The work some praise, and some the architect.
Praise of one, then, is not always praise of the other. A work of art
may merit great approbation without redounding much to the credit of the
artist; and, again, an artist may justly claim our admiration, even when
his work does not entirely satisfy us. By bearing this in mind we can
often reconcile contradictory judgments, as in the present case. Dolce,
in his dialogues on painting, makes Aretino speak in terms of the
highest praise of the above-quoted stanzas,[130] while I select them as
an instance of painting without picture. We are both right. Dolce
admires the knowledge of physical beauty which the poet shows: I
consider only the effect which this knowledge, conveyed in words,
produces on my imagination. Dolce concludes from this knowledge that
good poets are no less good painters: I, judging from the effect,
conclude that what painters can best express by lines and colors is
least capable of expression in words. Dolce recommends Ariosto’s
description to all painters as a perfect model of a beautiful woman: I
recommend it to all poets as the most instructive of warnings not to
attempt, with still greater want of success, what could not but fail
when tried by an Ariosto.