The Foundation of the Noble, free Art of Painting:1
In which her form, origin, and nature are placed before the eyes of inquisitive Youth,
in discrete Parts, in Rhymed Verse
By C.V.M.
Exhortation, or Admonition to up and coming young Painters
The First Chapter2
(1) O Hebes’s sprigs,3 Scholars of Genius,4
You who here and there, instead of writing,
Have daubed and stained your Papers
With Mannikins, Ships, various animals,
Rarely leaving a single spot empty,
Seemingly driven on by Nature
To become a Painter,5 so that to this end your Parents*
Sustain you with their bodies, support you on their shoulders.6
(2) By common consent you are adjudged
To be a Painter—the word is easy to say.
But see, between Painter and Painter
There lies so vast a Mountain, rising so high,*
That many are forced to break their journey midway.
‘Tis here not merely to do with Months or Weeks,
But rather, whole Years are required
To demonstrate some measure of accomplishment.
(3) ‘Twere not good to be thus advised:
“This Art is herself of alluring mien,
Easy to clasp, biddable to all.”*
Instead, be wary lest you suffer the fate
Of the simple Midge, which to its ruin
Delights in the luster of bright candlelight,
Foolishly drawn to fly therein.
For likewise do many deceive themselves.
(4) Be then forewarned, for the throat of Art
Sweetly imitates the voices of the Sirens,
Enchantingly enticing all to dally,
But to reach her one must try
Many paths, and swim across many waters,
And still there’s a mountain to climb,
So high that neither early nor late shall you surmount it,
Unless you avail yourself of Nature.*
(5) For Nature has storerooms and passageways
On many levels, in which
Lie all the tools of Art and Trade,
And through here, every Young child steps7
Before it sucks milk from its Mother’s breast;8
And warmhearted Nature here gives
Into the hands of each his own special Instrument,*
With which to earn his bread in the World’s lands.
(6) Various are her gifts and Jewels:
Here she bestows Ploughs, there Hammers, there Axes,
Here Trowels, there Books, over there Brushes;
But unknowing Parents often reassign*
The natural occupations,
And thus it turns out erratically (alas)
That natural Painters go ploughing,
And Peasants busy themselves with Brushes.
(7) If Nature does not confer the Brush,
So, forsooth, must you in time turn back,
Allowing your idle intention to wither,
Sparing time and money, lest you
Bring yourself to ruin, like the aforementioned Midge.
The bridge will be too long and narrow by far.
To leave off early is less shameful
Than making a poor show at the end.10
(8) If you have Nature as your friend,
Then shall people assess you early on, according to your spirit’s character,*
For he must begin by throttling serpents in the crib,
Who will later advance to vanquish
The Nemean Lion, and the Monsters of Crete,
The many-headed Lernean [Hydra] with its very venomous bite,
Cacus, Cerberus, cruel Centaurs,
That his head be crowned with green Laurel.11
(9) The plants that we call the thistle and the nettle,
Newly sprouted, begin early to prick and sting;
Early, too, will the wood begin to bend
That one day becomes a hook. Thus, to be brief,
Those youths obeisant to the Graphic Arts,12
Who are destined afterward to fly beyond
The common bounds, shall early rise upward
And begin to surpass their fellows.
(10) But Nature it is that impels you thither
Along such paths, thereto inclined with a clever wit,
Holding that share bequeathed from out of her hand,
Such that you become sensible of innumerable living images
In your spirit, mind, and affection.13
Then shall I not dissuade you
From shooting for the prize;
Perchance it may turn out that you hit the mark.
(11) Yet let no effort distress you.
He who persists may hope to win;
After the sour, one may enjoy the sweet:
For this is like shooting the Parrot,14
Which hardly one out of a hundred can unerringly strike.*
Thus does Art still resemble an Ethiopian
Oriental Pearl, ever exalted,
Held in very high esteem [everywhere] on earth.
(12) Nature sometimes confers her gifts of Picturing
There where neither time nor means allows for learning,
But where instead, constrained by need to labor hard for his daily bread,
A noble spirit must remain buried,
Like hidden treasure, [which is] a crying shame:
But when the gift and the means conjoin
With practice, propensity, and steady zeal,
Then does labor yield its sweet rewards.
