,,fra ,,bartolommeo and ,,andrea        
,d',,agnolo   ,by ,leader ,scott        
,author ,of ,a ,nook ,in ,the ,apennines
   ,re-,edited ,by ,horace ,shipp and   
,flora ,kendrick1 ,a4,r4,b4,s4     ,the 
reproductions in this series are from   
official photographs of the ,national   
,collections1 or from photographs by    
,messrs4 ,andersen1 ,alinari or ,braun4 
,,foreword   ,michelangelo1 ,leonardo1  
,raphael3 the three great names of the  
noblest period of the ,renaissance take 
our minds from the host of fine artists 
who worked alongside them4 ,nevertheless
 beside these giants a whole host of    
exquisite artists have place1 and not   
least among them the three painters with
 whom ,mr4 ,leader ,scott has dealt in  
these pages4 ,fra ,bartolommeo linking  
up with the religious art of the        
preceding period1 with that of          
,masaccio1 of ,piero de ,cosimo1 his    
senior student in the studio of ,cosimo 
,roselli1 and at last with that of the  
definitely modern painters of the       

,renaissance1 ,raphael1 ,leonardo and   
,michelangelo himself1 is a transition  
painter in this supreme period4         
,technique and the work of hand and     
brain are rapidly taking the place of   
inspiration and the desire to convey a  
message4 ,the aesthetic sensation is    
becoming an end in itself4 ,the         
scientific painters1 perfecting their   
studies of anatomy and of perspective1  
having a conscious mastery over their   
tools and their mediums1 are taking the 
place of such men as ,fra ,angelico4    
,as a painter at this end of a period of
 transition--a painter whose spiritual  
leanings would undoubtedly have been    
with the earlier men1 but whose period  
was too strong for him--,fra            
,bartolommeo is of particular interest2 
and ,albertinelli1 for all the fiery    
surface difference of his outlook is too
 closely bound by the ties of his       
friendship for the ,frate to have any   
other viewpoint4  ,andrea del ,sarto    
presents yet another phenomenon3 that of

 the artist endowed with all the powers 
of craftsmanship yet serving an end     
neither basically spiritual nor         
basically aesthetic1 but definitely     
professional4 ,we have ,george ,vasari's
 word for it2 and ,vasari's blame upon  
the extravagant and too-well-beloved    
,lucrezia4 ,to-day we are so accustomed 
to the idea of the professional attitude
 to art that we can accept it in ,andrea
 without concern4 ,not that other and   
earlier artists were unconcerned with   
the aspect of payments4 ,the history of 
,italian art is full of quarrels and    
bickerings about prices1 the calling in 
of referees to decide between patron and
 painter1 demands and refusals of       
payment4 ,even the unworldly ,fra       
,bartolommeo was the centre of such     
quarrels1 and although his vow of       
poverty forbade him to receive money for
 his work1 the order to which he        
belonged stood out firmly for the scudi 
which the ,frate's pictures brought     
them4 ,in justice to ,andrea it must be 

added that this was not the only motive 
for his activities2 it was not without  
cause that the men of his time called   
him senza errori1 the faultless painter2
 and the production of a vast quantity  
of his work rather than good prices for 
individual pictures made his art pay to 
the extent it did4 ,a pot-boiler in     
masterpieces1 his works have place in   
every gallery of importance1 and he     
himself stands very close to the three  
greatest2 men of the ,renaissance4      
,both ,fra ,bartolommeo and             
,albertinelli are little known in this  
country4 ,practically nothing has been  
written about them and very few of their
 works are in either public galleries or
 private collections4 ,it is in ,italy1 
of course1 that one must study their    
originals1 although the great           
collections usually include one or two4 
,most interesting from the viewpoint of 
the study of art is the evolution of the
 work of the artist-monk as he came     
under the influence of the more dramatic

 modern and frankly sensational work of 
,raphael1 of the ,venetians and of      
,michelangelo4 ,in this case 7many will 
say in that of the art of the world7    
this tendency detracted rather than     
helped the work4 ,the draperies1 the    
dramatic poses1 the artistic sensation  
arrests the mind at the surface of the  
picture4 ,it is indeed strange that this
 devout churchman should have succumbed 
to the temptation1 and there are moments
 when one suspects that his somewhat    
spectacular pietism disguised the spirit
 of one whose mind had little to do with
 the mysticism of the mediaeval church4 
,or perhaps it was that the strange     
friendship between him and              
,albertinelli1 the man of the cloister  
and the man of the world1 effected some 
alchemy in the mind of each4 ,the story 
of that lifelong friendship1 strong     
enough to overcome the difficulties of a
 definite partnership between the strict
 life of the monastery and the busy life
 of the bottega1 is one of the most     

fascinating in art history4  ,mr4       
,leader ,scott has in all three lives   
the opportunity for fascinating studies1
 and his book presents them to us with  
much of the flavour of the period in    
which they lived4 ,perhaps to-day we    
should incline to modify his acceptance 
of the ,vasari attitude to ,lucrezia1   
especially since he himself tends to    
withdraw the charges against her1 but   
leaves her as the villainess of the     
piece upon very little evidence4 ,the   
inclusion of a chapter upon             
,ghirlandajo1 treated merely as a       
follower of ,fra ,bartolommeo1 scarcely 
does justice in modern eyes to this fine
 artist1 whose own day and generation   
did him such honour and paid him so     
well4 ,but the author's general         
conclusions as to the place in art and  
the significance of the lives of the    
three painters with whom he is chiefly  
concerned remains unchallenged1 and we  
have in the volume a necessary study to 
place alongside those of ,leonardo1 of  

,michelangelo and of ,raphael for an    
understanding of the culmination of the 
,renaissance in ,italy4                 
,,horace ,,shipp4     ,,contents4       
,,fra ,,bartolommeo4   ,,chapter        
,i4 ,,thoughts ,,on ,,the ,,renaissance 
,,ii4 ,,the ,,bottega ,,of ,,cosimo     
,,roselli4 ,a4,d4 #adge-adhf   ,,iii4   
,,the ,,garden ,,and ,,the ,,cloister4  
,a4,d4 #adhg-adie    ,,iv4 ,,san        
,,marco4 ,a4,d4 #adif-aejj     ,v4 ,,fra
 ,,bartolommeo ,,in ,,the ,,convent4    
,a4,d4 #aejd-aeji    ,,vi4              
,,albertinelli ,,in ,,the ,,world4      
,a4,d4 #aeja-aeaj   ,,vii4 ,,convent    
,,partnership4 ,a4,d4 #aeaj-aeac        
,,viii4 ,,close ,,of ,,life4 ,a4,d4     
#aead-aeag    ,,ix4 ,,part              
,i4--,,scholars ,,of ,,fra ,,bartolommeo
        ,,part ,,ii4--,,scholars ,,of   
,,mariotto ,,albertinelli     ,x4       
,,ridolfo ,,ghirlandajo   ,,andrea ,,del
 ,,sarto4   ,,chapter    ,i4 ,,youth    
,,and ,,early ,,works4 ,a4,d4 #adhg-aeaa
    ,,ii4 ,,the ,,servite ,,cloister4   

,a4,d4 #aeaa-aeab   ,,iii4 ,,social     
,,life ,,and ,,marriage4 ,a4,d4         
#aeaa-aeaf    ,,iv4 ,,works ,,in        
,,florence4 ,a4,d4 #aeaa-aeae     ,v4   
,,going ,,to ,,france4 ,a4,d4 #aeah-aeai
    ,,vi4 ,,andrea ,,and ,,ottaviano    
,,de' ,,medici4 ,a4,d4 #aeba-aebc       
,,vii4 ,,the ,,plague ,,and ,,the       
,,siege4 ,a4,d4 #aebe-aeca  ,,viii4     
,,scholars ,,of ,,andrea ,,del ,,sarto  
,,bibliography ,,index   ,,list ,,of    
,,illustrations  ,,adoration4 ,by       
,,bartolommeo ,,procession ,,to         
,,calvary4 ,by ,,ghirlandaio ,a         
,,sculptor4 ,by ,,andrea ,,del ,,sarto  
,,madonna ,,and ,,child ,,with ,,ss4    
,,john ,,and ,,elizabeth4 ,by ,,andrea  
,,del ,,sarto ,,the ,,holy ,,family4 ,by
 ,,bartolommeo ,,the ,,saviour4 ,by     
,,albertinelli ,,virgin ,,and ,,child4  
,by ,,andrea ,,del ,,sarto ,,ecce       
,,homo4 ,by ,,bartolommeo     ,,fra     
,,bartolommeo4   ,,chapter ,i4          
,,thoughts ,,on ,,the ,,renaissance4    
,it seems to be a law of nature that    

progress1 as well as time1 should be    
marked by periods of alternate light and
 darkness--day and night4  ,this law is 
nowhere more apparent than in the       
history of ,art4 ,three times has the   
world been illuminated by the full      
brilliance of ,art1 and three times has 
a corresponding period of darkness      
ensued4  ,the first day dawned in ,egypt
 and ,assyria1 and its works lie buried 
in the tombs of prehistoric ,pharaohs   
and ,ninevite kings4 ,the second day the
 sun rose on the shores of many-isled   
,greece1 and shed its rays over ,etruria
 and ,rome1 and ere it set1 temples and 
palaces were flooded with beauty4 ,the  
gods had taken human form1 and were come
 to dwell with men4  ,the third day     
arising in ,italy1 lit up the whole     
western world with the glow of colour   
and fervour1 and its fading rays light  
us yet4  ,the first period was that of  
mythic art2 the world like a child      
wondering at all around tried to express
 in myths the truths it could not       

comprehend4  ,the second was pagan art  
which satisfies itself that in          
expressing the perfection of humanity1  
it unfolds divinity4 ,the third era of  
,christian art1 conscious that the      
divine lies beyond the human1 fails in  
aspiring to express infinitude4         
,tracing one of these periods from its  
rise1 how truly this similitude of the  
dawn of day is carried out4 ,see at the 
first streak of light how dim1 stiff1   
and soulless all things appear6 ,trees  
and objects bear precisely the relation 
to their own appearance in broad        
daylight as the wooden ,madonnas of the 
,byzantine school do to those of        
,raphael4  ,next1 when the sun--the true
 light--first appears1 how it bathes the
 sea and the hills in an ethereal glory 
not their own6 ,what fair liquid tints  
of blue1 and rose1 and glorious gold6   
,this period which1 in art1 began with  
,giotto and ended with ,botticelli1     
culminated in ,fra ,angelico1 who       
flooded the world of painting with a    

heavenly spiritualism not material1 and 
gave his dreams of heaven the colours of
 the first pure rays of sunshine4  ,but 
as the sun rises1 nature takes her real 
tints gradually4 ,we see every thing in 
its own colour2 the gold and the rose   
has faded away with the truer light1 and
 a stern realism takes its place4 ,the  
human form must be expressed1 in all its
 solidity and truth1 not only in its    
outward semblance1 but the hidden soul  
must be seen through the veil of flesh4 
,and in this lies the reason of the     
decline2 only to a few great masters it 
was given to reveal spirituality in     
humanity--the others could only emulate 
form and colour1 and failed4  ,it is    
impossible to contemplate art apart from
 religion2 as truly as the celestial sun
 is the revealer of form1 so surely is  
the heavenly light of religion the first
 inspirer of art4  ,where would the     
,egyptian1 ,assyrian1 and ,etruscan     
paintings and sculptures have been but  
for the veneration of the mystic gods of

 the dead1 which both prompted and      
preserved them8  ,what would ,greek     
sculpture have been without the deified 
personifications of the mysterious      
powers of nature which inspired it8 and 
it is the fact of the pagan religion    
being both sensuous and realistic which 
explains the perfection of ,greek art4  
,the highest ideal being so low as not  
to soar beyond the greatest perfection  
of humanity1 was thus within the grasp  
of the artist to express4 ,given a manly
 figure with the fullest development of 
strength2 a female one showing the      
greatest perfection of form2 and a noble
 man whose features express dignity and 
mental power2--the ideal of a ,hercules1
 a ,venus1 and a ,jupiter is fully      
expressed1 and the pagan mind satisfied4
 ,the spirit of admirers was moved more 
by beauty of form than by its hidden    
significance4 ,in the great ,venus1 one 
recognises the woman before feeling the 
goddess4  ,as with their sculpture1     
without doubt it was also with painting4

 ,mr4 ,symonds1 in his ,renaissance of  
the ,fine ,arts1 speaks of the ,greek   
revival as entirely an age of sculpture2
 but the solitary glance into the more  
perishable art of painting among the    
,greeks1 to be seen at ,cortona1 reveals
 the exquisite perfection to which this 
branch was also brought4 ,it is a       
painting in encaustic1 and has been used
 as a door for his oven by the contadino
 who dug it up--yet it remains a marvel 
of genius4 ,the subject is a female     
head--a muse1 or perhaps only a         
portrait2 the delicacy and mellowness of
 the flesh tints equal those of ,raphael
 or ,leonardo1 and a lock of hair lying 
across her breast is so exquisitely     
painted that it seems to move with her  
breath4 ,the features are of the        
large-eyed regular ,greek type1 womanly 
dignity is in every line1 but it is an  
essentially pagan face--the ,christian  
soul has never dawned in those eyes6    
,with this before us1 we cannot doubt   
that ,greek art found its expression as 

much in colour as in form and that the  
same religion inspired both4  ,in an    
equal degree ,renaissance ,art has its  
roots in ,christianity2 but the religion
 is deeper and greater1 and has left art
 behind4  ,the early ,christians must   
have felt this when they expressed      
everything in symbols1 for these are    
merely suggestive1 and allow the        
imagination full play around and beyond 
them2 they are mere stepping-stones to  
the ideal which exists but is as yet    
inexpressible4  ,myths and symbols      
always mark the dawn of a religion1     
incarnation and realism its full growth4
 ,so after a time when the first vague  
wonder and ecstasy are over1 symbols no 
longer content people2 they want to     
bring religion home to them in a more   
tangible form1 to humanize it1 in fact4 
,from this want it arises that nature   
next to religion inspires art1 and      
finally takes its place4 ,for it follows
 as a matter of course that as art is a 
realistic interpreter of the spiritual1 

so it is more easy to follow nature than
 spirituality1 nature being the outward 
or realistic expression of the mind of  
,god4  ,it was a saying of ,buffalmacco1
 who was not one of the most devout     
painters of the fourteenth century1 ,do 
not let us think of anything but to     
cover our walls with saints1 and out of 
disrespect to the demons to make men    
more devout4 ,and ,savonarola1 though he
 has been accused of being one of the   
causes of the decline1 thus upheld the  
sacred influences of art2 when he       
exclaimed in one of his fervent bursts  
of eloquence1 ,you see that ,saint there
 in the ,church and say1 ',i will live a
 good life and be like him4' ,if these  
were the feelings of the least devout   
and the religious fanatic1 how hallowed 
must the influences of ,christian       
painting have been to the intermediate  
ranks4 ,mr4 ,symonds beautifully        
expresses the tendency of that time3    
,the eyes of the worshipper should no   
longer have a mere stock or stone to    

contemplate2 his imagination should be  
helped by the dogmatic presentation of  
the scenes of sacred history1 and his   
devotion quickened by lively images of  
the passion of our ,lord4444 ,the body  
and soul moreover should be reconciled1 
and ,god's likeness should be once more 
acknowledged in the features and limbs  
of men4 ,footnote3 ,symonds'            
,renaissance of the ,fine ,arts1 chap4  
i4 p4 #aa4  ,the school of ,giotto was  
the first to feel this need of the soul4
 ,he1 taking his ideas from nature1     
clothed the soul in a thin veil2 the    
,italians call his school that of poetic
 art2 it reached sentiment and poetry1  
but did not pass them4 ,yet the         
thirteenth century was sublime for the  
expression of the idea2 one only has to 
study the intense meaning in the works  
of ,giotto1 and ,orcagna1 ,duccio1 and  
the ,lorenzetti of ,siena to perceive   
this4 ,the fourteenth century1 on the   
contrary1 rendered itself glorious for  
manifestation of form4 ,artists thought 

the veil of ideality a poor thing1 and  
wished to give the solidity of the body 
to the soul2 they stole every secret    
from nature2 the senses were content1   
but not sentiment4 ,footnote3 ,purismo  
nell' ,arte1 da ,cesare ,guasti4  ,the  
artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth  
centuries1 of whom we have to speak1    
blended the two schools1 and became     
perfection as far as they went4         
,michelangelo drew more from the        
vigorous thirteenth-century masters1 and
 ,raphael from the more sensuous        
followers of ,masaccio and ,lippi4 ,the 
former tried to put the ,christian soul 
into his works1 but its infinite depth  
was unattainable4 ,as his many          
unfinished works prove1 he always felt  
some great overwhelming meaning in his  
inmost soul1 which all his passionate   
artistic yearnings were inadequate to   
express4 ,raphael tried to bring realism
 into religion through painting1 and to 
give us the scenes of our ,lord's and   
the ,apostles' lives in such a humanized

 aspect1 that we should feel ourselves  
of his nature4 ,but the incarnation of  
religion in art defeated its own ends2  
sensuousness was introduced in place of 
the calm1 unearthly spirituality of the 
earlier masters4 ,compare the cartoon of
 ,s4 ,paul preaching at ,athens1 in     
which he has all the majesty of a ,csar 
in the ,forum1 with the lowly spirit of 
the ,apostle's life6 ,in truth1 ,raphael
 failed to approach nearer to sublimity 
than ,fra ,angelico1 with all his faulty
 drawing but pure spirit4  ,after him1  
artists loved form and colour for       
themselves rather than for the spiritual
 meaning4 ,miss ,owen ,footnote3 ,art   
,schools of ,medieval ,christendom1     
edited by ,ruskin4 accuses ,raphael of  
having rendered ,art pagan1 but this    
seems blaming him for the weakness of   
his followers1 who took for their type  
his works rather than his ideal4 ,the   
causes of the decline were many1 and are
 not centred in one man4 ,as long as    
,religion slumbered in monasticism and  

dogma1 ,art seizing on the human parts1 
such as the maternity of the ,madonna1  
the personifications of saints who had  
lived in the world1 was its adequate    
exponent4 ,the religion awakened by the 
aesthetic ,s4 ,francis1 who loved all   
kinds of beauty1 was of the kind to be  
fed by pictures4 ,but when ,savonarola  
had aroused the fervour of the nation to
 its highest point1 when beauty was     
nothing1 the world nothing1 in          
comparison to the infinity of           
,god2--then art1 finding itself         
powerless to express this overwhelming  
infinity1 fell back on more earthly     
founts of inspiration1 the classics and 
the poets4  ,lorenzo de' ,medici and    
,pope ,nicholas ,v4 had fully as much to
 do with the decline as ,savonarola4    
,the ,pope in ,rome1 and ,lorenzo in    
,florence1 led art to the verge of      
paganism2 ,savonarola would have kept it
 on the confines of purism2 it was      
divided and fell1 passing through the   
various steps of decadence1 the         

mannerists and the eclectics1 to rise   
again in this nineteenth century with   
what is after all its true aim1 the     
interpretation of nature1 and the       
illustration of the poetry of a nation4 
,but with the decadence we have happily 
nothing to do2 the artists of whom we   
speak first1 ,fra ,bartolommeo and      
,albertinelli1 belong to the culmination
 of art on its rising side1 while       
,andrea del ,sarto stands as near to the
 greatest artists on the other side1 and
 is the last of the group before the    
decline4 ,on ,fra ,bartolommeo the      
spirituality of ,fra ,angelico still    
lingered1 while the perfection of       
,raphael illumined him4 ,andrea del     
,sarto1 on the other side1 had gathered 
into his hands the gleams of genius from
 all the great artists who were his     
elder contemporaries1 and so blending   
them as to form seemingly a style of his
 own1 distinct from any1 has left on our
 walls and in our galleries hundreds of 
masterpieces of colour1 as gay and      

varied as the tints the orientals weave 
into their wondrous fabrics4  ,it might 
be said with truth that ,fra            
,bartolommeo painted for the soul1 and  
,andrea del ,sarto for the eye4         
,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,the ,,bottega ,,of   
,,cosimo ,,roselli4 ,a4,d4 #adge-adhf4  
,amongst the thousand arteries in which 
the life blood of the ,renaissance      
coursed in all its fulness1 none were so
 busy or so important as the botteghe of
 the artists4 ,in these the genius of   
the great masters1 the ,pleiades of     
stars at the culmination of art in      
,florence1 was either tenderly nursed1  
or sharply pruned into vigour by        
struggling against discouragement and   
envy4 ,in these the spirit of awakened  
devotion found an outlet1 in altarpieces
 and designs for church frescoes which  
were to influence thousands4 ,here the  
spirit of poetry1 brooding in the       
mysterious lines of ,dante1 or echoing  
from past ages in the myths of the      
,greeks1 took form and glowed on the    

walls in mighty cartoons to be made     
imperishable in fresco4 ,here the spirit
 of luxury was satisfied by beautiful   
designs for ornaments1 dress stuffs1    
tapestries1 vases and cassoni1 c41 which
 brought beauty into every life1 and    
made each house a poem4 ,the soul1 the  
mind1 and the body1 could alike be      
supplied at those fountains of the      
beautiful1 the artshops or schools4     
,whilst ,michelangelo as a youth was    
drawing from the cartoons of the        
,sassetti chapel in the school of       
,domenico ,ghirlandajo1 ,cosimo ,roselli
 was just receiving as a pupil a boy    
only a little behind him in genius4 ,a  
small1 delicate-faced1 spiritual-eyed   
boy of nine years1 known as ,baccio     
della ,porta1 who came with a roll of   
drawings under his arm and high hopes in
 his soul1 no doubt trotting along      
manfully beside ,cosimo's old friend1   
,benedetto da ,majano1 the sculptor1 who
 had recommended his being placed in the
 studio4  ,by the table given in the    

note ,footnote3 ,pietro1 a ,genoese1    
came in #adjj to the parish of ,s4      
,michele1 at ,montecuccioli in ,mugello2
 he was a peasant1 and had a son        
,jacopo1 who was father of ,paolo1 the  
muleteer2 and three other sons1         
,bartolo1 ,giusto1 and ,jacopo1 who had 
a podere at ,soffignano1 near ,prato4   
,paolo married first ,bartolommea1      
daughter of ,zanobi di ,gallone1 by whom
 he had a son1 ,bartolommeo1 known as   
,baccio della ,porta1 born #adge4 ,the  
first wife dying1 ,paolo married ,andrea
 di ,michaele di ,cenni1 who had four   
sons1 ,piero1 ,domenico1 ,michele1 and  
,francesco2 only ,piero lived to grow   
up1 and he became a priest4 ,favoured by
 ,sig4 ,milanesi4 it will be seen that  
,baccio was the son of ,paolo1 a        
muleteer1 which no doubt was a          
profitable trade in those days when the 
country roads were mere mule-tracks1 and
 the traffic between different towns was
 carried on almost entirely by horses   
and mulepacks4 ,there is some doubt as  

to the place of ,baccio's birth1 which  
occurred in #adge4 ,vasari gives it as  
,savignano near ,prato2 ,crowe and      
,cavalcaselle ,footnote3 ,vol4 iii4     
chap4 xiii4 p4 #dbg4 assert it was      
,suffignano1 near ,florence1 where they 
say ,paolo's brothers1 ,jacopo and      
,giusto1 were contadini or peasants4    
,but on consulting the post-office      
authorities we find no place called     
,suffignano near ,florence2 it must     
therefore have been a village near      
,prato called ,soffignano1 which from   
similarity of sound ,vasari confused    
with the larger place1 ,savignano4 ,this
 is the more probable1 for ,rosini      
asserts that ,benedetto da ,majano1 who 
had bought a podere near ,prato1 knew   
him and took him into his affections1   
and by his means placed him with        
,cosimo4 ,footnote3 ,rosini1 ,storia    
della ,pittura1 chap4 xvii4 p4 #dg4  ,it
 is certainly probable that ,paolo's    
wife lived with his family during his   
wanderings1 because it is the true      

,italian custom1 and ,baccio was in that
 case born in his uncle's house2 for it 
is not till #adhj that we find ,paolo   
retired from trade and set up in a house
 of his own in ,florence at the gate of 
,s4 ,pier ,gattolini1 now the ,porta    
,romana4  ,the friendship begun at      
,prato must have been continued in      
,florence1 for in #adhj ,paolo not only 
owned that house at the gate of ,s4     
,pier ,gattolini1 but was the proud     
possessor of a podere at ,brozzi1 which 
yielded six barrels of wine4 ,he is a   
merciful man too1 for among his         
possessions are two mules disutili e    
vecchi 7old and useless74 ,at this time 
,baccio was six years old1 and his three
 stepbrothers quite babies4 ,footnote3  
,archives of ,florence1 ,portate al     
,castato1 #adhj-a4 ,paolo1 as well as   
his mules1 had earned his repose1 being 
certainly old1 if not useless1 and was  
anxious for his little sons to be placed
 out in the world as early as possible4 
,thus it came that in #adhd ,baccio was 

taken away from his brothers1 who played
 under the shadow of the old gateway1   
and was put to do the drudgery of the   
apprenticeship to art4 ,he had to grind 
colours for ,cosimo--who1 as we know1   
used a great deal of colour1 having     
dazzled the eyes of the ,pope with the  
brilliancy of his blue and gold in the  
,sistine ,chapel some years before--he  
had to sweep out the studio1 no doubt   
assisted by ,mariotto ,albertinelli1 a  
boy of his own age1 and to run errands1 
carrying designs for inspection to      
expectant brides who wanted the chests  
painted to hold their wedding clothes1  
or doing the messenger between his      
master and the nuns of ,s4 ,ambrogio1   
who paid ,cosimo their gold florins by  
the hand of the boy in #adhd and #adhe4 
,footnote3 ,note to ,crowe and          
,cavalcaselle1 vol4 iii4 chap4 xiii4 p4 
#dbi4  ,whether his age made him a more 
acceptable means of communication with  
the nuns1 or whether ,pier di ,cosimo1  
the elder pupil1 already displayed his  

hatred of womankind1 ,i know not2       
perhaps the boy already showed that     
innate devotion and especial fitness for
 sanctity which marks his entire art    
career4 ,truly everything in his        
youthful life combined to lead his      
thoughts to higher things4 ,the first   
fresco at which he assisted was in this 
solemn cloister of ,st4 ,ambrogio1 and  
the subject the ,miracle of the         
,sacrament2 the saintly air of the      
place1 the calm faces of the            
white-hooded nuns1 must all have had an 
influence in inspiring his youthful mind
 with the spirit of devotion4  ,baccio's
 fellow-students were not many1 but they
 formed an interesting group4 ,pier di  
,cosimo was the head man1 and eldest of 
all2 with such ties was he bound to his 
master and godfather1 that he was known 
better as ,cosimo's ,peter than by his  
own patronymic of ,chimenti4 ,he was at 
this time twenty-two years of age1 his  
registry in the ,florentine ,guild      
proves his birth in #adfb1 as the son of

 ,lorenzo1 son of ,piero1 son of        
,antonio1 ,chimenti4  ,being the eldest 
of five brothers1 it is difficult to    
conceive how a member of a large family 
grew up developing such eccentricities  
as are usually the fruit of isolation4  
,in the studio ,piero was industrious   
and steady1 working earnestly1 whether  
he was assisting his master's designs or
 carrying out his own fancies of        
monsters1 old myths1 and classic fairy  
stories4 ,no doubt the two boys1        
,mariotto and ,baccio1 found little     
companionship in this abstracted young  
man always dreaming over his own ideas4 
,if they told him an anecdote1 he would 
look up vacantly at the end not having  
heard a word2 at other times every      
little noise or burst of laughter would 
annoy him1 and he would be immoderately 
angry with the flies and mosquitos4     
,piero had already been to ,rome1 and   
had assisted ,cosimo in his fresco of   
,christ preaching on ,lake ,tiberias2   
indeed most judges thought his landscape

 the best part of that work1 and the    
talent he showed obtained him several   
commissions4 ,he took the portraits of  
,virginio ,orsini1 ,ruberto ,sanseverino
 and ,duke ,valentino1 son of ,pope     
,alessandro ,,vi4 ,he was much esteemed 
as a portrait painter also in ,florence1
 and from his love of classical         
subjects1 and extreme finish of         
execution1 he ranked as one of the best 
painters of cassoni1 or bridal-linen    
chests4  ,this fashion excited the      
indignation of ,savonarola1 who in one  
of his sermons exclaimed1 ,do not let   
your daughters prepare their 'corredo'  
7trousseau7 in a chest with pagan       
paintings2 is it right for a ,christian 
spouse to be familiar with ,venus before
 the ,virgin1 or ,mars before the       
saints8  ,thus ,piero being a finished  
painter1 was often ,cosimo ,roselli's   
substitute in the instruction of the two
 boys1 for ,cosimo having come home from
 ,rome with some money1 lived at his    
ease2 but still continued to paint      

frescoes in company with ,piero4        
,another pupil was ,andrea di ,cosimo1  
whose peculiar branch of art was that of
 the grotesque4 ,he no doubt drew       
designs for friezes and fountains1 for  
architraves and door mouldings1 in which
 distorted faces look out from all kinds
 of writhing scrolls2 and lizards1      
dragons1 snakes1 and creeping plants1   
mingle according to the artist's fancy4 
,andrea was however often employed in   
more serious work1 as the records of the
 ,servite ,convent prove1 for they      
contain the note of payment to him1 in  
#aeaj1 for the curtains of the          
altarpiece which ,filippino ,lippi had  
painted4 ,these curtains were till      
lately attributed to ,andrea del ,sarto1
 or ,francia ,bigio4  ,this is the      
,andrea ,feltrini mentioned by ,crowe   
and ,cavalcaselle as working in the     
cloister of the ,servi with ,andrea del 
,sarto and ,francia ,bigio between #aeji
 and #aead4;,footnote3 ,history of      
,painting1 vol4 iii4 chap4 xvii4 p4     

