The glory of the colouring has passed away; and it was precisely here that Sebastiano may have surpassed Raffaello, as he was certainly superior to the school.

Sebastiano wrote letter after letter to Michelangelo in Florence.

He first mentions Raffaello's death, "whom may God forgive;" then says that the _"garzoni"_ of the Urbinate are beginning to paint in oil upon the walls of the Sala de' Pontefici.

"I pray you to remember me, and to recommend me to the Cardinal, and if I am the man to undertake the job, I should like you to set me to work at it; for I shall not disgrace you, as indeed I think I have not done already.

I took my picture (the Lazarus) once more to the Vatican, and placed it beside Raffaello's (the Transfiguration), and I came without shame out of the comparison." In answer, apparently, to this first letter on the subject, Michelangelo wrote a humorous recommendation of his friend and gossip to the Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena.