Giovan Battista Ricci and Cristoforo Greppi at the Castellani Chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa,RomeAuthor(s): Patrizia TosiniSource: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 145, No. 1202 (May, 2003), pp. 366-370Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3100693 .Accessed: 28/02/2011 05:30

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unlessyou have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bmpl. .

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The Burlington Magazine Publications, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The Burlington Magazine.

http://www.jstor.org

Giovan Battista Ricci and Cristoforo

Greppi at the Castellani chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa, Rome

by PATRIZIA TOSINI

THE PAINTER AND DRAUGHTSMAN Giovan Battista Ricci probably came to Rome from his native Lombardy during the pontificate of Gregory XIII (r.1572-85), since he is mentioned in documents in the Accademia di S. Luca as early as 1581, and he died in Rome in August 1627. Our knowledge of his long career has been increased greatly in the last decade thanks to new research on the pontificate of Sixtus V (r.1585-90).' Several studies have also appeared on Ricci's drawings which he must have produced in great quantity, judging from the number of frescos he execut- ed in the chapels, aisles and apses of Roman churches, following somewhat standard decorative schemes adapted to the patrons' demands and to the requirements of the site.

The discovery in the Archivio di Stato in Rome of an unpub- lished drawing (Fig.30), clearly a preparatory sketch for the deco- ration of a chapel, adds to the corpus of Ricci's drawings and also sheds light on the history and chronology of the Castellani chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa. The central tondo, showing God the Father in glory with angels making music, is squared for transfer; in the pen- dentives are the four evangelists, and the two lunettes show the Visitation and the Birth of the Virgin, each flanked by two seated prophets. Research indicates that the drawing is a design for the frescos decorating the cupola, pendentives and two lunettes of the Castellani chapel in the Franciscan church of S. Francesco a Ripa in Trastevere, Rome. The chapel, the second on the left in the nave, was under the patronage of the Castellani family and it houses the tomb of Mariano Castellani, in 1524 Guardiano of the Confraternita del SS. Salvatore ad Sancta Sanctorum, and that of his wife, Bernardina de' Rustici, who died in 1544. On the altar is Francesco Salviati's famous Annunciation which was probably commissioned by Bernardina around 1534.2 The frescos were recently restored.3

The new drawing has no archival markings and may have been removed at some time from the documents of the Archivio di Stato. However, two legible inscriptions on the drawing provide clues to its provenance. These appear on the blank paper beneath the indication of the archivolt and read: 'Curtio Sergardi guard. o et Deputato / Massimo massimi Guard. o et Deputato / Io Gio Battista ricci mano propia / Io Cristoforo Greppi pittore mano propia'.

Until recently little was known about Cristoforo Greppi apart from the fact that in 16oo he had worked with Prospero Orsi and Francesco Nappi under the direction of Cristoforo Roncalli at the Palazzo Mattei, Rome, where he painted the fresco ofJoseph's brethren in Egypt, and that from 1605-o8 he worked with the same artists on the decoration of the Vatican palaces and Monte Caval- lo, commissions initiated by Paul V.4 Greppi, also a Lombard (he was born in Como), collaborated with Ricci on several occasions, certainly from the reign of Paul V. The recent reattribution to Greppi of the frescos in the vault of the Albertoni chapel, also in S. Francesco a Ripa, is relevant for the history of the Castellani chapel, for although they had been ascribed to Gaspare Celio, there is evidence that Greppi was paid for them in 1626.5

The two other names mentioned in the inscription are those of two Roman aristocrats, Curzio Sergardi and Massimo Massimi, Guardiani and Deputati of the two most important confraternities in Rome: the Gonfalone and the SS. Salvatore ad Sancta Sancto- rum. Clues to the provenance of the drawing can be found in the archive of the Ospedale del SS. Salvatore, now in the Archivio di Stato in Rome.

