at any rate?" "But," replied his
holiness, "I can revoke that doom." "Yes," continued Giotto, "but you
cannot prevail on me to trust to your verbal promise a second time."
"You shall have a pardon under my signet before you begin." On that, a
conditional pardon was accordingly made out and given to Giotto, who,
taking a wet sponge, in a few minutes wiped off the coating with which
he had bedaubed the picture, and instead of a copy, restored the
original in all its beauty to his holiness. Although this story is
related by many writers, it is doubtless a gross libel on the fair fame
of this great artist, originating with some witless wag, who thought
nothing too horrible to impose upon the credulity of mankind. It is
discredited by the best authors. A similar fable is related of
Parrhasius. See the Olynthian Captive, vol. I. page 151 of this work.

GIOTTO AND THE KING OF NAPLES.

After Giotto's return to Florence, about 1325, Robert, King of Naples,
wrote to his son Charles, King of Calabria, who was then in Florence,
desiring that he would by all means send Giotto to him at Naples, to
decorate the church and convent of Santa Clara, which he had just
completed, and desired to have adorned with noble paintings. Giotto
readily accepted this flattering invitation from so great and renowned a
monarch, and immediately set out to do him service. He was received at
Naples with every mark of distinction, and executed many subjects from
the old and New Testaments in the different chapels of the building. It
is said that the pictures from the Apocalypse, which he painted in one
of the chapels, were the inventions of Dante; but Dante was then dead,
and if Giotto derived any advantage from him, it must have been from
previous discussions on the subject. These works gave the greatest
satisfaction to the King, who munificently rewarded the artist, and
treated him with great kindness and extraordinary familiarity. Vasari
says that Giotto was greatly beloved by King Robert, who delighted to
visit him in his painting room, to watch the progress of his work, to
hear his remarks, and to hold conversation with him; for Giotto had a
ready wit, and was always as ready to amuse the monarch with his lively
conversation and witty replies as with his pencil. One day the King said
to him, "Giotto, I will make you the first man in Naples," to which
Giotto promptly replied, "I am already the first man in Naples; for this
reason it is that I dwell