IDENTIFICATION OF THE ARTISAN AND ARTIST. 313 



those wlio were really exqiiivsite sculptors iu ancient times ivcre also 

 their own worlcmen. Vasari tells us of Orcagna, that he made at Florence 

 seven figures, all ivitli Ms own hand, iu marble, which yet exist. Now, 

 Orcagna was certainly a remarkable person. He was a sculptor, painter 

 and an artist: and so justly vain, if one may so speak, of this varied 

 character of his art, that, upon his monuments or sculptures, he calls 

 himself a iiainter ; upon his i)aintings, he always calls himself a sculp- 

 tor. His paintings are to be found in the cemetery at Pisa. The most 

 beautiful and splendid of his works is the matchless altar in the church 

 at San Michael, iu Florence, of which, I am glad to say, there will be 

 an exact copy in the future Crystal Palace. This artist, now, whose 

 work is certainly most beautiful, most finished, as far as we can gather 

 from his life, actually did the worlc with his oicn hands, and carved the 

 ichole of the marble himself. 



I shall have occasion to speak of another celebrated artist under an- 

 other head ; and therefore I now will mention one who became very cel- 

 ebrated, and from whose life it is" evident that lie did the whole of the 

 carving with his own hands, and that is Bruuelleschi. He lived at the 

 period when art was becoming truly most beautiful — the period which 

 just preceded the appearance, perhaps, of a still greater artist, but who, 

 in some respects, departed from the purest principles of art. He was 

 the contemporary of Donatello, and they were both very great friends, 

 and worked even in the same church. An anecdote related by Vasari, 

 in the life of Donatello, will shovv' us how truly Brunelleschi was not 

 merely a sculptor, but a carver who i^erformed the work with his own 

 hand. He tells us that Donatello had received a commission to carve 

 a crucifix, (which yet exists in the church of Santa Croce, under a beau- 

 tiful painting by Taddeo Gaddi,) and that he produced what was con- 

 sidered a verj- fine work ; but he was anxious that his friend Brunelles- 

 chi should see and approve of it. He invited him therefore, one day, to 

 inspect it ; which shows that the work had been covered up and con- 

 cealed during the execution. Brunelleschi looked at it, and said noth- 

 ing. His friend Donatello felt hurt, and said, "I have brought you 

 here to give me your opinion 5 tell me candidly what do you think of if?" 

 "Well, then," Brunelleschi said, "I will tell you, at once, that it is a 

 figure, not of Christ, but of a peasant or a rustic." Donatello Avas in- 

 dignant. It was j)erhaps the most beautiful specimen of the subject in 

 carving that had been produced ; and he used an expression which be- 

 came a proverb ; and I cannot help remarking how many expressions of 

 artists have turned into proverbs. The expression in Italian means 

 this: " Take a piece of wood, and make another." Bruuelleschi did not 

 reply. He went home. He did take a piece of wood. He said nothing 

 to Donatello, and he carved his crucifix. When it was quite finished, he 

 met Donatello, and said, " Will you come and sup with me this even- 

 ing?" (jSTow I narrate this anecdote partly because it shows us what 

 the great artists were — that they were not great gentlemen living in any 