In 1526 the Castellani chapel was endowed by its titular owner, Mariano Castellani, who gave instructions in his will for his burial there and provided an annual endowment of eight barrels of'mosto di vino' for the friars. In his will he mentions the two confraterni- ties: to the Confraternita del Salvatore he left twenty-five florins a year for the commemoration of his death, and to that of the Gonfalone he entrusted the administration of an endowment for a 'pauperellapuella' of their choice. Castellani also allocated one hun- dred ducats for the restoration and decoration of the chapel, and entrusted his wife, Bemardina, named as his universal heir, with the completion of this task should he die before it was finished.6

Bernardina de' Rustici Castellani's will was written in 1538; it provides for her burial in the family chapel and bequeaths fifty scudi to the confraternities of the Gonfalone and the SS. Salvatore ad Sancta Sanctorum for celebrating the anniversary of her death. Lentulo de Lentuli is named as her heir; a codicil added in 1544

I wish to thank Anna Lo Bianco of the Soprintendenza per i Beni artistici e stori- ci of Rome for kindly letting me have photographs of the chapel after the restora- tion she directed in 1995, and Luigi Londei, Director of the Archivio di Stato in Rome, for his generous assistance. I am also grateful to Emidio Tedeschi of the Archivio di Stato for taking some of the photographs and to Federico Poole for the English translation. I A sizeable literature on Ricci has appeared in the last ten years; see A. Lo Bian- co in G. Briganti, ed.: La pittura in Italia. II Cinquecento, Milan 1989, II, p.820o (with previous literature). On the pontificate of Sixtus V, see L. Arcangeli: 'La corrente muzianesca: Giovan Battista Ricci', in P. Dal Poggetto, ed.: Sisto V nelle Marche, Ascoli Piceno 1992, pp.269-71, and I. Menichini in M.L. Madonna, ed.: exh. cat. Roma di Sisto V, Rome (Palazzo Venezia) 1993, PP-541-42. See also M. Gallo: 'L'atto di sepoltura di Giovan Battista Ricci in S. Maria in Traspontina', Studi Romani 45 (1997), PP.394-96; B. Cirulli: 'L'affresco della riforma dei tribunali nelle Sale Paoline della Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana: una proposta di lettura', Roma moderna e contemporanea 5 (1997), PP.I41-49; L. Gigli: 'La cappella di S. Angelo Martire nella chiesa di S. Maria in Traspontina', Alma Roma 39 (1998), pp. 147-84. 2 On the chapel, see A. Menichella: San Francesco a Ripa. Vicende costruttive della prima chiesafrancescana di Roma, Rome 1981, p.54, where Ricci's frescos are dated around 1614, the year of the execution of Bernardina de' Rustici's memorial. The

same opinion was expressed by M.C. Gloton: Trompe l'aeil et decor plafonnant dans les iglises romaines de l'dge baroque, Rome 1965, p.Io8, andJ. Gere and P. Pouncey: Italian Drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. Artists Working in Rome, c.155o to c.164o, London 1983, p.150o. On Salviati's altar-piece, and the history of the chapel in the sixteenth century, see P. Costamagna in C. Monbeig Goguel, ed.: exh. cat. Francesco Salviati o la Bella Maniera, Rome (Villa Medici) and Paris (Louvre) 1998, p. II6. 3 A. Lo Bianco: 'San Francesco a Ripa', in A. Negro, ed.: Restauri d'arte e Giu- bileo. Gli interventi a Roma e nel Lazio nel Piano per ilgrande Giubileo del 2ooo, Naples 2001, pp. 169-82. 4 Greppi's name appears, together with Ricci's, in some appraisals of paintings made in Paul V's Vatican apartment by Ranuccio Semprevivo, Cesare Rossetti,

Pasquale Cati and Gaspare Celio in 1605 and 1607. In 16o8 he is mentioned among the painters working in the same apartment, together with Francesco Nappi, Pros-

pero Orsi and Girolamo Nanni. On the appraisal of 1605, see A. Bertolotti: Artisti Lombardi a Roma nei secoli XV-XVI e XVII, Milan 1881, P.77; for the other two

appraisals, see A.M. Corbo and M. Pomponi: Fonti per la storia artistica romana al

tempo di Paolo V, Rome 1995, pp.I82-83. In the 1607 document, Ricci appraises for the Reverenda Camera Apostolica, and Greppi for the painters. In the receipt of 1608, Ricci again appraises for the Camera Apostolica.

