Vincenzo Foppa of Brescia, founder of the Lombard school, his life ...

Chap. III. THE PORTINARI CHAPEL 6i
sympathy with the painter who planned the pictorial decoration, for the most
complete harmony and unity of purpose reigns in the chapel and determines
the whole scheme. As to who the master was, we have no certain information
; but a vague allusion to the author of the frescoes is contained in
Bugati's MS. chronicle,' which, as the earliest existing notice of these works,
is
of great interest.
"The painter," he says, "was Vincenzo Vecchio, a rare master of that
day.'"^
Lomazzo, following Bugati, speaks of "Vincenzo Civei'chio called il
Vecchio, author of certain histories of the miracles of St. Peter Martyr in the
chapel of that saint in the Church of S. Eustorgio at Milan ";^ and all later
writers, Torre, Allegranza, Bianconi, etc., give the name of the painter as
Vincenzo Civerci or Civerchio, surnamed il Vecchio.
Caffi was the first to point out that Civerchio, who was still living in 1544,
could scarcely have executed works which were finished by 1468,^ and here
therefore we find Foppa il Vecchio confounded with the later Vincenzo
Verchio or Civerchio, a mistake also made by Vasari and other writers.^
Who the real authors of the pictorial decoration of this chapel were, is
however, still an unsolved problem, and beyond Bugati's mention of the
painter Vincenzo, we have not the slightest clue in any known documents
which would throw light upon the subject. The great divergencies, in style, in
types and general character, between the frescoes, render it impossible that
they could all have been executed by one hand. The Four Fathers of
' The Dominican, Padre Gaspare Bugati (d. 1583), wrote a history of his Monastery
of S. Eustorgio, which is preserved in the State Archives at Milan, and brings the
record down to 1564. It is the earliest and most trustworthy chronicle relating to the
building which we now possess, and no doubt embodies many notices gathered from
documents then existing, which have long since disappeared.
''
"II pittore fu Vincenzo Vecchio in quella eta raro" (G. Bugati, Stor. del Convento
di S. Eustorgio, f. 20 v. ).
^ "Vincenzo Civerchio cognominato il Vecchio, autore di alcune storie di miracoli
di S. Pietro Martire in S. Eustorgio di Milano, nella capella di quel santo" (Lomazzo,
Trattato, p. 317).
^ A recent writer in Arte (fasc. vi, 1906, p. 448) has published a picture in the
Bordonaro Collection at Palermo bearing the signature "V. Civerchius," and the date
1471. Judging from the illustration, we should, however, infer that the picture had
little connection with Civerchio, and was certainly much later in date than 1471. It
does not therefore affect our contention that it was chronologically impossible for
Civerchio to have worked in the Portinari Chapel before 1468. Mr. Berenson
(iV. Italian Painters, etc., p. 196), we may add, gives 1541 as the year when the Bordonaro
picture was painted—a much more probable date.
' See App. I, Note i.