The officer took me immediately to the castle, and there put me in
possession, not, however, without violence; after that he warned me to
take very good care that I was not murdered. I installed myself,
enrolled serving-men, and bought a quantity of pikes and partisans; but
I remained for several days exposed to grievous annoyances, for the
Provost was a great nobleman of Paris, and all the other gentlefolk took
part against me; they attacked me with such insults that I could hardly
hold my own against them. I must not omit to mention that I entered the
service of his Majesty in the year 1540, which was exactly the year in
which I reached the age of forty.
Note 1. This was the castle of Le Petit Nesle, on the site of which now
stands the Palace of the Institute. The Provost of Paris was then Jean
d’Estouteville, lord of Villebon.
XIII
THE AFFRONTS and insults I received made me have recourse to the King,
begging his Majesty to establish me in some other place. He answered:
“Who are you, and what is your name?” I remained in great confusion, and
could not comprehend what he meant. Holding my tongue thus, the King
repeated the same words a second time angrily. Then I said my name was
Benvenuto. “If, then, you are the Benvenuto of whom I have heard,”
replied the King, “act according to your wont, for you have my full
leave to do so.” I told his Majesty that all I wanted was to keep his
favour; for the rest, I knew of nothing that could harm me. He gave a
little laugh, and said: “Go your ways, then; you shall never want my
favour.” Upon this he told his first secretary, Monsignor di Villerois,
to see me provided and accommodated with all I needed. 1
This Villerois was an intimate friend of the Provost, to whom the castle
had been given. It was built in a triangle, right up against the city
walls, and was of some antiquity, but had no garrison. The building was
of considerable size. Monsignor di Villerois counselled me to look about
for something else, and by all means to leave this place alone, seeing
that its owner was a man of vast power, who would most assuredly have me
killed. I answered that I had come from Italy to France only in order to
serve that illustrious King; and as for dying, I knew for certain that
die I must; a little earlier or a little later was a matter of supreme
indifference to me.
Now Villerois was a man of the highest talent, exceptionally
distinguished in all points, and possessed of vast wealth. There was
nothing he would not gladly have done to harm me, but he made no open
demonstration of his mind. He was grave, and of a noble presence, and
spoke slowly, at his ease. To another gentleman, Monsignor di Marmagna,
the treasurer of Languedoc, he left the duty of molesting me. [2] The
first thing which this man did was to look out the best apartments in
the castle, and to have them fitted up for himself. I told him that the
King had given me the place to serve him in, and that I did not choose
it should be occupied by any but myself and my attendants. The fellow,
who was haughty, bold, and spirited, replied that he meant to do just
what he liked; that I should run my head against a wall if I presumed to
oppose him, and that Villerois had given him authority to do what he was
doing. I told him that, by the King’s authority given to me, neither he
nor Villerois could do it. When I said that he gave vent to offensive
language in French, whereat I retorted in my own tongue that he lied.
Stung with rage, he clapped his hand upon a little dagger which he had;
then I set my hand also to a large dirk which I always wore for my
defence, and cried out: “If you dare to draw, I’ll kill you on the
spot.” He had two servants to back him, and I had my two lads. For a
moment or two Marmagna stood in doubt, not knowing exactly what to do,
but rather inclined to mischief, and muttering: “I will never put up
with such insults.” Seeing then that the affair was taking a bad turn, I
took a sudden resolution, and cried to Pagolo and Ascanio: “When you see
me draw my dirk, throw yourselves upon those serving-men, and kill them
if you can; I mean to kill this fellow at the first stroke, and then we
will decamp together, with God’s grace.” Marmagna, when he understood my
purpose, was glad enough to get alive out of the castle.
All these things, toning them down a trifle, I wrote to the Cardinal of
Ferrara, who related them at once to the King. The King, deeply
irritated, committed me to the care of another officer of his bodyguard
who was named Monsignor lo Iscontro d’Orbech. [3] By him I was
accommodated with all that I required in the most gracious way
imaginable.
Note 1. M. Nicholas de Neufville, lord of Villeroy.
Note 2. Francois l’Allemand, Seigneur de Marmagne.
Note 3. Le Vicomte d’Orbec. It seems that by 'Iscontro' Cellini meant
Viscount.
XIV
AFTER fitting up my own lodgings in the castle and the workshop with all
conveniences for carrying on my business, and putting my household upon
a most respectable footing, I began at once to construct three models
exactly of the size which the silver statues were to be. These were
Jupiter, Vulcan and Mars. I moulded them in clay, and set them well up
on irons; then I went to the King, who disbursed three hundred pounds
weight of silver, if I remember rightly, for the commencement of the
undertaking. While I was getting these things ready, we brought the
little vase and oval basin to completion, which had been several months
in hand. Then I had them richly gilt, and they showed like the finest
piece of plate which had been seen in France.
Afterwards I took them to the Cardinal, who thanked me greatly; and,
without requesting my attendance, carried and presented them to the
King. He was delighted with the gift, and praised me as no artist was
ever praised before. In return, he bestowed upon the Cardinal an abbey
worth seven thousand crowns a year, and expressed his intention of
rewarding me too. The Cardinal, however, prevented him, telling his
Majesty that he was going ahead too fast, since I had as yet produced
nothing for him. The King, who was exceedingly generous, replied: “For
that very reason will I put heart and hope into him.” The Cardinal,
ashamed at his own meanness, said: “Sire, I beg you to leave that to me;
I will allow him a pension of at least three hundred crowns when have
taken possession of the abbey.” He never gave me anything; and it would
be tedious to relate all the knavish tricks of this prelate. I prefer to
dwell on matters of greater moment.