366 MAY 2003 * CXLV * THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE

RICCI AND GREPPI IN S. FRANCESCO A RIPA, ROME

30. God the Father with angels making music. Preparatory drawing for the vault of the Castellani Chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa, Rome, by Giovan Battista Ricci. 1622. Pen and brown ink, 40 by 58 cm. (Archivio di Stato, Rome).

t7?f

$-:'k~"ap " 11 ?9' 9 I 'I ? I ~ " ~*?*n;~a~?-~i014 -I

specifies that if Lentulo died without heirs the two named confra- ternities would inherit the estate.7 In 1614, to give thanks for this legacy, the two confraternities erected a memorial in honour of Castellani's widow on the right-hand wall of the chapel.8 In a bull issued on 20th July 1622, Pope Gregory XV gave the two con- fraternities - by then administrators of the Castellani bequest - permission to transfer six luoghi di monte (investment bonds) 'for the restoration, repair and decoration' of the chapel. This bull provides a terminus post quem for Ricci's work there.9

On ioth September 1622 Gregory XV granted a plenary indul- gence to all who had visited the chapel on the feast day of the Annunciation,'o a concession also recorded on a tablet in the chapel which includes the names of Curzio Sergardi and Massimo Massimi, mentioned with Greppi and Ricci in the inscription on the preparatory drawing." Their description as Guardiani and Deputati provides conclusive evidence for the date of the drawing: Sergardi and Massimi were both Guardiani of the Arciconfraterni- ta del Gonfalone in 1622, together with Pier Donato Cesi, Mario

5 F. Di Napoli Rampolla: 'Cronologia delle ristrutturazioni della cappella della Beata Ludovica Albertoni in San Francesco a Ripa', in C. Strinati and M.G. Bernardini, eds.: Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Regista del Barocco. Restauri, Milan I999, pp.97-I Io. Greppi's frescos were restored in 2ooo; see Lo Bianco, op. cit. (note 3), pp.I71I-72. 6 The wills of Mariano Castellani and Bernardina de' Rustici are in the archive of the Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Vatican City (hereafter cited as ASV). Mariano Castellani wrote two wills, one dated i8th September 1525, the other I4th March 1526; in both, the same provisions were made for the endowment of the chapel (see Appendix i). 7 ASV, Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, b.Io, fol. I. The will, dated 7th November 1538, was ratified by the notary Bernardinus de Comitibus and drawn up in the Albertoni chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa. The codicil (ibid., b.Io, fols.2-6) is dated I9th June 1544 and was ratified by the same notary. 8 The epigraph on the tomb of Bernardina de' Rustici reads: 'D O M / BERNAR- DINA RUSTICA DE CASTELLANIS / GENERE VIRTUTE RELIGIONE PIET LIBERALITATE /

PRAESTANS / HAEREDES SCRIPSIT ARCHICONFRATERNITATES / SANCTISS. SALVA-

TORIS AD SANCTA SANCTORUM / AC CONFALONIS URBIS HEREDITATIS REDDITUM

/ HONESTIS VIRGINIBUS DOTANDIS LEGAVIT / EGREGIAE MATRONAE MONUMEN-

TUM / PII HAEREDES POSUERUNT ANNO DOM MDCXIIII'. On a separate slab placed

below the other one reads: 'CURANTIBUS CUSTODIBUS ET CAMERARIIS SS. SALVA-

TORIS ET CONFALONIS', and on two further tablets: 'OCTAVIO GABRIELLIO / HIERONYMO CINCIO / GASPERO ALBERO / FABRITIO NARO' and 'IULIO SABELLO /

