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

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VINCENZO FOPPA
of the Relics, undertook to execute the frescoes for Madonna Zaccarina by
the date agreed upon, in the certainty that they would be able to produce both
works—for S. Giacomo and the Castello—contemporaneously.
The series to be executed at S. Giacomo was duly apportioned amongf the
five masters of the company, to each being allotted a given number of
subjects, and the work was begun ;
but Costantino da Vaprio, instead of fulfilling
his share of the contract, appointed a substitute to take his place in the
person of a painter named Bartolomeo—in all
probability Bartolomeo Caylina,
Foppa's brother-in-law, whom we already know as his associate in art and the
bearer of his letter to Pigello Portinari'—and the other masters, being constantly
urged by the Duke to finish the paintings in the Chapel of the Relics
with as little delay as possible, progressed but slowly, and finally ceased work
altogether in S. Giacomo.
The situation was perplexing for Madonna Zaccarina. The time limit
specified in the contract with the painters had expired, yet none of the
She recognized and appreciated Foppa's great merits
frescoes were finished.
and was aware that the success of the work depended largely on his co-operation
;
should he relinquish the contract the result would be disastrous to the
whole undertaking; yet his treatment of her could not be overlooked, but
required a strong protest, and she determined to take immediate action. On
August 5, 1476, she therefore summoned Vincenzo Foppa to her house with
his two colleagues, Vismara and Bembo, to remind them of their obligations
and of the terms of the contract by which they had bound themselves on
July 10, 1475. She pointed out that the time there set down had expired, and
little or nothing had been done ; she asked whether they were prepared to
recommence work in the church and to finish it themselves, without calling in
the help of other painters and within a reasonable time, having due regard to
the dimensions of the work and to the number of the painters in their company.
In the event of their failing to comply with her demands she then
1
We believe we are justified in identifying this Bartolomeo with Bartolomeo de
Brisia the son of Pietro, who is mentioned as one of the witnesses at the end of this
document and is without doubt Bartolomeo Caylina. At this date the only other
painter named Bartolomeo at Pavia was Bartolomeo della Canonica, and in documents
he is always called by the diminutive of " Bertolino." That Bartolomeo appears as one
of the witnesses to Madonna Zaccarina's protest would not preclude his having been
Costantino da Vaprio's substitute, for the protest was not made against his conduct,
but against that of the painters who had signed the contract of July 10.
Copies of this
protest were handed to Vincenzo, Bonifazio, and Giacomo Vismara, but not to Bartolomeo.
We have no document which would prove that Costantino da Vaprio's proxy
was legally responsible for the work ;
the protest could not therefore have been directed
against him, and consequently there was nothing to prevent Bartolomeo from acting as
a witness on this occasion.