18. 1450. _Bartolomeo di Mariano_, called “_Il Mandriano_.”
Of the first and second of these three men nothing is known but their names, and the notice which records their work, described in the last chapter. As I have suggested, Nastagio di Guasparre and Guasparre d’ Agostino may have been father and son, or master and pupil. I have also referred to the fact that Guasparre d’Agostino painted frescoes of the Crucifixion and Burial of Christ in the apse over the altar of the Baptistery,[166] and was commissioned to paint some scenes from the life of S. Bernardino for the Sacristy of the Duomo. We are told also by Milanesi[167] that he was the master of Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi.
Son of Bastiano di Corso, he married Nanna, daughter of a certain Simone di Niccolo, surnamed _Calabrese_, a maker of drinking vessels. He was, as we have seen, a sculptor like his father, with whom he worked. We read, besides, however, that he made the balcony of the Palazzo Pubblico,[168] whence the sentences on criminals were read, and executed certain marble work at the Oratorio di Sta. Caterina in Fontebranda.[169]
21. 1459. _Antonio di Federigo or Federighi_ (_Federigi_).
This sculptor and architect was one of the glories of Siena in his time. In one document, to be referred to later, he is called Tolomei (_de Ptholomeis_), but we have no record as to his birth or family. In 1444, he was among the artists employed on the tomb of Bishop Carlo Bartoli, and for his share in the work he received 15 lire. In 1451, he was appointed Capo-maestro of the Opera del Duomo at Orvieto,[170] where he remained until 1456, living in considerable style.[171] He had with him all the time his two pupils, Polimante of Assisi and Vito di Marco, both of whom were paid by the Duomo authorities. He was evidently held in high honour, for we find on April 7th, 1452,[172] the Signoria of Siena writing to the heads of the Commune at Orvieto, to ask them to recommend him to the notice of the Duke of Calabria. In April, 1453, with safe conducts from the Republic of Florence and the King of Naples, he, with seven companions, went to Carrara to quarry marble, and in October of the same year he started for Corneto for a similar purpose; but was recalled on the 5th of the same month, to advise as to the roof of one of the Chapels in the Duomo, which threatened to collapse. In September, 1456, he made, and put into position, one of the statues on the façade. During this period he made statues of SS. Ansano, Vittore, and Savino for the Loggia di Mercanzia or S. Paolo (now the Casino dei Nobili), and executed the work before the doors of the Baptistery, to which we have already alluded. (Ill. XXII.) After 1456, he appears to have returned to Siena, for we find a number of references to a commission for the statues of SS. Peter and Paul, given first to Urbano da Cortona, then to Federighi, and lastly to Lorenzo di Pietro (_Il Vecchietta_); the special object of the last change being to keep that artist in Siena.[173] From 1460 to 1462, he was engaged in the design and erection of the magnificent Loggia di Papa, built by Pope Pius II.; and in 1463, on the palace of that Pope’s sister, Caterina Piccolomini, called then Palazzo _delle Papesse_, but now styled Palazzo _Nerucci_.[174] In 1469–70, we hear of work done by him at the Oratorio di S. Caterina in Fontebranda; in 1473 party to the contract made between the Sienese and Lombard workers in stone: and in 1480, he petitioned the authorities with reference to the drainage and water-supply of the town.[175] Other noticeable works by him are the marble bench on the right-hand side of the Loggia di Mercanzia, before-mentioned; the basins of the two holy water stoups at the west end of the Cathedral Nave (attributed, wrongly, to Quercia); and the Chapel and Palace, outside the Porta Camollia, known as the _Palazzo dei Diavoli_.