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

Chap. VI. ALTARPIECE FOR DORIA CHAPEL, RIVAROLO 155
and dedication—as well as the inscription on his tombstone, for though
Lazzaro died in Rome (in i486), his remains were brought to Rivarolo and
buried in his chapel/ The walls were painted in chiaroscuro with the legends
and history of various Certosan martyrs, and, if we may believe Remondini,^
were good works of the Lombard school ;
before the destruction of the
building a copy of the ceiling was made, by commission of the late Signor
Maurizio Dufour, of Genoa. We owe this information to Signor Marc' Aurelio
Crotta, the Genoese architect, who very kindly had a tracing of this copy
made for us. From it we gain, of course, only a cursory general idea of the
scheme of decoration, but it is sufficient to prove that this scheme must have
been akin to that met with in many Lombard buildings. The ribs of the
vaulting were ornamented with arabesques, scroll-work, and heads in medallions,
and the rounds of black and white marble in perspective recall the
similar motives in the Portinari Chapel and the Collegio Castiglioni. It is
probable, therefore,
that Remondini was correct in stating that the decoration
was executed by some painter of the Lombard school ;
of the frescoes on the
walls we have no record, beyond what was said by this writer.^
The altarpiece may have been planned during the lifetime of Lazzaro
Doria, but the project was not carried out until after his death, as the document
recording its completion and the final payment for it made to the
master, is dated February 23, 1489 (Doc. No. 42), more than two years after
the death of Lazzaro ; this proves that his sons after their father's death, and
probably in accordance with the dispositions of his will, caused the work to
be executed. According to this deed, Vincenzo, son of the late Giovanni,
acknowledges having received one hundred Genoese lire in large gold ducats
from Stefano, son of the late Lazzaro Doria, as final payment for the altarpiece
painted and constructed by him, with which payment he declares himself
well satisfied. Alizeri,^ referring to the price of this altarpiece, observes
that the sum, which was only part payment, would have been considerable
even as the full price of a large painting ; and he takes it as a proof that
Foppa's reputation stood very high at this period and that his work was in
great request.
1
His tomb was the work of Wicliele d'Aria, of Val d'Intelvi, near Como, and his
brother Giovanni, who, with a third brother Bonino, were among the
best sculptors in
Liguria in the second half of the fifteenth century (see Cervetto, op. cit., and Suida,
pp. 58 and 61).
- Delia Chiesa di S. Bartolomeo, etc., p. 174.
^ For the Certosa of Rivarolo see also: Accinelli, Liguria Sacra, f. 457 ; Remondini,
op. cit., p. 192 ; Schiafifino, Annali Ecclesiastici delta Liguria, II, 540 ; Perazzo, Chiese di
Genova, . . . e delle Riviere {Torino, Arch. diStato); Oggiero Belgrano, lYotisie delta
Certosa di Rivarolo, p. 174, etc. * I, 369.