y probable; yet we
may perhaps conjecture that, before deciding on the system to be
adopted for his great work, Buonarroti thought fit to make experiments
in several surfaces. The painters of that period, as is proved by
Sebastiano's practice, by Lionardo da Vinci's unfortunate innovations
at Florence, and by the experiments of Raffaello's pupils in the hall
of Constantine, not unfrequently invented methods for mural decoration
which should afford the glow and richness of oil-colouring.
Michelangelo may even have proposed at one time to intrust a large
portion of his fresco to Sebastiano's executive skill, and afterwards
have found the same difficulties in collaboration which reduced him to
the necessity of painting the Sistine vault in solitude.

Be that as it may, when the doors of the chapel once closed behind the
master, we hear nothing whatsoever about his doings till they opened
again on Christmas Day in 1541. The reticence of Michelangelo
regarding his own works is one of the most trying things about him. It
is true indeed that his correspondence between 1534 and 1541 almost
entirely fails; still, had it been abundant, we should probably have
possessed but dry and laconic references to matters connected with the
business of his art.

He must have been fully occupied on the Last Judgment during 1536 and
1537. Paul III. was still in correspondence with the Duke of Urbino,
who showed himself not only willing to meet the Pope's wishes with
regard to the Tomb of Julius, but also very well disposed toward the
sculptor. In July 1537, Hieronimo Staccoli wrote to the Duke of
Camerino about a silver salt-cellar which Michelangelo had designed at
his request. This prince, Guidobaldo della Rovere, when he afterwards
succeeded to the Duchy of Urbino, sent a really warm-hearted despatch
to his "dearest Messer Michelangelo." He begins by saying that, though
he still cherishes the strongest wish to see the monument of his uncle
completed, he does not like to interrupt the fresco in the Sistine
Chapel, upon which his Holiness has set his heart. He thoroughly
trusts in Michelangelo's loyalty, and is assured that his desire to
finish the tomb, for the honour of his former patron's memory, is keen
and sincere. Therefore, he hopes that when the picture of the Last
Judgment is terminated, the work will be resumed and carried to a
prosperous conclusion. In the meantime, let Buonarroti attend to his
health, and not put everything agai