which that sovereign already possessed from his hand* The departure of Perino from Pisa was exceedingly displeasing to the Warden, but still more the circumstance of this work having been left unfinished; nor did he cease to write to the painter daily, exhorting him to return, inquiring also respecting him of his wife, whom Perino had left in Pisa. But finally perceiving that the delay threatened to be indefinitely prolonged, since the artist neither replied nor returned, the Warden ultimately made over the work to Gio Antonio Sogliani, who completed it and fixed it in its place.[1]
No long time had elapsed after this had been done before Perino returned to Pisa, when, seeing the work of Sogliani, he was extremely angry; he would not finish the part which he had commenced, and declared that he would not suffer his paintings to be made the ornament of other masters; so far as he was concerned therefore the work remained unfinished; four of the remaining pictures were then completed by Giovan Antonio; but these appearing to Sebastiano della Seta, the new Warden, to be all in one and the same manner, nay, furthermore, to be less beautiful than the first, he gave a commission to Domenico Beccafumi, who painted certain pictures, which are very finely done, around the sacristy by way ot proof, with the understanding that he was afterwards to execute a picture for the chapel. This Domenico did in Pisa accordingly; but the painting not giving so much satisfaction as the previous pictures had done, the two which remained were then given to the Aretine, Giorgio Vasari, and these were placed at the two doors which are near the angles of the wall in the principal front of the cathedral. Of these productions, or of others, large and small, dispersed through all Italy and in foreign parts, it does not become me to speak further; I leave the judgment concerning them to be freely formed by such as have seen or may see them.
The loss of this work, for which he had already prepared the drawings, was a source of much vexation to.Perino, and without doubt the completed paintings would have proved entirely worthy of his fame, those designs giving hope of a performance that could not have failed to increase the renown
- ↑ This work thus commenced by Perino, and finished by Sogliani, represents the Madonna with various Saints, and though re-touched, still forms one of the brightest ornaments of the Pisan Cathedral.— Masselli
