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XII. Perin del Vaga.
Seemed to be most unfortunate in respect of his first entrance into the World, for his father, who had consumed a good estate in extravagancy, was forced for his subsistance to list himself a Souldier in the service of Charles the Second King of France, when he made his expedition into Italy; His wife who attended him in his misfortunes, was delivered of this Child in the Camp, in the middle of all the Army; He was not above two months old, but the mother dyed of the plague and his father be∣ing forced to follow the Army, he was left alone in a Village, where he was brought up by the milke of a She-goat; and his father coming after wards to Bologna, there married a second Wife, who had likewise lost her Husband and Children by the Plague; this made her take compassion of this little crea∣ture, and having milk of her own, made an end of bringing it up; It was called Peter, and afterwards Perin; and being left by the father in the hands of some relations at Florence, and they growing weary of keeping him put him to serve an Apothecary; but not likeing that Trade, he was taken into the service of a Painter, called Andrea de Ceri, who conceiving good hopes of the Lad, took all the care imaginable to bring him up, behaving himself rather like a Father then a Master to him, and at last knowing himself not capable enough to make him a compleat Artist, and finding the Boy very ingenious, he put him to Ridolph Ghirlandio, one of the best Painters at that time in Italy, who carried him to Rome, and in a little time he outstripped all the young men that lived at the same time with Ghirlandio: At length having an aspiring mind and a mighty inclination to great designs, such as he saw emi∣nent in Michael Angelo Buonarota, and Raphael; he was in∣flamed with an incredible desire of imitating them, as most worthy his ambition and choice; but withall considering his owne poverty and mean condition, and how that to get Bread, he must work for the Shops of ordinary Painters, it made him almost despair of ever growing considerable; but at length he surmounted all difficulties, and opened to himself a way to renown by an obstinate persisting in hard labour, and by an extraordina∣ry success that attended it, for he divided the week into two Parts, working one half of it for bread, and setting the other half apart for Improvements: Having by this extraordinary di∣ligence gained a mighty progress in the Art, he was readily entertained among the disciples of Raphael, who never let slip an opportunity of helping forward any ingenious Artist, and he so easily captivated the affections of that incomparable person, that he employed him in the Galleries of Leo the tenth where all the best Artists of Europe were at work in emulation of each other; He was not long amongst them, but in many things he outdid them and grew in a short time one of the boldest Designer of all Rome, understanding the Mucles and the difficultest part of the Art in naked figures: In this Galle∣ry he painted the Battle of ••osuah and the Amorites a work of, great difficulty in respect of the greatness of the subject, but it was so well performed by him, and so highly approved of that he was ordered to do several other of the Histories both of the Old and New Testament in the same place, in all which their appeared so much beauty and resplendency that made both the Painter and his work, exceedingly admired and esteemed. In the Great Hall called la Sala di Pontifici, the Ceiling was committed to him and John d' Ʋdine, which they divided into seven Ovalls in which they painted, the seven Planets each drawn by the Animal that is appropriated to them by the Poets, As Jupiter by his Eagle, Venus by her Doves, &c. To which they added the Signs of the Zodiack with several of the other Caelestial Constellations most of which figures are of Perin's hand. In the middle of the Roofe is a Round in which are four Figures like four VICTO∣RIES, which hold the Popes Crowne and Keys, which figures being shortned extreme masterly are besides adorned with a most beautiful light Drapery which discovers very gracefully so much of their naked Arms and Legs, as is decent. After this he made for the Arch-Bishop of Cyprus certain Faunes, and Bacchinals: for Seignior Baldafini, the Exploits of the Romans from the time of Romulus, to that of Numa Pom∣piltus: for Cardinal Bucci the Prophets Isaiah and Daniel: af∣ter this He worked with Julio Romano and Francisco Penri in Pope Clement the sevenths Palace, until the sacking of Rome by the Duke of Bourbon, in which time of publick Calamity, Perin was fain to run up and down with his wife and Child, carrying them from place to place to save them from the fury of the Souldiers, and at last he himself was taken prisoner and was forced to pay so great a ransome, with such ill usage that he was like to have run mad, but at length he got over his misfortunes a second time, for Prince Doria finding him out, sent for him to Genoa to direct in the building a new Palace which he designed, and to make the ornaments there∣of, Sylvio de Fiesole was employed in making the Statues, and Perin in the design of the Fabrick, and the paintings. He paint∣ed in the first place several Trophies, and pieces of Grotesk and in the next the Portraits of the most emment Captains of the House of Dorin, all armed, and over them is written in letters of Gold these words, Magni viri, maxin•• Duces, opti∣ma fecere pro Patria. in another the Shiprack of Aeneas and his Fleet, in which there are naked figures, both dead and alive, great number of Galleys and vessels broken and overset, the Sea most terribly raging in high billows, the Heavens ob∣secured and all the tokens of a terrible storm, the whole is surrounded with a curious ornament in Stucco Work, in the second Hall he represented Jupiter durting his Thurder-bolts at the Giants. And out of Ovids Fables he chose some of the most delightful of them to adorne four other Chambers; Some of the other lodgings were painted by his disciples from de, signs of his preparing for them, insomuch that he made that Palace to be one of the wonders of Italy, both as to the magnificence of its building and the beautiful Embelishments of his hand: It was Perins Misfortune to have dissipated in wine, and women the best part of what should have main∣tained him in his old age, to repair which Error he fell into another, which was to make himself cheap, by undertaking any little piece for a small sum of ready money; so that be∣ing forced to excessive labour, and yet but little coming of it, he began to grow melancholly, and having no other comfort, but as oft as he could, to get to the Tavern, with a good Companion, and there drown his sorrows in a Brisk Glass, which being a Custom he had long frequented, he at last drank to such excess that that together with some other hears of youth brought him to his end at the age of fourty seven years.