The narrator tells us that he was born three hours after midnight in a small town in Toscana. His mother told him that she had an angel on her body that night. For the next five years, the narrator and his mom lived near a mountain. One day, however, the rain started to fall continuously for a week. The narrator's mother fell asleep and the city men helped him find his father, a notary. The man, named Piero da Vinci, adopted the narrator. He is a very poor man, and the narrator wonders why he is doing the servants jobs. He hears that the man is a reincarnate demon who cursed the mother to death, and he wonders how he can survive. The painting that Piero paints for the narrator is beautiful, and it is his honor to paint for him. He begins his life as a pupil of the artist, Master Malan. He thinks that maybe he found what he was looking for in the painting. When he hears that even the Queen wants to buy the painting, he is elated and anxious to be present at the moment of its sale. He remembers that the painting was supposed to be love, and that he accepted the money from the artist for it. When the painting is perceived as love, he begins to cry.