Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 3.djvu/103

Rh what is demanded by a perfect figure, as with the determination to make his works resemble those for whom they are intended; but when the portrait, in addition to being a faithful resemblance, is beautiful also, then such works deserve to be called extraordinary, and.the masters who execute them merit the reputation of excellence. But beside these portraits, Antonio painted many other pictures in Florence, whereof, for the sake of brevity, I will not mention more than two. One of these is in the Church of San Jacopo-tra-fossi, at the corner of the Alberti, and here the master has depicted a crucifix, with Santa Maria Maddalena and San Francesco. The other is in the Church of the Nunziata, and the subject is San Michele weighing the souls of the Dead. The second of the two disciples above alluded to, was Domenico Puligo, who of all we have mentioned above, was most excellent in design and most graceful in colouring. This artist early perceived that his works exhibited a higher degree of relief and increased beauty from the avoidance of all crudity, wherefore, painting with softness, and eschewing all harsh or over-bright colours, he caused his distances to recede by very gentle degrees, and imparted to them the appearance of being half veiled by a sort of mistiness, giving much grace to his pictures; and although the contours of his figures are so slightly defined that they are in a manner obliterated, concealing many defects thereby, the figures being partly lost and indistinct on the ground of the picture; yet, his colouring being very beautiful, and the heads having an exquisite expression, the works of this artist give very great pleasure. He consequently always maintained the same manner, and invariably pursued that mode of treatment, which caused him to be held in estimation during the whole of his life.

I leave out of the account all the pictures and portraits executed by Domenico Puligo while he remained in the