..that mysterious thing called love…

if you find yourself in love with someone who does not love you, be gentle with yourself..there is nothing wrong with you..love didn’t choose to rest in the other’s person heart..if you find someone else in love with you and you don’t love him, feel honored that love ame and called at your door..but gently refuse the gift you cannot return..do not take advantage, do not cause pain..how you deal with love is how you deal with yourself..and all our hearts feel the same pains and joys, even if our lives and ways are different..when love chooses to leave, do not reclaim it, let it go..there is no reason and a meaning you will know in time..remember that you didn’t choose love, love chooses you..all you can really do is accept it for all it’s mystery when it comes to your life..feel the way it fills you to overflowing, then reach out and give it away..give it back to the others who are poor in spirit..give it to the world around you in anyway you can..this is where many lovers go wrong..having been so long without love..they understand love only as a need..they see their hearts as empty places that will be filled by love and they begin to look at love as something that flows to them rather than from them..the first blush of new love is filled to overflowing..but as their love cools, they revert to seeing their love as a need..they cease to be someone who generates love and instead become someone who seeks love..they forget that the secret of love is that, it is a gift..and that it can be made to grow only by giving it away..remember this and keep it to your heart..love has its own time, its own season and its own reason for coming and going..you cannot bube or coerce it, or reason with it..you can always embrace it when it arrives and give it away when it comes to you..but if it chooses to leave from your heart or from the heart of your lover..there is nothing you can do and there is nothing you should do..love is always been and always will be a mystery..be glad that it came to live for a moment in your life..

..in hearts... | Comment (0)

daddy’s empty chair

A man’s daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with
her
> > father.
> > When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his
head
> > propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.
> >
> > The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his
visit.
> >
> > "I guess you were expecting me", he said.
> >
> > "No, who are you?" said the father.
> >
> > The minister told him his name and then remarked,
> > "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show
up,"
> >
> > "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man.
> > "Would you mind closing the door?"
> >
> > Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
> >
> > "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the
man.
> >
> > "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I
used to
> > hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head."
I
> > abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one
day
> > four years ago, my best friend said to me, "Johnny, prayer is just
a
> > simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I
>suggest."
> >
> > "Sit down in a chair;
> > place an empty chair in front of you,
> > and in faith see Jesus on the chair.
> > It’s not spooky because he promised,
> > ‘I will be with you always’.
> > "Then just speak to him in the same way
> > you’re doing with me right now."
> >
> > "So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much
> > that do it a couple of hours every day," he said. Then continued,
> >
> > "I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty
chair,
> > she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny
farm."
> >
> > The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old
man to
> > continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with
oil,
> > and returned to the church.
> >
> > Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her
daddy
> > had died that afternoon.
> >
> > "Did he die in peace?" he asked.
> >
> > "Yes, when I left the house about two o’clock, he called me over to
his
> > bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek.
> >
> > When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead.
> >
> > But there was something strange about his death.
> > Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his
head
> > on the chair beside the bed.
> > What do you make of that?"
> >
> > The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could
all go
> > like that."

Religion | Comment (0)

Leonardo da Vinci

THE heavens often rain down the richest gifts on human beings,
naturally, but sometimes with lavish abundance bestow upon a single
individual beauty, grace and ability, so that, whatever he does, every
action is so divine that he distances all other men, and clearly
displays how his genius is the gift of God and not an acquirement of
human art. Men saw this in Leonardo da Vinci, whose personal beauty
could not be exaggerated, whose every movement was grace itself and
whose abilities were so extraordinary that he could readily solve
every difficulty. He possessed great personal strength, combined with
dexterity, and a spirit and courage invariably royal and magnanimous,
and the fame of his name so spread abroad that, not only was he valued
in his own day, but his renown has greatly increased since his death.

This marvellous and divine Leonardo was the son of Piero da
Vinci. He would have made great profit in learning had he not been so
capricious and fickle, for he began to learn many things and then gave
them up. Thus in arithmetic, during the few months that he studied it,
he made such progress that he frequently confounded his master by
continually raising doubts and difficulties. He devoted some time to
music, and soon learned to play the lyre, and, being filled with a
lofty and delicate spirit, he could sing and improvise divinely with
it. Yet though he studied so many different things, he never neglected
design and working in relief, those being the things which appealed to
his fancy more than any other. When Ser Piero perceived this, and
knowing the boy’s soaring spirit, he one day took some of his drawings
to Andrea del Verrocchio, who was his close friend, and asked his
opinion whether Leonardo would do anything by studying design. Andrea
was so amazed at these early efforts that he advised Ser Piero to have
the boy taught. So it was decided that Leonardo should go to Andrea’s
workshop.1 The boy was greatly delighted, and not only practised his
profession, but all those in which design has a part. Possessed of a
divine and marvellous intellect, and being an excellent geometrician,
he not only worked in sculpture, doing some heads of women

(1) About I468.

smiling, which were casts, and children’s heads also, executed
like a master, but also prepared many architectural plans and
elevations, and he was the first, though so young, to propose to
canalise the Arno fromPisa to Florence. He made designs for mills,
fulling machines, and other engines to go by water, and as painting
was to be his profession he studied drawing from life. He would make
clay models of figures, draprng them with soft rags dipped in plaster,
and would then draw them patiently on thin sheets of cambric or linen,
in black and white, with the point of the brush. He did these
admirably, as may be seen by specimens in my book of designs. He also
drew upon paper so carefully and well that no one has ever equalled
him. I have a head in grisaihe which is divine. The grace of God so
possessed his mind, his memory and intellect formed such a mighty
union, and he could so clearly express his ideas in discourse, that he
was able to confound the boldest opponents. Every day he made models
and designs for the removal of mountains with ease and to pierce them
to pass from one place to another, and by means of levers, cranes and
winches to raise and draw heavy weights; he devised a method for
cleansing ports, and to raise water from great depths, schemes which
his brain never ceased to evolve. Many designs for these notions are
scattered about, and I have seen numbers of them. He spent much time
in making a regular design of a serics of knots so tliat the cord may
be traced from one end to the otlicr, tlic wlio]c filling a rouiid
space. There is a fine engraving of this most difficult design, and in
the middle are the words: Leonardus Vinci Academia. Among these models
and designs there was one which he several times showed to many able
citizens who then ruled Florence, of a method of raising the church of
S. Giovanni and putting steps under it without it falling down. He
argued with so much eloquence that it was not until after his
departure that they recognised the impossibility of such a feat.

