Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Piero di Cosimo

by Giorgio Vasari

 

LIFE OF THE FLORENTINE PAINTER, PIERO DI COSIMO.

[born 1441. — died 1521.]

While Giorgione and Correggio were gaining honour for Lombardy, to their own great praise and glory, Tuscany on her part was not wanting in men of genius. Among these, not the most unimportant was Piero, son of a certain Lorenzo, who was a goldsmith, and godson of Cosimo Rosselli, after whom he was always called Piero di Cosimo,^[1] nor was he ever known by any other name. And in truth, he to whom we are indebted for instruction, is no less entitled to our gratitude than he who has given us life, and merits indeed to be considered the true father, for the person to whom we owe the better part of our being is no less to be regarded than he from whom we simply derive existence. The father of Piero, perceiving a lively genius, and a strong inclination to the art of design in his son, entrusted him to the care of Cosimo Rosselli, who accepted the charge more than willingly, and seeing him make progress beyond most of the other disciples whom he had under his care, he bore to him

the love of a father, and as his acquirements in art increased with his years, he constantly treated him as such.

Piero had received from nature a mind of considerable elevation, he was of a peculiar and thoughtful character, possessing more varied powers of fancy than were exhibited by any of the students who were labouring to acquire their art in the work-rooms of Cosimo Rosselli, at the same time with himself. He was not unfrequently so profoundly absorbed in whatever might be the matter in hand, that if any conversation was going forward—as frequently happens —it was necessary to recommence the whole narration for him as soon as it was brought to an end, so completely had his attention been abstracted in another direction. He was a great lover of solitude, and knew no greater pleasure than that of getting away by himself to indulge without interruption in his own cogitations, and to build up his castles in the air. His master, Cosimo, found ample justification for the confidence which he reposed in him, and availed himself to a great extent of his aid; nay, he not unfrequently entrusted works of the utmost importance to Piero, knowing well that his disciple had a better manner as well as more judgment than himself. It was for this reason that he took Piero with him to Pome, when he was himself summoned thither by Pope Sixtus, to execute the historical paintings for the chapel, and in one of these Piero executed a very beautiful landscape, as we have related in the life of Cosimo.^[2]

Piero painted exceedingly well from the life, and was for this reason employed while in Rome, to take the portraits of many distinguished persons, more particularly those of Virginio Orsino, and of Ruberto Sanseverino, which he placed in the historical paintings mentioned above. He afterwmrds took the likeness of the Duke Valentino, son of the Pope Alexander VI.; this painting, according to the best of my belief, is not now to be found, but the cartoon executed by his hand is still in existence,^[3] being in possession of the venerable and excellent Messer Cosimo Bartoli, Provost of San Giovanni. In Florence, this master executed numerous pictures for different citizens, which are dispersed among the dwellings of those persons: I have myself seen many there, some of which are very good: he also undertook many commissions of various kinds in other places; among these is a picture in oil, for the Noviciate of San Marco;^[4] the subject of which is Our Lady, standing, with the Child in her arms, with another for the church of Santo Spirito in Florence. This last is in the chapel of the Gino Capponi family, the subject being the Visitation of Our Lady, who is accompanied by San Niccolo and Sant’ Antonio,^[5] the latter reading, with spectacles on his nose, a figure of great animation. In the same work our artist painted a book bound in parchment; it has the aspect of age, as having been much used, and is more like a real book than a mere painting, as are certain balls which he has given to St. Nicholas,^[6] for these, being exceedingly shining and lustrous, reflect the light one upon another, proving the singularity of the conceits affected by this artist, and the pleasure he experienced in investigating the difiSculties of art. The peculiarities of Piero’s character became more strikingly manifest after the death of Cosimo, seeing that he thenceforward kept himself constantly shut up, he would not permit any one to see him work, but lived the life of a wild beast rather than that of a man. He would never suffer his rooms to be swept, and would eat just at such moments as he felt hungry, he would not have the soil of his garden cultivated, or the fruit-trees pruned, but suffered the vines to grow wild, and permitted their shoots to extend over the paths, neither would he have the fig or other trees properly trained and attended to, preferring to see all things wild and savage about him, as he was himself, and he used to say that every thing of that kind was better left to Nature, to be tended by herself alone without further consideration. He would sometimes set himself to seek animals, plants, or other productions out of the common order, such as Nature will sometimes bring forth either hj chance or from caprice. In these things he took indescribable pleasure, insomuch that they transported him out of himself, and he would describe them so frequently, that even to persons who could take pleasure in such narratives, the relation at length became tedious and troublesome. He would sometimes stand beside a wall, against which various impurities were cast, and from these he would image fortli the most singular scenes, combats of horses, strangely ordered cities, and the most extraordinary landscapes that ever were seen; he did the same thing with the clouds of the sky also.

