Dag nab it, it took some time for me to get through this chapter as I just had to go and seek out works by all the artists mentioned...
If I had a favorite painting, it would be Pontormo's fresco titled Vertumnus and Pomona. See the link below...As a young man, strategically placed fig leaves used to be the bane of my existence, oh, the happy hours I could have whiled away with that fresco!!!
Vertumnus and Pomona, c.1520 - Jacopo Pontormo - WikiArt.org
I think Francis Hayward is smart enough that Vaughn will give him and only offer unvarnished opinions...rumors tend to have a gravity akin to a black hole, seems best to me to stay clear of them...What was it Ben Franklin opined about secrets, "Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead"!!
Simply loved this chapter...and that fresco....