Considering the fact that Pietro Perugino was a man of little religion, it is amazing that he was able to create such Christian masterpieces with the accuracy that he did. It is also surprising to note that for a "Christian painter" he was consumed with the idea of wealth, carrying all of his riches on his person so that he wouldn't have to part with them. This obsession of wealth goes against the Christian value of giving. .
Perugino indirectly mocks Christianity by way of a distrusting Jesuate prior. Perugino takes advantage of the prior's stinginess by using more ultramarine blue than is needed for his work. At the end of the day Perugino would collect the blue from his water dish. Perugino eventually returned the blue paint to the prior and taught him a lesson on trust. .
Christianity contradictions aside, Perugino was a painter who, unlike many of his time, was able to capture emotion in the visages of his religious figures. The Florentines praised him for his ability to make an old saint look thin and wise. Vasari also speaks highly of the manner in which Perugino is able to show the figures of the Marys as full of love and wonderment. Perugino's religious depictions were so well loved that one painting was carried on the shoulders of men in order to transport it.
Despite his fame, Perugino eventually grew predictable. His figures (that were once noted for their unique capturing of emotion) all began to have the same facial expressions. In the end, the famed "Christian painter" came off with little honor. .
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