnesses of 
 this truth. If I had wanted to establish myself in 
 that city, perhaps it would not have been difficult, 
 either by the means at my own disposal or by 
 favour of the distinguished personages belonging to 
 the Papal Court, for me to have done so ; but this 
 thought was far from me. . . . The constant object 
 of my preoccupations was to seek how I might be 
 able by my art to make myself useful to the King 
 my master who had sent me into Italy. . . . Thus 
 I never find any object of painting, sculpture, or 
 architecture, ancient or modern, without at least 
 taking some souvenir of what is most curious about 
 it. . . . Such were my aspirations, my actions, and 
 my duties. 'No one saw me run after the great 
 
 ality of F. de Holanda; and tlie late Librarian of tbe Sorbonne, 
 who died in 1882, at the age of thirty, had intended to publish 
 Holanda’s Album, now in the Library of the Escorial. 
 
44 
 
 Life of Gioryio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Cardinal Farnese, or curry favour with any other 
 powerful datario. My sole care was to call one 
 day upon Don Julio Clovio, another upon Messer 
 Michelangelo ; now upon Baccio Bandinelli, tlie 
 noble sculptor ; now upon Messer Perino del Vaga, 
 or Sebastiano del Piombo, the Venetian ; or upon 
 Valerio Vicentino, the medallist; Jacopo Mellequino, 
 the arcliitect ; Lattanzio Toloniei — all men whose 
 acquaintance and friendship I am proud of, and 
 esteem above anyone else of loftier rank or greater 
 distinction — if, indeed, it be possible to find such in 
 the world. And Rome lierself holds them in the 
 same estimation that I do. In cultivating their 
 society I gathered for my art some fruit and some 
 teadiing from their works. I recreated my mind 
 whilst conversin^^ on illustrious and noble tliinofs of 
 ancient and modern times. Messer Michelangelo 
 especially inspired me with such an esteem that if I 
 met him in the Pope’s Palace or in the street, I 
 always had to drag myself away only when the 
 stars compelled me to withdraw ; and Dom Pedro 
 Mascarenhas, the ambassador, could bear witness of 
 the importance and difficulty of this, just as he 
 could say how one evening on going to vespers 
 Messer Michel rallied me on certain profit I was 
 making drawing the notable works of Rome, and 
 Italy generally, for the Cardinal S. Quattro, and 
 for himself Michelangelo. My palace, my tribunal 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 45 
 
 della rota, was the grave temple of the Pantheon ; 
 around which I prowled, taking note of every 
 member of its architecture and of each of its 
 venerable columns. The mausoleum of Adrian also, 
 and that of Augustus; the Coliseum, the Thermae 
 of Antonius and of Dioclesian ; the Arch of Titus, 
 and that of Severus ; the Capitol ; the Theatre of 
 Marcellus, and all the rest of the wonders of this 
 city — the names of which will never be effaced from 
 my memory. And if at times I happened to pene- 
 trate within the magnificent chambers of the Pope, 
 I was only led there by my admiration for Raffaello 
 of Urbino, who has decorated them with his noble 
 hand for I used to prefer much those ancient 
 masters, those men of marble, immovable on the 
 arches and columns of the ancient edifices, to the 
 more fluctuating people who surrounded us. I 
 found in their grave silence quite loftier lessons 
 than in the useless talk with which the living 
 wearied us. Among the number of days which I 
 thus spent in this capital, was one — it was a Sunday 
 — when I went to see, as usual, my friend Messer 
 Lattanzio Tolomeo who had procured me the friend- 
 ship of Michelangelo, by the intervention of Messer 
 
 * If these Memoirs are genuine, and not a clever concoction 
 in the manner of Mill’s Travels of Theodore Ducas, Holanda’s 
 visit is roughly dated by remarks like the above. Raffaello’s 
 “ Stanze ” were finished in 1520. 
 
46 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Blosio, the Pope’s Secretary. This Messer Lattanzio 
 was a grave personage, respectable as well from the 
 nobility of his lineage (for he was nephew to the 
 Cardinal of Siena), as from his sentiments, age, and 
 manners."^' I was told at his house that he had left 
 orders to inform me that I should find him at 
 Monte Cavallo, in the Church of San Silvestro, 
 with Madame the Marchesa di Pescara, to hear a 
 lecture on St. Paul’s Epistles. 
 
 ^‘Away therefore I went to Monte Cavallo and to 
 San Silvestro. Now Madame Vittoria Colonna, the 
 Marchesa and the sister of Signor Ascanio Colonna, 
 is one of the most illustrious and celebrated ladies 
 living either in Italy or indeed in Europe ; that 
 is, in the world. Chaste and beautiful, learned in 
 Latinity and brilliant in wit ; possessing moreover 
 every virtue and quality that is praised in woman. 
 Since the death of her illustrious husband she leads 
 a modest and retired life, more than contented 
 with the glory and splendour of her past years ; she 
 now cherishes only Jesus Christ and pious studies, 
 and in her charity to the poor of her own sex sets 
 
 ^ Grimm thinks that Francisco’s memory was somewhat 
 treacherous as to names, especially as he wrote this account 
 twelve years after, and suggests that he meant Claudio, not 
 Lattanzio. But Lattanzio was then in Rome, as appears 
 from other evidence. — Grimm : Life of Michelangelo, II. 262. 
 ( B ti n n e 1. 1 ’ s tr an s 1 a t i on . ) 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 47 
 
 an example of true Catholic piety. I was also 
 indebted for my acquaintance with the lady to the 
 friendship of Messer Lattanzio, her most intimate 
 friend. Having caused me to be seated and the 
 lecture and so forth being concluded, she turned to 
 us and said : ^ If I am not mistaken I believe that 
 Francisco de Holanda would rather hear Messire 
 Michelangelo discourse on painting than listen to 
 this lecture of Fra Ambrogio.’"^ With which, 
 somewhat piqued, I replied, ‘ Madame, it seems 
 then to your Excellency, that I understand and 
 know nothing except about painting. To be sure it 
 would always be agreeable to me to listen to 
 Michelangelo, but I would rather hear Brother 
 Ambrose when he deals with the Epistles of St. 
 Paul.’ ‘ Do not trouble yourself, Messer Francisco,’ 
 then said Messer Lattanzio ; ‘ Madame la Marchesa 
 never imagines that the person capable of painting 
 is not capable of everything ; we have in Italy a 
 very lofty idea of painting. But perhaps we should 
 see in the words of M. la Marchesa that she intends 
 
 * Fra Ambrogio is supposed to be another slip of memory, 
 but as the exact record of Yittoria Colonna’s “ at homes ” has 
 not been kept, it is hopeless to think of tracing every casual 
 visitor. It has been suggested that this distinguished preacher 
 was perhaps mistaken for Fra Bernardino, called Ochino, the 
 celebrated Franciscan, whose portrait with his symbol, the 
 tablet of I. H. S., occurs so often in devotional works. Ochino 
 afterwards adopted the Reformed Faith. 
 
48 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 to add to the pleasure you have just received, that 
 of hearing Michelangelo.’ I replied, ‘ In that 
 case her Excellency will do for me nothing fresh 
 or unusual — viz. the bestowal, purely of her own 
 accord, of much more than any one would venture 
 to ask of her.’ The Marchesa, preceiving my 
 inclination, called one of her servants and said, 
 smiling : ‘One should know how to give to those 
 who can be grateful, and all the more readily since 
 I should have as great a share left after having 
 given, and Messer Francisco de Holanda after 
 having received.’ Then turning to an attendant : 
 ‘ Hi 1 you there, get away at once to the house of 
 Michelangelo. Tell him that Messer Lattanzio 
 and I are in this chapel quite fresh, and that the 
 church is closed and pleasant, and ask him if he 
 will come and lose part of the day with us, so that 
 we may gain it with him ; but don’t tell him that 
 Francisco de Holanda, the Spaniard, is here.’ As 
 I was whispering to Lattanzio about the circum- 
 spection and delicacy which the Marchesa threw 
 into the smallest trifles she asked us what our 
 whispering was about. 
 
 “ ‘ He was saying to me,’ replied Lattanzio, ‘ how 
 well your Excellency knew the use of prudence in 
 everything, even in sending a message, for Messer 
 Michel being already more to him than to me 
 before his meeting with Messer Francisco, he will 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 49 
 
 do his utmost to avoid him, for when once they 
 come together they know not how to separate.’ 
 
 ‘ It is because I know Messer Michelangelo,’ 
 says the Marchesa, ^ that I am aware of that. 
 Meantime, I hardly know how to get him to talk 
 about painting.’ ” 
 
 After a little more talk in which Messer Fran- 
 cisco shows something of the honourable variety of 
 genius so conspicuous in the Memoirs of Cellini, 
 and a few moments of silence, there comes a knock 
 at the door. Everybody feared they would not 
 see Michelangelo who lived at the foot of Monte 
 Cavallo, but to my great satisfaction, as luck would 
 have it, the messenger met him close by San 
 Silvestro, going towards the Baths. He was 
 coming along the Via Esquilina chatting with his 
 colour-grinder Orbino ; he therefore^ found himself 
 so properly caught that he could not escape, and it 
 was in fact himself who now knocked at the door.” 
 The Portuguese painter goes on to relate with 
 great liveliness the manner in which Michelangelo 
 was at length drawn into a discussion on art, 
 the conversation being full of sparkle, and good- 
 
 * This (says Grimm : Life of Michelangelo, II. 266. Note 
 liii. 457) could not be the case, as it would have been in the 
 neighbourhood of San Silvestro. M. Angelo lived at the foot 
 of the Capitoline, on the Macello de’ Corvi. Possibly Francisco 
 wrote Capitolino — the contraction of which the transcriber 
 mistook for Cavallo. 
 
 4 
 
50 Life of Giorgio Giulio Ciovio. 
 
 humoured badinage. After some remarks on the 
 character of the painter as a member of society, 
 the Marchesa, smiling, continued : — 
 
 Since we are on this subject, I wish very much 
 to know what you think of Flemish painting, for it 
 seems to me more devout than the Italian manner.” 
 Flemish painting,” replied Michelangelo slowly, 
 ^‘generally pleases the devout better than that 
 of Italy. The latter never caused such a one to 
 shed a tear : that of Flanders always causes them 
 to flow abundantly, and this result must be due, 
 not to the vigour and merit of the painting, but 
 altogether to the sensibility of the devotee. 
 
 Flemish painting always seems beautiful to 
 women, especially to the elderly sort, or indeed, to 
 the very young, as also to monks and nuns, and to 
 certain nobles, who are deaf to true harmony. In 
 Flanders, they prefer to paint so as to deceive the 
 external sight, either objects which charm the spec- 
 tator, or such as you cannot object to, as saints and 
 prophets. Ordinarily they are rubbish — tumbledown 
 houses, fields extremely green, shadowed with trees, 
 traversed by streams and hedges, the like of which 
 are called landscapes, with multitudes of figures 
 scattered about. Now although this makes a good 
 effect to many eyes, in reality there is neither truth 
 nor art in it : no symmetry, no proportions, no care 
 of selection, no grandeur. Lastly, this painting is 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 51 
 
 without body and without vigour, and yet, for all 
 this, they paint much worse elsewhere than in 
 Flanders. If I speak so unfavourably of Flemish 
 painting, it is not that it is altogether bad, but it 
 aims at rendering with perfection so many things, 
 a single one of which would be sufficient, that it 
 does not accomplish any one thing in a satisfactory 
 manner. It is only to works executed in Italy that 
 we can give the name of true painting. And it is 
 for this reason that good painting is called Italian. 
 If they did it thus in any other country it would 
 take the name of that country. Good painting is 
 noble and devout in itself, for, among the wise, 
 nothing elevates the soul more, nor carries it more 
 towards devotion, than the difficulty of that per- 
 fection which approaches God and unites with Him. 
 Now good painting is only a copy of His perfections 
 — a shadow of His pencil ; in fine, a music, a melody. 
 It is only a most vivid intelligence which can per- 
 ceive its great difficulty, hence it is so rare that few 
 people obtain or know how to produce it. I will 
 add further (which you will find very important), 
 that of all climates or regions which the sun and 
 moon shine upon, it is only in that of Italy that 
 any one can paint well, and it will be next to 
 impossible to do it anywhere else, even when other 
 places produce geniuses equally great, if this be 
 yjossible.” 
 
 4 # 
 
52 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 He goes on to show that no foreign artist could 
 quite perfectly imitate the Italian manner, which, 
 he says, is that of ancient Greece. ‘‘ That is so 
 true,” he continues, “ that if even Albert Diirer, a 
 man delicate and skilful in his manner wishing to 
 deceive me or Francisco de Holanda, essayed to 
 counterfeit a work of Italy, I should recognize at 
 once that the work had not been done in Italy nor 
 by an Italian.” 
 
 If these can be looked upon as the genuine 
 utterances of the great Italian to whom they are 
 attributed, they show, at least, that he was not 
 exempt from the national pride with which the 
 Italian painters regarded their art, knowing that 
 Italy was looked up to by the rest of Europe as 
 the very home of true artistic genius, and the Holy 
 Land to which all who desired to gain genuine 
 inspiration must bend their steps. 
 
 But we must pass on to the portions of this 
 remarkable diary which more particularly relate to 
 our special subject. 
 
 In commencing the next division of his work 
 Francisco says: — “I passed the night trying to 
 recall the day which had just passed, and to prepare 
 myself for the one about to follow.” But it so hap- 
 pened — he is very circumstantial in his story — that 
 he did not see Michelangelo again for another 
 week. “ These eight days seemed to me very long. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 53 
 
 but Sunday came at length, and the time seemed 
 too short, for I had wanted to be better armed 
 with argument to speak in this noble company. 
 When I arrived at San Silvestro, already had Fra 
 Ambrogio finished his lecture on the Epistles, and 
 had retired, and they were beginning to murmur 
 at my delay. After acknowledging my indolence 
 and receiving their forgiveness, and after the Mar- 
 chesa had rallied me a little, and I had similarly 
 rallied Michelangelo, we had permission to resume 
 our discourse, and so I began.” 
 
 What follows is a rapid but tolerably complete 
 account of the various works scattered throughout 
 Italy which Holanda represents Michelangelo as 
 considering masterpieces. 
 
 Michelangelo, in these pages, exhibits an acquain- 
 tance with what had been done throughout the 
 length and breadth of Italy, and especially in Rome 
 itself, at which we cannot but wonder, considering 
 the absorbing nature of his own artistic labours. 
 
 He shows an amount also of literary culture as 
 regards ancient art which at once explains and 
 accounts for his position as the greatest and most 
 learned of the great masters in art in his own day. 
 He speaks as a scholar, an antiquary, and a poet, 
 and yet remains no less the master of technical 
 detail of every kind in the matter of painting. The 
 second part of Holanda’s manuscript possesses the 
 
54 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 very greatest interest for all those who admire 
 Michelangelo, or care for even a doubtfully 
 authenticated transcript of his conversation. But 
 the part which concerns us in this place is Holanda’s 
 meeting with Clovio. The latter it appears had 
 made a drawing for Holanda which introduces the 
 following passage from the diary : 
 
 “ As I found it was still early when I arrived at 
 the mansion of Cardinal Grimaldi,'^ I was anxious 
 to see Don Julio di Macedonia, his gentleman, and 
 tlie most famous of illuminators, about a work he 
 was doing for me. Don Julio was delighted with 
 my visit, for it was a good while since we had seen 
 one another. After looking at our work (I say our 
 work, because I had given him the drawing for it 
 and he only added the colours), I wanted to bid him 
 farewell. He wanted to know what I had got to 
 do to rush off so suddenly. 1 told him I was going 
 to the church of San Silvestro to meet Michel- 
 angelo, Donna Vittoria Colonna, and Messer 
 Lattanzio Tolomrnei, a gentleman of Siena. Don 
 Julio then said to me, ‘ Oh, Messer Francisco, what 
 can I give you to get for me the favour of a share 
 in so noble a society, so that Signor Michelangelo 
 
 * Qu. Grimani ? There is constant uncertainty in tliis matter 
 of personal names in this alleged diary. Cardinal Domenico 
 G]-imani died, as we have seen, in 1523. Marino Grimani was 
 elected cardinal in 1527, the year after the disastrous sack of 
 Rome. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 55 
 
 tV 
 
 will consent by your intercession to count me among 
 the number of his servants V 
 
 ^ Is it possible/ said I, laughing, ‘ that you 
 would do me, a stranger, so great an honour — I 
 who am only in this city one year whilst you are a 
 Patrician of Rome and one of the most distin- 
 guished artists here ! Speak yourself to Michel- 
 angelo ; he will be delighted to know you, for really 
 he is a most honourable and prudent man apart, 
 from his skill. You don’t find him, when you come 
 to know him, the bad character that you suppose 
 him to be. However, as I owe to the favour of 
 Madama la Marchesa the permission to enter this 
 society, and as Michelangelo might feel a little put 
 out, as not yet knowing you, pardon me for not 
 taking the liberty of taking you with me without 
 having first mentioned you. I will speak of you to 
 them, Don Julio, and I am quite certain that from 
 the information they will have about you, they 
 will esteem you well worthy of their acquaintance. 
 Allow me then to hasten away, for it is high time I 
 was there.” 1 was about to leave Don Julio, but 
 fate intended otherwise. I saw enter the room, 
 Valerio di Vicenza"^ with three Roman gentlemen, 
 
 * Valerio Bello (or Belli) was a native o£ Vicenza, and one 
 of the most famous medallists of the Renascence. (Born about 
 1468. Died 1546.) He was celebrated for his cameos in rock- 
 crystal, the most famous one being the cavetta given by 
 
5G 
 
 Lift of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 one of whom went away immediately. Valerio 
 clasped me in his arms, making a great fuss of me, 
 for he had not seen me since his return fi'om 
 Venice. He was a man of middle-age, still robust, 
 and a gentleman of very pleasant bearing, and 
 besides, one of those who in these latter times most 
 nearly approached the ancients in the art of en- 
 graving medals in low relief — whether in gold, 
 crystal, or steel. He had a great friendshij) for me, 
 which I owed to his own excellent disj)osition and 
 to Don Julio of Macedonia in whose house we now 
 met. After our mutual salutations were over and 
 he had learned from Don Julio how anxious I was 
 to be gone, Valerio said : — 
 
 “‘Talk about something else, Messer Francisco 
 di Holanda, for I shall not let you go out of this 
 door until “ the star of Hesperus shuts in the 
 night ! ” I ask pardon very much of ]\Iadania la 
 Marchesa and of Messer Michelangelo for the 
 violence that I use — the motive will be a sufficient 
 excuse. Stay here. I hope these gentlemen will 
 not deprive us of their society.’ The gentlemen at 
 once said they could not wish foi* anything moie 
 aoTceable, and too’ether with Don Julio bee'^’ed me 
 to remain. I was vexed not to be able to resume 
 
 P. Clement VII. to Francis I. on the marriage of Catli. de’ Medici 
 in 1533. See Les MedaiUeurs Italiens des XV. et XVI. siixlcs, 
 par Alf. Armand. 2nd Edit. 2 vols. Svo. Paris, 1883. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 57 
 
 my journey, but it seemed to me that I could not 
 possibly do otherwise than stay where I was, be- 
 sides I had not absolutely promised that I would 
 accept the invitation of the Marchesa. I had only 
 said that I would do my best to obey her Excel- 
 lency, which indeed I had done up to that moment, 
 having even set aside matters which were important 
 to me. So I replied : ^ I swear to you, by Father 
 Tiber, Signor Valerio, that I would not have 
 changed the destination of my journey for any 
 interest in the world, other than the great pleasure 
 which you desire to afford me, but since God has 
 granted me the favour of meeting you, and as if I 
 lose much on the one hand I gain more on the 
 other, I am at your service and at the service of 
 these gentlemen.^ 
 
 Everybody seemed glad for me to stay. Then 
 Valerio, to let me see that I should not want for 
 subjects as interesting as those I should have had 
 elsewhere, pulled out of the pocket of his velvet 
 jerkin about fifty golden medals, executed by his 
 own hand, looking like antiques, so admirably en- 
 graved and so perfectly struck that they made me 
 lose much of the opinion which I had of antiquity. 
 Among these medals, he showed me one of 
 Artemisia, in the Greek manner, with the mau- 
 soleum on the reverse ; then one of Virgil in the 
 Roman style, having on the reverse some pastoral 
 
58 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 subject. These two medals pleased me beyond 
 everything, and since then I have considered 
 Messer Valerio as a greater artist than ever I did 
 before. 
 
 ^ Well then,’ said he, ^ Messer Francisco, what 
 did you talk about at the party with Signora 
 Vittoria and Michelangelo V 
 
 “ ^ The noblest subject of our conversation was 
 painting.’ Won could not find a nobler or grander 
 topic,’ said Valerio ; ^ for it takes its origin in the 
 sovereign painter of all who created, after having 
 painted us, — us as well as all the world besides, and 
 she leads us all back to Him. This is the summit 
 of all wisdom and all grandeur.’ ‘ But,’ asked 
 Don Julio, ‘ what did they say about painting V 
 ‘ You would do better, Don Julio,’ I replied, ‘ to 
 show me and these gentlemen the excellent pro- 
 ductions of your pencil, than to make us waste our 
 time talking about the art.’ ‘ What 1’ interrupted 
 Don Julio, ‘ do you find it less agreeable to talk 
 about our art, which is so admirable, than to look at 
 pictures ? I don’t think, Messer Francisco, that 
 you attach less value to talking of these beauties 
 than to looking at them.’ However, yielding to my 
 solicitations, Don Julio showed us a ‘ Ganymede,’ 
 illuminated by him after a design by Michelangelo. 
 ‘Ht was painted with extreme sweetness,^ and 
 * A drawing of this subject is named among those left at 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 59 
 
 was the first thing that brought him into repute at 
 Rome. Afterwards came a ‘Venus’ very finely 
 executed. But in the last place he showed us two 
 grand leaves of a book, on the first of which was 
 painted St. Paul giving sight to a blind man before 
 the Roman Consul ; on the other were depicted 
 Charity and other figures in the midst of Corinthian 
 columns and buildings. 
 
 “This was in my opinion the most superb work in 
 illumination that could possibly be met with, and 
 to which the illuminators of Flanders could not be 
 compared, not even the best I had seen, and I think 
 I have seen a good many. I have noticed in the 
 works of Don Julio a manner of working with 
 certain points or dots, which I call ‘ atoms,’ like 
 the tissue of a veil, and which cover the painting 
 like a light mist. I venture to affirm pace Solomon, 
 who pretends that everything has been already said 
 and done, that until our own days this manner has 
 not been known,"^ except by Don Julio of Macedonia; 
 
 Clovio’s death, (see Inventario in Appendix), and there noted as 
 being a copy after Michelangelo. The original design is in the 
 Uffizi at Florence. Harford: Life, 220. 
 
 * Yet miniatures exist in which the mode of finishing alluded 
 to (called by English painters stippling ”) has been em^^loyed, 
 executed probably in Flanders before the time of Clovio. It is 
 most likely that it was discovered separately by different 
 miniaturists, as a means of producing at the same time 
 both brilliancy, softness, and the utmost delicacy of finish. A 
 
GO Lift of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 nor have I known this manner to have been used by 
 anybody either in Italy or Flanders, although there 
 are some who pretend to imitate it. Peiliaps in 
 this place I may be allowed a digression in favour 
 of the truth. When I was still young, before the 
 King my master sent me into Italy, happening to 
 be at Evora, busy painting two pictures in black 
 and white — the one of the Salutation, the other of 
 the Descent of the Holy Ghost, for a very beautiful 
 Breviary belonging to his Holiness — I found out 
 by myself this manner of miniature painting by 
 means of dots, and tliis mistiness, as Don Julio does 
 it at Borne. My father found it very good ; he 
 had himself used this kind of working. When I 
 came to Koine, as I say, I only met Don Julio who 
 worked in the manner which I had found out in 
 Portugal ; and what sui'piised me above all was, 
 that this happened at a distance of five hundred 
 leagues apart, he being at Koine, I at Evora, and 
 exactly at the same peiiod we had discovered this 
 method of finish in the use of these points or atoms 
 of colour. It should be known that this method 
 of working is difficult to understand, and still 
 more difficult to execute, so I accord the palm to 
 
 fifteenth century MS. in the Brit. Mus. (Harl. 2897), shows 
 decidedly that the French miniaturists of that time were 
 acquainted with the method of shading by means of points 
 or dots. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. Gl 
 
 Don Julio over all the illuminators of Europe, 
 but after him it would perhaps be myself who 
 deserved it. 
 
 After a little further conversation with those 
 present on the appreciation of art by various 
 nations, ‘ I like to see,’ said I, ^ that . . . you sliow 
 yourself a defender of painting, yet do not say any 
 ill of Spain because we may have room to repent of 
 having done so. For the rest I have nothing to 
 say about Spain. But in Portugal I know that 
 there are princes who value the arts and who pay 
 for them. However, since this gentleman accuses 
 the Spanish of paying badly for the works, I shall 
 profit by this opportunity, and you will permit me, 
 Don Julio, to pay for the colours of the picture 
 which you have illuminated for me, for I am not in 
 a condition to do more, and I have need of the good 
 offices of Signor Valerio and of these gentlemen to 
 make you accept a sum proportionate to the merit 
 of the work. I came out this morning without a 
 very great sum, and I am going to give you I don’t 
 know how many vintini, before somebody robs me 
 of them.’ Saying this, I drew forth the twenty 
 cruzados of gold which I carried in my pocket, and 
 placed them before Don Julio; but you should have 
 seen the great illuminator shrink, as if he had seen 
 a serpent, and swear that he would not take them. 
 It seemed to me that I acted like a gentleman in 
 
Life of Giovijio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 G2 
 
 offering tliese twenty cruzados for a quarter sheet of 
 vellum, which I had designed myself and to which 
 he had only added the labour of the illumination ; 
 so I said, ^ Signor Don Julio, I do not pay you for 
 the merit, which is worth more than a hundred 
 crowns ; I know that better than anybody else ; but 
 you are rich ; accept this feeble tribute from a man 
 who is far from being so. Besides, these gentlemen, 
 and Messer Valerio, who are here present, shall 
 judge if I act honourably, seeing the nature of the 
 work. Perhaps he may think ill of me for showing 
 such liberality towards you ; at the same time, if 
 you will come to my house you shall have five 
 cruzados more, and if you press me I will make it 
 thirty for nothing but the resistance which you 
 have offered me.’ ^ Twenty-five cruzados,’ said the 
 Bomans and Signor Valerio, Hhat is very liberal; 
 Messer Francisco acts like a Boman gentleman, 
 and acquits himself towards you. Signor Don Julio; 
 do not demand more of him, we beseech you ; and 
 we agree at the same time that we should have 
 been delighted had he given you the five 'cruzados 
 which he speaks of” 
 
 ‘D pulled out of my pocket a golden cruzado, and 
 gave it for an earnest, with which Don Julio had to 
 content himself ^ Messer Francisco,’ then said 
 Don Julio, Mhe recompense is feeble, as I promise 
 you that to-day there will be no question of any- 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. G3 
 
 thing but the price the ancients put upon painting.’ 
 
 ^ Give me,’ said I, ^ the riches of your Koman 
 L. Crassus, and if I don’t make you think the 
 ancients have returned from Portugal to Pome, I 
 will lose both the cruzados and the work. But 
 at this moment one must go with the times, and 
 you must recollect that in paying twenty-five 
 cruzados for the pleasure of carrying to the nuns of 
 Barcelona a work which I might have completed 
 like you, I make, for me, a greater effort than did 
 Attains when he gave one hundred talents as the 
 price of a single picture. F or Attains was a powerful 
 king, and the work he bought might have been ten 
 or twelve palms, whilst I am poor, and what I pay 
 you consists of a palm of work, of which I myself 
 made the design. Pardon me, Don Julio, for 
 replying thus to you, for I am sure that nobody in 
 Italy holds higher than I, a Portuguese, do the 
 value of painting. Now you may tell me what 
 prices the ancients paid, and I shall be glad to listen 
 to you.’ I ceased speaking, and Signor Valerio, 
 of Vicenza, added, 'It is time to stop this pretty 
 question between these gentlemen and change the 
 subject. ’ 
 
 "One of the Roman gentlemen replied, ' No con- 
 versation and no good understanding is so inter- 
 esting as this quarrel : let us haggle about it.’ ” On 
 this he called a page, and ordered him to fetch 
 
04 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Pliny s Natural History. And then the conver- 
 sation turns on the well-known chapters of that 
 ‘ History ’ which relate to ancient art. In a 
 note subjoined by Holanda to this part of the 
 MS. he says : ‘ I finished this writing to-day, being 
 the day of St. Luke the Evangelist, at Lisbon, 
 1548 .’”^^ 
 
 To revert for a moment to the characteristics of 
 manner alluded to in the preceding remarks, and 
 which conferred on Clovio the byname of ‘‘ Michel- 
 angelo in little,” it would be difficult to point to a 
 more characteristic example than the great Ponti- 
 
 * Tn the Life of Michelangelo, by Hermann Grimm, trans- 
 lated by Mrs. Fanny Elizabeth Bunnett, Vol. II., ch. xiv., 
 p. 261 (second ed,, 1865), and previously referred to, frequent 
 mention is made of Francisco de Holanda and his journey to 
 Italy. “ The little church of San Silvestro on Monte Cavallo, 
 opposite the Quirinal Palace, where they met, still stands, no 
 longer, indeed, as at that time, for it is full of ornaments of 
 a later date ; the small comfortable sacristy behind the altar 
 is painted with Domenichino’s frescoes, the carved choir 
 stools are no longer the old ones ; at that time the monastery 
 to which the church belonged was a nunnery, at the present 
 day it is tenanted by monks, but the small dim space is 
 as it was then ; the convent yard, which I found filled with 
 flourishing lemon-trees ; and behind it the Colonna gardens, 
 rising from the palace standing at the foot of the hill up the 
 Quirinal and along the paths of which Yittoria ascended to the 
 convent, not situated then as now on a square surrounded 
 by palaces, but lying alone on the height, amid gardens and 
 small houses.” 
 

 From a miniature by Qirolams dai Libri 
 
 3 
 
 J5]"ieroninmo 
 
 
 Gai/e^ 
 
 0 U ( 'fryO A/^4 %. 
 
 Dennistou^ 
 
 ^ Oyx.'^v 
 
 |^I522J 
 
 
 A 
 
 'm^Qn-i^Ca^ r*^oQ> 
 
 AUTOGRAPHS OP ARTISTS. 
 
66 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 — among whom were not only connoisseurs and 
 patrons like Marino Grimani and Alessandro 
 Farnese, but such excellent judges of the higher 
 qualities of art as Giorgio Vasari, Francisco de 
 Holanda, and Georg Hoefnagel — the latter two, at 
 least, themselves no mean practitioners in the very 
 same style of painting. As to the objections of 
 those who have decided these masterpieces as 
 probably, after all, not the work of the miniaturist 
 himself, they have but little if any force, as 
 against the experience of those who have carefully 
 examined every example in every possible way. And 
 it may easily be understood that it was not the 
 custom, nor was it indeed possible, for the busy 
 miniaturist himself to paint, or even to finish, every 
 picture contained in each MS. which may contain 
 his work. 
 
 It is seldom, in fact, that he puts in more than 
 one or two pictures entirely finished by his own 
 hand. And we know from multitudes of instances 
 that this has always been a practice with all the 
 most famous illuminators. Hence we find, that in 
 the Towneley MS. several of the miniatures, whilst 
 following the master’s style and manner, are 
 very unmistakably the work of mere imitators or 
 assistants. 
 
 These inferior performances may indeed have 
 been the work of Bernardo Buontalenti or Claudio 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. C>7 
 
 Massarolo, or even of Francesco Salviati, who all 
 worked for Clovio in Rome — Massarolo being 
 actually in his service at the time of his death. 
 Some writers have hastily asserted that he had 
 many pupils, calling all such who seem to have 
 imitated his manner ; but Salviati and Massarolo 
 are the only names that I find in documents bearing 
 the stamp of Clovio’s personal authority. Partly, 
 then, because of the extreme labour and conse- 
 quent great consumption of time required for his 
 own actual handwork, partly from the necessity of 
 attending to and executing the numerous commis- 
 sions with which he was constantly overwhelmed, 
 very few even of his acknowledged works can be 
 pointed out as consisting entirely, in the pictorial 
 part, of his own work. The Soane MS. is entirely 
 his own, but then it is only a fragment, consisting 
 of two pictures with their borders and an ornamental 
 bracket. The little book of Devotions in the 
 British Museum^ is not. On the other hand, the 
 little volume of poems in the Imperial Library at 
 Viennat which contains only three illuminated 
 pages is apparently all his own work, being exe- 
 cuted as a tribute of personal regard and friend- 
 ship for the author. It belongs to the same style 
 and period as the little book in the British 
 
 * Additional MSS. No. 20927. 
 
 t Imp. Lihr. Vie7ina. No. 2660. Poems of Eurialo d’Ascoli. 
 
 5 ^ 
 
68 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Museum. The flesh tints are strengthened with 
 brown shading, and the features and expressions of 
 the two examples point clearly to the same hand. 
 As to the Munich and Naples MSS. the ‘^manner” 
 and mode of execution are very different indeed. 
 The tones of the flesh are warmer and more delicate 
 and the colouring generally much softer, and more 
 in the glowing and lucid style of Rubens or some of 
 the later Urbinese or Genoese painters than of 
 Clovio. But granting that they are the produc- 
 tions of Clovio at all, the execution is not so 
 uniform as to justify the belief that they were 
 entirely the master’s woi*k. I carefully examined 
 the Munich MS. in October, 1884 , and was strongly 
 tempted notwithstanding its exquisite beauty of 
 execution to deny its genuineness as the work of 
 Clovio. But this temptation arose, 1 think, from 
 a momentary forgetfulness of tlie fact that Clovio 
 was instinctively a copyist, and as such, the reflector 
 for the time being of what he might have placed 
 before him. This is where most persons mistake in 
 respect of his work generally. They look for more 
 originality than he was capable of His works all 
 show influence. Now it is that of Raffaello — now 
 that of Michelangelo. But between these comes 
 the period when he studied the works and received 
 the instructions of Girolamo dei Libri. And there 
 is nothing to disprove that when in Florence or 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 6i) 
 
 Venice he did not similarly and as strikingly fall 
 under the influence of the Flemish school which 
 shows so plainly in the Naples Hours ” and in the 
 Prayer Book of Albert of Bavaria. Among his 
 various other nifts we must not foro*et his extra- 
 
 O O 
 
 01‘dinary versatility. 
 
 The Naples MS. has disappeared. It was 
 Bourbon property, of priceless value, and therefore 
 probably retained by the family on their retirement 
 from Naples.^ It is perhaps on the whole the 
 most famous of all the smaller works through the 
 description of it left by Vasari. And if one may 
 judge of it from the similar volume preserved at 
 Munich, t it fully deserved the encomiums bestowed 
 upon it. But while the manifest distance between 
 his own power of execution and that of most of his 
 imitators, in work of which the pedigree is ascer- 
 tained, proves at times a source of perplexity ; with 
 reo'ard to others in which the skill is verv little if 
 
 O €/ 
 
 at all inferior, the difficulty is increased. Thus the 
 so-called Grenville Clovio in the British Museum 
 has produced a schism among the cognoscenti as 
 
 * It was seen at Naples by Labarte {Hist, des Arts Indus- 
 triels, yc., 2nd Ed. II. 276) and is described by Sakcmski, 
 Lexicon of S. Slavonic Artists, yc. A^'t. Klovio, p. 172, after the 
 description by Qnaranta in liis Mijstagogue to the Naples 
 Mnsenin. See Appendix. 
 
 t Description in Appendix. 
 
70 
 
 Lift of Gioryio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 shai'p as that between Itacists and Etacists in the 
 Hellenism of the Renascence. 
 
 By-and-by I intend to devote a chapter to this 
 controversy on the Victories of Charles the Fifth. 
 At present it will be desirable to enter a little more 
 fully into the subject of the miniature art of the 
 sixteenth century, so far at least as concerns those 
 contemporaiies or immediate followers of Clovio, 
 amoeg whom might be found the possible producers 
 of work tliat has passed for his own. 
 
 Among the scraps of book-ornament in a choice 
 volume of cuttings in the British Museum known 
 as the “Rogers” Book^^ are several pages in the 
 style usually attributed to Clovio, They are, how- 
 ever, bv a contrivance which has doubtless con- 
 vinced many wlio have seen them, assigned to 
 Apollonio de Boidfatelli, who, in the seemingly 
 contemporary signature, is styled “ Miniaturist to 
 the Apostolic Sacristy.” But these signatures are 
 in fact forgei'ies. Foi‘ while pm-porting to be of 
 the same date as tlie rest of the work, and possibly 
 intended to be taken as put in by the hand of the 
 miniaturist himself, they are really modern imita- 
 tions neatly let into the spaces they occupy and 
 apparently forming part of the design. It may be 
 and probably is true that the borders in question 
 were the work of Apollonio, but these inserted 
 
 * Additional MSiS. 21412 . 
 
Life of Gioi'(jio (Jiidio Clovio. 
 
 71 
 
 tablets do not prove the fact. Let it be assumed 
 that they are so, as their execution is in places 
 unmistakably inferior to that of the master, yet I 
 am strongly of opinion that some of the pages 
 hitherto indiscriminately assigned, for want of a 
 name, to the same artist, are either really the work 
 of Clovio himself or of an abler contemporary than 
 Apollonio.^ 
 
 My reasons cannot easily be set forth, but they 
 are grounded on many comparisons that I have 
 made of the borders to which I refer with others in 
 different MSS., some of which are known to be 
 Clovio’s work, others not yet so determined, but 
 possessing features which should entitle them to 
 unqualified recognition. 
 
 * I have since found the signature S. L. upon one o6 them, 
 hut whether this means Sehastiano Luciani (del Piombo) or not 
 I cannot affirm. He was Keeper of the Papal Seal at the time 
 of their execution, and they would probably pass through his 
 hands for authentication, and so as to be registered for payment. 
 See his letter to Michelangelo on his appointment to this office. 
 Appendix. It is given also by Grimm : Life of Michelangelo, 
 ii. 452. The original, from which I quote, is in the British 
 Museum. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The state of Miniature Art in Italy. — The immediate predeces- 
 sors and contemporaries of Clovio. — The art in other 
 parts of Europe. — Distinguished miniaturists in the 
 Netherlands, France, Germany, Sjoain, and Italy. 
 
 IN the earlier years of Clovio’s life, and whilst he 
 ^^'as still pi*actising as a boy in his native 
 village or in the monastic school of Modrush, most 
 of the famous Italian cities, such as Florence, Siena, 
 Mantua, IFdogna, Ferrara, A'erona, and Naples, 
 possessed well-detined schools of manuscript decora- 
 tion; and various transalpine cities from Bruges 
 to Seville could boast of miniaturists universallv 
 acknowledi>-ed to belono- to the hii>Iiest rank of their 
 
 o o o 
 
 art. Crowds of names attach themselves to Bologna, 
 Florence, and Verona; while Paris and Bruges, 
 13 ijon, and Xurembeig*, Toledo, Madrid, Saragossa, 
 and Seville, can also show distinguished lists, some- 
 times including whole himilies of artists, thus 
 attesting the populai’ity of theii* craft, and in many 
 cases jjroving their title to the praise which has 
 been lavished on the more fortunate few whose 
 names happen to be found in the pages of Vasari. 
 
 The Dei Libri, of Verona, are by no means 
 singular in their family connection with the art. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 73 
 
 Bi •uges, Gaud, Maestriclit, Nuremberg, and Genoa, 
 could show similar family groups. The Glocken- 
 dons of Nuremberg, and the Castelli of Genoa, to 
 mention only two, are entitled to quite as much 
 of our attention as the Dei Libri of Verona, or the 
 Boccardini, or the Favelle of Florence. But the 
 latter are better known. And besides all these 
 there are the many who still remain anonymous, 
 but whose works exist in the choir-books of a 
 hundred different libraries. One artist only is 
 recorded for the colossal graduals of Pavia now 
 kept in the Brei*a. But the different styles attest 
 four or five at least. Some half-dozen names 
 account for all the vast collection of the Escorial, 
 and so we find here and there a name perhaps tra- 
 ditionally attached to other important collections. 
 Of course the expense of works so large and costly 
 would be carefully put down somewhere ; and it is 
 not assuming too much to believe that many of 
 these valuable documentary records are still in 
 existence, and will some day be brought to light. 
 But research is needed, and research requires endow- 
 ment. Many of the illuminators who laboured 
 in Spain and Italy, during and even previous 
 to the lifetime of Clovio, have been seriously 
 considered to rival him in the perfection and 
 delicacy of their work. Foremost among these, 
 in the opinion of some, stands Hieronymo or 
 
74 
 
 [ji fe of Gwi'yio Uhdio C/ovio. 
 
 Girolamo dei Libri. There can be no question that 
 he was entitled to his celebrity ; but it is not an 
 easy matter to hx upon his work, or to distinguish 
 it without his signature from that of his brother 
 Callisto, or liis father Francesco. He was born in 
 1474, twenty-four years before Clovio. The Census 
 of 1492, now in the iVlunicipal Archives of Verona, 
 tlius records his family: Franciscus, Miniator, fil. 
 
 Stephani ii Libris, 40 : Groma uxor, 40 : Laurentia, 
 20: Hieronimus, 1 8 : Bartliolomea, 14 : Jacobus, 12: 
 Calistus, 9: Pelegrinus, 4.” Another in 1529: 
 “ Hieronimo dai Fibri, depentor, 54: Maestro 
 
 Calisto suo fradello, 40: Cecilia Dona de Hieron. 
 30: Bartolomea s. sorella, 51: Chiara, 22: Fran- 
 cesco, 29: Zuan Baolo, 9: Agnese, 3.” 
 
 As nothing is known of the work of Callisto, it is 
 probable that he assisted his elder brother, and that 
 as usual tlie better known man has obtained the 
 credit of all. Numerous collections claim to pos- 
 sess examples of Girolamo dai Libri, but very few 
 can show any adequate attestation. Neither the 
 “Hours ’’ill the Soane collection in London, nor 
 those in the Douce collection in the Bodley Library 
 at Oxford, can otfei- any proof whatever, notwith- 
 standing the confidence of the atti'ibutions which are 
 simply guesses. Thei*e is a fine initial M. formerly 
 belonging to Mr. J. T. Payne, and now in tlie 
 possession of ^Ir. Quaritch, which is ^'erified by 
 
Life of Giorfio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 75 
 
 the artist’s signature “ Hieronymus f.” on the base of 
 the central pillar in the composition. The subject 
 of the miniature is the trial of St. Catherine before 
 the doctors of Alexandria, a subject frequently 
 occurring in illuminated books, and very notably 
 in the Grimani Breviary. The scene takes place 
 within a hall supported by richly decorated pillars, 
 and before a crowd of persons. Other spectators 
 are seen in a sort of loft or gallery at the farther 
 end of the building, the whole forming a vivid 
 picture of Italian life and costume in the fifteenth 
 century. U nder the chapter entitled ‘ ‘ Fra Giocondo e 
 Liberale ed altri Veronesi” in Vasari, we learn that 
 he illuminated many books for the monks of Monte- 
 scaglioso in Naples ; some for those of Sta. Justina 
 of Padua, others for the Abbey of Praia “ sul 
 Padoano,” and others again for that of Candiana, a 
 rich foundation belonging to the Canons Pegular of 
 S. Salvatore. He was working on the choir-books 
 at Candiana, when Clovio came there to be ad- 
 mitted as a frate of the order. This was their first 
 meeting, and at this time Clovio was already known 
 as an able master of his art. It accounts, however, 
 for the possibility, in some respects, of confounding 
 Clovio with his predecessor, who, on the strength of 
 this meeting, is claimed as his master. It is quite 
 credible that, as Vasari says, he learned from 
 Girolamo all that the latter could teach him, and 
 
7G Life of Gioryia Giulio Clovio. 
 
 we know from examples that he could work in 
 Girolamo’s manner as regards technic so excellently 
 that the same description which applies to the one, 
 will exactly fit the other. But there the likeness 
 ends. Girolamo was a skilful artist, but he lacked 
 Clovio’s astonishing versatility. Hence while certain 
 parts of Clovio’s work may be mistaken for that of 
 Girolamo, the work of the Veronese master is too 
 peculiarly local in treatment to be reasonably 
 assigned to any other school than his own. Never- 
 theless, within its narrower limits it is unsurpassed 
 for delicacy and truth. The miniature of the 
 Expulsion described by Vasari was a typical example 
 of his manner. It was painted for the Prior of San 
 Giorgio in Verona, and afterwards given to ‘‘a 
 cardinal protector of that order ” residing in Rome 
 and shown to many of the cardinal’s friends who 
 all, as usual, declared it to be the finest piece of 
 miniature painting that had ever been seen. What 
 became of it is now quite unknown. A signed 
 example of Girolamo’s work is indeed of the utmost 
 rarity, and is really quite as precious in its way 
 as anything from the hand of Clovio. Girolamo 
 excelled not only in ornament and figures, but also 
 in flowers ; painting them with such diligence, and 
 so true to Nature, that they appear to the spectator 
 to be absolutely real. He also imitated cameos and 
 other jewels that no one ever saw anything like 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 77 
 
 them for perfection and delicacy.” Perhaps Vasari 
 himself might think so, but not only did Clovio rival 
 him in this particular, but several Lombard, Floren- 
 tine, Netherlandish, and even Spanish miniaturists 
 could be mentioned whose painting of jewels and 
 cameos is quite equal, and even superior. But 
 society in Borne in the middle of the sixteenth 
 century perhaps had not seen much of Florentine 
 work, as the best of it was then at Buda, and as to 
 Flemish, which had given an impulse to both Floren- 
 tine and Venetian, if other connoisseurs were as 
 prejudiced against it as Michelangelo, they would 
 not think of placing it in rivalry with that of Italy. 
 It would afford a curious, not to say startling 
 case of criticism if we could collect the opinions 
 of artists, even of the highest rank, about each other. 
 Of Albert Dlirer’s Book of Proportion, Michel- 
 angelo observed that it was poca e debole cosa, 
 questo libro.” Da Vinci’s estimate of Angelo’s 
 own work both in sculpture and painting was, that 
 it was extravagant and grossly exaggerated, for the 
 muscles of his children were as numerous and strongly 
 marked as those of his adults. It is true that a 
 jealousy existed, if not more, between these great 
 masters, but their mutual criticisms are not without 
 truth. So Girolamo’s work must have been remark- 
 able, for his celebrity was such that curators of 
 libraries are still found anxious to attribute some 
 
78 
 
 Life of (riorgio (riitlio Clovio. 
 
 of their lichest masterpieces to his hand. The 
 argument is this: these miniatures are extremely 
 fine, they are like life, they are of the most miracu- 
 lous minuteness: therefore they are the work of 
 Girolamo dai Libri. It generally happens when 
 probed to the bottom that the attribution of an 
 unsigned work does not rest even on congruity of 
 place or time or style of technic similarity of 
 pencilling, or choice of peculiar colour or medium, or 
 any other reasonable evidence; but simply on the 
 detailed description of Vasari, which, most likely, 
 was gathered by him from the ante-chamber gossip 
 of Roman and other palaces, or from garrulous old 
 padroni, who might have had a momentary glimpse 
 of some wondrous piece of work over somebody’s 
 shoulder at a levee. Or, if more precise, the good- 
 natured biographer probably got it from the pocket- 
 book of an artist friend on whose taste and judgment, 
 and of course veracity, he could entirely rely, and 
 did so. 
 
 If we set aside the fact that Vasari’s descriptions 
 would usually fit any really good piece of miniature 
 painting of the time, and accept them as both well- 
 chosen and appropriate to some capital work, we 
 are met by a further difficulty, perhaps still more 
 damaging, that, as in the case of the MS. presented 
 by Cellini to the Emperor, they do not apply to the 
 object in question: or if the description applies, that 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 79 
 
 the work is not by the artist to whom he assigns it, 
 as when he describes the Silius Italicus in the 
 Marcian Library at Venice."^ This ought to satisfy 
 us that in case of serious doubt or difficulty, Vasari 
 is not the authority to help us. It is shown by 
 Pacheco in his elaborate treatise on Paintingt, that 
 there are two quite distinct styles of Illumination, 
 both used by the best masters, which he calls the 
 first and the second methods. They differ in the 
 manner of painting the flesh-tints, and draperies. 
 The former makes use of the tint of the vellum 
 itself for the lights, and with middle tints, con- 
 venientes y suaves, touches in the shading or 
 modelling sweetly, deepening and strengthening by 
 means of fine points until the artist has obtained 
 the requisite force. Such is the method followed 
 by Clovio and those of his Spanish imitators men- 
 tioned hereafter. Others,” continues Pacheco, 
 “ following the method of ancient tempera, lay in 
 the carnations, and in their natural colours, and 
 vary their tones as is done in good oil-painting, 
 covering the vellum, although with colours possess- 
 ing but little body, and do not strengthen by means 
 
 * See this very elaborate description in Le Monnier’s Vasari, 
 with the note upon it, and compare Morelli, Notizie, &c. 
 
 t Pacheco Fr. Arte de la Pintura. Ed. by G. C. Villa-amil, 
 Madrid, 1866. 8vo. Pacheco was the master and father-in-law of 
 Velascpiez, and a celebrated writer on art. 
 
80 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 of points, but by washes or layers of colour. The 
 former mode of working, by making use of the 
 colour of the vellum, claims great and frequent 
 authority from those who have employed it, and 
 from the evidence of some very important illumina- 
 tions. Those, for example, of Fray Andres de Leon 
 and Fray Julian his scholar, both brothers of the 
 order of San Geronimo, who enriched the choir-books 
 of San Lorenzo of the Escorial with this kind of 
 painting.^ If Fray Julian’s power of drawing had 
 been equal to his skill in colour, in Siglienza’s 
 opinion, he would have been one of the foremost 
 illuminators in the world. The writer adds that he 
 had seen four of Clovio’s illuminations in the Escorial, 
 so that he does not speak from hearsay.! 
 
 Fray Diego del Salto, of the Order of S. Augustine, 
 followed also the same method with better drawing, 
 but fell short in respect of colour, as might be seen 
 in a Descent from the Cross,” then in possession 
 of the Duke of AlcaL. As to the comparison of 
 these Spaniards with Clovio, it probably originated 
 in the observation of Sigtienza, Nuestro fray 
 
 * Paclieco liere quotes from Fray Josef de Sigiienza, the 
 historian of the Order of San Greronimo, where he describes the 
 choir-books of the Escorial (Bk. iv. discnrso xiii.). Sigiienza’s 
 Spanish is quaint and rugged, but graphic. Pacheco, or his 
 editor, modernizes at times without improving. 
 
 t J. de Sigiienza : Historia de la Orden de 8. Geronimo. Madrid, 
 1605. Fob iii. bk. iv. disc. xiii. p. 796, &c. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 81 
 
 Andres de Leon, que fu otro don Julio en el arte.” 
 A word like this easily grows; and thus we meet 
 with unqualified assertions that some of the 
 Spanish miniaturists were quite the equals of Clovio. 
 Most of the work really worth putting alongside 
 that of the Italian Master is to be found in the 
 Escorial choir-books, or in those of Thomar, and 
 these are still accessible to the tourist. Those at 
 Thomar were the work of Clovio’s friend, Francisco 
 de Holanda, and are therefore interesting in them- 
 selves. But alas ! travel means money, and as the 
 poet says: — 
 
 Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corintlium. 
 
 They who can afibrd care little about these things, 
 they who care and know, and could compare, have 
 to stay at home. The two hundred and sixteen or 
 eighteen choir-books still preserved in the choir of 
 the Monastery of San Lorenzo in the Escorial, were 
 projected by Philip II., who, whatever he may have 
 been from other points of view, was undoubtedly a 
 zealous and most liberal patron of the arts. In 
 order to carry out his gigantic scheme of producing 
 the largest and most magnificent collection of Music- 
 books in the world, he sent his royal mandate or 
 at least a gracious invitation to every artist of 
 repute in Europe, but especially in Italy. It was 
 no doubt from some such command that the story 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 of Clovio’s working for him arose, and became 
 attached to the commission for colouring the en- 
 graved victories of Charles the Fifth. Among the 
 distinguished foreigners who did accept the King’s 
 flattering and well-paid commissions were the 
 Castelli and Scorzas of Genoa, Luca Cambiasi, 
 Francisco de Holanda of Lisbon, and others of whom 
 we shall speak by-and-by. 
 
 The peculiar distinction between the two methods 
 described by Pacheco as employed in illumination 
 is mainly the distinction between the work of Clovio 
 and that of Girolamo dai Libri. It is true that 
 Clovio did gain new ideas from his intercourse with 
 Girolamo. But, as a rule, his method was that of 
 thin delicate washes of colour heightened by stip- 
 pling, as the working in dots or points is now called, 
 while Girolamo preferred body-colour and the older 
 method of gouache or tempera, with rich and brilliant 
 arrangements of colour quite distinct from the early 
 Boman manner adopted by his younger rival. A 
 comparison of any authentic work of Clovio — such, 
 for example, as the Soane Conversion of St. Paul,” 
 — with a similarly authentic work of Girolamo as may 
 be found in the Astle-Esdaile Missal so minutely 
 described by Dibdin, would show the distinction at 
 once. Twenty of the miniatures of this Missal are 
 by Girolamo, the remainder by his father. They 
 were probably executed for the nephew of Sixtus 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 83 
 
 IV., Giuliano della Revere, who is better known as 
 Pope Julius II., and the patron of Michelangelo."^ 
 The work which, according to Vasari, most advanced 
 Girolamo’s reputation, was the already mentioned 
 miniature of the Terrestrial Paradise, with the 
 Expulsion of Adam and Eve, painted for the Prior 
 of San Giorgio in Verona. In this work, which 
 possibly Vasari may have seen in Rome, is shown 
 the miraculous minute perfection of trees, fruits, 
 flowers, birds and animals, in which Girolamo 
 excelled. Thinking of this work, Vasari goes on 
 to speak generally of the marvellous way in which 
 the Veronese master painted such things, and 
 imitated gems and jewels, and drew flgures in 
 cameos, che non sono pin grande che una piccola 
 formica, e si vede nondimeno in loro tutte le membra 
 e tutti i muscoli tanto bene, che appena si puo 
 credee da chi gli vede.” Girolamo lived until 1555.t 
 Among other artists whose celebrity was more 
 than local was Naldo or Rinaldo Piranio of Naples, 
 the painter of the richly ornamented but quaint 
 and intensely realistic miniatures of the Ethics of 
 Aristotle, now at Vienna. From the character of 
 this work, which, though exceedingly elaborate and 
 skilful, is antiquated in style, it cannot have been 
 begun much later than 1490. It may, however, 
 
 * Dibdin : Bibliographical Decameron, I. cxlii.-cliv. 
 t Vasari : Be Vile, &c., ix. 212-14. 
 
 G * 
 
84 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 have been carried out in this antique spirit even as 
 late as 1525 , for the ancient methods are often found 
 prevailing, especially in the remoter districts or 
 in solitary monasteries, beside much more modern 
 work elsewhere. This MS. was probably executed 
 in Naples, or by the artist, who was a Neapolitan, 
 at the residence of the distinguished Andrea Matteo 
 Aquaviva, Duke of Atri, at Conversano. With the 
 work of the Veronese and Bolognese masters, this 
 splendid manuscript may form a sort of older limit 
 to the style of architectural decoration, which is on 
 the whole the prevailing taste in Italian illumination 
 during the whole period of the Renascence. Foliages 
 of acanthus treated sculpturesquely as on the friezes 
 and pillars of Vitruvian or Palladian edifices, but 
 executed in modelled gold or colours, and flowers of 
 exquisite beauty at first architectural, and then 
 simply as in nature, form, after the human figure, the 
 chief features of Italian miniature ornament. These 
 of course are combined with forms of men and 
 women, winged children, and grotesque compositions 
 of imaginary animals in the prevailing taste of the 
 period. This taste was the natural outcome of the 
 classical studies which formed the chief basis of the 
 Revival of Learning, and of the researches among 
 ancient remains which were so actively carried on 
 under several of the Popes of the XVIth century. 
 In architecture, examples are endless. Not a city 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 85 
 
 in Italy but still bears some token of that art-laden 
 time. The most striking examples scarcely need 
 pointing out. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel 
 and the Banqueting Hall of the Farnese Palace 
 in Rome are prominent among them ; but Venice, 
 Florence, Naples, Genoa, Milan, and many other 
 cities can show their rich historic treasures of the 
 same kind. The addition in book-work, of coins 
 and medallions, cameos, jewels and bronzes is also 
 a reflection from the collector’s zeal. The Museums 
 in the course of formation were ransacked for their 
 most curious or beautiful relics, faithful representa- 
 tions of which were transferred to the margins of 
 the books intended to enrich the patron’s library. 
 The fashion begun by Sixtus IV. or Nicholas V. of 
 selecting from the Museum objects to decorate the 
 Library, zealously imitated by Cosimo de’ Medici 
 and his successors, and by the magniflcent King 
 Matthias of Hungary^ soon overwhelmed the pre- 
 ceding taste for twisting vine stems and enamelled 
 backgrounds, and rendered it distinctly old and 
 bygone. Perhaps if we were to trace rigorously 
 this passion for the antique in its bearing upon 
 artistic studies, we should go back to the early 
 years of the fourteenth century and to the studio 
 of Francesco Squarcione at Padua. Through his 
 pupils, dispersed throughout the length and breadth 
 of the land, tlic culture derived from marlfles, 
 
86 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 bronzes and cameos became the taste of the best 
 society. But the special promoter of it in the N orth 
 was undoubtedly Andrea Mantegna, Squarcione’s 
 greatest scholar. The “scuola Mantegnesca” is the 
 very soul of the miniature art of Milan under the 
 Sforzas, though then perfected through the influence 
 of that marvel of versatility, Leonardo da Vinci. 
 To see the earliest impress of this new spirit of 
 classicism, the student should consult the great 
 Antiphonary kept in the church of the Misericordia 
 at Padua, long attributed to Mantegna, but now 
 considered to be the work of the numerous pupils 
 of Squarcione. 
 
 But undoubtedly the principal school of miniature 
 before 1500, and after the rise of the Medici, was 
 that of Florence. From the time when Palla 
 Strozzi and Cosimo di Medici founded the chair of 
 Greek and the Museum of Archaeology in Florence, 
 that city took the lead in every branch of human 
 culture, and among the rest of the production of 
 books. Its copyists and illuminators were sought 
 from all the rest of Italy and of Europe, and its 
 productions were the models for those of every other 
 centre where similar work was carried on. In the 
 famous studio of Domenico Ghirlandaio the lessons 
 of Squarcione were combined with those of Masaccio. 
 Antiquity and Nature were harmonized, and a system 
 of decoration evolved which most keenly gratified 
 
Life of Giorgio' Giulio Clovio. 87 
 
 the most cultivated judges. Hence those of its 
 scholars who devoted themselves to miniature were 
 emplojed by the noblest princes of the time. Their 
 productions are now among the most precious 
 treasures that period has bequeathed to us. Just 
 as cleverly, as it seemed, but really because of their 
 enthusiastic devotion to study, these patrons and 
 these artists produced the best of their treasures. 
 The best art in Greek portrait coinage and engraved 
 gems dates about the time from Alexander to 
 Ptolemy Soter. The best Poman coins are those 
 from Augustus to the Antonines. Accordingly, 
 the magnificent heads of Alexander, Lysimachus, 
 Augustus, Nero, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, the 
 Faustinas, are selected favourites with Corvinus. 
 The emblems which occupy the reverses of the finest 
 medals reappear in the MSS. And thus we find 
 that the middle of the fifteenth century becomes 
 the climax — the golden age of Italian miniature art. 
 Some of the MSS. which contain these reproductions 
 bear dates and devices, and especially arms, showing 
 them to have been executed during the lifetime of 
 Cosimo, the addition of the lilies of France only 
 appearing in the shield for the first time in 1465, a 
 year after Cosimo’s death, and when his grandson 
 Lorenzo was seventeen years of age. 
 
 Two or three of the Medici gems are often repro- 
 duced in the manuscripts. The favourite seems to 
 
88 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 have been the Apollo and Marsyas, of Lorenzo’s 
 seal. It had been the seal of the Emperor Nero, and 
 when Piero II., Lorenzo’s son, fled from his native 
 city, leaving his vast collections to be plundered by 
 the mob, it was one of three cameos which he took 
 with him. It is cmious that this, the car of Phoebus 
 and the Diomed carrying off the Palladium — thus 
 considered to be the most precious of the whole 
 collection of gems — should happen to be the very 
 gems which reappear most frequently in Florentine 
 miniature work. 
 
 Such was the condition of things when Clovio 
 turned his attention to the copying of medals for the 
 Cardinal Grimani, by which his almost unrecognized 
 versatility was stimulated and nourished. He natu- 
 rally became to miniatui’e what the Carracci became 
 bo painting. His predecessors belonged to schools 
 or to local usao’es. He came when the new taste 
 
 O 
 
 was at its zenith, and its immense range made him 
 capable of producing work differing in some respects 
 from any of his models. While he adhered to the 
 minute fidelity of Girolamo, he could adopt the 
 freedom in desio-n of Gherardo and the classic 
 
 O 
 
 elegance of Fra Eustachio ; he could take hints from 
 the Thermae of Titus and lessons from the Sistine 
 Chapel and the Loggie of the Vatican. He could 
 follow the rich colouring of Giulio Romano, while 
 he did not foro'et the vio’orous drawino- of Michel- 
 
 ^ o o 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 89 
 
 angelo ; and he could appreciate and imitate the 
 fine sweet tenderness of the Venetian colourists, so 
 as to lead men to doubt not the excellence but the 
 authorship of his work. This versatility is, in fact, 
 the cause of much of the dispute about his still 
 existing productions. Let those which are doubtful 
 be compared with those that are known, and we soon 
 see what ground there may be for doubt. 
 
 We have seen what to some extent were the 
 elements of Clovio’s artistic training, let us now see 
 what was the influence of the same elements upon 
 his contemporaries. Of those quite outside the pale 
 who still continued apart from the great classical or, 
 as they considered it, pagan Revival, we have not 
 to speak. The old-fashioned Gothic workers, still 
 Mediaeval in everything, were by no means extinct, 
 but their influence seemed dying out, they did not 
 belong to the prevailing taste. In France, Germany, 
 Spain, and even the Netherlands, the Renascence 
 was universally felt and acknowledged. Of course, 
 therefore, it can only be the Renascence miniaturists 
 who can be put into comparison with Clovio. The 
 painters of Nuremberg or Bruges, however excellent, 
 belong to another and quite different order. It is no 
 question of comparing Clovio with the Glockendons 
 or Bennyncks, and only in some points of detail 
 with Hans Mielich of Munich, and Geoffrey Tory 
 of Paris. But with Francisco de Holanda, Georg 
 
90 
 
 Life of Gii rrgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Hoefnagel, Baroccio, Zuccaro, the Scorzas, and 
 Castelli of Genoa, and their imitators, the Spanish 
 miniaturists of Seville, Toledo, and the Escorial, 
 there is a question of comparison as there is a like- 
 ness of method, taste, manner, and effect. 
 
