His richness of colouring and
deep relief equalled that of the Frate, the animation and expression
rivalled Andrea del Sarto. In the first picture, the eagerness of the
crowd, the intense feeling of the mother, in whom grief for the dead
child seems almost greater than the hope of his resuscitation, the
sturdy, solid character of the Florentines of the Republic, are all
given with a masterly hand, while a rich blending of colour fuses the
animated crowd in a harmonious unison. In the latter, grandeur and
dignity mark the group of ecclesiastics which surrounds the
archbishop's bier, the full solid falls of their drapery show that he
had well studied his father's works.
Ridolfo's brothers became monks, Don Bartolommeo lived in the
Camaldoline Monastery of the Angeli, which Ridolfo beautified with many
works. Paolo Uccelli had adorned the Loggia with frescoed stories from
the life of S. Benedict. Ridolfo added two to the series. In one the
Saint is at table with two angels, waiting for S. Romano to send his
bread from the grotto, but the devil has cut the cord and taken it.
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