They were not more content with convent fare than was Davide
Ghirlandajo, when the only delicacy supplied him at Vallombrosa was
cheese; and to revenge themselves, they stole round the cloister after
the circular sliding panels by which the rations were sent into the
monks' cells were filled, and feasted on the meals made ready for the
good brothers. Great confusion ensued in the convent, the monks
accusing each other of the theft; but when they found out the real
culprits, they made a compromise, promising double rations if the
artists would hasten their work and leave them their daily dole in
peace.
The fresco is dated 1506. The same year produced the fine picture now
in the Louvre, which was painted for the church of S. Trinita on the
commission of Zanobio del Maestro.
The _Madonna_, stands on a pedestal, with S. Jerome and S. Zenobio
in front, while episodes from their lives are brought in like distant
echoes in the background. [Footnote: S. Zenobio was the first bishop of
Florence, and is the patron saint of that city.]
The nuns of S. Giuliano employed him to paint two pictures, both of
which are now in the Belle Arti.
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