 Of Francisco de Holanda, much has already been 
 said. He was seventeen years younger than Clovio, 
 and made his acquaintance some time about 1540 
 when he was residing in Rome. He was a good 
 draughtsman, an architect, and a skilful miniature 
 painter. Indeed he claimed to be able to work 
 pretty nearly as well as Clovio himself, and declared 
 that his father had invented the method which 
 Clovio followed. The proof of Francisco’s ability is 
 to be found in the choir and other books illuminated 
 by him for the Royal Monastery of Thomar. He 
 also executed those for the Monastery of Belem, 
 afterwards lost or destroyed. 
 
 Other work said to be comparable with that of 
 Clovio is, the ornamentation of the 216 magnificent 
 choir-books, executed by order of Philip II., during 
 the seventeen years between 1572 and 1589.* They 
 are bound in wood covered with leather, enriched 
 with fine gilt brass ornaments. 5500 lbs. of bronze 
 and forty lbs. of pure gold were used to make these 
 ornaments. The books measure one metre fifteen 
 centimetres by eighty-four centimetres. Each 
 * Ridno : Notes on Early Spanish Music, 137. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 91 
 
 volume consists of seventy leaves, every one of 
 which is splendidly illuminated, thus giving over 
 30,000 pages full of ornamented letters, miniatures, 
 and borders. The artists and scribes who wrote and 
 illuminated these volumes were Cristobal Ramirez, 
 Fray Andres de Leon, Fray Julian de Fuente de 
 el Saz, Ambrosio Salazar, Fray Martin de Palencia, 
 Francisco Hernandez, Pedro Salavarte, and Pedro 
 Gomez. Cristobal Ramirez worked at the Escorial 
 from 1566 to 1572. He planned the work, fixed the 
 size and order of the volumes, and decided the 
 character of the writing. Having presented the 
 king with several specimens of his skill, he was 
 appointed, in 1566, to execute a choir-book, projected 
 for the Chapel Royal of San Lorenzo, of the Escorial, 
 at an annual salary of fifty ducats. In 1572 he 
 presented a musical Breviary to the king, and was 
 charged with the superintendence of the work. 
 Andres Cristobal was also an illuminator of celebrity 
 at Seville, where he was working from 1555 to 1559. 
 Andres de Leon worked at the Escorial in 1568, and 
 is especially spoken of by Los Santos in his descrip- 
 tion of the monastery of San Lorenzo. He was 
 famous for his skill in the manner of Clovio. Son 
 de gran numero y excelencia las iluminaciones que 
 tienen de mano nuestro Fray Andres de Leon, que 
 fue otro Don Julio en el Arte.”"^ Fray Julian 
 
 * Fray Ft. de los Santos : Descripcion breve del Mofiasterio de 
 S. Lorenzo el Real del Escorial, 24 . 
 
92 
 
 Life of Gioryho Giulio Clovio. 
 
 shared in the commendation, especially as regards a 
 Capitulario for the principal festivals of the year, 
 much esteemed for the size of the illuminations, the 
 like of which, the good monk declares, had never 
 been seen, either in Spain or Italy. Andres de Leon 
 died at the Escorial in 1580. Ambrosio de Salazar, 
 after working at San Lorenzo until the choir-books 
 were finished, went in 1590 to execute a pair of 
 missals for the Cathedral of Toledo, which had been 
 begun by Juan Martinez de los Corrales. He con- 
 tinued working on the remaining volumes until his 
 death in 1604. He was noted for the aceuracy of 
 his drawing, and the beauty and clearness of his 
 colouring, and for his excellent taste in ornament. 
 Esteban de Salazar was also employed on the Escorial 
 choir-books in 1585, and Juan de Salazar about the 
 same time. Fray Martin de Palencia was able, 
 like Ramirez, to assist in the copying, but for some 
 reason he left in 1574. Bermudez mentions a volume 
 executed by him for the monastery of Saso, written 
 in a fine hand, and adorned with elegant miniatures. 
 F. Hernandez of Segovia was so much esteemed by 
 the king for his work, that in 1578, when he fell 
 sick, Philip ordered an addition of fifty ducats to his 
 salary. Pedro Gomez de Cuenca was employed in 
 1584 as an occasional assistant. 
 
 It was not until 1583 that Giovanni Battista 
 
 l')C )••))}. iv, 24. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 93 
 
 Scorza of Genoa, the clever pupil of Luca Cambiaso, 
 was set to work on the Escorial books. He was 
 especially skilful in depicting animals and insects. 
 His brother, Sinibaldo Scorza, was even still more 
 noted for similar performances, and for small scenes 
 from history. His skill in pen -drawing was won- 
 derful — and, like Giovanni, he figured prominently 
 in the Galleria of the then popular Cavaliero Marini. 
 He died in 1 6 3 1 . Giovanni survived him until 1 6 3 7 , 
 when he died at the extreme age of ninety. Both 
 were compared with Clovio as his successful rivals. 
 The similarity of their tastes may be accounted for 
 from the circumstances of their education. Clovio 
 had studied among the scholars of Baffaello at the 
 Thermae of Titus, and had made drawings from the 
 designs of the master. One of the most distinguished 
 of his fellow-students was an old pupil of Ghirlandaio, 
 and now the ablest among those who assisted Baf- 
 faello. This was Perino del Vaga. He was two 
 years younger than Clovio, and was chiefly engaged 
 on the decorations in the Loggie of the Vatican. 
 Perino, after Raffaello’s death, or rather after the 
 sack of Pome in 1527, fled to Genoa. Here he 
 instructed Luca Cambiaso and Giov. Battista Castelli 
 in the style acquired at Borne. When, therefore, 
 these artists and their pupil Scorza went to Madrid 
 and applied themselves to miniature, their work 
 naturally betrayed a strong resemblance to that of 
 
94 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Clovio, who had been taught in the same school. 
 Pierino died in 1547. 
 
 A later imitator of Clovio is found in Georg 
 Hoefnagel of Antwerp, who in company with 
 Abraham Oertel or Ortelius, the cartographer, 
 happened to visit Pome in 1579 or 1580, when 
 Clovio was quite old and nearly worn out. On the 
 occasion of his presentation to Cardinal Farnese he 
 made the acquaintance of the great miniaturist, and 
 became so much attracted by his work that he 
 resolved to devote himself to the same style. He 
 speedily acquired a similar delicacy of touch and 
 extreme neatness of finish, but he never attained 
 Clovio’s power in colouring. His great work, the 
 Missal, executed for the Archduke Ferdinand of 
 Tyrol, and now in the Imperial Library at Vienna, 
 is an example of his best qualities, and of his very 
 evident defects. Nevertheless, he is justly con- 
 sidered a close imitator of Clovio, and worthy of a 
 certain comparison with him. A contemporary of 
 Hoefnagel, and also a close imitator of the manner 
 of Clovio, was, during Clovio’s last years, and for 
 many years afterwards, diligently acquiring a dis- 
 tinguished reputation at Friuli. This was Giovanni 
 Maria Boduino, of Friuli. He is vaguely stated 
 to have been born about 1503, and died at a great 
 age, apparently about 1600. The account of him 
 says that he ‘‘ excelled all the ancients in painting 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 95 
 
 and invention and design, in power of drawing even 
 Paolo Veronese and Tiziano.” Assuredly the world 
 at large is by no means persuaded that so notable a 
 superior to those well-known artists was actually their 
 contemporary. “ He was the inventor of miniatura 
 granita (already twice invented by Antonio de 
 Holanda and Clovio), that is, pointed with a small 
 pencil which, while it reached a degree of execution 
 truly exquisite, delicate, and, as it were, - divine, yet 
 required a long time and great patience, and may 
 be called the quintessence of painting. People 
 came from all parts to see his works, and were 
 astonished. His miniatures are to be seen in the 
 library of St. Mark in a breviary bound in pigskin, 
 executed for the patriarch Grimani, who afterwards 
 gave it to the library as a jewel of priceless value. 
 Boduino had one pupil called Valerio Mariani, of 
 Urbino, whose works are in the hands of the 
 greatest princes in the world. These artists pos- 
 sessed the secret of employing gold in the Persian 
 manner both for miniatures and writings, a secret 
 which, not being communicated to anyone, is now 
 lost. I must not omit to say that the said Giovanni 
 Maria having no son, left two thousand crowns’ 
 worth of miniatures to the Fraternity of the Poveri 
 governed by the Venetian Senate. He was a 
 learned and pious man.”^ 
 
 * Zani ; Enciclopedia delle B. Arti, IV. 283. 8vo. Parma, 
 
96 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Another miniaturist, sometimes ignorantly com- 
 pared with Clovio, is Benedetto Bordone of Padua, 
 of whose work executed for the Benedictine monas- 
 tery Sta. Justina, at Padua, two examples are in the 
 British Museum (Add. MSS. 15813, 15815), and 
 another, signed, in possession of Mr. Holford. 
 Bordone was a man of genius and a marvel of versa- 
 tility. Indeed it is difficult to say in what particular 
 hue his abilities were most conspicuous. As a 
 cosmograplier, as an astrologer, as a miniaturist, he 
 has almost ecjual claims. In his own day he was 
 chiefly distinguislied as a Jurisconsult and a 
 writer on geography. The grand Missal which 
 is thought to be a sample of his work, cannot 
 be accepted as faiily meriting the eulogy expended 
 upon his performances. Written about 1525 — 
 five years befoi-e his death — by a monk of Monte 
 Cassino, it is nevertheless a very fine example 
 of mature Benaissance design. Bordone’s manner 
 of painting is that of the second type mentioned by 
 Pacheco. It is a kind of gouache or tempera, some- 
 what heavy, and (juite Venetian in character, although 
 the artist is generally assigned to the school of 
 Padua. His ornament varies, from fanciful but 
 
 1820. Lancellotti : L’tioggidi, ovvero gl’ ingegDi non inferiori 
 a passati ; Disinganno xv. 242 (Ed. 1646, ii. 369). Venezia, 
 1662. Maniago: Delle Arti Erinlane. Venezia, 1819, 266. 
 Bradley : Diet, of Miniaturists, I. 141. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 97 
 
 correct and vigorous arabesque, to natural flowers 
 and foliages on coloured or darkened grounds, 
 including gold and even black. He paints with a 
 full pencil and a bold touch as if accustomed to 
 larger work. His figures are only of secondary 
 excellence either in drawing or finish, but are never- 
 theless far from being feeble or amateurish. It has 
 been suggested that he was, however, only an 
 amateur painter, his designation being Juris- 
 consultus et cosmographus insignis.” The initial 
 letters of the Missal contain several excellent minia- 
 tures, but so entirely different in manner, feeling, 
 colour, and treatment from those of Clovio that 
 one would think there could not in any respect be 
 any comparison between them. Yet the historian 
 of the monastery says under date 1523, Commen- 
 dantur apud pictores maximse diligentise opera Julii 
 Clovii, quorum multa a nobis hactenus inspecta 
 sunt, neque tamen praestantiora operibus Bordoni.”"^ 
 As for the miniatures of Federigo Zuccaro or 
 Valeriano Mariano of Urbino, or those of Baroccio, 
 their maniera can be accounted for without recourse 
 to any particular study of that of Clovio, notwith- 
 standing a certain degree of similarity. Zuccaro 
 was Hilliard’s tutor, so far as Hilliard adopted the 
 
 * D. Jacobus Cavaccius : Historia Coenobii D. Justinae Patav. 
 Lib. VI. 267 — Atti dell’ Imp. Reg. Accad. di Belle Arti in Yen. 
 1857, 142. Morelli, Notizie, &c. 195, 6. 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Roman method of miniature, but while Zuccaro had 
 studied in Rome, and must have seen Clovio’s work, 
 his own method is less forcible in design, and feebler 
 in colouring. Baroccio is still weaker in colour, or 
 perhaps seems so, compared with the earliest master, 
 because he sought rather to imitate the gradation 
 of Correggio, which gives his work the appearance 
 of being stippled or granulated to excess. This 
 quality becomes painfully prominent in later work as 
 in the miniatures of Estevam Gonzales de Neto, the 
 Portuguese, who was taught by a pupil of Carlo 
 Maratti. In later work generally the method seems 
 to have quite run away with the picture, and to have 
 been employed by the artist in utter forgetfulness 
 of its original and legitimate purpose. The result, 
 especially in the colouring, is a wretched effeminacy 
 and want of vigour, utterly unworthy of serious notice. 
 
 When Philip II. was organizing his scheme for 
 the San Lorenzo choir-books he sent a pressing 
 invitation to Clovio to undertake a portion of the 
 work. But this, for various reasons, Clovio could 
 not accept. It has been said, perhaps in order to 
 enhance the value of the famous Escorial miniatures 
 of the victories of Charles V., that as an alternative 
 commission he should paint a series of pictures in 
 commemoration of the chief events in the life of 
 the German Emperor, and that this commission he 
 accepted. The question will be more fully discussed 
 
Life of Giorgio Ghdio Clovio. 
 
 99 
 
 in another chapter, but it is by no means certain 
 that he did not accept an order of some form for the 
 zealous, and in this case liberal, Spanish King. The 
 bulk of the Escorial work, however, was done by the 
 Spanish miniaturists themselves, assisted later by 
 the Scorzas and Castelli of Genoa. Giovanni Battista 
 Gastello had made a great reputation in Upper Italy 
 for his cabinet pictures and miniatures, with which 
 were enriched the galleries and cabinets of various 
 prelates and princes in Borne and other cities.” 
 Soprani says that he began life as a goldsmith, 
 but with little progress or profit, and as soon as he 
 was free to do as he pleased he devoted himself to 
 miniature.^ Using his skill as a goldsmith he made 
 little reliquaries, which he not only adorned with 
 goldsmith work but also enriched with miniature 
 paintings of sacred subjects, all finished with the 
 greatest delicacy. He then studied under Luca 
 Cambiasi, who also was afterwards employed by 
 Philip on the frescoes of the choir of San Lorenzo. 
 After or during his studies with Cambiasi, Gastello 
 invented the most elegant designs in miniature, 
 excellent in colour, and of the most exquisite finish, 
 and obtained great praise from his contemporaries, 
 especially from the Cavaliere Marino. Probably the 
 praise meant very little more than tlie hope of a 
 
 * Soprani, li. : Vite di Vittori Genovesi. Edit. C. G. Ratti, 
 Genoa, 1768, 4to. T. 105. 
 
loo 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 present for the poet’s private gallery; but it helped 
 to make the artist’s fortune. In the prolific collec- 
 tion of sonnets which the then fashionable versifier 
 calls his galleria,” Marino praises la pecchia, la 
 formica, il segno, la zanzanza, la mosca, la farfalla, 
 animali express! tutti con vivissime miniature del 
 nostro Gastello.” Similarly, Soranzo, at the sight of 
 a Madonna, painted with rare delicacy by Gastello, 
 wrote the noble canzone, beginning : 
 
 “ L’ altera Immago di colei clie Dio 
 Destina Madre del iinico Figliuolo.” 
 
 At length his fame reached the ears of the most 
 importunate and irresistible patron of the day, and 
 Gastello found himself installed at San Lorenzo of 
 the Escorial, and busy on the choir-books so often 
 referred to. Here he finished everything with such 
 exactness and success as to give his royal employer 
 complete satisfaction. He does not appear to have 
 remained very long, but having finished his com- 
 mission and received suitable recompense he re- 
 turned home to Genoa. Somehow or other the 
 biographers have got hopelessly confused with 
 regard to Gian Battista Gastello, several of them 
 confounding him with Gian Battista Scorza, and 
 even with Sinibaldo, in the most circumstantial 
 manner. Soprani accuses Orlandi of making this 
 confusion, but the Abecedario Pittorico affirms that 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 101 
 
 its author got his notice from Baldinucci, whom one 
 would have expected to know better. Baldinucci 
 certainly repeats the story of Gastello, word for 
 word, in his account of Gian Battista Scorza. The 
 story really seems to belong to Scorza, and, if not 
 strictly true, it is at least sufficiently he7i trovato.^ 
 Sinibaldo Scorza, another of these Genoese minia- 
 turists, having been noticed by Gian Battista Paggi, 
 who was employed on the Escorial frescoes, was 
 introduced to the king as one who, from a boy, had 
 been a skilled painter of animals and flowers. Like 
 Clovio, he had assiduously applied himself, whilst 
 very young, to the copying of Albert Dlirer’s 
 engravings. The general story seems to be a kind 
 of solar myth in which Clovio and Gastello and the 
 Scorzas become successively the heroes. After the 
 engravings, Sinibaldo betook himself to the painting 
 of Vascelli, after the manner of Serrani, a Milanese 
 painter, and eventually to landscape and miniature, 
 and in all attained a great reputation. In conse- 
 quence of the laudation of the Cavalier Marini he 
 was invited to the Court of Savoy. According to 
 the dates, however, we find this occurring as late as 
 1619. After some years of wandering in various 
 parts of Italy, he returned to Genoa, and practised 
 engraving, dying of fever in 1631. He had a 
 
 * Baldinucci ; Vol. IV. 453 (Ed. Firenze, 1846, 8 vols. 8vo.). 
 
102 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 brother called Gian Battista, who, says Baldinucci, 
 practised a long time as a goldsmith, and so forth, 
 the story merging into that of Gastello, even to the 
 incident of being invited in 1599 by the Princess 
 Margherita of Austria to copy the picture of the 
 “ Sudarium.” This great subject was apparently a 
 familiar one to his contemporaries, being in the 
 church of S. Bartolommeo degli Armeni belonging 
 to the ‘‘ padri Bernabiti.” Baldinucci did not know 
 where this church was, but Soprani continuing the 
 story of Gastello from this point, gives the impression 
 that it was the one in Genoa, formerly that of the 
 Basil! an monks called Armeni, and now of the padri 
 Bernabiti.” The painting was given to the afore- 
 said monks in 1384 by Leonardo Montaldo, Duke 
 of Genoa, who had received it as a reward of valour 
 from the Greek Emperor, John Palseologus.^ 
 
 To return for a moment to Gian Battista Gastello, 
 Soprani cites a public document in which he is 
 recognized as the most distinguished of living 
 artists : “ eundem Johannem Baptistam, a capitulis, 
 ordinibus, ac legibus artis pictorum eorumque 
 observantia exemptum, ac solutum declaramus.” 
 It is dated July 7th, 1606, and is signed by the 
 Doge Luca Grimaldi, twelve senators, and twelve 
 procurators. 
 
 '* Soprani Vite de’ Pittori &c, Geiiovesi I. 105, &c. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 103 
 
 There are other Castelli, famous, though in a lesser 
 degree, as miniaturists, and the endeavour to avoid 
 confounding this Gian Battista with his namesake, 
 also a resident in Genoa, and called il Bergamasco,” 
 endangers a further confusioD with the Spanish 
 miniaturists of the same name. 
 
 There is, however, one Gastello who cannot be 
 passed over here. This is Bernardo, though his 
 fame mainly belongs to the last few years of the 
 sixteenth century. He was born at Albaro, a 
 suburb of Genoa, in 1557, and, as a child, amused 
 himself with painting animali e paesetti. His 
 parents, proud of this skill, after giving him some 
 instruction in Latin, put him under good masters, 
 such as Luca Cambiasi. By-and-by he travelled, 
 and, whilst at Ferrara, made the acquaintance of 
 Torquato Tasso and other literary men, including 
 Don Angelo Grillo, Ansaldi Ceba, Lorenzo Cat- 
 taneo, Gabriello Chiabrera, and the ubiquitous 
 Cavaliere Marino. He painted much both in oil 
 and fresco. But the work by which he is best 
 known to posterity is the superb edition of the 
 Gerusalemme Liberata,” published in 1586-90 by 
 Girolamo Bartoli, of Genoa, which Gastello illus- 
 trated with copperplate engravings, and republished 
 with another set of plates in 1617. Soprani men- 
 tions a letter in his own possession which had been 
 written by the poet to the artist on the occasion of 
 
104 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 this important publication. To several editions of 
 the work are prefixed a number of sonnets and 
 canzoni in praise of the Apollo who wrote and the 
 Apelles who adorned the sumptuous volume. To 
 that of 1617, printed by the Genoese printer Pavoni, 
 Gastello himself prefixes an address to Carlo 
 Emanuele, Duke of Savoy, whose portrait he gives 
 in the title-page. In this address he says : and I 
 
 seeing that so many musicians sing it, and so many 
 literati comment upon it, have taken pains to depict 
 the incidents represented in the text, so that, 
 placing before the eyes what the poet lays before 
 the ears, men of gentle culture might have a double 
 pleasure in its perusal.” Then follows a sonnet by 
 Tasso himself, which, for epigrammatic tinsel, is 
 quite characteristic both of the age and of the 
 writer : 
 
 Fiumi, e mari, e montagne, e piaggie apriche, 
 
 E vele, e naui, e Oavalieri, et armi 
 Fingi Beenardo in carte, e i bianchi marini 
 Han minor pregio da le Muse amicbe. 
 
 Pero die Livia d’Arianna e Psicbe 
 
 Legger men brama, e pno beato farmi, 
 
 Se r imagini tue co’ nostri carmi 
 Impresse mira, e le memorie antiche 
 E mentre pasce le serene Inci 
 
 Hi quel lume, desian farsi piu belle, 
 
 E r orse, e le corone, e ’1 Cigno, e ’1 Toro. 
 
 Ma le rinolgi a gloriosi Duci, 
 
 Et a miei versi tii da 1’ auree stelle, 
 
 Muto Poeta di Pittor canoro. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 105 
 
 As a specimen of the sort of immortality con- 
 ferred on the Castelli and Scorzas by the popular 
 writer of society verses — an immortality which 
 Albano declared he could not endure, and therefore 
 declined to oblige the prolific versifier with an 
 example of his own pencil — I quote the accom- 
 panying sonnet by Marini. Concetti, flattery and 
 tinsel, here reach their climax : 
 
 Movon qni duo gran fabri Arte contr’ Arte 
 Emule a lite one T un 1’ altro agguaglia 
 Si, cbe di lor qual perda, 6 qual piii yaglia 
 Pende incerto il giudicio in doppia parte. 
 
 L’ nn cantando d’Amor 1’ armi, e di Marte, 
 
 Gl’orrecchi appaga, e gl’ intelletti abbaglia : 
 
 L’ altro, mentre del canto i sensi intaglia, 
 
 Fa stupir gl’ occbi, e fa spirar le carte. 
 
 Scerner non ben si pno, qual piu viuace 
 Bsprima, imprima illustri forme, e belle 
 0 la muta pittura, 6 la loquace. 
 
 Intente a queste merauiglia, e quelle 
 
 Dubbioso arbitro il mondo, ammira, e tace 
 La le glorie d’ Apollo, e qui d’Apelle. 
 
 Several of the other writers catch at Tasso’s idea 
 Muto poeta di pittor canoro others are taken 
 with Marini’s Apollo and Apelles. One speaks of 
 the Ligurian Apelles and the Tuscan Homer, who 
 give food to the senses, nourishment to thought,” 
 and applaud each as equally deserving of immor- 
 tality. ^^Mirabil opra,” says another, 
 
 “ Ecco il gran Tasso pinge : 
 
 E ’1 gran Gastello tinge.” 
 
106 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 And 
 
 “ Onde grande Fitter pingendo cante 
 Cio, die cantando lia pinto, 
 
 Poeta altier, cli’ ogni Poeta ha vinto.” 
 
 Lastly let us add a couplet which condenses all 
 the preceding. 
 
 “ Tassins hsec canit, effigiat Castellns, nterque 
 Tam docte, ut canere et pingere ntrnmqne pntes.” 
 
 These extracts may not convince us of the poetic 
 genius of their authors, nor, perhaps, leave any very 
 distinct impression of anything but a straining after 
 epigram and smartness, yet they show very clearly 
 that Bernardo Gastello must have been a man of 
 some consequence to stand in such a parallel as he 
 does in this famous book. 
 
 The very manifest influence which these Genoese 
 artists exerted over the character of Spanish minia- 
 ture and decorative art, gives them an importance 
 which their being simply contemporaries of Clovio 
 would not have given. Most of them worked in 
 his manner. The later Spanish miniaturists, indeed, 
 have puzzled some writers on art differing so 
 decidedly from their Netherlandish predecessors, to 
 whom the position of founders or preceptors, had 
 been summarily assigned, and who were looked 
 upon as the legitimate authors of a style which 
 suddenly began to differ in many important charac- 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 107 
 
 teristics, and apparently with no sufficient cause. 
 But the cause really was not far to seek. The 
 appointment of a band of artists selected from the 
 foremost studios of Italy, to work in concert on an 
 undertaking so important as the formation of two 
 hundred folio volumes, to be filled with the richest 
 productions of their art, was the founding of a 
 school which would necessarily influence all after 
 comers. Whatever, then, may have been the 
 individual tastes or proclivities of the handful of 
 Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese artists who worked 
 on these choir-books, their united effort, executed 
 under mutual influence, and as the result of freely 
 interchanged opinion, did, in fact, produce the 
 school of the Escorial. This school, as we have 
 seen, owes its chief inspiration to Genoa, which in 
 turn was an outcome of that of Baffaello in Home. 
 What wonder that later Spanish art should remind 
 us rather of Italy than of Flanders. What more 
 natural than this constant claim of similarity to the 
 style and manner of Clovio. In fact, it may be 
 recognized in the numerous Cartas de Hidalguia, 
 Exemptions, Grants of Arms, and Patents of 
 Nobility executed during the reigns of Philip II. 
 and III.^ Whoever will take the trouble to com- 
 pare a good example of these Cartas with the 
 
 * As for example Claud. B. X., Ac. British Museum. 
 
108 
 
 Life of Gio7'gio Giulia Clovio. 
 
 engravings of the Gastello Tasso of the edition of 
 1617, will be convinced that it was less the influence 
 of Clovio than of a system of working necessarily 
 similar to his, but followed independently by the 
 Spanish miniaturists of the Escorial. 
 
 Perino del Vaga, Paffaello’s chief assistant at the 
 Vatican, carried the principles of the old Roman or 
 antique school from the Baths of Titus to the 
 Palazzo Doria at Genoa. Clovio studied the same 
 principles, under Raffaello, in Rome. It might well 
 happen, consequently, that intelligent judges of art 
 would speak of the similarity of the Castilian and 
 other miniaturists of Spain to the great Italian 
 master. But that persons with any claim to dis- 
 cernment could see any such rivalry in the masters 
 of Tours or Bruges, or Munich or Nuremberg, is 
 incredible. Yet even Fouquet, Simon Bynnynck, and 
 the Glockendons have not escaped the foolish and 
 derogatory flattery of comparison with the well- 
 known Italian. 
 
 It has been mentioned that Clovio began his 
 career with making a careful copy of one of Dlirer’s 
 best engravings. The fervent Evangelist of Art” 
 seems to have strongly fascinated the attention of 
 Germans and Italians alike. Even those who 
 eventually became enamoured of the softer graces of 
 the Italian schools made their earliest efforts, either 
 actually in his own house or under his immediate 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 109 
 
 teaching. Hans Sebald Beham, the miniaturist of 
 the charming Prayer Book at Aschaffenburg"^ — 
 better known as one of the Little Masters” of the 
 graver — passed from Nuremberg to Borne. Albert 
 Altdorfer followed his example. Altdorfer was the 
 boy-apprentice whom Dlirer took as servant in his 
 shop and household when he began his married life 
 at three-and-twenty with the beautiful Agnes Frey, 
 not yet sixteen. Altdorfer was the inventor of the 
 style of work which gave the now familiar name 
 to the seven satellites of Dlirer of the “ Little 
 Masters.” Georg Pencz left Dlirer and Nuremberg 
 for Italy. Virgil Solis and Jacob Binck did the 
 same. All these men were illuminists ” as well 
 as engravers. Indeed, the limning of engravings 
 formed a usual part of their occupation. Printed 
 books thus illuminated are common in continental 
 libraries, and the practice was continued in Germany 
 and the Netherlands down to the times of the 
 Plantins. The Antwerp, Frankfort, and Nuremberg 
 presses were rich in the production of books thus en- 
 riched. The Nuremberg Bible of Hanns Lufft, with 
 its splendid portrait of August, Duke of Saxony, 
 and its richly coloured miniatures, may be taken as 
 a fair specimen of the work of such practised 
 
 * Merkel, Jos. : Die Miniaturen und Manuscripte der Konigl. 
 Bayerischen Hofbibl. in Aschaffenburg, 4®, 1836 : 10. 
 
no Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 illuminists as Georg and Albert Glockendon, Hans 
 Springinklee, and Jakob Elszner — all scholars of 
 Dlirer and famous for their skill in this spiritless 
 kind of trade-work. But however secondary might 
 be the performances of men who merely worked for 
 the publishers, when they did so, sometimes they 
 rose into quite another class. The Aschaffenburg 
 Missal, by the hand of Nicolas Glockendon, son of 
 Georg, was painted for one of the most fastidious 
 patrons of the age — the Elector Prelate Albert of 
 Brandenburg. It is a masterpiece of Nuremberg 
 art. Its counterpart may be seen in another MS. 
 by Albert Glockendon, now at Vienna. These 
 works, if they bore the least resemblance to that 
 of Clovio, might fairly be entitled to comparison, 
 as they are unquestionably deserving of first-class 
 honours in many respects. But there is no question 
 of rivalry. No one with the slightest pretension to 
 criticism could put Nicolas Glockendon into com- 
 parison with any Italian artist whatever, unless, 
 j^erhaps, one of those who worked on the Grimani 
 Breviary, if, indeed, any of them were Italian, much 
 less with Clovio. The Vienna MS. attests the 
 marvellous dexterity and delicacy of Albert Glock- 
 endon’s pencil, and of his fine faculty for rich 
 colouring and tasteful ornament. But here, again, 
 even in the midst of Benaissance designs, is no 
 question of resemblance to Clovio. Both are fond 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Ill 
 
 of colour, but the German feeling for it and the 
 Italian feeling for it are utterly distinct. Many 
 who truly appreciate rich colour, would consider 
 this German art too gaudy. Again, the Italian 
 schools themselves differ so widely that no standard 
 can be safely set up for comparison. The school of 
 Rome differs more from the Venetian than the 
 latter does from the Flemish. As a rule, the 
 German miniaturists fail somewhat in figure drawing. 
 They are greater in ornament, in scroll-work and 
 flowers, and all manner of fanciful conceits and 
 unexpected symbolisms. As figure painters the 
 earlier masters lack softness and grace of outline. 
 They lack not merely freedom but correctness in 
 the comparative dimensions of the head and limbs. 
 Though laboured, they are inaccurate and squat ; 
 and, like those of the old Siennese masters, as if 
 looked on from above. The later, on the other 
 hand, have all the apparent dash and facility, 
 together with the attenuated disproportion, of 
 the school of Fontainebleau. To this class belongs 
 Hans Mielich of Munich, whose colossal MSS of 
 the Penitential Psalms, crowded with illustration 
 and ornament, now lie in the Cimeliensaal of the 
 Royal Library. To the inexperienced eye, the 
 miniatures and ornaments of these gorgeous volumes 
 — especially the larger one — are full of magnificence 
 and charm, of which a closer inspection and judg- 
 
112 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 ment by the stricter rules of criticism will reluctantly 
 dispossess them. Their coup-cVoeil is certainly 
 effective and even powerful. The softness and sweet 
 harmony of the colouring is often truly delicious. 
 But the high finish and more patient qualities of 
 detail, in which miniaturists generally are most 
 proficient, are here totally wanting. Of course, it 
 is no explanation to say that- the painter was not 
 really a miniaturist, and only worked as a painter is 
 able to work. The work is miniature, and must 
 be judged as such. That Mielich could put in 
 patient detail and microscopic finish when he 
 thought fit to do so, is amply shown in the exquisite 
 designs for jewellery preserved in the same library. 
 In the Psalms, on the other hand, he is more like a 
 learned, prolific, and dexterous fan-painter, compar- 
 able, it may be, with the fan-painters of Francis I. 
 or Louis XIV., but not with Petitot or Clovio. 
 
 There is, however, one contemporary of Clovio’s 
 who may be said to have possessed all the patience 
 and minute, polished elaboration of detail calculated 
 to put even Clovio himself into the shade. But 
 unfortunately in this case, the artist is too learned, 
 too full of pedantic conceits to be a painter of the 
 highest type. This is Hoefnagel. Both his name 
 and his greatest work have been already mentioned 
 earlier in this chapter, and perhaps enough has been 
 said to show his character as an artist. The story 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 113 
 
 of his life is full of interest and shows him to have 
 been a man entirely worthy of the friendship of 
 those who employed him, whether Archdukes or 
 Emperors. His Missal, too, is worth careful and 
 loving examination. It is a volume of extra- 
 ordinary bulk. Its scale may be imagined from 
 the fact that the text is copied in a large hand 
 from that published by Christopher Plantin at 
 Antwerp in 1570 . This adoption of Plantin’s text 
 was undoubtedly a compliment both to the artist 
 and to the printer; for until 1568 the Pope’s 
 printer, Paolo Aldo Manuzio, of Pome, had the sole 
 right to publish the Breviary and Missal authorized 
 by the Council of Trent. In that year Plantin 
 made a contract with him by which he was to cede 
 to the Italian the tenth copy of all Breviaries, &c., 
 printed by him in order to enjoy in the Nether- 
 lands the privilege enjoyed by Manuzio in Italy. 
 In 1570 , Philip I. charged Plantin with the printing 
 of liturgical books for Spain, and thus discharged 
 him from the necessity of paying the tithe due to 
 Manuzio. Philip had already spent 21,200 florins 
 towards the enormous expenses of the great Poly- 
 glott Bible edited by Arias Montanus, and on 
 which that scholar was working from 1568 to 1572 . 
 And this order for .the 1570 Missal laid the founda- 
 tion of the future prosperity of tlie Plantin-Moretus 
 
114 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 family. After 1572, Missals, Breviaries, Diurnals, 
 Psalters, Antiphonaries, and Offices, in every form, 
 issued in hundreds from the famous Antwerp 
 printing-office. The text, then, of this Vienna MS. 
 is comparatively rare. It is composed of bold 
 Roman lettering, never less than a quarter of an 
 inch in height, and every page is more or less 
 richly embellished with drawings of human figures, 
 animals, scenes from Scripture, and scrolls of 
 elaborate ornament, all completed with the most 
 microscopic elaboration. 
 
 The unwieldy volume measures 16 inches by 11, 
 and is at least 7 inches in thickness. 
 
 Tlie first word of the title is in large red 
 letters dotted with gold ; the next line is blue, 
 somewhat smaller. Then follow three lines of 
 gold dotted with red and in Roman minuscules 
 about a quarter of an inch. The colours alternate 
 to the end, the last word being in red capitals. 
 It runs thus : ‘‘ Missale. Romanum ex decreto. 
 sacrosanct! Concilii. Tridentini resti. tutum: Pii 
 V. Pont. Max. iussu editum. Cum privilegio. 
 Oenoponti.” The ornaments consist of a scroll- 
 work of a mixed kind, with some suggestions 
 of architectural effect. In a gold frame at top are 
 the words “ Potentia patris.” The beginning of 
 the Preface is surrounded by very fanciful but not 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 115 
 
 artistic borders, executed in a somewhat amateurish 
 manner. The whole conception, indeed, is destitute 
 of any idea of unity. The motive is chiefly 
 Pompeian, freely mingled with modern conceits 
 and paraphernalia, such as fishing-nets and lines 
 with fishes hanging to them, the fishes evidently 
 painted from life ; lambs frisking on perilous 
 Pompeian cornices, and money-bags, or hunting- 
 pouches, gracing the wonderful trophies of which 
 the borders are composed. At top is the papal 
 tiara within a wreath of laurel, very finely drawn 
 and carefully finished. The tiara is admirably 
 executed, but the colouring of the design is, on the 
 whole, timid and unsatisfactory. Keys and other 
 insignia hang about amid vine leaves, palm branches, 
 pandean pipes and other emblems of pagan and 
 papal Rome, with the sublimest disregard of con- 
 gruity and the most liberal conception of the 
 function of symbolic ornament. As page after 
 page of the book is turned over, we find Hoefnagel 
 to improve vastly, both in taste and skill, but we 
 are bound to say that his sense of ornamental 
 design or his power as a colourist never reaches 
 that of Clovio. The decorations are often very 
 pretty and extremely delicate in finish, but so 
 utterly incongruous that sympathy is frequently 
 rendered impossible. On the whole, perhaps, the 
 
 8 
 
116 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 ornaments may be best described as based on 
 Pompeian but composed of all kinds of objects 
 belonging to modern life, cups, platters, books, 
 lamps, censers, musical instruments, banners, 
 smoke or incense, arms, branches of laurel, jewels, 
 bunches of vegetables and dishes of meats, or 
 groups of birds and game, guns, traps, in short 
 every conceivable implement or object that life in 
 an Alpine castle in the sixteenth century could 
 present to the unwearied and uncritical accept- 
 ance of the complaisant artist. Hoefnagefs boyish 
 taste for painting familiar objects is encouraged 
 to the full. Thus the work grows and improves at 
 every step. The fruits are exquisitely finished, 
 and every object calling for delicate mechanical 
 drawing is finely and j)erfectly executed. Ovals are 
 made accurate in line and contour, and are smooth 
 and neat in every touch. Lettering and inks are 
 good, clear, and masterly. With the rubrics begin 
 groups of insects and animals, literally studies in 
 natural history. To the calendar are pendants and 
 festoons of various seasonable delicacies, interspersed 
 with culinary implements. In one place is a fowl 
 trussed and bound for roasting, and a bunch of 
 really lovely onions tied with a knot of violet silk. 
 The pink and green of the onions, pale and tender, 
 are succeeded by the more brilliant colouring of a 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 117 
 
 glittering jewel. Then comes a cosy domestic cat 
 with her back to us, but looking round over her 
 shoulder ; then toys and tennis, and, of a surpris- 
 ingly polished execution, a bright steel gridiron 
 with golden handle. The next border has a back- 
 gammon board, a string of beads, a violin, and a 
 dancing monkey in the costume of punchinello. 
 Passing by the close and patient fidelity of likeness 
 Hoefnagel’s master-quality as to mere manipulation 
 is neatness, but his greatest gift is in symbolism. 
 Now and then his classical acquirements are seen in 
 the Latin couplets, or in the turn of the allegory. 
 Among other objects decorating the calendar for 
 March is a most beautiful peacock, finished with 
 marvellous skill. Indeed in work like this Hoef- 
 nagel is a perfect contrast to Mielich — the latter 
 being as rapid and sketchy as the former is 
 scrupulous and minute. It is true that his 
 primary qualification is neatness. But in addition 
 as the work proceeds, the colouring becomes sweeter 
 and richer. Around the title of the Proprium de 
 Tempore are painted large insects and various fruits. 
 The first miniature occurs at the Dominica de 
 Adventu, on an oval within an oblong black frame. 
 Here the draperies are weak, but the colouring 
 tolerably good and the hints gained on the visit to 
 Clovio, noticeably put into practice in the stippling 
 
118 
 
 Life of Gionjio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 of the depths and shadows. On fol. 213 is the 
 “ Lion of the tribe of Judah,” and two figures — a 
 man and a woman— very sweetly painted. Fol. 329 
 presents one of the finest pages in the volume. It 
 has a pendant formed of a jewelled cross and 
 cameos, violet grey in black and gold frames. On 
 each side is a peacock, one standing on a castle, 
 from the windows of which issues smoke. On a 
 banner which floats above is the word “ vanitas.” 
 On the other is a beautiful woman with a quiver 
 containing fruits, and inscribed “ vanitatum.” She 
 proceeds, from the waist upwards, out of a shell 
 painted to represent the world. The wings of the 
 peacock are curiously eyed at the tips. All kinds of 
 vanities,^ — masks, jewels, necklaces, bubbles, pearls, — 
 are tumblino- out of the two worlds. Fol. 538 v. is 
 
 O 
 
 occupied by a large miniature of the Crucifixion, 
 below which is this inscription : 
 
 “ Aspice coelorum Dominum et crucis aspice formam 
 Et die jam mens est hie homo et ille deus. 
 
 Crimina persolvit patiens mea fecit et alta. 
 
 Verus homo atque Deus, rursus ad astra viam.” 
 
 Texts of Scripture on oval tablets with black 
 grounds and gold frames, are placed on each 
 side the miniature, such as “Foderunt manus 
 meas, et pedes meos ” (Ps. xxi.). Over the 
 picture is a l)lue tablet with the words : ‘‘Sic 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 119 
 
 Deus dilexit mundum.” The picture itself seems 
 to have been inspired by Clovio. It is not merely 
 conceived in his style, but is executed in his manner. 
 In expression it is even superior. One catches the 
 blood from the Saviour’s side in a golden cup (the 
 Saint Graal, sang real, or whatever it was, of the 
 Mediseval romances) ; another prays. An angel 
 floating in the air, on each side, ministers comfort 
 to the sufferer. St. John supports the fainting 
 mother, while Mary Magdalene behind, with right 
 hand on her bosom, clasps the cross with the left. 
 Draperies are finely stippled, and here the folds are 
 good. 
 
 ^ To the Missa contra paganos,” fob 136 v., is a 
 fine marble statuette of Apollo with lyre in left 
 hand, and other of Diana with arrow in right, 
 faultlessly perfect and graceful. In mental gifts 
 Hoefnagel is superior to Clovio ; in the tasteful 
 use of architecture he is inferior, and inferior to 
 Mielich in design, but as I have said, surpasses 
 him in careful manipulation. Occasionally a gro- 
 tesqueness or sensuality of conception, makes the 
 subject repulsive, as in the symbol of St. Agatha, 
 where the careful execution and the horrible 
 realism of the breasts and knife betray the Nether- 
 lander. So in the St. Agnes — the refined purity 
 of the ideal sainted maiden is outraged to the 
 spectator by the gross unhesitating fidelity of the 
 
120 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 representation. On fol. 27 of the fourth part is a 
 design of a slain lamb. At foot, in rather small 
 ornamental capitals, “ Georgius Hoefnagiius Ant- 
 Averpien. Libri huius exornat pricipio sine principio 
 Hieroglyphicus, favet opus inceptu. Inventor et 
 factor. Ann. XXCII fine sine fine. Genio magis- 
 tro iuvant. felic. absolvit. Ann. XC.” Like most 
 of Hoefnagers inscriptions, this contains a certain 
 amount of enigma. On the front of the slab is a 
 couplet, apparently of his own composition : 
 
 “ Ex iiostris aliquid spiral vocale sepulcliris, 
 
 Prsestita perpetiio quod benefacta canal.” 
 
 This date of 1590 occurs a little later in the 
 volume, sliowing that the work, Avhich is pro- 
 gressively dated in several other places, really 
 occupied the eight years from 1582 to 1590. It 
 now forms one of the many precious treasures of 
 the Imperial Library at Vienna. On its completion, 
 besides the annual salary of eight hundred florins, 
 the Archduke gave him tAVO thousand golden 
 croAvns, and presented him with a golden chain 
 worth a hundred more. Seldom did Clovio receive 
 such substantial marks of satisfaction from any of 
 the Farnese. Hoefnagel was next employed by the 
 Emperor Rodolph II., who, like himself, was a 
 zealous student of natural history, and feAv occupa- 
 tions could be imagined more congenial than that of 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 121 
 
 the now skilful artist to whom technical manipula- 
 tion had become a second nature, than the one upon 
 which he was engaged. It was to form a systematic 
 collection of drawings of all kinds of animals, birds, 
 insects, &c., in every department of natural history. 
 This was accomplished in four large volumes, which 
 are now preserved in the public library at Prag. 
 The very liberal remuneration received by Hoef- 
 nagel for this work enabled him to buy a property 
 in or near Vienna, to which he retired, and where it 
 appears he spent the remainder of his life in the 
 cultivation of Latin poetry. He died in 1600 . As 
 a rival of Clovio he cannot hold more than a 
 momentary position. He is too fanciful, too full of 
 allegorical conceits, too much bent on the spiritual 
 significance of his designs. His imperfect knowledge 
 of classic architecture is marred by importations 
 in the worst possible taste of the Penaissance. 
 His scrolls are often less endurable than the im- 
 possible structures of Pompeian grotesque, and the 
 third-rate designs of Cinquecento modellers. But, 
 as far as possible, all is redeemed by the patient, 
 faithful, faultless sweep of the pencil, and the tender 
 delicacy and scrupulous neatness of his colouring. 
 It is not always sweet, but it is never slovenly. 
 Hoefnagel can rest very well on his own merits 
 without being drawn into needless and unprofitable 
 rivalry with any other miniaturist. 
 
122 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Claudio Massarelli or Massarolo — Clovio’s assis- 
 tant — died the same year as his master. His will is 
 dated October 26th, 1578. From this document it 
 appears that he was a native of Caravaggio, and, 
 like Clovio, became miniator to Cardinal Alessandro 
 Farnese. He had two scholars — Maximilien de 
 Monceau, a Fleming, and Alessandro di Como — and 
 to them he bequeathed his drawings. 
 
 Of the later miniaturists of Italy may be men- 
 tioned Cesare Pollini, and Pietro Cesarei of Perugia. 
 Pollini is often referred to by writers on Art. 
 Orlando says he made most beautiful miniatures 
 on vellum, and designed boldly in the manner of 
 Michelaimelo. Pascoli tells us that he was born 
 
 O 
 
 about 1560, and designed, painted, and illuminated 
 a maraviglia. He goes on to say that some of his 
 miniatures were (1732) to be seen in the Congrega- 
 tion de’ Nobili, in the Jesuits’ College at Perugia, 
 that others may be found in Pome, and that he 
 worked for many princes and cardinals, and for 
 several popes, who treated him with distinction ; 
 lastly, that he left many beautiful miniatures to his 
 heirs on his death in 1630 at Perugia. He is some- 
 times spoken of as Cesare del Francia. Nagler calls 
 him a scholar of Federigo Baroccio, and follows 
 Pascoli in the date of his death. ^ 
 
 Orlandi: Abeced. Pittor. s. v. — Leoni Pascoli: Vite de 
 Pittori, Scnltori ed Architetti Periigini. — Nagler, Kuiistler lex. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 123 
 
 Pascoli also gives an account of Cesarei. Born 
 about 1530, of unknown parents, but supposed to be 
 the son of a gentleman, he became an imitator of 
 Stefano of Verona, the famous illuminator, copying 
 most of his works. He soon became known as an 
 able miniaturist, all over Italy. He was also a 
 painter in fresco. To his works he usually puts the 
 signature Perinus Perusinus pinxit, or pingehat. 
 Many works still in the library of the Piccolomini at 
 Siena were paiuted by him. Nagler, probably on 
 this authority, says the ‘^choir-books,” but Pascoli 
 only says “moltissimi libri.” Cesarei also worked in 
 Spoleto, and good judges were often deceived by the 
 similarity of his work to that of Pietro Perugino, the 
 master of Baffaello, and have mistaken one for the 
 other. But as Cesar ei’s work dates as late as 1595, 
 while that of Pietro never reaches later than 1524, 
 there is plenty of room for discrimination. Besides, 
 Perugino’s signature is “Petrus Peruginus,” and 
 Pascoli himself declares that anyone who knows 
 Cesarei’s manner could easily recognize his work. 
 Others have mistaken him for Perino (del Vaga). 
 He died at Spoleto in 1602. 
 
 In Venice, during the latter half of the sixteentli 
 century, worked several miniaturists of repute, tiie 
 most noted being Giorgio Colonna, who, in 1576-8, 
 painted the Mariegola or Matricola of the Arte dei 
 Calafati on vellum, in large quarto, with margins 
 
124 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 of arabesques and miniatures. The volume was 
 bound in rich silver-gilt covers and is still to be 
 seen, preserved with great care, in the Library of 
 the Arsenal."^ 
 
 f 
 
 * Atti deir Imp. Reg. Accademia di Belle Arti in Venezia, 
 &c. Yen. 1857, 98. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Clovio’s various styles — His qualities as an artist — The Sack of 
 Rome — Sufferings of artists — Clovio at Mantua — San 
 Ruffino, and Candiana — Works at this time — The House 
 of Farnese — Works executed for them — -Romantic 
 Episode — Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici and Giulia di 
 Gonzaga — The Devices of Ippolito — Clovio at Florence 
 — Works executed for the Grand Duke, and for Margaret 
 of Parma — The Devices of the Farnese princes — 
 Clovio’s declining health. — His troubles — His last works 
 — His death and public funeral. 
 
 T SAVING now the subject of Clovio’s contem- 
 poraries and perhaps rivals, let us return to 
 Clovio himself W e were discussing the question of 
 his style. In point of fact, like most human affairs 
 this matter is somewhat complicated, for he had two 
 or even three styles, quite distinguishable and, what 
 is more important, apparently incompatible. We 
 must remember his natural versatility and the vast 
 variety of his commissions. Down to the time of 
 his second visit to Rome, before the awful calamities 
 of 1526-7, his practice had been almost entirely in 
 the school of Raffaello and much under the guidance 
 of his friend Giulio Romano. This is why lie is 
 sometimes called the Raffaello of Miniature. It was 
 
126 
 
 Life oj Giorgio Giidio Clovio. 
 
 an influence that, except when he attempted mono- 
 chrome or simple chiaroscuro, as in imitating medals 
 and statuary, never quite lost its hold of him. It is 
 seen in his most usual principles of colouring, and in 
 the technic of his processes, in working delicately 
 from the shades and folds of the draperies and in 
 what is now called stippling, then painting in points. 
 Tlie stippling was known to painters much earlier 
 than himself, and was probably hit upon indej)en- 
 dently in many different localities, as we have found 
 the discovery claimed by Antonio de Holanda in 
 Lisbon, by Clovio in Rome, and by Boduino in 
 Venice. I have seen it myself in Netherlandish and 
 French work of the fifteenth century. After 1526 
 Clovio began to aim at greater energy. It is easy 
 to trace in this change the influence of Michelangelo. 
 The example of Raffaello and of the old grottesche 
 in the days of the excavations at the Thermse, was 
 giving way to that of a new acquaintance of no 
 ordinary type. He now becomes careful of the 
 anatomical distinctness and even exaggeration dis- 
 played in the designs of the great Florentine ; for 
 the latter in his lesser occupation of painting never 
 ceased from thiidving and designing as a sculptor, so 
 that his Sistine ceiling, in perfect harmony with the 
 statued corridors of the Vatican, is even more 
 sculpturesque than the painted walls of the Farnese 
 Gallery, of whicli it was the immediate antitype. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 127 
 
 The irresistible personality of Michelangelo forced 
 its way through all gentler natures, and Clovio, 
 though rugged and ascetic from religious motives, 
 was one of these. His less creative faculties found 
 congenial succour in the example of his friend and 
 master, and the severer taste and greater experience 
 of his riper years inclined him towards a style which 
 seemed to him the perfection of design. As a youth 
 he had thoroughly admired the graceful contours 
 and softer execution of the Roman School ; and 
 being a true artist, and amazingly skilful with his 
 pencil, had succeeded in an extraordinary degree in 
 acquiring the manner of Raffaello. Now he devoted 
 himself to the study of the Sistine Chapel, and with 
 such masterly effect that he seemed fairly to have 
 combined the spiritual elegance of one master with 
 the physical energy of the other. To have succeeded 
 in any degree in this combination, when we consider 
 the dimensions of his work, is sufficient praise, and 
 goes far to justify the lavish epithets of eulogy 
 bestowed upon him by his contemporaries. 
 
 The impression which his best work — such as the 
 Last Judgment of the Towneley Lectionary — leaves 
 upon the mind of the spectator is not merely one of 
 incredibly patient execution. This is felt, but it 
 gives way to a sense of grandeur in the conception 
 in which the dimensions of the picture are entirely 
 overlooked. The work is less I'ernarkable for the 
 
128 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 qualities so loudly praised by Vasari in his famous 
 passage about the size of ants, re-echoed by innumer- 
 able copyists, than for those spoken of by Bonde, 
 the unexpected qualities of grandeur of design and 
 fertility of imagination. Yet we must not forget 
 that Clovio was chiefly, if not essentially, a copyist, 
 so that these qualities as forming part of his 
 own artistic character are indeed unexpected and 
 amazing. That they are really original, and not 
 transferred as part and parcel of his copies from 
 confessedly abler contemporaries, shows itself in the 
 very selection of his models. For unless he had in 
 himself the perception, the taste, the longing for 
 these characteristics, he would have been content to 
 copy slavishly, and might or might not have caught 
 the indications of the noblest elements of the artist’s 
 mind. It is true that at times, and in insignificant 
 situations, he does not scruple to transfer, almost 
 bodily, figures and even scenes from known works 
 into the cameo-like pictures in his exquisite pages, 
 as for instance in that scene of the death of Goliath, 
 of the Stuart-Bothesay MS. in the British Museum. 
 The great argument for the fact of his originality as 
 an artist, is that he succeeded in retaining his best 
 patrons, who had ample means of comparing him 
 with all his ablest contemporaries. His choice of 
 the highest and noblest in his art made him prized 
 by Emperor and Pope, by Prince and Cardinal, and 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 129 
 
 eventually brought him to be the guest of his great 
 patron and the table companion of scholars like 
 Pietro Bembo and Claudio Tolomei. 
 
 The sack of Rome, of which we have so vivid 
 a picture in the autobiography of Cellini, who, 
 together with several of the most famous artists 
 of the time, was an eye-witness of and an actor in 
 its ghastly scenes, is familiar to all readers of Italian 
 history. The details are horrible in the extreme. 
 As might be expected when a rich and splendid 
 city was captured by a vindictive, greedy, and 
 hereditary enemy, the loot was enormous. Churches, 
 palaces, whole streets even of private houses were 
 pillaged, and their beautiful and costly decorations 
 and magnificent furniture defaced or burnt. But 
 the worst did not end there. Every form of cruelty 
 and lust was exhausted on the unhappy people. 
 Old men and children of every rank were recklessly 
 butchered unless promptly ransomed from the 
 rapacity of the German and Spanish thieves. The 
 fate of women was still more terrible. Neither 
 rank nor refinement saved them from ill-usage ; 
 and beauty, for which the city was famous, was 
 only a too certain signal for the most indecent 
 and repeated violence, that not content with the 
 last insult to feminine honour, left its torn and 
 bleeding victims to perish in lingering agony 
 amid the reeking filth upon which their poor 
 
 9 
 
130 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 tortured bodies were flung. Some of the wealthiest 
 citizens were stripped of all their possessions and 
 themselves, if spared, driven naked and helpless 
 from the city. Others only saved themselves by 
 the most cruel sacrifices. Of property, the most 
 valuable books, pictures and sculptures were ruth- 
 lessly destroyed, and their unhappy owners sub- 
 jected to atrocities frightful to imagine, but then 
 considered as usual occurrences on the capture of 
 a populous city. “Already during 1522 to 1524 ,” 
 says A. von Reunion t, “it had suffered greatly 
 through sickness, and the constant emeutes of 1526 
 brought with them surfeit of riot and disorder. 
 Its measure of suffering was now filled to the brim. 
 The destruction of all prosperity, and the fearful 
 impression of acute suffering of every kind, the 
 forcible privation of goods from men, and of honour 
 from women, the wholesale loss of human life put 
 it for years to come out of the possibility of anyone 
 to resume any occupation except what was forced 
 upon him by sheer necessity. Many artists were 
 involved in this terrible distress. The school of 
 Raffaello,” himself happily dead before this calamity 
 occurred, “was completely broken up and dispersed.” 
 Its head and director Giulio Romano, Clovio’s 
 closest friend, had been since 1524 engaged in his 
 native city of Mantua, and destined for the next 
 twenty years of his life to remain there, developing 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 131 
 
 a successful and many-sided career, and combining 
 the ideas of his gifted master with those of the 
 decorators of Upper Italy. Perino del Vaga 
 whilst wandering destitute in the streets, with his 
 wife and child, was captured by the soldiery, 
 and only liberated after the greatest difficulty. 
 Half distracted with suffering and anxiety, he 
 must have sorely envied his former workman 
 Baviera, who now as a dealer in Marc Antonio’s 
 engravings, employed him as a journeyman to 
 colour drawings for sale. These drawings were 
 afterwards engraved by Gian Jacopo Caragli, 
 a clever imitator of Baimondi. Truly glad was 
 Perino when the opportunity arrived to get away 
 to the great work at Genoa, the decoration of 
 the Doria Palace: there to remain busily and 
 creditably employed. Vincenzo da San Gemignano 
 fled with all speed to his sleepy little native town 
 among the hills. But he never recovered the merry 
 disposition for which, when in Borne, he had gained 
 so pleasant a reputation, and what he now painted 
 was so little akin to his former work, that Vasari was 
 led to moralize on what he considered the influence 
 of locality on artistic production, and to think that 
 there was something in the air of Borne that favoured 
 the development of important works.* Giovanni 
 
 * Vasari : Vita di Vincenzo Tamagni, viii. 147. Le Monnier, ed. 
 
 9 * 
 
132 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 da Udine amid the general wreck quitted Rome 
 for Friuli, nor did he see the city in which he had 
 laboured so happily, for more than twenty years. 
 Marc Antonio Raimondi, captured by the Spaniards 
 and plundered of all he possessed, managed to escape 
 and never saw Rome again. Francesco Mazzuoli, il 
 Parmegianino, who was said to have inherited the 
 spirit-mantle of Raffaello, alone of all the artists in 
 Rome, escaped without loss or injury; for the lanz- 
 knechts finding him heedless of the uproar of voices 
 and the thunder of the guns, absorbed in putting 
 the last touches to a figure of the Madonna, were 
 so struck with the gentle loveliness of the picture, 
 that at the cost of a few drawings they unanimously 
 left him unmolested. Afterwards he retired to 
 Bologna."^ Polidoro fled first to Naples, then to 
 Messina, where he laboured for many years. I 
 can imagine,” he writes from the latter city, with- 
 out your telling me, how you are going on. In such 
 universal misfortunes I can be no other than sad.” 
 The letter was written two years after the calamity 
 to Giovanni Antonio Milesi, whose mansion he had 
 decorated with the Niobe scenes. Much worse 
 befel Polidoro’s friend, Maturino, who, weakened 
 by want and misery, fell an easy victim to the plague 
 which followed the storming of the city. Such was 
 the disastrous end of the famous school of Raffaello. 
 
 * Nagler: Knnstler, lex. viii. 511. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 133 
 
 Nor had other artists any better luck. Baldassare 
 Peruzzi, the decorator if not the designer of the 
 Palace of Agostino Chigi, afterwards called the 
 Farnesina, fell into the merciless clutches of the 
 Spaniards, and, because he disappointed them in 
 the amount of ransom he could afford, was bar- 
 barously ill-treated. They had mistaken him for a 
 wealthy gentleman, and were disgusted to find that 
 he was only an artist. Eventually he obtained his 
 liberty by painting the portrait of one of his captors, 
 and at once made off into Tuscany. But he had 
 the further misfortune to be so villainously robbed 
 on his way to Siena, that when he reached his 
 native city he had nothing on but his shirt. 
 
 Giorgio Clovio was taken whilst in the house of 
 his employer. Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio. One 
 would have thought that a quiet and inoffensive 
 young man of no particular distinction would have 
 escaped unnoticed. But not so. He was beaten, 
 starved almost to death, and rendered so completely 
 miserable that he solemnly vowed, if ever he 
 recovered his liberty, to devote himself to a religious 
 life. This vow he afterwards faithfully kept, though 
 obliged to modify the form of its fulfilment. The 
 Florentine painter 11 Bosso, and his friend Lappoli 
 of Arezzo, were taken and put to the torture — only 
 escaping with their bare lives, and fleeing from the 
 
134 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 city literally naked. Jacopo Sansavino, sick and 
 destitute, escaped painfully to Venice. Cellini and 
 Montelupo managed to get into the Castle of 
 St. Angelo, and were there impressed to serve the 
 guns. The lively goldsmith gives a stirring account 
 of this extraordinary episode in his career, boldly 
 affirming that his own hand deliberately directed 
 the fatal shot which terminated the eventful life of 
 the great Constable de Bourbon.* 
 
 After such a turmoil of war, terror and misery, 
 it was long before anyone felt really secure. 
 Clovio was by nature a man of a peaceable 
 temperament, and of an eminently religious spirit. 
 Accordingly he seems to have borne his suffering 
 with much greater equanimity than Cellini. After 
 long and bitter imprisonment, with a broken 
 and still unhealed limb, he was carried off to the 
 monastery of San Buffino at Mantua, where he 
 met once more with his old friend Pippi. The 
 curing of his broken leg was a tedious business, 
 owing to the neglect from which he had suffered 
 during his imprisonment. Meantime, in fulfilment 
 of his vow, he assumed the garb of a Scopetine 
 monk, and out of respect to his friend, adopted the 
 monastic name of brother Julio. This name was 
 
 * A counterpart to Cellini’s narrative is tlaat published under 
 the 71 om- de-plume of Jacopo Buonaparte, but generally attributed 
 to Guicciardini, who was then in Rome. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 135 
 
 destined almost to supplant his own, for he always 
 kept it, and when in after years he rose to the 
 highest distinction in the service of the Grimani 
 and the Farnese, he is always spoken of as Don 
 Julio Clovio. 
 
 After 1527 his works are almost always signed 
 Don Giulio Crovato, or Julius Crovatus. As has 
 been explained, Crovato or Croatian is the 
 customary designation of his time, like Perugino, 
 Veneziano and Veronese*"^ During his residence 
 at San Ruffino, he completed a choir-book for the 
 House, adorned with the most skilful miniatures 
 and noble ornaments,” and painted a Christ 
 appearing to the Magdalene in the Garden,” a 
 work prized by all who saw it, as of the most 
 extraordinary merit. He also painted, but on a 
 much larger scale, the story of the Woman taken in 
 Adultery, after a drawing by Titian. It would be 
 interesting to know what became of that portfolio 
 of drawings, not by his own hand,” mentioned in 
 the inventory left at his death, as probably this 
 drawing of Titian’s was among them. 
 
 After a short stay at San Ruffino Clovio passed 
 on to the monastery of Candiana, near Padua, 
 beside the little River Berbegara in the Padovan 
 
 * TKe portrait of Clovio at Vienna, wtich is that of a young 
 man in a suit of black, is inscribed : “Julius Clovius Crovatus, 
 sui ipsius effigiator. Ao. Etat 30 — salut. 1528.” 
 
