or Parmigianino, the name which Francesco Mazzolai, the eminent painter, received from his native town of Parma. He was born in 1503; and being early left an orphan, he was brought up by two uncles who were painters. The boy soon began to show himself a prodigy of genius. While still a mere child, he astonished his writing-master by the sketches which he drew with his pen; in his sixteenth year, he painted the "Baptism of our Saviour" with all the skill and execution of a master; and before the age of twenty he had executed several public works, and risen to a high place in the profession. The style of Parmigianino, however, did not begin to be formed until, in 1523, he removed to Rome, and commenced to practise his art under the patronage of Pope Clement VII. The composition of his pictures then became grand and simple, the execution decided, the colouring well tempered, and the general effect full of the most exquisite grace. He was also characterized by a happy faculty of imitating Raphael, so that he acquired the surname of II Raffellino. Equipped with all these accomplishments, Parmigianino now executed some of those masterpieces which have immortalized his name. While still at Rome, he painted the "Vision of St Jerome," a picture which is now in the National Gallery. At Bologna, to which he repaired on the capture of Rome in 1527, he executed the figure of "St Rochus," still seen in the church of St Petronius in that city, and the Madonna della Rosa, now in the gallery of Dresden. On his return to Parma, that admired picture was painted which hangs at the present day in the Bridgewater Gallery, and represents Cupid fashioning his bow, while two boys sit at his feet, the one crying and the other laughing. From such great masterpieces Parmigianino would probably have proceeded to others still greater, and risen to rival Raphael and Michael Angelo, had not a fever cut short his career at Casal Maggiore in 1540. This painter was also eminent for his skill in etching.