Bartolommeo gave such grace to his figures with his colouring,
and made them so novel and so modern in manner, that for these
reasons he deserves to be numbered by us among the benefactors of
art.

FOOTNOTE:

[16] The word "utilmente" is substituted here for the
"ultimamente" of the text, which makes no sense.

MARIOTTO ALBERTINELLI

LIFE OF MARIOTTO ALBERTINELLI

PAINTER OF FLORENCE

Mariotto Albertinelli, the closest and most intimate friend of Fra
Bartolommeo--his other self, one might call him, not only on account
of the constant connection and intercourse between them, but also
through their similarity of manner during the period when Mariotto
gave proper attention to art--was the son of Biagio di Bindo
Albertinelli. At the age of twenty he abandoned his calling of
gold-beater, in which he had been employed up to that time; and he
learnt the first rudiments of painting in the workshop of Cosimo
Rosselli, where he formed such an intimacy with Baccio della Porta,
that they were one soul and one body. Such, indeed, was the
brotherly friendship between them, that when Baccio took his leave
of Cosimo, in order to practise his art as a master by himself,
Mariotto went off with him; whereupon they lived for a long time,
both one and the other, at the Porta a S. Piero Gattolini, executing
many works in company. And since Mariotto was not so well grounded
in drawing as was Baccio, he devoted himself to the study of such
antiquities as were then in Florence, the greater part and the best
of which were in the house of the Medici. He made a number of
drawings of certain little panels in half-relief that were under the
loggia in the garden, on the side towards S. Lorenzo, in one of
which is Adonis with a very beautiful dog, and in another two nude
figures, one seated, with a dog at its feet, and the other standing
with the legs crossed, leaning on a staff. Both these panels are
marvellous; and there are likewise two others of the same size, in
one of which are two little boys carrying Jove's thunderbolt, while
in the other is the nude figure of an old man, with wings on his
shoulders and feet, representing Chance, and balancing a pair of
scales in his hands. In addition to these works, that garden was
full of torsi of men and women, which were a school not only for
Mariotto, but for all the sculptors and painters of his time. A good
part of these are now in the guardaroba of Duke Cosimo, and others,
suc