(13) Now then, you young folks with hearts set on Painting,
Let all idle childish presumption depart;
If you would clamber onto this Throne of the Arts,
You must adhere to and tirelessly love [her],
For she is jealous and very much to be waited upon.*
Set no store by the feather bed,
Shake off drowsy torpor,
And likewise Bacchus’s jug and Cupid’s darts.
(14) Be pleased always to select as companions
Fellow youths who hasten toward diligence,
Whatever the weather, whether thawing or freezing;
And try never to waste much time
In the company of whitebread-eating voluptuaries.
Suffer a bit now, in order not to suffer for eternity,
Give your time to time, lest you while time’s time away;*
Should time refuse you time, then snatch time’s time away.
(15) Coornhert, a Poet, in conduct sedulous,15
Used to utter this common Proverb,*
When he saw someone
Lavishly squandering their time:
They have too much of what I have too little,
Yet do we have just as much; clearly
Meaning “time,” which he, variously engaged on many fronts,
Sought zealously to gain, always ravenous for [more] time.
(16) There are those who, impoverished of time,
Would split every instant into three,
Making the untimely timely with a practiced hand:
Then one encounters others, so rich
In time, that they waste it profusely,
And heedlessly throw it away,*
Along with Pots and Mugs, Kolf-clubs and Rackets,16
For they place no store in [time’s] value.
(17) Howbeit (alas) what shall we finally
Miss more than precious time,*
When we come perforce to vacate these Earthly nests?
The present time is still best,
Yesterday has swept by, never to return,
And tomorrow is unsure; no one knows nor can say
Whether he may get to it.
In sum, time overtops every treasure.
(18) Yet, there is no one who does not consider it a lesser thing
(With song, Lutes, Harps, with post-prandial walks in aid of the digestion,
Or, as they say, to sharpen the senses)
To squander time, than to discard
Gold or Silver, that yet are set at a lower price
Than time and propitious opportunity,*
Which having once flown by,
We may never seize again.
(19) So, then, wasted time is a great misfortune;
It cannot be reclaimed, neither with money nor property:
Accordingly, Youths, hold time in high esteem,
And banish idleness, the mother
Of all wickedness, and nursemaid to poverty:*
Then, as a just punishment, bring against each evil thing
Its appointed rod; yea, fear not**
To strike its Author or Master cruelly.
(20) The Drunkard falls into a muddy ditch
And chastened must endure much wretchedness.
For indeed, what arises out of drunkenness
Other than disgraceful, outrageous exploits,*
Which, in a sober-minded state, are greatly to be deplored,
Irredeemable homicide worst of all,
Whereby Human hands grievously strike
At God’s handiwork, beyond anyone’s power to remake.
(21) See what this barley sop readily incites,
How it turns many men into swine,
As one reads about the comrades of Ulysses:
But what thing is there more pernicious than fighting,
And how commonly it stirs up
The foolish World’s praise of such deeds,*
Which calls the hotheads brave heroes,
And, amazingly, reprimands the mild-mannered.
(22) Even though he who fully masters his heart’s impulses
Is far stronger (as says the word of the Wise)
Than he who kills another, and more to be prized.18
Although the epithet Murderer makes everyone shudder,
The name of Thief is more infamous, more dire
To utter; I make reference to the law [in saying this],
And yet, the thief can return stolen property,
Whereas the Murderer cannot restore the dead to life.
(23) Therefore, O you who are mindful of instruction,
Flee drunkenness and its ignoble fruits,*
Too many and futile here to enumerate,
So that the debased reputation of Art
May once and for all sink into the Stygian depths,19
As, for instance, “Painter-Sick-Head,” and the
Common Proverb, “Once a painter, twice a wild man,”**
May be changed to, “Once a Painter, twice a peacemaker.”20
(24) For there are People who appear [to think] that Art*
Must needs be enriched by the saying, “ ’tis a shame
That so fine a Spirit, aside from his studies,
Is so drunk, wild, and bluff
A hot-head, and so quick and fierce to anger”;
And yet, this sort of thing cools many an art-loving flame,
And on account of this, certain Art-lovers
Will not allow their children to study Art.
