As we have already observed, centuries in art cannot be separated like horses in stable-boxes. There are periods between one change and another, transitional times that make it impossible to fix any date whatsoever3. Thus we may say, without stating a date, that the sixteenth century not only felt the benefit of the Quattrocento for a certain time, but was itself actually Quattrocento for a score of years or more. The men of the past had not vanished; Riccio, for instance, one of the most active imitators of the antique, died in 1533. But when the sixteenth century began to outline its own character, the cult4 of art, art patronage5 and the passion for collecting fine things are seen to have taken another turn. The Cinquecento has of course magnificent patrons of art, and almost every prince collects something or other. Life is still imbued6 with partiality for the antique.
Lorenzino Medici in playing Brutus and actually killing7 his cousin, Duke Alexander Medici, is reconstructing an old heroic attitude in his learned, pagan mind; Filippo Strozzi—or whoever planned his suicide—makes one think of some hero of Plutarch when he is found dead, apparently8 by his own hand, with a line of Virgil, Exoriare aliquis nostris ex102 ossibus ultur (may an avenger9 arise from my bones), written in his own blood at his side. Painting still deals with subjects from Roman history and so does sculpture, but artists have lost all comprehension of them, a fact still more evident with regard to Biblical subjects. In support of this statement it is sufficient to quote the painting of Paolo Veronese, now in the Academy at Venice, representing Jesus in the house of Levi, one of the artist’s masterpieces, in which Christ is in the company of—Venetian gentlemen of the sixteenth century; but if in this painting disregard for the Oriental side of the scene is carried to an extreme, it must be said that Titian and Tintoretto, and a great many other painters of the time, were no better. This trait, which certainly originated in the good period of the Renaissance10 and which we now find in its full development, indicates that in its more significant and ripest expression the Cinquecento is the logical decline of a past triumph in art, the victim, as it were, of tradition—of tradition and a few artistic11 personalities12, such as Raphael and Michelangelo, who turned a new leaf in art, awakened13 a new feeling, a new overpowering school. Michelangelo, especially, with his fascinating and inimitable style draws a legion of followers14, fostering an art that during the great sculptor15’s life already is ripe for decadence.
Enlightened collectors abound16 in this period, their collections increase daily, but are they really lovers of art as their predecessors17 were, are they worshippers of the antique like the bygone collectors? This is what we ask. In the sixteenth century when art is a tradition of the far past, on the one hand, and on the other, almost a tradition of the recent past, life seems to have taken the selfsame attitude: people are not real lovers of art, but are so merely by tradition. Every well-bred gentleman of the Cinquecento was obliged to have the air of understanding art. Machiavelli might have added an interesting chapter to his Principe to demonstrate how important it was for a prince to be interested in art, even though, perchance, utterly19 indifferent to it in reality. When giving103 instructions in his Cortegiano, as to what a gentleman of his time ought to know, Castiglione adds that he must learn to paint. “Even if this art affords you no pleasure,” advises Castiglione, “it will give you a better understanding of things, and a clearer appreciation20 of the excellency of ancient and modern statues, vases, monuments, medals, cameos, carvings21, and other such objects.”
In a word, ably or otherwise, with natural disposition22 or not, it was part of good breeding for a gentleman of the sixteenth century to be interested in art and play the connoisseur23. It is from this that the Cinquecento suffers. The patent prince-patron of art, the stock gentleman-collector abounds24, the genuine lover of art is rare. A prince’s house or that of a simple person of good standing18 was considered incomplete if without a collection of some sort. Yet while the artists of the sixteenth century had certainly derived25 no small benefit from their predecessors’ passion for the antique, they had become far too individual, far too engrossed26 in their own art to be susceptible27 to the art of the past. Michelangelo, the artist who lived practically through both centuries, the sculptor whose genius, tremendous and over-individual, was nevertheless responsible for the decadence of sculpture, is a good example of this. He can, like many another Italian artist, show his versatility28 and skill by imitating an art other than his own, as he did with the Sleeping Cupid that deceived Cardinal29 San Giorgio, but when the artist is genuine and gives his own artistic temperament30 full play, craft and virtuosity31 disappear, reminiscence is impossible. Even when the subject and peculiar32 quality of the work suggest imitation and turn thought to the antique, Michelangelo remains33 true to his own grand soul. His Brutus exemplifies the point. It was a Roman subject of classical times, and Michelangelo might easily have been infected by the history of the past and the forms he had admired when interested in the excavation34 of ancient statues in Rome. Yet his Brutus is more Dantesque in its tragic35 lines than Roman.
Cellini, to illustrate36 another aspect, is a different case.104 He can repair antiquities37 for his patron, Cosimo Medici, fairly well, but he, also, is too highly individual to make an excellent imitation of the antique. He tells us that he consented to repair his illustrious patron’s Ganymede because it was a fine Greek work, and, prone38 as he is to self-praise, he tells how stupendously he can do it; but he does not like such work, he calls it arte da Ciabattini (cobbler-work). The fact, however, is that he is too much alive to his time, has too strong an expression of his own art to be skilful39 in imitations. In fact it happened that he had to try his hand at a portrait of Cosimo I, in the guise40 of a Roman emperor. The portrait of the Grand Duke of Tuscany will never deceive any art simpleton, in spite of its elaborate cuirass fit for Augustus. Cellini is too delightfully41 cinquecentesque. The same may be said of him as a medallist. Yet in some of Cellini’s work, especially his medals, the idea of imitating the Romans must have been in his mind, and no doubt he was convinced of his success. Yet he belonged to the group that by their personality influenced others, and when trying his hand at imitation quite congenial to his own artistic temperament he makes something that is at least three-quarters Cellini.
These artists nevertheless admire the art of the past, though with no danger of infection. Michelangelo is entranced when the Laocoön is discovered in a vineyard near the Thermæ of Titus, and goes with his friend Sangallo to see that the precious statue be carefully unearthed42. Partly for the sake of gain, and partly, maybe, for the love of art, Cellini often goes to the Roman Campagna to see what “certain Lombard yokels” have uncovered in their daily spading of the soil. Raphael protests, in a famous document addressed to Leo X, against the continual destruction of Roman relics. His words are worth repeating. After declaring that the Goths and Vandals have not done so much damage to Rome as his contemporaries, Raphael concludes by saying that far too many popes have allowed Roman edifices43 to be ruined simply by permitting the excavation105 of pozzolana (clay) from the ground upon which their foundations rest, that statues and marble ornaments44 are daily burned in ovens and turned into mortar45, that Rome, in fact—the Rome of Raphael’s time—is built with naught46 but mortar made from old statues, the sacred marbles of past glories.
Characteristic also is the fact that this country sees the first protective laws against the exportation of antique art. This would seem to indicate the consideration in which relics of past art were held in Rome. Judging by the way it was applied47, however, even this act serves to show that there was no more genuine a passion for old and precious antiques in the Cinquecento than in the century before. The Roman laws of the sixteenth century are severe, meting48 out punishments to all and sundry49 daring to carry the produce of excavations50 beyond the Papal domains51; but otherwise destruction goes on gaily52, there seems to be no discrimination as to what ought to be saved from the doom53 of destruction and what is not worth keeping. So while edict after edict is promulgated54 in order to safeguard the excavation of statues in Rome and elsewhere, edicts often full of old-fashioned magniloquence, “Prohibition concerning the exportation of marble or metal statues, figures, antiquities and suchlike,” the best buildings in Rome were allowed to fall into utter ruin without a protest. This state of things reached the climax55 of absurdity56 in the seventeenth century when Urban VIII, of the Barberini family, declared the Coliseum a public quarry57, where the citizens might go for the stones they needed for new constructions—an act still commemorated58 in the protest of all lovers of art with the proverbial pun, Quod non fecerunt barbari fecerunt Barberini (What barbarians59 did not do, the Barberini did).
From this curious inconsistency in the appreciation of art even Tuscany, the cradle of the Renaissance, is not immune. A Medicean law intended, like the Roman one, to prevent the exportation of masterpieces and rare works of art, makes no mention of precious relics of Roman or Etruscan origin,106 nor even of the fine pieces of sculpture that were often excavated60, but considers only the paintings of certain artists of the past school of the Renaissance and those of other contemporary artists, as being worth keeping, so the law declares, for the glory and dignity of Florence. The regulations are given in a second decree, along with a list of the names of the artists concerned, dead and living. Their work must not be taken out of Tuscany. The list is very instructive, for it passes over some of the best artists, such as Botticelli, Credi, the Pollaiolos and others, and prohibits the export of the work of artists that are either unknown to us or are of such mediocrity that it is surprising their work should have been esteemed61 above the average of their day. The following is one of these lists, the first that was made. 1. Michelangelo Buonarroti. 2. Raffaelo da Urbino. 3. Andrea del Sarto. 4. Mecherino (?). 5. Il Rosso Fiorentino. 6. Leonardo da Vinci. 7. Il Franciabigio. 8. Perino del Vaga. 9. Jacopo da Puntormo. 10. Tiziano. 11. Francesco Salviati. 12. Angelo Bronzino. 13. Daniello da Volterra. 14. Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco (Della Porta). 15. Fra Bast. Del Piombo. 16. Filippo di Fra Filippo. 17. Antonio da Correggio. 18. Il Parmigianino.
Without insisting upon a comment that might appear paradoxical, what kind of collectors of art can be expected from people who place in the same list of merit Leonardo, Michelangelo, Titian, with Cecchin Salviati, Perino del Vaga, to say nothing of the now forgotten Mecherino, a painter whose well-deserved oblivion saves us from judging his poor work. In another list other names are added. They are no less grotesque—Santi di Tito Ligozzi, Jacopo da Empoli, etc, in far too good company.
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1
decadence
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| n.衰落，颓废 | |
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2
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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cult
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| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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6
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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avenger
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| n. 复仇者 | |
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renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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12
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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13
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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sculptor
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| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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17
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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18
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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19
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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21
carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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24
abounds
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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25
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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versatility
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| n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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31
virtuosity
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| n.精湛技巧 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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33
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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excavation
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| n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地 | |
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35
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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36
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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37
antiquities
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| n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯 | |
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38
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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39
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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40
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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42
unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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43
edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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44
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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46
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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47
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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48
meting
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| v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的现在分词 ) | |
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49
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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50
excavations
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| n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹 | |
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51
domains
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| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
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52
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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53
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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54
promulgated
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| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
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55
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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56
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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57
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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58
commemorated
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| v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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60
excavated
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| v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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61
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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