Afterwards he inquired if he had never done any works of sculpture. Yes,
replied Michael Angelo, and amongst the rest a Cupid, in such and such a
pose and action. The gentleman understood then that he had found the man
he sought, and narrated how the affair had gone, and promised him that if
he would come with him to Rome he would make the dealer disgorge, and
arrange matters with his lord which he knew would be much to his
satisfaction. Michael Angelo then, partly to see Rome, so much be praised
by the gentleman as the widest field for a man to show his genius in, went
with him and lodged in his house near the palace of the Cardinal, who,
advised by letter in the meantime how the matter stood, laid hands on the
merchant who had sold the Cupid to him as an antique, returned the statue
to him, and got his money back; it afterwards came, I know not how, into
the hands of the Duke Valentino, and was presented to the Marchesana of
Mantua. She sent it to Mantua, where it is still to be found in the house
of the lords of that city.(23) The Cardinal di San Giorgio was blamed in
this affair by many, for the work was seen by all the craftsmen of Rome,
and all, equally, considered it most beautiful; they thought that he ought
not to have deprived himself of it for the sake of two hundred scudi,
although it was modern, as he was a very rich man. But he, smarting under
the deceit, being able to punish the man, made him disburse the remainder
of the payment.
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