Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 2.djvu/242

234 great, to say nothing of the angels mingled with the others figures, or of the various foreshortenings, all which are designed in a very good manner. About this time Sandro received a commission to paint a small picture with figures three parts of a braccio high, the subject an Adoration of the Magi; the work was placed between the two doors of the principal fagade of Santa Maria Novella, and is on the left as you enter by the central door. In the face of the oldest of the kings, the one who first approaches, there is the most lively expression of tenderness as he kisses the foot of the Saviour, and a look of satisfaction also at having attained the purpose for which he had undertaken his long journey. This figure is the portrait of Cosimo de’ Medici, the most faithful and animated likeness of all now known to exist of him. The second of the kings is the portrait of Giuliano de’ Medici, father of Pope Clement YIL; and he offers adoration to the divine Child, presenting his gift at the same time, with an expression of the most devout sincerity. The third, who is likewise kneeling, seems to be offering thanksgiving as well as adoration, and to confess that Christ is indeed the true Messiah: this is the likeness of Giovanni, the son of Cosimo. The beauty which Sandro has imparted to these heads cannot be adequately described, and all the figures in the work are represented in different attitudes: of some one sees the full face, of others the profile, some are turning the head almost entirely from the spectator, others are bent down; and to all, the artist has given an appropriate and varied expression, whether old or young, exhibiting numerous peculiarities also, which prove the mastery that he possessed over his art. He has even distinguished the followers of each king in such a manner that it is easy to see which belongs to one court and which to another; it is indeed a most admirable work: the composition, the design, and the colouring are so beautiful that every artist who examines it is astonished, and at the time, it obtained