His charming conversation won all hearts, and although he possessed
nothing and worked little, lie kept servants and horses of which he
was very fond, and indeed he loved all animals, and trained them with
great kindness and patience. Often, when passing places where birds
were sold, he would let them out of their cages and pay the vendor the
price asked. Nature had favoured him so greatly that in whatever his
brain or mind took up he displayed unrivalled divinity, vigornr,
vivacity, excellence, beauty and grace. His knowledge of art, indeed,
prevented him from finishing many things which he had begun, for he
felt that his hand would be unable to realize the perfect creations of
his imagination, as his mind formed such difficult, subtle and
marvellous conceptions that his hands, skilful as they were, could
never have expressed them. His interests were so numerous that his
inquiries into natural phenomena led him to study the properties of
herbs and to observe the movements of the heavens, the moon’s orbit
and the progress of the sun.

Leonardo was placed, as I have said, with Andrea del Verrocchio
in his childhood by Ser Piero, and his master happened
to be painting a picture of St. John baptising Christ.1 For this
Leonardo did an angel holding some clothes, and, although
quite young, he made it far better than the figures of Andrea.
The latter would never afterwards touch colours, chagrined
that a child should know more than he. Leonardo was next
employed to draw a cartoon of the Fall for a porti~re in tapestry,
to be made in Flanders of gold and silk, to send to the King of
Portugal. Here he did a meadow in grisaille, with the lights in
white lead, containing much vegetation and some animals,
unsurpassable for finish and naturalness. There is a fig-tree,
the leaves and branches beautifully foreshortened and executed
with such care that the mind is amazed at the amount of patience
displayed. There is also a palm-tree, the rotundity of the dates
being executed with great and marvellous art, due to the patience
and ingenuity of Leonardo. This work was not carried farther,
and the cartoon is now in Florence in the fortunate house of
Ottaviano de’ Medici the Magnificent, to whom it was given
not long ago by Leonardo’s uncle.

It is said that when Ser Piero was at his country-seat he was
requested by a peasant of his estate to get a round piece of wood
painted for liim at Florence, which he had cut from a fig-tree on his
farm. Piero readily consented, as the man was ‚very skilful in
catching birds and fishing, and was very useful to him in sucli
matters. Accordingly Piero brought tlie wood to Florence and asked
Leonardo to paint something upon it, without telling him its
history. Leonardo, on taking it up to examine it one day, found it
warped, badly prepared and rude, but with the help of fire he made it
straight, and giving it to a turner, had it rendered soft and smooth
instead of being rougli and rude. Then, after preparing the surface in
his own way, he began to cast about what he should paint on it, and
resolved to do the Medusa head to terrify all beholders. To a room, to
which he alone had access, Leonardo took lizards, newts, maggots,

(1) About I470.

snakes, butterflies, locusts, bats, and other animals of the kind
out of which he composed a horrible and terrible monster, of poisonous
breath, issuing from a dark and broken rock, belching poison from its
open throat, fire from its eyes, and smoke from its nostrils, of truly
terrible and horrible aspect. He was so engrossed with the work that
he did not notice the terrible stench of the dead animals, being
absorbed in his love for art. Ylis father and the peasant no longer
asked for the work, and when it was finished Leonardo told his father
to send for it when he pleased, as lie had done his part. Accordingly
Ser Piero went to his rooms one morning to fetch it. When he knocked
at the door Leonardo opened it and told him to wait a little, and,
returning to his room, put the round panel in the light on his easel,
and having arranged the window to make the light dim, he called liis
father in. Ser Piero, taken unaware, started back, not thinking of the
round piece of wood, or that the face which he saw was painted, and
was beating a retreat when Leonardo detained him and said, "This work
has served its purpose; take it away, then, as it has produced the
effect intended." Ser Piero indeed thought it more than miraculous,
and he warmly praised Leonardo’s idea. He then quietly went and bought
anotlier round wlieel with a ]ieart transfixed by a dart painted upon
it, and gave it to the peasant, who was grateful to Piero all his
life. Piero took Leonardo’s work secretly to Florence and sold it to
some merchants for I 00 ducats, and in a short time it came into the
hands of the Duke of Milan, who bought it of them for 300 ducats.

Leonardo next did a very excellent Madonna, which afterwards
belonged to Pope Clement VII. Among other things it contained a bowl
of water with some marvellous flowers, the dew upon them seeming
actually to be there, so that they looked more real than reality
itself. For his good friend Antonio Segni lie drew a Neptune on paper,
with so much design and care that he seemed alive. The sea is troubled
and his car is drawn by sea-horses, with the sprites, monsters, and
south winds and other fine marine creatures. The drawing was given by
Antonio’s son Fabio to M. Giovanni Gaddi with this epigram:

Pinxit Virgilius Neptunum, pinxit Homerus;
Dum maris undisoni per vada flectit equos
Mente quidem vates illum conspexit uterque
Vincius ast oculus; jureque vincit eos.

Leonardo then had the fancy to paint a picture of the Medusa’s
head in oils with a garland of snakes about it, the most extra-

ordinary idea imaginable, but as the work required time, it
remained unfinished, the fate of nearly all his projects.1 This is
among the treasures in the palace of Duke Cosimo, together with the
head of an angel, who is raising an arm in the air, this arm being
foreshortened from the shoulder to the elbow, while the other rests on
its breast. So marvellous was Leonardo’s mind that, desiring to throw
his things into greater relief, he endeavoured to obtain greater
depths of shadow, and sought the deepest blacks in order to render the
lights clearer by contrast. He succeeded so well that his scenes
looked rather like representations of the night, there being no bright
light, than of the Ilightness of day, though all was done with the
idea of throwing things into greater relief and to find the end and
perfection of art. Leonardo was so delighted when he saw curious
heads, whether bearded or hairy, that he would follow about anyone who
had thus attracted his attention for a whole day, acquiring such a
clear idea of him that when he went home he would draw the head as
well as if the man had been present. In this way many heads of men and
women came to be drawn, and I have several such pen-and-ink drawings
in my book, so often referred to. Among them is the head of Amergio
Vespucci, a fine old man, drawn in carbon, and that of Scaramuccia,
the gipsy captain, which afterwards belonged to M. Donato Valdambrini
of Arezzo, canon of S. Lorenzo, left to him by Giambullari. He began a
picture of the Adoration of the Magi,2 containing many beautiful
things, especially heads, which was in the house of Amerigo Benci,
opposite the loggia of the Peruzzi, but which was left unfinished like
his other things.

