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

Chap. VIII. APPLIES FOR LEAVE TO RETURN TO PAVIA 185
According to Fenaroli,' Foppa in 1491 executed work for the Olivetans
of Rodengo, near Brescia, narriely, frescoes in the apse ; but he gives no
authority for his statement, and if such paintings existed they have long
been obliterated or covered with whitewash." A fresco of the Madonna
and Child on the fa9ade of the building was also ascribed to Foppa and was
seen in its place by Fenaroli. Later it was removed from the wall, and after
having been transferred to canvas was included in the exhibition organized
by the Ateneo of Brescia in 1878, where it was seen by Dr. Frizzoni, who
refers to it in the Archivio dell' Arte' as the work of some obscure compatriot
of Foppa. It seems to have been first ascribed to the master himself in
1875,^ and the attribution was then adopted by Fenaroli in his Dictionary
of Brescian artists, and by the writer of the catalogue of the exhibition
of 1878. No one who sees this very feeble picture, which now hangs in
the gallery at Brescia, will however, be inclined to support this view, but
will certainly concur in Dr. Frizzoni's opinion.
On August 30, 1491, we have another entry among the minutes of the
Special Council of Brescia relating to Foppa. He had applied for leave of
absence in order to go to
Pavia, not to execute paintings, but on account of a
lawsuit, which had been brought against him relating to a house which he
owned in that city (Doc. No. 58). According to Zamboni, this house had
been the dowry of his wife, but the Provvisione of August 30, 1491, contains
no allusion to this. We do not know from what sources, now lost to us,
Zamboni may have derived his information ; from Fenaroli's comment that the
statement is confirmed by other municipal records, we might infer that he was
acquainted with further entries in addition to the one just mentioned in the
volume of the Provvisioni, which is the only entry relating to the subject
at present known to us at Brescia.^ We are therefore unwilling to contradict
* Dizionario, etc., p. 135.
^ The late Monsig. Fe (// Comune e V Abbazia di Rodengo, p. 69) stated,
but without giving his authority, that Foppa il vecchio was summoned to paint the
choir in 1498, a more probable date, as in 1491 he was in the service of the Brescian
Government and would not have been permitted to undertake extraneous commissions.
It must, however, be added that in a MS. of the Arch. Mun. Brescia, Annali di Rodengo
(a copy in the handwriting of the late Don Angelo Capilupi), no mention is made
of the decoration of the choir by Foppa in these years ; on the other hand, it is recorded
that Cristoforo Rocchi of Pavia agreed with the
Olivetans to decorate the choir with
mosaics in 1480.
'
1889, pp. 25, 26, La Pinacoteca Martinengo in Brescia.
* See Relaz. della Commissioner etc., per la Conservazione dei Monumenti della Prov.
di Brescia, p.
ig.
* Zani {Enciclopedia . . . delle belle Arti, Vol. IX, p. 229) also refers to this house having
been the dowry of Foppa's wife, and cites as his authorities certain MS. notes
furnished by Zamboni and Oretti.