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

26 VINCENZO FOPPA
Lomazzo,^ but as he also includes Civerchio, who could scarcely have been
born at that date, his mention of Foppa proves nothing. It is certain, however,
that before 1461 Vincenzo must have executed some works for Francesco
Sforza in which he gave proof of his ability, otherwise the Duke would
scarcely have recommended him in such eulogistic terms to the Genoese
(Doc. No. 4). Moreover Filarete's allusion to him as one of the few painters
capable of decorating the palace of a prince" makes it probable that he would
not have been passed over for this work.
We may assume then that his first employment in the service of the Duke
was in the Castello of Pavia, though being at that time wholly unknown as
an artist and as it were merely on trial, he finds no mention in documents of
this date dealing with the paintings in that city. His work there must at
once have established his reputation, and gained him further orders and a few
years later he had so far outstripped all his rivals that he was universally
acknowledged to be "the best painter in the whole land."
On May 15, 1458, we have the earliest reference to Foppa in a legal
document (see App. II, Doc. No. 2) ; here he is called the "son of the late
Johannis," and a citizen and inhabitant of Brescia. This latter statement
seems at first sight to contradict a passage in a letter of Galeazzo Maria
Sforza,^ according to which the painter was living at Pavia in 1456. Vincenzo's
mother-in-law had, however, at some date unknown to us bestowed
upon him a house at Brescia in the Contrada S. Agata,^ and we may assume
that he was already then the owner of it, and was therefore perfectly justified
in describing himself as an inhabitant or householder of Brescia, though at
that time actually living at Pavia ; it is probable also that even if he had then
been living for some years at Pavia, he had not as yet definitely decided to
quit Brescia altogether.
With him is named in this document another painter, who is also designated
a citizen and inhabitant of Brescia, " Paul us de' Calino, the son of the late
Petri." There is no doubt that this " Paulus " was a brother of Foppa's wife,'
though the Pavian notary has misspelt the surname. The Calini were a noble
family of Brescia who filled many public offices there but never, so far as we
have been able to discover, numbered a painter among their ranks. The
1 Tmttato deir Arte della Pittura, p. 405.
^ The painters mentioned by Filarete as capable, in his estimation, of decorating
the palace of a prince are : Filippo da Firenze (Filippo Lippi) ; Piero del Burgo (P.
della Francesca) ; Andrea da Padova detto Squarcione (? Mantegna) ; Gusme da Ferrara
(Cosimo Tura) ; and Vincentio Bresciano (Foppa) {Tratt., ed. Oetdngen, p. 302).
3 App. I, Note I, p. 279 and App. II, Doc. No. 15.
* Chap. VI, p. 136, and App. II, No. 2,^,^
^ Chap. VI, p. 137.