Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/278

270 in his hand, then went to speak with the Duke, to whom he showed that it was his purpose to place seated statues in marble four braccia high, on pedestals within the larger niches of the sides: Leo X. namely, represented as restoring peace to Italy; and Clement VII., crowning the Emperor Charles V., with two other statues within smaller niches, to be placed inside the larger ones, these last to stand on either hand of the Popes, and intended to signify the virtues possessed by those Pontiffs and exhibited in their actions. On the central wall, moreover, and in the niches of four braccia high, Baccio next told the Duke that he proposed to place statues of the Signor Giovanni, the Duke Alessandro, and the Duke Cosimo himself, with many other decorations and various fanciful ornaments in carved work, to say nothing of a pavement formed entirely of different and vari-coloured marbles.

The Duke was much pleased with this plan, and saw very clearly that an occasion was hereby presented whereby the whole body of the Hall might in time be brought into order, as in effect was done, by the completion of the ceiling, and by the many other decorations since added, and which have rendered it the most beautiful hall of Italy. The desire of the Duke that this work should be performed was indeed so strong that he assigned such a sum of money as Baccio required and was pleased to name, to be weekly paid for the execution thereof.

A commencement was made accordingly, the stones to be hewn being excavated and carved to make the necessary ornaments for the bases, columns, and cornices, Baccio requiring that all should be done by the stone-cutters belonging to Santa Maria del Piore, and these works were certainly carried forward by those masters with great assiduity. L Baccio and Giuliano, therefore, had been equally diligent, the whole of the stone-work might have been finished and erected with great promptitude; but as Baccio thought only of having statues roughly hewn, of which he brought very few to completion, and of causing himself to be paid the stipend, which the Duke counted to him every month, besides paying him for his assistants, and for every sort of outlay however small, which he made on that account, the business made but slow progress: for one of the marble statues which he did complete, for example, Duke Cosimo paid Baccio five