Part 2 (1/2)

[Illustration: Plate 22--_Detail of Arabesques, lower seats, Certosa, Pavia_

_To face page 37_]

One of the best Sienese masters has not yet been mentioned, Antonio Barili, much of whose work has perished, like that of many other intarsiatori, an example of which the collectors for the Austrian KK

Museum at Vienna have picked up, however, where it ust 12, 1453 His first work on his own account was the choir of the Chapel of S Giovanni, in the Cathedral, Siena, of which a few poor remains have escaped the carelessness of the last century, and are in the Collegiate Church of S Quirico in Osenna, 26 miles from Siena, on the old Roman road The contract is dated January 16, 1483, and in it he engages to finish it in about two years He was to be paid 50 florins of 4 lire beyond what he expended, and was to go on working at the rate of 10 florins a iven time he was to forfeit 100 florins, except for cause of infirue, &c It was to be valued in the usualof the contract on either side

As a matter of fact it took him nearly 20 years to complete On one of the panels Barili made a portrait of himself at work, the one referred to above, now in the KK Austrian Museureat intarsiatori His tools consist of a folding pocket-knife, a square-handled gouge, and a short-bladed, long-handled knife, which he holds with the left hand and presses his shoulder against, so as to use the push of the shoulder in cutting, while in the right he holds a se The panel upon which he is at work bears the inscription, ”Hoc ego Antonius Barilis opus c[oe]lo non penicello excussi Anno D, 1502” He works in aopening with panelled fraainst the sky, upon a branch of which a parrot is seated Von Tschudi says that the panel is about 2 feet 10 inches long by 1 foot 9-1/2 inches broad, and that the woods eany, palisander, and one as hard as birch in texture A full description of it as it originally was is appended in a note taken from Della Valle's ”Lettere Senese” It was valued by Fra Giovanni of Verona at 3990 lire While this as in progress he made the benches and other ork in the Cathedral Library for Francesco Piccolomini at a cost of 2000 lire, and did other work for private persons Another great as the choir of the Certosa of Maggiano, which has entirely disappeared He was not only intarsiatore, but was much employed by the commune on architectural works In 1484 he was sent to rebuild the bridge of Buonconvento, broken by a flood of the Oio, and on equal tere of Macereto In 1495 he was asked to ainst the bridge of Valiano, taken by the Florentines Owing to a bad guard being kept this was taken, and between 1498 and 1500 Barili was sent again to rebuild it larger and stronger Finally, in 1503, he was sent to ns and models of the nealls for the fortifications of Talamone, an important coast town In his intarsias he was helped by his nephew, Giovanni, whose salary, orking for Leo X at Rome, was five ducats a month

He died in 1516[2]

[Illustration: Plate 23--_Panel frona_]

[Illustration: Plate 24--_Panel froe 39_]

[Illustration: _To face page 40_

Plate 25--_Panel from S Miniato, Florence_]

[Illustration: Plate 26--_Panel froe 42_]

Other names mentioned by Vasari are Baccio Albini and his pupil Girolaood intarsiatori orked also in ivory when Benedetto da Majano was yet a young man, and David of Pistoia and Geri of Arezzo, who decorated the choir and pulpit of S Agostino in the latter town Geri also made intarsie for S

Michele, Arezzo Milanesi says Girolamo della Cecca was of Volterra, and calls Baccio, di Andrea Cellini; he was in Hungary in 1480 with his brother Francesco; they were brothers of Giovanni, as father of Benvenuto and piper also The stalls in S Miniato, Florence, were made in 1466 by Francesco Manciatto and Dohest point reached by Florentine intarsia is shown by the stalls of S Maria Novella, ns There are 40 stalls and 30 different ornas; the capitals, pilasters, and frieze are inlaid, the rest carved; the execution of figures, scrolls, leaves, and ornamental forms is as near perfection as lioni, was born May 19, 1462 ”In his youth he did very fine intarsia in the choir of S Maria Novella, in which are a very fine S John Baptist and S Laurence, and also carved the ornaan case”--so says Vasari The organ case is no longer there, having been sold in England, but the stalls still res of the altar at S

