Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/125

Rh bronze, and stucco: still more to adorn the same, they next placed a tabernacle by the hand of Donatello in the centre of the chapel, when Perino executed a most beautiful canopy to be placed over it, and this he adorned with many stories from the Old Testament, in very small figures, all the stories being intended to prefigure the Sacrament. In the centre of the chapel there was besides, a story somewhat larger than those above named, and the subject of this work was the Last Supper of Christ with his Apostles; beneath the picture were two Prophets standing one on each side of the body of the Saviour.

The same artist painted a chapel in the church of San Giuseppo, which is near the Ripetta; he caused the work to be executed in fresco, by his disciples, that is to say, when Perino retouched it, and so finished it himself. He also had a chapel in the church of San Bartolommeo at Isola, painted in like manner after his designs, and that too he afterwards retouched. In San Salvadore del Lauro, certain stories were painted in like manner at the high altar, with numerous grottesche in the vaulting; there is besides, an Annunciation on the front of the church, but this last was executed by Girolamo Sermoneta, a disciple of Perino. Now herein Perino del Vaga pursued the practice adopted by Raffaello da Urbino, in the latter years of his life; but this was done by Perino, partly because his health would no longer permit him to endure the labour of painting, and partly because it had become troublesome to him to exert himself to that effect, and he preferred designing works to executing them: but that this mode of proceeding is injurious and blameable, may be sufficiently proved from the works commenced by Raphael for the Chigi, and which have been executed by other hands; we have further testimony to the same, moreover, in those which Perino caused to be performed in like manner. Nor have the paintings which Giulio Romano suffered to be produced by the same means, and did not execute with his own hand, redounded very greatly to his honour, and although this method enables the master to do pleasure to princes, by giving them up the works commanded, complete in a very