#edf4  ,but ,baccio's dearest friend in 
the studio was a boy nearly his own age1
 ,mariotto ,albertinelli1 son of ,biagio
 di ,bindo1 born ,october #ac1 #adgd4   
,he had experienced the common lot of   
young artists in those days1 and had    
been apprenticed to a gold-beater1 but  
preferred the profession of painter4    
,from the first these two lads1 being   
thrown almost entirely together in the  
work of the studio1 formed one of those 
pure1 lasting friendships1 of which so  
many exist in the annals of art1 and so 
few in the material world4 ,they helped 
each other in the drudgery1 and enjoyed 
their higher studies together2 but they 
did not draw all their inspirations from
 the over-coloured works of             
,cosimo--although ,mariotto once        
reproduced his red-winged cherubim in   
after life ,footnote3 ,in the ',trinity'
 in the ,belle ,arti1 ,florence4--nor   
from the hard and laboured myths of     
,piero4  ,they went to higher founts1   
for scarcely a trace of these early     

influences are to be found in their     
paintings4 ,vasari says they studied the
 ,cose di ,leonardo4 ,the great artist  
had at this time left the studio of     
,verocchio1 and was fast rising into    
fame in ,florence1 so it is most        
probable that two youths with strong    
artistic tendencies would study1 not    
only the sketches1 but also the         
precepts1 of the great man4 ,besides    
this there were two national art-schools
 open to students in ,florence3 these   
were the frescoes of ,masaccio and      
,lippi in the ,carmine1 and the         
,medicean garden in the ,via ,cavour1   
then called ,via ,larga4     ,,chapter  
,,iii4  ,,the ,,garden ,,and ,,the      
,,cloister4 ,a4,d4 #adhg-adie4   ,the   
two boys left the studio of ,cosimo     
,roselli at an early age4 ,there had    
been trouble in the house of ,paolo the 
ex-muleteer1 and ,baccio's already      
serious mind had been awed by the sight 
of death4 ,his little brother1          
,domenico1 died in #adhf at seven years 

of age4 ,his father1 ,paolo1 died in    
#adhg2 thus ,baccio1 at the age of      
twelve or thirteen1 was left the head of
 the family1 and the supporter of his   
stepmother and her babes4 ,this may     
account for his leaving ,cosimo so      
young1 and setting up his studio with   
,mariotto as his companion1 in his own  
house at the gate of ,s4 ,pier          
,gattolini2 this partnership began      
presumably about the year #adij4        
,conscious that they were not perfected 
by ,cosimo's teaching1 they both set    
themselves to undergo a strict          
discipline in art1 and1 friends as they 
were1 their paths began to diverge from 
this point4 ,their natural tastes led   
them to opposite schools--,baccio to the
 sacred shrine of art in the shadowed   
church1 ,mariotto to the greenery and   
sunshine of the ,medici garden1 where   
beauty of nature and classic treasures  
were heaped in profusion2 whose loggie  
,footnote3 ,arched colonnades4 glowed   
with the finest forms of ,greek         

sculpture1 resuscitated from the tombs  
of ages to inspire newer artists to     
perfection1 but alas6 also to debase the
 aim of purely ,christian art4          
,baccio's calm devotional mind no doubt 
disliked the turmoil of this garden1    
crowded with spirited youths2 the tone  
of pagan art was not in accordance with 
his ideal1 and so he learned from       
,masaccio and ,lippi that love of true  
form and harmonious composition1 which  
he perfected afterwards by a close study
 of ,leonardo da ,vinci1 whose          
principles of chiaroscuro he seems to   
have completely carried out4 ,with this 
training he rose to such great celebrity
 even in his early manhood1 that ,rosini
 ,footnote3 ,rosini1 ,storia della      
,pittura1 chap4 xvii4 p4 #dh4 calls him 
the star of the ,florentine school in   
,leonardo and ,michelangelo's absence1  
and he attained a grandeur almost equal 
to the latter1 in the ,s4 ,mark and     
,,ss4 ,peter and ,paul of his later     
years4  ,meanwhile ,mariotto was        

revelling in the ,eden of art1 drawing  
daily beneath the ,loggie--where the    
orange-trees grew close to the          
pillars--from the exquisite statues and 
torsi1 peopling the shades with white   
forms1 or copying cartoons by the older 
masters1 which hung against the walls4  
,the custode of all these treasures was 
,bertoldo1 an old sculptor1 who boasted 
of having been the scholar of           
,donatello1 and also heir to his art    
possessions4 ,he could also point to the
 bronze pulpits of ,san ,lorenzo1 which 
he finished1 as proof of his having     
inherited a portion of his master's     
spirit4 ,bertoldo1 having doubtless     
rendered to ,duke ,cosimo's keeping his 
designs by ,donatello1 which were       
preserved in the garden1 obtained the   
post of instructor there2 but his age   
may have prevented his keeping perfect  
order1 and the younger spirits          
overpowered him4 ,there were            
,michelangelo1 with all the youthful    
power of passion and force which he     

afterwards imparted to his works1 and   
the audacious ,torrigiano1 with his     
fierce voice1 huge bulk1 and knitted    
brows1 who was himself a discord like   
the serpent in ,eden4 ,easily offended1 
he was prompt in offering outrage4 ,did 
any other young man show talent or      
surpass him1 revenge deep and mean as   
that of ,bandinelli to ,michelangelo was
 sure to follow1 the envied work being  
spoiled in his rage4 ,then there were   
the fun-loving ,francesco ,granacci1 and
 the witty ,rustici1 as full of boyish  
pranks as they were of genius--what     
could one old man do among so many8--and
 now comes the impetuous ,mariotto to   
add one more unruly member to his class4
  ,how well one can imagine the young   
men--in loose blouses confined at the   
waist1 or in buff jerkins and           
close-fitting hose1 with jaunty cloaks  
or doublets1 and little red or black    
caps1 set on flowing locks cut square in
 front--passing beneath the shadows of  
the arches among the dim statues1 or    

crossing the garden in the sunshine amid
 the orange-trees1 under the splendid   
blue ,italian skies4  ,we can see them  
painting1 modelling1 or drawing large   
cartoons in charcoal1 while old         
,bertoldo passes from easel to easel1   
criticising and fault-finding1 detailing
 for the hundredth time ,donatello's    
maxims1 and moving on1 heedless or deaf 
to the irreverent jokes of his          
ungrateful pupils4  ,then1 like a vision
 of power and grandeur1 ,lorenzo il     
,magnifico enters with a group of his   
classic friends4 ,politian and the      
brothers ,pulci admire again the ancient
 sculptures which are to them as        
illustrations of their readings1 and    
,lorenzo notes the works of all the     
students who were destined to contribute
 to the glory of the many ,medicean     
palaces4 ,how the burly ,torrigiano's   
heart burns within him when the ,duke   
praises his compeer's works6  ,sometimes
 ,madonna ,alfonsina1 the mother of     
,lorenzo1 and widow of ,piero1 walked   

here1 and she also took an interest in  
the studies of the youths4 ,mariotto    
especially attracted her by his talent  
and zeal4 ,she commissioned him to paint
 some pictures for her to send as a     
present to her own family1 the ,orsini  
of ,rome4 ,these works1 of which the    
subjects are not known1 passed          
afterwards into the possession of ,csar 
,borgia4 ,she also sat to ,mariotto for 
her own portrait4 ,it is easily imagined
 how elated the excitable youth became  
at this notice from the mother of the   
magnificent ,lorenzo4 ,he had dreams of 
making a greater name than even his     
master1 ,cosimo1 whose handiwork was in 
the ,sistine2 of excelling              
,michelangelo1 of whose genius the world
 was beginning to talk2 and1 as adhering
 to a party was the only way to success 
in those days1 he became a strong       
,pallesco1 ,footnote3 ,the ,palleschi   
were the partizans of the ,medici1 so   
called because they took as their       
standard the ,palle1 or ,balls1 the arms

 of that family4 trusting wholly in the 
favour of ,madonna ,alfonsina4  ,he even
 absented himself almost constantly from
 the studio1 which ,baccio shared with  
him1 and worked at the ,medici palace1  
,footnote3 ,this break is signified by  
,baldinucci1 ,opere1 vol4 iv4 p4 #hd1   
and by ,vasari1 who says that after the 
exile of ,piero he returned to ,baccio4 
but1 alas6 in #adid this brilliant      
aspect of his fortunes changed4         
,lorenzo being dead1 ,piero de' ,medici 
was banished1 the great palace fell into
 the hands of the republican ,signoria1 
and all the painters were left without  
patronage4  ,mariotto1 very much cast   
down1 bethought himself of a friend who 
never failed him1 and whose love was not
 affected by party2 and1 returning to   
the house of ,baccio1 he set to work1   
most likely in a renewed spirit of      
confidence in the comrade who stood by  
him when the princes in whom he trusted 
failed him4 ,whatever his frame of mind1
 he began now to study earnestly the    

works of ,baccio1 who1 while he was     
seeking patronage in the palace1 had    
been purifying his genius in the        
,church4 ,mariotto imbibed more and more
 of ,baccio's style1 till their works so
 much resembled one another that        
indifferent judges could scarcely       
distinguish them apart4 ,it would be    
interesting if we could see those early 
pictures done for ,madonna ,alfonsina1  
and compare them with the style formed  
after this second adherence to ,fra     
,bartolommeo4 ,what his manner          
afterwards became we have a proof in the
 ,salutation 7#aejc71 in which there is 
grand simplicity of motive combined with
 the most extreme richness of execution 
and fullest harmony of colour4  ,this   
second union between the friends could  
not have been so satisfactory to either 
as the first pure boyish love1 when they
 had been full of youthful hopes1 and   
felt their hearts expand with the dreams
 and visions of genius4 ,now instead of 
the mere differences between two styles 

of art1 there were differences which    
much more seriously affected their      
characters2 they were daily sundering1  
one going slowly towards the cloister1  
the other to the world4 ,albertinelli   
had gained a greater love of worldly    
success and luxury4  ,baccio's mind1    
always attuned to devotion1 was now     
intensified by family sorrows1 which no 
doubt brought him nearer to heaven4     
,thus softened1 he had the more readily 
received the seeds of faith which       
,savonarola scattered broadcast4  ,yet  
though every word of the one was a wound
 to the other1 this strangely assorted  
pair of friends did not part4 ,rosini   
well defined their union as a knot which
 binds more strongly by pulling contrary
 ways4 ,footnote3 ,storia della         
,pittura1 chap4 xvii4 p4 #dh  ,so when  
,albertinelli1 while colouring with zeal
 a design of ,baccio's1 would inveigh   
against all monks1 the ,dominicans in   
particular1 and ,savonarola especially1 
his friend would argue that the inspired

 prophet was not an enemy1 but a        
purifier and reformer of art4 ,probably 
,baccio was at the ,duomo on that       
,sunday in ,lent1 #adie1 and reported to
 ,mariotto those wondrous words of      
,savonarola1 that ,beauty ought never to
 be taken apart from the true and good1 
and how1 after quoting the same         
sentiments from ,socrates and ,plato1   
the preacher went on to say1 ,true      
beauty is neither in form nor colour1   
but in light4 ,god is light1 and ,his   
creatures are the more lovely as they   
approach the nearer to ,him in beauty4  
,and the body is the more beautiful     
according to the purity of the soul     
within it4 ,certain it is that this     
divine light lived ever after in the    
paintings of ,fra ,bartolommeo4  ,he    
frequented the cloisters of ,san ,marco1
 where even ,lorenzo de' ,medici used to
 go and hear the prior expound          
,christianity near the rose tree4 ,there
 were ,lorenzo di ,credi and ,sandro    
,botticelli1 both middle-aged men1 of a 

high standing as artists2 there were the
 ,delia ,robbias1 father and son1 and   
several others4 ,sandro1 while          
listening1 must have taken in the       
inspired words with the scent and beauty
 of the roses1 whose spirit he gives in 
so many of his paintings4  ,young       
,baccio1 on the contrary1 feasted his   
eyes on the speaker's face1 till the    
very soul within it was imprinted on his
 mind1 from whence he reproduced it in  
that marvellous likeness1 the year after
 the martyrdom of ,savonarola4  ,this is
 the earliest known work of ,fra        
,bartolommeo1 and is a faithful         
portrait2 the deep-sunk eye-socket1 and 
eye like an internal fire1 showing the  
preacher's powerful mind2 the prominent 
aquiline nose and dilating vehement     
nostril bespeaking his earnestness and  
decision2 the large full mouth alone    
shows the timorousness which none but   
himself knew of1 so overpowered was it  
by his excitable spirit4 ,the handling  
is ,baccio's own able style1 but ,sig4  

,cavalcaselle thinks the influences of  
,cosimo ,roselli are apparent in the low
 tone and clouded translucent colour2 he
 signed it ,hieronymi ,ferrariensis1 a  
,deo missi prophet effigies1 a legend   
which expresses the more than reverence 
which ,baccio cherished for the         
preacher4 ,this portrait has only lately
 been identified by its present         
possessor1 ,sig4 ,ermolao ,rubieri1 who 
discovered the legend under a coat of   
paint4 ,its vicissitudes are traceable  
from the time when ,sig4 ,averardo 7or1 
as ,vasari calls him1 ,alamanno7        
,salviati brought it back from ,ferrara1
 where no doubt it had been in the      
possession of ,savonarola's family4     
,salviati gave it to the convent of ,san
 ,vincenzo at ,prato1 from which place  
,sig4 ,rubieri purchased it in #ahaj4   
,the likeness of the reformer in the    
,belle ,arti of ,florence has been      
supposed to be this one1 but it is more 
likely to be the one done by ,fra       
,bartolommeo at ,pian di ,mugnone in    

after years1 when he drew the friar as  
,s4 ,peter ,martyr1 with the wound on   
his head4     ,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,san    
,,marco4 ,a4,d4 #adif-aejj4   ,padre    
,marchese1 himself a ,dominican1 speaks 
thus of his convent3--,san ,marco has   
within its walls the ,renaissance1 a    
compendium in two artists4 ,fra         
,angelico1 the painter of the ideal1    
,fra ,bartolommeo1 of form4 ,the first  
closes the antique ,tuscan school4 ,he  
who has seen ,fra ,angelico1 has seen   
also ,giotto1 ,cimabue1 c4 ,the second  
represents the modern school4 ,in him   
are almost comprised ,masaccio1 ,lorenzo
 di ,credi1 ,leonardo1 ,buonarroti1 and 
,andrea del ,sarto4  ,the first1 ,fra   
,angelico1 sets himself to contemplate  
in ,god the fount and architype of the  
beautiful1 and1 as much as is possible  
to mortal hands1 reproduces and stamps  
it in those works which a sensual mind  
cannot understand1 but which to the     
heavenly soul speak an eloquent         
language4 ,fra ,bartolommeo1 with more  

analysis1 works thoughtfully 444 he     
ascends from the effect to the cause1   
and in created things contemplates a    
reflection of spiritual beauty4  ,it is 
true the ,dominican order has been as   
great a patron of arts as the           
,franciscan of literature4 ,it united   
with ,niccolo ,pisano to give form to   
national architecture4 ,it had          
sculptors1 miniaturists1 and glass      
painters4 ,as a building ,san ,marco has
 been a shrine of art2 since the time   
that ,michelozzi1 with the assistance of
 the ,medici1 built the convent for     
,sant' ,antonino1 and ,fra ,angelico    
left the impress of his soul on the     
walls1 a long line of artist monks has  
lived within its cloisters4 ,with ,san  
,marco our story has now to deal1 for it
 is impossible to write ,fra            
,bartolommeo's life without touching on 
the well-known history of ,savonarola4  
,the great preacher's influence in these
 years1 from #adib to #adig1 entered    
into almost every individual in         

,florence1 either to draw them to       
devotion1 or to stir them up to the     
greatest opposition4  ,the artists1     
whose minds were probably the most      
impressional1 were his fervent          
adherents4 ,he has been accused of being
 the ruin of art1 but this cry has only 
arisen in our time2 the silence of      
contemporaries1 although not friendly to
 him1 proves that he was not in that    
century so accused4 ,footnote3 ,gino    
,capponi1 ,storia delta ,republica di   
,firenze1 lib4 vi4 chap4 ii4 ,the only  
mention of anything of artistic value is
 a tavoliere ,footnote3 ,a chess or     
draught board4 of rich work1 spoken of  
by ,burlamacchi and ,benivieni1 in a    
,canzone di un ,piagnone sul bruciamento
 delle ,vanit4 ,savonarola himself was  
an artist and musician in early life1   
the love of the beautiful was strong    
within him1 only he would have it go    
hand in hand with the good and true4    
,his dominant spirit was that of reform2
 as he tried to regenerate mind1 morals1

 literature1 and state government1 so he
 would reform art1 and fling over it the
 spiritual light which illumed his own  
soul4  ,it was natural that such a mind 
should act on the devotional character  
of ,baccio4 ,what could he do but join  
when every church was full of           
worshippers1 each shrine at the street  
corners had a crowd of devout women on  
their knees before it--when thousands of
 faces were uplifted in the vast expanse
 of the ,duomo1 and every face burned   
with fervour as the divine flame from   
the preacher lit the lamp of each       
soul--when in the streets he met long   
processions of men1 women1 and children1
 the echoes of whose hymns 7,laudi7     
filled the narrow streets1 and went up  
to the clear air above them8  ,then came
 that strange carnival when there were  
no maskers in the city1 but white-robed 
boys went from house to house to collect
 the vanities for the burning--when the 
flames of the fires1 hitherto           
saturnalian1 were the flames of a       

holocaust1 wherein each one cast the    
sins and temptations1 even the pretty   
things which1 though dear to himself1   
withdrew him from ,god4 ,and when the   
white-robed boys came to the studio of  
the friends at the gate of ,s4 ,pier    
,gattolini1 with what sighs and         
self-immolation ,baccio looked for the  
last time at some of his studies which  
he judged to come under the head of     
anathemata1 and handed them over to the 
acolytes4 ,how ,mariotto's soul1 warm to
 ,pagan art1 burned within him at this  
sacrifice6 ,and how he would talk more  
than ever against the monks1 and hang up
 his own cartoons and studies of the    
,greek ,venus in the studio for         
,baccio's behoof6  ,in these years we   
have no notice of authentic works done  
by the youthful partners1 though        
biographers talk of their having        
commissions for madonnas1 and other     
works of art4  ,in #adig ,francesco     
,valori1 the grand-featured1 earnest    
admirer of ,savonarola1 became          

,gonfaloniere in the time of ,piero de' 
,medici's exile1 ,footnote3 ,gino       
,capponi1 ,storia delta ,republica di   
,firenze1 lib4 vi4 chap4 xi4 p4 #bcc4   
and the friar's party was in the        
ascendent4 ,rosini ,footnote3 ,storia   
delta ,pittura1 chap4 xvii4 p4 #dh4 says
 that belonging to a faction was a means
 of fame1 and that the ,savonarola party
 was powerful1 giving this as a reason  
for ,baccio's partisanship2 but this we 
can hardly believe1 his whole life      
proved his earnestness4 ,he was much    
beloved in ,florence for his calm       
upright nature and good qualities4 ,he  
delighted in the society of pious and   
learned men1 spent much time in the     
convent1 where he had many friends among
 the monks2 yet with all he kept still  
faithful to his early friend ,mariotto1 
whose life was cast so differently4     
,savonarola's faction was powerful1 but 
the ,medici had still adherents who     
stirred up a strong party against him4  
,his spirit of reform at length aroused 

the ire of the ,pope1 who forbade him to
 preach4 ,he disobeyed1 and the sermons 
on ,ezekiel were scenes of tumult2 no   
longer a group of rapt faces dwelling on
 his words1 but frowns1 murmurs1 and    
anathemas from a crowd only kept off him
 by a circle of armed adherents round   
his pulpit4  ,at length1 on ,june #bbnd1
 the excommunication by ,pope           
,alessandro ,,vi4 7,borgia7 fell like a 
thunderclap1 and the ,medicean youths   
marched in triumphant procession with   
torches and secular music to burlesque  
the ,laudi2 no doubt ,albertinelli was  
one of these1 while ,baccio grieved     
among the awestruck friars in the       
convent4  ,in #adih ,savonarola again   
lifted up his voice2 the church was not 
large enough1 so he preached beneath the
 blue sky on the ,piazza ,san ,marco2   
and ,fra ,domenico ,buonvicini da       
,pescia1 in the eagerness of            
partisanship1 said that his master's    
words would stand the ordeal of fire4   
,then came that tumultuous day of ,april

 #gth1 the ,sunday of the ,olives1 when 
the ,franciscans and ,dominicans argued 
while the fire burnt out before them1   
when ,savonarola's great spirit quailed 
within him1 and the ordeal failed2 a    
merciful rain quenching the flames which
 none dared to brave save the undaunted 
,fra ,domenico himself4  ,there was no  
painting done in the studio on that day 
we may be sure4 ,baccio was one of the  
surging1 conflicting crowd gathered     
beneath the mingling shadows of         
,orcagna's arches and ,arnolfo's great  
palace1 and at eventide he was one of   
the armed partisans who protected the   
friar back to his convent1 menaced not  
only by rains from heaven1 but by the   
stormy wrath of an angry populace1      
defrauded of the sight they came to see4
  ,the next day was the one which       
determined the painter's future life4   
,there was in the city a curious process
 of crystallisation of all the particles
 held in solution round the fire the    
previous day4 ,the ,palazzo ,vecchio    

attracted about its doors the           
,arrabiati4 ,the ,compagnacci assembled1
 armed1 by the ,duomo4 ,the streets were
 full of detached parties of ,piagnoni1 
treading ways of peril to their centre1 
,san ,marco4  ,passions raged and       
seethed all day1 till at the hour of    
vespers a cry arose1  ,san ,marco1 and  
thither the multitude--#ejj             
,compagnacci1 and #cjj                  
,palleschi--rushed1 armed with picks and
 arquebusses1 c4 ,they killed some stray
 ,piagnoni whom they found praying by a 
shrine1 and placed guards at the streets
 which led to the convent2 then the     
assault began4  ,the church was dimly   
lighted4 ,savonarola and ,fra ,domenico 
kneeled on the steps of the altar1 with 
many worshippers around them1 singing   
tremulous hymns2 amongst these were     
,francesco ,valori1 ,ridolfi1 and       
,baccio della ,porta1 but all armed1 as 
,cronaca tells us4 ,they still sang     
hymns when the doors were attacked with 
stones2 then leaving the priests and    

women to pray for them the men rushed to
 the defence4  ,old ,valori1 with a few 
brave friends1 guarded the door2 others 
made loop-holes of the windows and fired
 out2 some went up the campanile1 and   
some on the roof4 ,baccio fought bravely
 among the rest4 ,the ,palleschi were   
almost repulsed1 but at length succeeded
 in setting fire to the doors4 ,the     
church was filled with smoke2 a         
turbulent crowd rushed wildly in4       
,savonarola saw his people fall dead    
beside him on the altar steps1 and1     
taking up the ,sacrament1 he fled to the
 ,greek library1 where the messengers of
 the ,signoria came and arrested both   
himself and ,fra ,domenico4 ,it was in  
the fierce fight that ensued when the   
enemies poured in1 laying hands         
sacrilegiously on every thing sacred1   
that ,baccio made the vow that if he    
were saved this peril1 he would take the
 habit--a vow which certainly was not   
made in a cowardly spirit1 he fighting  
to the death1 and then espousing the    

losing cause4 ,footnote3 ,gino ,capponi1
 lib4 vi4 chaps4 i4 and ii41 and ,padre 
,marchese1 ,san ,marco1 p4 #adg et seq4 
,then came that sad #bcrd of ,may1 the  
eve of the ,ascension1 when three       
martyrs went calmly to their death      
beneath the shadow of the old palace1   
amidst the insults of an infuriated     
crowd1 and ,arno's yellow waters        
received their ashes4 ,footnote3        
,capponi1 chap4 ii4 p4 #bec4            
,illustration3 ,,savonarolo ,,as ,,peter
 ,,martyr4 ,,by ,,fra ,,bartolommeo4 ,in
 the ,accademia delle ,belle ,arti1     
,florence4  ,after the death of         
,savonarola the party had many          
defaulters2 but ,baccio1 the ,delia     
,robbias1 ,credi1 ,cronaca1 and many    
other artists1 were faithful1 and even  
showed their grief by abandoning for a  
time the arts they loved4 ,it almost    
seemed as if with him they had lost the 
sacred flame from which their fervid    
imagination drew life and aliment4      
,footnote3 ,marchese1 ,san ,marco1 lib4 

iii4 p4 #bfa4  ,while all these events  
had been taking place1 ,baccio had      
worked as often as his perturbed spirit 
would allow1 at a great fresco of the   
,last ,judgment1 in a chapel of the     
cemetery of ,s4 ,maria ,nuova4 ,a       
certain ,gerozzi1 di ,monna ,venna      
,dini1 gave him the commission1 and as  
far as he had gone1 the painter had     
given entire satisfaction4 ,this fresco1
 his first as far as is known1 shows    
,baccio's style as fully as his later   
ones4 ,we have here his great harmony of
 form1 and intense suggestiveness in    
composition4 ,the infinity of heaven is 
emblematised in circles of saints and   
cherubim around the enthroned ,christ4  
,the cross1 a link between heaven and   
earth1 is borne by a trinity of angels2 
,s4 ,michael1 as the avenging spirit1   
stands a powerful figure in the         
foreground dividing the saved from the  
lost2 the whole composition forming a   
heavenward cross on an earthly          
foundation4 ,there are no caves and     

holes of torture with muscular bodies   
writhing within them2 but in the        
despairing figures passing away on the  
right1 some with heads bowed on clasped 
hands1 others lifting up faces and arms 
in a vain cry for mercy1 what           
suggestions there are of infinite       
remorse6--more dignified far than the   
distorted sufferers in the torture pits 
of previous masters4 ,these are just    
indicated by two demons1 and a          
subterranean fire behind the unblest    
souls4 ,miss ,owen1 ,footnote3 ,art     
,schools of ,christendom1 edited by     
,prof4 ,ruskin4 speaking ,mr4 ,ruskin's 
sentiments1 calls this a great falling  
off from ,giotto and ,orcagna's         
conceptions2 but though theirs may be   
more powerful and terrible1 a greater   
suggestion of ,christian religion is    
here4  ,they1 and later1 ,michelangelo1 
flung ,dante's great struggling soul in 
tangible forms upon the walls1 and      
embodied his poem1 awful1 grand1 and    
earnest1 with all the human passion     

intensified into human suffering4 ,fra  
,bartolommeo shows the ,christian       
spirit2 his faces look beyond the       
present judgment1 and1 instead of wrath1
 mercy is the predominating idea4 ,it is
 like the difference in spirit between  
the ,old ,testament and the ,new4  ,the 
painter's reverence of ,fra ,angelico1  
and estimation of the divinity of art1  
is shown by ,fra ,angelico being placed 
among the saints of heaven on the right 
of the ,saviour4  ,leonardo's           
instructions for shading off a light sky
 will occur to any one who studies the  
finely gradated tints mingling with the 
clouds around the celestial group4 ,but 
grand as the fresco is1 and interesting 
as it must have been to the artist at   
this time1 when thoughts of ,savonarola 
mingled with every stroke1 he felt he   
was not fulfilling his true mission in  
the world4 ,drawn more and more to the  
convent1 hallowed to him by the memory  
of the martyr-friar1 he was also more   
attuned to thoughts of retirement by    

family bereavements--one young brother1 
,piero1 only being left to him out of   
the whole circle4 ,the reluctance to    
leave this youth alone may have deferred
 for a time his taking the monastic     
vows2 but having placed him under the   
guardianship of ,santi ,pagnini1 a      
,dominican1 he consigned the ,last      
,judgment to ,mariotto to finish1 and   
leaving his worldly goods to his        
brother1 took the habit in the convent  
of ,s4 ,domenico1 at ,prato1 on ,july   
#bfth1 #aejj1 two years after first     
making the resolution4 ,his year of     
probation over1 he took the final vows  
and became ,fra ,bartolommeo4  ,a       
document in ,s4 ,marco proves that he   
was possessed of worldly goods when he  
entered1 ,footnote3 ,rosini1 ,storia    
della ,pittura1 chap xxvii4 among which 
were the house of his father in ,s4     
,pier ,gattolini1 and the podere at     
,brozzi4 ,having once given himself up  
to monasticism1 ,fra ,bartolommeo would 
offer no half-service1 his brushes were 

left behind with all other worldly      
things1 and here closes ,baccio della   
,porta's first artistic career4  ,his   
sun was set only to rise again to       
greater brilliance in the future as ,fra
 ,bartolommeo1 a name famous for ever in
 the annals of art4     ,,chapter ,v4   
,,fra ,,bartolommeo ,,in ,,the          
,,convent4 ,a4,d4 #aejd-aeji4   ,four   
years had passed1 and the monk had never
 touched a pencil1 but his mission in   
art was not fulfilled1 and events were  
working towards that end1 for the spirit
 of art once awakened could not die     
either in that convent or in that age4  
,his friend1 ,mariotto1 kept him au     
courant in all the gossip of art1 and   
told him of the great cartoons of       
,leonardo and ,michelangelo1 which he   
too went to see4 ,they might have       
inspired him afresh1 or perhaps in      
advising ,albertinelli he himself felt  
impelled to paint1 or possibly the      
visits of ,raphael in #aejd influenced  
him4  ,padre ,marchese takes the        

conventional view1 and says that ,santi 
,pagnini1 the oriental scholar and lover
 of art1 came back to ,s4 ,marco in     
#aejd as prior1 and used not only his   
entreaties1 but his authority1 to induce
 ,fra ,bartolommeo to recommence        
painting4 ,however this may be1 it is   
certain that when ,bernardo del ,bianco1
 who had built a beautiful chapel in the
 ,badia from ,rovezzano's designs1      
wished for an altar-piece worthy of its 
beauty1 which he felt no hand could     
execute so well as that of the          
,frate--he yielded to persuasion1 and   
the ,vision of ,s4 ,bernard was begun4  
,the contract is dated #ahth ,november1 
#aejd2 a part payment of sixty florins  
in gold was made #afth of ,june1 #aejg4 
,footnote3 ,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1  
iii4 vol4 ii4 p4 #eid4  ,this picture1  
now in the ,belle ,arti of ,florence1 is
 so much injured by re-painting that    
some parts seem even crude4 ,the saint  
is on his knees writing1 while the      
vision of the ,virgin and ,child stands 

poised in air before him2 she inspires  
his pen1 and the infant ,christ gives   
,his blessing on the work4 ,there is    
great spirituality and ecstasy in ,st4  
,bernard's face1 his white robe         
contrasts well with two saints behind   
him1 which carry out ,fra ,bartolommeo's
 favourite triangular grouping1 and with
 a rich harmony of colour balance his   
white robe4  ,the ,virgin is drawn with 
great nobility and grace1 her drapery   
admirably majestic1 yet airy1 and a     
sweet1 infantile playfulness renders the
 ,child charming4 ,the angels beneath   
the ,virgin's feet are lovely1 but the  
group of seraphs behind are the least   
pleasing of all4 ,they are of the earth1
 earthy1 and seem reminiscences of the  
,florentine maidens the artist met in   
the streets4 ,possibly this is the part 
most injured by the restorer's hand4    
,the colouring of the two saints behind 
,s4 ,bernard-one in a green robe with   
bronze-gold shades1 and the other blue  
and orange-is very suggestive of ,andrea

 del ,sarto1 and seems to render        
probable ,rosini's assertion that the   
,frate taught the first steps of this   
difficult career to that artist who     
alone was called 'senz' errori4'        
,having once retaken the brush1 ,fra    
,bartolommeo recovered his former skill 
and fame2 a beautiful specimen of this  
period is the ,meeting of ,christ with  
the ,disciples of ,emmaus 7#aejf71 a    
fresco in a lunette over the door of the
 refectory at ,s4 ,marco2 in which he   
combines a richness of colouring rarely 
obtained in fresco1 with a drawing which
 is almost perfect4 ,fra ,niccol della  
,magna1 who was prior in that year1 and 
left in #aejg to become ,archbishop of  
,capua1 sat for one of the saints4      
,contemporory with this may be dated    
also the figure of the ,virgin1 painted 
for ,agnolo ,doni1 now in the ,corsini  
gallery in ,rome4 ,giovanni de' ,medici 
also gave him a commission4  ,meanwhile 
the ,s4 ,bernard was not paid for4 ,fra 
,bartolommeo priced it at #bjj ducats1  

and the convent being the gainer by his 
works1 took his own valuation4 ,bernardo
 offered only eighty ducats2 the ,frati 
were indignant1 and called in the ,abbot
 of the ,badia as umpire2 he being      
unable to move ,bernardo1 retired from  
office2 then a council of friends was   
resolved on1 in which ,mariotto was for 
the painter1 and ,lorenzo de ,credi for 
the purchaser2 but this also failed4    
,it was next proposed to submit the     
question to the ,guild of ,druggists    
7arte degli speziali71 which included at
 that time also doctors and painters2   
but the convent1 refusing lay judgment1 
took the offer of ,francesco ,magalotti1
 a relative of ,bernardo1 who priced it 
at #ajj ducats1 and the monks had to be 
satisfied4 ,the dispute ended ,july     
#agth1 #aejg4 ,footnote3 ,rosini1       
,storia della ,pittura1 chap1 xxvii4 p4 
#bde1 and ,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1   
c41 vol4 ii4 pp4 #db to #de4  ,all      
writers agree as to the fact of ,fra    
,bartolommeo's friendship with ,raphael1

 but very few are decided as to its     
date4 ,raphael was in ,florence in      
#aejd1 but then ,fra ,bartolommeo had   
not re-commenced painting1 and would    
have no works in the convent to excite  
his admiration of the colouring4 ,padre 
,marchese1 following ,rosini and ,padre 
,luigi ,pungeleoni1 asserts that this   
intimacy was during ,raphael's second   
visit in #aejf1 when he might have seen 
the newly-finished fresco of ,the       
,disciples at ,emmaus4 ,it is undoubted 
that their intercourse was beneficial to
 both4 ,raphael studied anew ,leonardo's
 principles of colour under ,fra        
,bartolommeo's interpretation of them1  
and the ,frate improved his knowledge of
 perspective and harmony of composition4
 ,it is said they worked together at    
some pictures1 of which one is in       
,france1 and another at ,milan2 but     
there is not sufficient evidence to     
prove this4  ,it is also thought that   
,fra ,bartolommeo helped in the         
composition of ,raphael's famous        

,madonna del ,baldacchino1 which is     
truly very much in his style4  ,the year
 #aejh marks the ,frate's first         
acquaintance with the ,venetian school1 
which was not without its influence upon
 him4 ,frequent interchange of visits   
took place between the ,dominicans in   
the different parts of ,italy2 and ,fra 
,bartolommeo took the opportunity then  
offered him of going to visit his       
brethren at ,venice4  ,his namesake1    
,baccio di ,monte ,lupo1 a sculptor who 
had fled from ,florence after the death 
of ,savonarola1 and who had fought side 
by side with ,baccio in the siege of ,s4
 ,mark's church1 was in ,venice at that 
time1 working on the tomb of ,benedetto 
da ,pesaro in the church of the ,frati1 
and he was only too delighted to show   
the beauties of the ,queen of the       
,adriatic to an artistic mind4          
,tintoretto was not yet born2 ,titian   
was only just rising into fame1 though  
his style had not yet become what it was
 after ,giorgione's influence2 but ,fra 

,bartolommeo must have found much that  
was sympathetic in the exquisite works  
of ,giovanni ,bellini and his school1   
and much to admire in the glorious      
colouring of ,giorgione4  ,father       
,dalzano1 the vicar of the monastery of 
,s4 ,peter ,martyr at ,murano1 gave the 
,florentine monk a commission for a     
picture of the value of seventy or #ajj 
ducats4 ,not having time to paint this  
during his stay1 he promised to execute 
it on his return to ,florence1 and the  
vicar paid him in advance twenty-eight  
ducats in money and colours2 the rest   
was to be raised by the sale of some    
,,ms4 letters from ,s4 ,catherine of    
,siena1 which a friend of ,father       
,dalzano near ,florence held in         
possession4  ,fra ,bartolommeo1 having  
brought home from the ,venetian school a
 new impulse for painting1 and wishing  
to diffuse the religious influence of   
art more widely1 desired to enlarge his 
atelier and school at ,san ,marco4 ,his 
only assistants in the convent were ,fra

 ,paolino of ,pistoja1 and one or two   
miniaturists1 who were only good at     
missals4 ,fra ,paolino 7born #adij7 took
 the vows at a very early age1 and was  
removed to ,florence from ,prato with   
,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,he was the son of a 
painter1 ,bernardino di ,antonio1 but   
though he learned the first principles  
from him1 his real art was imbibed from 
the ,frate1 under whom1 together with   
,mariotto1 he worked for years4  ,but   
this youthful scholar was not enough for
 ,fra ,bartolommeo's new energies4 ,he  
pined for his old friend1 ,mariotto1 who
 could follow out his designs in his own
 style so closely1 that an unpractised  
eye could not see the difference of     
hand2 and such was his influence on the 
rulers of the order1 that they allowed a
 most unique partnership to be entered  
into4  ,the parties were1 ,albertinelli 
on one side1 and the convent and ,fra   
,bartolommeo on the other4 ,the partners
 to provide the expenses1 and the       
profits to be divided between the       

convent and ,mariotto2 the vow of       
poverty not allowing ,fra ,bartolommeo  
as an individual any personal share4    
,this began in #aeji and lasted till    
#aeab4 ,the inventory of the profits and
 the division made when the partnership 
was dissolved1 given entire by ,padre   
,marchese1 ,footnote3 ,padre ,marchese1 
,memorie1 c41 vol4 ii4 are very         
interesting4 ,the two artists had       
separate monograms to distinguish the   
pictures which were specially their own1
 besides which the monk signed his with 
the touching petition1 orate pro        
pictore1 his friend merely ,latinising  
his name2 the works painted together    
were signed by the combined monograms4  
,before setting a hand to anything else1
 the ,frate fulfilled his engagement to 
the ,venetian prior1 for whom he painted
 the ,eternal in ,heaven1 surrounded by 
saints and angels2 but of this we will  
speak later4     ,,chapter ,,vi4        
,,albertinelli ,,in ,,the ,,world4      
,a4,d4 #aeja-aeaj4   ,during the        

interval between the second and third   
partnership of this incongruous pair of 
friends1 the life of ,albertinelli had  
been very different from that of the    
,frate4 ,so distressed was he at losing 
,baccio that he was quite wild for a    
time4 ,his passions being unruled1 that 
of grief took entire possession of him4 
,in his despair he vowed to give up     
painting2 he declared that he would also
 become a monk1 if it were not that he  
now hated them more than ever2 besides1 
he was a ,pallesco1 and could not desert
 his party4  ,after a time1 however1 he 
calmed down1 and1 looking on his        
friend's unfinished fresco of the ,last 
,judgment as a legacy from him1 began to
 work at it as a kind of obligation till
 the occupation wove its own charm1 and 
he steadily devoted himself to art      
again1 much to the satisfaction of good 
,gerozzi ,dini1 who was in great        
perturbation1 and declared there was not
 another hand but his in ,florence which
 could finish it2 and also to the relief

 of ,fra ,bartolommeo himself1 who1     
having received money on account1 was   
troubled in conscience lest it should   
remain unfinished4 ,there remained only 
some figures to put in the terrestrial  
group1 all the celestial portions having
 been finished by the ,frate2 but they  
are very well drawn figures1 with a good
 deal of expression in them4 ,several   
are likenesses1 amongst whom are ,dini  
and his wife1 ,bugiardini1 the painter's
 pupil1 and himself4 ,most of these are 
now destroyed by the effects of damp4   
,mariotto left ,fra ,bartolommeo's house
 in ,s4 ,pier ,gattolini1 and took a    
room in ,gualfonda--now ,via ,val       
,fonda--a street leading towards the    
fortress1 built by the ,grand ,duke     
,cosimo on the north of the city2 and   
here in time quite a school grew up     
under his tuition4 ,giuliano ,bugiardini
 was his head assistant rather than     
pupil2 ,francia ,bigio1 then a boy1     
,visino1 who afterwards went to         
,hungary1 and ,innocenzio da ,nicola1   

besides ,piero1 ,baccio's brother1 were 
all scholars4 ,albertinelli's ,bottega  
in ,val ,fonda gave some noble paintings
 to the world1 works independently his  
own1 though ,fra ,bartolommeo's         
influence is traceable in most of them4 
,the finest of these is the ,salutation1
 dated #aejc--ordered for the ,church of
 ,s4 ,martino1 and now the gem of the   
hall of the ,old ,masters in the ,uffizi
 ,gallery--a work which alone has been  
able to mark him for all time as a great
 master4  ,so simple is the subject1 and
 yet so grand the proportions1 and in   
the figures there is such majesty of    
maternity and dignity of womanhood6 ,a  
decorated portico1 with the heavens     
behind it1 forms the background to the  
two noble women1 in one of whom is      
expressed the gracious sympathy of an   
elder matron with the awful1 mysterious 
joy of the younger4  ,the colouring1    
perfectly harmonised1 is the most       
masterly blending of a subdued tone with
 soft yet brilliant and shows a deep    

study of the method of ,leonardo4  ,the 
predella has an ,annunciation1          
,nativity1 and ,circumcision2 all       
showing the same able style1 but more   
injured by time than the picture4       
,another charming painting of this      
period is the ,nativity at the ,pitti1 a
 round1 on panel4 ,the ,madonna is not  
quite so noble as that of the           
,salutation1 but the limbs of the child 
are beautifully rounded4 ,there is a    
pretty group of three angels singing in 
the sky2 the landscape is as minute in  
detail as those his old fellow-pupil    
,piero used to paint in ,cosimo's       
studio4  ,in #aejd-e ,fra ,bartolommeo  
called upon him for a deed of           
friendship1 which proves that1 whatever 
biographers 7building up theories on a  
word or two in ,vasari7 may say of his  
want of steadiness1 the friend who knew 
him best had supreme trust in him4      
,santi ,pagnini1 having been removed to 
,siena as prior1 ,fra ,bartolommeo made 
,mariotto guardian and instructor of his

 young brother ,piero1 signing a        
contract that ,mariotto was to have the 
use and management of all estates and   
possessions of ,piero1 which included   
several poderi in the country1 as well  
as the house at the ,porta ,romana 7,s4 
,pier ,gattolini74 ,in return           
,albertinelli was to keep ,piero in his 
house1 teach1 clothe1 and provide for   
him1 not1 however1 being obliged to give
 him more than sette 7seven7 soldi a    
month4 ,albertinelli was also to have a 
mass said yearly in the ,church of ,s4  
,pier ,gattolini for the soul of ,paolo 
the muleteer1 and to use two pounds of  
wax candles thereat4 ,footnote3 ,padre  
,marchese1 ,memorie1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #cf1  
#cg4 ,the contract was signed from #ast 
,january1 #aeje1 and was to last till   
#ast ,january1 #aeaa4 ,it appears that  
this brother ,piero was a great trouble 
to the ,frate1 being of a bizarre       
disposition1 and addicted to squandering
 money2 he sold some possessions for    
much less than their worth1 ,footnote3  

,private communication from ,sig4 ,g4   
,milanesi4 which probably accounts for  
the singular contract of guardianship4  
,he did not show enough talent to become
 a painter1 and took priests' orders    
later4  ,about this time ,fra           
,bartolommeo recommenced work1 and while
 he was painting the triptych for       
,donatello's ,madonna 7the miniature    
,nativity and ,circumcision in the      
,uffizi71 ,albertinelli was at work in  
the convent of the ,certosa1 at a       
,crucifixion in fresco4 ,the painting is
 extant in the chapterhouse1 and is a   
very fair and unrestored specimen of his
 best style4 ,the ,virgin and ,magdalen 
are very purely conceived figures2 the  
idea of the angels gathering the blood  
falling from the wounded hands of the   
crucified ,saviour is very tender2 there
 is a great brightness of colouring1 and
 a greenish landscape almost            
,peruginesque in feeling4 ,some of his  
pupils worked with him at the ,certosa1 
and nearly brought their master into    

trouble4  ,they were not more content   
with convent fare than was ,davide      
,ghirlandajo1 when the only delicacy    
supplied him at ,vallombrosa was cheese2
 and to revenge themselves1 they stole  
round the cloister after the circular   
sliding panels by which the rations were
 sent into the monks' cells were filled1
 and feasted on the meals made ready for
 the good brothers4 ,great confusion    
ensued in the convent1 the monks        
accusing each other of the theft2 but   
when they found out the real culprits1  
they made a compromise1 promising double
 rations if the artists would hasten    
their work and leave them their daily   
dole in peace4  ,the fresco is dated    
#aejf4 ,the same year produced the fine 
picture now in the ,louvre1 which was   
painted for the church of ,s4 ,trinit on
 the commission of ,zanobio del         
,maestro4  ,the ,madonna1 stands on a   
pedestal1 with ,s4 ,jerome and ,s4      
,zenobio in front1 while episodes from  
their lives are brought in like distant 

echoes in the background4 ,footnote3 ,s4
 ,zenobio was the first bishop of       
,florence1 and is the patron saint of   
that city4  ,the nuns of ,s4 ,giuliano  
employed him to paint two pictures1 both
 of which are now in the ,belle ,arti4  
,one is an altarpiece2 the ,madonna     
enthroned1 with the ,divine ,child in   
her arms4 ,era ,bartolommeo's idea of an
 angel-sustained canopy is here1 but the
 angels hold it up from the outside     
instead of the inside4 ,before her are  
,s4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,s4 ,julian1 ,s4
 ,nicholas1 and ,s4 ,dominic4 ,the ,s4  
,julian has a great similarity to the   
,s4 ,michael of ,perugino1 and the ,s4  
,john1 by its good modelling1 shows the 
result of his studies from the antique  
in the ,medici garden4  ,for the same   
church he did the curious conventional  
painting of the ,trinity on a gold      
ground4 ,the subject is inartistic1     
because unapproachable2 the attempt to  
paint that which is a deep spiritual    
mystery degrades both the art and the   

subject2 the latter because it lowers it
 to human grasp1 the former because it  
shows its powerlessness to shadow forth 
the infinite4 ,there is beautiful       
painting in the heads of the angels1 at 
the foot of the ,cross1 but the         
brilliancy of the gold ground is        
overpowering to the colours1 albeit he  
has balanced it by reproducing ,cosimo  
,roselli's red-winged cherubs4 ,nothing 
but ,fra ,angelico's delicate tints can 
bear such a background4 ,no doubt       
,piero1 ,baccio's brother1 helped to lay
 on this gold1 for one of the           
stipulations in the contract with       
,mariotto was that he was to metter d'  
oro ed altre cose di mazoneria 7to put  
on gold and other articles of           
emblazonment74  ,it has been a great    
subject of conjecture at what part of   
his life ,albertinelli took the rash    
step of throwing up his art and opening 
a tavern at ,porta ,s4 ,gallo4 ,some say
 it was in his despair at ,fra          
,bartolommeo having taken the vows1 but 

this is disproved by his having at that 
time finished the ,last ,judgment1 and  
taken pupils in ,val ,fonda4 ,others    
assert that it was at the breaking up of
 the last partnership in #aeac1 but     
there is no hiatus in his work at that  
time1 existing paintings being dated in 
#aeac and the following years till his  
death1 three years after4  ,vasari1     
though not to be depended on in regard  
to dates--chronology not being his      
forte--is generally right in the gossip 
and stories of the lives near his own   
time1 and it is by collateral evidence  
from his pages that we are able to fix  
with more certainty #aejh or #aeji as   
the time of this episode in             
,albertinelli's life4 ,in #aejg we find 
him as an artist helping to value his   
friend's picture1 and mediating between 
the convent and ,bernardo del ,bianco4  
,footnote3 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1    
vol4 iii4 chap4 xvii4 p4 #edd4 ,now1 in 
the ',life of ,andrea del ,sarto1' we   
read that ,francia ,bigio1              

,albertinelli's pupil1 made the         
acquaintance of ,andrea while studying  
the ,cartoons in the ,hall of the       
,council 7this was from #aejf to #aejh71
 and as their friendship increased1     
,andrea confided to ,francia ,bigio that
 he could no longer endure the          
eccentricities of ,piero di ,cosimo1 and
 determined to seek a home for himself1 
and that ,francia ,bigio being also     
alone--his master ,mariotto             
,albertinelli having abandoned the art  
of painting--they determined to share a 
studio and rooms4 ,footnote3 ,vasari1   
vol4 iii4 p4 #ahb4 ,the first works the 
partners undertook were the frescoes of 
the ,scalzo and the ,servi1 which were  
begun in #aeji4 ,thus the date is       
tolerably certain1 especially as a gap  
occurs in ,albertinelli's works at this 
time4  ,sig4 ,gaetano ,milanesi's       
researches in the ,archives have thrown 
a new light on ,mariotto's motives1     
which were not entirely connected with  
art2 it was not that he was discouraged 

by adverse criticism1 nor wholly that1  
as time divided him from his friend1 he 
felt he could produce no great work away
 from his influence1 but it was partly  
that he had married a wife named        
,antonia1 whose father kept an inn at   
,s4 ,gallo4 ,it is possible the tavern  
came to him by way of dot1 and the above
 reasons making him discontented with   
art for a time1 might have induced him  
to carry on the business himself4 ,sig4 
,milanesi says a document exists of a   
contract in which ,mariotto's name is   
connected with a tavern1 but that he has
 never been able to retrace it since the
 first time he found it4 ,it is his     
opinion that the whole story arose from 
the fact of the wife's family possessing
 this wine shop1 and his connection with
 it in that way4  ,but though           
,albertinelli passed off his            
pseudo-hostdom with bravado1 talking    
very wittily about it1 the artistic vein
 was too strong within him to be        
subdued2 he soon gave up the flask and  

returned to the brush1 for in #aeji1    
when his quondam pupil1 ,francia ,bigio1
 was busy at the ,servi1 we again find  
,mariotto's hand in a painting of the   
,madonna4 ,the ,virgin1 holding a       
pomegranate in her hand1 supports with  
the other the ,child1 who stands on a   
parapet1 and clings to the bosom of his 
mother's dress for support1 in a truly  
natural way2 the infant ,baptist stands 
by4 ,the painting1 signed1 and dated    
#aeji1 is in the ,fitzwilliam ,museum1  
,cambridge1 but has been injured by     
repainting4 ,in spite of this1 ,messrs4 
,crowe and ,cavalcaselle believe they   
perceive ,bugiardini's hand in it4  ,in 
#aeaj ,albertinelli began one of his    
masterpieces1 the ,annunciation for the 
company of ,s4 ,zenobio1 now in the     
,belle ,arti4 ,all his zeal for art was 
reawakened1 he flung himself con amore  
into this work1 which1 though in oil on 
panel1 was painted on the spot where it 
was intended to be placed1 that the     
lights might be managed with the best   

effect4 ,he was imbued with ,leonardo da
 ,vinci's principle1 that the greatest  
relief and force are to be combined with
 softness1 and wishing to bring this    
combination to a perfection which never 
before had been reached1 he depended    
greatly on the natural light to further 
his design4 ,footnote3 ,vasari1 vol4 ii4
 p4 #dfi4  ,the picture1 although a     
great work of art1 and the most laboured
 of all his paintings1 failed to satisfy
 the artist4 ,he tried various          
experiments1 painting in and painting   
out1 but never reaching his own ideal4  
,according to ,leonardo1 he was proving 
himself a good artist1 one of his       
principles being1 when his 7an artist's7
 knowledge and light surpass his work so
 that he is not satisfied with himself  
or his endeavours1 it is a happy omen4  
,footnote3 ,leonardo da ,vinci1         
,treatise on ,painting4  ,the work as it
 stands is a noble one1 though darkened 
by time having brought out the black    
pigments used in the shades4 ,the       

background is an intricate piece of     
architecture with vaulted roof1 showing 
that he too had profited by ,raphael's  
instructions in perspective to ,fra     
,bartolommeo4  ,the ,virgin is a tender 
sweet figure2 indeed no artist has given
 more gracious dignity to womanhood than
 ,albertinelli1 although his detractors 
say his life showed no great respect for
 it4 ,above1 the ,almighty is seen in a 
yellow light with a circle of angels and
 seraphs around4 ,it is strange how the 
realistic painters stopped at nothing1  
not even the representation of the      
eternal in a human form4 ,is not this   
the reason why art ceased about this    
time to be the interpreter of religion1 
and found its true mission in being the 
interpreter of nature8 ,who can draw one
 soul8 ,how much more impossible then to
 depict the incomprehensible soul in    
which all others have their being8 ,the 
utmost we can do is to give the         
indication of the spirit in the         
expression of a face1 and that so       

imperfectly that not two beholders read 
it alike4 ,study ,perugino and ,raphael1
 see how they raise human nature and    
etherealize it till we see the divinity 
of soul in the faces of their saints and
 martyrs4 ,but the moment they try to   
depict the ,almighty1 or even his       
angels1 they fall at once below         
humanity4  ,but to return to the        
,annunciation of ,albertinelli4 ,his    
impetuous temper betrayed him even here2
 he fell into a dispute with his        
patrons1 who refused to pay the price he
 asked4 ,the usual trial by his peers   
was resorted to1 ,perugino1 ,granacci1  
and ,ridolfo ,ghirlandajo were called   
into council to value it according to   
its merits4  ,on completing this picture
 the events we have related in the last 
chapter took place1 ,fra ,bartolommeo   
returned from ,venice with his          
enterprise renewed1 and the convent     
partnership was commenced4     ,,chapter
 ,,vii4  ,,convent ,,partnership4 ,a4,d4
 #aeaj--aeac4   ,we now come to the     

studio of ,s4 ,marco1 where the two     
friends1 who had dreamed together as    
boys1 and worked together as youths1 now
 laboured jointly as men1 bringing to   
light some of the finest works of art   
that remain to us4 ,during these three  
years ,albertinelli's star seems merged 
in that of his senior1 his hand is to be
 recognised in the lower parts of a few 
altarpieces2 but it is always difficult 
to distinguish the two styles4  ,it was 
a very busy atelier1 for they had many  
patrons4 ,bugiardini was still          
,mariotto's head assistant1 and ,fra    
,paolino1 and one or two other monks1   
worked under ,fra ,bartolommeo1 besides 
pupils of both1 among whom were         
,gabriele ,rustici and ,benedetto       
,cianfanini4  ,the studio was on the    
part of the convent between the cloister
 and ,via del ,maglio1 ,footnote3 ,padre
 ,marchese1 ,memorie1 vol4 ii4 p4 #fi4  
and we can quite picture its interior4  
,there stands the lay figure on which   
,fra ,bartolommeo draped the garments   

that take such majestic folds in his    
works2 ,footnote3 ,fra ,bartolommeo was 
the inventor of the jointed lay figure4 
there are several casts and models in   
different parts of the room2 grand      
cartoons in charcoal hang on the walls1 
like those we see to this day in the    
,uffizi and ,belle ,arti4 ,so many of   
these masterly sketches are the ,frate's
 and so few are ,mariotto's that we may 
presume the former was in most instances
 the designer4 ,and to what perfection  
he carried design6 ,not a figure was    
drawn except its lines harmonised with  
the geometric rhythm in the artist's    
mind4 ,his groups fall by nature into   
kaleidoscopic figures of circles1       
triangles1 ellipses1 crosses1 c4 ,not a 
cartoon was sketched in which the lights
 and shadows were not as gradated and   
finished as a painting1 although they   
were merely drawn with charcoal4 ,the   
following was the method of work in the 
bottega4 ,the panels were prepared with 
a coating of plaster of ,paris1 over    

which1 when dry1 a coat of under colour1
 ground in oil1 was passed4 ,the        
preparing of the panels fell to the work
 of one of the monk scholars1 ,fra      
,andrea4,footnote3 ,the books of the    
convent have a note of payment to ,fra  
,bartolommeo for #bjth ,march1 #aeab1   
per parte di lavoro di ,fra ,andrea     
converse per mettere d'oro1 et ingessare
 alle tavole nella bottega in diversi   
lavori 7,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1 lib4
 ii4 chap4 in4 p4 #gj74 ,then the master
 made his sketch in white1 or sgraffito 
7i4e4 graven on the plaster71 as in the 
architectural lines of the pictures of  
patron saints in the ,uffizi1 and the   
,marriage of ,s4 ,catherine in the      
,pitti ,palace2 he also put in the      
shadows in monochrome4 ,but the         
assistants1 who were skilled artists1   
were called to put broad level tints of 
local colour on the buildings1 c41 the  
master himself finishing the faces4 ,no 
doubt ,albertinelli was often deputed to
 the study of the lay figure and its    

drapery4 ,where he assisted1 the        
monogram1 a cross with two rings and the
 joint names1 marked the work1 as en a  
panel of #aeaj in ,vienna1 and another  
at ,geneva4  ,fra ,bartolommeo only     
imitated ,leonardo in his intense force 
and soft gradations2 the general        
thinness of colour is opposed to his    
system4 ,he followed him1 however1 in   
his method of painting his shadows with 
the brush1 instead of hatching them2 he 
used the same yellowish ground1 and     
sfumato1 ,footnote3 ,eastlake's         
,materials for a ,history of ,oil       
,painting1 vol4 ii4 chap4 iv4 i4e4 the  
imperceptible softening of the          
transition in half-lights and shadows2  
it was effected by glazes1 and is not   
adapted to a thin substance4 ,the great 
mistake in ,fra ,bartolommeo's system   
was the preparing his paintings like    
cartoons1 and using asphaltum or        
lamp-black for outlines and shadows2    
this in process of time destroys the    
super-colour1 and gives a general       

blackness to the painting4  ,the same   
kind of talk went on here as in modern  
studios4 ,when the frame-maker came1    
,fra ,bartolommeo would be vexed to see 
how much of his work was hidden beneath 
the massive cornice1 and would vow to   
dispense with frames altogether1 which  
he did in his ,s4 ,sebastian and ,s4    
,mark1 by painting an architectural     
niche round the subject like a carving  
in relief4  ,the first work begun at the
 convent studio was the picture for     
,father ,dalgano of ,venice1 the subject
 of which is the ,eternal ,father in    
,heaven1 surrounded by seraphs and      
angels4 ,perhaps in this we have the    
source of the motive of ,albertinelli's 
,annunciation4 ,the colouring is more   
brilliant than any of the ,frate's works
 before his visit to ,venice4 ,vasari   
says that in this picture ,giorgione    
himself could not have surpassed him in 
brilliancy4 ,the saints1 although nearly
 level with the ground1 are given       
celestial rank by the cherubs and clouds

 below them4 ,fra ,bartolommeo was      
dissatisfied with his angels1 which     
seemed merely lovely children1 and      
seeking other forms1 he thought to      
picture them better under shapes which  
at a distance seem only clouds1 but     
nearer are full of angels' faces1 as in 
the ,s4 ,bernard4 ,but this idea1 not   
having aesthetic beauty1 was also       
abandoned4 ,footnote3 ,padre ,marchese1 
,i ,puristi ed ,accademici4  ,the monks 
of ,s4 ,pietro at ,murano did not hasten
 to claim their picture1 but sent two   
friars to negotiate about the price2    
they failed to agree1 and the work is   
now in the ,church of ,s4 ,romano in    
,lucca4  ,lucca has another exquisite   
picture of the same year in the         
,cathedral of ,s4 ,martino1 a ,madonna  
and ,child--a lovely ideal of joyful    
infancy--beneath a veil suspended above 
her head by two angels4 ,s4 ,john       
,baptist and ,s4 ,stephen support this  
airy composition like pillars1 their    
figures showing in strong relief against

 the dark shades2 the whole picture is  
intensely soft1 and yet the outlines are
 perfectly clear4 ,this is valued at    
sixty ducats in the ,libri di ,san      
,marco4  ,next followed the ,virgin and 
,child with four ,saints1 in ,s4 ,marco1
 which is so fine that it has been taken
 for a ,raphael1 although1 owing to the 
use of lamp-black1 it has now become    
very much darkened4  ,the ,holy ,family 
which he painted for ,filippo di        
,averardo ,salviati1 and which is now in
 ,earl ,cowper's collection at          
,panshanger1 is an almost ,raphaelesque 
work1 and attains the greatest          
excellence in art4 ,the composition is  
his favourite triangle1 touched in with 
the flowing lines of the mother seated  
on the ground with the two children     
before her4 ,s4 ,joseph is in the       
background4 ,the greatest softness of   
flesh tints must have been perceptible  
when new1 for1 in spite of the abrasions
 produced by time1 the delicate tones   
brought out by transparent glazes fused 

one over another are apparent4 ,the     
landscape with an echo subject of the   
flight into ,egypt is thought by ,crowe 
and ,cavalcaselle to be by              
,albertinelli4  ,in #aeaj the partners  
had a large order from ,giuliano da     
,gagliano1 who1 on the #bnd ,november1  
#aeaj1 and #adth ,january1 #aeaa1 paid1 
in two rates1 the sum of #aed ducats4   
,the picture1 which is ,fra             
,bartolommeo's own painting1            
unfortunately cannot be traced4  ,in    
#aeaa a long list of works are          
enumerated--a ,nativity1 valued two     
ducats1 a ,christ bearing the ,cross1   
and an ,annunciation1 sold to the       
,gonfaloniere for six ducats--pictures  
which are dispersed in ,england1 ,pavia1
 c42 but the masterpiece of the time is 
the ,marriage of ,s4 ,catherine1 now in 
the ,louvre4 ,the ,florentine government
 bought it for #cjj ducats in #aeab1 to 
present to ,jacques ,hurault1 ,bishop of
 ,autun1 who came to ,florence as envoy 
of ,louis ,,xii4 ,he left it to his     

cathedral at ,autun1 from whence1 at the
 ,revolution1 it passed to the ,louvre4 
,footnote3 ,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1  
lib4 iii4 ch4 iv4 p4 #gg4 ,crowe and    
,cavalcaselle1 ,history of ,painting1   
vol4 iii4 chap4 xiii4 p4 #deb4 ,before  
it was sent away1 ,fra ,bartolommeo made
 a replica of it1 which is now in the   
,pitti ,palace4 ,there is his favourite 
canopy supported by angels2 in this case
 they are beautifully foreshortened4    
,the ,virgin is seated on a pedestal1   
holding by one arm an exquisitely       
moulded child ,jesus of about four years
 old1 who is espousing ,s4 ,catherine of
 ,siena1 kneeling at ,his feet on the   
left4 ,a semicircle of saints group on  
each side of the ,virgin1 and two       
angels1 with musical instruments1 are at
 her feet2 the upturned face of one is  
exquisitely foreshortened4 ,the ,s4     
,george in armour is a powerful figure2 
and in ,s4 ,bartholomew1 on the left1 is
 the same grand feeling which he        
afterwards brought to perfection in ,s4 

