his principal career was to be in the law. In 1647, when he was only thirty-one years old, he was made professor of law at the University of Bologna, a post he held for forty years. The many tracts he published on legal matters spread his fame and brought him offers to join the faculties of other universities, those of Padua and Pavia included, but he preferred not to leave his native city. To the already considerable list of his skills should be added an ability to paint and draw. These arts he studied under Giacomo Cavedone (1577-1660), a pupil of the Carracci, and while he practiced them for his diversion only, we know that he painted a number of frescoes, apparently landscape scenes and "perspectives," both in his own villa and in those of friends. He knew many artists well. Guido Reni, whom he admired enormously, was an especially close friend. For many younger artists he was a benefactor. At his own expense he set up an art academy to teach aspiring painters to draw from nude Luigi Crespi tells us of his help for struggling young artists, some of whom would otherwise have had to leave the profession. It is also to Malvasia's great merit that he recognized the talent of Elisabetta Sirani (1638–1665) and, overcoming the resistance of her father, saw to it that she received training as a painter. As a result, despite the fact that death ended her career when she was only twenty-seven years old, she enjoys a secure place in the history of Bolognese art. Malvasia was also a collector and acted as an agent for Louis XIV in acquisition of Bolognese artworks for the royal collections. He dedicated the Felsina pittrice to Louis XIV. Sun King did not fail to show his gratitude to Carlo Cesare by sending him the famous “Gioiello della Vita”, a small but very precious jewel. Malvasia died in Bologna on the 9th of March in 1693. Works The vast body of his writings includes many legal studies and much poetry. In his youth, Malvasia enjoyed considerable success as a Marinist poet active both in Bologna and in Rome. One of the best examples of the poetry, Il fiore coronato, published in 1647, is an ode in honour of Cardinal Marzio Ginetti. Then there is the curious Aelia Laelia Crispis non nata resurgens, which was published in Bologna