loggie of this house were in like manner decorated by these masters with very small arabesques of various kinds, and which are esteemed divinely beautiful. All that they touched, in short, in this manner, was completed with a grace and beauty, which can only be justly expressed by declaring them to be of absolute perfection, insomuch that if I were to name all the works of merit performed by them, I should make an entire book of these two masters alone, seeing that there is scarcely a palace, villa, garden, or apartment in Rome, which does not boast of some fine work by Polidoro and Maturino.
But now, while the city was rejoicing over and embellishing herself with their labours, and that the masters were hoping for the due reward of all their pains, envy and their evil destiny sent Bourbon to Rome; this happened in the year 1527, when the whole place was given over to sack and plunder. Then was divided the companionship not of Polidoro and Maturino only, but of many thousands besides: friends and relations who for so many years had there eaten their bread together. Maturino at once took to flight, but no long time had elapsed, as it is believed in Rome, before he died, first being worn out by the sufferings he had endured during the siege and in the sack of the city, and then beingattacked by the pestilence, which ended his life, and he was buried at Sant’ Eustachio.
Polidoro took the road to Naples and reached that city in safety, but the gentry of that place having but little interest in the excellent works of art, and being but slightly curious in matters of painting, he was on the point of dying of hunger in that town of theirs:[1] at length he did obtain employment from certain painters, when he executed a figure of San Pietro in the principal chapel of Santa Maria della Grazia, giving his aid to those painters in many other things also, but more to obtain the means of life than from any other
- ↑ Lanzi denies that Polidoro was in danger of starvation at Naples, affirming that he was there received into the house of Andrea di Salerno, who had previously been his fellow disciple, “by whom he was made known to that city, where he performed works not a few before proceeding to Sicily.” See History of Painting, Neapolitan School, epoch 2, vol. ii., p. 19. There are, nevertheless, but few of his works to be found in Naples; the best of them is an Altar-piece in St. Elmo.
