Baccio  is  said  to  have  made  some  admirable  studies  from
the  rival  cartoon  of  Lionardo  da  Vinci  which  hung  near  it  in
the  Palazzo  Tecchio,  and  his  success  may  have  induced  him  to
attempt  painting  under  Andrea  del  Sarto  and  II  Bosso,  though
on  finding  that  he  had  no  talent  for  it  he  quickly  abandoned
that  art  for  sculpture.  His  first  statue,  a  St.  Jerome,  was,  we
are  told,  commended  by  Lionardo  da  Yinci,  whom  Baccio  met
frequently  in  the  studio  of  Rustici  where  he  studied,  and  his
next,  a  Mercury,  sold  to  Francis  I.  who  valued  it  most  highly.
These  works  brought  him  into  favour  with  the  Cardinal  Gio-
vanni de'  Medici,  his  brother  Giuliano,  and  Duke  Cosimo,  and
obtained  for  him  a  commission  to  sculpture  a  statue  of  St»
Peter  for  the  Cathedral  (1514).  In  the  next  year,  when  Leo  X.
made  his  entrance  into  Florence,  Baccio  modelled  a  colossal
figure  of  Hercules  to  be  set  up  under  one  of  the  arches  of  tho
Loggia  de'  Lanzi,  and  was  roundly  abused,  not  only  because  it
was  very  bad,  but  also  because  he  had  boasted  that  it  would
eclipse  the  David  of  Michelangelo.
After  the  Pope  returned  to  Bome,  Baccio  followed  him  there
with  a  sketch  for  a  statue  of  David,  hoping  to  receive  a  corn-


312     Historical  Handbook  of  Italian  Sculpture.
