Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/413

1564] a whole day in his reception-rooms. Happily, the serious labours of my life give me so much liberty that in talking to the Pope, I often forget where I am, and put my hat on my head. However, he does not put me to death on that account, but treats me with indulgence, knowing that it is just at such times that I am working the hardest to serve him."

The words recall a remark which is said to have been made by Pope Clement VII.:—

Another time the Marchesa contrived to turn the conversation on art, and asked Michelangelo if he held it best for a painter to work slowly or quickly. He replied that no doubt artists who could paint rapidly without sacrificing any degree of excellence deserved the highest praise, but that a good master would never allow the impetuosity of his nature to mar the perfection of his art. The one unpardonable fault, he insists, is bad work. Speaking of religious art, he took up Savonarola's argument and maintained, as he had said before to the sculptor Ammanati, that "good Christians always make good and beautiful figures. In order to represent the adored image of our Lord, it is not enough that a master should be great and able. I maintain that he must also be a man of good morals and conduct, if possible a saint, in order that the Holy Ghost may give him inspiration."

Vittoria Colonna died in 1547, and Michelangelo poured out his love and grief in the sonnets which he wrote at the time, and in a touching letter in which