Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 3.djvu/436

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lives of the artists.

depicting a figure of the Madonna on the inside of one and San Giovanni Evangelista on that of the other; both are of the size of life, they are weeping, and their sorrowful countenances are very beautiful, as are the draperies and every other part of the work.

In the same chapel, and on the lower part of the central or principal wall, Francesco painted the Miracle performed by Our Saviour, with the five loaves and two fishes, where- •with he satisfies the multitude. We have here many beautiful figures and numerous portraits from the life, but that which is most of all commended is the figure of San Giovanni Evangelista, a slight form with the back partially turned to the spectator. In the same place he shortly afterwards produced two figures whmh he depicted on the void spaces beside the picture above-named; these are the Bishop San Ludovico, who was a Franciscan Monk, and another figure: within a concave compartment of the same ceiling Francesco also painted certain heads which are foreshortened: all these works are greatly extolled by the artists of Verona. For the altar of the Cross, which is one of those in the same church, and stands between the chapel just mentioned and that of the Medici, our artist painted a picture in addition to the many previously placed there; this stands in the centre above all the others, and represents our Saviour Christ on the Cross, with the Madonna and San Giovanni, a very beautiful thing:[1] he likewise painted another picture on the left side of the altar. Our Lord, who is washing the feet of the apostles namely; these last stand around in various attitudes, and in this work the painter is said to have portrayed himself in the figure of one who is attending on the Saviour, and is in the act of bearing water for his use; the picture is placed over that executed in the same place by Caroto.[2]

For the chapel of the Emilj in the cathedral, Francesco painted figures of San Jacopo and San Giovanni, with Our Saviour Christ bearing his Cross,[3] between them. The same master painted many pictures at Lonico, for an abbey

  1. Still in existence, and bears the date 1498.
  2. This also still remains, but is attributed in a subsequent passage to Paolo Cavazzuola.
  3. A Transfiguration, painted by Giovanni Bettino Cignaroli was afterwards substituted for that of Christ bearing his Cross.— Masselli.