Piero devoted much attention to oil-painting, having seen certain works by Leonardo da Vinci, painted with the harmony and finished with the extraordinary care, which that master was accustomed to bestow on his paintings, when he intended to show the power of his art. Piero therefore, being much pleased with that manner, desired to imitate it, although he was very far from approaching Leonardo, and was entirely unlike him; his manner was indeed altogether different from that of most other artists, in its extravagance or peculiarities; nay, he may even be said to have changed it and adopted a new one, for every new work that he executed.^[7]

Had Piero di Cosimo been less eccentric, had he imposed a more careful restraint on himself, during the course of his long life, the extent of that genius which he certainly possessed would have been made more clearly manifest, he might indeed have rendered himself truly admirable, whereas, by the absurdity and extravagance of his life he caused himself to be considered a mere fool. In the end, however, he did no harm to any one but himself, while his works have been very beneficial to the art. Yet, from his example, men of exalted genius and able artists, may nevertheless learn that life should not be passed through, without having an eye to the end.

I will not omit to mention that in his youth, Piero di Cosimo, being extremely fanciful and abounding in the most singular inventions, was perpetually called upon to give aid in those maskings which are customary during the Carnival: when he rendered himself highly acceptable to the young nobles of Florence, by the various improvements which he effected in the decorations required, and by the great increase of pomp and variety which his inventions imparted to that kind of amusement. Piero is said to have been the first who gave the character of a triumphal procession to these maskings, or who at least ameliorated them to such a degree that he may be said to have perfected them: for not only did he add appropriate words and music to the representation of the events chosen as the subject, but he also caused the procession to be accompanied by large trains, consisting of men on foot and on horseback in vast numbers; these were all clothed in magnificent habits, selected with much judgment and carefully adapted to the character supported by the wearer. The effect of this was exceedingly rich and beautiful, and had altogether something very ingenious in its varied details; nor was the show without a certain grandeur in its character which was certainly imposing. To see at night, by the light of innumerable torches, twenty-five or thirty pairs of horses richly caparisoned, with their riders splendidly arrayed, according to the subject represented, was without doubt an attractive and beautiful spectacle. Six or eight attendants, also on horseback, accompanied each cavalier, all clothed in the same livery and each bearing a torch in his hand; of these there were sometimes above four hundred: next followed the triumphal chariot, elaborately decorated with trophies and fanciful ornaments of various kinds, a thing which was not without its utility, in sharpening the wits of the contrivers, while it gave infinite pleasure and delight to the people.

Among these spectacles, which were numerous as well as ingeniously arranged, I am inclined briefly to describe one, which was, for the most part, invented by Piero, when he had already attained to mature age; this show was not of a pleasing or attractive character, but, on the contrary, was altogether strange, terrible, and unexpected: it gave no small pleasure to the people nevertheless, for as in their food they sometimes prefer the sharp and bitter savours, so in their pastimes are they attracted by things horrible; and these, provided they be presented to us with art and judgment, do indeed most wonderfully delight the human heart, a truth which is made apparent from the pleasure with which we listen to the recitation of tragedy. The spectacle here alluded to was the Triumph of Death; the car was prepared in the Hall of the Pope by Piero himself, and with so much secrecy, that no breath or suspicion of his purpose got abroad, and the completed work was made known and given to view at one and the same moment.^[8] The triumphal Car was covered with black cloth, and was of vast size, it had skeletons and white crosses painted upon its surface, and was drawn by butfaloes, all of which were totally black: within the Car stood the colossal figure of Death, bearing the scythe in his hand, while around him were covered tombs, which opened at all the places where the procession halted, while those who formed it chanted lugubrious songs, when certain figures stole forth, clothed in black cloth, on these vestments the bones of a skeleton were depicted in white; the arms, breast, ribs, and legs, namely, all which gleamed horribly forth on the black beneath. At a certain distance appeared figures bearing torches, and wearing masks, presenting the face of a death’s head, both before and behind; these heads of death, as well as the skeleton neck beneath them, also exhibited to view, were not only painted with the utmost fidelity to nature, but had besides a frightful expression which was horrible to behold. At the sound of a wailing summons, sent forth with a hollow moan from trumpets of muffled yet inexorable tones, the figures of the dead raised themselves half out of their tombs, and seating their skeleton forms thereon, they sang the following words, now so much extolled and admired, to music of the most plaintive and melancholy character:—

Dolor, pianto, e penetenzia, &c.

Before and after the Car rode a train of the dead on horses, carefully selected from the most wretched and meagre animals that could be found, the caparisons of these worn, half-dying creatures were black, covered with white crosses; each was conducted by four attendants, clothed in the vestments of the grave; these last-mentioned figures, bearing black torches and a large black standard, covered with crosses, bones, and death’s heads. While this train of the dead proceeded on its way, each sang, with a trembling voice, and all in dismal unison, that psalm of David called the Miserere.

The novelty and the terrible character of this singular spectacle, filled the whole city, as I have before said, with a mingled sensation of terror and admiration, and although at the first sight it did not seem well calculated for a Carnival show, yet being new, and within the reach of every man’s comprehension, it obtained the highest encomium for Piero as the author and contriver of the whole, and was the cause as well as commencement of numerous representations, so ingenious and effective, that by these things Florence, acquired a reputation for the conduct of such subjects and the arrangement of similar spectacles, such as was never equalled by any other city. The old people who still remain, of those by whom the procession above described was witnessed, retain the most lively recollection of the scene, and are never weary of extolling the extraordinary spectacle presented by it. I remember to have heard Andrea di Cosimo, who assisted Pietro in the preparation of the show, and Andrea del Sarto, who was Piero’s disciple and also took part in it, affirm that this invention was intended, as was believed at the time, to signify and prefigure the return to Florence of the Medici family, for at the time when this triumph was exhibited, the Medici were exiles, and so to speak dead, but dead that might be expected soon to arise again, in which sense were interpreted certain words of the verses sung on that occasion, and which are as follow:—

Morti siam, come vedete.
Cost morti vedrem voi:
Fummo già come voi siete,
Voi sarete come noi, ec.^[9]

whereby they desired to intimate their own return, as a

kind of resurrection from death to life, with the expulsion and abasement of their enemies and rivals; or it may have been that this signification was attributed to the words, from the fact of that illustrious house having returned from exile about that period, seeing that the human intellect is much given to apply words spoken previously to actions succeeding them, as if the one were the effect of the other; be this as it may, certain it is, that such was the opinion prevailing at the time, and it is spoken of even yet.

But we will now return to the art and works of Piero. He received a commission to paint a picture for the chapel of the Tebaldi family, in the church of the Servite Monks, who therein preserve the vestments, and a cushion or pillow, used by San Filippo, who was a brother of their order. The subject of this work is Our Lady, standing on a slight elevation; she has a book in her hand, but is not accompanied by the divine Child; she turns her head towards the heavens, and above her is seen the Holy Spirit, by whose light she is illuminated;^[10] nor has the artist permitted any other light, except that proceeding from the dove, to appear in the picture, yet this illumines, not only herself, but the figures which surround her; these are Santa Margherita and Santa Caterina, who are kneeling in adoration before the Virgin, with San Giovanni Evangelista, San Filippo, the Servite Monk; and Sant’ Antonino, Archbishop of Florence who are standing in fixed contemplation of the Madonna. Piero likewise added a landscape of very fanciful character, whether as regards the singular looking trees he has placed in it, or the caves and grottoes which also form a portion thereof. PTere are, of a truth, many beautiful parts in this work, as for example, certain heads, which have much grace, while they likewise evince considerable power of design; the colouring also has great merit, for Piero was certainly well acquainted with the true method of painting in oil. On the predella of this work he executed small historical representations, which are extremely well done, among others that of Santa Margherita escaping from the stomach of the dragon:^[11] in this monster indeed, and in the fantastic deformity imparted to it, he has displayed a degree of invention which could not, I think, be surpassed; venom is darting from its eyes, fire and death are in its aspect, the creature is indeed most frightful;^[12] nor do I believe that any master could produce more extraordinary etfects than Piero di Cosimo in that manner, or could indeed imagine any thing equal to them; of this we have proof in a marine monster, executed by Cosimo and which he presented to tte illustrious Giuliano de’ Medici: the deformity of this animal is something so extravagant, so fantastic, and so unearthly, that I cannot believe any thing so hideous and repulsive could possibly be found in nature. This monster is now in the Guardaroba of the Duke Cosimo de’ Medici, as is also a book, filled with animals of divers kinds, by the hand of Piero, some exceedingly singular, others remarkably beautiful, and all executed very carefully with the pen, being finished with inconceivable patience: this book was presented to the Duke;^[13] by Messer Cosimo Bartoli, provost of San Giovanni, a most trustworthy friend of my own, and the well-wisher of all artists, being, as he is, one who has ever delighted, and still does delight, in these our noble arts.

Around a chamber, in the house of Francesco del Puliese, Piero painted historical events in a similar manner, the figures being small. In this work also the artist has exhibited a singular variety of those fantastic objects which he so greatly delighted in painting; the buildings, the animals, the vestments, the instruments, all are of the most fanciful and varied character, he depicted whatever came into his head in short, the whole representation being entirely fabulous. After the death of Francesco del Pugliese and his sons, these paintings were removed, nor do I know what became of them. A similar fate has befallen a picture of Mars and Venus, with Cupids and Vulcan, a work exhibiting evidence of consummate art, and finished with wonderful patience.

From Filippo Strozzi the elder, Piero di Cosimo received a commission to paint a picture with small figures, the subject being Perseus delivering Andromeda from the monster. This work, in which there are many fine qualities, is now in the palace of the Signor Sforza Almeni,^[14] first Chamberlain to the Duke Cosimo; it was presented to him by Messer Giovanni Battista, son of Lorenzo Strozzi, to whom his delight in works of painting and sculpture was well known; and very highly is it estimated by the Signor Sforza, nor without reason, since it is one of the best and most agreeable pictures ever executed by Piero di Cosimo; a more singular and fanciful specimen of a sea-monster could not easily be conceived, than that which Piero has here imagined and depicted, the attitude of Perseus is fierce and menacing, as lifting his sword in the air he is preparing to destroy the monster. Andromeda is seen bound, and trembling between hope and fear; her countenance, finely expressing these emotions, is very beautiful. In the foreground are numerous figures clothed in strange habiliments, and singing to the sound of various instruments; some of the heads of these figures, smiling in joy at the deliverance of Andromeda, are divinely beautiful; the landscape also is very fine, the colouring being exceedingly soft and graceful, every tint blended with the most perfect harmony; the whole work is, in short, executed with exceeding care.

This master likewise painted a picture wherein there is a nude Venus, with a Mars also nude, the latter lying asleep in a meadow enamelled with flowers; hovering around them are troops of Loves, who carry off the helmet, armlets, and other portions of the armour of Mars; a grove of myrtles forms part of the landscape, and here there is a Cupid, alarmed at the sight of a rabbit: the doves of Venus are also depicted, wdth other attributes and emblems of Love. This picture is at Florence, in the house of Giorgio Vasari, who preserves it in memory of Piero di Cosimo, in whose singular caprices he has always taken much pleasure.^[15]

The superintendent of the Foundling Hospital was a great friend of Piero’s, and, desiring to have a picture painted for the chapel of the Pugliese family, which is near the entrance of the church, on the left hand, he gave the commission for that work to Piero, who completed it at his leisure. But long before the work was brought to that consummation, the painter had well-nigh driven the superintendent to desperation, for on no condition would he permit the latter to have a sight of the work until the whole was finished. This refusal seemed all the more extraordinary to the superintendent, not only because of the friendship existing between them, but also because he was constantly paying money to the master on account of the work. At length he declared, in his vexation, that he would pay no more until he had seen the work; but Piero threatening to destroy all that he had done, the superintendent was compelled to give him the remainder of the sum due to him, and, although more displeased than ever, had no remedy for it but to take patience until the completion of the work, in which there is certainly much that merits commendation.^[16]

