ABSTRACT
Vasari tells us that the Florentine painter Piero di Cosimo reduced himself to eating only boiled eggs, which, to economize on fuel, he would cook fifty at a time while preparing his glue. 1 This is only one story in a biography full of arresting, sometimes comic, anecdotes which come together to form an unforgettable picture of an eccentric creator. According to Vasari, Piero had great powers of fantasia and penetrating insights into nature and could have been a famous painter in the manner of Leonardo, but his passion for art obsessed him to such an extent that he refused to live like a civilized human being. 2 His house was filthy; his garden ran “wild, like his own nature;” his misanthropy drove away friends and assistants; and his relentless experiments in art caused him not only to neglect all social niceties, but also to fail to develop a consistent, grand style of painting. 3 As a testament to Vasari’s authorial power, Erwin Panofsky wrote that we know more about Piero than almost any other artist. 4 Panofsky could only have meant that we know more of his supposed personality, because until relatively recently the documented existence for Piero was slim. Archival work has uncovered a good bit of information, however, and much of what has been learned runs counter to Vasari’s captivating vision. Just a few examples will show this.
