Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 3.djvu/466

458 years past by any but mere carvers, or by cunning pretenders, who lay claim to a knowledge of perspective and so forth, without comprehending even the terms or simplest principles of the science. While the truth is, that architecture is to be adequately pursued only by such men as possess an excellent judgment, a good knowledge of design, or extensive practice in some such occupationas painting, sculpture, or wood-work, and have thereby been led to the habit of measuring figures, edifices, and bodies of similar character in their separate members; such as, for example, are columns, cornices, and basements, and to examine all these in their relative proportions, even to the most minute particulars of such parts as serve for embellishment alone, and for no other purpose. By such means do workers in wood, who are in the continual practice of handling or examining such forms, become in course of time architects; while sculptors also obtain some knowledge of the same while fixing the position of their statues, or preparing ornaments for sepulchral erections and other works of relief. Painters, in like manner, are compelled to make a certain acquaintance therewith, by the variety of subjects they treat, by the perspective views they paint, and by the buildings which they copy, but cannot properly depict, without having first taken the ground plans of the same, seeing that neither houses nor flights of steps can be placed correctly, nor can figures be painted on their true plane, until attention has first been given to certain considerations connected with architecture.

For his part, Baccio d’Agnolo was in his youth a very excellent artist in inlaid works, and among other things he executed the stalls in the choir of the principal Chapel in Santa Maria Novella, wherein are the beautiful figures of San Giovanni Battista and San Lorenzo. He likewise executed the carved ornaments of that chapel, with those of the High Altar in the Church of the Nunziata. The decorations of the organ are also by his hand, as are many other works still to be seen both in public and private buildings, in his native city of Florence. Leaving this place for a time, Baccio repaired to Pome, where he devoted himself very zealously to the study of architecture, and when he