d in the year of our salvation 1524, the
fifty-fourth of his life, leaving his native country as much enriched by
his name and his fine qualities as it was grieved by his loss. He left
in Urbino some unfinished works, which were finished afterwards by
others and show by comparison how great were the worth and ability of
Timoteo.

In our book are some drawings by his hand, very beautiful and truly
worthy of praise, which I received from the most excellent and gentle
Messer Giovanni Maria, his son--namely, a pen-sketch for the portrait of
the Magnificent Giuliano de' Medici, which Timoteo made when Giuliano
was frequenting the Court of Urbino and that most famous academy, a
"Noli me tangere," and a S. John the Evangelist sleeping while Christ is
praying in the Garden, all very beautiful.

FOOTNOTE:

[2] In the original edition of 1568.

ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO

LIFE OF ANDREA DAL MONTE SANSOVINO

[_ANDREA CONTUCCI_]

SCULPTOR AND ARCHITECT

Although Andrea, the son of Domenico Contucci of Monte Sansovino, was
born from a poor father, a tiller of the earth, and rose from the
condition of shepherd, nevertheless his conceptions were so lofty, his
genius so rare, and his mind so ready, both in his works and in his
discourses on the difficulties of architecture and perspective, that
there was not in his day a better, rarer, or more subtle intellect than
his, nor one that was more able than he was to render the greatest
doubts clear and lucid; wherefore he well deserved to be held in his own
times, by all who were qualified to judge, to be supreme in those
professions. Andrea was born, so it is said, in the year 1460; and in
his childhood, while looking after his flocks, he would draw on the sand
the livelong day, as is also told of Giotto, and copy in clay some of
the animals that he was guarding. So one day it happened that a
Florentine citizen, who is said to have been Simone Vespucci, at that
time Podesta of the Monte, passing by the place where Andrea was looking
after his little charges, saw the boy standing all intent on drawing or
modelling in clay. Whereupon he called to him, and, having seen what was
the boy's bent, and heard whose son he was, he asked for him from
Domenico Contucci, who graciously granted his request; and Simone
promised to place him in the way of learning design, in order to see
what virtue there might be in that inclination of nature, if assisted by
continual study.

H