,mark4 ,the grace of the ,virgin's      
figure is not to be surpassed2 if       
,raphael's ,madonnas have more          
sentiment1 this has more dignified      
grace4 ,he has remembered ,leonardo's   
precept1 that the two figures of a group
 should not look the same way2 the      
contrast of the flowing lines in these  
two forms is very lovely4 ,the same     
contrast of lines1 and yet balance of   
form1 is carried out in the two ,s4     
,catherines who form the pyramid on each
 side of her1 and in the varied         
characters of the encircling group of   
saints4 ,the deleterious use of         
lampblack has spoiled the colouring2 it1
 moreover1 hangs in a bad light at the  
,pitti ,palace4  ,the original subject  
at the ,louvre differs only in a few    
particulars from this--the ,virgin's    
hand is on the child's head instead of  
his arm1 and there are trifling         
differences in the grouping of the      
saints1 the semicircle being more       
rigidly kept4 ,in this the flesh is thin

 and uncracked1 seeming imbedded in the 
surrounding colours2 the lake draperies 
are laid so thinly on the light ground1 
that the sketch can be seen through the 
colour4 ,footnote3 ,eastlake1 ,materials
 for a ,history of ,oil ,painting1 vol4 
ii4 chap4 iv4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle  
speak of the two paintings as           
unconnected with each other1 and mention
 the ,pitti one as having unaccountably 
returned there after having been given  
to some bishop4 ,is it not possible that
 the gift to a bishop refers to the     
painting in the ,louvre1 and that the   
other is the replica spoken of by       
,vasari1 vol4 ii4 p4 #deb8  ,there is a 
fine painting in the church of ,s4      
,caterina of ,pisa1 in the chapel of the
 ,mastiani family1 ,michele ,mastiani   
having given the commission1 and paid   
thirty ducats1 in ,october1 #aeaa4 ,it  
represents the ,madonna and ,child      
seated on a base2 the action is quiet   
and yet vivacious2 she is supported on  
each side by ,s4 ,peter and ,s4 ,paul1  

figures as large as life1 and even more 
noble than the ones in ,rome4 ,the      
colouring has been much injured by a    
fire in the seventeenth century1 but is 
robust and harmonious4 ,it is dated     
#aeaa4  ,on the #bfth of ,november1     
#aeaj1 ,fra ,bartolommeo had a          
commission from ,pier ,soderini1 then   
,gonfaloniere1 to paint a picture for   
the ,council ,hall4 ,this was an        
unfortunate order2 for ,michelangelo and
 ,leonardo da ,vinci had both been      
commissioned1 neither of them finishing 
the works4 ,fra ,bartolommeo's forms the
 third uncompleted painting2 it exists  
still in the form of a half prepared    
picture1 the design being only shadowed 
in monochrome1 and this in spite of the 
payment on account of #ajj gold ducats  
in ,october1 #aeac4 ,footnote3 ,see     
,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1 documenti #e
 and #f1 vol ii4 p4 #fjc4 ,the reason of
 this is difficult to assign1 but it    
might lie in the fact that in #aeab     
,pier ,soderini was deposed and exiled  

by ,giuliano de' ,medici1 who assumed   
the government4 ,another reason may have
 been the failure of ,fra ,bartolommeo's
 health after his journey to ,rome4  ,in
 #aeab ,santi ,pagnini came back from   
,siena as prior of ,s4 ,marco1 and he   
having no love for ,albertinelli1 and   
perhaps a too jealous affection for the 
artist ,monk1 caused the partnership to 
be dissolved1 much to ,mariotto's       
sorrow4 ,the stock1 of which a full list
 is given by ,padre ,marchese1 was      
divided1 each taking the pictures in    
which they had most to do4 ,the         
properties--amongst which were the lay  
figures1 easels1 casts1 sketches1 blocks
 of porphyry to grind colours on1 c4    
,footnote3 ,padre ,marchese1 vol4 ii4   
pp4 #ahd1 #ahe4--were to be left for    
,fra ,bartolommeo's use till his death1 
when they were to be divided between his
 heirs and ,albertinelli4  ,mariotto    
returned disheartened to paint in his   
solitary studio4 ,a specimen of this    
period is the ,adam and ,eve1 now at    

,castle ,howard1 which is said to have  
been sketched in by ,fra ,bartolommeo4  
,eve stands beneath the serpent-entwined
 tree1 hesitating between the demon's   
temptations and ,adam's persuasions2 the
 feeling and action are perfectly       
expressed1 the landscape is minute1 but 
has plenty of atmosphere and good       
colouring4 ,in the same collection is a 
,sacrifice of ,abraham1 in his best     
style4 ,the drawing of the father1      
reluctantly holding his knife to the    
throat of the boy1 is extremely true4   
,munich possesses a fine ,annunciation4 
,characteristic saints support the      
composition on each side1 the nude ,s4  
,sebastian being a markworthy study2 an 
angel at his side presents the palm of  
martyrdom4 ,the picture has suffered    
much from bad cleaning4  ,in ,march1    
#aeac1 ,albertinelli was commissioned by
 the ,medici to paint their arms1 in    
honour of ,leo ,x4's elevation to the   
papacy4 ,he made a fine allegorical     
circular picture1 in which the arms were

 supported by the figures of ,faith1    
,hope1 and ,charity4     ,,chapter      
,,viii4  ,,close ,,of ,,life4 ,a4,d4    
#aead--aeag4   ,it is probable that the 
dissolution of partnership marked the   
time of ,fra ,bartolommeo's visit to    
,rome4 ,fra ,mariano ,fetti1 once a lay 
brother of ,s4 ,marco1 who had gone over
 to the ,medici after ,savonarola's     
death1 and had kept so much in favour   
with ,pope ,leo ,x4 as to obtain the    
office of the ,seals 7del ,piombo71     
,footnote3 ,an office for appending     
seals to papal documents4 ,fra ,mariano 
,fetti was elected to it in #aead1 after
 ,bramante1 the architect2 ,sebastiano  
del ,piombo succeeded him4 was pleased  
to be considered a patron of art2 and   
welcoming ,fra ,bartolommeo to ,rome1 he
 gave him a commission for two large    
figures of ,s4 ,peter and ,s4 ,paul for 
his church of ,s4 ,silvestro4 ,the      
cartoons of these pictures are now in   
the ,belle ,arti of ,florence2 they are 
grand and majestic figures1 admirably   

draped4 ,s4 ,peter holds his keys and a 
book2 ,s4 ,paul rests on his sword4 ,in 
executing them in colour1 he made some  
improvements1 especially in the head and
 hand of ,s4 ,peter1 but he did not     
remain long enough in ,rome to finish   
them4 ,the colour of the first 7,s4     
,peter7 is reddish and rather opaque1   
the shadows of the head being taken up  
afresh1 and the extremities being by    
another painter4 ,the head of the second
 7,s4 ,paul7 is corrected 444 but the   
tone is transparent1 and the execution  
exclusively that of ,fra ,bartolommeo4  
,whoever may have been employed on the  
,s4 ,peter1 we do not fancy ,raphael to 
have been that person4 ,this is the     
opinion of ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1    
,footnote3 ,history of ,painting1 vol4  
iii4 chap4 xiii4 p4 #dfj4 who1 however1 
seem to have little faith in any works  
of the ,frate at ,rome4 ,against this we
 have the chronicles of quaint old      
,vasari and ,rosini2 besides ,baldinucci
 7ch4 iv4 p4 #hc71 who says1 ,raphael   

gave great testimony of his esteem when1
 in after years1 he employed his own    
brush in ,rome to finish a work begun by
 ,fra ,bartolommeo in that city and left
 imperfect4  ,his reason for leaving it 
imperfect was that of ill-health1 the   
air of ,rome not agreeing with him4 ,it 
seems he brought home malaria1 which    
never entirely left his system1 the low 
fever returning every year1 and being   
only mitigated by a change to mountain  
air4 ,he was well enough at times to    
resume painting1 but never in full      
health again4 ,that very summer he was  
sent to the ,hospice of ,sta4 ,maria    
,maddalena in ,pian di ,mugnone1 dove   
pure non stette in ozio1 ,footnote3     
,rosini1 ,storia della ,pittura1 chap1  
xxvii4 p4 #bde4 where he did not remain 
idle4 ,the ,hospice stands on a high    
hill1 just the place for ,roman fever to
 disappear as if by magic for a time1   
and the patient1 relieved of his        
lassitude1 set to work with energy1     
aided by ,fra ,paolino and ,fra         

,agostino4 ,many of his frescoes still  
remain1 one of which is a beautiful     
,madonna1 on the wall of the infirmary1 
which has since been sawn away from the 
wall and placed in the students' chapel 
in ,san ,marco1 ,florence4 ,footnote3 ,a
 document of the ,hospice records these 
paintings1 and dates them #ajth of      
,july1 #aead4 ,padre ,marchese1         
,memorie1 c41 vol4 ii4 p4 #faj4  ,he    
returned to ,florence for the winter1   
and with renewed vigour produced his    
,san ,sebastian1 a splendid study from  
the nude1 which shows the influence upon
 him of ,michelangelo's paintings in    
,rome4 ,the picture was hung in ,san    
,marco1 but its influence not proving   
elevating to the sensuous minds of the  
,florentines1 it was removed to the     
chapter-house1 and ,gio ,battista della 
,palla1 the dealer who bought so many of
 the best pictures of the time1         
purchased it to send to the ,king of    
,france4 ,its subsequent fate is not    
known1 although ,monsieur ,alaffre1 of  

,toulouse1 boasts of its possession4 ,he
 says his father bought three paintings 
which1 in the time of the ,revolution1  
had been taken from the chapel of a     
royal villa near ,paris ,footnote3      
,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1 c41 vol4 ii4
 note p4 #aai41 one of which is the ,s4 
,sebastian4 ,in design and attitude it  
corresponds to the one described by     
,vasari1 the saint being in a niche1    
surrounded by a double cornice4 ,the    
left arm is bound2 the right1 with its  
cord hanging1 is upraised in attitude of
 the faith1 so fully expressed in the   
beautiful face4 ,three arrows are fixed 
in the body1 which is nude except a     
slight veil across the loins2 an angel1 
also nude1 holds the palm to him4       
,connoisseurs do not think this painting
 equal in merit to the other works of   
,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,it is true it may   
have been overrated at the time1 for the
 ,frate's chief excellence lay in the   
grandeur of his drapery2 the test of    
authenticity for a nude study from him  

would lie more in the colouring and     
handling than in form4  ,in the early   
part of #aeae ,fra ,bartolommeo went to 
pay his old friend ,santi ,pagnini1 the 
,oriental scholar1 a visit at the       
convent of ,san ,romano1 in ,lucca1 of  
which he was now prior1 passing by      
,pistoja on ,february #agth to sign a   
contract for an altar-piece to be placed
 in the church of ,san ,domenico--a     
commission from ,messer ,jacopo         
,panciatichi4 ,the price was fixed at   
#ajj gold ducats1 and the subject to be 
the ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4     
,paul1 ,john ,baptist1 and ,sebastian4  
,on his arrival at ,lucca he was soon   
busy with his great work1 the ,madonna  
della ,misericordia1 for the church of  
,san ,romano4 ,the composition of this  
is full and harmonious4 ,a populace of  
all ages and conditions1 grouped around 
the throne of the ,madonna1 beg her     
prayers2 she1 standing up1 seems to     
gather all their supplications in her   
hands and offer them up to heaven1 from 

which1 as a vision1 ,christ appears from
 a mass of clouds in act of benediction4
 ,amongst the crowd of supplicants are  
some exquisite groups4 ,sublime         
inspiration and powerful expression are 
shown in the whole work4 ,on his return 
he stayed again at ,pistoja1 where he   
painted a fresco of a ,madonna on a wall
 of the convent of ,san ,domenico2 this1
 which has since been sawn from the     
wall1 is at present in the church of the
 same convent1 and though much injured1 
is a very light and tender bit of       
colouring and expression4 ,it would seem
 that the altar-piece for the same      
church1 spoken of above1 was never      
finished1 as no traces of it are to be  
found4  ,in ,october1 #aeae1 we again   
find him at ,pian di ,mugnone2 no doubt 
the summer heats had induced a return of
 his fever4 ,here1 again improving in   
health1 he painted a charming           
,annunciation in fresco1 full of life   
and eagerness on the part of the angel1 
and joy on the ,virgin4 ,he did not     

remain long1 for before the end of the  
autumn he returned to visit the home of 
his youth and see his paternal uncle1   
,giusto1 at ,lastruccio1 near ,prato4   
,we can imagine the meeting between him 
and his relatives1 and how the little   
,paolo1 son of ,vito1 being told to     
guess who he was1 said1 ,bis ,zio       
,bartolommeo1 ,footnote3 ,padre         
,marchese1 ,memorie1 c41 vol4 ii4 chap4 
vii4 pp4 #aci1 #adj4 for which he was   
much applauded4 ,and when all the       
country relatives hoped to see him again
 soon1 how the ,frate said that would be
 uncertain1 because the ,king of ,france
 had sent for him1 and with what awe and
 family pride they would have looked at 
him6 ,but instead of going to ,france   
for the glory of art1 he was returning  
to ,florence to sorrow4 ,his life-long  
friend1 ,mariotto ,albertinelli1 had    
been brought home on a litter from ,la  
,quercia1 near ,viterbo1 and now lay on 
his death-bed2 and what his life had    
lacked in religion1 the prayers of his  

friend would go far to atone for at his 
death4  ,while ,fra ,bartolommeo had    
been ailing1 ,albertinelli had also paid
 his visit to the great city1 and seen  
the two great rivals there4 ,he went    
from ,viterbo1 where he had been to     
finish colouring a work of the ,frate's 
left unfinished1 and also to paint some 
frescoes in the convent of ,la ,quercia1
 near that town4 ,being so near ,borne1 
he was seized with a great desire to see
 it1 and left his picture for that      
purpose4 ,probably ,fra ,bartolommeo had
 given him an introduction to his friend
 and patron1 for ,fra ,mariano ,fetti   
gave ,albertinelli a commission to paint
 a ,marriage of ,s4 ,catherine for his  
church1 which he completed1 and then    
left ,rome at once4 ,nothing is known of
 the impressions made on him by the     
works of the two great masters1 and     
unfortunately his death occurred too    
soon after for his own style to have    
given any evidence of their influence4  
,a ,giostra1 at ,viterbo1 proved a very 

strong attraction to his pleasure-loving
 mind4 ,this ,giostra1 which the        
translators of ,vasari seem to find so  
obscure1 ,footnote3 ,vasari's ,lives1   
vol4 ii4 p4 #dgj4 was no doubt one of   
those festivals revived by the ,medici1 
in which mounted cavaliers ride with a  
lance at a suspended ,saracen's head1   
striking it at full gallop4 ,desirous of
 appearing to advantage before the eyes 
of her whom he had elected his queen1 he
 forgot his mature age1 and rushed into 
the jousts with all the energies of a   
youth1 but alas6 fell ill from          
over-exertion4 ,fearing the malarious   
air was not good for him1 he had a      
litter made1 and was taken to ,florence1
 where ,fra ,bartolommeo placed himself 
at his bedside1 soothing his last       
moments1 and leading him as far         
heavenward as he could4 ,when           
,albertinelli died1 on the #eth of      
,november1 #aeae1 his friend followed   
him to an honourable interment in ,s4   
,piero ,maggiore4  ,after               

,albertinelli's death1 the ,frate soared
 to greater heights of genius than      
before4  ,the year #aeaf marks the birth
 of his grandest masterpieces1 first the
 picture in the ,pitti ,palace called by
 ,cavalcaselle a ,resurrection1 but     
which is more truly an allegorical      
impersonation of the ,saviour4 ,it was  
ordered by a rich merchant1 ,salvadore  
,billi1 to place in a chapel which      
,pietro ,roselli had adorned with       
marbles in the church of the            
,annunciata4 ,he paid #ajj ducats in    
gold for it4  ,in its original state the
 picture was a complete allegory of     
,christ as the centre of ,religion1     
between two prophets in heaven1 and four
 apostles1 two at each side--beneath him
 two angels support the world4 ,the     
prophets have been removed1 and are     
placed in the ,tribune of the ,uffizi2  
thus the picture as it stands loses half
 its meaning4 ,the ,christ is a fine    
nude figure standing in a niche1 and in 
it ,fra ,bartolommeo has solved the     

problem of obtaining complete relief    
almost in monochrome1 so little do the  
lights of the flesh tints1 and the warm 
yellowish tinge of the background differ
 from each other4 ,all the positive     
colour is in the drapery of the saints1 
one in red and green1 and another in red
 and blue4 ,the two angels are          
exquisitely drawn1 and contrast well in 
their natural innocence with the        
sentimental pair in ,raphael's ,madonna 
of the ,baldacchino on the same wall of 
the ,pitti ,palace4  ,san ,marco was    
rich in frescoes of the ,madonna and    
,child1 two of which are still in the   
chapel of the convent1 and two in the   
,belle ,arti4 ,some of these are        
charming in expression1 the children    
clinging round the mother's neck in a   
true childish abandon of affection4     
,what a tender feeling these monk       
artists had for the spirit of maternity6
 ,perhaps by being debarred from the    
contemplation of maternal love in its   
humanity1 they more clearly comprehended

 its divinity4 ,look at the little      
round-backed nestling child in ,fra     
,angelico's ,madonna della ,stella1     
imperfect as it is in form1 the whole   
spirit of love is in it4 ,he does not   
give only the mother-love for the child1
 but the child-love for the mother1     
which is more divine1 and the same      
feeling is seen in the ,madonna of ,fra 
,bartolommeo4  ,this year1 #aeaf1 also  
marks a journey to a hermitage of his   
order at ,lecceto1 between ,florence and
 ,pisa4 ,here he painted a ,deposition  
from the ,cross on the wall of the      
,hospice1 and two heads of ,christ on   
two tiles above the doors4  ,a great    
many of his works are in private        
collections in ,florence2 one of the    
most lovely is the ,piet1 painted for   
,agnolo ,doni1 and now in the ,corsini  
,gallery at ,rome4  ,all this time the  
great painting of the ,enthronement of  
the ,virgin1 ordered by ,pier ,soderini1
 before his exile1 was still unfinished4
 ,he seems to have taken it in hand     

again about this time1 but being        
attacked with another access of fever1  
again left it1 and the painting1        
shadowed in with black1 remains in the  
,uffizi4 ,lanzi writes of it that1      
imperfect as it is1 it may be regarded  
as a true lesson in art1 and bears the  
same relation to painting as the clay   
model to the finished statue1 the genius
 of the inventor being impressed upon   
it4 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle   
,footnote3 ,history of ,painting1 vol4  
iii4 chap4 xiii4 p4 #dee4 call this a   
,conception1 but ,vasari's old name of  
the ,patron ,saints of ,florence seems  
to fit it best4 ,s4 ,john the ,baptist1 
,s4 ,reparata1 ,s4 ,zenobio1 c41 stand  
in an adoring group around the heavenly 
powers1 ,s4 ,anna above the ,virgin and 
infant ,christ forming a charming       
pyramidal group in the midst4 ,the whole
 thing is one of ,fra ,bartolommeo's    
richest compositions4 ,the centre of the
 three monks on the left is said to be a
 portrait of ,fra ,bartolommeo himself1 

and to be the original from which the   
only known portrait of him is taken 7see
 ,frontispiece74 ,fra ,bartolommeo left 
another work also unfinished1 an        
apotheosis of a saint1 which is now at  
,panshanger4 ,this is supposed to have  
been a small ideal prepared for a       
picture to celebrate the canonisation of
 ,s4 ,antonino1 which ,leo ,x4 had      
almost promised the brethren of ,s4     
,marco on his triumphant entry in #aeae4
 ,the work1 if it had been painted in   
the larger form1 would have been a      
perfect masterpiece of composition1 a   
very ,beethoven symphony in colour1 if  
we may judge from the sketch at         
,panshanger1 where a living crowd groups
 round the bier of the archbishop1 and  
life1 earnestness1 harmony1 and         
richness1 are all intense4  ,so ill was 
,fra ,bartolommeo in #aeag that he was  
ordered to take the baths at ,san       
,filippo1 thence he went for the last   
time to ,pian di ,mugnone1 where he     
painted a ,vision of the ,saviour to    

,mary ,magdalen1 above the door of the  
chapel4 ,the two figures1 nearly        
life-size1 are at the door of the cave  
sepulchre4 ,mary has just recognised her
 ,lord1 and in her ecstasy flings       
herself forward on her knees before him4
 ,the ,saviour is a dignified figure    
semi-nude1 with a white veil wrapped    
around him4  ,in the ,pitti ,palace1 a  
charming ,piet of ,fra ,bartolommeo's   
occupies a place near the ,piet of      
,andrea del ,sarto1 the two pictures    
forming a most interesting contrast of  
style4 ,the kneeling ,virgin and ,s4    
,john support the head of the prostrate 
,saviour1 ,s4 ,catherine and ,mary      
,magdalen weep at his feet1 the latter  
in an agony of grief crouches prone on  
the ground hiding her face4 ,the        
colouring is extremely rich1 broad      
masses of full-tone melting softly into 
deep shadows4 ,the handling in the      
flesh-tones of the dead ,saviour1 as    
well as the modelling of form1 are most 
masterly4 ,it is generally supposed that

 this was the picture which ,bugiardini 
is said to have coloured after the      
master's death2 but there is much       
divergence among ,italian authors both  
as to whether this was the painting     
spoken of1 and also as to the meaning of
 ,vasari's words1 he using the phrase   
finished in one place1 and coloured in  
another4 ,for charm of colouring and    
depth of expression1 the ,piet is the   
most lovely of all the ,frate's works2  
therefore ,bugiardini who was mediocre1 
could not have outdone his great master4
 ,it was not coloured by him4 ,bocchi   
,footnote3 ,bocchi1 ,bellezze di        
,firenze1 p4 #cjd4 says there were two  
other figures1 ,s4 ,peter and ,s4 ,paul1
 in the picture1 where a meaningless    
black shadow stretches across the       
background2 but they were erased by the 
antique restorer because they were      
troppo deboli4 ,is it not likely that if
 ,bugiardini had any hand in the work1  
it was to finish these figures8         
,returning in the autumn to ,florence1  

,fra ,bartolommeo caught a severe cold1 
the effects of which were heightened by 
eating fruit1 and after four days'      
extreme illness he died on ,october     
#hth1 #aeag1 aged #db4  ,the monks felt 
his death intensely1 and buried him with
 great honour in ,san ,marco4  ,he left 
to art the most valuable legacy         
possible--a long list of masterpieces in
 which religious feeling is expressed in
 the very highest language4 ,in all his 
works there is not a line or tint which 
transgresses against either the         
sentiment of devotion1 or the rules of  
art4 ,he stands for ever1 almost on a   
level with the great trio of the        
culmination1 possessing ,leonardo's     
grace of colour and more than his       
industry1 ,michelangelo's force with    
more softness1 and ,raphael's sentiment 
with more devotion2 yet with just the   
inexpressible want of that supernatural 
genius which would have placed him above
 them all4 ,his legacy to the world is a
 series of lessons from the very first  

setting of his ideal on paper to its    
finished development4 ,the germ exists  
in the charcoal sketches at the ,belle  
,arti and ,uffizi2 the under-shadowing  
of the subject is seen in the ,patron   
,saints at the ,uffizi4  ,many of his   
drawings are not to be traced4 ,some    
were used by ,fra ,paolino1 his pupil1  
who at his death passed them to ,suor   
,plautilla ,nelli1 a nun in ,sta4       
,caterina1 ,florence 7born #aebc1 died  
#aehg74 ,when ,baldinucci wrote his     
work1 he said #ejj of these were in the 
possession of ,cavaliere ,gaburri4      
,,chapter ,,ix4  ,,part ,i4  ,,scholars 
,,of ,,fra ,,bartolommeo4   ,of these1  
little more than the names have come    
down to us4 ,vasari speaks of ,benedetto
 ,cianfanini1 ,gabbriele ,rustici1 and  
,fra ,paolo ,pistojese2 ,padre ,marchese
 mentions two monks1 ,fra ,andrea and   
,fra ,agostino4 ,of these1 the two first
 never became proficient1 and have left 
no works behind them4 ,fra ,andrea seems
 to have been more a journeyman than    

scholar1 being employed to prepare the  
panels and lay on the gilding4 ,fra     
,agostino assisted his master1 and ,fra 
,paolo in the subordinate parts of a few
 frescoes1 especially at ,luco in the   
,mugnone4 ,fra ,paolo is the most known1
 but chiefly as a far-off imitator of   
,fra ,bartolommeo1 without his          
mellowness of execution4 ,his pictures  
are mostly from his master's designs1   
which were left him as a legacy1 and    
this ensures a good composition4  ,he   
was born at ,pistoja in #adij2 his      
father1 ,bernardino d' ,antonio del     
,signoraccio1 a second-rate artist1     
taught him the first principles of art4 
,his knowledge of drawing caused him to 
be noticed by ,fra ,bartolommeo1 when at
 a very early age he entered the order4 
,he was removed from ,prato to ,san     
,marco1 ,florence1 in #aejc2 and here he
 found another friend who assisted his  
artistic tendencies4 ,this was ,fra     
,ambrogio della ,robbia1 ,footnote3     
,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1 c41 lib4 in4

 chap4 ii4 p4 #bdf4 who taught him to   
model in clay2 a specimen of his work   
exists in the ,church of ,sta4          
,maddalena in ,pian di ,mugnone1 where  
are two statues of ,s4 ,domenico and    
,mary ,magdalen by his hand4  ,his best 
work is a ,crucifixion at ,siena1 dated 
#aeaf1 which has been thought to be ,fra
 ,bartolommeo's2 but though that master 
was asked to go and paint it as a       
memorial of a certain ,messer ,cherubino
 ,ridolfo1 his many occupations         
prevented his accepting the commission1 
and his disciples1 ,fra ,paolo and ,fra 
,agostino1 went in his place4 ,footnote3
 ,padre ,marchese1 ,memorie1 c41 lib4   
in4 chap4 ii4 p4 #bea4 ,possibly the    
master supplied the design1 which is    
very harmonious4 ,the ,virgin and ,s4   
,john stand on each side of the cross1  
and ,saint ,catherine of ,siena and     
,mary ,magdalen are prostrate before it4
 ,one or two of the female saints are   
pleasing1 but the nude figure of ,christ
 is hard1 exaggerated1 and faulty in    

drawing4  ,the artists got thirty-five  
lire for the work1 though the record in 
the archives allows that it was worth   
more4 ,there is an ,assumption in the   
,belle ,arti of ,florence1 of which the 
design is ,fra ,bartolommeo's1 but the  
colouring ,fra ,paolo's4 ,it was painted
 for the ,dominican monks at ,santa     
,maria del ,sasso1 near ,bibbiena4 ,the 
colouring is hard and weak1 the shadows 
heavy1 and not fused well in the half   
tints4 ,two monks on the left are       
tolerably life-like1 probably they were 
drawn from living models2 the ,s4       
,catherine on the right is very         
inferior4  ,the ,belle ,arti also       
possesses a ,deposition from the ,cross1
 which ,fra ,bartolommeo had sketched   
out and left uncoloured at ,pian di     
,mugnone4 ,in #aeai ,fra ,paolo finished
 it1 and it presents the usual disparity
 between the composition and colouring1 
the former being good1 the latter weak  
and crude4 ,his best known works are a  
,nativity in the ,palazzo ,borghese1 a  

