Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 1.djvu/306

292 Rule of St. Francis by Pope Honorius, with the martyrdom of certain friars belonging to that order, who had gone to preach the faith to the Saracens. The arches and ceiling he decorated with portraits from the life of certain French kings, devout brethren of the order of St. Francis; with many learned men of the same order, and others distinguished by the dignity of their station as bishops, cardinals, and popes; among whom, on two medallions on the ceiling, are the portraits, taken from nature, of the popes Nicholas IV and Alexander V. Now, as regards these figures, although Lorenzo robed them all in garments of grey, yet he found means to vary them so admirably, by the great practice which he had attained in his art, that all are nevertheless different; some have a tinge of red, others of blue, some are of darker, others of brighter hue, all in brief are of varied tints, and merit the consideration of the observer. We find it further related, that Lorenzo executed this work with surprising readiness and facility. One day the intendant, who supplied him with his food, sent to tell him that dinner was ready exactly at the moment when he had prepared the intonaco for a figure, and had just commenced it—“Pour out the soup”, replied the artist, “I’ll finish this figure, and be with you instantly.” It has therefore not been without good reason, that Lorenzo is said to have displayed a rapidity of execution, an extent of practice in the handling of his materials, and a decision in his treatment of subjects, which have never been surpassed by any master. The tabernacle in fresco, which stands at the corner of the convent, belonging to the nuns of Foligno, is also by the hand of Lorenzo, as are the Madonna and different saints which are over the door of the church attached to the same convent: among these figures is that of St. Francis espousing Poverty. In the church of the monks of Camaldoli,in Florence, he also painted various stories representing the martyrdom of different saints, a work which he executed for the Brotherhood of the Martyrs; he likewise decorated two chapels in the same church, one on each side of the