13G 
 
 Life of Uiorgio Giulia Clovio. 
 
 marshes, and situate on one of the eyots formed 
 by the many mouths of the Po. On his way he 
 seems to have again hurt his broken leg, or as it 
 is asserted, got a fresh fracture from a fall. So, 
 again he was laid up, and this time with a still 
 more serious illness, through unskilful treatment. 
 Through this weary time liis favourite occupation 
 had to be laid aside, and his desire to devote himself 
 entirely to a religious life, was greatly strengthened 
 by his sufterings. But as he regained his health he 
 could not forego the eai'iiest longing of his heart 
 after his own innocent and fascinating occupation, 
 nor withstand the equally earnest solicitations of 
 his friends. He found, residing at Candiana, and 
 busy with work for the brethren of the monastery, 
 another votary of his charming ai‘t. This was no 
 other than the celebrated Girolamo dei Libri of 
 Verona, whose reputation was then second to no 
 other in Italy. Once more, therefore, he 'was 
 induced to apply himself assiduously to his pro- 
 fession, learning of Girolamo all that the veteran 
 illuminator was able to teach him. This may, in a 
 measure, account for the ordinary story of his being 
 the pupil of Girolamo, as it may account also for 
 so much similarity as did exist between the works 
 of the two masters. But it scarcely explains why 
 the work of the younger man should be so frequently 
 confounded with that of the elder. It may have 
 
I 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 137 
 
 been that Italian writers and painters, being accus- 
 tomed to the larger and broader effects of fresco, 
 were more struck by the delicacy and minuteness 
 of the miniature than by any other quality, and 
 hence their notion of special similarity, a character- 
 istic which in fact does not exist. But this mode 
 of assigning work which happens to be exceed- 
 ingly clever to a famous name, is particularly 
 valueless and unsatisfactory, inasmuch as it always 
 suggests a temptation to give the preference to 
 that excellent miniaturist whose name the critic 
 happens to know. No reliance, therefore, can be 
 placed on mere tradition. It must always be taken 
 in connection with other evidence, and especially 
 in the case of local attributions, where usually there 
 exists a prejudice in favour of some well-known 
 name. The choir-books at Ferrara have been for 
 ages, and probably are still exhibited as the work of 
 Cosinio Tura, and praised as fine examples of his 
 skill. But it has been proved that they are all the 
 work of other men whose names have only transpired 
 through documentary evidence."^ 
 
 The Eaffaello ” Missal in the Corsini Library 
 is an example of an anonymous MS. of great 
 beauty, assigned, in consequence, to a great name. 
 
 * Giialandi : Memorie Originali Italiane risgnardanti le Belle 
 arti. Documenti risg. i Libri Coralidel Duomo de Ferrara. Serie 
 vi. 153. (Bologna, 1845, 8vo.) 
 
138 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 It is attributed to Raffaello because it shows 
 evidence of his manner or his taste. But it is 
 known that Perino del Vaga and Giovanni da 
 Udine were the actual executors of the works 
 commonly called the decorations of Raffaello in 
 the Loggie of the Vatican ; and in ornament 
 merely Perino considerably surpassed his master. 
 But to return to Clovio. Profiting by his ac- 
 quaintance with the skilful Veronese master, he 
 speedily reached what were considered his charac- 
 teristic excellencies, including his excessive and 
 laborious finish, while he surpassed him in the 
 grander qualities of design and power of drawing. 
 The purpose which he had formed of remaining 
 permanently at Candiana was soon broken through. 
 His former patron, Marino Grimani, whom he had 
 left to go into Hungary, having discovered his 
 retreat would take no refusal, but insisted on his 
 return to Rome. His plea of wanting to shut 
 himself from the world in this obscure and in- 
 accessible corner was of no avail. Such abilities 
 as his were not to be wasted on the choir-books 
 of a country monastery. Marino, now a Cardinal, 
 wrote a most urgent and authoritative letter to 
 the would-be recluse, pointing out that it was the 
 duty of every man to employ the gifts bestowed 
 by Providence in the best and fullest manner for 
 the benefit of his fellow-creatures, and this he 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 139 
 
 could not do amid the occupations and observances 
 of a monastic life. The argument, if specious, was 
 forcible enough to the simple nature of the artist, 
 and convinced him that he had really no alternative 
 but to do the bidding of his spiritual superior. As 
 to his vows, the wealthy Cardinal promised whatever 
 dispensation was needful, from the Pope himself 
 And so it came about that in 1531 Clovio became 
 an inmate of the Grimani Palace, at Perugia, 
 where the Cardinal was residing as Papal Legate. 
 He appears to have been engaged, before or during 
 his employment under Cardinal Campeggio, on a 
 Missal for Grimani, who was occupied probably 
 with provincial duties which took him away from 
 the capital. This he was now able to resume, and 
 he completed it with most masterly miniatures.”"^ 
 Another MS., assigned by Posini to the first 
 period of his service with Cardinal Marino 
 Grimani, is the Trivulzi Petrarch. In 1850 it 
 was in the library of the Casa Trivulzi at Milan. 
 The diligence and minuteness of the work apart 
 from tradition leave no doubt that it was executed 
 in the prime of the artist’s youth. But it was 
 during this second period of his service of 
 
 * This beautiful manuscript is said to have found its way 
 to England and to have passed through the hands of several 
 distinguished collectors. The common statement that it is in 
 the library of Mr. Holford is not true. 
 
140 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Cardinal Grimani that the grand MS. of the 
 Commentaries on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans 
 was executed and obtained the reputation which 
 reached the youthful Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. 
 His works at Perugia include a Prayer Book or 
 Office of the Virgin with four miniatures ; a Pieta; 
 a Crucifixion ; the above-named Commentary on 
 the Romans ; a second copy of the same ; and 
 perhaps, Rosini’s statement notwithstanding, the 
 Trivulzi Petrarch, as it is apparently the same 
 MS. seen by Cicogna in the library of Apostolo 
 Zeno and named in the Catalogue of the Zeniani 
 MSS. in the Marcian Library at Venice f and the 
 exquisite little volume containing the Poem of 
 Eurialo d’ Ascoli on the capture of Tunis, now in the 
 Imperial Library at Vienna. During his residence 
 in the Apennine city many stirring events were 
 configuring the history of the outer world. 
 Catharine de’ Medici became Duchess of Orleans 
 in 1533, and in the same year Marguerite of 
 Navarre published her ^^Heptameron,” Rabelais 
 his “ Gargantua ” and the Earl of Surrey, then 
 sixteen years of age, his first sonnets. In the 
 same year Ariosto died and the Princess Elizabeth 
 of England, daughter of Henry VIII., was born. 
 
 * Cicogna, E. A.: Delle Inscrizioni Veneziane 1. 173. 
 
 Sakcinski : Leben. 17. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 141 
 
 In 1534 Alessandro Farnese, grandfather of 
 the Cardinal who afterwards became Clovio’ s 
 staunchest supporter, became Pope Paul III., 
 and the boy-churchman at fourteen years of 
 age was created Cardinal. In this year Luther 
 published his German Bible at Wittemberg, in 
 three folio volumes. The year following the 
 German Emperor and the great Genoese admiral, 
 Andrea Doria, took Tunis and released twenty 
 thousand Christian captives, and Milan, to which 
 claim was laid by Francis I., was held by the 
 celebrated Antonio de Leyva for the Emperor. 
 A busy year, too, was 1536. It saw the issuing of 
 the bull In Coena Domini,” the death of Erasmus, 
 who had been in his time a protege of Domenico 
 Grimani, and the execution of John of Leyden ; 
 while the accomplished poet and humanist 
 Sadolet, the amiable Beginald de la Pole, and 
 the ascetic Pietro Caraffa were created Car- 
 dinals. In 1537 among other notable events, 
 including in England the Pilgrimage of Grace, 
 occurred that well-merited though treacherous 
 and unlawful assassination of Alessandro de’ 
 Medici at Florence. The following year his 
 widow was married to Ottavio Farnese, the younger 
 brother of the Cardinal. She afterwards, as 
 Duchess of Parma, became one of Clovio’s, as 
 she was one of Cellini’s, most appreciative patrons. 
 
142 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Daughter of Charles V. by his first mistress, and 
 possessed of considerable personal attractions, she 
 had been made at twelve years of age Duchess of 
 Florence by a political ' maWap'e de convenance^ and 
 now by a similar movement, in which the some- 
 what easy-tempered youth of thirteen, six years her 
 junior, is perhaps, rather than herself, to be con- 
 sidered the victim, she becomes Duchess of Parma 
 and Piacenza. As the family of Farnese shortly 
 became the permanent patrons of Clovio it will be 
 interesting to enter a little more closely into their 
 history. 
 
 The House of Farnese traced its origin to the 
 tenth century, and to a castle and estate called 
 Farneto in the neighbourhood of Orvieto. Several 
 members of it had attained considerable military 
 distinction under the Popes and other princes of 
 Italy, and a number had been successive Consuls 
 of Orvieto, but the individual who raised it to 
 the highest point of its greatness was an eccle- 
 siastic, Alessandro, who from being a soldier became 
 a Cardinal and eventually attained the Papacy as 
 Paul III. This Alessandro, whom we may call 
 the elder to distinguish him from his grandson, 
 was the second son of Pier Luigi or Pietro 
 Aloysio, for the names are synonymous. Lord of 
 Montalto ; and of Gianella, daughter of Jacopo, 
 Lord of Simoneta. In 1500, when he had reached 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 143 
 
 his thirty-second year, the family was branching 
 widely, by intermarriages, over various lordships 
 of Italy. A sister Julia wedded the Lord of 
 Bracciano, another sister Hieronyma the Count 
 of Anguillara, while his two brothers were both 
 distinguished generals, and his cousins Banuzio 
 and Pietro both men of renown — the former as 
 Captain-General of the army of Siena and the 
 latter as papal secretary. When he became 
 Cardinal in 1493 he was already the father of 
 four children, three sons and a daughter. In 
 1528 his eldest son Pier Luigi had been created 
 Duke of Castro and Count of Ronciglione. On 
 his becoming Pope in 1534, he first gave this son 
 the lordships of Nepi and Frascati for eleven years, 
 and afterwards exchanged them for the towns of 
 Parma and Piacenza which he erected into duchies, 
 the former possessions of Castro and Ronciglione 
 reverting, like Nepi and Frascati, to the Roman 
 Church. Thus in 1545 Pier Luigi received the 
 investiture of the states of Parma and Piacenza 
 in perpetuity. But unhappily the young Duke 
 could not obtain a similar and necessary investiture 
 from the Emperor Charles V. who, as Sovereign of 
 the Milanese, possessed the feudal right of inves- 
 titure over these ancient dependencies. Notwith- 
 standing this, all might have been well had he 
 acted with ordinary prudence or even decency. 
 
144 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 But his licentious conduct speedily became unbear- 
 able, and excesses of every kind outraged the 
 fidelity of the best and noblest of his subjects. 
 For to gratify his unmeasured lusts he spared 
 neither rank nor virtue, but, as if his aim were 
 nothing less than to exterminate or degrade every 
 noble family submitted to his authority, had recourse 
 to the most reckless cruelty and perfidy. A con- 
 spiracy secretly encouraged, if not fomented, by the 
 Emperor was the natural result of this state of 
 things, and at length the infamous profligate 
 perished by the daggers of four nobles whose families 
 had suffered his intolerable violence. His widow, 
 Hieronyma Orsini, was left with three sons and a 
 daughter. Of his brothers, Banuzio was General 
 to the Venetians, Alessandro the Pope’s Chancellor. 
 His sister Constantia was Princess of Palestrina. 
 Alessandro, the eldest son of Pier Luigi, seems to 
 have been his grandfather’s favourite from early 
 childhood, and to have been of a courteous and 
 affectionate nature. He certainly was a very great 
 contrast to his father, and is constantly spoken of 
 by those who experienced his assistance as kind 
 and considerate in his behaviour to his inferiors, 
 and conciliatory in matters of religious or political 
 dispute. From a child he was dedicated to the 
 Church, and his grave and gentle maimers made 
 his admission to the dignity of Cardinal, at the 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 145 
 
 surprisingly early age of fourteen, less objectionable 
 than otherwise it might have been. He was born 
 in 1520, so that when Clovio returned to the 
 service of Cardinal Marino Grimani at Perugia, he 
 was barely eleven years of age. Nevertheless he 
 was already noted for his love of literature and 
 the arts. And when the beautiful little Petrarch, 
 which Clovio finished soon after his return to 
 Grimani, came to the hands of the Pope, it was 
 the means not only of introducing the artist to the 
 notice and patronage of the Holy Father himself, 
 who was a passionate admirer of works of art, but 
 also to the enthusiastic admiration of the young 
 Cardinal, who besought his grandfather that the 
 artist might be sent for at once to the Papal Court; 
 and even wrote to him earnestly inviting him to 
 Rome on his own account. Clovio was not fond of 
 change, and he certainly at that moment had no 
 just reason for desiring it, nor had he perhaps 
 quite recovered from the horror of his last experi- 
 ence of the capital ; so for a time, at least, he 
 declined the proffered honour. But he did not 
 forget it. And as work after work, or the fame 
 of them, reached the enthusiastic young prince, 
 invitations still more urgent were pressed upon him. 
 Among the works executed by him during the nine 
 years of his sojourn at Perugia, the most notable 
 was the illuminated copy of the Commentary of 
 
 10 
 
146 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Grimani on St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. 
 This grand work originally contained at least 
 three large miniatures, besides other ornaments, 
 but one of them was sent into Spain. It is said 
 to have been afterwards returned to the Cardinal, 
 and the work to have passed out of his library 
 into the Grimani collection at Venice. There it 
 remained until 1738, when it was bequeathed by 
 Victor Calergi to Vincenzo Grimani, son of Gio- 
 vanni Carlo. Shortly after this transfer, it was 
 shown during a visit to the Duke of Buckingham, 
 and was purchased by him, together with two 
 MSS., for a thousand guineas, and was brought 
 to England. On the Duke’s death it came into 
 the possession of Sir John Soane, the architect, 
 and still remains one of the principal treasures of 
 the Soane Museum. It has been said that Marino 
 Grimani, who was named Patriarch of Aquileia in 
 the year of the sack of Rome, was made a Cardinal 
 in 1528. He was appointed by Clement VII. 
 Papal Legate at Perugia, where he chiefly resided 
 from 1531 to his death in 1546. During most 
 of this latter time, Clovio was in his service, and 
 of course mainly occupied with his commissions. 
 Nevertheless, as we have seen, he occasionally 
 illuminated something for other patrons, as the 
 poem of Eurialo d’Ascoli on the capture of Tunis 
 to be presented to the Emperor. In 1537 we find 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clomo. 147 
 
 him engaged on another large Missal. In 1540 
 Cardinal Alessandro Farnese gained his point of 
 getting the artist to Rome. There is a hint that 
 either owing to the constant moving about of 
 the Legate or inattention to the due administration 
 of his exchequer, Clovio’s salary was not always 
 promptly forthcoming, and hence he began to 
 think of the possible improvement to be gained 
 by acceding to the oft-repeated requests of the 
 wealthy grandson of the Pope. Clearly it was 
 under some extraordinary pressure, for Grimani 
 strenuously objected to the transfer, and yet Clovio, 
 apparently forgetting all his earlier benefits, decided 
 to return once more to Rome, and to enter the 
 service of Cardinal Farnese. The young prince- 
 prelate received him with open arms, and at once 
 set him to work on a Lectionary, or Psalter, 
 which he intended presenting to his grandfather. 
 If, as was probably the fact, the Psalter now in 
 the National Library at Paris'^ be the work in 
 question, he was engaged upon it, though not 
 continuously, for about two years, as it bears the 
 date of 1542. Unfortunately, no such date appears 
 upon the more famous Towneley-Kennedy Lec- 
 tionary, but it may very well have formed part 
 of the Cardinal’s original intention of havinsf a 
 
 O O 
 
 * Anc. fds. lat. N"o. 702 (Reserve 8880, fds. lat.). The MS. 
 is described in Appendix. 
 
 10 ^ 
 
148 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 complete set of Liturgical books executed as a 
 present to his beloved and indulgent relative. 
 The removal was an epoch in Clovio’s life. It 
 introduced him to the best artistic and literary 
 society of the time. In a very short time he 
 gained the rare distinction of intimacy with the 
 proud and reserved Michelangelo Buonarroti, and 
 admission to the select conversazioni of the 
 Marchesa Vittoria Colonna, widow of the great 
 general Pescara, which we have spoken of in a 
 former chapter. Again he was fortunate, as he 
 had been in his visits to Buda and Florence, in 
 having access to rich collections of coins, bronzes, 
 and marbles, both in the palace of his immediate 
 patron and in the galleries of the Capitol and the 
 Vatican. In the beautiful volumes executed for 
 Cardinal Farnese, he makes masterly use of these 
 exceptional opportunities, combining their wealth 
 of symbolism and classic elegance of form with 
 most skilful and effective design and perfection of 
 colouring. The improvement upon his Grimani 
 Commentaries is manifest. If in his previous 
 works the counsels and example of Giulio Bomano 
 and Girolamo dai Libri are more observable, in 
 these we cannot fail to trace the renewed influence 
 of Michelangelo. In the Paris Psalter the minia- 
 tures worked in several styles, but chiefly in 
 tempera^ were thought by Waagen to combine the 
 
THE FARNESE PALACE, ROME, 
 WHERE CLOVIO DIED. 
 
 (From a print in the British Museum). 
 
*%» 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 .V 
 
 . 4 . 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 149 
 
 characteristics both of Michelangelo and Raffaello. 
 Neither of these masters was specially remarkable 
 as a colourist, nor is this faculty very specially 
 exhibited by Clovio. But there is both a vigour 
 and a grace in his drawing shown in his later 
 works which might very well claim inheritance 
 from both his models. The style of colouring 
 adopted by Raffaello in some of his paintings from 
 the Thermae of Titus, and therefore from Roman 
 classic art, and afterwards disseminated throughout 
 Italy by the dispersion of his school in 1527, is 
 the style mostly chosen by the miniaturist. But 
 not exclusively. We shall have more to say about 
 this choice of methods later on. Here the question 
 is that of motive or theme in decoration. Clovio 
 avails himself of every resource now made popular 
 by the Roman, Milanese, and Florentine decorators 
 and by the sculptors and architects of Genoa, 
 Vicenza, and Venice. In the Psalter of Paul III. 
 he makes use of ancient Egyptian symbolism, of 
 genii, termini, masks, cameos, medallions, bronzes, 
 and especially of Imperial Roman coins. Of the 
 last of these embellishments, most of the great 
 sixteenth-century amateurs seem to have been 
 especially proud. They form striking features in 
 the ornamentation of the Attavante and other 
 MSS., executed for Matthias Corvinus ; for Piero 
 II Gottoso ’’ de’ Medici ; for Leo X. ; for Clement 
 
150 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 VII. ; for the Elector of Bavaria ; and for several 
 German Emperors, particularly Rodolph II. But 
 all manner of utensils and anticagli gathered from 
 the treasuries of antiquity — all manner of symbols, 
 even down to the hieroglyphic cartels of the 
 Pharaohs and the statues of Egyptian deities, are 
 found among the ornaments invented by Clovio for 
 the decoration of the Farnese volumes. 
 
 Four years later than the Paris Psalter, he is just 
 completing another Latin Service Book for this 
 series. “ Here,” says a German traveller of the last 
 century,^ he has given pictures in such profusion 
 that you would think he had spent all his life on 
 this one book, nor could you ever see anything more 
 beautiful. The drawing is cori*ect — the colouring 
 lovely. The artist has not stippled these miniatures 
 but executed them with strokes of the brush, in 
 consequence of which they now appear somewhat 
 faded.” Richardson, in his Italian journey, met 
 with this same MS. in the Ducal Gallery at Parma. 
 He says in one place : ‘Gt is much finer than that 
 in the Vatican {i.e. the Dante). It is well designed, 
 masterly drawn, and beautifully coloured. Indeed, 
 the figures have the style of Michelangelo, without 
 his hardness and eccentricity. At the end of the 
 volume, on an altar, occurs the inscription : ‘ Ivlivs 
 
 * Volkmann, Dr. J. J. ; Historisclie, Kritisclie Nacliricliten 
 von Ifcalieii, iii. 64. Leipzig, 1771. 
 
IJfe of Giorgio Giulio CVjvio. 
 
 151 
 
 Cloyivs monvmenta haec AlexaxdroFarnesio Domino 
 Svo FACIEBAT. MDXLVI.’ ” 
 
 When the Farnese properties became Bourbon by 
 the accession, in 1736, of Don Carlos, eldest son of 
 Philip V. of Spain and Elisabetta Farnese, to the 
 crown of the Two Sicilies, the collection of coins, 
 books, &c., which had been seen by Bichardson at 
 Parma, were removed to Xaples, and for some time 
 this Clovio gem was kept there, but since the 
 departure of the last Bourbon king it has not been 
 seen. The rest of the Farnese collection is still at 
 Capo di Monte. It might be well if some competent 
 person would examine the MSS. now in the Public 
 Library at Ferrara for traces of authentic work. 
 There is one which Bosini attributes to some 
 ignoto Ferrarese, but which, from the outlines 
 given by him, certainly was the work of some artist 
 
 too clever to be quite unknown.^ The jewels, broken 
 flowers, birds, &c., are quite in the manner of the 
 painter of the Berlin Missal of Clement YII. ; a leaf 
 of which, or like which, is among the cuttings in 
 the Bogers MS. Additional, 21412, in the British 
 Museum. It is also the counterpart of another 
 Clement VII. Service Book in the Chigi Library 
 at Bome.t In other words, it is more or less in the 
 
 * Rosini: Storia, &c. Suppl. pi. ccvi. 
 
 t Sebastiano del Piombo in a Rew Light: Acad, xxviii. 295, 
 329, 362, 433. 
 
152 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 manner of the Naples Flora. It would be interesting 
 to compare these examples by means of photo- 
 graphy, which will at least record faithfully the 
 artist’s touch, if not his colour. Some may possibly 
 turn out to be the work of Clovio. Rosini’s 
 example, just referred to, contains the armorials of 
 Alfonso III. Duke of Ferrara, in the lower border. 
 It does not seem to be the work of Clovio, but 
 it is the work of a contemporary. In the same 
 year that this MS. was finished, or according 
 to one account in 1540, a young German lady of 
 good family, and bearing a similar name to the 
 artist, came to Rome to study miniature painting 
 under his guidance. F rom the correspondence which 
 ensued between them, and a brief notice in a letter 
 written by Annibale Caro, the Cardinal’s Secre- 
 tary, it is probably her portrait which appears 
 beside Clovio’s in the frame which formerly 
 hung in the Ambras Gallery at Vienna. The date 
 there given to the head of Clovio is 1528, but no 
 mention of a wife, or any hint of such a relationship, 
 is made in any account of this period of his residence 
 at San Ruffino. It is incredible that the fact of his 
 becoming a monk should not have suggested some 
 allusion to his marriage if the event had already 
 taken place, and during his first residence in Rome 
 he is always spoken of as living with his patron. 
 This visit, and the interchange of portraits which 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 153 
 
 took place when they parted, seems to be the only 
 foundation of the guess making the Ambras portrait 
 to be that of his wife. She was a native of Bam- 
 berg, and the daughter, it would appear, of the 
 musical writer and composer Clavio who resided 
 there. Writing to her during her stay in Borne, he 
 says : 1 have felt for many days a wish to speak 
 
 of your virtue and beauty, and was much impressed 
 by the fame of both, when your portrait, painted by 
 yourself, was shown to me by M., and in such a 
 way, that I noticed in it the grace of your counte- 
 nance, the liveliness of your disposition, and your 
 excellence in that art of which I am a professor. 
 Now think you, if first I loved you through having 
 heard your commendations, how I love and honour 
 you since I have seen, as it were yourself, and 
 known you to be such a woman, that besides being 
 so beautiful and so young, you are also so excellent 
 in an art that is rare even among men, not to speak 
 of women. Love and admiration together have 
 made me keep your portrait near me, and I count it 
 every hour more precious, and by far the most 
 admirable thing I have to look at. In return, I 
 have ventured to send you my own, painted by my 
 own hand, more in order that you may know what 
 I am like, who love you, than for its intrinsic value, 
 or because I think it worthy of you.” The letter 
 finishes by requesting that she will send him some- 
 
154 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 thing else of her own doing, and he will send her 
 something in return. And for the rest. ... I 
 kiss your delicate and skilful hands. Farewell 1”* 
 If this were not a real love-letter and intended to 
 lead to a closer relationship, it is at least a very 
 warm sample of polite and complimentary corre- 
 spondence. It is only fair to add that the letter to 
 her was written by Annibale Caro, who may have 
 added some of the embellishments from his own 
 imagination. "We have no direct proof of any 
 marriage, and possibly the Ambras poidraits may 
 have been forgeries or copies of separate miniatures. 
 Yet it is not absolutely certain that Clovio, although 
 forty-eight years of age, living, as he did, in the 
 midst of the most brilliant and least prudish 
 society in Rome, was in reality the recluse he 
 is usually supposed to be. He was, it is true, 
 nominally a monk, and is represented in several of 
 his portraits as wearing the monk’s frock, yet so 
 was Sebastiano del Piombo, whose wife resided 
 with him in Rome. Clovio was now known not only 
 to every artist of eminence in Rome, but also by 
 repute to all the artistic world of Em^ope. Every 
 foreigner of distinction gratified or worried him with 
 a call, and by his fellow-residents he is always 
 spoken of with profound respect. He did not form 
 
 * For original see Appendix. 
 
PORTRAIT OF CLOVIO. 
 
 (From SakcinskFs S. Slavonic Lexicon of Biography). 
 
 r» 
 
 L 
 
 I 
 

 mr 
 
 
 
 ^•V/ -^r? 
 
 9 , '• . ' ■■■ -T ^ V • 
 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 155 
 
 a school, but just kept one or two assistants to 
 forward the rougher portion of his work and 
 occasionally to assist him by working on miniatures 
 which he designed and completed, or by putting in 
 such as were of minor importance in the works he 
 undertook. In this way probably his name got 
 attached, at least traditionally, to much that he had 
 little or nothing to do with. We do not find 
 mention of more than three actual scholars or 
 permanent assistants, but he is said to have had a 
 numerous band of imitators, who were glad of his 
 patronage and help in their work."^ By the aid of 
 one or other of these he was enabled to undertake 
 many commissions that otherwise would have been 
 impossible. This practice accounts for the fact that 
 scarcely a single work which goes under his name 
 was altogether executed by his own hand. His 
 usual custom was first to make the design or to 
 adopt such as he approved from those handed to 
 him by other artists, and to finish one or two 
 miniatures as patterns, then to hand over the work 
 to his assistants who did the rest, to which, perhaps, 
 he would add a few finishing touches. Even his 
 most finished performances and his most noted 
 works betray unquestionable proofs of collaboration 
 — as, for example, the Towneley Lectionary, where 
 
 * Zani : Enciclo^edia Metodica. Art. Clovio. 
 
156 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 it has been thought that not more than one of the 
 six miniatures — namely, the Last Judgment — was 
 purely and entirely the work of his own pencil.^ 
 So in other well-known so-called Clovios, even 
 with the best authentication, we have probably 
 a good deal of the work of Claudio Massarelli, 
 or of Buonfratelli, Bartolommeo Torre, Bernardo 
 Buontalenti, Francesco Salviati, or even of Sebas- 
 tiano del Piombo. 
 
 Tlie Pieta, containing five figures, so frequently 
 repeated by the engraver,! and a Madonna, now in 
 the Pitti Gallery at Florence, are assigned to the 
 year 1548 ; and two miniatures, a Madonna, and 
 another subject containing many figures belonging 
 to the same year or a little earlier, were executed 
 for Ci'istoforo Madruzzo, or Madruccio, Cardinal 
 of Trento (b. 1512, d. 1578). In 1548, the Urbinese 
 artist, Federigo Baroccio, whose miniatures have 
 sometimes been mistaken for those of Clovio, visited 
 Borne, and acquainted himself with the methods of 
 the now famous master. Two years afterwards, 
 Paul III., who had become suspicious of his own 
 family, quarrelled with his favourite grandson, the 
 Cardinal, and, it is said, died in a fit of anger 
 
 * See the description of this magnificent MS. in the Appendix. 
 
 t Rosini : v. 112 (Ed. 1851). There is a cojdj of the print by 
 Cort in the Print Room of the British Museum and a variation 
 of it in the Grenville copy of Bonde. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 157 
 
 whilst charging him with treason. He was succeeded 
 by Cardinal Giovanni Maria de’ Monti, who assumed 
 the title of Julius III. For him Clovio is said by 
 Vasari to have painted the Madonna surrounded by 
 angels, with the figure of the Pope, according to 
 the fashion of the time, kneeling before her. This 
 picture, it is said, was the one which, being after- 
 wards presented to the Emperor Charles V., was 
 the occasion of much flattery to the artist and 
 of further commissions. The polite and smooth- 
 tongued monarch had always a good word for 
 artists. When his portrait in miniature was painted 
 for him by Antonio de Holanda,^ the Emperor 
 declared it to be not only the most beautiful he had 
 ever seen, but not to be surpassed by Titian himself, 
 whose equestrian portrait of the august flatterer 
 was then considered the finest in his collection, and 
 is still one of the gems of the Royal Gallery. 
 
 Another Madonna, referred to by Vasari as a 
 separate work, may have formed part of the 
 precious little Prayer Book executed for the young 
 Ippolito de’ Medici during Clovio’s residence at 
 Perugia sometime about 1530. The Prayer Book, 
 which cost Ippolito two thousand crowns, was in- 
 tended as a present to Giulia Colonna, with whom 
 he had fallen deeply in love, notwithstanding 
 her widowhood, for young as she then was, she 
 had been the wife of the Duke of Trajetto, and 
 
158 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 was living in great state at her castle of Fondi. 
 But the wilful lady, whose firmness of character 
 was equal to her personal beauty, refused the gift. 
 The name of Giulia di Gonza^a is a celebrated one 
 in the social and religious history of the sixteenth 
 century. She was the daughter of Luigi Count 
 or Duke of Sabionetta, and was born about 1510, 
 one of a numerous and gifted family. As a child she 
 fascinated all hearts, and the graces of her budding 
 womanhood are sung by all the famous poets of her 
 time. Bernardo Tasso, Ariosto, Molza, Claudio 
 Tolomei, and others vie with each other in cele- 
 bi*ating her charms. She was beautiful, highly 
 accomplished, and unspoiled by praise. More 
 majestic in her dark beauty than even her cousin 
 and intimate friend Vittoria, whose blue eyes and 
 fair tresses betokened a character of a far softer if 
 still stately type, she had never been moved to the 
 intensity of passion which made the brief wifehood 
 of Vittoria such a glorious romance, and gave such 
 terrible and tragic force to the seriousness of her 
 after life. Whilst still a mere girl Giulia had been 
 wedded to Vespasiano Colonna, Duke of Trajetto, 
 an amiable and learned man, but crippled with 
 rheumatism and forty years of age. She married 
 him to oblige her parents, and found him kind, 
 good-tempered, and as indulgent to his little bride 
 as if he had been her grandfather. She soon learned 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 159 
 
 to like his conversation, and before long to love him 
 with a true wifely love. His daughter by a former 
 marriage was almost her own ao^e, but though also a 
 handsome girl, Isabella Colonna possessed much of 
 the family ritrosia and reticence. According to the 
 custom of the ag'e she was destined to be the wife of 
 the young nephew of Clement VII., the Ippolito de’ 
 Medici above mentioned, when the poor infirm Duke 
 of Trajetto died, leaving* his widow immensely rich, 
 and guardian to his daughter. A serious lawsuit, 
 however, interfered with her immediate possession 
 of her rights, and it was some time before matters 
 were safely adjusted on her behalf. Both Pope and 
 Emperor took her side of the suit, and commissioned 
 her younger brother Don Luigi Bodomonte, as tlie 
 poets call him, to look after her affairs. When he 
 arrived— a young, gay, and g'ood-looking soldier — 
 he more than accomplished his mission, for Isabella, 
 who knew nothing of the Medici, and cared less, 
 fell straightway in love with him and he with her. 
 It is a curious story. By-and-by the duly 
 appointed lover appeared upon the scene, being 
 sent by his uncle the Pope to woo the fair Isabella. 
 He was young, handsome, accomplished, and a man 
 of a princely carriag^e, but Isabella had no eyes for 
 him. Nor had he for her ; for as soon as he was 
 introduced to her stepmother he cared for no 
 other suit. Giulia took his heart by storm, and 
 
IGO of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 notwithstanding her anger at his confession and 
 the trouble she imagined it would cause, he per- 
 sisted in his open admiration. But she was, and 
 continued to be, obdurate. In due time Luigi and 
 Isabella were married. Within two years he lost 
 his life in battle, and his little son and still girlish 
 widow became the charge of his prudent and practical 
 sister. This child also grew up to distinguish him- 
 self like his father and the great Marchese del 
 Vasto, in the wars, being known as Vespasiano 
 Gonzaga, Duke of Sabionetta. Buscelli in his 
 Imprese ” commemorates his virtues and his 
 singular devise. It is worthy of remark that several 
 of the great soldiers of this time were as children 
 left to the care of accomplished and beautiful widows; 
 and it is notable how thoroughly the young savages 
 were metamorphosed into polished and chivalrous 
 gentlemen. Vittoria Coloniia had the bringing up 
 of the young Marchese del Vasto — a beautiful child, 
 but a very Turk when he came to her. He too 
 married a beautiful woman, the fairest of her time 
 in Italy, and he too came to an untimely end. The 
 little Prayer Book was not the only gift which the 
 unfortunate Cardinal de’ Medici endeavoured to 
 press upon the woman he loved. Nor was she, 
 although unyielding on the principal and vital 
 question, altogether careless of his devotion. That 
 she liked him, especially after his becoming a 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 161 
 
 Cardinal released her from the fear of his repeating 
 any offer of marriage, is evident from the fact that 
 she permitted Sebastiano del Piombo to paint her 
 portrait for him. It was given in token of her 
 gratitude for a singularly important service. Whilst 
 Sebastiano was painting it she obtained a promise 
 from the artist that he would give her his own 
 likeness — a promise which he more than fulfilled, 
 for when Ippolito looked upon the portrait which 
 she sent him and the painter was relating to him 
 how pleasantly the month had passed, he observed 
 sadly how he wished he could have exchanged places 
 with him : and as Sebastiano went on to say that 
 she had asked him for his own portrait, the Cardinal 
 begged to be included in the canvass, so that he 
 might share the happiness of thus being occasionally 
 brought to her recollection. And so it happens that 
 in the well-known picture the Cardinal is not the 
 principal figure.^ How the Prayer Book afterwards 
 came into the hands of Paul III. is not recorded, 
 but one may easily imagine that, with all its beauty, 
 it became hateful to the Cardinal. He died, whilst 
 still young, in 1535, as it is said, by poison, at 
 Giulia’s castle of Itri, on his way to visit her at 
 Pondi. The secret instigator of the act was alleged 
 to have been Alessandro Duke of Florence, who 
 
 * It is now, together with Sehastiano’s portrait of Griulia, in 
 onr own National Gallery. 
 
 11 
 
162 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 had obtained the dignity which rightfully belonged to 
 the Cardinal ; and who thus characteristically anti- 
 cipated the treachery which he perhaps justly feared 
 from his kinsman. A similar fate, however, awaited 
 him. He was assassinated under circumstances of 
 more than ordinary barbarity, by another member 
 of the family of Medici. 
 
 The devotion of Ippolito for Giulia Colonna is 
 attested by his devises. The blazing star, called by 
 Ruscelli and Giovio the Star of Venus, with its 
 brief motto, Inter omnes,” taken from the words 
 of Horace, Inter omnes micat Julium sidus, ‘‘ the 
 Julian star,” in allusion to her name, is com- 
 memorated as having been suggested by the poet, 
 Molza, to accompany his various presents, and 
 probably appeared in the pages of the little volume 
 so often referred to. The book itself is now lost or 
 destroyed. But it was said by Vasari to have been 
 the identical one for which the Pope commissioned 
 Cellini to make the rich silver covers, in which to 
 present it to the Emperor on his return from Tunis 
 in the year of Ippolito’s death. The goldsmith, 
 unhappily, had not finished them when he received 
 the order for their presentation. Doubtless the 
 Pope was annoyed at this circumstance, and when 
 afterwards Cellini requested permission to carry it 
 again to Charles V., he was told that his part of the 
 business was over, and his Holiness would see to the 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 163 
 
 rest. Whether the present ever reached the Emperor 
 after all is doubtful. Cellini gives an account of its 
 first presentation, but in his description of the gift 
 he differs from Vasari ; and M. Plon, in his mono- 
 graph on Cellini, denies the identity of the cover 
 traditionally assigned to this famous volume ; but 
 thinks it possible that the true cover may be the 
 one now kept in the Priedenstein Collection at 
 Gotha. But what has become of the book ? Can 
 the story of its being offered to Giulia Gonzaga be 
 untrue ? It seems the most probable explanation 
 that the work was actually in progress at the time 
 of Ippolito’s untimely death, and that, although 
 paid for, was never actually presented, but obtained 
 from the artist by Paul III. Every consideration 
 has its difficulties. The supposition that by Paul, 
 Vasari meant Julius, is no advantage, for it is 
 certain that it could not have been Julius who 
 presented the MS. to the Emperor in 1535. 
 
 For the magnificent Cardinal of Trent, Cristoforo 
 Madruzzi, the intimate friend of Alessandro and 
 Ottavio Farnese and a viceroy of Milan, Clovio 
 painted a portrait of Philip II. of Spain, which 
 was sent through the Flemish envoy, Ruy Gomez, 
 as a present to the King. But we must guard 
 against the repetition of these Madonnas and 
 Pietas, there has been such confusion of different 
 accounts of the same transaction that it is now 
 
164 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 quite impossible to verify the statements or to ascer- 
 tain the facts. 
 
 By this time, so great was Clovio’s reputation that 
 his time became crowded with occupations of the 
 most varied character, necessitating more than ever 
 the aid of his scholars, and giving rise to the host of 
 traditions which has so beset his name as to make 
 even his greatest admirers doubtful of the authen- 
 ticity of pieces said to be his work. Even his 
 signature is not always a guarantee, as it is by 
 no means difficult to imitate. The only reliable 
 evidence after the work itself, is the undoubted 
 testimony of documentary record, as otherwise 
 even the best of judges may be deceived. It is 
 more than doubtful whether, by mere inspection, 
 Mr. Ottley was able to trace his hand ” in work 
 done as late as 1573, when he was seventy-five 
 years of age. 
 
 During the many years of labour which the much- 
 sought and industrious miniaturist was bestowing on 
 his admirable works, the fortunes of the princely 
 house to which he had last attached himself were 
 subject to much painful fluctuation. Family feuds 
 and political jealousies rendered intercourse between 
 the Medici, the Farnese, the Monti and the Caraffas, 
 not to speak of the deeper rivalries of Colonna, 
 Orsini, Malatesta, and Montefeltri, or of the Visconti 
 and Venice, often extremely constrained and difficult. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 165 
 
 The parties and factions always hoping for a turn in 
 the papal elections, kept intrigue always alive, and 
 selfishness always on the alert. Simulation, dis- 
 simulation, diplomacy, deceit, conspiracy, secret 
 assassination were in constant exercise, and now it 
 was one family, now another that became fuorusciti. 
 Cellini, we know, was not an admirer of the Farnese, 
 even before he owed to them the two most painful 
 passages of his life. But the outspoken and 
 choleric goldsmith was of another mould entirely 
 from the quiet, peace-loving miniaturist. Those 
 whom Cellini brands as intolerably deceitful, greedy 
 and cruel, Clovio may have known to be pleasant, 
 courteous, and even generous patrons. Liberal in 
 its best sense, they seldom were, and Clovio was 
 often in want of ready money. Alessandro, it is 
 true, like Ippolito de’ Medici, could at times be 
 liberal enough, with the revenues of the Church. 
 They could gain for themselves a resounding name 
 as patrons of literature and art. But it was out of 
 funds that came easily when prosperity smiled and 
 ceased entirely when things went ill. Probably 
 Paul III. and Pier Luigi of Parma, felt the force of 
 these conditions, and Cellini’s talk about the avarice 
 of the Farnese may have been one reason why he 
 suffered so smartly at their hands. After the death 
 of Paul III., his successor Julius III. (1550-1555), 
 otherwise Cardinal Giovanni da Monte, immediately 
 
160 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 betrayed the usual sentiment of rivalry by proposing 
 the re-incorporation of the Duchy of Parma with 
 the temporal domains of the Popedom. An offer 
 of compensation was politely tendered to the young 
 Duke Ottavio, who, however, stedfastly refused to 
 relinquish his possessions until absolutely compelled. 
 With all his easy temper and general mildness of 
 disposition, on this point he was inflexible. After 
 vainly appealing to his Imperial father-in-law, from 
 whom he got vague promises but no real help, he 
 turned to the French, Avith the natural result of 
 finding his little patrimony the bone of contention 
 between three armies. For years the revenues and 
 even the titles of his territories were lost to him; 
 and in 1550 his family had to leave Pome. The 
 Cardinal retired to Florence, and Avas accompanied 
 or folloAved by CIoaIo, for Cosmo I., the Grand 
 Duke, had invited him to that artistic city. Nor 
 Avas Clovio loth to avail himself of the opportunity, 
 as Florence Avas rich in the Avorks of some of the 
 greatest masters of miniature art. During his stay 
 he painted, or rather copied, a head of Christ from an 
 ancient panel reputed to have once been the property 
 of Godfrey of Bouillon, King of Jerusalem ; also a 
 “ Stabat Mater,” or Crucifixion, and other Avorks. 
 The Crucifixion is signed “ nmivs macedo, a. 1553.” 
 In the IiiA^entory of all the figure quadri et altri 
 cose della Tribuna,” made in 1589, and noAv pre- 
 
PORTRAIT OF CLOVIO. 
 (From Bottaris Vasari) 
 
A 4 Jh. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 167 
 
 served in the Archives of the Florentine Gallery, 
 are registered the following paintings by Clovio, 
 A.c. fol. 4, quadro ” of the Rape of Ganymede in 
 miniature; 5, Pietk with many figures, in miniature; 
 9, St. John in the Wilderness with many animals ; 
 9, Portrait of the Grand Duchess Elionora di Toledo, 
 wife of the Grand Duke Cosimo I. ; 9, Head of a 
 woman; 10, A Pieta ; 12, ‘‘Salvator Mundi”; 
 
 13, “ Stabat Mater” ; 28, A portrait of Julio Clovio 
 himself in a frame. Across the shoulders is written 
 in golden Roman capitals : D. Giulio miniatore. 
 This is the portrait used in all Italian Editions of 
 Vasari, after the Giunta."^ To complete these works 
 Clovio was still remaining in Florence in 1553, 
 although the Cardinal had returned to Rome. 
 Rosini says that during this visit he instructed 
 Bernardo Buontalenti in miniature. t In 1556 the 
 friendly relations with Philip II. were renewed, 
 while those between the Empire and the Court of 
 Rome were again broken off. This circumstance 
 arising out of the jealousy between the Caraffas and 
 the Farnese compelled the Cardinal again to consult 
 his personal safety by flight, this time to Parma, 
 and Clovio again was among his retinue. Whilst 
 there he painted the Madonna that went as a 
 present to Ruy Gomez da Silva, and afterwards to 
 
 * Vasari, G. Vite &c. (Sansoni), vii. 567. 
 
 t V. 112. 
 
IG8 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 the Catholic King. The miniature was intrusted 
 for transmission to the Cavalier Giuliano Ardinghelli, 
 resident ambassador from the Duke of Parma, 
 at the vice-regal Court of Brussels. A letter is 
 still extant written by Ardinghelli to Cardinal 
 Farnese — that is to Cardinal Alessandro; for 
 now his younger brother Ranuccio was also 
 a Cardinal — in which the writer informs the 
 Cardinal that he has presented the little picture 
 to Senor Ruy Gomez, who had expressed great 
 admiration of it. The date of the letter is December 
 4th, 1556.^ 
 
 The concluding words seem to imply that the 
 count would be glad of some further example of 
 the artist’s skill. Then come other important 
 commissions from other members of the Imperial 
 or of the Ducal family. 
 
 At this time Ottavio Farnese, though nominally 
 Duke of Panna, was in the midst of difficulty 
 and peril. From 1550 to 1553 he was in almost 
 equal danger from friends and foes, for to prevent 
 his capital from falling into the hands of the Pope 
 or being surreptitiously got hold of by his father- 
 in-law, it was occupied by a French garrison. And 
 in 1553 his half-brother Orazio, who had entered 
 the service of Henry II. of France, and married 
 
 * Delle Lettere del Caro II. 327-336, Letter 194. 3 vols. 
 
 Padova, 1734, 12mo. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 169 
 
 this French King’s daughter, was accidentally 
 killed, and Ottavio’s interests at the Court of 
 Fontainebleau no longer kept in view. It therefore 
 became the object of the ill-used Duke of Parma 
 once more to cultivate the good-will of the Emperor, 
 which he had been obliged to incui* the risk of 
 losing, and hence the embassy to Brussels and the 
 timely present to the favourite minister. But he 
 was not successful. The Emperor died without 
 restoring his independence, nor did he obtain posses- 
 sion of Piacenza until thirty years afterwards. Soon 
 after the death of Charles, Philip II. appointed his 
 sister Margaret, Duchess of Parma, to the govern- 
 ment of the Low Countries, where everything had 
 become thrown into confusion through the civil and 
 religious tyranny that Philip and his ministers had 
 been endeavouring to introduce. As a further 
 pledge of mutual good understanding and con- 
 fidence Ottavio placed in Philip’s hands his 
 son and heir, Alessandro, to be brought up at 
 the Spanish Court. This Alessandro afterwards 
 became a celebrated general and governor of the 
 Netherlands. 
 
 Maro-aret of Parma forms a sort of link between 
 
 O 
 
 the Medici, the Farnese, and the Court of Spain. 
 Clovio executes several commissions for her that 
 only recently have been verified from her papers. 
 From a document brought to light at Piacenza 
 
170 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 relating to the year 1557, it appears that Margaret 
 of Parma had desired Clovio to colour certain 
 imprese relating to her above-mentioned son 
 Alessandro. From the document it does not 
 appear what these imprese were, but they are 
 named in a letter which I shall here make use of, 
 because it speaks authoritatively concerning the 
 devises of the various members of the Farnese 
 family. It was written by Annibal Caro, one of 
 the tliree Secretaries, — the other two were Filarete 
 and Monterchi, — of Pier Luigi Farnese, afterwards 
 of Cardinal Alessandro. It is addressed to the 
 Duchess of Urbino, the Cardinal’s sister, and is 
 written from Pome, January 15th, 1543. 
 
 With this you will find those imprese of the 
 House that I have been able to discover down to 
 the present time. 1. The Virgin with the Unicorn 
 seems to me to be the most ancient. The motto 
 with it is viRTVS secvritatem parit. My translation 
 of this is that Innocence or Modesty secures the 
 maiden from the ferocity of that beast, as purity 
 and sincerity of life secures the bearer of this 
 impresa from every adversity. The Duke Pier 
 Luigi bore this without the Virgin, using the 
 Unicorn alone, who buries his horn in a bank 
 
 * The arms of Farnese are or, six fleur-de-lis azure, 3, 2, 
 and 1. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 171 
 
 from which issue serpents, and of this iinpresa 
 Cardinal Crispo still makes use.” The emblem of 
 the Virgin and Unicorn is very ancient. An old 
 tradition, of which the orio-in must he souo’ht in 
 the antique religion of Persia, makes the unicorn 
 the emblem of purity, as contrasted with the 
 martichoras or serpent, a type of the demon. 
 When this animal is pursued, he goes to take refuge 
 in the lap of a virgin. In ancient paintings the 
 Annunciation and the Conception are figured alle- 
 gorically by the U nicorn throwing itself into the lap 
 of the Virgin Mary. The Stag and the Unicorn have 
 served from time immemorial as the emblems of 
 purity.^ In the sculptures which may he called the 
 Strasburg Bestiary, there occurs the scene of the 
 Unicorn taking refuge in the lap of a Virgin from a 
 hunter who pierces it with his spear. This alludes 
 to another form of the legend common in the Middle 
 Ao*es. But the scene is common enouoli. It is 
 
 o O 
 
 given sometimes in Books of Hours, for the illustra- 
 tion of the zodiacal sio*n of the Viroln. What Pier 
 
 O O 
 
 Luioi Farnese could claim in common with this 
 
 O 
 
 character in his devise of the Unicorn and the 
 serpents is not very clear. But perhaps he may 
 not in his own esteem at least have been as black as 
 
 * Maury, L. F. : Essai sur les legendes pieuses du Moyen 
 Age, ir;. 
 
172 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 he is painted. Caro resumes : “ Pope Paul III. 
 bore two impresa — 1. That of a Lily, which is 
 the armorial of the House, and of an arco haleno, 
 or rainbow which stands over it, with the motto, 
 AIKHS HPION meaning the lily of justice, but I do 
 not know what mystery may be concealed under 
 it.”^ Here it maybe remarked that the fashionable 
 folly of the sixteenth century of pressing the most 
 frivolous conceits and jeux de mot, led sometimes 
 to very extraordinary results, so that even contem- 
 poraries, as Caro in this instance, were at a loss for 
 an explanation. Cardinal Galeotto della Povere, for 
 example, had a ceiling ornamented with galee 
 otto ” — eight galleys — as a play upon his own name. 
 At first he had had eight large helmets — otto celatoni 
 — of gilded stucco, suspended from branches of oak, 
 the oak Rovere being the family bearings. But 
 this being considered too obscure was altered to 
 the eight galleys. In a similar taste a Messer 
 Agostino Force, of Pavia, being enamoured of 
 Madonna Bianca Patiniera, to show himself her 
 faithful servant, wore a small candle of white wax, 
 candela di cera hianca inserted in the front of his 
 scarlet berretta to signify can (dog, i.e. faithful 
 servant ;) de la Bianca (of the fair, i.e. of Bianca). 
 
 * HPION is evidently a mistake for AEIPION, but it is usually 
 given KPINON. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 173 
 
 Some were even still more vulgar in their literalness. 
 The fiery soldier, or ruffian, as Giovio calls him — 
 Bastiano del Mancino — used to wear on his berretta 
 a small shoe-sole with the letter T on the middle of 
 it, and a pearl on the point of the sole, wishing 
 to imply that he loved a lady named Margaret 
 te MargJierita sola di cor amo. The play on 
 cuore and cuojo, in popular pronunciation made 
 nearly alike, shows the exquisite pinguidity of the 
 bravo’s sense of delicacy, not to speak of the 
 suola and sola. The pearl and margarita are of 
 course quite legitimate and graceful. But the 
 masterpiece of such vulgarity, not to say profanity, 
 was the devise of Mastro Giovanni da Castel 
 Bolognese, of the descent of the Sacred Dove 
 over the twelve Apostles. One day Pope Clement 
 VII. with whom this gentleman was on most 
 intimate terms, asked him why he wore this 
 emblem of the Holy Dove and the burning tongues 
 on the heads of the Apostles. Giovio says he was 
 present and heard the reply. ‘‘Not as a mark of 
 devotion. Holy Father, but to express my conceit 
 of Love. I had been for a long time enamoured of 
 and very ungratefully treated by a lady, and forced 
 to give her up as I could not stand the banter, the 
 putting off, and the cost of the presents I used to 
 make her. So I figured the Feast of the Pentecoste 
 to show that I repented of the affair because it was 
 
174 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio CJovio, 
 
 too costly L On which exposition,” adds Giovio, 
 
 “ tlie Pope laughed so immoderately that he had 
 to leave the supper table before the meal was half 
 over.” 
 
 To go back to Caro and the Farnese. The 
 explanation of the AIKHS KPINON is not far to seek. 
 It alludes to the myth of Iris and the substitution of 
 the word “ iris,” which meant both “ rainbow ” and 
 ‘‘ lily.” Hence the bow of justice or rainbow, the 
 j)ledge of God’s justice, became the lily of justice. 
 T1 le real mystery concealed under it is what it had 
 to do with the character or conduct of Paul III. 
 “ But so,” continues Caro, this blue lily {xeiptov is 
 a white lily, by the way), like the storm bow, is 
 called Iris. This conjunction of one with the other 
 I can only suppose to signify justice.” 2. The next 
 device of the Pope was that of a Dolphin conjoined 
 with a Chameleon. It is taken from one borne by 
 the Emperor Augustus, who placed a Dolphin 
 round an anchor, wishing to infer that he was 
 swift to execute, but slow to decide, the one by the 
 swiftness of the dolphin, the other by the tenacity 
 of the anchor. 
 
 The Pope took the chameleon, a most slowly 
 moving animal, in exchange for the anchor, 
 but did not add the motto. But he meant it 
 to express the same as that of Augustus, which 
 in Greek was AITETAE BPAAEOS and in Latin 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 175 
 
 Festina lente, meaning that he was anxious to do 
 rightly.^ 
 
 This devise of the Lightning was borne by the 
 Cardinal whilst still a youth. I do not know what 
 the motto was that went with it. It appears as a 
 devise on some Roman medals, especially on those 
 of Augustus. It may signify many things, but 
 meant, when his Excellency bore it, the power 
 conferred on him by the Pope as having the 
 thunderbolts of Jove. 
 
 Another Farnese impresa is the Pegasus, who 
 appears to issue from the sun as feigned to be borne 
 of Aurora, and is striking Mount Parnassus with 
 his hoof, whence issues the fountain of Helicon. 
 This winged horse signifies Eloquence and Poetry, 
 and I think it is meant to represent the protection 
 and aid which the Cardinal gave to learning and the 
 learned. The motto with it says: HMEPAS AHPON, 
 i.e. the gift of Hay. It was the invention of the poet 
 Molza (a Modenese gentleman, who was invited 
 by Vittoria Farnese to become the tutor of her 
 son, Francesco Maria della Rovere, afterwards 
 Duke of Urbino). 
 
 The third devise was the invention of the Car- 
 dinal himself — not, as Caro thought, of Molza. 
 
 * “On slow’’ or “hasten slowly.” “Festina lente” is a 
 common motto in modern heraldry. It is borne by several 
 noble families in England. 
 
176 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 Giovio also attributes it to Molza, but Caro pro- 
 bably got his opinion from Giovio. Ruscelli is at 
 some pains to contradict this idea. It is that of an 
 arrow sticking in a target or butt, with the words 
 from Homer, BAAA^ OTTflS, i-e. shoot thus, viz. 
 at the bull’s-eye. 
 
 The last impresa of Cardinal Farnese was 
 made by myself in the time when Pope Julius III. 
 was making war on Parma. The figure is the ship 
 of Jason, and the Argonauts who went to Colchis to 
 seek the Golden Fleece. The two rocks {monti) 
 are the famous Symplegades which threatened, by 
 clashing together, to destroy the ship. Applied to 
 the Cardinal, the Ai*go signified tlie House of 
 Farnese, tlie two rocks the House of Monti (the 
 fiimily of Julius III.), who were trying to oppress 
 the former. The motto says IIAPA IlAnSOMEN 
 ^ we shall sail past,’ ^ gh passeremo una volta quest! 
 monti,’ as indeed they have done safely. The 
 Cardinal of St. Angelo (Ranuccio Farnese) at first 
 
 * The words occur at line 282 of the Eighth Book, where 
 Atreides is giving advice to the young Teucer. 
 
 Tevicpe, (piXr] /v£0a\//, KOipave \au>v, 
 
 BaXX’ ovTioc, aiKEv re 0owg Aavao7<7t yiv-qai. 
 
 Teucer, my hero beloved, my Telamon, lord of the people. 
 Keep on shooting like this, if joy thou wouldst bear to the 
 Hellenes. 
 
 Or more literally, perhaps : — 
 
 Shoot (ever) thus, so shalt thou bring glory to the Greeks. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 177 
 
 bore this impresa: Two temples — one of Honour, 
 the other of Virtue, which the ancient Romans 
 built attached to each other, thereby meaning 
 that whoever would be honoured must be virtuous. 
 It was the invention of M. Claudio Tolomei. 
 But I do not find any motto with it. The 
 Duchess, your mother, had another made from it, 
 by me, for the same Cardinal, but I don’t think 
 he ever wore it, so I need not send it. One 
 of Duke Ottavio, which I made and which his 
 Excellency bore in Flanders in a joust with many 
 Burgundian Barons against the Count of Agamonte. 
 It was the club, the rope, and the pellets of pitch by 
 means of which Theseus vanquished the Minotaur 
 and escaped out of the Labyrinth; wishing to 
 imply that with these same things which signify 
 strength, prudence, astuteness, and other militaiy 
 arts, he also would conquer his adversary and issue 
 honourably from this danger. 
 
 “Of this same Duke Ottavio, is one also made by 
 me and borne by his Excellency at the same time in a 
 tournament which followed the joust: it is a fire on 
 which blow two winds to blow it out, but only 
 inflame it the more. The motto is from Virgil— 
 vivida hella virtus — signifying that the more they 
 try to ruin him the stronger they make him. Duke 
 Ottavio bore also this other devise in the war 
 aofainst the Duke of Ferrara. The invention was 
 
 O 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 his Excellency’s own — the motto he asked me to 
 find. It arose out of a passion he had at that time 
 for a lady named Olympia; and as Mount Olympus 
 surpasses the clouds, so the motto says, Nuhes 
 excedit. He wished to imply that her exaltation 
 was such that he lost all hope of reaching it. On 
 which occasion I also wrote a sonnet, a copy of 
 which I enclose. 
 
 ‘‘This one (the drawing of which accompanied the 
 description) I made at the request of Duke Orazio,^ 
 and he bore it when, as a youth, he was sent for a 
 holiday into France. The centaur is intended for 
 Chiron, the tutor of Achilles, and to represent 
 King Francis I. of France, under whose care he 
 was placed. Hence, he wears a crown, and has 
 in one hand a bow, in the other a lyre, which the 
 poets say Chiron taught Achilles, to signify the 
 military arts and civil sciences. The motto 
 XEimNOS AIAASKAAOT — Chirone Magistro— 
 meant that under such a master he hoped to become 
 as famous as Achilles became under Chiron. The last 
 two — of the little horse going to take wing, and of 
 the egg and two stars — Madarnat ordered me to make 
 
 * Orazio, natural son of Pier Luigi, called by courtesy Duke 
 of Castro. He was deeply attached to his brother Ottavio, and 
 always anxious for the welfare of his family. In 1552, he 
 married Diana, natural daughter of Henry II. of France. 
 
 t Margaret of Pai*ma. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 179 
 
 for the Prince of Parma, ^ and the interpretation of 
 the letter which I wrote over it when the imprese 
 were sent to Court. And I know of no other 
 imprese belonging to the House, either ancient or 
 modern.” The letter finishes with a request that 
 the Duchess will grant him a favour, namely, to 
 send for the Credenza ” now completed by a 
 painter in Rome : — II Signor Duca suo consorte 
 fece fare qui molti disegni di varie storiette per 
 dipingere una credenza, di majoliche in Urbino. La 
 quale e stata finita, e gli disegni sono testati in 
 mano di quei maestri i quali ordinariamente non gli 
 hanno ad avere.” Dated Roma, xv. Jan. 1563. 
 
 As Annibale Caro was resident in the Palace of 
 Cardinal Farnese in Rome, when he wrote this 
 letter, it is improbable that any devise used by 
 the family would be unknown to him. But the 
 devise borne by Alessandro Prince of Parma, in his 
 campaign against the Protestant Princes of Ger- 
 many — namely, the thunderbolt with the motto. Hoc 
 uno Jupiter ultor — was naturally not mentioned in 
 a letter written twenty years before. There were, 
 however, other members of the family whose imprese 
 are omitted by Caro. For example, Bertaldo Far- 
 nese in 1554 fitted out at his private expense a 
 galley for the Imperial service. Both himself and 
 
 * These were the two executed hj Clovio for Prince Ales- 
 sandro. 
 
 'Vv* 
 
 12 
 
180 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 his galley were captured, and he only regained his 
 personal liberty hy paying a ruinously heavy ransom. 
 To si low that he was unsliaken by this calamity, he 
 adojited the device of a tower with tlie motto. 
 Nomen Domini, alluding to Proverlis xviii. 10. 
 
 We have traced hitherto tlie personal career of 
 (dovio as definitely as our matei’ials would allow. 
 We must now glance i-ajiidly over the final years 
 of anxiety and suffering in which his labours are 
 necessarily few and often interrupted, to gather 
 what hints we may of such work as lie was still 
 able to produce. 
 
 In the midst of his woi-k at Piacenza, there 
 happened to him another unexpected and more than 
 ordinarily severe misfortune. His health was pro- 
 bably ])eniianently injured by his sufferings thirty 
 years before in Pome. Now his left eye became so 
 seriously diseased as to threaten loss of sight. In 
 fJanuary, 1558, he was compelled to undergo 
 an o])eration which fortunately proved successful. 
 Possibly with a view to the complete restoration of 
 his strcTigth he seems to liave accepted an invitation 
 to Con-eggio,the lord, of which seigniory — Hieronimo 
 — was a personal friend of Cardinal Farnese. In a 
 letter still extant, written from Piacenza to the 
 Cardinal who was then at Parma, he mentions this 
 misfortune as to his sight, saying that it has increased 
 so seriously that he can scarcely see at all. He names 
 
Life of Glory io GiuHo Clorio. 
 
