Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/358

308 Among the best of his later works are the Miracles of St. Zenobius, in the Uffizi, and the graceful predella in the oratory of the Bigallo, containing a representation of the brothers of the Misericordia bearing a dead man to the grave, as well as several admirable portraits, which were formerly ascribed to Leonardo or Raphael. Ridolfo became an intimate friend of the last-named master, whom he met in Fra Bartolommeo's workshop, and who is said to have employed him to paint the blue drapery in his picture of "La Belle Jardinière." When Raphael went to Rome, he tried to induce his friend to accompany him, but Ridolfo declared that he loved his native city too well, and could not live out of sight of the Duomo. He married young, and his wife Contessina bore him no less than fifteen children, several of whom became merchants and settled in Ferrara, or went to France. This master was constantly employed by the Medici, to arrange the wedding festivities and funeral processions which had become so important a part of the artist's calling in these degenerate times. The decorations of the Pope's residence near S. Maria Novella and of the Medici Palace were entrusted to him at the visit of Leo X., and he lived to erect a triumphal arch for the entry of the Emperor Charles V., in 1336 [sic], and to superintend the rejoicings at the wedding of Duke Cosimo I. In these latter years he became court-painter and architect to the ducal house, and was honoured with the title of Master of the Cathedral. An immense number of assistants were always employed in his shop, and, in spite of his large family, he was one of the wealthiest and most prosperous artists of the