_Alinari photo_] [_Accademia, Florence_ THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN, 1500] CHAPTER VIII FLORENCE, PERUGIA, AND CITTA DELLA PIEVE The date 1500 is attached to the great Vallombrosan altar-piece, and it must, therefore, have been executed immediately after the completion of the Cambio. Whether it was painted in Vallombrosa itself or not cannot be stated with accuracy; but the general impression given by the documents relating to the picture is that it was executed within the precincts of the religious house. Vasari states clearly that the picture was done _at_ Vallombrosa, but his statements of this sort have always to be accepted with caution. It is, however, in this case more than probable that he is correct. The picture, now in the Accademia, is one of the finest that Perugino ever produced. It presents, of course, many of Perugino's favourite figures and arrangements. The mandorla recalls the altar-pieces of Borgo and of Lyons. The Eternal Father above is similar to the scene in the "Prophets and Sibyls" fresco in the Cambio. The angels with musical instruments will be found again in the SS. Annunziata picture, and the archangels attending upon the Eternal Father have already been seen several times in earlier works. The general scheme of the picture is the one which Pietro made somewhat hackneyed, but there are certain special features that must not be overlooked. The Virgin is seated in the skies within a glowing radiance of pure white light, and this of itself is an unusual feature. Never has Perugino painted the Madonna so finely. There is a celestial beauty upon her face, and her hands and robe are depicted with the utmost skill and care. The angels are somewhat loosely drawn, insipid in countenance, and lacking in proportion, especially in their attenuated legs, and in the large size of their hands; but the artist's main attention has been given to three points in the picture--the figure of the Virgin, the four figures on the ground, and the landscape in the rear. Crowe and Cavalcaselle speak of the four attendant saints as "magnificent as isolated creations," and the words are none too strong. The four figures are superb; they are well-balanced and stand firmly on their feet; their draperies are in easy folds, and are painted with unusual care, especially in their delicate gradations of colour; the pose is in each instance suitable and sufficient, and there is tender, reverent beauty in the faces, and the utmost dexterity and feeling in the painting of the hands. Still greater work, however, Perugino executed at Vallombrosa. He painted the portraits of the Abbot Baldassare, and of Don Biagio Milanesi, and triumphantly proved his right to be termed a great portrait-painter. If all other works of Perugino had perished and we possessed these two heads alone, the genius of the artist would be revealed by them as of the highest order. [Illustration: _Alinari photo_] [_Accademia, Florence_