Modern works: Bramante’s Belvedere

HAuing spoken of many Antiquities, and placed them in Figure; it is requisite that I also shew some of those that were made in these dayes, and specially, of Bramants worke, although I haue not altogether omitted it, hauing shewed the wonderfull worke of S. Peters Church, and other things belonging to holy Temples. And in truth, a man may well say, that he restored good and perfert Architecture, as yet, by the meanes of Iulio P. M. many fayre pieces of worke were made by him in Rome, do witnesse; of the which, this set here, is one: this is a Gallery made in Beluedere, in the Popes Court, wherein are two fayre things to be séene: the one is, the strength thereof; the which, for that the Pilasters are of so great bredth and thicknesse, will last, while the world endureth: the other, for that there are so many accompagments so well set out, with good inuention, and excellent proportion: this worke is measured with the ancient Palme. The bredth of the Arches, is 18. Palmes: and so much are the Pilasters: the bredth of the Pilasters is deuided into 11. parts: one part on eyther side of the Pilaster, which beareth the Arch shall haue, which is two parts: other two parts shall be giuen vnto one Columne, that is 4. parts: 2. parts shall be giuen to the little Pilasters of the Niches, or hollow seates, and 3. parts to the Niches themselues: so are the 11. parts distributed. The height of the Pedestals shall be halfe the widenesse of the Pilasters. The height of the Base of the Pedestals, shall haue one part of the before sayd 11 parts. The Cornice is the 9. part lesse then the Base. The height of the Columnes, with Bases and Capitals, are of 9. Diameters, and thereunto also the seuenth part. The Base is halfe the thickenesse of the Columnes. The Capitall is of the same thickenesse: and the seuenth part for the Abacus. The height of the Architraue, Fréese and Cornice, is as much as the Pedestall without his Base. And this height is deuided into 11. parts, foure for the Architraue, 3. for the Freese, because it is vngrauen, and 4. for the Cornice, as the halfe Circle of the Arch is drawne; then the heights of the lights will be double: after that, the imposts being drawne in their places, the which are of halfe a Columne thicke, and so the Niches or seates, and the Quadrans aboue them, haue their certaine proportion.

BEcause I could not (by reason of the smalnesse of the Figure) perfectly shew the parts of the Gallery aforesayd, therefore I haue shewed them hereunder in greater forme: the part C. is the Pedestall of this Gallery, and vpon it the Base of the Columne slandeth, proportioned according to the great: the part B. sheweth the impost of the Arch, with a part thereof. The Figure marked A. sheweth the Architraue, Fréese & Cornice aboue the Columnes. The generall measures, touching the height, are already sh•wne, therefore not to be mentioned againe: for they are proportioned after the great. In this Cornice the workeman was very iudicious, that he suffered the Corona to go through vnbroken; and suffered the other parts of the Corona to beare outwards, which is very séemely, and the crowne the stronger, and kéepeth the whole worke from water: with which inuention, the workeman may helpe himselfe in diuers accidents; for the reaching out of Cornices stand not alwayes well, but in some places well, and in some places ill; and the bearings out vntolerable, where the Columnes on the sides haue no Pilasters: of these bearings out, I will say more in the fourth Booke, in the handling of foure maner of Simmetrie of Columnes.

