Charles Margerison - Amazing People of Italy

Welcome to this inspirational eBook, which provides you with a unique and fascinating collection of life stories. It is part of a series developed by the Amazing People Club, written in the form of a BioView, which is a short name for a biographical interview.

A BioView is a new concept that reveals amazing stories, as if the person has given an interview about their life. Each of the stories can normally be read in around five to ten minutes. They are based on the known facts of each individuals life, plus what they may have felt about their experiences.

The unique format and flow enables each persons story to come alive, as if it is being personally told to you. Each one of them reflects the interests, emotions and passions linked to the amazing persons achievements. They are stories that can provide inspiration and ideas for your own journey through life and we hope you will enjoy them.

The career notes at the end of each story supply information on each persons life, reflecting their achievements and some of the recognition they have received. They provide the background to the stories, and an easy way of learning about people who made major contributions to our world.

The stories show how ordinary people did extraordinary things to tackle problems and opportunities. Amazing people all had one thing in common. Rather than accepting the situation before them, they developed and implemented plans of action to make improvements. We can all learn from their experiences and the ways they dealt with the challenges and, in this eBook, you can understand their troubles and triumphs.

To learn more about the Amazing People Club books and audios, please visit www.amazingpeopleclub.com .

As a young girl I dreamed

Dreams of what it would be like to be rich

Escaping from the narrow streets of poverty

Having a life of luxury

Meeting kings and queens and nobles

Visiting their great castles and palaces

Being their guest and welcome at their grand balls

It was a dream that came true

In each place, I found many secrets

Secrets about marriages and relationships

Secrets they did not confess to anyone, except me

It all started because of my ability to draw and paint

From an early age, I enjoyed doing sketches as a hobby

My main work was helping my mother

My family had little money and she was a lace maker

My efforts helped her earn a little bit more

In the evenings, I experimented by painting

Snuff boxes were very popular when I was young

Many upper class people carried them

They also liked them to be decorated

Most of my early paintings were on snuff boxes

It was unusual for a girl to be asked to do this kind of work

However, I was the first to use ivory in the designs

Painting and drawing came naturally, as I had no formal tuition

The paintings on the snuff boxes helped me become noticed

Born in Venice, there were many great works of art to admire

At weekends, I would wander around the streets

There was so much to see and I learnt a lot by observing

When it was fine weather, I went to St Marks Square and painted

Some people noticed and asked me to paint their portraits

My use of pastel was appreciated

It involved a stick of pure powdered pigment and binder

Some prominent visitors to Venice stopped to talk

A number of them were nobles and diplomats

Before long, some of them gave me commissions

They asked me to paint their portraits

They also gave me introductions

Although from a poor family, I was invited into high society

One high-ranking person mentioned me to another

That enabled me to practice my art in the rooms of the rich

Maximilian II, Elector of Bavaria, asked me to paint his portrait

Frederick IV, the King of Denmark, sat for a painting

High honours indeed, for a young woman without formal training

Leading to a substantial income for our family

Ladies of the Court also wanted their portraits painted

While they sat, patiently, I painted and we talked

Being of a shy disposition, I tended to ask questions

Their gossip opened my eyes to what happened in high society

Most of the ladies shared their inner thoughts with me

They talked about their friends and relatives

Who they liked and who they hated

The intrigues and the politics of Court life

They also talked quite openly about relationships

Who was in bed with whom, was a hot topic

Most of the ladies were married, but had personal secrets

They told me about their lovers

For most, marriages were seen as political necessities

Their husbands also had lovers

The more I listened the more I understood

There were three main kinds of relationships

Political and financial unions marriages of convenience

Temporary unions passing affairs

Long term unions affairs of the heart

Of course, there were opportunities

Occasionally, I became fond of my male clients

Humphrey Prideaux was one I met on his Grand Tour portrait

I attached a love letter, hidden behind the frame of his portrait

But, I was always on the move and nothing came of it

As a good Catholic, I attended church

Confessing my sins to the priests

Not that I had many

In doing so, I was reminded of the talks with my clients

I wondered if the priests also had their relationships

The conversation with my clients raised my suspicions

Some of the ladies mentioned sins they could not confess

After all, they would have had to name a so-called man of God

How could a lady name one priest to another?

Indeed, there was also mention of homosexuality at high levels

The gossip was that priests were involved

Sad to say, I heard some dreadful stories

It was said that some priests took advantage of young boys

Were these stories true?

The ladies at Court had few doubts

Yet, no action was taken by the Church with regard to the priests

Scandals, I was told, were kept secret

As for my ladies, most were sharing more than one bed

It was a kind of open secret

Indeed, husbands and wives seemed to accept adultery

They tended to ignore each others relationships

Liaisons that gave some joy outside their arranged marriages

Of course, I was propositioned many times by nobles

Although tempted, I never married

My reputation stayed with my paintings

The Academy of St Luke in Rome, recognized my work

By 1705, I was given an honour by the Accademia di San Luca

It was called an accademico di merito

Other honours followed in Bologna, and Florence

By that time, I was the main wage earner for our family

It caused some issues, as the man was supposed to do that

My style was appreciated because I captured details of my clients