Diaz de la Peña's Spanish parents, who were political refugees, died by the time he was ten years old, and Narcisse was sent to Bellevue to live with a pastor's family. Because of a snake bite, his left leg had to be amputated when he was thirteen. In 1825, he became an apprentice colorist in Arsène Gillet's porcelain factory. During his time there he met Gillet's nephew, Dupré (q.v.), and Louis