(25) Be not dismayed, O noble young Painters,*
If on account of a few branches that bear ill fruit,
The [saying], “Most Artists are persons of the least repute,”
Must to our chagrin be heard;
For this we sometimes have just one person to thank,
Who by himself, defiant of noble Nature,
Taints the greater rest [of us],
And the Painter’s course of study, peaceable and blameless.
(26) They are unworthy to be reckoned Artists,*
Who lay waste to their
Noble spirits, as if they were
Savage, brutish, loutish Barbarians,
Whereas, on the contrary, the name of Painter
Was once so singularly esteemed by Orators**
Senators, Philosophers, Poets,
Princes, and high-placed Monarchs.
(27) They who by their art are able sweetly to captivate
A Person’s eyes, causing desire to exit the heart’s dwelling place*
And remain hanging upon their work,
These are they who through their stalwart and honorable lives
Ought likewise to hold each and every friendship captive—
An Art above every other Art—
Whereby they obtain their heart’s desire: the good favor,
Grace, and amity of both God and every Person.
(28) Amongst all who uphold the name of the art of Painting,*
Noble gentility ought principally to prevail,
Which can often move
Even Peasants’ hearts, touching them
With sensible, affable behavior:
In short, a full measure of seemly, amiable**
Courtesy must be subsumed under
The name or term Painter-like, first and foremost.21***
(29) Painter-like Picturers ought
To dispel, remove, and put to flight22
All envy, strife, and discord,
With kind, circumspect, sensible words,
And not quarrel, disparage, or cavil*
Like fishwives, who, marketing their wares,
Defame their fellows all of a sudden,
Pitching their baskets at each other’s heads.23
(30) One shall also forswear the example of wagoners
Who, having no truck with courtesy,
Resolve their quarrels and disputes
Amongst themselves, with fists and knives,
For ignorance is the mother of discord:*
But the true nature of Art presupposes
That they who travel furthest in understanding
Ought also to be the most courteous.
(31) Considering that the zeal of the Greeks and Romans*
Blazed so intensely for Pictura
That they forbade, under penalty of punishment,
Any but noble-born children**
To learn how to paint,
So still, it well befits the honor of Art
That all virtue and courtesy
Partner with those who cleave to the noble Brush.
(32) The Daughters of Jove, the three Graces together,
Were portrayed such that one, seen from behind,
Took a step [back] while the other two,
From a bit farther back, stepped forward,
Which signifies, against any decrease in courtesy,
That for every show of friendship, we receive two in return,
And should be ever shrewd
To practice usurious [courtesy] everywhere.
(33) That the prince of Painters, Apelles, was modest
And polite is no idle fancy,*
For [Apelles] presided over Alexander so sweetly
That he daily came to watch [the painter] working:26
Likewise worthy of note
Is his courtesy toward Protogenes,
Whose Person and works he raised in esteem amongst the Rhodians,
A [story] still to be told, though [in prose] not rhyme.27
(34) With respect to Raphael, too, the chief painter of his time,
Many a good Master earned a like reward
By laboring happily in his company,
In mind of one accord, free of envy
None unfriendly toward the other;
Merely looking at the courteous Raphael,*
Seemed forcibly to drive from their minds
Every base ignominious thought.
(35) Henceforth then, “Once a Painter, twice a peacemaker,”
Not “Once a Painter, twice a wild man.”
Through the lightsome and clear [example of]
Two such radiantly noble Artists,
Let dark mists be driven and disappear from the eyes:
Thereupon, O young Painters,
Accustom yourselves to goodness,
That everyone learn to know the true nature of Art.
(36) For you in particular, these two are the foremost Examples,
One from ancient, the other from modern times,
That it behooves Art and courtesy
Always to combine in the Artist
Who would make his way across the threshold
Of the Temple of immortal Fame.
Otherwise there looms the great danger
Of drowning in Lethe’s stream.29
(37) For if the Poets err not,*
There is an old Man who cannot stop himself
From hastening to run without pause,
Into and out of the house of the three Fates,
[To gather] the names of all whose [threads] they have cut,
And then transport them by the lapful (regardless of who objects)
To the cold River Lethe, and throw them in,
So that they sink or are swept away.
(38) It seems that no Hart could run so swiftly
As this old Graybeard, back and forth;*
And alongside the waters that receive his gifts
There fly shrieking Vultures and Ravens,
Accompanied by birds of many a feather,
That swoop to snatch from out of the water
Some names from all the rest,
Only to let them rapidly fall in again.
(39) From this multitude of names in their thousands,
One is sometimes found worthy*
Not to be engulfed, but instead remains lying
On the sandy riverbank, and this magnifies the sorrow of the Man
Who would fain let none escape from the River;
But against his will, a pair of white Swans
Flies thither and swim
To the place where stands a hill to be climbed.31
(40) Atop this mountain a Temple rises,*
Fit for a Goddess, of fine construction,
Whence a Nymph approaches, a pretty Young Maid,
Who takes the names from the steadfast
Sweet-singing Swans, joyful of heart,
And brings these names into the Temple,
Where they remain, inscribed
On a Column that bears that image aloft.32
(41) This Fable signifies the prevalence of death,*
Which is likened to said oblivion of the Lethe,
Wherein with the passage of time we all inherit a place,
Since this old runner will relinquish no one;
But the Swans, History Writers, Poets,
Joyfully know how to bring a few deserving spirits
To the Nymph, Immortality,
In the Temple of Eternal Fame.
(42) Toadies, tell-talers, sycophants,
Akin to the errant Ravens and Vultures,
Have on occasion chosen to elevate
This person or that, skimming them like fat from a pot,
But their like yet remain lost in the Lethe:
Namely, Persons who seem born
To do nothing but eat and drink, leaving
No other memorial of their lives.
(43) Tortoises would sooner creep out of their shells
Than these would let go of their wicked resolve,
Or check their intemperate desire
To help themselves to the World’s hard-won goods,33*
Or to dissipate and squander
What their Forefathers gathered with sweat, pain, or skill,34
Until they engulf their households and themselves
In lasting shame and pitiable misfortune.
(44) By their thousands, many depart this life,
Wasting time as if it were something futile and trifling.
The World has nothing more to proclaim about them
Than if they had never existed:
For [their] names lie amongst the departed,
Fathomlessly sunken, heavy as lead,
In Lethe’s foul muddied currents.
Nothing remains to be dreamt of them.
(45) Artists, Scholars, in a word, many persons,
Princes, Captains, by treading upon
Idleness, have with labor ascended,*
Arriving at acclaim and honor
Through hard employment and glorious works.
It would turn out badly for us in a World
Without labor vigorously exercised,
Whose fruits are utility, tranquility, and joy.
(46) Hearing this, O Youths, tread apace like wheels
Upon the roadway of labor, for its end is sweet;35
Paint, draw, scribble; would you cover*
A heap of Paper, it will suffer it gladly.36
Steal arms, legs, torsos, hands, feet,
Here nothing is forbidden. Those who will, must
Play well the part of the personage Rapiamus:37
Well cooked turnips make for a good potage.38
(47) Strive to flee Rhetorica, the sweet-featured art of poetry,39*
Howsoever merry and diverting [she may be];
Yet I myself have never entirely abandoned her,
Although I fear she has freely diverted me
From the Painter’s path.
She is a beautiful flower: were she to bear fruit,
Or bring wheaten flour into the Kitchen,
Then might the urge, itching to practice her, avail.40
(48) Laboring in the Workshop with the other fellows,
Stand fast by your Compact not to squabble.
Even if you’re the best, be pleased to help the least.
