_Jacopo Chimenti da Empoli_ (Florentine: 1554-1640).
Chimenti, of Empoli, near Florence, was "an imitator of
Andrea del Sarto, and distinguished for his Madonnas; he was
distinguished also for his love of good eating, and acquired
from his contemporaries the nickname of _L' Empilo_, instead of
L' Empoli, which is as much as to say stewpan" (Wornum, _Epochs
of Painting_, p. 356). He was largely employed in the churches
of Florence and the neighbourhood. His best production is his
"St. Ives" in the Uffizi: "in noble conception and truth and
glow of colour it reminds us of the best of the old Florentine
masters."
St. Zenobio (died A.D. 417) was a Bishop of Florence, famous in his
time for his eloquence and good works, and a favourite saint with
the Florentines in after ages. The following is the legend painted in
this picture:--"A French lady of noble lineage, who was performing a
pilgrimage to Rome, stopped at Florence on the way, in order to see
the good bishop Zenobio, of whom she had heard so much, and having
received his blessing she proceeded to Rome, leaving in his care her
little son. The day before her return to Florence, the child died. She
was overwhelmed with grief, and took the child and laid him down at
the feet of St. Zenobio, who, by the efficacy of his prayers, restored
the child to life, and gave him back to the arms of his mother" (Mrs.
Jameson, _Sacred and Legendary Art_, p. 415).