XV
WHEN I returned to Paris, the great favour shown me by the King made me
a mark for all men’s admiration. I received the silver and began my
statue of Jupiter. Many journeymen were now in my employ; and the work
went onward briskly day and night; so that, by the time I had finished
the clay models of Jupiter, Vulcan, and Mars, and had begun to get the
silver statue forward, my workshop made already a grand show.
The King now came to Paris, and I went to pay him my respects. No sooner
had his Majesty set eyes upon me than he called me cheerfully, and asked
if I had something fine to exhibit at my lodging, for he would come to
inspect it. I related all I had been doing; upon which he was seized
with a strong desire to come. Accordingly, after this dinner, he set off
with Madame de Tampes, the Cardinal of Lorraine, and some other of his
greatest nobles, among whom were the King of Navarre, his cousin, and
the Queen, his sister; the Dauphin and Dauphiness also attended him; so
that upon that day the very flower of the French court came to visit me.
[1] I had been some time at home, and was hard at work. When the King
arrived at the door of the castle, and heard our hammers going, he bade
his company keep silence. Everybody in my house was busily employed, so
that the unexpected entrance of his Majesty took me by surprise. The
first thing he saw on coming into the great hall was myself with a huge
plate of silver in my hand, which I was beating for the body of my
Jupiter; one of my men was finishing the head, another the legs; and it
is easy to imagine what a din we made between us. It happened that a
little French lad was working at my side, who had just been guilty of
some trifling blunder. I gave the lad a kick, and, as my good luck would
have it, caught him with my foot exactly in the fork between his legs,
and sent him spinning several yards, so that he came stumbling up
against the King precisely at the moment when his Majesty arrived. The
King was vastly amused, but I felt covered with confusion. He began to
ask me what I was engaged upon, and told me to go on working; then he
said that he would much rather have me not employ my strength on manual
labour, but take as many men as I wanted, and make them do the rough
work; he should like me to keep myself in health, in order that he might
enjoy my services through many years to come. I replied to his Majesty
that the moment I left off working I should fall ill; also that my art
itself would suffer, and not attain the mark I aimed at for his Majesty.
Thinking that I spoke thus only to brag, and not because it was the
truth, he made the Cardinal of Lorraine repeat what he had said; but I
explained my reasons so fully and clearly, that the Cardinal perceived
my drift; he then advised the King to let me labour as much or little as
I liked.
Note 1. These personages were Madame d’Etampes, the King’s mistress;
John of Lorraine, son of Duke Renee II., who was made Cardinal in 1518;
Henri d’Albret II. and Marguerite de Valois, his wife; the Duaphin,
afterwards Henri II., and his wife, the celebrated Caterina de’ Medici,
daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino.
XVI
BEING very well satisfied with what he had seen, the King returned to
his palace, after bestowing on me too many marks of favour to be here
recorded. On the following day he sent for me at his dinner-hour. The
Cardinal of Ferrara was there at meat with him. When I arrived, the King
had reached his second course; he began at once to speak to me, saying,
with a pleasant cheer, that having now so fine a basin and jug of my
workmanship, he wanted an equally handsome salt-cellar to match them;
and begged me to make a design, and to lose no time about it. I replied:
“Your Majesty shall see a model of the sort even sooner than you have
commanded; for while I was making the basin, I thought there ought to be
a saltcellar to match it; therefore I have already designed one, and if
it is your pleasure, I will at once exhibit my conception.” The King
turned with a lively movement of surprise and pleasure to the lords in
his company--they were the King of Navarre, the Cardinal of Lorraine,
and the Cardinal of Ferrara--exclaiming as he did so: “Upon my word,
this is a man to be loved and cherished by every one who knows him.”
Then he told me that he would very gladly see my model.
I set off, and returned in a few minutes; for I had only to cross the
river, that is, the Seine. I carried with me the wax model which I had
made in Rome at the Cardinal of Ferrara’s request. When I appeared again
before the King and uncovered my piece, he cried out in astonishment:
“This is a hundred times more divine a thing that I had ever dreamed of.
What a miracle of a man! He ought never to stop working.” Then he turned
to me with a beaming countenance, and told me that he greatly liked the
piece, and wished me to execute it in gold. The Cardinal of Ferrara
looked me in the face, and let me understand that he recognised the
model as the same which I had made for him in Rome. I replied that I had
already told him I should carry it out for one who was worthy of it. The
Cardinal, remembering my words, and nettled by the revenge he thought
that I was taking on him, remarked to the King: “Sire, this is an
enormous undertaking; I am only afraid that we shall never see it
finished. These able artists who have great conceptions in their brain
are ready enough to put the same in execution without duly considering
when they are to be accomplished. I therefore, if I gave commission for
things of such magnitude, should like to know when I was likely to get
them.” The King replied that if a man was so scrupulous about the
termination of a work, he would never begin anything at all; these words
he uttered with a certain look, which implied that such enterprises were
not for folk of little spirit. I then began to say my say: “Princes who
put heart and courage in their servants, as your Majesty does by deed
and word, render undertakings of the greatest magnitude quite easy. Now
that God has sent me so magnificent a patron, I hope to perform for him
a multitude of great and splendid master-pieces.” “I believe it, “ said
the King, and rose from table. Then he called me into his chamber, and
asked me how much gold was wanted for the salt-cellar. “A thousand
crowns,” I answered. He called his treasurer at once, who was the
Viscount of Orbec, and ordered him that very day to disburse to me a
thousand crowns of good weight and old gold.
