The International Monthly Magazine of Literature, Science and Art | Page 7

ascertained
whether the painting, so clearly pointed out by Vasari, was or was not
in existence: several months, however, of wearisome labors in the same
pursuit taught me to judge more leniently of the failures of my
predecessors. Mr. Wilde put Moreni's note before me, and suggested
and urged, that being an Italian by birth, though not a Florentine, and
having lived many years in England and among the English, I had it in
my power to bring two modes of influence to bear upon the research;
and that such being the case I ought to undertake it. My thoughts
immediately turned to Mr. Kirkup, an artist who had abandoned his art
to devote himself entirely to antiquarian pursuits, with whom I was
well acquainted, and who, having lived many years in Florence, (I
believe fifteen,) would weigh the value of Moreni's testimony on this

matter, and effectually assist me in every way, if I took it in hand. So I
called upon him, either that same day or the next; and I found that he,
like most other people, had read the passage in Vasari's life of Giotto,
in which it is explicitly said, that the portrait of Dante had been painted
with others in the Palazzo del Podesta, and was to be seen at the time
the historian was writing; but that he had not read, or had not put any
confidence in, the note of the Florence edition of Vasari published in
1832--1838, in which it is stated, that the Palazzo del Podesta had now
become a prison--the Bargello; that the Chapel had been turned into a
dispensa, (it was more like a coal-hole where the rags and much of the
filth of the prison was deposited); that the walls of this dispensa
exhibited nothing but a dirty coating, and that Moreni speaks of the
painting in some published work; the annotator concluding thus--'It is
hoped that some day or other we shall be able to see what there is under
the coating of the walls.' So everybody hoped that some day or other
the thing would be done, but nobody set about heartily to do it; and it is
inconceivable to me that Mr. Kirkup, who shows in this letter, if it be
his, such jealousy for the credit of the recovery, should have lived so
many years in Florence either entirely ignorant of that which every
shop-boy knew, or knowing there were chances of bringing such a
treasure to light, that he should have never moved one step for that
purpose. That Mr. Kirkup took no active part in this matter at any time,
is quite proved by two admissions I find in the letter of your
correspondent. He first says, 'I remember that the first time I passed to
the Bargello to see it, I found Marini on a scaffold,' &c. The fact is, that
several months had elapsed between the first presentation of the
memorial and the erection of the scaffold, during which Mr. Kirkup
admits that he never thought of visiting the place, while I had spent
hours and hours there, under not very pleasant circumstances, and had
detected raised aureolas and other evidences of old fresco. But he
continues--'Marini was permitted to return to the work on account of
the government; and at that point Bezzi returned to England. It was
some months afterwards that I heard that Marini had found certain
figures, and soon afterwards the discovery of Dante himself" (sic.)
These two passages sufficiently show the nature of Mr. Kirkup's labors,
and how far he was really eager in the pursuit of this object, both
during the time when I was most deeply engaged in it, and also for

'some months' after I had quitted Florence. But to resume: Mr. Kirkup,
however ignorant, or culpably negligent, or a little of both, he might
previously have been on the subject, yet when I brought it before him,
he at once admitted its importance, and made a liberal offer of money,
if any should be required, to carry out the experiment. Thus encouraged
by Mr. Wilde and by Mr. Kirkup, I sought and found among English,
American, and Italian friends and acquaintances, many that were ready
to assist the plan. Then it was that I drew up a memorial to the Grand
Duke; not because I am an 'advocate,' as your correspondent is pleased
to call me, for that is not the case, but simply because, having taken
pains to organize the means of working out the common object, the
coöperators thought that I could best represent what this common
object was. In the memorial, I stated that, according to what Vasari,
Moreni, and others had written, it was just possible that a treasure was
lying hidden under the dirty coatings of the