Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 3.djvu/187

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giovanni francesco penni, called il fattore.
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different parts of Rome, some wholly by himself, and some in company with other artists.

But eventually occurred the death of Raphael, when Pellegrino returned to Modena, where he executed numerous works. Among these is one for a Confraternity of Battuti; a picture in oil namely, representing the Baptism of Christ by St. John; he likewise painted another picture for the church of the Servites, and herein he represented S.S. Cosimo and Damiano, with other figures.

At a later period of his life, Pellegrino took a wife[1] and had a son, but the latter was the cause of his death, and that happened on this wise. The youth, falling into strife with one of his companions, young Modanese like himself, killed one of them,[2] and this being told to the father, he was about to take measures for securing the flight of his son, to the end that he might not fall into the hands of justice. Setting off for this purpose accordingly, he had not got far from his own house, before he was met by the kinsmen of the slain youth, who were proceeding to seek the homicide. Thus encountering Pellegrino, who had not time to flee, and enraged that they could not discover his son, these men inflicted so many wounds on the former, that they left him dead on the earth.[3]

This event caused great regret to the people of Modena, who knew well that by the death of Pellegrino they had been deprived of a truly excellent and noble genius. Among the contemporaries of this master, was the Milanese Guadenzio, a clever, bold, and good painter, who worked with great rapidity, and executed numerous works in Milan, more particularly a very beautiful fresco of the Last Supper, which

  1. This he must have done before proceeding to Rome, as appears horn the following note.
  2. According to Vedriani, Vite de Pittori Modanesi^ and Ancellotti, Cronaca, &c., this must have taken place in December, 1525. The death of Raphael occurred in 1520, the marriage of Pellegrino must consequently have preceded his visit to Rome, which terminated with the death of Raphael.
  3. The following epitaph was written to his memory:—>

    Exegi monumenta duo: longinqua vetustas
    Quae monumenta duo nulla abolere potest.
    Nam quod servavi natum per vulnera, nomen
    Praeclarum vivet tempus in omne meum.
    Fama etiam volitat totum vulgata per orbem
    Primas picturm ferme mihi deditas