Taddeo eventually gained an apprenticeship but
was mistreated and starved. Here he appears twice:
in the background, he grinds colors; at left, he
holds an oil lamp so that his master, Calabrese,
can study a drawing by Raphael. To keep Taddeo
from helping himself to any bread, his employers
kept it in a basket hanging from the ceiling, with
a bell attached as an alarm.
Curators Lee Hendrix and Julian Brooks describe Taddeo's dedication in the face of hardship.
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