On the death of Giovan. Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, and the
accession of Ludovico Sforza in the same year, 1493, Leonardo
was invited to Milan with great ceremony by the duke to play
the lyre, in which that prince greatly delighted.3 Leonardo took
his own instrument, made by himself in silver, and shaped like
a horse’s head, a curious and novel idea to render the harmonies
more loud and sonorous, so that he surpassed all the musicians
who had assembled there. Besides this he was the best reciter
of improvised rhymes of his time. The duke, captivated by
Leonardo’s conversation and genius, conceived an extraordinary

(1) The picture answering to this in the Uffizi is a work of the later
sixteenth century, painted from Vasari’s description. (2) Now in the
Uffizi, supposed to be the high-altar picture for S. Donato in Scopeto
which lie was commissioned to paint in I48I. (3) Leonardo was at
Milan from I483. (4) Ludovico il Moro became duke in 1494, but he
had been the real ruler of the state some time before.

affection for him. He begged him to paint an altar-picture of the
Nativity, which was sent by tlie duke to the emperor. Leonardo then
did a Last Supper for the Dominicans at S. Maria delle Grazie in
Milan,1 endowing the heads of the Apostles with such majesty and
beauty that he left that of Christ unfinished, feeling that l,e could
not give it that celestial divinity which it demanded. Tliis work left
in sucli a condition has always been held in the greatest veneration
by the Milanese and by other foreigners, as Leonardo has seized the
moment when the Apostles are anxious to discover who would betray
their Master. All their faces are expressive of love, fear, wrath or
grief at not being able to grasp the meaning of Christ, in contrast to
the obstinacy, hatred and treason of Judas, while tlie whole work,
down to the smallest details, displays incredible diligence, even the
texture of the tablecloth being clearly visible so that actual cambric
would not look more real. It is said that the prior incessantly
importuned Leonardo to finish the work, tliinking it strange tliat the
artist should pass half a day at a time lost in thought. He would have
desired him never to lay down the brush, as if he were digging a
garden. Seeing that his importunity produced no effect, he had
recourse to the duke, who felt compelled to send for Leonardo to
inquire about the work, showing tactfully that he was driven to act by
the importunity of the prior. Leonardo, aware of the acuteness and
discretion of the duke, talked with him fully about the picture, a
thing which he had never done with the prior. He spokc freely of his
art, and explained how men of genius really are doing most when they
work least, as they are thinking out ideas and perfecting the
conceptions, which they subsequently carry out with their hands. He
added that there were still two heads to be done, that of Christ,
which he would not look for on the earth, and felt unable to conceive
the beauty of the celestial grace that must have been incarnate in the
divinity. The other head was that of Judas, which also caused him
thought, as he did not think he could express the face of a man who
could resolve to betray liis Master, the Creator of the world, after
having reccived so many benefits. But he was wilhng in this case to
seek no farther, and for lack of a better he would do the head of the
importunate and tactless prior. The duke was wonderfully amused, and
laughingly declared that he was quite right. Then the poor prior,
covered with confusion, went back to his garden and left Leonardo in
peace, while the artist indeed

(1) Between 1495 and 1498.

finished his Judas, making him a veritable likeness of treason and
cruelty. The head of Christ was left unfinished, as I have said. The
nobility of this painting, in its composition and the care with which
it was finished, induced the King of France to wish to take it home
with him. Accordingly he employed architects to frame it in wood and
iron, so that it might be transported in safety, without any regard
for the cost, so great was his desire. But the king was thwarted by
its being done on the wall, and it remained with the Milanese.

While engaged upon the Last Supper, Leonardo painted the portrait of
Duke Ludovico, with Maximilian, his eldest son, at the top of this
same refectory, where there is a Passion in the old style. At the
other end he did the Duchess Beatrice with Francesco, her other son,
both of whom afterwards became Dukes of Milan, the portraits being
marvellous. While thus employed, Leonardo suggested that the duke
should set up a bronze horse of colossal size with the duke upon it in
memory of himself. But he began it on such a scale that it could never
be done. Such is the malice of man when stirred by envy that there are
some who believe that Leonardo, as with so many of his things, began
this with no intention of completing it, because its size was so great
that extraordinary difficulties might be foreseen in having it cast
all in one piece. And it is probable that many have formed this
opinion from the result, since so many of his things have been left
unfinished. However, we can readily believe that his great and
extraordinary talents suffered a check from being too venturesome, and
that the real cause was his endeavour to go on from excellence to
excellence and from perfection to perfection. Talche l’Operafusse
ritardata dal desio,"’ as our Petrarca says In truth, those who have
seen Leonardo’s large clay model aver that they never beheld anything
finer or more superb. It was preserved until the French came to Milan
with King Louis of France, and broke it all to pieces. Thus a small
wax model, considered perfect, was lost, as well as a book of the
anatomy of horses, done by him. He afterwards devoted even greater
care to the study of the anatomy of men, aiding and being aided by
M. Marcantonio della Torre, a profound philosopher, who then professed
at Padua and wrote

(1) The full quotation runs:

"Tu sai lesser mio
E l’amor di saper che m’ha si acceso
Che l’opra e ritardata dal desio."
(Trionfo d’Amore, cap. 3. II. 7-9.)

upon the subject. I have heard it said that he was one of the
first who began to illustrate the science of medicine, by the learning
of Galen, and to throw true light upon anatomy, up to that time
involved in the thick darkness of ignorance. In this lie was
marvellously served by the genius, work and hands of Leonardo, who
made a book about it with red crayon drawings1 outlined with the pen,
in which he foreshortened and portrayed with the utmost diligence. He
did the skeleton, adding all the nerves and muscles, the first
attached to the bone, the others keeping it firm and the third moving,
and in the various parts he wrote notes in curious characters, using
his left hand, and writing from right to left, so that it cannot be
read without practice, and only at a mirror. A great part of the
sheets of this anatomy is in the hands of M. Francesco de Melzo, a
nobleman of Milan, who was a lovely child in Leonardo’s time, who was
very fond of him, and being now a handsome and courteous old man, he
treasures up these drawings with a portrait of Leonardo. Whoever
succeeds in reading these notes of Leonardo will be amazed to find how
well that divine spirit has reasoned of the arts, the muscles, the
nerves and veins, with the greatest diligence in all things. N. N., a
painter of Milan, also possesses some writings of Leonardo, written in
the same way, which treat of painting and of the methods of design and
colour.2 Not long ago he came to Florence to see me, wishing to have
the work printed. He afterwards went to Rome to put it in haiid, but I
do not know with what result.

