Bologna. This Pace was a man of considerable talent, more particularly in the execution of small figures, as may be seen to this day in the church of San Francesco at Forli, where there is a picture in distemper, with four small historical scenes from the life of Our Lady, which are all extremely well done. He is also said to have painted certain frescoes in the chapel of St. Antonio in Assisi ; the subjects are taken from the life of that saint, and they were executed for a duke of Spoleto, who lies buried in that place, together with his son, both having been slain in battle in one of the suburbs of Assisi, as may be seen from a long inscription on the sarcophagus of their sepulchre.[1] In the old Book of the Company of Painters, there is another scholar of Giotto, designated as Francesco di Maestro Giotto, but of whom I know nothing more.
Guglielmo of Forli was also a pupil of Giotto ; and among many other works, he painted the chapel of the high altar in the church of St. Dominick, in his native city. Pietro Laureati and Simon Memmi, of Siena, Stefano, a Florentine, and Pietro Cavallini a Roman, were in like manner disciples of the same master ; but as these painters will be sufficiently discussed when we treat of the life of each, it shall suffice here to say that they were the scholars of Giotto. That Giotto drew extremely well for his day, may be proved from the various sketches on vellum, some in water-colour, others in ink, and in chiaro oscuro, with the lights in clear white, which are collected into our book of drawings before alluded to, and which are a veritable wonder, when compared with the drawings of the masters who preceded him.
Giotto, as we have said before, was of an exceedingly jocund humour, and abounded in witty and humorous remarks, which are still well remembered in Florence.[2] Examples of these may be found, not only in the writings of Messer Giovanni Boccaccio, but also in the three hundred stories of Franco Sacchetti, who cites many amusing instances of his talent in this way. And here I will not refuse the labour of transcribing some of these stories, giving them in Franco’s