IN the leafe before, I shewed a piece of worke of Bramants making: and now I will shew another of his workes, from whence a wise workeman may helpe himselfe much, by meanes of the diuers and sundry ornaments that are in it. In this Gallery, the workeman would shew thrée stories or orders one aboue another, viz. Dorica, Ionica, and Corinthia: and in trueth, the orders were faire, well set out, and placed: notwithstanding, that the Pilasters of the first story or order being Dorica, were somewhat too weake, and the Arches too wide, to the proportion of the Pilasters; and therewith the weight of the wall of the Ionica order standing vpon it, was an occasion that it was broken, ruinated and decayed in short time. But Balthazar of Sciene, a skilfull workeman, repayred the decayed ruines, making counter Pilasters, with vnder-Arches: therefore I haue said, wise workemen may learne of this building; not onely to imitate fayre and well made things, but also to beware of errors, and alwayes to consider what wright the nethermost story is to sustaine: therefore I counsell a workeman rather to be timerous, then ouer-bold; for if he be timerous, he will alwayes chuse the surest way, and make his worke with consideration, and will vse counsell, yea of such as are lesse skilfull then himselfe, of whom sometime men often learne: but if he be high-minded, and trusteth too much to his own skill and knowledge, then he will scorne another mans counsell, whereby oftentimes he deceyueth and ouer-shooteth himselfe; so that oftentimes his worke falleth out badly. Now I will turne to speake of this Gallery, and set downe some notes of the proportion thereof. The widenesse of the Arch shall bee deuided into eyght parts, whereof thrée parts shall be for the bredth of the Pilasters, and the height of the Arch shall containe 16. of such parts. The forepart of the Pilasters shall be deuided into foure parts, whereof two parts shall be for the Pilasters of the Arches, and the other two shall be for the thicknesse of the Columnes: the height of the Pedestals shall containe halfe the widenesse of the lights: the height of the Columnes shall bee eyght parts of their thicknesse, with the Bases and Capitals. The height of the Architraue, Fréese and Cornice, is a fourth part of the length of the Columne. The second story shall bee lesse then the first by a fourth part, viz. That from the Pauement of the Dorica story, to the highest of the Cornice, shall be deuided into 4. parts, and 3. of them shall be for the whole story of the Ionica worke, and so shall all the parts particularly bee lessened in themselues a fourth part. The like also shall be done with the third story, which is Corinthia, in regard of the second order, although it standeth not here, because the Figure is drawne too great: but not to put the Reader in a maze or doubt at the Columnes which stand here in the middle, as desirous to know how they end at the top; you must vnderstand, that you shall finde such inuention in the fourth Booke, in the Order of Dorica in the side H 2. that although that those Columnes are Ionica in the sayd Booke, notwithstanding, you may make them Corinthia. And that the workeman might the better vnderstand the members and Cornicements of this worke, I haue shewed them in greater forme, and proportioned them according to the principall: I speake of the members of the first story: for a man could not easily come to measure the other.

AT Beluedere, at the entry of the Popes Court, through the Callery, which I haue set downe before, for the places alwayes goe vpwards, there is a going vp which is very fayre: at the head wherof, you come to a plaine, which hath the forme of a Theater; the ground whereof is shewed vnder this: and thereto I haue set the Profill, that you may vnderstand it. Here I haue kept no account of the measures, destring onely to shew the inuention of the stayres, and the halfe Circle as it standeth. This halfe Circle is very much eleuated from the Court of the Popes house to the Palace-ward: and behind the halfe Circle, you • a great playne with fayre appertements; at which place, you goe through the two Gates, which you sée in the sides of this ha• Circ•; in which places there are many faire Images, and among the rest Laocoon, Apollo, Tyber, Venus, Cleopatra, and Hercules.

T• the Orthography of the ground shewed Folio 69. and as I haue sayd, I will not speake of the measure •eof, but onely of the inuention: and although that here on eyther side, onely one Pilaster, with his Columnes, •s shewed, yet is it not vnlike some Galleries, whereof I haue spoken before, and that appeareth by the double Co•mnes, together with the Niches or hollow seates, with the Quadrans aboue them. In Beluedere there are many other things, which I haue showne, & among other things, there are wonderfull winding Stayres, in the ground whereof, there standeth a Fountayne, flowing excéedingly with water, the which going vp is all full of Columnes in the innermost part: which Columnes are of foure Orders: viz. Dorica, Ionica, Corinthia, and Composita: but that which is most wonderfull and ingenious, is that betwéene one and the other Order, there is no difference or distance, but men goe from the Dorica to the Ionica, and from the Ionica to the Corinthia, and from the Corinthia to the Composita, with such cunning, that a man cannot perceiue where one Order endeth and goeth into the other: so that I am of opinion, that Bramant neuer made a fairer nor costlier piece of worke then this.