Keep the Workshop in good repair;
Attend to the Master’s Palette and Brushes,
Cleaning, preparing canvases and panels,
Grinding the pigments finely, and taking care to keep them pristine,
Not over-tempering the smalts or the ashes.41
(49) As you commence to suckle at the virgin breasts
Of the sage Maiden who bears arms,
And came forth, as the Poets attest,
From Jupiter’s brow, so shall you gladly bow
To common judgment;42 herein apprentice yourself*
To Apelles, for if you patiently lend your ears,
Oftentimes you shall seize upon something43
Previously unknown to you.44
(50) Pay no heed to the heralds of Midas,*
Whose perverse judgments lead to a bad end,45
But instead guard yourself against prattling Momus.46
If you think to find glaring faults
In your Master’s work, be not inclined to expose them,**
For thereby can nothing good come your way,
Only mockery and contempt, or, at the very least,
Your sure reward shall be covert ingratitude.
(51) All the same, you may behave thus toward your fellows,*
But I urge you always to do so with courtesy,
Which will taste better to him, should he be hungry:
But readily be neither flattering nor double-tongued,
Or sing the part of sweet Placebo before someone’s face,47
While later, behind his back, forcing hard cadences
And discordant tones from your throat,
Prizing in someone’s presence, what you deride in his absence.
(52) Steer clear of the spirit of conceit,*
Which may blind you with shallow complacency,
And, what’s more, may make your heart swell with pride,
So that, once sown with learning, you presently
Take your rest, rather than ploughing further:
For they to whom pleasure in themselves attaches,
Such as these are wondrously fortunate;
They, too, are rich who possess contentment (or so the saying goes).
(53) Quite the contrary, as regards our undertakings we must beware [self-conceit],
Should we wish to excel in the Arts,
And endeavor always to advance farther;
Never should we lightly impugn another’s work,
For it often turns out that nothing is so low or contemptible48*
That one cannot find in it something praiseworthy
That has a certain art, and concerning the rest,
What more is there to say? Everyone does his best.
(54) One shall neither applaud nor censure oneself,*
Or do the same to the work of another’s hands,
For self-applause will expose you as a fool,
And self-contempt will smack somewhat of fishing for compliments.
Thus, since both pathways conduce to [your] discredit,
Let persons of good understanding judge accordingly:
For to laud oneself is as mightily foolish
As despising oneself is ludicrous.
(55) Many who habitually stand and rant in the Marketplace,
Peddling this or that nostrum,
Share the habit of blowing their own horn,
Extolling themselves and their trifles,49
And conversely, viewing their congeners with contempt.
But take care: let this be avoided by all
Who shelter in Helicon’s dwelling place,
Lest they suffer the same punishment as the Pierides.50
(56) All who slake their thirst at the Horse’s fountain,51
See to it that you come to no harm,
Unlike the captious nattering Magpie,*
Or the Satyr flayed for boasting.52
Earn not the punishment of Arachne
Who dared to measure herself against Minerva.53
Therefore, if you should wish to become renowned in the Arts,
Desist from rivalrous self-content.
(57) Albeit you find yourself fully [set] on the path of Art, like a Hart,
And the others like Snails, sluggish and tentative,
And the Prize assured, for you and you alone,
Seeing that no one stands beside you, or at best no more than a few,
While the majority follow listlessly behind,
Yet must you not be insensibly rude,
Nor aggrandize yourself by virtue of the gifts of God,*
Like Pages sitting on their Lords’ horses.
(58) Concerning that which you have been lent, be neither proud nor haughty,
But humbly thank [God] who allowed you to receive it*
For your livelihood, according to season,
Since it was given simply as a means of sustaining life.
Both Art and Artist must perish,
However fine or lively: Death constrains one and the other
With a bridle, deferring not a wit,
Pulling everything down into his dark dungeon.54
(59) Even though the Arts, unlike Riches,
Are not hostage to the flight of Fortune,
Be not on that account vainglorious,
For nothing remains constant in this Earthly vale of tears:*
Your sight, clear for now, may grow dim,
So, too, something may befall your body,
Subservient as it is to misery, from head to toe.
The usage of Art would then be as nothing to you.
