Andrea painted a very beautiful
_Madonna_, for which, however, he only obtained a quarter of the
price which the king paid to the merchants. The king was so delighted
with it that he sent the artist an invitation to come to Paris in his
employ, promising to pay all his expenses. In the Pitti Palace there is
a portrait of Andrea and his wife, in which he has commemorated the
reception of this letter. He is looking very interested over it, while
his wife has the blankest expression possible.
In the summer of 1518 he started with his pupil, Andrea Sguazzella,
called Nanoccio. Such a journey was in those days considered as little
less than a parting for life. It is plain that Lucrezia's family looked
on her as almost a widow, for they made him sign a deed of
acknowledgement for the 150 florins of her _dote_. Some authors
have taken this document as a proof of their marriage in that year, but
it was merely a precaution against loss by her family; the Italian law
being that the husband is obliged to render the portion obtained with
his wife to her family if she dies without issue, and in case of his
own death, the widow is entitled to it.
Pages:
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169