_Francesco di Giorgio_ (Sienese: 1439-1502).
Francesco di Giorgio Martini was one of the most distinguished
architects and engineers of his time. He wrote a treatise on
"Civil and Military Architecture," and was a great authority,
says Vasari, on "all instruments required for the purposes of
war." There are two altar-pieces by him in the Siena Academy,
and he also occasionally produced works in sculpture: "this he
could do very conveniently, being a man of fair possessions as
well as of remarkable ability, wherefore he did not work for
the sake of gain, but for his own pleasure, and when he felt
inclined, to the end that he might leave honourable memorials
of his existence behind him."
"This quaint little picture represents the Virgin in the attitude of
walking, leading the Infant Saviour by the hand. She wears a white
dress, shaded blue, with a small gold pattern delicately painted upon
it, and a rose-coloured mantle lined with dark green, and holds in her
right hand a branch of roses. The drapery falls with much grace, and
she looks down with a sweet expression to the Child" (_National Gallery
Report_, 1899).