The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Jacopo Bassano

A Painter's Assistant Grinding Pigments by Parmigianino

Parmigianino, A Painter's Assistant Grinding Pigments, 1535, chalk drawing, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

From the age of thirteen, Jacopo trained in his father Francesco's workshop. His brother, Giambattista, joined the shop, and later his own sons, Francesco, Giovanni Battista, Leandro, and Gerolamo, all became painters. Like any apprentice, Jacopo learned many skills: carpentry, terracotta, grinding and mixing paints, preparing canvases, and the art of painting itself. He had no formal education, but he could read, write, and keep financial accounts. He also trained briefly in the Venetian workshop of Bonifazio de' Pitati.