Fig. 69.—Example of Amatorii.
It has sometimes been said that Raffaelle himself painted upon the maiolica, but it is not proved; and the finest pieces were not made until after his death.
It is true that many of his pictures were copied or adapted by the maiolica-painters for their own uses; and it is also asserted that some of his pupils painted upon the clay. Marryat states that the engraver Marc Antonio—good prints of whose works now sell to collectors for enormous prices, beautiful specimens of which have been shown in the famous collection of Mr. Rose, of London—was in the height of his powers when the brilliant young painter Raffaelle was in the full command of his; and that the engraver lived in the house of the painter, worked with him under his own eye, and was influenced by his inspirations. We cannot wonder, therefore, that the finest results were thus produced. But it is not to be believed that either of them worked upon the clay. Copies of their pictures were painted upon the maiolica by other hands, and vastly inferior ones to theirs.