is no marvel that he
did not give them that absolute perfection that is to be seen in his
drawings.

But to return to the stories: Giulio painted on one of the walls
Constantine making an address to his soldiers; while in the air, in a
splendour of light, appears the Sign of the Cross, with some little
boys, and letters that run thus: "In hoc signo vinces." And there is a
dwarf at the feet of Constantine, placing a helmet on his head, who is
executed with great art. Next, on the largest wall, there is the battle
of horsemen which took place at the Ponte Molle, in which Constantine
routed Maxentius. This work is worthy of the highest praise, on account
of the dead and wounded that may be seen in it, and the various
extravagant attitudes of the foot-soldiers and horsemen who are fighting
in groups, all painted with great spirit; not to mention that there are
many portraits from life. And if this scene were not too much darkened
and loaded with blacks, which Giulio always delighted to use in
colouring, it would be altogether perfect; but this takes away much of
its grace and beauty. In the same scene he painted the whole landscape
of Monte Mario, and the River Tiber, in which Maxentius, who is on
horseback, proud and terrible, is drowning. In short, Giulio acquitted
himself in such a manner in this work, that it has been a great light to
all who have painted battle-pieces of that kind since his day. He
himself learned so much from the ancient columns of Trajan and Antoninus
that are in Rome, that he made much use of this knowledge for the
costumes of soldiers, armour, ensigns, bastions, palisades,
battering-rams, and all the other instruments of war that are painted
throughout the whole of that Hall. And beneath these scenes, right
round, he painted many things in the colour of bronze, which are all
beautiful and worthy of praise.

On another wall he painted S. Sylvester the Pope baptizing Constantine,
representing there the very bath made by Constantine himself, which is
at S. Giovanni Laterano at the present day; and he made a portrait from
life of Pope Clement in the S. Sylvester who is baptizing, with some
assistants in their vestments, and a crowd of people. Among the many
attendants of the Pope of whom he painted portraits there, also from
life, was the Cavalierino, who was very influential with His Holiness at
that time, and Messer Niccolo Vespucci, a Knight of Rhodes. And below
this, on the base, he painted a sce