irst-rate
artists. Some of these, still extant, are among the most exquisite
specimens of sixteenth-century craft. This little affair gave
Michelangelo considerable trouble. First of all, the man who had to
make the blade was long about it. From the day when the Pope came to
Bologna, he had more custom than all the smiths in the city were used
in ordinary times to deal with. Then, when the weapon reached
Florence, it turned out to be too short. Michelangelo affirmed that he
had ordered it exactly to the measure sent, adding that Aldobrandini
was "probably not born to wear a dagger at his belt." He bade his
brother present it to Filippo Strozzi, as a compliment from the
Buonarroti family; but the matter was bungled. Probably Buonarroto
tried to get some valuable equivalent; for Michelangelo writes to say
that he is sorry "he behaved so scurvily toward Filippo in so trifling
an affair."

Nothing at all transpires in these letters regarding the company kept
by Michelangelo at Bologna. The few stories related by tradition which
refer to this period are not much to the sculptor's credit for
courtesy. The painter Francia, for instance, came to see the statue,
and made the commonplace remark that he thought it very well cast and
of excellent bronze. Michelangelo took this as an insult to his
design, and replied: "I owe the same thanks to Pope Julius who
supplied the metal, as you do to the colourmen who sell you paints."
Then, turning to some gentlemen present there, he added that Francia
was "a blockhead." Francia had a son remarkable for youthful beauty.
When Michelangelo first saw him he asked whose son he was, and, on
being informed, uttered this caustic compliment: "Your father makes
handsomer living figures than he paints them." On some other occasion,
a stupid Bolognese gentleman asked whether he thought his statue or a
pair of oxen were the bigger. Michelangelo replied: "That is according
to the oxen. If Bolognese, oh! then with a doubt ours of Florence are
smaller." Possibly Albrecht Duerer may have met him in the artistic
circles of Bologna, since he came from Venice on a visit during these
years; but nothing is known about their intercourse.

III

Julius left Bologna on the 22nd of February 1507. Michelangelo
remained working diligently at his model. In less than three months it
was nearly ready to be cast. Accordingly, the sculptor, who had no
practical knowledge of bronze-founding, sent to Florence for a man