Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/464

456 more readiness of hand than care and thought, the General complained of that circumstance, when II Mattaccio replied, that he worked according to his humour, and that his pencil only danced in harmony with the sound of the coins, adding, that if the General would pay more, he was quite able to produce much better work. Thereupon Fra Domenico promised to pay him better for the future, when Giovan-Antonio painted three stories wdiich still remained to be executed in the angles, with so much more of thought and care than he had given to the others, that they proved to be much better works.

In the first of these pictures is seen San Benedetto departing from Norica, and leaving his parents to go and pursue his studies in Rome; in the second are San Mauro and San Placido brought to him as children, and dedicated by their parents to God: the third picture represents the Goths burning Monte Casino. Last of all, and to do despite to the General and those monks, Giovan-Antonio depicted the story of the Priest Fiorenzo, the enemy of San Benedetto, who brought a number of public dancing women to sing and frolic around the monastery of that holy man, thereby to tempt and disturb the devotions of those fathers. In this story II Mattaccio, who was as eccentric in painting as in the other actions of his life, exhibited a dance of nude figures, which was altogether offensive, and, as he knew that this would not be permitted, he refused to let any of the monks see his work while it was in progress. When this story was uncovered, the General at once commanded that it should be instantly destroyed and done away with, but Mattaccio, after much idle talk, and seeing that the father was in great anger, added draperies to all the figures in the picture, which is among the best of those to be found in the Monte Oliveto.

Under each of the stories above-mentioned, the same artist painted two medallions, in each of which is a Monk, the whole range presenting figures of all the Generals by whom that Congregation had been governed. Not having the portraits from the life, II Mattaccio executed most of