When I left his Majesty, I went for the two notaries who had helped me
in procuring silver for the Jupiter and many other things. Crossing the
Seine, I then took a small hand-basket, which one of my cousins, a nun,
had given me on my journey through Florence. It made for my good fortune
that I took this basket and not a bag. So then, thinking I could do the
business by daylight, for it was still early, and not caring to
interrupt my workmen, and being indisposed to take a servant with me, I
set off alone. When I reached the house of the treasurer, I found that
he had the money laid out before him, and was selecting the best pieces
as the King had ordered. It seemed to me, however, that that thief of a
treasurer was doing all he could to postpone the payment of the money;
nor were the pieces counted out until three hours after nightfall.
I meanwhile was not wanting in despatch, for I sent word to several of
my journeymen that they should come and attend me, since the matter was
one of serious importance. When I found that they did not arrive, I
asked the messenger if he had done my errand. The rascal of a groom whom
I had sent replied that he had done so, but that they had answered that
they could not come; he, however, would gladly carry the money for me. I
answered that I meant to carry the money myself. But this time the
contract was drawn up and signed. On the money being counted, I put it
all into my little basket, and then thrust my arm through the two
handles. Since I did this with some difficulty, the gold was well shut
in, and I carried it more conveniently than if the vehicle had been a
bag. I was well armed with shirt and sleeves of mail, and having my
sword and dagger at my side, made off along the street as quick as my
two legs would carry me.
XVII
JUST as I left the house, I observed some servants whispering among
themselves, who also went off at a round pace in another direction from
the one I took. Walking with all haste, I passed the bridge of the
Exchange, [1] and went up along a wall beside the river which led to my
lodging in the castle. I had just come to the Augustines--now this was a
very perilous passage, and though it was only five hundred paces distant
from my dwelling, yet the lodging in the castle being quite as far
removed inside, no one could have heard my voice if I had shouted--when
I saw four men with four swords in their hands advancing to attack me.
[2] My resolution was taken in an instant. I covered the basket with my
cape, drew my sword, and seeing that they were pushing hotly forward,
cried aloud: “With soldiers there is only the cape and sword to gain;
and these, before I give them up, I hope you’ll get not much to your
advantage.” Then crossing my sword boldly with them, I more than once
spread out my arms, in order that, if the ruffians were put on by the
servants who had seen me take my money, they might be led to judge I was
not carrying it. The encounter was soon over; for they retired step by
step, saying among themselves in their own language: “This is a brave
Italian, and certainly not the man we are after; or if he be the man, he
cannot be carrying anything.” I spoke Italian, and kept harrying them
with thrust and slash so hotly that I narrowly missed killing one or the
other. My skill in using the sword made them think I was a soldier
rather than a fellow of some other calling. They drew together and began
to fall back, muttering all the while beneath their breath in their own
tongue. I meanwhile continued always calling out, but not too loudly,
that those who wanted my cape and blade would have to get them with some
trouble. Then I quickened pace, while they still followed slowly at my
heels; this augmented my fear, for I thought I might be falling into an
ambuscade, which would have cut me off in front as well as rear.
Accordingly, when I was at the distance of a hundred paces from my home,
I ran with all my might, and shouted at the top of my voice: “To arms,
to arms! out with you, out with you! I am being murdered.” In a moment
four of my young men came running, with four pikes in their hands. They
wanted to pursue the ruffians, who could still be seen; but I stopped
them, calling back so as to let the villains hear: “Those cowards
yonder, four against one man alone, had not pluck enough to capture a
thousand golden crowns in metal, which have almost broken this arm of
mine. Let us haste inside and put the money away; then I will take my
big two-handed sword, and go with you whithersoever you like.” We went
inside to secure the gold; and my lads, while expressing deep concern
for the peril I had run, gently chided me, and said: “You risk yourself
too much alone; the time will come when you will make us all bemoan your
loss.” A thousand words and exclamations were exchanged between us; my
adversaries took to flight; and we all sat down and supped together with
mirth and gladness, laughing over those great blows which fortune
strikes, for good as well as evil, and which, what time they do not hit
the mark, are just the same as though they had not happened. [3] It is
very true that one says to oneself: “You will have had a lesson for next
time.” But that is not the case; for fortune always comes upon us in new
ways, quite unforeseen by our imagination.
Note 1. The Pont du Change, replaced by the Pont Neuf.
Note 2. The excitement of his recollection makes Cellini more than
usually incoherent about this episode. The translator has to collect the
whole sense of the passage.
Note 3. Cellini’s philosophy is summed up in the proverb: “A miss is as
good as a mile.”