S Annunziata, which no longer exist, he went to Rome and studied architecture, of which Vasari remarks, ”the science of which has not been exercised, for several years back, except by carvers and deceitful persons, whoeven the tery and the first principles” (!) When he returned to Florence he made triumphal arches of carpentry for the entry of Leo X But he still stuck to his shop, in which, especially in the winter, fine discourses and discussions on art matters were held, attended at different ti; by Andrea Sansovino, il Maiano, il Cronaca, Antonio and Giuliano San Gallo, il Granaccio, and so reat deal of work for the great hall of the Palazzo Vecchio in conjunction with others, and the staircase of the Sala del Dugento After this he did many architectural works, palaces and additions to churches, son of Brunelleschi for the gallery to surround the do been lost, Baccio was commissioned to make a fresh one, and a piece of it was put up; but when Michael Angelo cah in style for the dorilli), and n to replace it himself; as, however, the authorities could not make up their minds to accept it, and Baccio's as much blamed, it went no farther, and was never finished He died on May 6, 1543, at the age of 83, being still in full possession of his faculties, and leaving three sons, of who both in stone and wood, and architectural design, working in conjunction with Baccio Bandinelli, a which was the choir of the Cathedral of Florence Another son, Do

[Illustration: Plate 27--_Panel froe 44_]

The seats near the high altar at S Maria Novella, and other things there were made between 1491 and 1496 The floor of the hall of the Great Council in the Palazzo Vecchio was begun in 1496, and with other works there went on till 1503 On October 1, 1502, he engaged to do the choir of S Agostino Perugia fronini each, but he did not work at it much at that time, since on June 20, 1532, he made a fresh contract with the monks to continue and coives other curious details about this work drawn fro He says that in 1501 Bacciolo d'Agnolo, not having a good design to show, agreed with the prior Federico di Giuliano in three months'

tiostino, and confessed to having received 50 broad ducats of gold as part of the price of the choir and the two stalls reed to return the money if he did not undertake the choir or did not finish it according to contract He presented thened at 30 florins for each upper seat Rossi also says that he finds trace of another Baccio d'Agnolo in the collection of wills of Pietro Paolo di Lodovico, under date June 11, 1529, and thinks that the as done by him One Baccio was elected capo-ether with Giuliano and Antonio da San Gallo and il Cronaca (Simone del Pollajuolo), and continued in that office until 1529

Rossi also gives other interesting details about the ia and their :--”In the refectory of S Agostino two Sienese, Giovanni and Cristoforo de'Minelli, worked in 1477 The cupboards in the sacristy of S Pietro in Casinense were made by Giusto di Francesco of Incisa and Giovanni di Filippo da Fiesole in 1472 They were bought in Florence, and are particularly fine and large in their treatment of flowers, &c

The as finished with the assistance of Mariotto di Mariotto of Pesaro, three work fro that they wandered about the country a good deal

The lectern in the same church, which is well inlaid and finely carved, was nese, Ambrose the Frenchman, and Lorenzo

The contract was between the abbot and Fra Damiano's brother, Maestro Stefano di Antoniuolo de' Zaamo, and was for the whole choir at 30 scudi for each seat, wood being provided The lectern itself cost 176 florins, and was finished in 1535 In the Sala del Cambio, besides Domenico del Tasso's seats, there is a fine door which was made by Antonio di Benciviene da Mercatello da Massa, for which he was paid 10 florins 93 soldi 6 denari The orator's desk, the 'ringhiera,' was h often ascribed to Mercatello It was estimated by Eusebio del Bastone as worth 68 florins

At assisi the choir of the upper church, which is the most important in all Italy for the nuure intarsia, and the elegance of its forreed with the superiors on July 8, 1491, to old It was not finished till 1501, but no payments are noted in the archives after November 18, 1498 In the lower church two Sienese worked in 1420, and a Florentine from 1448 to 1471 The choir of the Cathedral in the saiacomo, also of S Severino, and there is sometimes confusion between the two artists The price was 57 florins On one of the backs is carved the date 1520 The ia is that executed for the Arte della Mercanzia in the 14th century”

[Illustration: Plate 28--_Panel in Sacristy of S Pietro in Casinense, Perugia_

_To face page 46_]

Rossi prints a priced list of joiners' tools, dated Nove the small amount of tools and furniture required in a joiner and intarsiatore's workshop at that period It runs thus:--