Pietro Vannucci, called Perugino

he had desired to do so. He invested some of his earnings in the purchase of land in the Borgo Pinti in 1498, and in the deed is referred to as "habitator in populo S. Petri Ma

present at a meeting called to discuss the re

i Credi, and Perugino all tendered their advice. At about this time came an invitation from the Priori of Perugia for him to undertake the entire decoration of their Cambio or Bourse; and this invitation seem

he terms offered him were satisfactory; and early in 1499 he left Florence and

f his works in the way of drawing, composition, or colouring. They, however, form part of a complete scheme of decoration, carried out, it is true, under cer

he artist's power. The quaint little room must be visited again and again if the student is to really understand its beauty. When at first one steps from the brilliant sunshine of the street into this dark chamber, it is not easy to realise the rich decoration whic

cotting, is Perugino's fresco decoration, and above it the vaulted ceiling painted from his designs by his pupils. There is unity about the whole which is perfect. Perugino is at his best, straining his utmost to give honour to the town of his adoption,

y Christian and not pagan, but in a building intended for secular work the classic spirit had a fuller development than in a church, and, as Perugino frankly stated in the contract for the decoration that his aim was "to recommend the merchants and magistrates therein assembled never to forsake

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TEMPERANCE WIT

ppear, and Maturanzio himself, according to Marchesi, derived some of his inspiration from a MS. Cicero, in which are miniatures of the Virtues and of the classic heroes who specially exemplify them. Near the door Pietro has painted Cato, then on the left wall, in two bays, are groups of philosophers and warriors i

groups, and decked his heroes in the most extraordinary and extravagant helmets that even his fancy could invent. The armour and the costume of the figures also show how exuberant was the artist's fancy, and in the shape and decoration of the shields especially he gave it full play. Despite all these drawbacks, there is a certain stately grace about the figures, the drawing is accurate, the proportions good, and the attitudes natural, although just a little forced. The most important work of all is in the large bay opposite to the warriors and philosophers. This is s

one other occasion, as far as I am aware, did Perugino paint the "Transfiguration," and then he carried out but little of the picture himself. Vasari incorrectly styles it the "Resurrection." This latter scene Pietro represented many times, and even Crowe and Cavalcaselle, careful as they usually were, have confused the "Transfiguration" with the "Resurrection" when

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OF PERU

ake the place of the usual singing angels who float in the sky. The half-startled look of the disciples is very cleverly presented, a

demanding reverence from those around. There is a sense of space, of distance,

Cambio, reversing the three figures on the ground. The result is, however, far different, and but little of the fresco is really the work of Perugino. In place of

th his important work, and probably Maturanzio composed the complimentary verses which are writte

at pingendi his

enta est hacte

R. Ware has

nter's art, 'tis here

n unknown, he's give

ng believed to be his, but which has now been removed from its old position and hung in the

the Uffizi portrait should for so long have been called Perugino's, and a whole

se of ideality, good knowledge of form and of colour, and some dry, lurking humour of a cynical and malicious type. To a certain extent the face is sensual, but not lascivious or voluptuous; but its main characteristic is its determin

formation in what year the work was completed. It was, I take it, at this period of Perugino's life that the great Raphael first became his pupil. Vasari'

ction to the young lad Raphael at that time. In 1504 Raphael painted his "Sposalizio," in 1505 the fresco at S. Severo in Perugia, and probably it was several years previous to this that he painted the Dudley "Crucifixion." Professor Rossi of Perugia has announced

, and that Raphael, together with the other pupils, took his part in the Cambio decoration, probably in the work of the ceiling. There is, of course, a local tradition that in two of the faces in the fresco of "Prophets and Sibyls" are immortalised the features of Raphael and Pinturicchio. Nothing is more likely. Both pupils were of unusual and remarkable appearance, and the master may quite as well have used them as his models while working with t

money is not made till 1507, when the juror of the Cambio, Alberto de Mansueti, records with pride the fact th

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