Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

54

as an intermediary between the duke and the workshops. Maestro Giovanne

Fiamengo and the Pittore da ForIi both appear in the many documents con­

cerning the workshops as being employed by the duke. Cibo was obviously

acquainted with Ardovino and, therefore, must have been familiar with the

workshops and the artists working there. He might have known the young

Mariani if the latter did arrive in Pesaro before 16 00. In any case, he probably

knew the miniaturists' workshop.

The connection

As mentioned earlier, the Rome manuscript is written in two hands. The

two pages in Cibo's handwriting comprise two chapters, one chapter on the

mixture fo r meadows and fields (with two color samples in the margin), and

one chapter with more general instructions on mixtures of colors (see Ap­

pendix doc. 3). At the end of the latter chapter, the following is written: " ...

such that if you Sir, will try to be a little less lazy and exercise more often,

the exercises will work out very well." This last sentence makes clear that the

manuscript was intended as a manual fo r someone who wanted to learn, or

was ordered to learn, to paint and draw landscapes like Cibo did, that is, in

the Flemish way. Although the manuscript is part of the Urbinati Latini col­

lection of the Vatican Library, it seems unlikely that it was written fo r the

duke himself, as the final remark is not very suitable fo r addressing a duke. It

is reasonable to assume, however, that the duke, obviously impressed by Cibo's

artistic capabilities, asked him to write down his techniques fo r the execution

of landscapes in the Flemish manner in a manual that could be used by the

duke's miniaturists' workshop. The different handwriting, corrections, and

repetitions may indicate that Cibo dictated the text to someone, except fo r

the chapter in which he addresses the person fo r whom the manuscript was

meant. This person might have been the young Mariani. If not, then Mariani

fo und the little book on landscape painting, reworked it, and included it in

his treatise. The pigments and dyestuffs that appear in the landscape section­

some of them rather uncommon, such as giallo de' vasari and bruno d'Inghil­

terra--are all described in Mariani's recipes (in the first section of the Leiden

and Yale manuscripts). Cibo really did experiment with extracting colors from

plants and fr uits, as well as with mixtures of pigments, as similar proofs of the

color samples described previously can be fo und throughout all Cibo's works,

even in the margin of the text of the Rome manuscript. These ricordi (re­

minders) may have inspired Mariani to describe exactly those pigments and

dyestuffs Cibo used. Interesting is the use of the name giallo de' vasari (potter's

yellow) fo r lead-antimone yellow. In the Marche, the most important and

famous majolica industry of Italy was flourishing in the sixteenth century.

Cibo presumably obtained this pigment directly from the potters. In the rec­

ipe fo r bruno de Inghilterra, Mariani says the color was known to spetiali et

pittori (pharmacists and painters) but that so fa r he had not been able to

discover the exact composition. Most of the other recipes are traditional,

except fo r those using plants and fr uits to extract dyestuffs; the latter recipes

may also come from Cibo. The extra chapters on composition and under­

drawing, although not present in Ricordi di belli colori, seem to reflect Cibo's

techniques when compared with his work.

Although no definite proof can be given, a personal exchange of information

between Mariani and Cibo cannot be excluded.

A comparison between practice and theory is possible, as ample material can

be researched. Not only Mariani's miniatures, especially the signed one, but

also Cibo's many landscape drawings and the herbaria and illustrated Dios­

corides editions, provide this opportunity. It is clear that Mariani used the

same method of building up transparent layers in the background landscape

of his signed miniature as is described in Cibo's instructions (Plate 8). Ma­

riani's technique, although clearly guided by a personal interpretation, is very

similar to that used in Cibo's landscape drawings executed in ink and colored

with transparent watercolors.

Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice