he panel by Fra Filippo,
there is still seen a most marvellous predella with little figures,
which appear to be by the hand of Fra Filippo. He made many little
pictures with small figures throughout Florence, where, having acquired
a great name, he died at the age of thirty-one; to the great grief of
Pesello, who followed him after no long time, at the age of
seventy-seven.

[Illustration: PESELLINO: MADONNA ENTHRONED WITH SAINTS AND ANGELS

(_Empoli: Gallery. Panel_)]

BENOZZO GOZZOLI

[Illustration: THE PROCESSION OF THE MAGI

(_Detail, after the fresco by =Benozzo Gozzoli=. Florence: Palazzo
Riccardi_)

_Anderson_]

LIFE OF BENOZZO GOZZOLI[15]

PAINTER OF FLORENCE

He who pursues the path of excellence in his labours, although it is, as
men say, both stony and full of thorns, finds himself finally at the end
of the ascent on a broad plain, with all the blessings that he has
desired. And as he looks downwards and sees the difficult and perilous
way that he has come, he thanks God for having brought him out safely,
and with the greatest contentment he blesses those labours that he has
just been finding so burdensome. And so, recompensed for his past
sufferings by the gladness of the happy present, he labours without
fatigue, in order to demonstrate to all who see him how heat, cold,
sweat, hunger, thirst, and all the other discomforts that are endured in
the acquiring of excellence, deliver men from poverty, and bring them to
that secure and tranquil state in which, with so much contentment,
Benozzo Gozzoli enjoyed repose from his labours.

This man was a disciple of Fra Giovanni Angelico, by whom he was loved
with good reason; and by all who knew him he was held to be a practised
master, very rich in invention, and very productive in the painting of
animals, perspectives, landscapes, and ornaments. He wrought so many
works in his day that he showed that he cared little for other delights;
and although, in comparison with many who surpassed him in design, he
was not very excellent, yet in this great mass of work he surpassed all
the painters of his age, for in such a multitude of pictures he
succeeded in making some that were good. In his youth he painted a panel
for the altar of the Company of S. Marco in Florence, and, in S. Friano,
a picture of the passing of S. Jerome, which has been spoilt in
restoring the facade of the church along the street. In the Chapel of
the Palace of the Medici