between the Cardinals Giulio and Rossi_, and got a promise of it as
a gift from Pope Clement. His Holiness wrote to Ottaviano desiring him
to have it sent to Mantua. But Ottaviano, appreciating the treasure as
much as the Duke of Mantua, determined to secure it to the house of
Medici. Under the pretence of having a new frame made he gained time,
and meanwhile employing Andrea del Sarto secretly to make an exact copy
of it, he sent that to the Duke instead of the original. So well had
Andrea imitated the great master's style that every one in Mantua, even
Giulio Romano, Raphael's own scholar, was deceived, and it was only
some years later that George Vasari divulged the secret and showed
Andrea's monogram on the side of the panel beneath the frame. This copy
is now at Naples.
The fresco at Poggio a Cajano abandoned, Andrea returned to the Scalzo,
where he painted the _Dance of Herodias, Martyrdom of S. John
Baptist, Presentation of the Head, Allegory of Hope_, and the
_Apparition of the Angel to Zacharias_. The last was paid for
August 22nd, 1523.
About this time there was a great wedding in Florence.
Pages:
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178