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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/18383-8.txt b/18383-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4775dad --- /dev/null +++ b/18383-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10125 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors +and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3), by S. Spooner + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3) + +Author: S. Spooner + +Release Date: May 12, 2006 [EBook #18383] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANECDOTES OF PAINTERS *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Janet Blenkinship +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + ANECDOTES + + OF + + PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS + + Sculptors and Architects, + + AND + + CURIOSITIES OF ART. + + BY + + S. SPOONER, M. D., + + AUTHOR OF "A BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FINE ARTS." + + IN THREE VOLUMES. + + VOL. III. + + NEW YORK: R. WORTHINGTON, PUBLISHER, 770 Broadway. + + COPYRIGHT, S. SPOONER, 1853. + + Reëntered, G. B., 1880. + + + + + + CONTENTS. + + Egyptian Art, 1 + Ancient Thebes, 2 + The Temple of Carnac, 5 + Temple of Luxor, 5 + The Statues of Memnon, 6 + Heliopolis, 7 + Memphis, 8 + Lake Moeris, 9 + The Colossal Sphinx, 10 + The Labyrinth of Egypt, 11 + The Catacombs of Egypt, 12 + The Pyramids of Egypt, 19 + Perilous Ascent of the Pyramid of Cephren, 27 + Egyptian Obelisks, 30 + Removal of an Obelisk by Fontana, 33 + Removal of an Obelisk from Thebes to Paris, 40 + Carburi's Base for the Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great, 42 + Comparative Skill of the Ancients and Moderns in Mechanics, 45 + The Britannia Tubular Railway Bridge, 46 + The Tubes, 47 + Construction of the Tubes, 49 + Floating the Tubes, 50 + Raising the Tubes, 52 + Glory of Ancient Rome, 57 + The Capitol, 59 + Modern Rome, 60 + The Foundation of Venice, 72 + Theodoric the Great, and his Love of the Fine Arts, 73 + Archimedes, 77 + The Trials of Genius--Filippo Brunelleschi, 80 + Brunelleschi's Enthusiasm, 122 + Brunelleschi and Donatello, 123 + Donatello, 125 + Donatello and the Merchant, 126 + Donatello and his Kinsmen, 127 + Death of Donatello, 128 + Donatello and Michael Angelo Compared, 128 + Sofonisba Anguisciola's Early Distinction, 129 + Sofonisba's Visit to Rome, 130 + Sofonisba's Marriages, 131 + Sofonisba's Residence at Genoa, and her Intercourse with Vandyck, 132 + Carriera Rosalba, 133 + Rosalba's Modesty, 133 + Rosalba's Knowledge of Tempers, 133 + Elizabeth Sirani, 134 + Death of Elizabeth Sirani, 135 + Rachel Ruysch, 135 + Sir Anthony Vandyck, 136 + Vandyck's Visit to Italy, 138 + Vandyck's Return to Antwerp, 139 + Vandyck's Visit to England, 141 + William van de Velde the Elder, 143 + Van de Velde and Charles II., 144 + William van de Velde the Younger, 145 + The Younger van de Velde's Works, 146 + Nicholas Poussin, 148 + Poussin's first Celebrity, 149 + Poussin's first Visit to Rome, 150 + Poussin's Distress at Rome, 151 + Poussin's Success at Rome, 152 + Poussin's Invitation to Paris, 153 + Poussin's Return to Rome, 154 + Sir Joshua Reynolds' Critique on Poussin, 156 + Poussin's Views of his Art, 157 + Poussin's Works, 158 + Marino and Poussin, 159 + Poussin Romanized, 160 + Poussin's Habits of Study, 161 + Poussin's Old Age, 162 + Poussin's Last Work and Death, 163 + Poussin's Ideas of Painting, 164 + Poussin and the Nobleman, 165 + Poussin and Mengs, 165 + Poussin and Domenichino, 166 + Poussin and Salvator Rosa, 166 + Poussin, Angelo, and Raffaelle Compared, 168 + Rembrandt, 170 + Rembrandt's Works, 173 + Rembrandt as an Engraver, 174 + Anecdote of Schwarts, 175 + Jacques Callot, 176 + Callot's Patriotism, 177 + Ingenuity of Artists, 178 + A Hint to Jewelers, 179 + Curious Paintings, 180 + The Oldest Oil Painting Extant, 181 + Curious Representations of the Harpies, 181 + Adrian Brower, 182 + Brower, the Duke d'Aremberg, and Rubens, 183 + Death of Brower, 184 + Brower's Works, 185 + Rosa da Tivoli, 185 + Rosa da Tivoli's Works, 186 + Rosa da Tivoli's Facility of Execution, 186 + Rosa da Tivoli's Habits, 187 + Luca Cambiaso's Facility in Painting, 187 + Cambiaso's Works in Spain, 188 + Cambiaso's Artistic Merits, 190 + Rarity of Female Portraits in Spain, 191 + Murillo's Pictures in Spanish America, 192 + Murillo's "Virgin of the Napkin," 193 + Anecdote of an Altar-Piece by Murillo, 194 + Murillo and his slave Gomez, 195 + An Artist's Love of Romance, 195 + Estéban March's Strange Method of Study, 198 + March's Adventure of the Fish, fried in Linseed Oil, 199 + A Painter's Rebuke, 200 + A Painter's Retort Courteous, 201 + Ardemans and Bocanegra--A Trial of Skill, 201 + A Painter's Artifice to "Keep up Appearances," 202 + A Good Natured Criticism, 203 + Alonso Cano and the Intendant of the Bishop of Malaga, 203 + Cano's Love of Sculpture, 204 + Castillo's Sarcasm on Alfaro, 204 + Torres' Imitations of Caravaggio, 205 + Pantoja and the Eagle, 205 + The Painter Methodius and the King of Bulgaria, 206 + John C. Vermeyen and Charles V., 206 + Blas de Prado and the Emperor of Morocco, 207 + Don Juan Carreño, 208 + Carreño's Copy of Titian's St. Margaret, 208 + Carreño's Abstraction of Mind, 209 + Anecdote of Cespedes' Last Supper, 209 + Zuccaro's Compliment to Cespedes, 210 + Dona Barbara Maria de Hueva, 210 + The Miraculous Picture of the Virgin, 211 + The Chair of St. Peter, 213 + The Sagro Catino, or Emerald Dish, 215 + The "Painter of Florence," 217 + Legend of the Painter-Friar, the Devil, and the Virgin, 220 + Gerard Douw, 222 + Douw's Style, 224 + Douw's Method of Painting, 225 + Douw's Works, 226 + Albert Durer, 228 + Durer's Works as a Painter, 229 + Durer's Works as an Engraver, 231 + Durer's Fame and Death, 233 + Durer's Habits and Literary Works, 234 + Ludolph Backhuysen, 235 + John Baptist Weenix the Elder, 236 + Weenix's Facility of Hand, 236 + John Baptist Weenix the Younger, 237 + Jan Steen, 238 + Jan Steen's Works, 238 + Kugler's Critique on the Works of Jan Steen, 240 + Frolics of Mieris and Jan Steen, 241 + Sir Anthony More, 242 + Sir Anthony More and Philip II., 243 + More's Success and Works, 243 + Perilous Adventure of a Painter, 245 + Anecdote of John de Mabuse, 246 + Capugnano and Lionello Spada, 247 + Michael Angelo Caravaggio--His Quarrelsome Disposition, 248 + Jacopo Amiconi, 249 + Painting the Dead, 250 + Taddeo Zuccaro, 250 + Zuccaro's Resentment, 251 + Royal Criticism, 252 + Pietro da Cortona, 253 + "Know Thyself," 254 + Benvenuto Cellini, 255 + Fracanzani and Salvator Rosa, 256 + Pope Urban VIII. and Bernini, 256 + Emulation and Rivalry in the Fine Arts, 257 + The Nótte of Correggio, 259 + The Dresden Gallery, 262 + Painting among the Egyptians, 263 + Painting among the Greeks, 265 + Numismatics, 269 + Restoring Ancient Edifices, 274 + Napoleon's Love of Art, 274 + Napoleon's Works at Paris, 276 + The Napoleon Medals, 281 + The Elephant Fountain, 286 + Interesting Drawing, 287 + Sévre China, 288 + Dismantling of the Louvre, 289 + Removal of the Venetian Horses from Paris, 296 + Removal of the Statue of Napoleon from the Place Vendôme, 301 + The Musée Français and the Musée Royal, 302 + Boydell's Shakspeare Gallery, 305 + Brief Sketch of a Plan for an American National Gallery of Art, 307 + + + + +ANECDOTES + +OF + +PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS, SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS. + + + + +EGYPTIAN ART. + + +Champollion, the famous explorer of Egyptian antiquities, holds the +following language at the end of his fifteenth letter, dated at Thebes. +"It is evident to me, as it must be to all who have thoroughly examined +Egypt or have an accurate knowledge of the Egyptian monuments existing +in Europe, that the arts commenced in Greece by a servile imitation of +the arts in Egypt, much more advanced than is vulgarly believed, at the +period when the Egyptian colonies came in contact with the savage +inhabitants of Attica or the Peloponnesus. Without Egypt, Greece would +probably never have become the classical land of the fine arts. Such is +my entire belief on this great problem. I write these lines almost in +the presence of bas-reliefs which the Egyptians executed, with the most +elegant delicacy of workmanship, seventeen hundred years before the +Christian era. What were the Greeks then doing?" + +The sculptures of the monument of El Asaffif are ascertained to be more +than three thousand five hundred years old. + + + + +ANCIENT THEBES. + + +Thebes, an ancient city and capital of Egypt, and the oldest city in the +world, was situated in Upper Egypt, on both sides of the Nile, about two +hundred and sixty miles south of Cairo. Thebes is "the city of a hundred +gates," the theme and admiration of ancient poets and historians, and +the wonder of travelers--"that venerable city," in the language of Dr. +Pocoke, "the date of whose destruction is older than the foundation of +other cities, and the extent of whose ruins, and the immensity of whose +colossal fragments still offer so many astonishing objects, that one is +riveted to the spot, unable to decide whither to direct the step, or fix +the attention." These ruins extend about eight miles along the Nile, +from each bank to the sides of the enclosing mountains, and describe a +circuit of twenty-seven miles. The most remarkable objects on the +eastern side are the temples of Carnac and Luxor; and on the western +side are the Memnonium or palace of Memnon, two colossal statues, the +sepulchres of the kings, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The glory of +Thebes belongs to a period prior to the commencement of authentic +history. It is recorded only in the dim lights of poetry and tradition, +which might be suspected of fable, did not such mighty witnesses remain +to attest their truth. Strabo and Diodorus Siculus described Thebes +under the name of _Diospolis_ (the city of God), and gave such +magnificent descriptions of its monuments as caused the fidelity of +those writers to be called in question, till the observations of modern +travelers proved their accounts to have fallen short of the reality. At +the time of the Persian invasion under Cambyses, Memphis had supplanted +Thebes; and the Ptolemys afterwards removed the seat of empire to +Alexandria. At present, its site presents only a few scattered villages, +consisting of miserable cottages built in the courts of the temples. The +ancient structures, however, remain in a state of wonderful +preservation. Almost the whole extent of eight miles along the river is +covered with magnificent portals, obelisks decorated with most beautiful +sculptures, forests of columns, and long avenues of sphynxes and +colossal statues. The most remarkable monuments, the ruins of which +remain, are the temples of Carnac, Luxor, the Memnonium or temple of +Memnon, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The tomb of Osymandyas, the +temple of Iris, the Labyrinth, and the Catacombs lie on the western +side of the Nile. In the interior of the mountains which rise behind +these monuments, are found objects less imposing and magnificent indeed, +but not less interesting--the tombs of the kings of Thebes. Several of +these were opened by Belzoni, and were found in great preservation, with +mummies in the sarcophagi, as well as dispersed through the chambers. + +Such was ancient Thebes--a city so populous that, according to ancient +writers, in times of war 10,000 soldiers issued from each of her hundred +gates, forming an army of 1,000,000 men. That these magnificent ruins +are the remains of "the city of an hundred gates,"--"the earliest +capital in the world," cannot be doubted. According to the measurements +made by the French, their distance from the sea on the north, is 680,000 +metres (850 miles), and from Elephantine on the south, 180,000 metres +(225 miles)--corresponding exactly with the 6,800 and 1,800 stadia of +Herodotus. The circumference of the ruins is about 15,000 metres (17½ +miles), agreeing with the 140 stadia given by Diodorus as the +circumference of Thebes. The origin of the name of this celebrated city, +as well as the date of its foundation, is unknown. According to +Champollion, who deciphered many of the inscriptions on these ruins, the +Egyptian name was _Thbaki-antepi-Amoun_ (City of the Most High), of +which the _No-Ammon_ of the Hebrews and _Diospolis_ of the Greeks are +mere translations; _Thebæ_, of the Greeks is also perhaps derived from +the Egyptian _Thbaki_ (the city). + + + + +THE TEMPLE OF CARNAC. + + +The largest of the temples of Thebes, and of any in Egypt, is that of +Carnac, on the site of the ancient Diospolis. Diodorus describes it as +thirteen stadia, or about a mile and a half in circumference, which +nearly agrees with the admeasurements of Denon. It has twelve principal +entrances; and the body of the temple, which is preceded by a large +court, consists of a prodigious hall or portico, the roof of which is +supported by one hundred and thirty-four columns, some twenty-six, and +others thirty feet in circumference; four beautiful obelisks then mark +the entrance to the shrine, which consists of three apartments, built +entirely of granite. + + + + +TEMPLE OF LUXOR. + + +The temple of Luxor is about one and a fourth mile above that of Carnac, +and though it is of smaller dimensions it is in a superior style of +architecture, and in more complete preservation. The entrance is thought +to surpass everything else that Egypt presents. In front are the two +finest obelisks in the world, formed of rose-colored granite, and +rising, as Denon supposes, after allowing for the portion buried in the +ground, to the height of one hundred feet. But the objects which most +attract attention, are the sculptures which cover the east wing of the +northern front. They represent on a grand scale, a victory gained by one +of the ancient kings of Egypt over their Asiatic enemies, consisting of +multitudes of figures, horses, and chariots, executed in the best style +of Egyptian art; the number of human figures introduced exceeds fifteen +hundred, five hundred of which are on foot, and the rest in chariots. + + + + +THE STATUES OF MEMNON. + + +There were many colossal statues of Memnon in Egypt, but the most +remarkable were the two in the Memnonium or palace of Memnon, at Thebes. +The largest is of rose-colored granite, and stood in the centre of the +principal court; its height was sixty-four feet, and its remains are +scattered forty feet around it. Rigaud, one of the French savans, says, +"the excavations are still visible where the wedges were placed which +divided the monument when it was thrown down by Cambyses." The trunk is +broke off at the waist, and the upper part lies prostrate on the back; +it measures six feet ten inches over the front of the head, and +sixty-two feet round the shoulders. At the entrance of the gate which +leads from the second court to the palace, is the famous colossal +sounding statue, which, according to Herodotus, Strabo, and Pausanias, +uttered a joyful sound when the sun rose, and a mournful one when it +set. It is also related that it shed tears, and gave out oracular +responses in seven verses, and that these sounds were heard till the +fourth century after Christ. These phenomena, attested by many ancient +and modern writers, are variously accounted for by the learned, as +priestcraft, peculiar construction, escape of rarified air, &c. This +statue is in excellent preservation. The head is of rose-colored +granite, and the rest of a kind of black stone. Two other colossal +statues, about fifty feet high, are seated on the plain. + + + + +HELIOPOLIS. + + +The name of Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, was given by the Greeks to +the Egyptian _City of On_. It was situated a little to the north of +Memphis, was one of the largest cities of Egypt during the reign of the +Pharaohs, and so adorned with statues as to be esteemed one of the first +sacred cities in the kingdom. The temple dedicated to Re, was a +magnificent building, having in front an avenue of sphynxes, celebrated +in history, and adorned with several obelisks, raised by Sethosis +Rameses, B.C. 1900. By means of lakes and canals, the town, though built +on an artificial eminence, communicated with the Nile, and during the +flourishing ages of the Egyptian monarchy, the priests and scholars +acquired and taught the elements of learning within the precincts of its +temples. At the time of Strabo who visited this town about A. D. 45, +the apartments were still shown in which, four centuries before, Eudoxus +and Plato had labored to learn the philosophy of Egypt. Here Joseph and +Mary are said to have rested with our Saviour. A miserable village, +called _Metarea_, now stands on the site of this once magnificent city. +Near the village is the _Pillar of On_, a famous obelisk, supposed to be +the oldest monument of the kind existing. Its height is 67½ feet, and +its breadth at the base 6 feet. It is one single shaft of reddish +granite (Sienite), and hieroglyphical characters are rudely sculptured +upon it. + + + + +MEMPHIS. + + +The very situation of this famous ancient city of Egypt had long been a +subject of learned dispute, till it was accurately ascertained by the +French expedition to Egypt. Numerous heaps of rubbish, of blocks of +granite covered with hieroglyphics and sculptures, of colossal +fragments, scattered over a space three or four leagues in +circumference, marks its site, a few miles south of Metarea or +Heliopolis, at a village called Moniet-Rahinet. According to Herodotus, +the foundation of Memphis was ascribed to Menes, the first king of +Egypt. It was a large, rich, and splendid city, and the second capital +of Egypt. Among its buildings were several magnificent temples, as those +of Phtha, Osiris, Serapis, etc.; its palaces were also remarkable. In +Strabo's time, it was next to Alexandria in size and population. +Edrisi, who visited Memphis in the 12th century, thus describes its +remains then existing: "Notwithstanding the vast extent of this city, +the remote period at which it was built, the attempts made by various +nations to destroy it and to obliterate every trace of it, by removing +the materials of which it was constructed, combined with the decay of +4,000 years, there are yet in it works so wonderful as to confound the +reflecting, and such as the most eloquent could not adequately +describe." Among the works specified by him, are a monolithic temple of +granite, thirteen and a half feet high, twelve long, and seven broad, +entirely covered, within and without, with inscriptions; and colossal +statues of great beauty, one of which was forty-five feet high, carved +out of a single block of red granite. These ruins then extended about +nine miles in every direction. + + + + +LAKE MOERIS. + + +This famous lake, according to Herodotus, with whose account Diodorus +Siculus and Mela agree, was entirely an artificial excavation, made by +king Moeris, to carry off the overflowing waters of the Nile, and +reserve them for the purposes of irrigation. It was, in the time of +Herodotus, 3,600 stadia or 450 miles in circumference, and 300 feet +deep, with innumerable canals and reservoirs. Denon, Belzoni, and other +modern travelers, describe it at the present time as a natural basin, +thirty or forty miles long, and six broad. The works, therefore, which +Herodotus attributes to King Moeris, must have been the mounds, dams, +canals, and sluices which rendered it subservient to the purposes of +irrigation. These, also, would give it the appearance of being entirely +the product of human industry. + + + + +THE COLOSSAL SPHINX. + + +The Egyptian Sphinx is represented by a human head on the body of a +lion; it is always in a recumbent position with the fore paws stretched +forward, and a head dress resembling an old-fashioned wig. The features +are like those of the ancient Egyptians, as represented on their +monuments. The colossal Sphinx, near the group of pyramids at Jizeh, +which lay half buried in the sand, was uncovered and measured by +Caviglia. It is about 150 feet long, and 63 feet high. The body is made +out of a single stone; but the paws, which are thrown out about fifty +feet in front, are constructed of masonry. The Sphinx of Sais, formed of +a block of red granite, twenty-two feet long, is now in the Egyptian +Museum in the Louvre. There has been much speculation among the learned, +concerning the signification of these figures. Winckelmann observes that +they have the head of a female, and the body of a male, which has led to +the conjecture that they are intended as emblems of the generative +powers of nature, which the old mythologies are accustomed to indicate +by the mystical union of the two sexes in one individual; they were +doubtless of a sacred character, as they guarded the entrance of +temples, and often formed long avenues leading up to them. + + + + +THE LABYRINTH OF EGYPT + + +A labyrinth, with the ancients, was a building containing a great number +of chambers and galleries, running into one another in such a manner as +to make it very difficult to find the way through the edifice. The most +famous was the Egyptian labyrinth, situated in Central Egypt, above Lake +Moeris, not far from Crocodilopolis, in the country now called _Fejoom_. +Herodotus, who visited and examined this edifice with great attention, +affirms that it far surpassed everything he had conceived of it. It is +very uncertain when, by whom, and for what purpose it was built, though +in all probability it was for a royal sepulchre. The building, half +above and half below the ground, was one of the finest in the world, and +is said to have contained 3,000 apartments. The arrangements of the work +and the distribution of the parts were remarkable. It was divided into +sixteen principal regions, each containing a number of spacious +buildings, which taken together, might be defined an assemblage of +palaces. There were also as many temples as there were gods in Egypt, +the number of which was prodigious, besides various other sacred +edifices, and four lofty pyramids at the angles of the walls. The +entrance was by vast halls, followed by saloons, which conducted to +grand porticos, the ascent to which was by a flight of ninety steps. The +interior was decorated with columns of porphyry and colossal statues of +Egyptian gods. The whole was surrounded by a wall, but the passages were +so intricate that no stranger could find the way without a guide. The +substructions of this famous labyrinth still exist, and Milizia says, +"as they were not arched, it is wonderful that they should have been so +long preserved, with so many stupendous edifices above them." The Cretan +labyrinth was built by Dædalus on the model of the Egyptian, but it was +only a hundredth part the size; yet, according to Diodorus Siculus, it +was a spacious and magnificent edifice, divided into a great number of +apartments, and surrounded entirely by a wall. What would the ancients +say, could they see our modern imitations of their labyrinths? + + + + +THE CATACOMBS OF EGYPT. + + +There are numerous catacombs in Egypt, the principal of which are at +Alexandria; at Sakkara, near Cairo; at Siut, near the ancient Lycopolis +or City of the Wolf; at Gebel Silsilis, on the banks of the Nile between +Etfu and Ombos, the site of one of the principal quarries of ancient +Egypt; and at Thebes. Many of these are of vast extent, and were +doubtless formed by quarrying the rocks and mountains for building +materials. They consist of grottos, galleries, and chambers, penetrating +often to a considerable distance, the superincumbent mass being +supported by huge pillars of rock; or the galleries running parallel, +with masses of solid rock intervening for supports. Many of these +chambers and grottos contained multitudes of mummies, probably the +bodies of the less wealthy; many were evidently private family tombs of +wealthy individuals, some of which are of great magnificence, adorned +with sculptures, paintings, and hieroglyphics. The Arabs for centuries +have been plundering these abodes of the dead, and great numbers of the +mummies have been destroyed for fuel, and for the linen, rosin, and +asphaltum they contain, which is sold to advantage at Cairo. An immense +number of them have been found in the plain of Sakkara, near Memphis, +consisting not only of human bodies, but of various sacred animals, as +bulls, crocodiles, apes, ibises, fish, &c.; hence it is called _The +Plain of the Mummies_. Numerous caves or grottos, with contents of the +same kind, are found in the two mountainous ridges which run nearly +parallel with the Nile, from Cairo to Syene. Many of these tombs and +mummies are two or three thousand years old, and some of them perhaps +older. + +Among all the wonderful subterranean monuments of Egypt, the Catacombs +of Thebes are the most extraordinary and magnificent. These consist of +the Necropolis, or city of the dead, on the west bank of the Nile (which +was the common burial-place of the people), and the Tombs of the Kings. +The latter lie to the northwest of the city, at some distance in the +Desert. Having passed the Necropolis, the traveler enters a narrow and +rugged valley, flanked with perpendicular rocks, and ascending a narrow, +steep passage about ten feet high, which seems to have been broken down +through the rock, the ancient passage being from the Memnonium under the +hills, he comes to a kind of amphitheatre about 100 yards wide, which is +called Bab-il-Meluke--that is, the gate or court of the kings--being the +sepulchres of the kings of Thebes. In this court there are signs of +about eighteen excavations; but only nine can be entered. The hills on +each side are high, steep rocks, and the whole plain is covered with +rough stones that seem to have rolled down from them. + +The grottos present externally no other ornaments than a door in a +simple square frame, with an oval in the centre of the upper part, on +which are inscribed the hieroglyphical figures of a beetle, a man with a +hawk's head, and beyond the circle two figures on their knees, in the +act of adoration. Having passed the first gate, long arched galleries +are discovered, about twelve feet wide and twenty feet high, cased with +stucco, sculptured and painted; the vaults, of an elegant elliptical +figure, are covered with innumerable hieroglyphics, disposed with so +much taste, that notwithstanding the singular grotesqueness of the +forms, and the total absence of demi-tint or aërial perspective, the +ceilings make an agreeable whole, a rich and harmonious association of +colors. Four of five of these galleries, one within the other, generally +lead to a spacious room, containing the sarcophagus of the king, +composed of a single block of granite, about twelve feet long by eight +in breadth, ornamented with hieroglyphics, both within and without; they +are square at one end, and rounded at the other, like the splendid +sarcophagus deposited in the British Museum, and supposed by Dr. Clarke +to have contained the body of Alexander. They are covered with a lid of +the same material, and of enormous thickness, shutting with a groove; +but neither this precaution, nor these vast blocks of stone, brought +from such a distance with immense labor, have been able to preserve the +relics of the sovereigns from the attempts of avarice; all these tombs +have been violated. The figure of the king appears to have been +sculptured and painted at full length on the lid of each sarcophagus. + +The paintings found in these sepulchres are among the most curious and +interesting remains of Egyptian art; and they are in wonderful +preservation, the colors being as fresh as when first executed. Some of +these figures were copied by Bruce; and Denon, a member of the French +Commission sent by Napoleon to examine the antiquities of Egypt, has +published a most valuable collection which have all the appearance of +spirited and characteristic resemblances. "I discovered," says he, "some +little chambers, on the walls of which were represented all kinds of +arms, such as panoplies, coats of mail, tigers' skins, bows, arrows, +quivers, pikes, javelins, sabres, helmets, and whips: in another was a +collection of household utensils, such as caskets, chests of drawers, +chairs, sofas, and beds, all of exquisite forms, and such as might well +grace the apartments of modern luxury. As these were probably accurate +representations of the objects themselves, it is almost a proof that the +ancient Egyptians employed for their furniture Indian wood, carved and +gilt, which they covered with embroidery. Besides these, were +represented various smaller articles, as vases, coffee-pots, ewers with +their basins, a tea-pot and basket. Another chamber was consecrated to +agriculture, in which were represented all its various instruments--a +sledge similar to those in use at present, a man sowing grain by the +side of a canal, from the borders of which the inundation is beginning +to retire, a field of corn reaped with a sickle, and fields of rice with +men watching them. In a fourth chamber was a figure clothed in white, +playing on a richly ornamented harp, with eleven strings." + +Denon observed everything with the eye of an artist. Speaking of the +Necropolis, which consists of numerous double galleries of grottos, +excavated in the solid rock for nearly a mile and a half square, he +observes, "I was convinced by the magnificence both of the paintings and +sculptures, that I was among the tombs of great men and heros. The +sculpture in all is incomparably more labored and higher finished than +any I had seen in the temples; and I stood in astonishment at the high +perfection of the art, and its singular destiny to be devoted to places +of such silence and obscurity. In working these galleries, beds of a +very fine calcareous clay have occasionally been crossed, and here the +lines of the hieroglyphics have been cut with a firmness of touch and a +precision, of which marble offers but few examples. The figures have +elegance and correctness of contour, of which I never thought Egyptian +sculpture susceptible. Here, too, I could judge of the style of this +people in subjects which had neither hieroglyphic, nor historical, nor +scientific; for there were representations of small scenes taken from +nature, in which the stiff profile outlines, so common with Egyptian +artists, were exchanged for supple and natural attitudes; groups of +persons were given in perspective, and cut in deeper relief than I +should have supposed anything but metal could have been worked." + +The Sepulchres of the Kings of Thebes are mentioned by Diodorus Siculus +as wonderful works, and such as could never be exceeded by anything +afterwards executed in this kind. He says that forty-seven of them were +mentioned in their history; that only seventeen of them remained to the +time of Ptolemy Lagus; adding that most of them were destroyed in his +time. Strabo says, that above the Memnonium, the precise locality of +Denon's description, were the sepulchres of the kings of Thebes, in +grottos cut out of the rock, being about forty in number, wonderfully +executed and worthy to be seen. In these, he says, were obelisks with +inscriptions on them, setting forth the riches, power, and empire of +these kings, as far as Scythia, Bactria, India, and Ionia, their great +revenues, and their immense armies, consisting of one million of men. + +In Egypt, the honors paid to the dead partook of the nature of a +religious homage. By the process of embalming, they endeavored to +preserve the body from the common laws of nature; and they provided +those magnificent and durable habitations for the dead--sublime +monuments of human folly--which have not preserved but buried the memory +of their founders. By a singular fatality, the well-adapted punishment +of pride, the extraordinary precautions by which it seemed in a manner +to triumph over death, have only led to a more humiliating +disappointment. The splendor of the tomb has but attracted the violence +of rapine; the sarcophagus has been violated; and while other bodies +have quietly returned to their native dust in the bosom of their mother +earth, the Egyptian, converted into a mummy, has been preserved only to +the insults of curiosity, or avarice, or barbarism. + + + + +THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT. + + +The pyramids of Egypt, especially the two largest of the group of Jizeh +or Gize, are the most stupendous masses of buildings in stone that human +labor has ever been known to accomplish, and have been the wonder of +ancient and modern times.--The number of the Egyptian pyramids, large +and small, is very considerable; they are situated on the west bank of +the Nile, and extend in an irregular line, and in groups at some +distance from each other, from the neighborhood of Jizeh, in 30° N. +Latitude, as far as sixty or seventy miles south of that place. The +pyramids of Jizeh are nearly opposite Cairo. They stand on a plateau or +terrace of limestone, which is a projection of the Lybian +mountain-chain. The surface of the terrace is barren and irregular, and +is covered with sand and small fragments of rock; its height, at the +base of the great pyramid, is one hundred and sixty four feet above the +ordinary level of the Nile, from which it is distant about five miles. +There are in this group three large pyramids, and several small ones. +Herodotus, who was born B.C. 484, visited these pyramids. He was +informed by the priests of Memphis, that the great pyramid was built by +Cheops, king of Egypt, about B.C. 900, and that one hundred thousand +workmen were employed twenty years in building it, and that the body of +Cheops was placed in a room beneath the bottom, surrounded by a vault, +to which the waters of the Nile were conveyed through a subterranean +tunnel. A chamber has been discovered under the centre of the pyramid, +but it is about fifty-six feet above the low-water mark of the Nile. The +second pyramid, Herodotus says, was built by Cephren or Cephrenes, the +brother and successor of Cheops, and the third by Mycerinus, the son of +Cheops. Herodotus also says that the two largest pyramids are wholly +covered with white marble; Diodorus and Pliny, that they are built of +this costly material. The account of Herodotus is confirmed by present +appearances. Denon, who accompanied the French expedition to Egypt, was +commissioned by Buonaparte to examine the great pyramid of Jizeh; three +hundred persons were appointed to this duty. They approached the borders +of the desert in boats, to within half a league of the pyramid, by means +of the canals from the Nile. Denon says, "the first impression made on +me by the sight of the pyramids, did not equal my expectations, for I +had no object with which to compare them; but on approaching them, and +seeing men at their base, their gigantic size became evident." When +Savary first visited these pyramids, he left Jizeh at one o'clock in the +morning, and soon reached them. The full moon illuminated their summits, +and they appeared to him "like rough, craggy peaks piercing the +clouds." Herodotus gives 800 feet as the height of the great pyramid, +and says this is likewise the length of its base, on each side; Strabo +makes it 625, and Diodorus 600. Modern measurements agree most nearly +with the latter. + +The pyramid of Cheops consists of a series of platforms, each of which +is smaller than the one on which it rests, and consequently presents the +appearance of steps which diminish in length from the bottom to the top. +There are 203 of these steps, and the height of them decreases, but not +regularly, the greatest height being about four feet eight inches, and +the least about one foot eight inches. The horizontal lines of the +platforms are perfectly straight, the stones are cut and fitted to each +other with the greatest accuracy, and joined with a cement of lime, with +little or no sand in it. It has been ascertained that a bed has been cut +in the solid rock, eight inches deep, to receive the lowest external +course of stones. The vertical height, measured from this base in the +rock to the top of the highest platform now remaining, is 456 feet. This +last platform is thirty two feet eight inches square, and if to this +were added what is necessary to complete the pyramid, the total height +would be 479 feet. Each side of the base, measured round the stones let +into the rock, is 763 feet 5 inches, and the perimeter of the base is +about 3,053 feet. The measurements of travelers differ somewhat, but +the above are very nearly correct. The area of the base is 64,753 +square yards, or about 13-1/3 acres. The surface of each face, not +including the base, is 25,493 square yards; and that of the four faces +is consequently 101,972 square yards, or more than 21 acres. The solid +contents of the pyramid, without making deductions for the small +interior chambers, is 3,394,307 cubic yards. Reckoning the total height +at 479 feet, the pyramid would be 15 feet higher than St. Peter's at +Rome, and 119 higher than St. Paul's, London. The entrance to the great +pyramid is on the north face, 47½ feet above the base, and on the level +of the fifteenth step from the foundation. The entrance is easily +reached by the mass of rubbish which has fallen or been thrown down from +the top. The passage to which this opening leads is 3 feet 7½ inches +square, with a downward inclination of about 26°. It is lined with slabs +of limestone, accurately joined together. This passage leads to another, +which has an ascending inclination of 27°. The descending passage is 73 +feet long, to the place where it meets the ascending one, which is 109 +feet long; at the top of this is a platform, where is the opening of a +well or shaft, which goes down into the body of the pyramid, and the +commencement of a horizontal gallery 127 feet long which leads to the +Queen's chamber, an apartment 17 feet long, 14 wide, and 12 high. +Another gallery, 132 feet long, 26½ high, and 7 wide, commences also at +this platform, and is continued in the same line as the former +ascending passage, till it reaches a landing place, from which a short +passage leads to a small chamber or vestibule, whence another short +passage leads to the King's chamber, which as well as the vestibule and +intermediate passage, is lined with large blocks of granite, well +worked. The king's chamber is 34½ feet long, 17 wide, and 19¾ high. +The roof is formed of nine slabs of granite, reaching from side to side; +the slabs are therefore more than 17 feet long by 3 feet 9½ inches wide. +This chamber contains a sarcophagus of red granite; the cover is gone, +having probably been broken and carried away. The sarcophagus is 7 feet +6½ inches long, 3 feet 3 inches wide, 3 feet 8½ inches high on the +outside, the bottom being 7½ inches thick. There are no hieroglyphics +upon it. Several other chambers have been discovered above the king's +chamber, but as they are not more than three or four feet high, they +were probably intended to lessen and break the weight of the mass above, +which would otherwise fall on the King's chamber. + +In 1816, Captain Caviglia discovered that the entrance passage did not +terminate at the bottom of the ascending passage, but was continued +downwards in the same inclined plane of 26°, 200 feet further, and by a +short horizontal passage, opened on what appeared to be the bottom of +the well. The passage, however, continued in the same direction 23 feet +farther; then became narrower, and was continued horizontally 28 feet +more, where it opened into a large chamber cut out of the rock below +and under the centre of the pyramid. This chamber is about 26 by 27 +feet. Another passage leads from this chamber 55 feet, where it appears +to terminate abruptly. + +The well, which appeared to Mr. Davidson and Capt. Caviglia to descend +no lower than where it was intersected by the descending passage, its +depth there being 155 feet, was afterwards cleared out by the French to +the depth of near 208 feet, of which 145 feet are in the solid rock; so +that the base of the pyramid being 164 feet above the low water level of +the Nile, the present bottom of the well is 19 feet above the Nile; but +the actual bottom does not appear to have been reached. The temperature +within the body of the pyramid was found to be 81° 5', Farenheit, and in +the well it was still higher. Herodotus was informed that the chambers +cut in the solid rock, were made before the building of the pyramid was +commenced. It is evident it was intended that the pyramid should not be +entered after the body or bodies were deposited in it, as blocks of +granite were fixed in the entrances to the principal passages, in such a +manner as not only to close them, but to conceal them.--There are +evidences, however, that this pyramid was entered both by the Roman and +Arab conquerors of Egypt. + +The materials of all the pyramids are limestone, and, according to +Herodotus, were brought from the mountains near Cairo, where there are +ancient quarries of vast extent; but Belzoni is of opinion that a part +of them, for the second pyramid at least, was procured immediately on +the spot; others think that the greatest part of the materials came from +the west side of the Nile. The granite which forms the roofing of the +chambers, etc., was brought down the Nile from Syene. The stones of +which it is built, rarely exceed 9 feet in length, and 6½ in breadth; +the thickness has already been stated. + +The ascent to the great pyramid, though not without difficulty and +danger, is frequently accomplished, even by females. + +The pyramid of Cephren, the second in size, according to Belzoni, has +the following dimensions: + + Side of the base, 684 feet. + Vertical height, 456 " + Perpendicular, bisecting the face of + the pyramid, 568 " + Coating from the top, to where it + ends, 140 " + +Belzoni, after great exertion, succeeded in opening the second pyramid, +and after traversing passages similar to those already described in the +great pyramid, reached the main chamber, which is cut in the solid rock, +and is 46 feet 3 inches long, 16 feet 3 inches wide, and 23 feet 6 +inches high. The covering is made of blocks of limestone, which meet in +an angular point, forming a roof, of the same slope as the pyramid. The +chamber contained a sarcophagus, formed of granite, 8 feet long, 3 feet +6 inches wide, and 2 feet 3 inches deep, on the inside. There were no +hieroglyphics on it. Some bones were found in it, which were sent to +London, and proved to be those of a bull or an ox. From an Arabic +inscription on the wall of the chamber, it appears that some of the Arab +rulers of Egypt had entered the pyramid, and closed it again. Belzoni +also discovered another chamber in this pyramid. + +The pyramid of Mycernius, the third in size of the Jizeh group, is about +330 feet square at the base, and 174 feet high. This pyramid has never +been opened. + +There are some large pyramids at Sakkârah, one of which is next in +dimensions to the pyramid of Cheops, each side of the base being 656 +feet, and the height 339 feet. At Dashour there are also some large +pyramids, one of which has a base of 700 feet on each side, and a +perpendicular height of 343 feet; and it has 154 steps or platforms. +Another pyramid, almost as large at the base as the preceding, is +remarkable. It rises to the height of 184 feet at an angle of 70°, when +the plane of the side is changed, to one of less inclination, which +completes the pyramid. At Thebes, there are some small pyramids of sun +dried bricks. Herodotus says, "About the middle of Lake Moeris, there +are two pyramids, each rising about 300 feet above the water. The part +that is under the water is just the same height." It is probable that +these pyramids were built on an island in the lake, and that Herodotus +was misinformed as to the depth of the water. There are numerous +pyramids in Nubia--eighty or more--but they are generally small. + +The object of the Egyptians in building these pyramids, is not known. +Some writers maintain that they were as memorials, pillars, or altars +consecrated to the sun; others, that they served as a kind of gnomon for +astronomical observations; that they were built to gratify the vanity +and tyranny of kings, or for the celebration of religious mysteries; +according to Diderot, for the transmission and preservation of +historical information; and to others, for sepulchres for the +kings,--which last was the common opinion of the ancients. Some suppose +that they were intended as places for secret meetings, magazines for +corn, or lighthouses; but their structure, and great distance from the +sea, are sufficient refutations of these absurd hypotheses. + + + + +PERILOUS ASCENT OF THE PYRAMID OF CEPHREN. + + +The upper part of this pyramid is still covered with the original +polished coating of marble, to the distance of 140 feet from the top +towards the base, which makes the ascent extremely difficult and +dangerous. Mr. Wilde, in his "Narrative of a Voyage to Madeira, +Teneriffe, and along the shore of the Mediterranean," published in 1840, +made the ascent to the top, and thus describes the adventure: + +"I engaged two Arabs to conduct me to the summit of the pyramid--one an +old man, and the other about forty, both of a mould, which for +combination of strength and agility, I never saw surpassed. We soon +turned to the north, and finally reached the outer casing on the west +side. All this was very laborious to be sure, though not very dangerous; +but here was an obstacle that I knew not how the Arabs themselves could +surmount, much less how I could possibly master--for above our heads +jutted out, like an eave or coping, the lower stones of the coating, +which still remain and retain a smooth, polished surface. As +considerable precaution was necessary, the men made me take off my hat, +coat, and shoes at this place; the younger then placed his raised and +extended hands against the projecting edge of the lower stone, which +reached above his chin; and the elder, taking me up in his arms as I +would a child, placed my feet on the other's shoulders, and my body flat +on the smooth surface of the stone. In this position, we formed an angle +with each other; and here I remained for upwards of two minutes, till +the older man went round, and by some other means, contrived to get over +the projection, when, creeping along the line of junction of the casing, +he took my hands, drew me up to where he was above me, and then letting +down his girdle, assisted to mount up the younger, but less daring and +less active of the two. We then proceeded much as follows. One of them +got on the shoulders of the other, and so gained the joining of the +stone above. The upper man then helped me in a similar action, while the +lower pushed me up by the feet. Having gained this row, we had after to +creep to some distance along the joining, to where another opportunity +of ascending was offered. In this way we proceeded to the summit; and +some idea may be formed of my feelings, when it is recollected that all +of these stones of such a span are highly polished, are set on an angle +of little less than 45°, and that the places we had to grip with our +hands and feet were often not more than two inches wide, and their +height above the ground more than 400 feet. A single slip of the foot, +and we all three must have been dashed to atoms long before we reached +the bottom. (This actually happened to an English traveler in 1850.) On +gaining the top, my guides gave vent to sundry demonstrations of +satisfaction, clapping me on the back, patting me on the head, and +kissing my hands. From this I began to suspect that something wonderful +had been achieved; and some idea of my perilous situation broke upon me, +when I saw some of my friends beneath, waving their handkerchiefs and +looking up with astonishment, as we sat perched upon the top, which is +not more than six feet square. The apex stone is off, and it now +consists of four outer slabs, and one in the centre, which is raised up +on the end and leans to the eastward. I do not think human hands could +have raised it from its bed, on account of its size, and the confined +space they would have to work in. I am inclined to think the top was +struck by lightning, and the position of the stone thus altered by it. +The three of us had just room to sit upon the place. The descent, as +might be expected, was much more dangerous, though not so difficult. The +guides tied a long sash under my arms, and so let me slide down from +course to course of these coverings of stones, which are of a yellowish +limestone, somewhat different from the material of which the steps are +composed, and totally distinct from the rock at the base, or the coating +of the passages." + + + + +EGYPTIAN OBELISKS. + + +Obelisks belong to the oldest and most simple monuments of Egyptian +architecture, and are high four-sided pillars, diminishing as they +ascend, and terminating in a small pyramid. Herodotus speaks of them, +and Pliny gives a particular account of them. The latter mentions king +Mesphres, or Mestres, of Thebes, as the first builder of obelisks, but +does not give the time; nor is this king noticed either by Herodotus or +Diodorus. It is probable that these monuments were first built before +the time of Moses, at least two centuries before the Trojan war. There +are still several obelisks in Egypt; there is one erect, and another +fallen at Alexandria, between the new city and the light-house; one at +Matarea, among the ruins of old Heliopolis; one in the territory of +Fayoum, near ancient Arsinoë; eight or ten among the ruins of Thebes; +the two finest at Luxor, at the entrance of the temple, &c. These +obelisks, exclusively of the pedestals, are mostly from 50 to 100 feet +high, and of a red polished granite (sienite); a few of the later ones +are of white marble and other kinds of stone. At their base, they +commonly occupy a space of from 4½ to 12 feet square, and often more. +Some are adorned on all sides, and some on fewer, with hieroglyphics cut +in them, sometimes to the depth of two inches, divided into little +squares and sections, and filled with paint: sometimes they are striped +with various colors. Some are entirely plain and without hieroglyphics. +The foot of the obelisk stands upon a quadrangular base, commonly two or +three feet broader than the obelisk, with a socket, in which it rests. +They were commonly hewn out of a single stone, in the quarries of Upper +Egypt, and brought on canals, fed by the Nile, to the place of their +erection. + +The Romans carried many of them from Egypt to Rome, Arles, and +Constantinople, most of which were afterwards overturned, but have been +put together and replaced in modern times. Augustus, for instance, had +two large obelisks brought from Heliopolis to Rome, one of which he +placed in the Campus Martius. The other stood upon the Spina, in the +Circus Maximus, and is said to have been the same which king +Semneserteus (according to Pliny) erected. At the sack of Rome by the +barbarians, it was thrown down, and remained, broken in three pieces, +amidst the rubbish, until, in 1589, Sixtus V. had it restored by the +architect Domenico Fontana, and placed near the church Madonna del +Popolo. Under Caligula, another large obelisk was brought from +Heliopolis to Rome, and placed in the Circus Vaticanus. It has stood, +since 1586, before St. Peter's church: it is without hieroglyphics; and, +with the cross and pedestal, measures 126 feet in height. It is the only +one in Rome which has remained entire. Its weight is estimated at 10,000 +cwt. Claudius had two obelisks brought from Egypt, which stood before +the entrance of the Mausoleum of Augustus, and one of which was restored +in 1567, and placed near the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Caracalla +also procured an Egyptian obelisk for his circus, and for the Appian +Way. The largest obelisk (probably erected by Rameses) was placed by +Constantius II., in the Circus Maximus at Rome. In the fifth century, it +was thrown down by the barbarians, and lay in pieces upon the ground, +until Sixtus V., in 1588, had it raised upon the square, before St. +John's church of the Lateran, thence called the _Lateran obelisk_. It is +beautifully adorned with sculpture; its weight is 13,000 cwt.; its +height, exclusive of the pedestal, 140 feet; with the pedestal, 179 +feet. Several others have been erected by succeeding popes. + + + + +REMOVAL OF AN OBELISK BY FONTANA. + + +The following curious account of the removal of the obelisk in the +Circus Vaticanus to the centre of St. Peter's square, by Domenico +Fontana, is extracted from Milizia's life of that famous architect. It +shows plainly that the Egyptians must have attained great skill and +perfection in mechanics and engineering, to have been able to quarry out +obelisks at least a third larger, and convey them often several hundred +miles, to the places where they erected them. + +"Sixtus V. was now desirous of raising in the centre of the square of +St. Peter's the only obelisk which remained standing, but partly +interred, near the wall of the Sacristy, where was formerly the Circus +of Nero. Other pontiffs had had the same wish, but the difficulty of the +enterprise had prevented the execution. + +"This obelisk, or pyramid, is of red granite, called by the ancient +Romans, Marmor Thebanum (Theban marble), on account of having been +worked near Thebes, in Egypt, whence it was transported to Rome in the +time of Cæsar. Of the immense number in Rome, this is the only one +remaining entire; it is without hieroglyphics, 84 feet high, 8 feet 6 +inches wide at the base, and 5 feet 6 inches at the top. One cubic foot +of this granite weighs about 160 pounds; so that the whole weight of the +obelisk must be somewhat less than 759,000 lbs. Of the manner in which +the Egyptians and Romans moved these enormous masses we have no idea, +and so many centuries having elapsed since such a thing had been done, +this proposition of Sixtus V. was considered so novel, that a general +assembly was called of all the mathematicians, engineers, and learned +men from various parts of Europe; and, in a congress held by the pope, +more than 500 persons presented themselves, bringing with them their +inventions; some with drawings, some with models, others with writings +or arguments. + +"The greater number were for removing it by means of an iron carriage +and thirty-two levers. Others invented a half wheel, on which the +obelisk was to be raised by degrees. Some proposed screws, and others +thought of carrying it upon slings. + +"Bartolomeo Ammanati, a Florentine architect and sculptor, sent +expressly by the grand duke, presented himself before the pope, without +either models or designs, and requested a year to consider it; for this +he was most severely reprimanded by the pontiff. Fontana exhibited his +wooden model, with a leaden pyramid, which, by means of a windlass and +crane, was raised and lowered with the greatest facility; he explained +the nature of these machines and movements, and gave a practical proof +of their capability by raising a small pyramid in the mausoleum of +Augustus, which was in a ruinous condition. After many disputes, +Fontana's invention was approved; but, as he had not yet acquired a name +of sufficient importance, the execution of it was committed to two +architects of renown, Giacomo della Porta and Bartolomeo +Ammanati.--These immediately commenced a scaffold in the centre of the +square where the obelisk was to stand. + +"Fontana being justly displeased that his own discovery should not be +entrusted to his execution, went to the pope, and respectfully +represented to him, that no one could so properly execute a design as +the inventor. Sixtus was persuaded, and committed the entire direction +of it to him. The architect then commenced his work with the utmost +celerity. He dug a square hole of 44 feet, in the piazza, 24 feet deep, +and finding the soil watery and chalky, he made it firm by strong and +massive piles. At the same time he had ropes made, three inches in +diameter, 1500 feet long, an immense quantity of cords, large iron rods +to strengthen the obelisk, and other pieces of iron for the cases of the +cranes, pins, circles, pivots, and instruments of every kind. The iron +to secure the obelisk alone amounted to 40,000 lbs., and was made in the +manufactories of Rome, Ronciglione, and Subbiaco. The beams, taken from +the woods of Nettuno, were of such a prodigious size, that each was +drawn by seven pair of buffalos. From Terracina, elm was brought, for +the caseing, and Holm oak for the shafts of windlass; and to prevent the +ground from giving way, it being soft and marshy, in consequence of the +great weight, he made a bed with two layers of timber, crossing each +other in a contrary direction. On this foundation he placed the castle +or carriage, which had eight columns: each of these columns was composed +of so many thick planks, that they measured 13 feet in circumference. +These were united together by thick cords, without screws, in order to +be done and undone with greater quickness. The height of the beams was +required to be 90 feet; and not any being of that length, they were +placed one on the other, and united by iron bands. These columns were +strengthened by forty-eight braces, and tied together on all sides. The +obelisk was entirely covered with double mats, to prevent its being +injured; it was then surrounded by planks, over which were placed large +rods of iron, and these embracing the thick part underneath, came +directly over the four faces of the mass, which thus became totally +encircled with these coverings. The whole pyramid thus weighed one +million and a half pounds. Fontana calculated that every windlass, with +good ropes and cranes, would be able to move 20,000 lbs. weight; and +consequently forty would move 800,000, and he gained the rest by five +levers of thick beams 52 feet long. + +"So novel an apparatus excited the curiosity of all Rome, and of +foreigners also, who came from distant countries to see what effect +would be produced by this mass of beams, mingled with ropes, windlasses, +levers, and pulleys. In order to prevent confusion, Sixtus V. issued one +of his mandates, that on the day of its being worked, no one, except the +workmen, should enter the enclosure, on pain of death, and that no one +should make the least noise, nor even speak loud. Accordingly, on the +30th of April, 1586, the first to enter the barrier was the chief +justice and his officers, and the executioner to plant the gibbet, not +merely as a matter of ceremony. Fontana went to receive the benediction +of the pope, who, after having bestowed it, told him to be cautious of +what he did, for a failure would certainly cost him his head. On this +occasion, Sixtus felt the difference between his regard for his own +glory, and his affection for the architect. Fontana, in terror, secretly +placed horses at every gate, ready to convey him from the papal anger, +in case of an accident. At the dawn of day, two masses of the Holy Ghost +were celebrated; all the artificers made their communion, and received +the papal benediction, and before the rising of the sun all entered the +barrier. The concourse of spectators was such, that the tops of the +houses were covered, and the streets crowded. The nobility and prelates +were at the barriers, between the Swiss guards and the cavalry: all were +fixed and attentive to the proceedings; and, terrified at the sight of +the inexorable gibbet, every one was silent. + +"The architect gave an order that, at the sound of the trumpet, each +should begin working, and at that of the bell, placed in the castle of +wood, each should desist; there were more than 900 workmen, and 75 +horses. The trumpet sounded, and in an instant, men, horses, windlasses, +cranes, and levers were all in motion. The ground trembled, the castle +cracked, all the planks bent from the enormous weight, and the pyramid, +which inclined a foot towards the choir of St. Peter, was raised +perpendicularly. The commencement having prospered so well, the bell +sounded a rest. In twelve more movements the pyramid was raised almost +two feet from the ground, in such a situation that it could be placed on +the rollers, and it remained firmly fixed by means of wedges of iron and +wood. At this happy event the castle of St. Angelo discharged all its +artillery, and a universal joy pervaded the whole city. + +"Fontana was now convinced that the ropes were better than iron bands, +these being most broken or distorted, or expanded by the weight. On the +7th of May the pyramid was placed on the sledge--a more difficult and +tedious operation than that of raising it, it being necessary to convey +it over the piazza to the situation intended for it, which was 115 rods +from where it then stood. The level of the piazza being about 30 feet +lower, it was necessary to throw up an earthen embankment from one place +to the other, well secured by piles, &c. This being done, on the 13th +of June, by means of four windlasses, the pyramid was removed with the +greatest facility on the rollers, to the place of its destination. The +pope deferred its erection to the next autumn, lest the summer heats +should injure the workmen and spectators. + +"In the meantime the pedestal, which was interred 30 feet, was removed: +it was composed of two parts, the ogee and basement being of the same +mass, and the plinth of white marble. All the preparations were made for +this last operation on the 10th of September, with the same solemnities; +140 horses and 800 men were employed. The pope selected this day for the +solemn entrance of the duke of Luxembourg, ambassador of ceremony from +Henry III. of France, and caused the procession to enter by the Porta +Angelica, instead of the Porta del Popolo. When this nobleman crossed +the Piazza of St. Peter's, he stopped to observe the concourse of +workmen in the midst of a forest of machines, and saw, admiring, Rome +rising again by the hand of Sixtus V. In fifty-two movements the pyramid +was raised, and at the setting of the sun it was placed firm upon its +pedestal. The castle disappeared, and the artificers, intoxicated with +joy, carried Fontana on their shoulders in triumph to his own house, +amidst the sound of drums and trumpets, and the plaudits of an immense +crowd. + +"In placing it upright on the pedestal, Fontana considered the method +adopted by the ancients as the least difficult; which was to rest one +end on two globes, then draw the point round, raising it at the same +time, afterwards letting it fall perpendicularly on the pedestal. It is +conjectured that this was the practice adopted by the ancients, because +two dies alone were always covered with lead for a foot or more, and +were moreover crushed at the extremities. Sixtus V. placed a cross 7 +feet high at the top of the obelisk, which was carried in procession, +and which made the whole height 132 feet. + +"For this undertaking, Fontana was created a knight of the Golden Spur, +and a Roman nobleman; he had a pension of 2000 crowns, transferable to +his heirs, ten knighthoods, 5000 crowns of gold in ready money, and +every description of material used in the work, which was valued at more +than 20,000 crowns. Two bronze medals of him were struck; and the +following inscription was placed on the base of the pyramid by order of +the pope:--" + + Dominicvs Fontana, + Ex. Pago. Agri. Novocomensis. + Transtvlit. Et. Erexit. + + + + +REMOVAL OF AN OBELISK FROM THEBES TO PARIS. + + +In 1833, the French removed the smallest of the two obelisks which stood +before the propylon of the temple of Luxor to Paris, and elevated it in +the Place de la Concorde. The shaft is 76 feet high, and eight feet +wide on the broadest side of the base; the pedestal is 10 feet square by +16 feet high. Permission for the removal of both the obelisks having +been granted to the French government by the Viceroy of Egypt, a vessel +constructed for the purpose was sent out in March, 1831, under M. Lebas, +an eminent engineer, to whom the undertaking was confided, it being +previously determined to bring away only one, and M. Lebas found it +sufficiently difficult to bring away the smallest of the two. After +three months' labor with 800 men, the obelisk was removed on an inclined +plane into the vessel, through a hole made in the end for the purpose. +It arrived safely up the Seine to Paris, Dec. 23d, 1833. An inclined +plane of solid masonry was then constructed, leading from the river up +to a platform, also of rough masonry, level with the top of the +pedestal. The obelisk, having been placed on a kind of timber car or +sledge, was drawn up by means of ropes and capstans. One edge of the +base having been brought to its place on the pedestal, it was raised to +a perpendicular position by ropes and pulleys attached to the heads of +ten masts, five on each side. When all was ready, the obelisk was +elevated to its place under the direction of M. Lebas, in three hours, +without the least accident, Oct. 25th, 1836. It is said that Lebas had +provided himself with loaded pistols, in the firm determination to blow +out his brains in case of an accident! + +In 1820, the Viceroy of Egypt presented to the English government the +monolith lying on the ground at Alexandria, one of the two obelisks +called Cleopatra's Needles; the other is still standing. The project of +removing it to London and erecting it in Waterloo Square, was +entertained for some time by the English government, but seems to have +been long abandoned; recently, however, an expedition is being fitted +out for the purpose. + + + + +CARBURI'S BASE FOR THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. + + +Milizia gives the following interesting account of the removal of the +immense mass of granite, which forms the pedestal or base of the +equestrian statue of Peter the Great, from the bogs of the Neva to St. +Petersburg, a distance of about fourteen miles. He also cites it as an +instance of extraordinary ingenuity and skill in mechanics. It is, +however, a much easier task to move a ponderous mass of rough, unhewn +rock, than a brittle obelisk, an hundred feet or so in length, requiring +the greatest care to preserve it from injury. It is also worthy of +mention, that in widening streets in New York, it is no uncommon thing +to see a three-story brick house set back ten or fifteen feet, and even +moved across the street, and raised an extra story into the bargain--the +story being added to the _bottom_ instead of the _top_ of the building. +Thus the large free stone and brick school-house in the First Ward, an +edifice of four lofty stories, 50 by 70 feet, and basement walls 2½ feet +thick, has been raised six feet, to make it correspond with the new +grade in the lower part of Greenwich-street. It is also no uncommon +thing to see a ship of a thousand tons, with her cargo on board, raised +out of the water at the Hydraulic Dock, to stop a leak, or make some +unexpected but necessary repairs. + +"In 1769, the Count Marino Carburi, of Cephalonia, moved a mass of +granite, weighing three million pounds, to St. Petersburg, to serve as a +base for the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, to be erected in the +square of that city, after the design of M. Falconet, who discarded the +common mode of placing an equestrian statue on a pedestal, where, +properly speaking, it never could be; and suggested a rock, on which the +hero was to have the appearance of galloping, but suddenly be arrested +at the sight of an enormous serpent, which, with other obstacles, he +overcomes for the happiness of the Muscovites. None but a Catherine II., +who so gloriously accomplished all the great ideas of that hero, could +have brought to perfection this extraordinary one of the artist. An +immense mass was accidentally found buried 15 feet in a bog, four miles +and a half from the river Neva and fourteen from St. Petersburg. It was +also casually that Carburi was at the city to undertake the removal of +it. Nature alone sometimes forms a mechanic, as she does a sovereign, a +general, a painter, a philosopher. The expense of this removal was only +70,000 rubles and the materials left after the operation were worth +two-thirds of that sum. The obstacles surmounted do honor to the human +understanding. The rock was 37 feet long, 22 high, and 21 broad, in the +form of a parallelopipedon. It was cleft by a blast, the middle part +taken away, and in the cavity was constructed a forge for the wants of +the journey. Carburi did not use cylindrical rollers for his +undertaking, these causing an attrition sufficient to break the +strongest cables. Instead of rollers he used balls composed of brass, +tin, and calamina, which rolled with their burden under a species of +boat 180 feet long, and 66 wide. This extraordinary spectacle was +witnessed by the whole court, and by Prince Henry of Prussia, a branch +from the great Frederick. Two drums at the top sounded the march; forty +stone-cutters were continually at work on the mass during the journey, +to give it the proposed form--a singularly ingenious idea. The forge was +always at work: a number of other men were also in attendance to keep +the balls at proper distances, of which there were thirty, of the +diameter of five inches. The mountain was moved by four windlasses, and +sometimes by two; each required thirty-two men: it was raised and +lowered by screws, to remove the balls and put them on the other side. +When the road was even, the machine moved 60 feet in the hour. The +mechanic, although continually ill from the dampness of the air, was +still indefatigable in regulating the arrangements; and in six weeks the +whole arrived at the river. It was embarked, and safely landed. Carburi +then placed the mass in the square of St. Peter's, to the honor of +Peter, Falconet, Carburi, and of Catherine, who may always, from her +actions, be classed among illustrious men. It is to be observed, that in +this operation the moss and straw that was placed underneath the rock, +became by compression so compact, that it almost equalled in hardness +the ball of a musket. Similar mechanical operations of the ancients have +been wonderfully exaggerated by their poets." + + + + +COMPARATIVE SKILL OF THE ANCIENTS AND MODERNS IN MECHANICS. + + +Many persons suppose, and maintain, that the grandeur of the monuments +of the ancients, and the great size of the stones they employed for +building purposes, prove that they understood mechanics better than the +moderns. The least knowledge in mechanics, however, will show this +opinion to be erroneous. The moderns possess powers which were unknown +to the ancients, as the screw, and the hydraulic press, the power of +which last is only limited by the strength of the machinery. The works +of the ancients show that they expended a vast deal of power and labor +to gratify the pride and ambition of kings; but the moderns can do all +these things much easier, and in far less time, whenever they deem it +proper. There was nothing in ancient times to be compared with that +daring, ingenious, and stupendous monument of engineering skill--the +Britannia Tubular Bridge, across the Menai straits--projected, designed, +and built by Robert Stephenson, the famous English engineer. He had +previously built a similar but smaller structure--the Conway Tubular +Bridge. + + + + +THE BRITANNIA TUBULAR RAILWAY BRIDGE. + + +Had this stupendous fabric existed in ancient times, it would have been +regarded as the _first_ of the seven wonders of the world. Greater and +more expensive structures have been raised, but none displaying more +science, skill, and ingenuity, and none requiring such tremendous +mechanical power to execute. + +The Britannia Tubular Bridge was built to conduct the Chester and +Holyhead Railway across the Menai Straits, to the island of Anglesea, in +the Irish Sea. + +The difficulties which the engineer had to overcome, were greatly +augmented by the peculiar form and situation of the straits. Sir Francis +Head says, "The point of the straits which it was desired to cross, +although broader than that about a mile distant; preoccupied by Mr. +Telford's suspension bridge--was of course one of the narrowest that +could be selected, in consequence of which the ebbing and flowing +torrent rushes through it with such violence, that, except where there +is back water, it is often impossible for a small boat to pull against +it; besides which, the gusts of wind which come over the tops, down the +ravines, and round the sides of the neighboring mountains, are so +sudden, and occasionally so violent, that it is as dangerous to sail as +it is difficult to row; in short, the wind and the water, sometimes +playfully and sometimes angrily, seem to vie with each other--like some +of Shakspeare's fairies--in exhibiting before the stranger the utmost +variety of fantastic changes which it is in the power of each to +assume." The Menai Straits are about twelve miles long, through which, +imprisoned between the precipitous shores, the waters of the Irish Sea +and St. George's Channel are not only everlastingly vibrating, backwards +and forwards, but at the same time and from the same causes, are +progressively rising and falling 20 to 25 feet, with each successive +tide, which, varying its period of high water, every day forms +altogether an endless succession of aqueous changes. + + + + +THE TUBES. + + +The tubes forming the viaducts, rest upon two abutments and three piers, +called respectively the Anglesea abutment and pier, the Carnarvon +abutment and pier, and the Britannia or central pier, built upon the +Britannia rock in the middle of the straits, which gives name to the +bridge. The Anglesea abutment is 143 feet 6 inches high, 55 feet wide, +and 175 feet long to the end of the wings, which terminate in pedestals, +supporting colossal lions on either side, 25 feet 6 inches in length, 12 +feet 6 inches high, and 8 feet broad, carved out of a single block of +Anglesea marble. The space between the Anglesea abutment and pier is 230 +feet. This pier is 196 feet high, 55 feet wide, and 32 feet long. The +Carnarvon abutment and pier are of the same dimensions as those above +described, on the opposite shore. The Britannia pier is 240 feet high, +55 feet wide, and 45 feet long. This pier is 460 feet clear of each of +the two side piers. The bottom of the tubes are 124 feet above low water +mark, so that large ships can pass under them, under full sail. + +There are two tubes, to accommodate a double track (one would have done +in this country, but in England they do nothing by halves), and each is +1513 feet long. The total length of the bridge is 1841 feet. These tubes +are not round or oval, but nearly square at the termini; the bridge +being constructed on the principle of the arch. A section of one of the +tubes at the Britannia pier is in the form of a parallelogram, where it +is 30 feet high, gradually diminishing towards each end to 20 feet. The +tubes are riveted together into continuous hollow beams; they are of +the uniform width of 14 feet 8 inches throughout; they are constructed +entirely of iron, and weigh about 12,000 tons, each tube containing 5000 +tons of wrought iron, and about 1000 tons of cast iron. The tubes were +constructed each in four sections; the sections extending from the +abutments to their corresponding piers, each 250 feet long, were built +_in situ_, on immense scaffolding, made of heavy timbers for the +purpose, even with the railway; but the middle sections, each 470 feet +long, were built on piers on the Carnarvonshire shore, then floated into +the stream, and elevated to their position; each of these sections +weighed 1800 tons. + + + + +CONSTRUCTION OF THE TUBES. + + +The sides, bottom, and top of these gigantic tubes are formed of oblong +wrought iron plates, varying in length, width, and thickness, according +to circumstances, but of amazing size and weight. They are so arranged +as to obtain the greatest possible strength, the whole being riveted +together in the strongest manner. In addition to the 1600 tons of +wrought iron in each of the four large pieces, an additional 200 tons +was used to form lifting frames, and cast iron beams for the purpose of +attaching the tube to those huge chains by which they were elevated. The +construction of the tubes is thus described in the London Illustrated +News, from which this account is derived: + +"In order to carry out this vast work (the construction of the tubes), +eighty houses have been erected for the accommodation of the workmen, +which, being whitewashed, have a peculiarly neat and picturesque +appearance; among them are seen butcher's, grocer's, and tobacconist's +shops, supplying the wants of a numerous population. A day school, +Sunday school, and meeting-house also conspicuously figure. Workshops, +steam-engines, store-houses, offices, and other buildings meet the eye +at every turn; one is led to conclude that a considerable time has +elapsed since the works were commenced, yet it is little more than two +years ago. A stranger, on coming to the ground, is struck with wonder +when for the first time he obtains a near view of the vast piles of +masonry towering majestically above all the surrounding objects--strong +as the pillars of Hercules, and apparently as endurable--his eyes wander +instinctively to the ponderous tubes, those masterpieces of engineering +constructiveness and mathematical adjustment; he shrinks into himself as +he gazes, and is astonished when he thinks that the whole is the +developed idea of one man, and carried out, too, in the face of +difficulties which few would have dared to encounter." + + + + +FLOATING OF THE TUBES. + + +The tubes were floated to the places whence they were elevated to their +positions on eight huge pontoons, fitted with valves and pumps to +exhaust the water from them, when all was ready to float the prodigious +iron beams. These pontoons or boxes were each 90 feet long, 25 feet +wide, and 15 feet deep. The pontoons having been placed under one of the +tubes (sections), the floating was easily effected, and the operation is +thus described by the "Assistant Engineer." + +"The operation of floating the tubes (the four sections, and one only at +a time), will be commenced by closing the valves in the pontoons at low +water; as the tide rises, the pontoons will begin to float, and shortly +afterwards to bear the weight of the tube, which will at last be raised +by them entirely off its temporary supporting piers; about an hour and a +half before high water, the current running about four miles an hour, it +will be dragged out into the middle of the stream, by powerful capstans +and hawsers, reaching from the pontoons at each end, to the opposite +shore. In order to guide it into its place with the greatest possible +certainty, three large hawsers will be laid down the stream, one end of +two of them being made fast to the towers (piers) between which the tube +is intended to rest, and the other to strong fixed points on the two +shores, near to and opposite the further end of the tube platforms; in +their course, they will pass over and rest upon the pontoons, being +taken through 'cable-stoppers' which are contrivances for embracing and +gripping the hawser extended across the stream, and thereby retarding, +or if necessary entirely destroying, the speed induced by the current." + + + + +RAISING THE TUBES + + +The tubes of the Britannia bridge were raised by means of three +hydraulic presses of the most prodigious size, strength, weight, and +power; two of which were placed in the Britannia pier, above the points +where the tubes rest, and the other alternately on the Anglesea and +Carnarvon piers. + +In order that all who read these pages may understand this curious +operation, it is necessary to describe the principle of the hydraulic +press. If a tube be screwed into a cask or vessel filled with water, and +then water poured into the tube, the pressure on the bottom and sides of +the vessel will not be the contents of the vessel and tube, but that of +a column of water equal to the length of the tube and the depth of the +vessel. This law of pressure in fluids is rendered very striking in the +experiment of bursting a strong cask by the action of a few ounces of +water. This law, so extraordinary and startling of belief to those who +do not understand the reasoning upon which it is founded, has been +called the _Hydrostatic paradox_, though there is nothing in reality +more paradoxical in it, than that one pound at the long end of a lever, +should balance ten pounds at the short end. This principle has been +applied to the construction of the Hydrostatic or Hydraulic press, +whose power is only limited by the strength of the materials of which it +is made. Thus, with a hydraulic press no larger than a common tea-pot, a +bar of iron may be cut as easily as a slip of pasteboard. The exertion +of a single man, with a short lever, will produce a pressure of 1500 +atmospheres, or 22,500 pounds on every square inch of surface inside the +cylinder. By means of hydraulic presses, ships of a thousand tons +burthen, with cargo on board, are lifted out of the water for repairs, +and the heaviest bodies raised and moved, without any other expense of +human labor beyond the management of the engine. + +The tubes on the Anglesea side were raised first. The presses in the +Britannia tower were each capable of raising a weight of 1250 tons; that +in the Anglesea tower, larger than the others, 1800 tons, or the whole +weight of the tube. These presses were worked by two steam engines of 40 +horse power each, which forced the water into the cylinders, through a +tube half an inch in diameter. These steam engines were placed in the +Britannia and Anglesea piers. The press in the Anglesea pier is thus +described, the others being constructed in the same manner. The +hydraulic press stands on massive beams of wrought iron plates +constructed on the principle of the arch, placed in the tower above the +points where the tubes rest. The press consists of a huge cylinder, 9 +feet 2 inches in length, 3 feet 6 inches outside diameter, and the ram 1 +foot 8 inches in diameter, making the sides and bottom of the cylinder +11 inches thick; it was calculated that it would resist a pressure of +8000 or 9000 pounds to the square inch. The ram or piston was attached +to an exceedingly thick and heavy beam of cast iron, called the +cross-head, strengthened with bars of wrought iron. To the cross-head +were attached the huge chains that descended to the tubes far below, to +which they were secured, so that, as the ram was forced up 6 feet at +each stroke, the tube was raised the same distance. "The power of the +press is exerted on the tube by aid of chains, the links of which are 6 +feet in length, bolted together in sets of eight or nine links +alternately.--The ram raises the cross-head 6 feet at each stroke, and +with it the tube, when that height is attained, a lower set of chains on +the beams grip the next set of links, and thus prevent them from +slipping down, whilst the clamps on the cross-heads are unscrewed, the +upper links taken off, and the ram and cross-head lowered to take +another stroke." To guard against all chances of injury to the tubes in +case of accident to the machinery, a contrivance was adopted by which +the tubes were followed up with wedges. The importance of this +precaution was fully proved on the very first attempt to raise the tube +on the Anglesea side, when the huge cylinder broke, almost at the +commencement of the operations. The following is the engineer's +interesting report of the accident: + +"On Friday last (August 17, 1849), at a quarter to twelve o'clock, we +commenced lifting the tube at the Anglesea end, intending to raise it +six feet, and afterwards to have raised the opposite end the same +height. + +"The tube rose steadily to the height of two feet six inches, being +closely followed up by inch wooden boards packed beneath it, when +suddenly, and without any warning, the bottom of the hydraulic press +gave way, separating completely from the body of the press. + +"The ram, cross-head, and chains descended violently on the press, with +a tremendous noise, the tube sinking down upon the wooden packing +beneath it. The bottom of the press, weighing nearly two tons and a +half, fell on the top of the tube, a depth of eighty feet. + +"A sailor, named Owen Parry, was ascending a rope ladder at the time, +from the top of the tube into the tower; the broken piece of press in +its descent struck the ladder and shook him off; he fell on to the tube, +a height of fifty feet, receiving a contusion of the skull, and other +injuries, of so serious a nature that he died the same evening. He was +not engaged in the raising, and had only chosen to cross the tube, as +being the nearest road from one tower to the other. An inquest was held +on the following day, and a verdict of accidental death returned. No one +actually engaged in the operation was injured, although Mr. Edwin +Clark, who was superintending the operation, on the top of the +cross-head, and his brother, Mr. L. Clark, who was standing beneath it, +had both a very narrow escape. + +"The tube is not at all injured, but some portions of the cast iron +lifting frames are broken, and require repairing; some weeks must elapse +before a new cylinder is made, and the operation continued." + +Sir Francis Head, when he saw one of the tubes raised, and in its place, +observed, "It seemed surprising to us that by any arrangement of +materials, it could possibly be made strong enough to support even +itself,--much less heavily laden trains of passengers and goods, flying +through it, and actually passing each other in the air at railway speed. +And the more we called reason and reflection to our assistance, the more +incomprehensible did the mystery practically appear; for the plate iron +of which the aërial gallery is composed is literally _not so thick_ as +the lid, sides, and bottom which, by heartless contract, are _required_ +for an elm coffin 6½ feet long, 2¼ wide, and 2 deep, of strength +merely sufficient to carry the corpse of an emaciated pauper from the +workhouse to his grave! The covering of this iron passage, 1841 feet in +length, is literally not thicker than the hide of an elephant; lastly, +it is scarcely thicker than the bark of the good old English oak,--and +if this noble sovereign, notwithstanding 'the heart' and interior +substance of which it boasts, is, even in the well-protected park in +which it has been born and bred, often prostrated by the storm, how +difficult is it to conceive that an attenuated aërial hollow beam, no +thicker than its mere rind, should, by human science, be constructed +strong enough to withstand, besides the weights rushing through it, the +natural gales and artificial squalls of wind to which, throughout its +entire length, and at its fearful height, it is permanently to be +exposed." + +Notwithstanding these "incomprehensible" speculations, the tubes are +abundantly strong to sustain the pressure of the heaviest trains, even +were they to stand still in the middle of the bridge. It is calculated +that each tube, in its weakest part, would sustain a pressure of four or +five thousand tons, "support a line of battle ship, with all her +munitions and stores on board," and "bear a line of locomotives covering +the entire bridge." The bridge was completed, and the first train passed +through it March 5th, 1850. The total cost of this gigantic structure +was only £601,865. + + + + +GLORY OF ANCIENT ROME. + + +Ancient Rome was built upon seven hills, which are now scarcely +discoverable on account of the vast quantities of rubbish with which the +valleys are filled. Pliny estimates the circumference of the city in his +time at 13,000 paces (which nearly agrees with modern measurements), and +the population at 3,000,000. Rome was filled with magnificent public +edifices, temples, theatres, amphitheatres, circuses, naumachiæ, +porticos, basilicæ, baths, gardens, triumphal arches, columns, sewers, +aqueducts, sepulchres, public and private palaces, etc. + +In the time of the Cæsars, fourteen magnificent aqueducts, supported by +immense arches, conducted whole rivers into Rome, from a distance of +many miles, and supplied one hundred and fifty public fountains, one +hundred and eighteen large public baths, the artificial seas in which +naval combats were represented in the Colosseum, and the golden palace +of Nero, besides the water necessary to supply the daily use of the +inhabitants. One hundred thousand marble and bronze statues ornamented +the public squares, the temples, the streets, and the houses of the +nobility: ninety colossal statues raised on pedestals; and forty-eight +Egyptian obelisks of red granite, some of the largest size, also adorned +the city. + +Such was ancient Rome, "the Eternal City." Although visited for more +than a thousand years by various calamities, she is still the most +majestic of cities; the charm of beauty, dignity, and grandeur still +lingers around the ruins of ancient, as well as the splendid structures +of modern Rome, and brilliant recollections of every age are connected +with the monuments which the passing traveler meets at every step. + + + + +THE CAPITOL. + + +The Capitol or Citadel of ancient Rome stood on the Capitoline hill, the +smallest of the seven hills of Rome, called the _Saturnine_ and +_Tarpeian rock_. It was begun B.C. 614, by Tarquinius Priscus, but was +not completed till after the expulsion of the kings. After being thrice +destroyed by fire and civil commotion, it was rebuilt by Domitian, who +instituted there the Capitoline games. Dionysius says the temple, with +the exterior palaces, was 200 feet long, and 185 broad. The whole +building consisted of three temples, which were dedicated to Jupiter, +Juno, and Minerva, and separated from one another by walls. In the wide +portico, triumphal banquets were given to the people. The statue of +Jupiter, in the Capitol, represented the god sitting on a throne of +ivory and gold, and consisted in the earliest times of clay painted red; +under Trajan, it was formed of gold. The roof of the temple was made of +bronze; it was gilded by Q. Catulus. The doors were of the same metal. +Splendor and expense were profusely lavished upon the whole edifice. The +gilding alone cost 12,000 talents (about $12,000,000), for which reason +the Romans called it the _Golden Capitol_. On the pediment stood a +chariot drawn by four horses, at first of clay, and afterwards of brass +gilded. The temple itself contained an immense quantity of the most +magnificent presents. The most important state papers, and particularly +the Sibylline books were preserved in it. A few pillars and some ruins +are all that now remain of the magnificent temple of Jupiter +Capitolinus. Its site is mostly occupied by the church of the +Franciscans, and partly by the modern capitol called the _Campidoglio_, +which was erected after the design of Michael Angelo, consisting of +three buildings. From the summit of the middle one, the spectator has a +splendid view of one of the most remarkable regions in the world--the +Campagna, up to the mountains. For a description of the Colosseum, see +vol ii, page 29, of this work. + + + + +MODERN ROME. + + +Modern Rome is about thirteen miles in circuit, and is divided by the +Tiber into two parts. In 1830, Rome contained 144,542 inhabitants, +35,900 houses, 346 churches, 30 monasteries, and upwards of 120 palaces. +The view of the majestic ruins; the solemn grandeur of the churches and +palaces; the recollections of the past; the religious customs; the magic +and almost melancholy tranquillity which pervades the city; the +enjoyment of the endless treasures of art--all conspire to raise the +mind of the traveler to a high state of excitement. The churches, +palaces, villas, squares, streets, fountains, aqueducts, antiquities, +ruins--in short, everything proclaims the ancient majesty and the +present greatness of Rome. Almost every church, palace, and villa is a +treasury of art. Among the churches, St. Peter's is the most +conspicuous, and is, perhaps, the most beautiful building in the world. +Bramante began it; Sangallo and Peruzzi succeeded him; but Michael +Angelo, who erected its immense dome, which is four hundred and fifty +feet high to the top of the cross, designed the greatest part. Many +other architects were often employed upon it; Maderno finished the front +and the two towers. The erection of this edifice, from 1506 to 1614, +cost 45,000,000 Roman crowns. Before we arrive at this grand temple, the +eye is attracted by the beautiful square in front of it, surrounded by a +magnificent colonnade by Bernini, and ornamented by an Egyptian obelisk, +together with two splendid fountains. Upon entering the vestibule, +Giotto's mosaic, la Navicella, is seen. Under the portico, opposite the +great door, is Bernini's great bas relief representing Christ commanding +Peter to feed his sheep; and at the ends of the portico are the +equestrian statues of Constantine by Bernini, and of Charlemagne by +Cornachini. The union of these masterpieces has an indescribable effect. +The harmony and proportion which prevail in the interior of this august +temple are such, that, immense as it is, the eye distinguishes all the +parts without confusion or difficulty. When each object is minutely +examined, we are astonished at its magnitude, so much more considerable +than appears at first sight. The immense canopy of the high altar, +supported by four bronze pillars of 120 feet in height, particularly +attracts the attention. The dome is the boldest work of modern +architecture. The cross thereon is 450 feet above the pavement. The +lantern affords the most beautiful prospect of the city and the +surrounding country. The splendid mosaics, tombs, paintings, frescos, +works in marble, gilded bronze and stucco, the new sacristy--a beautiful +piece of architecture, but not in unison with the rest--deserve separate +consideration. The two most beautiful churches in Rome next to St. +Peter's are the St. John's of the Lateran, and the Santa Maria Maggiore. +The former, built by Constantine the Great, is the parochial church of +the pope; it therefore takes precedence of all others, and is called +_Omnium urbis el orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput_ (the head and mother +of all churches of the city and the world). In it is celebrated the +coronation of the popes. It contains several pillars of granite, _verde +antico_, and gilt bronze; the twelve apostles by Rusconi and Legros; and +the beautiful chapel of Corsini, which is unequalled in its proportions, +built by Alexander Galilei. The altar-piece is a mosaic from a painting +by Guido, and the beautiful porphyry sarcophagus, which is under the +statue of Clement XII., was found in the Pantheon, and is supposed to +have contained the ashes of M. Agrippa. The nave of the church of Santa +Maria Maggiore is supported by forty Ionic pillars of Grecian marble, +which were taken from a temple of Juno Lucina: the ceiling was gilded +with the first gold brought from Peru. We are here struck with +admiration at the mosaics; the high altar, consisting of an antique +porphyry sarcophagus; the chapel of Sixtus V., built from the designs of +Fontana, and richly ornamented; the chapel of Paul V., adorned with +marble and precious stones; the chapel of Sforza, by Michael Angelo; and +the sepulchres of Guglielmo della Porta and Algardi. In the square +before the front is a Corinthian column, which is considered a +masterpiece of its kind. The largest church in Rome next to St. Peter's +was the Basilica di San Paolo fuori delle Mura, on the road to Ostia, +burnt a few years since. The church of S. Lorenzo, without the city, +possesses some rare monuments of antiquity. The church of San Pietro in +Vincola contains the celebrated statue of Moses, by Michael Angelo. The +church of St. Agnes, in the place Navona, begun by Rainaldi and +completed by Borromini, is one of the most highly ornamented, +particularly with modern sculpture. Here is the admirable relief of +Algardi, representing St. Agnes deprived of her clothes, and covered +only with her hair. The Basilica of St. Sebastian, before the Porta +Capena, contains the statue of the dying saint, by Giorgetti, a pupil of +Algardi, and the master of Bernini. Under these churches are the +catacombs, which formerly served as places of burial. In the church of +St. Agnes, before the Porta Pia, among many other beautiful columns are +four of porphyry, belonging to the high altar, and considered the most +beautiful in Rome. In a small chapel is a bust of the Savior by Michael +Angelo--a masterpiece. In the church of St. Augustine, there is a +picture by Raphael representing the prophet Isaiah, and an Ascension by +Lanfranco. The monastery has a rich library, called the Angelica, and +increased by the library of cardinal Passionei. The following churches +also deserve to be mentioned, on account of their architecture and works +of art; the churches of St. Ignatius, St. Cecilia, S. Andrea della +Valle, S. Andrea del Noviziato, the Pantheon (also called la Rotonda), +in which Raffaelle, Annibale Caracci, Mengs, etc., are interred. All the +364 churches of Rome contain monuments of art or antiquity. Among the +palaces, the principal is the Vatican, an immense pile, in which the +most valuable monuments of antiquity, and the works of the greatest +modern masters are preserved. Here are the museum Pio-Clementinum, +established by Clement XIV., and enlarged by Pius VI., and the +celebrated library of the Vatican. The treasures carried away by the +French have been restored. Among the paintings of this palace, the most +beautiful are Raffaelle's frescos in the _stanze_ and _loggie_. The +principal oil paintings are in the _appartamento_ Borgia, which also +contains the Transfiguration, by Raphael. In the Sistine chapel is the +Last Judgment by Michael Angelo. The popes have chosen the palace of +Monte Cavallo, or the Quirinal palace, with its extensive and beautiful +gardens, for their usual residence, on account of its healthy air and +fine prospect. The Lateran palace, which Sixtus V. had rebuilt by +Fontana, was changed, in 1693, into an alms-house. Besides these, the +following are celebrated: the palace della Cancellario, the palace de' +Conservatori, the palace of St. Mark, the buildings of the Academy, etc. +Among the private palaces, the Barberini is the largest; it was built by +Bernini, in a beautiful style. Here are the Magdalen of Guido, one of +the finest works of Caravaggio, the Paintings of the great hall, a +masterpiece of Pietro da Cortona, and other valuable paintings. Of works +of sculpture, the Sleeping Fawn, now in Munich, was formerly here; the +masterly group representing Atalanta and Meleager, a Juno, a sick Satyr +by Bernini, the bust of Cardinal Barberini by the same artist, and the +busts of Marius, Sylla, and Scipio Africanus, are in this palace. The +library is calculated to contain 60,000 printed books, and 9000 +manuscripts; a cabinet of medals, bronzes, and precious stones, is also +connected with the library. The Borghese palace, erected by Bramante, is +extensive, and in a beautiful style; the colonnade of the court is +splendid. This palace contains a large collection of paintings, rare +works of sculpture, valuable tables, and utensils of rich workmanship, +of red porphyry, alabaster, and other materials. The upper hall is +unrivalled; the great landscapes of Vernet, with which it is adorned, +are so true to nature, that, upon entering, one imagines himself +transported into real scenes. The palace Albani, the situation of which +is remarkably fine, possesses a valuable library, a great number of +paintings, and a collection of designs by Caracci, Polidoro, Lanfranco, +Spagnoletto, Cignani, and others. The palace Altieri, one of the largest +in Rome, is in a simple style of architecture, and contains rare +manuscripts, medals, paintings, etc., and valuable furniture. In the +palace Colonna there is a rich collection of paintings by the first +masters; all the rooms are decorated with them, and particularly the +gallery, which is one of the finest in Europe. In the gardens are the +ruins of the baths of Constantine and those of the temple of Sol. The +Aldobrandini palace contains the proudest monument of ancient +painting--the Aldobrandine Wedding, a fresco purchased by Pius VII., in +1818, in which the design is admirable. The great Farnese palace, begun +from the designs of Sangallo, and completed under the direction of +Michael Angelo, is celebrated both for its beauty and its treasures of +art. The Caracci and Domenichino have immortalized themselves by their +frescos in its gallery. The Farnese Hercules, the masterly Flora, and +the urn of Cæcilia Metella, formerly adorned the court; and in the +palace itself was the beautiful group of the Farnese bull. But when the +king of Naples inherited the Farnese estate, these statues, with other +works of art, were carried to Naples, where they now adorn the palace +degli Studi. Not far off is the palace Corsini, where queen Christina +lived and died in 1689. It contains a valuable library and gallery. The +palace Giustiniani also had a gallery adorned with numerous valuable +statues and works of sculpture; its principal ornaments were the +celebrated statue of Minerva, the finest of that goddess now known, and +the bas-relief of Amalthæa suckling Jupiter. These treasures were +nominally bought by Napoleon, and are now in Paris. The paintings are +chiefly in the possession of the king of Prussia. In the palace Spada is +the statue of Pompey, at the foot of which Cæsar fell under the daggers +of his murderers. We have yet to mention the palace Costaguti, on +account of its fine frescos; Chigi, for its beautiful architecture, its +paintings and library; Mattei, for its numerous statues, reliefs, and +ancient inscriptions; the palace of Pamfili, built by Borromini, for its +splendid paintings and internal magnificence; that of Pamfili in the +square of Navona, with a library and gallery; Rospigliosi, upon the +Quirinal hill, etc. Among the palaces of Rome, which bear the name of +_villas_, is the Villa Medici, on the Pincian mount, on which were +formerly situated the splendid gardens of Lucullus: it once contained a +vast number of masterpieces of every kind; but the grand dukes Leopold +and Ferdinand have removed the finest works (among them, the group of +Niobe, by Scopas) to Florence. This palace, however, is yet worthy of +being visited. Under the portico of the Villa Negroni are the two fine +statues of Sylla and Marius, seated on the _sella curulis_. In the +extensive garden, which is three miles in circuit, some beautiful fresco +paintings have been found in the ruins of some of the houses. The Villa +Mattei, on the Coelian mount, contains a splendid collection of +statues. The Villa Ludovisi, on the Pincian mount, not far from the +ruins of the circus and the gardens of Sallust, is one and a half miles +in circuit, and contains valuable monuments of art, particularly the +Aurora of Guercino, an ancient group of the senator Papirius and his +mother (or rather of Phædra and Hippolytus), another of Arria and Pætus, +and Bernini's rape of Proserpine. The Villa Borghese, near Rome, has a +fine but an unhealthy situation. The greatest part of the city, and the +environs as far as Frascati and Tivoli, are visible from it. It has a +garden, with a park three miles in circuit. This palace was ornamented +in its interior, and furnished with so much richness and elegance, that +it might have been considered the first edifice in Rome, next to the +capitol, particularly for its fine collection of statues. The most +remarkable among them were the Fighting Gladiator; Silenus and a Faun; +Seneca, in black marble, or rather a slave at the baths; Camillus; the +Hermaphrodite; the Centaur and Cupid; two Fauns, playing on the flute; +Ceres; an Egyptian; a statue of the younger Nero; the busts of Lucius +Verus, Alexander, Faustina and Verus; various relievos, among which was +one representing Curtius; an urn, on which was represented the festival +of Bacchus; another supported by the Graces; two horns of plenty, etc. +The greatest part of these has not been restored from Paris. The +exterior is ornamented with ancient reliefs. The Villa Pamfili, before +the Porta di San Pancrazio, also called Belrespiro, has an agreeable +situation, and is seven miles in circumference. The architecture is by +Algardi, but has been censured by connoisseurs. In the interior there +are some fine specimens of sculpture. Full descriptions of this and of +the Villa Borghese have been published. The Villa Albani, upon an +eminence which commands Tivoli and the Sabina, is an edifice of taste +and splendor. The cardinal Alexander Albani expended immense sums upon +it, and, during the space of fifty years, collected a splendid cabinet. +The ceiling of the gallery was painted by Mengs, and is a model of +elegance. The Villa Lante and the Villa Corsini deserve to be mentioned +on account of their fine prospects. The Villa Doria (formerly Algiati), +in which Raffaelle lived, contains three fresco paintings of this great +master. The Villa Farnese contains the remains of the palace of the +Roman emperors. The capitol contains so many and such magnificent +objects of every description, that it is impossible to enumerate them +here. We must be satisfied with mentioning the equestrian statue of +Marcus Aurelius, before the palace; the Captive Kings, in the court; +the _columna rostrata_; and within, the colossal statue of Pyrrhus; the +tomb of Severus; the Centaurs, of basalt; the beautiful alabaster +pillars; the masterpiece in mosaic, which once belonged to cardinal +Furietti, representing three doves on the edge of a vessel filled with +water, which is described by Pliny. The fountains are among the +principal ornaments of the squares in Rome. The fountain in the Piazza +Navona, the most splendid of them all, has been particularly admired; it +is surmounted by an obelisk, and ornamented by four colossal statues, +which represent the four principal rivers in the world. The fountain of +Paul V., near the church di San Pietro in Montorio, is in bad taste, but +furnishes such a body of water, that several mills are carried by it. +The fountain di Termini is adorned with three reliefs, representing +Moses striking water from the rock, and with a colossal statue of that +prophet, and two Egyptian lions in basalt. The splendid fountain of +Trevi supplies the best water, which it receives through an ancient +aqueduct. Among the streets, the Strada Felice and the Strada Pia, which +cross each other, are the most remarkable; among the bridges, that of +St. Angelo (formerly Pons Ælius), 300 feet in length; and among the +gates the Porta del Popolo (formerly Porta Flaminia). Of ancient +monuments, the following yet remain: the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the +column of Trajan, that of Antonine, the amphitheatre of Vespasian; the +mausoleum of Augustus, the mausoleum of Adrian (now the fortress of St. +Angelo); the triumphal arches of Severus, Titus, Constantine, Janus, +Nero, and Drusus; the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Stator, of Jupiter +Tonans, of Concordia, of Pax, of Antoninus and Faustina, of the sun and +moon, of Romulus, of Romulus and Remus, of Pallas, of Fortuna Virilis, +of Fortuna Muliebris, of Virtue, of Bacchus, of Vesta, of Minerva +Medica, and of Venus and Cupid; the remains of the baths of Dioclesian, +of Caracalla and Titus, etc.; the ruins of the theatre of Pompey, near +the Curia Pompeii, where Cæsar was murdered, and those of the theatre of +Marcellus; the ruins of the old forum (now called Campo Vaccino); the +remains of the old bridges; the circus Maximus; the circus of Caracalla; +the house of Cicero; the Curia Hostilia; the trophies of Marius; the +portico of Philip and Octavius; the country house and tower of Mæcenas; +the Claudian aqueduct; the monuments of the family of Aruns, of the +Scipios, of Metella (called Capo di Bove); the prison of Jugurtha +(Carcero Mamertino), in which St. Peter was imprisoned; the monument of +Caius Cestius, which is entirely uninjured, in form of a pyramid, near +which the Protestants are buried; the Cloaca Maxima, built by Tarquin, +etc. Besides the obelisk near the Porta del Popolo, that raised in the +pontificate of Pius VI., on mount Cavallo, is deserving of notice. The +principal collections of literature and the arts have already been +noticed; but the Museo Kircheliano deserves to be particularly +mentioned; there are, besides, many private collections and monastic +libraries, which contain many valuable works. Such treasures, especially +in the arts, make Rome the great school of painters, statuaries, and +architects, and a place of pilgrimage to all lovers of the arts; and +there are here innumerable _studios_ of painters and sculptors. Roman +art seems to have received a new impulse. The academy of San Luca was +established solely for the art of painting. There are also many literary +institutions in the city. + + + + +THE FOUNDATION OF VENICE. + + +It is recorded in the archives of Padua, says Milizia, that when +Rhadagasius entered Italy, and the cruelties exercised by the Visigoths +obliged the people to seek refuge in various places, an architect of +Candia, named Eutinopus, was the first to retire to the fens of the +Adriatic, where he built a house, which remained the only one there for +several years. At length, when Alaric continued to desolate the country, +others sought an asylum in the same marshes, and built twenty-four +houses, which formed the germ of Venice. The security of the place now +induced people to settle there rapidly, and Venice soon sprung up a city +and gradually rose to be mistress of the seas. The Venetian historians +inform us that the house of Eutinopus, during a dreadful conflagration, +was miraculously saved by a shower of rain, at the prayer of the +architect, who made a vow to convert it into a church; he did this, and +dedicated it to St. James, the magistrates and inhabitants contributing +to build and ornament the edifice. The church is still standing, in the +quarter of the Rialto, which is universally considered the oldest part +of Venice. + + + + +THEODORIC THE GREAT, AND HIS LOVE OF THE FINE ARTS. + + +Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and afterwards also king of Italy, +was born at Amali, near Vienna, in 455, and died in 526. Though a Goth, +he was so far from delighting in the destruction of public monuments, +and works of art, that he issued edicts for their preservation at Rome +and throughout Italy, and assigned revenues for the repair of the public +edifices, for which purpose he employed the most skillful and learned +architects, particularly Aloïsius, Boëtius, and Symmachus. According to +Cassiodorus (lib. ii. Varior. Epist. xxxix.), Theodoric said: "It is +glorious to preserve the works of antiquity; and it is our duty to +restore the most useful and the most beautiful." Symmachus had the +direction of the buildings constructed or rebuilt at Rome. The king thus +wrote to him: "You have constructed fine edifices; you have, moreover, +disposed of them with so much wisdom that they equal those of antiquity, +and serve as examples to the moderns; and all you show us is a perfect +image of the excellence of your mind, because it is not possible to +build correctly without good sense and a well cultivated understanding." + +In his directions to the Prefect of Rome, on the architecture of the +public edifices, Theodoric thus wrote: + +"The beauty of the Roman buildings requires a skillful overseer, in +order that such a wonderful forest of edifices should be preserved with +constant care, and the new ones properly constructed, both internally +and externally. Therefore we direct our generosity not only to the +preservation of ancient things, but to the investing the new ones with +the glories of antiquity. Be it known, therefore, to your illustrious +person, that for this end an architect of the Roman walls is appointed. +And because the study of the arts requires assistance, we desire that he +may have every reasonable accommodation that his predecessors have +enjoyed. He will certainly see things superior to what he has read of, +and more beautiful than he could ever have imagined. The statues still +feel their renowned authors, and appear to live: he will observe +expressed in the bronze, the veins, the muscles swollen by exertion, the +nerves gradually stretched, and the figure expressing those feelings +which act on a living subject. + +"It is said that the first artists in Italy were the Etruscans, and thus +posterity has given to them, as well as to Rome, almost the power of +creating man. How wonderful are the horses, so full of spirit, with +their fiery nostrils, their sparkling eyes, their easy and graceful +limbs;--they would move, if not of metal. And what shall we say of those +lofty, slender, and finely fluted columns, which appear a part of the +sublime structure they support? That appears wax, which is hard and +elegant metal; the joints in the marble being like natural veins. The +beauty of art is to deceive the eye. Ancient historians acquaint us with +only seven wonders in the world: the Temple of Diana, at Ephesus; the +magnificent sepulchre of the king Mausolus, from whence is derived the +word mausoleum; the bronze Colossus of the Sun, in Rhodes; the statue of +Jupiter Olympius, of gold and ivory, formed by the masterly hand of +Phidias, the first of architects; the palace of Cyrus, King of Media, +built by Memnon of stones united by gold; the walls of Babylon, +constructed by Semiramis of brick, pitch, and iron; the pyramids of +Egypt, the shadows of which do not extend beyond the space of their +construction. But who can any longer consider these as wonders, after +having seen so many in Rome? Those were famous because they preceded us; +it is natural that the new productions of the then barbarous ages should +be renowned. It may truly be said that all Rome is wonderful. We have +therefore selected a man clever in the arts, who, in seeing so many +ingenious things of antiquity, instead of remaining merely enchanted +with them, has set himself to work to investigate the reason, study +their books, and instruct himself, that he may become as learned as +those in the place of whom he is to consider himself appointed." + +Milizia says of Theodoric, "Is this the language of a Gothic barbarian, +the destroyer of good taste? Pericles, Alexander, Adrian, or one of the +Medici could not have reasoned better." And again, "Can these Goths be +the inventors of that architecture vulgarly called Gothic? and are these +the barbarians said to have been the destroyers of the beautiful +monuments of antiquity? Ecclesiastical history gives to the good +Christians and the jealous ecclesiastics the honor of having dismantled +temples, and disfigured statues in Italy, Greece, Asia, and Egypt. * * * +It is clear that the Goths were not the authors of that architecture +called Gothic. The Goths and barbarians who overran Italy had not any +characteristic architecture, good or bad. They brought with them neither +architects, painters, nor poets. They were all soldiers, and when fixed +in Italy employed Italian artists; but as in that country, good taste +was much on the decline, it now became more debased, notwithstanding the +efforts made by the Goths to revive it." + + + + +ARCHIMEDES. + + +This wonderful genius was of royal descent, and born at Syracuse about +B.C. 287. He was a relative of king Hiero, who held him in the highest +esteem and favor, though he does not appear to have held any public +office, preferring to devote himself entirely to science. Such was his +enthusiasm, that he appears at times to have been so completely absorbed +in contemplation and calculations, as to be totally unconscious of what +was passing around him. We cannot fully estimate his services to +mathematics, for want of an acquaintance with the previous state of +science; still we know that he enriched it with discoveries of the +highest importance, upon which the moderns have founded their +admeasurements of curvilinear surfaces and solids. Euclid, in his +elements, considers only the relations of some of these magnitudes to +each other, but does not compare them with surfaces and solids bounded +by straight lines. Archimedes developed the proportions necessary for +effecting this comparison, in his treatises on the sphere and cylinder, +the spheroid and conoid, and in his work on the measure of the circle. +He rose to still more abstruse considerations in his treatise on the +spiral. Archimedes is also the only one of the ancients who has left us +anything satisfactory on the theory of mechanics and hydrostatics. He +first taught the principle "that a body immersed in a fluid, loses as +much in weight, as the weight of an equal volume of the fluid." He +discovered this while bathing, which is said to have caused him so much +joy that he ran home from the bath undressed, exclaiming, "I have found +it; I have found it!" By means of this principle, he determined how much +alloy a goldsmith had added to a crown which king Hiero had ordered of +pure gold. Archimedes had a profound knowledge of mechanics, and in a +moment of enthusiasm, with which the extraordinary performances of his +machines had inspired him, he exclaimed that he "could move the earth +with ease, by means of his machines placed on a fixed point near it." He +was the inventor of the compound pulley, and probably of the endless +screw which bears his name. He invented many surprising engines and +machines. Some suppose that he visited Egypt, and raised the sites of +the towns and villages of Egypt, and begun those mounds of earth by +means of which communication was kept up from town to town, during the +inundations of the Nile. When Marcellus, the Roman consul, besieged +Syracuse, he devoted all his talents to the defense of his native +country. He constructed machines which suddenly raised up in the air the +ships of the enemy in the bay before the city, and then let them fall +with such violence into the water that they sunk; he also set them on +fire with his burning glasses. Polybius, Livy, and Plutarch speak in +detail, with wonder and admiration, of the machines with which he +repelled the attacks of the Romans. When the town was taken and given up +to pillage, the Roman general gave strict orders to his soldiers not to +hurt Archimedes, and even offered a reward to him who should bring him +alive and safe to his presence. All these precautions proved useless, +for the philosopher was so deeply engaged at the time in solving a +problem, that he was even ignorant that the enemy were in possession of +the city, and when a soldier entered his apartment, and commanded him to +follow him, he exclaimed, according to some, "Disturb not my circle!" +and to others, he begged the soldier not to "kill him till he had solved +his problem"; but the rough warrior, ignorant of the august person +before him, little heeded his request, and struck him down. This +happened B.C. 212, so that Archimedes, at his death, must have been +about 75 years old. Marcellus raised a monument over him, and placed +upon it a cylinder and a sphere, thereby to immortalize his discovery of +their mutual relations, on which he set a particular value; but it +remained long neglected and unknown, till Cicero, during his questorship +of Sicily, found it near one of the gates of Syracuse, and had it +repaired. The story of his burning glasses had always appeared fabulous +to some of the moderns, till the experiments of Buffon demonstrated its +truth and practicability. These celebrated glasses are supposed to have +been reflectors made of metal, and capable of producing their effect at +the distance of a bow-shot. + + + + +THE TRIALS OF GENIUS. + + +FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI. + + +This eminent architect was one of those illustrious men, who, having +conceived and matured a grand design, proceed, cool, calm, and +indefatigable, to put it in execution, undismayed by obstacles that seem +insuperable, by poverty, want, and what is worse, the jeers of men whose +capacities are too limited to comprehend their sublime conceptions. The +world is apt to term such men enthusiasts, madmen, or fools, till their +glorious achievements stamp them almost divinely inspired. + +Brunelleschi was nobly descended on his mother's side, she being a +member of the Spini family, which, according to Bottari, became extinct +towards the middle of the last century. His ancestors on his father's +side were also learned and distinguished men--his father was a notary, +his grandfather "a very learned man," and his great-grandfather "a +famous physician in those times." Filippo's father, though poor, +educated him for the legal or medical profession; but such was his +passion for art and mechanics, that his father, greatly against his +will, was compelled to allow him to follow the bent of his genius: he +accordingly placed him, at a proper age, in the Guild of the Goldsmiths, +that he might acquire the art of design. Filippo soon became a +proficient in the setting of precious stones, which he did much better +than any old artists in the vocation. He also wrought in niello, and +executed several figures which were highly commended, particularly two +figures of Prophets, for an altar in the Cathedral of Pistoja. Filippo +next turned his attention to sculpture, and executed works in +basso-relievo, which showed an extraordinary genius. Subsequently, +having made the acquaintance of several learned men, he began to turn +his attention to the computation of the divisions of time, the +adjustment of weights, the movement of wheels, etc. He next bent his +thoughts to the study of perspective, to which, before his time, so +little attention was paid by artists, that the figures often appeared to +be slipping off the canvas, and the buildings had not a true point of +view. He was one of the first who revived the Greek practice of +rendering the precepts of geometry subservient to the painter; for this +purpose, he studied with the famous geometrician Toscanelli, who was +also the instructor, friend, and counsellor of Columbus. Filippo pursued +his investigations until he brought perspective to great perfection; he +was the first who discovered a perfectly correct method of taking the +ground plan and sections of buildings, by means of intersecting +lines--"a truly ingenious thing," says Vasari, "and of great utility to +the arts of design." Filippo freely communicated his discoveries to his +brother artists. He was imitated in mosaic by Benedetto da Macano, and +in painting by Masaccio, who were his pupils. Vasari says Brunelleschi +was a man of such exalted genius, that "we may truly declare him to have +been given to us by Heaven, for the purpose of imparting a new spirit to +architecture, which for hundreds of years had been lost; for the men of +those times had badly expended great treasures in the erection of +buildings without order, constructed in a most wretched manner, after +deplorable designs, with fantastic inventions, labored graces, and worse +decorations. But it then pleased Heaven, the earth having been for so +many years destitute of any distinguished mind and divine genius, that +Filippo Brunelleschi should leave to the world, the most noble, vast, +and beautiful edifice that had ever been constructed in modern times, or +even in those of the ancients; giving proof that the talent of the +Tuscan artists, although lost for a time, was not extinguished. He was, +moreover, adorned by the most excellent qualities, among which was that +of kindliness, insomuch that there never was a man of more benign and +amicable disposition; in judgment he was calm and dispassionate, and +laid aside all thought of his own interest and even that of his friends, +whenever he perceived the merits and talents of others to demand that he +should do so. He knew himself, instructed many from the stores of his +genius, and was ever ready to succor his neighbor in all his +necessities; he declared himself the confirmed enemy of all vice, and +the friend of those who labored in the cause of virtue. Never did he +spend his moments vainly, but, although constantly occupied in his own +works, in assisting those of others, or administering to their +necessities, he had yet always time to bestow on his friends, for whom +his aid was ever ready." + +In the meantime, Brunelleschi had studied architecture, and made such +progress that he had already conceived two grand projects--the one was +the revival of the good manner of ancient architecture, which was then +extinct, and the other was to discover a method for constructing the +cupola of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence, the +difficulties of which were so great that, after the death of Arnolfo di +Lapi, no architect had been found of sufficient courage and capacity to +attempt the vaulting of that cupola.[1] If he could accomplish one or +both of these designs, he believed that he would not only immortalize +his own name, but confer a lasting benefit on mankind. Filippo, having +resolved to devote himself entirely to architecture in future, set out +for Rome in company with his friend Donatello, without imparting his +purpose to any one. Here his mind became so absorbed that he labored +incessantly, scarcely allowing himself the rest which nature required. +He examined, measured, and made careful drawings of all the edifices, +ruins, arches, and vaults of antiquity; to these he devoted perpetual +study, and if by chance he found fragments of capitals, columns, +cornices, or basements of buildings, partly buried in the earth, he set +laborers at work to lay them open to view. One day, Filippo and +Donatello found an earthen vase full of ancient coins, which caused a +report to be spread about Rome that the artists were _treasure-seekers_, +and this name they often heard, as they passed along the streets, +negligently clothed, the people believing them to be men who studied +geomancy, for the discovery of treasures. Donatello soon returned to +Florence, but Filippo pursued his studies with unremitting diligence. +Having exhausted his means, although he lived in the most frugal manner, +he contrived to supply his wants, says Milizia, by pawning his jewels, +but Vasari with greater probability, by setting precious stones for the +goldsmiths, who were his friends. "Nor did he rest," says Vasari, "until +he had drawn every description of fabric--temples, round, square, or +octagon; basilicas, aqueducts, baths, arches, the Colosseum, +amphitheatres, and every church built of bricks, of which he examined +all the modes of binding and clamping, as well as the turning of the +vaults and arches; he took note, likewise, of all the methods used for +uniting the stones, as well as of the means used for securing the +equilibrium and close conjunction of all the parts; and having found +that in all the larger stones there was a hole, formed exactly in the +centre of each on the under side, he discovered that this was for the +insertion of the iron instrument with which the stones are drawn up, and +which is called by us the mason's clamps (_la ulivella_), an invention, +the use of which he restored, and ever afterwards put in practice. The +different orders were next divided by his cares, each order, the Doric, +Ionic, or Corinthian being placed apart; and such was the effect of his +zeal in that study, that he became capable of entirely reconstructing +the city in his imagination, and of beholding Rome as she had been +before she was ruined. But in the year 1407 the air of the place caused +Filippo some slight indisposition, when he was advised by his friends to +try change of air. He consequently returned to Florence, where many +buildings had suffered by his absence, and for these he made many +drawings and gave numerous counsels on his return. + +"In the same year an assemblage of architects and engineers was gathered +in Florence, by the Superintendents of the works of Santa Maria del +Fiore, and by the Syndics of the Guild of wool-workers, to consult on +the means by which the cupola might be raised. Among these appeared +Filippo, who gave it as his opinion that the edifice above the roof must +be constructed, not after the design of Arnolfo, but that a frieze, +fifteen braccia high, must be erected, with a large window in each of +its sides: since not only would this take the weight off the piers of +the tribune, but would also permit the cupola itself to be more easily +raised." + +The obstacles appeared so insuperable to the Superintendents and the +Syndics, that they delayed the execution of the cupola for several +years. In the meantime, Filippo secretly made models and designs for his +cupola, which perpetually occupied his thoughts. He boldly asserted that +the project was not only practicable, but that it could be done with +much less difficulty and at less expense than was believed. At length, +his boldness, genius, and powerful arguments, brought many of the +citizens to his opinion, though he refused to show his models, because +he knew the powerful opposition and influences he would have to +encounter, and the almost certain loss of the honor of building the +cupola, which he coveted above everything else. Vasari thus continues +his admirable history: "But one morning the fancy took him, hearing that +there was some talk of providing engineers for the construction of the +cupola, of returning to Rome, thinking that he would have more +reputation and be more sought for from abroad, than if he remained in +Florence. When Filippo had returned to Rome accordingly, the acuteness +of his genius and his readiness of resource were taken into +consideration, when it was remembered that in his discourses he had +showed a confidence and courage that had not been found in any of the +other architects, who stood confounded, together with the builders, +having lost all power of proceeding; for they were convinced that no +method of constructing the cupola would ever be found, nor any beams +that would make a scaffold strong enough to support the framework and +weight of so vast an edifice. The Superintendents were therefore +resolved to have an end of the matter, and wrote to Filippo in Rome, +entreating him to repair to Florence, when he, who desired nothing +better, returned very readily. The wardens of Santa Maria del Fiore and +the syndics of the Guild of Woolworkers, having assembled on his +arrival, set before him all the difficulties, from the greatest to the +smallest, which had been made by the masters, who were present, together +with himself, at the audience: whereupon Filippo replied in these +words--'Gentlemen Superintendents, there is no doubt that great +undertakings always present difficulties in their execution; and if none +ever did so before, this of yours does it to an extent of which you are +not perhaps even yet fully aware, for I do not know that even the +ancients ever raised so enormous a vault as this will be. I, who have +many times reflected on the scaffoldings required, both within and +without, and on the method to be pursued for working securely at this +erection, have never been able to come to a decision; and I am +confounded, no less by the breadth than the height of the edifice. Now, +if the cupola could be arched in a circular form, we might pursue the +method adopted by the Romans in erecting the Pantheon of Rome; that is, +the Rotunda. But here we must follow the eight sides of the building, +dove-tailing, and, so to speak, enchaining the stones, which will be a +very difficult thing. Yet, remembering that this is a temple consecrated +to God and the Virgin, I confidently trust, that for a work executed to +their honor, they will not fail to infuse knowledge where it is now +wanting, and will bestow strength, wisdom, and genius on him who shall +be the author of such a project. But how can I help you in the matter, +seeing that the work is not mine? I tell you plainly, that if it +belonged to me, my courage and power would beyond all doubt suffice to +discover means whereby the work might be effected without so many +difficulties; but as yet I have not reflected on the matter to any +extent, and you would have me tell you by what method it is to be +accomplished. But even if your worships should determine that the cupola +shall be raised, you will be compelled not only to make trial of me, who +do not consider myself capable of being the sole adviser in so important +a matter, but also to expend money, and to command that within a year, +and on a fixed day, many architects shall assemble in Florence; not +Tuscans and Italians only, but Germans, French, and of every other +nation: to them it is that such an undertaking should be proposed, to +the end that having discussed the matter and decided among so many +masters, the work may be commenced and entrusted to him who shall give +the best evidence of capacity, or shall display the best method and +judgment for the execution of so great a charge. I am not able to offer +you other counsel, or to propose a better arrangement than this.' + +"The proposal and plan of Filippo pleased the Syndics and Wardens of the +works, but they would have liked that he should meanwhile prepare a +model, on which they might have decided. But he showed himself to have +no such intention, and taking leave of them, declared that he was +solicited by letters to return to Rome. The syndics then perceiving that +their request and those of the wardens did not suffice to detain him, +caused several of his friends to entreat his stay; but Filippo not +yielding to these prayers, the wardens, one morning, ordered him a +present of money; this was on the 26th of May, 1417, and the sum is to +be seen among the expenses of Filippo, in the books of the works. All +this was done to render him favorable to their wishes; but, firm to his +resolution, he departed nevertheless from Florence and returned to Rome, +where he continued the unremitting study of the same subject, making +various arrangements and preparing himself for the completion of that +work, being convinced, as was the truth, that no other than himself +could conduct such an undertaking to its conclusion. Nor had Filippo +advised the syndics to call new architects for any other reason, than +was furnished by his desire that those masters should be the witnesses +of his own superior genius: he by no means expected that they could or +would receive the commission for vaulting that tribune, or would +undertake the charge, which he believed to be altogether too difficult +for them. Much time was meanwhile consumed, before the architects, whom +the syndics had caused to be summoned from afar, could arrive from their +different countries. Orders had been given to the Florentine merchants +resident in France, Germany, England, and Spain, who were authorized to +spend large sums of money for the purpose of sending them, and were +commanded to obtain from the sovereigns of each realm the most +experienced and distinguished masters of the respective countries. + +"In the year 1420, all these foreign masters were at length assembled in +Florence, with those of Tuscany, and all the best Florentine artists in +design. Filippo likewise then returned from Rome. They all assembled, +therefore, in the hall of the wardens of Santa Maria del Fiore, the +Syndics and Superintendents, together with a select number of the most +capable and ingenious citizens being present, to the end that having +heard the opinion of each on the subject, they might at length decide on +the method to be adopted for vaulting the tribune. Being called into the +audience, the opinions of all were heard one after another, and each +architect declared the method which he had thought of adopting. And a +fine thing it was to hear the strange and various notions then +propounded on that matter: for one said that columns must be raised from +the ground up, and that on these they must turn the arches, whereon the +woodwork for supporting the weight must rest. Others affirmed that the +vault should be turned in cysteolite or sponge-stone (spugna), thereby +to diminish the weight; and several of the masters agreed in the opinion +that a column must be erected in the centre, and the cupola raised in +the form of a pavilion, like that of San Giovanni in Florence. Nay, +there were not wanting those who maintained that it would be a good plan +to fill the space with earth, among which small coins (quatrini) should +be mingled, that when the cupola should be raised, they might then give +permission that whoever should desire the soil might go and fetch it, +when the people would immediately carry it away without expense. Filippo +alone declared that the cupola might be erected without so great a mass +of woodwork, without a column in the centre, and without the mound of +earth; at a much lighter expense than would be caused by so many arches, +and very easily, without any framework whatever. + +"Hearing this, the syndics, who were listening in the expectation of +hearing some fine method, felt convinced that Filippo had talked like a +mere simpleton, as did the superintendents, and all the other citizens; +they derided him therefore, laughing at him, and turning away; they bade +him discourse of something else, for that this was the talk of a fool or +madman, as he was. Therefore Filippo, thinking he had cause of offence, +replied, 'But consider, gentlemen, that it is not possible to raise the +cupola in any other manner than this of mine, and although you laugh at +me, yet you will be obliged to admit (if you do not mean to be +obstinate), that it neither must nor can be done in any other manner; +and if it be erected after the method that I propose, it must be turned +in the manner of the pointed arch, and must be double--the one vaulting +within, the other without, in such sort that a passage should be formed +between the two. At the angles of the eight walls, the building must be +strengthened by the dove-tailing of the stones, and in like manner the +walls themselves must be girt around by strong beams of oak. We must +also provide for the lights, the staircases, and the conduits by which +the rain-water may be carried off. And none of you have remembered that +we must prepare supports within, for the execution of the mosaics, with +many other difficult arrangements; but I, who see the cupola raised, I +have reflected on all these things, and I know that there is no other +mode of accomplishing them, than that of which I have spoken.' Becoming +heated as he proceeded, the more Filippo sought to make his views clear +to his hearers, that they might comprehend and agree with him, the more +he awakened their doubts, and the less they confided in him, so that, +instead of giving him their faith, they held him to be a fool and a +babbler. Whereupon, being more than once dismissed, and finally refusing +to go, they caused him to be carried forcibly from the audience by the +servants of the place, considering him to be altogether mad. This +contemptuous treatment caused Filippo at a later period to say, that he +dared not at that time pass through any part of the city, lest some one +should say, 'See, where goes that fool!' The syndics and others forming +the assembly remained confounded, first, by the difficult methods +proposed by the other masters, and next by that of Filippo, which +appeared to them stark nonsense. He appeared to them to render the +enterprise impossible by his two propositions--first, by that of making +the cupola double, whereby the great weight to be sustained would be +rendered altogether unmanageable, and next by the proposal of building +without a framework. Filippo, on the other hand, who had spent so many +years in close study to prepare himself for this work, knew not to what +course to betake himself, and was many times on the point of leaving +Florence. Still, if he desired to conquer, it was necessary to arm +himself with patience, and he had seen enough to know that the heads of +the city seldom remained long fixed to one resolution. He might easily +have shown them a small model which he had secretly made, but he would +not do so, knowing the imperfect intelligence of the syndics, the envy +of the artists, and the instability of the citizens, who favored now one +and now another, as each chanced to please them. And I do not wonder at +this, because every one in Florence professes to know as much of these +matters, as do the most experienced masters, although there are very few +who really understand them; a truth which we may be permitted to affirm +without offence to those who are well informed on the subject. What +Filippo therefore could not effect before the tribunal, he began to +attempt with individuals, and talking apart now with a syndic, now with +a warden, and again with different citizens, showing moreover certain +parts of his design; he thus brought them at length to resolve on +confiding the conduct of this work, either to him or to one of the +foreign architects. Hereupon, the syndics, the wardens, and the +citizens, selected to be judges in the matter, having regained courage, +gathered together once again, and the architects disputed respecting the +matter before them; but all were put down and vanquished on sufficient +grounds by Filippo, and here it is said that the dispute of the egg +arose, in the manner following. The other architects desired that +Filippo should explain his purpose minutely, and show his model, as they +had shown theirs. This he would not do, but proposed to all the masters, +foreigners and compatriots, that he who could make an egg stand upright +on a piece of smooth marble, should be appointed to build the cupola, +since in doing that, his genius would be made manifest. They took an egg +accordingly, and all those masters did their best to make it stand +upright, but none discovered the method of doing so. Wherefore, Filippo, +being told that he might make it stand himself, took it daintily into +his hand, gave the end of it a blow on the plane of the marble, and made +it stand upright.[2] Beholding this, the artists loudly protested, +exclaiming that they could all have done the same; but Filippo replied, +laughing, that they might also know how to construct the cupola, if they +had seen the model and design. It was thus at length resolved that +Filippo should receive the charge of conducting the work, but was told +that he must furnish the syndics and wardens with more exact +information. + +"He returned, therefore, to his house, and stated his whole purpose on a +sheet of paper, as clearly as he could possibly express it, when it was +given to the tribunal in the following terms:--'The difficulties of this +erection being well considered, magnificent signors and wardens, I find +that it cannot by any means be constructed in a perfect circle, since +the extent of the upper part, where the lantern has to be placed, would +be so vast, that when a weight was laid thereon, it would soon give way. +Now it appears to me that those architects who do not aim at giving +perpetual duration to their fabrics, cannot have any regard for the +durability of the memorial, nor do they even know what they are doing. I +have therefore determined to turn the inner part of this vault in +angles, according to the form of the walls, adopting the proportions and +manner of the pointed arch, this being a form which displays a rapid +tendency to ascend, and when loaded with the lantern, each part will +help to give stability to the other. The thickness of the vault at the +base must be three braccia and three-quarters; it must then rise in the +form of a pyramid, decreasing from without up to the point where it +closes, and where the lantern has to be placed, and at this junction the +thickness must be one braccia and a quarter. A second vault shall then +be constructed outside the first, to preserve the latter from the rain, +and this must be two braccia and a half thick at the base, also +diminishing proportionally in the form of a pyramid, in such a manner +that the parts shall have their junction at the commencement of the +lantern, as did the other, and at the highest point it must have +two-thirds of the thickness of the base. There must be a buttress at +each angle, which will be eight in all, and between the angles, in the +face of each wall, there shall be two, sixteen in all; and these sixteen +buttresses on the inner and outer side of each wall must each have the +breadth of four braccia at the base. These two vaults, built in the form +of a pyramid, shall rise together in equal proportion to the height of +the round window closed by the lantern. There will thus be constructed +twenty-four buttresses with the said vaults built around, and six strong +high arches of a hard stone (macigno), well clamped and bound with iron +fastenings, which must be covered with tin, and over these stones shall +be cramping irons, by which the vaults shall be bound to the buttresses. +The masonry must be solid, and must leave no vacant space up to the +height of five braccia and a quarter; the buttresses being then +continued, the arches will be separated. The first and second courses +from the base must be strengthened everywhere by long plates of +_macigno_ laid crosswise, in such sort that both vaults of the cupola +shall rest on these stones. Throughout the whole height, at every ninth +braccia there shall be small arches constructed in the vaults between +the buttresses, with strong cramps of oak, whereby the buttresses by +which the inner vault is supported will be bound and strengthened; these +fastenings of oak shall then be covered with plates of iron, on account +of the staircases. The buttresses are all to be built of _macigno_, or +other hard stone, and the walls of the cupola are, in like manner, to be +all of solid stone bound to the buttresses to the height of twenty-four +braccia, and thence upward they shall be constructed of brick or of +spongite (spugne), as shall be determined on by the masters who build +it, they using that which they consider lightest. On the outside, a +passage or gallery shall be made above the windows, which below shall +form a terrace, with an open parapet or balustrade two braccia high, +after the manner of those of the lower tribunes, and forming two +galleries, one over the other, placed on a richly decorated cornice, the +upper gallery being covered. The rain-water shall be carried off the +cupola by means of a marble channel, one third of an ell broad, the +water being discharged at an outlet to be constructed of hard stone +(pietra forte), beneath the channel. Eight ribs of marble shall be +formed on the angles of the external surface of the cupola, of such +thickness as may be requisite; these shall rise to the height of one +braccia above the cupola, with cornices projecting in the manner of a +roof, two braccia broad, that the summit may be complete, and +sufficiently furnished with eaves and channels on every side; and these +must have the form of the pyramid, from their base, or point of +junction, to their extremity. Thus the cupola shall be constructed after +the method described above, and without framework, to the height of +thirty braccia, and from that height upwards, it may be continued after +such manner as shall be determined on by the masters who may have to +build it, since practice teaches us by what methods to proceed.' + +"When Filippo had written the above, he repaired in the morning to the +tribunal, and gave his paper to the syndics and wardens, who took the +whole of it into their consideration; and, although they were not able +to understand it all, yet seeing the confidence of Filippo, and finding +that the other architects gave no evidence of having better ground to +proceed on,--he moreover showing a manifest security, by constantly +repeating the same things in such a manner that he had all the +appearance of having vaulted ten cupolas:--the Syndics, seeing all this, +retired apart, and finally resolved to give him the work; they would +have liked to see some example of the manner in which he meant to turn +this vault without framework, but to all the rest they gave their +approbation. And fortune was favorable to this desire: Bartolomeo +Barbadori having determined to build a chapel in Santa Felicita, and +having spoken concerning it with Filippo, the latter had commenced the +work, and caused the chapel, which is on the right of the entrance, +where is also the holy water vase (likewise by the hand of Filippo), to +be vaulted without any framework. At the same time he constructed +another, in like manner, for Stiatta Ridolfi, in the church of Santo +Jacopo sopr' Arno; that, namely, beside the chapel of the High Altar; +and these works obtained him more credit than was given to his words. +The consuls and wardens feeling at length assured, by the writing he had +given them, and by the works which they had seen, entrusted the cupola +to his care, and he was made principal master of the works by a majority +of votes. They would nevertheless not commission him to proceed beyond +the height of twelve braccia, telling him that they desired to see how +the work would succeed, but that if it proceeded as successfully as he +expected, they would not fail to give him the appointment for the +remainder. The sight of so much obstinacy and distrust in the syndics +and wardens was so surprising to Filippo, that if he had not known +himself to be the only person capable of conducting the work, he would +not have laid a hand upon it; but desiring, as he did, to secure the +glory of its completion, he accepted the terms, and pledged himself to +conduct the undertaking perfectly to the end. The writing Filippo had +given was copied into a book wherein the purveyor kept the accounts of +the works in wood and marble, together with the obligation into which +Filippo had entered as above said. An allowance was then made to him, +conformably with what had at other times been given to other masters of +the works. + +"When the commission given to Filippo became known to the artists and +citizens, some thought well of it, and others ill, as always is the +case with a matter which calls forth the opinions of the populace, the +thoughtless, and the envious. Whilst the preparation of materials for +beginning to build was making, a party was formed among the artists and +citizens; and these men proceeding to the syndics and wardens, declared +that the matter had been concluded too hastily, and that such a work +ought not to be executed according to the opinion of one man only; they +added, that if the syndics and wardens had been destitute of +distinguished men, instead of being furnished with such in abundance, +they would have been excusable, but that what was now done was not +likely to redound to the honor of the citizens, seeing, that if any +accident should happen, they would incur blame, as persons who had +conferred too great a charge on one man, without considering the losses +and disgrace that might result to the public. All this considered, it +would be well to give Filippo a colleague, who might restrain his +impetuosity (furore). + +"Lorenzo Ghiberti had at that time attained to high credit by the +evidence of his genius, which he had given in the doors of San Giovanni; +and that he was much beloved by certain persons who were very powerful +in the government was now proved with sufficient clearness, since, +perceiving the glory of Filippo to increase so greatly, they labored in +such a manner with the syndics and wardens, under the pretext of care +and anxiety for the building, that Ghiberti was united with Filippo in +the work. The bitter vexation of Filippo, the despair into which he +fell, when he heard what the wardens had done, may be understood by the +fact that he was on the point of flying from Florence; and had it not +been that Donato and Luca della Robbia comforted and encouraged him, he +would have gone out of his senses. A truly wicked and cruel rage is that +of those men, who, blinded by envy, endanger the honors and noble works +of others in the base strife of ambition: it was not the fault of these +men that Filippo did not break in pieces the models, set fire to the +designs, and in one half hour destroy all the labors so long endured, +and ruin the hopes of so many years. The wardens excused themselves at +first to Filippo, encouraging him to proceed, reminding him that the +inventor and author of so noble a fabric was still himself, and no +other; but they, nevertheless, gave Lorenzo a stipend equal to that of +Filippo. The work was then continued with but little pleasure on the +part of Filippo, who knew that he must endure all the labors connected +therewith, and would then have to divide the honor and fame equally with +Lorenzo. Taking courage, nevertheless, from the thought that he should +find a method of preventing the latter from remaining very long attached +to that undertaking, he continued to proceed after the manner laid down +in the writing given to the wardens. Meanwhile the thought occurred to +the mind of Filippo of constructing a complete model, which, as yet, had +never been done. This he commenced forthwith, causing the parts to be +made by a certain Bartolomeo, a joiner, who dwelt near his studio. In +this model (the measurements of which were in strict accordance with +those of the building itself, the difference being of size only), all +the difficult parts of the structure were shown as they were to be when +completed; as, for example, staircases lighted and dark, with every +other kind of light, with the buttresses and other inventions for giving +strength to the building, the doors, and even a portion of the gallery. +Lorenzo, having heard of this model, desired to see it, but Filippo +refusing, he became angry, and made preparations for constructing a +model of his own, that he might not appear to be receiving his salary +for nothing, but that he also might seem to count for something in the +matter. For these models Filippo received fifty lire and fifteen soldi, +as we find by an order in the book of Migliore di Tommaso, under date of +the 3d October, 1419, while Lorenzo was paid three hundred lire for the +labor and cost of his model, a difference occasioned by the partiality +and favor shown to him, rather than merited by any utility or benefit +secured to the building by the model which he had constructed. + +"This vexatious state of things continued beneath the eyes of Filippo +until the year 1426,[3] the friends of Lorenzo calling him the inventor +of the work, equally with Filippo, and this caused so violent a +commotion in the mind of the latter, that he lived in the utmost +disquietude. Various improvements and new inventions were, besides, +presenting themselves to his thoughts, and he resolved to rid himself of +his colleague at all hazards, knowing of how little use he was to the +work. Filippo had already raised the walls of the cupola to the height +of twelve braccia in both vaults, but the works, whether in wood or +stone, that were to give strength to the fabric, had still to be +executed, and as this was a matter of difficulty, he determined to speak +with Lorenzo respecting it, that he might ascertain whether the latter +had taken it into consideration. But Lorenzo was so far from having +thought of this exigency, and so entirely unprepared for it, that he +replied by declaring that he would refer that to Filippo as the +inventor. The answer of Lorenzo pleased Filippo, who thought he here saw +the means of removing his colleague from the works, and of making it +manifest that he did not possess that degree of knowledge in the matter +that was attributed to him by his friends, and implied in the favor +which had placed him in the situation he held. All the builders were now +engaged in the work, and waited only for directions, to commence the +part above the twelve braccia, to raise the vaults, and render all +secure. The closing in of the cupola towards the top having commenced, +it was necessary to provide the scaffolding, that the masons and +laborers might work without danger, seeing that the height was such as +to make the most steady head turn giddy, and the firmest spirit shrink, +merely to look down from it. The masons and other masters were therefore +waiting in expectation of directions as to the manner in which the +chains were to be applied, and the scaffoldings erected; but, finding +there was nothing determined on either by Lorenzo or Filippo, there +arose a murmur among the masons and other builders, at not seeing the +work pursued with the solicitude previously shown; and as the workmen +were poor persons who lived by the labor of their hands, and who now +believed that neither one nor the other of the architects had courage +enough to proceed further with the undertaking, they went about the +building employing themselves as best they could in looking over and +furbishing up all that had been already executed. + +"But one morning, Filippo did not appear at the works: he tied up his +head, went to bed complaining bitterly, and causing plates and towels to +be heated with great haste and anxiety, pretending that he had an attack +of pleurisy. The builders who stood waiting directions to proceed with +their work, on hearing this, demanded orders of Lorenzo for what they +were to do; but he replied that the arrangement of the work belonged to +Filippo, and that they must wait for him. 'How?' said one of them, 'do +you not know what his intentions are?' 'Yes,' replied Lorenzo, 'but I +would not do anything without him.'" This he said by way of excusing +himself; for as he had not seen the model of Filippo, and had never +asked him what method he meant to pursue, that he might not appear +ignorant, so he now felt completely out of his depth, being thus +referred to his own judgment, and the more so as he knew that he was +employed in that undertaking against the will of Filippo. The illness of +the latter having already lasted more than two days, the purveyor of the +works, with many of the master-builders, went to see him, and repeatedly +asked him to tell them what they should do; but he constantly replied, +'You have Lorenzo, let him begin to do something for once.' Nor could +they obtain from him any other reply. When this became known, it caused +much discussion: great blame was thrown upon the undertaking, and many +adverse judgments were uttered. Some said that Filippo had taken to his +bed from grief, at finding that he had not power to accomplish the +erection of the Cupola, and that he was now repenting of having meddled +with the matter; but his friends defended him, declaring that his +vexation might arise from the wrong he had suffered in having Lorenzo +given to him as a colleague, but that his disorder was pleurisy, +brought on by his excessive labors for the work. In the midst of all +this tumult of tongues, the building was suspended, and almost all the +operations of the masons and stone-cutters came to a stand. These men +murmured against Lorenzo, and said, 'He is good enough at drawing the +salary, but when it comes to directing the manner in which we are to +proceed, he does nothing; if Filippo were not here, or if he should +remain long disabled, what can Lorenzo do? and if Filippo be ill, is +that his fault?' The wardens, perceiving the discredit that accrued to +them from this state of things, resolved to make Filippo a visit, and +having reached his house, they first condoled with him on his illness, +told him into what disorder the building had fallen, and described the +troubles which this malady had brought on them. Whereupon Filippo, +speaking with much heat, partly to keep up the feint of illness, but +also in part from his interest in the work, exclaimed, 'What! is not +Lorenzo there? why does not he do something? I cannot but wonder at your +complaints.' To this the wardens replied, 'He will not do anything +without you.' Whereunto Filippo made answer, 'But I could do it well +enough without him.' This acute and doubly significant reply sufficed to +the wardens, and they departed, having convinced themselves that Filippo +was sick of the desire to work alone; they therefore sent certain of his +friends to draw him from his bed, with the intention of removing +Lorenzo from the work. Filippo then returned to the building, but seeing +the power that Lorenzo possessed by means of the favor he enjoyed, and +that he desired to receive the salary without taking any share whatever +in the labor, he bethought himself of another method for disgracing him, +and making it publicly and fully evident that he had very little +knowledge of the matter in hand. He consequently made the following +discourse to the wardens (Operai) Lorenzo being present:--'Signori +Operai, if the time we have to live were as well secured to us as is the +certainty that we may very quickly die, there is no doubt whatever that +many works would be completed, which are now commenced and left +imperfect. The malady with which I have had the misfortune to be +attacked, might have deprived me of life, and put a stop to this work; +wherefore, lest I should again fall sick, or Lorenzo either, which God +forbid, I have considered that it would be better for each to execute +his own portion of the work: as your worships have divided the salary, +let us also divide the labor, to the end that each, being incited to +show what he knows and is capable of performing, may proceed with +confidence, to his own honor and benefit, as well as to that of the +republic. Now there are two difficult operations which must at this time +be put into course of execution--the one is the erection of scaffoldings +for enabling the builders to work in safety, and which must be prepared +both for the inside and outside of the fabric, where they will be +required to sustain the weight of the men, the stones and the mortar, +with space also for the crane to draw up the different materials, and +for other machines and tools of various kinds. The other difficulty is +the chain-work, which has to be constructed upon the twelve braccia +already erected, this being requisite to bind and secure the eight sides +of the cupola, and which must surround the fabric, enchaining the whole, +in such a manner that the weight which has hereafter to be laid on it +shall press equally on all sides, the parts mutually supporting each +other, so that no part of the edifice shall be too heavily pressed on or +overweighed, but that all shall rest firmly on its own basis. Let +Lorenzo then take one of these works, whichever he may think he can most +easily execute; I will take the other, and answer for bringing it to a +successful issue, that we may lose no more time.' Lorenzo having heard +this, was compelled, for the sake of his honor, to accept one or other +of these undertakings; and although he did it very unwillingly, he +resolved to take the chain work, thinking that he might rely on the +counsels of the builders, and remembering also that there was a +chain-work of stone in the vaulting of San Giovanni di Fiorenza, from +which he might take a part, if not the whole, of the arrangement. One +took the scaffolds in hand accordingly, and the other the chain-work, so +that both were put in progress. The scaffolds of Filippo were +constructed with so much ingenuity and judgment, that in this matter +the very contrary of what many had before expected was seen to have +happened, since the builders worked thereon with as much security as +they would have done on the ground beneath, drawing up all the requisite +weights and standing themselves in perfect safety. The models of these +scaffolds were deposited in the hall of the wardens. Lorenzo executed +the chain-work on one of the eight walls with the utmost difficulty, and +when it was finished the wardens caused Filippo to look at it. He said +nothing to them, but with some of his friends he held discourse on the +subject, declaring that the building required a very different work of +ligature and security to that one, laid in a manner altogether unlike +the method there adopted; for that this would not suffice to support the +weight which was to be laid on it, the pressure not being of sufficient +strength and firmness. He added that the sums paid to Lorenzo, with the +chain-work which he had caused to be constructed, were so much labor, +time, and money thrown away. The remarks of Filippo became known, and he +was called upon to show the manner that ought to be adopted for the +construction of such a chain-work; wherefore, having already prepared +his designs and models, he exhibited them immediately, and they were no +sooner examined by the wardens and other masters, than they perceived +the error into which they had fallen by favoring Lorenzo. For this they +now resolved to make amends; and desiring to prove that they were +capable of distinguishing merit, they made Filippo chief and +superintendent of the whole fabric for life, commanding that nothing +should be done in the work but as he should direct. As a further mark of +approbation, they presented him moreover with a hundred florins, ordered +by the syndics and wardens, under date of August 13, 1423, through +Lorenzo Paoli, notary of the administration of the works, and signed by +Gherardo di Messer Filippo Corsini: they also voted him an allowance of +one hundred florins for life. Whereupon, having taken measures for the +future progress of the fabric, Filippo conducted the works with so much +solicitude and such minute attention, that there was not a stone placed +in the building which he had not examined. Lorenzo on the other hand, +finding himself vanquished and in a manner disgraced, was nevertheless +so powerfully assisted and favored by his friends, that he continued to +receive his salary, under the pretext that he could not be dismissed +until the expiration of three years from that time.[4] + +"Drawings and models were meanwhile continually prepared by Filippo for +the most minute portions of the building, for the stages or scaffolds +for the workmen, and for the machines used in raising the materials. +There were nevertheless several malicious persons, friends of Lorenzo, +who did not cease to torment him by daily bringing forward models in +rivalry of those constructed by him, insomuch that one was made by +Maestro Antonio da Verzelli, and other masters who were favored and +brought into notice--now by one citizen and now by another, their +fickleness and mutability betraying the insufficiency of their knowledge +and the weakness of their judgment, since having perfection within their +reach, they perpetually brought forward the imperfect and useless. + +"The chain-work was now completed around all the eight sides, and the +builders, animated by success, worked vigorously; but being pressed more +than usual by Filippo, and having received certain reprimands concerning +the masonry and in relation to other matters of daily occurrence, +discontents began to prevail. Moved by this circumstance and by their +envy, the chiefs among them drew together and got up a faction, +declaring that the work was a laborious and perilous undertaking, and +that they would not proceed with the vaulting of the cupola, but on +condition of receiving large payments, although their wages had already +been increased and were much higher than was usual: by these means they +hoped to injure Filippo and increase their own gains. This circumstance +displeased the wardens greatly, as it did Filippo also; but the latter, +having reflected on the matter, took his resolution, and one Saturday +evening he dismissed them all. The men seeing themselves thus sent about +their business, and not knowing how the affair would turn, were very +sullen; but on the following Monday Filippo set ten Lombards to work at +the building, and by remaining constantly present with them, and saying, +'do this here' and 'do that there,' he taught them so much in one day +that they were able to continue the work during many weeks. The masons, +seeing themselves thus disgraced as well as deprived of their +employment, and knowing that they would find no work equally profitable, +sent messengers to Filippo, declaring that they would willingly return, +and recommending themselves to his consideration. Filippo kept them for +several days in suspense, and seemed not inclined to admit them again; +they were afterwards reinstated, but with lower wages than they had +received at first: thus where they had thought to make gain they +suffered loss, and by seeking to revenge themselves on Filippo, they +brought injury and shame on their own heads. + +"The tongues of the envious were now silenced, and when the building was +seen to proceed so happily, the genius of Filippo obtained its due +consideration; and, by all who judged dispassionately, he was already +held to have shown a boldness which has, perhaps, never before been +displayed in their works, by any architect, ancient or modern. This +opinion was confirmed by the fact that Filippo now brought out his +model, in which all might see the extraordinary amount of thought +bestowed on every detail of the building. The varied invention displayed +in the staircases, in the provision of lights, both within and without, +so that none might strike or injure themselves in the darkness, were all +made manifest, with the careful consideration evinced by the different +supports of iron which were placed to assist the footsteps wherever the +ascent was steep. In addition to all this, Filippo had even thought of +the irons for fixing scaffolds within the cupola, if ever they should be +required for the execution of mosaics or pictures; he had selected the +least dangerous positions for the places of the conduits, to be +afterwards constructed for carrying off the rain water, had shown where +these were to be covered and where uncovered; and had moreover contrived +different outlets and apertures, whereby the force of the winds should +be diminished, to the end that neither vapors nor the vibrations of the +earth, should have power to do injury to the building: all which proved +the extent to which he had profited by his studies, during the many +years of his residence in Rome. When in addition to these things, the +superintendents considered how much he had accomplished in the shaping, +fixing, uniting, and securing the stones of this immense pile, they were +almost awe-struck on perceiving that the mind of one man had been +capable of all that Filippo had now proved himself able to perform. His +powers and facilities continually increased, and that to such an extent, +that there was no operation, however difficult and complex, which he did +not render easy and simple; of this he gave proof in one instance among +others, by the employment of wheels and counterpoises to raise heavy +weights, so that one ox could draw more than six pairs could have moved +by the ordinary methods. The building had now reached such a height, +that when a man had once arrived at the summit, it was a very great +labor to descend to the ground, and the workmen lost much time in going +to their meals, and to drink; arrangements were therefore made by +Filippo, for opening wine-shops and eating-houses in the cupola; where +the required food being sold, none were compelled to leave their labor +until the evening, which was a relief and convenience to the men, as +well as a very important advantage to the work. Perceiving the building +to proceed rapidly, and finding all his undertakings happily successful, +the zeal and confidence of Filippo increased, and he labored +perpetually; he went himself to the ovens where the bricks were made, +examined the clay, proved the quality of the working, and when they were +baked he would select and set them apart, with his own hands. In like +manner, while the stones were under the hands of the stone-cutters, he +would look narrowly to see that they were hard and free from clefts; he +supplied the stone-cutters with models in wood or wax, or hastily cut on +the spot from turnips, to direct them in the shaping and junction of the +different masses; he did the same for the men who prepared the iron +work; Filippo likewise invented hook hinges, with the mode of fixing +them to the door-posts, and greatly facilitated the practice of +architecture, which was certainly brought by his labors to a perfection +that it would else perhaps never have attained among the Tuscans. + +"In the year 1423, when the utmost rejoicing and festivity was +prevailing in Florence, Filippo was chosen one of the _Signori_ for the +district of San Giovanni, for the months of May and June; Lapo Niccolini +being chosen Gonfalonier for the district of Santa Croce: and if Filippo +be found registered in the Priorista as 'di Ser Brunellesce Lippi,' this +need not occasion surprise, since they called him so after his +grandfather, Lippo, instead of 'di Lapi,' as they ought to have done. +And this practice is seen to prevail in the Priorista, with respect to +many others, as is well known to all who have examined it, or who are +acquainted with the custom of those times. Filippo performed his +functions carefully in that office; and in others connected with the +magistracy of the city, to which he was subsequently appointed, he +constantly acquitted himself with the most judicious consideration. + +"The two vaults of the cupola were now approaching their close, at the +circular window where the lantern was to begin, and there now remained +to Filippo, who had made various models in wood and clay, both of the +one and the other, in Rome and Florence, to decide finally as to which +of these he would put in execution, wherefore he resolved to complete +the gallery, and accordingly made different plans for it, which remained +in the hall of wardens after his death, but which by the neglect of +those officials have since been lost. But it was not until our own days +that even a fragment was executed on a part of one of the eight sides +(to the end that the building might be completed); but as it was not in +accordance with the plan of Filippo, it was removed by the advice of +Michael Angelo Buonarotti, and was not again attempted. + +"Filippo also constructed a model for the lantern, with his own hand; it +had eight sides, the proportions were in harmony with those of the +cupola, and for the invention as well as variety and decoration, it was +certainly very beautiful. He did not omit the staircase for ascending to +the ball, which was an admirable thing; but as he had closed the +entrance with a morsel of wood fixed at the lower part, no one but +himself knew its position. Filippo was now highly renowned, but +notwithstanding this, and although he had already overcome the envy and +abated the arrogance of so many opponents, he could not yet escape the +vexation of finding that all the masters of Florence, when his model had +been seen, were setting themselves to make others in various manners; +nay, there was even a lady of the Gaddi family, who ventured to place +her knowledge in competition with that of Filippo. The latter, +meanwhile, could not refrain from laughing at the presumption of these +people, and when he was told by certain of his friends that he ought not +to show his model to any artist lest they should learn from it, he +replied that there was but one true model, and that the others were good +for nothing. Some of the other masters had used parts of Filippo's model +for their own, which, when the latter perceived, he remarked, 'The next +model made by this personage will be mine altogether.' The work of +Filippo was very highly praised, with the exception, that, not +perceiving the staircase by which the ball was to be attained, the model +was considered defective on that point. The superintendents determined, +nevertheless, to give him the commission for the work, but on condition +that he should show the staircase;[5] whereupon Filippo, removing the +morsel of wood which he had placed at the foot of the stair, showed it +constructed as it is now seen, within one of the piers, and presenting +the form of a hollow reed or blow-pipe, having a recess or groove on one +side, with bars of bronze, by means of which the summit was gradually +attained. Filippo was now at an age which rendered it impossible that he +should live to see the lantern completed; he therefore left directions, +by his will, that it should be built after the model here described, and +according to the rules which he had laid down in writing, affirming that +the fabric would otherwise be in danger of falling, since, being +constructed with the pointed arch, it required to be rendered secure by +means of the pressure of the weight to be thus added. But, though +Filippo could not complete the edifice before his death, he raised the +lantern to the height of several braccia, causing almost all the marbles +required for the completion of the building to be carefully prepared +and brought to the place. At the sight of these huge masses as they +arrived, the people stood amazed, marvelling that it should be possible +for Filippo to propose the laying of such a weight on the cupola. It +was, indeed, the opinion of many intelligent men that it could not +possibly support that weight. It appeared to them to be a piece of good +fortune that he had conducted it so far, and they considered the loading +it so heavy to be a tempting of Providence. Filippo constantly laughed +at these fears, and having prepared all the machines and instruments +required for the construction of the edifice, he ceased not to employ +all his time in taking thought for its future requirements, providing +and preparing all the minutiæ, even to guarding against the danger of +the marbles being chipped as they were drawn up: to which intent the +arches of the tabernacles were built within defences of woodwork; and +for all beside the master gave models and written directions, as we have +said. + +"How beautiful this building is, it will itself bear testimony. With +respect to the height, from the level ground to the commencement of the +lantern, there are one hundred and fifty-four braccia;[6] the body of +the lanthorn is thirty-six braccia high; the copper ball four braccia; +the cross eight braccia; in all two hundred and two braccia. And it may +be confidently affirmed that the ancients never carried their buildings +to so vast a height, nor committed themselves to so great a risk as to +dare a competition with the heavens, which this structure verily appears +to do, seeing that it rears itself to such an elevation that the hills +around Florence do not appear to equal it. And of a truth it might seem +that the heavens were envious of its height, since their lightnings +perpetually strike it. While this work was in progress, Filippo +constructed many other fabrics." + + + + +BRUNELLESCHI'S ENTHUSIASM. + + +One morning, as Brunelleschi was amusing himself on the Piazza di Santa +Maria del Fiore, in company with Donatello and other artists, the +conversation happened to turn on ancient sculpture. Donatello related +that when he was returning from Rome, he had taken the road of Orvieto, +to see the remarkable façade of the Cathedral of that city--a highly +celebrated work, executed by various masters, and considered in those +days a very remarkable production. He added that as he was passing +through Cortona, he had seen in the capitular church of that city a most +beautiful antique marble vase, adorned with sculpture--a rare thing at +that time, as most of the beautiful works of antiquity have since been +brought to light. As Donatello proceeded to describe the manner in which +the artist had treated this work, the delicacy, beauty, and perfection +of the workmanship, Filippo became inflamed with such an ardent desire +to see it, that he set off immediately, on foot, to Cortona, dressed as +he was in his mantle, hood, and wooden shoes, without communicating his +purpose to any one. Finding that Donatello had not been too lavish of +his praise, he drew the vase, returned to Florence, and surprised his +friends with the accurate drawing he had made, before they knew of his +departure, they believing that he must be occupied with his inventions. +This urn, or funeral vase, according to the Florentine editors of +Vasari, is still in the Cathedral of Cortona. The sculptures represent +the Battle of the Centaurs and Lapithæ, or as some say, a Warlike +Expedition of Bacchus. The design and workmanship are exquisite. It was +found in a field without the city, and almost close to the Cathedral. + + + + +BRUNELLESCHI AND DONATELLO. + + +"Among other works," says Vasari, "Donato received an order for a +crucifix in wood, for the church of Santa Croce at Florence, on which he +bestowed extraordinary labor. When the work was completed, believing +himself to have produced an admirable thing, he showed it to Filippo di +Ser Brunellesco, his most intimate friend, desiring to have his opinion +of it. Filippo, who had expected from the words of Donato, to see a much +finer production, smiled somewhat as he regarded it, and Donato seeing +this, entreated him by the friendship existing between them, to say what +he thought of it. Whereupon Filippo, who was exceedingly frank, replied +that Donatello appeared to him to have placed a clown on the cross, and +not a figure resembling that of Jesus Christ, whose person was +delicately beautiful, and in all parts the most perfect form of man that +had ever been born. Donato hearing himself censured where he had +expected praise, and more hurt than he was perhaps willing to admit, +replied, 'If it were as easy to execute a work as to judge it, my figure +would appear to thee to be Christ and not a boor; but take wood, and try +to make one thyself.' Filippo, without saying anything more, returned +home, and set to work on a crucifix, wherein he labored to surpass +Donato, that he might not be condemned by his own judgment; but he +suffered no one to know what he was doing. At the end of some months, +the work was completed to the height of perfection, and this done, +Filippo one morning invited Donato to dine with him, and the latter +accepted the invitation. Thereupon, as they were proceeding together +towards the house of Filippo, they passed by the Mercato Vecchio, where +the latter purchased various articles, and giving them to Donato, said, +'Do thou go forward with these things to the house, and wait for me +there; I'll be after thee in a moment.' Donato, therefore, having +entered the house, had no sooner done so than he saw the crucifix, which +Filippo had placed in a suitable light. Stopping short to examine the +work, he found it so perfectly executed, that feeling himself conquered, +full of astonishment, and, as it were startled out of himself, he +dropped the hands which were holding up his apron, wherein he had placed +the purchases, when the whole fell to the ground, eggs, cheese, and +other things, all broken to pieces and mingled together. But Donato, not +recovering from his astonishment, remained still gazing in amazement and +like one out of his wits when Filippo arrived, and inquired, laughing, +'What hast thou been about, Donato? and what dost thou mean us to have +for dinner, since thou hast overturned everything?' 'I, for my part,' +replied Donato, 'have had my share of dinner for to-day; if thou must +needs have thine, take it. But enough said: to thee it has been given to +represent Christ; to me, boors only.'" This crucifix now adorns the +altar of the chapel of the Gondi. + + + + +DONATELLO. + + +This old Florentine sculptor was born in 1383. He was the first of the +moderns who forsook the stiff and gothic manner, and endeavored to +restore to sculpture the grace and beauty of the antique. He executed a +multitude of works in wood, marble and bronze, consisting of images, +statues, busts, basso-relievos, monuments, equestrian statues, etc. +which gained him great reputation, and some of which are much esteemed +at the present day. He was much patronized by Cosmo de' Medici, and his +son Pietro. + +Among Donatello's principal works, are three statues, each three braccia +and a half high, (Vasari erroneously says four, and each five braccia +high), for the façade of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, which +faces the Campanile. They represent St. John; David, called Lo Zuccone +(so called, because bald-headed); and Solomon, or as some say, the +prophet Jeremiah. The Zuccone is considered the most extraordinary and +the most beautiful work ever produced by Donatello, who, while working +on it, was so delighted with his success, that he frequently exclaimed, +"Speak then! why wilt thou not speak?" Whenever he wished to affirm a +thing in a manner that should preclude all doubt, he would say, "By the +faith I place in my Zuccone." + + + + +DONATELLO AND THE MERCHANT. + + +A rich Genoese merchant commissioned Donatello to execute his bust in +bronze, of life size. When the work was completed, it was pronounced a +capital performance, and Cosmo de' Medici, who was the friend of both +parties, caused it to be placed in the upper court of the palace, +between the battlements which overlook the street, that it might be seen +by the citizens. When the merchant, unacquainted with the value of such +works, came to pay for it, the price demanded appeared to him so +exorbitant that he refused to take it, whereupon the mutter was referred +to Cosmo. When the latter sought to settle the difference, he found the +offer of the merchant to be very far from the just demand of Donatello, +and turning towards him, observed that he offered too small +compensation. The merchant replied that Donatello could have made it in +a month, and would thus be gaining half a florin a day (about one +dollar). Donatello, disgusted and stung with rage, told the merchant +that he had found means in the hundredth part of an hour to destroy the +whole labor and cures of a year, and knocked the bust out of the window, +which was dashed to pieces on the pavement below, observing, at the same +time, that "it was evident he was better versed in bargaining for +horse-beans than in purchasing statues." The merchant now ashamed of his +conduct, and regretting what had happened, offered him double his price +if he would reconstruct the bust,--but Donatello, though poor, flatly +refused to do it on any terms, even at the request of Cosmo himself. + + + + +DONATELLO AND HIS KINSMAN. + + +When Donatello was very sick, certain of his kinsfolk, who were well to +do in the world, but had not visited him in many years, went to condole +with him in his last illness. Before they left, they told him it was +his duty to leave to them a small farm which he had in the territories +of Prato, and this they begged very earnestly, though it was small and +produced a very small income. Donatello, perceiving the motive of their +visit, thus rebuked them: "I cannot content you in this matter, kinsmen, +because I resolve--and it appears to me just and proper--to leave the +farm to the poor husbandman who has always tilled it, and who has +bestowed great labor on it; not to you, who without ever having done +anything for it, or for me, but only thought of obtaining it, now come +with this visit of yours, desiring that I should leave it to you. Go! +and the Lord be with you." + + + + +DEATH OF DONATELLO. + + +Donatello died on the 13th of December, 1466. He was buried with great +pomp and solemnity in the church of San Lorenzo, near the tomb of Cosmo, +as he himself had commanded (for he had purchased the right), "to the +end," as he said, "that his body might be near him when dead, as his +spirit had ever been near him when in life." Bottari observes that +another reason for his choice of San Lorenzo, may have been that many of +his works were in that church. + + + + +DONATELLO AND MICHAEL ANGELO COMPARED. + + +"I will not omit to mention," says Vasari, "that the most learned and +very reverend Don Vincenzio Borghini, of whom we have before spoken in +relation to other matters, has collected into a large book, innumerable +drawings of distinguished painters and sculptors, ancient as well as +modern, and among these are two drawings on two leaves opposite to each +other, one of which is by Donato, and the other by Michael Angelo +Buonarroti. On these he has with much judgment inscribed the two Greek +mottos which follow; on the drawing of Donato, "[Greek: Ê Donatos +Bonarrotixei]," and on that of Michael Angelo, "[Greek: Ê Bonarrotos +Donatixei]," which in Latin ran thus: _Aut Donatus Bonarrotom exprimit et +refert, aut Bonarrotus Donatum_; and in our language they mean, 'Either +the spirit of Donato worked in Buonarroti, or that of Buonarroti first +acted in Donato.'" + + + + +SOFONISBA ANGUISCIOLA'S EARLY DISTINCTION. + + +This noble lady of Cremona (born about 1530), was one of six sisters, +all amiable, and much distinguished in arts and letters. She displayed a +taste for drawing at a very early age, and soon became the best pupil in +the school of Antonio Campi. One of her early sketches, of a boy caught +with his hand in the claw of a lobster, with a little girl laughing at +his plight, was in possession of Vasari, and by him esteemed worthy of a +place in a volume which he had filled with drawings by the most famous +masters of that great age. Portraiture was her chief study; and Vasari +commends a picture which he saw at her father's house, of three of the +sisters, and an ancient housekeeper of the family playing at chess, as a +work "painted with so much skill and care, that the figures wanted only +voice to appear alive." He also praises a portrait which she painted of +herself, and presented to Pope Julius III., who died in 1555, which +shows that she must have attracted the notice of princes while yet in +her girlhood. At Milan, whither she accompanied her father, she painted +the portrait of the Duke of Sessa, the Viceroy, who rewarded her with +four pieces of brocade and various rich gifts. + + + + +SOFONISBA'S VISIT TO SPAIN. + + +Her name having become famous in Italy, in 1559, the King of Spain +ordered the Duke of Alba, who was then at Rome, to invite her to the +court of Madrid. She arrived there in the same year, and was received +with great distinction, and lodged in the palace. Her first work was the +portrait of the king, who was so much pleased with the performance that +he rewarded her with a diamond worth 1500 ducats, and settled upon her a +pension of 200 ducats. Her next sitters were the young queen Elizabeth +of Valois, known in Spain as Isabel of the Peace, then in the bloom of +bridal beauty, and the unhappy boy, Don Carlos. By the desire of Pope +Pius IV., she made a second portrait of the Queen, sent to his Holiness +with a dutiful letter, which Vasari has preserved, as well as the +gracious reply of the pontiff, who assures her that her painting shall +be placed among his most precious treasures. Sofonisba held the post of +lady-in-waiting to the queen, and was for some time governess to her +daughter, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia,--an appointment which +proves that she must have resided in Spain for some time after 1566, the +year of that princess' birth. + + + + +SOFONISBA'S MARRIAGES. + + +Her royal patrons at last married their fair artist, now arrived to a +mature age, to Don Fabrizio de Moncada, a noble Sicilian, giving her a +dowry of 12,000 ducats and a pension of 1,000, besides many rich +presents in tapestries and jewels. The newly wedded pair retired to +Palermo, where the husband died some years after. Sofonisba was then +invited back to the court of Madrid, but excused herself on account of +her desire to see Cremona and her kindred once more. Embarking for this +purpose on board of a Genoese galley, she was entertained with such +gallant courtesy by the captain, Orazio Lomellini, one of the merchant +princes of the "city of Palaces," that she fell in love with him, and, +according to Soprani, offered him her hand in marriage, which he +accepted. On hearing of her second nuptials, their Catholic Majesties +added 400 crowns to her pension. + + + + +SOFONISBA'S RESIDENCE AT GENOA, AND HER INTERCOURSE WITH VANDYCK. + + +After her second marriage, Sofonisba continued to pursue the art at +Genoa, where her house became the resort of all the polished and +intellectual society of the Republic. The Empress of Germany paid her a +visit on her way to Spain, and accepted a little picture,--one of the +most finished and beautiful of her works. She was also visited by her +former charge, the Infanta, then the wife of the Archduke Albert, and +with him co-sovereign of Flanders. That princess spent many hours in +conversing with her of by-gone days and family affairs; she also sat for +her portrait, and presented Sofonisba with a gold chain enriched with +jewels, as a memorial of their friendship. Thus courted in the society +of Genoa, and caressed by royalty, this eminent paintress lived to the +extreme age of ninety-three years. A medal was struck in her honor at +Bologna; artists listened reverentially to her opinions; and poets sang +her praises. Though deprived of sight in her latter years, she retained +to the last her other faculties, her love of art, and her relish for the +society of its professors. Vandyck was frequently her guest during his +residence at Genoa, in 1621; and he used to say of her that he had +learned more of the practical principles of the art from a blind woman, +than by studying all the works of the best Italian masters. + + + + +CARRIERA ROSALBA. + + +This celebrated Italian paintress was born at Chiozza, near Venice, in +1675. She acquired an immense reputation, and was invited to several of +the courts of Europe. Few artists have equalled Rosalba in crayon +painting. + + + + +ROSALBA'S MODESTY. + + +Notwithstanding she received so many flattering marks of distinction +from crowned heads, Rosalba's native modesty never deserted her, and she +seemed to esteem her works less than did many of her admirers, because +she was sensible how far she fell short of her idea of perfection. +"Everything I do," said she, "seems good enough to me just after I have +done it, and perhaps for a few hours afterwards, but then I begin to +discover my imperfections!" Thus it is with true merit; those who are +superficial or pretending can never find out, or never will acknowledge +their own faults. + + + + +ROSALBA'S KNOWLEDGE OF TEMPERS. + + +Rosalba used to say, "I have so long been accustomed to study features, +and the expression of the mind by them, that I know people's tempers by +their faces." She frequently surprised her friends by the accuracy of +character which she read in the faces of persons who were entire +strangers to her. + + + + +ELIZABETH SIRANI. + + +Elizabeth Sirani was born at Bologna in 1638. She early exhibited the +most extraordinary talent for painting, which was perfectly cultivated +by her father, Gio. Andrea Sirani, an excellent disciple and imitator of +Guido. She attached herself to an imitation of the best style of Guido, +which unites great relief with the most captivating amenity. Her first +public work appeared in 1655, when she was seventeen years of age. It is +almost incredible that in a short life of not more than twenty-six or +twenty-seven years, she could have executed the long list of works +enumerated by Malvasia, copied from a register kept by herself, +amounting to upwards of one hundred and fifty pictures and portraits; +and our astonishment is increased, when we are told by the same author, +that many of them are pictures and altar-pieces of large size, and +finished with a care that excludes all appearance of negligence and +haste. There are quite a number of her works in the churches of Bologna. +Lanzi also speaks of her in terms of high commendation, and says, that +"in her smaller works, painted by commission, she still improved +herself, as may be seen by her numerous pictures of Madonnas, Magdalens, +saints, and the infant Saviour, found in the Zampieri, Zambeccari, and +Caprara palaces at Bologna, and in the Corsini and Bolognetti +collections at Rome." She received many commissions from many of the +sovereigns and most distinguished persons of Europe. She had two +sisters, Anna and Barbara, whom, according to Crespi, she instructed in +the art, and who possessed considerable talent. Her fame was so great, +that after her death not only the works of her sisters, but many of +those of her father, were attributed to her. Lanzi says, "She is nearly +the sole individual of the family whose name occurs in collections out +of Bologna." She also executed some spirited etchings mostly from her +own designs. + + + + +DEATH OF ELIZABETH SIRANI. + + +This accomplished, amiable, and talented lady was cut off in the flower +of her life, August 29th, 1665, by poison, administered by one of her +own maids, instigated, as is supposed, by some jealous young artists. +Her melancholy death was bewailed with demonstrations of public sorrow, +and her remains were interred with great pomp and solemnity in the +church of S. Domenico, in the same vault where reposed the ashes of +Guido. + + + + +RACHEL RUYSCH. + + +This celebrated paintress of fruit and flowers was born at Amsterdam in +1664. She was the daughter of Frederick Ruisch or Ruysch, the celebrated +professor of anatomy. She early showed an extraordinary taste for +depicting fruit and flowers, and attained to such perfection in her +art, that some have not hesitated to equal and even prefer her works to +those of John van Huysum. She grouped her flowers in the most tasteful +and picturesque manner, and depicted them with a grace and brilliancy +that rivalled nature. Descamps says that "in her pictures of fruit and +flowers, she surpassed nature herself." The extraordinary talents of +this lady recommended her to the patronage of the Elector Palatine--a +great admirer of her pictures--for whom she executed some of her +choicest works, and received for them a munificent reward. Though she +exercised her talents to an advanced age, her works are exceedingly +rare, so great was the labor bestowed upon them. She spent seven years +in painting two pictures, a fruit and a flower piece, which she +presented to one of her daughters as a marriage portion. She married +Jurian Pool, an eminent portrait painter, by whom she had ten children; +she is frequently called by his name, though she always signed her +pictures with her maiden name. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonné, vols. +vi. and ix., gives a description of only about thirty pieces by her--a +proof of their extreme rarity. They now command very high prices when +offered for sale, which rarely happens. She died in 1760, aged 86 years. + + + + +SIR ANTHONY VANDYCK. + + +This eminent Flemish painter was born at Antwerp in 1599. His father +early gave him instruction in drawing; he was also instructed by his +mother, who painted landscapes, and was very skillful in embroidery. He +studied afterwards under Henry van Balen, and made rapid progress in the +art; but attracted by the fame of Rubens, he entered the school of that +master, and showed so much ability as to be soon entrusted with the +execution of some of his instructor's designs. Some writers, among whom +D'Argenville was the first, assert that Rubens became jealous of +Vandyck's growing excellence, and therefore advised him to devote +himself to portrait painting; assigning the following anecdote as the +cause of his jealousy. During the short absences of Rubens from his +house, for the purpose of recreation, his disciples frequently obtained +access to his studio, by means of bribing an old servant who kept the +keys; and on one of these occasions, while they were all eagerly +pressing forward to view the great picture of the Descent from the Cross +(although later investigations concerning dates seem to indicate that it +was some other picture), Diepenbeck accidentally fell against the +canvas, effacing the face of the Virgin, and the Magdalen's arm, which +had just been finished, and were not yet dry. Fearful of expulsion from +the school, the terrified pupils chose Vandyck to restore the work, and +he completed it the same day with such success that Rubens did not at +first perceive the change, and afterwards concluded not to alter it. +Walpole entertains a different and more rational view respecting +Rubens' supposed jealousy: he thinks that Vandyck felt the hopelessness +of surpassing his master in historical painting, and therefore resolved +to devote himself to portrait. One authority states that the above +mentioned incident only increased Rubens' esteem for his pupil, in +perfect accordance with the distinguished character for generosity and +liberality, which that great master so often evinced, and which forms +very strong presumptive evidence against so base an accusation. Besides, +his advice to Vandyck to visit Italy--where his own powers had been, as +his pupil's would be, greatly strengthened--may be considered as +sufficient to refute it entirely. They appear to have parted on the best +terms; Vandyck presented Rubens with an Ecce Homo, Christ in the Garden, +and a portrait of Helen Forman, Rubens' second wife; he was presented in +return, by Rubens, with one of his finest horses. + + + + +VANDYCK'S VISIT TO ITALY. + + +At the age of twenty, Vandyck set out for Italy, but delayed some time +at Brussels, fascinated by the charms of a peasant girl of Saveltheim, +named Anna van Ophem, who persuaded him to paint two pictures for the +church of her native place--a St. Martin on horseback, painted from +himself and the horse given him by Rubens; and a Holy Family, for which +the girl and her parents were the models. On arriving in Italy, he +spent some time at Venice, studying with great attention the works of +Titian; after which he visited Genoa, and painted many excellent +portraits for the nobility, as well as several pictures for the churches +and private collections, which gained him great applause. From Genoa he +went to Rome, where he was also much employed, and lived in great style. +His portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio, painted about this time, is one of +his masterpieces, and in every respect an admirable picture; it is now +in the Palazzo Pitti, at Florence, hanging near Raffaelle's celebrated +portrait of Leo X. Vandyck was known at Rome as the _Pittore +Cavalieresco_; his countrymen there being men of low and intemperate +habits, he avoided their society, and was thenceforward so greatly +annoyed by their criticisms and revilings, that he was obliged to leave +Rome about 1625, and return to Genoa, where he met with a flattering +reception, and plentiful encouragement. Invited to Palermo, he visited +that city, and painted the portraits of Prince Philibert of Savoy, the +Viceroy of Sicily, and several distinguished persons, among whom was the +celebrated paintress Sofonisba Anguisciola, then in her 92d year; but +the plague breaking out, he returned to Genoa, and thence to his own +country. + + + + +VANDYCK'S RETURN TO ANTWERP. + + +On his return to Antwerp, whither his reputation had preceded him, +Vandyck was speedily employed by various religious societies, and his +picture of St. Augustine for the church of the Augustines in that city, +established his reputation among the first painters of his time. He +painted other historical pictures, for the principal public edifices at +Antwerp, Brussels, Mechlin, and Ghent; but acquired greater fame by his +portraits, particularly his well known series of the eminent artists of +his time, which were engraved by Vorstermans, Pontius, Bolswert, and +others. His brilliant reputation at length roused the jealousy of his +cotemporaries, many of whom were indefatigable in their intrigues to +calumniate his works. In addition to these annoyances, the conduct of +the canons of the Collegiate church of Courtray, for whom he painted an +admirable picture of the Elevation of the Cross, proved too much for his +endurance. After he had exerted all his powers to produce a masterpiece +of art, the canons, upon viewing the picture, pronounced it a +contemptible performance, and the artist a miserable dauber; and Vandyck +could hardly obtain payment for his work. When the picture had received +high commendation from good judges, they became sensible of their error, +and requested him to execute two more works; but the indignant artist +refused the commission. Disgusted with such treatment, Vandyck readily +accepted an invitation to visit the Hague, from Frederick, Prince of +Orange, whose portrait he painted, and those of his family, the +principal personages of his court, and the foreign ambassadors. + + + + +VANDYCK'S VISIT TO ENGLAND. + + +Hearing of the great encouragement extended to the arts by Charles I., +he determined to visit England in 1629. While there, he lodged with his +friend and countryman, George Geldorp the painter, and expected to be +presented to the king; but his hopes not being realized, he visited +Paris; and meeting no better success there, be returned to his own +country, with the intention of remaining there during the rest of his +life. Charles, however, having seen a portrait by Vandyck, of the +musician, Fic. Laniere, director of the music of the king's chapel, +requested Sir Kenelm Digby to invite him to return to England. +Accordingly, in 1631, he arrived a second time at London, and was +received by the king in a flattering manner. He was lodged at +Blackfriars, among the King's artists, where his majesty frequently went +to sit for his portrait, as well as to enjoy the society of the painter. +The honor of knighthood was conferred upon him in 1632, and the +following year he was appointed painter to the king, with an annuity of +£200. + +Prosperity now flowed in upon the Fleming in abundance, and although he +operated with the greatest industry and facility, painting single +portraits in one day, he could hardly fulfill all his commissions. +Naturally fond of display, he kept a splendid establishment, and his +sumptuous table was frequented by persons of the highest distinction. +He often detained his sitters to dinner, where he had an opportunity to +observe more of their peculiar characteristics, and retouched their +pictures in the afternoon. Notwithstanding his distinguished success, he +does not appear to have been satisfied with eminence in portrait +painting; and not long after his marriage with Maria Ruthven, +granddaughter of Lord Gowrie, he went to Antwerp with his lady, on a +visit to his family and friends, and thence proceeded to Paris. The fame +which Rubens had acquired by his celebrated performances at the +Luxembourg, rendered Vandyck desirous to execute the decorations at the +Louvre; but on arriving at the French capital, he found the commission +disposed of to Nicholas Poussin. He soon returned to England, and being +still desirous of executing some great work, proposed to the king +through Sir Kenelm Digby, to decorate the walls of the Banqueting House +(of which the ceiling was already adorned by Rubens), with the History +and Progress of the Order of the Garter. The sum demanded was £8000, and +while the king was treating with him for a less amount, the project was +terminated by the death of Vandyck, December 9th, 1641, aged 42 years. +He was buried with extraordinary honors in St. Paul's cathedral. His +high living had brought on the gout during his latter years, and luxury +had considerably reduced his fortune, which he endeavored to repair by +the study of alchemy. He left property amounting to about £20,000. In +his private character, Vandyck was universally esteemed for the urbanity +of his manners, and his generous patronage to all who excelled in any +science or art, many of whose portraits he painted gratuitously. + + + + +WILLIAM VAN DE VELDE, THE ELDER. + + +This eminent Dutch marine painter was born at Leyden, in 1610. He drew +everything after nature, and was one of the most correct, spirited, and +admirable designers of marine subjects. He made an incredible number of +drawings on paper, heightened with India ink, all of them sketched from +nature with uncommon elegance and fidelity. His talents recommended him +to the notice of the States of Holland, and Descamps says they furnished +him with a small vessel to accompany their fleets, that he might design +the different manoeuvres and engagements; that he was present in +various sea-fights, in which he fearlessly exposed himself to the most +imminent danger, while making his sketches; he was present at the severe +battle between the English and Dutch fleets, under the command of the +Duke of York and Admiral Opdam, in which the ship of the latter, with +five hundred men, was blown up, and in the still more memorable +engagement in the following year, between the English under the Duke of +Albemarle, and the Dutch Admiral de Ruyter, which lasted three days. It +is said that during these engagements he sailed alternately between the +fleets, so as to represent minutely every movement of the ships, and the +most, material circumstances of the actions with incredible exactness +and truth. So intent was he upon his drawing, that he constantly exposed +himself to the greatest danger, without the least apparent anxiety. He +wrote over the ships their names and those of their commanders; and +under his own frail craft _V. Velde's Gallijodt_, or _Myn Gallijodt_. + + + + +VAN DE VELDE AND CHARLES II. + + +After having executed many capital pictures for the States of Holland, +Van de Velde was invited to England by Charles II., who had become +acquainted with his talents during his residence in Holland. He arrived +in London about 1675, well advanced in years, and the king settled upon +him a pension of £100 per annum until his death, in 1693, as appears +from this inscription on his tomb-stone in St. James' church: "Mr. +William van de Velde, senior, late painter of sea-fights to their +Majesties, King Charles II. and King James, died in 1693." He was +accompanied by his son, who was also taken into the service of the king, +as appears from an order of the privy seal, as follows: "Charles the +Second, by the grace of God, &c., to our dear Cousin, Prince Rupert, and +the rest of our commissioners for executing the place of Lord High +Admiral of England, greeting. Whereas, we have thought fit to allow the +salary of £100 per annum unto William van de Velde the Elder, for taking +and making draughts of sea-fights; and the like salary of £100 per annum +unto William van de Velde the younger, for putting the said draughts in +color for our particular use; our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby +authorize and require you to issue your orders for the present and the +future establishment of said salaries to the aforesaid William van de +Velde the Elder and William van de Velde the Younger, to be paid unto +them, or either of them, during our pleasure, and for so doing, these +our letters shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge. Given under +our privy-seal, at our palace of Westminster, the 20th day of February, +in the 26th year of our reign." + +Many of the large pictures of sea-fights in England, and doubtless in +Holland, bearing the signature _W. van de Velde_, and generally +attributed to the son, were executed by him from the designs of his +father. Such are the series of twelve naval engagements and sea-ports in +the palace at Hampton Court, though signed like the best works of the +younger van de Velde; they are dated 1676 and 1682. + + + + +WILLIAM VAN DE VELDE THE YOUNGER. + + +This eminent artist was the son of the preceding, and born at Amsterdam +in 1633. He had already acquired a distinguished reputation in his +native country for his admirable cabinet pictures of marine subjects, +when he accompanied his father to England, where his talents not only +recommended him to the patronage of the king, but to the principal +nobility and personages of his court, for whom he executed many of his +most beautiful works. "The palm," says Lord Orford, "is not less +disputed with Raffaelle for history, than with Van de Velde for +sea-pieces." He died in 1707. + + + + +THE YOUNGER VAN DE VELDE'S WORKS. + + +Like his father, the younger Van de Velde designed everything from +nature, and his compositions are distinguished by a more elegant and +tasteful arrangement of his objects, than is to be found in the +productions of any other painter of marines. His vessels are designed +with the greatest accuracy, and from the improvements which had been +made in ship-building, they are of a more graceful and pleasing form +than those of his predecessors; the cordage and rigging are finished +with a delicacy, and at the same time with a freedom almost without +example; his small figures are drawn with remarkable correctness, and +touched with the greatest spirit. In his calms the sky is sunny, and +brilliant, and every object is reflected in the glassy smoothness of the +water, with a luminous transparency peculiar to himself. In his fresh +breezes and squalls, the swell and curl of the waves is delineated with +a truth and fidelity which could only be derived from the most attentive +and accurate study of nature; in his storms, tempests, and hurricanes, +the tremendous conflict of the elements and the horrors of shipwreck are +represented with a truthfulness that strikes the beholder with terror. + +The works of the younger Van de Velde are very numerous, and the greater +part of them are in England, where Houbraken says they were so highly +esteemed that they were eagerly sought after in Holland, and purchased +at high prices to transport to London; so that they are rarely to be met +with in his native country. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonné, vol. vi. +and Supplement, describes about three hundred and thirty pictures by +him, the value of which has increased amazingly, as may be seen by a few +examples. The two marines now in the Earl of Ellesmere's collection, one +a View of the Entrance to the Texel, sold in 1766 for £80, now valued at +£1,000; the other sold in 1765 for £84, now valued at £500. A Sea-View, +formerly in the collection of Sir Robert Peel, sold in 1772 for only +£31; brought in 1828, £300. The Departure of Charles II. from Holland in +1660, sold in 1781 for £82; it brought recently, at public sale, £800. A +View off the Coast of Holland sold in 1816 for £144; it brought, in Sir +Simon Clarke's sale in 1840, £1,029. A View on the Sea-Shore, 16 inches +by 12, sold in 1726 for £9, and in 1835 for £108. The picture known as +_Le Coup de Canon_, sold in 1786 for £52, in 1790 for only £36, but in +1844 it brought 1,380 guineas. + +The drawings, and especially the sketches and studies of the younger Van +de Velde are very numerous, and prove the indefatigable pains he took in +designing his vessels, their appurtenances, and the ordonnance of his +compositions. His sketches are executed in black lead only; his more +finished drawings with the pencil or pen, and shaded with India ink. He +executed these with wonderful facility; it is recorded that he was so +rapid in his sketching, that he frequently filled a quire of paper in an +evening. Stanley says that during the years 1778 and 1780, about 8,000 +of his drawings were sold in London at public auction. Some of his +choicest drawings in India ink brought, at the sale of M. Goll de +Frankenstein at Amsterdam, in 1833, and at that of the late Baron +Verstolk de Soelen, in the same city in 1847, prices varying from £27 up +to £144 each. He inherited his father's drawings, and all these seem now +to be attributed to him. + + + + +NICHOLAS POUSSIN. + + +This distinguished French painter was born at Andely, in Normandy, in +1594. He was descended from a noble family, originally of Soissons, +whose fortunes had been ruined in the disastrous civil wars in the time +of Charles IX. and Henry III. His father, Jean Poussin, after serving +in the army of Henry IV., settled on a small paternal inheritance at +Andely, where he cultivated a taste for literature and the sciences, and +instructed his son in the same. Young Poussin had already distinguished +himself for the solidity of his judgment, and his progress in letters, +when a natural fondness for drawing, developed by an acquaintance he had +formed with Quintin Varin, an artist of some eminence, induced him to +solict the permission of his father to adopt painting as a profession. + + + + +POUSSIN'S FIRST CELEBRITY. + + +In 1612, at the age of eighteen, Poussin went to Paris in search of +improvement, where he devoted himself to studying the best works to +which he could gain access (for the fine arts were then at a low ebb in +France) with the greatest assiduity. In 1620, according to Felibien, the +Jesuits celebrated the canonization of the founder of their order, +Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier, on which occasion they +determined to display a series of pictures by the first artists in +Paris, representing the miracles performed by their patron saints. Of +these, Poussin painted six in distemper, in an incredibly short space of +time, and when the exhibition came off, although he had been obliged to +neglect detail, his pictures excited the greatest admiration on account +of the grandeur of conception, and the elegance of design displayed in +them. They obtained the preference over all the others, and brought +Poussin immediately into notice. + + + + +POUSSIN'S FIRST VISIT TO ROME. + + +While Poussin resided at Paris, his talents, and the endowments of his +mind procured him the esteem of several men of letters and distinction, +among whom was the Cav. Marino, the celebrated Italian poet, who +happened then to be in Paris. Marino strongly urged him to accompany him +to Rome, an invitation which Poussin would gladly have accepted, had he +not then been engaged in some commissions of importance, which having +completed, he set out for Rome in 1624, where he was warmly received by +his friend Marino, who introduced him to the Cardinal Barberini. He +however derived little advantage from this favorable notice at the time, +as the Cardinal soon after left Rome on his legation to France and +Spain, and the Cav. Marino died about the same time. Poussin now found +himself a stranger, friendless and unknown in the Eternal City, in very +embarrassed circumstances; but he consoled himself with the thought that +his wants were few, that he was in the very place where he had long +sighed to be, surrounded by the glorious works of ancient and modern +art, and that he should have abundant leisure to study. Therefore, +though he could scarcely supply his necessities by the disposal of his +works, and was often compelled to sell them for the most paltry prices, +his courage did not fail him, but rather stimulated him to the greatest +assiduity to perfect himself in the art. He lodged in the same house +with Francis du Quesnoy, called Il Fiammingo, the state of whose +finances at that time were not more flourishing than his own, and he +lived in habits of intimacy and strict friendship with that eminent +sculptor, with whom he explored, studied, and modeled the most +celebrated antique statues and bas-reliefs, particularly the Meleager in +the Vatican, from which he derived his rules of proportion. At first he +copied several of the works of Titian, and improved his style of +coloring, but he afterwards contemplated the works of Raffaelle with an +enthusiasm bordering on adoration. The admirable expression and purity +of the works of Domenichino, rendered them particularly interesting to +him, and he used to regard his Communion of St. Jerome as the second +picture at Rome, the Transfiguration by Raffaelle being the first. + + + + +POUSSIN'S DISTRESS AT ROME. + + +While Poussin was thus pursuing his studies at Rome, he was left by the +death of his friend Marino, in a state of extreme distress, and was +obliged to dispose of his paintings at the most paltry prices, to +procure the necessaries of life. Filibien says that he sold the two +fine battle-pieces which were afterwards in the collection of the Duke +de Noailles for seven crowns each, and a picture of a Prophet for eight +livres. His celebrated picture of "the Ark of God among the Philistines" +brought him but sixty crowns; the original purchaser sold it not long +afterwards to the Duc de Richelieu for one thousand crowns! + + + + +POUSSIN'S SUCCESS AT ROME. + + +A brighter day now dawned upon Poussin. What had happened to him, which +would have been regarded by most young artists as the greatest +misfortune and sunk them in despondency and ruin, proved of the greatest +advantage to him. The Cardinal Barberini having returned to Rome, gave +him some commissions, which he executed in such an admirable manner as +at once established his reputation among those of the greatest artists +of the age. The first work he executed for his patron was his celebrated +picture of the Death of Germanicus, which Lanzi pronounces one of his +finest productions. He next painted the Taking of Jerusalem by Titus. +These works gave the Cardinal so much satisfaction that he procured for +him the commission to paint a large picture of the Martyrdom of St. +Erasmus, for St. Peter's, now in the pontifical palace at Monte Cavallo. +These works procured him the friendship and patronage of the Cav. del +Pozzo, for whom he painted his first set of pictures, representing the +Seven Sacraments, now in the collection of the Duke of Rutland. He +afterwards painted another set of the same, with some variations, for M. +de Chantelou, formerly in the Orleans collection, now in that of the +Marquis of Stafford. + + + + +POUSSIN'S INVITATION TO PARIS. + + +In 1639, Poussin was invited to Paris by Louis XIII., who honored him on +this occasion with the following autograph letter, which was an +extraordinary and unusual homage to art: + + +"DEAR AND WELL BELOVED, + +"Some of our especial servants having made a report to us of the +reputation which you have acquired, and the rank which you hold among +the best and most famous painters of Italy; and we being desirous, in +imitation of our predecessors, to contribute, as much as lies in us, to +the ornament and decoration of our royal houses, by fixing around us +those who excel in the arts, and whose attainments in them have +attracted notice in the places where those arts are most cherished, do +therefore write you this letter, to acquaint you that we have chosen and +appointed you to be one of our painters in ordinary, and that, +henceforward, we will employ you in that capacity. To this effect our +intention is, that on the receipt of this present, you shall dispose +yourself to come hither, where the services you perform shall meet with +as much consideration as do your merits and your works, in the place +where you now reside. By our order, given to M. de Noyers, you will +learn more particularly the favor we have determined to shew you. We +will add nothing to this present, but to pray God to have you in his +holy keeping. + + "Given at Fontainebleau, + Jan. 15, 1639." + + +Poussin accepted the invitation with great reluctance, at the earnest +solicitation of his friends. On his arrival at Paris he was received +with marked distinction, appointed principal painter to the king, with a +pension, and accommodated with apartments in the Tuileries. He was +commissioned to paint an altar-piece for the chapel of St. Germain en +Laie, where he produced his admirable work of the Last Supper, and was +engaged to decorate the Gallery of the Louvre with the Labors of +Hercules. He had already prepared the designs and some of the cartoons +for these works, when he was assailed by the machinations of Simon Vouet +and his adherents; and even the landscape painter Fouquieres, jealous of +his fame, presumed to criticise his works and detract from their merit. + + + +POUSSIN'S RETURN TO ROME. + + +Poussin, naturally of a peaceful turn of mind, fond of retirement and +the society of a few select literary friends, was disgusted with the +ostentation of the court and the cabals by which he was surrounded; he +secretly sighed for the quiet felicity he had left at Rome, and resolved +to return thither without delay. For this purpose, he solicited and +obtained leave of the king to visit Italy and settle his affairs, and +fetch his wife; but when he had once crossed the Alps, no inducement +could prevail on him to revisit his native country, or even to leave +Rome. During a period of twenty-three years after his return to Rome +from Paris, he lived a quiet, unostentatious life, and executed a great +number of pictures, which decorate the principal cabinets of Europe, and +will ever be regarded as among their most valuable ornaments. He +confined himself mostly to works of the large easel size, which were +eagerly sought after, and usually disposed of as soon as they were +executed. He never made any words about the price of his pictures, but +asked a modest and moderate price, which he always marked upon the back +of his canvas, and which was invariably paid. Many of his works were +sent to Paris, where they were valued next to the productions of +Raffaelle. He was plain and unassuming in his manners, very frugal in +his living, yet so liberal and generous that at his death he left an +estate of only 60,000 livres--about $12,000. Felibien relates an +anecdote which pleasingly illustrates his simple and unostentatious mode +of life. The Cardinal Mancini was accustomed to visit his studio +frequently, and on one occasion, having staid later than usual, Poussin +lighted him to the door, at which the prelate observed, "I pity you, +Monsieur Poussin, that you have not one servant." "And I," replied the +painter, "pity your Excellency much more, that you are obliged to keep +so many." + + + + +SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS' CRITIQUE ON POUSSIN. + + +"The favorite subjects of Poussin were ancient fables; and no painter +was ever better qualified to paint such subjects, not only from his +being eminently skilled in the knowledge of the ceremonies, customs, and +habits of the ancients, but from his being so well acquainted with the +different characters which those who invented them gave to their +allegorical figures. Though Rubens has shown great fancy in his Satyrs, +Silenuses, and Fauns, yet they are not that distinct, separate class of +beings which is carefully exhibited by the ancients, and by Poussin. +Certainly, when such subjects of antiquity are represented, nothing +should remind us of modern times. The mind is thrown back into +antiquity, and nothing ought to be introduced that may tend to awaken it +from the illusion. + +"Poussin seemed to think that the style and the language in which such +stories are told is not the worse for preserving some relish of the old +way of painting, which seemed to give a general uniformity to the whole, +so that the mind was thrown back into antiquity, not only by the +subject, but also by the execution. + +"If Poussin, in imitation of the ancients, represents Apollo driving his +Chariot out of the sea, by way of representing the sun rising, if he +personifies lakes and rivers, it is noways offensive in him, but seems +perfectly of a piece with the general air of the picture. On the +contrary, if the figures which people his pictures had a modern air and +countenance, if they appeared like our countrymen, if the draperies were +like cloth or silk of our manufacture, if the landscape had the +appearance of a modern one, how ridiculous would Apollo appear instead +of the sun, and an old Man or a Nymph with an urn to represent a river +or lake?" He also says, in another place, that "it may be doubted +whether any alteration of what is considered defective in his works, +would not destroy the effect of the whole." + + + + +POUSSIN'S VIEWS OF HIS ART. + + +Poussin, in his directions to artists who came to study at Rome, used to +say that "the remains of antiquity afforded him instruction that he +could not expect from masters;" and in one of his letters to M. de +Chantelou, he observes that "he had applied to painting the theory which +the Greeks had introduced into their music--the Dorian for the grave and +the serious; the Phrygian for the vehement and the passionate; the +Lydian for the soft and the tender; and the Ionian for the riotous +festivity of his bacchanalians." He was accustomed to say "that a +particular attention to coloring was an obstacle to the student in his +progress to the great end and design of the art; and that he who +attaches himself to this principal end, will acquire by practice a +reasonably good method of coloring." He well knew that splendor of +coloring and brilliancy of tints would ill accord with the solidity and +simplicity of effect so essential to heroic subjects, and that the +sublime and majestic would be degraded by a union with the florid and +the gay. The elevation of his mind is conspicuous in all his works. He +was attentive to vary his style and the tone of his color, +distinguishing them by a finer and more delicate touch, a tint more +cheerful or austere, a site more cultivated or wild, according to the +character of his subject and the impression he designed to make; so that +we are not less impressed with the beauty and grandeur of his scenery, +than with the varied, appropriate, and dignified characteristics which +distinguish his works. + + + + +POUSSIN'S WORKS. + + +In Smith's Catalogue raisonné may be found a descriptive account of +upwards of three hundred and fifty of the works of this great artist, in +many instances tracing the history from the time they were painted, the +names of the present possessors, and the principal artists by whom they +have been engraved, together with many interesting particulars of the +life of the painter. There are eight of his pictures in the English +National Gallery, fourteen in the Dulwich Gallery, and many in the +possession of the nobility of England. The prices paid for those in the +National Gallery vary from 150 to 1000 guineas. + + + + +MARINO AND POUSSIN. + + +Marino was born at Naples. Some political disturbances, in which he and +his family had taken part, obliged him to quit that kingdom, and he took +refuge successively in several of the petty courts of Italy. His talent +for satire involved him in various literary disputes, as well as some +political quarrels, and he never resided long in one place, until Mary +of Medicis invited him to the court of France, where he passed much of +his life, and where he wrote most of his poems, which, though licentious +both in matter and style, contain numerous beauties, and are full of +classical imagery. Marino gave Poussin an apartment in his house at +Rome, and as his own health was at that time extremely deranged, he +loved to have Poussin by the side of his couch, where he drew or +painted, while Marino read aloud to him from some Latin or Italian +author, or from his own poems, which Poussin illustrated by beautiful +drawings, most of which it is to be feared are lost; although it is +believed that there is still existing in the Massimi library, a copy of +the Adonis in Marino's hand-writing, with Poussin's drawings +interleaved. To this kind of study which he pursued with Marino, may +perhaps be attributed Poussin's predilection for compositions wherein +nymphs, and fairies, and bacchanals are the subjects--compositions in +which he greatly excelled. + + + + +POUSSIN ROMANIZED. + + +While the court of France was at variance with the Holy See, +considerable acrimony existed among his Holiness's troops against all +Frenchmen; consequently, wherever they met them in Rome, they instantly +attacked them with sticks and stones, and sometimes with even more +formidable weapons. It happened one day that Poussin and three or four +of his countrymen, returning from a drawing excursion, met at the +Quattro Fontane near Monte Cavallo, a company of soldiers, who seeing +them dressed in the French costume, instantly attacked them. They all +fled but Poussin, who was surrounded, and received a cut from a sabre +between the first and second finger. Passeri, who relates the anecdote, +says that the sword turned, otherwise "a great misfortune must have +happened both to him and to painting." Not daunted, however, he fought +under the shelter of his portfolio, throwing stones as he retreated, +till being recognized by some Romans who took his part, he effected his +escape to his lodgings. From that day he put on the Roman dress, +adopted the Roman way of living, and became so much a Roman, that he +considered the city as his true home. + + + + +POUSSIN'S HABITS OF STUDY. + + +Poussin not only studied every vestige of antiquity at Rome and in its +environs, with the greatest assiduity while young, but he followed this +practice through life. It was his delight to spend every hour he could +spare at the different villas in the neighborhood of Rome, where, +besides the most beautiful remains of antiquity, he enjoyed the +unrivalled landscape which surrounds that city, so much dignified by the +noble works of ancient days, that every hill is classical, the very +trees have a poetic air, and everything combines to excite in the soul a +kind of dreaming rapture from which it would not be awakened, and which +those who have not felt it can scarcely understand. + +He restored the antique temples, and made plans and accurate drawings of +the fragments of ancient Rome; and there are few of his pictures, where +the subject admits of it, in which we may not trace the buildings, both +of the ancient and the modern city. In the beautiful landscape of the +death of Eurydice, the bridge and castle of St. Angelo, and the tower, +commonly called that of Nero, form the middle ground of the picture. The +castle of St. Angelo appears again in one of his pictures of the +Exposing of Moses; and the pyramid of Caius Cestius, the Pantheon, the +ruins of the Forum, and the walls of Rome, may be recognised in the +Finding of Moses, and several others of his remarkable pictures. + +"I have often admired," said Vigneul de Marville, who knew him at a late +period of his life, "the love he had for his art. Old as he was, I +frequently saw him among the ruins of ancient Rome, out in the Campagna, +or along the banks of the Tyber, sketching a scene which had pleased +him; and I often met him with his handkerchief full of stones, moss, or +flowers, which he carried home, that he might copy them exactly from +nature. One day I asked him, how he had attained to such a degree of +perfection as to have gained so high a rank among the great painters of +Italy? He answered, '_I have neglected nothing!_'" + + + + +POUSSIN'S OLD AGE. + + +The genius of Poussin seems to have gained vigor with age. Nearly his +last works, which were begun in 1660, and sent to Paris 1664, were the +four pictures, allegorical of the seasons, which he painted for the Duc +de Richelieu. He chose the terrestrial paradise, in all the freshness of +creation, to designate spring. The beautiful story of Boaz and Ruth +formed the subject of summer. Autumn was aptly pictured, in the two +Israelites bearing the bunch of grapes from the Promised Land. But the +masterpiece was Winter, represented in the Deluge. This picture has +been, perhaps, the most praised of all Poussin's works. A narrow space, +and a very few persons have sufficed him for this powerful +representation of that great catastrophe. The sun's disc is darkened +with clouds; the lightning shoots in forked flashes through the air: +nothing but the roofs of the highest houses are visible above the +distant water upon which the ark floats, on a level with the highest +mountains. Nearer, where the waters, pent in by rocks, form a cataract, +a boat is forced down the fall, and the wretches who had sought safety +in it are perishing: but the most pathetic incident is brought close to +the spectator. A mother in a boat is holding up her infant to its +father, who, though upon a high rock, is evidently not out of reach of +the water, and is only protracting life a very little. + + + + +POUSSIN'S LAST WORK AND DEATH. + + +The long and honorable race of Poussin was now nearly run. Early in the +following year, 1665, he was slightly affected by palsy, and the only +picture of figures that he painted afterwards was the Samaritan Woman at +the Well, which he sent to M. de Chantelou, with a note, in which he +says, "This is my last work; I have already one foot in the grave." +Shortly afterwards he wrote the following letter to M. Felibien: "I +could not answer the letter which your brother, M. le Prieur de St. +Clementin, forwarded to me, a few days after his arrival in this city, +sooner, my usual infirmities being increased by a very troublesome cold, +which continues and annoys me very much. I must now thank you not only +for your remembrance, but for the kindness you have done me, by not +reminding the prince of the wish he once expressed to possess some of my +works. It is too late for him to be well served; I am become too infirm, +and the palsy hinders me in working, so that I have given up the pencil +for some time, and think only of preparing for death, which I feel +bodily upon me. It is all over with me." He expired shortly afterwards, +aged 71 years. + + + + +POUSSIN'S IDEAS OF PAINTING. + + +"Painting is an imitation by means of lines and colors, on some +superfices, of everything that can be seen under the sun; its end is to +please. + +_Principles that every man capable of reasoning may learn:_--There can +be nothing represented, + + Without light, + Without form, + Without color, + Without distance, + Without an instrument, or medium. + +_Things which are not to be learned, and which make an essential part of +painting._ + +First, the subject must be noble. It should have received no quality +from the mere workmen; and to allow scope to the painter to display his +powers, he should choose it capable of receiving the most excellent +form. He must begin by composition, then ornament, propriety, beauty, +grace, vivacity, probability, and judgment, in each and all. These last +belong solely to the painter, and cannot be taught. The nine are the +golden bough of Virgil, which no man can find or gather, if his fate do +not lead him to it." + + + + +POUSSIN AND THE NOBLEMAN. + + +A person of rank who dabbled in painting for his amusement, having one +day shown Poussin one of his performances, and asked his opinion of its +merits, the latter replied, "You only want a little poverty, sir, to +make a good painter." + + + + +POUSSIN AND MENGS. + + +The admirers of Mengs, jealous of Poussin's title of "the Painter of +Philosophers," conferred on him the antithetical one of "the Philosopher +of Painters." Though it cannot be denied that Mengs' writings and his +pictures are learned, yet few artists have encountered such a storm of +criticism. + + + + +POUSSIN AND DOMENICHINO. + + +Next to correctness of drawing and dignity of conception, Poussin valued +expression in painting. He ranked Domenichino next to Raffaelle for this +quality, and not long after his arrival at Rome, he set about copying +the Flagellation of St. Andrew, painted by that master in the church of +S. Gregorio, in competition with Guido, whose Martyrdom of that Saint is +on the opposite side of the same church. Poussin found all the students +in Rome busily copying the Guido, which, though a most beautiful work, +lacks the energy and expression which distinguish the Flagellation; but +he was too sure of his object to be led away by the crowd. According to +Felibien, Domenichino, who then resided at Rome, in a very delicate +state of health, having heard that a young Frenchman was making a +careful study of his picture, caused himself to be conveyed in his chair +to the church, where he conversed some time with Poussin, without making +himself known; charmed with his talents and highly cultivated mind, he +invited him to his house, and from that time Poussin enjoyed his +friendship and profited by his advice, till that illustrious painter +went to Naples, to paint the chapel of St. Januarius. + + + + +POUSSIN AND SALVATOR ROSA. + + +Among the strolling parties of monks and friars, cardinals and prelates, +Roman princesses and English peers, Spanish grandees and French +cavaliers which crowded the _Pincio_, towards the latter end of the +seventeenth century, there appeared two groups, which may have recalled +those of the Portico or the Academy, and which never failed to interest +and fix the attention of the beholders. The leader of one of these +singular parties was the venerable Niccolo Poussin! The air of antiquity +which breathed over all his works seemed to have infected even his +person and his features; and his cold, sedate, and passionless +countenance, his measured pace and sober deportment, spoke that +phlegmatic temperament and regulated feeling, which had led him to study +monuments rather than men, and to declare that the result of all his +experience was "to teach him to live well with all persons." Soberly +clad, and sagely accompanied by some learned antiquary or pious +churchman, and by a few of his deferential disciples, he gave out his +trite axioms in measured phrase and emphatic accent, lectured rather +than conversed, and appeared like one of the peripatetic teachers of the +last days of Athenian pedantry and pretension. + +In striking contrast to these academic figures, which looked like their +own "grandsires cut in alabaster," appeared, unremittingly, on the +Pincio, after sun-set, a group of a different stamp and character, led +on by one who, in his flashing eye, mobile brow, and rapid movement, all +fire, feeling, and perception--was the very personification of genius +itself. This group consisted of Salvator Rosa, gallantly if not +splendidly habited, and a motley gathering of the learned and witty, the +gay and the grave, who surrounded him. He was constantly accompanied in +these walks on the Pincio by the most eminent virtuosi, poets, +musicians, and cavaliers in Rome; all anxious to draw him out on a +variety of subjects, when air, exercise, the desire of pleasing, and the +consciousness of success, had wound him up to his highest pitch of +excitement; while many who could not appreciate, and some who did not +approve, were still anxious to be seen in his train, merely that they +might have to boast "_nos quoque_." + +From the Pincio, Salvator Rosa was generally accompanied home by the +most distinguished persons, both for talent and rank; and while the +frugal Poussin was lighting out some reverend prelate or antiquarian +with one sorry taper, Salvator, the prodigal Salvator, was passing the +evening in his elegant gallery, in the midst of princes, nobles, and men +of wit and science, where he made new claims on their admiration, both +as an artist and as an _improvisatore_; for till within a few years of +his death he continued to recite his own poetry, and sing his own +compositions to the harpsichord or lute. + + + + +POUSSIN, ANGELO, AND RAFFAELLE COMPARED. + + +Poussin is, in the strict sense of the word, an historical painter. + +Michael Angelo is too intent on the sublime, too much occupied with the +effect of the whole, to tell a common history. His conceptions are epic, +and his persons, and his colors, have as little to do with ordinary +life, as the violent action of his actors have resemblance to the +usually indolent state of ordinary men. + +Raffaelle's figures interest so much in themselves, that they make us +forget that they are only part of a history. We follow them eagerly, as +we do the personages of a drama; we grieve, we hope, we despair, we +rejoice with them. + +Poussin's figures, on the contrary, tell their story; we feel not the +intimate acquaintance with themselves, that we do with the creations of +Raffaelle. His Cicero would thunder in the forum and dissipate a +conspiracy, and we should take leave of him with respect at the end of +the scene; but with Raffaelle's we should feel in haste to quit the +tumult, and retire with him to his Tusculum, and learn to love the +virtues, and almost to cherish the weaknesses of such a man. + +Poussin has shown that grace and expression may be independent of what +is commonly called beauty. His women have none of that soft, easy, and +attractive air, which many other painters have found the secret of +imparting, not only to their Venuses and Graces, but to their Madonnas +and Saints. His beauties are austere and dignified. Minerva and the +Muses appear to have been his models, rather than the inhabitants of +Mount Cithæron. Hence subjects of action are more suited to him than +those of repose.--_Graham's Life of Poussin_. + + + + +REMBRANDT. + + +Paul Rembrandt van Rhyn, one of the most eminent painters and engravers +of the Dutch school, was the son of a miller, and was born in 1606, at a +small village on the banks of the Rhine, between Leyderdorp and Leyden, +whence he was called Rembrandt van Rhyn, though his family name was +Gerretz. It is said that his father, being in easy circumstances, +intended him for one of the learned professions, but was induced by +Rembrandt's passion for the art to allow him to follow his inclination. +He entered the school of J. van Zwaanenberg at Amsterdam, where he +continued three years, and made such surprising progress as astonished +his instructor. Having learned from Zwaanenberg all he was capable of +imparting, he next studied about six months with Peter Lastmann, and +afterwards for a short time with Jacob Pinas, from whom it is said he +acquired that taste for strong contrasts of light and shadow, for which +his works are so remarkable. He was, however, more indebted for his best +improvement to the vivacity of his own genius, and an attentive study of +nature, than to any information he derived from his instructors. On +returning home, he fitted up an attic room, with a skylight, in his +father's mill, for a studio, where he probably pursued his labors for +several years, as he did not remove to Amsterdam till 1630. Here he +studied the grotesque figure of the Dutch boor, or the rotund contour of +the bar-maid of an ale house, with as much precision as the great +artists of Italy have imitated the Apollo Belvidere, or the Medicean +Venus. He was exceedingly ignorant, and it is said that he could +scarcely read. He was of a wayward and eccentric disposition, and sought +for recreation among the lowest orders of the people, in the amusements +of the ale-house, contracting habits which continued through life; even +when in prosperous circumstances, he manifested no disposition to +associate with more refined and intellectual society. It will readily be +perceived that his habits, disposition, and studies could not conduct +him to the noble conceptions of Raffaelle, but rather to an exact +imitation of the lowest order of nature, with which he delighted to be +surrounded. The life of Rembrandt is much involved in fable, and in +order to form a just estimate of his powers, it is necessary to take +these things into consideration. It is said by some writers, that, had +he studied the antique, he would have reached the very perfection of the +art, but Nieuwenhuys, in his review of the Lives and Works of the most +eminent painters of the Dutch and Flemish schools, in Smith's Catalogue +raisonné, vol xii. and supplement, says that he was by no means +deficient on that point. "For it is known that he purchased, at a high +price, casts from the antique marbles, paintings, drawings, and +engravings by the most excellent Italian masters, to assist him in his +studies, and which are mentioned in the inventory of his goods when +seized for debt." + +He then goes on to give a list of the works so seized. Be this as it may +he certainly never derived any advantage from them. He had collected a +great variety of old armor, sabres, flags, and fantastical vestments, +ironically terming them his antiques, and frequently introducing them +into his pictures. + +Rembrandt had already brought both the arts of painting and engraving to +very great perfection (in his own way), when a slight incident led him +to fame and fortune. He was induced by a friend to take one of his +choicest pictures to a picture-dealer at the Hague, who, being charmed +with the performance, instantly gave him a hundred florins for it, and +treated him with great respect. This occurrence served to convince the +public of his merit, and contributed to make the artist sensible of his +own abilities. In 1630 he went to Amsterdam, where he married a handsome +peasant girl (frequently copied in his works), and settled there for +life. His paintings were soon in extraordinary demand, and his fame +spread far and wide; pupils flocked to his studio, and he received for +the instruction of each a hundred florins a year. He was so excessively +avaricious that he soon abandoned his former careful and finished +style, for a rapid execution; also frequently retouched the pictures of +his best pupils, and sold them as his own. His deceits in dating several +of his etchings at Venice, to make them more saleable, led some of his +biographers to believe that he visited Italy, and resided at Venice in +1635 and 1636; but it has been satisfactorily proved that he never left +Holland, though he constantly threatened to do so, in order to increase +the sale of his works. As early as 1628, he applied himself zealously to +etching, and soon acquired great perfection in the art. His etchings +were esteemed as highly as his paintings, and he had recourse to several +artifices to raise their price and increase their sales. For example, he +sold impressions from the unfinished plates, then finished them, and +after having used them, made some slight alterations, and thus sold the +same works three or four times; producing what connoisseurs term +_variations_ in prints. By these practices, and his parsimonious manner +of living, Rembrandt amassed a large fortune. + + + + +REMBRANDT'S WORKS. + + +His works are numerous, and are dispersed in various public and private +collections of Europe; and when they are offered for sale they command +enormous prices. There are eight of his pictures in the English National +Gallery; one of these, the Woman taken in Adultery, formerly in the +Orleans collection, sold for £5000. In Smith's Catalogue raisonné is a +description of six hundred and forty pictures by him, the public and +private galleries and collections in which they were located at the time +of the publication of the work, together with a copious list of his +drawings and etchings, and much other interesting information. He left +many studies, sketches, and drawings, executed in a charming style, +which are now scarce and valuable. + + + + +REMBRANDT AS AN ENGRAVER. + + +Rembrandt holds a distinguished rank among the engravers of his country; +he established a more important epoch in this art than any other master. +He was indebted entirely to his own genius for the invention of a +process which has thrown an indescribable charm over his plates. They +are partly etched, frequently much assisted by the dry point, and +occasionally, though rarely, finished with the graver; evincing the most +extraordinary facility of hand, and displaying the most consummate +knowledge of light and shadow. His free and playful point sports in +picturesque disorder, producing the most surprising and enchanting +effects, as if by accident; yet an examination will show that his +motions are always regulated by a profound knowledge of the principles +of light and shadow. His most admirable productions in both arts are his +portraits, which are executed with unexampled expression and skill. For +a full description of his prints, the reader is referred to Bartsch's +Peintre Graveur. + +His prints are very numerous, yet they command very high prices. The +largest collection of his prints known, was made by M. de Burgy at the +Hague, who died in 1755. This collection contained 665 prints with their +variations, namely, 257 portraits, 161 histories, 155 figures, and 85 +landscapes. There are no less than 27 portraits of Rembrandt by himself. + + + + +ANECDOTE OF SCHWARTS. + + +Sandrart relates the following anecdote of Christopher Schwarts, a +famous German painter, which, if true, redounds more to his ingenuity +than to his credit. Having been engaged to paint the ceiling of the Town +Hall at Munich by the day, his love of dissipation induced him to +neglect his work, so that the magistrates and overseers of the work were +frequently obliged to hunt him out at the cabaret. As he could no longer +drink in quiet, he stuffed an image of himself, left the legs hanging +down between the staging where he was accustomed to work, and sent one +of his boon companions to move the image a little two or three times a +day, and to take it away at noon and night. By means of this deception, +he drank without the least disturbance a whole fortnight together, the +inn-keeper being privy to the plot. The officers came in twice a day to +look after him, and seeing the well known stockings and shoes which he +was accustomed to wear, suspected nothing wrong, and went their way, +greatly extolling their own convert, as the most industrious and +conscientious painter in the world. + + + + +JACQUES CALLOT. + + +This eminent French engraver was born at Nancy, in Lorraine, in 1593. He +was the son of Jean Callot, a gentleman of noble family, who intended +him for a very different profession, and endeavored to restrain his +natural passion for art; but when he was twelve years old, he left his +home without money or resources, joined a company of wandering +Bohemians, and found his way to Florence, where some officer of the +court, discovering his inclination for drawing, placed him under +Cantagallina. After passing some time at Florence, he went to Rome, +where he was recognized by some friends of his family, who persuaded him +to return to his parents. Meeting with continual opposition, he again +absconded, but was followed by his brother to Turin, and taken back to +Nancy. His parents, at length finding his love of art too firmly +implanted to be eradicated, concluded to allow him to follow the bent of +his genius, and they sent him to Rome in the suite of the Envoy from the +Duke of Lorraine to the Pope. Here he studied with the greatest +assiduity, and soon distinguished himself as a very skillful engraver. +From Rome he went to Florence, where his talents recommended him to the +patronage of the Grand Duke Cosmo II., on whose death he returned to +Nancy, where he was liberally patronized by Henry, Duke of Lorraine. +When misfortune overtook that prince, he went to Paris, whither his +reputation had preceded him, where he was employed by Louis XIII. to +engrave the successes of the French arms, particularly the siege of the +Isle de Ré, in sixteen sheets; the siege of Rochelle, do.; and the siege +of Breda, in eight sheets. His prints are very numerous, and are highly +esteemed; Heineken gives a full list of his prints, amounting to over +fifteen hundred! The fertility of his invention and the facility of his +hand were wonderful; yet his prints are accurately designed. He +frequently made several drawings for the same plate before he was +satisfied. Watelet says that he saw four different drawings by him for +the celebrated Temptation of St. Anthony. His drawings are also greatly +admired and highly prized. + + + + +CALLOT'S PATRIOTISM. + + +When Cardinal Richelieu desired Callot to design and engrave a set of +plates descriptive of the siege and fall of his native town, he promptly +refused; and when the Cardinal peremptorily insisted that he should do +it, he replied, "My Lord, if you continue to urge me, I will cut off the +thumb of my right hand before your face, for I never will consent to +perpetuate the calamity and disgrace of my sovereign and protector." + + + + +INGENUITY OF ARTISTS. + + +Pliny asserts that an ingenious artist wrote the whole of the Iliad on +so small a piece of parchment that it might be enclosed within the +compass of a nut-shell. Cicero also records the same thing. This +doubtless might be done on a strip of thin parchment, and rolling it +compactly. + +Heylin, in his life of Charles I., says that in Queen Elizabeth's time, +a person wrote the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Pater Noster, the +Queen's name, and the date, within the compass of a penny, which he +presented to her Majesty, together with a pair of spectacles of such an +artificial make, that by their help she plainly discerned every letter. +One Francis Almonus wrote the Creed, and the first fourteen verses of +the Gospel of St. John, on a piece of parchment no larger than a penny. +In the library of St. John's College, Oxford, is a picture of Charles I. +done with a pen, the lines of which contain all the psalms, written in a +legible hand. + +"At Halston, in Shropshire, the seat of the Myttons, is preserved a +carving much resembling that mentioned by Walpole in his Anecdotes of +Painting, vol. ii., p. 42. It is the portrait of Charles I., full-faced, +cut on a peach-stone; above, is a crown; his face, and clothes which are +of a Vandyck dress are painted; on the reverse is an eagle transfixed +with an arrow, and round it is this motto: _I feathered this arrow._ The +whole is most admirably executed, and is set in gold, with a crystal on +each side. It probably was the work of Nicholas Bryot, a great graver of +the mint in the time of Charles I."--_Pennant's Wales._ + +In the Royal Museum at Copenhagen is a common cherry-stone, on the +surface of which are cut two hundred and twenty heads! + + + + +A HINT TO JEWELERS. + + +"When the haughty and able Pope Innocent III. caused Cardinal Langton to +be elected Archbishop of Canterbury in despite of King John, and +compelled him to submit, to appease the latter and to admonish him, his +Holiness presented him with four golden rings, set with precious stones, +at the same time taking care to inform him of the many mysteries implied +in them. His Holiness begged of him (King John)," says Hume, "to +consider seriously the _form_ of the rings, their _number_, their +_matter_, and their _color_. Their _form_, he said, shadowed out +eternity, which had neither beginning nor end; and he ought thence to +learn his duty of aspiring from earthly objects to heavenly, from things +temporal to things eternal. The _number_, from being a square, denoted +steadiness of mind, not to be subverted either by adversity or +prosperity, fixed forever on the firm base of the four cardinal +virtues. _Gold_, which is the matter, being the most precious of the +metals, signified wisdom, which is the most precious of all the +accomplishments, and justly preferred by Solomon to riches, power, and +all exterior attainments. The _blue color_ of the sapphire represented +Faith; the _verdure_ of the emerald, Hope; the _redness_ of the ruby, +Charity; and the _splendor_ of the topaz, good works." Jewelers, who +usually deal so little in sentiment in their works, may learn from this +ingenious allegory the advantage of calling up the wonder-working aid of +fancy, in forming their combinations of precious things. + + + + +CURIOUS PAINTINGS. + + +In the Cathedral at Worms, over the altar, is a very old painting, in +which the Virgin is represented throwing the infant Jesus into the +hopper of a mill; while from the other side he issues, changed into +wafers or little morsels of bread, which the priests are administering +to the people. + +Mathison, in his letters, thus describes a picture in a church at +Constance, called the Conception of the Holy Virgin. "An old man lies on +a cloud, whence he darts a vast beam, which passes through a dove +hovering just below; at the end of the beam appears a large transparent +egg, in which egg is seen a child in swaddling clothes, with a glory +round it; Mary sits leaning in an arm-chair and opens her mouth to +receive the egg!" Which are the most profane--these pictures, or the +Venus Anadyomene of Apelles, the Venus of Titian, and the Leda of +Correggio? + + + + +THE OLDEST OIL PAINTING EXTANT. + + +"The oldest oil painting now in existence, is believed to be one of the +Madonna and infant Jesus in her arms, with an Eastern style of +countenance. It is marked DCCCLXXXVI. (886). This singular and +valuable painting formed part of the treasures of art in the old palace +of the Florentine Republic, and was purchased by the Director Bencivenni +from a broker in the street, for a few livres." + +The above is found quoted in many books, in proof that oil painting was +known long before the time of the Van Eycks; but all these old +_supposed_ oil paintings have been proved by chemical analysis to have +been painted in distemper. See vol. ii., p. 141, of this work. + + + + +CURIOUS REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HARPIES. + + +Homer represents the Harpies as the rapacious goddesses of the storms, +residing near the Erinnyes, or the Ocean, before the jaws of hell. If +any person was so long absent from home that it was not known what had +become of him, and he was supposed to be dead, it was commonly said, +"The Harpies have carried him off." Hesiod represents them as young +virgins of great beauty. The later poets and artists vied with each +other in depicting them under the most hideous forms; they commonly +represented them as winged monsters, having the face of a woman and the +body of a vulture, with their feet and fingers armed with sharp claws. +Spanheim, in his work, gives three representations of the harpies, taken +from ancient coins and works of art; they have female heads, with the +bodies and claws of birds of prey; the first has a coarse female face, +the second a beautiful feminine head, and two breasts, and the third a +visage ornamented with wreaths and a head-dress. There are various other +representations of them, one of the most remarkable of which is a +monster with a human head and the body of a vampire bat. + + + + +ADRIAN BROWER. + + +This extraordinary painter was born at Haerlem, in 1608. His parents +were extremely poor, and his mother sold to the peasants bonnets and +handkerchiefs, which the young Adrian painted with flowers and birds. +These attempts were noticed by Francis Hals, a distinguished painter of +Haerlem, who offered to take the young artist into his school--which +proposal was gladly accepted. Hals, on discovering his superior genius, +separated him from all his companions, and locked him up in a garret, +that he might profit by his talents. The pictures of Brower sold +readily at high prices, but the avaricious Hals treated him with +increased severity, lest he should become acquainted with the value of +his talents, and leave him. This cruelty excited the pity of Adrian van +Ostade, then a pupil of Hals; and he found an opportunity of advising +Brower to make his escape, which the latter effected, and fled to +Amsterdam. Soon after arriving in that city, he painted a picture of +Boors Fighting, which he gave to the landlord of the inn where he +lodged, and requested him to sell it. The host soon returned with one +hundred ducats, which he had received for the work. The artist was +amazed at such a result of his labors, but instead of exerting his +wonderful talents, he plunged into a course of dissipation. This natural +propensity to alternate work and indulgence marked his whole life, and +involved him in many extraordinary adventures. + + + + +BROWER, THE DUKE D'AREMBERG, AND RUBENS. + + +When the States-General were at war with Spain, Brower started on a +visit to Antwerp, whither his reputation had already proceeded him. +Omitting to provide himself with a passport, he was arrested as a spy, +and confined in the citadel, where the Duke d'Aremberg was imprisoned. +That nobleman lived in friendship with Rubens, who often visited him in +his confinement; and the Duke, having observed the genius of Brower, +desired Rubens to bring a palette and pencils, which he gave to Brower, +and the latter soon produced a representation of Soldiers playing at +Cards, which he designed from a group he had seen from his prison +window. The Duke showed the picture to Rubens, who immediately exclaimed +that it was by the celebrated Brower, whose pictures he often admired; +and he offered the Duke six hundred guilders for the work, but the +latter refused to part with it, and presented the artist with a much +larger sum. Rubens lost no time in procuring his liberty, which he did +by becoming his surety, took him into his own house, and treated him +with the greatest kindness. + + + + +DEATH OF BROWER. + + +Brower did not continue long in the hospitable mansion of Rubens, whose +refined and elegant manners, love of literature, and domestic happiness +were less congenial to this erratic genius than the revels of his +pot-companions. Brower soon became weary of his situation, and returned +to his vicious habits, to which he soon fell a victim in 1640, at the +early age of 32 years. He died in the public hospital at Antwerp, and +was buried in an obscure manner; but when Rubens knew it, he had the +body reinterred, with funeral pomp, in the church of the Carmelites; and +he intended also to have erected a superb monument to his memory, had he +lived to see it executed; though Sandrart says there was a magnificent +one over his tomb, with an epitaph to perpetuate his honor. + + + + +BROWER'S WORKS. + + +The subjects of Brower were of the lowest order, representing the +frolics of his pot companions; but his expression is so lively and +characteristic, his coloring so transparent and brilliant, and the +passions and movements of his figures are so admirably expressed, that +his works have justly elicited the applause of the world. They are +highly valued, and in consequence of his irregular life, are exceedingly +scarce. Brower also etched a few plates in a very spirited style. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI. + + +The name of this artist was Philip Roos, and he was born at Frankfort in +1655. He early showed a passion for painting, and exhibited such +extraordinary talents that the Landgrave of Hesse took him under his +protection, and sent him to Italy with a pension sufficient for his +support. To facilitate his studies, he established himself at Tivoli +(whence his name), where he kept a kind of menagerie, and on account of +the number and variety of the animals, his house was called _Noah's +Ark_. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI'S WORKS. + + +Rosa da Tivoli's pictures usually represent pastoral subjects, with +herdsmen and cattle, or shepherds with sheep and goats, which he +frequently painted as large as life. He designed everything from nature, +not only his animals, but the sites of his landscapes, ruins, buildings, +rocks, precipices, rivers, etc. His groups are composed with great +judgment and taste, and his landscapes, backgrounds, skies, and +distances are treated in a masterly style. His cattle and animals, in +particular, are designed with wonderful truth and spirit; his coloring +is full of force, his lights and shadows are distributed with judgment +and his touch is remarkably firm and spirited. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI'S FACILITY OF EXECUTION. + + +Rosa da Tivoli acquired a wonderful facility in design and execution, +for which reason he was named _Mercurius_ by the Bentvogel Society. A +remarkable instance of his powers is recorded by C. le Blond, then a +student at Rome. "It happened one day," says he, "that several young +artists and myself were occupied in designing from the bassi-relievi of +the Arch of Titus, when Roos passing by, was particularly struck with +some picturesque object which caught his attention, and he requested one +of the students to accommodate him with a crayon and paper. What was +our surprise, when in half an hour he produced an admirable drawing, +finished with accuracy and spirit." + +It is also related that the Imperial Ambassador, Count Martinez, laid a +wager with a Swedish general that Roos would paint a picture of +three-quarters' size, while they were playing a game at cards; and in +less than half an hour the picture was well finished, though it +consisted of a landscape, a shepherd, and several sheep and goats. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI'S HABITS. + + +Rosa da Tivoli unfortunately fell into extravagant and dissipated +habits, which frequently caused him great inconvenience. From his +facility, he multiplied his pictures to such an extent as greatly to +depreciate their value. It is related that he would sit down, when +pressed for money, dispatch a large picture in a few hours, and send it +directly to be sold at any price. His servant, possessing more +discretion than his master, usually paid him the highest price offered +by the dealers, and kept the pictures himself, till he could dispose of +them to more advantage. + + + + +LUCA CAMBIASO'S FACILITY IN PAINTING. + + +The most remarkable quality of this distinguished Genoese painter was +his rapidity of operation. He began to paint when ten years old, under +the eye of his father, Giovanni Cambiaso, who evinced good taste in +setting him to copy some works by the correct and noble Mantegna. His +progress was so rapid that at the age of seventeen he was entrusted to +decorate some façades and chambers of the Doria palace at Genoa, where +he displayed his rash facility of hand by painting the story of Niobe on +a space of wall fifty palms long and of proportionate height, without +cartoons or any drawing larger than his first hasty sketch on a single +sheet of paper! While he was engaged on this work, there came one +morning some Florentine artists to look at it. Seeing a lad enter soon +after, and commence painting with prodigious fury, they called out to +him to desist; but his mode of handling the brushes and colors, which +they had imagined it was his business merely to clean or pound, soon +convinced them that this daring youngster was no other than Luca +himself; whereupon they crossed themselves, and declared he would one +day eclipse Michael Angelo. + + + + +CAMBIASO'S WORKS IN SPAIN. + + +After attaining a high reputation in Italy, Cambiaso was invited to +Madrid by Philip II. of Spain. He executed there a great number of +works, among which the most important was the vault of the choir of the +Escurial church, where he painted in fresco the "Glory of the Blessed in +Heaven." Instead of allowing the artist to paint from his own +conceptions, the king listened to the counsels of the monks, who +"recommended that the heavenly host should be drawn up in due +theological order." A design "more pious than picturesque" being at last +agreed upon, the painter fell to work with his wonted fury, and so +speedily covered vast spaces with a multitude of figures, that the king, +according to the expressive Italian phrase, "remained stupid," not being +able to believe that the master, with only one assistant, could have +accomplished so much. Philip often visited Cambiaso while at work, and +one day remarking that the head of St. Anne among the blessed was too +youthful, the painter replied by seizing his pencil, and with four +strokes so seamed the face with wrinkles, and so entirely altered its +air, that the royal critic once more "remained stupid," hardly knowing +whether he had judged amiss, or the change had been effected by magic. +By means of thus painting at full speed, frequently without sketches, +and sometimes with both hands at once, Cambiaso clothed the vault with +its immense fresco in about fifteen months. The coloring is still fresh, +and many of the forms are fine and the figures noble; but the +composition cannot be called pleasing. The failure must be mainly +attributed to the unlucky meddling of the friars, who have marshalled + + "The helmed Cherubim, + And sworded Seraphim," + +with exact military precision, ranged the celestial choir in rows like +the fiddlers of a sublunary orchestra, and accommodated the congregation +of the righteous with long benches, like those of a Methodist +meeting-house! However, the king was so well pleased with the work, that +he rewarded Cambiaso with 12,000 ducats. + + + + +CAMBIASO'S ARTISTIC MERITS. + + +In the earlier part of his career, the impetuosity of his genius led him +astray; he usually painted his pictures in oil or fresco without +preparing either drawing or cartoon; and his first style was gigantic +and unnatural. Subsequently, however, he checked this impetuosity, and +it was in the middle of his life that he produced his best works. His +fertility of invention was wonderful; his genius grappled with and +conquered the most arduous difficulties of the art, and he shows his +powers in foreshortening in the most daring variety. He was rapid and +bold in design, yet was selected by Boschini as a model of correctness; +hence his drawings, though numerous, are highly esteemed. His Rape of +the Sabines, in the Palazzo Imperiali at Terralba, near Genoa, has been +highly extolled. It is a large work full of life and motion, passionate +ravishers and reluctant damsels, fine horses and glimpses of noble +architecture, with several episodes heightening the effect of the main +story. Mengs declared he had seen nothing out of Rome that so vividly +reminded him of the chambers of the Vatican. + + + + +RARITY OF FEMALE PORTRAITS IN SPAIN. + + +Very few female portraits are found in the Spanish collections. Their +painters were seldom brought in professional contact with the beauty of +high-born women--the finest touchstone of professional skill--and their +great portrait painters lived in an age of jealous husbands, who cared +not to set off to public admiration the charms of their spouses. +Velasquez came to reside at court about the same time that Madrid was +visited by Sir Kenelm Digby, who had like to have been slain the first +night of his arrival, for merely looking at a lady. Returning with two +friends from supper at Lord Bristol's, the adventurous knight relates in +his Private Memoirs, how they came beneath a balcony where a love-lorn +fair one stood touching her lute, and how they loitered awhile to admire +her beauty, and listen to her "soul-ravishing harmony." Their delightful +contemplations, however, were soon arrested by a sudden attack from +several armed men, who precipitated themselves upon the three Britons. +Their swords were instantly drawn, and a fierce combat ensued; but the +valiant Digby slew the leader of the band, and finally succeeded in +escaping with his companions. + +Of the sixty-two works by Velasquez in the Royal Gallery at Madrid, +there are only four female portraits; and of these, two represent +children, another an ancient matron, and a fourth his own wife! The Duke +of Abuquerque, who at the door of his own palace waylaid and +horsewhipped Philip IV., and his minister Olivarez, feigning ignorance +of their persons, as the monarch came to pay a nocturnal visit to the +Duchess, was not very likely to call in the court painter to take her +Grace's portrait. Ladies lived for the most part in a sort of Oriental +seclusion, amongst duennas, waiting-women, and dwarfs; and going abroad +only to mass, or to take the air in curtained carriages on the Prado. In +such a state of things, the rarity of female portraits in the Spanish +collections was a natural consequence. + + + + +MURILLO'S PICTURES IN SPANISH AMERICA. + + +It is related that this great Spanish painter visited America in early +life, and painted there many works; but the later Spanish historians +have shown that he never quitted his native country; and the +circumstance of his pictures being found in America, is best accounted +for by the following narrative. After acquiring considerable knowledge +of the art under Juan del Castillo at Seville, he determined to travel +for improvement; but how to raise the necessary funds was a matter of +difficulty, for his parents had died leaving little behind them, and his +genius had not yet recommended him to the good offices of any wealthy +or powerful patron. But Murillo was not to be balked of his cherished +desires. Buying a large quantity of canvas, he divided it into squares +of various sizes, which he primed and prepared with his own hands for +the pencil, and then converted into pictures of the more popular saints, +landscapes, and flower-pieces. These he sold to the American traders for +exportation, and thus obtained a sum of money sufficient for his +purpose. + + + + +MURILLO'S "VIRGIN OF THE NAPKIN." + + +The small picture which once adorned the tabernacle of the Capuchin high +altar at Seville, is interesting on account of its legend, as well as +its extraordinary artistic merits. Murillo, whilst employed at the +convent, had formed a friendship with a lay brother, the cook of the +fraternity, who attended to his wants and waited on him with peculiar +assiduity. At the conclusion of his labors, this Capuchin of the kitchen +begged for some trifling memorial of his pencil. The painter was quite +willing to comply, but said that he had exhausted his stock of canvas. +"Never mind," said the ready cook, "take this napkin," offering him that +which he had used at dinner. The good-natured artist accordingly went to +work, and before evening he had converted the piece of coarse linen into +a picture compared to which cloth of gold or the finest tissue of the +East would be accounted worthless. The Virgin has a face in which +thought is happily blended with maidenly innocence; and the divine +infant, with his deep earnest eyes, leans forward in her arms, +struggling as it were almost out of the frame, as if to welcome the +carpenter Joseph home from his daily toil. The picture is colored with a +brilliancy which Murillo never excelled, glowing with a golden light, as +if the sun were always shining on the canvas. This admirable work is now +in the Museum of Seville. + + + + +ANECDOTE OF AN ALTAR-PIECE BY MURILLO. + + +One of Murillo's pictures, in the possession of a society of friars in +Flanders, was bought by an Englishman for a considerable sum, and the +purchaser affixed his signature and seal to the back of the canvas, at +the desire of the venders. In due time it followed him to England, and +became the pride of his collection. Several years afterwards, however, +while passing through Belgium, the purchaser turned aside to visit his +friends the monks, when he was greatly surprised to find the beautiful +work which he had supposed was in his own possession, smiling in all its +original brightness on the very same wall where he had been first +smitten by its charms! The truth was, that the monks always kept under +the canvas an excellent copy, which they sold in the manner above +related, as often as they could find a purchaser. + + + + +MURILLO AND HIS SLAVE GOMEZ. + + +Sebastian Gomez, the mulatto slave of Murillo, is said to have become +enamored of art while performing the menial offices of his master's +studio. Like Erigonus, the color grinder of Nealces, or like Pareja, the +mulatto of Velasquez, he devoted his leisure to the secret study of the +principles of drawing, and in time acquired a skill with the brush +rivalled by few of the regular scholars of Murillo. There is a tradition +at Seville, that he took the opportunity one day, when the painting room +was empty, of giving the first proof of his abilities, by finishing the +head of a Virgin, that stood ready sketched on his master's easel. +Pleased with the beauty of this unexpected interpolation, Murillo, when +he discovered the author of it, immediately promoted Gomez to the use of +those colors which it had hitherto been his task to grind. "I am indeed +fortunate, Sebastian," said the good-natured artist, "for I have not +only created pictures, but a painter." + + + + +AN ARTIST'S LOVE ROMANCE. + + +Francisco Vieira, an eminent Portuguese painter, was still a child when +he became enamored of Doña Ignez Elena de Lima, the daughter of noble +parents, who lived on friendly terms with his own and permitted the +intercourse of their children. The thread of their loves was broken for +a while by the departure of the young wooer to Rome, in the suite of the +Marquis of Abrantes. There he applied himself diligently to the study of +painting, under Trevisani, and carried off the first prize in the +Academy of St. Luke. On returning to Portugal, although only in his 16th +year, he was immediately appointed by King John V. to paint a large +picture of the Mystery of the Eucharist, to be used at the approaching +feast of Corpus Christi; and he also painted the king's portrait. + +An absence of seven years had not affected Vieira's constancy, and he +took the first opportunity of flying once more to Ignez. He was kindly +received by the Lima family, at their villa on the beautiful shores of +the Tagus, and was permitted to reside there for a while, painting the +scenery, and wooing his not unwilling mistress. When the maiden's heart +was fairly won, the parents at length interfered, and the lovers found +the old adage verified, that "the course of true love never did run +smooth." Vieira was ignominiously turned out of doors, and the fair +Ignez was shut up in the convent of St. Anna, and compelled to take the +veil. + +The afflicted lover immediately laid his cause before the king, but +received an unfavorable answer. Nothing daunted, he then went to Rome, +and succeeded in obtaining from the Pope a commission to the Patriarch +of Lisbon, empowering him to inquire into the facts of the case; and +that prelate's report being favorable, the lover was made happy with a +bull annulling the religious vows of the nun, and authorizing their +marriage. It is uncertain how long this affair remained undecided; but a +Portuguese Jesuit having warned Vieira that at home he ran the risk of +being punished by confiscation of his property, for obtaining a bull +without the consent of the civil power, he prolonged his residence at +Rome to six years, that the affair might have time to be forgotten at +Lisbon. During this period he continued to exercise his pencil with so +much success that he was elected a member of the Academy of St. Luke. + +After such a probation, the energy and perseverance of the lover is +almost unparalleled. He finally ventured to return to his native Tagus, +and accomplished the object of his life. Disguising himself as a +bricklayer, he skulked about the convent where Ignez lay immured, +mingling with the workmen employed there, till he found means to open a +communication with her and concert a plan of escape. He then furnished +her with male attire, and at last successfully carried her off on +horseback (though not without a severe wound from the brother of his +bride), to another bishopric, where they were married in virtue of the +Pope's bull. After residing for some time in Spain and Italy, however, +Vieira was commanded to return to Portugal, and appointed painter to the +king. Being the best artist in that kingdom, his talents soon +obliterated the remembrance of his somewhat irregular marriage, and +during forty years he painted with great reputation and success for the +royal palaces at Nafra and elsewhere, for the convents, and the +collections of the nobility. It will doubtless be pleasing to the fair +readers of these anecdotes, that all this long course of outward +prosperity was sweetened by the affection of his constant wife. + + + + +ESTEBAN MARCH'S STRANGE METHOD OF STUDY. + + +Estéban March, a distinguished Spanish painter of the 17th century, was +eccentric in character and violent in temperament. Battles being his +favorite subjects, his studio was hung round with pikes, cutlasses, +javelins, and other implements of war, which he used in a very peculiar +and boisterous manner. As the mild and saintly Joanes was wont to +prepare himself for his daily task by prayer and fasting, so his riotous +countryman used to excite his imagination to the proper creative pitch +by beating a drum, or blowing a trumpet, and then valiantly assaulting +the walls of his chamber with sword and buckler, laying about him, like +another Don Quixote, with a blind energy that told severely on the +plaster and furniture, and drove his terrified scholars or assistants to +seek safety in flight. Having thus lashed himself into sufficient +frenzy, he performed miracles, according to Palomino, in the field of +battle-pieces, throwing off many bold and spirited pictures of Pharaoh +and his host struggling in the angry waters, or mailed Christians +quelling the turbaned armies of the Crescent. Few will withhold from him +the praise of Bermudez, for brilliancy of coloring, and for the skill +with which the dust, smoke, and dense atmosphere of the combat are +depicted. + + + + +MARCH'S ADVENTURE OF THE FISH FRIED IN LINSEED OIL. + + +Palomino says that March had gone out one day, leaving neither meat nor +money in the house, and was absent till past midnight, when he returned +with a few fish, which he insisted on having instantly dressed for +supper. His wife said there was no oil; and Juan Conchillos, one of his +pupils, being ordered to get some, objected that all the shops were shut +up. "Then take linseed oil," cried the impetuous March, "for, _por +Dios_, I will have these fish presently fried." The mess was therefore +served with this unwonted sauce, but was no sooner tasted than it began +to act as a vigorous emetic upon the whole party, "for indeed," gravely +writes Palomino, "linseed oil, at all times of a villainous flavor, when +hot is the very devil." Without more ado, the master of the feast threw +fish and frying-pan out of the window; and Conchillos, knowing his +humor, flung the earthen chafing-dish and charcoal after them. March was +delighted with this sally, and embracing the youth, he lifted him from +the floor, putting him in bodily fear, as he after wards told Palomino, +that he was about to follow the coal and viands into the street. As for +the poor weary wife, she thought of her crockery, and remarking in a +matter of-fact way, "What shall we have for supper now?" went to bed; +whither her husband, pleased with the frolic of spoiling his meal and +breaking the dishes, seems to have followed her in a more complacent +mood than common. + + + + +A PAINTER'S REBUKE. + + +José Antonilez, a Spanish painter, studied under Francisco Rizi at +Madrid. When the latter was occupied in preparing some new scenery for +the theatre at Buon Retiro, Antonilez spoke of him as a painter of +foot-cloths--an expression which was soon communicated to his master. +Rizi immediately administered a wholesome practical rebuke, by +commanding the attendance of Antinolez on his Majesty's service, and +ordering him to execute a piece of painting in distemper. The unlucky +wag, being quite ignorant of the mode of performing the work, and too +proud to confess it, worked for a whole day, at the end of which he had +merely spoiled a large piece of canvas. "So, sir," said Rizi, quietly, +"you see painting foot-cloths is not so easy after all;" and turning to +his servant, added, "here, boy, take this canvas and carry it to the +cistern to be washed." + + + + +A PAINTER'S RETORT COURTEOUS. + + +Jean Ranc, an eminent French portrait painter, was sometimes annoyed by +impertinent and vexatious criticism. Having exhausted all his talent +upon a particular portrait, the friends of the sitter refused to be +pleased, although the sitter himself appears to have been well +satisfied. In concert with the latter, Ranc concerted a plan for a +practical retort. After privately painting a copy of the picture, he cut +the head out of the canvas, and placed it in such a position that the +original could supply the opening with his own veritable face, +undetected. After all was ready, the cavilers were invited to view the +performance, but they were no better pleased. Falling completely into +the snare, the would-be critics were going on to condemn the likeness, +when the relaxing features and hearty laughter of the supposed portrait, +speedily and sufficiently avenged the painter of their fastidiousness. + + + + +ARDEMANS AND BOCANEGRA--A TRIAL OF SKILL. + + +These Spanish painters contended in 1689 for the office of Master of the +Works in the Cathedral of Granada. Bocanegra was excessively vain and +overbearing, and boasted his superiority to all the artists of his time; +but Ardemans, though a stranger in Granada, was not to be daunted, and a +trial of skill, "a duel with pencils," was accordingly arranged between +them, which was, that each should paint the other's portrait. Ardemans, +who was then hardly twenty-five years of age, first entered the lists, +and without drawing any outline on the canvas, produced an excellent +likeness of his adversary in less than an hour. Bocanegra, quite daunted +by this feat, and discouraged by the applause accorded to his rival by +the numerous spectators, put off his own exhibition till another day, +and in the end utterly failed in his attempt to transfer the features of +his rival to canvas. His defeat, and the jeers of his former admirers, +so overwhelmed him with mortification, that he died shortly after. + + + + +A PAINTER'S ARTIFICE TO "KEEP UP APPEARANCES." + + +The Spanish painter Antonio Pereda married Doña Maria de Bustamente, a +woman of some rank, and greater pretension, who would associate only +with people of high fashion, and insisted on having a duenna in constant +waiting in her antechamber, like a lady of quality. Pereda was not rich +enough to maintain such an attendant; he therefore compromised matters +by painting on a screen an old lady sitting at her needle, with +spectacles on her nose, and so truthfully executed that visitors were +wont to salute her as they passed, taking her for a real duenna, too +deaf or too discreet to notice their entrance! + + + + +A GOOD-NATURED CRITICISM. + + +Bartolomeo Carducci, who was employed in the service of the Spanish +court for many years, was expressing one day his admiration of a newly +finished picture by a brother artist, when one of his own scholars drew +his attention to a badly executed foot. "I did not observe it," replied +he, "it is so concealed by the difficult excellence of this bosom and +these hands"--a piece of kindly criticism that deserves to be recorded. + + + + +ALONSO CANO AND THE INTENDANT OF THE BISHOP OF MALAGA. + + +The Bishop of Malaga, being engaged in improving his Cathedral church, +invited Cano to that city, for the purpose of designing a new tabernacle +for the high altar, and new stalls for the choir. He had finished his +plans, very much to the prelate's satisfaction, when he was privately +informed that the Intendant of the works proposed to allow him but a +very trifling remuneration. "These drawings," said Cano, "are either to +be given away, or to fetch 2,000 ducats;" and packing them up, he +mounted his mule, and took the road to Granada. The niggardly Intendant, +learning the cause of his departure, became alarmed, and sent a +messenger after him post-haste, offering him his own price for the +plans! + + + + +CANO'S LOVE OF SCULPTURE. + + +Skillful as Cano was with the pencil, he loved the chisel above all his +other artistic implements. He was so fond of sculpture that, when +wearied with painting, he would take his tools, and block out a piece of +carving. A disciple one day remarking that to lay down a pencil and take +up a mallet, was a strange method of repose, he replied, "Blockhead! +don't you see that to create form and relief on a flat surface, is a +greater labor than to fashion one shape into another?" + + + + +CASTILLO'S SARCASM ON ALFARO. + + +Juan de Alfaro first studied under Antonio del Castillo at Seville, and +subsequently in the school of Velasquez at Madrid. After his return to +Seville, he was wont to plume himself upon the knowledge of art which he +had acquired in the school of that great painter; and he also signed all +his pictures in a conspicuous manner, "_Alfaro, pinxit_." This was too +much for Castillo, and he accordingly inscribed his Baptism of St. +Francis, executed for the Capuchin convent, where his juvenile rival was +likewise employed, "_Non pinxit Alfaro_." Years after, Palomino became +sufficiently intimate with Alfaro, to ask him what he thought of +Castillo's sarcastic inscription. "I think," replied the unabashed +object of the jest, "that it was a great honor for me, who was then a +beardless boy, to be treated as a rival by so able an artist." + + + + +TORRES' IMITATIONS OF CARAVAGGIO. + + +Matias de Torres, a Spanish painter, affected the style of Caravaggio. +His compositions were half veiled in thick impenetrable shadows, which +concealed the design, and sometimes left the subject a mystery. +Francisco de Solis was standing before one of them, in the church of +Victory at Madrid, representing a scene from the life of St. Diego, and +was asked to explain the subject depicted. "It represents," said the +witty painter, "_San Brazo_," St. Arm, nothing being distinguished but +the arm of a mendicant in the background. + + + + +PANTOJA AND THE EAGLE. + + +Palomino relates that a superb eagle, of the bearded kind, having been +captured in the royal chase, near the Prado, the king (Philip III.) gave +orders to Pantoja to paint its likeness, which he did with such +truthfulness that the royal bird, on seeing it, mistook it for a real +eagle, and attacked the picture with such impetuosity that he tore it in +pieces with his beak and talons before they could secure him. The +indignant bird was then tied more carefully, and the portrait painted +over again. + + + + +THE PAINTER METHODIUS AND THE KING OF BULGARIA. + + +Pacheco relates a remarkable effect produced by a picture from the +pencil of Methodius, who resided at Constantinople about 854. He was +invited to Nicopolis by Bogoris, king of the Bulgarians, to decorate a +banqueting-hall in his palace. That prince left the choice of his +subject to the artist, limiting him to those of a tragic or terrible +character. The sister of Bogoris, during a long captivity at +Constantinople, had become a convert to the Greek church, and greatly +desired that her brother should renounce paganism; therefore it was +probably at her instance, in this case, that Methodius painted the Last +Judgment. He succeeded in depicting the glories of the blessed and the +pains of the damned in such a fearful manner, that the heathen king was +induced in his terror to send for a Bishop, and signify his willingness +to unite with the Greek church; and the whole Bulgarian nation soon +followed his example. + + + + +JOHN C. VERMEYEN AND CHARLES V. + + +This Dutch painter was invited to Spain by Charles V., and accompanied +that monarch on his expedition to Tunis, of which he preserved some +scenes that were afterwards transferred to Brussels tapestries. He +followed the court for many years, and exercised his art with honor and +profit, in portrait, landscape, and sacred subjects. The palace of the +Prado was adorned with a number of his works, particularly eight +pictures representing the Imperial progresses in Germany, and Views of +Madrid, Valladolid, Naples, and London; all of which perished in the +fire of 1608. Vermeyen was an especial favorite of Charles V., who +ordered his bust to be executed in marble, "for the sake of the gravity +and nobleness of his countenance." He was very remarkable for his long +beard, which gained him the surname of _El Barbudo_ or _Barbalonga_. In +fact, so very lengthy was this beard, that Descamps says the Emperor in +his playful moods used to amuse himself by treading on it, as it trailed +on the ground! + + + + +BLAS DE PRADO AND THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO. + + +In 1593 the Emperor of Morocco applied to Philip II. for the loan of a +painter, to which the latter made answer that they had in Spain two +sorts of painters--the ordinary and the excellent--and desired to know +which his infidel brother preferred. "Kings should always have the +best," replied the Moor; and so Philip sent him Blas de Prado to Fez. +There he painted various works for the palace, and a portrait of the +monarch's daughter, to the great satisfaction of her father. After +keeping the artist several years in his service, the emperor finally +sent him away, with many rich gifts; and he returned to Castile with +considerable wealth. The Academy of San Ferdinando possesses a fine work +by him, representing the Virgin and Infant seated in the clouds. + + + + +DON JUAN CARRENO + + +This Spanish painter was a favorite with King Charles II. He was +painting his Majesty's portrait one day in the presence of the Queen +mother, when the royal sitter asked him to which of the knightly orders +he belonged. "To none," replied the artist, "but the order of your +Majesty's servants." "Why is this?" said Charles. The Admiral of +Castile, who was standing by, replied that he should have a cross +immediately; and on leaving the royal presence, he sent Carreño a rich +badge of Santiago, assuring him that what the king had said entitled him +to wear it. Palomino says, however, that the artist's modesty prevented +him from accepting the proffered honor. His royal master continued to +treat him with unabated regard, and would allow no artist to paint him +without Carreño's permission. + + + + +CARRENO'S COPY OF TITIAN'S ST. MARGARET. + + +Palomino was one day in company with Carreño at the house of Don Pedro +de Arce, when a discussion arose about the merits of a certain copy of +Titian's St. Margaret, which hung in the room After all present had +voted it execrable, Carreño quietly remarked, "It at least has the merit +of showing that no man need despair of improving in art, for I painted +it myself when I was a beginner." + + + + +CARRENO'S ABSTRACTION OF MIND. + + +Being at his easel one morning with two friends, one of them, for a +jest, drank the cup of chocolate which stood untasted by his side. The +maid-servant removing the cup, Carreño remonstrated, saying that he had +not breakfasted, and on being shown that the contents were gone, +appealed to the visitors. Being gravely assured by them that he had +actually emptied the cup with his own lips, he replied, like Newton, +"Well really, I was so busy that I had entirely forgotten it." + + + + +ANECDOTE OF CESPEDES' LAST SUPPER. + + +The Cathedral of Cordova still possesses his famous Supper, but in so +faded and ruinous a condition that it is impossible to judge fairly of +its merits. Palomino extols the dignity and beauty of the Saviour's +head, and the masterly discrimination of character displayed in those of +the apostles. Of the jars and vases standing in the foreground, it is +related that while the picture was on the easel, these accessories +attracted, by their exquisite finish, the attention of some visitors, to +the exclusion of the higher parts of the composition, to the great +disgust of the artist. "Andres!" cried he, somewhat testily, to his +servant, "rub out these things, since after all my care and study, and +amongst so many heads, figures, hands, and expressions, people choose to +see nothing but these impertinences;" and much persuasion and entreaty +were needed to save the devoted pipkins from destruction. + + + + +ZUCCARO'S COMPLIMENT TO CESPEDES. + + +The reputation which the Spanish painter Cespedes enjoyed among his +cotemporaries, is proved by an anecdote of Federigo Zuccaro. On being +requested to paint a picture of St. Margaret for the Cathedral of +Cordova, he for some time refused to comply, asking, "Where is Cespedes, +that you send to Italy for pictures?" + + + + +DONA BARBARA MARIA DE HUEVA. + + +Doña Barbara Maria de Hueva was born at Madrid in 1733. Before she had +reached her twentieth year, according to Bermudez, she had acquired so +much skill in painting, that at the first meeting of the Academy of St. +Ferdinand in 1752, on the exhibition of some of her sketches, she was +immediately elected an honorary academician, and received the first +diploma issued under the royal charter. "This proud distinction," said +the president, "is conferred in the hope that the fair artist may be +encouraged to rival the fame of those ladies already illustrious in +art." How far this hope was realized, Bermudez has omitted to inform us. + + + + +THE MIRACULOUS PICTURE OF THE VIRGIN. + + +The eminent American sculptor Greenough, who has recently (1853) +departed this life, wrote several years ago a very interesting account +of a wonderful picture at Florence, from which the following is +extracted: + +"When you enter the church of Santissima Annunziata, at Florence, your +attention is drawn at once to a sort of miniature temple on the left +hand. It is of white marble; but the glare and flash of crimson hangings +and silver lamps scarcely allow your eye the quiet necessary to +appreciate either form or material. A picture hangs there. It is the +_Miraculous Annunciation_. The artist who was employed to paint it, had +finished all except the head of the Virgin Mary, and fell asleep before +the easel while the work was in that condition. On awakening, he beheld +the picture finished; and the short time which had elapsed, and his own +position relative to the canvas, made it clear (so says the tradition) +that a divine hand had completed a task which, to say the least, a +mortal could only attempt with despair. + +"Less than this has made many pictures in Italy the objects of +attentions which our Puritan fathers condemned as idolatrous. The +miraculous 'Annunziata' became, accordingly, the divinity of a splendid +shrine. The fame of her interposition spread far and wide, and her +tabernacle was filled with the costly offerings of the devout, the showy +tributes of the zealous. The prince gave of his abundance, nor was the +widow's mite refused; and to this day the reputation of this shrine +stands untouched among all papal devotees. + +"The Santissima Annunziata is always veiled, unless her interposition is +urgently demanded by the apprehension of famine, plague, cholera, or +some other public calamity. During my own residence at Florence, I have +never known the miraculous picture to be uncovered during a drought, +without the desired result immediately following. In cases of long +continued rains, its intervention has been equally happy. I have heard +several persons, rather inclined to skepticism as to the miraculous +qualities of the picture, hint that the _barometer_ was consulted on +these occasions; else, say they, why was not the picture uncovered +before the mischief had gone so far? What an idea is suggested by the +bare hint! + +"I stood on the pavement of the church, with an old man who had himself +been educated as a priest. He had a talent for drawing, and became a +painter. As a practical painter, he was mediocre; but he was learned in +everything relating to art. He gradually sank from history to portrait, +from portrait to miniature, from miniature to restoration; and had the +grim satisfaction, in his old age, of mending what in his best days he +never could make--good pictures. When I knew him, he was one of the +conservators of the Royal Gallery. He led me before the shrine, and +whispered, with much veneration, the story I have related of its origin. +When I had gazed long at the picture, I turned to speak to him, but he +had left the church. As I walked through the vestibule, however, I saw +him standing near one of the pillars that adorn the façade. He was +evidently waiting for me. Me-thinks I see him now, with his face of +seventy and his dress of twenty-five, his bright black wig, his velvet +waistcoat, and glittering gold chain--his snuff-box in his hand, and a +latent twinkle in his black eyes. 'What is really remarkable in that +miraculous picture,' said he, taking me by the button, and forcing me to +bend till his mouth and my ear were exactly on a line--'What is really +remarkable about it is, that the angel who painted that Virgin, so +completely adopted the style of that epoch! Same angular, incorrect +outline! Same opaque shadows! eh? eh?' He took a pinch, and wishing me a +good appetite, turned up the Via S. Sebastiano." + + + + +THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER. + + +"La Festra di Cattreda, or commemoration of the placing of the chair of +St. Peter, on the 18th of January, is one of the most striking +ceremonies, at Rome, which follow Christmas and precede the holy week. +At the extremity of the great nave of St. Peter's, behind the high +altar, and mounted upon a tribune designed or ornamented by Michael +Angelo, stands a sort of throne, composed of precious materials, and +supported by four gigantic figures. A glory of seraphim, with groups of +angels, shed a brilliant light upon its splendors. This throne enshrines +the real, plain, worm-eaten wooden chair, on which St. Peter, the prince +of the apostles, is said to have pontificated; more precious than all +the bronze, gold, and gems with which it is hidden, not only from +impious, but holy eyes, and which once only, in the flight of ages, was +profaned by mortal inspection. + +"The sacrilegious curiosity of the French, however, broke through all +obstacles to their seeing the chair of St. Peter. They actually removed +its superb casket, and discovered the relic. Upon its mouldering and +dusty surface were traced carvings, which bore the appearance of +letters. The chair was quickly brought into a better light, the dust and +cobwebs removed, and the inscription (for an inscription it was), +faithfully copied. The writing is in Arabic characters, and is the well +known confession of Mahometan faith--'There is but one God, and Mahomet +is his prophet.' It is supposed that this chair had been, among the +spoils of the Crusaders, offered to the church at a time when a taste +for antiquarian lore, and the deciphering of inscriptions, were not yet +in fashion. The story has been since hushed up, the chair replaced, and +none but the unhallowed remember the fact, and none but the audacious +repeat it. Yet such there are, even at Rome!"--_Ireland's Anecdotes of +Napoleon._ + + + + +THE SAGRO CATINO, OR EMERALD DISH. + + +"The church of St. Lorenzo, at Genoa, is celebrated for containing a +most sacred relic, the 'Sagro Catino,' a dish of one entire and perfect +_emerald_, said to be that on which our Saviour ate his last supper. +Such a dish in the house of a Jewish publican was a miracle in itself. +Mr. Eustace says, he looked for this dish, but found that the French, +'whose delight is brutal violence, as it is that of the lion or the +tiger,' had carried it away. And so indeed they did. But that was +nothing. The carrying off relics--the robbing of Peter to pay Paul, and +spoliating one church to enrich another--was an old trick of legitimate +conquerors in all ages; for this very '_dish_' had been carried away by +the royal crusaders, when they took _Cesarea_ in Palestine, under +_Guillaume Embriaco_, in the twelfth century. In the division of spoils, +this emerald fell to the share of the _Genoese Crusaders_, into whose +holy vocation some of their old trading propensities evidently entered; +and they deemed the vulgar value, the profane price, of this treasure, +so high, that on an emergency, they pledged it for nine thousand five +hundred livres. Redeemed and replaced, it was guarded by the _knights of +honor_ called _Clavigeri_; and only escaped once a year! Millions knelt +before it, and the penalty on the bold but zealous hand that touched it +with a diamond, was a thousand golden ducats." + +The French seized this relic, as the crusaders had done in the twelfth +century; but instead of conveying it from the church of San Lorenzo to +the abbey of St. Denis (_selon les règles_), they most sacrilegiously +sent it to a _laboratory_. Instead of submitting it, with a traditional +story, to a _council of Trent_, they handed it over to the _institute of +Paris_; and chemists, geologists, and philosophers, were called on to +decide the fate of that relic which bishops, priests and deacons had +pronounced to be too sacred for human investigation, or even for human +touch. _The result of the scientific investigation was, that the emerald +dish was a piece of green glass!_ + +When England made the King of Sardinia a present of the dukedom of one +of the oldest republics in Europe, and restitutions were making "_de +part et d'autre_;" _Victor Emmanuel_ insisted upon having his emerald +dish; not for the purpose of putting it in a cabinet of curiosities, as +they had done at Paris, to serve as a curious monument of the remote +epoch in which the art of making colored glass was known--(of its great +antiquity there is no doubt)--but of restoring it to its shrine at San +Lorenzo--to its guard of knights servitors--to the homage, offerings, +and bigotry of the people! with a republished assurance that this is the +invaluable _emerald dish_, the '_Sagro Catino_,' which _Queen Sheba_ +offered, with other gems, to King Solomon (who deposited it, where all +gems should be, in his church), and which afterwards was reserved for a +higher destiny than even that assigned to it in the gorgeous temple of +Jerusalem. The story of the analysis by the institute of Paris is hushed +up, and those who would revive it would be branded with the odium of +blasphemy and sedition; none now remember such things, but those who are +the determined enemies of social order, or as the Genoese Royal Journal +would call them, '_the radicals of the age_.'--_Italy, by Lady +Morning_. + + + + +"THE PAINTER OF FLORENCE." + + +There is an old painting in the church of the Holy Virgin at Florence, +representing the Virgin with the infant Jesus in her arms, trampling the +dragon under her feet, about which is the following curious legend, thus +humorously described by Southey, in the Annals of the Fine Arts: + + There once was a Painter in Catholic days, + Like Job who eschewed all evil, + Still on his Madonnas the curious may gaze + With applause and amazement; but chiefly his praise + And delight was in painting the devil. + + They were angels compared to the devils he drew, + Who besieged poor St. Anthony's cell, + Such burning hot eyes, such a _d----mnable_ hue, + You could even smell brimstone, their breath was so blue + He painted his devils so well. + + And now had the artist a picture begun, + 'Twas over the Virgin's church door; + She stood on the dragon embracing her son, + Many devils already the artist had done, + But this must outdo all before. + + The old dragon's imps as they fled through the air, + At seeing it paused on the wing, + For he had a likeness so just to a hair, + That they came as Apollyon himself had been there, + To pay their respects to their king. + + Every child on beholding it, shivered with dread, + And screamed, as he turned away quick; + Not an old woman saw it, but raising her head, + Dropp'd a bead, made a cross on her wrinkles, and said, + "God help me from ugly old Nick!" + + What the Painter so earnestly thought on by day, + He sometimes would dream of by night; + But once he was started as sleeping he lay, + 'Twas no fancy, no dream--he could plainly survey + That the devil himself was in sight. + + "You rascally dauber," old Beelzebub cries, + "Take heed how you wrong me, again! + Though your caricatures for myself I despise, + Make me handsomer now in the multitude's eyes, + Or see if I threaten in vain." + + Now the painter was bold and religious beside, + And on faith he had certain reliance, + So earnestly he all his countenance eyed, + And thanked him for sitting with Catholic pride, + And sturdily bid him defiance. + + Betimes in the morning, the Painter arose, + He is ready as soon as 'tis light; + Every look, every line, every feature he knows, + 'Twas fresh to his eye, to his labor he goes, + And he has the wicked old one quite. + + Happy man, he is sure the resemblance can't fail, + The tip of his nose is red hot, + There's his grin and his fangs, his skin cover'd with scales + And that--the identical curl of the tail, + Not a mark--not a claw is forgot. + + He looks and retouches again with delight; + 'Tis a portrait complete to his mind! + He touches again, and again feeds his sight, + He looks around for applause, and he sees with affright, + The original standing behind. + + "Fool! idiot!" old Beelzebub grinned as he spoke, + And stamp'd on the scaffold in ire; + The painter grew pale, for he knew it no joke, + 'Twas a terrible height, and the scaffolding broke; + And the devil could wish it no higher. + + "Help! help me, O Mary," he cried in alarm, + As the scaffold sank under his feet, + From the canvas the Virgin extended her arm, + She caught the good painter, she saved him from harm, + There were thousands who saw in the street. + + The old dragon fled when the wonder he spied, + And curs'd his own fruitless endeavor: + While the Painter called after, his rage to deride, + Shook his palette and brushes in triumph, and cried, + "Now I'll paint thee more ugly than ever!" + + + + +LEGEND OF THE PAINTER-FRIAR, THE DEVIL AND THE VIRGIN. + + +Don José de Valdivielso, one of the chaplains of the gay Cardinal Infant +Ferdinand of Austria, relates the following legend in his paper on the +Tax on Pictures, appended to Carducho's Dialogos de la Pintura. A +certain young friar was famous amongst his order, for his skill in +painting; and he took peculiar delight in drawing the Virgin and the +Devil. To heighten the divine beauty of the one, and to devise new and +extravagant forms of ugliness for the other, were the chief recreations +for his leisure hours. Vexed at last by the variety and vigor of his +sketches, Beelzebub, to be revenged, assumed the form of a lovely +maiden, and crossed under this guise the path of the friar, who being of +an amorous disposition, fell at once into the trap. The seeming damsel +smiled on her shaven wooer, but though nothing loth to be won, would not +surrender her charms at a less price than certain reliquaries and jewels +in the convent treasury--a price which the friar in an evil hour +consented to pay. He admitted her at midnight within the convent walls, +and leading her to the sacristy, took from its antique cabinet the +things for which she had asked. Then came the moment of vengeance. +Passing in their return through the moonlit cloister as the friar stole +along, embracing the booty with one arm, and his false Duessa with the +other, the demon-lady suddenly cried out "Thieves!" with diabolical +energy, and instantly vanished. The snoring monks rushed disordered from +their cells and detected their unlucky brother making off with their +plate. Excuse being impossible, they tied the culprit to a column, and +leaving him till matins, when his punishment was to be determined, went +back to their slumbers. When all was quiet, the Devil reappeared, but +this time in his most hideous shape. Half dead with cold and terror, the +discomfited caricaturist stood shivering at his column, while his +tormentor made unmercifully merry with him; twitting him with his +amorous overtures, mocking his stammered prayers, and irreverently +suggesting an appeal for aid to the beauty he so loved to delineate. The +penitent wretch at last took the advice thus jeeringly given--when lo! +the Virgin descended, radiant in heavenly loveliness, loosened his +cords, and bade him bind the Evil One to the column in his place--an +order which he obeyed through her strength, with no less alacrity than +astonishment. She further ordered him to appear among the other monks at +table, and charged herself with the task of restoring the stolen plate +to its place. Thus the tables were suddenly turned. The friar presented +himself among his brethren in the morning, to their no small +astonishment, and voted with much contrition for his own condemnation--a +sentence which was reversed when they came to examine the contents of +the sacristy, and found everything correct. As to the Devil, who +remained fast bound to the pillar, he was soundly flogged, and so fell +into the pit which he had digged for another. His dupe, on the other +hand, gathered new strength from his fall, and became not only a wiser +and a better man, but also an abler artist; for the experience of that +terrible night had supplied all that was wanting to complete the ideal +of his favorite subjects. Thenceforth, he followed no more after +enticing damsels, but remained in his cloister, painting the Madonna +more serenely beautiful, and the Arch Enemy more curiously appalling +than ever. + + + + +GERARD DOUW. + + +This extraordinary artist was born at Leyden, in 1613. He was the son of +a glazier, and early exhibited a passion for the fine arts, which his +father encouraged. He received his first instruction in drawing from +Dolendo, the engraver. He was afterwards placed with Peter Kowenhoorn, +to learn the trade of a glass-stainer or painter; but disliking this +business, he became the pupil of Rembrandt when only fifteen years of +age, in whose school be continued three