of Parmigianino and Raphael little short of sacrilege. Since Jackson was
incapable of hiding his feelings a quarrel became inevitable. The first
rift came when Zanetti let Jackson have for a few weeks a drawing by
Parmigianino, the _Venus and Cupid with a Bow_, to be executed in four
blocks. The print was done "intirely in _Hugo's_ [da Carpi's] manner,
with this Difference, that no _Oscuro_ block has a Contour to resemble
the original Drawing it was done from, which is seldom seen in _Hugo's_
works...." Zanetti, surprised by the fine quality of the first proof,
proposed to pass it off on Mariette in Paris as an original da Carpi
print. He even stained it and cut holes in it to give the impression of
aged worm-eaten paper. At the same time Jackson executed another
chiaroscuro, also based on a Parmigianino drawing, the _Woman Standing
Holding Jar on her Head_. Zanetti, says the _Enquiry_--
... caressed the Author with the highest Expressions of Zeal for his
Service, protesting he would communicate his Capacity to his
Correspondents all over _Europe_, which would be the Means to
advance his Fortune, especially amongst the _English_ Quality and
Gentry who travelled _Italy_. The intent of all those fine Promises
was to get the two Sets of Blocks into his Hands, which he expected
as a Present for the Use of the two original Drawings, from which
these Prints were taken; but this not being complyed with, the
_Restaurati_ expressed a Resentment at this Refusal, and took all
the Opportunities to distress the Undertakings of any Sort performed
by Mr. _Jackson_, during fourteen Years Residence in _Venice_.
Zanetti was charged, in some obscure way, with obstructing Jackson's
work in cutting 136 blocks for the _Istoria del Testamento Vecchio e
Nuovo_, popularly known as the _Bibbia del Nicolosi_,[25] published by
G. B. Albrizzi in 1737. We are informed that Filippo Farsetti, one of
Jackson's patrons, paid him for the whole set of cuts after rebuking
Zanetti for interference.
[Footnote 25: These cuts were also used for the _Biblia Sacra_,
published by Hertz in Venice in 1740.]
The Englishman evidently was kept well occupied with preparing cuts for
printers, among them Baglioni and Pezzana. For the latter he made 24
woodcuts for a quarto edition of a _Biblia Sacra_ and an unspecified
number of ornaments for a folio edition. Jackson was given a free hand
to conceive and carry out the cuts as he ple
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