Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/395

Rh tion; he was then preparing to return to Rome, but the sack of that city intervening, he did not carry out his purpose, remaining in Florence instead; here he took a wife, and occupied himself with such works as came to hand, matters of small importance, but being compelled to support his family and having no private income, he was fain to accept whatever was offered.

Now it happened in those days that the Aretme stonemason and master in carving, Pietro di Subisso, arrived in Florence, and he, having a large number of persons constantly employed under him, since all the buildings erected in Arezzo passed through his hands; he, I say, conducted Simone Mosca, among others, to Arezzo, where he gave our artist a chimney-piece in macigno stone to execute for a hall in the house which belonged to the heirs of Pellegrino da Fossombrone, a citizen of Arezzo, with a Lavatory for the same building, but neither of these works was of any great cost or importance. This is the house which the excellent astrologer Messer Piero Geri had formerly caused to be erected, after the designs of Andrea Sansovino, but which had been sold by the nephews of Messer Piero.

Commencing the chimney-piece, therefore, Simone raised it on two pillars, and in the depth of the chimney, towards the fire that is to say, he placed two niches, adding an architrave, frieze, and deep cornice to the pillars, with a pediment over all, which he enriched with festoons, and to which he added the arms of the family; nay, he proceeded to embellish every part of the work with the utmost care, executing so many fine carvings, and finishing the whole in so masterly a fashion, that this chimney-piece, although only in macigno stone, became under his hands of more value than marble, and more surprising to the beholder. It is true that the artist was somewhat facilitated in his work by the nature of the stone, which is not so hard as marble, and is indeed rather of a crumbling character: but Simone laboured at this undertaking with extraordinary diligence, adorning the pillars with trophies, partly in mezzo-rilievo, and partly in bassorilievo, all which are indescribably beautiful, they consist