For the Cambio decoration Perugino appears to have received 350 large gold ducats, but the final payment of the money is not made till 1507, when the juror of the Cambio, Alberto de Mansueti, records with pride the fact that he had finally settled the Cambio payments and obtained Perugino's receipt in full, dated 15th January 1507.
Alinari photo] [Accademia, Florence
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN, 1500
CHAPTER VIII
FLORENCE, PERUGIA, AND CITTA DELLA PIEVE
The date 1500 is attached to the great Vallombrosan altar-piece, and it must, therefore, have been executed immediately after the completion of the Cambio. Whether it was painted in Vallombrosa itself or not cannot be stated with accuracy; but the general impression given by the documents relating to the picture is that it was executed within the precincts of the religious house. Vasari states clearly that the picture was done at Vallombrosa, but his statements of this sort have always to be accepted with caution. It is, however, in this case more than probable that he is correct.
The picture, now in the Accademia, is one of the finest that Perugino ever produced. It presents, of course, many of Perugino's favourite figures and arrangements. The mandorla recalls the altar-pieces of Borgo and of Lyons. The Eternal Father above is similar to the scene in the "Prophets and Sibyls" fresco in the Cambio. The angels with musical instruments will be found again in the SS. Annunziata picture, and the archangels attending upon the Eternal Father have already been seen several times in earlier works. The general scheme of the picture is the one which Pietro made somewhat hackneyed, but there are certain special features that must not be overlooked. The Virgin is seated in the skies within a glowing radiance of pure white light, and this of itself is an unusual feature. Never has Perugino painted the Madonna so finely. There is a celestial beauty upon her face, and her hands and robe are depicted with the utmost skill and care. The angels are somewhat loosely drawn, insipid in countenance, and lacking in proportion, especially in their attenuated legs, and in the large size of their hands; but the artist's main attention has been given to three points in the picture—the figure of the Virgin, the four figures on the ground, and the landscape in the rear. Crowe and Cavalcaselle speak of the four attendant saints as "magnificent as isolated creations," and the words are none too strong.