 181 
 
 a certain clever surgeon-oculist who had cured a 
 Count Antonio Scoti in a fortnight, and he wishes 
 to know if his Excellency will allow him to try the 
 I'emedy, as it is attended with no risks, and he is 
 anxious to regain his ability to continue his labours 
 for his patron. He hopes that in a week he will be 
 all right and able to go about as he pleases ; though 
 it cannot be done witliout an operation, which some- 
 what frightens him. The next letter tells us that 
 this Maestro Batisto, the Florentine oculist, had 
 skilfully performed the operation which he minutely 
 describes, and he is thankful to say that his sight 
 is quite restored. The next letter is from Correggio 
 and is dated July, 1559 . In it he speaks of his 
 anxieties and troubles, and how he has been obliged 
 to stay at Correggio, but seems to want help of some 
 kind from the Cardinal. In 1560 he is still at 
 Correggio, apparently residing with his old friend 
 Julio Bernieri, whose brother Antonio was one of 
 the pupils of Antonio Allegri, better known as 
 Correggio. Julio Bernieri was a miniature painter 
 and had visited Borne, cariying with him Clovio’s 
 letter to the Cardinal. During this year a Bull of 
 Pius IV. was issued to moderate the severity of a 
 regulation made by his predecessor, towards such 
 persons, as having joined a religious body or regular 
 order, had left their place of residence and gone 
 forth again into the world. The Bull was intended 
 
182 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 to absolve from the threatened penalties those who 
 formerly had had the privilege of the Holy See 
 itself to leave the Cloister (as we know was the case 
 with Don Julio), only enjoining upon them that they 
 should present themselves within six months to the 
 Ordinaries and Priors of the Houses where they 
 had professed in order to obtain due recognition of 
 their title to the dispensation. Clovio’s next letter 
 refers to this requirement, in order to fulfil which he 
 had to proceed to Candiana, and in order to accom- 
 plish this journey he was obliged to have recourse 
 to the Cardinal. One month of the six, he says, has 
 already passed, and he begs the Cardinal to write for 
 him a letter of introduction either to the Bishop of 
 Padua, in whose diocese lay the monastery of 
 Candiana, or to any other person to whom the 
 Cardinal might think it better to apply, and give 
 orders for the supply of the necessary funds for the 
 journey, after which he hopes to be able to return 
 direct to his patron’s service for the rest of his life. 
 The letter is addressed to Borne, the Cardinal having 
 returned thither on the death of Paul IV. The next 
 letter shows some depression and uncertainty about 
 the future ; the result, no doubt, of fresh sickness and 
 perhaps disappointment. He says that when he 
 was a younger man and in better health he never 
 despaired of the favour and kindness of his 
 Excellency, but now, growing old and infirm, he 
 
CARDINAL ALESSANDRO FARNESE. 
 From Zuccaro's Picture 
 at Caprarola. 
 
 MEDAL IN HONOUR OF 
 CARDINAL FARNESE, FOUNDER 
 OF THE CHURCH OF THE JESUITS, ROME. 
 
 1568 . 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 183 
 
 trusted in him more firmly than ever, feeling sure 
 that he would never forsake him now that he needed 
 rest, and help to pay for his restoration to health. 
 He has been taking the Baths at Lucca, whither he 
 had gone at the expense of Signor Hieronimo.” 
 He has heard of a clever doctor in Venice that he 
 thinks would cure him, and he intends to put himself 
 in that doctor s hands for a month in order to try, and 
 again begs the favour of a letter of introduction to 
 the Governor of San Giovanni di Furlani, to obtain 
 the accommodation of being lodged for that time. The 
 Bull of Pius IV. was published on the 3rd of April. ^ 
 On the 29th he wrote for his introduction to the 
 Bishop of Padua. On the 13th June he writes as 
 above about Lucca and the Venetian physician, and 
 he goes on to express his gratitude to the Lord of 
 Correggio — ‘HI Sr. Hieronimo che per certo non mi 
 lasciar mancar” — as regards his living, but still he 
 requires a little cash for medicines and other small 
 expenditures, and begs the Cardinal will send him 
 some to be going on with. How like our own times 
 is this sixteenth-century story of domestic worries 
 and constant struggle with bad health and want 
 of funds. The wonder is that with such feeble 
 health all his life almost, he should have been able 
 to produce so much of the highest class of work and 
 
 * Coqnetmes : Bullamm Romanor. Pontiff, amplissima Col- 
 lectio TV. par. 2, pp. 10-12, 
 
184 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 of a kind calculated above eveiy other to be most 
 trying to his injured sight and broken constitution — 
 moreover, that he should have survived to such an 
 unusual age. He now says that he hopes to be in 
 Rome during the following month of July. He is 
 rather anxious about the money he writes about, as 
 he has not, he says, received a soldo of the sum 
 granted by his Excellency, for five months.^' Not 
 so much the major-domo of the Palazzo Farnese as 
 the Cardinal’s own ill-fortune was probably answer- 
 able for this falling off of Clovio’s salary. July, 
 however, was passed in Venice. In August he is 
 moving towards Rome. By the 23rd of that month 
 he has reached Caprarola. Here Taddeo Zuccaro 
 and his brothers had been long engaged in the 
 grand series of paintings and decorations which were 
 and are the great glory and attraction of this 
 magnificent palace. A letter from Annibal Caro 
 proves Clovio’s presence at this time. But neither 
 the care he had received in Venice nor such as he 
 obtained in Rome on his return proved of much 
 permanent good. He is compelled to relinquish his 
 occupation for many days together, and to decline 
 one commission after another, for want of health to 
 apply himself as he ought. Then, added to this, 
 his advancing age tells powerfully against complete 
 recovery. It is, therefore, not likely that many 
 
 * Appendix, Letter I V. 
 
Life of Giorgio Ginlio Clovio. 
 
 185 
 
 works can be assigned to this period of his life. 
 Nevertheless, amid his weakness he forces himself to 
 complete the picture ordered by Madama^ repre- 
 senting ^‘Judith and Holofernes.” On the 11th of 
 September the miniature is despatched to the 
 princess with a letter from Caro. Six years after- 
 wards, on September 5th, we have a letter from 
 Clovio in Home to the Cardinal at Caprarola, men- 
 tioning the death of Zuccaro and his own grief for 
 this loss of a dear friend, and also speaking of the 
 abilities of Taddeo’s brother and his fitness to 
 succeed him. He also names a quadretta, which, 
 he says, would have been finished but the heat in 
 Rome had been too great to permit him to work as 
 he was accustomed, besides he had suffered from 
 headache. The Curzon portrait shows this tired 
 look in the eyes which indicates a habit of suffering. 
 The weary six years to the poor invalid is without 
 other record. 
 
 Three years later comes a letter to the Duke of 
 Parma, who wished for a portrait of himself, and 
 Clovio is anxious to do it. The letter shows that 
 he has other work in hand, which he immediately 
 throws aside in order to devote all his powers to 
 this portrait, which he copies from a figure of the 
 Duke that he had preserved in a little book. The 
 
 Cardinal’s major-domo. Count Lodovico Tedeschi, 
 
 0 
 
 * Margaret of Parma. 
 
186 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 brings him the order ; he at once begins the work, 
 and speedily finishes it. In sending it to the Duke 
 he begs him to excuse his age and the weakness of 
 his eyes and hands, adding that he has laid aside the 
 Cardinal’s work in order to complete this. The letter 
 is dated October, 1569."^' Two or three more letters 
 are given by Ronchini, the last referring to the price 
 to be asked for a picture of St. Francis and others. 
 Its date is 1 573. As I have said above, it is extremely 
 unlikely that, considering his infirmities, any work 
 can be found which can, on internal evidence alone, 
 be traced to his hand. The probability is that 
 everything now, and until his death in 1578, was 
 actually executed by his pupil Massarelli, or the 
 rest. If the work of Apollonio Buonfratelli and of 
 Baroccio can be mistaken for Clovio’s we need feel 
 no surprise that his resident scholars — themselves 
 styled miniaturists to the Cardinal — should so 
 catch his manner as to deceive a modern observer. 
 The story of the artist’s life is now told. He died, 
 as already mentioned, on January 5th, 1578, and 
 had the honour of a public funeral. He was buried 
 in the tribune of S. Pietro, in Vincoli. At the 
 back of the grand altar is the choir, and above the 
 choir the wall between the windows is decorated 
 with frescoes by G. Coppi, of Florence, from the 
 life of St. Peter. On the pillar of the arch to our 
 
 Appendix, Letter VI. 
 
The “Cuyzon " Portrait. 
 

Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 187 
 
 right are fixed the marble profile and monumental 
 inscription put up in 1632. The words are : — 
 
 D. 0. M. 
 
 URBANO VIII PONTIFICE MAXIMO 
 LAVDIVIO CARDINALI ZACCHIA TITVLARI 
 DOMINO JVLIO CLOVIO DE CROATIA 
 EX CANONICIS REGVLARIBVS S. PETRI AD VINCVLA 
 
 PICTORI EXIMIO. 
 
 PRINCIPIBVS VIRIS CARO. 
 
 IN QVO DILIGENTIA IN MINIMIS MAXIMA 
 CONSPICVA GRATIA IMMORTALIS GLORIA 
 VIXIT AD VLTIMAM SENECTVTEM OPERANDO 
 ET ROM^ MORTVVS IN HAC BASILICA TVMVLATVS 
 CANONICI REGVLARES SOCIO OLIM SVO PP. MDCXXXII. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Clovio’s work under Farnese patronage. — The supposed com- 
 missions for Philip II. — The Bonde Psalter, and the 
 copy of it at Naples. — The Vatican MSS. — Dante. — 
 Lives of the Dukes of Urbino, Muzio, Tullia d’Aragona, 
 Monterchi. — The Stuart de Rothesay Hours. — Stanze di 
 Eurialo d’Ascoli. — The Gonzaga Hours. — Other works. 
 
 JN the year 1572 Cardinal Buoncampagiii became 
 Gregory XIII., succeeding, with a far more 
 liberal disposition, to the narrow and bigoted policy 
 of Pius V., and inheriting the infamy, in Protestant 
 minds, of the measures which pressed with such 
 horrible cruelty upon the Peforming section of the 
 Church. In this same year, which witnessed public 
 thanksgivings for the Massacre of St. Bartholomew 
 in Borne and Madrid, Philip II. initiated his scheme 
 for the embellishment of the Choir of San Lorenzo 
 of the Escorial with a set of Service-books magni- 
 ficent enough to perpetuate the profound intensity 
 of his gratitude. The scheme was in every way 
 worthy of its author’s well-known liberality in 
 matters pertaining to art. Invitations, not to say 
 commands, were sent to all the most distinguished 
 miniaturists in Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. 
 Clovio was above all the man whom Philip had 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 189 
 
 long marked for his service, and whose assistance he 
 was now especially anxious to secure. But at 
 seventy-four years of age Clovio was reluctant, 
 indeed unable, to comply with an invitation which 
 other artists found it impossible to decline. His 
 advanced age and feeble health combined to form a 
 plausible excuse for his want of compliance, even 
 had there been no additional reasons. A sort of 
 polite and external cordiality had, it is true, arisen 
 between Ottavio Farnese and his Imperial relatives, 
 but it was only by accident, if it went any further 
 than suited the convenience of either party. Since 
 the death of Paul III. the little duchy of Parma 
 found itself in the midst of enemies of all degrees. 
 Its twin dependency of Piacenza had long been a 
 mere political phrase, the State itself yielding its 
 substantial revenue to the Imperial coffers, notwith- 
 standing all the efforts of Ottavio and Orazio and 
 the young Alessandro. Margaret seems to have 
 been consoled for her husband’s enforced resigna- 
 tion to this indignity, by the Governorship of the 
 Netherlands, in which she speedily won a reputation 
 that gained her universal praise. But the policy of 
 her father towards her husband was perpetuated by 
 her brother, and hitherto, notwithstanding the most 
 courteous professions on the part of Philip, the 
 Duke of Parma had no substantial ground for any 
 reliance upon his august brother-in-law. He might 
 
190 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 send him miniatures and other trifles, which put 
 no one to very serious inconvenience. But what 
 might be the result of permitting an almost intimate 
 dependent of his house to go and reside in the 
 household of the King of Spain, needed some con- 
 sideration. Besides, the Cardinal would not give 
 up his valued gyrotege. All things considered, there- 
 fore, Clovio’s age and inflrmities were accepted as a 
 sufflcient reason for his remaining where he was. 
 Philip was proud, we know, and sometimes im- 
 placable. But so were the Farnese. From Cardinal 
 Alessandro the elder to Elisabetta, wife of King* 
 Philip V. of Spain, the pride and imperiousness of 
 the family were never disputed even by their 
 friends. It is, however, asserted by some writers, 
 on what authority is not clear, that certain com- 
 missions were undertaken for the Spanish King as 
 a sort of compensation for his disappointment about 
 the choir-books. It is even attempted to name the 
 very works themselves. They were, it is boldly 
 stated, those twelve paintings now preserved in the 
 Grenville Library, and known as the “ Victories of 
 Charles VC 
 
 The question as regards Clovio is not without 
 interest, and cannot properly be disposed of in a 
 few hasty remarks. We must therefore reserve 
 its fuller consideration to a later chapter, taking 
 note here only of the broad and general outline 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 191 
 
 of the alleged story. The legendary account 
 of this precious volume is that until 1814 it 
 had been kept at Madrid, but in that year was 
 carried off by Joseph Bonaparte to Paris, where 
 a short time afterwards it was purchased by 
 Mr. Woodburn, the proprietor and exhibitor of the 
 I^awrence drawings. < Woodburn having a vivid 
 
 imagination, some experience in the qualities of the 
 better class of pictures, and a keen appreciation of 
 the value of a good advertisement, connected the 
 story of the commission given to Clovio with these 
 clever miniatures. There is no intrinsic improba- 
 bility in such a connection, for some of the technical 
 work and minor details are not out of keeping with 
 work of the same level in the miniatures of acknow- 
 ledged authenticity ; but neither is there a scrap of 
 evidence in its favour outside what various critics 
 may have advanced on their personal judgment. 
 No documentary proof is forthcoming older than 
 the date of Woodburn’s purchase. It was then 
 alleged that Philip selected the Heemskerck engrav- 
 ings which were published in 1556, as the basis of 
 the work to be done by Clovio, because the late 
 Emperor had frequently expressed his admiration of 
 them. This explanation of course was needed to 
 account for the extraordinary circumstance that the 
 miniatures were not required to be original designs, 
 although entrusted to the gi’eatest living master of 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 1 92 
 
 his art. For it certainly could not be considered a 
 compliment to Clovio, that he should be asked 
 merely to undertake the office of a German illumi- 
 nist, common as it was, when he was acknowledged 
 to be capable of such a work as the Grimani Com- 
 mentary and the Farnese Psalter. Neither is it 
 likely that Philip would have been satisfied with so 
 secondary a kind of performance. It would have 
 been unworthy of his rank as the first prince in 
 Christendom. And from what we know of the 
 character of Clovio, there is every probability that 
 he would have declined such a commission. On the 
 other hand, to please the King’s whim about the 
 engravings he may have consented to direct his 
 pupils to undertake the work, and even to assist 
 them with occasional touches of his own pencil. 
 These, however, are merely suggestions. We now 
 pass on to other work. Sometimes during his resi- 
 dence with Cardinal Farnese and previous to 1557, 
 Clovio painted the famous Psalter commemorated 
 by Bonde. This Psalter, so called, was a commission 
 from the gloomy yet magnificent John III. of 
 Portugal, the patron of Francisco de Holanda. 
 The latter, as we have seen, was intimately 
 acquainted with Clovio, and through him perhaps 
 the commission was obtained. Though called a 
 Psalter, it was really a Book of Offices. Its 
 splendour was such as to be considered worthy of an 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 193 
 
 elaborate Latin dissertation, unrivalled for its bom- 
 bastic and inflated language, by an English physician, 
 who, sometime in the reign of John V., discovered 
 the MS. which had been lost, and wrote partly to 
 express his unbounded admiration of it, and partly 
 with a view to promote its sale. 
 
 The immediate object indeed of the eulogy was 
 to induce the King to redeem the precious volume 
 and restore it to its place in the Royal Library. 
 No evidence is given of the success of the appeal. 
 Its gorgeous diction may have fallen on deaf or 
 inattentive ears, for John V. was paralytic and 
 imbecile for several years before his death, and his 
 ministers had more absorbing business on their hands 
 than the purchase of a high-priced religious picture- 
 book. But the dissertation itself is a curiosity. It 
 is printed in tall quarto, and on one side, only of the 
 paper. As a work of literary merit, it ranks not so 
 much with books as with those funeral orations 
 which in the sixteenth century were delivered over 
 the biers of distinguished scholars and heroes. But 
 as a piece of special pleading it is unsurpassed, and 
 may be taken as the most prodigal example of 
 descriptive writing ever penned. Its ornate phraseo- 
 logy is much more redolent of the flowery oratory 
 of the Renaissance than mindful of the force and per- 
 spicuity of Tully. Possibly in the doctor’s opinion it 
 was more suitable to the comprehension of royalty. 
 
 13 
 
194 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. . 
 
 In the mind of a suspicious minister of finance, it 
 may have lacked veracity. Tiie precious volume 
 Avas somewhere not in Portugal, and to be had for 
 a sum the precise statement of Avhich is beneath 
 the dignity of the writer’s style to mention, but 
 which no doubt were given in the invoice which 
 would accompany the volume. The author entitles 
 his book : “ Guliehni Bonde Thesaurus Artis Pic- 
 tori 8e ex unius Julii Clovii clari admodum pictoris 
 operibus depromptus. Libri sive Sermones tres : 
 Idea: Index; Deliberationes. 1733.” This volume 
 is now so rare that the German translator of 
 Sakcinski’s Life of Clovio, written originally in 
 Illyrian, could find only two copies in England."^ 
 A note by Mr. Hamilton, inserted in the Grenville 
 copy (No. 5860. G. L. Brit. Museum), states with- 
 out naming any authority : Emanuel King of 
 
 Portugal had given a commission, and John III. 
 had paid the sum of two thousand aurei for a 
 Psalter illustrated by Julio Clovio. Another copy 
 of it was in the Vatican, and another in the posses- 
 sion of the Grand Duke of Florence. My brother 
 saw one at Naples.” Mr. Grenville in a further note 
 adds that this copy of Bonde had belonged to 
 Mr. Towneley. The only other copy he had traced 
 
 * There are two copies in the British Museum, one of them 
 belonging to the Grenville Library and conlaining Mr. Gren- 
 ville’s notes in MS. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 195 
 
 belonged to Mr. Jennings, from whom it was bought 
 by Triphook. At that time the above two gentle- 
 men were the only proprietors in England of any 
 work of Julio Clovio. This note is probably the 
 source of the statement made by Sakcinski’s trans- 
 lator.^ It should not be difficult to any one living 
 or travelling in Portugal to ascertain whether this 
 MS. of Clovio is still existing in any Poyal or other 
 collection. But, if not, from Bonde’s description 
 and Mr. Hamilton’s note about two other copies, it 
 may be possible that after all it was a N etherlandish 
 production and not a Clovio. For certainly the 
 Gothic character of the borders, and, as far as can be 
 made out, the peculiar features of the landscapes, 
 point rather to a MS. like the Grimani Breviary — 
 the Isabella Missal (Brit. Museum), or the Hours 
 of Albert of Brandenburg — than to any authentic 
 work of Clovio. The Naples Flora, which might 
 be cited in its favour, as probably one of the copies 
 of it referred to by Mr. Hamilton, is itself of ques- 
 tionable authenticity. 
 
 It must have been about 1554-5 that Clovio 
 painted the miniatures of the lives of the Dukes of 
 Urbino, and of several other MSS. in the Vatican. 
 Among the probably correct attributions are several 
 miniatures in a copy of the Divina Comniedia, 
 
 * A full account of Bonde’s book and copious extracts from 
 its description are ^iven in the Appendix. 
 
 13 * 
 
196 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 which is the more interesting as containing minia- 
 tures from three artists of different periods. The 
 first belongs to the time of Giotto, the second was 
 a monk of the fifteenth century. The last, according 
 to a tradition which is fully confirmed by the 
 miniatures themselves, is said to have been Clovio. 
 His name alone occurs in the last volume, though 
 several miniatures by the same hand are found 
 towards the end of the second. These alleo^orical 
 pictures possess the usual excellence and delicacy 
 of his finest work. In the grouping and composi- 
 tion are seen the grace of Raffaello. Certain 
 German writers have affected to observe in the 
 earlier miniatures a higher devotional feeling than 
 is found in those of Clovio, but there is really little 
 to find fault with either in feeling or design. The 
 one where Beatrice appears to the poet in the 
 circle of the sun has been reproduced by Silvestre. 
 On a faintly bright disk, and in a tender sky-blue 
 air, stands the sainted figure of Beatrice wearing 
 a radiant crown, and surrounded by other holy 
 women, Dante himself in a blue robe, and a lady 
 beside him in draperies of rose and green. Outside 
 the sun are borders rich with lovely arabesques, 
 and at foot is the title to the Paradiso. The same 
 delicacy of handling and exquisite finish is character- 
 istic of the other miniatures, which, if not the 
 actual work of Clovio, have every mark of his 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 197 
 
 influence and supervision. In the Life of Francesco 
 Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, are five paint- 
 ings by Clovio ; but the notable feature of the 
 volume is a portrait at the beginning of Book III., 
 of Clovio himself by his own hand. It represents 
 him as an elderly man — he would be about fifty- 
 seven years of age — wearing spectacles, and in a sort 
 of cassock, as seen in the accompanying engraving. 
 
 In the Life of Federigo di Montefeltro, Duke of 
 Urbino, the miniatures are not so distinctly in the 
 artist’s style as to escape criticism, and even doubt. 
 The two works were the composition of the poet 
 Girolamo Muzio, one of the poetical admirers of 
 the celebrated Tullia d’Aragona. He was a native 
 of Capo d’Istria, and wrote the Lives for Guido- 
 baldo II., the last Duke, about 1554-7."^ 
 
 * Girolamo Muzio, of Capo d’Istria, called it Duellista, il Bat- 
 tiglione, and il Martello degli Eretici was a celebrated poet, 
 theologian, controversialist, moralist and courtier, and one of 
 the most laborious authors of his time. This is Tiraboschi’s 
 description of him, which is very remarkable, considering that 
 most of Muzio’s life was taken up in moving from place to 
 place. He was born on March 12th, 1496. In 1550 he married 
 Adriana, a maid of honour to the Duchess of Urbino, Vittoria 
 Farnese. His wife died in Home in 1568. In 1583 Muzio was 
 invited to the court of Urbino by Duke Guidobaldo II., husband 
 of Vittoria, and became tutor to the youthful Francesco Maria 
 (II.) for whom he wrote the treatise called “Principe Gio- 
 vanetto.” During this service he resided chiefly at Pesaro, and 
 gave his leisure to the writings of theological tracts, and to the 
 two Biographies called the “Lives of the Dukes of Urbino,” now 
 
198 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 The penmanship was the work of Monterchi,"^ 
 the copyist of the poems of Eurialo d’Ascoli and 
 of the Office of the Virgin, illuminated by Clovio 
 for which Cellini made the famous covers. Some 
 very acute critic of this Life of Federigo, affirms 
 its miniatures to be the work of Clovio’s pupils, 
 but it is now difficult to determine what they 
 originally were, as they were restored in the seven- 
 teenth century by the well-known miniaturist. 
 Padre Pamelli. The Stanzas of Eurialo d’Ascoli, 
 another work executed about this time, and now 
 in the Imperial Library at Vienna (No. 2660), must 
 unquestionably be assigned to Clovio himself Its 
 
 in the Vatican Library. One of these was published after his 
 death, but in a very mutilated form. In the notice of his works 
 given in “ Biografia degli nomini distinti dell’ Istria, del 
 canonico Pietro Stanesvich II. 131, &c. (Trieste, 1829), the 
 biography referred to is called “ Historia di Gironimo Mutio 
 ginstinopolitano, de’ Fatti di Federigo di Montefeltro, dnca di 
 Urbino II.,” 2 vols. In the same volume are given a portrait 
 and memoir of Mnzio. The splendid quarto volumes, bound 
 with golden clasps, which are kept in the Vatican, and have been 
 several times referred to, are among the most perfect examples 
 of MSS. with miniatures. They are adorned with the Ducal 
 Arms and portrait of the Duke Frederic and nine miniature- 
 scenes most elaborately painted by a miniaturist of the highest 
 rank, but unfortunately not named. They have, however, been 
 almost universally attributed to Clovio. Five of these pictures 
 are contained in one volume and four in the other. 
 
 * Francesco Monterchi was secretary to Pier Luigi Farnese, 
 Duk« of Parma. Atti e Documenti, &c. III. 264. 
 
S tA-N ZE’D EViUALO 
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 D’ASCOLI,’ IN THE IMPERIAL LIB., VIENNA. 
 
 (Painted by Clouio). 
 
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PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE ORIGINAL MS. OF THE ‘ STANZE D'EVRIALO 
 D’ASCOLI,’ IN THE IMPERIAL LIB., VIENNA. 
 
 (Painted by Clouio). 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 199 
 
 miniatures in treatment and effect are the exact 
 counterpart of those in the little Stuart de Rothesay 
 Offices now in the British Museum. The author 
 of this poem on the exploits of Charles V. was 
 a contemporary of the artist, and the friend of 
 Claudio Tolomei and Pietro Aretino. The tran- 
 scriber was, as already stated, the most noted 
 copyist of his time. In this charming little volume 
 the first miniature contains a representation of Dido 
 on the funeral pyre which stamps the authenticity of 
 the work. On her body sits a grey Imperial eagle 
 with extended wings, while round the pile stand 
 several men and women gazing on the scene with 
 astonishment. At the head of the group stands a 
 warrior apparently explaining the mode of cremating 
 the body. In the foreground lies an elderly woman 
 with two lovely children, one held to her bosom. 
 Not far from these kneel two other children. In 
 the distance are the towers of a city before the 
 gate of which stands a woman, and over it in the 
 air are three eagles fighting. The picture is 
 surrounded by most exquisite foliages and figures, 
 quite in the manner of the Offices in the British 
 Museum.'^ The work has suffered from too much 
 handling, which has rubbed off some portions, 
 especially of the gilding. Still, the master’s hand 
 is everywhere visible in what is left. Opposite this 
 
 * 20927 Add. MSS.. 
 
200 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 miniature is the title-page, also surrounded with 
 a beautiful border of a similar character to the 
 other. In the upper portion is placed a tiny 
 vignette containing a church and two female 
 figures and a child running. The first stanza of the 
 poem then follows:— 
 
 “ Gia ministrai I’alte saete a Giove 
 E ’n ciel portai uolanclo — Ganimede 
 Feci le altre cose innitate e miove 
 Di cui resta nel mondo eterno fede 
 Ma fei di mia virtii I’ultiiiia prove 
 Sol per costei che qui meco si vede 
 Et morir uolli nel raedesimo ardore 
 Che bel fin fa, chi bene amando more.” 
 
 In the middle of the MS. begins the second 
 poem, under the title of “ Stanze d’Evrialo d’Ascoli. 
 A1 invitiss. Carlo Quinto senipre Aug.” Then 
 follows, on the next page, A1 gran Marchese 
 d’Anghillara ” (the Emperor’s ambassador in 
 Florence). Arabesque borders surround these pages, 
 though somewhat inferior in colouring to the 
 former. The verses are written on fine vellum, 
 mostly in black but occasionally in golden ink. The 
 binding is of stamped and gilded leather, and the 
 device of the Emperor is placed on the middle of the 
 first cover. It is not unlikely that the precious little 
 volume was presented to the ambassador by the 
 author himself, and afterwards (for both Charles 
 and Maximilian were exceedingly fond of pocket 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 201 
 
 volumes) found its way into the Imperial Library. 
 Inside the first cover is written, “ Le miniature di 
 Don Giulio Clovio. Li carateri sono scritti di 
 Lettera formata del Monserchi, che como dice 
 Vasari, fol. 261, nella vita di Giu. Clovio, e d’ un 
 genere raro et meraviglioso.” 
 
 There is an exquisite little Book of Hours, 
 executed for Francesco Maria of Urbino, or rather 
 for his second wife, the Duchess Leonora, in the 
 Douce Collection of the Bodley Library at Oxford, 
 usually attributed to Girolamo dai Libri, but which 
 seems in every particular to belong to a somewhat 
 later manner, and to contain some of the same 
 ornaments as the Berlin Missal of Clement VII. ; 
 the Corsini Missal executed for the same Pope ; 
 the Albani or Ashburnham Missal ; and two or 
 three pages in MS., No. 21412, in the British 
 Museum. All these, if any, should be assigned to 
 Clovio.^ The Gonzaga Offices, as this beautiful 
 volume may be called, certainly answers to the 
 catalogue as to its being written on vellum, belonging 
 to the sixteenth century, and containing 136 folios, 
 &c., but it cannot be assigned to Girolamo dai Libri. 
 There is nothing to show that it was a wedding gift, 
 as suggested by Dr. Waagen ;t certainly nothing to 
 prove it the work of Girolamo, who died at the age 
 
 * The Bodley MS. is described in the Appendix. 
 
 t The date he found in it of 1510, is in reality the word isto. 
 
202 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 of eighty-one, in 1555. The major part of it is of a 
 later manner than that in which the Veronese artist 
 is known to have worked down to the end of his lono- 
 
 O 
 
 life. Nor is there any touch in it usually attributed 
 to him which might not with equal or greater pro- 
 priety be attributed to his younger rival ; besides 
 the fact already alluded to, that the motives and 
 ideas in the ornaments are repeated again and again 
 in works that can only have been the work of 
 Clovio. Baglione mentions a Farnese Missal, or 
 rather Lectionary, which had two miniatures like 
 two of the six in the Towneley Lectionary, and 
 states it to be in the Vatican. “ Messale oltre ogni 
 maraviglia hello si, che hora per la sua incomparabile 
 esquisitezza con degna riguardo ha meritato da esser 
 riposto nella sagrestia de’ Sommi Pontefici.”^ But 
 it is not impossible that this is no other than the 
 Towneley Lectionary itself, as it is not likely that 
 any other Last Judgment by Clovio exists of suffi- 
 cient beauty or importance to call forth the words 
 of Vasari: ^‘Tanto hello anzi ammirabile e stupendo, 
 ch’ mi confondo a pensarlo, e tengo per fermo che 
 non si possa non dico fare, ma vedere, ne imma- 
 ginarsi, per minio, cosa pin bella.” Indeed, the 
 Lectionary miniature holds the same unique position 
 among works of its class that its great prototype in 
 
 * Baglione, Giov. (Vasari, G.), Vite cle’ Pittori, Scultori et 
 Architetti, 15. Roma, 1642, 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 203 
 
 the Sistine Chapel holds beside all other representa- 
 tions of the subject. 
 
 The choir-book said to belong to S. Salvatore, 
 in Rome, is assigned to 1555, or thereabout. 
 Several choir-books seen by Conca in the Cathedral 
 at Seville, and attributed to Clovio, are possibly 
 the actual work of Ramirez or Padilla,"^ who were 
 working at Seville at this time.t 
 
 A choir-book with many fine paintings, said to 
 have once been in the Monastery of San Salvatore, 
 Venice.;]; To about 1557, perhaps, may be assigned 
 the small quarto Prayers or Offices executed for 
 Cardinal Farnese, and now known as the Flora ” 
 of the Reale Biblioteca Borbonica at Naples. 
 About 1558, Clovio painted a beautiful little MS., 
 recently kept in the Monastery of Santa Croce in 
 Gerusalemme, described by Richardson, who saw it 
 in the possession of Marc Antonio Sabatini. In 
 1560 were undertaken certain works for the Cardinal 
 della Rovere, afterwards Pope Julius II. ; and in 
 the same year was completed the marvellous little 
 * Conca : Viaggio de Spagna, 111. 234. 
 
 t Fra Eustachio, the able rival of Attavanti and the brothers 
 Gherardo and Monte di Giovanni, died at Florence, aged eighty- 
 eight, in the same year that Girolamo dai Libri died at Verona. 
 
 t Sakcinski, Ivan Kukuljevich : Leben des G. J. Clovio, 41. 
 “Biblioteca dcgli uoniini illustri della Congregazioni dei 
 Canonic! Regolari del S. S. Salvatore Lateranense, Ac, Scritta 
 da Prospero Cavaliere ed ai'ricchita da D. Vincenzo Garofali, 
 I. 14-22; note 2. Velletri, 1836. 
 
204 
 
 Life of Gioi'gio Gitilio Clovio. 
 
 volume considered by Vasari and others to be the 
 richest of all the artist’s works. It was a Book of 
 Offices of the Virgin, executed by Clovio as a special 
 thank-offering to his patron. Bosini speaks of ik^ 
 as “uno dei piii preziosi monumenti delle Arti che si 
 ammirino in Europa.” The wonderful performance 
 is selected by Vasari for a detailed description, t as 
 being, perhaps, the most remarkable example of the 
 painter’s skill. Its miniatures, of which it contains 
 twenty-six pairs, set opposite to each other, as the 
 type and antitype, ^ffigura e figurato,” are set in the 
 most profusely decorated borders, composed of little 
 angels, genii, birds, beasts, dowers, gems, cameos 
 and other conceits, exactly corresponding in character 
 to those of the Bodley Offices of the Virgin, presented 
 (perhaps by Cardinal Farnese) to Leonora Gonzaga. 
 
 Whilst Clovio was busy with these memorable 
 examples of his charming art, Spain, France, the 
 Netherlands, England and Germany, and indeed 
 other parts of Italy, were not without distinguished 
 professors of the same, and, if his biographer had 
 known it, very little his inferiors. But to return to 
 the “ Flora.” 
 
 If we may judge from the similarity of Bonde’s 
 description of the Psalter of John III. of Portugal 
 to this exquisite MS., and may assume the truth of 
 
 * Storia della Pittura Italiana, &c., V. cap. vii. 113. Pisa, 
 1839-47. t Appendix. Vasari; Vite, &c., XIll. 132. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 205 
 
 Mr. Hamilton’s statement about there beino^ two 
 
 O 
 
 copies of it extant — one at Florence and the other 
 at Naples — we shall not find it difficult to conclude 
 the Flora” to be the latter copy. When I saw 
 the book myself, I at once set it down as extremely 
 fine Netherlandish work, somewhat later in date 
 than the Grimani Breviary. I then knew nothing 
 about the Bonde Psalter. If the Bonde Psalter be 
 authentic, as Bonde firmly assumes it to be, and if 
 the Flora ” be a copy of it, quite possibly it may 
 contain occasional touches of the master’s pencil. 
 The extreme likeness of the Naples fiower-paintings 
 to those of the Munich Prayer Book of Albert V. 
 will very well excuse the attribution of that lovely 
 MS. to Clovio. It is much more likely that neither 
 of them is his work. No one could examine the 
 pages of either, as I have done, and not feel 
 differences more palpable than any rare touches of 
 resemblance. The prevailing and final impression 
 would be that both are masterpieces, not of Italian 
 but of Teutonic art. The only evidence that would 
 induce me now to accept them as Italian, and parti- 
 cularly of Clovio, would be his own word for it, or 
 the word of some reliable contemporary who knew 
 it for a fact.* 
 
 * A description of the “ Flora ” is given in a little book by 
 Ginstiniani, called ‘‘ Gnida del Reale Museo Borbonico,” 238. 
 Napoli, 1824. 
 
20(3 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 The Paris Psalter of Paul III. has a better 
 show of authenticity. It is dated in 1542, when 
 Clovio was living in Pome, and actually engaged in 
 the service of Cardinal Farnese. It is the date 
 usually assigned, there or thereabouts, to the Bonde 
 Psalter, but it is quite a different kind of book. Its 
 style of ornament is in Clovio’s usual taste. It has 
 trophies and cameos, termes, birds, children, masks, 
 and such like ornaments well known to be charac- 
 teristic of true Clovio work. But many parts of it 
 are executed in guache, whereas Clovio mostly 
 worked in aquarelle and stipple. It is also plainly 
 stated in the book itself to be the work of F edericus 
 Perusinus. These are two difficulties it is true, and 
 a sceptical person might make much of them. But 
 they are not insurmountable. We know from the 
 Spanish monk who wrote on illumination, that 
 Clovio had two modes of working, and that some of 
 his gouache existed in Spain. And as nothing 
 further is known of Federicus Perusinus as a 
 painter or miniaturist — and yet he is spoken of as 
 eminent in his art — we may set him down as the 
 copyist or transcriber — the penman, not the painter, 
 of the manuscript. Had Federicus Urbinus stood 
 instead of Federicus Perusinus he might unwarily 
 have been assumed to be Baroccio, who in some- 
 what later years actually did such work, and was 
 especially famous as the decorator of the Farnese 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 207 
 
 Palace at Caprarolo. But Baroccio, in 1542, was 
 but fourteen years of age, and only reached Rome 
 when he was twenty. There need, however, be no 
 hesitation about the meaning of dextera ” in the 
 inscription. Universal experience of such a reference 
 from the twelfth century downwards is to penman- 
 ship, and autor ” in late Latin not only means 
 author, but one who actually executes the writing 
 of the work.^ The Psalter was finished by this 
 Federigo da Perugia in the eighth year of Paul III., 
 further explicitly given as 1542, when Clovio was 
 in the zenith of his powers and full of work. 
 
 * See Appendix. Descriptions of MSS. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Disputed Works — The Grenville Victories — The Strawberry 
 Hill Psalter — The Ravenna MSS. — The Munich Offices — 
 The Naples Flora — The Paris Psalter. 
 
 The prices reached by examples of Clovio’s work at 
 recent sales is very practical evidence of the value 
 attached to these precious relics, and of the real 
 interest taken in the question of their authenticity 
 by those who can afford to buy them. But this is 
 not all. Many who can never hope to contest their 
 possession at auction take a genuine interest in their 
 study as works of art, and as the productions of one 
 who has been usually held forward as the greatest 
 artist in this kind of work who ever lived. That this 
 idea of his supremacy is erroneous has been already 
 shown, but that he was unquestionably a great 
 master and his works possessed of the highest merit 
 can always be accepted as true. The business 
 before us now is to inquire into the grounds of those 
 opinions which are held by some respecting the 
 authenticity of certain works alleged to be his. In 
 the preceding part of this volume, the extent to 
 which authenticity may be affirmed of his work at 
 all has been pointed out. In reality it seldom 
 extended to the whole of any MS. whatever, unless 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 209 
 
 very small or very special. Two or three of these 
 special examples are known, but the majority of the 
 so-called Clovios are mainly or largely the work of 
 his assistants. Far too much importance has been 
 given by librarians, custodes, and others to the 
 miniatures under their charge. Usually they have 
 no further guaranty than either some vague tra- 
 dition, or the general excellence of the work, or the 
 opinion of some amateur as to the touch or the 
 style or the colouring, formed on the recollection of 
 other works possessing a similar degree of authen- 
 ticity. It is almost always a shifty and unreliable 
 tissue of alternative guesses. Now the only safe 
 way of ascertaining the truth is to take for study 
 some work about the authenticity of which docu- 
 mentary evidence leaves no room for dispute, and 
 when a fresh piece arises, to examine it first as to 
 its external history and the probabilities or possi- 
 bilities of its being what it pretends to be ; and then 
 when these are shown to be satisfactory, to examine 
 the evidence afforded by the work itself A mere 
 signature is only of value when all the other 
 evidence is satisfactory, as it is obvious that such 
 an addition could give no trouble whatever to an 
 intentional forger, or to one who was so convinced 
 of the evidence that only a signature was wanting 
 to render it complete, and who accordingly could 
 not refuse to add so slight a proof of his conviction. 
 
 14 
 
210 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Many miniatures have been thus attributed without 
 at first any evil intention. But it is a serious 
 wrong all the same when it becomes likely to be 
 mistaken for the painter’s autograph. Few persons 
 are so conversant with the penmanship of the six- 
 teenth century as to say with certainty that the 
 printing initials formed by the pen of one scribe 
 wei'e not formed by another. The handwriting of 
 Eneas Vico is precisely like that of a professional 
 copyist. But to a certain extent an engraver is a 
 copyist. The handwritings of Baffaello, of Michel- 
 angelo, of Sebastiano, of Clovio, and of course of 
 most other people of their time, were sufficiently 
 distinctive and characteristic. But not so the mere 
 capital initials or printing texts emjjloyed to denote 
 tlieir works. These could easily be imitated. In 
 fact the copyist of the manuscript did usually insert 
 them himself as part of his work. So it is with the 
 “ Attavantes pinsit” of the Brussels, the Paris, 
 the Florence and the Venice MSS. So with the 
 Glockendon Offices at Vienna, and many others. 
 Frequently the artist’s name is prominent in the 
 title or dedication, just as frequently in the colophon. 
 But they were not put there by the artist himself, 
 or, if they were, it was after a copy or model 
 afforded by the penman for the artist’s guidance. 
 It was not what we understand by his autograph, for 
 the proof that he actually wrote it lies in the work 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 211 
 
 itself, which follows or precedes ; and the proof of the 
 right connection of the two with the artist himself lies 
 in the account books of the palace, or the chapter, 
 or the monastery, for which the work was done. 
 The Soane Clovio” is an instance of this practice, 
 verified, however, by Vasari. Under the title of 
 the “ Chief Victories of Charles V.” the late Sir W. 
 Stirling-Maxwell printed a very exhaustive account 
 of a set of engravings designed by Martin Heems- 
 kerck. The work, though now well known, was 
 not published, but privately distributed among the 
 author’s friends and the great libraries. It was got 
 up with his usual fondness for lavish ornament and 
 profuse illustration, and is characterized by his 
 fastidiously exact taste and exceptional learning. 
 In July of the same year 1870, in which this curious 
 work saw the light, an article also appeared in the 
 Edinburgh Review dealing chiefly with the artist, 
 Martin Heemskerck. The review article fails to 
 do justice to Heemskerck, as if the writer’s entire 
 knowledge of the artist’s work had been confined to 
 the rough and even wretched reproductions to be 
 found in Stirling-Max well’s volume, which are too 
 black and coarse to convey any really correct idea 
 of the tenderness and delicacy of the original 
 engravings. The finest set known to myself happens 
 to be the one in my own possession. I have 
 examined others, including those in the British 
 
 14 # 
 
212 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Museum, but fine as they are in some respects, they 
 are, as a whole, wanting in brilliancy. The designs 
 in question represent the chief military events in 
 the life of the Emperor of Germany, the contem- 
 porary and rival of Francis I. The title-page of 
 the first edition bears the date of 1556. But as 
 some of the plates bear the date of 1555, it is 
 possible that they were intended for publication in 
 the October of that year when Charles resigned 
 the sovereignty of the Netherlands. They seem 
 to have been a speculation of the prolific print- 
 publisher, Hieronymus Cock, or Cook, of Antwerp. 
 He and his brother Matthias were natives and 
 citizens of Antwerp, and began life as artists, the 
 latter obtaining some distinction in landscape paint- 
 ing. Hieronymus or Jerome also practised the 
 same art, but carried on with it the further arts of 
 copperplate engraving and etching, and reproduced 
 on metal various of his brother’s pictures. His few 
 spare moments were employed in instructing pupils. 
 Among these was a skilful engraver and a man of 
 oi'iginal genius named Cornells Cort. Cock, how- 
 ever, soon abandoned both pencil and graver for the 
 less toilsome and more lucrative occupation of a 
 dealer in works of art and a publisher of books and 
 prints. In this pursuit he eventually realized a 
 very considerable fortune, which he prudently 
 invested in the purchase of house property, and 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 213 
 
 thus became a person of substance and importance 
 in his native city. Being fond of a jest he placed 
 over his door as his devise : “ Let the Cook 
 cook for the public good.” The words H. Cock 
 exciidehat are usually found upon the engravings 
 which he offered for sale, especially upon those 
 which were expressly executed to his order. It 
 is necessarv to notice this fact or it mio-ht be 
 concluded that he enoTaved them himself. As to 
 Martin Heemskerck, he was both painter and 
 eno-raver. He was born at the villao'e of Heems- 
 
 O O 
 
 kerck, near Haarlem, in North Holland, in 1498, 
 his familv name beino- Van Veen. After a bovhood 
 
 O t/ 
 
 of hardship on his father’s farm he obtained ele- 
 mentary instruction in drawing, and when Jan 
 Schoreel returned from Italv he went to Haarlem 
 and put himself under the then celebrated master of 
 the Italian style. But his application was such that 
 he soon became skilful enouo-h to imitate Schoreel 
 
 O 
 
 more closely than was agreeable, and they parted 
 company in consequence. Heemskerck then set 
 up a studio of his own, and rapidly acquired an 
 extensive practice. About two years after leaving 
 Schoreel he found the means to gratify a wish he 
 had loner entertained of visiting Italv, and accord- 
 ingly, after bestowing upon the Guild of St. Luke 
 a painting of the Madonna and St. Luke, he set out 
 for Koine. The painting, bearing the date ]\Iay 23rd, 
 
214 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 1532, is now one of the treasures of the Haarlem 
 Town Hall Museum. In Italy he remained three 
 years, “ not spending his time,” says Van Mander, 
 in drinking with his fellow-countrymen in Home, 
 hut in copying the works of Michelangelo and the 
 old masters.” He also made sketches of the ruins. 
 In 153G the Emperor Charles V. made a triumphal 
 progress through Italy in honour of the capture of 
 Tunis. And as was then the fashion certain dis- 
 tinguished ai'tists were employed in constructing 
 triumphal arches and inventing devices. It fell to 
 the lot of Heemskerck to paint the ornaments of 
 San Gallo’s Arcli in the Square of St. Mark, to 
 which he added ten paintings of scenes in the African 
 expedition.* He was then personally acquainted 
 witli Vasari. His biographers tell us he was in- 
 dustrious, penurious, and timid. He was twice 
 mari-ied — the first time to a young and pretty girl 
 of Haarlem, who died within two years of their 
 marriage ; the next to a foolish and even dishonest 
 old spinster, whose only recommendation was her 
 wealth. Slie irritated his nervous temperament, 
 and so wasted their means, that he was obliged 
 to work hard every day. He thus “ managed to 
 execute a vast number of beautiful pictures.” Of 
 these numerous pictures very few are now known. 
 One in the Dusseldorf Gallery shows his Italian 
 
 * Vasari, xiii, 149. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 215 
 
 manner to perfection. There is also a fine Cruci- 
 fixion at St. Petersburg, and a small mythological 
 subject in the Berlin Museum. A votive altar-piece 
 exists in the Moritz-Kapelle at Nuremberg, and one 
 or two others in public galleries. The majority, 
 however, remain as altar-pieces, but far from the 
 vast number spoken of by Van Mander and Michiels. 
 Prints after his works are very much more common. 
 Sometimes his drawings were made on purpose to be 
 engraved. Van Mander thought he never actually 
 used the graver himself ; but more recent writers 
 think otherwise. 
 
 During his later years at Haarlem he executed a 
 considerable number of subjects, sometimes in sets 
 called Triumphs — as the Triumph of Christianity, 
 the Eight Triumphs of Patience, the Six Triumphs 
 of Petrarch, the Vicissitudes of Human Affairs. 
 These Triumphs were much more significant in the 
 days of Alva and Bequescens than they are now. 
 They are very remarkable engravings, notable for 
 elaborate detail and minute repletion of incident. 
 But the Vicissitudes are still more remarkable, 
 possessing at times a realism quite shocking to 
 behold, and a stern directness of symbolism verging 
 on indecency. But as Kerrick says,"^ the number 
 
 * A Catalogue of tlie Prints wliich have been engraved after 
 Martin Heemskerck, 12, 
 
216 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clomo. 
 
 of prints after Heemskerck is almost infinite. Most 
 of them seem to have been the work of Dietrich 
 Volkertsz Cuerenhert, though many others are due 
 to Hermann Muller, Jerome Cock, and Philip Galle, 
 A small number bear the names of Cristoffel van 
 Sichem and Theodore de Bry. After the Triumphs 
 and a ci'owd of scriptural subjects, comes a series of 
 elaborate, and mostly ecjuestrian, figures of the Nine 
 Worthies. There need be no hesitation in saying 
 that tlie exaggei-ations of drawing, in all these 
 examples wiiere the artist is fairly represented, are 
 mainly due to Heemskerck’s studies in Home. They 
 are not simj)ly Dutcli or Flemish exaggerations like 
 tliose of Martin de Vos, or mannerisms like those of 
 Theodore de Bry. And it is only natural to conclude 
 that tiiis diligent student of Michelangelo was 
 j)ersonally ac(|uainted with other artists then resident 
 in Borne. The capture of Tunis and the pageants in 
 honour of it were in 1536 the special subject of talk 
 in the recently restored city. Scarcely ten years 
 before, tlie troops of this very Charles the Fifth, now 
 being lauded to the skies for his Christian courage, 
 had sacked and ravaged beyond credibility this 
 saci'ed capital of Christendom. Aidists especially 
 were talking about the decorations and the subjects 
 of them. Heemskerck, as we have seen, obtained a 
 share in their execution. And Clovio was at the 
 same time engaged on the illumination of the charm- 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 217 
 
 ing little copy of verses on the great event of the 
 time by Eurialo d’Ascoli. Clovio must have seen 
 the paintings of Heemskerck and the rest ; and 
 Heemskerck would doubtless be among the privi- 
 leged few admitted to the conversazioni of the 
 distinguished miniaturist, and would be shown the 
 precious little volume now kept in the Imperial 
 Library at Vienna. A conversation on the subject 
 of the Victories ” would naturally arise, and it is 
 highly probable that the suggestion to produce such 
 a set of subjects as Heemskerck afterwards did 
 produce, would then form itself in his mind. At 
 any rate he would be prepared, supposing he after- 
 wards received an order for such a work. 
 
 Knowing that no one then living was better able 
 to assist in making the designs truly fit to be a royal 
 present, there is no reason why Heemskerck should 
 not, like Francisco de Holanda and others, have 
 requested or commissioned Clovio to have made 
 copies of, or coloured, his outline drawings. Clovio 
 was accustomed to do this very thing. And if any- 
 one can show that any of these twelve drawings 
 contain work similar to his and worthy of him, there 
 is a good primd facie case of circumstantial possi- 
 bility. But is there such work in them ? In one 
 or two it can be truly said there is. As to the 
 portraiture in any of them — the likenesses for 
 example of Duke John Frederic of Saxony, the 
 
218 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 Duke of Cleves, and others, and the elaboration of 
 detail — several other miniaturists could do all this 
 quite as well as Clovio, so that these circumstances 
 do not materially affect the question. Very good 
 critics and experienced students of miniatures have 
 considered them to be the work of Clovio. Mr. Ottley, 
 a man of wide and careful study in such matters ; 
 Mr. Douce, who always maintained the right and 
 duty of thinking for himself; and Mr. Payne Knight, 
 a man accustomed to critical research — all held this 
 series to be among the most eminent of Clovio’s 
 productions. Mr. Knight, indeed, asserted its supe- 
 I’iority to the Vatican Dante whidi he had seen and 
 examined. I have seen the Vatican Dante, and I 
 can easily concede this opinion to be correct, for the 
 retouching of the Dante miniatures puts them hors 
 de concours. The precious volume containing these 
 so-called Victories or Triumphs of Charles V., now 
 preserved in the Grenville Library, consists of 
 thirteen leaves 8 in. high by about 1 1 in. wide (more 
 exactly 8 in. by 11*3). The drawings themselves are 
 each 7*1 by 10*3 inclusive of a gold frame identical 
 throinxhout. This frame is *7 of an inch broad on 
 the back of the first leaf As there is no evidence 
 that the drawings are subsequent to the engravings, 
 but in point of fact differ considerably from them in 
 matters of detail, we are at liberty to suppose that 
 the vellum drawings were really copies of the pen- 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 219 
 
 and-ink designs made by Heemskerck for the 
 engraver. We assume that such careful and highly 
 finished work would not be submitted to the risk of 
 injury by being used as working copies for the 
 engraver. We can see that they are not themselves 
 printed copies, but really drawings. To the more 
 detailed notice of some of them we shall return when 
 we have briefly explained what the engravings them- 
 selves consist of They are a set of twelve subjects, 
 illustrating, as has been already mentioned, certain 
 incidents in the military career of Charles V., and 
 were first published by Jerome Cock in 1556, just 
 twenty years after Heemskerck had been employed 
 to decorate the triumphal arch of San Gallo in 
 Rome. They went through five editions and it is 
 said were admired, according to one account, by 
 Charles V. himself — according to another by Philip, 
 who ordered the vellum copies to be made because 
 his father had admired the engravings, and who 
 furthermore had them copied and worked in tapestry. 
 The engraving of the Victories ” was the work of 
 Cuerenhert, the master of Goltzius and Philip Galle. 
 Of Cuerenhert, who is deserving of a biography 
 entirely to himself, we can only say that he was not 
 only an excellent engraver, but also a very remark- 
 able man — one of the most original spirits of his 
 time. 
 
 The Second Edition of the Victories is dated 
 
220 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 1558. Its title begins thus: “Divi Caroli V. imp. 
 Opt. Max. Victoria, ex multis prsecipum,” &c. In 
 this title Hieronymus Cock calls himself typo- 
 graphus, and pictor, with royal privilege for six 
 years. The edition is dedicated to Philip II. In 
 the three later editions of uncertain date the pub- 
 lisher’s name was altered, the publishers of these 
 editions being Philip Galle, Charles de Mallery, and 
 Joan or Jan Boll. Galle was a printseller and 
 publisher like Cock, but did not usually engrave 
 the })rints which he sold. His edition of these 
 ])lates, which were perhaps bought from Cuerenhert, 
 is probably the third. Tlie rest are irreclaimably 
 bad.=^ 
 
 The first subject is the Imperial Sovereignty of 
 Cliarles V. The Emperor, seated on a high marble 
 seat placed on a pedestal flanked by the two columns 
 as in his device, holds a sword in his right hand, an 
 orb surmounted by a cross. He wears a cuirass of 
 leather with epaulettes and a plate helmet in the 
 hxshion of the fio'ures in some of the Petrarch 
 
 O 
 
 Triumphs, intended to be Ponian. The figure of 
 Julius Cmsar in the Triumph of Fame wears a 
 
 * Ph. Galle was a Haarlem man, born 1537, died (probably 
 at Antwerp) 1612. Cb. de Mallery was a printseller at Ant- 
 werp, 1576-1630. Boel, or Boll, is not known, unless be were 
 tbe Hans Bol of Antwerp Avbo practised painting, and was 
 tbe master of G. Hoefnagel. Some of tbe name were engi’a vers. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 221 
 
 similar suit, not quite so simple. Between the 
 Emperor’s feet is the Imperial Eagle holding in his 
 beak a ring to which is attached a cord that passes 
 round the figures of five out of six persons who 
 stand on either side. In the engraving there is no 
 attempt at portraiture, even in the figure of the 
 Emperor. On his immediate right stands Francis I. , 
 as proved by the lilies on his shields and pennon, 
 wearing a plumed helmet and a Boman suit of 
 armour or leather body-piece, close-fitting, and bear- 
 ing over his left shoulder a military cloak. 
 
 In the engraving the hose are plain. Next to him 
 stands the Pope, Clement VII., with a shield bear- 
 ing the Medici arms and an archiepiscopal cross. 
 Next again is the Sultan Solyman, who turns away 
 with what seems a haughty gesture, but is meant 
 to exhibit fear. On the other side are three other 
 vanquished personages, — one a young man bare- 
 headed and in an attitude of submission ; then a 
 tall stout warrior in German plate armour carrying 
 a broken lance over his right shoulder and resting 
 his left hand on a short mace or war-hammer. 
 Lastly, an elderly man in ducal robes in a somewhat 
 crouching attitude. A sword and shield lie on the 
 floor beside him. 
 
 In front of the pedestal are the words Cock excud, 
 1556, on either side of an armorial enclosed within 
 a wreath. Before this, three flat shallow steps. 
 
222 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Beneath the engraving are the following verses : — 
 
 HIG PAPA, ET GALLUS. SAXO, HESSUS, CLIVIUS, AERI 
 CONCEDVNT AQVIL^, SELYMUS DAT TERGA PAVORE. 
 
 These are in Roman capitals ; below in Italics : — 
 
 L' Aguila muy triumpJiante y no vencida 
 De Carlos Quinto JEmperador Romano, 
 
 Nos muestra que esta gente fue rendida 
 Y como liuyo sus uvas Solimano. 
 
 Alongside these four lines are four others in 
 Roman type : — 
 
 Cy fut le Pape, aussy le Roy de France, 
 
 Le Due de Saxe, et du Cleuois la suyte, 
 
 Aussy d’ Hessen, vaincuz par la puissance 
 
 Du liault Cesar, dont le Turcq print la fuyte. 
 
 In the lower margin, Heemsherck Inuetor, and 
 the numeral I., and near the upper left corner, 
 D. V. c. 55, as a monogram. 
 
 2. The second engraving represents the capture 
 of F rancis I. at Pavia. His horse and himself are 
 both heavily laden with armour of a most elaborate 
 kind, but quite fanciful ; for instance, there is a small 
 spade -shaped shield on his gorget containing the 
 three lilies, a lion’s head on his breastplate, and a 
 scorpion or lobster on his bodyplate, beneath which 
 lie wears a briganture of mail. Mask-formed 
 epaulettes and knee-pieces, and skirt covered with 
 thongs in the Roman fashion, and embroidered or 
 rather embossed greaves, complete his lower outfit. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 223 
 
 His helm, open at the visor, is surrounded by a rayed 
 crown, and surmounted by a salamander crest and a 
 horse-hair plume. The caparison of his charger is 
 correspondingly rich. His captors are clad in heavy 
 German, mostly plate, armour. A dead warrior 
 pierced with the broken end of a lance lies beneath 
 the horse’s feet. On the brim of a morion are the 
 words M Heemskerck. invent. , the M and H forming 
 a monogram, and near the left corner the numeral 
 II. Beneath is the date 1525 and the lines — 
 
 VRBIS TICINI VALLATA AD MOENIA CAPTVS 
 
 REX GALLVS, PROCVL HISPANAS DVCTATVR AD ORAS. 
 
 Claramente se muestra aqui ^pintado 
 Como en Faui fresco por hazafla 
 Francisco Fey de Francia fue llevado 
 Alas mas Tiondas partes de la Espana. 
 
 Cy clerement (amy) tu aper^ois 
 
 Que du puissant Emperear en campaigne 
 Fut conuaincu & prins le Roy Fran9ois 
 Qui puis apres fut mene en Espaigne. 
 
 3. The third scene is the death of the Constable 
 de Bourbon. He is falling off a ladder placed beside 
 a tall tower overlooking the Tiber. In the distance 
 two parties of soldiers are charging at each other on 
 the bridge of St. Angelo, and great wreathing clouds 
 of smoke and flame are springing from various 
 buildings. On the right are crowds of men with 
 spears and scaling ladders. It is dated 1527, and 
 has the words M Heemsker Inve. on a stone, and 
 
224 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 the numerals iij in left corner. Verses below as 
 before relating to the scene, and similarly below all 
 the rest. 
 
 4. The summons to the Pope in the Castle of 
 St. Angelo. The herald on horseback on the bridge is 
 delivering his message. The Pope and two cardinals 
 appear at a balcony. Two statues — one of Peter, 
 the other of Paul — stand on pedestals on either side 
 the bridge. Two light field-pieces are pointed to 
 tlie castle, and soldiers stand about. M Heemskerck. 
 Inventor, appears near the lower edge, and Cock 
 cum priuHegio in the upper left corner, the numeral 
 iiij below. The date is 1527. 
 
 5. Next is Raisino- the Sieo^e of Vienna in 1529, 
 and the Emperor in armour on a war-horse, as usual 
 heavily caparisoned. The dead and wounded lying 
 under foot. M H Inventor. DVC. Sc. The dvg 
 combined into a monooTam. Numbered V. 
 
 O 
 
 G. The Spaniards in America, natives cutting up 
 and cooking the bodies and limbs of the Spanish 
 prisoners. This jjlate seems to have been considered 
 specially important. It is marked Heemsk. In- 
 ventor. DV Cuerenliert, fecit 1555. Cock cum 
 'priuilegio. It is numbered VI. 
 
 7. The capture of Tunis in 1535 The scene 
 represents the Emperor and Andrea Doria of 
 Genoa, and another horseman who has just unhorsed 
 an enemy, all standing under a gateway of the city. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 225 
 
 from which is seen a long line of cavalry galloping 
 into the city. It bears the names of Heemskerck 
 and Cuerenhert given as before, initials in monogram. 
 
 8. The eighth picture is one of the most elaborate 
 of the series, and -among the paintings one of the 
 most carefully painted. The Emperor is seated on 
 a raised seat under a tent. Behind him stands an 
 officer bearing his Imperial crown. He is himself 
 bareheaded but wearing armour, holding a sceptre 
 in his left hand, and resting his right on a great 
 two-handed sword. His helmet rests between his 
 feet. In the left corner is a tall warrior in full 
 armour of the Boman fanciful type, very highly 
 elaborated. Another, resting a mace on his right 
 thigh, stands on the Emperor’s left. All are 
 looking at a kneeling figure in the right corner 
 of the picture who, from the small shield he bears in 
 his hands, bearing the arms of Gueldres, appears to 
 be the Duke of Cleves. It is in fact William II., 
 the brother of the Anne of Cleves who became wife 
 to Henry VIII. of England. He wears his Ducal 
 robes and coronet. Warriors and tents cover the 
 background as in a battle-field. It is the camp 
 before Ruremond. The words M Heemsherck, 
 Inven. appear on the carpet. The date is 1543. 
 
 9. The Imperial Camp at Ingoldstadt, and the 
 arrival of the Count von Buren with auxiliaries. A 
 tented field full of armed men. The Emperor on 
 
 15 
 
22G 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 horseback on right of picture is talking to his troops 
 and pointing to a tent before the door of which a 
 soldier has dismounted, and is making his obeisance 
 to another, intended for the Emperor again. 
 M lleemsherck, Inventor. Eatel546. Hangingover 
 the horse’s breast is a cloth embroidered with the two- 
 headed Imperial (Austrian) Eagle. Numbered ix. 
 
 10. Surrender of the Duke of Saxony. This is 
 another most elaborate picture. Under a tree on 
 the left stand three horsemen gorgeously apparelled, 
 the centi*e figure being that of the Emperor. On 
 the right, as coming from the battle-field behind, 
 a l)ulky figure, bare-headed, with a sword-cut across 
 across his face, and bearing his helmet in his hand. 
 It is the Duke John Frederic. This scene is some- 
 times called the Battle of Muhlberg, 1547. It bears 
 the names of Heemskerck and H. Cock, and the 
 numeral x. 
 
 11. The Magistrates and Deputies of various 
 cities suiTender their keys to the Emperor, who is 
 seated on a raised seat on the right of the picture, 
 wealing amioui*, a crowned helmet, and an Imperial 
 ermine robe. Five suppliants offer their keys as 
 they kneel before him. Heemskerck’s name is given 
 with the numeral xi and the date 1547. Probably 
 the picture i*epresents various events in one. 
 
 12. The last of the set. The Landgrave of 
 Hesse offers his entire submission to the Emperor, 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 227 
 
 who is seated on a throne beneath a canopy. Two 
 bishops and a cardinal stand on his right ; four 
 crowned personages on his left. This also appears 
 to be an allegorical picture, for De Thou, who 
 describes the scene and names the personages present, 
 enumerates many others.^ The name of Heems- 
 kerck appears with the numeral xii at foot. 
 
