olouring seemed to them to be rather too
pale. When Buonamico heard this and learning that the abbess had the
best vernaccia in Florence, which served for the sacrifice of the
mass, he told them that in order to remedy such a defect, nothing
would be serviceable except to temper the colours with a good
vernaccia, for if the cheeks and other flesh parts of the figures
were touched with this, they would become red and very freshly
coloured. When the good sisters heard this they believed it
completely and afterwards kept him supplied with the best vernaccia
so long as the work lasted, while he on his part made merry and
thenceforward with his ordinary colours rendered his figures more
fresh and brilliant.

On the completion of this work Buffalmacco painted in the abbey of
Settimo some scenes from the life of St James in the chapel dedicated
to that saint which is in the cloister, on the vault of which he did
the four Patriarchs and the four Evangelists, among whom the attitude
of Luke is noteworthy for the natural way in which he is blowing his
pen to make the ink flow. In the subjects for the walls, which are
five, the figures are represented in fine attitudes and everything is
carried out with originality and judgment. In order to make his flesh
colouring easier to paint Buonamico used a ground of _pavonazzo di
sale_, as is seen in this work, which in the course of time has
caused a saltness by which the white and other colours are corroded
and consumed so that it is no marvel that the work is damaged and
destroyed, while many that were made long before have been
excellently preserved. I formerly considered that the injury was
caused by the damp, but afterwards by an examination of his other
works I have proved by experience that it is not the damp, but this
peculiar practice of Buffalmacco which has caused them to be so
damaged that it is not possible to see the design or anything else,
and where the flesh colour should be there remains nothing but the
_pavonazzo_. This method of working should not be practised by anyone
who desires a long life for his paintings.

After the two pictures mentioned above, Buonamico did two others in
tempera for the monks of the Certosa at Florence, one of which is in
the place where the singing books for the choir rest, and the other
is below in the old chapels. In the Badia at Florence he painted in
fresco the chapel of the Gondi and Bastari, beside the principal
chapel, which was af