From Timoteo’s lips Raphael also heard of Francia’s paintings, and was perhaps first introduced by him to those Madonnas which inspired so unfeigned an admiration in his breast. Afterwards we hear of an exchange of pictures which passed between the two great masters, and at Francia’s recommendation Giovanni Bentivoglio employed Raphael to paint a “Nativity,” which has unfortunately perished. The Bolognese master was of too generous and loyal a nature to entertain the least feeling of envy towards the young painter, who had already surpassed all his contemporaries, and showed his warm appreciation of Raphael’s genius in the following sonnet, which he addressed to him in an outburst of enthusiasm:— “Non son Zeusi nè Apelle, e non son tale, Che di tanti tal nome a me convegna; Nè mio talento, nè vertudo è degna Haver da un Raffael lodo immortale. Tu sol, cui fece il ciel dono fatale, Che ogn’ altro excede, e sora ogn’ altro regna, L’excellente artificio à noi insegna Con cui sei reso ad ogn’ antico uguale. Fortunato garxon, che nei primi anni Tant’ oltre passi; e che sarà poi quando In più provecta etade opre migliori? Vinta sarà natura; e, da’ tuoi inganni Resa eloquente, dirà, te lodando, Che tu solo il pictor sei de’ pictori.” “I am not Zeuxis nor Apelles, neither do I deserve that fame so great shall be mine, nor is my talent worthy to receive immortal praise from a Raffael. “Thou alone, on whom heaven has bestowed the fatal gift that thou shouldest excel all others and reign over all, teachest us the admirable art by which thou art become equal to the ancients. “Fortunate boy, who in thy earliest years hast already advanced so far, what wilt thou not be when in maturer age thou shalt achieve yet greater things? Then nature shall own herself conquered, and rendered eloquent by thy charms, shall exclaim in thy praise, that thou alone art the painter of painters.” [Illustration: DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS. BY FRANCIA. _In the Accademia, Parma._] The original manuscript of this sonnet was first published by the historian Malvasia, who discovered it among the papers of a member of the Lambertini family, and gave the accompanying inscription, which proves Francia to have been its author. _All’excellente pictore Raffaello Sanxio, Zeusi del nostro secolo. Di me Francesco Raibolini decto il Francia._ Even without these convincing proofs of Raphael’s friendship with Francia, it would have been difficult not to assume the existence of some similar connection from the strong marks of the great painter’s influence that meet us in Francia’s later works.