CAESARE RODIANO / PAULO MELLINO / OCTAVIO ROBERTO / FRANCISC. INCORO-

NATO' (see V. Forcella: Iscrizioni delle chiese e d'altri edificii di Roma, Rome 1874, IV, p.404, no.980). The placing of these stones is confirmed by the registry of the istru- menti of the Ospedale del Salvatore for the years 16Io-i i (see Appendix 2). 9 ASV, Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, b.Io, fol.55. 'o ASV, Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, b.Io, fol.56. " Forcella, op. cit. (note 8), IV, p.407, no.989. The epigraph reads 'CURANTIBUS CUSTODIBUS ET CAMERARIIS / SS. SALVATORIS ET CONFALONIS'; two tablets beneath the main inscription read 'P. DONATO CAESIO / CURTIO SERGARDIO / MARIO Q. AUR. MATTAEI / MAXIMO Q. HOR. MAXIMI / MARC. ANT. A PORTA' and 'HORTENSIO CELSO / FABRITIO NARO / BERNARDINO VELLIO / GASPARO ALBARO'.

The first five names are those of the Guardiani and that of the Camerario of the Gonfalone for the year 1622, the last four those of the Guardiani and Camerario of the Sancta Sanctorum for the years 1621 and 1622 (see A. Marangoni: Istoria dell'antichissimo oratorio, o cappella di San Lorenzo nel Patriarchio Lateranense, comune- mente appellato Sancta Sanctorum, Rome 1747, p.325, and Appendix 3).

THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE - CXLV -

MAY 2003 367

RICCI AND GREPPI IN S. FRANCESCO A RIPA, ROME

3 1. Left wall of the Castellani chapel, S. Francesco a Rina, Rome. 2 ih a o e stln cpl S rcso p, m.

Mattei and Marcantonio della Porta, the last-named serving in the capacity of Camerario. The decoration of the chapel must have begun in the same year.'"

The archive of the Ospedale del Salvatore provides further evi- dence for the dating of the drawing and the frescos. One of the Catasti dei beni - the eighteenth-century registers containing the inventory of the archive - reads:

Rustici Castellani. Chiesa di S. Francesco a Ripa, o sia cappella in detta, ove sifa la distribuzione delle Doti e Frati di detto Convento, e chiesa ... 161o. Decreto, che si ponga una iscrizzione in marmo nella cappella, ove si danno le doti 4 S. Francesco a Ripa . 1622. Decre- to che si riatti la cappella della Nunziata in S. Francesco a Ripa; che si spendano scudi 12o per le pitture, e meno, che si potrd nelli stucchi . . . 1631. Quietanza di scudi 200 per intiero, e final pagamento delli risarcimentifatti nella suddetta cappella pagati al muratore in vigore di sequestro, e mandato . ...'3

The document of 9th January 1622 reads that the Custodi of the Salvatore and the Gonfalone together agreed to spend 120o scudi of the Rustici Castellani bequest on the restoration and decoration of

the chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa (see Appendix 3). The document of 23rd August 163 I records a receipt for 220 scudi given by the Roman Giacomo Mola to the confraternities 'pro integra etfinali solutione' of the Castellani chapel's decoration.'4 Mola had worked as a mason for the Ospedale e Confraternita del SS. Salvatore from 1591 onwards, and from 1631 until his death in 1648 he was its official architect. From 16o6 he was also a member of the Confra- ternity, which no doubt accounts for his being chosen for the restoration of the chapel.'s

From these documents it can be established that Ricci made the drawing in 1622 when the two confraternities decided to restore the chapel and commission the paintings. His request for payment for the paintings of S. Francesco a Ripa is dated 21st September 1622 and, as he asks for payment of half of the agreed sum, his work by then must have been well under way (see Appendix 4). By the time of Mola's receipt of 163 I1, Ricci was dead; his death on 5th August 1627 provides a terminus ante quem for his work.