XVIII
ON the morning which followed these events, I made the first step in my
work upon the great salt-cellar, pressing this and my other pieces
forward with incessant industry. My workpeople at this time, who were
pretty numerous, included both sculptors and goldsmiths. They belonged
to several nations, Italian, French, and German; for I took the best I
could find, and changed them often, retaining only those who knew their
business well. These select craftsmen I worked to the bone with
perpetual labour. They wanted to rival me; but I had a better
constitution. Consequently, in their inability to bear up against such a
continuous strain, they took to eating and drinking copiously, some of
the Germans in particular, who were more skilled than their comrades,
and wanted to march apace with me, sank under these excesses, and
perished.
While I was at work upon the Jupiter, I noticed that I had plenty of
silver to spare. So I took in hand, without consulting the King, to make
a great two-handled vase, about one cubit and a half in height. I also
conceived the notion of casting the large model of my Jupiter in bronze.
Having up to this date done nothing of the sort, I conferred with
certain old men experienced in that art at Paris, and described to them
the methods in use with us in Italy. They told me they had never gone
that way about the business; but that if I gave them leave to act upon
their own principles, they would bring the bronze out as clean and
perfect as the clay. I chose to strike an agreement, throwing on them
the responsibility, and promising several crowns above the price they
bargained for. Thereupon they put the work in progress; but I soon saw
that they were going the wrong way about it, and began on my own account
a head of Julius Cæsar, bust and armour, much larger than the life,
which I modelled from a reduced copy of a splendid antique portrait I
had brought with me from Rome. I also undertook another head of the same
size, studied from a very handsome girl, whom I kept for my own
pleasures. I called this Fontainebleau, after the place selected by the
King for his particular delight.
We constructed an admirable little furnace for the casting of the
bronze, got all things ready, and baked our moulds; those French masters
undertaking the Jupiter, while I looked after my two heads. Then I said:
“I do not think you will succeed with your Jupiter, because you have not
provided sufficient vents beneath for the air to circulate; therefore
you are but losing your time and trouble.” They replied that, if their
work proved a failure, they would pay back the money I had given on
account, and recoup me for current expenses; but they bade me give good
heed to my own proceedings, [1] for the fine heads I meant to cast in my
Italian fashion would never succeed.
At this dispute between us there were present the treasurers and other
gentlefolk commissioned by the King to superintend my proceedings.
Everything which passed by word or act was duly reported to his Majesty.
The two old men who had undertaken to cast my Jupiter postponed the
experiment, saying they would like to arrange the moulds of my two
heads. They argued that, according to my method, no success could be
expected, and it was a pity to waste such fine models. When the King was
informed of this, he sent word that they should give their minds to
learning, and not try to teach their master.
So then they put their now piece into the furnace with much laughter;
while I, maintaining a firm carriage, showing neither mirth nor anger
(though I felt it), placed my two heads, one on each side of the
Jupiter. The metal came all right to melting, and we let it in with joy
and gladness; it filled the mould of the Jupiter most admirably, and at
the same time my two heads. This furnished them with matter for
rejoicing and me with satisfaction; for I was not sorry to have
predicted wrongly of their work, and they made as though they were
delighted to have been mistaken about mine. Then, as the custom in
France is, they asked to drink, in high good spirits. I was very
willing, and ordered a handsome collation for their entertainment. When
this was over, they requested me to pay the money due to them and the
surplus I had promised. I replied: “You have been laughing over what, I
fear, may make you weep. On reflection, it seems to me that too much
metal flowed into you mould. Therefore I shall wait until to-morrow
before I disburse more money.” The poor fellows swallowed my words and
chewed the cud of them; then they went home without further argument.
At daybreak they began, quite quietly, to break into the pit of the
furnace. They could not uncover their large mould until they had
extracted my two heads; these were in excellent condition, and they
placed them where they could be well seen. When they came to Jupiter,
and had dug but scarcely two cubits, they sent up such a yell, they and
their four workmen, that it woke me up. Fancying it was a shout of
triumph, I set off running, for my bedroom was at the distance of more
than five hundred paces. On reaching the spot, I found them looking like
the guardians of Christ’s sepulchre in a picture, downcast and
terrified. Casting a hasty glance upon my two heads, and seeing they
were all right, I tempered my annoyance with the pleasure that sight
gave me. Then they began to make excuses, crying: “Our bad luck!” I
retorted: “Your luck has been most excellent, but what has been indeed
bad is your deficiency of knowledge; had I only seen you put the soul
[2] into your mould, I could have taught you with one word how to cast
the figure without fault. This would have brought me great honour and
you much profit. I shall be able to make good my reputation; but you
will now lose both your honour and your profit. Let then this lesson
teach you another time to work, and not to poke fun at your masters.”
Note 1. 'Ma che io guardassi bene, che, &c.' This is perhaps: 'but they
bade me note well that.'
Note 2. I have here translated the Italian 'anima' literally by the
English word soul. It is a technical expression, signifying the block,
somewhat smaller than the mould, which bronze-founders insert in order
to obtain a hollow, and not a solid cast from the mould which gives form
to their liquid metal.
