562 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Chap. XVII. very moment that he surprises us in the Scalzo by strength and energy, he drops into an excessive softness in the handling and tinting of a quiet scene on panel. In order to show at the same time that he was at home in every mood, he accepted a commission from the monas tery of S. Gallo, and thought out the noble altarpiece of the Uffizi: “the Fathers disputing on the Doctrine of the Trinity”, in every line of which stern power and bold ness are discerned. Yet as usual there is abundance of the atmosphere and vapour which are now his peculiar characteristics. He seems at this moment to have been look ing at some of Fra Bartolommeo’s latest emanations, such as the solitary S. Vincent, now at the Academy, or some statues of Michael Angelo; for the masks are expi'essive and resolute, the attitudes are grandiose, the forms well proportioned, weighty and nobly draped. Michael Angelo is said to have expressed a high opinion of Andrea del Sarto, amongst others to Raphael, to whom he is reported to have observed: “There is a little fellow in Florence (meaning Andrea) who will bring sweat to your brow, if ever he is engaged in great works.’’ 1 That they knew each other, is certain, because it was Buonarotti who took young Vasari to Del Sarto’s shop in 1524 ; 2 and Andrea for a period was a fanatic admirer of his style. We see this not only in the “Dispute on the Tri nity”, but in a Charity at the Louvre, and a Pi eta in the Belvedere at Vienna, both of which wore fruits of the year 1518, and one of them produced at a distance from Florence. Before the close of 1516, Giovambattista Puccini, a dealer, had bought from Andrea del Sarto a dead Christ mourned by three angels, which, with little satis faction to the author, had been engraved by Agostino Veniziano. 3 This picture having been sent to the French court attracted attention, and created a demand for others. The subsequent despatch of a Madonna to 1 Bocchi. Bellezze di Firenze,! 2 Vas. I. 3. XII. 49 and 204. in annot. Vas. VIII. 293. | 3 Vas. VIII. 265. 6. IX. 279. The