188 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Chap YII. Cardinal Giuliano 1 to adorn his palace. This prelate, then bishop of Ostia, was of the same impetuous and exact ing temper as when, under the name of Julius the II nd , he ruled the church; ambitious, in 1491, as in 1503 and 1508, to attach the greatest living artists to his per son, caring much and paying royally for the best works, but always ready to destroy them for the sake of getting better. Raphael had not as yet ascended to the eminence from which he afterwards looked down upon his master; and Perugino enjoyed for the time the fullest confidence of his patron. He did not conceal from the Cardinal that, unless an efficient protection could be extended to him, the superintendents of Orvieto might venture upon measures of annoyance, and when they, at last, deter mined to cancel his contract, Giuliano was induced to write to the priors and council a letter as insolent as his temper and power allowed him to do. The superin tendents, in obedience to a promise extracted from them by the Cardinal, had remained quiescent during the whole of 1491, but in January of the following year, they be gan to deliberate what their best course should be, con sidering Perugino’s delay. The' result was a resolution to ask Pietro whether he intended to come or not. He replied in April that he proposed doing so at the next opportunity. Yet he took no immediate step towards the fulfilment of his promise so that the superintendents were obliged at last to let him know they would ap point some one else in his stead. This was the signal for Cardinal Giuliano to interfere. He penned a letter on the 2 nd of June reminding the council of Orvieto that they had agreed to wait, knowing that Perugino would be ready for them in a few months; but he added: “Now Maestro Pietro has stated that, contrary to your word, you intend to substitute for him another painter who shall do your work; this is, indeed, truly remarkable (conduct). We laboured under the impression that you 1 Giuliano della Rovere succeeded Pius the III 11 in the papal chair.