,madonna and ,child with ,s4 ,john      
,baptist in the ,sciarra ,colonna1 also 
in ,rome2 a ,madonna and ,child with ,s4
 ,john in the ,corsini ,gallery1        
,florence1 and another of the same      
subject in the ,antinori ,palace4 ,he   
painted also at ,san ,gimignano1 ,pian  
di ,mugnone1 and ,pistoja1 and died of  
sunstroke in #aedg4  ,he had as a       
follower a ,suor ,plautilla ,nelli1 born
 #aebc1 daughter of a noble ,florentine1
 ,piero di ,luca ,nelli4 ,she took the  
vows at the age of fourteen1 in the     
convent of ,s4 ,caterina di ,siena1 in  
,via ,larga 7now ,cavour71 ,florence4   
,her sister1 ,suor ,petronilla1 in the  
same convent1 was a writer1 and her life
 of ,savonarola is still extant4 ,suor  
,plautilla taught herself to paint4     
,legend says1 that in order to study the
 nude for a ,christ1 she drew from the  
corpse of a nun--which might account for
 the weak stiffness of her design4 ,fra 
,paolo1 though there is no record of his
 having taught her1 left her as a legacy

 the designs and cartoons of ,fra       
,bartolommeo1 one of which1 the ,piet1  
she has evidently made use of in the    
painting in the ,belle ,arti4 ,the      
grouping is that of the ,piet of ,fra   
,bartolommeo1 now in the ,pitti1 of     
which she must have had the original    
sketch1 for she has put in the two      
saints in the background1 which have    
been painted out in that of the ,frate1 
but we will give her the entire credit  
of the colouring1 which is extremely    
crude2 the contrasting blues and yellows
 are in inharmonious tones1 the shading 
harsh1 and the whole picture wanting in 
chiaroscuro4 ,the ,corsini ,gallery1    
,florence1 has a ,virgin and ,child by  
her4     ,,part ,,ii4   ,the scholars of
 ,mariotto ,albertinelli were much more 
important in the annals of art1 the     
principal ones being ,bugiardini1       
,francia ,bigio1 ,visino1 and ,innocenza
 d' ,imola4  ,giuliano ,bugiardini      
should be called the assistant rather   
than the scholar of ,albertinelli1 being

 older than his master4 ,he was born in 
#adga in a suburb outside the ,via      
,faenza1 ,florence1 and was placed in   
the shop of ,domenico ,ghirlandajo1     
where his acquaintance with             
,michelangelo--begun in the ,medici     
,gardens--ripened into intimacy1 and he 
was employed by him in the ,sistine     
,chapel4 ,giuliano had that happily     
constructed mind which1 with an         
ineffable content in its own works1 will
 pass through life perfectly happy in   
the feeling that in reaching mediocrity 
it has achieved success4 ,not only      
wanting talent to produce better works1 
he lacked also the faculty of perceiving
 where his own were faulty1 and having a
 great aptitude for copying the works of
 others1 he felt himself as great as the
 original artists4 ,michelangelo was    
always amused with his nave             
self-conceit1 and kept up a friendship  
with him for many years4 ,he even went  
so far as to sit to ,bugiardini for his 
likeness1 at the request of ,ottaviano  

de' ,medici4 ,giuliano1 having painted  
and talked nonsense for two hours1 at   
last exclaimed1 to his sitter's great   
relief1 ,now1 ,michelangelo1 come and   
look at yourself2 ,i have caught your   
very expression4 ,but what was          
,michelangelo's horror to see himself   
depicted with eyes which were neither   
straight nor a pair6 ,the worthy artist 
looked from his work to the original1   
and declared he could see no difference 
between them1 on which ,michelangelo1   
shrugging his shoulders1 said1 ,it must 
be a defect of nature1 and bade his     
friend go on with it4 ,this charming    
portrait was presented to ,ottaviano de'
 ,medici1 with that of ,pope ,clement   
,,vii41 copied from ,sebastian del      
,piombo1 and is now in the ,louvre4     
,bugiardini's works always take the     
style of other masters4 ,there is a     
,madonna in the ,uffizi1 and one in the 
,leipsic ,museum1 both in ,leonardo's   
style1 with his defects exaggerated4    
,the former is a sickly woman in a      

sentimental attitude1 the child rather  
heavy1 the colouring is bright and well 
fused2 he has evidently adopted the     
method which he had seen ,albertinelli  
use in his studio4  ,during a stay in   
,bologna he painted a ,madonna and      
,saints as an altar-piece for the church
 of ,s4 ,francesco1 besides a ,marriage 
of ,s4 ,catherine1 now in the ,bologna  
,pinacoteca4 ,the composition of this is
 not without merit2 the child ,jesus    
seated on his mother's knees1 gives the 
ring to ,s4 ,catherine1 little ,s4 ,john
 stands at the ,virgin's feet1 ,s4      
,anthony on her left4 ,the colouring is 
less pleasing1 the flesh tints too red  
and raw4  ,a round picture in the       
,zambeccari ,gallery1 ,bologna1 shows   
him in ,michelangelo's style4 ,the      
,virgin is reading on a wooded bank1 but
 looks up to see the infant ,christ     
greet the approaching ,s4 ,john         
,baptist2 this is carefully1 if rather  
hardly1 painted4 ,the lights in the     
,saviour's hair have been touched in    

with gold4 ,the time of his stay in     
,bologna is uncertain1 but in #aebe he  
was in ,florence1 and drawing designs   
for the ,ringhiera with ,andrea del     
,sarto4 ,there is a document in the     
archives1 proving that on ,october #eth1
 #aebf ,bugiardini was paid twenty      
florins in gold for his share of the    
work4 ,he obtained some rank as a       
portrait painter1 in spite of his       
failure in that of ,michelangelo2 and   
had commissions from many of the        
celebrities of ,florence4 ,it was in    
original composition that his powers    
failed him4 ,messer ,palla ,rucellai    
ordered a picture from him of the       
,martyrdom of ,s4 ,catherine1 which he  
began with the intention of making it a 
very fine work indeed4 ,he spent several
 years in representing the wheels1 the  
lightnings and fires in a sufficiently  
terrible aspect1 but had to beg         
,michelangelo's assistance in drawing   
the men who were to be killed by those  
heavenly flames2 his design was to have 

a row of soldiers in the foreground1 all
 knocked down in different attitudes4   
,his friend took up the charcoal and    
sketched in a splendid group of agonised
 nude figures2 but these were beyond his
 power to shade and colour1 and ,tribolo
 made him a set of models in clay1 in   
the attitudes given by ,michelangelo1   
and from these he finished the work2 but
 the great master's hand was never      
apparent in it4 ,bugiardini died at the 
age of seventy-five4  ,of ,francesco    
,bigi1 commonly called ,francia ,bigio  
or ,franciabigio1 so much is said in the
 following life of ,andrea del ,sarto1  
that a slight sketch will suffice here4 
,he was the son of ,cristofano1 and was 
born in #adhb4 ,his early studies were  
made in the ,brancacci ,chapel1 and the 
,papal ,hall--where he drew from the    
cartoons in #aeje-f1 and the studio of  
,mariotto ,albertinelli1 from which he  
passed to his partnership with ,andrea  
del ,sarto in #aeji4 ,thus it is that   
his first style was marked by the       

influence of ,mariotto and ,fra         
,bartolommeo1 while in his later works  
he approximated more to ,andrea del     
,sarto4  ,two of his early paintings    
were placed in the church of ,s4 ,piero 
,maggiore1 one a ,virgin and ,child of  
great beauty4 ,the infant clasps its    
arms round its mother's neck--a charming
 attitude--which suggests a playful     
effort to hide from the young ,s4 ,john1
 who is running towards him1 by nestling
 closer to the dearer resting place4    
,the picture is now in the ,uffizi and  
has been long known as ,raphael's       
,madonna del ,pozzo4 ,footnote3 ,crowe  
and ,cavalcaselle1 ,history of          
,painting1 vol4 iii4 chap4 xv4 p4 #eja4 
,no greater testimony to ,francia       
,bigio's excellence can be given than   
the frequency of his works being        
mistaken for those of ,raphael1 but the 
influence of his contemporaries was     
always strong upon him4 ,the            
,annunciation1 painted for the same     
church1 is also described by ,vasari as 

a carefully designed work1 though       
somewhat feeble in manner4 ,the angel is
 lightly poised in air1 the ,virgin     
kneeling before a foreshortened         
building4 ,the picture was lost sight of
 in the demolition of the church1 but   
,crowe and ,cavalcaselle ,footnote3     
,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 ,history of   
,painting1 ,vol4 iii4 p4 #ejj4 believe  
they have discovered it in a picture at 
,turin1 the authorship of which is      
avowedly doubtful4 ,they mention1       
however1 a celestial group of the       
,eternal ,father in a cherub-peopled    
cloud1 sending his blessing in the form 
of a dove1 with a ray of glory4 ,surely 
if this be the one described by ,vasari 
,footnote3 ,vasari1 vol4 iii4 p4 #ccf so
 minutely1 he would not have omitted a  
part of the subject so important to the 
picture4  ,in #aeji we may presumably   
date the partnership with ,andrea del   
,sarto1 that being about the time when  
they began to work together in the      
,scalzo4 ,francia ,bigio painted some   

frescoes in the church of ,s4 ,giobbe1  
behind the ,servite ,monastery4 ,a      
,visitation was in a tabernacle at the  
corner of the church1 and subjects from 
,job's life on a pilaster within it3    
these have long ago disappeared4 ,the   
altar-piece of the ,madonna and ,job1   
which he painted in oil for the same    
church1 has been more fortunate1 as it  
still exists in the ,tuscan ,school in  
the ,uffizi4 ,though much injured1 it   
shows his earlier style4 ,the ,calumny  
of ,apelles in the same gallery is a    
curious picture4 ,it is hard and dull in
 colouring1 the prevailing tone being a 
heavy drab2 there are several nude      
figures1 of doubtful forms as to beauty 
of drawing1 the flesh is painted in a   
smooth glazed style1 without relief or  
tenderness4  ,francia ,bigio shines more
 in fresco than in oil2 his hardness is 
less apparent1 and he gains in freedom  
and brilliance of colouring in the more 
congenial medium4 ,the finest of his    
frescoes is1 unfortunately1 spoiled by  

his own hand1 and remains as a memorial 
of his genius and hasty temper4 ,i      
allude to the ,sposalizio 7,a4,d4 #aeac7
 in the courtyard of the ,servite       
church1 where ,andrea did his series of 
frescoes from the life of ,filippo      
,benizzi4 ,the composition is grand and 
carefully thought out1 the colouring    
bright and pleasing2 perhaps in         
emulating ,andrea's luxurious style of  
drapery he has gone a little too far1   
and crowded the folds4 ,the bridegroom  
is a noble figure1 and shows in his face
 his gladness in the blossoming rod4 ,a 
man in the foreground breaks a stick    
across his knees4 ,the commentators of  
,vasari have taken this to emblematize  
the ,roman ,catholic legend of the      
,virgin having given rods to each of her
 suitors1 and chosen him whose rod      
blossomed4 ,graceful women surround the 
,virgin1 but there is perhaps a too     
marked sentimentality about these which 
suggests a striving after ,raphael's    
style4 ,there is1 however1 a great touch

 of nature in a mother with a naughty   
child1 who sits crying on the ground1   
much to the mother's distress4 ,francia 
,bigio commenced this in ,andrea's      
absence in ,france1 which so excited his
 former comrade's emulation that he did 
his ,visitation in great haste1 to get  
it uncovered as soon as ,francia        
,bigio's4 ,in fact1 ,andrea's works were
 ready by the date of the annual festa  
of the ,servites1 and the monks1 being  
anxious to uncover all the new frescoes 
for that day1 took upon them to remove  
the mattings from that of ,francia      
,bigio as well1 without his permission1 
for he wished to give a few more        
finishing touches4 ,so angry was he1 on 
arriving in the cloister1 to see a crowd
 of people admiring his work in what he 
felt to be an imperfect condition1 that 
in an excess of rage he mounted on the  
scaffolding which still remained1 and1  
seizing a hammer1 beat the head of the  
,madonna to pieces1 and ruined the nude 
figure breaking the rod4 ,the monks     

hastened to the scene in an uproar of   
remonstrance1 the frantic artist's      
destructive hand was stayed by the      
bystanders1 but so deep was his         
displeasure that he refused to restore  
the picture1 and no other hand having   
touched it1 the fresco remains to this  
day a fine work mutilated4 ,it shows him
 artistically in his very best1 and     
morally1 at his worst1 phase4 ,in #aeah1
 while ,andrea was in ,france1 the monks
 of the ,scalzo employed ,francia ,bigio
 to fill two compartments in their      
pretty little cloister1 where ,andrea   
had commenced his ,life of ,s4 ,john    
,baptist4 ,these are spoken of more at  
length in the life of that master1 who  
on his return took the work again in his
 own hands4 ,in #aeba ,bigio competed   
with ,andrea and ,pontormo1 in the      
,medici ,villa at ,poggio a ,cajano2    
,andrea's ,csar receiving ,tribute      
occupies one wall of the hall1 and      
,francia ,bigio's ,triumph of ,cicero   
another4 ,the subjects were selected by 

the historian1 ,messer ,paolo ,giovio1  
,bishop of ,nocera2 it only remained for
 the artists to make the most of the    
chosen themes4 ,francia ,bigio filled   
his background with a careful           
architectural perspective1 and a crowd  
of muscular ,romans are grouped before  
it4 ,this also was left unfinished at   
the ,pope's death1 and ,allori completed
 it in #aehb4 ,francia ,bigio1 however1 
did many of the gilded decorations of   
the hall4  ,in the ,dresden ,gallery is 
a work1 ,scenes from the ,life of       
,david1 signed ,a4 ,s41 ,,mdxxiii41 and 
his monogram1 a painting very much in   
the style of ,andrea del ,sarto's ,life 
of ,joseph4 ,reumont ,footnote3 ,life of
 ,andrea del ,sarto1 p4 #ach et seq4    
claims it as the joint work of ,andrea  
and ,francia ,bigio1 founding his       
opinion on the letters ,a4 ,s4 before   
the date2 but the letters mean only     
,anno salutis1 and are used in very many
 of ,francia ,bigio's signed paintings4 
,he had the commission from ,gio ,maria 

,benintendi in #aebc4 ,it is one of     
those curious pictures which have many  
scenes in one--a style which militates  
greatly against artistic unity4 ,on the 
right is ,david's palace1 on the left   
,uriah's2 ,david is at his door watching
 ,bathsheba and her maidens bathing4 ,in
 the centre is the siege of ,rabbah2    
another well-draped group represents    
,david receiving ,uriah's homage4 ,in   
the foreground ,david gives wine to     
,uriah at a banquet4 ,there is careful  
painting and ingenious composition1 but 
a less finished manner of colouring than
 in ,andrea's ,joseph1 which was painted
 about the same time for ,pier          
,borgherini4  ,like ,ridolfo            
,ghirlandajo1 ,francia ,bigio fell off  
in his later style1 partly because his  
ambition failed him1 and also because he
 began to look on art as a means of     
livelihood--a motive which is certain   
death to high art4  ,he was especially  
celebrated as a portrait painter1       
several of his works having been        

attributed to ,raphael4 ,among these are
 one at the ,louvre and one at the      
,pitti ,palace1 both portraits of a     
youth in tunic and black cap1 with long 
hair flowing over his shoulders2 one in 
the ,national ,gallery1 formerly in ,mr4
 ,fuller ,maitland's collection2 the    
portrait of a jeweller1 dated ,a4 ,s41  
,,mdxvi4 in ,lord ,yarborough's gallery2
 that in the ,berlin ,museum1 of a man  
sitting at a desk1 dated #aebb2 and the 
likeness of ,pier ,francesco de ,medici 
at ,windsor--all of which bear ,francia 
,bigio's monogram1 often with the       
letters ,a4 ,s4 7,anno salutis7 before  
the date4 ,he died on ,january #adth1   
#aebe4     ,,chapter ,x4  ,,ridolfo     
,,ghirlandajo4 ,a4,d4 #adhc--aefj4      
,,ridolfo 7,,di ,,domenico7 ,,bigordi1  
called ,,ghirlandajo1 c41 was born on   
the #dth of ,january1 #adhc4 ,although  
not strictly a scholar1 he is one of    
,fra ,bartolommeo's principal followers4
 ,when quite a child he lost his father1
 the famous ,domenico1 who died of      

fever1 on ,january #aath1 #adid2 his    
mother and uncle ,benedetto only lived a
 few years after2 and ,ridolfo1 with his
 three sisters and two brothers1 was    
left to the guardianship of his uncle   
,davide4  ,ridolfo was the only one who 
chose the family profession1 and he     
became the fourth painter of the name of
 ,ghirlandajo4  ,davide was not a       
perfect artist1 although a good         
mosaicist1 as his works in the          
cathedrals of ,orvieto1 ,siena1 and     
,florence show1 but he was for many     
years ,ridolfo's only instructor4 ,as   
the boy grew up ,ridolfo frequented     
those public schools of art before      
spoken of1 the ,brancacci ,chapel1 and  
the study of the cartoons in the ,papal 
,hall4 ,here he secured the friendship  
not only of ,granacci and ,pier di      
,cosimo1 but of ,raphael himself1 with  
whom he visited ,fra ,bartolommeo in his
 convent4  ,raphael permitted ,ridolfo  
to assist him in a ,madonna for ,siena1 
and tried to persuade him to accompany  

him to ,rome2 but ,ridolfo1 like a true 
,florentine1 declined to go beyond sight
 of the ,duomo4  ,his first great       
picture was done in #aejd for the church
 of ,san ,gallo4 ,the subject was       
,christ ,searing ,his ,cross4 ,his uncle
 ,benedetto had laboured on a similar   
picture1 now in the ,louvre1 but        
,ridolfo's is a great improvement on    
this2 the composition is well balanced1 
full of force and animation1 the weeping
 figures of the ,maries and the         
solicitude of ,s4 ,veronica are very    
lifelike1 although he has not entirely  
abolished his uncle's coarseness in the 
scowling1 low-typed men4 ,the ,christ   
and the ,virgin are1 on the contrary1 so
 refined as to induce the supposition   
that this force of contrast was         
intentional2 the landscape is rather    
hard and crude in tone1 the flesh tints 
smooth1 and the handling similar to that
 of ,credi4  ,the original is now in    
,palazzo ,antinori1 ,florence1 but a    
replica1 in which he was assisted by    

,michele1 his favourite pupil and       
adopted son1 is in ,santo ,spirito4     
,vasari speaks of a ,nativity1 painted  
for the ,cistercian monks of ,cestello2 
a beautiful composition1 in which the   
,madonna adores the holy child1 ,s4     
,joseph standing near her2 ,s4 ,francis 
and ,s4 ,jerome kneel in adoration2 the 
landscape was sketched from the hills   
near ,la ,vernia1 where ,s4 ,francis    
received the stigmata4  ,maselli says   
the picture was lost when the monastery 
changed hands1 but ,messrs4 ,crowe and  
,cavalcaselle ,footnote3 ,history of    
fainting1 vol4 in4 chap4 xvi4 pp4 #ebc1 
#ebd4 believe they have found it in the 
,hermitage at ,s4 ,petersburg1 under    
,granacci's name4 ,it is possible that  
the favourite pupil of his father and   
,ridolfo's own friend may have assisted 
him4 ,the landscape is ,raphaelesque1   
and might mark the time when that master
 and ,fra ,bartolommeo influenced his   
style4 ,his best manner approached so   
nearly to that of the ,frate1 that had  

he continued he would have very nearly  
rivalled his excellence4  ,his two      
masterpieces are now in the ,uffizi2    
they were painted for the ,brotherhood  
of ,s4 ,zenobio1 #aeaj1 to stand one on 
each side of ,albertinelli's            
,annunciation4 ,one is ,s4 ,zenobio 7the
 first bishop and patron saint of       
,florence7 restoring a dead child to    
life2 the other the ,funeral ,procession
 of the ,saint passing the ,baptistery1 
where an elm tree1 which had been       
withered1 put forth fresh leaves as the 
coffin of the bishop touched it4 ,a     
marble column1 with a bronze tree in    
relief on it1 stands on the spot as a   
memorial of this miracle4 ,in these two 
works ,ridolfo ,ghirlandajo proved the  
power which was in him1 but they are the
 culmination of his art2 he never       
surpassed1 or indeed equalled them      
again4 ,his richness of colouring and   
deep relief equalled that of the ,frate1
 the animation and expression rivalled  
,andrea del ,sarto4 ,in the first       

picture1 the eagerness of the crowd1 the
 intense feeling of the mother1 in whom 
grief for the dead child seems almost   
greater than the hope of his            
resuscitation1 the sturdy1 solid        
character of the ,florentines of the    
,republic1 are all given with a masterly
 hand1 while a rich blending of colour  
fuses the animated crowd in a harmonious
 unison4 ,in the latter1 grandeur and   
dignity mark the group of ecclesiastics 
which surrounds the archbishop's bier1  
the full solid falls of their drapery   
show that he had well studied his       
father's works4  ,ridolfo's brothers    
became monks1 ,don ,bartolommeo lived in
 the ,camaldoline ,monastery of the     
,angeli1 which ,ridolfo beautified with 
many works4 ,paolo ,uccelli had adorned 
the ,loggia with frescoed stories from  
the life of ,s4 ,benedict4 ,ridolfo     
added two to the series4 ,in one the    
,saint is at table with two angels1     
waiting for ,s4 ,romano to send his     
bread from the grotto1 but the devil has

 cut the cord and taken it4  ,another is
 ,s1 ,benedict investing a youth with   
the habit of the order4 ,in the church  
of the same monastery he painted a      
beautiful ,madonna and ,child1 with     
,angels1 above the holy water vase1 and 
,s4 ,romualdo with the ,camaldolese     
,hermitage in his ,hand1 in a lunette in
 the cloister4 ,all these were done as a
 brotherly gift1 and after they were    
finished1 the abbot1 ,don ,andrea       
,dossi1 gave him a commission to paint a
 ,last ,supper in the refectory1 which  
he did1 placing the portrait of the     
abbot in the corner4  ,ridolfo1 like his
 father1 regarded art rather as a means 
of livelihood than with any aesthetic   
feelings1 and this is probably the      
reason of his never attaining true      
excellence4 ,his bottega was really a   
shop where any one might order a work of
 art1 or of artisanship1 and he gave as 
much attention to painting a banner for 
a procession as to composing an         
altar-piece4 ,he had a great many       

assistants1 whom he called on for help  
in various undertakings4 ,they assisted 
him to prepare the ,medici ,halls for   
the reception of ,pope ,leo ,x41 and    
later for the marriages of ,giuliano and
 ,lorenzo1 not disdaining to paint      
scenes for the dramas which were then   
given4 ,he painted banners1 and designed
 costumes for the processions of the    
potenze1 a festive company1 the origin  
of which is uncertain1 but dating       
certainly from the ,middle ,ages4 ,each 
quarter of the city had an emperor1     
lords1 and dignitaries1 each of whom    
carried his banner or emblazonment4     
,grand processions1 tournaments1 and    
feasts were held once a year1 on ,s4    
,john's ,day1 by the potenze4  ,having  
assisted at the triumphs and marriages  
of the ,medici princes1 he also         
furnished the funeral pomp and          
magnificence on the deaths of the       
brothers1 that of ,giuliano occurring in
 #aeaf1 of ,lorenzo #aeai4  ,lucratively
 it answered his purpose2 the ,medici   

gave him great honour2 he was well paid 
by them1 and got the commission to      
decorate the ,chapel of the ,palazzo    
,vecchio--a very good specimen of his   
fresco painting1 in which he never      
reached his father's excellence1        
although in oil he far surpassed him4   
,the chapel is small2 the groined roof  
is covered with emblematical designs on 
a blue ground1 a ,trinity in the midst  
with angels bearing symbols of the      
passions around4 ,the apostles and      
evangelists surround this1 and the      
principal wall has a larger fresco of   
the ,annunciation--a rather conventional
 rendering4  ,commissions flowed in on  
him to such a degree1 that although he  
had fifteen children1 he lived to amass 
money and lands1 to see his daughters   
well married1 and his sons prosperous   
merchants trading to distant lands4 ,he 
died on the #fth of ,june1 #aefa1 and   
lies with his forefathers in the church 
of ,s4 ,maria ,novella4     ,,andrea    
,d',,agnolo1  ,,called ,,andrea ,,del   

,,sarto4     ,,chapter ,i4  ,,youth     
,,and ,,early ,,works4 ,a4,d4           
#adhg-aeaa4   ,andrea ,del ,sarto is a  
curious instance of the vital power of  
art1 which1 like a flower forcing its   
way to the light through walls or rocks1
 will find expression in spite of       
obstacles4  ,andrea the painter1 senza  
errori1 was an artist in spite of       
lowering home influences1 of want of    
encouragement in his patrons--for his   
greatest works only brought the smallest
 remuneration--and even in spite of his 
own nature1 which was material1 wanting 
in high aims1 and deficient in ideality2
 yet his name lives for ever as a great 
master1 and his works rank close to     
those of the leaders of the             
,renaissance4  ,in looking at them one  
sighs even in the midst of admiration1  
thinking that if the hand which produced
 them had been guided by a spark of     
divine genius instead of the finest     
talent1 what glorious works they would  
have been6 ,the truth is that ,andrea's 

was a receptive1 rather than an original
 and productive mind4 ,his art was more 
imitative than spontaneous1 and this    
forms perhaps the difference between    
talent and genius4 ,the art of his time 
sunk into his mind1 and was reproduced4 
,he lived precisely at the time of the  
culmination of art1 when all the highest
 masters were bringing forth their      
grandest works2 therefore he could not  
do otherwise than to follow the best    
examples4  ,he gathered the experience  
of all--the force of ,michelangelo1 the 
handling of ,leonardo1 the sentiment of 
,raphael1 so blending them as to form a 
style seemingly his own1 and in         
execution following closely on their    
excellence4  ,in ,giotto's or           
,masaccio's case the master created the 
art2 in ,andrea's it was the art of the 
age which made the artist4  ,the        
question of ,andrea del ,sarto's birth  
is a mooted one4 ,biadi dates it #adgh1 
but the register he quotes is both vague
 and doubtful4 ,he also tells a curious 

story of his ,flemish origin4 ,signor   
,milanesi has deduced1 from the archives
 of ,florence1 an authentic pedigree    
from which we learn that his remote     
ancestors were peasants1 first at       
,buiano1 near ,fiesole1 and later at ,s4
 ,ilario1 near ,montereggi4 ,his        
grandfather1 ,francesco1 being a linen  
weaver1 came to live nearer ,florence2  
his father1 ,agnolo1 son of ,francesco1 
followed the trade of a tailor--hence   
,andrea's sobriquet1 del ,sarto--he took
 a house in ,via ,gualfonda1 in         
,florence1 about #adhg1 with his wife   
,constanza1 and here ,andrea was born1  
he being the eldest of a family of      
five--three girls and two boys4 ,from   
the tax papers of a few years later it  
is proved that ,andrea was born in      
#adhg4 ,his full name is ,andrea        
d',agnolo di ,francesco4 ,it is by      
mistake that he has been called         
,vannucchi4  ,his parents were young1   
his father being only twenty-seven years
 of age at ,andrea's birth4 ,they lived 

at that time in ,val ,fonda1 where      
,albertinelli had his shop1 but in #aejd
 they removed to the popolo1 or parish1 
of ,s4 ,paolo4 ,boys were not allowed to
 be idle in those days1 but were        
apprenticed at an early age2 thus       
,andrea1 like most artists of his time1 
was bound to a goldsmith4 ,it would be  
interesting to investigate the great    
influence of the guild of goldsmiths on 
the art of the ,renaissance4 ,the reason
 why youths who showed a talent for     
design were entered in that guild is    
easy to assign--it was one of the       
greater guilds1 that of the painters    
being a lesser one1 and merged in the   
,arte degli ,speziali4 ,at seven years  
old he left the school where he had     
learned to read and write1 and entered  
his very youthful apprenticeship2 but he
 showed so much more aptitude for the   
designing than for the executive part of
 his profession that ,giovanni ,barile1 
who frequented the bottega1 was induced 
to counsel his being trained especially 

as a painter1 offering himself as       
instructor4 ,if ,andrea1 a contadino by 
birth1 an artisan by education1 was not 
originally of the most refined nature1  
his artistic training did not go far    
towards refining him4 ,giovanni ,barile 
was a coarse painter and a rough man2 he
 had1 however1 generosity enough to see 
that the boy was worthy of better       
teaching1 and got him entered in the    
bottega of ,piero di ,cosimo1 who had   
attained a good rank as a colourist1 his
 eccentricities possibly adding to his  
reputation4  ,accordingly in #adih1     
,andrea being then eleven years of age1 
a life of earnest study began4 ,piero di
 ,cosimo1 odd and misanthropic as he    
was1 had yet a true appreciation of     
talent1 and showed an earnest interest  
in his pupil1 giving him--with plenty of
 queer treatment--a thorough training4  
,he was not allowed to make a line which
 was not perfect ,footnote3 ,rosini1    
,storia della ,pittura1 chap4 xvii4 p4  
#dj4 while in ,piero's school4 ,but     

excellent as his art teaching may have  
been1 the boy's morale could not have   
been raised more here than under the    
rough but good-natured ,barile4 ,we have
 seen ,piero di ,cosimo in his youth1   
the serious1 absent young man1 who never
 joked with his juniors in ,cosimo      
,roselli's shop2 we see him now1 with   
his youthful oddities hardened into     
eccentricities1 and his reserve deepened
 to misanthropy4 ,no woman's hand       
softened and refined his house1 no      
cleansing broom was allowed within his  
door1 and no gardener's hand cleared the
 weeds or pruned the vines in his       
garden4 ,he so believed in nature       
unassisted that he took his meals       
without the intervention of a cook4     
,when the fire was lighted to boil his  
size or glue he would cook fifty or     
sixty eggs and set them apart in a      
basket1 to which he had recourse when   
the pangs of hunger compelled him4 ,all 
this was morally very bad for a boy so  
young4 ,and then woe betide the poor    

little fellow if he whistled1 sneezed1  
or made any other noise6 his nervous    
master would be out of temper for a day 
afterwards4 ,on wet days ,piero was     
merrier1 for he would watch the drops   
splashing into the pools1 and laugh as  
if they were fairies4 ,sometimes he     
would take ,andrea for a walk1 and all  
at once stop and gaze at a heap of      
rubbish1 or mark of damp on a lichened  
wall1 picturing all kinds of monsters   
and weird scenes in its discolourations4
  ,no doubt he was literally carrying   
out ,leonardo da ,vinci's advice1       
headed1 in his treatise1 ,a new ,art of 
,invention4 ,look at some old wall      
covered with dirt1 or the odd appearance
 of some old streaked stones2 you may   
discover several things like landscapes1
 battles1 clouds1 humorous faces1 c41 to
 furnish the mind with new designs4     
,footnote3 ,leonardo da ,vinci1         
,treatise on ,painting4 ,cosimo's mind  
being fantastic1 the pictures he saw    
were incomparably grotesque4 ,he        

delighted in drawing sea monsters1      
dragons1 wonderful adventures1 and      
heathen scenes2 in fact the boy could   
have learned neither ,christian art nor 
manners from him4 ,he learned how to use
 his brush1 however1 and1 leaving ,piero
 to his minotaurs and dragons1 went off 
at every spare hour to study at more    
congenial shrines4 ,he copied ,masaccio 
at the ,brancacci ,chapel1 and drew so  
earnestly from the cartoons in the ,hall
 of the ,pope that his achievements     
reached the ears of ,piero himself1 who 
was not sorry that his pupil surpassed  
the rest1 and gave him more time for    
study away from the bottega4 ,rosini    
tells us that ,fra ,bartolommeo taught  
him the first steps4 ,footnote3 ,storia 
della ,pittura1 chap1 xxvii4 p4 #b4 ,the
 influence of the ,frate may have       
reached him in two ways4 ,it is not     
unlikely that ,piero di ,cosimo kept up 
an interest in his old fellow-pupil2 and
 then again1 as ,andrea lived in ,val   
,fonda1 it is probable he often visited 

