A life shaped by Rome Marco Benefial arrived in the world in Rome in 1684, the son of a Gascon tulle weaver. His early years were spent under the guidance of Bonaventura Lamberti, a man whose own training traced back to the influence of Carlo Cignani. This lineage brought with it an appreciation for the classical foundations found in the works of Raphael and the Carracci. At fourteen, the boy began his formal studies, learning the weight of a brush and the precision of line. His path was often marked by moments of friction. When he was nineteen, an altarpiece featuring the Apotheosis of San…