Page:The Life of Benvenuto Cellini Vol 1.djvu/98

Rh he was often called upon to fashion tabernacles, and to execute large works in gold or silver which resembled buildings by their intricacy of design. During the course of this apprenticeship he gained further insight into numerous subordinate processes, such as modelling in wax or stucco, baking terracotta, preparing foils for gems. He studied the qualities of precious stones and pearls. He handled every instrument, from the hammer of the goldbeater and the chisel of the stone-cutter down to the engraver's burin and the palette of paste-mixers. He had to be as ready at the anvil or the furnace as at the more delicate operations of wire-drawing and filigree manipulation. From the workshop of a master-goldsmith the apprentice went forth able to select his own particular branch of industry. Meanwhile it must not be forgotten that, so long as he remained a goldsmith, he was forced to work in miniature. His many technical accomplishments were employed chiefly in producing articles of plate, jewellery, and costly furniture. This made him, while he continued in the trade, a servant of popular caprice and fashion, which varied with the change of seasons. Those world-famous masters who, like Ghirlandajo, Donatello, and Brunelleschi, won glory by their subsequent achievements in painting, sculpture, and architecture, devoted themselves to special studies in the higher arts soon after their prenticedays were over. This was not the case with Cellini. He continued to be a goldsmith in the strict sense of that term until he had completed his fortieth year. This fact has to be taken into account when we