XIX
ABOUT this time the illustrious soldier Piero Strozzi arrived in France,
and reminded the King that he had promised him letters of
naturalisation. These were accordingly made out; and at the same time
the King said: “Let them be also given to Benvenuto, mon ami, and take
them immediately to his house, and let him have them without the payment
of any fees.” Those of the great Strozzi [1] cost him several hundred
ducats: mine were brought me by one of the King’s chief secretaries,
Messer Antonio Massone, [2] This gentleman presented them with many
expressions of kindness from his Majesty, saying: “The King makes you a
gift of these, in order that you may be encouraged to serve him,; they
are letters of naturalisation.” Then he told me how they had been given
to Piero Strozzi at his particular request, and only after a long time
of waiting, as a special mark of favour; the King had sent mine of his
own accord, and such an act of grace had never been heard of in that
realm before. When I heard these words, I thanked his Majesty with
heartiness; but I begged the secretary to have the kindness to tell me
what letters of naturalisation meant. He was a man accomplished and
polite, who spoke Italian excellently. At first my question made him
laugh; then he recovered his gravity, and told me in my own language
what the papers signified, adding that they conferred one of the highest
dignities a foreigner could obtain: “indeed, it is a far greater honour
than to be made a nobleman of Venice.”
When he left me, he returned and told his Majesty, who laughed awhile,
and then said: “Now I wish him to know my object in sending those
letters of naturalisation. Go and install him lord of the castle of the
Little Nello, where he lives, and which is a part of my demesne, He will
know what that means better than he understood about the letters of
naturalisation.” A messenger brought me the patent, upon which I wanted
to give him a gratuity. He refused to accept it, saying that his Majesty
had so ordered. These letters of naturalisation, together with the
patent for the castle, I brought with me when I returned to Italy;
wherever I go and wherever I may end my days, I shall endeavour to
preserve them. 3
Note 1. Piero was the son of Filippo Strozzi, and the general who lost
the battle of Montemurlo, so disastrous to the Florentine exiles, in
1537.
Note 2. Antoine le Macon, secretary to Margaret of Navarre. He
translated the 'Decameron' at her instance into French.
Note 3. The letter of naturalisation exists. See 'Bianchi,' p. 583. For
the grant of the castle, see 'ibid.,' p. 585.
XX
I SHALL now proceed with the narration of my life. I had on hand the
following works already mentioned, namely, the silver Jupiter, the
golden salt-cellar, the great silver vase, and the two bronze heads. I
also began to cast the pedestal for Jupiter, which I wrought very richly
in bronze, covered with ornaments, among which was a bas-relief,
representing the rape of Ganymede, and on the other side Leda and the
Swan. On casting this piece it came out admirably. I also made another
pedestal of the same sort for the statute of Juno, intending to begin
that too, if the King gave me silver for the purpose. By working briskly
I had put together the silver Jupiter and the golden salt-cellar; the
vase was far advanced; the two bronze heads were finished. I had also
made several little things for the Cardinal of Ferrara, and a small
silver vase of rich workmanship, which I meant to present to Madame
d’Etampes. Several Italian noblemen, to wit, Signor Piero Strozzi, the
Count of Anguillara, the Count of Pitigliano, the Count of Mirandola,
and many others, gave me employment also. 1
For my great King, as I have said, I had been working strenuously, and
the third day after he returned to Paris, he came to my house, attended
by a crowd of his chief nobles. He marvelled to find how many pieces I
had advanced, and with what excellent results. His mistress, Madame
d’Etampes, being with him, they began to talk of Fontainebleau. She told
his Majesty he ought to commission me to execute something beautiful for
the decoration of his favourite residence. He answered on the instant:
“You say well, and here upon the spot I will make up my mind what I mean
him to do.” Then he turned to me, and asked me what I thought would be
appropriate for that beautiful fountain. [2] I suggested several ideas,
and his Majesty expressed his own opinion. Afterwards he said that he
was going to spend fifteen or twenty days at San Germano del Aia, [3] a
place twelve leagues distant from Paris; during his absence he wished me
to make a model for that fair fountain of his in the richest style I
could invent, seeing he delighted in that residence more than in
anything else in his whole realm. Accordingly he commanded and besought
me to do my utmost to produce something really beautiful; and I promised
that I would do so.
When the King saw so many finished things before him, he exclaimed to
Madame d’Etampes: “I never had an artist who pleased me more, nor one
who deserved better to be well rewarded; we must contrive to keep him
with us. He spends freely, is a boon companion, and works hard; we must
therefore take good thought for him. Only think, madam, all the times
that he has come to me or that I have come to him, he has never once
asked for anything; one can see that his heart is entirely devoted to
his work. We ought to make a point of doing something for him quickly,
else we run a risk of losing him.” Madame d’Etampes answered: “I will be
sure to remind you.” Then they departed, and in addition to the things I
had begun, I now took the model of the fountain in hand, at which I
worked assiduously.
Note 1. Anguillara and Pitigliano were fiefs of two separate branches of
the Orsini family. The house of Pico lost their lordship of Mirandola in
1536, when Galeotto Pico took refuge with his sons in France. His
descendants renewed their hold upon the fief, which was erected into a
duchy in 1619.
Note 2. 'Per quella bella fonte.' Here, and below, Cellini mixes up
Fontainebleau and the spring which gave its name to the place.
