point of sinking ; men are casting the cargo overboard, and among these is the portrait of Puccio himself, drawn from nature. The same artist painted many pictures after the death of Giotto, at Assisi, in the church of St. Francis. In Florence also, in the church of the Holy Trinity, which stands beside the gate near the river, he painted the chapel of the Strozzi in fresco: the subjects are the Coronation of the Virgin, with a choir of angels, executed much in the manner of Giotto, with passages from the life of Santa Lucia, very well done.[1] In the abbey of Florence, Capanna painted the chapel of St. John the Evangelist, near the sacristy, and belonging to the family of the Covoni. In Pistoja, he painted in fresco the principal chapel of the church of San Francesco, and the chapel of San Lodovico ; the subjects being stories from the lives of those saints, which are tolerably good.[2] In the midst of the church of San Dominico, in the same city, is a Crucifixion, a Madonna, and a San Giovanni, painted with much sweetness. At the feet of these figures is an entire skeleton, from which it may be perceived that Puccio sought to discover the first principles of art, a thing very unusual in those times. On this work the name of the artist, written by his own hand, may be read as follows: “Puccio di Fiorenza me fece.” Three half figures in the same church are also by this painter. They are in the arch over the door of Santa Maria Nuova,[3] and represent the Virgin holding the child, with St. Peter on one side and St. Francis on the other. In the city of Assisi, moreover, and in the lower church of San Francesco, Capanna painted the Passion of our Lord in fresco, in a bold and masterly manner. In a chapel of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli he also painted a fresco of Christ in glory, with the Virgin offering up her prayers to him for the whole Christian community. This work, which is a tolerably good one, has been blackened by the smoke of the lamps and wax candles which are constantly burning before it in great
- ↑ The pictures painted by Capanna, in Assisi, are in good preservation, but those in the chapel of the Strozzi are lost.
- ↑ The pictures in San Francesco were whitewashed, with the exception of a Santa Maria Egyptiaca, which is still in one of the presses of the church. Those of San Lodovico, are still well preserved.
- ↑ Or rather over the door of San Francesco.