For one of the chapels in the church of San Pietro Gattolini, this master painted a Madonna seated, with four figures standing around her, and two angels in the air above, who are placing a crown on her head. This work Piero executed with great care, and it obtained him much commendation and honour: it is now in the church of San Friano, that of San Pietro Gattolini having been demolished.^[17] In the cross aisle of the church of San Francesco, at Fiesole also, there is a picture of the Conception by Piero di Cosimo: this little work is a tolerably good one, the figures rather small.^[18] For Giovanni Vespucci, whose house, which now belongs to Fiero Salviati, was then opposite to the church of St. Michael, in the Via de’ Servi, this master painted certain bacchanalian representations, which are disposed around one of the rooms: in these pictures are the most singular figures of fawns, satyrs, and sylvan deities of various kinds, with children and bacchanals, the diversity of whose habiliments, with the grace and truth of the deer, goats, and other animals depicted in this work,^[19] is a marvel to behold. In one of the stories here exhibited we have Silenus mounted on his ass, and surrounded by a troop of children, some of whom support him, while others give him to chink. There is a joyous spirit of mirth and gladness manifest throughout all this company, which cannot but be admitted to prove extraordinary talent; and beyond all doubt Piero di Cosimo has given evidence in his works of the richest and most varied power of invention, with indubitable originality and a certain subtlety in the investigation of difficulties, which have rarely been exceeded. Flis inquiries into the more recondite properties of Nature, in her external forms, were conducted with a zeal that rendered him regardless of the amount of time or labour bestowed on whatever might be the matter in hand. While seeking to penetrate the secrets of his art, no effort was too severe; he would endure any hardship for the mere love which he bore to the pursuit, and in the hope of obtaining an advantage for the vocation of his choice, Piero di Cosimo was indeed so earnestly devoted to the interests of art as to become totally regardless of himself and Ids personal convenience, insomuch that he would allow himself no better food than hard eggs, and, to save firing, he cooked these only when he had prepared a fire to boil his glues, varnishes, &c.; nor would he cook them even thus by six or eight at a time, but boiled them by fifties; he would then set them apart in a basket, and ate them at any moment when he felt the necessity for food. This mode of existence suited him perfectly, so that all others appeared to him to be mere slavery, in comparison with his own. He was much disturbed by the cries of children, the sound of bells, the singing of the monks, and even by the coughing of men. When the rain was falling in torrents, he delighted to see the water streaming down from the roofs and pour splashing to the ground: but lightning caused him excessive terror, insomuch that he would shut himself up when he heard thunder, and, fastening the window and door of his room, would wrap his head in his cloak and crouch in a corner until the storm had subsided. Piero di Cosimo was extremely amusing and varied in conversation, and would sometimes say things so facetious and original that his hearers would be ready to die with laughing; but when he had attained to old age, and was near his eightieth year, he became so strangely capricious that no one could endure to be with him. He would not sulfer even his scholars to be about him, so that his unsocial rudeness of manner caused him to be destitute of all aid in the helplessness of his age. He would sometimes be seized with a desire to get to his work, when, his palsied state preventing him, he would fall into fits of rage, and labour to force his trembling hands to exertions of which they were no longer capable: while thus raving or muttering, the mahl-stick would drop from his grasp, or even the pencils themselves would fall from his fingers, so that it was pitiable to behold. The files on the wall would sometimes arouse him to anger, nay, even the very shadows became an ofience to him, and thus, sickening of mere old age, the few friends who still continued to visit him exhorted the dying man to make his peace with Grod; but he put them off from day to day, not that he was an impious or unbelieving person; he was, on the contrary, a very zealous Christian, though of so rude a life, but he did not believe himself be so near death; nay, was convinced to the contrary. He would sometimes discourse largely of the torments endured by those who die oi lingering diseases, and remark how deplorably they must suffer who find their strength, mental and bodily, alike gradually decaying, and see themselves to be dying by little and little, which he declared must needs be a great affliction: he would then abuse all physicians, apothecaries, and sicknurses, declaring that they suffered their patients to die of hunger; next he would expatiate on the wretchedness of having to swallow syrups or potions of any kind; would enumerate the various martyrdoms endured from other curative processes, talk of the cruelty of being roused up to take physic when a man would rather sleep on, the torment of having to make a will, the wretchedness of seeing kinsfolk wailing around one, and the misery of being shut up in a dark room. Of death by the hand of justice, on the contrary, he would speak in terms of the highest commendation. It must be such a line thing to be led forth to one’s death in that manner; to see the clear, bright, open air, and all that mass of people; to be comforted, moreover, with sugar-plums and kind words; to have the priests and the people all praying for you alone, and to enter into Paradise with the angels. He considered the man who departed from this life suddenly to have singular good fortune, and thus would he dilate in a manner the most extraordinary, turning everything to the strangest significations imaginable.

