There is generally a superabundance of flesh; muscular limbs in all
attitudes form a great part of his pictures, but as the flesh tints he
used were wanting in mellowness and shadow, and have turned pink with
age, they compare disadvantageously with those of the more solid
masters who preceded him. After all, Vasari's name and fame rest
principally on the labours of his pen, not those of his brush. His
"_Lives of the Painters,_" although not a model of precision in
facts or chronology, is nevertheless the mine from which all subsequent
art historians quarry to obtain their information.
One of the most valuable books of the day is probably the new edition
of Vasari with corrections and notes taken from the archives by Signer
Gaetano Milanesi.
FRANCESCO ROSSI, DE' SALVIATI (born at Florence, 1510--died at Borne,
1563) was a great friend of Vasari; his real name was Rossi, his father
being a weaver of velvets, but he obtained the name of Salviati from
being the protege of the Cardinal of that name. His first master was
Raffaello del Brescia, but in 1529 he, with his friend Nannoccio,
entered the school of Andrea del Sarto, with whom they stayed during
the siege.
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