How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
A-painting for the great man, saints and saints
And saints again. (48-49)
Who is "the great man" here? Does this refer to Cosimo Medici, or the Prior of the monastery? How do we sense Lippo's frustration here with his artistic subject?
Quote #2
"That's the very man!
Look at the boy who stoops to pat the dog!
That woman's like the Prior's niece who comes
To care about his asthma: it's the life!'' (168-171)
In this dramatic monologue within a dramatic monologue we see Lippo's fellow monks marveling over the painting he has done of various everyday people. He has captured in realistic detail not only the boy who pats the dog, but also the Prior's niece. "It's the life" nicely sums up just how realistic these paintings are. (And, as an aside, we get the feeling this niece is no real niece, but rather a mistress of the Prior's.)
Quote #3
Your business is to paint the souls of men (183)
This short statement gets right to the crux of Lippo's internal conflict: the Church (here represented by the Prior's voice) wants him to paint subjects in a manner that will allow viewers to contemplate holy and spiritual things, not just marvel at the human forms and natural figures represented.