 Such are the engravings themselves. The edition 
 by Jerome Cock is the best. The rest by Ph. 
 Galle, Charles de Mallery, and Joan Boel are later 
 and inferior. Good impressions are rarely met 
 with, even of the best edition ; all being somewhat 
 pale and many of them very imperfectly printed. 
 The best impressions have the inscriptions and dates 
 added beneath in letterpress, with sometimes copies 
 of verses in Spanisli and French. Afterwards the 
 inscription and date were engraved upon the plates 
 themselves. It seems certain that Cock’s edition 
 was engraved by Cuerenhert and not by Heemskerck 
 himself, as asserted by Descamps, who must have 
 mistaken Van Mander’s meaning. But the ques- 
 tion is not so much what these engravings may be, 
 as whether their subjects ever formed the ground- 
 work of Clovio’s work. 
 
 The attribution of the Grenville miniatures to 
 him has been denied on such irrelevant grounds 
 that it is necessary to show to what extent the 
 * Hist. Universelle, I. 264-5. 
 
 15 * 
 
228 Life of Giov(jio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 ground for such attribution is possible, and also 
 whether, being quite possible, it is in any degree 
 reliable. The objection that it would have been 
 beneath the dignity of a man in Clovio’s position 
 to undertake the colouiing of another man’s designs 
 is of no value whatever, foi* it is known that he did 
 this very tiling and that it was quite a usual thing 
 for ai'tists to be employed in this way. And why 
 not ? If one man could draw well and another 
 could })aint well what in the world should prevent 
 co-operation ? Especially when the facility and the 
 2 )refei‘ence went together, and the time of each 
 artist was precious. Again the objection that the 
 work itself is unlike and inferior is equally unten- 
 able, for it is not true. The work is like, and in 
 two of the miniatures so very like, that Ottley 
 and Douce, who had liis work in their own pos- 
 session and could study it and analyze it at their 
 leisure, declared these miniatures to be not only 
 his work, but some of the best of it. That it is not 
 infeiior may be tested by comparing it with the 
 little Prayer Book Additl. 20967, which is un- 
 questionably a Clovio, or with the large MS. in 
 the Soane Museum, which is even better authen- 
 ticated. Surely the submission of the Duke of 
 Cleves in this Grenville MS. is as well painted 
 as the by no means astoundingly clever copy of 
 Baffaello’s Vatican tapestry of the Conversion of 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 229 
 
 St. Paul which serves as a frontispiece to the Soane 
 fragment. The first of the Grenville “ Triumphs ” 
 is a most masterly painting whoever did it — and it 
 was certainly not Heemskerck himself; as any, even 
 the shallowest of judges, could see who had ever 
 seen a Heemskerck. If the rest are not equal to 
 these two, that is nothing unusual, for as we see 
 constantly in Clovio’s works, it is really the excep- 
 tion for him to have done the whole himself And 
 where he has done so some inequality may be 
 deteeted. It has been objected that the ornaments 
 are Flemisli — that they are specially indicative of 
 the Antwerp school. So they are in design, but it 
 need not occupy a moment to show that this again 
 can form no objection since it may have been part 
 of Heemskerck’s own share of the work. And yet 
 its treatment is very similar to that of the Towneley 
 Lectionary— the colour-gamut is identical. Taking 
 all these things into consideration we can truly say 
 that whatever objections may be brought against 
 the authenticity of these miniatures, none are in- 
 trinsic ; the great objection of all is want of evidence. 
 No proof lies either way. The only means of 
 proving that they are not the work of Clovio would 
 be to prove that they are by somebody else. And 
 the only absolute proof that they are his, would be 
 a reliable contemporary statement to that effect, 
 
230 Life of Giorgio Gmlio Clovio. 
 
 until the appearance of which the case must remain 
 in statu quo ante erat,^ 
 
 Another of the controverted volumes is the one 
 called at one time the Strawberry Hill Clovio. 
 This is an example of the finest miniature art 
 possible. It could not be disputed on the ground 
 of inferior work, for it is undeniably and entirely 
 excellent. The book is a Psalter and Canticles 
 with Antiphons, for the use of Sta. Maria delle 
 Virgine at Venice. An inscription on a pedestal in 
 one of the miniatures reads S. C. principi And. 
 G. MDXXXViL, and on the first illuminated page 
 ai'e the arms of the Canale family, showing it 
 to have been probably executed for the Abbess 
 Pellegrina de’ Canal i. Whether afterwards pre- 
 
 sented to the famous art-lover, the Doge Andrea 
 Gritti, we cannot affirm. We can only say that it 
 came to this country in the possession of Thomas 
 Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and from 
 him it passed to Henry Earl of Stafford, and after 
 that to Lord Harley, the donor of the Harleian 
 Collection of the British Museum, and was be- 
 (pieathed to his daughter Margaret, Duchess of 
 Portland, at the sale of whose library in 1786 it 
 
 * A very elaborate description of tbe Grenville MS. is given 
 by Dibdin in tlie first volnme of tbe Bibliographical Decameron, 
 of which further notice will be taken in the Appendix. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 231 
 
 was bought by Horace Walpole. It is recorded 
 that he gave £169 for it, and at the Strawberry 
 Hill sale it was bought by Earl Waldegrave for 
 £441. It was among the treasures of the South 
 Kensington Loan Collection in 1862, and in 1886 
 came into the hands of Mr. Ellis, of New Bond 
 Street, for whom Mr. Weale wrote an appre- 
 ciative notice. Mr. Ellis kindly permitted me to 
 examine the volume, alongside Mr. Weale’s descrip- 
 tion. The MS. measures 132 millimetres in height 
 by ninety-six in breadth, and consists of 294 leaves, 
 exceedingly fine vellum. It is written in a fine 
 Bolognese-Grothic hand, fifteen lines to the page. 
 In the Psalms and other portions where similar 
 divisions are necessary, every verse begins with 
 a small gold initial on a coloured panel. The 
 initial of each Psalm is larger and sometimes gold 
 on a coloured panel, sometimes coloured and on 
 gold. The larger sections begin with grander 
 initials, elaborately drawn and painted. The 
 volume contains miniatures, each of them placed 
 in a rich border, and accompanied by a beautiful 
 initial. The first miniature represents David in a 
 delightful landscape, playing an instrument like 
 a guitar, but with a bow. The costume and style 
 of colouring are entirely foreign to Clovio, while 
 the landscape is like those of the Grimani Breviary, 
 
232 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 full of aerial perspective, and quite different from 
 the dry artificial manner of most Italian minia- 
 turists. In the border are foliao-es and flowers, 
 winged children, and vases of fruit-trees, mask and 
 birds executed in tender grey lieightened with 
 gold, on a rich blue ground. The opposite page 
 begins the first Psalm. It consists, in the Venetian 
 manner, of a fine blue tablet or panel on the middle 
 of which is placed a gold-brown label or smaller 
 panel containing the beginning of the Psalm in 
 golden cajjitals. Over this is a golden eagle 
 displayed seated on a garland of fruits, hanging 
 from the usual profile — I’ains’ heads — so common in 
 Florentine and Poman illumination of the Renas- 
 cence. Underneath the tablet is a medallion 
 containino- a bearded half-length fio'ure, and beside 
 this two festoons of flowers and two storks treading 
 on serpents all in a similar grey to that of the 
 opposite border. Surrounding this is a border of 
 deep crimson with a rich jewel at each corner as 
 in the Grimani Breviary and other contemporary 
 work. In the middle of each side is a sphynx 
 1‘esting on a pedestal, and carrying a vase of fruits. 
 In the centre of the lower border is a circlet 
 containing the Pisani or Canali arms, arg. a 
 chevron az. Initial of Psalm xxi : with crimson letter 
 on blue ground. The border has foliages, flowers. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 233 
 
 birds, one of them an owl, in gold on green ground. 
 In centre of foot is a jewel made up of a ruby 
 surrounded by eight pearls. 
 
 The second miniature is the coronation of the 
 Virgin. Border : at sides vases of fruits with 
 leaves, at foot two dolphins and a basket of fruit, 
 at top a jewel between branches of foliage and 
 fruit, all on a bright blue ground. Again, the 
 work altogether is of the Venetian school. Next 
 comes the large initial of Psalm xxvi., Dominus 
 illuminatio mea, pink on deep blue. Then the third 
 miniature, and so on. This miniature contains the 
 prophet Daniel with a scroll on which is written 
 IN TE SPERANTES NON DESERis. The border is of the 
 kind so often seen in the work of Boccardino il 
 Vecchio and other Florentine illuminators. In the 
 centre at foot is a beautiful white and black cameo 
 of a young man seated beneath a tree. Three 
 wheat-ears in a vase in front and a goat behind 
 show that it is intended for Triptolemus. The 
 circlet is upheld by two graceful Tritons. At top 
 and sides are garlands of fruit and flowers, cornu- 
 copias, &c., in gold on crimson, with children and 
 pearls in grey. The fourth initial is a fine D to 
 Dixi Gustocliam, in bright blue on crimson ground, 
 within a blue border with figures, &c., in brown- 
 gold. The fifth should be D, but is put A by 
 mistake, for Dixit insij)iens in corde suo. It is a 
 
234 
 
 Life of Giorgio GiuJio Clovio. 
 
 purplish crimson letter on deep blue, within a 
 crimson border bearing golden ornaments. The 
 sixth initial belongs to Psalm Ixviii., being the 
 first Psalm for Matins on Thursday, Salvum me 
 fac Deus, bright blue on gold, with a border of 
 light blue ornaments, pearly grey and gold. The 
 foui'th miniatui-e, i*epresenting St. Andrew, contains 
 the inscription written on the pedestal of a pillar. 
 This may have been added after the conpiletion of the 
 
 Andrea Gritti, in 1537. Of several conjectural in- 
 tei‘23retations none seems to suit the form of the 
 inscription so well as this. But, of course, it is 
 merely a guess. A beautiful landscape completes 
 the picture, surimmded by a similar border to the rest. 
 The seventh initial is that of Psalm Ixxx., Exultate 
 Deo adiutori nostro : the Psalm for Matins on 
 Friday. The letter and portion of text is enclosed 
 in a border. The fifth miniature represents Christ 
 standing, in the act of blessing, within a border on 
 a blue ground opposite to the eighth initial, which 
 begins the ninety-seventh Psalm — Cantcite Domino 
 canticum novum : the first Psalm for Matins on 
 Saturday. This is followed by the sixth miniature 
 representing St. Jerome with the lion, within a 
 
 s. c. 
 
 PRINCI 
 
 AND 
 
 C 
 
 M.D XXXVII. 
 
 book. It seems to say, Sumjytu communi 
 jjrincfi AndrecB Gritti — that the book was 
 executed at the common expense of the 
 convent for presentation to the Doge, 
 
Life of Giorgio Giidio Clovio. 
 
 1335 
 
 crimson border coiitainino- the usual sort of orua- 
 meuts. Tliere are six more initials, one for eacli of 
 the first Vesper Psalms for the week, but no more 
 miniatures. The most striking pages are those 
 containing the sixth initial, and the miniatures of 
 St. Andrew, Christ, and St. Jerome. The sweet 
 aerial perspective points to a Netherlai)dish rather 
 than to an Italian artist, but one probably resident 
 in Venice, and who had been trained in the practice 
 of the artists of the Griniani Breviary, which most 
 likely he had had the opportunity of studying. 
 There are, however, certain individual differences 
 which prove him to have been an artist of the 
 highest rank. He may, perhaps, have been that 
 famous Boduino of Friuli, one of the most noted of 
 Clovio’s contemporaries, but certainly not Clovio. 
 
 We now have to notice a supposed discovery 
 related by M. Ch. Diehl, in LArt for 1883. Tlie 
 article speaks of three in edited miniatures which, 
 on seemingly good historical grounds, he assigns to 
 Clovio. The evidence as to the patronage of the 
 Missal or Canon which contains them is perfectly 
 satishictory and conclusive. It was clearly executed 
 for Cardinal Giulio della Bovere. Its date fixes it 
 to tlie time when Clovio was in the service of 
 Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Vittoria Farnese, 
 the cardinal’s sister, as we already know, was 
 married to Guidobaldo II., fifth Duke of F^rbino, in 
 
236 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 1548. Guidobaldo was the elder brother of Giulio 
 della Rovere, Archbishop of Ravenna. The con- 
 nection, therefore, between the families is sufficient 
 to make the employment of Clovio upon the manu- 
 script a possible occurrence. But the same argu- 
 ment would apply to the beautiful Este MSS. at 
 F errara, the artists of which are still unknown ; for 
 in 1548 also Giulia della Rovere, the Duke of 
 Urbino’s sister, was married to the youthful 
 Alfonso of Este, Marquis of Montechio, son of the 
 Duke of Ferrara. But an examination of the 
 miniatures themselves shows that two out of 
 three are precisely like the leaves of the Missal of 
 Clement VII. among the Rogers cuttings in Addl. 
 21412, Brit. Mus., like two pages in the Albani 
 Missal, now at Berlin, and the Clement VII. 
 Missal also at Berlin. That is, the office headings 
 ai‘e surrounded by borders composed of groups of 
 pansies and other flowers interspersed among gems 
 and jewels, and having medallions in the corners 
 or centres of the frames containing either cameos or 
 texts of Scripture. At foot of each page in the 
 Ravenna MS. are the arms of Cardinal della 
 Rovere. Somewhere in the Rogers’ examples are 
 those of Clement VII. Elsewhere I have offered a 
 suof 2 festion that the initials S. L. found on one of 
 the medallions might be those of the painter : and 
 that Sebastiano (Luciani) del Piombo, at that time 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 237 
 
 Keeper of the Papal Seal, might have been thus 
 employed during those years of which we have no 
 record of other work. The two illuminated pages 
 may then have been the work of Clovio, as the 
 work shows great similarity to his authentic pro- 
 ductions ; but the third page, with its antiques and 
 Florentine foliages, is distinctly in the manner of 
 Boccardino and his collaborateurs in the studio of 
 Gherardo at Florence. But all this is reasoninof 
 somewhat in a circle. If the work were done in 
 Borne, there is no reason why Florentine minia- 
 turists should not have worked there. If in Florence, 
 the usual emporium for such work, it would be 
 commissioned to various artists; if not in Florence 
 at the time, then wherever they might be. But we 
 cannot get any further in this instance than the 
 probability derived from the name of the patron 
 and the similarity of the work to other work about 
 which there is a similar probability, as in the case 
 of the Missals of Clement VII., and the Offices of 
 Leonora, Duchess of Urbino, the mother of the 
 Giulio and Giulia della Bovere who have just been 
 mentioned. Of course, although Giulio did not 
 become Archbishop of Bavenna until 1565, seven- 
 teen years after his brother’s and sister’s marriages, 
 the MS. might have been executed before and 
 afterwards bequeathed to the cathedral of his 
 favourite diocess. Besides, as the work seems to 
 
238 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 be not at all inferior in firmness and finish to the 
 Urbino Offices executed early in the sixteenth 
 century, it could hardly have been done after 1565, 
 for in 1565 Clovio was sixty-seven years of age and 
 in very bad health, which gradually got worse until 
 his death in 1578. He is noted as workinp' for 
 
 O 
 
 Cardinal della Rovere in 1560, about the time that 
 he finished the Prayer Book described by Vasari, 
 which liad taken him nine years. After this date 
 we know of little that can with certainty be 
 attributed to his hand. Of the three miniatures 
 assigned by M. Diehl, the one containing the 
 Descent of the Holy Gliost is precisely paralleled 
 by those of a IMS. in the Imj)erial Library at 
 Vienna, No. 1849, erroneously conjectured by Dr. 
 AVaagen to be a Spanish MS., because at the end it 
 contains a note in Spanish respecting its safe arrival 
 and approval. But apart from the fact that it is 
 most conspicuously Florentine work of the Gherardo 
 school, and especiall}^ of the Boccardino type, it is 
 also a known fact that towards the end of the 
 fifteenth, and for some years of the sixteenth, it 
 was a common practice for MSS. to be ordered in 
 Florence by commission from Spain, Hungary, and 
 France, as for example the MSS. executed by 
 Attavante. In comparing, however, these minia- 
 tures with those of the Amtican, and finding them 
 different in quality, our wonder is, not that they 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 239 
 
 were so, but that it did not strike M. Diehl as an 
 evidence of their being the work of different 
 masters. 
 
 Another MS. often confidently affirmed to be a 
 
 Clovio” is the Munich MS. entitled ^^Officium 
 Beatse Marise Virginis,” and which begins with the 
 ^^Officium Defunctor. Psahni Graduales & Peniten- 
 tiales.” The miniatures are indeed of a type which 
 might, by a free use of the imagination, be attributed 
 to Clovio, but scarcely by anyone who carried with 
 him a very vivid recollection of Clovio’s authentic 
 ^ work. Nevertheless as we have said, Clovio had 
 many styles and was excellent in them all. These 
 miniatures are more German or Netherlandish in 
 their colour-gamut than the usual work of the 
 Italian master. In point of execution they are 
 equal to anything in miniature art. The borders 
 are adorned with flowers — cut flowers in the Flemish 
 taste, scattered upon a golden ground together 
 with mice, birds, insects, &c., like the Naples 
 
 Flora.” The miniatures are 1. The Annunciation, 
 2. The Visitation, 3. The Circumcision, 4. The 
 Depose, in the Flight to Egypt, 5. The Assumption, 
 6. The Christ-child with the cross, standing on the 
 world-angels above, and men below. This picture is 
 suggestive rather of Pubens than of Raphael. The 
 angel-figures and draperies are most exquisitely 
 lovely, the figure of Christ supremely beautiful. 
 
240 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 the lights very pale and the tints most delicately 
 pencilled and stippled. 7. The Resurrection, 8. A 
 Priest blessing a girl, 9. The Prodigal Son, — a most 
 perfect and charming design. Musicians sit on 
 a gallery or terrace behind, the mother stands 
 with tier hands raised in thankfulness, the valet 
 with a robe, a dog, an open landscape. All is 
 most lovely and perfectly finished even to the 
 veins on the hither s hand, thouMi the hand is 
 not the eighth of an incli in length. The initial 
 letters are })laced in panels usually about one 
 and a quarter inches square, with a neat gold 
 rim, on various grounds of colour worked over 
 with gold embi'oideiy of ornament or foliages. 
 Tlie text is an upright Roman minuscule by an 
 Italian copyist or one j)ractised in Italian penman- 
 ship. The smaller capitals are in plain gold. Among 
 the flowers in the borders are convolvulus, rose, 
 clove-pink, fox-glove, snap-dragon, canterbury-bell, 
 violet, pimpernel, primrose, and foiget-me-not. 
 Among the insects are butterflies, moths, bees, 
 di*agon-flies, caterpillars, red and yellow ladybirds, 
 liouse-flies, locusts, and beetles. Among the fruits 
 ai*e white and red cui-rants, nuts, acorns, and various 
 kinds of berries. These are placed somewhat as in 
 the Hours of Anne of Brittany. The title is placed 
 on a finely stippled blue panel in gold letters like 
 tliose of the Bartoli facsimile T Irgil in the British 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 241 
 
 Museum. Below are two lovely children supporting 
 the Electoral arms of Bavaria, quarterly 1 and 4 
 lozengy a. and az., 2 and 3 m., a lion rampant 
 or, crowned g^i. On the centre is placed an 
 inescutcheon, a mound or, surmounted by a cross 
 gu. The shield is surmounted by an Electoral cap 
 ermine, thus showing that these arms were inserted 
 after the change from the Ducal to the Electoral 
 dignity, which took place in 1596. The children 
 stand on a stone step and the shield is placed on a 
 cartel of gold shaded with brown and surrounded 
 by the chain or collar and devise of the golden 
 fleece. The blue panel has a brown gold frame with 
 a pendant of flowers at either side. If this be a 
 Clovio, we should not hesitate to call either the 
 Strawberry Hill MS. or the Naples Flora genuine 
 Clovios. There is reason to believe, however, that 
 the person named as the binder, or at least as the 
 jeweller who adorned the covers, was also the minia- 
 turist and even the penman of the volume. Such 
 was the reputation of Hans Lenker who in 1574 
 wrote this lovely MS. It is of a fresh roseate kind of 
 miniature painting quite distinct from the brownish 
 flesh tints of Clovio and the firmer workings of his 
 muscular forms. Besides, Clovio in 1574 was already 
 too infirm to do any painting so perfect as this. 
 
 From the long lists of works given in the inven- 
 tories left by Clovio at his death, it is certain that 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 Life of Giorcjio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 many are, if existing, still without identification, and 
 possibly some so-called Clovios may thus be fully 
 entitled to the name. But to identify them simply 
 on their intiinsic qualities and features would require 
 much care and a very extensive acquaintance with 
 liis authentic works. On the other hand to accept 
 tliem on the mere dictum of a custode, or on the 
 vague authority of a tradition, is most absurd. 
 We constantly see in museums miniatures attributed 
 to Clovio, of the most unlikely kind both from the 
 character of the work and from the date or other 
 circumstance attachino- to it. Yet from time to time 
 his true works are beiiio- restored to their iwhtful 
 
 o & 
 
 place. The lattei* is especially the case with his 
 drawings; many were mere chalk sketches, others 
 finished works in pen and ink, others still more 
 highly finished miniature paintings. 
 
 That he was a most accomplished miniaturist is 
 allowed by everyone, but that he was what Vasari 
 and others have echoed and re-echoed from his own 
 time to the present — the greatest miniaturist who 
 ever lived — is far from the truth. In masterly vigour 
 of colourino- he is inferior to Monte di Giovanni, and 
 in decorative skill to FraEustachio and other artists 
 of the Florentine school. In minuteness of finish he 
 was not superior to Girolamo dai Libri, Rinaldo 
 Piramo, or Albert Glockendon. In variety of 
 realistic portraiture he is at least equalled by 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 243 
 
 Gerard David, and in atmosphere and aerial perspec- 
 tive by the other painters of the Grimani Breviary. 
 In art-knowledge he is no greater than Geoffrey Tory, 
 while in book-learning and knowledge of symbolism 
 he is surpassed by Georg Hoefnagel. Neverthe- 
 less, taking altogether his vast range of work, his 
 versatility, his patient and persevering execution and 
 his occasional grandeur of conception, the works of 
 Clovio are deservedly estimated at a very high price. 
 Whoever possesses a page of his execution possesses 
 a masterpiece of art, and, when every fault has 
 been found and criticized, there remains a work that 
 must always have a reputation of the highest class 
 wherever good art is appreciated, or the name of the 
 artist remembered. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 At Perugia Clovio painted — 
 
 1 . An office of the Virgin, ivith many illumina- 
 
 tions. 
 
 Perhaps the Stuart de Pothesay MS. 
 now in the British Museum. 
 
 2. A Pieta. 
 
 3. A Crucifixion. 
 
 On the death of Cardinal Griniani in 1546, 
 2 and 3 came into the possession of the papal 
 notary, Giovanni Gaddi, who was himself an illu- 
 minator and calligrapher of some reputation. He 
 seems to he identical with the Gaddi, who though 
 a great friend of Cellini’s, used to annoy him 
 considerably whilst he lay ill, by calling to see what 
 he could pick up. A Giovanni Gaddi is also men- 
 tioned as a patron of Annibale Caro, but this seems 
 to have been another personage of greater im- 
 portance. 
 
 4. A finely ivritten copy of the Commentary 
 
 of Alarino Grimani on St. PauVs 
 Epistle to the Romans. Noiv in the 
 Soane Museum. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 245 
 
 The following is a detailed description of this 
 precious volume : — 
 
 The Soane MSS. 
 
 This splendid fragment consists of about 130 
 leaves of vellum, now inlaid in smooth paper, and 
 contains the Commentary of Cardinal Marino 
 Grimani on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Pomans. 
 With two large miniatures enclosed in rich borders 
 of ornament, and one border surrounding the begin- 
 ning of the text. The size of each leaf is 17 by 
 13 inches. 
 
 Fob 1. Blank. 
 
 Fob 2 (inlaid) contains on a panel the title : 
 Marini Grimani Veneti s.r.e. Cardinalis ac patriarchae 
 Aquileiae. Epistola in commentarios epistolarum 
 pauli. 
 
 The text begins with an initial ” in gold 
 chiaroscuro, composed of a standing figure of a 
 man in old Bonian costume. “ Inter omnia libera- 
 liuni artium,” &c. The borders to this page are 
 based on the decorations of the Baths of Titus, and 
 are like those of certain pages in the little book of 
 Offices in the British Museum. Among the orna- 
 ments here is a cameo of Minerva copied from the 
 one given by Maffei, and entitled Minerva col 
 tritone, e Serpente sull’ elmo.” No. 65. From an 
 agate. Clovio has replaced the triton with a 
 centaur, added colour according to his own fancy. 
 
24G 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 and considerably altered the expression of the face. 
 The rest of the ornaments, being derived from the 
 same source, are of course very like some of the 
 pilasters in the Loggie of the Vatican, or the wall 
 paintings of the houses at Pompeii. The mask in 
 centre of upper border is precisely in the manner of 
 those already alluded to in the British Museum 
 Hours. The doves, fowls, &c. on the left narrow 
 border recall those of the Hoefnagel Missal at 
 Vienna. Hoefnagel w^as a close copyist of Clovio. 
 The panel in which the next title is placed is of 
 gi*ey veined marble, with a gold frame and Roman 
 capital letters. It reads as follows : — Marini 
 Griniani Veneti | S R E Cardinalis | et Patriarchse 
 Aquileise | in Epistolam Pauli | Ad Romanos 
 Conimen | tariorum cap. prinium. The ordinary text 
 is a good half-italic character, as if placed on a leaf 
 of vellum, the corners of which are represented as 
 curling over at top — the ground behind being black. 
 This is a common device at the time of its execution, 
 occurrino- both in the Attavante MSS. and else- 
 
 O 
 
 where, as in the splendid Missal of Cardinal 
 Cornaro attributed to Raffaello in the Minerva 
 Library in Rome. Then a bead frame of gold 
 forms a finishino’ edoe to the work. 
 
 O O 
 
 A figure of an elderly woman with a distaff 
 in the lower left side, who is perhaps intended 
 for Ceres, or simply a spinster. A cusped panel 
 
Life of (jliorgio Giulio Clovio. 247 
 
 in centre contains the three Graces from a cameo. 
 A well-painted barn-door cock stands immediately 
 below and a dove immediately above the woman. 
 
 The other upright border, on the right hand, 
 begins at top with a lion’s head and ring of the 
 door-knocker sort, in brown and gold : then ribbons 
 and the circular cameo head in colours, already 
 referred to, of Minerva. Then a pair of small swans 
 as supporters standing on brackets on either side a 
 mask ; and another cusped cameo in a gold frame 
 containing a white figure, on black ground, of a 
 woman with a vase. On each side are small golden 
 lamps and pendant ornaments. A semi-circular 
 landscape stands below, then termini, &c., resting 
 on a polished marble pillar having cupids and 
 vases beside in the usual Pompeian taste. 
 
 Pol. 2 V. Plain text continued. 
 
 Fol. 3 V. Has a half or bracket border of golden 
 renascence foliages and another cusped cameo in 
 black and white. Title, Eiusdem in Epistolam Pauli 
 ad Romanos Frafatio. In Roman capitals as 
 before. 
 
 Text begins Cum varias nationeSy with initial C, 
 formed of two Michelangelesca figures wreathed 
 about the slender letter, all in gold, and an interior 
 scroll of foliages. The foliages are partly outlined 
 in black, which makes them distinct and forcible. 
 
 Fol. 4. Text continued. 
 
248 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Fol. 8 is blank. 
 
 Fol. 8 V. The first large illumination or minia- 
 ture with borders. 
 
 Fol. 9. The second large illuminated borders. The 
 first represents the Conversion of St. Paul, the 
 idea of which is taken from the tapestry of the 
 same subject by Paffaello, now in the Vatican, the 
 cartoon of which formerly belonged to the Hampton 
 Court series. And the idea is ill, for both the 
 composition is altered for the worse, crowded 
 out of due shape, and the figures themselves are 
 exaggerated in their proportions, distorted in form, 
 and far from pleasant in colour. Indeed it is a 
 picture that, except for technical skill, might have 
 been done by any copyist. In fact, it is utterly 
 spoilt by being drawn in the exaggerated manner of 
 Michelangelo, on a Raffaellesca design, and coloured 
 without the chiaroscuro or force of either master. 
 It is really a very feeble work, and by no means to 
 be compared with the powerful Last Judgment of 
 the Towneley Lectionary. The figure of St. Paul is 
 much beneath the reputation of the artist and very 
 much below that of Paffaello. The two lads with the 
 runaway horse are almost literally copied from the 
 tapestry, the attendant soldiers maintain almost 
 the same attitudes ; the distance only is Clovio’s own 
 invention, but in this instance is a questionable 
 improvement on the nearer city walls and towers of 
 

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 CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 (Page from “ Soane " Clouio). 
 
CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 (Page from “ Soane ” Clouio). 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 249 
 
 the tapestry. The figure of the heavenly vision 
 which in Kaffaello’s picture is placed in the centre 
 is here made much smaller and pushed aside to the 
 right-hand corner. The closer imitations of that 
 picture published by Vaccaro and others from 1576 
 to 1589 are far superior to this feeble production. 
 
 Having pointed out the defects of this splendid 
 page, it is only due to it to say that the borders in 
 point of decoration are as rich and exquisitely 
 finished as anything in miniature art. It would 
 be useless to attempt a verbal description. The 
 delicacy of the pencilling, the sweetness of the 
 colour, the grace, brilliancy and appropriateness 
 of the design, are beyond the reach of words. 
 The only drawback is a little overcrowding, as if 
 the fertility of the artist’s imagination were too 
 much for his space, and exceeded his own power of 
 restraint. On the whole, and especially in the naked 
 athletes at top, it is decidedly under the influence of 
 Michelangelo and the Sistine ceilings, which Clovio 
 seemed unable sufficiently to admire and imitate. 
 I have already mentioned the David and Goliath 
 copied immediately from the same subject on the 
 ceiling, into the little Book of Offices in the 
 British Museum. The Towneley Lectionary still 
 more emphatically makes use of the same materials, 
 and the Paris Psalter almost equally so. The 
 contorted athletes of the Sistine, or the muscular 
 
250 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 women of the San Lorenzo chapel, are Clovio’s 
 grand ideals. 
 
 But when this is said we must add that he did 
 not confine himself to these agonized tours de force 
 of draughtmanship. He can at times, as in this 
 very border in the Soane Commentaries, condescend 
 to extreme feminine grace. An almost nude figure 
 of Venus as Peace, with an inverted torch in her 
 hand, is as beautifully drawn and as delicately 
 coloured as anything the spectator could wish to 
 see. In the centre of each border is a cameo ; that 
 at top, a mystic representation of the Trinity 
 surrounded by angel trumpeters, in brown-gold 
 chiaroscuro. That in the narrow border on the 
 left contains the upright figure of St. Paul, also in 
 gold chiaroscuro. The one in the outer border is a 
 coloured miniature of St. Paul preaching at Athens, 
 with the circular temple very conspicuous. At foot 
 the large circlet contains a coloured miniature of the 
 stoning of St. Stephen, full of action and composed 
 so as to bring the figures of the martyr and of the 
 youthful apostle prominently to the front. The 
 rest of the border is filled with armour, weapons 
 and accoutrements, and at foot are several chubby 
 children variously engaged. 
 
 On a bronze tablet placed somewhat obliquely in 
 the lower right corner, beside the charming figure — a 
 fair-haired child — is the inscription in thin Roman 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 251 
 
 capitals in gold : making | grima | no car | et lega | 
 
 TO PERV I SINO PA | TRONO | SVOIVLIVS | CROVATA | 
 PINGEBA I T. 
 
 The opposite page contains the title and com- 
 mencement of the Commentary, surrounded by a 
 similar border to that of the miniature. Four 
 cameos as before occupy the central points of the 
 four sides. At top, an oblong oval containing a con- 
 sultation between a legal personage seated at a desk 
 and two gentlemen who stand before him. On a 
 form or bench which extends along two sides of the 
 room is seated an attendant in a most natural 
 attitude of rest, and two others stand beside a table 
 piled with books. On either side of this cameo is a 
 white dove — over one a branch of olive, over the 
 other a palm — and winding about a green artificial 
 scroll of foliage is a label bearing the word simp| 
 LiCES. In the left narrow side border an upright 
 oval corresponding with the one containing the 
 figure of St. Paul, like the upper one, in gold- 
 chiaroscuro. It contains a figure somewhat like the 
 initial I of the Dedicatory Epistle. He holds in his 
 left hand a vase, a staff in the right. Over his head 
 are the words pastoris mvnvs. At foot, in a large 
 circlet like the corresponding one on the other page, 
 is a group of naked children supporting a shield 
 bearing the Grimani arms. A winged child hover- 
 ing above holds over it a cardinal’s hat. The back- 
 ground consists of an open landscape, showing a 
 
252 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 castle on an eminence, and a town on the plain built 
 on the banks of a winding river. This circlet is 
 supported by two dragons of most elaborate con- 
 struction and finish among whose feet winds the 
 label with : prv | de | n | tes. This of course with 
 the label at top is the direction given for a becoming 
 Christian life. “ Wise as serpents (or clear-sighted 
 as dragons), harmless (simple) as doves.” The 
 draco of the ancients was so called for his keenness 
 of sight, and the word “ prudent” comes very near 
 its literal meaning in this text. The text from 
 Matt. X. 16 was used as a motto by Cardinals 
 Domenico and Marino Griniani. In the part of the 
 outer border answering to the position of Peace in 
 the opposite page, stands the figure of Mars as War, 
 accoutred as a Roman Legionary officer, in helm, 
 cuirass and buskins. A large oval portrait of the 
 Cardinal Patron occupies the centre of the side 
 border painted with extreme care and evident 
 fidelity to nature. The rest of the border is filled to 
 excess with shields, corslets and other warlike para- 
 phernalia. It must be understood that the naked 
 athletes who support the suspended ornaments which 
 fill the borders, occupy the upper corners of each 
 page. As to the interior of this one the upper half 
 is occupied by an open landscape in the foreground 
 of which stand two tastefully draped women and 
 two naked children, the women to represent Faith 
 and Piety. The boys hold up a comparatively 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 253 
 
 immense tablet in a heavy gold frame containing 
 the title in golden capitals : marini grimani veneti | 
 
 SRE CARDINALIS | ET PATRIARCHAE AQVILEIAE | IN 
 EPISTOLAM PAVLI | AD ROMANOS COMMEN | TARIORVM CAP 
 PRIMVM. 
 
 Under this picture, in large Roman capitals almost 
 an inch high, the word pavlvs. Of this word the 
 letters are alternately gold and lake ; gold and blue. 
 Then comes the ordinary text : Scripturus with a 
 golden initial, heatus Paulus Romanis, &c., in a 
 kind of engrossing hand, and so on to the end of the 
 book through its hundred and thirty-one or two 
 folios. 
 
 On fol. 131, near the top, the text ends, and just 
 beneath the words in the handwriting of a revisor : 
 Lihrum liunc post eius primam scriptiones castiga- 
 tione reddidimus. The last words are cum laude, 
 totis viribus referamus. 
 
 Of the same work Clovio executed another copy 
 with four large paintings, in which he made the 
 principal picture, the Conversion of St. Paul, a 
 closer imitation of Raffaello’s. After this miniature, 
 in 1576, C. Cort produced a copper-plate engraving 
 which bears the name of Lorenzo Vaccaro,^^ and it 
 may possibly be the one afterwards brought to 
 England, and purchased by Mr. Strange at Nowell 
 Jennings’s sale. (Strange Sale Catal. No. 735.) 
 
 * See Appendix : List of Engraving's. 
 
II. 
 
 The Towneley Lectionary. 
 
 Fol. 1. Heading : ‘‘ Initium sancti Evang. se- 
 cundum J ohannem ” in a rich frame of brown-gold. 
 The inscription in gold capitals on a blue ground. 
 The frame has natural figures at each end, and 
 heads at top and bottom. Pendants of fruit and a 
 jewel at side. Little spaces of inner grounds in 
 frame picked out with pink and green, finely shaded 
 in stipple. The upper head has pink drapery shaded 
 with violet and heightened with fine touches of 
 pencil gold. The lower head has the drapery pink 
 shaded with blue. Then a figure of St. John stand- 
 ing ready to write on a rock in Patinos ; with rich 
 brown-gold frame and foliages, festoons and figures. 
 The text is a very large, bold and elegant Poman 
 character, three-eighths of an inch high, with plain 
 gold and blue capitals. 
 
 Fol. 2, text. Fol. 3. A most magnificent border, 
 Sequentise Scti. Evang. secund. Lucam.” Large 
 figures at sides on black ground, finely modelled 
 in style of Michelangelo’s Sistine ceiling. They are 
 painted to represent marble statues. The heading is 
 placed on a panel of which the upper frame is pink, 
 shaded with violet, the ground on right has scroll- 
 work like the Urbino ^'Lives,”but larger, consisting 
 of richly coloured and much varied leafages of 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 255 
 
 Roman acanthus, &c., the interspaces picked out 
 with pink, green, and nasturtium. Ornaments vari- 
 coloured and gold. Two lionesses modelled in grey. 
 A large miniature of the Nativity — Mary kneeling 
 beside the babe, and Joseph seated behind her. 
 Behind him again are the cattle, and around are 
 numerous figures of spectators. Shepherds enter 
 from the open country on the right. Mary’s drapery 
 is crimson and blue as usual ; J oseph’s, orange. The 
 subject is full of life and action — some of the 
 figures in the air. The border, a fine architectural 
 Bramantesca design in brown-gold, with an outer 
 panel of smooth green. Miniature medallions in 
 the architecture at foot in chiaroscuro brown-gold 
 with festoons of fruits, &c. The subjects are the 
 Circumcision ; Adoration of the Magi ; and the 
 Presentation in the Temple. The painting is good — 
 the Head of Christ in particular. At top, a similar 
 treatment. The figure of a child finished to extreme 
 fineness, in the style of Michelangelo. The borders 
 are in. wide. In the centre of the lower one 
 are the arms of Cardinal Farnese, rather rubbed. 
 
 2. The next large picture is the Calling of the 
 Apostles, in a brown-gold chiaroscuro border with 
 colossal caryatids in coloured draperies, and natural 
 flesh, on blue ground. They hold lilies. In the 
 picture Christ is seated somewhat to the spectator’s 
 left in the foreground. In front of him are Andrew 
 
256 
 
 Life of Giorgio Ginlio Clovio. 
 
 and Peter, then Jude, Janies and John. The 
 rest are behind. It is apparently not Clovio’s own 
 work. 
 
 On the opposite page are the next sequences, 
 Dominus vobiscum Sequentise Matth.” with a 
 panel title. A large figure of the Evangelist in 
 brown-gold frame with border of fair sculpture. 
 Caryatids and figures of children leaning upon a 
 sort of altar at foot. 
 
 3. The third large miniature is Christ’s Charge 
 to Peter. A coarse and gaudy composition — 
 certainly not by Clovio, and in a very unfinished 
 state. To the extreme right is Christ standing in 
 the midst. Peter kneels in front — his head bearing 
 a very clearly defined tonsure, the keys hang- 
 ing from one of his clasped hands. The rest 
 stand behind. Seen under Peter’s upraised hands 
 is a flock of sheep to which Christ is pointing. 
 The border is unfinished— not having received all 
 the gold or final shading. A deep brown archi- 
 tectural design of a doorway in brown-gold with 
 sculptured terminals at side and miniatures at 
 bottom. The next page has the words In illo 
 tempore ” in a very handsome title-panel, with 
 figures of prophets below — the colouring of which 
 is very attractive. 
 
 4. The fourth miniature represents the Resurrec- 
 tion, and is a magnificent piece of work. In the 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 257 
 
 centre is an open tomb, around which soldiers are 
 grouped in various attitudes of surprise and terror. 
 The expression and the draperies are well rendered, 
 but the figures of the soldiers are especially to be 
 noted for the direct manner in which their attitudes 
 and attention point the spectator to the figure of 
 Christ floating upwards with a white flowing 
 drapery falling from the body. Around him are 
 angels, above him a perfect sea of cherubs’ heads. 
 The face and figure of Christ are grandly 
 executed. The attitude gives an instantaneous 
 conviction of its upward movement. The border is 
 in brown-gold including the sculptures. Below are 
 two medallions — one containing the three Maries 
 at the Sepulchre, — ^the other, Christ appearing to 
 Mary Magdalene in the garden. 
 
 The next title has a blue panel with gold frame 
 supported at each end by the graceful, almost nude 
 figure of a girl. The ornamental scrollwork is 
 immensely varied in colour, and numerous elegant 
 pendants add to the richness of the design, recalling 
 somewhat the cartel-work of the school of Antwerp, 
 conspicuous in the Grenville “Victories of Charles V.” 
 
 The accompanying sequences are those of St. 
 Mark. In technic the girl-figures are painted in 
 the earlier Baflaellesca manner, as in the Thermae of 
 Titus — and as in the Soane Clovio. That is, the 
 colour is added only tenderly and delicately in the 
 
 17 
 
258 Life of Giorgio Gvulio Clovio. 
 
 shades and depths — the lights left almost untouched 
 — and with a fine brown stipple. The pendants are 
 similarly treated in sweetly varied colours. A 
 brown hatching outside the frame and ornaments 
 serves to throw up the work and give it force. 
 
 5. The fifth large picture gives the Descent of 
 the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. It is not by Clovio 
 — either having been originally placed here, and 
 like several others, the work of assistants, or sub- 
 stituted since for the original. In the centre 
 below is Mary in blue robe and white linen 
 head dress, with upraised face and clasped hands ; 
 grouped around her are the apostles — John some- 
 what in front. Upon all rest the symbolical 
 tongues of fire. Above them is the Dove, descend- 
 ing in a radiant nimbus — innumerable cherubs 
 fluttering around it. The face and attitude of 
 Mary differ considerably from the usual type, 
 being less idealized. The picture is accompanied 
 by a magnificent pilaster frame of rich ornament 
 — partly blue relieved with gold. A profile of 
 architectural and sculptured figures, foliages and 
 pendants, adorns the sides, accompanying a handsome 
 prophet-like figure, draped in yellow and violet, with 
 a blue head dress. The next title is most gorgeous 
 and elaborate. A gold chiaroscuro frame, with 
 panels containing blue grounds within gold rims, 
 and gold letters. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 259 
 
 6. The last miniature is the celebrated Last Judg- 
 ment, considered by most judges to be not only 
 the finest miniature in this volume, but Clovio’s 
 Masterpiece, — the most remarkable and by far the 
 most masterly of all his extant works. In all the 
 higher qualities of design and beauty of workman- 
 ship I know of nothing to compare with it. For, 
 notwithstanding its limited dimensions, it contains 
 all the materials of a colossal wall-painting, and gives 
 rather the impression of a great work diminished 
 artificially than of a miniature of its actual size. 
 Remembering that it is merely a page in a book, we 
 begin to comprehend the language of Vasari in his 
 descriptions of other examples of Clovio’s work ; 
 we understand the praises lavished during three 
 centuries upon this very picture. 
 
 High up in the centre is the Saviour himself, 
 seated as Judge and clothed in Imperial robes. In 
 one hand he holds not a sceptre but a cross, in the 
 other the mound or orb of sovereignty. Around 
 him are crowded countless hosts of cherubs, ren- 
 dered technically by a few masterly touches of the 
 pencil dipped in gold, but all varying in individual 
 expression. Below are summoning angels in varied 
 attitudes, giving the trumpet calls to the dead, who 
 are rising to the awful reveille like soldiers to the 
 battle-call, with only one thought, of prompt and 
 instantaneous obedience. Before them stand an 
 
 17 
 
260 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 innumerable company of saints, martyrs, and con- 
 fessors, in attitudes of happy thankfulness or peace- 
 ful expectation, their gaze fixed upon the Judge. 
 The moment chosen by the artist is that solemn 
 description of the Apocalypse, And I saw the 
 dead, small and great, standing before God. And 
 books were opened . . . And the sea gave up the 
 dead which were in it, and Death and Hades gave 
 up the dead which were in them” (Rev. xx. 12, 13). 
 Below this multitude is a division occupied with 
 angels, and on the ground of the picture the sinners. 
 Being nearer, these are on a larger scale, and the 
 expression more vivid. Here is every aspect of 
 doubt, fear, or despair, or of shrinking and un- 
 mingled terror. This portion of the picture 
 demands and deserves deep and careful examination. 
 In the borders are the figures of Adam and Eve in 
 attitudes of remorse and shame. Such is a vague 
 and imperfect verbal outline of this marvellous 
 composition, but no mere description could convey 
 the complicated variety of expression, pose, colour, 
 and incident with which it abounds. The frame is 
 of a golden ochre tone, richly relieved with gold. 
 Sculpturesque figures of different sizes are placed 
 upon it, and in finish and care it is worthy of the 
 miniature which it encloses. The ground of the 
 outer portion is dull blue carrying a pencilled orna- 
 ment in gold. 
 
III. 
 
 The Trivulzio Petrarch. 
 
 This MS., though stated by Kosini^ to be the 
 work of Clovio, certainly does not seem proved from 
 the specimen he gives. Rosini says, The diligence 
 and delicacy of the work (apart from the tradition) 
 leave no doubt that this was one of the works 
 executed by him in early youth.” The mistake of 
 assuming fineness or minute labour to be sufficient 
 proof of authenticity is the common mistake of 
 almost every writer who has not carefully compared 
 various examples. There is no doubt that this 
 work is executed in the earlier Italian manner — a 
 better argument than either its diligence or its 
 delicacy. 
 
 The volume in question is a small octavo, like 
 most of its contemporary books of poetry, and rather 
 narrow for the length. Further description is not 
 given by Rosini, but the outline added by him 
 presents a picture, about 4 in. by in., of a 
 panelled chamber with an open window at the end. 
 In front sits the poet at a desk, in an attitude of 
 deep cogitation, his head resting on his left hand. 
 His right holding a book rests on the desk. On the 
 further end of the desk is an armillary sphere. 
 Nearer are several books and an inkstand. Reared 
 
 * Ed. Pisa. V. iii. 
 
262 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 in the corner of the foreground is a lute, and beside 
 Petrarch’s feet sits a cat. Blue mountains are seen 
 through the window. 
 
 It was this little volume, or one exactly like it, 
 that Apostolo Zeus gave to the Marciana at Venice, 
 as mentioned by Cigogna. Sakcinski^ gives its 
 number as Cod, DXVI., but he adds, Kako je 
 kasnije dospio isti rukopis u sbirku Trivulza u Milan 
 nije poznato.” '' Whether indeed this be the same 
 MS. now long remaining in the Trivulzio Collection 
 in Milan I do not know.” 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Psalter of Paul III, 
 
 This splendid but hitherto somewliat neglected 
 MS. was superficially examined and described by 
 Dr. Waagen in his “ Kunstwerke und Klinstler,” in 
 Paris, published at Berlin in 1839, To the descrip- 
 tion given by him I have now to add the sub- 
 stance of an analysis of its contents most courte- 
 ously furnished to me by M. Leopold Delisle, the 
 Chief Librarian of the Bihliotheque Nationale, Paris. 
 
 Waagen says, p. 394: — ‘Mn the arabesques of 
 its borders we may recognize the influence of 
 the Loggie of the Vatican; in the historical 
 
 ^ Dictionary of S. Slavonian Biography, Art. II. 161. 
 
Lije of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 263 
 
 pictures a mistaken imitation of Michelangelo. 
 In the softness, delicacy and finish in gouache, 
 the miniatures are truly wonderful, and fully 
 justify the European reputation which Clovio 
 enjoyed in his own time. A graceful golden foliage, 
 picked out with colours, and enriched with garlands, 
 birds, &c., in the style of Giovanni da Udine, sur- 
 rounds the title-page, while in the lower border is 
 an oblong medallion supported by two angels con- 
 taining a profile portrait of Paul III. and the 
 legend and date Paulus III. Pont. M. MD.XLII. 
 The MS. which was formerly numbered Supplem. 
 Lat. 702 is now MS. Latin 8880 Bihl. Nationale.^' 
 M. Delisle gives the following account of folio 1, 
 Rubric: n nomine dhi | nostri Jesu Christi | 
 
 Amen. | Ordo psalterii secundum morem | et con- 
 suetudine 3 | Pomanse curise | foeliciter Incipit. 
 Invitatoria sub | scripta dicuntur | singula singulis | 
 dominicis diebus | a secunda dhica post Epiphanias | 
 usq. ad septuages | imam et a Kale | dis Octobris 
 us I 9 : ad Adventum. || Invitatorum I. | Venite 
 exul I temus .... The last folio contains the 
 following colophon ccxiiiv : — - 
 
 Silvester ad Lectorem 
 
 Octavum explerat jam paulus tertius annum 
 Hoc Federicus cum Perusinus opus 
 Xe merita autoris fraudetur dextera laude 
 Et patria et nomen sint tibi nota . tale . 
 
 M.D.XLILll.OCTOB.” 
 
264 
 
 Life of Giorgio Gmlio Clovio. 
 
 The volume has 213 folios, 374 millim. high by 260 
 broad. It is written in two columns, in a large 
 Roman hand, exactly similar to the handsome 
 characters of the XVI. Century printers. The 
 volume was presented to Pope Paul III. by Antonius 
 S. R. E. Cardinalis Casalius. The arms of Pius VI. 
 (Braschi, 1774-1799) are embroidered on the covering, 
 a pretty clear evidence, by the way, that the volume 
 was part of the Bonaparte plunder from that unfor- 
 tunate pontiff after the Bologna decree of 1796. 
 The Psalter properly so called occupies ff. i-clxxxi. 
 The Hymns ff. clxxxiii-ccvii. The Litany ff. cc8 
 (sic)-ecx. Prayers ccx. 
 
 The ornamentation comprises : — 
 
 I. The first page with a frame-border of rich 
 ornaments, architectural motives and garlands of 
 flowers and fruits, interspersed with birds, &c., as 
 already mentioned. 
 
 II. Fob clxxxii, V. A grand full -page picture in 
 gouache representing the Almighty floating in the 
 air above the world. The border of the kind 
 already described, consisting of cameos, terminals, 
 and garlands. At the top is a cameo containing the 
 bust of the Pope with the legend pavlvs hi. font max. 
 At foot the arms of this Pope : ^ix fleurs-de-lis on 
 an azure field. The miniature precedes the office 
 of the First Sunday in Advent. Waagen thus 
 describes it : “Before the First Sunday in Advent, 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 265 
 
 on a picture which occupies the whole of the page, is 
 God the Father represented in the act of creating 
 the sun and moon. The deep yellow with purple 
 shadows of his under garment has too glaring an 
 effect, and the muscles of the limbs, as seen, are 
 much exaggerated through the drapery. The head 
 too is spiritless, though the technical execution is 
 most masterly and highly finished. On the other 
 hand, the borders are extremely beautiful, especially 
 those of the opposite page, including twelve angels 
 and four genii placed in symmetrical arabesques, the 
 flesh tones of which are as it were breathed on them, 
 and give them an infinite charm. At the same time 
 the heads are meaningless and the forms occasionally 
 too attenuated. But incomparable imitations of 
 onyx, cameos, masks, termini, and precious stones 
 intensify the impression of the general loveliness of 
 the work. On the lower border are the arms of 
 Paul III.” 
 
 III. The first page of the Hymns (fol. clxxxiii) 
 surrounded by an appropriate frame -border, like that 
 one opposite (fol. clxxxii v.). At foot, a medallion 
 in which are painted a violet flower (in fact a lily), 
 a sort of rainbow, and the devise on a ribbon, 
 AIKHS KPINON. This emblematic devise is the 
 impresa of Paul III. as has been explained already. 
 
 IV. Eleven large painted initials, f centimetres 
 in height, on gold grounds, on which are sometimes 
 
266 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 placed small compartments, at times in the form of 
 cameos, on which are depicted little subjects in 
 chiaroscuro. 
 
 V. Thirty-three painted initials, 4 centini. high, 
 in the interior of which are depicted small subjects, 
 similarly to the larger ones. All these initials are 
 of a fine Roman type, and in a very pure taste. 
 Besides these, there is at the beginning of every 
 psalm, a large capital in gold on a ground half red, 
 half blue. The initials of the verses are smaller 
 capitals in gold on grounds of red or blue hatching. 
 Details as to the situation of initials, &c. : — 
 Initials of 7 centimetres (about 2f in.) on gold 
 grounds, with flowers, fruits, insects, pearls, emeralds 
 or rubies on them. 
 
 Fob ii, V. The subject in this initial is a king 
 kneeling, his arms extended in prayer, his crown on 
 the ground. Text, Beatus vir qui ... (in colours). 
 Ps. i. (Vulgate.) This is the usual picture in this 
 
 f. xl, V. Same subject, a blue cameo. Text, 
 Dominus illuminatio niea.” Ps. xxvi. 
 f. lx. A king standing and playing a psaltery. 
 Dixi custodiam vias meas . .” Ps. xxxviii. A 
 white cameo on deep purple. 
 
 f. Ixxv. A king standing and touching a key- 
 board with two plectra. Dixit insipiens in corde 
 suo . . Ps. lii. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 267 
 
 f. Ixxxviii. Two subjects painted in the initial, 
 Salvum me fac Deus . . . Ps. Ixviii. 
 
 1. A man on his knees before an altar on 
 which is a chalice: green cameo. 2. King 
 on his knees in prayer, his arms extended, 
 his crown on the ground. Purple cameo, 
 f. cvii, V. King kneeling between two trees. 
 Purple cameo. Exultate Deo. Ps. Ixxx. 
 
 f. cxxiii. King standing, playing a long flute, 
 red ground. Cantate Domino. Ps. xcvii. 
 
 f. cxliii. King kneeling in prayer. Green cameo. 
 Legem pone mihi . . . Ps. cxviii. 33. 
 
 f. cliii. King playing the harp. Green cameo. 
 Dixit Dominus domino meo . . . Ps. cix. 
 f. clxxiii. The Last Judgment, 
 f. cxcvi. The Conversion of St. Paul. Gold- 
 bronze. Sky blue. Our Lord in a red drapery. 
 A miniature, 60 millim. by 77 (rather more than 
 2^ in. by 3). 
 
 Initials of 4 centimetres (about in.) high. 
 
 £ xix. A figure standing and bearing a column. 
 
 £ XXV. Jesus Christ bearing His cross, 
 f. lx, V. A man kneeling in prayer, 
 f. cl. A figure standing. 
 
 f. clvii. Death with his scythe. A black cameo, 
 f. clix, V. A king standing. Green cameo. 
 
 £ clxii. Two figures : one in the air, the other 
 praying. Nisi Dominus sedificaverit . . . Ps. cxxvi. 
 
268 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 f. clxiiii. Small figure standing, and holding a 
 violin and bow. Green cameo. Memento Domine 
 David . . . Ps. cxxxi. 
 
 f. clxviii. Christ risen holding the cross with an 
 air of triumph. Purple cameo. Confitebor tibi 
 Domine . . . Ps. cxxxvii. 
 
 f. clxxii. Two subjects. In the upper compart- 
 ment Christ triumphant — in the lower, the open 
 tomb, surrounded by sleeping guards. Benedictus 
 Dominus Deus meus . . . Ps. cxliii. 
 
 f. clxxxiiii. The Nativity. 
 
 f. clxxxv. Two small cameos. 1. The Adoration 
 of the Magi. 2. The Magi on their journey. 
 
 f clxxxv, V. A figure praying. 
 
 f. clxxxvii. The instruments of the Passion. 
 
 f. clxxxix. Figure kneeling. 
 
 f. cxci. Two female figures standing, one of whom 
 holds a sword and scales (Justice), the other a 
 serpent. 
 
 f cxci, V. The Holy Spirit. 
 
 f. cxciii. Two small compartments on red grounds. 
 
 1. Figure of a Pope in prayer, in white 
 detached from the grounds — above the 
 words : Pavlvs hi. 2. The figure of the 
 Trinity. 
 
 f cxciiii, V. The Eucharist, figured by a chalice 
 and a hostia.” 
 
 f cxcvi. St. Peter holding the keys and a book. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 269 
 
 f. cxcvi, V. St. John Baptist, 
 f. cxcviii. SS. Peter and Paul, 
 f. do. The Magdalene, 
 f. cxcviii, V. The Transfiguration, 
 f. cc. The Annunciation, 
 f. cc, V. St. Michael, 
 f. cci, V. All Saints. 
 
 f. ccii, V. SS. Peter and Paul (or SS. Cosma 
 and Damian). 
 
 f. cciii. A martyr, 
 f. cciii, V. Martyrs. 
 
 f. ccv. Confessors (figures of Popes and bishops), 
 f. ccvii. A Temple (In dedicatione templi). 
 
 As I have not myself seen this MS. I cannot 
 affirm it to be the work of Clovio. From its 
 manner of execution in some parts, the evidence 
 seems rather negative — i.e. in the gouaches. The 
 cameos and borders, on the other hand, seem quite 
 in Clovio’s manner. 
 
 There is a very remote possibility that it is 
 altogether the work of the Federicus Perusinus 
 named in the colophon. It is almost certain that 
 he was the Federicus Marius Perusinus who was 
 attached to the pontifical chapel about 1549, as 
 scriptor.” Twenty years before, he was working 
 for the convent of S. Agostino in Pome, where 
 there still exists an antiphonary, dated 1541, which 
 is described by Msgr. Barhier de Montault : des 
 
270 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clomo. 
 
 Livres de Choeur des Eglises de Rome, 9. arras, 1874. 
 Under April 1542, Muntz quotes the following 
 entry : Federico Perosino schritore della capella 
 
 del papa per scrittura et notatura del sopraditto 
 libro, due. 41. bai. 25. Item per miniatura del 
 sopra detto libro, per mano del detto Federigo, 
 due. 3. bai. 25.” The price is against the suppo- 
 sition that the miniature here means more than 
 rubrication. And there is certaiidy more than a 
 month’s labour in the Psalter of Paul III, while 
 the scriptor’s salary was 4 ducats 50 b. per month. 
 See my Dictionai'y of Miniaturists, II, 262, and 
 Miintz : La Bihliotheque du Vatican au XV Le siecle, 
 100. Paris, 1886. 
 
 V. 
 
 The Naples ^‘OfficesT 
 
 Translated from Bernard Quaranta. Le Mysta- 
 gogue: Guide General du Musee Roy. 
 
 Bourhon. Naples, 1844. 
 
 Officium B. M. Virginis ; painted by Julio 
 Clovio for the use of the Farnese Princes. 
 
 This office is one of the most unique in the world, 
 and therefore we shall devote to it a detailed 
 description. 
 
 The Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, protector of 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Glovio. 
 
 271 
 
 letters and the arts, had it painted in miniature by 
 Julio Clovio, a distinguished artist in this kind of 
 work, as we are told by George Vasari in his Lives 
 of Painters.” 
 
 Clovio, on being honoured with this order, wished 
 to show how divine his art can become when it is 
 encouraged and protected. 
 
 It is impossible to believe that any pencil could 
 have traced what the eye can scarcely perceive. 
 
 The artist has divided the work into twenty-six 
 little stories — one opposite another, i.e. on one side 
 the history, on the other the figure of this same 
 history, taken from Holy Scripture. Each story 
 or miniature has smaller border pictures and figures 
 hizarres which relate to the subject of the history 
 represented by the painter. 
 
 He begins with Matins : 
 
 The story is the Annunciation by the Angel 
 Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, with a vignette (border) 
 of little loves of unequalled beauty. 
 
 Facing this is Isaiah before Ahab. 
 
 At Lauds. The Visitation ; and opposite Peace 
 and Justice embracing each other, with border and 
 ornaments in gold {chiaroscuro). 
 
 At Prime. The Nativity of our Saviour ; and 
 opposite the terrestrial Paradise with Adam and 
 Eve eating the apple, the borders contain men and 
 women naked, with animals of different species. 
 
272 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 At Tierce. The appearance of the Angel to the 
 Shepherds. Opposite, the Tiburtine Sibyl showing 
 to Augustus the Virgin and her son in the sky. 
 The border with tiny miniatures in colours and a 
 portrait of Alessandro Farnese. 
 
 At Sexts. The Circumcision. In Simeon we 
 have a portrait of Pope Paul III. On the other 
 side are the portraits of Marciana and Septimia, 
 two Roman ladies of extraordinary beauty. In the 
 borders are miniatures of the Baptism of Christ, 
 with other naked figures. 
 
 At Nones. The Adoration of the Magi. Opposite 
 is Solomon adored by the Queen of Sheba. The 
 lower border miniature, of which the entire figures 
 are not greater than ants, represents the Fete of 
 the Monte Testaccio. 
 
 It is marvellous to see how, with the mere point 
 of the pencil, he has traced such wonders. He 
 represents all the liveries worn by the servants of 
 the Cardinal."^ 
 
 At Vespers. The Flight into Egypt. Vis-a-vis, 
 Pharaoh submerged in the Red Sea. With other 
 
 vignettes.” 
 
 At Complines. The Coronation of the Virgin. 
 In the sky an infinite multitude of angels. On the 
 other side is the Coronation of Queen Esther by 
 King Ahasuerus, with corresponding borders. 
 
 * See Vasari’s description of this MS. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 273 
 
 The Mass. The painter first of all in the border 
 here has a cameo representing the Annunciation. 
 The two histories are The Holy Virgin and child, 
 and The Almighty creating Heaven and Earth. 
 
 Before the Penitential Psalms ” is the battle 
 in which David commands the death of Uriah. An 
 infinity of horses, of armed men, of wounded, dead, 
 are the miracle and marvel of this picture. On the 
 other side is David in penitence, and in the borders 
 are grotesque and other superb ornaments. But 
 what was never seen before and what one cannot 
 even imagine, is given in the Litanies of the Saints. 
 In the margin there are, first, the Holy Trinity, the 
 Angels, Apostles, and other saints, then the Virgin 
 Mary and all the virgin saints : at foot the pro- 
 cession of the Holy Sacrament borne by the Pope, 
 as it takes place at Rome ; the Fete-Dieu in which 
 all the Officers, Bishops, Cardinals, the guards of 
 lancers, with tapers in their hands, appear together 
 with the rest of the papal court, and in the distance 
 the Castle of St. Angelo firing a salute. All these 
 figures are painted with such grace, precision, and 
 art, that this MS. is the wonder of all who see it. 
 Permission for its inspection can only be had 
 expressly from the Minister of the Interior. 
 
 The office of the Dead begins with two pictures: 
 Death triumphant over grandees and potentates, as 
 well as over the poor and feeble. On the other side the 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 resurrection of Lazarus, and behind- — the same Power, 
 who fights against the horsemen. Jesus crucified 
 forms one side, for the Office of the Cross; on the other 
 is Moses and the miracle of the serpents. The Descent 
 of the Holy Ghost precedes the Office, and opposite is 
 the Tower of Babel surrounded with walls by Nimrod. 
 
 All this prodigy — for it is truly a rare one — was 
 completed by Clovio within a space of nine years. 
 Invaluable monument ! Where could one find 
 greater profusion of ornaments. The multiplicity 
 of the accessories, the elegance of the pose of the 
 naked figures, the correctness of the perspective, 
 the beauty of the trees, everything that drawing 
 requires or colouring demands, serves to render this 
 MS. a monument unique in the world. 
 
 The cover of this Office is worthy of the work, 
 for it is of wrought silver, in bas-relief On one 
 side is the Holy Virgin in a full-length figure, and 
 on the other the Angel Gabriel bearing in his hand 
 a lily. These principal figures, together with four 
 other smaller ones and other ornaments, are gilt. 
 All about are engraved the armorials of Cardinal 
 Alexander and of Edward Farnese. The cover is 
 attributed to B. Cellini. Two missals belonging to 
 the Farnese family are found in this museum, 
 besides another Office of the Virgin called the Flora, 
 executed by order, and for the use, of the same 
 family, and which is not less precious than the first.” 
 
VI. 
 
 The Grenville Victories of Charles F.,” called 
 “ C A guila TriumphanteT 
 
 Dibdin’s description of these famous paintings 
 was taken chiefly from the notes appended to them 
 by Mr. Grenville. I have gone over all those notes, 
 which are rendered faithfully by Dibdin, but his 
 quotation from De Thou is neither complete nor 
 accurate. In the following account, therefore, I 
 give the result of an entirely fresh and independent 
 examination of the series. 
 
 In one of the notes Mr. Grenville says that 
 the drawings were bought by Mr. Woodburn of 
 M. Trochon, of Paris, who had bought them of a 
 French officer who got them from the Escorial. 
 He adds : There had been a written note in the 
 
 first leaf of the book, which has been since erased ; 
 that note purported that it belonged to the Escurial.” 
 It is a great pity that such a memorandum should 
 have been destroyed, and that no documentary 
 evidence appears to exist in confirmation of the 
 story, and of the commission alleged to have been 
 given to Clovio concerning the Heemskerck draw- 
 ings ; as evidence of this kind might go far in 
 confirming the opinion of their genuineness derived 
 from their manner of execution. 
 
 The volume is a thin oblong folio, bound in blue- 
 
 18 
 
27G 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 violet velvet, and kept in a dark blue leather case ; 
 but the drawings themselves are much smaller than 
 the book itself, inserted between sheets of stout 
 paper. 
 
 Fob 1. Contains * the Title in later Roman 
 capitals, half an inch high : Giulio Clovio | L’Aguila 
 Triumphante I DE Carlos Quinto. 
 
 These letters are in gold, on the plain vellum. 
 
 Fob 2. The notes of Mr. Grenville, mounted on 
 the guard-paper. 
 
 Fob 2 V. Table of Contents (MS.). 
 
 Fob 3. Twelve slips pasted on the leaf, con- 
 taining brief descriptions of the subjects of the 
 drawings. These are copied or used by Dibdin in 
 his account. 
 
 Fob 4. The first sheet of vellum, containing 
 on the back the first quatrain referred to in chapter 
 
 VII: 
 
 L! Aguila muy triumphante y no vencida,^^ dc. 
 
 These lines, which are written in black ink, now 
 faded to brown, and in a poor, non-professional 
 Roman character, are enclosed in a handsome 
 cartouche or cartel, which Dibdin calls ‘‘an arabesque 
 border of consummate taste.” It is, in fact, a really 
 tasteful frame of the Antwerp school of ornament, 
 such as may be seen in the works of Crispin de 
 Passe the elder, the Imprese of Pittoni and Battini, 
 or among the engravings of the younger Hoefnageb 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 277 
 
 Its being of a Flemish character has been brought 
 to bear against the genuineness of the drawings as 
 works of Clovio. But the same argument might 
 be brought against the Italians named above, and 
 against the Towneley Lectionary itself. It might 
 with equal force be objected to many of the borders 
 which are known to be the genuine work of Clovio, 
 that they cannot be so, because they are precisely 
 in the manner of certain ornamental panels designed 
 by Androuet de Cerceau. One page in the Stuart 
 de Bothesay Offices, painted in the finest and most 
 characteristic Cloviesca manner, is similar d merveille 
 to some of the Renaissance ornament of the great 
 F rench architect. The colouring is somewhat gaudy, 
 but not gaudier than similar work in the Lectionary. 
 The masks introduced are finished with the utmost 
 care, and, it must be admitted, are painted after the 
 same method as those of Clovio. That is : the first 
 hatching or shade is of a brown tone, and the 
 finishing of tender local colour. This method is 
 different from that of Buonfratelli and Baroccio, 
 whose hatching is less vigorous and more iridescent. 
 Those who have made a study of the various 
 methods employed by the great miniaturists, will 
 bear me out in these remarks. 
 
 Fob 5. The first picture within a frame painted 
 to imitate an ordinary gold picture-frame, in red 
 ochre heightened with gold. This first subject 
 
278 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 represents Charles V. seated between two pillars — 
 the symbols used in his devises, of stability, and 
 suggestive of his rule beyond the Pillars of Hercules, 
 over Transatlantic regions ; round them winding the 
 two labels with his well-known motto, '' plus ultra.” 
 In his right hand he holds the sword — the mound 
 and cross in his left. He wears a steel-grey helmet 
 without plume, but surrounded by a rayed crown 
 of gold. Beneath him crouches the black Imperial 
 Austrian Eagle, as if about to strike, holding in his 
 beak a ring to which is attached a golden cord that 
 passes round five of the six personages who stand 
 around. This is significant of their having been 
 subjected to Imperial authority. The Emperor 
 wears a corslet of fine blue, modelled and shaded 
 with great delicacy. His cloak or robe, which 
 hangs across his breast from shoulder to shoulder, 
 and, passing behind him, hangs over his arms and 
 across his lap, is of a deep pink or crimson. His 
 knees are bare and of a warm healthy tint. His 
 greaves, the top of the left one having lappels of 
 orange yellow, are fine violet enriched with gold 
 embroidery. The lofty throne on which he is seated 
 is of grey marble. On the front of it is a green 
 wreath encircling the arms of the Duchy of Austria 
 emblazoned gu. a fesse arg. The pillars on each 
 side on the arms of the throne are of gold. 
 
 The figures standing beside represent the Sultan, 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 279 
 
 the Pope, the King of France, the Duke of 
 Cleves, the Duke of Saxony, and the Landgrave of 
 Hesse. 
 
 The Sultan, Soliman the Magnificent, stands in 
 the left of the immediate foreground, outside the 
 cord, and looks round significantly at the Emperor 
 - — the verse says in fear, hut, both in the engraving 
 and the painting, the expression is one of haughty 
 defiance. He wears a turban consisting of white 
 band and scarlet cap, surrounded by the golden 
 rayed crown. His tunic or corslet is of blue damask, 
 and his cloak, cloth-of-gold lined with ermine. 
 Hose of greenish yellow and soft buff leather boots 
 complete his costume. Clement VII., who stands 
 next, in an attitude of sorrowful dignity, is clothed 
 in full pontificals, with lofty tiara, rich with gems, 
 upon his head, and the archiepiscopal staff in his 
 left hand. His right rests upon a large shield 
 decorated with the insignia of the Medici. His 
 robe is of stiff brocade, with figures of saints upon 
 the hem, here quite different from -the engraving. 
 He wears scarlet gloves having a gem on the back 
 of the hand. Francis I. has a helmet of steel bearing 
 a rayed crown of gold, and a plume of yellow and 
 blue ostrich feathers. Over the right shoulder 
 chiefly, he wears a rich blue cloak. His corslet is 
 violet. For cuisses he carries two small grey shields 
 charged with the golden lilies of France. His knee- 
 
280 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 caps, instead of the simple drapery of the engraving, 
 are covered with golden masks. His hose, or 
 greaves, are blue-grey with golden embroidery. In 
 his right liand he holds a pennon bearing the lilies. 
 His left hand rests upon his large shield. On the 
 other side of the })icture nearest the throne stands 
 the youthful Duke of Cleves with crossed hands. 
 He is bareheaded, but wears steel armour. Next 
 comes the tall and burly figure of John Frederic 
 J3uke of Saxony in complete armour. The plume 
 of his helmet, with its ostrich feathers of black and 
 yellow, slightly relieves the heavy appearance of 
 the steel plates, which, however, are rendered in a 
 masterly and perfect manner. Lastly, the rather 
 crouchiiio- fioaire of the Lando-rave of Hesse in a 
 
 o o o 
 
 black furred cloak. The orange sleeves and yellow 
 hose afford the proper contrast to the sombre tints 
 above, and save the picture from losing its balance 
 as to colour. In accordance with the custom of the 
 time, every personage bears his family insignia on a 
 shield. That of the Sultan is black inlaid with a 
 filigree of gold. The Pope’s is violet, on which are 
 mounted the bearings of the well-known palJe on a 
 golden plate. 
 
 Francis I. bears azure, three fleurs-de-lis, or. 
 
 The shield of the Duke of Cleves, which is plain 
 
 * “With lihbard’s head on knee .” — Loves Labour s Lost, Act 
 IV. sc. 3. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 281 
 
 in the engraving, here bears or, two lions rampant, 
 accosted, sa, which are the arms of Gueldeiiand, a 
 part of his patrimony. 
 
 That of John Frederic is as usually given, and 
 that of the Landgrave lies on the ground without 
 due blazon. 
 
 The background of the miniature is green, hatched 
 or stippled to a full rich tone, which admirably 
 supports the colouring of the figures. 
 
 Fob 5 V. The cartel on the back of Fob 5 
 contains the verses referring to the second drawing, 
 
 Claramente, &c.” It is very carefully painted, 
 the masks being quite as good as in the Towneley 
 MS., and the work, allowing for difference of 
 dimensions, precisely in the manner of the Stuart 
 de Rothesay Offices. 
 
 Fob 6. The second picture : Pavia. The plate- 
 armour of Francis I. of excellent and exquisite 
 finish, and the draperies rich and finely executed. 
 The corslet is violet, with scales upon it drawn in 
 gold. The knee-masks of gold, and the greaves 
 steel-grey and gold. His saddle-cloth is cloth-of- 
 gold with blue bordering, relieved with pink and 
 gold. The soldiers who capture the king are in 
 complete armour, bright colour appearing in the 
 housings of the horses. 
 
 Fob 6 V. The cartel here is comparatively plain, 
 but still partaking of the character of similar work 
 
282 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 in the Ijectionary. It contains the verses referring* 
 to the death of the Constable de Bourbon. 
 
 Fob 7. The third picture, of the death of Bour- 
 bon, who is depicted in a blue corslet with yellow- 
 orange thongs and pink skirt. A scarlet cloak 
 falls from his shoulders. The city behind the tower 
 has the houses on the left drawn in brown, on the 
 right in violet. The river is pale blue — almost 
 white. The man who is running to the Constable’s 
 assistance is also very carefully painted, especially 
 in the flesh tones. 
 
 Fol. 7 V. The verses for next picture in a frame, 
 carefully painted, but not remarkable. 
 
 Fol. 8. The fourth miniature, the herald before 
 St. Angelo. The statues of SS. Peter and Paul 
 remarkably good, in a cool grey, carefully mani- 
 pulated. The costumes of the soldiers are glaring 
 and gaudy. The sky is, to say the least, portentous 
 in the violence of its tints. 
 
 Fol. 8 v. A rather handsome frame to the verses 
 of the next miniature. 
 
 Fol. 9. The fifth scene, representing the Baising 
 of the Siege of Vienna. The striking feature of 
 this picture is the rich caparison of the Emperor’s 
 horse, chiefly violet and cloth-of-gold. The rest 
 of the picture, though laboured, is not masterly 
 either in tone or design, but this is chiefly due to 
 the Flemish artist. The sky, again, is fiery and 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 283 
 
 threatening, and the city treated in the con- 
 ventional manner of the miniaturists in violet, with 
 delicate hatchings of the same tint. 
 
 Fol. 9 V. A rather elegant cartel, containing 
 verses Los indios,” &c. For what it is, its 
 execution is fine. The two faces or masks in it 
 quite as good as the master’s work, either in the 
 Soane or the Towneley MS. 
 
 Fol. 10. A horrible scene, finished with more 
 care than it deserves, with much stippling on the 
 figures, in Clovio’s manner. 
 
 Fol. 10 V. Cartel, with verses, not remarkable, 
 but thoroughly Flemish in style. 
 
 Fol. 11. Tunis. The seventh miniature. The 
 Imperial saddle-clothes scarlet and gold, the armour 
 steel and gold. On the left a fine horse-cloth of 
 greenish hue, enriched with borders and embroi- 
 deries of gold and rose-pink. Distance tenderly 
 wrought. 
 
 Fol. 11 V. Frame to verses “ De Cleues es el 
 Duque,” &c. 
 
 Fol. 12. The eighth scene, representing the 
 Submission of the Duke of Cleves. This is a 
 beautiful miniature, and most carefully executed. 
 Indeed it is only surpassed by one other of the 
 pictures, and is not unworthy of comparison with 
 Clovio’s acknowledged work. The Emperor is 
 seated under a green canopy. Over his head hangs 
 
284 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 a golden ball, with scarlet tassel. A wreath of 
 laurel encircles his brown hair, and the likeness is 
 fairly good. Like those in the first and tenth scenes 
 the portraits here are manifestly copied from authen- 
 tic sources. As to costume, the corslet is blue, the 
 cloak pale crimson, the enrichments orange, crimson, 
 and gold. The carpet is rich Flemish cloth of gold, 
 elaboi-ately overwrought with a pattern, which does 
 not appear in the engraving. The tall figure on the 
 left is also rich in colour. He wears a steel helmet 
 enriched with gold. His near arm is fine green. 
 His corslet orange, over which and behind hangs a 
 robe of blue, very rich and full in tone. A green 
 skirt and crimson hose, differing in depth of colour, 
 and orange furnishings complete the splendour of 
 his equipment. The other soldier who looks down 
 upon the kneeling suppliant, is another triumph of 
 militaiy costume, in scarlet, blue, green, and gold. 
 The Duke of Cleves — a young man with light 
 brown hair and fair complexion — is beautifully 
 painted. A golden diadem surrounds his head, 
 and he wears a black cloak lined with ermine, his 
 sleeves and hose violet. The shield, as before, 
 gold, bearing black lions. Pale green and violet 
 are the principal tints on the subordinate figures 
 behind. 
 
 Fob 12 V. A cartel for the verses of the next 
 picture. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 285 
 
 Fol. 13. The arrival of the Count van Buren. 
 The accoutrements of the Emperor as usual are the 
 striking part of the picture, being rich in colour- 
 ing and full of finely wrought detail. Distance, 
 pale green, and city delicate violet, with pale blue 
 hills beyond. 
 
 Fol. 13 V. Here the cartel is finer than usual in 
 execution, elegant in form, and containing minutely 
 finished masks. 
 
 Fol. 15. The tenth miniature representing the 
 Field of Muhlberg and the Surrender of John 
 Frederic. The portraits are faithfully rendered, 
 entirely differing in this respect from the engraving. 
 The caparisons and costumes, as usual, are rich and 
 elaborate, producing altogether a fine picture, by no 
 means dozzinaloj and certainly not vulgar either 
 in taste or execution. The heavy figure of the 
 Duke, with the bleeding scar across the face, is full 
 of force and originality. Opposite to this miniature 
 is inserted a pen drawing (Fol. 14 v.) of the same 
 subject, but reversed. It is signed in the left 
 corner ^^Martinus van Heemskerck Inventor 1554.’^ 
 Here the expression of the faces is very far inferior 
 to the miniature. It appears to be a replica of 
 one of the original drawings for the engravings. 
 
 Fol. 15 V. A fine cartel with lion’s head in 
 centre of upper part of frame, and grotesque masks 
 at the corners, highly finished and clever. 
 
28G 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 Fol. 16 . The surrender of certain cities. This 
 eleventh miniature is in many respects the finest 
 of the series, and if any direct evidence could be 
 found to attach it to the name of Clovio, I should 
 not hesitate to accept it as a genuine production of 
 his pencil. No one will accuse me of over credulity 
 as to eitlier liis or any other works in miniature, 
 and therefore I can the more fi*eely admit the 
 excellent internal evidence of this picture. I have 
 subjected it to microscopic inspection side by side 
 with some of Clovio’s work, and I must confess 
 tliat I find no difierence sufficient to exclude it from 
 liis hand. The heads are not inferior to some in 
 the famous Last Judgment in the Towneley MS. 
 They are full of individual cJiaracter. The draperies 
 are good, and the execution throughout not in the 
 least infeilor to anything from the master’s hand; 
 and it accords in technic with his accustomed 
 metliod of working. In short, my belief is that it 
 really is his work. It can only be superficially 
 desciibed. The colours of the diuperies of the 
 kneeling figures as they occur in order are crimson, 
 violet, black, blue, and violet. The especially 
 delicate execution of the figure of the Emperor 
 is beyond praise. The j)i’Gvailing colours in the 
 costume are violet, black, yellow, tender blue and 
 gold. The cushion and rug beneath his feet, scarlet 
 and gold, and the carpet fine yellow-green. The 
 
i: 
 
 MINIATURE FROM THE VICTORIES OF CHARLES 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 287 
 
 floor or pavement is a masterly imitation of veined 
 marbles, or varied scagliolas, with inlaid circlets of 
 blue, violet and yellow."^ 
 
 The tall soldier in the right corner displays 
 mainly orange, green, and violet. The curtain 
 hanging over the Emperor’s head is green. The 
 step in the right corner is of cool grey marble. 
 
 Fob 16 V. The last cartel of verses, Aqui tu 
 vees,” &c., contains fine lions’ heads and other 
 decorative details, but is on the whole rather 
 common -place. 
 
 Fob 17. The last miniature, an allegorical repre- 
 sentation of the scene described in detail by De 
 Thou: Histoire Universelle, I. 264-5. 
 
 Here the Emperor is clothed in rich cloth-of-gold, 
 with violet under-drapery. Over his head is a crim- 
 son canopy, and across behind, a green curtain. The 
 ecclesiastics in stiff brocades. The Landgrave is in 
 black, with brown fur collar. The prince nearest to 
 the throne wears a golden crown and a gold-brown 
 cloak with golden heads for clasps, violet hose and 
 black shoes. The next has a cool violet cloak, lined 
 and collared ermine, hose and shoes black, a brown 
 
 * Artificial scagliolas could scarcely be known to Clovio, their 
 invention being attributed to Guido Sassi of Carpi, after 1600. 
 But Sebastiano del Piombo discovered a method of painting 
 on slabs of marble various orramental designs and portraits. 
 Marble pavements are often depicted in French and Italian 
 miniatures. 
 
288 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 fur and scarlet cap surmounted by a diadem of gold 
 and pearls. All, however, are richly clothed, and the 
 effect suggestive of sovereign grandeur and dignity. 
 No doubt here again the faces are all portraits, and 
 perhaps by reference to the vast collection in the 
 Ambras Museum at Vienna they might be recog- 
 nized. De Thou’s words are : II fut done conduit 
 
 sur les cinq heures du soir, par le due Maurice et 
 I’Electeur de Brandebourg a I’Empereur devant 
 lequel il se mit a genoux. Alors le Chancelier 
 Gunterot lut une requete dressee, coniine on en 
 etait convenu, par laquelle le Landgrave supplioit 
 rEmpereur de hii pardonner sa faute, et de lui 
 remettre la peine que meritoit son crime. L’Einper- 
 eur suivant la reponse qui avoit ete deja concertee, 
 lui fit dire par George Selde que puisqu’il recon- 
 naissoit Immblement sa faute, et qu’il en demandoit 
 pardon, il lui accordoit volontiers sa grace, et lui 
 pardoimoit tout le passe ; de sorte qu’il n’avoit a 
 craindre ni le supplice que sa trahison avoit merite, 
 ni la prison perpetuelle, ni la confiscation de ses 
 biens, ni d’autres peines enfin que cedes qui etoient 
 comprises dans le traite auquel il avoit souscrit. 
 L’Archiduc iMaximilien, fils du roi Ferdinand, le due 
 de Savoye, le due d’Albe, le Grand Maitre de 
 Prusse, les eveques d’ Arras, de Naumbourg, et 
 d’Hildesheim, Henri, Charle Victor, et Philippe de 
 Brunsvic, le legat du Pape, les Ambassadors des 
 
CARTEL FROM THE VICTORIES OF CHARLES 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 289 
 
 rois de Boh6me et de Dannemarc, du due de Cleves, 
 et des villes Anseatiques, et un grand iiombre 
 d’autres seigneurs se trouverent presens a cette 
 action.” 
 
 Fol. 1 7 V. A vacant cartel, which ends the work. 
 
 Fol. 18. Finis, in Roman capitals. 
 
 Such are these famous twelve drawings. Though 
 personally inclined to admit that, from the evidence 
 of some of the work, they actually were undertaken 
 by Clovio on the conditions before mentioned, yet I 
 do not affirm that they are, in totOj the work of his 
 hand. They need not have been more than partly 
 so to come quite within the range of his commissions. 
 He might have been largely assisted by his pupils 
 and their assistants, as, for example, by Max. de Mon- 
 ceau, who was a Fleming. But the taste for Flem- 
 ish and German engravings, and for ultramontane 
 work generally, prevailed in Italy at the time when 
 these drawings were executed, so that no argu- 
 ment can be brought against the accessories on this 
 ground. Nor does it seem particularly logical to 
 select the cartels for objection as being Flemish 
 when it is admitted that the designs themselves 
 were so, and that the drawings though quite 
 original in many of the details, and notably in 
 the portraiture, do not otherwise differ materially 
 from them. 
 
 19 
 
VII. 
 
 Bondes account of the MS. executed for John III. 
 
 King of Portugal. 
 
 The work is addressed “ad Sereniss. D. Joannem V. 
 Portugalliae Regem de Julii Clovii clari admodum 
 Pictoris operibus.” 
 
 It consists of “Libri sive Sermones tres” : 1. Idea. 
 2. Index. 3. Deliberatus. 
 
 “ Humiliter consecrati a Gulielmo Bonde, armi- 
 gero,” . . . “ nepote prsehonorabilis viri Thomse 
 Bonde Equitis Aurati & Baronetti,” . . . “ Anno 
 1733 .” 
 
 The style of the Latinity is most inflated and 
 wearisome. After a very urgent, though high- 
 flown dedicatory address, comes the Title : 
 
 “Thesaurus Artis Pictorise, ex unius Julii Clovii 
 clari admodum pictoris operibus depromtus. . . sive 
 liber primus.” 
 
 In this dedicatory epistle* the writer tells us 
 that the book formerly belonged to John III. of 
 
 * Preface : Hie liber, hie thesaurus totius artis pictorias fa to 
 nescio quo seel aliquacerte illaque nimis iniqua rerum tempestate 
 abreptus (quippe quern ejus su necnon impendio perliberali 
 Joaunis olim Portugalliaa Regis P. Julium Clovium et exarasse 
 et delineasse, et suscepisse & perfecisse constat) patria sua 
 caruit Portugallioe exul nimis longinquus et multos annos in 
 aliena terra inconditus delituit. Hu jus thesauri dudum amissi 
 et jam nuper a me referti. . . (So Bonde claims its discovery.) 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 291 
 
 Portugal, and was executed for him by Clovio. At 
 the beginning of it are painted the armorials of all 
 the kings of Portugal, and it is clearly and elegantly 
 written on two hundred leaves of the most beautiful 
 vellum. The initial letter of every page of writing 
 — a curious fact, and one that attests the luxury of 
 ornament with which the book was executed, if 
 indeed that be the meaning of Bonde’s circumlo- 
 cution : Prima ilia literarum elementa a quibus 
 
 pagina quceque initium sumit, sunt accurate satis 
 ornata, referta sunt curiosis argenti et auri 
 
 ornamentis,” &c. — are carefully adorned, and crowded 
 with ornaments in silver and gold; and,” he goes on 
 to say, with the richest and most beautiful colours 
 that either art or imagination can possibly conceive.” 
 He informs us that the book has come down to the 
 time in which he writes, absolutely perfect, clean, 
 and entire.” It is reported, he says, that the MS. 
 originated in a command of King Manuel the Great, 
 whose glories he enlarges upon. About that time 
 lived the great artist Julio Clovio, who easily 
 excelled every contemporary artificer, and who 
 drew forth from his art of miniature painting certain 
 novel and, so to speak, unheard-of miracles.” 
 
 Then follows a general account of his work, 
 mostly founded on Vasari and the old inaccurate 
 authorities usually quoted, mentioning especially 
 Alessandro Parnese and the great King of Hungary 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 among his patrons. He also names two artists as 
 his pupils, Bernardo Buontalenti and Francesco 
 Salviati. 
 
 Part II. begins with another address to John V., 
 and then passes on to the description of the MS. 
 Here is a fair sample — et ex jpede Herculem — of the 
 wordiness that one has to push through in trying to 
 get at the pith of what he says: ^‘Descriptum atque 
 ornatiss®' descriptum bene junctis turn penicilli turn 
 calami viribus, hie de quo nunc loquimur Julii 
 Clovii liber contenit accuratiss^""’ Ephemeriden. Sic 
 enim vocant nonnulli, alii autem vocant calendarium, 
 in quo quippe singulse calendse et eorum dies anno- 
 tantur.” All that he really means is that this 
 book begins with an illuminated calendar,” which 
 was quite a usual beginning for such a book when 
 complete. 
 
 I. January. The miniature represents a noble- 
 man seated alone at a banquet, and surrounded by a 
 host of servants, some of whom are bringing dishes. 
 At the master’s back is a fire-place, and somewhere 
 about the picture are the insignia and portrait of 
 King John. Surrounding the miniature is a border 
 in Gothic taste, containing figures and other orna- 
 ments. 
 
 This is a very common picture in this place of the 
 calendar, and the description exactly fits the minia- 
 ture for Januaiy in the Grimani Breviary. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 293 
 
 On the opposite page, which is surrounded by 
 another Gothic border full of appropriate figures 
 and rich ornaments, in circlet at top is depicted the 
 Zodiacal signs, in this case two, Capricorn and 
 Aquarius. The Dominical letter is A, which, 
 except in leap year, is the same throughout the 
 calendar. 
 
 II. February. A scene of ice and snow. The 
 painter, in fact, has here presented what the poet 
 describes : 
 
 Vides nt alta stet nive candidum 
 Soracte. 
 
 The rustic cottages — the cocks and hens — are so 
 life-like, that, upon my word, they seem absolutely 
 real. Various Gothic figures adorn the margin, 
 which are meagre, indeed, but by no means feebly 
 executed, and are, moreover, heightened with gild- 
 ing. Nor is the opposite page of the calendar 
 wanting in ornaments, which are, indeed, most 
 delightful to behold. The sign of this month, which 
 has in this instance twenty-eight days only, is also 
 Aquarius. 
 
 III. March. Here we see the figures of oxen 
 under the yoke of the plough, toiling and as it were 
 perspiring and snorting, in a most life-like manner. 
 We see, too, not less life-like, rustic labourers of fine 
 robust build, cultivating the soil, with such laborious 
 gravity and such ludicrous gestures as to be most 
 
294 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 amusing. The borders of this page are ornamented 
 with very many and varied objects appropriate to 
 the subject. The signs are Pisces and Aries. 
 
 IV. April. A youthful lord and lady are seen 
 enjoying a walk in the sunshine. On every side the 
 meadows smile with sweet vernal beauty. 
 
 0 rus ! quando ego te aspiciam, quandoque licebit, 
 
 Nunc veterum libris, &c., &c. 
 
 Like many last-century physicians, Dr. Bonde 
 seems to have been a devout admirer of Horace. 
 Unfortunately for us, the verses of that elegant 
 and well-thumbed poet do not excite all the 
 enthusiasm whicli our degenerate bosoms ought to 
 feel in connection with the gushing utterances 
 and flatulent sentimentality of our medical friend. 
 Beside the rhetorical geysers of this modern 
 Latinist, the “0 rus! quando te aspiciam” of the 
 city-tied, pavement-parched Augustan, full as it 
 may be of futile sighs, has only a very secondary 
 sort of efflatus. But to proceed. The signs are 
 Aries and Taurus. 
 
 V. May. A man of high rank accompanied by 
 a noble dame and a crowd of attendants rides out 
 into the country. How these painted horses seem to 
 prance and curvet like very living things ! A most 
 artistic and truly consummate work. The orna- 
 ments along the margins of the page are most 
 profuse and elegant. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 295 
 
 The opposite page contains the calendar of the 
 month. What the signs are, Bonde omits to say. 
 
 VI. June. A sheep-shearing, &c. Here I think 
 Dr. Bonde has made a mistake, as usually this is 
 the subject for July which he does not describe. 
 Spectacles and games of various kinds occupy the 
 rest of the picture. 
 
 The remaining months of the calendar it is need- 
 less to particularize. Suffice it to say that they are 
 delineated with the same fidelity and the same 
 curiosa felicitas, ability and anxiety, as those that 
 have preceded. 
 
 VII. The work then begins with the Gospel of 
 St. John, opening with a grand illumination, in 
 which is represented an assembly of elders or 
 apostles, and a crowd of listeners receiving the 
 preaching of the Word of God. 
 
 Around the borders are many graceful figures. 
 Christ, sitting on an ass, enters the city of Jeru- 
 salem, while the people strew the streets with 
 their garments. 
 
 Then begins the text of the Gospel with similar 
 marginal decorations, the initial letter being most 
 exquisitely painted. 
 
 VIII. The next illumination presents a figure 
 of St. Mark seated at a desk writing. At his feet 
 reposes the Lion. This is a lovely picture. The 
 initial of this Gospel and the border of the page. 
 
296 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 together with the border of the opposite page, in 
 which is represented the life and death of the 
 Evangelist, are excellently adorned. 
 
 IX. The next page which comes under inspec- 
 tion stands in front of the Prayer of St. Gregory, 
 and is replete with the richest variety of colours. 
 Here we have the great Doctor of the Western 
 Church kneeling before the altar, wearing a purple 
 robe and all the paraphernalia of the pontifical 
 office except the tiara, which an attendant bishop 
 carries in his arms. Here, too, is presented the 
 sacred and holy body of Christ, which, astounding 
 to mortal eyes, appears revealed in the sacrament. 
 A vast number of ecclesiastics are also kneeling- 
 round about the Saint. No words can possibly 
 express how wonderfully, how admirably these 
 various figures, which are all but innumerable, are 
 painted. 
 
 In the border of this miniature is represented 
 St. Peter, holding in his hand the Keys of Heaven. 
 On the corresponding border of the opposite page 
 St. Paul is depicted with his symbol, the sword. 
 
 X. Next comes the Adoration of the Magi, the 
 Divine child resting on the bosom of his Mother, 
 while at her feet kneel prostrate the Kings of the 
 East, led hither by the star, to present to the 
 infant their pious gifts. What grandeur — says our 
 author — in all these figures! How ashamed am I 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 297 
 
 to write about a painter so great and so divine, 
 when my writing falls so far short of his merits ! 
 This man's excellence, indeed, all must admire, but 
 not one can imitate. Surely this work is divine 
 and inimitable : — 
 
 nt sibi quivis 
 
 Speret idem, sndet multnm, frustra que labores 
 Ausus idem. 
 
 In the initial letter of this Prayer is a figure 
 of Christ standing and holding in his hand the 
 terrestrial globe. 
 
 XI. Here is represented the Coronation of the 
 Blessed Virgin, which Bonde describes in his usual 
 tiresome and redundant phraseology. 
 
 On the opposite page begin the Prayers for 
 Indulgence, composed by Sixtus the Fourth, sur- 
 rounded by a border containing foliages and fiowers 
 painted with a bold and masterly hand. So mani- 
 festly real are they — but here I must give our 
 author’s very words : — Non exiguum suavitatis 
 odorem habere opportere sentimus, et profectd 
 tantum non odoramus^ 
 
 The initial letter of this Prayer is also orna- 
 mented with a profusion of similar fiowers. 
 
 XII. Prayer of the Virgin. The miniature 
 represents the Virgin Mother in a kneeling attitude 
 and fervently deploring the death of her dear son. 
 Before her face are depicted the cruel instruments 
 of his passion. In the border of the page are 
 
298 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 miniatures of the various sufferings of the Saviour,, 
 while in the Initial is placed a figure of the Virgin 
 radiant with a great glory. 
 
 XIII. The Salutation of St. Elizabeth. Both 
 figures are what are called half-lengths, but more 
 exquisite than Bonde can find words to describe. 
 The illuminated borders here are beautiful in the 
 extreme, and finely finished with gold. 
 
 XIV. St. Michael the Archangel, together with 
 a vast multitude of the heavenly host, expelling 
 the rebel angels out of Heaven. Here Bonde 
 grows right eloquent, yet justly despairs of being 
 able to express in words what this wonderful minia- 
 ture is like. “ Tantuni lector eni admonebo huic 
 imagini tremenda angelorum prselia representante 
 fguram inesse nullam nisi quce gestit, movit, vivit, 
 agitj pugnat, atque ita facit hsec omnia animose et 
 graviter ut lioruin coelitum ita prseliantium mero 
 vel aspectu animi hominum etiam spectantium incen- 
 dantur ac inflammentur. . . . Aspicimus debella- 
 torum, dsemonum lamenta, luctus, iracundiam, 
 malitiam furorem. . . . Et triumphatos et triumph- 
 antes exercitus, mille formis, et miris mille modis, 
 hie nobis ante oculos, pro infinita inexhaustse suse 
 indolis facultate, pictor constituit.” Such and 
 much more is Bonde’s rhapsody over this truly 
 indescribable scene. And it is really one of the 
 best passages in the book. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 299 
 
 XV. St. Michael alone. The colouring of this 
 figure most beautiful. Homo adolescens pul- 
 chrior esse non posset, nisi ipse Deus !” 
 
 XVI. St. Sebastian. Naked and bound to a 
 column, and suffering flagellation. In the extreme 
 distance is another figure of the martyr pierced with 
 arrows. 
 
 On the opposite page is a border filled with 
 figures, and an Initial containing another effigy of 
 the saint in armour. 
 
 XVII. Christ crucified between the two thieves. 
 At the foot of the cross stand the Mother and 
 St. John. The border to this miniature is full of 
 ornaments. 
 
 XVIII. The Sacrament of the Mass. Con- 
 taining a vast multitude of figures and choristers 
 chanting the Psalms. Bonde goes almost to the 
 length of declaring that a proficient in music could 
 make out from the various expressions of the chor- 
 isters’ faces what the notes were which they were 
 singing. This is rather too much to expect even of 
 Clovio. He did not, nor probably did Bonde, know 
 of Balthasar Denner, the painter of those marvellous 
 portraits in the Belvedere at Vienna, who, it was said, 
 was so conscientious in his finish as actually to depict 
 the landscape reflected in the light on the iris of a 
 person’s eye, including in it the sheep grazing in a 
 neighbouring meadow. The meaning is that it was 
 
300 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 a surprisingly perfect example of Clovio’s patience, 
 skill, and taste. The margin is fully, not to say 
 profusely, occupied with congruent additional em- 
 bellishments. 
 
 XIX. Scene in the interior of a church, with its 
 rich architectural details completed with the most 
 incredible perfection. The roof is Vjrilliant with gold 
 and silver. 
 
 XX. Bonde contrives to condense into his remarks 
 
 on this miniature all his usual — indeed more than 
 his usual display of learning : ‘‘ Neither did Apelles 
 ever paint, nor Attains ever pay for, a more exquisite 
 picture than this,” alluding to a well-known passage 
 in Pliny, discussed by Clovio, Michelangelo, and the 
 rest, at one of Vittoria Colonna’s conversazioni. 
 Judging from the words — ‘‘Nescio quomodo rnihi 
 facile sit hanc imaginem describere, nisi fas sit dicere 
 quod in hac una facie sit mortis imago quod 
 
 sit visa, ut ita dicam, morientis effigies, sed fortiter 
 morientis ” — there is a head in an initial of the 
 Hours of the Virgin in the British Museum, No. 
 20927, which would give a very good idea of what 
 Bonde means. Its expression is indeed indescribable. 
 A bishop is offering a prayer beside the bed of a 
 dying person, while domestics and ecclesiastics are 
 standing by. On the opposite page are the prayers 
 appropriated for use at funerals. 
 
 XXI. A funeral procession in the choir of a 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 301 
 
 cathedral, around which hang the insignia of the 
 illustrious dead, which indeed are those of the Royal 
 House of Portugal. 
 
 XXII. Represents a grave personage wearing 
 Papal vestments and holding in his hand a triple 
 cross. In the margins are supplementary scenes 
 illustrative of tlie subject of this portion of the work. 
 
 XXIII. The Supreme Pontiff seated on a throne, 
 with an air of the greatest majesty. Before him 
 stands a bishop with pastoral insignia. “ Perhaps 
 the figure of St. Athanasius explaining his work on 
 the Creed.” 
 
 XXIV. St. John before the Lateran Gate, under- 
 going the supplicium vasis ferventis olei. 
 
 XXV. The Annunciation. Here the archangel 
 entrusted with the wondrous messaofe from the 
 Almighty to Mary, is by his dignity, strength, and 
 beauty, indeed worthy of his high legation. The 
 holy and lovely Virgin listens with a sort of half- 
 incredulous dread and gladness mingled with the 
 light of a supernatural glory that seems to irradiate 
 from her sweetly perturbed spirit. A beautiful view 
 of the Temple is seen in the background. Sur- 
 rounding the initial which commences the text on 
 the opposite page is a picture of the Assumption. 
 
 XXVI. St. Matthew seated at a desk writing, an 
 angel standing at his elbow. Nature itself rather 
 than a picture.” 
 
302 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Round the margins are ships most beautifully 
 painted, loaded with various merchandise. 
 
 XXVII. Clovio’ s royal patron, kneeling before a 
 crucifix. In the borders are exquisite scenes of the 
 palace, the guards, watchmen, garrison, custodies, 
 &c. 
 
 XXVIII. The same prince is awakened from 
 sleep at dawn. Sei'vants and attendants — garments 
 laid about the room. Sweet in colour. 
 
 XXIX. The bright and admirable colouring of 
 this miniature, which represents the Creation, and 
 the immense variety of forms, render it such as 
 surely never was seen before. In the sky, brighter 
 than the sun, is an infinite host of angels and 
 cherubim. In the margins we have a multitude of 
 terrestrial animals and fishes and of birds, as it were 
 the whole world of created things. “Verba nulla 
 non modo non ornare sed ne enumerare quidem pos- 
 sunt oinnes hujus picturse perfectiones.” The air 
 and landscape, to judge from the description, are 
 such as we admire so much in the Grimani Breviary. 
 Indeed, from many of Bonde’s remarks, it seems 
 niucli more like a Netherlandish MS. that he is 
 describing than a work of Clovio’s. In the initial 
 or surrounding it is a picture of the formation of 
 Eve, superior in conception to Ovid and to Titian 
 in design. 
 
 XXX. John the Baptist in the Desert with his 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 303 
 
 disciples. In the border is Christ being baptized, 
 and St. John preaching. 
 
 In the initial to the opposite page is a picture of 
 the Decollation of the Saint. 
 
 XXXI. St. J ames habited as a poor pilgrim with 
 a book in one hand and a staff in the other. The 
 scene presents a rugged road, rocky cliff, and forest. 
 
 XXXII. St. Vincent in the dress of a deacon and 
 with a book in his hand. Curious and exquisite 
 work. In the margin are representations of the 
 martyr suffering various torments. 
 
 XXXIII. St. Jerome praying in a desert place 
 alone. Beside him lies the lion, and behind is a 
 beautiful landscape. The initial of the opposite 
 page contains another portrait of the saint. 
 
 XXXIV. St. Antony seated with a book on his 
 lap. He seems to be praying or reading with great 
 fervour. Beside him are reposing the pig and lion 
 and two other animals. The surrounding country 
 is incredibly beautiful. 
 
 XXXV. This is the last picture in the volume, 
 and contains St. Francis kneeling, and surrounded 
 by a heavenly host. He is on the summit of a 
 rising ground, at the foot of which are various 
 famous brothers of the Order. 
 
 The third part — deliberatus or comments — con- 
 sists of a life and character of Clovio, which, how- 
 ever, contains nothing either new or remarkable. 
 
304 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Bonde says — again urging its purchase— that the 
 book is in private hands, and both for the honour 
 of the artist and of the king’s own ancestor, ought 
 to be restored to the royal collection. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Tue Stuart de Bothesay MS. Now in the British 
 
 Museum, Add. 20927. 
 
 This is unquestionably the work of Clovio. It is 
 a small book of Offices, written on vellum, ff. 172, 
 and measures about 6 in. by 4 in. as the size of the 
 page. It contains four miniatures with borders, 
 and several very beautiful illuminated initials. 
 
 Ff 1, 12 V, contain the Calendar, written in an 
 ordinary black and red italic, common at the time of 
 its execution ; not fine but fairly good. 
 
 The two illuminated pages which form the first 
 opening, fii 13 v, 14, consist of — (a) a miniature of 
 the Annunciation within a border, (h) the following 
 words : Beatissime | virginis ma | rie Officium | ad 
 matutinum | versus. Domine la | bia me a aperies | 
 Be Et os meum, also within a border. The orna- 
 ments of these borders, although much diversified, 
 are, on the whole, symmetrically arranged : a is on 
 a yellow ground, h on a pale blue, both stippled 
 finely with gold. In the centre of the narrow upper 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 305 
 
 border is, in each, a mask or face most elaborately 
 finished, but with entirely different features and 
 expression. At top of the outer wide border, a 
 golden basket, filled in one case with flowers, in the 
 other with fruits. The basket is upheld by a half- 
 length of a naked child, the lower part of whose 
 body changes into coloured foliages, scrolls of which, 
 terminating in flowers or tendrils, curl upwards on 
 either side. 
 
 Beneath these figures are cameos, (a) being white 
 on a black ground, (b) all in brown-gold chiaro- 
 scuro. The subject of the former is the Presentation 
 in the Temple, of the latter the Adoration of the 
 Magi. 
 
 Beneath the cameos the ornaments differ entirely, 
 those in a being a Terminus pointing to the minia- 
 ture of the Annunciation and resting his arms on 
 a sort of milestone, on which is inscribed in gold 
 capitals : Ecce virgo concipiet. Beneath this are 
 two naked children seated on a tiger, and supporting 
 the golden frame of the cameo, which occupies the 
 middle of the lower, and widest, border. The boy at 
 the other side of it is seated on a hart. The subject 
 of this cameo, which is in colours, is the Nativity, or 
 Adoration of the Shepherds, by an inferior hand, or 
 much hurried and imperfect."^ The inner, narrow, 
 
 * The drawings, or miniatures generally, are much worn and 
 rubbed — some very badly indeed. 
 
 20 
 
306 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 border is occupied with a variety of things — a 
 golden cornucopia, a white harpy, a golden lyre, 
 and a satyr-like figure forming a Terminus. At the 
 top of h the mask is flanked by two elegant but 
 quite fanciful flamingo-like birds. Beneath the 
 centre cameo, which contains the Wise Men’s Offer- 
 ings, is a head combining the characters of the ibex 
 and the lion, surrounded by most minutely finished 
 foliage, two smaller lion-like heads attached to 
 branches of ornament depend from the larger one, 
 and a naked child seated on a lioness, at the foot of 
 the border, seizes one of these heads with one hand, 
 while with the other he points it out to his com- 
 panion. In this page (&), which commences the 
 Office of the B. V. Mary, the letters are, line by 
 line, blue or lake and gold. The D of Domine 
 forms a large initial, in. square, on a gold flat 
 panel, containing a miniature in colours of the 
 Madonna and Child. The letter is made up of 
 ornamental white foliage, with a mask in front of 
 the curve at side. There is just room for the letters 
 ^‘omine” to run down the side of this initial between 
 it and the side border. A narrow bead of gold 
 forms a frame to each border. In the lower border 
 of (h), within a wreath of fruits supported by naked 
 children, is a Venetian armorial shield, containing 
 the arms of Cardinal Grimani, on a gold back- 
 ground. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 307 
 
 Then follow about a dozen folios of plain text, 
 with simple gold capitals. 
 
 fol. 27 V. Ad laudes. ver. Dens in adiutorium 
 meum intende, in coloured or gold capitals, and an 
 initial D on a green panel. Inside is a half-length 
 portrait of a person speaking, with hand raised. 
 He wears a red tunic, blue over-garment and blue 
 cap, on a crimson ground. The letter is brown- 
 gold. 
 
 Then more plain pages. 
 
 fol. 41. Adprimam. ver. Same introit as before, 
 a brown-gold letter on gold ground, containing a 
 figure in attitude of prayer, wearing a blue tunic, 
 red upper garment and cap. 
 
 fol. 50. Ad sextam. ver., in green capitals. 
 Same introit, and an initial D in elegant brown-gold 
 on plain vellum. The interior ornament is a simple 
 scroll of foliage and tendrils, also in brown-gold. 
 
 fol. 90. In coloured and gold letters : Explicit 
 officium Beate | Marie Virginis secundum | consue- 
 tudinem | Romane | curie | . 
 
 ff. 91 V, 92. The second pair of illuminated 
 pages most clearly indicating the close study of the 
 Sistine ceiling, for at foot is a direct copy, differing 
 only in the background, of the David and Goliath 
 in one of the corners. The borders consist of 
 trophies of arms and armour, corslets, shields, axes, 
 spears, &c., and figures of children; cameos in brown- 
 
 20 
 
308 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 gold, and masks supported by figures in the upper 
 borders. The lower border in each consists of a fine 
 miniature scene, (a) being the David and Goliath, 
 (0 a cavalry skirmish, exquisitely painted. In (a) 
 there is a miniature of David praying, having laid 
 aside his crown, sceptre, harp, and most of his dress. 
 In (h) are the words : Incipiunt sep | tern psalmi 
 pe I nitentiales an | tiphona Ne re | miniscaris — 
 Psalmus I Domine ne | in furore tuo | arguas me, 
 neq.||. The borders are on green and violet grounds. 
 As before, the letters are gold, blue, lake, and green 
 capitals, line by line. The initial D a fine gold and 
 lake letter on a pale blue ground, within a golden 
 bead frame. Inside, a head of an old man as if 
 speaking, with an open book in his hands. This 
 head is very nobly painted. The cameo in border (a) 
 represents Esther before Ahasuerus — that in (b) the 
 anointing of David, various trophies at side. To 
 describe the beauty of the colouring, the delicacy of 
 the work, or the elegance and variety of the design 
 in these two pages would be utterly impossible. 
 
 fol. 118. Expliciunt septem psalmi Peniten- 
 tiales. 
 
 ff. 119 V, 120. A splendid instance of the use 
 of efold as a backofround in the borders. The orna- 
 ments are all taken from classical motives — the 
 figures are Pompeian and highly finished. A 
 coloured cameo occupies the centre of each side 
 
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 PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE 
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 STUART DE ROTHESAY CLOVIO.” 
 
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Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 309 
 
 border, each containing a lion worrying a stag. 
 Two tall satyrs stand at the foot of the borders, 
 each supporting something on his head, from 
 which birds are feeding. In {a) a pheasant, in {h) 
 an ape stands beside on the framework, and in both 
 a youthful satyr on the ground. 
 
 The lower border in each consists of an oblong 
 miniature in colours. In (a) the combat between 
 three horsemen and three skeletons — one of the 
 horsemen being unhorsed. The skeletons are on 
 foot. In (&) a body is laid out on a bier, surrounded 
 by persons weeping — a delicately painted landscape 
 is visible outside the building, with the walls and 
 towers of a city. 
 
 The miniature in (a) is a crowded scene, a woman 
 kneeling before Christ, another woman in a Cis- 
 tercian dress, or at least in white robes, also kneels 
 as joining in asking a favour. They represent 
 Mary and Martha near the tomb of Lazarus. 
 Behind are crowds of people, among whom is seen, 
 several times over, the round felt hat in which 
 Francisco de Holanda represents Michelangelo in 
 his portrait of that artist. 
 
 The words in (6) are : Incipit officium | mortuo 
 rum I ad vesperas | antiphona pla | cebo domino 
 psalmu. I Dilexi | quoniam exau | diet Dominus, || 
 as before in gold and colours. 
 
 Initial D in violet on a golden panel, with a 
 
310 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 violet bead rim. Inside the letter a head. This 
 head is most remarkable. It is that of a man 
 just escaping from the icy grasp of death, the eyes 
 still glazed, yet kindling with an intense eagerness 
 for returning life. It is the head of Lazarus, 
 just as he hears the Redeemer’s voice, nor 
 could it ever be surpassed for power, expression, 
 and miraculous delicacy of finish. To paint such a 
 head the size of life, might be the work of a really 
 master hand. To paint it as it is cannot be 
 othei'wise than the very highest effort of a hand 
 possessing perfect skill, and a mind capable of the 
 liighest conceptions in art. The figure of Christ 
 in the opposite scene is most natural and graceful, 
 and his expression most benignant and tender, 
 but this head possesses an expression far beyond 
 that of the Lazarus of Sebastiano del Piombo in 
 the large painting at the National Gallery, and it 
 is just half-an-inch across ! 
 
 fol. 1G4 V. Explicit officium mortuorum. 
 ff. 1G5 V, IGG. The crucifixion, or rather the 
 Stabat Mater, within a somewhat faded arabesque 
 boi’der, on violet and brown grounds, with central 
 lozengy (a), cameos, and brown-gold chiaroscuro 
 scene at foot. This latter is the way to Calvary — 
 Christ supporting his cross — many figures about. 
 
 (h) The words Incipit — officiu | sancte crucis | ad 
 matutinum I versiculus I Domine labia mea ape- 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 311 
 
 ries. R et os meum annu | ciabit laudem tua. v. Deus. | 
 Tlie last two lines are in small black text. Init. D. 
 gold and green letter finely drawn, on a grey-black 
 variegated and veined slab of marble, with a gold 
 inner rim. This marble slab is a reminiscence of 
 the invention of Sebastiano, who gave much of his 
 time to the execution of such portraits as this on 
 marble and metals. The head within this letter, 
 though most exquisitely finished, is as feeble in 
 expression as the Lazarus is powerful. It is never- 
 theless a perfect gem as regards manual skill. ^ The 
 two lozenge cameos are (a) Christ at Gethsemane, 
 and (h) the Resurrection. The under cameo 
 contains Christ visiting and releasing the souls in 
 Hades. Both these oblong miniatures are most 
 elaborately finished with gold pencilling on a warm 
 brown design. Two sculpturesque Michelangelo- 
 sort of figures support the frames of the pages above 
 at either end of these cameos. 
 
 fob 172 V. Explicit officium sancti erucis. 
 Opposite to this fob 172 is a painting of a guaixiian 
 angel leading a child, on a slab of variegated maihle 
 on which is placed a framework of gold. 
 
 fob 172 is the last except a fly-leaf. 
 
 * The portraits on the initial D’s are exquisitely finished;, 
 but the one in the Office of the Dead is marvellous. 
 
IX. 
 
 Stanze op Eurialo d’Ascoli. No, 2660 , Imperial 
 
 Library, Vienna. 
 
 This beautiful little volume is certainly a Clovio. 
 It still remains in the original stamped, or rather 
 figured, binding of two leathers, as executed for the 
 Emperor Charles V., exhibiting his device of the 
 two columns and the motto, ne plus ultra, on ribbon 
 across. Size of volume, 7 in. by 4 in. 
 
 The first illumination occurs on Fob 1 v., and 
 consists of a gold-brown ornament on pink ground, 
 with little corners here and there picked out with 
 green, and the coils at the ends of the foliages blue. 
 In the miniature, the soldier wears a green corslet, 
 scarlet hose, and blue boots, enriched with gold, 
 while the drapery behind him is blue. The woman 
 with the child has pale blue drapery. The children 
 in front are placed on pink. The funeral pyre is 
 painted with great care, and the graceful figure 
 upon it is most delicately finished. So also are the 
 accessaries. On the opposite page, which has a 
 similar border of trophies and foliage ornaments, the 
 panel containing the gold letters of the title is a fine 
 rich ultramarine. 
 
 Pp. 19, 20. Here are two more illuminated 
 pages. Title or dedication : A1 gran marchese 
 DAghillare. On p. 20, A1 invittissimo Carlo 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 313 
 
 Quinto sempre Aug. Stanze D’Eurialo d’Ascoli. 
 The left border is of the Raffaellesca kind, with a 
 small cherub at top — purple winged ; then slender 
 sprays of fine Venetian renaissance foliage and 
 small figurines. Next comes an oval panel con- 
 taining a gold-brown figure of a dancing girl draped, 
 on a violet ground. Then more foliages, and a fine 
 black and white cameo of a man in armour bearing 
 sword and shield. More foliages, and at foot two 
 lovely children holding a basket of leaves. Along 
 the lower border, amid graceful foliages, is a figure 
 of Pan or some other sylvan Deity in a forest. 
 This is certainly Clovio’s own work, as evidenced 
 by its close resemblance in method and manner of 
 execution to the Stuart Rothesay MS. in the 
 British Museum. A beautiful boy in the corner 
 leads to more foliages, and another oval containing 
 a sweet figure of a nymph prepared for the bath. 
 Then ascending foliages of ornament again, leading 
 to another cupid at^ top, corresponding in symme- 
 trical arrangement with the opposite page. 
 
 The next page has a similar design, the orna- 
 ments containing the following colours delicately 
 intermingled : pink, green, blue, crimson, yellow, 
 scarlet, and gold. An oval contains the figure of 
 Hercules in gold on fine blue. The lower border is 
 filled with double coils of ornament, and a cameo of 
 a naked youth (Apollo?) performing on a viol, as he 
 
314 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 sits on a violet-pink robe. Amid further foliages 
 are two boys holding a basket, above these is a 
 black and white cameo of a soldier ; and in the 
 centre cameo a draped female figure in gold on a 
 fine ultramarine oval. After more graceful coils of 
 ex(|uisitely painted foliages, comes a shield-shaped 
 cameo of the Dioscuri riding at high-speed, rich 
 Venetian foliage finishing the border to the sweet 
 little cherub ” at top. On his left is a seated 
 monster and a pretty little panel containing two 
 tiny children blowing horns. On the right page, in 
 lieu of the monster, are two gold masks foliated. 
 The ground of the left borders is a pale yellow, 
 streaked with gold ; that of the right pale violet, 
 also hatched with gold. The gold hatching is a 
 feature both in the Paris Psalter of Paul III. and 
 the Bodley Offices. 
 
 The Stanze ” are three on a page, in a good 
 black small Roman hand, with golden capitals to 
 each line. There are no painted initials. 
 
 The Title of the second part of the Stanze ” is 
 placed on a very peculiarly formed sort of cartel or 
 shield. Al invittissimo Carlo, kc. Stanze d’eurialo 
 d’ascoli. The letters are gold on a green ground. 
 A note on a slip of paper in the case says : Ascoli 
 
 (Eurialo d’) Poeta Volgare del secol. XVI. assai 
 stimato al tempo di Leone X. che molto lo favori. 
 Amicissimo, specialniente de Caro, del Tolomei, e 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 315 
 
 del Molza. Composa in Greco, Latino, e Toscano.” 
 The note is from Mazuchelli : 1157. 
 
 Whilst looking at this volume, the Counsellor 
 Dr. Ernst Ritter von Birk, brought me Sakcinski’s 
 ‘^Life of Clovio,” illustrated with photogravures. 
 
 Jure Glovic prozvan Julijo Klovio Hrvatski sitnos- 
 likar, napisao ivan Kukuljevie Sakcinski, sa tri slike.” 
 
 The three pictures are his portrait, the Orosius 
 Sibyl (from the doubtful Paris MS), and the Repose 
 on the Way to Egypt (from the Munich Hours of 
 Albert V.). The last MS. has been attributed to 
 Lenker — who was a miniaturist of the highest class, 
 as well as a skilful goldsmith. It is impossible, if 
 the date assigned to its execution be correct, that 
 Clovio, almost in the last stage of feebleness, which 
 lingeringly preceded his death, could have painted 
 the firmly and exquisitely finished miniatures which 
 it contains. It is more probable that Lenker copied 
 Clovio’s designs, this being really after a drawing of 
 his in the Florence Gallery. The portrait is an oval 
 of an old man — the head only — with a turn-down 
 collar, and D. Giulio, miniatore,” on the shoulder. 
 This Life of Clovio ” is a large octavo, or quarto : 
 Zagreb (Agram), 1878. Naklada ^^Matiu Hrvatske.” 
 Tisak Karla Albrechta. 66 pp., and an appendix 
 of letters. One of these is from Albert, Duke of 
 Bavaria, asking for a incture painted by Clovio, but 
 makes no mention of a book. 
 
X. 
 
 The Gonzaga or Bodley Offices. {Douce MSS, 
 
 No. 29.) 
 
 This MS. is also called the Prayer Book of 
 Eleonora Ippolita Gonzaga, second wife of Francesco 
 Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. It is 12mo., 
 and contains 13G leaves written in a very elegant text 
 and one of the best specimens of miniature painting 
 of the best period of the cinquecento. It was 
 bought in Italy by Henrietta Louisa Countess of 
 Pomfret. It has been attributed to Girolamo dai 
 Libri, and to Girolamo Genga ; but much of the 
 work in it completely corresponds with work in 
 other MSS. that were painted by Clovio, and hence 
 I place it among the MSS. to be described here. 
 At the back of fob 1 are painted the splendid arms 
 of Gonzaga and Della Rovere. In the centre of 
 the opposite page on a silver ground is written 
 Leonore Gonzage Urbini duce. The borders of both 
 pages are upon a gold ground, ornamented with 
 trophies of arms and armour. 
 
 fob 2 V. is Moses receiving the Tables of the 
 Law. In the borders upon crimson, blue, and 
 green grounds, covered with fine gold dots, are 
 most beautiful scenes treated as cameos, connected 
 in historical sequence with the subject of the larger- 
 miniature, or having some symbolical connection 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 317 
 
 with it. Below, in the corners, are vases of grace- 
 ful antique forms, giving rise to delicate arabesques. 
 These are executed with the utmost precision 
 and grace. 
 
 The initials are of gold in compartments of 
 beautiful colours, enriched with delicate golden 
 arabesques. They are small, but very numerous. 
 
 fol. 14 V. Anna and Joachim meeting at the 
 Golden Gate. 
 
 fol. 15. The Visitation. 
 
 The borders are gracefully ornamented in the 
 Netherlandish manner, with single flowers. Instead 
 of cameos are eight silver shields on which are 
 delineated the four cardinal virtues in chiaroscuro, 
 then Faith, Hope, and Charity, and on the eighth 
 shield Major harum caritas.” 
 fol. 23 V. Zacharias, writing, 
 fol. 24. The Adoration of the Shepherds. 
 
 The border of 23 v. is brown-gold. On medal- 
 lions are the four fathers of the Church. In the 
 corners are antique masks, as if executed in marble. 
 One represents Pan. The borders of 24 are not 
 so well designed as others, being too irregularly 
 distributed. They contain medallions of the four 
 Evangelists in brown-gold, and two antique masks 
 of great elegance. On the narrow side are two 
 sphynxes. 
 
 fol. 27 V. Joseph’s dream. 
 
318 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 fol. 28. The Angels appearing to the Shepherds. 
 
 The borders of 27 v. in four compartments of a 
 delicate white on crimson ground, to four smaller 
 miniatures, the subjects of which are the Annuncia- 
 tion, Nativity, Adoration of Magi, and Resurrec- 
 tion. They are finely composed and admirable in 
 execution. The ground of the borders is silver, 
 covered with a delicate white arabesque. On azure 
 panels are appropriate inscriptions in gold. The 
 borders of 28 are similar, and contain three angels. 
 
 fol. 31 V. Visit of Queen of Sheba to Solomon. 
 
 fol, 32. Adoration of Magi. 
 
 On each border are beautiful angels bearing 
 curtains. 
 
 fol. 35 V. Presentation in the Temple of the 
 Virgin Mary. 
 
 fol. 36. Presentation of Christ. 
 
 Dr. Waagen says that on fol. 35 is a date, but he 
 is not certain whether 1510 or 1540, as the third 
 figure is very indistinct. It is really no date at all, 
 but simply the word isto.” However, he goes on 
 to remark, that from the date of Leonora’s marriage 
 in 1509, and the opinion that a year would be 
 too short a time to allow for the execution of the 
 volume, also judging from the style of work, he is 
 inclined to decide for the date 1540. The borders 
 display a happy combination of the architectural 
 taste of tlie Italian school, with the more arbitrary 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 319 
 
 yet beautiful and truthful work of the Netherlandish, 
 from which the birds and insects are borrowed. The 
 question is, what well-known Italian artist, for he 
 was evidently an Italian, was capable of this perfect 
 imitation of the N etherlandish work ? After the 
 execution of the Grimani Breviary several Florentine 
 and Venetian miniaturists caught the fancy for this 
 style, but the peculiar tenderness and delicacy of 
 this work, while it points to Clovio, is utterly out 
 of the way of its commonly attributed author, 
 Girolamo dai Libri. It may seem rather wayward 
 to admit the possibility of this MS. being the work 
 of Clovio, and to doubt the Flora.” But I go 
 entirely upon the evidence. This MS. has other 
 marks by which it seems possible to identify it. 
 The other has not, at least I have not seen them, 
 fol. 39 V. Overthrow of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. 
 fol. 40. The Flight into Egypt. 
 
 In the former the Almighty is unfortunately and 
 almost ludicrously represented as a pillar of cloud. 
 The latter is in the manner of Raffaello. The 
 borders to each are of peculiar elegance, containing 
 graceful angels who bear up rich garlands of fruit 
 with golden bands on a black ground, 
 fol. 45 V. The Vision of Solomon, 
 fol. 46. Christ teaching in the Temple. 
 
 The inscription to the Vision explains the subject. 
 Ecce dedi tibi cor sapiens et intelligens.” In 
 
320 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 the borders are eight masterly little black cameo 
 subjects, among which the best are the Judgment 
 of Solomon and the Massacre of the Innocents. 
 
 Border to fob 46 consists of rich brown-gold 
 flowers and gold stems, on varied gold, green, and 
 lake grounds. 
 
 fol. 55 V. The Israelites collecting Manna, 
 fol. 56. The Last Supper. 
 
 The borders, chiefly in the Netherlandish taste, 
 contains eight cameos of admirable skill, 
 fol. 60 V. The Destruction of Sodom, 
 fol. 61. The Repentance of David. 
 
 The Almighty, as an aged man, is represented 
 hurling thunderbolts, showing the influence of the 
 revival of classical studies, and intimating the grow- 
 ing custom of refeiTino- to God under the name of 
 
 o o 
 
 Jupiter or Jove. 
 
 This is the commencement of the Penitential 
 Psalms. In the border are eight appro23riate cameos 
 — tlie lowest one represents the Last J udgment. 
 fol. 76 V. The Expulsion from Paradise, 
 fol. 77. The Entombment of Christ. 
 
 Of these the latter is the better composition. The 
 borders contain cameos — the subjects of which are 
 the Creation of Eve, the Fall, the Almighty speak- 
 ing to Adam, Adam and Eve working after 
 Expulsion, &c. The second border has four other 
 subjects and four sj)hynxes. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 321 
 
 fol. 110 V. Christ bearing his Cross, 
 fol. 111. Isaac bearing the wood, &c., for sacrifice. 
 The former is inscribed ^^Ad matutinam sacratiss. 
 passionis D. Nre Jesu Chr.” The old typical mean- 
 ing of the latter is given in the words Per signum 
 sancti crucis.” The borders of these miniatures 
 surpass all the rest in richness. Besides the usual 
 eight subjects contained in medallions in the 
 borders, and here consisting of scenes from 
 the Passion, there are four others in the 
 corners, and four others of an allegorical character. 
 Those in the corners are blue cameos. Between 
 all these subjects there are at the sides eight fishes, 
 at foot two serpents and two tortoises, and at top 
 four snails — all exquisitely finished. This is the 
 part of the book which it was thought specially 
 determined it to be the work of Girolamo dai 
 Libri; but it is just the kind of work which Vasari 
 attributes to Clovio. This, however, is not the 
 reason that I would assign the manuscript to this 
 artist. 
 
 fol. 131 V. A grand sacrifice offered by a king. 
 Fire coming down from heaven to consume it. 
 fol. 132. The Descent of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 The sacrifice is, perhaps, that made by Ahab under 
 the direction of Elijah. In eight blue cameos on 
 the border of the scene of Pentecost are the chief 
 events succeeding the Crucifixion. Among them, 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 the Descent of the Holy Ghost is incomparably 
 better than the larger representation of the same 
 subject. Among these cameos are eight fishes and 
 eiglit birds, upon a finely shaded silver ground. It 
 is by means of the birds on this and other borders 
 that I find an intimate connection with several other 
 manuscripts executed in Rome, either by Clovio or 
 his assistants. Tlie identical two birds which occur 
 in one of the upper borders are given on a border 
 in the Missal of Clement VII. at Berlin, while similar 
 oiies occur in the cuttino^s known as the Rop*ers’ 
 Book, Add. MS. 21412, British Museum. One page 
 in the Albani Missal has quite a repetition of the 
 same motives, apparently by tlie same hand as the 
 cuttings, and precisely similar work occurs in a 
 Lectionary written for Gregory XIII. soon after 
 1573. These later imitations I take to be the work 
 of Claudio Massarelli — the earlier work to be that 
 of Clovio. I have a strono’ conviction that after 
 
 O 
 
 Sebastiano del Piombo became keeper of the Papal 
 seal, and during the eleven years in which he is 
 usually credited with indolent enjoyment of his 
 office, he busied himself with miniature painting, 
 and is really the painter of several pages both of 
 tlie Albani Missal and others attributed to Buon- 
 fratelli and even to Clovio. But this may be so or 
 not — I am not required to discuss it here. The 
 Bodley MS. shows points of such decided similarity 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 323 
 
 to Clovio, and such decided indications of an advance 
 beyond the fifteenth-century notions of Girolamo dai 
 Libri, that, whether allowed to be an example of 
 Clovio or not, it can never again be assigned to his 
 skilful but old-fashioned predecessor. The Esdaile 
 Missal of Sixtus IV. , by Girolamo and his father, at 
 once decides the matter ; and it is strange that 
 either Douce or anyone else who had ever seen 
 Dibdin’s description of that MS. could imagine that 
 this one was the work of the same miniaturist. 
 
 XI. 
 
 The Silius Italicus of the Marcian Library, 
 
 Venice, 
 
 Vasari, when describing this MS., which I do not 
 think to be a Clovio, attributes it to Attavante, but 
 all its features are so distinctively not in the manner 
 of that artist, that Morelli, in his Notizie d’ Opere 
 di Disegno 171,” detects the mistake, and truth- 
 fully remarks, ‘‘All is good in this description, except 
 that the author of the beautiful miniatures was not 
 Attavante,” and goes on to speak of the “Martianus 
 Capella,” which was executed by Attavante, and is 
 still preserved in the Marciana. I have not seen 
 the Italicus, but give Vasari’s description for the 
 use of those who may care to seek for it, as it is 
 
 21 
 
324 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 among those attributed to Clovio, and in order to 
 compare with the other descriptions here given of 
 Cloviesca miniatures. In this book the fiofure of 
 
 O 
 
 Silius has on his head a helmet crested with gold 
 and bearing a corona of laurel ; he wears a blue 
 cuirass furnished with gold in the antique manner ; 
 in his right hand is a book, his left rests on a short 
 sword. Over the cuirass he wears a red chlamys, 
 buckled in front, and hano-ino' from liis shoulders 
 fringed with gold. The lining of this chlamys 
 appears changeful in colour and is embroidered with 
 rosettes of gold. He lias yellow buskins, and poses 
 on his right foot within a niche. The figure repre- 
 senting Scipio Africanus wears a yellow cuirass, the 
 shoulder-pieces and sword-belt blue worked with 
 ^old. On his head is a helmet with two little wino's 
 
 o o 
 
 and a fish for crest. The figure of the youth is 
 beautiful and blonde, and he lifts menacingly a 
 naked sword in his rio*ht hand. In the left he 
 
 O 
 
 holds the sheath, which is red and embroidered 
 with gold. His boots are green and plain, and his 
 cloak or chlamys, which is blue, has a red lining and 
 a o'old edoino- or border ; it fastens at the throat, 
 leaving the front quite open, and then falls gracefully 
 back. He wears blue boots embroidered with gold. 
 This youth stands in a niche of green and variegated 
 marbles, frowning with unspeakable ferocity upon 
 Annibal, who is depicted on the opposite page. 
 
Life, of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 325 
 
 The figure of Annibal is that of a man about 
 thirty years of age. His eyebrows are contracted as 
 in great anger, and he gazes fixedly at Scipio. He 
 has on his head a yellow helmet, with a dragon crest 
 of green and yellow, and for chaplet or garland, a 
 snake. He rests on the left foot, and holds in his 
 right hand, which is raised, the shaft of a javelin, 
 or rather, partizan. He wears a blue corslet and 
 a sword-belt and pendants partly blue and partly 
 yellow, with sleeves changeful azure and red, and 
 small yellow boots. The cloak is changeful, like 
 the sleeves, but of red and yellow, gathered over 
 the right shoulder. The lining is green. He 
 rests his left hand on his sword, and stands in a 
 niche of variegated yellow-white and iridescent 
 marble. On the other page is the figure of Pope 
 Nicholas V. drawn from life, with a changeful robe 
 of purple and red, and embroidered with gold. 
 He is without beard and taken in profile, looking 
 towards the commencement of the work which 
 is opposite, and pointing to it with his right hand 
 as if in wonder. The niche is green and red. 
 In the border or margin are certain small half 
 figures, within oval and round medallions and 
 similar things, with a multitude of little birds and 
 children, so well done that one could not wish for 
 better. Besides these figures there are given in 
 similar manner those of Anno the Carthaginian, 
 
326 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Asdrubal, Lelius, Massinissa, C. Salinator, Nero 
 Sempronius, M. Marcellus, Qu. Fabius, Scipio the 
 younger, and Vibius. At the end is a figure of 
 Mai*s on a chariot drawn by two cliestnut horses. 
 He wears a red helmet, witli gold ornaments and 
 two winglets. On liis left arm an antique sliield 
 which he holds forward, and in tlie riglit a naked 
 sword. He rests on his left foot, holdino- the other 
 in tlie air. He has an antique cuirass, red and gold, 
 and Ills boots and hose are similar. His cloak is 
 blue outside and green within, embroidered with 
 gold. The chariot is covered with red drapery, 
 witli gold embroidery, and has a border of ermine 
 around it. It is placed in a meadow-land, covered 
 with orass and liowers ; but ainono- crao’s and rocks. 
 111 the distance are seen cities, and a landscape, 
 in a beautiful clear blue air. On the opposite page 
 is a youthful Nejitune, clad in a long garment, all 
 embroidered with terra- verde. The carnation is 
 very pale. In the 1‘iglit hand he holds a small 
 trident, and with the left lifts up his drapery. He 
 stands with both feet on the chariot, wdiich is 
 draj^ed in red, wrought with gold, and edged with 
 ermine. This chariot has four wheels like that 
 of ^lars, but is drawn by four dolphins, accompanied 
 by three sea-nymphs, two children, and a shoal of 
 fishes painted in a greenish tint. The atmosphere 
 is most beautiful. Beyond them is seen Carthage 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 327 
 
 in despair, represented by a woman standing 
 upright with her hair dislievelled, with green 
 garments above, and from the waist open down- 
 wards, and lined with red embroidered with gold, 
 and displaying through the opening another gar- 
 ment of a thin, delicate texture, and changeful 
 colours of violet and white. The sleeves are red 
 and gold, with certain pendants and flutterings of 
 the robe above. She stretches forth her left hand 
 towards the figure of Rome, which is opposite, 
 as if saying, ^ What wouldst thou ? I will answer 
 thee.’ And in her right hand she brandishes a 
 naked sword, as if in a fury. Her buskins are blue, 
 and she stands on a rock in the midst of the sea, 
 surrounded by a most beautiful atmosphere. Rome 
 is represented as a young girl, as beautiful as one 
 can possibly imagine, her head adorned with a 
 chevelure of lovely tresses, and clothed outwardly 
 in red drapery, with a border of embroidery round 
 tlie lower edge only. The lining of the robe is yellow, 
 and the under-garment visible through the open- 
 ing is changeful violet and white. Her boots are 
 green. In her right hand she wields a sceptre, 
 in the left an orb or world — emblem of sovereignty. 
 She also rests upon a rock — in the midst of an 
 atmosphere which could not be more beautiful.” 
 From what Vasari says of these miniatures, and 
 his own knowledge of Clovio, I should at once 
 
328 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 decide they were not by the latter, but belong to 
 the end of the fifteenth century. Their treat- 
 ment and the stress laid upon the airs or aerial 
 pei'spective seems to class them with the Grimani 
 Breviary. The design, too, of placing the figures 
 in niches rivals the Roman de la Rose of the British 
 Museum, and, with a very different style — though 
 perfect in its way — the Ethics of Aristotle in the 
 Imperial Library at Vienna. Indeed, the latter 
 MS. painted by Rinaldo, or Naldo Piramo, for the 
 Duke of Atri, seems to be cpiite in the manner 
 described by Vasari. Pii*anio worked about the 
 commencement of the sixteenth century, probably 
 at Atri. 
 
 XII. 
 
 A Missal in the Museo Borbonico at Naples. 
 Veil. Quarto, 352 ff [Translated from 
 Sahcinshi: Slovnik umjetnikali Jugo-Slavenskih: 
 u Zagrehu, 1858. Diet, of S. Slav. Biogr.) 
 
 On the first folio is a large picture representing 
 a priest engaged in the service of the Mass before 
 the altar. On the steps are men praying. Above 
 is a coat of arms and a cardinal’s hat. Beside the 
 arms are children blowing trumpets. The picture 
 recalls that in the Missal at Agrani. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 329 
 
 On fol. 10, immediately following the Calendar, is 
 a picture of the Nativity. 
 
 fol. 17. The Adoration of the Magi, 
 fol. 137. The Almighty, most exquisitely finished 
 and surrounded by arabesques, 
 fol. 163. The Resurrection, 
 fol. 175. The Ascension, surrounded with the 
 usual Cloviesca arabesques. 
 
 fol. 179. The Epiphany, with beautiful borders, 
 fol. 186. The Holy Trinity, 
 
 fol. 187. The Pope celebrating the Eucharist, 
 
 fol. 220. St. Paul with a white beard, most 
 
 beautifully painted and finished, with great spirit 
 and firmness of expression, 
 fol. 223. The Circumcision, 
 
 fol. 228. The Annunciation, 
 
 fol. 230. St. Philip and James, in a lovely land- 
 scape. In the distance appear blue and green 
 valleys, with nearer hills and a church and green 
 gardens. Around are arabesques containing wonder- 
 ful monsters and monkeys. 
 
 fol. 237. The birth of John the Baptist, 
 fol. 240. An angel conducts St. Peter from 
 prison whilst the keeper sleeps. 
 
 fol. 241. Conversion of St. Paul. The apostle, 
 on a white horse, gazes up towards heaven in which 
 appears the Almighty. Arabesque borders, 
 fol. 245. St. James the Apostle. 
 
330 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 fol. 249. St. Lawrence. 
 
 fol. 253. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, 
 whom angels are carrying on clouds, whilst below 
 ai*e apostles gazing upward, 
 fol. 256. St. Bartholomew, 
 fol. 258. Decollation of St. John, 
 fol. 258. Birth of the Virgin, 
 fol. 260. St. Sahnio ? bishop, 
 fol. 263. St. Matthew, apostle, 
 
 fol. 265. St. Michael, archangel, 
 
 fol. 266. St. Francis, 
 
 fol. 268. St. Luke, 
 
 fol. 269. SS. Simon and Jude, 
 fol. 270. All Saints, among whom is seen 
 St. John Baptist with lamb, 
 fol. 272. St. Martin. 
 
 fol. 273. Presentation in the Temple. On the 
 right is the martyrdom of St. Cecilia. After this, 
 no more miniatures, until 
 
 fol. 325. Office of the Dead. A priest officiates 
 at the Mass ; on the right are deacons. Beautiful 
 arabesques in the borders. 
 
 fol. 335. Pope St. Gregory before an altar — 
 two deacons kneeling. 
 
 On fol. 339 beo’ins another handwritino' without 
 
 o o 
 
 miniatures. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 331 
 
 / A Small Book of Hours. Naples Museum. 
 
 m . 
 
 Small octavo. Bound in silver-gilt covers of 
 goldsmith’s work, attributed to Cellini. The insides 
 of these covers are beautifully engraved. The 
 handwriting is Italian, and on the last page is the 
 following legend in white letters on a gold ground. 
 
 The book is ornamented on 
 most of its pages with marginal 
 illuminations representing ara- 
 besques and cameos. Besides 
 these, there are about thirty pairs 
 of miniatures or stories, always 
 two together and opposite to 
 each other as you open the book. 
 
 They are each about 4 in. high 
 and 2 ^ wide, surrounded with 
 architectural frames containing 
 figurines, vases, and other orna- 
 ments in gold and colours, mostly hatched with 
 gold.'’^ The ornament is very much in the taste 
 of Michelangelo, while the arabesques on the other 
 pages resemble those of Raffaello in the Vatican 
 Loggie. The beauty of the figures is not to be 
 described in words. Among the best are : — one 
 at the beginning of the volume like Marc Antonio’s 
 print of Baffaello’s Adam and Eve ; and one near 
 the end, of Death seated on a throne. In one 
 
 JVLIVS CLOVI 
 vs MACEDO 
 MONVMENTA 
 HAEC ALEXAN 
 DRO FARNESIO 
 CARDINALI 
 DOMINO SVO 
 FACIEBAT 
 MDXLVI. 
 
332 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 instance two pages are entirely covered by a 
 landscape, with the text written upon it. Every 
 leaf shows great [skill and even] genius in the 
 design and delicacy of execution. The book is 
 perfect in every respect inside and out. It mea- 
 sures 7|- in. in height, 4|- in. in width, and one 
 in tliickness. [Hon. Roh. Curzon : A Short Account 
 of some of the most celehrated Libraries of Italy. 
 Rhilohihlon Soc. BihliograiAiical and Historical 
 Miscellanies j I. 9-11. 1854.) 
 
 Various works attributed to Clovio. 
 
 1. Missale. No. 18, Barberini Lib., Rome. 
 
 Folio. Illuminated by Julio Clovio. Contains 
 two laro-e miniatures. Another has been cut out, 
 but preserved in another book (18 B). This illus- 
 trious volume was executed for Cardinal Ximenes, 
 and is full of small illuminations [and ornaments]. 
 Idem. Ibid. 
 
 Murray’s Guide to Rome (1881) says : Missal 
 
 with fine illuminations by Giulio Clovio, executed 
 for Cardinal Ximenes, is in this Library.” I have 
 seen the several fragments attributed by the Prefect 
 of the Library to Clovio. For what I saw there 
 was really no better ground than tradition and 
 probability; but still, from the evidence of the work 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 333 
 
 itself, this was of the highest kind. This Missal 
 is really a fragment — one of the miniatures once 
 belonging to it being now kept in another volume. 
 
 2. Labarte, ‘‘Hist, des Arts Industriels,” II. 272, 
 says that the Arsenal Orosius (Paris : Ars. Lib. 
 H. R. 71) was executed in 1480, mainly by Attavante, 
 whereas the keeper of MSS. was persuaded it was 
 the work of Clovio. No documentary evidence, and 
 not even the evidence of the work itself, in this 
 case. 
 
 3. At the Royal Picture Gallery in Turin is 
 shown a miniature, 45 c. by 52, of the sudarium 
 held by three angels beneath a deposition from the 
 cross. This miniature is attributed to Clovio. 
 
 4. Valentinelli : Bibliotheca MSSta. ad S. Marci 
 Venetiarum, &c. Codd. Lat. I. 312; has: “Officium 
 Marie Virginis cum additis psalmis poenitentialibus, 
 officiis mortuorum, sctse crucis, et scti sptus. Cod. 
 51. Numb. sa3c. XV. a 901. 63 (L. I. XCII) D. In 
 elegant! codicillo foliorum 267 singulorum officiorum 
 paginas initiales quasdam ornamentis et figuris, 
 spatiis cseruleo colore illitis, pinxit Julius Clovius 
 quod et ex artis magisterio et ex nota sub fine : — 
 
 ‘ Del pre Clovio.’ ” 
 
 This I have not seen. 
 
 5. In Waagen’s supplement to “ Art and Artists 
 in England,” p. 330, the author says, that in the 
 library of Sir Thomas Sebright is a MS. in Sir 
 
334 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Thomas’s opinion attributed to Julio Clovio and 
 executed for Leo X., or as Waagen thought, for 
 Clement VII., and on this ground denied the 
 authorship. He may have had other reasons, but 
 this was certainly insufficient. 
 
 6. A miniature of the Entombment of Christ, in 
 the possession of J. Rutson, Esq., of Newby Wiske, 
 Yorkshire, signed, and apparently having once 
 formed part of a Missal. 
 
 7. In the Brera, at Milan, is a miniature of the 
 AYonian taken in Adultery, from a j)icture by Palma 
 Vecchio. Attributed to Clovio. This, or another 
 copy of the same subject, is said by Sakcinski to be 
 after Titian. — See also IjCtbarte, II. 27G. 
 
 8. Extract from an Inventory of things belonging 
 to Margaret of Parma, dated 158G. Now in the 
 Arcliivio Governativo of Parma, fob IG. ^‘Una 
 lunetta con le cornice d’ ebano — con 1’ Effigie della 
 ^ladonna, di mano di Don Giulio, con sa sua 
 borsa di creniesino creniesi e con un anello in cima 
 d’argento.” fob 81. ‘‘Un quadro con un Crocihsso 
 con sua cornice, di mano di Don Giulio.” — “Un altro 
 quadro con uno Pietii con sua cornice, di mano di 
 Don Giulio.” 
 
 9. The Inventory of tlie Picture Gallery at Parma 
 — called the Pinacoteca Farnesina — compiled in 
 1708 by Stefano Lolli, describes two other pictures: 
 fob G. “ Quadi-o senza cornice, alto braccio uno 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 335 
 
 oncie due e mezza, largo oncie undid. Una Notte, 
 con mezza figura d’ un giovine die col soffie accende 
 una picciola candela, di Giulio Clovio. No. 161.” 
 fol. 18. ^‘Quadro con cornice d’orata, alto braccio 
 uno oncie due, largo braccio uno, oncie otto. Re- 
 tratto di Don Giulio Clovio — con barba bianca, die 
 con la destra accentia un libro aperto miniato, qual 
 tiene nella sinistra, di Giulio Clovio. No. 154.” 
 This appears to be the portrait knowD as the 
 Curzon portrait, an engraving of which is given on 
 
 p. 182. 
 
 10. Sakcinski : (Dictionary of S. Slavonian 
 
 Artists, &c. Art. Klovio, p. 172.) Besides the 
 Flora, by some attributed to Clovio, but denied 
 by this author, he mentions a Breviary of Cardinal 
 Farnese, in the Biblioteca Borbonica, with the 
 Farnese arms, adorned with portraits of evangelists, 
 popes, and various saints — every page crowded 
 with pictures of scenes from the Old and New 
 Testament. But he asks — may not this Breviary 
 have been one not designed but only coloured by 
 Clovio ? The drawings are much worn. It is 
 known that Clovio, indeed, carefully and regularly 
 designed, and was accustomed often to colour the 
 designs of others. An inscription with the Farnese 
 arms in this volume stands thus : AL. C. D. F. 
 
 11. Ibid. In the Galleria Borghese, Rome, are 
 two miniatures, a Madonna and a Head of Christ, 
 
336 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 without doubt by Clovio. On them, very much 
 rubbed, are the letters Giulio Clodi [sic). 
 
 12. Ihid. In the collection of the Russian Em- 
 bassy at Naples are two pictures — 1. Mary in the 
 Temple. 2. A Boar Hunt, with numerous figures. 
 Both miniatui*es in the style of Raffaello, and 
 executed on small pieces of paper (?) in water- 
 colours. 
 
 13. Ibid. (p. 173). A Book of Offices, now in the 
 Sacristy of the Cathedral of Agram, containing the 
 arms of Bislioj) Thomas or Simon Erdoda. Executed 
 by Clovio in his youth, yet very delicately. The 
 MS. contains 280 folios, and thirty-three rather 
 large pictures. 
 
 14. In Mr. Mayor s Collection, London, 1871. A 
 design for one of the compartments of the Palazzo 
 del T, at Mantua, representing the Loves of Cupid 
 and Psyche, painted by Giulio Romano. In bistre, 
 heightened Avith gold, on buff ground. 
 
 15. In tlie Library of the Cathedral of Ravenna. 
 Part of a Missal, described by M. Ch. Diehl in 
 IJArt for 1883, pp. 224-230. 
 
 16. Several dinwiims in the British Museum and 
 
 O 
 
 elscAvliere. 
 
XIII. 
 
 Richardson’s Notes. 
 
 Extracts from Account of the Statues, Bas- 
 reliefs, Drawings, and Pictures in Italy and 
 France, &c.” With remarks. By Mr. 
 Richardson. (Lond. 1754. Small octavo.) 
 
 p. 59. Here also (namely at Florence) are a 
 great many miniatures of Fra Gio. Batt. di Monte 
 (a Monastery abou five miles from Florence), 
 amongst which is the Correggio — Madonna kneel- 
 ing and adoring Christ on the ground, her hands 
 a little asunder ; and St. John of Raffaello — a 
 single figure holding out his right hand, &c., above- 
 mentioned. He has also done the Adoration of 
 the Shepherds, by Titian, and the Andrea del 
 Sarto in the apartment of the Grand Prince. The 
 miniatures of this monk are finer, more correct, and 
 better coloured than those of Don Giulio Clovio 
 that the Duke has. He wrought about fifty years 
 ago (^.«. about 1700), and always after pictures of 
 other Masters ; never did any of his own invention, 
 but imitated the several manners perfectly well. 
 
 p. 60. The Chamber of the Great Princess 
 Dowager. Camera di Madonna. The Pieta of 
 Michelangelo ’tis written upon by himself Julius 
 Clovius Macedo faciehat, as he has writ upon most 
 of his things. This is not comparable to those 
 
 22 
 
338 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 miniatures said to be of him, of the Life of the 
 Duke of Urbiii, in the Vatican. ’Tis hard and 
 flat, and the colours not gentle. The colouring is 
 languid. There are five figures, ’tis described by 
 Vasari. A Holy Family of the same character 
 entirely. 
 
 p. Gl. Two Crucifixes: one has a vast number 
 of little figures at a distance ; the other a woman 
 embraces the Cross, and this is all the difference — 
 tliey are else the same. Both have fine neat 
 landscapes, but hard. A Portrait of a Woman, 
 resembling Baffaello’s mistress. A Picture of Dante 
 in oil, the same size, resembling the same as my 
 father’s drawing, but tlie attitude different. This 
 is in the common portrait way, a three-quarter face. 
 Tlie taste, too, is the same. 
 
 By Fra Giovanni. A miniature of a picture by 
 Paolo Veronese, which is in the Pn nee’s apartment. 
 This has none of the faults just remarked in those 
 of Don Julio Clovio : the subject is the Madonna 
 and St. Catharine. 
 
 The Grand Duke’s drawings in a room belonging 
 to the Gallery. 
 
 p. G4. A beautiful woman’s head (by L. da 
 Vinci) inserted in an ornament of Don Julio Clovio 
 grotesque,^ coloured upon a gold ground. 
 
 * Richardson means what is noAv often called arabesque, but 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 839 
 
 p. 75. In a cabinet in the Pitti Palace. The 
 Pape of Ganymede, after Michelangelo. See Gior. 
 Vasari and Borghini. This is of the same character 
 as the others of Don Julio in the apartment of 
 Madonna. 
 
 p. 177. Marc Antonio Sabatini. Has a book in 
 twelvemo, with miniatures of Don Julio Clovio, at 
 least it is the same hand with those of the famous 
 MS. of Dante in the Vatican, but to me they seem 
 more modern than Don Julio, as these do also.^ 
 He has another very fine book of miniatures in the 
 taste of Pinturicchio or Perugino. 
 
 p. 2G4. An Officio, by an unknown miniaturist, 
 with several histories of the Madonna in miniature 
 done before the time of Raffaele. Carlo Maratt 
 particularly admired the airs of the Virgin through- 
 out, and studied much after them, having a certain 
 simplicity and Divine beauty superior to any other 
 even Raffaele himself. The work in other respects 
 is well, only hard and stiff. Virgil retouched. 
 P. Sancta Bartoli has taken greater liberties here 
 than in his other things. 
 
 p. 265. There are two books of this part of the 
 Library (the Vatican) that were of the Duke of 
 
 whicli really consists of Renaissance foliage and small figures, 
 with groups of armour, musical instruments, &c. 
 
 * For the reason, perliaps, mentioned in the text. 
 
 22 
 
340 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Urbin. One of the Life of Franc. Maria di Monte- 
 feltro della Rovere IIII. D. of Urhino. The other 
 of Geronimo Mutio Giustinopolitano de fatti di 
 Fed. di Montefeltro D. L Urhino. Each of these 
 has three liistories in miniature of Don Giulio 
 Clovio finely drawn, and of a most beautiful colour- 
 ing, but upon a Tinct pretty gaudy, and wanting 
 simplicity. They are all said to have been re- 
 touched by Padre Ramelli.'^ Certainly they are 
 of a (juite different colouring and manner from 
 those (with frames and glasses) at Florence in the 
 cabinet of ^fadonnct, and in the Studiolo ; and one 
 in Parma, in the cabinet by the Gallery, all which 
 have never been retouched. But the Missal of 
 the same cabinet is infinitely above them all for 
 dmwing, colouring, and ornaments, and p. 266 was 
 made by him for the Cardinal Farnese, as appears 
 by the inscription at the end of his own writings, 
 and has continued in the fixmily ever since.t 
 
 In these two books of the Dukes of Urhin there 
 ai*e their portraits often repeated and always 
 exactly the same likeness and fine airs. The Dante 
 of the D. of Urbin (which is the most beautiful 
 
 * Don Felice P. Ramelli, b. 1666, d. 1740, resided at Rome, 
 in tlie service of Clement XI. 
 
 t This is the Office of the Virgin described by Vasari and 
 Qnaranta, afterwards in the Royal Library at Naples, and which 
 disappeared when the Bonrbons were expelled. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 341 
 
 MS. I ever saw upon vellum, large folio), has an 
 infinite number of miniatures by different hands, 
 and all fine. There are many of Don Giulio Clovio, 
 or at least of the same as did those in the two 
 Lives. But there are others that pleased me 
 better, particularly those by Pietro Perugino as 
 they say, and very probably, if he ever did anything 
 in miniature. They are of a fine Baffaele-like 
 taste, and perfectly agree with the best things 
 of Perugino. In this Library are two or three 
 Missals said to be of Don Giulio Clovio, but 
 apparently very different from any of him that I 
 have met withal elsewhere. 
 
 p. 291. The Palace at Caprarola is thus called 
 from the suckling of Jupiter by a goat, which they 
 say was in the mountains surrounding this place, 
 as also that he was born here."^ 
 
 It was built by Vignola for the Cardinal Farnese, 
 and is an entire study of architecture, recommended 
 
 * Of course the story of the goat Amalthea and the child 
 Jupiter is the subject really referred to, localized according 
 to a not uncommon practice. According to the ancient Mytho- 
 graphers “ Parmenicus autem ait,” says Hyginus, “Melissea 
 quendam fuisse Gretce regem : ad ejus filias Jovem nutriendum 
 esse de latum : quee quod non lac habuerint (quia virgines 
 essent), capram ei admisisse. Amaltheam nomine, quag eum 
 dicitur educasse.” Others vary the story, but all agree that 
 the original locality was the island of Crete, not the Mens 
 Ciminius, on which the palace of Caprarola is built. 
 
342 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 as such by Bernino. It is now (1754) uninhabited, 
 and has been so for a long time (since 1713?). 
 The paintings are on the ceilings and sides of tlie 
 rooms, and some by Taddeo Zuccaro, assisted by his 
 bi‘other Frederico. The design for one room (the 
 Cardinafs bedchamber) was given by Annibal Caro 
 by the Cardinal’s order. 
 
 The Palace, or Castello, of Caprarola is con- 
 sidered to be Vignola’s masterpiece. It was begun 
 in 1559. 
 
 j). 291, In the Great Hall, and four other 
 rooms, are various representations of the seasons, 
 enriehed witli ornaments and grotesques alVantica 
 as beautiful as those of Pierino, and altogetlier as 
 fine as any in the Vatican, and in the same manner. 
 In the saloon are [represented] the actions of the 
 House of Farnese. 
 
 p. 333. In the Cabinet of the Ducal Gallery at 
 Parma. A fine iMissal by D. Julio Clovio, bound 
 in silver plate, a little above the size of a French 
 twelvemo. At the end of it, on an altar, is written : 
 Julius Clovius Monumenta haec Alexandro Far- 
 nesio Domino suo faciebat MDXL.VI.^ This 
 ]\Iissal is vastly beyond whatever in the Vatican is 
 ascribed to this IMaster. Those indeed have been 
 retouched by Padre Ramelli (of the same order as 
 Don Julio) and now alive : but this is perfectly 
 
 * See p. 331. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clorio. 
 
 343 
 
 well preserved, and is admirably well drawn and 
 coloured, equal to any master. The taste in 
 general is chaste and gentle in some of the figures, 
 more especially there is an inclination towards the 
 style of M. Angelo, but without his extravagance. 
 All the pictures have grotesque ornaments about 
 them : the colouring of which humours the general 
 Tinct of the picture with much beauty and harmony. 
 A single picture, with a frame and glass, it is a 
 St. John, but in a style different from that of the 
 Missal, and like those of this Master in Florence. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 A List of Clovio's Works, given by Vasari. 
 
 1. Madonna, after Albert Dtirer’s wood engraving. 
 
 2. Judgment of Paris, in chiaroscuro, i.e. a sepia 
 drawing. (Executed for Louis King of Hungary.) 
 
 3. Lucrezia killing herself (perhaps after Titian), 
 and other things. 
 
 4. Madonna, for Cardinal Campeggio the elder, 
 and other small works. 
 
 5. Works of miniature for Scopetines, at San 
 Ruffino. 
 
 6. Large Choral Book, with most delicate minia- 
 tures and beautiful borders, containing a miniature of 
 Christ appearing to Mary in the Garden (singularly 
 beautiful). 
 
344 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 7. Woman taken in Adultery, with many figures, 
 after Titian (the original appears to be the one at 
 the Brera, usually attributed to Palma Vecchio). 
 
 8. Various works at Candiana. 
 
 9. At Perugia. An Office of Oim Lady, with 
 four beautiful miniatures. 
 
 10. An Epistolary. Three large stories from Life 
 of St. Paul, one of which was afterwards sent into 
 Spain. 
 
 11. A Pieta. 
 
 12. A Crucifixion (afterwards belonged to Gio. 
 Gaddo, Clerk of the Apostolic Chamber. 
 
 13. Works for Cardinal Farnese — for whom he 
 executed a vast number of most beautiful illus- 
 trations and miniatures. To name all would be 
 impossible. 
 
 14. Small Madonna and Child, and Paul III. 
 kneeling before her. Sent by the Emperor Charles V. 
 to Spain. 
 
 15. Office of Madonna, Avritten by Monterchi. In 
 a series of Lventy-six miniatures, arranged in pairs 
 of type and antitype, each suiTounded by a border 
 of figures and fancies in harmony with the subject. 
 
 1. Office for Matins. (a) The Annunciation, 'vvith border 
 containing children of miraculous beauty, (b) Isaiah speaking 
 to the Kinof of Israel. 
 
 2. At Lands, (a) The Visitation ; the border imitates metal. 
 (b) Righteousness and Peace kissing each other. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 345 
 
 3. At Prime. (<x) The Birth of Christ, (h) Adam and Eve 
 eating the Apple. 
 
 The frames both filled with figures, nude and draped, human 
 and animal. 
 
 4. At Tierce, (a) The Angels appearing to the Shepherds. 
 (b) The Tiburtine Sibyl and the Emperor Augustus, with 
 borders of figures and coloured ornaments, among which are 
 the heads of Alexander the Great and Cardinal Alexander 
 Farnese. 
 
 5. At Sexts. (a) The Circumcision. The figure of Simeon 
 is a likeness of Pope Paul III., and in the story are portraits 
 of Mancina and Septimia, Roman ladies of great beauty, (h) 
 St. John baptizing Christ. 
 
 Both with borders containing many nude figures. 
 
 6. At ISTones. (a) Adoration of the Magi, (b) The Visit of 
 the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. At the foot of one border is 
 the Festival of the Testaccio, with figures not so big as ants. 
 All the colours or liveries given by the Cardinal Farnese to his 
 people are clearly distinguishable. 
 
 (This miniature was in possession of the ex-queen of Naples 
 in 1864.) 
 
 7. At Vespers, (a) The Flight into Egypt, (b) The Sub- 
 mersion of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. Much and varied beauty 
 of ornament in the framework. 
 
 8. At Complines, (u) Coronation of the Virgin, (b) The 
 Story of Esther crowned by Ahasuerus. Borders of appropriate 
 decoration. 
 
 9. At Mass of the Madonna, (a) The Madonna and Child. 
 (b) God the Father creating the World. With rich border of 
 cameos, one containing The Annunciation. 
 
 10. At Penitential Psalms, (a) The Battle in which Uriah is 
 killed — melh of combatants and dead, miraculous. (6) David’s 
 Repentance. Border containing little grotesques and other 
 ornaments. 
 
 (The miniature is a copy or duplicate of that in the Grimani 
 Breviary at Venice.) 
 
346 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 11. Litanies. In these tlie artist has minutely interwoven 
 
 the names of the Saints. In the upper border is the Holy 
 Trinity, with angels, apostles, &c. (&) The Madonna in 
 
 Heaven, with the holy virgins. In the lower border the pro- 
 cession of the Corpus Christi ; various officials bearing torches, 
 with the bishops and cardinals, and the Holy Sacrament carried 
 by the Pope, who is followed by the remainder of the Court and 
 the Guard of the Lanzknechts ; lastly, the Castle of St. Angelo, 
 whence they are firing salutes, “ the whole being a work,” says 
 Vasari, “calculated to astound the acutest intellect.” 
 
 12. At the Offices for the Dead, (a) Death himself triumph- 
 ing over Kingdoms and the Mighty ones of the Earth, &c. 
 (6) The Resurrection of Lazarus, with figure of Death in combat 
 with figures on horseback. 
 
 13. At the Office of the Crucifixion, {a) Christ on the Cross. 
 (b) Moses liftiag up the Serpent in the Wilderness. 
 
 14. At the Office of the Holy Ghost, (a) The Descent of the 
 Holy Ghost at Pentecost, (h) The building of the Tower of 
 Label by Nimrod. 
 
 Nine years did Giorgio Clovio spend over this work. 
 
 16. A small picture, with minute figures, for 
 Cardinal of Trent, so beautiful that he sent it as a 
 2 )resent to Charles V. 
 
 17. A Madonna for same Cardinal, in which was 
 also a jmrtrait of Philip:) II. ; j^i’^sented to the latter. 
 
 18. For Cardinal Farnese : Madonna and Child, 
 with St. Elizabeth and St. John in same picture. 
 For Puy Gomez ; sent to Phili}) II. 
 
 19. St. John in Desert for Cardinal Farnese — and 
 Landscai^e with animals. 
 
 20. Copy of same ; sent to Phili23 II. 
 
 21. Pieta for Cardinal Farnese; given to Paul IV. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 347 
 
 22. David cutting off Goliath’s head. From 
 Cardinal Farnese to his sister-in-law, Mary of 
 Parma ; she sent it to Philip II. 
 
 23. Judith, painted for Margaret of Parma as a 
 companion. (Della Valle gives Clovio’s letter sent 
 with the miniature.) See Lemonnier’s Vasari. 
 
 24. Several works executed for Duke Cosimo 
 during Clovio’s visit to Florence. 
 
 25. Small head of Christ from an antique that 
 belonged to Godfrey of Bouillon. Crucifixion with 
 Magdalen at foot of cross (now in the Uffizi 
 Collection), Julius Macedo fe.” 1553. 
 
 26. A Pieta, copy of which Vasari possessed. 
 
 27. Madonna and Child in Choir of Angels. 
 
 28. Ganymede, after Michelangelo, in possession 
 of Tommaso de’ Cavalieri. St. John Baptist seated 
 on a stone, and some portraits. 
 
 29. Pieta with the Maries, &c. for Vittoria 
 Colonna. 
 
 30. Ditto, for Cardinal Farnese, who sent it to 
 the Empress — Sister of Philip II. and wife of 
 Maximilian. 
 
 31. St. George and Dragon and landscape, which 
 Cardinal Farnese sent to Maximilian. 
 
 32. The Emperor Trajan, large hut copied from 
 a medal with ^Mudea capta” on reverse — sent to 
 Emperor Maximilian (painted for a Spanish gentle- 
 man). 
 
348 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 33. Christ and his Cross. 
 
 34. Christ with Cross on shoulder, and crowd, 
 going to Calvary, followed by the Maries. 
 
 35. Two miniatures for a Missal — 
 
 (a) Christ instructing the Apostles; 
 
 (h) Last Judgment; 
 
 — of marvellous beauty. (These seem to be two of 
 the drawings belonging to the Towneley Lectionary. ) 
 Vasari compares these works to those of Titian or 
 Bronzino — those in the Cameos Irave all the effect 
 of colossal figures, although so excessively minute. 
 (See the notice in Lemonnier’s Vasari, V. 443-452. 
 
 Milanese in his last edition of Vasari — Firenze, 
 1881-8 — says, vii. 5G9, ‘‘ Among the works painted 
 by Clovio but not recorded by Vasari, I have noted 
 the following which I have seen in Rome : Two 
 Missals in the Vatican, nos. 3805 and 3807, splen- 
 didly illuminated for Cardinal Francesco di Toledo; 
 and in the MS. of the Leeds of Federmo da Monte- 
 
 O 
 
 feltro, Luke of Urbino, written by Girolamo Muzio, 
 there are five miniatures, and in the second volume, 
 containing the life of Francesca Maria I., Luke of 
 Urbino. But they show a falling off, suggesting 
 the work of his old age. Likevdse, in the same 
 Library, are some miniatures in a MS. of Lante 
 which are not by him, but belong certainly to one 
 of his pupils, or an inferior imitator. They begin 
 with Canto XXVIII. of the Purgatorio, and con- 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 349 
 
 tlnue all through the Paradiso except the sixth 
 canto, where they are by a different hand. ' Lastly, 
 I may mention that the Cathedral of Ravenna 
 possesses a Missal illuminated by Clovio for Cardinal 
 Fulvio della Cornia. 
 
 In the Inventory of the goods of Margaret of 
 Austria (Parma), made in 1586, are mentioned the 
 following works by Clovio : — 
 
 1. A Lunette with a Madonna and Child. 
 
 2. A Quadro with a Crucifix. 
 
 3. ,, „ Pieta. 
 
 In the Inventory of the Library of the Farnese 
 Palace at Parma, drawn up in 1768, is a small 
 painting, 2^ in. by 11 in., containing a Notte or 
 Nativity, and a portrait of Clovio with a white 
 beard, his right hand pointing to an open book 
 which he holds in his left (now known as the 
 Curzon portrait), also the half-length of a young 
 man lighting a small candle. 
 
350 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 A List of Works attributed by various Authors 
 
 TO Clovio. 
 
 DATE OP 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 NAME OF WORK AND LOCALITY. 
 
 AUTHORITY. 
 
 1516 
 
 A pen drawing or miniature 
 copy of Diirer’s Madonna 
 
 Vasari 
 
 1518 
 
 Pen drawings of coins and other 
 works for Cardinal Dominico 
 Grimani 
 
 V asari 
 
 1523-G 
 
 Judgment of Paris; Death of 
 Lucretia ; for Louis, King of 
 Hungary 
 
 V asari 
 
 1526-8 
 
 Service Books at S. Ruffino ; 
 Clirist appearing to Mary ; 
 Woman taken in adultery ; 
 Office of our Lady, with four 
 - illuminations. At Perugia 
 
 Vasari, Ac. 
 
 1528 
 
 Portrait of Clovio, Vienna, Am- 
 bras Collection 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 1528 
 
 A Missal “ with masterly minia- 
 tures,” usually called the 
 Holford Missal, but not in 
 Mr. H.’s collection 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 About 1535 
 
 The Grimani Commentary, 
 known as “ Soane ” Clovio, 
 London 
 
 Vasari 
 
 1535 
 
 Stanze di Eurialo d’Ascoli, Imp. 
 
 Internal evidence 
 
 
 Library, Vienna 
 
 and date 
 
 Before 1540 
 
 Madonna for Card. Campeggio 
 
 Vasari 
 
 1540 or 
 
 Madonna and Paul III. kneeling; 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 after 
 
 sent as a present to Charles V. 
 
 
 1542 
 
 Psalter of Paul III., Paris 
 
 Evidence of dedi- 
 cation and dates. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 351 
 
 DATE OP 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 NAME OF WORK AND LOCALITY. 
 
 AUTHORITY. 
 
 Completed 
 about 1546 
 
 Office of Virgin written by 
 Monterchi, “ Miracle of Art.” 
 Took Clovio nine years, and 
 contains twenty-six small 
 stories in pairs, each in fine 
 border. 
 
 Vasari, &c. 
 
 1546 
 
 S. Elizabeth for Cardinal Farnese 
 
 Vasari 
 
 1546-49 
 
 Office of Madonna for Cardinal 
 Farnese, with six miniatures, 
 viz. 
 
 Offices for Dead (2) ; Death 
 triumphing over kingdoms 
 of Earth ; Eesurrection of 
 Lazarus 
 
 Offices of Holy Cross (2) ; Christ 
 on Cross ; Moses lifting up 
 serpent in Wilderness 
 
 Offices of Holy Ghost (2) ; 
 Descent of Holy Ghost; the 
 Building of Babel 
 
 V asari 
 
 About 1546 
 
 Towneley Lectionary, now in 
 the Lenox Library, New 
 York 
 
 Vasari 
 
 About 1546 
 
 The Stuart de Rothesay Offices, 
 
 Proved from in- 
 
 
 Addl. 20927 
 
 ternal evidence 
 
 About 1546 
 
 Missal of Cardinal Farnese, Royal 
 Library, Naples 
 
 Breviary of Cardinal Farnese, 
 Royal Library, Naples 
 
 V asari 
 
 V asari 
 
 1546 
 
 Farnese choir-book at Capo di 
 Monte, Naples 
 
 Large oil painting portrait in 
 Museo Borbonico, Naples. 
 Caller. YII. 
 
 Vasari 
 
 Vasari 
 
352 
 
 Lift of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 DATE OF 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 NAME OF WORK AND LOCALITY. 
 
 AUTHORITY. 
 
 1553 
 
 Pieta in Pitti, Florence. Camera 
 di Madama 
 
 V asari 
 
 1553 
 
 Pieta (small) in 8th chamber of 
 Jupiter, No. 241 (one like it, 
 Print Room, British Museum) 
 
 V asari 
 
 1553 
 
 Christ on Cross and Magdalen, 
 for Cosimo di Med., Florence 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 
 Portrait of Clovio in oil, small 
 medallion 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 
 A Holy Family, in camera di 
 Madama 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 
 Crucifixion, crowd in distance 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 After 1554 
 
 Dante, Paradise, &c. Vatican, 
 
 Richardson, 
 
 (if at all). 
 
 Rome 
 
 Dennistoun, &c. 
 
 1554-7 
 
 Lives of Dukes of Urbino, 
 
 Richardson, 
 
 
 Vatican, Rome 
 
 Dennistoun, &c 
 
 
 Several missals in Vatican 
 
 Richardson, 
 
 Milanesi 
 
 
 MS. containing paintings by 
 Clovio in Church of S. Croce 
 in Gerusalemme, Rome, for- 
 merly belonging to Padre 
 Sabatini 
 
 Richardson 
 
 
 A choir-book in Church of S. 
 
 Richardson, 
 
 
 Salvatore, Rome 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 
 Prayer Book or 0 fifice of Virgin, 
 
 Richardson, 
 
 
 Royal Library’, Naples 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 About 1554 
 
 Grenville Victories. British 
 
 Doubtful. Sec 
 
 (if at all). 
 
 Museum 
 
 Appendix, De 
 scriptions 
 
 1556 
 
 “Flora” Offices of Virgin, Na- 
 ples 
 
 Vasari 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 353 
 
 DATE OP 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 NAilE OP WOEK AND LOCALITY. 
 
 AUTHORITY. 
 
 1556 
 
 Several clioir-books at Seville 
 
 Conca, &c. 
 
 1561 
 
 Juditb and Holof ernes for 
 Marg. of Parma 
 
 Vasari, &c. 
 
 1562 
 
 MS. of Cardinal della Rovere at 
 
 Milanesi’s Vasari, 
 
 
 Ravenna 
 
 vii. 569 ; Diehl 
 
 1562 
 
 MS. of Cardinal Fulvio della 
 Cornia, at Ravenna 
 
 Milanesi 
 
 After 1564 
 
 St. George and Dragon for 
 Cardinal Farnese as present 
 to Emperor Maximilian, and 
 a Missal containing Christ 
 
 O 
 
 instructing Apostles, and a 
 Last Judgment 
 (See Towneley Lectionary.) 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 
 Painting, John Baptist in Galle- 
 
 Richardson, 
 
 
 ria Borbonico, Naples. Came 
 from Parma 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 Undated 
 
 Trivulzio Petrarch, once at 
 
 Vasari, Rosini 
 
 but very 
 early 
 
 Milan 
 
 
 Undated 
 
 Deposition in the Ambrosian 
 Library, Milan 
 
 
 Undated 
 
 Battle-piecOj once belonging to 
 
 Sakcinski, 
 
 
 Gonzala Family, now at Venice 
 
 S. SlaVi Lex. 
 
 Undated 
 
 Adoration of Magi, Royal Collec- 
 tion, Windsor. A pen drawing 
 
 Attributed 
 
 
 Deposition from Cross. Print 
 Room, British Museum. In 
 red chalk 
 
 Attributed 
 
 Undated 
 
 Cupid complaining to Venus of 
 sting of bee at Sibenico 
 (Hermannstadt) 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 DATE OF 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 NAME OP WORK AND LOCALITY. 
 
 AUTHORITY. 
 
 Undated 
 
 A miniature belonging to Baron 
 
 Sakcinski, Life, 
 
 
 Bruckentbals at Siebenburgen 
 
 and S. S. Lex. 
 
 Undated 
 
 Figure of woman in mantle at 
 Agram. 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 Undated 
 
 Unbelief of St. Thomas, and 
 another in Breviary in 
 Cathedral at Agram 
 
 Sakcinski 
 
 Undated 
 
 Deposition in possession of 
 J. Rutson, Esq., Thirsk 
 
 The owner 
 
 Undated 
 
 Fountaine “ Clovio ” 
 
 Tradition. Prob- 
 ably not a Clovio 
 
 Undated 
 
 Missal in Barberini Library, 
 
 Murray’s Guide, 
 
 
 Rome (Ximenes) 
 
 i.e. local tra- 
 
 Undated 
 
 Fragments in Barberini Library, 
 
 dition 
 
 
 Rome (Ximenes) 
 
 Murray’s Guide 
 
 Undated 
 
 A drawing in Municipal Library, 
 
 Sakcinski, 
 
 
 Genoa 
 
 S. Slav. Lex. 
 
 Undated 
 
 David and Goliath for Margaret 
 
 Vasari, Sakcin- 
 
 
 of Parma 
 
 ski, &c. 
 
 Undated 
 
 St. John in desert for Cardinal 
 Farnese 
 
 Vasari, &c. 
 
 Undated 
 
 Madonna for the Cardinal of 
 
 Sakcinski (from 
 
 
 Trent 
 
 Vasari) 
 
 Undated 
 
 Design for Palazzo del T. Man- 
 tua, in Mr. Mayor’s Collection, 
 London 
 
 The owner 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 355 
 
 Inventory. 
 
 Mars and Venus unfinished. 
 
 A Pieta, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 
 Mardocheo, copied by Clovio. 
 
 Hist, della Serpente, by Clovio, pen drawing after Michel- 
 angelo. 
 
 Judith (a group), by Clovio. 
 
 Another Mars and Venus, after Michelangelo, finished. 
 
 Charon and group, by Clovio. 
 
 Phaeton, by Clovio. 
 
 Three Resurrections, by Giulio Clovio, after Michelangelo. 
 Deposition by Clovio. 
 
 A Resurrection, with 8 figures, by Clovio. 
 
 A Christ on Cross, by Clovio. 
 
 A Christ on Cross, by Clovio. 
 
 A Christ on Cross, by Clovio. 
 
 A Christ on Cross with two thieves, original. 
 
 Outline of a Madonna, by Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Bacchus, by Clovio. 
 
 Ad other, by Clovio. 
 
 Antiochus chased from the temple by Angelo, after 
 Raffaello, copied by Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Figure by Michelangelo, pen drawing by Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Pope Alexander III., fugitive to Venice, by Giulio Clovio, after 
 Giambilino (Gian Bellini). 
 
 Christ on Cross, after Michelangelo, by Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Sheet of children, after Michelangelo, by Giulio Clovio.* 
 
 Two other figures, by Clovio. 
 
 Madonna and five other figures, by Clovio. 
 
 Picture with ten figures, after a water-colour by Michelangelo; 
 Judith, after Michelangelo, both copied by Clovio. 
 
 The Night of Michelangelo, copied by Clovio. 
 
 Outline of four figures, after Michelangelo, by Giulio Clovio. 
 
 All the above are in a bundle, signed by letter A. 
 
 * A di’awing answering to this description is in the British Museum 
 
 Print Room. 
 
 l>3 ^ 
 
356 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Christ on Cross, after Michelangelo, by Ginlio Clovio. 
 
 Group of little figures, by Clovio. 
 
 Two legs, by Clovio. 
 
 A Pieta, by Clovio. 
 
 A head of Raffaello, by Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Anatomical drawing, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 
 A little figure, by Clovio. 
 
 Christ on Cross, after Michelangelo, copied by Clovio. 
 
 All these in a bundle or packet marked B. 
 
 A Pieta, by Giulio Clovio, of his own invention. 
 
 Madonna with twm children, and another figure, after RafPaello, 
 by Clovio. 
 
 Two outlines of two figures, by Clovio. 
 
 “ Testone ” pen drawing, by Clovio. (A large head ?) 
 
 A Goddess of Nature, by Clovio. 
 
 Five children, outlines, after Michelangelo, by Giulio Clovio. 
 Sketch of four figures and three horses, by Clovio. 
 
 Four figures in outline, by Clovio. 
 
 Christ and ^ladonna, by Clovio. 
 
 Three sketches of nude little figures, by Clovio, after 
 Michelangelo. 
 
 Feet pen drawing, by Clovio. 
 
 Drawing of Troy, by Clovio, his own invention. 
 
 Two figures, by Michelangelo and Clovio. 
 
 The Ganymede, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 
 The “ Sogno ” (Dream) of Michelangelo, by Clovio, with a 
 little sketch. 
 
 A Madonna and three figures, after Michelangelo, copied by 
 Clovio. 
 
 The Archer, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 
 A sheet of nude figures, after Raffaello, by Clovio. 
 
 A head in pen and ink, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 
 Two wrestlers, by Clovio. 
 
 A Pieta, after ]\[ichelangelo, with three figures, by Clovio, 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 357 
 
 Prudence and two cliildren, a pen drawing, after Michel- 
 angelo, by Clovio. 
 
 Anatomical outline with two figures, by Michelangelo, copied 
 by Clovio. 
 
 Flagellation in red chalk, with three figures, after Michel- 
 angelo, by Clovio. 
 
 Anatomical drawing, with all the measurements, by Clovio. 
 
 A figure with measurements, by Clovio. 
 
 An outline with measurements, by Clovio. 
 
 Three little figures with an animal, with measurements, by 
 Clovio. 
 
 A young lady (design of Clovio). 
 
 On oval, after Perino, by Clovio. 
 
 Head in pen and ink, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 
 Outline of figure designed by Clovio. 
 
 Madonna with two children, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 Madonna with one child, in lapisrosso, by Clovio. 
 
 Sketch of many figures and a horse, original, by Clovio. 
 
 All these are in a parcel marked C. 
 
 Annunciation in water-colour, invented and drawn by Clovio. 
 Vision of Elizabeth ; also an aquarelle, by CloviQ. 
 
 Isaiah, ditto. 
 
 The Three Kings, ditto. 
 
 Death of the Virgin, ditto. 
 
 A nude, ditto. 
 
 Circumcision, ditto. 
 
 A small drawing, ditto. 
 
 A small drawing, ditto. 
 
 Madonna, pen drawing, original. 
 
 Figure sketch, pen drawing, original. 
 
 Sketch after Correggio, by Clovio. 
 
 Two small figures, after Michelangelo, by Clovio. 
 
 One figure, by Clovio. 
 
 All these drawings are in the packet signed with 
 
f 
 
 358 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 letter D, and tied up with two other bundles not by 
 Clovio. 
 
 A bundle of drawings sealed with the seal of 
 S. Sia. Ilhna. (Cardinal Farnese?), about 129 pieces 
 more or less. 
 
 Another bundle of drawings of sixty-seven pieces. 
 
 Anotlier of sixty-nine drawings by Donato and 
 others. 
 
 Another of designs all by Clovio (seventy-eight). 
 
 A book of engravings of Albert (Durer), with 
 some by Michelangelo, some of which have been 
 taken out. 
 
 A bundle of drawings, sealed with the usual seal, 
 of twenty-nine pieces, all by the liand of Clovio, 
 containino- amono- other the followino- ; — 
 
 O O 
 
 The Advent of the Saviour. The Resurrection 
 of the Evangelistarium (?). 
 
 The Nativity of the Evangelistarium (?). 
 
 The ornament of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 The ornament of the Advent. 
 
 Christ preaching. 
 
 The Madonna witli King Philip (four figures). 
 
 A lai*o*e Pi eta. 
 
 O 
 
 A Madonna with St. Elizabeth (three figures), 
 and St. John, in aquarelle. 
 
 A bundle of drawings, seventy-seven pieces, con- 
 taining the following : — 
 
 A Pieta, with five figures, in aquarelle. 
 
DEATH OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 (Photographed from the original drawing attributed to Clouio 
 in the British Museum). 
 
360 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Now in the collection of Archduke Charles at 
 Vienna ; vol. xxiv. of Roman School, No. 3549. 
 
 2. Same subject. Most probably engraved by 
 Cornelis Cort. Inscribed, Don Julio Clovio de 
 Crouatia inuentor 1568.” Below the picture are six 
 elegiac verses, beginning ‘‘Quid mundo si nulla,” &c. 
 At foot, “ Romse Ant. Lafrerij.” 
 
 In Sakcinski’s collection. 
 
 3. Same subject. Engraved by J. Sadeler 
 (Zani). 
 
 4. St. Agatha bound to a tree, two men tearing 
 lier breasts. Inscribed, “ G. B. Mazza, Roime. 
 Lucse Bertelli for S. Ao-atha.” 
 
 o 
 
 In the Imperial collection at Vienna, among 
 engravings by Corn. Cort, No. 33. Another copy 
 in the collection of Archduke Charles. 
 
 5. Judith u'ith head of llolofernes, with a bloody 
 sword in her left hand. Inscribed, “ Hsec est 
 Hsebr?ea inulier qui confusionem fecit in dome 
 Nabuchodonosar Regis. Ind. cap. XIII. Don 
 Julio Clovio de Crouatia inuenit.” 
 
 In the Imperial collection at Vienna, among the 
 engravings by C. Cort, I. 12. Another copy is in 
 the collection of Archduke Charles. 
 
 6. Same sidject. Engraved by Philip Soye. 
 Below is the name of Ant. Lafrerij (Zani). 
 
 7. Resurrection. Dated 1569, with the name of 
 Ant. Lafrerij. Probably engraved by C. Cort. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 361 
 
 In Sakcinski’s collection. 
 
 8. Same subject. Inscribed with four verses. 
 En agit seternus victor, &c. Beneath the picture, 
 
 Nicolai Nilli formis Venetiis. 1569.” 
 
 In the collection of Archduke Charles. 
 
 9. A Half-length of the Virgin Mary. In the 
 Print Room of the British Museum. 
 
 10. Half-length of Christ. Engraved by Philip 
 Thomasin (Heinecken). 
 
 11. St. George and the Dragon, with many 
 figures. 
 
 Inscribed, ‘^Julius Corvatinus Inv. Enea Vicco 
 Parni. Sc. Ant. Salamanca Exc.” Dated 1542. 
 An important engraving. 
 
 Vasari says of Vico, and referring to this 
 picture: — ^^Fece ancora per Don Giulio Clovio 
 rarissimo miniatore, in una carta S. Giorgio a 
 cavallo die ammazza il serpente, nella quale an- 
 corche fasse si puo dire delle prime cose, che 
 intagliasse, si porto molto bene.” 
 
 A copy of this engraving, slightly damaged, is in 
 Sakcinski’s collection. A good one in the Print 
 Room of the British Museum. 
 
 12. Same subject, but with certain differences. 
 
 In the lower left corner, Cum privilegio Summi 
 Pont. Don Julius Clovius Inv. Cor. Cort fecit. 1577.” 
 Beneath the picture, Romse Paulus Palumbus 
 Novarensis curabat anno 1578.” 
 
362 
 
 Life of Giorg 10 Giulio Clovio. 
 
 In the Imperial collection at Vienna, among the 
 engravings by C. Cort, II. 19. Also in British 
 Museum. 
 
 13. Same subject. Engraved by Alex. Vate, 
 Nancy, 1592 (Heinecken). 
 
 14. The Conversion of St. Paul. A large and 
 masterly picture. It is the subject made use of, 
 and altered for the worse, in the Soane ” MS. 
 
 In the lower left corner, Don Julius Clovius 
 Ilii •icus Inv. Romse Laur. Vacar formis, 1576.” 
 In right, ‘‘ C. Cort fe.” Then follows twelve elegiac 
 verses, beginning, Dum patrios ritus,” ending, 
 ‘‘ Quod mediteris babes.” 
 
 In the Imperial collection at Vienna. Cort 
 engr. II. 7 and 8. Also a fine copy in British 
 Museum. 
 
 15. Same subject. Engraved by Domenico Vitta. 
 Inscribed, Doniinicus Vitus Vallis umbrosse mona- 
 cus ab alia excudeb. 1577. Don Jul. Clovio 
 Iliricus inv. Ronise Antonj Lafrerj formis” (Zani). 
 
 17. Same subject. Inscribed, Apud haeredes 
 Claudii Duchetj formis. Romse, 1586.” Later 
 copies have ‘Mohannis Orlandi formis, 1602” (Zani). 
 
 18. Same subject. Inscribed, Don Julius 
 Clovius Iliricus inv. Romae, Antonj Lafrerj formis 
 a Paulo Gratiano questta ” (Zani). 
 
 19. Same subject. Inscribed, ‘‘Don Julius Clo- 
 vius inv. Battista Panne, for. Roma3, 1589.” 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 363 
 
 20. Same subject. Inscribed, ‘^Don Julius 
 Clovius Iliricus inv. J o. Papistse de Cavaleris 
 lormis. 
 
 21. St. Peter with keys in left hand, and a book 
 in right ; surrounded by kings, priests, &c. In the 
 sky is the Trinity. Inscribed, G. C. I.” (Giulio 
 Clovio invenit), and C. C. f.” (Cor. Cort fecit). 
 
 In collection of Archduke Charles. 
 
 22. John placing the dead body of Christ on a 
 stone. Mary Magdalene kneeling and other figures. 
 In the distance the ruins of a town. Inscribed 
 on left, Don Julio Clovio inv.” Underneath, 
 “Huj US livore sanatisumus.” The engraver is not 
 named, but the same picture was also engraved by 
 J. Sadeler. 
 
 23. The Entombment. Four figures behind. In 
 the background Calvary and J erusalem. Dated 1568. 
 
 C. Cort f.” Omnis creatura,” &c. Beneath the 
 picture, in the middle : Don Julio Clovio de 
 
 Crovatia inv. On right side : Joannis Orlandij 
 
 formis rome 1602.” On left : Komse Ant. 
 
 Dalrerij. 
 
 Also engraved by D. Tibaldi, H. Olgiati, Jac. 
 Franco, 1571. Jac. Valegi, 1572. 
 
 24. Same subject. Engraved by an unknown 
 hand, in smaller size. Dated 1580. Inscribed, 
 
 Atra domus mortis subiit, &c. . . . cohibere 
 fines.” Several copies in British Museum. 
 
3G4 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 25. Jesus at twelve years of age among the Doctors. 
 Dated 1567. Engraved by C. Cort. 
 
 In the collection of Archduke Charles. 
 
 26. Same subject. Inscribed, Julius quidem, 
 &c. Gratioso V. Gasparis Alberti, successor 
 Palumbi formis ” (Zani). 
 
 27. Marys Return Home. Dated 1567. In- 
 scribed also, ‘^Jo. Orlandij, Romse, 1602. Ant. 
 Lafrerij.” 
 
 In Imperial collection at Vienna. 
 