Note 3. S. Germain-en-laye is not so far from Paris as Cellini thought.
XXI
AT the end of a month and a half the King returned to Paris; and I, who
had been working day and night, went to present myself before him,
taking my model, so well blocked out that my intention could be clearly
understood. Just about that time, the devilries of war between the
Emperor and King had been stirred up again, so that I found him much
harassed by anxieties. [1] I spoke, however, with the Cardinal of
Ferrara, saying I had brought some models which his Majesty had ordered,
and begging him, if he found an opportunity, to put in a word whereby I
might be able to exhibit them; the King, I thought, would take much
pleasure in their sight. This the Cardinal did; and no sooner had he
spoken of the models, than the King came to the place where I had set
them up. The first of these was intended for the door of the palace at
Fontainebleau. I had been obliged to make some alterations in the
architecture of this door, which was wide and low, in their vicious
French style. The opening was very nearly square, and above it was a
hemicycle, flattened like the handle of a basket; here the King wanted a
figure placed to represent the genius of Fontainebleau. I corrected the
proportions of the doorway, and placed above it an exact half circle; at
the sides I introduced projections, with socles and cornices properly
corresponding: then, instead of the columns demanded by this disposition
of parts, I fashioned two satyrs, one upon each side. The first of these
was in somewhat more than half-relief, lifting one hand to support the
cornice, and holding a thick club in the other; his face was fiery and
menacing, instilling fear into the beholders. The other had the same
posture of support; but I varied his features and some other details; in
his hand, for instance, he held a lash with three balls attached to
chains. Though I call them satyrs, they showed nothing of the satyr
except little horns and a goatish head; all the rest of their form was
human. In the lunette above I placed a female figure lying in an
attitude of noble grace; she rested her left arm on a stag’s neck, this
animal being one of the King’s emblems. On one side I worked little
fawns in half relief, with some wild boars and other game in lower
relief; on the other side were hounds and divers dogs of the chase of
several species, such as may be seen in that fair forest where the
fountain springs. The whole of this composition was enclosed in an
oblong, each angle of which contained a Victory in bas-relief, holding
torches after the manner of the ancients. Above the oblong was a
salamander, the King’s particular device, with many other ornaments
appropriate to the Ionic architecture of the whole design.
Note 1. Cellini refers to the renewal of hostilities in May 1542.
XXII
WHEN the King had seen this model, it restored him to cheerfulness, and
distracted his mind from the fatiguing debates he had been holding
during the past two hours. Seeing him cheerful as I wished, I uncovered
the other model, which he was far from expecting, since he not
unreasonably judged that the first had work in it enough. This one was a
little higher than two cubits; it figured a fountain shaped in a perfect
square, with handsome steps all round, intersecting each other in a way
which was unknown in France, and is indeed very uncommon in Italy. In
the middle of the fountain I set a pedestal, projecting somewhat above
the margin of the basin, and upon this a nude male figure, of the right
proportion to the whole design, and of a very graceful form. In his
right hand he raised a broken lance on high; his left hand rested on a
scimitar; he was poised upon the left foot, the right being supported by
a helmet of the richest imaginable workmanship. At each of the four
angles of the fountain a figure was sitting, raised above the level of
the base, and accompanied by many beautiful and appropriate emblems.
The King began by asking me what I meant to represent by the fine fancy
I had embodied in this design, saying that he had understood the door
without explanation, but that he could not take the conception of my
fountain, although it seemed to him most beautiful; at the same time, he
knew well that I was not like those foolish folk who turn out something
with a kind of grace, but put no intention into their performances. I
then addressed myself to the task of exposition; for having succeeded in
pleasing him with my work, I wanted him to be no less pleased with my
discourse. “Let me inform your sacred Majesty,” I thus began, “that the
whole of this model is so exactly made to scale, that if it should come
to being executed in the large, none of its grace and lightness will be
sacrificed. The figure in the middle is meant to stand fifty-four feet
above the level of the ground.” At this announcement the King made a
sign of surprise. “It is, moreover, intended to represent the god Mars.
The other figures embody those arts and sciences in which your Majesty
takes pleasure, and which you so generously patronise. This one, upon
the right hand, is designed for Learning; you will observe that the
accompanying emblems indicate Philosophy, and her attendant branches of
knowledge. By the next I wished to personify the whole Art of Design,
including Sculpture, Painting, and Architecture. The third is Music,
which cannot be omitted from the sphere of intellectual culture. That
other, with so gracious and benign a mien, stands for Generosity,
lacking which the mental gifts bestowed on us by God will not be brought
to view. I have attempted to portray your Majesty, your very self, in
the great central statue; for you are truly a god Mars, the only brave
upon this globe, and all your bravery you use with justice and with
piety in the defence of your own glory.” Scarcely had he allowed me to
finish this oration, when he broke forth with a strong voice: “Verily I
have found a man here after my own heart.” Then he called the treasurers
who were appointed for my supplies, and told them to disburse whatever I
required, let the cost be what it might. Next, he laid his hand upon my
shoulder, saying: '“Mon ami' (which is the same as 'my friend'), I know
not whether the pleasure be greater for the prince who finds a man after
his own heart, or for the artist who finds a prince willing to furnish
him with means for carrying out his great ideas.” I answered that, if I
was really the man his Majesty described, my good fortune was by far the
greater. He answered laughingly: “Let us agree, then, that our luck is
equal!” Then I departed in the highest spirits, and went back to my work.
