Francesco Vecellio
Francesco Vecellio (c. 1485 - 1560) was an Italian painter and a member of the Assassin Order.
Biography
Early life
Francesco Vecellio was born around 1485. He was trained to be an Assassin at an early age and around 1498, he was an understudy to Assassin Perotto Calderon.[1] As a child Perotto described him as tall and thin for his age and a perfectionists but quick to anger. Despite his anger and self-insults he was wise beyond his years. After Perotto fell for Lucrezia Borgia, she suggested that he kill Francesco if he caught on to thier relationship but Perotto loved Frencesco like a son and didn't want to harm him. He was later involved in the hunt for Perotto when the latter went beserk in a desperate attempt to save his child. Up to that moment, Francesco, who had never killed before, was torn apart by his duty of pursuing and assassinating his mentor, but could not convince their Brothers to spare Perotto. He help a team of assassin's track down Perotto and eventually kill him.
After the death of his mentor he was apprenticed to the Florentine Master Assassin Ezio Auditore for a short while when he returned to Rome.
He received a high notoriety solo mission in 1510, which was killing Niccolò di Pitigliano and freeing the population of Lonigo from the latter's rule. After learning what he had to know about his target and slowly destroying his influence over Lonigo, Francesco assassinated Niccolò. Initially, Niccolò survived the attack, using a mysterious artifact, but when it backfired and brought his brutal end, it was Francesco who took possession of the artifact. [1]
Painting career
Alongside his Assassin life, Francesco pursued a painting career during the 1520's to 1530's in Cadore, but he would never become as succesful as his younger brother Tiziano Vecellio. In 1524, he signed an altarpiece for San Vito in Cadore. During the 1540's, he painted a polyptych in Candide. In the late 1540s, he painted the organ shutters of San Salvatore in Venice. He painted an Annunciation for San Nicola di Bari, now in the Accademia.
He died in 1560.
Trivia
- In the above picture, Francesco is shown wearing his Hidden Blade on his right arm, instead of his left.