arms, and wishing to paint this in oil, he further desired to make it appear that the handling of the colours, the mingling them together for the production of the various tints, and the management of the lights and shadows, had not been taught to him by others, but that he had discovered them all for himself; he therefore considered for some time how he might effect this, and at length invented the following contrivance.
Repairing to Andrea del Sarto, who was his intimate friend, he begged the latter to take his portrait in oil,[1] hoping by this means to arrive at his end by two separate ways; the one being that he should acquire the manner in which the colours were mingled, and the other, that having the picture left in his hands, and having watched its progress throughout, he should retain it as an example which he should perfectly understand, and could have always before him.
But Andrea at once perceived the object of Baccio’s request, and, displeased by the want of confidence and the craft which Baccio displayed, seeing that he would have been most willing to have shown him whatever he wished, had Baccio asked him, as a friend, to do so,—Andrea, I say, being thus dissatisfied with Baccio’s trickery, gave no evidence of having discovered his purpose, but ceasing the preparation of mixtures and tints which he had commenced, he placed every kind of colour upon his pallette, and mingling them to a certain extent one with another, he took now from one and now from another with his pencil, which he did with infinite rapidity and dexterity of hand, producing an exact imitation of Baccio’s complexion. Meanwhile, the art used by Andrea, with the necessity of retaining his place and sitting still, which was imposed on Baccio, if he desired to have his picture taken, prevented the latter from seeing anything that was done, nor could he learn any part of all that he desired to know; Andrea therefore succeeded happily in punishing the want of confidence betrayed by his friend, while he at the same time displayed-, by that method of treating his work, the great practice and ability which he, as an able master, possessed.
But this disappointment did not deter Baccio from his undertaking, in which he was assisted by II Rosso, from
- ↑ See vol. iii., Life of Andrea del Sarto, p. 198.
