Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 2.djvu/513

Rh has carefully preserved all the remains of art bequeathed to him by his forerunners, and holds them in the utmost veneration. Many works in sculpture and architecture have been executed by him in Florence and other places; among them is the Madonna now in the church of Orsanmichele. The Virgin has the Divine Child on her arm, which is resting in the lap of Sant’ Anna; all the figures are in full relief, and the group, which is formed from one piece of marble, is considered a fine work. The sepulchral monument which Pope Clement caused to be constructed at Monte Cassino, to the memory of Piero de Medici, is also by this sculptor, as are other works, of which I do not make further mention, because Francesco is still living. After the death of Giuliano, his brother Antonio, who was not willing to remain wholly inactive, executed two large Crucifixes in wood, one of which was sent to Spain, and the other, by command of the vice-chancellor. Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, was taken by Domenico Buoninsegni into France. At a later period the building of the fortress of Leghorn having been determined on, Antonio was sent to that city by the Cardinal de’ Medici, with a commission to prepare designs for the structure, which the latter effected accordingly; but the work was not executed to the extent proposed by Antonio, nor was it constructed entirely after the designs he had prepared.

Many miracles having been performed by an image of Our Lady in possession of the inhabitants of Montepulciano, these last resolved to erect a church to her honour at very great cost, Antonio was consequently instructed to prepare the model, and became the superintendent of the building; lie therefore repaired to Montepulciano twice in the year, for the purpose of inspecting the progress of that fabric, which