,albertinelli's studio in that street1  
and the friendship with ,francia ,bigio 
began before the cartoons of            
,michelangelo ripened there4  ,the      
evidence of style goes to show that the 
works of ,albertinelli and ,fra         
,bartolommeo influenced him more than   
those of ,piero4 ,yet though his sphere 
was devotional1 it was impelled more by 
a material sense of beauty than by the  
deep religious feeling which inspired   
the ,frate4  ,as time went on the youth 
in strange old ,piero's studio became   
more famous than his master1 and felt   
that he could do greater things away    
from the stiff method which cramped him1
 and the whimsicalities which annoyed   
him4 ,his friend1 ,francia ,bigio1      
,mariotto's pupil1 having just then lost
 his master1 who was giving more        
attention to his father-in-law's        
business of innkeeper than his own1 was 
willing to enter into partnership1 and  
the two youths began life together in   
#aeji or #aeaj1 in a room near the      

,piazza del ,grano1 in the first house  
in ,via del ,moro1 which still remains  
in its old state4  ,the first bit of    
patronage recorded is the commission for
 the frescoes in the ,scalzo2 that they 
had work before is proved by the words  
in the contract of the ,barefoot        
,friars1 dettero ad ,andrea pittore     
celeberrimo il dipingere nel ,chiosto4  
,the celebrated presupposes works       
already done4  ,the ,scalzo was a name  
given to the ,compagnia dei             
,disciplinati di ,s4 ,giovanni          
,battista1 because they went barefoot   
when they carried the cross in their    
processions4 ,they lived in a convent in
 ,via ,larga 7now ,cavour71 opposite    
,san ,marco4 ,a new cloister had been   
erected there--an elegant little        
cortile1 thirty-eight feet by           
thirty-two1 adorned with lovely         
,corinthian pillars--and the ,brethren  
were anxious to fill the lunettes of the
 arches with frescoes at the least      
possible expense1 wisely judging that a 

young artist on his way to fame would be
 the best to employ4  ,the frescoes1 of 
which there would be twelve large1 and  
four small ones in the upright spaces by
 the doors1 were to be done in terretta1
 or brown earth1 and to be paid         
fifty-six lire 7eight scudi7 for the    
large1 and twenty-one lire 7three scudi7
 each for the lesser frescoes4 ,the     
small ones were four figures of the     
,virtues1 ,faith1 ,hope1 ,justice1 and  
,charity4 ,hope is exquisitely          
expressed1 and ,charity a charming      
group1 the children most tenderly drawn4
 ,the subjects1 though not all finished 
till many years later1 stand now in the 
following order2 the second row of      
figures1 with the dates1 show the order 
in which they were painted3--   #a4     
,gabriel appearing to ,zacharias        
,andrea del ,sarto   #i  #aebc4  #b4    
,visitation                             
,andrea del ,sarto  #aj  #aebc4  #c4    
,birth of ,s4 ,john                     
,andrea del ,sarto   #d  #aead4  #d4    

,zacharias blessing ,john before going  
,francia ,bigio4       to the desert    
#e4 ,s4 ,john meets the ,virgin and     
,infant     ,francia ,bigio4            
,christ  #f4 ,baptism of ,christ        
,andrea del ,sarto   #a  #aeji4  #g4    
,preaching of ,s4 ,john                 
,andrea del ,sarto   #b  #aead4  #h4    
,baptism of the ,gentiles               
,andrea del ,sarto   #c  #aead4  #i4 ,s4
 ,john bound in the presence of ,herod  
,andrea del ,sarto   #e  #aebb4 #aj4    
,dance of ,herodias ,andrea del ,sarto  
#f #aebb4 #aa4 ,beheading of ,s4  ,john 
,andrea del ,sarto #g #aebb4 #ab4       
,herodias receives the head of ,s4 ,john
  ,andrea del ,sarto #h #aebb4  ,of     
these1 ,no4 #f was the first executed1  
and it is probable that ,francia ,bigio 
assisted him1 for it has not the        
finished drawing nor careful handling of
 any of ,andrea's other frescoes4       
,possibly this is the cause of the      
partners never working together         
afterwards1 each taking his own subjects

 and signing his own name4 ,the         
composition1 in the ,baptism of ,christ1
 is not original1 being very similar to 
that of ,verocchio's1 especially in the 
two angels kneeling on the left bank2   
the landscape and figures1 however1 are 
far in advance of that master4  ,it will
 be well to speak of the whole set of   
frescoes in this place1 for although    
they belong to different times and      
styles1 they are a complete work1 and   
might be taken almost as an epitome of  
,andrea's career2 from the one above    
mentioned in which ,piero de ,cosimo's  
influence is apparent1 to the ,nos4 #g  
and #h1 which very nearly approach      
,michelangelo's power and freedom4  ,in 
,no4 #a the expression of muteness about
 the mouth of ,zacharias1 as he stands  
by the altar1 is wonderfully given2 you 
feel sure he could not speak if he      
would4 ,the other figures are           
superfluous to the motive1 though adding
 grandeur to the work as a whole4  ,in  
composition ,andrea differs widely from 

,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,the latter delighted
 in building up a single form1 every    
figure in the whole picture adding its  
hue and weight to perfect this pyramid  
or circle4 ,andrea spreads his figures  
more widely2 he likes a double          
composition1 dividing his pictures into 
two separate groups1 connected by one   
central figure1 or divided entirely4    
,this is seen in ,nos4 #c1 #aj and #ab1 
which are all double groupings1 the last
 completely divided in the centre by a  
table and an archway behind it4 ,nos4 #g
 and #i are pyramidal compositions4 ,the
 ,preaching of ,s4 ,john is one of the  
best works1 and shows his most forcible 
style4 ,s4 ,john on a rock stands like a
 pillar in the centre1 the hearers are  
dressed in the lucco 7a ,florentine     
cloak of the #aeth century71 the        
grouping following the lines of the     
landscape4 ,at the back ,jesus kneels on
 a rising ground4 ,vasari says the      
figures are from ,albrecht ,drer1 whose 
works had made a great impression on the

 southern world of art2 but it is more  
probable that they only show his        
influence1 for the dress and style are  
,florentine4  ,no4 #h1 the ,baptism of  
the ,gentiles1 is another of his best   
style1 and is1 in the drawing of the    
nude figures1 almost ,michelangelesque  
in power4 ,this is one of his favourite 
echo subjects1 a group in the background
 of ,john answering the ,pharisees      
forming an echo to the principal        
subject4 ,the muscular life of the      
spirited crowd of nude figures is       
beautifully contrasted by the graceful  
draped forms in the background4 ,one of 
the baptized is the same child whom he  
had modelled in the ,madonna of ,s4     
,francisco4  ,nos4 #d and #e are by     
,francia ,bigio1 and were done during   
,andrea's absence in ,france1 showing   
that he had so far learned from his     
friend as almost to rival him in power4 
,the subjects1 although not scriptural1 
are conjecturally true4  ,in the        
,zacharias blessing ,john before he goes

 to the ,desert1 the sitting figure of  
,s4 ,elizabeth and the kneeling one of  
the child are very lovely2 the action of
 ,zacharias is not so well defined1 the 
great force in the uplifted arm betokens
 anger more than blessing4 ,the grouping
 follows the lines of a flight of steps 
in the background1 and is triangular4   
,the same form of composition is        
apparent in the next group 7,no4 #e71   
only the lines form an angle receding   
from the one just mentioned4 ,the       
,virgin is charmingly posed and draped1 
the children less pleasing4  ,this      
elegant little cloister is a true shrine
 of art1 although the frescoes are all  
in monochrome4 ,so much were they       
admired at the time1 that an order was  
issued prohibiting artists to copy them 
without the permission of ,duke ,cosimo4
 ,cardinal ,carlo de' ,medici had them  
covered with curtains1 ,footnote3       
,richa1 ,delle ,chiese but1 in spite of 
care1 they are very much injured1 the   
under parts almost lost4 ,the precaution

 of covering the cloister with a glass  
roof has only been taken in modern      
times1 and too late4  ,andrea's next    
patrons were the ,eremite monks of ,s4  
,agostino1 at ,san ,gallo1 who ordered  
of him two pictures for their church4   
,in #aeaa he painted ,christ appearing  
to ,mary ,magdalen1 and an ,annunciation
 in #aeab4 ,the former is said to have  
had much softness and delicacy1 the     
latter is to be seen in the ,hall of    
,mars at the ,pitti1 and is a very      
pleasing picture4 ,the ,virgin kneels at
 her prayer desk1 ,s4 ,joseph behind    
her--a rather unusual rendering of the  
subject--her attitude is graceful and   
decorous1 the angel calm and gentle1    
floats in mid air1 two other angels     
stand on the left4 ,the colouring is    
varied in the extreme1 and the lights   
well defined4  ,these two pictures1 and 
the ,disputa1 painted later1 were       
removed to the church of ,s4 ,jacopo tra
 ,fossi1 when the convent was demolished
 in #aebi4 ,they were still there in    

#afgg1 when ,bocchi wrote his ,bellezze 
di ,firenze1 but the ,christ appearing  
to ,mary ,magdalen is said to be now in 
the church of the ,covoni in the        
,casentino4     ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,the  
,,servite ,,cloister4 ,a4,d4 #aeaa-aeab4
   ,the next great works were the       
frescoes in the ,court of ,s4           
,annunziata1 if indeed they were not    
carried on simultaneously with those in 
the ,scalzo4 ,this famous series of     
,andrea's works was obtained by cunning1
 and painted in emulation4 ,while the   
two partners1 who had differed from the 
beginning1 and had since become rivals1 
were engaged in the ,scalzo1 a certain  
astute ,fra ,mariano1 the keeper of the 
wax candle stores at the ,servite       
,convent--to which the church of the ,s4
 ,annunziata belonged--had watched well 
those two young painters4 ,fra ,mariano 
understood human nature1 as priests     
often do2 he had seen the envious       
rivalship growing between them1 as the  
friends1 who should have worked         

together1 took separate compartments1   
and cast jealous criticising glances on 
each other's designs and method of work4
 ,having ambition of his own1 he knew   
how to work on that of others to further
 his own aspirations1 which were1 to be 
considered a patron of art and a        
benefactor to his convent4  ,reading    
,andrea's heart1 he played on all his   
strongest feelings1 placed before him   
the glory he would win by covering the  
lunettes of the arches in the court of  
the fine church with frescoes which     
would carry his name down to posterity2 
he said that any other artist would pay 
much to obtain leave to paint upon      
historical walls like those1 and how    
they would all envy the man who should  
obtain the coveted honour6 ,then1 with a
 half-whispered hint that for one1      
,francia ,bigio was dying to get the    
commission for nothing1 the wily ,frate 
went his way victorious4 ,andrea1       
scorning to make any pecuniary bargain1 
only stipulated that no one else should 

paint in that courtyard1 and forthwith  
began the ,stories from the ,life of ,s4
 ,filippo ,benizzi1 having only old     
,alesso ,baldovinetti's ,nativity1 and  
,cosimo ,roselli's ,miracle of ,s4      
,filippo1 as foils to his own4 ,these   
two works were on the walls on each side
 of the church door2 there were         
therefore three entire sides of the     
cloister to cover1 excepting only the   
entrance into the courtyard from the    
,piazza1 and no doubt he felt like      
,ghirlandajo1 when he wished he had the 
entire circuit of the city walls to     
paint4  ,on the #afth of ,june1 #aeaa1  
he began to paint with such vigour that 
in a few months the first three were    
uncovered4  #a4 ,s4 ,philip at ,viterbo 
with the ,court1 dressing a naked leper 
in his own cloak4  #b4 ,s4 ,philip going
 from ,bologna to ,modena4 ,he rebukes  
some gamblers1 telling them the         
vengeance of ,god is near4 ,a sudden    
thunderstorm and lightning destroy them1
 thus fulfilling the prediction4 ,there 

is a great deal of fine action in this  
composition2 the horror and disbelief   
struggling in the faces of the men1 and 
the stormy landscape are all well       
rendered4 ,a horse leaps away with      
strong1 terrified action1 there is a    
masterly grasp of his vivid subject1 and
 a rugged strength in the execution     
which gives great life to it4  #c4 ,s4  
,philip exorcises a ,girl possessed of a
 ,demon4 ,here the composition is very  
tender1 the mother and father support   
the sick girl1 and form a very pleasing 
group2 the figures of the spectators are
 full of life without exaggeration4     
,these works have suffered much from    
exposure1 but the colouring is still    
good4 ,the praise that ,andrea obtained 
for them was so great that he followed  
them up by the two in the next series4  
#d4 ,a ,child brought to life by        
touching the bier of ,s4 ,philip4 ,this 
is a kind of double composition1 the    
child being represented in a twofold    
condition in the foreground1 first as   

dead1 and then revived at the touch of  
the bier4 ,the grouping around the dead 
saint is very suggestive of             
,ghirlandajo1 and shews a deep study of 
his frescoes in the ,sassetti ,chapel4  
,the colouring is peculiarly his own2   
there is the mingling of a great variety
 of bright tints of equal intensity1    
which by some necromancy are made to    
relieve each other1 instead of being    
relieved by the art of chiaroscuro as in
 the handling of other masters4  #e4    
,children healed by the garments of ,s4 
,philip1 which are held by a priest1    
standing before an altar1 the women and 
their children kneeling in front of him4
 ,the grouping is symmetrical1 the      
figures lifelike1 but not refined1      
round-cheeked buxom women1 and rough1   
human men's faces1 bespeak ,andrea as   
the painter of reality rather than      
ideality2 there is vivid life in every  
attitude1 but the life is not high      
caste4 ,a fine old man1 leaning on his  
staff1 is a portrait of ,andrea della   

,robbia1 whose son ,luca stands near4   
,for all these ,fra ,mariano paid only  
ten scudi each1 and ,andrea1 feeling the
 remuneration not equal to the merit of 
the work1 would have left off here1 but 
the ,frate held him to his bond4 ,two   
more lunettes yet remained to finish1   
but as these were of a later date1 we   
will reserve them for a future chapter4 
,he also painted in the orto1 or garden1
 of the convent1 the now perished fresco
 of the ,parable of the ,vineyard4      
,meanwhile1 the rival friends had       
changed lodgings2 they left the ,piazza 
del ,grano1 and took rooms in the       
,sapienza1 a street between the ,piazza 
,san ,marco and the ,s4 ,annunziata4    
,andrea chose this because it was near  
his work1 and also because his great    
friends1 ,sansovino and ,rustici1       
already lived there4 ,commissions began 
to pour in on him1 which he fulfilled1  
while still at work at the ,servi4      
,judging from the style of his early    
manner1 we may date at this time a      

,virgin and ,child1 with ,s4 ,john and  
,s4 ,joseph1 now in the ,pitti4 ,it is  
painted alla prima1 i4e4 a quick method 
of giving the effect in the first       
painting1--and is probably the one      
spoken of by ,vasari as painted for     
,andrea ,santini2 it formerly belonged  
to ,francesco ,troschi4 ,footnote3 ,life
 of ,andrea del ,sarto1 vol iii1 p4     
#aic4  ,a ,s4 ,agnes1 in the palace of  
the ,prince ,palatine1 at ,dsseldorf1 is
 in this early style4 ,he also painted  
some frescoes at ,san ,salvi1 ,,ss4     
,giovanni ,gualberto and ,benedict      
resting on clouds2 they ornamented the  
recess where the ,last ,supper was      
placed at a later period4  ,in a narrow 
alley1 behind the church of ,or ,san    
,michele1 is a tabernacle on the wall   
beneath an ancient balcony4 ,here the   
architect1 ,baccio d',agnolo1           
commissioned ,andrea del ,sarto to paint
 an ,annunciation4 ,it is so much       
injured as to be almost                 
indistinguishable now1 but was much     

admired at the time1 though some say it 
was too laboured1 and so wanting in ease
 and grace4 ,footnote3 ,biadi1 #bf2     
,vasari1 vol4 iii1 p #ahi4 ,it is more  
likely that it was one of his early     
works1 and should be classed before the 
frescoes of the ,scalzo1 for it is said 
that he was living at the time with his 
father1 whose shop was over the archway1
 and that he had adorned the inner walls
 of the house with two frescoed angels4 
,footnote3 ,firenze antica e moderna    
,ed4 ,flor4 #agid1 vol4 vi1 p4 #baf4    
,these have perished completely4        
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,social ,,life ,,and 
,,marriage4 ,a4,d4 #aeaa-aeaf4   ,this  
chapter will speak of the man1 and not  
of the artist4 ,as it is now understood 
that history is not a dry record of     
battles and laws1 but the story of the  
inner life of a people1 so the biography
 of a painter ought not to consist      
wholly in a list and description of his 
works1 but a picture of his life and    
inner mind1 that we may know the        

character which prompted the works4     
,first1 as to personal appearance4      
,there are two portraits of ,andrea del 
,sarto in his youth2 one in the ,duke of
 ,northumberland's collection represents
 him as a young man with long hair1 and 
a black cap1 writing at a table4 ,it is 
painted in a soft1 harmonious style1 but
 not masterly as regards chiaroscuro4   
,it might be by ,francia ,bigio1 as it  
has something of the manner of his      
master1 ,albertinelli4  ,another now in 
the ,uffizi is a most life-like portrait
 of sombre colouring1 but not highly    
finished4 ,here we have the same black  
cap and long hair2 the dress is a       
painter's blouse of a blue-grey1 which  
well brings out the flesh tints4 ,the   
face is intelligent1 but not refined2   
the clear dark eyes bespeak the artist  
spirit1 but the full mobile mouth tells 
the material nature of the man4 ,in     
looking at this one can solve the riddle
 of the dissonance between his art and  
his life4 ,as a young man ,andrea was   

full of spirit2 he loved lively society1
 and knew almost all the young artists  
who lived very much as students now4    
,they met each other in the art schools1
 and dined and feasted together in the  
wine shops4 ,sometimes they formed      
private clubs1 meeting in certain rooms 
for purposes of youthful merriment4  ,of
 this kind was the ,society of the      
,cauldron 7,societ del ,paiuolo71 held  
at the apartment of the eccentric       
sculptor1 ,rustici1 which was in the    
same street as that of ,andrea himself4 
,sansovino1 who also lived near1 was not
 a member of this rollicking club2 he   
was one of ,andrea's more serious       
friends1 and served as companion when   
his most exalted moods were upon him4   
,perhaps ,rustici's rooms did not please
 ,sansovino1 for strange inmates were   
there--a hedgehog1 an eagle1 a talking  
raven1 snakes and reptiles1 in a kind of
 aquarium2 besides all these gruesome   
familiar spirits1 ,rustici was addicted 
to necromancy4 ,the ,society of the     

,cauldron seems only a natural outgrowth
 from such a character4 ,it consisted of
 twelve members1 all artists1           
goldsmiths1 or musicians1 each of whom  
was allowed to bring four friends to the
 supper1 and bound to provide a dish4   
,any two members bringing similar dishes
 were fined1 but the droll part of it   
was that the suppers were eaten in a    
huge cauldron large enough to put table 
and chairs into2 the handle served as an
 arched chandelier1 the table was on a  
lift1 and when one course was finished  
it disappeared from their midst1 and    
descended to be replenished4 ,as for the
 viands1 the sculptors displayed their  
talents in moulding classical subjects  
in pastry1 and turning boiled fowls into
 figures of ,ulysses and ,laertes4 ,the 
architects built up temples and palaces 
of jellies1 cakes1 and sausages2 the    
goldsmith1 ,robetta1 produced an anvil  
and accoutrements made of a calf's head1
 the painters treated roast pig to      
represent a scullery-maid spinning4     

,andrea del ,sarto built up the model of
 the ,baptistery with all kinds of      
eatables1 with a reading desk of veal1  
and book with letters inlaid with       
truffles1 at which the choristers were  
roast thrushes with open beaks1 while   
the canons were pigeons in red mantles  
of beetroot--an idea more droll than    
reverential4  ,after this1 in #aeab1    
another club1 called that of the        
,trowel1 was instituted1 of which       
,andrea was not a member1 but was chosen
 as an associate4 ,the first supper was 
arranged by ,giuliano ,bugiardini1 and  
was held on the aja or threshing floor  
of ,s4 ,maria ,nuova1 where the bronze  
gates of the ,baptistery had been cast4 
,in this no two members were allowed to 
wear the same style of dress under      
penalty of a fine4 ,the members were in 
two ranks1 the lesser and the greater1 a
 parody on the guilds of the city4 ,they
 were shown the plan of a building1 and 
the greater members1 furnished with     
trowels1 were obliged to build it in    

edibles1 the lesser acting as hodmen1   
and bringing materials4 ,pails of       
ricotta or goat's milk cheese served for
 mortar1 grated cheese for sand1 sugar  
plums for gravel1 cakes and pastry for  
bricks1 the basement was of meats1 the  
pillars fowls or sausages4  ,some       
suppers were classical scenes1 others   
allegorical representations1 always in  
the same edible form4 ,we can imagine   
the wit which sparkled round these      
strange tables1 the jokes of the        
artists1 the songs of the musicians4    
,andrea del ,sarto is said to have      
recited an heroi-comic poem in six      
cantos called the ,battle of the frogs  
and mice4 ,biadi gives it entire2 it    
seems a kind of satire on ,rustici's    
tastes1 with perhaps a hit at the       
government1 and shows no lack of wit of 
rather unrefined style2 but the         
authorship is not proved4 ,some say     
,ottaviano de ,medici assisted ,andrea  
in it4  ,it would have been well for    
,andrea if this innocent jollity had    

sufficed for him1 but unfortunately he  
admired a woman whose beauty was greater
 than her merits4 ,probably he began by 
mere artistic appreciation of her       
personal charms1 for she sat to him for 
the ,madonna of the ,visitation1 which  
was painted in #aead1 two years before  
their marriage4 ,this ,lucrezia della   
,fede was the wife of a hatter who lived
 in ,via ,san ,gallo4 ,her husband dying
 after a short illness1 ,andrea del     
,sarto married her1 and whatever were   
her faults1 she retained his life-long  
love4 ,biadi and ,reumont give the date 
#bfth of ,december1 #aeab1 as that of   
the death of her husband1 but ,signor   
,milanesi1 from more authentic sources1 
proves it to have been in #aeaf4  ,a    
great deal has been said and written of 
the evil influence this woman had on    
him1 and his very house bears an        
inscription recording his fame together 
with affanni domestici1 but it would    
seem that posterity has taken for truth 
more than the facts of the time imply4  

,that she was proud1 haughty1 exacting1 
and not of a high moral nature1 that she
 was selfish1 and begrudged his helping 
his own family1 her every action proves4
 ,that her manners were not conciliating
 to the pupils is possible1 perhaps     
their manners savoured too much of      
familiarity for a woman who believed in 
her own charms2 but that she was        
faithless1 which her biographers assert 
on the strength of ,vasari's phrase1    
that ,andrea was tormented by jealousy1 
there is literally nothing to show4  ,in
 the first place ,vasari--who was one of
 the scholars she offended and put      
down--gives vent to his private pique in
 his first edition1 and in the second1  
which only contains a slight mention of 
her1 omits almost all he had previously 
said4 ,now1 if the first assertions were
 true why should he retract them8       
,secondly1 the sixteenth century was an 
age of license in writing and speaking1 
and had any immoralities been laid to   
her charge1 not a biographer would have 

scrupled to particularize them2 but no6 
her name is never mentioned1 except with
 her husband's1 even by her greatest    
enemies1 who say she was as haughty as  
she was beautiful4 ,thirdly1 a faithless
 woman could never have kept her        
husband's devoted love1 and had she been
 so1 would that affectionate though     
exaggerated letter of hers1 recalling   
him from ,france1 have been written8    
,that a man who thinks his wife the most
 lovely creature living may be tormented
 with jealousy without wrong doing on   
her part is more than possible4  ,let us
 then place ,lucrezia's character where 
it ought to stand in ,andrea del        
,sarto's life--as a powerful influence1 
lowering his moral nature1 weaning him  
from his duties as a son and brother1 by
 fixing all his care and affection on   
herself2 she1 however1 not allowing her 
own family to be losers by her marriage1
 although causing him to slight his own4
 ,even this much-spoken-of neglect of   
his own family seems disproved by his   

will1 which1 after a very little more   
than her own dot left to his wife1 makes
 his brother and niece heirs of all his 
estate4  ,except that she cared more for
 her own pleasure than his true         
advancement1 she was not any great      
hindrance to his artistic career2 he    
painted an incredible number of         
pictures1 and she was willing to sit for
 him over and over again4 ,indeed if she
 were his model for all the ,madonnas in
 which her features are recognisable1   
she must have had either inexhaustible  
patience or great love for the artist4  
,in fact she was thoroughly selfish2 as 
long as she reaped the benefit of his   
work she furthered his art2 where she   
was left out of his consideration he    
must be brought back to her side at any 
sacrifice to him4 ,this is not the stuff
 of which an artist's wife ought to be  
made2 the influence of a strong-willed  
selfish nature on his weak and material 
one was not good1 and his morale became 
lowered4  ,he felt this deterioration   

less than his friends felt it for him2  
even ,vasari says that though he lived  
in torment1 he yet accounted it a high  
pleasure4 ,it was one of those unions in
 which the man gives everything1 and the
 woman receives and allows every        
sacrifice4 ,her family were kept at his 
expense1 her daughter loved as his own1 
and if she were haughty or exacting1 he 
suffered with a ,socratic patience1     
thinking life with her a privilege4  ,it
 is to be supposed that a member of the 
societies of the ,cauldron and the      
,trowel would appreciate good living4   
,he was so devoted to the pleasures of  
the table that he went to market himself
 early every morning and came home laden
 with delicacies4 ,footnote3 ,biadi1    
,notixie inedite1 c41 chap4 xix4 p4 #fb4
 ,a curious confirmation of this is to  
be found in his house1 the dining-room  
of which is beautifully frescoed1 the   
arched roof in ,raphaelesque scrolls and
 grotesques2 while the lunettes of one  
wall have two large pictures1 one of a  

woman roasting birds over a fire1 the   
other of a servant preparing the table  
for dinner4 ,this love of good living1  
however1 in the end shortened his life1 
according to ,biadi4  ,after his        
marketing was over he turned his        
attention to art1 going to his fresco   
painting followed by his scholars1 or   
superintending their work in the        
bottega4 ,he was always a kind and      
thorough master1 his manner just and    
fatherly4  ,sometimes he and ,sansovino 
or other friends lounged away an hour in
 the neighbouring shop of ,nanni        
,unghero1 where their mutual friend1    
,niccol ,tribolo1 did all the hard work1
 fetching and carrying blocks and saws  
grumblingly4 ,tribolo often begged      
,sansovino to take him as his pupil1    
which he did afterwards1 and he became a
 famous sculptor4 ,one of ,andrea's     
acquaintances was ,baccio ,bandinelli1  
who1 as he thought he could equal       
,michelangelo in sculpture1 imagined    
that only a knowledge of ,andrea del    

