"Decameron," is well known to have been the
close companion of Bruno and Calandrino, painters, and themselves
facetious and pleasant men. He possessed a very fair judgment in the
art of painting, as may be seen by his works, which are scattered
throughout Tuscany. Franco Sacchetti relates in his "Three Hundred
Tales" (to begin with the deeds of this artist while he was still
young) that, while Buffalmacco was a boy with Andrea, it was his
master's custom, when the nights were long, to rise to work before
dawn and to call the boys. This thing displeased Buonamico, who
enjoyed a good sleep, and he tried to devise a plan that should
induce Andrea to leave off calling them to work so much before
daylight. He soon found one, for in an ill-swept loft he happened to
find thirty great beetles or cockroaches. With some thin needles and
corks he fixed a small candle on the back of each beetle, and when
the hour came for Andrea to rise he lighted the candles and put the
beetles one by one through a hole leading into Andrea's room. When
the master awoke, just about the hour when he was accustomed to call
Buffalmacco, and saw these lights he began to tremble with fear, and
to recommend himself to God, repeating his prayers and psalms. At
length he put his head under the clothes and did not call Buffalmacco
that night, but remained trembling in that posture until the day. The
following morning when he arose he asked Buonamico if he, like
himself, had seen more than a thousand devils. Buonamico said "No,"
because he had kept his eyes shut, and had wondered why he had not
been called. "What!" said Tafi; "I had something else to think of
besides painting, and I am resolved to go and live in another house."
The following night, although Buonamico only put three beetles into
Tafi's chamber, yet the poor man did not sleep a jot, owing to his
fear of the past night and to those devils which he saw. No sooner
was day come than he left the house, declaring he would never return
to it, and it was long before they were able to induce him to change
his mind. But Buonamico brought him the priest of the parish, who
consoled him as best he could. When Tafi and Buonamico were talking
over the matter afterwards, the latter said: "I have always heard
tell that the devils are the greatest enemies of God, and
consequently they must also be the chief adversaries of painters,
because, besides the fact that we always make them very ugly, We do
nothing els