 28. The Magdalene on a rock in the Desert, 
 praying to a crucifix hung on a tree. Inscribed — 
 ^‘Non auruin aut gemnise, aut perfusus odore capillus 
 
 Me lacrymse et luctus, et loca sola juvent 
 Sic culpas luat, et sensus doinat ille procaces 
 ^terno Cams qui cupit esse Deo.” 
 
 Engraved by C. Cort. 
 
 In Imperial collection at Vienna. 
 
 29. The Annunciation. Engraved by C. Cort. 
 
 In the same collection. 
 
 30. The Adoration of the Magi. A busy scene. 
 Inscribed, Don Julio Clovio de Crovacia inv. 
 T. P. F.” (perhaj)s for Tibaldi Pellegrino fecit — 
 otliei’wise the engraver is unknown). The subject 
 has a beautiful arabesque border of genii, angels, &c. ; 
 underneath; “Aurum, tus, myrrham,” &c. There 
 is a good copy of this in the Print Room of the 
 British Museum. 
 
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. 
 AFTER CLOVIO. 
 
 (From a print in the British Museum), 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 365 
 
 31. Same subject, without the border, 1567. 
 
 32. Same subject. Inscribed, Don Julio Clovio 
 de Crovacia invenit. C. Cort fecit, 1567. Romse 
 ex typis Ant. D. Salamanca.” 
 
 In the Imperial collection at Vienna. 
 
 33. Same subject, with variations. Inscribed, 
 Sidereo, &c. 
 
 In the same collection. 
 
 34. A Holy Trinity, small size. 
 
 In the same collection. 
 
 35. Christ appearing to Holy Women. One is 
 kneeling. In the background is a town, with 
 towers, ruins, &c. ; behind are hills. 
 
 In the same collection. 
 
 36. Same subject, dated 1567. Ant. Lafrerij. 
 
 37. Madonna and Child. Engraved by C. Cort 
 (Heineken). 
 
 38. The Baptism of Christ. Engraved by C. Cort. 
 Dedicated to Piero Aldobrandini by Giov. di Parma 
 (Heineken). 
 
 39. A Pietci. Three crosses in background. In- 
 scribed, “Horrescent et humi,” &c. (Heineken). 
 
 40. Half-hngth of the Virgin Mary holding a 
 figure of Christ. Engraved by C. Cort. Fol. 
 (Huber). 
 
 41. Christ as a Child preaching in Temple. 1567. 
 Engraved by C. Cort. Fol. (Huber). 
 
 43. Christ apjyearing to Mary Magdalene in the 
 
3G6 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Garden. Engraved by C. Cort. Fob In the 
 British Museum. 
 
 44. Copies of several illustrations (I only know of 
 one) from the works of Petrarch, given in Rosini’s 
 
 Storia della pittura Italiana.” 
 
 45. The illustrations of the Comment on St. Paul’s 
 Epistle to the Romans, in the Soane collection, 
 London. In facsimile by Owen Jones, in Hum- 
 phreys’s “ Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages.” 
 
 Among those who copied Clovio in copper, were 
 Cornelis Cort, Phil. Soye, J. Janson, J. Sadeler, 
 Agostino Caracci, Enea Vico, Domenico Tibaldi 
 Pellegrini, G. B. Mazza, Hieron. Obligati (Sake. 
 S. S. Lex. Olgiati), Xic. Velli, Domenico Vito, 
 Aliprando Capriolo, Giovanni Cavaleris, Giov. 
 Orlandi, Jacopo Franco, Jac. Valegio, Lasinio, 
 St. Laune, Philippe Thomasin, Alexandre Valle, 
 Silvester de Sacy, Humphreys, J ohann Bussmucher, 
 and the famous Sibenican artist, Martin Rota 
 (Kolunich). 
 
 Through his great skill and deeply learned paint- 
 in of* he became known to all the noted artists and 
 scholars of his time, and among tlie rest, no doubt. 
 
 * Gio. Paolo Lornazzo — liimself a painter — in liis “Idea of tlie 
 Temple of Paintings,” says of Clovio, that he learned much of the 
 cultivated men with whom he associated, and produced woi’k so 
 elegant “ per la cognizione delle lettere ch’ egli hebbe profond- 
 issima.” — P. Ill, Ed. Milan, 1590. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 367 
 
 to many South Slavonians, who were engaged in 
 various Italian cities in works of art or letters. 
 There can be no doubt he worked for the Croat 
 families of F rangepani and Zrini, who had large art- 
 collections in the coast-lands of Dalmatia. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Pupils of Clovio. 
 
 1. Giovanna Clavio. 
 
 2. Francesco (Rossi) di Salviati of Florence 
 (1510-1563, Rome), and recommended by Clovio to 
 Cardinal Farnese to execute certain frescoes in the 
 chapel of the Chancery, in which he was assisted by 
 Clovio. Was a pupil of Andrea del Sarto and 
 protege of Cardinal Salviati. 
 
 3. Bartolommeo Torre of Arezzo. Especially 
 clever in anatomy. He died from blood-poisoning 
 in his twenty-fifth year. 
 
 4. Bernardo Buontalenti of Florence (1536-1608), 
 who afterwards attained great fame as an engineer, 
 architect, and sculptor.^ 
 
 * Spoken of by Italian writers as “ ingegno nniversale nell’ 
 arti.” For bis life see Baldinncci II. (Dec. YII. del Sec. IV), 
 p. 490, &c. He was called “ Delle girandole,” and was painter, 
 miniaturist, sculptor, and architect. His soubriquet of Delle 
 girandole was given bim wben a boy for bis skill in making 
 paper lanterns to turn in tbe smoke. He was introduced to 
 Clovio at Florence when Clovio was working there. 
 
3G8 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 5. Marco du Val, a Frenchman, afterwards Court 
 painter to Charles IX. 
 
 6. Claudio Massarelli, who resided with him at 
 his death, and to whom he left his collection of 
 drawings and materials. Massarelli also had two 
 assistants named Maximilian de Monceau, and 
 Alessandro da Como. 
 
 7. Among the copyists may be placed Baroccio, 
 F. Zuccaro, Apollonio Buonfratelli, and Bartho 
 loniew Sj)ranger, who, after studying under Marco 
 du Val at Paris, went to Eonie and met with Clovio. 
 Clovio kindly introduced him to the Cardinal, for 
 wliom he and his young friend Midiiel Gionequoi 
 worked at St. Oreste for four montlis.* 
 
 Portraits of Clovio. 
 
 1. A rather rougli engraving of an elderly man 
 of (juiet aspect, in a plain coat buttoned, and with a 
 turn-over collar, hair bruslied back from forehead, 
 well-trimmed beard, large but not aquiline nose. It 
 forms the frontispiece to the German translation of 
 Sakcinski’s Life, octavo. Agram, 1852. The title 
 below in botlr Italian and Croatian : Juraj Julio 
 Klovio, sllkar hrvatski. (G. Giulio Clovio, miniatore 
 Croato.) 
 
 * Het Icveii dev , . . sclulders . door Karel van Mander, ed. 
 by Jac. de .Tongdi. Auist., 1764;, 2 vols. oct. II. 20-51. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 369 
 
 A similar head occurs in the Croatian edition of 
 1878. Zagreb, thin quarto. 
 
 2. A young and handsome man, with regular 
 features, a slight moustache, and neatly trimmed 
 beard, rather intense expression of eyes and lips. 
 Wears a silken cap with rim all round, a close- 
 fitting coat and cloak, hand holding it together. 
 A lithograph of good execution in Slovnik umjet- 
 nikah jugoslavenskih od Ivana Kukuljevica Sakcin- 
 skoga,” i.c. “Lexicon of South-Slavonic Biography, 
 by Ivan Kukuljevic Sakcinski.” Art. Klovio, p. 160. 
 Under the portrait is Julio Klovio, sitnoslikar. 
 (Julio Clovio, miniature-painter.) 
 
 3. Two gouache portraits in a rich and tasteful 
 Benaissance frame : 1. (90) A young man in a 
 black coat, beside him a dog. In gold letters on 
 a blue ground are the words : “Julius Clovius 
 Croatussui ipsius effigiator ao. setat . . salut. 1528.” 
 If this be authentic the missing age would be 
 thirty. 2. (91) A young lady in fur and black, and 
 a rose in her hand. It also bears a Latin motto 
 and the date 1576, but shows a later or younger hand 
 than Clovio. It may be the portrait of Giovanna 
 Clavio, by herself, mentioned in Caro’s letter. 
 
 4. The original engraving of which (1) is a copy, 
 is given in “ Serie di Bitratti degli Uomini i pih 
 Illustri nella pittura, scultura,” &c. V. Firenze, 
 1771, large quarto. He is called “Don Giulio 
 Clovio, Miniatore Croato.” 
 
 24 
 
370 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 5. The Curzoii portrait. An elderly man holding 
 a book, at which he points. 
 
 0. A incdallion, of which a cast has been most 
 courteously furnished for me by Mr. li. O. Grueber 
 of tlie British Museum. 
 
 The following is Mr. Grueber’s note on the IMedal. 
 “ There is nothing in the Clovio medal to show why 
 or when it was made. The lar<>fer number of Italian 
 medals are merely commemorative, referring in a 
 general manner to the character of the ])crson 
 portrayed. The medal of Clovio was made rather 
 late in his life, circ. 1560, and judgingfrom its style 
 of work, I would give it to the hand of l^ietro 
 Baolo Galcotto, called Bomano. The jMuseum 
 specimen is a poor cast ; but 1 think its original 
 must have been of very good work. The })ortrait, 
 I should say, is quite authentic, and the piece is 
 unknown, i.e. unpuldished, so if you illustrate it, 
 it will be for the first time. l^.S. I ought to have 
 said that the oiwinal was a cast medal made from 
 
 O 
 
 moulds, not struck from dies. This is (piite charac- 
 teristic of Bomano’s work. Argelati ‘ De jMonetis 
 ItalicC ]\lilan, 1750, iii. 36,’ describes one as being 
 in the ‘ Braydensis ’ collection. The obverse is the 
 same as the B. M. cast, ivlivs clovivs pict. exc., 
 but the inscription ends excel, and on the reverse 
 is a female seated between trees : before her Fame 
 blowing a trumpet, leg. fama viktvtis tvhicina.” 
 
 In a later communication, iMi'. Grueber suggests 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 371 
 
 that the Braydensis ” can hardly mean Breda in 
 Holland, as it would seem to, but of course he could 
 not say what it means, as he had not seen the medal 
 itself. Neither have I, but it seems to me that 
 Argelati had not either, or that he made some 
 mistake. As I have seen somewhere a note that 
 a medal of Clovio exists in the Brera Museum at 
 Milan, I should think this to be the locality meant. 
 I regret that when in Milan I had not seen the 
 note I refer to, so cannot affirm this to be the 
 true explanation. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Clovio’s Will. 
 
 [Atti e memorie delle B.R. deput. di storia patria 
 per le Brovincie dell’ Emilia. Nuov. ser. YIL, 
 pt. ii. Moden. 1881, pp. 259, 260.] 
 
 In the above serial A. Bertolotti has given some 
 interesting particulars respecting Clovio, and espe- 
 cially refers to the discovery of his will. Attached 
 to it was an inventory of pictures, &c., still in his 
 possession. The document was not executed by the 
 hand of a notary, ignorant of the things spoken of, 
 but under the immediate direction of Clovio himself. 
 When, on December 27th, 1577, he made this 
 will, he was already extremely infirm, and almost 
 blind. It bears date 1578, because in Borne the 
 year began with the Nativity. Clovio informs the 
 
 24 * 
 

 372 Life of Gior(jio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 writer that his father was of Macedonia and his 
 mother a native of Illyria ; also, that he came to 
 Italy himself when quite young and studied under 
 Italian masters. Thus he claims nationality with 
 Haffaello, Michelangelo, and Romano his masters. 
 Reing modest and mindful of his religious vows, he 
 ordains that he shall be buried in the garb of his 
 order. He further prescribes that on his tomb 
 shall be inscribed these words — 
 
 “ Hie jacet Don Julius Clovius ” 
 
 — in the church of San ]^ietro ad Vincula. And so 
 we find on a pilaster in the choir a medallion with 
 his portrait in white marble, and the following 
 inscription : — 
 
 JVLIVS CLOVIVS PICTOR NVLLI SECVNDVS 
 
 D . . 0 . . M . 
 
 VRBANO VIII. PONTIFICE . MAXIMO 
 LAVDIVIO . CARDIXALI ZACCHIA TITVLARI 
 DOIMINO lYLIO CLOVIO DE CROATIA 
 CANONICIS REGVLARIBVS S . PETRI AD VIXCVLA 
 
 PICTORI . EXIMIO 
 
 PRIXCIPVIS VIRIS CARO— IX QUO DILIGENTIA IX 
 MIXIMIS MAXIMO COXSPICUA GRATIA IMMORTALIS 
 GLORIA . VIXIT AD ULTIMAM SEXECTUTEM OPER- 
 AXDO. ET ROM^ MORTUUS IX HAC BASILICA 
 TUMULATUS CAXOXICI REGUL . SOCIO . OLBI . SUO . 
 PP . MDCXXXII. 
 
 After his legacies as Scopetine, we come to those 
 as artist. 
 
 He leaves half his money to the Church of 
 S. Luca, to which belonged the guild of artists of 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 373 
 
 which he was a principal supporter. After artists 
 in general he passes to his trusty assistant, Claudio 
 Massarelli da Caravaggio, “whom,” says Bertolotti, 
 “ I am very glad to rescue from an unmerited 
 oblivion.” To him he leaves all his attrezzi for 
 the practice of miniature, the drawings by Luca 
 Cambiasa of Genoa, and those of Mazzola, called 
 Parmegianino, which were among those acquired 
 whilst residing with Cardinal Grimani ; and all the 
 rest of the drawings not by his own hand, except 
 a San Lorenzo and other drawings copied by him 
 from life from the famous Offices made for and 
 bestowed on Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, and his 
 other drawings, specially copied from Raffaello, 
 Michelangelo, and Peter Breugel, also made under 
 the same patron. 
 
 The inheritance of his furniture, &c., fell to the 
 monastery attached to San Pietro in Vincoli, with 
 prohibition to that body from selling the paintings, 
 which were to remain as an ornament for their church. 
 
 After religion and art comes his own family. 
 
 All his property in Dalmatia he left to a nephew 
 named Guido Clovio, together with the ring of gold 
 and jewels which had been given him in Rome. 
 This nephew was a captain in the Venetian army. 
 Clovio’s confessor and servant are not forgotten. 
 He leaves them clothes. 
 
 The executors of the will are the Cardinal F arnese 
 and his agent. 
 
374 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Fearing that owing to their smallness his minia- 
 tures might get lost or dispersed, a few days after 
 making his will he made an inventory of the 
 drawings, &c., still in his hand. By means of this 
 we are enabled to triple the lists given us by 
 Vasari. They appear to be all studies by Clovio 
 after Michelangelo and Raffaello. He was a 
 personal friend of Peter Breughel. In this collection 
 is one miniature partly by Clovio and partly by 
 Breuo’hel. 
 
 O 
 
 The inventions or original designs by Clovio are : 
 
 A drawing of Mars and Venus; a prophet; a 
 head of Raffaelle ; Troy ; a small figure Avith a 
 baby in arms ; a naked girl ; outline of a study of 
 the nude ; a sketch containing many figures and a 
 horse ; an annunciation ; the Visitation of Saint 
 Elizabeth ; Isaiah ; the three magi ; the circum- 
 cision ; the death of the Viigin ; and others. 
 
 By Michelangelo : — 
 
 A chandelier ; the history of the serpent ; a pen 
 (IraAving ; a AvindoAV ; two prophets ; a gate ; a 
 madonna and child ; a head in pen and ink ; 
 Prudence, in pen and ink ; a chest ; a Flagellation, 
 in red chalk ; a madonna and child, in red chalk ; 
 tAvo ho-ures after Giotto. 
 
 O 
 
 On January 3rd he again confirms the principal 
 proAusions of the Avill through his confidant Pe- 
 truccio, enumerating the benefits receiA^ed from 
 Cardinal Farnese. TJiat he died on the folloAvdng 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 375 
 
 day, January 4th, 1578, follows clearly from the 
 Inventory made on that day. And this is precious 
 as it includes many works not mentioned in the 
 former one, with the objects which adorned his 
 apartment and such other valuables as, being most 
 precious, he kept in a private cabinet. Among 
 these are paintings by Titian and Correggio, copies 
 of Eaffaelle and an impronta of Don Giulio and 
 of St. Ursula from the hand of the celebrated 
 Sofonisba Anguisciola, the Cremonese portrait 
 miniaturist. A San Lorenzo by Clovio himself 
 and an illuminated Offices,” together with a few 
 books mostly upon medals and engravings, and 
 two gravicembali.^ In one scatolino he kept the 
 portrait of Lavinia Terlincks — i.e. Lavinia, daughter 
 of Simon Bynnynck of Bruges, miniaturist to Queen 
 Elizabeth. It is singular that in this second 
 inventory we find mentioned a large painting by 
 the hand of Raffaelle without specification of the 
 subject. Bertolotti then goes on to say, I found 
 too the will of his sole assistant. Like his master 
 he thought first of his soul and his burial in the 
 chui’ch of San Lorenzo in Damaso, then passes on 
 to artistic matters. Massarelli left his drawings to 
 his two assistants — Maximilian Monceau, a Fleming, 
 and Alessandro da Como, whom he specially 
 names his allievo. Monceau is a miniaturist 
 hitherto unknown.” 
 
 * A kind of spinet or pianoforte. 
 
XVIIL 
 
 Documents. 
 
 The Will of Giulio Clovio. 
 iJie 27 'Xhris 1578 a nativitate. 
 
 In nomine Dni. Amen, &c. Quoniam mors et vita 
 in manibus Dei sunt et nihil certius morte et incer- 
 tiiis illius liora uimmquemque prudentem decet dum 
 est in sua bona memoiia mentisque et intellectus 
 ratione constitutus aniinse rebusque suis taliter 
 providei’e ne inter posteros sues aliqua lis uel con- 
 troversia contentio sine difterentia oriri possit ea 
 2)ropter in mei presentia presens et principaliter 
 constitutus mao-niticus et reverendus d. Don Julius 
 
 O 
 
 Clovius patre macedonico et matre illirica miniator 
 eelebeiT’imus sanus Dei o-i*. mente sensu & intellectu 
 
 O 
 
 et in suo bono ])i‘oposito sanoque et recto iuditio 
 existens, corpore tamen inhrmus timens iuditium 
 diuinum nolens intestatus decedere sed rebus et 
 bonis suis prospicere ac de illis dis2)onere presens 
 suum nuncupativum quod de iure civili sine scriptis 
 appellatur fecit et condidit testamenta in modum 
 sequente uidelicet Imprimis quia anima est nobilior 
 corpore ill am omnipotenti Deo Beateque Marie 
 semper Ahrgini ac toti curie celesti humiliter et 
 devote comendauit Corpori uero sepulturam elegit 
 in ecclesia Diui Petri ad Vincula postquam ab eo 
 eius anima segregari contigeilt inibique humari 
 uoluit absque pompa in liabitu eiusdem religionis 
 
Life of Giorgio Gvulio Clovio. 
 
 377 
 
 cum ceremonia tamen quam fratres ejusdem re- 
 ligionis sclent suis confratribus adliibere hoc 
 adjecto quod super eius eadauer ponatur lapis cum 
 sequente iscriptione, videlicet : Hic jacet Don 
 Julius Clouius. 
 
 Maiidauitque quod statim sequuta eius morte 
 celebritur misse Greo’orii in ecclesia Gres:orii 
 et Laurentii in ecclesia extra muros ad altaria 
 privilegiata dici solite pro defunctis. Legauit et 
 jure legati reliquit ecclesie Beate Marie consola- 
 tionis de urbe unum offitium paruulum antiquum 
 Dive Marie in parte miniatum quod mode penes se 
 habere dixit. 
 
 Pecuniae autem quae reperientur tempore ipsius 
 obitus eas solutis soluendis diuidi uoluit et mandauit 
 inter monasterium dictae ecclesiae petri ad vin- 
 cula et ecclesiam diui Luce apud ecclesiam Beate 
 Mar. [i.e. Majoris.] 
 
 Legauit etiani et jure legati reliquit D. Claudio 
 Massarolo de Carauaggio eius alumno omnia dis- 
 signia q. d. Luce Cambiasii et Parmesanini et 
 aliaque non sunt eiusdem testatoris manus, om- 
 nesque formas rilieui jessi, et cere ac cuiusuis alie 
 qualitatis una cum omnibus utensilibus lignaminis et 
 aliis massaritiis et coloribus ad usum artis miniature 
 et picture aptis ac etiani unum dessignum Lau- 
 rentii et designa extracta per ipsum naturaliter ex 
 
378 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 officio donato d. Cardinal! Farnesio necnon 
 
 cum lecto seruitorum una cum duabus linteaminibus 
 et duabus tobaliis. 
 
 In delineationibus uero omnibus qui uulgo des- 
 segni appellantur (demptis sup'^-) manu ipsius et 
 presertim extractis ex delineationibus q. d. Michelis 
 Angeli bonarotti (sic) cum quadro babilonie et tribus 
 aliis quadrettis Petri Brugal et quadretto miniato 
 manu ipsius Testatoris suum heredem universalem 
 instituit ac ore proprio nominauit 111"^' et Rev“'^^’ 
 D. D. Cardinalem Alexandrum Farnesium S. P. E. 
 presbiterum Cardinalem eius unicum dominum et 
 patronem. 
 
 In reliquis autem aliis suis bonis mobilibus et 
 utensilibus masseritiis domus (infrascriptis tamen 
 demptis) cum quadris magnis et parvis et hie in 
 urbe existentibus suum heredem instituit ac ore 
 proprio nominauit Monasterium et fratres dicte 
 ecclesie Petri ad Vincula, prohibuit tamen dictis 
 fratribus, dictorum quadrorum alienationem sed 
 uoluit eos semper remanere ad ornamentum ecclesie 
 et predict?© sacristie illius. 
 
 In omnibus autem aliis suis bonis mobilibus et 
 imobilibus presentibus et futuris in partibus Dal- 
 matige sine Schiauonise existentibus et consistentibus 
 nec non in anulis aureis et omnibus lapidibus pre- 
 tiosi quos hie in urbe habet, suum heredem instituit 
 fecit ac ore proprio nominauit D. Guidum Clouium 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 379 
 
 ex que fratre suo nepotem itaque nil aliud ex bonis 
 ipsins testatoris petere possit. Item legauit D. 
 Marco Antonio Giorgio de Montelupo eius confessor! 
 unam sottannam rascie florentine nove. Leofavit 
 insuper Filippo pucetti de Cingulo eius famulo 
 eius sottannam rascie veteri cum breuiario suo. 
 
 Exequutores uero presentes sui testamenti ordi- 
 nauit et deputauit predictum et Reu*“* D. 
 
 Cardinalem et magnificum D. Jo. Baptistam de 
 auximo agente ipsius 111™- CarJ'''- absentes quibus 
 dedit potestatem et omnimodum autoritatem omnia 
 et singula in presente suo testamento contenta 
 exequenda et sue debite exequutioni demandandi et 
 hoc etc. cassauit etc. et uoluit presens suum testa- 
 mentum omnibus aliis preferri super quibus, etc. 
 
 Actum Rome in Palatio predicti 111™''- D. Card^'®*- 
 et in camera cubiculari predicta d. Testatoris pre- 
 sentibus ibidem. 
 
 Magnifico d. Jacobo Curtio salutiarum dioc. 
 
 D. Antonio Galattero Montis regalensis. 
 
 M''"- d. Joanne Finali clerico Lunen.-sarzanen. 
 
 M'"'- d. Marco Toccolo clerico parmense. 
 
 D. Curtio Ricciono de Cellis D. Baptista Angeli 
 Frattoni de Caprerola, etc. 
 
 D. Philiberto Canet Sabaudien. testibus, etc. 
 (Notarius Livius Prata 1577-8, fol. 353 to 405.) 
 
380 
 
 Life of Giorcjio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 About his 
 threatened 
 blindness. 
 
 Letters of Giulio Clovio. 
 
 There are said to be letters from Giulio Clovio 
 amono- those of the Buonarroti collection in 
 
 O 
 
 Florence, and among tliose of Vasari now dispersed. 
 
 Oeifjinal Text. 
 
 Given by A. Roncliini in Atti e Menioriali, Ser. 
 III. 2G2, &c. 
 
 1. A1 Cardinale Farnese a Parma. Ilh"°* Sig*®‘ 
 Parone mio. lo sum senipre espedito di servir 
 et ohedire a la Ilh“^- Signoria V. Pero non 
 mi sento ancora a modo mio, niaxime che mi e 
 sopragiunto taiito male appresso lo occhio manco. 
 Quell a infiagione, la quale em prinia, mi e ingros- 
 sata tanto sinistraniente che mi impedesce a vedere, 
 malamenti. Non facendo qualche remedio, non 
 sarb bono per la 111"'*^- S. V. ne per me. E qui e 
 uno Ciruico valente il quale a guarito conte 
 Antonio Scoti di uno simile male in quindici di 
 Et cusi prego la S. A", che la si contenti che 
 
 io provi uscire di questo atfaimo, a poterla servire 
 come io desidero. II me dico dice che non e cura 
 periculosanienti di offendere lo occhio, et che spera 
 che in otto di potro andare dove voglio. Subito 
 risoluto qualche poco negniero via : senza 
 
 taglia non si po fare questa cura ; dove mi da un 
 poco di paura. Et cusi prego Iddio che conservi 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 381 
 
 la 111’^^- V. in tutto quello che la desidera, 
 
 et la guard! ad ogni male. Et mi li ricomando 
 umilissimamente. Di Piacenza alii 14 di genaro 
 1558. Di V. S. 111^^- et Pev’^^' umilissimo seruitore 
 Don Julio Clovio. 
 
 2. Alio stesso. IIP®’ Sig^®’ Oggi che e sabato ho 
 
 fatto fare la iustitia del mio occhio et cusi per gratia 
 di Dio, et per la opera di Maestro Batisto fiorentino 
 medico e ciroico, il quale tanto destraniente mi ]a 
 tagliato la materia, tanto ingrossato che mi aveva 
 quasi serrato lo occhio. Fatto il taglio, subito e 
 saltata una materia come una pallotta, et non so che 
 aqua gialla fuora ; et mancata o calata tutta la 
 grossezza, che mi occupava lo occhio, subito. Sia 
 ringratiato Dio che mi la fatto questa gratia di 
 potere servire la S. V. la quale adoro, con 
 
 miglior lume, il quale dubitava di perdere. Et cus! 
 spero in breve di venire. 
 
 3. Alio stesso ... a Piacenza. Hp^- signor et 
 Patron mio oss"^®‘ De la necessita grande che io 
 sono astretto mando a fla Hp^- S. V. Messer Julio 
 Berneri, il quale abita qui in Correggio, et ancora 
 avendosi mosso da lui per avermi compassione a li 
 mei affanni Et cusi supplico che la IIP®’ S. V. Si 
 degni di auscultarlo de li travagli mi sono accascati 
 qua in Correggio, et tuttavia seguitano; et e persona 
 secretissima. Et cusi prego Dio che prosper! la 
 IIP^’ S. V. et la guard! di ogni male. 
 
 About the 
 operation 
 
 Its success. 
 
 About his 
 necessities. 
 
382 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 About going 
 to Candiana. 
 
 Wants let- 
 ter of recom- 
 mendation. 
 
 About his 
 necessities 
 and his reli- 
 ance on the 
 Cardinal’s 
 generosity, 
 in his present 
 sickness. 
 
 Di Correggio a li 9 di lujo, 1559, 
 
 Di V. S. umilissimo Servitore. 
 
 Don Julio Clovio. 
 
 4. Alio Stesso a Roma. I1R°- & Rev”^°- Sr. 
 mio osser"^°- Come V. S. I1R°- puo sapere la Bella 
 di S. Sta. per la quale si assolvono gli traslati, h 
 talmeiite conditionata, die e necessario comparire 
 davanti agli Ordinarii et Priori di quelli luoghi dove 
 si fa la j)rofessione : onde a me in particolare convien 
 presentarmi e Candiana luoco della Diocese di 
 Padova ; e cio nel termine di sei mese, de’ quali 
 uno e gill quasi passato. Supplico pertanto V. S. 
 Illmo. g* Jegni accompagnarmi col fauor suo, 
 scrivendo o al Vescovo di Padova, o a chi meglio 
 parril a Lei, et dando ordine appresso di questo, a 
 soi ministri die mi proveggan delle cose necessarie 
 per questo viaggio. Dal qual tomato, spero poi 
 venir colla presenza a servirla, come senipre lio 
 desiderate, questo tanto di vita die mi resta. Et 
 intanto Le bascio le main, et nella sua buona gratia 
 liuniiliniente, mi racconiando. 
 
 Di Correggio il 29 di Aprile, 1560. Di Y. S. 
 Illmo. k Reviiio. Devotissmo. et obbligatisso. 
 Servitor. Don Julio Clovio. [Roncliini.] 
 
 5. Alio stesso . . a Roma. 111“°* et Rev“^°- 
 Sr. mio ossernio. lo non ho niai desjierato de la 
 o-ratia et bontii di Y. S. I1R°' inentre die sono state 
 
 O 
 
 giovene e pih sano. Hora, estendo invecchiato et 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 383 
 
 infermo, ne spero piu die mai, promettendomi al 
 secure che Ella non potra supportare eh’ io perisca 
 per necessita di quanto fa bisognia a la recuperatione 
 de la sanita. Io gravamente patisco all’ orinare, et 
 ho a quest! giorni fattomi curare, et ho pressa I’aqua 
 di bagni di Lucca, che fa portata qui per il Signor 
 Hieronimo; et mi pare star peggio assai che prima. 
 
 In Venetia e un valente homo, come dicono, e I’animo 
 mio sarebbe di trasferirmi fin cola per un mese ; et 
 mettermi in mano di lui.' Pero, in questo case,, h® wants 
 
 ^ Mo go to a 
 
 supplico V. S. Ill"^°' a farm! favore che sia scritta vem?e^° 
 una lettere al Governatore di San Gio. di Furlani, 
 che mi accomodi di una stanza per detto tempo. 
 
 Appresso ricordo a V. S. che sono hormai 
 
 cinque mesi che non ho havuto un soldo de la pro- 
 visione che la bonta e nobilta sua mi dona, e che non Cannot get 
 
 his salary 
 
 mi basta la cortesia che mi fa il Sr. Hieronimo, che paid- 
 per certo non mi lascia mancar, par conto del viver 
 mio, di quelle cosi che si trovano qui. Ma a me 
 bisognia qual che denari si per niedici e medicine. 
 
 Come anche fra i altre cose occorrenti al viver mio. 
 
 Dunque finiendo, mi inchino a’ piedi di V. S. Ill’^^- 
 pregandola a degniarsi di provedere alquanto a le 
 mie necessitade. Et le bacio humilmente le mani. 
 
 Di Correggio a di 13 giugnio 1560. Di V. S. Ill”"^’ 
 
 & Pev’^^- Devotiss®* et obbligatiss®- seP®* 
 
 Don Julio Clovio. [Ronchini.] 
 
 7. Alio stesso a Caprarola. Ill’^®- S®’’* Patron About the 
 
384 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 death of 
 
 Taddeo 
 
 Zuccaro. 
 
 Complains 
 of the heat 
 and pain in 
 his head. 
 
 To Duke 
 Cosimo about 
 going to 
 Florence. 
 
 mio M. Tadeo pittore [Taddeo Zuccaro] 
 
 passo di questa vita martedi notti non con poco 
 dolor mio, rnaxime essendo cusi gran valentomo 
 come era, oltra die ira pieno di ogni bonta talmente 
 die qui non si trova eguale a lui, fora del suo 
 fratello, il quale a me pare di maggior espettatione 
 assai ; et acora lui e simile oltra la virtu, e da bene 
 quanto sia possibile. So die V. S. lia di bisognio di 
 tal persona e cusi non ve lassate scappare da le 
 mani, pei‘clie mi pare die molto e stato ricercato 
 da] Cardinale di Ferrara. Se V. S. andara in 
 
 J^ombardia verso Parma io prego nostro Signore 
 Jesu Christo die conduca et reduca Y. S. 11]'"^- 
 con tutte le satisfiittioni die desidera. II Quadretto 
 e a bon termiiie, e saria finito ; ma li caldi di Roma 
 non mi liamio lassate lavorare a modo mio, oltra la 
 debilezza, de la niia testa. Et cusi a Y. S. 111"^^' 
 S. recomaiido liumilissamente. Di Roma a li 5 di 
 Settembre, 1506, Di Y. S. IIR^' & Res”™^' 
 
 Servitore liumil’"®- Don Julio Clovio. [Roncliini.] 
 
 0. A letter ivliicli ought to stand next in this 
 collection, though not given by Roncliini, is photo- 
 graphed by ^lilanesi in Scritture di Artisti III. 1. 
 
 18 di ]\Iarzo, ’01. Ill""- et Ecc'""- Sig"’"' Prin’ 
 mio Oss™"- Julio Clovio. Io mi riputo a gran 
 fauore die 1 E’. v. si sia degnata coniandarnii, ma 
 me lo reputerei molto maggiore se conforme alia mia 
 natural diuotione verso di lei et della Rl™^- sua 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 385 
 
 Casa io havessi liberta et coiiiodita di poterla servire 
 
 come io desidero percioche hauendo io come Ella sa 
 
 Princ. et essendo occupato per suo seruitio quanto 
 
 ha potato uedere il suo ni’ Giorgino aggiunta la mia 
 
 ueccliaja ni lo posso promettere dell’ opera mia. Se 
 
 non poco et lontanamente. Tuttauia mi andrb 
 
 inuolando alcuna uolta a tutte 1’ altre mie facende, 
 
 . With rn.611" 
 
 accioclie I’e’ v. resti appagata affatto della mia tion of his 
 
 pronta volonta, et in parte anchora della fatica et Vasari. ^ ° 
 
 di quel poco die le possono promettere i molt’ ani 
 
 et le poche forze mie pel resto rimettendomi a m’ 
 
 Giorgino le bascio humilissamente la mano et priego 
 
 ogni felicita. Di Poma a xviij d’ Marzo, 1561. 
 
 [Archivio di state in Firenze, Carteggio del Duca 
 
 Cosimo de’ Medici. Filza 196, Carta 726 (Inedita).] 
 
 In a firmer hand lower down : — 
 
 Studiarnii seruire a u e’cetia con tute le mie 
 
 forze e’ diligentia ho sapro e’ quanto ho ragionato 
 
 con m giorgio il quale refferira a bocha a v ecc*^^' 
 
 quanto li sono affecionatissimo seF®^’®* 
 
 Humilissimo 
 
 Don Julio Clovio. 
 
 8. A1 Duca di Parma e Piacenza. I1P°- el ^ About a por- 
 
 trait which lie 
 
 ExcelP®’ mio P’rone. Da por che’l Conte Lodouico 
 [Conte Lod. Tedeschi maggiordomo del Cardinal 
 Farnese] me ha ditto da parte di V. Excelltia. che io 
 gli facessi il ritratto, ho lassato da banda le altre 
 cose, e mi son sforzato di servirla ; et nonne havendo 
 
 25 
 
386 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Apologizes 
 for his failing 
 health and 
 skill. 
 
 Recom- 
 mending a 
 young Can- 
 diote painter, 
 a pupil of 
 Titian. 
 
 About the 
 price of a 
 picture. 
 
 altro migliore essempio lo ho cavato da un mio 
 libretto, et lo mando alia Excellentia vostra, alia 
 quale desidero che satisfaccia si come io lo ho fatto 
 voloiitieri e di core. Et la prego che excusi la eta 
 mia, li occhj deboli et le manj ; promittendogli che 
 come io potrb rubbar un poco di tempo dalle opere 
 del Caixb®' mi sforzaio di fare altro a satisfattione 
 della Exc. Va. alia quale humilmente me recomando 
 sempre. Di Roma alii 22. d’ Ottobre, 1569. Di 
 vostra excellentia humiliss'’' seruitore, 
 
 Don Julio Clovio. 
 
 9. A1 Card. Farnese an Viterbo. A di 16 di 
 9bre, 1570. E capitato in Roma un giouane Can- 
 diotto discepolo di Titiano che a mio giuditio parmi 
 raro nella pittui’a, et fra laltre cose e gli ha fatto 
 un ritratto da se stesso che fa stupire tutti questi 
 Pittori di Roma. Io vorrei trattenerlo sotto Tonibra 
 di V. S. Ill"^^’ et Rev”^^- senza spesa altra del 
 vivere ma solo de venghi ad accomodare meglio. Pero 
 La prego et supplico sia contenta di scriuere al Co. 
 Lud^^®- suo maiord®- che lo provegghi ne’ detto 
 Palazzo di qual che stanza ad alto, che V. S. 111"^^' 
 fara un’ opera virtuosa degna di Lei et io gliene 
 tenib oblio'o. Et Le bascio con reverenza le mani. 
 Di V. S. I1R°’ & Rev“^' humiliss®- ser’tore, 
 
 Don Julio Clovio. 
 
 10. Alio stesso a Caprarola. 111“^'^' & Rev”^° 
 
 Sig*'^' & Patron mio osserv™®' Per la prima 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 387 
 
 V, S. mi ha dato da fare con uno pih dis- 
 
 cortese e pin ostinato die sia al mondo. Volendo 
 quel quadro solo di San Francescho, non si ver- 
 gognia domandare cinquanta scudi d’oro, et non ho 
 mai potuto aver altra risoluzione di lui, diciendo che 
 quello li guastaria il prezzo de li altri. Ma volendosi 
 pigliare tutti tre. San Jerolimo et la charita li 
 dara per cento scudi d’oro insieme con S. Francescho. 
 Di questa sua ostinatione sono stati li pictori di 
 Roma, Muciano et Jacopino et Jeromo Sermonta 
 [Gerolamo Muziano, Jacopo Stella, et Gerolamo 
 Siciolante de’ Sermoneta] che hanno messo in tanto 
 gran prezzo le opere di queste pitture, e certo non 
 si puo dire non e bene perche sono fatte con gran 
 leggiadria. Di quell’ altro S. Francescho, che V. S 
 Illma. ordino non ho hauto altro auiso. Gia 
 aueua trouato il pittore e questo si potria fare a 
 questa mede’ma attitudine como e quello del Genuese. 
 Pero volendosi fare questo convenia mi fussi man- 
 data la misura de la altezza et de la larghezza. E 
 cusi humilissimente a V. S. IIP®' mi ricomando, 
 pregando Dio ha conservi sana et in gratia sua et 
 quello che hai desidera. Di Roma a li 7 di luglio, 
 1573. Di V. S. Ilp^- et Rev”'^' humilissimo 
 servitore, Don Julio Clovio. 
 
 11. Letter to Madama d’ Austria, written by 
 Caro in Clovio’s name. 
 
 Mando a V. A. il quadro della Giuditta hnito 
 
 25 ^ 
 
 About the 
 
388 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Judith and 
 Holofernes 
 painted for 
 Margaret of 
 Austria, 
 Duchess of 
 Parma, 
 apologizing 
 for delays. 
 
 About the 
 miniature 
 presented to 
 Ivuy Gomez. 
 
 The am- 
 bassador’s 
 •pleasure on 
 receiving it. 
 
 pur una volta, quando e piacuto a Dio Dico cosi, 
 perclie quanto a la vo^ionta e a la sollecitudine mia 
 sarebbe gia da molti mesi compito ; ma sono stato 
 impedito da tanti mali, e da tanti sinistri, cosi de la 
 vita come de la fortuna, che se non fosse stato 
 1’ ardore e la divotione con che vi ho lavorato credo 
 che non ne sarei mai venuto a capo. Havre! voluto 
 andar pin oltre con dargli forza et inoto el spirito di 
 vita et verita, se avessi potuto, per empire il giuditio 
 degli occhi suoi col concetto mio stesso . . di qua e 
 stata veduta non senza lode mia et maravDlia di 
 
 O 
 
 o<>-nimo. liesta che io mi racconiandi ec<?iacche oil 
 anni le infermita et la mala fortuna ec. Roma a li 
 11 di Settembre, 15G1.” 
 
 Given in the ]\Iilano edition of Vasari, in Classic! 
 Italian!, 1811, Vol. 15, pp. 132-3, note 2. 
 
 1 2. Letter from Giuliano Ardinghelli, Ambassador 
 of the Duke of Parma at the Court of Brussels, 
 to Cardinal Farnese. Xow kept in the Archivio 
 Governativo, Parma. 
 
 “ 4 Dec. 
 
 ‘‘ Ho presentato al Sigr. Buy Gomez il quadretto 
 di Don Julio, con quel modo che mi jjarve piu 
 con veil! elite, mostrando che I’animo di V. S. 111“^' 
 era d’honorarlo con cosa di mao-o-ior moment o, e che 
 si riserbara a forlo con altra commodita. S.S. 
 
 I’accettb con alleo-rissima cera, e niostro 
 ddiaverlo carissimo : et in prsesentia mia chiamo 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 389 
 
 niolti signori della camera del Re dove si fece 
 grandisso. romore e fa lodato in estremo. Alla fine 
 si raccomando a tutti, per che non fusse detto 
 niente al Re, dicendo che lo voleva mandare alia 
 S'’®' Contessa sua moglie. lo lo pregai che mi 
 dicesse se desiderava nessuna altra coso di quella 
 mano per che V. S. IIR^- harebbe hauto gran 
 piacere di saper Tanimo suo per ordinare che la fassi 
 servita, e gli soggiunsi che V. S. 111™*^- haueua 
 ordinato che se ne facessi uno per Tlmperatore in TheEm- 
 quella forma che sua Alta, haveva detto che de- 
 siderava. A che mi rispose, che io pregassi V. S. The King 
 111™^- a non lo mandare a S. Alta, se non per la via Tnother.^^ 
 di qua, per che il Re pigliara gran piacere vederlo ; 
 et in ultimo disse che scriverria a V. S. 111”^^- rin- 
 graziandola, &c. Pero V. S. IIR^- pensi a far che Don juiio’s 
 P)on Julio lavori, por che le cose sue sono stimate highly valued, 
 qua in estremo.” — Atti e Memoi'ie, &c., III. 262. 
 
 13. In Le Lettere familiare del Cornmendatore 
 Annibal Caro” (3 vols. 12mo. Padova, 1734, II. 395) 
 occurs one al Sig'’®' Vicino Orsino ” about certain 
 loggie at Caprarola to be decorated with scenes 
 from the story of the Giants. Speaking of the 
 effect of mere smallness of dimension not lessening 
 the sense of grandeur, he says : E se ’1 vostro sara 
 
 tale, supplira in questo al dubbio di V. S. che se 
 bene ha considerate le cose di D. Giulio conoscera 
 ch’ ancora la miniatura con piccolissime figure 
 
390 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Praising 
 her beauty, 
 her youth and 
 her marvel- 
 lous skill in 
 miniature art, 
 and thanking 
 her for her 
 portrait. 
 
 Promises 
 his own por- 
 trait in return. 
 
 rappresenta i Giganti.” It is a long letter, entering 
 into the matter very minutely, as the other letter 
 to M. Tadeo Zuccaro Pittore, where he is dealing 
 with the subjects and decorations to be painted in 
 the same palace (II. 303, No. 188). 
 
 14. The letter written for Clovio by Caro to 
 Signora Giovanna Clavio (Sakcinski : Life, &c., 
 21 ):- 
 
 ‘‘ lo ho sentito molti giorni innanti celebrare la 
 virtii et bellezza vostra, et de Tuna et de I’altra per 
 fama era molto affectionato, quando da M . . . mi 
 e stata mostrata la vostra effio^ie da voi medesima 
 dej)inta, et in tal sorte che in un medesinio tempo, 
 ho scorto in voi la grazia del vostro volto, la vivezza 
 del vostro spirito et reccellenza di quell’ arte de 
 la quale io fo professione. Hor pensate se prinia 
 v’amava, per avervi udita commendare quanto io 
 v’anii et vi honori di poi che v’ho, si pub dir veduta 
 et conosciuta et per donna tale che oltre a I’esser 
 si bella e si giovine, siete ancora si eccellente in 
 un’ arte tanto rai’a ne gli uomini, non che nele 
 donne. L’amore et la maraviglia insieme hanno 
 fatto che io rifenghi il vostro ritratto appresso di me, 
 et lo vagheggio a tutte I’hore per la piu mirabile 
 che si vegga ; et per ricompensa. M’e parso di 
 mandarvi il mio par di mio propria mano pin perche 
 ancor voi consciate I’effigie di che v’ama, che 
 ’1 valor di che io faccio non lo giudico degno di 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 391 
 
 voi. Pure perche gli artefici sogliono hauer caro 
 veder diverse maniere di quelli che operano, ho 
 giudicato che non sia per dispiacervi di poter con- 
 siderare quella di noi altri d’ Italia, et vi harei 
 mandate un saggio d’istorie o di qualche figuretta 
 ben finita, perche ne poteste far meglio giudicio, 
 ma per brevita di tempo mi riserbo a farlo un altra 
 volta et voglio che questo vi riserva solamente, 
 come io detto, per darvi conoscienza di me, e per 
 un segno che io vi done di me stesso. So che siete 
 cosi cortese come vi mostrate ne I’aspetto, et per 
 questo non dubito che non siate per accettarmi Friend 
 
 lover ? 
 
 per vostro. Hora vi prego che mi faciate fauor 
 di farnii intendere che mi abbiate per tale, et di 
 comniandarmi come a vostra cosa, facendomi gratia 
 di qual che altra cosa di vostra mano, che io faro il 
 medesimo con voi. E del resto rimettendomi a la 
 relatione del Gentil’huomo apportator di questa, mi 
 vi offero et mi vi dono per sempre, et vi bacio le 
 delicate et artificiose mani. Stata sana.” 
 
 In the last Florentine edition of Vasari (Sansoni) 
 
 — Firenze, 1882, Voi. VIII. 229— is the following 
 note : — 
 
 Esista nella Riccardiana di Firenze, un codice 
 cartaceo in 8o. di carte 96 delle quale 84 scritte 
 segnato di No. 2354 che contiene 54 lettere, di 
 Giorgio Vasari copiate certamente dalla mano del 
 Cavaliere Giorgio Vasari suo nipote verso la fine 
 
392 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 del secolo XVI. e tratte dalle bozze stesse del suo 
 zio.” It is entitled, Varie lettere di M. Giorgio 
 Vasari aretino pittore et architettore scritte in 
 diversi tempi a diversi amici suoi sopra inventione 
 di varie cose da lui dipinte o da dipignersi, raccolte 
 dal Cav. Giorgio Vasari suo nipote da certi suoi 
 scritti.” Of these fifty-four letters, nineteen were 
 copied and sent to Rome to Bottari, who inserted 
 them among the lettere 2 nttoriche. But the first 
 to print the vliole in the order they bear in the 
 ]\IS. was* Audin in his Edition of the Opere 
 Vasariane.” Milanesi prints them re-arranged in 
 the order of time as nearly as can be made out. 
 Those hitherto inedited are distinguished by an 
 asterisk. On fob 91 of this Codex Riccardiana is 
 a list of cori’espondents whicli, now that the 
 ]u-ecious collection of letters to Vasari has been 
 dis})ersed and many lost (pp. 230-1), appears to 
 be of some impoilance. Among the persons 
 named in the list are : Clemente VII., Paolo III., 
 Giulio III., Gregorio XIII., and other Popes ; 
 Cardinals Aless. Parnese, Salviati, Bembo, and 
 Sadoleto ; and Bon Giulio Clovio. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 — 
 
 A 
 
 Albert Diirer, 34 
 
 Alberto Pio da Carpi takes Clovio to Buda, 36 
 Ambrogio, Fra, a celebrated preacher, 47 
 Andres de Leon, an imitator of Clovio, 81, 91, 92 
 “ Anonimo ” of Morelli, 25 
 Antonio of Sicily, a dealer in MSS., 2‘5 
 Aragona, Tullia d’, 197 
 Artists of South Slavonia, 11 
 Attains as an Art-patron, 63 
 
 B 
 
 Beham, Hans Sebald, of Nuremberg, practises illumination, 109 
 Bello, Valerio, of Vicenza, a celebrated medallist, 55 
 Boccardino, miniaturist of Florence, 233 
 Boduino, Giov. Maria, miniaturist of Friuli, 94 
 Bonde, Dr. W., describes the Portuguese Offices executed for 
 John HI., 290 
 Book of Kells, 4 
 
 Bordone, Benedetto, of Padua, MSS. by him, 96 
 Brief granted to Baftaello, 1515 (note), 30 
 Bry, Theodore de, a famous engraver, 216 
 Bynnynck, Simon, miniaturist of Bruges, 108 
 
 C 
 
 Cambiaso, Luca, pupil of Perino del Vaga, 93 
 Campeggio, Cardinal Lorenzo, employs Clovio, 39, 133 
 Carolus Calvus, poem in honour of, 2 
 Castello, Bernardo, 103 
 „ Giov. Battista, 99 
 Cellini, Benvenuto, 134 
 
 ,, executes a cover for a MS. painted by Clovio, 163 
 
394 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Cesarei, Pietro, miniaturist of Perugia, 122 
 Charlemagne, 2 
 
 “ Chief Victories ” or Triumphs of Charles V., one of the sets 
 of triumphs, designed h}^ Heemskerck, described, 220 
 Chigi, Agostino, builds the Parnesina (note), 32 
 Choir-books in the Escorial, 81 
 
 ,, in Ferrara, not by Cosimo Tura, 137 
 ,, in Rome, illuminated by Clovio, 203 
 Clavio, Giovanna, comes to Rome, 152 
 
 „ letter from her to Clovio, 153 
 
 „ ,, original text of, 390, Appendix XYIII. 
 
 Clovio 
 
 jj 
 
 j> 
 
 5J 
 
 5) 
 
 5) 
 
 J» 
 
 5 > 
 
 JJ 
 
 )J 
 
 ?) 
 
 5? 
 
 > J 
 ?? 
 J5 
 5) 
 5? 
 5? 
 J? 
 J) 
 >5 
 55 
 55 
 55 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 born 1498, 19 
 comes to Italy, 28 
 
 his introduction to Domenico Grimani, 23 
 at Perugia, 139 
 Rome, 39 
 Buda, 36 
 Grizane, 38 
 
 San Ruffino and Candiana, 135 
 meets with Giulio Romano, 29 
 at Piacenza, 180 
 „ Florence, 167 
 „ Lucca, 183 
 
 his general bad health, 182 
 invitation to the Escorial, 190 
 last sickness, death, and funeral, 186 
 letters of. Appendix XVIII. 
 disputed works of, 208 
 miniatures at Florence by, 167 
 „ Ravenna by, 235 
 
 pen-drawings of coins, &c., by, 28 
 engravings after, 359 
 portraits of, 368 
 
 pupils and assistants of, 122, 367 
 
 qualities as an artist, 128 
 
 titles and epithets bestowed on, 16 
 
 usual signature, 135 
 
 various styles of painting, 125 
 
 will of. Appendix XVII. 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 395 
 
 5 > 
 
 
 5 ? 
 
 
 
 
 5 > 
 
 Clovio works for Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio, 39 
 
 Domenico Grimani, 21 
 Marino Grimani, 26 
 Vasari’s list of works of, 343 
 General list of works of, 350 
 Coins and gems as ornaments in books, 87 
 Colonna, Giorgio, miniaturist of Venice, 123 
 Isabella, marries Luigi Gonzaga, 160 
 Vespasiano, Duke of Trajetto, 158 
 Vittoria, Marcbesa del Vasto, 148, 160, 161 
 Commentaries of Cardinal Marino Grimani on the Epistle to the 
 Homans, illuminated by Clovio, described, 245 seq. 
 
 Cock, Hieronymus, printseller of Antwerp, 212, 216 
 Corsini missal, 137 
 
 Cort, Cornells, engraver of Antwerp, 212 
 Corvinus, John, Ban of Croatia, 18 
 
 ,, Matthias, King of Hungary, 36 
 Cristobal, Andres, 91 
 
 Cuerenhert, Dietrich Volkertsz, engraver, 216 
 
 D 
 
 David and Goliath of Michelangelo, copied by Clovio into a 
 MS., 40 
 
 De Thou, his description of the submission of the Landgrave of 
 Hesse, quoted, 288 
 
 Del Piombo, Sebastiano, his business with the miniaturists, 237 
 Delisle, M. Leopold, his notes on the Paris Psalter of Paul III., 
 262 
 
 Devises of the Earnese Family, 174 
 Difference between miniature and painting, 7 
 Difficulty of access to MSS., 5 
 Diirer, Albert, 108 
 
 engravings by, 35 
 
 “ Epitome in Divae Parthenices Marias historiam,” 
 
 5 } 
 
 5 > 
 
 
 35 
 
 F 
 
 Farnese Collection, 151 
 Farnese, History of the House of, 142 
 Farnesina (note), 32 
 Felix of Ragusa (note), 12 
 
396 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Ferdinand of Tyrol, patron of Georg Hoefnagel, and founder 
 of the Amlbras Museum, 94 
 Florence, a chief emporium for illuminated MSS., 238 
 Fouquet, Jean, miniaturist of Tours, 108 
 Francesco de Holanda, a Portuguese miniaturist, 41 
 Frangipani, Family of, first patrons of Clovio, 18 
 Fuenta, Fray Julian de, miniaturist, 91 
 
 G 
 
 Galle, Philip, one of the engravers of Heemskerch’s “ Triumphs,” 
 216 
 
 Genoese miniature art, its influence on Spanish, 106 
 Girolamo dai Lihri, his method of painting, 83 
 Giulio Clovio— see Clovio 
 Giulio Romano — see Romano 
 
 Glockendon Family, miniaturists of Nuremberg, 108, 110 
 Godeschalk, 2 
 
 Golden Gospels of Epternach, 2 
 Gomez, Pedro, miniaturist, 91, 92 
 Gonzaga, Giulia di, her love story, 158 
 Gospels of Maiel Brigid, 4 
 
 “ Grenville” miniatures, their authenticity discussed, 190,217,275 
 Grimani, Antonio, General and Doge, 21 
 ,, Breviary, 25 
 
 „ Domenico, Cardinal, Clovio’s patron, 25 
 
 ,, Marino, Cardinal, Clovio’s patron, 24, 138 
 
 Grizane, the birthplace of Clovio, 17 
 Grovata, meaning of the word, 19 
 
 H 
 
 Handwritings of artists, 210 
 
 Heemskerck, Martin, designer of the “ Triumphs,” &c., 211, 215 
 „ „ paints scenes for triumphal arches in 
 
 Rome, 214 
 
 Hernandez, Francisco, miniaturist, 91, 92 
 Hilliard, Nicholas, miniaturist, 97 
 
 Hoefnagel, Georg, miniaturist, his famous missal at Vienna, 
 94, 114 
 
 Holanda, Francisco de, his autobiography, 42 
 
 „ „ conversations at San Silvestro, 46 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 397 
 
 Holanda, Antonio de, liis miniature portrait of Chas. V., 157 
 Hncbald, writer on music, &c., 2 
 
 I 
 
 Invention of stippling claimed by various artists, 59, 95 
 Italian Schools of Miniature, 86 
 
 L 
 
 “ L’Aguila Triumpliante,” one of the sets of Triumphs designed 
 by Heemskerck, copied in miniature and known as the 
 Grenville Clovio ; its description, 275 
 Lala of Cyzicus, the first miniature portrait painter on record, 2 
 Lenker, Hans, of Munich, the probable painter of the Munich 
 Offices, attributed to Clovio, 241 
 Liberale of Verona, miniaturist, 21 
 
 “ Lives of the Dukes of Urbino,” a MS. in the Vatican, the 
 miniatures of which are attributed to Clovio, 195 
 Los Santos, historian of the monastery of San Lorenzo of the 
 Escorial, 91 
 
 Louis II. of Hungary, a patron of Clovio, 36 
 
 Luht, Hans, publisher of the Nuremberg Bible of 1558, 109 
 
 M 
 
 Madruccio (Madruzzo) Cristoforo, Cardinal of Trent, 156, 163 
 
 Manuzio, Paolo Aldo, printer of Borne, 113 
 
 Mariano Valeriano of Urbino, 97 
 
 Marini, Cavaliero, poet and courtier, 93 
 
 Martinez de losCorrales, calligrapher and miniaturist, 92 
 
 Master miniaturists of Italy, 37 
 
 Masters, the Little, 109 
 
 Matthias Corvinus and his library, 36 
 
 Mazzuoli, Francesco (Parmegianino), 132 
 
 Medici, Cosimo de’, founder of the Laurentian Library and of the 
 Museum, 86 
 
 Medici, Ippolito de’. Cardinal, 157 
 ,, Museum and gems, 88 
 Michelangelo, discourses on painting, 50 
 Mielich, Hans, of Munich, miniaturist. 111 
 Miniature art, why comparatively unknown, 6 
 
398 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 Miniature art, the only form of painting which survived the 
 inroads of barbarism, 8 
 
 Miniatures in the Gronzaga offices at Oxford, 316 
 
 Grenville “Victories,” 275 
 Munich Offices, attributed to Clovio, 239 
 Offices of John III., 290 
 Paris Psalter of Paul III., 262 
 Ravenna MSS., 235 
 Soane MS., 245 
 Stanze d’Eurialo d’Ascoli, 312 
 Stuart de Rothesay MS., 304 
 Towneley MS., 254 
 ,, „ Vatican MSS. of Dante, &c., 340 
 
 Modrusch, near Clovio’s birthplace, 17 
 Mohacz, Battle of, 1526, 37 
 Monceau, Max. de, pupil of Massarelli, 289 
 Monterchi, a celebrated copyist, 198 
 
 Miiller, Hermann, an engraver of Heemskerck’s designs, 216 
 Muzio, Girolamo, poet and scholar (note), 197 
 
 5? 
 
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 »» 
 
 
 ») 
 
 >) 
 
 
 
 5) 
 
 }> 
 
 J> 
 
 J» 
 
 5 ) 
 
 J) 
 
 5 ) 
 
 )> 
 
 Naples “ Flora,” attributed to Clovio, 204 
 
 0 
 
 Offices of Leonora Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, at Oxford, 201 
 „ the Virgin at Munich, described, 239 
 „ ,, ,, executed for Card. Farnese, once at Naples, 
 
 described, 270 
 
 P 
 
 Pageants in honour of the capture of Tunis by Charles V., 216 
 Palazzo del T. at Mantua, 33 
 Palencia, Fray Martin de, miniaturist, 91, 92 
 Papal Lectionary executed for Paul III., known as the Towneley 
 Clovio, 202, 254 
 
 Paris Psalter executed for Paul III., 147, 149, 262 
 Parma, Marguerite of, devises executed for her, 17 
 Peruzzi, Baldassare, architect and decorator, 32, 132 
 Piramo, Rinaldo, miniaturist, 83 
 
 Plantin, Christopher, and the Plantin-Moretus press at Antwerp, 
 113 
 
Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio, 
 
 399 
 
 Pollini, Cesari, miniaturist of Perugia, 122 
 Psalter of John III. of Portugal, 192 
 
 ,, „ ,, „ described by Bonde, Appendix 
 
 vii., 193 
 
 Public interest in miniatures, 8 
 
 Q 
 
 Quaranta, B., description of the Naples Offices, 270 
 
 E 
 
 Racsynski, Count, Letters from Portugal, 42 
 Eaffaello, his Commission as superintendent of antiquities (note), 
 30 
 
 Eaffaello, the “ Stanze ” of the Vatican finished, 1520, 48 
 
 Eaimondi, Marcantonio, 132 
 
 Eamirez, Cristobal, Pray miniaturist, 91 
 
 Eavenna, supposed works of Clovio at, 235 
 
 Ehabanus, Maurus, “ In Laudem Crucis,” 3 
 
 Eome, sack of, 129 
 
 Eosso, B, sufferings at Eome, 133 
 
 Eovere, Giulia della, Duchess of Ferrara, 236 
 
 S 
 
 Sacramentary of Metz, 2 
 Salavarte, Pedro, miniaturist, 91 
 Salazar, Fray Ambrosio de, miniaturist, 91 
 „ ,, Esteban de ,, 92 
 
 „ ,, Juan de ,, 92 
 
 Sansavino, Jacopo, architect, 134 
 San Silvestro, a convent on Monte Cavallo, 46 
 Schier, Xystus, description of the Corvina Library referred to, 37 
 Scorza, Giov. Battista, Genoese miniaturist, 93 
 „ Sinibaldo „ ,, 101 
 
 Sichem, Cristoffel van, engraver, 216 
 Silvestro, the monk, calligrapher, 4 
 Sintramn of the wondrous hand, 4 
 Sistine Chapel completed, 1512, 39 
 “ Soane ” Clovio, 146, 211, 245 
 
 Sonnets of Petrarch formerly in the Trivulzi Library, Milan, 
 139, 261 
 
400 
 
 Life of Giorgio Giulio Clovio. 
 
 “ Sposalizio ” of Raffaello, 21 
 
 “ Stanze d’Earialo d’Ascoli,” Imperial Library, Vienna, 198 
 Strawberry Hill “ Clovio ” described, 230 
 Strozzi, Palla, 86 
 
 “ Stuart de Rothesay ” Offices, 304 
 
 T 
 
 Tasso, his illustrated edition of the Gerusalemme Liberata of 
 1617, 103 
 
 Thermge of Titus, influence on the Roman school of painting and 
 miniature, 32 
 
 Tolommei, Lattanzio, introduces Holanda to Michelangelo and 
 Clovio, 45, 46 
 
 “ Towneley ” Clovio described, 254 
 “ Trivulzi ” Petrarch attributed to Clovio, 139, 261 
 Tura Cosimo, and the Choir-books at Ferrara, 137 
 
 V 
 
 Vaga, Perino del, 93, 108, 131, 138 
 Vico and Strada, pen drawings by, 28 
 Vico, Eiiea, his handwriting, 210 
 
 “Victories of Charles V.” A series of miniatures attributed 
 to Clovio, traditional history of the MS. now in the British 
 Museum, 190 seq. 211, 217, 218 
 Villa Madama (note), 33 
 Vittoria Colonna at San Silvestro, 41 
 Vos, Martin de, engraver of Heemskerck’s designs, 216 
 
 W 
 
 Will of Giulio Clovio, Appendix XVII. 
 
 Works, General List of Clovio’s, 350 
 
 Z 
 
 Zuccaro, Federigo, 97 
 
 Zuccaro, Taddeo, at Caprarola, 184 
 
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