,sarto's method of colouring was        
necessary to enable him to surpass him  
in painting4 ,to gain this knowledge he 
proposed to sit to ,andrea for his      
portrait4 ,his friend1 discovering his  
motive1 succeeded in frustrating it by  
mixing a quantity of colours in seeming 
confusion on his palette1 and yet       
getting from this chaos exactly the     
tints he required4 ,so ,baccio never    
rivalled his friend in colouring after  
all1 not being able to understand his   
method4     ,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,works    
,,in ,,florence4 ,a4,d4 #aeaa-aeae4     
,from #aeaa to #aead ,andrea was        
employed on the two last frescoes in the
 courtyard of the ,,ss4 ,annunziata the 
,epiphany and the ,nativity of the      
,virgin4 ,the sum fixed for these was   
ninety-eight lire1 but the ,servite     
brothers augmented it by forty-two lire 
more1 seeing the work was veramente     
maravigliosa2 thus these two were paid  
at the same rate as the other five of   
,s4 ,filippo--seventy lire or ten scudi 

each4  ,in the ,nativity1 one of the    
finest of his frescoes1 we see his      
favourite double grouping1 the interest 
in the mother being kept to one side1   
that of the child and its attendants to 
the other-a balance of form united by   
,joachim1 a stern1 finely moulded figure
 in the centre4 ,the attitudes are      
natural1 the draperies free and         
graceful4 ,old ,vasari justly remarks   
pajono di carne le figure4 ,the woman   
standing in the centre of the room is   
,lucrezia della ,fede2 this is the first
 known likeness of her4 ,there is a     
richness of colour without impasto1 a   
modulation of shade giving full relief  
without startling contrast1 a clear air 
below and celestial haze in the         
angel-peopled clouds above4  ,this might
 well be classed as on the highest level
 ever reached in fresco4 ,nearly fifty  
years after it was painted1 while       
,jacopo d',empoli was copying this      
fresco1 an old woman came through the   
courtyard to mass1 and1 stopping to     

watch the young artist at his work1     
began to talk of the days of her youth  
and beauty when she sat for the likeness
 of that natural figure in the midst1 no
 doubt sighing as she looked at the     
freshness of the fresco1 and thought of 
her many wrinkles and aged limbs1 she   
being nearly fourscore at the time4     
,the ,epiphany is also a remarkable     
work1 more lively than the last2 it is  
also less carefully painted1 the        
graceful feminine element is wanting2   
there is plenty of activity1 a crowded  
composition1 and richness of colour4    
,three figures are especially           
interesting as likenesses2 that of the  
musician ,francesco ,ajolle--a great    
composer of madrigals1 who went to      
,france in #aecj1 and spent the         
remainder of his life there2 ,sansovino1
 on the right of ,ajolle2 and near him  
,andrea himself--the same face as the   
portrait in the ,uffizi already spoken  
of4  ,the ,madonna del ,sacco1 over the 
door of the entrance to the church from 

the cloister1 would seem to have been   
painted in the same year1 #aead1 judging
 from ,biadi's extract from the ,,ms4   
account books of the ,servite ,fathers  
existing in the archives1 where is an   
entry ,giugno1 #aead1 ad ,andrea del    
,sarto1 per resto della ,madonna del    
,sacco1 lire #ef4 ,this term resto      
7remainder7 would imply a previous      
payment4 ,the money was a thank-offering
 from a woman for having been absolved  
from a vow by one of the ,servite       
priests4 ,like all his other frescoes of
 this church1 ,andrea only gained ten   
scudi for this masterpiece4 ,the date of
 ,,mdxxv4 and the words ,quem genuit    
adoravit on the pilasters of this work  
have led most writers to suppose it     
painted in that year2 but it is probable
 they were added by a later hand4 ,biadi
 ,footnote3 ,biadi1 ,notizie1 c41 p4 #db
 note4 says the letters are of the style
 of nearly two centuries later1 that    
,andrea would have signed it1 like all  
his other and works1 with his monogram  

of the crossed ,a's 7i4e4 ,andrea d'    
,agnolo74 ,for charming soft harmonies  
of colour1 simplicity1 and grace of     
design1 this surpasses all his other    
frescoes4 ,the ,madonna has an imposing 
grandeur of form1 there is a boyish     
strength and moulding in the limbs of   
the child which is very expressive1 the 
dignity of ,joseph and majesty of the   
,virgin are not to be surpassed2 and yet
 the whole is given in a space so       
cramped that all the figures have to be 
reclining or sitting4  ,illustration of 
,monogram  ,after this ,andrea returned 
to the ,scalzo1 the ,barefoot ,brothers 
offering better pay than the ,servites4 
,here he did the allegory of ,justice   
and the ,sermon of ,s4 ,john in         
monochrome4 ,in these he took a fancy to
 retrograde his style1 for they have the
 rugged force and angular form that     
recalls the more stern old ,italian     
masters1 or that ,titan of northern art1
 ,albrecht ,drer4  ,of his works in oil 
at this era we may class--  #a4 ,the    

,story of ,joseph1 painted for ,zanobi  
,girolami ,bracci1 which ,borghini      
judges a beautiful picture4 ,the figures
 were small1 but the painting highly    
finished4 ,it came afterwards into the  
possession of the ,medici family4  #b4  
,a ,madonna1 with decorations and models
 surrounding it like a frame1 was       
painted for ,sansovino's patron1        
,giovanni ,gaddi1 afterwards clerk of   
the chamber to ,ferdinand ,i4 ,it was   
existing in the collection of the ,gaddi
 ,pozzi family in ,borghini's time4  #c4
 ,annunciation1 for ,giovanni di ,paolo 
,merciajo1 now in the ,hall of ,saturn  
in the ,pitti ,palace4 ,it is a pretty  
composition1 the ,virgin sitting1 yet   
half kneeling1 the angel on his knees   
before her4 ,there is a yellowish light 
in the sky between two looped dark green
 curtains2 the angel's yellow robe takes
 the light beautifully4  #d4 ,madonna   
and ,child1 in the ,hall of the         
,education of ,jupiter in the ,pitti    
,palace1 one of his most pleasing       

groups4 ,this is supposed by the        
commentators of ,vasari to be the       
altarpiece painted for ,giovanni di     
,paolo ,merciajo1 but ,biadi traces it  
through the possession of ,antonio1 son 
of ,zanobi ,bracci1 to its present      
possessors4 ,the mistake arises from    
,vasari often confusing the names       
,annunciations and ,assumptions with    
,madonnas4  #e4 ,a ,holy ,family1 for   
,andrea ,santini1 which awakened great  
admiration in ,florence4 ,it was in the 
possession of ,signer ,alessandro ,curti
 ,lepri1 by whose permission ,morghen's 
print was taken4  #f4 ,the ,head of our 
,saviour1 over the altar of the ,,ss4   
,annunziata1 ordered by the sacristan of
 the order4 ,a magnificent head1 full of
 grandeur and expression1 and very clear
 in the flesh tints4 ,empoli made       
several copies of it4  #g4 ,the ,madonna
 di ,san ,francesco1 ,andrea's          
masterpiece among easel pictures4 ,it   
was a commission from a monk of the     
order of ,minorites of ,santa ,croce1   

who was intendant of the nuns of ,s4    
,francesco1 and advised them to employ  
,andrea4 ,in grandiose simplicity this  
surpasses ,albertinelli's ,visitation1  
in soft gradations and rich mellowness  
of colour it equals ,fra ,bartolommeo at
 his best1 for tenderness in the        
attitude of the child it is quite       
,raphaelesque4 ,the ,madonna is standing
 on a pedestal adorned with sculptured  
harpies4 ,she holds the ,divine ,child  
in one arm2 its little hands are twined 
tenderly round her neck1 and it seems to
 be climbing closer to her4 ,the two    
children at her feet give a suggestive  
triangular grouping1 while the dignified
 figures of ,s4 ,francis and ,s4 ,john  
the ,evangelist form supports on each   
side1 and rear up a pyramid of beauty4  
,rosini's term soave just expresses this
 picture1 so fused and soft1 rich yet   
transparent in the colouring4 ,the      
olive-brown robe of one saint is        
balanced by the rich red of the other4  
,in the ,virgin1 a deep blue and mellow 

orange are combined by a crimson bodice4
 ,the price paid to the painter for this
 was low because he asked little2 but a 
century or two later1 ,ferdinando de'   
,medici1 son of ,cosmo ,,iii41 spent    
#bj1jjj scudi to restore the church1 and
 had a copy of the picture made in      
return for a gift of the original1 which
 is now the gem of the ,tribune in the  
,uffizi4  #h4 ,the ,disputa1 di ,s4     
,agostino is another masterpiece1       
showing as much power as the last-named 
work displays of softness4 ,it was      
painted at the order of the ,eremite    
monks of ,san ,gallo for their church of
 ,san ,jacopo tra ,fossi1 where it was  
injured by a flood in #aeeg1 and removed
 later to the ,hall of ,saturn in the   
,pitti ,palace4 ,the composition is     
level1 the four disputing saints        
standing in a row1 the two listeners1   
,s4 ,sebastian and ,mary ,magdalen1     
kneeling in front4 ,s ,agostino1 with   
fierce vehemence1 expounds the mystery  
of the ,trinity2 ,s4 ,stephen turns to  

,s4 ,francesco interrogatively1 ,s4     
,domenico 7whom ,vasari1 by the way1    
calls ,s4 ,peter ,martyr7 has a face    
full of silent eloquence--he seems only 
waiting his turn to speak4 ,in ,s4      
,sebastian we have a good study from the
 nude1 and in ,mary ,magdalen's kneeling
 figure--a charming portrait of         
,lucrezia--is concentrated the principal
 focus of colour4  #i4 ,four ,saints1   
,,ss4 ,gio4 ,battista1 ,gio4 ,gualberto1
 ,s4 ,michele1 and ,bernardo ,cardinale1
 a beautifully-painted picture1 once in 
the ,hermitage of ,vallombrosa4 ,there  
were originally two little angels in the
 midst dividing the saints1 as in our   
illustration4 ,when the picture was     
transferred to the ,gallery of the      
,belle ,arti1 where it now is1 the      
angels were taken out and the divided   
saints brought into a more compact      
group4 ,the angels are in a frame       
between two frescoed ,madonnas of ,fra  
,bartolommeo4  ,by this time the fame of
 ,andrea del ,sarto1 both as a fresco   

and oil painter1 had risen to the       
highest point4 ,michelangelo only echoed
 the opinion of others when he said to  
,raphael1 ,there is a little fellow in  
,florence who will bring the sweat to   
your brow if ever he is engaged in great
 works4 ,his style of composition was   
important1 his figures varied and       
life-like1 his draperies dignified4 ,the
 main excellence1 however1 in which     
,andrea stands unique among his         
contemporaries rests in the incomparable
 blending of colour1 in the soft flesh  
tints1 in the exquisite chiaroscuro1 in 
the transparent clearness even of his   
deepest shadows1 and in his entirely new
 manner of perfect modelling4 ,footnote3
 ,lbke ,history of ,art1 vol4 ii4 p4    
#bda4 ,his method1 as shown in an       
unfinished picture of the ,adoration of 
the ,magi in the ,guadagni ,palace1 was 
to paint on a light ground2 the sketch  
was a black outline1 the features and   
details not defined1 but often roughly  
indicated4 ,he finished first the sky   

and background4 ,the flesh tints1       
draperies1 c41 were all true in tone    
from the first laying in4 ,footnote3    
,eastlake's ,materials for ,history of  
,oil ,fainting4 ,he did not place shades
 one over the other1 and fuse them      
together glaze by glaze as ,leonardo    
did1 but used an opaque dead colouring  
which allowed of correction2 the system 
was rapid1 but deficient in depth and   
mellowness2 the lights are fused and    
bright1 but the shadows1 owing to their 
viscous consistency1 imperfectly fill   
the outlines4 ,footnote3 ,crowe and     
,cavalcaselle1 vol4 in4 chap4 xvii4 p4  
#fgj4 ,in a ,holy ,family in the        
,louvre1 ,s4 ,elizabeth's hand is       
painted across ,s4 ,john1 and shows the 
shadow underneath it1 being grey at that
 part4 ,though more solid1 he could not 
paint light over dark without injuring  
his brilliance of colour4               
,albertinelli1 on the contrary1 when he 
painted and repainted his ,annunciation1
 washed out the under layer with        

essential oil before making his         
pentimenti or corrections1 and in this  
way the thinness was kept4  ,in         
,andrea's early style this thinness is  
apparent1 especially in the ,joseph     
series1 painted for ,pier ,francesco    
,borgherini4  ,biadi classes ,andrea's  
works in three styles4 ,the first       
showing the influence of ,piero di      
,cosimo1 the second--to which the best  
works in the ,servi cloisters belong--is
 a larger and more natural style1 after 
the study of ,michelangelo and          
,leonardo4  ,the third is the natural   
development in his own practice of a    
perfect knowledge of art1 and a just    
appreciation of nature4 ,the ,birth of  
the ,baptist and the ,cenacolo1 of ,san 
,salvi1 belong to his last and greatest 
manner4 ,in #aeae the ,florentine       
artists were employed on more perishable
 works than frescoes4 ,leo ,x41 the     
,medici ,pope who had been elected in   
#aeac1 made his triumphal entry into    
,florence on the #crd of ,september1    

#aeae1 on his way to meet ,francis ,i4  
of ,france at ,bologna4 ,all the guilds 
and ranks of ,florence vied with each   
other to make his reception as artistic 
as possible4 ,he and his suite were     
obliged to stay three days in the ,villa
 ,gianfigliazzi at ,marignolle while the
 triumphal preparations were being      
completed4 ,the churches had temporary  
faades of splendid architecture in      
fresco2 arches were erected at the      
,porta ,romana and ,piazza ,san ,felice1
 covered with historical paintings2     
,giuliano del ,tasso adorned the ,ponte 
,santa ,trinit with statues2 ,antonio   
,san ,gallo made a temple on the ,piazza
 della ,signoria1 and ,baccio           
,bandinelli prepared a colossus in the  
,loggia dei ,lanzi4 ,various decorations
 adorned other streets1 and ,andrea del 
,sarto surpassed them all with a faade  
to the ,duomo1 painted in monochrome on 
wood4 ,his friend ,sansovino designed   
the architecture1 and he painted the    
sculpture and adornments with such      

effect that the ,pope declared no work  
in marble could have been finer4        
,andrea lent his talent to another kind 
of decorative art4 ,the guild of        
merchants were desirous of inaugurating 
a festa for the day of ,s4 ,giovanni1   
and had ten chariots made from the model
 of the ancient ,roman ones1 to         
institute chariot races in the piazza4  
,andrea painted several of these with   
historical subjects1 but they have long 
been lost4 ,the chariot races were      
revived under the ,grand ,dukes1 but not
 with any success4     ,,chapter ,v4    
,,going ,,to ,,france4 ,a4,d4           
#aeah-aeai4   ,meanwhile fate was       
working ,andrea del ,sarto on to what   
might have been the culminating point of
 his fame1 had not his weakness rendered
 it a blot on his honour2 i4e4 his      
journey to ,france4 ,his fame was rising
 high2 a picture of the ,dead ,christ   
surrounded by ,angels1 weeping over the 
body they support1 having been sent to  
,france1 ,footnote3 ,it was engraved by 

the ,venetian1 ,agostino1 before it went
 to ,france2 the engraving is signed    
#aeaf4 ,it did not please ,andrea1 who  
never allowed any others to be engraved4
 the king was so pleased with it that he
 wished another work by the same artist4
 ,andrea painted a very beautiful       
,madonna1 for which1 however1 he only   
obtained a quarter of the price which   
the king paid to the merchants4 ,the    
king was so delighted with it that he   
sent the artist an invitation to come to
 ,paris in his employ1 promising to pay 
all his expenses4 ,in the ,pitti ,palace
 there is a portrait of ,andrea and his 
wife1 in which he has commemorated the  
reception of this letter4 ,he is looking
 very interested over it1 while his wife
 has the blankest expression possible4  
,in the summer of #aeah he started with 
his pupil1 ,andrea ,sguazzella1 called  
,nanoccio4 ,such a journey was in those 
days considered as little less than a   
parting for life4 ,it is plain that     
,lucrezia's family looked on her as     

almost a widow1 for they made him sign a
 deed of acknowledgement for the #aej   
florins of her dote4 ,some authors have 
taken this document as a proof of their 
marriage in that year1 but it was merely
 a precaution against loss by her       
family2 the ,italian law being that the 
husband is obliged to render the portion
 obtained with his wife to her family if
 she dies without issue1 and in case of 
his own death1 the widow is entitled to 
it4  ,he was well received in ,paris1   
and employed immediately on a likeness  
of the infant ,dauphin ,henri ,,ii41    
then only a few months old4 ,for this he
 obtained #cjj scudi3 and a monthly     
salary was allowed him4 ,what a mine of 
gold the ,french court must have seemed 
to him after working for years at large 
frescoes for ten scudi each6  ,he did no
 less than fifty works of art while     
there1 most of which have been engraved 
by the best ,french artists4,footnote3  
,see ,catalogue of ,royal ,pictures in  
,france1 by ,m4 ,lepisci4 ,the ,carit is

 signed #aeah1 and is in ,andrea's best 
style--perhaps with a leaning towards   
,michelangelo4 ,the ,s4 ,jerome in      
,penitence1 which he painted for the    
king's mother1 and obtained a large     
price for1 cannot be traced4 ,his life  
in ,paris was a new revelation1 and not 
without its effect on his character1    
always alive to substantial pleasure4   
,the king and his courtiers frequented  
his atelier1 and delighted to watch him 
paint1 vieing with each other in the    
richness of their gifts1 among which    
were splendid brocade dresses and       
beautiful ornaments and jewels1 in which
 he longed to adorn his wife4 ,while he 
was engaged in painting the ,s4 ,jerome 
for the queen-mother1 a letter from     
,lucrezia aroused his longings for home 
to the uttermost2 she--the wife who has 
been branded by the name of             
faithless--wrote that she was           
disconsolate in his absence1 and that if
 he did not soon return he would find   
her dead with grief4  ,vasari1 quoting  

this exaggerated letter1 says in his    
first edition that she only wanted money
 to give her friends1 but this also he  
retracts in the second4 ,whether it     
expressed her feelings truly or not1 the
 letter had such an effect on ,andrea's 
mind that he decided to return home at  
any cost4  ,during ,andrea's absence the
 house in ,via ,s4 ,sebastiano1 behind  
the ,annunziata1 was being prepared     
under her superintendence and with his  
sanction4 ,his scholars had decorated   
the walls and ceilings with frescoes1   
and no doubt ,lucrezia was as anxious   
for him to see the new house as he was  
to adorn her with ,parisian brocades and
 jewellery4  ,being able to satisfy her 
ambitious soul1 ,andrea too readily     
flung away all his brilliant prospects  
to return1 and willingly take again the 
yoke of the burden of his wife and her  
family4 ,he made promises that he would 
bring her back to ,paris with him1 and  
the king in all faith allowed him to    
depart1 confiding to him large sums of  

money for the purchase of works of art  
to be sent to ,france4  ,sguazzella1    
wiser than his master1 preferred to stay
 in ,paris under the patronage of       
,cardinal de ,tournon4 ,he painted a    
great many works1 much in the style of  
,andrea1 but with less excellence4 ,it  
is possible that some of ,m4 ,lepisci's 
long list are1 in fact1 the work of the 
pupil rather than the master4 ,when     
,benvenuto ,cellini went to ,france in  
#aecg he lodged in ,sguazzella's house1 
with his three servants and three       
horses1 at a weekly rate of payment 7a  
tanto la settimana74  ,but to return to 
,andrea3 this is an episode in his life 
which we would gladly pass over if it   
were possible1 for it forms the moral   
blot on a great artistic career4        
,returning home he fell once more under 
the strong will of his wife1 but with   
his principles weakened by the effect of
 a luxury and prosperity which has      
always a greater deteriorating effect on
 a nature such as his than on a finer   

mind4 ,bringing grand ideas from the    
palaces of the ,french nobles1 he not   
only fell in with ,lucrezia's plans for 
beautifying the new house1 but even     
surpassed her wildest schemes4 ,the     
staircase was embellished with rich     
oaken balustrades1 the rooms were all   
frescoed4 ,cupids hide in the           
,raphaelesque scrolls on the arches1    
classic divinities rest on the ceilings1
 but in the dining room the homely      
nature of the man who did his own       
marketing1 creeps out4 ,it is a charming
 room1 the windows opening on a garden  
courtyard1 where a vine trellis leads   
round to what used to be the side door  
of his studio which has its entrance in 
another street4  ,the roof is vaulted   
and covered with exquisite decorative   
frescoes1 but in the lunettes of the two
 largest arches are the domestic scenes 
of cooking and laying the cloth1 spoken 
of at page #ij4 ,two or three of the up 
stairs rooms are very fine1 especially  
the one in which ,andrea is said to have

 died4 ,footnote3 ,this description is  
due to the kindness of the present      
resident in the house1 who kindly showed
 it to the writer1 pointing out all the 
unrestored portions4 ,it is probable the
 furniture matched the style of the     
rooms1 and that much money was spent on 
carved chairs and cassoni4 ,certain it  
is that the ,king of ,france's          
commissions were unfulfilled1 and his   
money misappropriated4  ,andrea would   
have returned to ,france1 but his wife1 
who had an ,italian woman's dread of    
leaving her own country1 put every      
obstacle in his way1 adding entreaties  
to tears which the uxorious ,andrea     
could not resist4 ,as usual he tried to 
please her1 and she only cared to please
 herself4  ,he fell greatly in the      
estimation of the ,king1 who was justly 
angry2 albeit the artist salved his own 
too easy conscience by sending a few of 
his own paintings to ,francis ,i41 one  
of which1 the ,sacrifice of ,abraham1   
still remains in ,france1 and another a 

half length figure of ,s4 ,john the     
,baptist4 ,the place of this picture is 
much disputed2 it is said to be at      
present in the ,pitti ,palace4          
,argenville speaks of it among the      
,french pictures as if it had returned  
subsequently to ,florence1 while ,vasari
 asserts that it never went there1 but  
was sold to ,ottaviano de' ,medici4     
,footnote3 ,life of ,andrea1 del ,sarto1
 vol4 in4 p4 #bab4 ,as ,andrea painted  
no less than five pictures of this      
subject1 of which ,argenville mentions  
that there were two in ,france1 one of  
which was sold to the ,grand ,duke of   
,tuscany1 it is probable that the ,pitti
 one is not that painted for ,francis   
,i4     ,,chapter ,,vi4  ,,andrea ,,and 
,,ottaviano ,,de' ,,medici4 ,a4,d4      
#aeba-aebc4   ,the ,medici1 always      
patrons of art1 did not neglect to      
enrich their palaces with the works of  
,andrea del ,sarto4 ,ottaviano de'      
,medici1 a cousin of the reigning       
branch1 was an especial friend of his1  

from the time that ,andrea began the    
fresco of ,caesar receiving tribute of  
animals in the ,hall of ,poggio a       
,cajano4 ,the commission came really    
from ,pope ,leo ,x41 who deputed        
,cardinal ,giulio1 his cousin1 to have  
the hall of the favourite family villa  
adorned with frescoes4 ,he in turn      
handed over the direction to ,ottaviano1
 who was a great amateur of art4 ,it was
 designed that ,andrea del ,sarto should
 cover a third of the ,hall1 the other  
two-thirds being given to ,pontormo and 
,francia ,bigio4 ,the payment of thirty 
scudi a month was arranged4 ,in this    
,andrea has shown his genius in a style 
entirely new1 the composition being     
crowded1 the perspective intricate1 the 
background a building adorned with      
statues4 ,the subject being allegorical1
 he has given the reins to his fancy and
 produced a wonderful assemblage of     
strange beasts and stranger human       
beings1 ,moors1 ,indians1 and dwarfs4   
,there are giraffes1 lions1 and all     

kinds of animals1 which he had an       
opportunity of studying in the          
,serraglio of ,florence4 ,the drawing is
 true and free1 the figures and animals 
full of life1 the colouring as usual    
well harmonised and bright4 ,the ,pope  
died about this time in #aebb1 and the  
picture was left to be finished by      
,allori in #aehj4  ,ottaviano de'       
,medici1 being a great lover of art1 was
 often a patron on his own account2 for 
him ,andrea painted the ,holy ,family   
now in the ,pitti ,palace4 ,it is a most
 charmingly natural group3 the ,virgin  
seated on the ground dances the divine  
child astride on her knee1 he is turning
 his head to the infant ,s4 ,john who   
struggles to escape from his mother's   
arms to get to him4 ,the fresh youth of 
the ,virgin and the saintly age of ,s4  
,elizabeth are well contrasted4 ,by the 
time this picture was finished the siege
 of ,florence had begun1 and when the   
painter took it to ,ottaviano1 he1      
having other claims on his means1       

excused himself from buying it1 and     
recommended ,andrea to offer it         
elsewhere4 ,but the artist replied1 ,i  
have laboured for you1 and the work     
shall be always yours4 ,sell it and get 
what you can for it1 again replied      
,ottaviano4 ,andrea carried the painting
 home again and would never sell it to  
any one4 ,a few years after1 the siege  
being over1 and the ,medici re-instated1
 he again took the ,holy ,family to     
,ottaviano1 who was so delighted that he
 paid him double the price for it4      
,ottaviano also bought from ,carlo      
,ginori a ,madonna and ,s4 ,job1 a nude 
half figure1 which were by ,andrea's    
hand4 ,he it was who commissioned him to
 paint the portrait of ,cardinal        
,giulio1 afterwards ,pope ,clement      
,,vii41 and it was also at his instance 
that the imitation ,raphael was painted 
for the ,duke of ,mantua4 ,the ,duke had
 set his heart on obtaining the picture 
painted by ,raphael representing ,leo   
,x4 between the ,cardinals ,giulio and  

,rossi1 and got a promise of it as a    
gift from ,pope ,clement4 ,his ,holiness
 wrote to ,ottaviano desiring him to    
have it sent to ,mantua4 ,but           
,ottaviano1 appreciating the treasure as
 much as the ,duke of ,mantua1          
determined to secure it to the house of 
,medici4 ,under the pretence of having a
 new frame made he gained time1 and     
meanwhile employing ,andrea del ,sarto  
secretly to make an exact copy of it1 he
 sent that to the ,duke instead of the  
original4 ,so well had ,andrea imitated 
the great master's style that every one 
in ,mantua1 even ,giulio ,romano1       
,raphael's own scholar1 was deceived1   
and it was only some years later that   
,george ,vasari divulged the secret and 
showed ,andrea's monogram on the side of
 the panel beneath the frame4 ,this copy
 is now at ,naples4  ,the fresco at     
,poggio a ,cajano abandoned1 ,andrea    
returned to the ,scalzo1 where he       
painted the ,dance of ,herodias1        
,martyrdom of ,s4 ,john ,baptist1       

,presentation of the ,head1 ,allegory of
 ,hope1 and the ,apparition of the      
,angel to ,zacharias4 ,the last was paid
 for ,august #bbnd1 #aebc4  ,about this 
time there was a great wedding in       
,florence4 ,pier ,francesco ,borgherini 
espoused ,margherita ,accajuoli1 and    
,salvi1 the bridegroom's father1        
determined to prepare for his son's     
bride a wedding chamber which should be 
famous in all ages4  ,baccio d' ,agnolo 
had carved wonderful coffers1 chairs1   
and bedsteads in walnut wood4 ,pontormo 
painted beautiful cabinets and cassoni1 
and ,granacci1 ,francesco d' ,ubertini  
,verdi1 called ,bacchiacca1 and ,andrea 
were all employed on the walls4 ,andrea 
furnished two pictures2 the one tells   
the story of ,joseph in ,canaan1 the    
other gives his life in ,egypt4 ,the    
style is that of ,piero di ,cosimo1 but 
with greater excellence and more        
dignified figures4 ,the landscape is    
highly finished and minute1 and has a   
part of the story in every nook of it4  

