Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/399

1564] by Aristotile di San Gallo, of a portion of the work at Holkham Hall, are all that remain of this famous composition which Cellini declares to have surpassed the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. The subject chosen by Michelangelo was an incident in the war with Pisa, when a troop of Florentine soldiers were surprised by the foe, while they were bathing in the Arno, and victoriously repulsed their assailants. The representation of these groups of men and youths, in every variety of attitude, some lying asleep on the ground, or climbing up the banks, and running to arms, while others are engaged in a hand-to-hand fight, was admirably suited to Michelangelo's genius, and the mastery with which he accomplished his task excited universal admiration among his contemporaries, and deepens the regret we must feel for this irreparable loss.

Two smaller paintings of this period have fortunately been preserved, and are the more precious, as being the only genuine works of the kind still in existence. One is the unfinished Deposition of the National Gallery, which formerly belonged to Cardinal Fesch, and was discovered fifty years ago in a dealer's shop in Rome. Several critics have disputed the authenticity of this fine study, but the grandeur of the design and fine modelling of the forms leave little room for doubt on the subject. The figure of one of the Maries on the right recalls Ghirlandajo's types, and reminds us that he was Michelangelo's first master, while the dead Christ bears a marked likeness to the marble Pietà in St. Peter's. The other picture of this period is the tondo of the Holy Family, which he painted in 1504, for his friend Angelo Doni. This wealthy but