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The life of Benvenuto Cellini, a Florentine artist
The life of Benvenuto Cellini a Florentine artist Author:Benvenuto Cellini Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. The Author meets with extraordinary success at Rome; he ii greatly encouraged by a noble patroness, Signora Porzia Chigi. —Particular account of t... more »hat lady.—Rivalship between him and Lucagnolo da Jesi—He plays at a concert before Pope Clement VII. who is highly pleased with his performance, and takes him into his service in the double capacity of goldsmith and musician.—He is employed by the Bishop of Salamanca at the recommendation of a scholar of Raphael d' Urbino.— Whimsical adventures between him and the bishop. Upon my arrival at Rome I began to woikat Signor Santi's the goldsmith; for though that artist was dead, his son continued to carry on the business; the latter did not work himself, but conducted matters by means of a young man, whose name was Lucagnolo da Jesi. This was a country lad, who had lived with Signor Santi from his childhood : he was low in stature, but very well shaped. This youth was cleverer than any journeyman I had ever seen before, at making beautiful vases, basons, and other things of the same kind. Having engaged to work in this shop, I began to make some candlesticks for the Bishop of Salamanca, a Spaniard: these were wrought with as much art as it was possible to bestow upon a work of tha nature. A pupil of Raphael d' Urbino, one John Francis, surnamed the factor, who was an excellent painter, and intimate with the said bishop, found means to introduce me into his favour, insomuch that he frequently employed me, and I gained considerably by my business. About this same period I sometimes went to draw in the chapel of Michael VOL. 1. E Angelo, and sometimes at the house of Agostino Sienna, in which were several admirable paintings by that great master Raphael d' Urbino; this was only upon holydays, because Signor Gis- mond...« less