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

i8o
VINCENZO FOPPA
Ratti in 1780 says that it was executed for Giuliano by several masters, but
the only one he also knows by name is Brea.^ In later times Torteroli,
finding upon it the name Vincencius, reproduced the inscription as " Vin . .
Catena pinsit, "^ which "wilful forgery" was exposed by Crowe and Cavalcaselle,
who with Alizeri^ were the first to draw attention to this forgotten
work. The oratory sufi"ered terribly at the time of the earthquake of February
23, 1887 : the roof fell in, three sides of the building were wrecked, and the
whole structure seemed on the verge of total ruin ; but by a most fortunate
chance the east wall where the altarpiece hung remained standing and the
ancona was happily uninjured, though in imminent peril, since the wall was in
danger of collapsing at any moment/ With admirable courage the Prior,
Professor Niccolb Corrado, assisted by five members of the confraternity, at
once undertook the hazardous task of detaching this enormous polyptych and
removing it from its perilous position on the tottering wall. In the short
space of one hour and a half they accomplished the work of rescue, and
having taken the ancona to pieces they deposited the panels and all the accessories
in a place of safety.^
As already observed, we have unfortunately no clue as to the identity of
the other painters who collaborated here with Foppa. Alizeri states that
according to tradition at Savona, Costantino da Vaprio was one of the executants,
but Comm. Vittorio Poggi and others at Savona who are intimately
acquainted with the history of the altarpiece are unable to corroborate this,
and are ignorant of the source whence Alizeri derived his information.
Alizeri's further statement that Bertolino della Canonica probably furnished
the carvings' is apparently based on the document of September 15, 1488
(No. 41), already alluded to, which as far as the present argument is
concerned certainly proves nothing.
It is probable, however, as in the case of the ancona for the Chapel of the
Relics at Pavia and the altarpiece for S. Maria Gualtieri, that the woodwork
was set up and the carvings produced some time before the paintings were
furnished ;
hence it is very likely that Bertolino may have undertaken this
portion of the work, and that he executed it before April, 1489, and while still
on good terms with Foppa. For the paintings, as we have seen, Vincenzo
1 Ratti, Descrizione . . delle due Riviere, etc., II, p. 42 ; see also Spotorno, Storia
letteraria della Liguria, II, p, 329.
"^
Memorie della Citta di Savona, p. 87. 'I, 359-65.
^ An interesting photograph taken immediately after the disaster shows the picture
absolutely undamaged hanging upon the altar wall, while all around is a scene of
indescribable confusion and ruin.
^ See Cesare Beccaria, Commemorazione del 2j di Febbraio, iSSj, etc., p. 8 note.
« Alizeri, I, 365 and foil.