A closer look at the drawing reveals that, although the arrange- ment and subject-matter generally match what is visible in the chapel, there are some discrepancies, the most significant being the

12 The names of the four Guardiani and the Camerario for 1622 also appear in an epigraph, mentioned by Forcella, op. cit. (note 8), XII, no.472, commemorating the restoration and decoration of the destroyed church of S. Maria della Pieta al Colosseo, which was then in the custody of the Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone. '3 'Rustici Castellani. Church of S. Francesco a Ripa, or the chapel therein where the endowments for the Friars are distributed and the church ... I6Io. Decree, that an inscription on marble is placed in the chapel, where the endowments are given in S. Francesco a Ripa ... 1622. Decree that the chapel of the Annunciation in S. Francesco is renovated, that 120 scudi are spent on the paintings, and as little as possible on the stucco work ... 163 i receipt for 200 scudi for the whole and final payment of the restorations made for the said chapel paid to the mason on pain of sequestration, and sent .. .'. Archivio di Stato, Rome (hereafter cited as ASR),

Ospedale del SS. Salvatore ad Sancta Sanctorum, vol. 992, 'Catasto della compagnia ed ospedali di Sancta Sanctorum e delle Azziende annesse di Collegii. Doti. Eredithfatto d'ordine degli Ill. mi Ss. ri Guardiani Marchese Virgilio Crescenzi, Pietro Paolo Bocca- paduli, Virginio Cenci e Camillo Capranica Camerlengo. 1745', fol.348. 14 ASR, Ospedale del SS. Salvatore ad Sancta Sanctorum, vol.67, fol. Io4r (acts of Giacomo Francesco BelgioJunior, Notary A. C.). The payment to Giacomo Mola, son of Pietro Romano, was due ' . . occasione fabricis et restaurationis Cappellae Annuntiate bo: me: quondam domine Bernardinae Rustice de Castellani in ecclesia S. ti Francisci ad Ripas ... ' is On Mola, see G. Curcio and L. Spezzaferro: Fabbriche e architetti ticinesi nella Roma Barocca, Milan 1989, pp.84-85. In 1624-26, Mola oversaw the restoration of the Albertoni chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa (M. Ulivi: 'La cappella della Beata

368 MAY 2003 - CXLV

?

THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE

RICCI AND GREPPI IN S. FRANCESCO A RIPA, ROME

position of the prophets. In the drawing they are shown at the sides of each lunette, while in the frescos they have been moved to the walls beneath and replaced in the lunettes by sibyls.'6 Other minor changes are evident in the scenes of the Virgin and in the poses of the evangelists. The depiction of God the Father in the cupola is identical to the drawing, but the angels are slightly dif- ferent and one of them plays the organ instead of the lute. Thus it is clear that the drawing was a preliminary design, not the final composition.

Two more of Ricci's preparatory drawings for the frescos of the Castellani chapel have been published. One in the Uffizi is of the prophet Jeremiah; the other, in the Teylers Museum in Haar- lem, is a preparatory study for the Visitation in one of the lunettes.'7 Stylistic comparison with these indicates that the new drawing is unquestionably by Ricci, despite the fact that Greppi's name also appears on it. This raises the question of Greppi's r6le in the exe- cution of the frescos. The decoration dates from 1622, and in 1626 Greppi was working in the same church in the Albertoni chapel. This suggests that in the I62os he and Ricci may have worked in partnership, a hypothesis confirmed by another document in the Gonfalone archive in which Greppi and Ricci request to be paid together for frescos painted in the church of S. Lucia del Gonfalone.'8 This document is dated 24th March 1622, predating by a few months the start of Ricci's work in the Castellani chapel (see Appendix 5). Since both painters had already worked for the confraternity of the Gonfalone, it can be assumed that they were chosen to work together in the Castellani chapel. It is also likely that Greppi was commissioned to paint the Albertoni frescos after the favourable reception of his work in the Castellani chapel. In sum, it would seem that Ricci was responsible for planning the decoration of the chapel - his experience in this dating back to the cycles he had painted for Sixtus V - while Greppi collaborated with him on an equal basis in painting the frescos.

In spite of their recent restoration, the poor state of the paint- ings makes it difficult to distinguish the work of one painter from the other. The right wall (Fig.32) has suffered from heavy alter- ations; that on the left (Fig.3 I) appears to be in a better state of preservation. The outer zone of the vault has deteriorated badly but its central area is in less poor condition (Fig.33). The sibyls and the evangelists all seem to be by the same hand, with the excep- tion of the Samian sibyl above the altar which, although reminis- cent of Ricci's figures, is painted in a somewhat different brushstroke. The well-preserved prophets on the left wall, Isaiah and David, are certainly by Ricci, as probably were those on the opposite wall, as is suggested by the preparatory drawing for Jeremiah published by Chappell. The same is true of the Visitation and the Birth of the Virgin (Fig.34), although they have suffered heavily and are hard to read. The vault decoration, however, appears stylistically and compositionally closer to Greppi's frescos in the cupola of the Albertoni chapel, although they too have deteriorated.

33. God the Father with angels making music, by Giovan Battista Ricci and Cristoforo Greppi. 1622. Fresco. (Vault of the Castellani chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa, Rome).

This would seem to confirm the hypothesis presented here, that Ricci, an accomplished artist with long professional experience in fresco decoration, was entrusted with the design of the chapel, while Greppi collaborated only in painting the frescos. Thanks to his contribution, it was possible to complete the chapel in a few months. Although there is no record of who was responsible for the stucco work framing the paintings, it seems plausible to assume that it was also by Ricci and Greppi.

According to this proposed chronology, the decoration of the chapel belongs to the end of Ricci's career, at a time when there are fewer documented works, thereby correcting the assumption that his best work was made during Paul V's reign, after which his output dwindled. The decoration of the chapel, immediately following the frescos of the Confessio (1617-20) and the choir and sacristy in St Peter's (1621-22), shows the stylistic influence of Cavalier d'Arpino and Guido Reni, the leading artists during the pontificate of Paul V. Ricci's art displays that blend of established influences and timid innovation that characterised the work of many artists of his generation.19

Ludovica Albertoni nella chiesa di San Francesco a Ripa', and F. Di Napoli Ram- polla in Strinati and Bernardini, op. cit. (note 5), pp.85-95 and pp.97-I Io). 16 The prophets and sibyls in the frescos are identified by their names and tablets with biblical quotations complete with references: on the left wall, beneath the lunette of the Birth of the Virgin between the Hellespontic and Libyan sibyls, are Isaiah ('ECCE VIRGO CONCIPI ET ET PARIET FILIUM ET VOCABITUR NOMEN EIUS EMMANUEL IO.C. VII.I4') and David ('DE FRUCTU VENTRIS TUI PONAM SUPER

SEDEM TUAM. PS. CXXXI (II)'); on the right, beneath the lunette with the Visitation and the Cumaean and Cumana sibyls, Solomon ('SAPIENTIA AEDIFICAVIT SIBI DOMUM EXCIDIT COLUMNAS SEPTEM. PROV. C.17 V.I') and Jeremiah ('CREAVIT DOMINUS NOVUM SUPER TERRAM FEMINA CIRCUMDABIT VIRUM. JE. C.XXXI.22'). Above the altar are the Samian and Phrygian sibyls.

17 M.L. Chappell: 'A drawing attributed to G.B. Ricci', Southeastern College Art Conference Review 9 (1976), I, pp. 18-21. The drawing showingJeremiah, previous- ly attributed to Cigoli, is in sanguine with touches of blue and brown wash and is squared (Gabinetto dei Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi, 8882F); Chappell does not discuss the chronology of the frescos. 18 This hypothesis has already been advanced in E. Fumagalli: 'Paolo V Borghese in Vaticano. Appartamenti privati e di rappresentanza', Storia dell'arte 88 (1996), p.344, with reference to the artists for Paul V. 19 On the frescos of the Confessio in St Peter's, see D. Gallavotti Cavallero: 'La decorazione a fresco nella Confessione di San Pietro', in A.M. Pergolizzi, ed.: La Confessione nella Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano, Cinisello Balsamo 1999, PP.57-7I.

THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE - CXLV - MAY 2003 369

RICCI AND GREPPI IN S. FRANCESCO A RIPA, ROME

- , - V, -ra

rr~", r i; I

34. The birth of the Virgin, by Giovan Battista R~icci. i622. Fresco. (Castellani chapel, S. Francesco a tRipa, Rome).

Appendix

I. The two wills of Mariano Castellani: I8th September 1525 and 14th March 1526 (ASR, Collegio Notai Capitolini, vol. I 183; notary Pacificus Nardi de Pacificis, 18th September 1525, fols. 124r-125v. The will of 1526 has the same text: ASR, Collegio Notai Capitolini, vol.i 183, 14th March 1526, fol.32r-v; a copy exists in Rome: ASV, Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, b.4, fols. 15-18).

(c. I24v--I25r)

... Item reliquit exponi in ornatu et bonificatione eius capelle site in ecclesia sancti francisci ducatos ducentos post mortem domine bernardine eius uxoris heredis: si testator ipse dicta melioramenta et ornatum non fecisset in eius vita in omnibus autem de hiis eius bonis fructibus et actionibus ubicumque exis- tentibus dicti testatori quolibet competentibus eius universalem heredem instituit predictam dominam bernardinam eius uxorem ...

2. The Guardiani of the confraternities of the Salvatore and the Gonfalone decide to place an epigraph in the Castellani chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa to commemorate the Rustici-Castellani legacy, Ist September I6Io (ASR, Ospedale del SS. Salvatore ad Sancta Sanctorum, vol.49, fols.68v-69r).

Indictione octava die prima mensis septembris i6io. In solido cum d. Iulio Oli- vello secretario Ven. Archiconfraternitatis Confalonis congregati in domo solite habitationis Illustrissimi d. Prosperi Iacobaccii unius ex Illustrissimis dd. Custodibus Ven. Societatis S. mi Salvatoris ad Sancta Sanctorum de Urbe ipse Illustrissimus Prosper nec non Illustrissimi dd. Fabritius Narus ac Balthasar Palutius eius Con- custodes ac Illustrissimus d. Gaspar Alberus Camerarius nec non Illustrissimi dd. Octavius Diaz, Paulus Millinus ac Maximus de Maximis Custodes Ven. Societatis Confalonis Urbis ac Illustrissimus d. Camillus Caietanus Camerarius ... super statu hereditatis bo: me: Bernardine Rustice de Castellanis ... decreverunt sumptibus dicte hereditatis confeci debere lapidem marmorum cum insignibus dicte societatis ac Archiconfraternitatis ac prefate d. Bernardine cum inscriptione legati facti per eandem d. bernardinam occasione huiusmodi maritaggii dictumque lapidem appo- nendum esse in ecclesia francisci in cappella in qua fit dictum maritaggium ...

3. The confraternities of the Salvatore and the Gonfalone decide to restore and decorate the Castellani chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa, 9thJanuary 1622 (ASR, Ospedale del SS. Salvatore ad Sancta Sanctorum, vol.59, fol.6r-v).

Congregatio occasione restaurationis Cappellae bo: me: Domine Bernardine Rus- tice de Castellanis. Die 9 Januarii 1622. Congregati in aula Collegii Capranicensis omnes infrascripti Illustrissimi DD. Custodes, et Camerarii Venerabilis Societatis S. mi Salvatoris ad Sancta Sanctorum ac Beate Marie Confalonis de Urbe videlicet Illustrissimi DD. Hortensius Celsus Fabritus Narus et Bernardinus Vellius, ac Gas- par Alverus Camerarius, Custodes et Camerarius respective Ven. Societatis S. mi Salvatoris ad Sancta Sanctorum de Urbe. Illustrissimus, et Reverendissimus D. Abbas Petrus Donatus Cesius Illustrissimus D. Curtius Sergardus Illustrissimus D. Marius Mattheijus Illustrissimus D. Maximus de Maximis Custodes S. mi Confalonis

Qui omnes congregati unanimes decreverunt et statuerunt impendi, et erogari debere ex fructibus, et redditibus hereditatis bo: me: Domine Bernardine Rustice de Castellanis Nationae Romanae de utraque societate optime meritae summam pecuniarum necessariam pro restauratione, et ornamento illius cappellae sub invo- catione S. me Annunciationis in templo Divi Francisci pro Ripas Urbis, consen- tientes expresse erogari posse, et debere scuta centum viginti monete circiter in picturiis necessariis, quo vero ad stuccaturas aliosque ornatus necessarie faciendi persolvi, quam minimum persolvi poterit, arbitrio Illustrissimorum DD. utriusque Societatis Custodium et Camerariorum respecte vel pro eis arbitrio Illustrissimo- rum DD. Fabritij Nari, Curtij Sergardi, Marij Mattheij et Maximi de Maximis omni meliore modo etcetera super quibus. Actum ubi supra videlicet in aula magna predicti Venerabilis Collegij Capranicen- sis ibidem presentibus excellentissimo D. Francisco Antonio Sgambato Neapoli- tano Rectore Collegij Capranicensis, et admodum Illustrissimo D. Annibale Mattheijo, Patrizio Romano predicte Venerabilis Societatis S. mi Salvatori uno ex confratribus testibus.

4. Payment by the confraternities of the Salvatore and the Gonfalone to Giovan Battista Ricci for the frescos of the Castellani chapel in S. Francesco a Ripa, 21St September 1622 (ASV, Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, b.5o8, loose sheets, filza of 1622).

Magnifico Antonius Bartoletti. Piaccia a V. S. far mandato di scudi cinquanta di moneta a Ms. Gio: Battista Navarra Pittore per bon conto di maggior somma che la Compagnia del S. mo Salvatore et confalone li devono per mercede di sua pittura fatta et da farsi in s. Francesco i Ripa et ii baccio le mani di casa li 21 di settembre 1622. Scudi 50. D. V. S. Affezionatissimo servitore Curtio Sergardi guardiano. [in another hand:] Fatto mandato a di 21 detto. Di scudi 50 moneta.

5. Giovan Battista Ricci and Cristoforo Greppi's request for payment and receipt for the frescos of the main altar in S. Lucia del Gonfalone, 14th March 1622 (ASV, Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, b.5o8, loose sheets, filza of 1622).

Illustrissimi signori, Cristofano Greppi, e Giovan Battista Ricci Pittori espongono che havendo depinto molte figure di nuovo, e retoccate le vecchie dell'Altare Maggiore in S. ta Lucia, et essendo nell'ultima Congregazione stato saldato il loro conto di scudi quaranta di moneta havendone per6 prima ricevuti venti ' buon conto hora desiderano da VS. Illustrissime ordini al sig. Computista di fare il mandato per gli altri scudi venti di moneta che oltre il giusto lo riceveranno per grazia [in another hand:] fiat mandatum per scutis viginti per residuo. Marcantonio della porta Camerlengus fatto ii 14 marzo 1622. [on the verso:] All'Ill. sig. r II Sig. r Camerlengo della Compagnia del Gonfalone. Per Cristofano Greppi, e Giovan battista Ricci pittori. (ASV, Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, vol.409, Entrata et Uscita. Registro de Mandati. 1617 a tutto 1627, fol.I3ov): Adi 14 Marzo 1622 A Ms. Christofano Greppi et Giovan Battista Ricci Pittori scudi venti di moneta per resto, e saldo di figure fatte di novo et ritocate le vecchie dell'Altare Maggiore della nostra chiesa di S. Lucia. Scudi 20.

370 MAY 2003 -

CXLV * THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE