Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/488

480 compartments, in each of which was painted a picture eight braccia high and five braccia wide; every one being surrounded by an ornamental frame-work, a braccio and twothirds in width. This bordering, which formed a kind of frieze, had the inner angles, or those towards the pictures, cut off; and on these were four medallions lying on a cross, for each picture, two of which had mottoes in Latin, while the other two had trophies or devices suitable to the subject of the painting. The space above these works was entirely covered with a bordering of blue baize, except at the part where the proscenium interposed, at which point there was a canopy, also of blue baize, and which extended over the whole court. On the border of baize, which passed above the pictures, were the arms of some of the most illustrious of the families connected with the house of, Medici.

I begin with the first picture on the eastern side, and next the stage; this was by the hand of Francesco Ubertini, called II Bacchiacca, and the subject chosen was the Return from Exile of the Illustrious Cosimo de’ Medici: the device was a golden branch bearing two doves, and the arms in the frieze or border were those of the Signor Duke Cosimo. In another, which was by the same artist, was the visit of Lorenzo the Magnificent to Naples; the device being a Pelican, and the arms those of the Duke Lorenzo of the house of Medici and Savoy. The third picture was painted by Pier Francesco di Jacopo di Sandro, and represented Pope Leo X. when, on his visit to Florence; he is borne along under a canopy, carried by the men of his native city: the device was a right arm, the arms were those of the Duke Giuliano of the house of Medici and Savoy. The fourth picture, also by Pier Francesco, represented the Signor Giovanni issuing in triumph from Biegrassa, which place he had taken by the might of his arms. The device of this picture was the thunderbolt of Jove, and the arms in the frieze were those of the Duke Alessandro, and displayed the coats of Austria and of Medici.

The fifth picture showed Pope Clement VII. crowning the Emperor Charles Y. in Bologna: the device was a Serpent biting his own tail, and the arms were those of France and Medici. This picture was by the hand of Domenico Conti, a disciple of Andrea del Sarto, but he did not give proof of