Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/26

6 chief altar-pieces and frescoes in the churches of Florence, of Pisa and Assisi, he describes the great Madonna which he painted for the chapel of the Rucellai family in Santa Maria Novella, and tells us how, in the ecstasy of their admiration, the people bore the picture in solemn procession, to the sound of trumpets, from the master's house to the church. "It is further reported," adds the biographer, "that while Cimabue was painting this picture, in a garden near the gate of San Pietro, King Charles of Anjou passed through Florence, and the magistrates conducted him to see the painting of Cimabue. When this work was shown to the king, it had not yet been seen by any one, so all the men and women in Florence hastened in crowds to see it with the greatest demonstrations of joy. And the inhabitants of the neighbourhood afterwards called the quarter Borgo Allegri, a name it has ever since retained, although in course of time it became enclosed within the city walls."

Since Charles of Anjou visited Florence in 1267, and the Rucellai Madonna was evidently painted at a later period of Cimabue's career, Vasari's tale, it is plain, must be accepted with reserve. Modern criticism, it must be owned, has dealt rudely with this master's fame. Seventy years ago Rumohr boldly pronounced Vasari's account of Cimabue to be the pure invention of Florentine municipal vanity, and Dr. Wickhoff has lately declared that it is doubtful whether a single painting by Cimabue is now in existence. None the less, a careful examination of the works which bear his name may enable us to form a clear and definite idea of the old Florentine's