As he lay dead in the hall where he had been working, there was
placed at his head the picture of the Transfiguration, which he had
executed for Cardinal de' Medici; and the sight of that living
picture, in contrast with the dead body, caused the hearts of all
who beheld it to burst with sorrow. That work, in memory of the loss
of Raffaello, was placed by the Cardinal on the high-altar of S.
Pietro a Montorio; and on account of the nobility of his every
action, it was held ever afterwards in great estimation. His body
received that honourable burial which his noble spirit had deserved,
for there was no craftsman who did not weep with sorrow and follow
him to the grave. His death was also a great grief to the whole
Court of the Pope, first because he had held in his lifetime the
office of Groom of the Chamber, and likewise because he had been so
dear to the Pope that his loss caused him to weep bitterly.

[Illustration: RAFAELLO SANZIO: BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE

(_Paris: Louvre, 1505. Canvas_)]

O happy and blessed spirit, in that every man is glad to speak of
thee, to celebrate thy actions, and to admire every drawing that
thou didst leave to us! When this noble craftsman died, the art of
painting might well have died also, seeing that when he closed his
eyes, she was left as it were blind. And now for us who have
survived him, it remains to imitate the good, nay, the supremely
excellent method bequeathed to us by him as a pattern, and, as is
called for by his merit and our obligations, to hold a most grateful
remembrance of this in our minds, and to pay the highest honour to
his memory with our lips. For in truth we have from him art,
colouring, and invention harmonized and brought to such a pitch of
perfection as could scarcely be hoped for; nor may any intellect
ever think to surpass him. And in addition to this benefit that he
conferred on art, like a true friend to her, as long as he lived he
never ceased to show how one should deal with great men, with those
of middle station, and with the lowest. And, indeed, among his
extraordinary gifts, I perceive one of such value that I for my part
am amazed at it, in that Heaven gave him the power to produce in our
art an effect wholly contrary to the nature of us painters, which
was that our craftsmen--I do not mean only the lesser, but also
those whose humour it was to be great persons; and of this humour
art creates a vast number--while working in company with Raffaell