XXIII
MY ill-luck willed that I was not wide-awake enough to play the like
comedy with Madame d’Etampes. That evening, when she heard the whole
course of events from the King’s own lips, it bred such poisonous fury
in her breast that she exclaimed with anger: “If Benvenuto had shown me
those fine things of his, he would have given me some reason to be
mindful of him at the proper moment.” The King sought to excuse me, but
he made no impression on her temper. Being informed of what had passed,
I waited fifteen days, during which they made a tour through Normandy,
visiting Rouen and Dieppe; then, when they returned to S.
Germain-en-Laye, I took the handsome little vase which I had made at the
request of Madame d’Etampes, hoping, if I gave it her, to recover the
favour I had lost. With this in my hand, then, I announced my presence
to her nurse, and showed the gift which I had brought her mistress; the
woman received me with demonstrations of good-will, and said that she
would speak a word to Madame, who was still engaged upon her toilette; I
should be admitted on the instant, when she had discharged her embassy.
The nurse made her report in full to Madame, who retorted scornfully:
“Tell him to wait.” On hearing this, I clothed myself with patience,
which of all things I find the most difficult. Nevertheless, I kept
myself under control until the hour for dinner was past. Then, seeing
that time dragged on, and being maddened by hunger, I could no longer
hold out, but flung off, sending her most devoutly to the devil.
I next betook myself to the Cardinal of Lorraine, and made him a present
of the vase, only petitioning his Eminence to maintain me in the King’s
good graces. He said there was no need for this; and if there were need
he would gladly speak for me. Then he called his treasurer, and
whispered a few words in his ear. The treasurer waited till I took my
leave of the Cardinal; after which he said to me: “Benvenuto, come with
me, and I will give you a glass of good wine to drink.” I answered, not
understanding what he meant: “For Heaven’s sake, Mr. Treasurer, let me
have but one glass of wine and a mouthful of bread; for I am really
fainting for want of food. I have fasted since early this morning up to
the present moment, at the door of Madame d’Etampes; I went to give her
that fine piece of silver-gilt plate, and took pains that she would be
informed of my intention; but she, with the mere petty will to vex me,
bade me wait; now I am famished, and feel my forces failing; and, as God
willed it, I have bestowed my gift and labour upon one who is far more
worthy of them. I only crave of you something to drink; for being rather
too bilious by nature, fast upsets me so that I run the risk now of
falling from exhaustion to the earth.” While I was pumping out these
words with difficulty, they brought some admirable wine and other
delicacies for a hearty meal. I refreshed myself, and having recovered
my vital spirits, found that my exasperation had departed from me.
The good treasurer handed me a hundred crowns in gold. I sturdily
refused to accept them. He reported this to the Cardinal, who swore at
him, and told him to make me take the money by force, and not to show
himself again till he had done so. The treasurer returned, much
irritated, saying he had never been so scolded before by the Cardinal;
but when he pressed the crowns upon me, I still offered some resistance.
Then, quite angry, he said he would use force to make me take them. So I
accepted the money. When I wanted to thank the Cardinal in person, he
sent word by one of his secretaries that he would gladly do me a service
whenever the occasion offered. I returned the same evening to Paris. The
King heard the whole history, and Madame d’Etampes was well laughed at
in their company. This increased her animosity against me, and led to an
attack upon my life, of which I shall speak in the proper time and place.
XXIV
FAR back in my autobiography I ought to have recorded the friendship
which I won with the most cultivated, the most affectionate, and the
most companionable man of worth I ever knew in this world. He was Messer
Guido Guidi, an able physician and doctor of medicine, and a nobleman of
Florence. [1] The infinite troubles brought upon me by my evil fortune
caused me to omit the mention of him at an earlier date; and though my
remembrance may be but a trifle, I deemed it sufficient to keep him
always in my heart. Yet, finding that the drama of my life requires his
presence, I shall introduce him here at the moment of my greatest
trials, in order that, as he was then my comfort and support, I may now
recall to memory the good he did me. 2
Well, then, Messer Guido came to Paris; and not long after making his
acquaintance, I took him to my castle, and there assigned him his own
suite of apartments. We enjoyed our lives together in that place for
several years. The Bishop of Pavia, that is to say, Monsignore de’
Rossi, brother of the Count of San Secondo, also arrived. [3] This
gentleman I removed from his hotel, and took him to my castle, assigning
him in like manner his own suite of apartments, where he sojourned many
months with serving-men and horses. On another occasion I lodged Messer
Luigi Alamanni and his sons for some months. It was indeed God’s grace
to me that I should thus, in my poor station, be able to render services
to men of great position and acquirements.
But to return to Messer Guido. We enjoyed our mutual friendship during
all the years I stayed in Paris, and often did we exult together on
being able to advance in art and knowledge at the cost of that so great
and admirable prince, our patron, each in his own branch of industry. I
can indeed, and with good conscience, affirm that all I am, whatever of
good and beautiful I have produced, all this must be ascribed to that
extraordinary monarch. So, then, I will resume the thread of my
discourse concerning him and the great things I wrought for him.
