and pursued the
art of painting, far surpassing Spinello in design. The Aretines were
much grieved at this sad chance, although Spinello was old, at being
deprived of ability and excellence such as his. He died at the age of
ninety-two, and was buried in S. Agostino at Arezzo, where there is a
stone with a coat of arms made after a fancy of his own, containing a
hedgehog. Spinello was far better able to design than to put his
thoughts into practice, as our book of designs shows, which contains
two Evangelists and a St Louis by his hand, all very fine. His
portrait given above was taken by me from one which was in the old
Duomo before it was pulled down. His paintings were executed between
the years 1380 and 1400.

Gherardo Stamina, Painter of Florence.

Certainly those who travel far from home to dwell in other parts very
frequently do so to the advantage of their temperament, for by seeing
divers customs abroad, even if they be of rather an extraordinary
nature, they learn to be reasonable, kind and patient with
considerably greater ease than they would have done had they remained
at home. Indeed those who desire to refine men in their worldly
conversation need no other fire and no better cement than this,
because those who are naturally rough become gentle, and the gentle
become even more gracious. Gherardo di Jacopo Stamina, painter of
Florence, though rather hasty than good-natured, being very hard and
rough in his dealings, did more harm by this to himself than to his
friends, and it would have been even worse for him had he not
remained a long time in Spain, where he learned to be gentle and
courteous, for he there became so changed from his former nature that
when he returned to Florence a very large number of those who had
mortally hated him before his departure, received him with very great
friendliness and continued to cherish a great affection for him, so
gentle and courteous had he become. Gherardo was born in Florence in
the year 1354, and as he grew up and was naturally bent to the art of
designing, he was put with Antonio da Vinezia to learn to design and
to paint. In the space of many years he not only learned the art and
practice of colours, but had shown his ability by some things
produced in a good style; accordingly he left Antonio and began to
work on his own account. In the chapel of the Castellani at S. Croce,
which was given to him to paint by Michaele di Vanno, an honoured
citizen of