(60) Thus I offer you this advice: however richly you have prospered,
Remain humble, always unpretentious,*
Not doing what the foolish multitudes commonly do:
Having newly amassed a bit of worldly dross
By plying some trade,
They oftentimes care more for tenners and fivers
Than deign to ask about
Needy acquaintances, friends, or relatives.55
(61) Honorably doing one’s best,
Remaining unstuck from the mire, is not to be despised,
Nor is it unwise to busy the hand steadily
With sound exercises from a young age.
In order not to become a lifelong bungler,
Avoid that libertine rascal
Cupid’s appetite for lovemaking, for his campaigns*
Much hinder a Youth’s pathway to virtue.56
(62) The Senses scatter like the hunting Hounds
That devoured their Master’s flesh as prey*
For his having gaped at Diana, [an offense] without remedy.57
Yea the fire of Paris reduced to ashes
Troy, in which so much splendor lay.58
Thus does this blind God of Desire leave many a Prodigy
To be consumed by flames, having seduced him young,
Like a child who drowns ere it knows a thing about water.
(63) Such as these judge like Paris at his most foolish.
Painters’ Marriages are very similar in kind;*
To them sensory beauty appeals most urgently.
But beware lest you incline to act rashly;
Leave the Wine God’s son Hymen with the other Gods;**
Keep in mind that [marriage] shall not suddenly be banned.
To avoid Headache it is held good
To breakfast early and wait long to wed.59
(64) As for marrying well, one cannot start too early,*
Nor delay too long to marry badly.
When it turns out well, without equivocation,
It is a thing most to be treasured,**
The surest way of combatting sorrow,
And yet, there is no need to fix a date:
A full and precise account is to be found in Pero Mexia’s
Second Book, Chapter Thirteen.60
(65) It appears that the Bride-to-Be should be about*
Ten years younger than the Bridegroom,
As the mellifluous poet Ariosto
Likewise reveals in his Satires.61
But our Painter (if he be not pressed by
Exigent circumstances), before giving himself [in marriage]
Should definitely visit Lands in some of the World’s corners,
For the love of Art.
(66) Indeed, I should wholeheartedly encourage you to travel,
Did I not fear that you might go astray,
For Rome is the City whereto, above all other places,
The Painters’ journey leads them,
Being the capital of the Schools of Pictura,62
But also the very place where profligates*
And prodigal Sons fritter away their property.
One shrinks from permitting Youths to take the trip.
(67) Experience also teaches us
That many return from there penniless and poor,
For [Rome] is a house wherein errors are fed,
A traitorous nest wherein is bred
All the evil that today spreads the World over;
So Petrarch describes [Rome], and what he further recounts,
Too long to recapitulate here,
Is in truth difficult to contradict.63
(68) Nevertheless, one might well become fond of the Land’s sweetness,
So, too, Italus’s folk, sprung from Janus,
Who have ever done much to elevate our Art,
Are on the whole neither Traitors nor Thieves,*
But subtle, imbued with courtesy,
Though with an open mouth and a closed hand:64
For under the Sun there lives nearly no Nation,
That has not its special fault and special grace.
(69) But should you [choose to] travel, let it not occur*
Contrary to your desire and without your Parents’ consent;
Small Inns, bad company, you shall flee,
And let no one espy on your person much money,
And keep it quiet that you are on a long journey.
Be honorable and polite, free of contention.
Have money at all times, but also hesitate
To loan much to your own countrymen of poor estate.
(70) Everywhere you go, learn the People’s customs,
Follow the good, shun the bad,
Rise early and also take your lodgings early,
And to avoid sickness and vermin,
Keep a close watch on the bedding and linens:
But above all, always steer clear of*
Loose Women, for apart from [their] sinfulness
They may mark you for life.65
(71) When coming to Italy, it will sometimes behoove you,
Like the Falcon, to wear a hood66
Against the beautiful Circe, with all her guile.67
As for the sort of work you’ll do there: it consists of painting
Landscapes on wet plaster, alongside Grotesques.68
For the Italians think mistakenly
That we are all proficient [landscapists], and they in figures;69
Thereupon, I hope to rob them of their allotted share.
(72) Yea I hope herein to be no idle hoper.*
They themselves see as much even now, more than adequately,
On canvas, in stone, on copperplates.70
You Youths, too, pay heed, take courage, though much
Has already dripped through the basket, be diligent
In achieving our goal,
That they no longer say in their language:
Flemings are no good at depicting figures.
