And artists now are held in such repute,
That even the nieces of the cardinals
Scarce serve them for their wives.—Page 16.
Here, and in a subsequent passage (p. 96), the poet alludes to
the betrothal of Raphael to Maria Bibbiena, the niece of Bernardo
Divizio, Cardinal of Bibbiena. This alliance was postponed for
some cause which is not known, and she died before Raphael, as
we learn from the inscription placed in the Pantheon, in accordance
with the painter's testamentary injunction. It seems very clear from
a letter by Raphael to his uncle Simone di Battista di Ciarla, dated
1st July, 1514, quoted by Passavant, in which the subject is mentioned,
that on his side considerations of prudence and friendship
rather than love prevailed. The delay in celebrating the marriage
has been conjectured by Passavant and others to have been occasioned
by the lady's ill health; but, where all is conjecture, it
seems quite as likely that Raphael was in no hurry to break the
connexion with the mistress who held control over his heart to the
last, for a marriage in which his feelings were in no way interested.
—(See Passavant's Raphael. Leipzig. 1839. Erster Theil, pp.
235–237. And Vasari's Lives. Bohn. 1851. Vol. 3, p. 59.)
