eside a door in the first cloister of S. Maria
Novella, where he also made a Crucifix, which was afterwards executed in
a bad manner by other painters in restoring it. In like manner he left a
chapel in the church begun and not finished, which has been much eaten
away by time, wherein the angels are seen raining down in diverse forms
by reason of the pride of Lucifer; where it is to be noticed that the
figures, with the arms, trunks, and legs foreshortened much better than
any foreshortenings that had been made before, give us to know that
Stefano began to understand and to demonstrate in part the difficulties
that those men had to reduce to excellence, who afterwards, with greater
science, showed them to us, as they have done, in perfection; wherefore
the surname of "The Ape of Nature" was given him by the other craftsmen.

Next, being summoned to Milan, Stefano made a beginning for many works
for Matteo Visconti, but was not able to finish them, because, having
fallen sick by reason of the change of air, he was forced to return to
Florence. There, having regained his health, he made in fresco, in the
tramezzo[14] of the Church of S. Croce, in the Chapel of the Asini, the
story of the martyrdom of S. Mark, when he was dragged to death, with
many figures that have something of the good. Being then summoned to
Rome by reason of having been a disciple of Giotto, he made some stories
of Christ in S. Pietro, in the principal chapel wherein is the altar of
the said Saint, between the windows that are in the great choir-niche,
with so much diligence that it is seen that he approached closely to the
modern manner, surpassing his master Giotto considerably in
draughtsmanship and in other respects.

After this, on a pillar on the left-hand side of the principal chapel of
the Araceli, he made a S. Louis in fresco, which is much praised,
because it has in it a vivacity never displayed up to that time even by
Giotto. And in truth Stefano had great facility in draughtsmanship, as
can be seen in our said book in a drawing by his hand, wherein is drawn
the Transfiguration (which he painted in the cloister of S. Spirito), in
such a manner that in my judgment he drew much better than Giotto.

Having gone, next, to Assisi, he began in fresco a scene of the
Celestial Glory in the niche of the principal chapel of the lower Church
of S. Francesco, where the choir is; and although he did not finish it,
it is seen from what he did that he us