Giulio Clovio was a miniaturist from Croatia and one of the most important book illuminators of the 16th century. Giorgio Vasari described him in 1568 as "Michelangelo of the miniature". After his training in Croatia, Clovio came to Italy at the age of 18 and was initially in the service of Cardinal Domenico Grimani in Venice and Rome. In Rome, he studied under Giulio Romano. After Cardinal Grimani's death in 1523, Clovio became court painter to the Hungarian King Louis II for three years. Clovio fled from Hungary back to Italy to escape the Ottomans, worked again for a cardinal in Rome and was taken prisoner by the Spanish during the Sack of Rome (1527). After his release, Clovio entered the monastery of San Ruffino near Mantua. Because of an injury to his leg, he soon afterwards was transferred to a monastery near Padua for medical care. There, he learned to illuminate books and re-established contact with the Grimani family. The Grimani Gospel Book, one of the earliest works that can be safely attributed to Clovio, was executed during this period. From 1534 to 1538, Clovio worked in Perugia and then returned to Rome. From 1540, he was in the service of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, one of the most important patrons and collectors of the time. From 1551 to 1553, he was a member of the household of the cardinal in Florence, during which time he produced small paintings for the Duke of Florence, Cosimo I de' Medici. After shorter stays in Parma and Piacenza, Clovio returned to Rome in 1561 and remained in the service of Cardinal Farnese until the end of his life. Clovio was friends with many artists, including Michelangelo and Giorgio Vasari, and supported the young El Greco. He was buried in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome.