talian manner very well; and in the altar-piece
he made a portrait of the same Cardinal.

But returning to Sebastiano: he also took a portrait of Signor Federigo
da Bozzolo, and one of a captain in armour, I know not who, which is in
the possession of Giulio de' Nobili at Florence. He painted a woman in
Roman dress, which is in the house of Luca Torrigiani; and Giovan
Battista Cavalcanti has a head by the same master's hand, which is not
completely finished. He executed a picture of Our Lady covering the
Child with a piece of drapery, which was a rare work; and Cardinal
Farnese now has it in his guardaroba. And he sketched, but did not carry
to completion, a very beautiful altar-piece of S. Michael standing over
a large figure of the Devil, which was to be sent to the King of France,
who had previously received a picture by the hand of the same master.

Then, after Cardinal Giulio de' Medici had been elected Supreme Pontiff
and had taken the name of Clement VII, he gave Sebastiano to understand
through the Bishop of Vasona that the time to show him favour had come,
and that he would become aware of this when the occasion arose. And in
the meantime, while living in these high hopes, Sebastiano, who had no
equal in portrait-painting, executed many from life, and among others
one of Pope Clement, who was not then wearing a beard, or rather, two of
him, one of which came into the possession of the Bishop of Vasona, and
the other, which is much larger, showing a seated figure from the knees
upwards, is in the house of Sebastiano at Rome. He also painted a
portrait of the Florentine Anton Francesco degli Albizzi, who happened
to be then in Rome on some business, and he made it such that it
appeared to be not painted but really alive; wherefore Anton Francesco
sent it to Florence as a pearl of great price. The head and hands of
this portrait were things truly marvellous, to say nothing of the
beautiful execution of the velvets, the linings, the satins, and all the
other parts of the picture; and since Sebastiano was indeed superior to
all other men in the perfect delicacy and excellence of his
portrait-painting, all Florence was amazed at this portrait of Anton
Francesco.

At this same time he also executed a portrait of Messer Pietro Aretino,
and made it such that, besides being a good likeness, it is an
astounding piece of painting, for there may be seen in it five or six
different kinds of black in the clothes that he is