To return to Leonardo’s works. When Lioiiardo was at Milan the King
of France came there and desired him to do something curious;
accordingly he made a lion whose chest opened after he had walked a
few steps, discovering himself to be full of lilies. At Milan
Leonardo took Salai 3 of that city as his pupil. This was a graceful
and beautiful youth with fine curly hair, in which Leonardo greatly
delighted. He taught him many things in art, and some works which are
attributed in Milan to Salai were retouched by Leonardo. He returned
to Florence, where he found that the Servite friars had allotted to
Filippino the picture of the high altar of the Nunziata. At this
Leonardo declared that he should like to have done a similar
thing. Filippino heard this, and being very courteous, he
withdrew. The friars, wishing Leonardo to paint it, brought him to
their house, paying all his expenses and those of his household. He
kept them like this for a long

(1) Now in tlie British Museum. (2) Trattato della Pittura,
published in 1651. (3) Andrea Salaino.

time, but never began anything. At length he drew a cartoon of the
Virgin and St. Anne with a Christ, which not only filled every artist
with wonder, but, when it was finished and set up in the room, men and
women, young and old, flocked to see it for two days, as if it had
been a festival, and they marvelled exceedingly. The face of the
Virgin displays all the simplicity and beauty which can shed grace on
the Mother of God, showing the modesty and humility of a Virgin
contentedly happy, in seeing the beauty of her Son, whom she tenderly
holds in her lap. As she regards it the little St. John at her feet
is caressing a lamb, while St. Anne smiles in her great joy at seeing
her earthly progeny become divine, a conception worthy of the great
intellect and genius of Leonardo. This cartoon, as will be said below,
afterwards went to France. He drew Ginevra, the wife of Amerigo Benci,
a beautiful portrait, and then abandoned the work of the friars, who
recalled Filippino, though he was prevented from finishing it by
death.

For Francesco del Giocondo Leonardo undertook the portrait of Mona
Lisa, his wife, and left it incomplete after working at it for four
years.1 This work is now in the possession of Francis, King of France,
at Fontainebleau. This head is an extraordinary example of how art can
imitate Nature, because here we have all the details painted with
great subtlety. The eyes possess that moist lustre which is constantly
seen in life, and about them are those livid reds and hair which
cannot be rendered without the utmost delicacy. The lids could not be
more natural, for the way in which the hairs issue from the skin, here
thick and there scanty, and following the pores of the skin. The nose
possesses the fine delicate reddish apertures seen in life. The
opening of the mouth, with its red ends, and the scarlet cheeks seem
not colour but living flesh. To look closely at her throat you might
imagine that the pulse was beating. Indeed, we may say that this was
painted in a manner to cause the boldest artists to despair. Mona Lisa
was very beautiful, and while Leonardo was drawing her portrait he
engaged people to play and sing, and jesters to keep her merry, and
remove that melancholy which painting usually gives to portraits. This
figure of Leonardo’s has such a pleasant smile that it seemed rather
divine than human, and was considered marvellous, an exact copy of
Nature.

The fame of this divine artist grew to such a pitch by the
excellence of his works that all who delighted in the arts and

(1) 1503-06.

the whole city wished him to leave some memorial, and they
endeavoured to think of some noteworthy decorative work through which
the state might be adorned and honoured by the genius, grace and
judgment characteristic of his work. The great hall of the council was
being rebuilt under the direction of Giuliano da S. Gallo, Simone
Pollajuolo called Cronaca, Miclielagnolo Buonarroti and Baccio
d’Agnolo, by tlie judgment and advice of the gonfaloniere and leading
citizens, as will be related at greater length in another place, and
being finished with great speed, it was ordained by public decree that
Leonardo should be employed to paint some fine work. Thus the l,all
was allotted to him 1 by Piero Soderini, then gonfaloniere of justice.
Leonardo began by drawing a cartoon at the hall of the Pope, a place
in S. Maria Novella, containing the story of Niccolo Piccinino,
captain of Duke Filippo of Milan.2 Here he designed a group of
horsemen fighting for a standard, a masterly work on account of his
treatment of the fight, displaying the wrath, anger and vindictiveness
of men and horses; two of the latter, with their front legs involved,
are waging war with their teeth no less fiercely than their riders are
fighting for the standard. One soldier, putting his horse to the
gallop, has turned round and, grasping the staff of the standard, is
endeavouring by main force to wrench it from the hands of four others,
while two are defending it, trying to cut the staff with their swords;
an old soldier in a red cap has a hand on the staff, as he cries out,
and holds a scimetar in the other and threatens to cut off both hands
of the two, who are grinding tlieir teeth and making every effort to
defend their banner. On the ground, between the legs of the horses,
are two foreshortened figures who are fighting together, while a
soldier lying prone has another over liim who is raising his arm as
high as he can to run his dagger with his utmost strength into his
adversary’s throat; the latter, whose legs and arms are helpless, does
what lie can to escape death. The manifold designs Leonardo made for
the costumes of his soldiers defy description, not to speak of the
scimetars and other ornaments, and his iiicredible mastery of form and
line in dealing with horses, which he made better than any other
master, with their powerful muscles and graceful beauty. It is said
that for designing the cartoon he made an ingenious scaffolding which
rose higher when pressed together

(1) In 1503. (2) The Battle of Anghari, in which the Florentines
routed the army of the Duke of Milan on 29 June, 1440.

and broadened out when lowered. Thinking that he could paint on
the wall in oils, he made a composition so thick for laying on the
wall that when he continued his painting it began to run and spoil
what had been begun, so that in a short time he was forced to abandon
it.

