Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/522

514 of admirable genius, and of such remarkable ability in all things appertaining to architecture, that, to judge from what we see of his designs, he would have displayed a much higher degree of excellence than he has now done, had he been employed in works of greater importance.

The excellent sculptor Maestro Girolamo was in like manner a Ferrarese; he had his abode at Ricanati, and executed numerous decorations in marble for the house and chapel of the Madonna at Loretto, after the death of Andrea Contucci his master, making large numbers of the ornaments, by which that edifice is enriched. When Tribolo, who was the last of the masters in design employed at Loretto, had departed from that place, after having completed the large marble relief which is at the back of the chapel, that namely which represents the Angels bringing that House from Sclavonia to the wood of Loretto,—when Tribolo had departed, I say, this Girolamo continued working at the completion of various parts, labouring perpetually from the year 1534 to the year 1560, and executing numerous works. The first of these was the seated figure of a Prophet, three braccia and a half high, and this, being considered a good and beautiful work, was placed in a niche on the western side of the chapel.

The success of Girolamo in respect of this figure, caused him to be subsequently charged with the execution of all the other Prophets, one only excepted, and this, which is on the outside, to the east of the edifice, and opposite to the altar, was by the hand of Simone Cioli of Settignano, who was also a disciple of Andrea Sansovino. With that exception, I say, all the prophets are by the above-named Maestro Girolamo, and are executed with much diligence, study, and good ability. For the chapel of the Sacrament the same master has prepared the Chandeliers of bronze, which are about three braccia high, and are richly covered with foliage as well as figures, cast in full relief; these are so admirably