Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 2.djvu/488

480 his youth, and conscious of the great difference between his later performances and the works so admirably executed in his earlier day.

Thus becoming old, he constantly declined more and more, departing to such an extent from the excellence of his first manner, that the works he produced no longer seemed to be by his own hand: daily forgetting somewhat of his art, he descended at length to painting, not the ordinary frescoes and oil paintings of his profession only, but all sorts of things, even the meanest. In this state of his circumstances, every effort became a burden to him, and all things gave him pain; he was overwhelmed by his large family of children, all his distinction in art finally disappeared, and his practice beame debased to coarseness. Bowed down by infirmities, and sunk into the extreme of poverty, EafPaellino del Garbo miserably finished his life at the age of fifty, when he was buried by the brotherhood of the Misericordia at San Simone in the city of Florence: this happened in the year 1524.

Raffaellino left many disciples who were able artists; among them the Florentine painter Bronzino, who had in his childliood acquired the first principles of the art under his care, and afterwards continued his studies under Jacopo da Pontormo, acquitting himself so well that he produced works equal to those of Jacopo his master.

The portrait of Eaffaellino is taken from a design which was in the possession of Bastia.no da Monte Carlo, who was also his disciple, and was a clever, experienced master, considering that he had but little knowledge of design.

Great is the force of angry disappointment in the spirit of him who, striving with sensitive pride to obtain the