Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 2.djvu/217

Rh latter complained that their escutcheon could not be seen, yet they were declared to be in the wrong, for since the Tornabuoni had caused it to be placed in a position so honourable as the immediate vicinity of the most Holy Sacrament, they ought to be content; it was therefore decided by the magistrates that so it should remain, as we see it to this day. And now if any man think this relation foreign to the life that I am writing, let not this disturb his quiet, for it chanced to present itself at the point of my pen, and if it be to no other purpose, will serve to show in what manner poverty becomes the prey of riches, and how riches, when accompanied by prudence, may attain without censure to the end desired by those who possess them.

But to return to the beautiful works of Domenico. In the ceiling of this chapel he first painted colossal figures of the four Evangelists, and on the wall wherein is the window, he depicted stories representing San Domenico, San Pietro the Martyr, and San Giovanni, proceeding into the Wilderness, with Our Lady receiving the annunciation from the Angel: over the window are certain Saints (the patrons of Florence) on their knees, and beneath is the portrait of Giovanni Tornabuoni on the right hand, with that of his wife on the left, both said to be exact likenesses. On the wall to the right hand are seven stories in an equal number of compartments, six beneath, which occupy the entire width of the wall, and one above, which has the width of two of those below, and is enclosed by the vaulted ceiling. On the opposite wall are also seven stories, representing events in the life of St. John the Baptist.

The first picture, on the wall to the right, exhibits Giovacchino driven from the Temple; the patience with which he suffers is expressed in his countenance, while in the faces of the Jews, the contempt and hatred which they feel