Leonardo had a high spirit and was most generous in every action. It
is said that when he went to the bank for the monthly provision that
he used to receive from Piero Soderini, the cashier wanted to give him
some rolls of farthings, but he would not take them, saying that he
was not a painter for farthings. Learning that Piero Soderini accused
him of deceiving him and that murmurs rose against him, Leonardo with
the help of his friends collected the money and took it back, but
Piero would not accept it. He went to Rome with Duke Giuliano de’
Medici on the election of Leo X.,1 who studied philosophy and
especially alchemy. On the way he made a paste with wax and
constructed hollow animals which flew in the air when blown up, but
fell when the wind ceased. On a curious lizard found by the
vine-dresser of Belvedere he fastened scales taken from other lizards,
dipped in quicksilver, which trembled as it moved, and after giving it
eyes, a horn and a beard, he tamed it and kept it in a box. All the
friends to whom he showed it ran away terrified. He would often dry
and purge the guts of a wether and make them so small that they might
be held in the palm of the hand. In another room he kept a pair of
smith’s bellows, and with these he would blow out one of the guts
until it filled the room, which was a large one, forcing anyone there
to take refuge in a corner. The fact that it had occupied such a
little space at first only added to the wonder. He perpetrated many
such follies, studied mirrors and made curious experiments to find oil
for painting and varnish to preserve the work done. At this time he
did a small picture for M. Baldassare Turini of Pescia, the datary of
Leo, of the Virgin and Child, with infinite diligence and art. But
to-day it is much spoiled either by neglect or because of his numerous
fanciful mixtures and the colouring. In another picture he
represented a little child, marvellously beautiful and graceful, both
works being now at Pescia in the possession of M. Giulio Turini. It is
said that, on being commissioned by the Pope to do a work, he
straightway began to distil oil and herbs to make the varnish, which
induced Pope Leo to say: "This man will never do anything, for he
begins to think of the end before the beginning

(1) This was in I5I3, but Leonardo did not go till 1515.

There was no love lost between him and Michelagnolo Buonarroti, so
that the latter left Florence owing to their rivalry, Duke Giuliano
excusing him by saying that he was summoned by the Pope to do the
facade of S. Lorenzo. When Leonardo heard this, he left for France,
where the king had heard of his works and wanted him to do the cartoon
of St. Ane in colours. But Leonardo, as was his wont, gave him
nothing but words for a long time. At length, having become old, he
lay sick for many months, and seeing himself near death, he desired to
occupy himself with the truths of the Catholic Faith and the holy
Christian religion. Then, having confessed and shown his penitence
with much lamentation, he devoutly took the Sacrament out of his bed,
supported by his friends and servants, as he could not stand. The king
arriving, for he would often pay him friendly visits, he sat up in bed
from respect, and related the circumstances of his sickness, showing
how greatly he had offended God and man in not having worked in his
art as he ought. He was then seized with a paroxysm, the harbinger of
death, so that the king rose and took his head to assist him and show
him favour as well as to alleviate the pain. Leonardo’s divine spirit,
then recognising that he could not enjoy a greater honour, expired in
the king’s arms, at the age of seventy-five. The loss of Leonardo
caused exceptionall grief to those who had known him, because there
never was a man who did so much honour to painting. By the splendour
of his magnificent mien he comforted every sad soul, and his eloquence
could turn men to either side of a question. His personal strength was
prodigious, and with his right hand he could bend the clapper of a
knocker or a horseshoe as if they had been of lead. His liberality
warmed the hearts of all his friends, both rich and poor, if they
possessed talent and ability. His presence adorned and] honoured the
most wrethchied and bare apartment. Thus Florence received a great
gift in the birth of Leonardo, and its loss in his death was
immeasurable. To the art of painting he added a type of darkness to
the style of colouring in oils whereby thie moderns have imparted
great vigour and relief to their figures. He proved his powers in
statuary in three figures in bronze over the door of S. Giovanni on
the north side. They were executed by Gio. Francesco Rustici, but
under Leonardo’s direction, and are thie finest casts for design and
general perfection that have as yet been seen. To Leonardo wve owe a
greater perfection in the anatomy of horses and men. Thus, by his many
surpassing gifts, even though he talked much more about his

in armour, a remarkab!e work, unequalled for its beauty, and that
the general took it away with him. Giorgione did many other fine
portraits which are scattered throughout Italy, as may be seen by that
of Leonardo Loredano,‚done when he was doge, seen by me on
exhibition one Ascension Day, so that I seemed to see that most serene
prince alive. There is yet another at Faenza, in the house of
Giovannni di Castel Polognese,1 an excellent carver of cameos and
crystals, done for his father-inlaw. This is indeed a divine work for
the soft blending of the colours, and it seems in relief rather than
painted. Giorgione was very fond of painting in fresco, and among many
things did all one side of Ca Soranzo on the piazza of S. Paolo,
where, in addition to many pictures, scenes and other fancies, there
is one done in oils upon lime, which has preserved it from the rain,
sun and wind, so that it still exists. There is a Spring, which I
think one of the loveliest works in fresco, and it is a great pity
that time has injured it so cruelly. Personally I know of nothing that
injures fresco so much as the scirocco, especially near the sea, where
it always brings some saltness with it.

In the year I504 there was a terrible fire 2 at Venice, in the
Fondaco de’ Tedeschi at the Rialto bridge, which consumed all the
merchandise, inflicting great loss upon the merchants. The Signoria
of Venice directed that it should be rebuilt, and it was speedily
finished, with more convenient dwelling-rooms, greater magnificence,
decoration and beauty than before. The fame of Giorgione being now
considerable, those in charge of the building decided that he should
paint it in fresco, colouring it according to his fancy, in order to
display his ability in producing an excellent work, the site being the
finest and the best position in all the city. Accordingly Giorgione
set to work,3 but with no other purpose than to make figures at fancy
to display his art, for I cannot discover what they mean, whether they
represent some ancient or modern story, and no one has been able to
tell me. Here is a lady and there a man, in various attitudes, one has
a lion’s head hard-by, another an angel in the guise of a cupid, and I
cannot tell what it means. There is certainly a woman over the
principal door towards the Merzeria seated, with the head of a dead
giant beneath, almost like a Judith. She is raising the head with a
sword and speaking to a German below. I cannot explain this in any way
unless he wished her to represent Germania. However, we see his
figures well

(1) Giovanni Bernardi. (2) On 28 January, 1505, new style. (3) In
I507.

grouped and that he was always improving. There are heads and
parts of figures which are excellently done and brilliantly
coloured. Giorgione was careful in all that he did there to copy
straight from living things, and not to imitate any one style. This
building is celebrated and famous in Venice no less for these
paintings than for its convenience for commerce and utility to the
public. He did a picture of Christ bearing the Cross and a Jew
dragging him along, which, after a time, was placed in the church of
S. Rocco,1 and now works miracles, as we see, through the devotion of
the multitudes who visit it. He worked at various places, such as
Castelfranco in the Trevisano, and did several portraits for various
Italian princes, while many of his works were sent out of Italy as
things of distinction, to show that if Tuscany overflowed with artists
in all ages, Heaven had not entirely~orgotten or passed over the
district near the mountains.