(73) Tarrying not on the outward journey,
Prefer instead to visit Alemania during the trip home,*
Even if Money is met there sooner than Art,
And (if the stuff of the French peace be not ill-founded)71
Also Provence, Brittany,
The whole of France, Burgundy, and Spain:
Everywhere that fine Indian yellow
And that white ore are to be garnered.72
(74) Brought home, clinking happily,
A goodly share of such mixed metals,73
Should gratify your Parents and friends,
And so, too, if you deck yourself out, becomingly and honorably,
Your homecoming will smell sour to no one;
They will welcome you with presents.
Away then, winged heels: journey ended,
Let one be joined quickly and firmly with one’s Sweetheart.
(75) Finally, see to it that you not return empty-handed
From that which you undertook for your benefit.
Bring with you from Rome a fine manner of drawing,74*
And good painting from the city of Venice,75
Which [topics], for lack of time, I must for now set aside,
Having myself traversed additional routes,
Some of which (to shorten my exhortation)
I shall now briefly convey.
(76) For the sake of Pictura:
With joy, the palliative to pain,
In Helvetia, I climbed over*
The snow-topped Alps, shiveringly high,
And also the grueling Apennines,
Through whose mists and lowering storms
The great Military Man Hannibal
Failed in his plan to cross over [into Italy].
(77) I came so far as to see and live in
The longed-for City, which (as one can read)
First emerged on Mount Palatinus, from small beginnings,
From two Foster Sons and a She-Wolf,
And whose fame traversed the entire World.
Its ruined buildings taught me,
Bearing incontrovertible witness
To how splendid Rome had once been.76
(78) Every now and then, the Italians and I
Made our way outside the city, to practice [our] Art;
There I saw Cicero’s Town Tusculum,
The ancient Countryside of Latium, and Alba Longa,
Also Circe’s mountain soaring airily,
Where Ulysses’s men were driven
Into the Pigpen (as the Poets’ verses state),
And the Appian way, with many other monuments.77
(79) Diverse bodies of Water, worthy of mention,
Did I also see with alacrity, for Art’s sake,
Furthermore sailing with great difficulty
Through the salty waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
I saw the Wine-rich Tiber flowing turbidly,
Likewise the Padus, proud of mien,78
Having won a noble reputation
From the hapless Driver of the Sun[’s chariot].79
(80) The unsettled Arnus, sometimes dry,
Sometimes overflown, I beheld as well,
But it cost Hannibal an eye,
As if taking revenge upon him for having straitened
The Etruscan lands by waging war.80
I saw the waters of the Trebbia, where
To the great detriment of the Roman legions,
Sempronius repented his pride too late.81
(81) Moreover, I sailed two great Rivers,
Inimitable compared to the rest,
The [two] chief ornaments of Europe:
First the Danubius, in some quarters*
Named Ister, which (so some say)
Streams with such force into the Mare majus82
That its salty waves must yield,
Allowing its waters to be sweetened by forty miles.
(82) Rhenus, the splendid, profitable River
Flowing benevolently toward our Netherlands,
I consider the most worthy of fame after [the Danube].
These Waters and many reputable cities
Did I visit, in order with better understanding
To comprehend the Art that I have now
Taken in hand to portray
With the pen, exactly as I know her.
(83) For having thus taken so many
Steps in my younger days,
Yet, however many, always to please her,
It stands to reason that she will surely allow me
To put her natural features on show,
Aye, her Laws and usages,
For the sake of up and coming Prodigies eager to learn,
Serving [to abet] them a little in their undertaking.
(84) Herein I hope to do what my capacity allows,
But not blindly, and so, to circumvent error,
I have suckled at various breasts,
And somewhat exercised my invention, and drawn
Extensively upon both ancient and modern Authors,
For I find this commonly to be the case,
That even the most outstanding Writers
Have had to fish in other ponds.
End of the Exhortation.
