This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 Excerpt: ... all. We now know, thanks to the researches of Lady Dilke, something of a still more important member of the household. There is much mention in the will that Claude had drawn up for him in 1663, and still more in the codicil of 1670, of a certain Agnese. She was at the former date a little girl (zitella) of about ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 Excerpt: ... all. We now know, thanks to the researches of Lady Dilke, something of a still more important member of the household. There is much mention in the will that Claude had drawn up for him in 1663, and still more in the codicil of 1670, of a certain Agnese. She was at the former date a little girl (zitella) of about eleven years, brought up in his house, where at that time she was living "per carita." In that case Agnese must have been born in 1651 or 1652, but for how long she had been an inmate of the house, "cheering with her childish laughter the studio and the great dignitaries of Rome that frequented it," this we do not know. That her position in the house was no menial one we shall see from the terms of Claude's will, and the fact that there is no reference to her in either of Claude's biographers is only a proof of the excessive poverty of the material upon which we are dependent for the history of our artist's life. Agnese was still living with Claude at the time of his death. She must have been at that time about thirty years old and still unmarried. It has been pointed out that there is a certain blank in Claude's artistic life about the middle of the century; for the years 1649 and 1650 we have no record of any work done.1 Claude, it is inferred, was otherwise occupied at this time. It must, however, be confessed that the "sober biographer " has not much material to build upon in the case of this one possible romance in Claude's life. The dry terms of a legal document are poor material with which to construct any such story. All we can say is that Agnese was in all probability the natural daughter of Claude. It must be borne in mind that the discovery in 1881 of the will of Claude, which I now proceed to analyse, has ...
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