Giorgione Is said to have once engaged in an argument with some
sculptors at the time when Andrea Verrocchio was making his bronze
horse. They maintained that sculpture was superior to painting,
because it presented so many various aspects, whereas painting only
showed one side of a figure. Giorgione was of opinion that a painting
could show at a single glance, without it being necessary to walk
about, all the aspects thq t a man can present in a number of
gestures, while sculpture can only do so if one walks about it. He
offered in a singlc view to show the front and back and the two sides
of a figure in painting, a matter which greatly excited their
curiosity. He accomplished this in the following way. He painted a
nude figure turning its back; at its feet was a limpid fount of water,
the reflection from which showed the front. On one side was a
burnished corselet which had been taken off, and gave a side view,
because tile shining metal reflected everything. On the other side was
<`t looking-glass, showing the other side of the figure, a
beautiful and ingenious work to prove that painting demands more skil
and pains, and shows to a single view more than sculpture does. This
work was greatly admired and praised for its ingcliuity and
beauty. Giorgione also drew a portrait of Catherine, (?uccn of Cyprus;
which I have seen in the hands of the most excellent
M. Giovan. Cornaro. In our book there is a head coloured in oils of a
German of the house of Fugger, then one of the foremost merchants of
the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. This marvellous work is accompanied by other
pen-and-ink sketches and designs of his.

(1) Modern critics accept this as a work of the master, but in the
Life of Titian, Vasari ascribes it to that artist.

Whilst Giorgione was doing honour to his country and to himself, he
went frequently into society to entertain his numerous friends with
music, and fell in love with a lady, so that they became greatly
enamoured of each other. However, in I5I‚I, she caught the plague,
and Giorgione, being ignorant of this, associated with her as usual,
took the infection, and died soon after at the age of thirty-four, to
the infinite grief of his numerous friends, who loved him for his
talents, and damage to the world which lost him. They were the better
able to support the loss because he left behind two excellent pupils,
Sebastiano of Venice, afterwards friar vi the Piombo at Rome, and
Titian of Cadore, who not only equalled but far excelled his master. I
shall have occasion to speak of these hereafter, and of the honour and
benefit which they have conferred upon art.

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life of an artist-FRA FILIPPO DI TOMASSO LIPPI

FRA FILIPPO DI TOMMASO LIPPI, the Carmelite, who was born in
Florence in a side street called Ardiglione, under the Canto alla
Cuculia, behind the convent of the Carmelite friars, was left at the
age of two in great poverty by the death of his father Tommaso, and
with no one to care for him, as his mother had died shortly after his
birth. Accordingly he remained in the charge of his aunt, Mona
~paccia, his father’s sister, who, after: rearing him with great
difficulty until he attained the age of eight, could no longer
maintain him, and made him a friar in the convent of the Carmine.
Here he showed himself as dexterous and ingenious in all manual
exercises as he was clumsy and ill-fitted to learn letters, for he
would never apply his mind or take kindly to them. The boy, who was
called Filippo, the name which he had borne in the world, being with
others in the noviciate under the discipline of the master of grammar,
in order that it might be seen what he was fit for, instead of
studying did nothing but cover his books and those of the others with
caricatures. Accordingly the prior determined to give him every
opportunity to learn to paint. The chapel in the Carmine had just been
newly painted by Masaccio, and being very beautiful, greatly delighted
Fr3 Filippo, who frequented it every day, and was always practisine in
the company of many youths who spent their time in drawing there.
These he far surpassed in skill and knowledge, so that all agreed that
he ought to do something wonderful in times to come. But in his early
as well as in his mature years lie produced such admirable works that
he was a miracle. Thus a short time after he painted iII terra verde
in the cloister near the Consecration of Masaccio a pope confirming
the rvle of the Carmelites, and painted in fresco on several wal! s in
many parts of the church, notably a St. John the Baptist and some
incidents of his life. And so making progress every day, he had so far
acquired the manner of Masaccio, making his things in a similar
manner, that many declared that the spirit of Masaceio had entered
into the body of Fra Filippo. On a pilaster in the church he made the
figure of St. Martial, near the organ, which brought him great renown,
as it would bear comparison with the paintings of Masaccio. Then
hearing himself so greatly praised by the general cry, he boldly
discarded the habit at the age of seven- teen. But one day, while he
was in the March of Ancona on a pleasure excursion with some of his
friends, they were all taken while in a small boat by the light
galleys of the Moors which scoured those parts, and being put into
chains they were carried off as slaves to Barbary, where they remained
for eighteen months, enduring great hardships. One day Filippo, who
was on very good terms with his master, had the happy fancy to draw
him, and picking up a burnt coal from the floor he drew his portrait
on a white wall, with his Moorish clothes. The other slaves told the
master of this, since it appeared a miracle to them, painting and
design being unknown in those parts, bind this led to Filippo’s
release from the chains in which he had been bound for so long a
time. It is indeed a glorious tribute to this faculty that one who has
the legal power to condemn and punish should do the contrary, and
instead of punishment and death sliould give caresses and
liberty. After Filippo had done some things in colours for his master,
he was taken in safety to Naples, where he painted a panel in tempera
for King Alfonso, then Duke of Calabria, in the castle chapel where
the guard now is. He afterwards became anxious to return to Florence,
remaining there for some months, painting a fine picture for the nuns
of S. Ambruogio at the high altar.’ This procured for him the favour
of Cosimo de9 Mediei, who became his fast friend. He did another
picture in the chapter-house of S. Croce, and another which was placed
in the Chapel of the Casa hlediei, representing the Nativity of
Christ.2 For the wife of Cosimo he made a picture of the Nativity and
St. John the Baptist,3 to be placed in the hermitage of the
Camaldolites in one of their cells, which she caused to be built for
her devotions, and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. He also did some
small scenes to be sent by Cosimo as a gift to Pope Eugenius IV., the

(1) A Coronation of the Virgin, no~v in the Acca<lernia,
painted in I447. (2) Now in the Uffizi. (3) Now in the Accaden’ia,
Florence.