Living thus peculiarly, in the midst of these eccentric fancies, he brought himself to such a state that he was found dead one morning at the foot of a staircase.^[20] This happened in the year 1521,^[21] when he received the rites of sepulture in San Piero Maggiore.

The disciples of this master were very numerous, and among them was Andrea del Sarto, who was in himself a host. I obtained the portrait of Piero di Cosimo from Francesco da San Gallo, an intimate friend and constant companion of Piero, who took it when the latter had already become old. And this Francesco is still in possession of a work by the hand of Piero (for I must not omit that), a most beautiful head of Cleopatra namely, with the asp twined round her neck. He has two portraits also, one of Giuliano, his father, the other of Francesco Giamberti, his grandfather, both of which might be supposed to be alive.^[22]

1. Della Valle reproaches Vasari for seeming to raise Piero di Cosimo to the level of Giorgione and Correggio. Other Italian commentators maintain that the biographer had no such intention, but though it is indeed most improbable that Vasari should commit so manifest an injustice, as well as error of judgment, our readers will perceive that the manner in which he opens this life does give some cause for the displeasure of the Sienese editor.
2. See ante, p. 175.
3. The fate of this cartoon can no longer be ascertained.
4. This work is supposed to be lost.
5. This picture had disappeared from the church in the time of Bottari (1759), having been transferred to the private chapel of the Villa Capponi. al Legnaia. — Ed. Flor., 1832.
6. Authorities are divided as to the exact signification of the balls, wliich are one of the distinctive characteristics of St. Nicholas, his proper attribute, indeed; some affirming them to allude to the well-known act of charity, by which he secretly furnished portions to the daughters of the poor noble; others considering them to be rather an allusion to the loaves of bread, wherewith he fed the people during a famine. They are by some writers believed to be merely “a general allusion to the Trinity.’’ — See Mrs. Jameson as before cited, vol. ii. p. CO, et seq.
7. “This variety of manner,” remarks an Italian commentator, renders it difficult to distinguish the works of this master by means of the comparison of one work with another.”
8. From what Vasari has said in other places, and from the different allusions to this Masquerade, it maybe inferred to have taken place during the Carnival of the year 1511,—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
9.     We are dead, as you behold us.
        But thus dead we you shall see;
       We were once as you are now,
        But you soon shall be as we.
   
   
10. This picture is now in the Uffizj, in the larger hall of the Tuscan School.
11. For the legend of this “Virgin Martyr”—

    “Mild Margarete, that was God’s maid.
     Maid Margarete, that was so meek and mild,”

    see Mrs. Jameson, Poetry of Sacred and Legendary Art, vol. ii. p. 130, et seg.; see also ante, p. '27

12. The predella has long been lost.
13. No authentic information can now be obtained, either of the monster or the book.
14. It is now in the Florentine Gallery of the Uffizj, in the smaller hall of the Tuscan School. There are, besides, three other works by Piero di Cosimo in this Gallery, and these may possibly be the pictures painted for Francesco del Pugliese.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
15. Now in the Nerli Palace, in the Borgo San Niccolo. This work came into the possession of the Nerli family from that of the Gaddi, The German Waagen mentions a picture in tempera, also by Piero di Cosimo, and of which the subject is similar, as now in the Royal Gallery of Berlin.
16. Still in the private apartments of the Commissary of the Hospital. — See Malvasia, Felsina Pittrice.
17. The church of San Pietro Gattolini was destroyed during the siege of Florence in 1529. The picture removed, as here affirmed, to San Friano, is now lost.
18. Del Rosso, in his book entitled, Una Giornata d'Istruzione a Fiesole, mentions a Coronation of the Virgin by Piero di Cosimo as being over the high altar of this church, but says nothing of any picture by that master to be found in the transept, whence we may infer that the work here alluded to is no longer in existence.—Ibid.
19. No authentic information respecting these paintings can now be obtained.
20. The dwelling of Piero di Cosimo is believed to have been in the Gualfonda, one of the most retired and solitary quarters of the city.— Bottari.
21. According to Baldinucci, Piero di Cosimo was born in the year 1441; he must thus have lived to the age of eighty.
22. No authentic information is now to be obtained respecting these works. ~Ed. Flor. 1838.