Note 1. Son of Giuliano Guidi and Costanza, a daughter of Domenico
Ghirlandajo. Francois I sent for him some time before 1542, appointed
him his own physician, and professor of medicine in the Royal College.
He returned to Florence in 1548.
Note 2. Qui mi faccia memoria di quel bene. This is obscure. 'Quel bene'
may mean 'the happiness of his friendship.'
Note 3. We have already met with him in the Castle of S. Angelo. His
brother, the Count, was general in the French army. This brought the
Bishop to Paris, whence he returned to Italy in 1545.
XXV
I HAD a tennis-court in my castle, from which I drew considerable
profit. The building also contained some little dwellings inhabited by
different sorts of men, among whom was a printer of books of much
excellence in his own trade. Nearly the whole of his premises lay inside
the castle, and he was the man who printed Messer Guido’s first fine
book on medicine. [1] Wanting to make use of his lodging, I turned him
out, but not without some trouble. There was also a manufacturer of
saltpetre; and when I wished to assign his apartments to some of my
German workmen, the fellow refused to leave the place. I asked him over
and over again in gentle terms to give me up my rooms, because I wanted
to employ them for my work-people in the service of the King. The more
moderately I spoke, the more arrogantly did the brute reply; till at
last I gave him three days’ notice to quit. He laughed me in the face,
and said that he would begin to think of it at the end of three years. I
had not then learned that he was under the protection of Madame
d’Etampes; but had it not been that the terms on which I stood toward
that lady made me a little more circumspect than I was wont to be, I
should have ousted him at once; now, however, I thought it best to keep
my temper for three days. When the term was over, I said nothing, but
took Germans, Italians, and Frenchmen, bearing arms, and many
hand-labourers whom I had in my employ, and in a short while gutted all
his house and flung his property outside my castle. I resorted to these
somewhat rigorous measures because he had told me that no Italian whom
he knew of had the power of spirit to remove one ring of iron from its
place in his house. Well, after the deed was done, he came to find me,
and I said to him: “I am the least of all Italians in Italy, and yet I
have done nothing to you in comparison with what I have the heart to do,
and will do if you utter a single further word,” adding other terms of
menace and abuse. The man, dumbfounded and affrighted, got his furniture
together as well as he was able; then he ran off to Madame d’Etampes,
and painted a picture of me like the very fiend. She being my great
enemy, painted my portrait still blacker to the King, with all her
greater eloquence and all her greater weight of influence. As I was
afterwards informed, his Majesty twice showed signs of irritation and
was minded to use me roughly: but Henry the Dauphin, his son, now King
of France, who had received some affronts from that imperious woman,
together with the Queen of Navarre, sister to King Francis, espoused my
cause so cleverly that he passed the matter over with a laugh. So with
God’s assistance I escaped from a great danger.
Note 1. 'Chirurgia e Græco in Latinum Conversa, Vido Vidio Florentino
interprete, &c. Excudebat Petrus Galterius Luteciæ Parisiorum, prid.
Cal. Mai.' 1544. So this printer was Pierre Sauthier.
XXVI
I HAD to deal in like manner with another fellow, but I did not ruin his
house; I only threw all his furniture out of doors. This time Madame
d’Etampes had the insolence to tell the King: “I believe that devil will
sack Paris one of these days.” The King answered with some anger that I
was only quite right to defend myself from the low rabble who put
obstacles in the way of my serving him.
The rage of this vindictive woman kept continually on the increase. She
sent for a painter who was established at Fontainebleau, where the King
resided nearly all his time. The painter was an Italian and a Bolognese,
known then as Il Bologna; his right name, however, was Francesco
Primaticcio. [1] Madame d’Etampes advised him to beg that commission for
the fountain which his Majesty had given me, adding that she would
support him with all her ability; and upon this they agreed. Bologna was
in an ecstasy of happiness, and thought himself sure of the affair,
although such things were not in his line of art. He was, however, an
excellent master of design, and had collected round him a troop of
work-people formed in the school of Rosso, our Florentine painter, who
was undoubtedly an artist of extraordinary merit; his own best qualities
indeed were derived from the admirable manner of Rosso, who by this time
had died.
These ingenious arguments, and the weighty influence of Madame
d’Etampes, prevailed with the King; for they kept hammering at him night
and day, Madame at one time, and Bologna at another. What worked most
upon his mind was that both of them combined to speak as follows: “How
is it possible, sacred Majesty, that Benvenuto should accomplish the
twelve silver statues which you want? He has not finished one of them
yet. If you employ him on so great an undertaking, you will, of
necessity, deprive yourself of those other things on which your heart is
set. A hundred of the ablest craftsmen could not complete so many great
works as this one able man has taken in hand to do. One can see clearly
that he has a passion for labour; but this ardent temper will be the
cause of your Majesty’s losing both him and his masterpieces at the same
moment.” By insinuating these and other suggestions of the same sort at
a favourable opportunity, the King consented to their petition; and yet
Bologna had at this time produced neither designs nor models for the
fountain.
Note 1. Primaticcio, together with Rosso, introduced Italian painting
into France. Vasari says he came to Paris in 1541. He died in 1570. He
was, like many other of the Lombard artists, an excellent master of stucco. |
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