Venetian. By this work Filippo acquired great favour with the
Pope. He is said to have been so amorous that when he saw a woman who
pleased him he would have given all his possessions to have her, and
if he could not succeed in this he quieted the flame of his love by
painting her portrait. This appetite so took possession of him that
while the humour lasted he paid little or no attention to his
work. Thus, on one occasion when Cosimo de’ Medici was employing him,
he shut him up in the house so that he might not go out and waste
time. He remained so for two days, but overcome by his amorous and
bestial desires, he cut up his sheet with a pair of scissors, and,
letting himself down out of the window, devoted many days to his
pleasures. When Cosimo could not find him he caused a search to be
made for him, until’ at length Filippo returned to his labours. From
that time forward Cosimo gave him liberty to go and come as he chose,
repenting that he had shut him up, and thinking of his folly and the
danger which he might run. For this reason he ever after sought to
hold Filippo by the bonds of affection, and was thus served by him
with greater readiness, for he said geniuses are celestial forms and
not pack asses. Filippo did a picture in the church of S. Maria
Primerana on the piazza of Fiesole containing an Annunciation, most
care- fully finished, the figure of the angel exhibiting a truly
celestial beauty. For the nuns of the Murate he did two pictures, one
of an Annunciation placed at the high altar, containing stories of
St. Benedict and St. Bernard, and in the palace of the Signoria he
painted an Annunciation on a panel over a door, and he also made a
St. Bernard there over another door. In the sacristy of S. Spirito at
Florence he made a Madonna surrounded by angels, with saints at the
side, a rare work which has always been held in the highest veneration
by our masters here.

In the chapel of the wardens at S. Lorenzo Filippo made another
Annunciation and yet another for the Stufa, which is unfinished. In a
chapel in S. Apostolo in the same city he painted some figures about
Our Lady on a panel, and for M. Carlo Marsuppini he did the altar -
piece of the chapel of St. Bernard in the convent of the monks of
Monte Oliveto at Arezzo representing the Coronation of the Virgin,
surrounded by many saints, so wel! preserved that it looks as if Fra
Filippo had just painted it. Here M. Carlo warned him to take care
what he painted, because many of his things were blamed. For this
reason Fra Filippo painted nearly all

(1) Painted in 5447, now in the National Gallery, iLondon.

his figures from that time forward either covered with draperies
or with other inventions, in order to escape such censure. In this
work he drew the portrait of this same M. Carlo. For the nuns of
Annalena, at Florence, he painted a picture of the Manger, and some of
his pictures may still be seen at Padua. He sent to the Cardinal
Barbo at Rome two small scenes of tiny figures which were most
excellently done and very care- fully finished. He certainly worked
with marvellous grace, giving his things a wonderful finish, so that
they are always valued by artists and highly esteemed by modern
masters; indeed, he will be held in veneration by every age so long as
time will permit his works to remain extant. In Prato, near Florence,
where he had some relations, he remained for many months in the
company of Frh Diamante of the Carmine, for they had been companions
and novices together, doing a numher of things in all that
district. After this the nuns of S. Margherita employed him to do the
picture of the high altar.’ While at work there he chanced one day to
see a daughter of Francesco Buti, a Florentine citizen, who was there
either as a ward or as a nun. Fra Filippo cast his eyes upon Lucrezia,
for that was the girl’s name, for she was very graceful and beautiful,
and persuaded the nuns to allow him to paint her as the Virgin for
their work. Becoming more enamoured of her by this work, he
subsequently contrived to take her away from the nuns on the very day
that she was going to see the exhibition of the girdle of Our Lady, an
honoured relic of that city. By this mishap the nuns were covered with
shame, while a perpetual gloom settled upon her father Francesco, who
made every effort to recover her. But whether through fear or some
other cause, she would never return, and remained with Filippo, who
had a boy by her, also called Filippo,2 who afterwards became a great
and famous painter like his father. In S. Domenico at Prato there are
two pictures and a Madonna on the screen of S. Francesco. This was
removed from its original position to the place it now occupies, by
cutting away the wall and making a wooden framework. In the Ceppo of
Francesco di Marco there is a small panel by the same hand, with a
portrait of the said Francesco, the originator and founder of that
pious house, over a well in a courtyard.3 In the Pieve of the town he
painted on a small panel over the side door leading to the staircase
the death of St. Bernard, who is healing a number of lame folk who
touch

(1) About 5450. Bqrr’ in 5457 and known to fame as Filippino
Lippi. (2) Now in the M~icipa Gallery at i’rato.

the bier.i Here also are the friars weeping for their master, the
heads being truly admirable, the grief of the weeping men being finely
represented. Some of the folds of the friars’ hoods are excellent, and
deserve the highest praise for their good design, colouring and
composition, and for the grace and proportion displayed by the most
delicate hand of Fra Filippo. The chapel of the high altar of the
Pieve was assigned to him by the wardens, who wished to have a
memorial of him.2 This enabled him to display his skill, the draperies
and heads being admirable, not to speak of the general excellence and
artistic qualities of the whole. In this work he made the figures
greater than life-size, thus introducing the modern method of doing
things on a large scale. Some of the figures are dressed in a manner
not common at that time, when men began to emerge from that simplicity
which deserves to be called old-fashioned rather than ancient. The
work contains incidents from the life of St. Stephen, patron saint of
the Pieve, arranged on the right-hand wall, to wit, the disputation,
stoning and death of the proto-martyr, the scene in which he is
disputing with the Jews displaying such zeal and fervour that it is
difficult to imagine and much more so to describe the hatred, rage and
anger depicted in the faces and attitudes of the Jews at seeing
themselves conquered by him. Filippo has been even more successful in
depicting the brutality and fury of tliose who are killing him with
stones, some picking up large ones and some small, and grinding their
teeth in a horz‚ible manner in their crvelty and fury. And yet, in
the midst of this terrible assault, Stephen, with the utmost calmness,
lifts his eyes to heaven and with the greatest charity and fervour
prays to the Eternal Father for the very men who are killing
him. These are fine ideas, and show the inestimable value to painting
of invention and an ability to depict feeling. The artist has observed
this in making the attitudes of those who are burying Stephen so
sorrowful, and some so afflicted and distressed in their mourning,
that it is hardly possihle to look at them without emotion. On the
other side he did the Nativity, the preaching, the baptism, the
banquet of Herod, and the beheading of St. John the Baptist, the face
of the preacher displaying the divine spirit, while the divers
movements of the crowd are expressive of joy and sorrow, in the women
as well as the men, all of them hanging on the ministrations of
St. John. The baptism shows beauty and excellence, and the banquet of
Herod the majesty of the occasion, the address of

(1) Now in the Duomo. Begun in 1456.

Herodias, the astonishment and the excessive sorrow of the guests
at the presentation of the head on the charger. About the table are a
number of figures in fine attitudes, and well executed as regards the
draperies and expressions on the faces. Among these Filippo drew his
own portrait with the aid of a mirror,, clothed in black in a
prelate’s habit, together with his pupil, Fra Diamante, in the scene
of the mourning for St. Stephen. Indeed, this work was the most
excellent which he produced, for the reasons given above, or because
he made the figures somewhat larger than life-size, a thing which
encouraged those who came after to work on a larger scale. He was so
highly esteemed for his abilities that many blameworthy things in his
life were covered over by his excellencies. In this work he drew the
portrait of M. Carlo; natural son of Cosimo de’ Medici, then provost
of the church, upon which he and his house conferred many
benefits. After the completion of this work Filippo painted in
tempera, in 1463, a picture for the church of S. Jacopo at Pistoia,
containing a fine Annunciation, for M. Jacopo Bellucci, whose most
life-like portrait is drawn there. The house of Pulidoro Bracciolini
contains a picture of the Nativity of the Virgin by him, and the
magistracy of the Eight at Florence have a round Madonna and Child in
tempera. In the house of Ludovico Capponi is a most beautiful Madonna;
and in the possession of Rernardo Vecchietti, a Florentine gentleman
of great virtue and respectability is a remarkably fine small
picture by the same hand of St. Augustine in this study. Far better
even than these is a St. Jerome, in penance, of the same size, in the
wardrobe of Duke Cosimo. Remarkable in all his paintings, Frh Filippo
surpassed himself in the small ones, makina,‚ them so graceful and
so beautiful that nothing better could be desired, as we see by the
predellas of all his paintings. Indeed, such was his excellence that
no one surpassed liim in his day, and but few in our own, while
Michelagnolo has never tired of singing his praises and has frequently
imitated him. For the old church of S. Domeiiico at Perugia Filippo
did a picture of Our Lady, with St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Louis and
St. Anthony the abbot, afterwards placed at the high altar.
M. Alessandro degli Alessandri, a knight of that time, and his friend,
employed him to do a St. Laurence and other saints for his church at
Vincigliata on the hill of Fiesole, introducing portraits of the
knight and his two sons.

Filippo loved to surround himself with cheerful companions and lived
with gaiety. He taught the art of painting to Fri Diamante, who did a
number of pictures in the Carmine at Prato, and bv imitating his
master’s style won much honour, attaining to the highest
perfection. Among those who studied with Filippo in his youth were
Sandro Botticello, Pisello, Jacopo del Sellaio of Florence, who
painted two pictures in S. Friano and one in the Carmine, in tempera,
and countless other masters to whom he taught his art with unfailing
kindness. He lived in honour on his labours, and incurred very heavy
expenses on love intrigues, in which lie continued to indulge until
his death. Through Cosimo de’ Medici he was requested by the
community of Spoleto to decorate the chapel in the principal church of
Our LadyJ Working in conjunction with Fra Riamante he had made good
progress with this when death pre~rnted him from com- pleting it. It
is said that in one of his everlasting intrigues the relations of the
lady had poisoned him. Frli Filippo finished his career at the age of
fifty-seven, in I438, and by his will left his son Filippo to the care
of Frh Diamante. The boy being then ten years of age, learned the art
from Fra Diamante and returned with him to Florence, the monk taking
with him 300 ducats which were due to him by the community. With this
money the friar bought some property for himself, and gave but little
to the child. Sandro Botticello, then considered a most excellent
master, took Filippo into his workshop. The father was buried in a
tomb of white and red marble set up by the people of Spoleto in the
church which he painted for them. His death caused great sorrow to his
friends, particularly to Cosimo de’ Medici and Pope Eugenius,2 who had
endeavoured to legi timatise the union between Filippo and Lucrezia di
Francesco Buti, but the former refused, because he wished to be able
to give full rein to his appetite. During the lifetime of Sixtus IV.,
Lorenzo de’ Medici, being ambassador of Florence, went by way of
S0olcto to as!< for tlie body of Frh Filippo which he wislicd to
place in S. Maria del Fiore at Florence, but they answered that they
were badly provided with things of note, and especially with men of
eminence, and asked leave to possess Filippo as a favour, because
Florence had countless distinguished men, in<leed almost a
superfluity, so that they could spare this one, and so Lorenzo failed
to carry his point. It is true that, it being decided to honour him in
the best possible way, Lorenzo sent Filippo the son to the Cardinal of
Naples at Rome, to make a chapel. When the Cardinal passed through
Spoleto, he caused a marble tomb-to be made under the organ and above
the sacristy, by commission of

(1) I467-9. Both were dead before Fra Filippo.

Lorenzo, on which he expended zoo gold ducats, paid hy Nofri
rornaboni, director of the hank of the Mediei. He further obtained the
following eprigram from M. Agnolo Poliziano, which was inscribed on
the tomb in antique letters:

Conditus hic ego sum pictlirae fama Philippus
Nulli ignota meae est gratia mtra mauus,
Artifices potui digitis animare eolores
Sperataque animos fallere voce diu,
Ipsa meis stupuit natura expressa figuris
Meque suis fassa est artibus esse parem,
Marmoreo tumuio Medices Larnrentius hie me
Condidit, ante humiil pulvere teetus eram.

Filippo designed excellently, as may be seen in our hook of the
drawings of the most famous painters, and especially in some sheets
containing his designs for the picture of S. Spirito, and in others of
the chapel of Prato.

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SUNSILK BLACK IS BACK SCHOOL RAID

..watch out as SUNSILK BLACK TEAM raids your school with so much fun and excitement..

September 22 - La Consolacion College

September 23 - Negros Oriental State University

September 26 - Colegio De San Agustin

September 27 - Riverside College

September 28 - Unicersity of Negros Occidental Recoletos

September 29 - University of Saint La Salle

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