It is generally supposed
that this was the picture which Bugiardini is said to have coloured
after the master's death; but there is much divergence among Italian
authors both as to whether this was the painting spoken of, and also as
to the meaning of Vasari's words, he using the phrase "finished" in one
place, and "coloured" in another. For charm of colouring and depth of
expression, the _Pieta_ is the most lovely of all the Frate's
works; therefore Bugiardini who was _mediocre_, could not have
outdone his great master. It was not _coloured_ by him. Bocchi
[Footnote: Bocchi, _Bellezze di Firenze_, p. 304.] says there were
two other figures, S. Peter and S. Paul, in the picture, where a
meaningless black shadow stretches across the background; but they were
erased by the antique restorer because they were "troppo deboli." Is it
not likely that if Bugiardini had any hand in the work, it was to
finish these figures?
Returning in the autumn to Florence, Fra Bartolommeo caught a severe
cold, the effects of which were heightened by eating fruit, and after
four days' extreme illness he died on October 8th, 1517, aged 42.
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