know not whether of Ferrara, or, as some affirm, of Modena[1]—who all painted many works, in fresco, in a church called “Casa di Mezzo”, situated beyond the gate of San Mammalo. Cristofano, for example, depicted various events from the Old Testament on one of the walls, beginning with the Creation of Adam, and ending with the Death of Moses. Thirty stories were composed by Simon and Jacopo, for other portions of the work, the subjects taken from the life of Christ, commencing with his birth, and ending with the Last Supper. Galasso then painted the Crucifixion of Jesus, as may still be seen from the name of each painter inscribed beneath his work. These pictures were executed in the year 1404; the remainder of the church being afterwards painted by other masters, with stories from the life of David, very tolerably done. And it must needs be admitted that the Bolognese have some reason for the high estimation in which they hold these works, not only because they have considerable merit, for works of that period, but also because the colours have maintained their brilliancy and freshness, a circumstance which renders them worthy of high praise.[2] Some affirm that the above-named Galasso, when he had become very old, painted in oil also, but I have not been able to discover any work from his hand, except paintings in fresco, whether in Ferrara or elsewhere. One of the disciples of Galasso was Cosmè,[3] who painted a chapel in the church of San Domenico at Ferrara, and the foldingdoors which close the organ of the Duomo, with many other works, which are superior to the paintings of his master Galasso.
- ↑ Vidriano calls this artist a Modenese; Baldi, Bumaldo, and Masini, on the contrary, consider him to belong to Bologna; while the people of Ferrara claim him for themselves.
- ↑ The remains of the pictures by which this church, now called that of the Madonna di Mezzaratta, was adorned, have been freed from the whitewash, and diligently restored.— Ed. Flor. 1846 -9.
- ↑ Cosmè, or Cosimo Tura, court painter to Borso D’Este. He painted a kind of history in fresco, in one of the halls of the palace at Schivanoja; the work is in twelve compartments, and Borso himself is its hero. These paintings were whitened over in the last century, but have lately (1840) been in great part restored to view by Alessandro Campagnoni, a meritorious painter of Bologna.
Vittore Scarpaccia and Simone Benvenuti, called Simon of the Crucifixes.— Ed. Flor. 1846 -9.
