Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 5.djvu/32

20 gold. But they had not succeeded in discovering the true method of making stucco similar to that used for the works discovered in the ancient grottoes and chambers. At the time of which we now speak they were proceeding to construct decorations for the arches and the upper tribune of San Pietro, with lime-stone and puzzolana, as we have related in the life of Bramante, all the carvings of foliage, with the ovoli, and many other members, then being prepared in moulds of clay; wherefore Giovanni began to examine that method of preparation in lime-stone and puzzolana, and to try if he could not succeed in making figures of basso-rilievo therefrom: continuing his experiments accordingly, he finally produced them in all their parts to his wish, with the one exception, that the external surface had not the delicacy and fineness exhibited by the antique, nor had it the whiteness of colour which those works presented.

Giovanni then bethought himself of some remedy for this defect, and decided that it might be requisite to mingle the lime of the white travertine Avith some substance which should be also white, instead of with puzzolana; he therefore caused flakes of travertine to be pounded, and found that they answered tolerably well, but the Avork was nevertheless rather of a livid than a pure white. Ultimately, however, having caused the Avhitest marble which he could find to be ground to an impalpable powder and carefully sifted, he mixed that with lime from white traAmrtine, and found that he had thus indubitably succeeded in producing the stucco of the ancients, with all the properties that were to be desired therein.

Greatly rejoiced Avith this result, Giovanni then showed Baphael what he had done; and as the latter was then in process of adorning the Papal Loggie, as Ave have already said, by command of Pope Leo X., he caused Giovanni to decorate all the vaultings of the same Avith most beautiful ornaments in stucco, surrounding the Avhole Avith grottesche similar to those of the antique, all being enriched with the most pleasing and fanciful inventions, and exhibiting the most singular and most varied objects that can possibly be imagined. The whole work Avas executed in mezzo and basso-rilievo, the decorations being varied by stories, land-