,the centre group1 where ,joseph leaves 
his father and mother to go to his      
brethren1 is very dignified1 although   
fine enough to be a miniature4 ,in the  
second ,pharaoh's palace is ,footnote3  
,reumont 7,life of ,andrea del ,sarto1  
p4 #acd7 dates these works #aebc2 the   
style1 which is very much that of ,piero
 di ,cosimo1 would seem to place them   
earlier4 represented as a medieval      
,italian castle1 the dresses are all    
,italian1 and as an instance of         
,andrea's versatility of talent they are
 very interesting paintings4  ,during   
the siege of ,florence1 ,borgherini was 
absent1 and the picture dealer1         
,giovanni ,battista della ,palla1 who   
prowled like a harpy to carry off       
treasures for the ,king of ,france1 made
 an effort to obtain these paintings by 
inducing the government to confiscate   
them and sell them to him4 ,but         
,margherita was equal to the occasion1  
and meeting the despoiler at her door1  
she poured out such a torrent of        

indignation1 exhortation1 and defiance  
as drove the broker away crestfallen4   
,on the ,medici's return della ,palla   
was imprisoned as a traitor1 and        
beheaded at ,pisa4 ,the paintings passed
 into the possession of the ,medici1 by 
purchase1 during ,andrea's life4        
,footnote3 ,biadi1 ,notizie1 c41 p4     
#adf1 note #b4     ,,chapter ,,vii4     
,,the ,,plague ,,and ,,the ,,siege4     
,a4,d4 #aebe-aeca4   ,from #aebd to     
#aebh the plague desolated ,italy1 never
 entirely leaving it4 ,during this time 
,andrea obtained a commission through   
,antonio ,brancacci1 to paint some      
pictures in the convent of ,s4 ,piero at
 ,luco in ,mugello1 where he retired    
with his wife and her relations1 and his
 pupil ,raffaelo4 ,they spent a very    
pleasant summer3 the nuns made much of  
his wife and her sisters1 and he passed 
his time in earnest painting4 ,the      
fruits of his labour are a ,piet1 a     
,visitation1 and a ,head of             
,christ--almost a replica of the one in 

the ,,ss4 ,annunziata4  ,the ,piet is   
full of expression and feeling1 but more
 realistic and less dignified than that 
of ,fra ,bartolommeo1 which now hangs on
 the same wall of the ,hall of ,apollo  
at the ,pitti4  ,in colouring also there
 is a great contrast between the two1   
that of ,fra ,bartolommeo being deep1   
rich1 and mellow1 while ,andrea's is    
more profuse1 diffused1 and wanting in  
depth of shadow4  ,s4 ,john and the     
,virgin raise the dead ,saviour1 the    
,magdalen and ,s4 ,catherine weep at his
 feet2 ,s4 ,peter and ,s4 ,paul at the  
back express their grief in the manner  
natural to their characters4 ,s4 ,peter1
 in his vehemence1 flings up his arms in
 a madness of sorrow4 ,s4 ,paul1 with   
more dignity1 is half stupefied with the
 intensity of woe4  ,if those saints had
 been left in ,fra ,bartolommeo's ,piet1
 the two pictures would have had the    
very same figures1 in each3 but how     
different the composition1 feeling1 and 
expression6 ,the ,frate's group is a    

compact triangle2 that of ,andrea a     
scattered arrangement4 ,the ,magdalen of
 the ,frate is overwhelmed with the very
 excess of love and grief1 all of which 
is expressed intensely1 yet her face is 
hidden2 that of ,andrea is a mere woman 
dressed in flying scarf and flowing     
garments1 but with very little soul in  
her face4  ,the characteristics of the  
two painters can be well studied in     
these works1 so near together1 so       
similar1 and yet so different4  ,for the
 three works painted at ,luco ,andrea   
was paid ninety florins in gold4 ,the   
,piet1 was bought in later years by the 
,grand ,duke ,leopold1 and now adorns   
the ,pitti ,palace4  ,the ,visitation   
was placed in the church of the convent 
over a presepio4 ,footnote3 ,in #ahah it
 was restored by ,luigi ,scotti and     
sold4 ,biadi gives the following        
document3--,io ,andrea d',angiolo del   
,sarto1  di #aa ,ottobre #aebh ho       
ricevuto fiorini #hj d' oro di quei     
larghi i4e4 of two scudi each della     

,tavola dell' ,altar grande e di una    
mezza tavola della ,visitazione1 da     
,donna ,caterina della ,casa            
,fiorentina1 ,badessa di ,luco4         
,footnote3 #b ,vol4 in4 p1 #ega1 note4  
,andrea was paid ten florins for the    
,head of the ,saviour1 through his      
assistant1 ,raffaello4 ,this receipt    
would prove either that he went to ,luco
 later than #aebd1 or that he returned  
there to finish the works in the year   
#aebh4  ,on their return to ,florence in
 the autumn ,andrea painted a fine work 
for his friend1 ,beccuccio da ,gambassi1
 a glass-worker4 ,it is an apotheosis of
 the ,madonna1 with four figures        
beneath--,s4 ,john ,baptist1 ,mary      
,magdalen1 ,s4 ,sebastian1 and ,s4      
,rocco2 not ,s4 ,onofrio1 as ,bottari   
has named it4 ,the predella1 now lost1  
had portraits of the patron and his     
wife4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle speak of 
six saints in this picture1 four        
standing and two kneeling4  ,this       
description seems to point more         

certainly to the ,sarzana ,madonna1     
which is now in the ,hall of ,apollo1 in
 the ,pitti ,palace4 ,that for          
,beccuccio is described1 with the four  
above-mentioned saints only1 by all the 
,italian authors4  ,the tabernacle1 at  
the corner of the convent1 outside the  
,porta ,pinti1 ,florence1 was painted   
about this time4 ,it is now quite       
destroyed by age and weather2 a good    
copy by ,empoli1 exists1 however1 in the
 western corridor of the ,uffizi4 ,it is
 a charming ,holy ,family1 with the     
infant ,s4 ,john1--a sweet laughing     
face4 ,the ,madonna is a portrait of    
,lucrezia4  ,in the siege when the      
convent of the ,ingesuate--at the corner
 of which it stood--was razed to the    
ground1 this fresco1 although loosened  
from the wall1 was spared by the        
soldiers1 who had not courage to injure 
it4 ,the ,grand ,duke ,cosimo was       
anxious to have it brought to ,florence1
 and often came with engineers and      
architects1 but they never hazarded its 

removal4 ,footnote3 ,bocchi1 ,bellezze  
di ,firenze1 p4 #dhb4  ,the ,duomo of   
,pisa has five saints painted by        
,andrea2 they originally formed one     
large picture in five compartments1 and 
were painted for the church of the now  
suppressed convent of ,s4 ,agnes2 but in
 #afah they were divided into five      
pictures1 and removed to the ,duomo1    
where ,s4 ,catherine ,martyr1 ,s4       
,margaret1 ,s4 ,peter1 and ,s4 ,john the
 ,baptist hang on each side of the      
altar4 ,s4 ,agnes1 with her lamb by her 
side1 is placed on a pilaster towards   
the southern door4 ,this and ,s4        
,margaret are especially graceful and   
expressive4 ,there is much of the       
feeling of ,correggio1 but with more    
natural grace and less voluptuousness4  
,the cutting and retouching had injured 
them greatly1 but in #ahce ,antonio     
,garazalli took off the repainting and  
restored them more delicately4  ,in     
#aebe ,andrea had a commission to draw  
cartoons for painting the balustrade of 

the ,ringhiera--a kind of wide terrace  
in front of the ,palazzo della          
,signoria1 from which speeches were made
 to the populace4 ,his designs were very
 beautiful and appropriate1 the         
compartments being emblematical of the  
different quarters of the city2 besides 
which were allegories of mountains1     
rivers1 and virtues4 ,the designs were  
left unfinished at his death1 and the   
,ringhiera was never painted4  ,in      
#aebf-g he worked at the fresco of the  
,last ,supper1 at ,s4 ,salvi1 which was 
intended to have been done when he began
 the four saints there1 in #aeaj1 had   
not some misunderstanding between the   
rulers of the order prevented their     
continuation4 ,footnote3 ,vasari's      
,lives1 vol4 iii4 p4 #bbd4 ,even now he 
worked in a desultory manner1 doing it  
bit by bit1 but in the end producing a  
marvellous work4  ,the refectory is a   
long vaulted hall1 and the frescoed     
table1 with its life-size figures1 fills
 the whole arch of the wall opposite the

 door4 ,one's natural impulse on        
entering it is to exclaim1 ,how         
life-like6 ,there is a great and living 
animation in the figures2 the characters
 of the ,apostles are written on their  
expressive faces4 ,judas is not placed  
away alone1 as in many renderings of the
 subject1 but is next to ,christ1 the   
contrast of the two faces being thus    
emphasized by proximity4 ,s4 ,peter1    
though old1 has all the vehemence and   
intensity of his character4 ,add to the 
feeling a brilliancy of colour of which 
,andrea alone had the secret1 for       
without deep shadows1 and keeping up the
 same intensity of tone throughout1 he  
yet obtained great harmony and full     
relief where others would have produced 
a clash and flatness4 ,messrs4 ,crowe   
and ,cavalcaselle say with justice1     
,from the contemplation of the ,cena1 at
 ,milan1 we should say that the painter 
is high bred2 looking at that of ,s4    
,salvi1 that he is accustomed to lowly  
company4 ,footnote3 ,hist4 of ,painting1

 vol4 iii4 chap4 xvii4 p4 #egd4 ,but in 
some subjects a rugged strength is more 
important than a high refinement1 and in
 the group of humble fishermen who      
formed the first church this is not out 
of place4 ,if he could only have        
spiritualised ,christ1 nothing would be 
left to be desired4  ,andrea del ,sarto 
was a member of a sacred company called 
the ,fraternit del ,nicchio1 for which  
he painted a standard to be carried in  
their processions4 ,it is now in the    
,hall of the ,old ,masters in the       
,uffizi1 and is a charming group of ,s4 
,james1 with two children dressed in    
white surplices--the habit of the       
company4 ,the saint is caressing one1   
who kneels at his feet2 the other has an
 open book in his hand4 ,the draperies  
are especially graceful1 and the        
expressions soft and pleasing4  ,after  
finishing a portrait of the ,intendant  
of the monks at ,vallombrosa1 which the 
said monk afterwards placed in an arbour
 covered with vines1 regardless of the  

injuries of wind and rain--,andrea1     
having some colours still left on his   
palette1 took up a tile and called his  
wife to sit for her portrait1 that all  
might see how well she had kept her good
 looks from her youth2 but ,lucrezia not
 being inclined to sit1 he got a mirror 
and painted his own portrait on the tile
 instead4 ,it was one of his later      
works1 and ,lucrezia kept it till her   
death4 ,it is now in the room of        
portraits in the ,uffizi1 but much      
blackened by time2 probably also from   
the tile not having been properly       
prepared4 ,footnote3 ,this portrait is  
given as a frontispiece4  ,the next year
 or two were taken up in producing a    
number of large altar-pieces1 and in    
painting pictures for the dealer1       
,giovanni ,battista della ,palla1 who   
was still intent on supplying the ,king 
of ,france with ,italian works of art4  
,for him he painted a ,sacrifice of     
,abraham1 which ,vasari thinks one of   
his most excellent works4 ,the face of  

the patriarch is full of faith1 and yet 
self-sacrifice2 the nude figure of      
,isaac1 bronzed in the parts which have 
been exposed to the sun1 most tenderly  
expresses a trembling dread1 mingled    
with trust in his father2 the landscape 
is also very airy and beautiful1 and a  
characteristic group of a servant and   
the browsing ass is very effective in   
the background4  ,he also painted a     
lovely picture of ,charity with three   
,children for ,della ,palla4 ,both these
 works were done with great care1 for he
 hoped by their means to regain the lost
 favour of the ,king of ,france4 ,it was
 too late for this1 however2 and1 as it 
happened1 neither of these works reached
 its destination4 ,the siege of         
,florence took place about this time    
7#aebi72 the dealer1 ,battista della    
,palla1 had his head cut off in his     
dungeon at ,pisa1 and all hope of his   
mediation with ,francis ,i4 was at an   
end4 ,the ,charity was sold to ,domenico
 ,conti1 the painter1 after ,andrea's   

death1 and thence passed into the hands 
of the ,antinori family4 ,the ,sacrifice
 of ,abraham has had more vicissitudes4 
,filippo ,strozzi purchased and gave it 
to the ,marchese del ,vasto1 who had it 
in his castle at ,ischia many years4    
,later it was sent from ,florence to    
,modena in exchange for a ,correggio1   
and ,augustus ,,ii4 of ,saxony becoming 
its purchaser1 placed it in the ,dresden
 ,gallery4  ,this seems to have been a  
favourite subject with ,andrea del      
,sarto1 who repeated it five times4  #a4
 ,the one done by himself for the ,king 
of ,france4  #b4 ,also in ,france1      
having been purchased from the ,grand   
,duke of ,tuscany4 7,see ,argenville47  
#c4 ,the one mentioned above1 done for  
,g4 ,b4 della ,palla4  #d4 ,a smaller   
one1 painted for ,paolo da ,terra       
,rossa2 a fine painting1 for which the  
artist asked so small a price that the  
purchaser was ashamed to pay it4 ,paolo 
sent it to ,naples4  #e4 ,an unfinished 
painting of ,abraham holding ,isaac by  

the ,hand1 now in the possession of the 
,zonadari family1 who obtained it from  
the ,peruzzi4  ,during the siege1 work  
was found for artists1 but of an        
unpleasant nature4 ,andrea was          
commissioned1 in #aecj1 to paint the    
effigies of some traitors on the palace 
of the ,signoria4 ,he dared not refuse1 
but remembering that his namesake1      
,andrea del ,castagno1 who had been     
similarly employed1 gained the name of  
,andrea degli ,impiccati1 he was anxious
 that the same name should not attach to
 himself4 ,accordingly he had an        
enclosed platform made1 and giving out  
that his pupil1 ,bernardino del ,buda1  
was going to paint the effigies1 he     
worked at them himself secretly1 till1  
on being uncovered1 they seemed to be   
real persons writhing on the gibbet4    
,no trace of them remains now1 but the  
studies are in the collection of        
drawings in the ,uffizi4  ,a fine       
half-length figure of ,s4 ,sebastian1   
for the brotherhood of that name1 which 

had its head-quarters in the street in  
which ,andrea lived1 was almost his last
 work in ,florence4  ,the siege was now 
over1 but the influx of soldiers from   
the camp brought a return of the plague1
 which awakened great terror in the     
city4 ,andrea's mode of life and love of
 good living did not conduce to his     
safety2 he was taken ill suddenly1 and  
gave himself up for lost4 ,neither      
,vasari nor ,biadi says he was entirely 
deserted by his wife2 they only hint    
that she came to his room as little as  
she could1 having a great fear of the   
plague4  ,it is more than probable that 
,andrea himself kept her away from him1 
for his love was always unselfish1 and  
he thought only of her good4 ,however   
this be1 he died1 aged forty-two1 on the
 #bbnd of ,january1 #aeca1 and was      
buried very quietly by the ,brethren of 
the ,scalzo in the church of the ,s4    
,annunziata4 ,his tomb is beneath the   
pavement of the presbytery1 on the left 
hand4 ,his older biographers seem to    

think this unostentatious funeral a     
great slight to his merits1 but if there
 were any doubts as to his illness being
 the plague1 it would only have been a  
natural precaution to avoid spreading   
contagion by making his interment quite 
private4  ,that ,andrea had not wholly  
neglected his own family is proved by   
his will1 which left his property 7after
 paying back ,lucrezia's dot of #ajj    
scudi1 and the money for the improvement
 of the new house in ,via ,crocetta for 
her and her daughter7 to his brother    
,domenico1 with the proviso that after  
his death half the bequest should be    
given to ,domenico's daughter as dot1   
the rest to accrue to the hospital of   
the ,innocenti 7,foundlings74 ,footnote3
 ,ricordanze nel ,archivio del ,e4      
,spedate degli ,innocenti di ,firenze4  
,biadi1 ,notizie1 p4 #abg4  ,lucrezia   
lived to a good old age1 being nearly   
ninety when she died2 she seems to have 
lived a very quiet life1 and to have    
kept ,andrea's paintings with great     

care1 except a few only which she sold4 
,the house in ,via ,crocetta passed many
 years afterwards into the possession of
 another painter1 ,zuccheri1 who        
embellished the studio front with       
reliefs in stone1 representing the      
paraphernalia of an atelier2 but it is  
,andrea's name which lives in the house1
 as his memory does in the hearts of the
 ,florentine people1 and his works in   
the cloisters of the ,florentine        
churches4 ,the people of the city always
 seem to claim ,del ,sarto as especially
 their own4 ,he is always nostro        
pittore1 or nostro maestro-and indeed as
 a master of fresco he never was        
surpassed4 ,in colouring he was in his  
way unique2 in modelling1 original and  
graceful2 while the transparent         
clearness of his shadows and brilliant  
blending of tints in the lights render  
his handling incomparable4 ,a little    
more refinement and aesthetic feeling   
would have placed him on a level with   
the great leaders of the ,renaissance4  

,,chapter ,,viii4  ,,scholars ,,of      
,,andrea ,,del ,,sarto4   ,andrea's     
scholars were numerous1 though only a   
few rose to any great eminence4 ,of     
these1 ,,jacopo ,,carrucci1 da ,pontormo
 7born #adid1 died #aeeg71 was by far   
the most talented4 ,left an orphan at an
 early age1 the charge of his sister    
devolved on him1 and he placed her with 
a relation while he was pursuing his art
 training4 ,he studied under a diversity
 of masters1 including ,leonardo da     
,vinci1 ,albertinelli1 ,piero di        
,cosimo2 and finally1 in #aeab1 he      
entered ,andrea del ,sarto's school1 but
 did not stay long there either4 ,some  
say ,andrea was jealous of his success2 
he1 however1 had generosity enough to   
praise and acknowledge his talent1 and  
to show his appreciation by giving him  
important work to do in his own studio4 
,pontormo did the predella to ,andrea's 
altar-piece of the ,annunciation for the
 convent of ,s4 ,gallo4 ,his hand is to 
be seen also in several of his master's 

works4 ,he drew public attention first  
by painting two figures of ,faith and   
,charity on the escutcheon of the       
,medici for ,andrea di ,cosimo1 who had 
obtained the commission1 but did not    
feel equal to executing it4             
,michelangelo1 on seeing these figures1 
prophesied great things for the youth1  
who was at that time only nineteen years
 of age4  ,the people of ,pontormo1 his 
native town1 were so proud of him1 that 
they sent for him to emblazon the arms  
of ,pope ,leo over the gate of their    
city4  ,he was next employed by one of  
the festal companies of the age1 called 
the ,company of the ,diamond1 to design 
cars1 banners1 and costumes for a       
triumphal procession in honour of ,leo  
,x4's elevation to the papal chair2 and 
he organised a very suggestive array of 
the ages of man1 illustrated            
historically4 ,he decorated the ,papal  
,hall for ,leo ,x4's entrance1 and later
 began to be employed on more serious   
and lasting works4  ,some good frescoes 

of his existed in the convent of ,santa 
,caterina1 but were destroyed when the  
building was reconstructed in #afhh4  ,a
 very charming fresco of the ,visitation
 still exists in the court of the ,,ss4 
,annunziata4 ,it shows him as a good    
pure colourist1 the flesh tints being   
especially tender2 the composition is   
lively1 full1 and effective4  ,in #aeah 
he painted a fine altar-piece for the   
church of ,s4 ,michele ,visdomini1      
,florence1 by commission of ,francesco  
,pucci4 ,the ,madonna1 seated1 is       
showing the ,child ,jesus to ,s4        
,joseph1 whose face is most expressive  
and full of smiling admiration4 ,s4     
,john ,baptist stands near1 at the sides
 are ,s4 ,john ,evangelist1 ,s4 ,james1 
and ,s4 ,francis1 the latter kneeling in
 ecstatic admiration4  ,in some cases he
 was placed in direct competition with  
his master1 ,andrea del ,sarto1 being   
employed by ,borgherini to paint the    
coffers and cabinets in the same room   
for which ,andrea did the ,history of   

,joseph2 and again later at ,poggio a   
,cajano1 where the ends of the great    
hall were assigned to him to paint1     
,andrea and ,francia ,bigio taking the  
larger walls at the sides4 ,on one end  
he designed an allegory of ,vertumnus1  
with his husbandmen around him busy with
 their labours1 and on the other        
,pomona1 ,diana1 c4 ,perhaps in these   
last he has carried his imitation of    
,andrea del ,sarto rather too far in the
 matter of draperies1 which are too     
profuse and studied4 ,indeed the whole  
works are overdone2 he was so anxious to
 rival his master that he forced his    
invention1 altering and labouring till  
all spontaneity was taken out of his    
work4 ,some of his frescoes were in the 
cloister of the ,certosa1 but they are  
not fair specimens of his best style1 as
 they were done when the ,florentine    
artists were smitten with the mania of  
imitating ,albrecht ,drer1 and in these 
he has entirely followed the harder     
manner of that artist without obtaining 

his strength4 ,the frescoes are all     
scenes from the ,life of ,christ1 and he
 spent several years over them2 after   
which he painted an altar-piece4        
,giovanni ,battista della ,palla        
commissioned him to paint a picture to  
be sent to the ,king of ,france1 and    
,pontormo returning wisely to his       
natural style1 painted one of his       
masterpieces1 the ,resurrection of      
,lazarus4 ,the ,pitti ,palace possesses 
a curious specimen of his work1 the     
#aa1jjj martyrs crucified in a wood in  
the persecution under the ,emperor      
,diocletian4  ,he rose to renown as a   
portrait painter1 but lost patronage in 
later year by his capricious behaviour1 
refusing to work except for whom and    
when he pleased4 ,in company with his   
favourite pupil1 ,bronzino1 he did the  
frescoes in the ,loggie of the ,medici  
villa at ,careggi2 one ,loggia was soon 
completed1 to the great delight of the  
,duke1 but ,jacopo shut himself up in   
the second and allowed no one to see    

what he was doing for five years2 when  
at length he uncovered the frescoes     
general disappointment was the result4  
,he pursued much the same line of       
conduct in the frescoes of the roof of  
the ,medici ,chapel in ,san ,lorenzo4   
,he kept the chapel closed with walls   
and planks for eleven years1 no one     
seeing his progress except some young   
men who removed one of the rosettes from
 the ceiling to peep in on him1 but he  
discovered their plan1 and closed the   
holes more assiduously than ever4 ,the  
composition is as confused as it is     
diffusive2 he tried to embody the whole 
teaching of the ,bible1 but becoming    
overwhelmed with the vastness of his    
subject1 fell short even of the         
excellence of his own previous works4   
,he died before this work was completed1
 of hydropsy1 and was buried in the     
,servite ,church4  ,,giorgio ,,vasari1  
better known as the chronicler of the   
works of other artists than for the     
excellence of his own1 was born at      

,arezzo1 #aeab--;died at ,florence1     
#aegd4 ,his father was a painter1 and   
the family was connected by ties of     
relationship with ,luca ,signorelli of  
,cortona4 ,among the many masters under 
whom he studied was ,andrea del ,sarto4 
,he did not remain long under his       
tuition1 having contrived to offend     
,lucrezia in some way4 ,he painted a    
great many frescoes at ,arezzo1 where he
 lived in his youth with his paternal   
uncle ,don ,antonio4 ,don ,miniato      
,pitti1 prior of the convent of ,monte  
,oliveti1 near ,siena1 next employed him
 to adorn the portico of his church4 ,he
 had the good fortune to attract the    
notice of ,cardinal ,ippolito de'       
,medici1 who took him to ,rome in his   
suite1 where he gained much advantage by
 the study of the works of the great    
masters there4 ,the ,medici family1     
especially ,andrea del ,sarto's patron1 
,ottaviano1 were his constant friends3  
and their palaces are profusely         
decorated by him4 ,the ,riccardi ,palace

 has a room with fresco scenes from the 
life of ,csar4 ,while painting these    
,duke ,alessandro gave him a salary of  
six crowns a month with a place at his  
table1 and board for his servant1 c4    
,the palace has several oil paintings by
 ,vasari1 amongst which are portraits of
 the ,duke and his sister4 ,after the   
death of ,duke ,alessandro and          
,ottaviano he wandered from city to     
city1 painting so energetically that    
there are few of the principal towns    
which do not possess some of his works1 
especially ,naples1 ,pisa1 ,bologna1 and
 ,arezzo4 ,the ,palazzo ,san ,giorgio of
 the ,farnese family1 in ,rome1 has a   
large hall richly frescoed by ,vasari1  
but the best of his works are to be seen
 on the walls of the great hall of the  
,palazzo ,vecchio in ,florence1 where he
 has illustrated the battles of the     
,florentines1 and in several other rooms
 of the same palace2 he having continued
 all the later years of his life in the 
service of ,duke ,cosimo1 by whom the   

palace was restored and decorated4 ,his 
works are too numerous and not          
sufficiently important to catalogue or  
describe1 his composition is overcrowded
 and wanting in perspective4 ,there is  
generally a superabundance of flesh2    
muscular limbs in all attitudes form a  
great part of his pictures1 but as the  
flesh tints he used were wanting in     
mellowness and shadow1 and have turned  
pink with age1 they compare             
disadvantageously with those of the more
 solid masters who preceded him4 ,after 
all1 ,vasari's name and fame rest       
principally on the labours of his pen1  
not those of his brush4 ,his ,lives of  
the ,painters1 although not a model of  
precision in facts or chronology1 is    
nevertheless the mine from which all    
subsequent art historians quarry to     
obtain their information4  ,one of the  
most valuable books of the day is       
probably the new edition of ,vasari with
 corrections and notes taken from the   
archives by ,signer ,gaetano ,milanesi4 

,,francesco ,,rossi1 ,,de' ,,salviati   
7born at ,florence1 #aeaj--;died at     
,borne1 #aefc7 was a great friend of    
,vasari2 his real name was ,rossi1 his  
father being a weaver of velvets1 but he
 obtained the name of ,salviati from    
being the protg of the ,cardinal of that
 name4 ,his first master was ,raffaello 
del ,brescia1 but in #aebi he1 with his 
friend ,nannoccio1 entered the school of
 ,andrea del ,sarto1 with whom they     
stayed during the siege4 ,becoming known
 by some paintings done for the friars  
of the ,badia1 ,cardinal ,salviati took 
him into his house1 gave him a stipend  
of four crowns a month1 and an apartment
 at the ,borgo ,vecchio1 he painting any
 works the ,cardinal wished4 ,francesco 
was not idle1 a great number of         
frescoes1 altar-pieces1 and portraits1  
c41 c41 testifying to his industry4 ,in 
his later years he was employed with his
 friend ,vasari in the ,palazzo         
,vecchio1 where he painted the frescoes 
in the smaller ,hall of ,audience4      

,these are principally scenes from the  
,life of ,camillus4 ,the story of the   
schoolmaster of ,falerii is very        
spirited1 and the ,triumph of ,camillus 
varied and pleasing in colouring4       
,although melancholy and suspicious1    
often making enemies and losing         
patronage by misunderstandings1 ,rossi  
and ,vasari were always faithful to     
their first boyish friendship1 often    
working together1 but never with any    
spirit of rivalry4 ,salviati's style was
 bold and spirited2 he was rich in      
invention1 but perhaps a little wild in 
the matter of draperies and bizarre     
costumes4 ,his colouring is more        
pleasing than that of ,vasari1 but is   
diffusive and wanting in depth4         
,,domenico ,,conti never became famous1 
but in spite of want of genius1 he was  
,andrea's favourite pupil4 ,all his     
master's designs and cartoons came into 
his possession at ,andrea's death1 but  
he was unfortunately robbed of them soon
 afterwards4 ,the inscription to ,andrea

 del ,sarto which once existed in the   
church of ,,ss4 ,annunziata was put up  
by ,conti4  ,,jacopo ,,del ,,conte      
7#aeaj-aeih71 who in ,vasari's time     
lived in ,rome1 is chiefly noted for his
 likenesses of several pontiffs and     
personages of the ,papal ,court4 ,there 
are a few altar-pieces by him in ,rome1 
and a ,deposition in the church of the  
,misericordia in ,florence1 but he was  
almost exclusively a portrait painter4  
,,andrea ,,sguazzella1 called           
,,nannoccio1 remained in ,france after  
having accompanied ,andrea del ,sarto   
thither4 ,cardinal ,tournon took him    
under his patronage1 and he painted a   
large number of works in the style of   
,andrea4  ,,jacopo1 called ,,jacone1 was
 another of ,andrea's favourite         
disciples4 ,his frescoes1 of which some 
existed till of late years on the faade 
of the ,palazzo ,buondelmonte1 in       
,florence1 were much in ,del ,sarto's   
manner4 ,he assisted his master in a    
great many of his works1 while of his   

independent paintings many were sent to 
,france2 no doubt some of these1 as well
 as ,sguazzella's1 figure under the     
master's name in that list of fifty     
works given by ,argenville4 ,he was too 
idle and fond of pleasure to rise to    
eminence1 though he did some good       
frescoes in the ,palazzo ,capponi at    
,florence1 and in the ,capponi ,villa at
 ,montici1 and assisted ,jacopo da      
,pontormo in the ,hall of the ,medici   
villa at ,careggi4 ,he died in #aeec1 in
 great poverty4  ,,pier ,,francesco ,,di
 ,,jacopo ,,di ,,sandro was said to have
 had some talent4 ,he and ,domenico     
,conti were employed among others in    
decorating the court of the ,palazzo    
,vecchio on the occasion of ,cosimo de' 
,medici's marriage with ,leonora di     
,toledo4 ,there are some altar-pieces of
 his in the church of ,santo ,spirito1  
,florence4  ,,solosmeo1 ,,raffaello1 and
 ,,bernardino ,,del ,,buda were three   
garzoni in ,andrea's studio4 ,they were 
employed in the subordinate work and    

manual labour1 but were not trained as  
artists4     ,,bibliography     #ahhf4  
,g4 ,,gruyer4 ,fra ,bartolommeo della   
,porta and ,m4 ,albertinelli4   #aijc4  
,f4 ,,knapp4 ,fra ,bartolommeo della    
,porta4   #aibb4 ,h4 ,,gablentz4 ,fra   
,bartolommeo4   #aijb4 ,m4 ,e4 ,,james4 
,fra ,bartolommeo4   #ahii4 ,h4         
,,guinness4 ,andrea del ,sarto4 7,the   
,great ,masters ,series47   #aije4      
,,masterpieces ,,of ,,andrea ,,del      
,,sarto4 7,gowan's ,art ,books47        
#aibh4 ,f4 ,,knapp4 ,andrea del ,sarto4 
#ahfd-ff4 ,,crowe ,,and ,,cavalcaselle4 
,a ,new ,history of ,painting in ,italy 
from the #bnd to the #afth ,century4    
,three ,volumes4