VI. Francis Mazzuoli
Was Born at Parma; in his Infancy he lost both his Fa∣ther and Mother, but was taken care of by two Ʋncles, who loved him tenderly, and spared for nothing in his Education; He seemed from his Cradle to be inclined to this Art, and to be born for a Pencil; He was no sooner put to School, but instead of minding his lesson, would be filling papers with divers figures, which even then he made exceeding well pro∣portioned; whereupon his Relations seeing something extra∣ordinary in this his Inc••ination, resolved not to be wanting to such hopeful begsunings, and therefore put him forth to be instructed by some of the best Painters thereabouts, so that Mazzuoli, at the age of 16, made such delicate Pictures, that it was matter of admiration to see so much Perfection and Ele∣gance in the Work of so young an hand; Hearing the great same of Raphael, and Michael Angel••, he desired leave of his Uncles to Travel to Rome, to see their Works. When he was there, that he might manifest to that Academy, that, it did not possess all the Glory of the Pencil, and the better to please their delicate Palate, he painted a Madona, with the Child Jesus pick∣ing Flowers out of an Angels Bosom, with utmost care; and that he might yet merit their further applause, by some furprizing novel∣ty, he drew upon a Piece of Wood, embossed in Mezzo-Relievo, his own picture, together with the Chamber he was in, and all its furniture as they appeared to him by the reflexion of a Looking-glass which was of the same bigness with his Wood, and then covered the whole with a dark sort of colour, yet something shining, that represented so exactly the transpa∣rency of a Looking-glass, and the sight was so ingeniously de∣ceived by it, that one could not presently discern but it was a real Looking-glass: He made for Pope Clement the Seventh a Piece of the Circumcision, in which he introduces a three∣fold different light, with marvailous subtlety, one comes from the luminous body of the Child Jesus, the other from cer∣tain Torches that lighten the Steps, the third from a Wide open∣ing where the sight has room to expatiate it selt in a large Perspective. This industrious persons was so earnest and in∣tent upon his Work, that when Charles Duke of Bourbon took Rome by Storm, he was insensible of the Town's disaster, until he saw himself surrounded with the enemies Souldiers in the Chamber he was painting in, and which was strange, these persons enured to blood and rapine, were so mollifyed with the delicate Charms of his Art, that instead of offering violence to him, they promised to protect him, and were as good as their Word, keeping him secure during all the time of the disorder and the sacking of the Town. Much after the same manner tis reported to have happened to Protogenes, When Demetrius laid siege to Rhodes, he continued all the while the Town was besieging, painting in a House he had without the Walls, Demetrius sent to know of him how he durst venture himselfe without the Walls:
I knew very well, said he, oh King, your Quarrel is only with the Rhodians, not with Arts.The King took him into his Protection, and took so much delight to see him paint, that he even neglected the care of the Assaults, and the Conquest of the Town. But to leave this digression, and return to Mazzuoli, after he had thus escaped being plundered, he retired to Bologne, where, amongst many others, he gained an extraordinary reputation, by a picture of the Blessed Virgin which he made for the Pope, in which the Virgin appears, not only with an astonishing beau∣ty, but with an extraordinary vivacity of Carnation, that shows it self through a sort of yellow Muslin extreme fine; and the Head-tire is made with such delicacy and Art, that the Hairs seem loose and to flow in Curles with the wind. This Piece was so admired, that there were above fifty Copies made of it immediately, and sent through all Italy. No less curious was his Picture of the Emperor Charles the fifth with a little Boy presenting him with a Globe of the World. At last he fell to the unprofitable study of Alchimy, wherein he spent much time and mony to little purpose, and died in the year 1640, aged but 36. years.