Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 3.djvu/482

474 these might aid him to make his way in the court of Francis 1. He was in fact introduced to that prince, who always entertained numerous men of genius in every walk of art or science in his court; and the King having taken many of the stories engraved by Matteo, also received the artist himself into his service, commanding that he should be paid a good stipend: nor was he less acceptable to Francis as an excellent musician and accomplished performer on the lute, than as a distinguished engraver of precious stones. Now, of a truth, there is nothing by which the spirit of the artist is so readily kindled as the perception that his art is duly appreciated and himself rewarded by princes and nobles. This was ever done by the most illustrious house of Medici; it is now done by that house more than ever, and was also the practice of the above-named King Francis, who may indeed be truly called magnanimous.

Being thus received into the service of this sovereign, therefore, Matteo produced many admirable works, not only for his majesty, but for almost all the lords and noble barons of that court, of whom there was scarcely one who did not possess some example of his ability, seeing that it was much the custom at that time to wear cameos and other jewels of similar kind around the neck and in the cap. For the King himself Matteo prepared a picture intended for the altar of the chapel, which his majesty always caused to be carried with him whenever he travelled; the figures of this Avork were of gold, partly in full-relief, and partly in half relief, with many engraved jewels dispersed over different parts of the same. Matteo likewise executed numerous mtagli in crystal, the impressions from Avhich in sulphur and gypsum are to be seen in various places; but more particularly in Verona, where there is one exhibiting all the planets, Avhich is exceedingly beautiful; and another representing Venus with Love, the back turned to the spectator: this is so fine that it could not possibly be more admirable than it is. In a beautiful chalcedony, Avhich was found in a river, this engraver cut the head of a Dejanira most divinely; the work is in almost full-relief, and the head is wrapped in the skin of the lion; in the stone there was a vein of a red colour, and here the artist has made the skin turn over, at the junction of the head with the body namely, and he has represented this skin with such