s no
less than his talents deserved. But it has not been possible to obtain
Benvenuto's portrait, and therefore there has been placed at the head of
these Lives of the Lombard painters that of Girolamo da Carpi, whose
Life we are now about to write.

[Illustration: THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI

(_After the painting by =Benvenuto Garofalo=. Ferrara: Pinacoteca,
1537_)

_Alinari_]

Girolamo, then, called Da Carpi, who was a Ferrarese and a disciple of
Benvenuto, was employed at first by his father Tommaso, who was a kind
of house-painter, in his workshop, to paint strong-boxes, stools,
mouldings, and other suchlike commonplace things. After Girolamo had
made some proficience under the discipline of Benvenuto, he began to
think that he should be removed by his father from those base labours;
but Tommaso, as one who had need of money, would do nothing of the kind,
and Girolamo resolved at all costs to leave him. And so he went to
Bologna, where he received no little favour from the gentlemen of that
city; wherefore, having made some portraits, which were passing good
likenesses, he acquired so much credit that he earned much money and
assisted his father more while living at Bologna than he had done when
staying in Ferrara. At that time there was brought to the house of the
noble Counts Ercolani at Bologna a picture by the hand of Antonio da
Correggio, in which Christ is appearing to Mary Magdalene in the form of
a gardener, executed with incredible softness and excellence; and that
manner so took possession of Girolamo's heart, that, not content with
having copied that picture, he went to Modena to see the other works by
the hand of Correggio. Having arrived there, besides being filled with
marvel at the sight of them, one among them in particular struck him
with amazement, and that was the great picture, a divine work, in which
is the Madonna, with the Child in her arms marrying S. Catharine, a S.
Sebastian, and other figures, with an air of such beauty in the heads,
that they appear as if made in Paradise; nor is it possible to find more
beautiful hair, more lovely hands, or any colouring more pleasing and
natural. Having then received permission to copy it from the owner of
the picture, Messer Francesco Grillenzoni, a doctor, who was much the
friend of Correggio, Girolamo copied it with the greatest diligence that
it is possible to imagine. After that he did the same with the
altar-picture of S. Peter Martyr, which Co