Some small letters carved on a paw are
presumed, in the absence of a knowledge of the Etruscan language, to
give the master's name, and perhaps the date. This figure, on account
of its beauty and antiquity, has been placed by Duke Cosimo in a
chamber in his palace in the new suite of rooms which contains my
paintings of the deeds of Pope Leo X. The Duke also possesses a
number of small bronze figures which were found in the same place.
But as the antiquity of the works of the Greeks, Ethiopians,
Chaldeans, and Tuscans is enveloped in darkness, and because it is
necessary in such matters to base one's opinions on conjectures,
although these are not so ill founded that one is in danger of going
very far astray, yet I think that anyone who will take the trouble to
consider the matter carefully will arrive at the same conclusion as I
have, that art owes its origin to Nature herself, that this beautiful
creation the world supplied the first model, while the original
teacher was that divine intelligence which has not only made us
superior to the other animals, but like God Himself, if I may venture
to say it. In our own time it has been seen, as I hope to show quite
shortly, that simple children, roughly brought up in the woods, have
begun to draw by themselves aided by the vivacity of their intellect,
instructed solely by the example of these beautiful paintings and
sculptures of Nature. Much more then is it probable that the first
men, being less removed from their divine origin, were more perfect,
possessing a brighter intelligence, and that with Nature as a guide,
a pure intellect for master, and the lovely world as a model, they
originated these noble arts, and by gradually improving them brought
them at length, from small beginnings, to perfection. I do not deny
that there must have been an originator, since I know quite well that
there must have been a beginning at some time, due to some
individual. Neither will I deny that it is possible for one person
to help another, and to teach and open the way to design, colour, and
relief, because I know that our art consists entirely of imitation,
first of Nature, and then, as it cannot rise so high of itself, of
those things which are produced from the masters with the greatest
reputation. But I will say that an attempt to determine the exact
identity of such men is a very dangerous task, and the knowledge when
gained would probably prove unprofitable, since we have seen the tr