Footnotes
*
Parents blithely say that they will make Painters of their children, but this is something they cannot bring about, nor is it in their power.
*
Between Painter and Painter there lies a great mountain.
*
The Art of Painting is alluring, but difficult to learn.
*
Without Nature, one cannot become a Painter.
*
Nature specially inclines each Youth toward something singular to himself.
*
Parents ought diligently to observe how Youths so incline, according to what Plato writes in the third dialogue of his Republic.9
*
One must detect early on whether someone will become a good Painter.
*
Out of a hundred, one rarely achieves perfection.
*
The Art is jealous; for this reason, one must avoid what is contrary to her.
*
Be advised to keep track of time, and to snatch time from time.
*
Saying of Coornhert.
*
This was once subtly depicted by Goltzius.17
*
How precious time is.
*
Time and occasion, or time’s opportunity, once having passed, never return.
*
Idleness: mother of every evil, and nursemaid to poverty.
**
Every vice brings along its own punishment.
*
On the evil of drunkenness, and on its rotten fruits.
*
Although fighting is a great scandal, fools praise it.
*
That youthful painters must avoid drunkenness.
**
The proverb, “Once a Painter, twice a wild man,” must be dispelled.
*
Foolish presumption of some Artists, who wish to become famous for their base lives.
*
False supposition that most Artists are exterminators of virtue: for this is against the Nature of the art of Painting.
*
They who live indecently are unworthy of the name Artist.
**
Painters were once beloved by Princes and Scholars.
*
Just as the artful Painter through his work entices a Person to gaze, so the Art of living honorably attracts to itself hearts and friendship.
*
Amongst Painters, civility should hold the upper hand.
**
Courtesy is equal to any task.
***
Every kind of courtesy is comprised by the word Painter-like.
*
Painters must neither fight nor cavil, but instead wisely resolve their differences.
*
Ignorance is the mother of discord.
*
Here read the life of Pamphilus, the Macedonian Painter.24
**
Plutarch also says that Emilius Paulus taught his Sons sculpture and painting amongst other noble Arts.25
*
Example of the courtesy of Apelles.
*
Read about this in the life of Raphael.28
*
Fable from Ariosto, taken from Orlando Furioso, Cantos 34 & 35.30
*
By this old Man is understood the time.
*
Amongst many thousands, one becomes famous through Art.
*
On the Temple of Fame.
*
Meaning of the Fable.
*
That it is no good Art to squander hard-won goods.
*
Utility of diligence and labor.
*
Incitement to the Art of Painting.
*
Rhetorica a beautiful flower that bears no fruit, inadvisable due to the jealous arts of Picturing.
*
One must also attend to the judgment of the common folk.
*
One must pay no heed to the bad judgment of the ignorant.
**
No one must lightly expose a Master’s faults.
*
Point out a fellow youth’s faults with courtesy.
*
Self-conceit is to be avoided.
*
Nothing is so bad as to comprise nothing good.
*
One shall neither praise nor dispraise oneself.
*
Lightly derogate no one’s work.
*
He who is adept in Art shall not puff himself up.
*
One shall thank God for his gifts.
*
That which God has given to us can be taken away.
*
Advice against pride.
*
Lovemaking at a young age is ill-advised.
*
Examples of Actaeon and Paris.
*
On the marriages of flighty Painters.
**
Not to wed too soon.
*
One cannot marry well too early, nor marry poorly too late.
**
Praise of a good Marriage.
*
A Bride-to-Be should enter into marriage ten years younger than the Bridegroom.
*
The trip to Rome is ill-advised: it provides too many ways of wasting one’s money, with few ways of earning any income.
*
The nature of the Italians.
*
Instruction for Youths partial to Painting: how to conduct themselves while journeying.
*
Through loose Women, much is corrupted.
*
Advice to labor diligently, thereby to wrest from the Italians their Proverb.
*
That one may visit other lands during the return journey from Italy, in order to return home having won much money, for then is one welcome.
*
In Rome, learn to draw, and in Venice, to paint.
*
Helvetia is Switzerland.
*
Herodotus in Melpomene, book 4, considers the Danube the foremost of all Rivers.