The first bit of patronage recorded is the commission for the frescoes in the Scalzo; that they had work before is proved by the words in the contract of the Barefoot Friars, "dettero ad Andrea pittore _celeberrimo_ il dipingere nel Chiosto." The "celebrated" presupposes works already done.
The Scalzo was a name given to the "Compagnia dei Disciplinati di S. Giovanni Battista," because they went barefoot when they carried the cross in their processions. They lived in a convent in Via Larga (now Cavour), opposite San Marco. A new cloister had been erected there--an elegant little cortile, thirty-eight feet by thirty-two, adorned with lovely Corinthian pillars--and the Brethren were anxious to fill the lunettes of the arches with frescoes at the least possible expense, wisely judging that a young artist on his way to fame would be the best to employ.
The frescoes, of which there would be twelve large, and four small ones in the upright spaces by the doors, were to be done in "terretta," or brown earth, and to be paid fifty-six lire (eight scudi) for the large, and twenty-one lire (three scudi) each for the lesser frescoes. The small ones were four figures of the Virtues, _Faith_, _Hope_, _Justice_, and _Charity_. _Hope_ is exquisitely expressed, and _Charity_ a charming group, the children most tenderly drawn. The subjects, though not all finished till many years later, stand now in the following order; the second row of figures, with the dates, show the order in which they were painted:--
1. Gabriel appearing to Zacharias Andrea del Sarto 9 1523. 2. Visitation Andrea del Sarto 10 1523. 3. Birth of S. John Andrea del Sarto 4 1514. 4. Zacharias blessing John before going Francia Bigio. to the desert 5. S. John meets the Virgin and Infant Francia Bigio. Christ 6. Baptism of Christ Andrea del Sarto 1 1509. 7. Preaching of S. John Andrea del Sarto 2 1514. 8. Baptism of the Gentiles Andrea del Sarto 3 1514. 9. S. John bound in the presence of Herod Andrea del Sarto 5 1522. 10. Dance of Herodias Andrea del Sarto 6 1522. 11. Beheading of S. John Andrea del Sarto 7 1522. 12. Herodias receives the head of S. John Andrea del Sarto 8 1522.
Of these, No. 6 was the first executed, and it is probable that Francia Bigio assisted him, for it has not the finished drawing nor careful handling of any of Andrea's other frescoes. Possibly this is the cause of the partners never working together afterwards, each taking his own subjects and signing his own name. The composition, in the _Baptism of Christ_, is not original, being very similar to that of Verocchio's, especially in the two angels kneeling on the left bank; the landscape and figures, however, are far in advance of that master.