Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/111

Rh I will now attempt to describe as briefly as I am able; and this I will do, taking the rooms themselves in due succession, without pausing to point out by what work it was that Perino commenced his labours in Genoa, to the end that I may not interrupt the account of this undertaking, which, of all the works performed by this master, is certainly the best.

I begin, therefore, by remarking, that at the entrance to that Palace of Prince Doria there is a marble Portal of the Doric order, constructed according to the plans prepared by the hand of Perino, to whom its various divisions and decorations, its pedestals, bases, shafts, capitals, architrave, frieze, cornice, pediment, and tympan, are all due; as are also certain very beautiful figures of women, who support an escutcheon of arms: the stone cutting and carving were performed by Maestro Giovanni da Fiesole, and the figures were executed to perfection by the sculptor, Silvio da Fiesole, a very bold and able artist.

Having passed within the door, the spectator finds a vestibule, the vaulting whereof is decorated with stucco work, grottesche, and stories of various character, the arches are exclusively occupied by battle-pieces, and scenes of carnage, some of the warriors fighting on foot, others on horseback, but all depicted with infinite care, and with a mastery of the art which is certainly most remarkable. To the left is the staircase, the„decorations of which could not possibly be richer or more varied than they are. They consist of small grottesche, after the manner of the antique, and with these are mingled stories of different kinds, but all with figures that are very small: to the figures are added masks, animals, children, and innumerable fantasies, all giving evidence of those rich powers of invention and that extraordinary j udgment, by which Perino’s works are distinguished, those in this manner more particularly so, insomuch that they may be truly called divine.