years. From Rembrandt he learned +the true principles of coloring, to which he added a delicacy of +pencilling, and a patience in working up his pictures to the highest +degree of neatness and finish, superior to any other master. He was more +pleased with the earlier and more finished works of Rembrandt, than with +his later productions, executed with more boldness and freedom of +pencilling; he therefore conceived the project of combining the rich and +glowing colors of that master with the polish and suavity of extreme +finishing, and he adopted the method of uniting the powerful tunes and +the magical light and shadow of his instructor with a minuteness and +precision of pencilling that so nearly approached nature as to become +perfect illusion. But though his manner appears so totally different +from that of Rembrandt, yet it was to him he owed that excellence of +coloring which enabled him to triumph over all the artists of his time. +His pictures are usually of small size, with figures so exquisitely +touched, and with a coloring so harmonious, transparent, and delicate, +as to excite the astonishment and admiration of the beholder. Although +his pictures are wrought up beyond the works of any other artist, there +is still discoverable a spirited and characteristic touch that evinces +the hand of a consummate master, and a breadth of light and shadow which +is only to be found in the works of the greatest masters of the art of +chiaro-scuro. The fame acquired by Douw is a crowning proof that +excellence is not confined to any particular style or manner, and had +he attempted to arrive at distinction by a bolder and less finished +pencil, it is highly probable that his fame would not have been so +great. It has been truly said that there are no positive rules by which +genius must be bounded to arrive at excellence. Every intermediate +style, from the grand and daring handling of Michael Angelo to the +laborious and patient finishing of Douw, may conduct the painter to +distinction, provided he adapts his manner to the character of the +subjects he treats. + + + + +DOUW'S STYLE. + + +Douw designed everything from nature, and with such exactness that each +object appears as perfect as nature herself. He was incontestibly the +most wonderful in his finishing of all the Flemish masters, although the +number of artists of that school who have excelled in this particular +style are quite large. The pictures he first painted were portraits, and +he wrought by the aid of a concave mirror, and sometimes by looking at +the object through a frame of many squares of small silk thread. He +spent so much time in these works that, notwithstanding they were +extremely admired, his sitters became disgusted, and he was obliged to +abandon portrait painting entirely, and devote his attention to fancy +subjects, in the execution of which he could devote as much time as he +pleased. This will not appear surprising, when Sandrart informs us that, +on one occasion, in company with Peter de Laer, he visited Douw, and +found him at work on a picture, which they could not forbear admiring +for its extraordinary neatness, and on taking particular notice of a +broom, and expressing their surprise that he could devote so much time +in finishing so minute an object, Douw informed them that he should work +on it three days more before he should think it complete. The same +author also says that in a family picture of Mrs. Spiering, that lady +sat five days for the finishing of one of her hands, supporting it on +the arm of a chair. + + + + +DOUW'S METHOD OF PAINTING. + + +His mind was naturally turned to precision and exactness, and it is +evident that he would have shown this quality in any other profession, +had he practiced another. Methodical and regular in all his habits, he +prepared and ground his own colors, and made his own brushes of a +peculiar shape, and he kept them locked up in a case made for the +purpose, that they might be free from soil. He permitted no one to enter +his studio, save a very few friends, and when he entered himself, he +went as softly as he could tread, so as not to raise the dust, and after +taking his seat, waited some time till the air was settled before he +opened his box and went to work; scarcely a breath of air was allowed to +ventilate his painting-room. + + + + +DOUW'S WORKS. + + +Everything that came from his pencil was precious, even in his +life-time. Houbraken says that his great patron, Mr. Spiering the +banker, allowed him one thousand guilders a year, and paid besides +whatever sum he pleased to ask for his pictures, some of which he +purchased for their weight in silver; but Sandrart informs us, with more +probability, that the thousand guilders were paid to Douw by Spiering on +condition that the artist should give him the choice of all the pictures +he painted. The following description of one of Gerhard's most capital +pictures, for a long time in the possession of the family of Van Hoek, +at Amsterdam, will serve to give a good idea of his method of treating +his subjects. The picture is much larger than his usual size, being +three feet long by two feet six inches wide, inside the frame. The room +is divided into two apartments by a curtain of curiously wrought +tapestry. In one apartment sits a woman giving suck to her child; at her +side is a cradle, and a table covered with tapestry, on which is placed +a gilt lamp which lights the room. In the second apartment is a surgeon +performing an operation upon a countryman, and by his side stands a +woman holding some utensils. The folding doors on one side shows a +study, and a man making a pen by candle light; and on the other, a +school, with boys writing, and sitting at different tables. The whole +is lighted in an agreeable and surprising manner; every object is +expressed with beauty and astonishing force. Nor does the subject appear +too crowded, for it was one of his peculiar talents to show, in a small +compass, more than other painters could do in a much larger space. His +pictures are generally confined to a few figures, and sometimes to a +single one, and when he attempted larger compositions, he was generally +less successful. The works of this artist are not numerous, from the +immense labor and time he bestowed upon a single one; and from this +circumstance, and the estimation in which they are held by the curious +collectors, they have ever commanded enormous prices. They were always +particularly admired in France, in the days of Napoleon, there were no +less than seventeen of his pictures gathered into the Louvre, most of +which were, after his downfall, restored to their original proprietors, +among which was the famous Dropsical Woman, from the collection of the +King of Sardinia. At Turin, are several pictures by Douw, the most +famous of which is the one just named--the Dropsical Woman, attended by +her physician, who is examining an urinal. This picture is wonderfully +true to nature, and each particular hair and pore of the skin is +represented. In the gallery at Florence is one of his pictures, +representing an interior by candle-light, with a mountebank, surrounded +by a number of clowns, which is exquisitely finished. The great fame of +Gerhard Douw, and the eager desire for his works, have given rise to +numerous counterfeits. We may safely say that there is not an original +picture by this artist in the United States. Douw died, very rich, in +1674. + + + + +ALBERT DURER. + + +This extraordinary artist was born at Nuremberg in 1471. His father was +a skillful goldsmith, from Hungary, and taught his son the first +rudiments of design, intending him for his own profession; but his early +and decided inclination for the arts and sciences induced him to permit +young Durer to follow the bent of his genius. He received his first +instruction in painting and engraving from Martin Hapse. When he had +reached the age of fourteen, it was his father's intention to have +placed him under the instruction of Martin Schoen, of Colmar, the most +distinguished artist of his time in Germany, but the death of the latter +happening about that time, he became a pupil of Michael Wolgemut, in +1486, the first artist then in Nuremberg, with whom he studied +diligently four years. He also cultivated the study of perspective, the +mathematics, and architecture, in all of which he acquired a profound +knowledge. Having finished his studies, he commenced his travels in +1490, and spent four years in traveling through Germany, the +Netherlands, and the adjacent counties and provinces. On his return to +Nuremberg, in 1494, he ventured to exhibit his works to the public, +which immediately attracted great attention. His first work was a piece +of the Three Graces, represented by as many female figures, with a globe +over their heads. He soon after executed one of his masterpieces, a +drawing of Orpheus. About this time, to please his father, as it is +said, he married the daughter of Hans Fritz, a celebrated mechanic, who +proved a fierce Xantippe, and embittered, and some say shortened his +life. In 1506, he went to Venice to improve himself, where his abilities +excited envy and admiration. Here he painted the Martyrdom of St. +Bartholomew for the church of S. Marco, which was afterwards purchased +by the Emperor Rodolphus, and removed to Prague. He also went to +Bologna, and returned home in 1507. This journey to Italy had no effect +whatever upon his style, though doubtless he obtained much information +that was valuable to him, for at this period commenced the proper era of +his greatness. + + + + +DURER'S WORKS AS A PAINTER. + + +Though Durer was most famous as an engraver, yet he executed many large +paintings, which occupy a distinguished place in the royal collections +of Germany, and other European countries. In the imperial collection at +Munich are some of the most celebrated, as Adam and Eve, the Adoration +of the Magi, the Crucifixion--a grand composition--the Crowning of the +Virgin, the Battle between Alexander and Darius, and many other great +works. Durer painted the Wise Men's Offering, two pictures of the +Passion of Christ, and an Assumption of the Virgin, for a monastery of +Frankfort, which proved a source of income to the monks, from the +presents they received for exhibiting them. The people of Nuremberg +still preserve, in the Town Hall, his portraits of Charlemagne and some +Emperors of the House of Austria, with the Twelve Apostles, whose +drapery is remarkable for being modern German, instead of Oriental. He +sent his own portrait to Raffaelle, painted on canvas, without any +coloring or touch of the pencil, only heightened with shades and white, +yet exhibiting such strength and elegance that the great artist to whom +it was presented expressed the greatest surprise at the sight of it. +This piece, after the death of Raffaelle, fell into the possession of +Giulio Romano, who placed it among the curiosities of the palace of +Mantua. Besides the pictures already mentioned, there is by him an Ecce +Homo at Venice, his own portrait, and two pictures representing St. +James and St. Philip, and an Adam and Eve in the Florentine Gallery. +There are also some of his works in the Louvre, and in the royal +collections in England. As a painter, it has been observed of Durer that +he studied nature only in her unadorned state, without attending to +those graces which study and art might have afforded him; but his +imagination was lively, his composition grand, and his pencil delicate. +He finished his works with exact neatness, and he was particularly +excellent in his Madonnas, though he encumbered them with heavy +draperies. He surpassed all the painters of his own country, yet he did +not avoid their defects--such as dryness and formality of outline, the +want of a just degradation of the tints, an expression without +agreeableness, and draperies broad in the folds, but stiff in the forms. +He was no observer of the propriety of costume, and paid so little +attention to it that he appears to have preferred to drape his saints +and heroes of antiquity in the costume of his own time and country. +Fuseli observes that "the coloring of Durer went beyond his age, and in +his easel pictures it as far excelled the oil color of Raffaelle in +juice, and breadth, and handling, as Raffaelle excelled him in every +other quality." + + + + +DURER'S WORKS AS AN ENGRAVER. + + +Durer derived most of his fame from his engravings, and he is allowed to +have surpassed every artist of his time in this branch of art. Born in +the infancy of the art, he carried engraving to a perfection that has +hardly been surpassed. When we consider that, without any models worthy +of imitation, he brought engraving to such great perfection, we are +astonished at his genius, and his own resources. Although engraving has +had the advantage and experience of more than three centuries, it would +perhaps be difficult to select a specimen of executive excellence +surpassing his print of St. Jerome, engraved in 1514. He had a perfect +command of the graver, and his works are executed with remarkable +neatness and clearness of stroke; if we do not find in his plates that +boldness and freedom desirable in large historical works, we find in +them everything that can be wished in works more minute and finished, as +were his. To him is attributed the invention of etching; and if he was +not the inventor, he was the first who excelled in the art. He also +invented the method of printing wood-cuts in chiaro-scuro, or with two +blocks. His great mathematical knowledge enabled him to form a regular +system of rules for drawing and painting with geometrical precision. He +had the power of catching the exact expression of the features, and of +delineating all the passions. Although he was well acquainted with the +anatomy of the human figure, and occasionally designed it correctly, his +contours are neither graceful nor pleasing, and his prints are never +entirely divested of the stiff and formal taste that prevailed at the +time, both in his figures and drapery. Such was his reputation, both at +home and abroad, that Marc' Antonio Raimondi counterfeited his Passion +of Christ, and the Life of the Virgin at Venice, and sold them for the +genuine works of Durer. The latter, hearing of the fraud, was so +exasperated that he set out for Venice, where he complained to the +government of the wrong that had been done him by the plagiarist, but he +could obtain no other satisfaction than a decree prohibiting Raimondi +from affixing Durer's monogram or signatures to these copies in future. +Vasari says that when the prints of Durer were first brought into Italy, +they incited the painters there to elevate themselves in that branch of +art, and to make his works their models. + + + + +DURER'S FAME AND DEATH. + + +The fame of Durer spread far and wide in his life-time. The Emperor +Maximillian I. had a great esteem for him, and appointed him his court +painter, with a liberal pension, and conferred on him letters of +nobility; Charles V., his successor, confirmed him in his office, +bestowing upon him at the same time the painter's coat of arms, viz., +three escutcheons, argent, in a deep azure field. Ferdinand, King of +Hungary, also bestowed upon him marked favors and liberality. Durer was +in favor with high and low. All the artists and learned men of his time +honored and loved him, and his early death in 1528 was universally +lamented. + + + + +DURER'S HABITS AND LITERARY WORKS. + + +Durer always lived in a frugal manner, without the least ostentation for +the distinguished favors heaped upon him. He applied himself to his +profession with the most constant and untiring industry, which, together +with his great knowledge, great facility of mechanical execution, and a +remarkable talent for imitation, enabled him to rise to such +distinction, and to exert so powerful an influence on German art for a +great length of time. He was the first artist in Germany who practiced +and taught the rules of perspective, and of the proportions of the human +figure, according to mathematical principles. His treatise on +proportions is said to have resulted from his studies of his picture of +Adam and Eve. His principal works are _De Symmetria partium in rectis +formis humanorum corporum_, printed at Nuremberg in 1532; and _De +Verieitate Figurarum, et flexuris partium, et Gestibus Imaginum_; 1534. +These works were written in German, and after Durer's death translated +into Latin. The figures illustrating the subjects were executed by +Durer, on wood, in an admirable manner. Durer had also much merit as a +miscellaneous writer, and labored to purify and elevate the German +language, in which he was assisted by his friend, W. Pirkheimer. His +works were published in a collected form at Arnheim, in 1603, folio, in +Latin and in French. J. J. Roth wrote a life of Durer, published at +Leipsic in 1791. + + + + +LUDOLPH BACKHUYSEN. + + +This eminent painter was born in 1631. His father intended him for the +mercantile profession, but nature for a marine painter. His passion for +art induced him to neglect his employer's business, with whom his father +had placed him, and to spend his time in drawing, and in frequenting the +studios of the painters at Amsterdam. His fondness for shipping led him +frequently to the port of the city, where he made admirable drawings of +the vessels with a pen, which were much sought after by the collectors, +and were purchased at liberal prices. Several of his drawings were sold +at 100 florins each. This success induced him to paint marine subjects. +His first essays were successful, and his pictures universally admired. +While painting, he would not admit his most intimate friends to his +studio, lest his fancy might be disturbed. He hired fishermen to take +him out to sea in the most tremendous gales, and on landing, he would +run impatiently to his palette to secure the grand impressions of the +views he had just witnessed. He has represented that element in its most +terrible agitation, with a fidelity that intimidates the beholder. His +pictures on these subjects have raised his reputation even higher than +that of W. van de Velde; although the works of the later, which +represent the sea at rest, or in light breezes, are much superior, and +indeed inimitable. His pictures are distinguished for their admirable +perspective, correct drawing, neatness and freedom of touch, and +remarkable facility of execution. For the burgomasters of Amsterdam, he +painted a large picture with a multitude of vessels, and a view of the +city in the distance; for which they gave him 1,300 guilders, and a +handsome present. This picture was presented to the King of France, who +placed it in the Louvre. The King of Prussia visited Backhuysen, and the +Czar Peter took delight in seeing him paint, and often endeavored to +make drawings after vessels which the artist had designed. + + + + +JOHN BAPTIST WEENIX, THE ELDER. + + +This eminent Dutch painter was born at Amsterdam in 1621. He possessed +extraordinary and varied talents. He painted history, portraits, +landscapes, sea-ports, animals, and dead game, in all which branches he +showed uncommon ability; but his greatest excellence lay in painting +Italian sea-ports, of a large size, enriched with noble edifices, and +decorated with figures representing embarkations and all the activity of +commercial industry. In these subjects he has scarcely been surpassed +except by his pupil, Nicholas Berghem. + + + + +WEENIX'S FACILITY OF HAND. + + +Houbraken relates several instances of his remarkable facility of hand. +He frequently painted a large landscape and inserted all the figures in +a single day--feats so much admired in Salvator Rosa, and Gaspar +Ponssin. On one occasion he commenced and finished three portraits, on +canvass, of three-quarters size, with heads as large as life, from +sun-rise to sun-set, on a summer's day. Lanzi warns all artists, +especially the youthful aspirant, not to imitate such expedition, as +they value their reputation. + + + + +JOHN BAPTIST WEENIX, THE YOUNGER. + + +Was the son of the preceding, and born at Amsterdam in 1644. Possessing +less varied talent than his father; he was unrivaled in painting all +sorts of animals, huntings, dead games, birds, flowers, and fruit. He +was appointed Court painter to the Elector Palatine, with a liberal +pension, and decorated his palace at Bernsberg with many of his choicest +works. He painted in one gallery a series of pictures representing the +Hunting of the Stag; and in another the Chase of the Wild Boar, which +gained him the greatest applause. There are many of his best works in +the Dusseldorf Gallery. He painted all kinds of birds and fowls in an +inimitable manner; the soft down of the duck, the glossy plumage of the +pigeon, the splendor of the peacock, the magnificent spread of an +inanimate swan producing a flood of light, and serving as a contrast to +all the objects around it, are so attractive that it is impossible to +contemplate one of his pictures of these subjects without feeling +admiration and delight at the painter's skill in rivaling nature. + + + + +JAN STEEN. + + +The life of this extraordinary artist, if we are to believe his +biographers, is soon told. He was born at Leyden in 1636. He early +exhibited a passion for art, which his father, a wealthy brewer of that +city, endeavored to restrain, and afterwards apprehending that he could +not procure a comfortable subsistence by the exercise of his pencil, +established him in his own business at Delft, where, instead of +attending to his affairs, he gave himself up to dissipation, and soon +squandered his means and ruined his establishment; his indulgent parent, +after repeated attempts to reclaim him, was compelled to abandon him to +his fate. He opened a tavern, which proved more calamitous than the +former undertaking. He gave himself up entirely to reveling and +intoxication, wrought only when his necessities compelled him, and sold +his pictures to satisfy his immediate wants, and often for the most +paltry prices to escape arrest. + + + + +JAN STEEN'S WORKS. + + +The pictures of Jan Steen usually represent merry-makings, and the +frolics and festivities of the ale-house, which he treated with a +characteristic expression of humorous drollery, that compensated for +the vulgarity of his subjects. He sometimes painted interiors, domestic +assemblies, conversations, mountebanks, etc., which he generally +accompanied with some facetious trait of wit or humor, admirably +rendered. Some of his works of this description are little inferior to +the charming productions of Gabriel Metzu. His compositions are +ingenious and interesting, his design is correct and spirited, his +coloring chaste and clear, and his pencil free and decided. He also had +a good knowledge of the chiaro-scuro, which enabled him to give his +figures a fine relief. His works are invariably finished with care and +diligence, and do not betray any haste or infirmity of hand or head. It +is evident that, from some untoward circumstance, his works were not +appreciated in his day, but after his death they rose amazingly in +value, and have continued to increase ever since,--a true test of a +master's merit--till now they are scarcely to be found except in royal +and noble collections and the public galleries of Europe. His pictures +were, for a long time, scarcely known out of Holland, but now they are +deservedly placed in the choicest collections. His works are very +numerous, sufficient to have continually occupied the life time of not +only a sober and industrious artist, but one possessing great facility +of hand. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonné, vol. iv. and Supplement, +gives a descriptive account of upwards of 300 genuine pictures by +Steen, many of them compositions of numerous figures, and almost all of +them executed with the greatest care. It cannot be believed that a man +living in a state of continued dissipation and inebriety, could find +time to produce so many admirable works, displaying, as they do, a deep +study of human nature, and a great discrimination of character, or that +the hand of a habitual drunkard could operate with such beauty and +precision. Nor is it probable that a mind besotted by drink, and debased +by low intercourse, could moralize so admirably as he has done on the +evil consequences of intemperance and the indulgence of evil passions. + + + + +KUGLER'S CRITIQUE ON THE WORKS OF JAN STEEN. + + +Dr Kügler, a judicious critic, thus sums up his character as an artist: +"The works of Jan Steen imply a free and cheerful view of common life, +and he treats it with a careless humor, such as seems to deal with all +its daily occurrences, high and low, as a laughable masquerade and a +mere scene of perverse absurdity. His treatment of the subjects differed +essentially from that adopted by other artists. Frequently, indeed, they +are the same jolly drinking parties, or the meetings of boors; but in +other masters the object is, for the most part, to depict a certain +situation, either quiet or animated, whilst in Jan Steen is generally to +be found action more or less developed, together with all the +reciprocal relations and interests between the characters which spring +from it. This is accompanied by great variety and force of individual +expression, such as evinces the sharpest observation. He is almost the +only artist in the Netherlands who has thus, with true genius, brought +into full play all these elements of comedy. His technical execution +suits his design; it is carefully finished, and notwithstanding the +closest attention to minute details, it is as firm and correct as it is +light and free." + + + + +FROLICS OF MIERIS AND JAN STEEN. + + +Sandrart says that Mieris had a real friendship for Jan Steen, and +delighted in his company, though he was by no means fond of drinking as +freely as Jan was accustomed to do every evening at the tavern. +Notwithstanding this, he often passed whole nights with his friend in a +joyous manner, and frequently returned very late to his lodging. One +evening, when it was very dark and almost midnight, as Mieris strolled +home from the tavern, he unluckily fell into the common sewer, which had +been opened for the purpose of cleansing, and the workmen had left +unguarded. There he must have perished, had not a cobbler and his wife, +who worked in a neighboring stall, heard his cries and instantly ran to +his relief. Having extricated Mieris, they took all possible care of +him, and procured the best refreshment in their power. The next morning +Mieris, having thanked his preservers, took his leave, but particularly +remarked the house, that he might know it another time. The poor people +were totally ignorant of the person whom they had relieved, but Mieris +had too grateful a heart to forget his benefactors, and having painted a +picture in his best manner, he brought it to the cobbler and his wife, +telling them it was a present from the person whose life they had +contributed to save, and desired them to carry it to his friend +Cornelius Plaats, who would give them the full value for it. The woman, +unacquainted with the real worth of the present, concluded she might +receive a moderate gratuity for the picture, but her astonishment was +inexpressible, when she received the sum of eight hundred florins. + + + + +SIR ANTHONY MORE. + + +This eminent painter was born at Utrecht, in 1519. In 1552, he +accompanied the Cardinal Granville to Spain, who recommended him to the +patronage of the Emperor Charles V., whose portrait he painted, and that +of Prince Philip, which gave so much satisfaction to the monarch, that +he sent him to Portugal, to paint the portraits of King John III., +Catherine of Austria his Queen, and sister to Charles, and that of their +daughter, the Princess Donna Maria, then contracted to Philip; he also +painted the portrait of Donna Catalina, Charles' younger sister; all of +which gave entire satisfaction, and the artist was munificently +rewarded, and the honor of knighthood conferred on him. The Emperor next +despatched More to England to take the portrait of the princess Mary +previous to her marriage with Philip of Spain. On this occasion, he is +said to have employed all the flattering aids of his art, and so +captivated the courtiers of Spain, with the charms of Mary's person, +that he was employed by Cardinal Granville and several of the grandees +to make copies of it for them. He accompanied Philip to England, where +he remained till the death of Queen Mary, who highly honored him, +presented him a gold chain, and allowed him a pension of £100 a year. +The Emperor Charles V. having abdicated in favor of his son Philip II., +the latter returned to Spain, and made More his court-painter, where his +talents procured him great respect and abundant employment. + + + + +SIR ANTHONY MORE AND PHILIP II. + + +Philip II. was accustomed to honor More by frequent visits to his +studio, on which occasions he treated him with extraordinary +familiarity. One day, in a moment of condescension and admiration, the +monarch jocosely slapped More on the shoulder which compliment the +painter, in an unguarded moment, playfully returned by smearing his hand +with a little carmine from his brush. The King withdrew his hand and +surveyed it for a moment, seriously; the courtiers were petrified with +horror and amazement; the hand to which ladies knelt before they had the +honor to kiss it, had never before been so dishonored since the +foundation of the monarchy; at that moment the fate of More was balanced +on a hair; he saw his rashness, fell on his knees, kissed the King's +feet, and humbly begged pardon for the offence. Philip smiled, and +pardoned him, and all seemed to be well again; but the person of the +King was too sacred in those days, and the act too daring to escape the +notice of the Inquisition, from whose bigotry and vengeance the King +himself could not have shielded him. Happily for More, one of Philip's +ministers advised him of his danger, and without loss of time he set out +for Brussels, upon the feigned pretence of pressing engagements, nor +could Philip ever induce him to return to his court. + + + + +MORE'S SUCCESS AND WORKS. + + +More was employed by most of the princes of Europe, who liberally +rewarded him, and at every court his paintings were beheld with +admiration and applause, but at none more than at those of Spain and +England. He acquired an ample fortune. When he was in Portugal, the +nobility of that country, in token of their esteem, presented him, in +the name of their order, a gold chain valued at a thousand ducats. He +closely imitated nature. He designed and painted in a bold, masculine +style, with a rich tone of coloring; he showed a good knowledge of the +chiaro-scuro, and he finished his pictures with neatness and care; his +style is said to resemble that of Hans Holbein, though not possessing +his delicacy and clearness; and there is something dry and hard in his +manner. His talents were not confined to portraits; he painted several +historical subjects in Spain for the Royal Collection, which were highly +applauded, but which were unfortunately destroyed in the conflagration +of the palace of the Prado. While he resided in Spain, he copied some +portraits of illustrious women, in a style said to approach Titian. His +own portrait, painted by himself, charmingly colored, and full of life +and nature, is in the Florentine Gallery. His best work was a picture of +the Circumcision, intended for the Cathedral at Antwerp, but he did not +live to finish it, and died there in 1575. + + + + +PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF A PAINTER. + + +John Griffier, a Dutch painter of celebrity, went to London in 1667, +where he met with great encouragement. While there he painted many views +on the Thames, and in order to observe nature more attentively, he +bought a yacht, embarked his family, and spent his whole time on the +river. After several years he sailed for Holland in his frail craft but +was wrecked in the Texel, where, after eight days of suffering, he and +his family barely escaped with their lives, having lost all his +paintings, and the fruits of his industry. This mishap cured him of his +passion for the sea. + + + + +ANECDOTE OF JOHN DE MABUSE. + + +An amusing anecdote is related of this eminent painter. He was +inordinately given to dissipation, and spent all his money, as fast as +he earned it, in carousing with his boon companions. He was for a long +time in the service of the Marquess de Veren, for whom he executed some +of his most capital works. It happened on one occasion that the Emperor +Charles V. made a visit to the Marquess, who made magnificent +preparations for his reception, and among other things ordered all his +household to be dressed in white damask. When the tailor came to measure +Mabuse, he desired to have the damask, under the pretence of inventing a +singular habit. He sold it immediately, spent the money, and then +painted a paper suit, so like damask that it was not distinguished as he +walked in procession between a philosopher and a poet, other pensioners +of the Marquess; but the joke was too good to be kept, so his friends +betrayed him to the Marquess, who, instead of being displeased was +highly diverted, and asked the Emperor which of the three suits he liked +best. The Emperor pointed to that of Mabuse, as excelling in whiteness +and beauty of the flowers; and when he was told of the painter's +stratagem, he would not believe it, till he had examined it with his own +hands. + + + + +CAPUGNANO AND LIONELLO SPADA. + + +Lanzi relates the following amusing anecdote of Giovanni da Capugnano, +an artist of little merit, but whose assurance enabled him to attract +considerable attention in his day. "Misled by a pleasing self-delusion, +he believed himself born to become a painter; like that ancient +personage, mentioned by Horace, who imagined himself the owner of all +the vessels that arrived in the Athenian port. His chief talent lay in +making crucifixes, to fill up the angles, and in giving a varnish to the +balustrades. Next, he attempted landscape in water-colors, in which were +exhibited the most strange proportions; of houses less than the men; +these last smaller than his sheep; and the sheep again than his birds. +Extolled, however, in his own district, he determined to leave his +native mountains, and figure on a wider theatre at Bologna; there he +opened his house, and requested the Caracci, the only artists he +believed to be more learned than himself, to furnish him with a pupil, +whom he intended to polish in his studio. Lionello Spada, an admirable +wit, accepted this invitation; he went and copied designs, affecting the +utmost obsequiousness towards his master. At length, conceiving it time +to put an end to the jest, he left behind him a most exquisite painting +of Lucretia, and over the entrance of the chamber some fine satirical +octaves, in apparent praise, but real ridicule of Capugnano. His worthy +master only accused Lionello of ingratitude, for having acquired from +him in so short a space the art of painting so beautifully from his +designs; but the Caracci at last acquainted him with the joke, which +acted as a complete antidote to his folly." + + + + +MICHAEL ANGELO DA CARAVAGGIO--HIS QUARRELSOME DISPOSITION. + + +Caravaggio possessed a very irascible and roving disposition. At the +height of his popularity at Rome, he got into a quarrel with one of his +own young friends, in a tennis-court, and struck him dead with a racket, +having been severely wounded himself in the affray. He fled to Naples, +where he executed some of his finest pictures, but he soon got weary of +his residence there, and went to Malta. Here his superb picture of the +Grand Master obtained for him the Cross of Malta, a rich gold chain, +placed on his neck by the Grand Master's own hands, and two slaves to +attend him. All these honors did not prevent the new knight from falling +back into old habits. "_Il suo torbido ingegno_," says Bellori, plunged +him into new difficulties; he fought and wounded a noble cavalier, was +thrown into prison, from which he escaped almost by a miracle, and fled +to Syracuse, where he obtained the favor of the Syracusans by painting a +splendid picture of the Santa Morte, for the church of S. Lucia. In +apprehension of being taken by the Knights of Malta, he soon fled to +Messina, thence to Palermo, and returned to Naples, where hopes were +held out to him of the Pope's pardon. Here he got into a quarrel with +some military men in a public house, was wounded, and took refuge on +board a felucca, about to sail for Rome. Stopping at a small port on the +way, he was arrested by a Spanish guard, by mistake, for another person; +when released, he found the felucca gone, and in it all his property. +Traversing the burning shore, under an almost vertical sun, he was +seized with a brain fever, and continued to wander through the Pontine +Marshes till he arrived at Porto Ercoli, when he expired, aged forty +years. + + + + +JACOPO AMICONI. + + +Giacomo Amiconi, a Venetian painter, went to England, in 1729, where he +was first employed by Lord Tankerville to paint the staircase of his +palace in St. James' Square. He there represented the stories of +Achilles, Telemachus and Tiresias, which gained him great applause. When +he was to be paid, he produced his bills of the workmen for scaffolding, +materials, &c., amounting to £90, and asked no more, saying that he was +content with the opportunity of showing what he could do. The peer, +however, gave him £200 more. This brought him into notice, and he was +much employed by the nobility to decorate their houses. + + + + +PAINTING THE DEAD. + + +Giovanni Baptista Gaulli, called Baciccio, one of the most eminent +Genoese painters, was no less celebrated for portraits than for history. +Pascoli says he painted no less than seven different Pontiffs, besides +many illustrious personages. Possessing great colloquial powers, he +engaged his sitters in the most animated conversation, and thus +transferred their features to his canvas, so full of life and +expression, that they looked as though they were about to speak to the +beholder. He also had a remarkable talent of painting the dead, so as to +obtain an exact resemblance of deceased persons whom he had never seen. +For this purpose, he drew a face at random, afterwards altering it in +every feature, by the advice and under the inspection of those who had +known the original, till he had improved it to a striking likeness. + + + + +TADDEO ZUCCARO. + + +This eminent painter was born at San Angiolo, in the Duchy of Urbino, in +1529. At a very early age he evinced a passion for art and a precocious +genius. After having received instruction from his father, a painter of +little note, his extraordinary enthusiasm induced him, at fourteen years +of age, to go to Rome, without a penny in his pocket, where he passed +the day in designing, from the works of Raffaelle. Such was his poverty, +that he was compelled to sleep under the loggie of the Chigi palace; he +contrived to get money enough barely to supply the wants of nature, by +grinding colors for the shops. Undaunted by difficulties that would have +driven a less devoted lover of the art from the field, he pursued his +studies with undiminished ardor, till his talents and industry attracted +the notice of Daniello da Por, an artist then in repute, who generously +relieved his wants and gave him instruction. From that time he made +rapid progress, and soon acquired a distinguished reputation, but he +died at Rome in 1566, in the prime of life. + + + + +ZUCCARO'S RESENTMENT. + + +Federigo Zuccaro, the brother of Taddeo, was employed by Pope Gregory +XIII. in the Pauline chapel. While proceeding with his work, however, he +fell out with some of the Pope's officers; and conceiving himself +treated with indignity, he painted an allegorical picture of Calumny, +introducing the portraits of all those individuals who had offended him, +decorated with asses' ears. This he caused to be exhibited publicly over +the gate of St. Luke's church, on the festival day of that Saint. His +enemies, upon this, made such complaints that he was forced to fly from +Rome, and passing into France, he visited Flanders and England. As soon +as the pontiff was appeased, he returned to Rome, and completed his work +in the Pauline chapel, fortunate in not losing his head as the price of +such a daring exploit. + + + + +ROYAL CRITICISM. + + +Federigo Zuccaro was invited to Madrid by Philip II. to execute some +frescos in the lower cloister of the Escurial, which, failing to give +satisfaction to his royal patron, were subsequently effaced, and their +place supplied by Pellegrino Tibaldi; the king nevertheless munificently +rewarded him. One day, as he was displaying a picture of the Nativity, +which he had painted for the great altar of the Escurial, for the +inspection of the monarch, he said, "Sire, you now behold all that art +can execute; beyond this which I have done, the powers of painting +cannot go." The king was silent for some time; his countenance betrayed +neither approbation nor contempt; at last, preserving the same +indifference, he quietly asked the painter what _those things_ were in +the basket of one of the shepherds in the act of running? He replied +they were eggs. "It is well then, that he did not break them," said the +king, as he turned on his way--a just rebuke for such fulsome +self-adulation. + + + + +PIETRO DA CORTONA. + + +The name of this illustrious painter and architect was Berrettini, and +he was born at Cortona, near Florence, in 1596. At the age of fourteen +he went to Rome, where he studied the works of Raffaelle and Caravaggio +with the greatest assiduity. It is said that at first he betrayed but +little talent for painting, but his genius burst forth suddenly, to the +astonishment of those companions who had laughed at his incapacity; this +doubtless was owing to his previous thorough course of study. While yet +young, he painted two pictures for the Cardinal Sacchetti, representing +the Rape of the Sabines, and a Battle of Alexander, which gained him so +much celebrity that Pope Urban VIII. commissioned him to paint a chapel +in the church of S. Bibiena, where Ciampelli was employed. The latter at +first regarded with contempt the audacity of so young a man's daring to +attempt so important a public work, but Cortona had no sooner commenced +than Ciampelli's disgust changed to admiration of his abilities. His +success in this performance gained him the celebrated work of the +ceiling of the grand saloon in the Barberini palace, which is considered +one of the greatest productions of the kind ever executed. Cortona was +invited to Florence by the Grand Duke Ferdinand II., to paint the saloon +and four apartments in the Pitti palace, where he represented the +Clemency of Alexander to the family of Darius, the Firmness of Porsena, +the Continence of Cyrus, the History of Massanissa, and other subjects. +While thus employed, the Duke, one day, having expressed his admiration +of a weeping child which he had just painted, Cortona with a single +stroke of his pencil made it appear laughing, and with another restored +it to its former state; "Prince," said he, "you see how easily children +laugh and cry." Disgusted with the intrigues of some artists jealous of +his reputation, he left Florence abruptly, without completing his works, +and the Grand Duke could never persuade him to return. On his return to +Rome, he abounded with commissions, and Pope Alexander VII. honored him +with the order of the Golden Spur. Cortona was also distinguished as an +architect. He made a design for the Palace of the Louvre, which was so +highly approved by Louis XIV. that he sent him his picture richly set in +jewels. Cortona was a laborious artist, and though tormented with the +gout, and in affluent circumstances, he continued to paint till his +death, in 1699. + + + + +"KNOW THYSELF." + + +Mario Ballassi, a Florentine painter born in 1604, studied successively +under Ligozzi, Roselli, and Passignano; he assisted the latter in the +works he executed at Rome for Pope Urban XIII. His chief talent lay in +copying the works of the great masters, which he did to admiration. Don +Taddeo Barberini employed him to copy the Transfiguration of Raffaelle, +for the Church of the Conception, in which he imitated the touch and +expression of the original in so excellent a manner as to excite the +surprise of the best judges at Rome. At the recommendation of the +Cardinal Piccolomini, he was introduced to the Emperor Ferdinand III., +who received him in an honorable manner. Elated with his success, he +vainly imagined that if he could imitate the old masters, he could also +equal them in an original style of his own. He signally failed in the +attempt, which brought him into as much contempt as his former works had +gained him approbation. + + + + +BENVENUTO CELLINI. + + +This eminent sculptor and famous medalist was in high favor with Clement +VII., who took him into his service. During the time of the Spanish +invasion, Cellini asked the Pope for absolution for certain homicides +which "he believed himself to have committed in the service of the +church." The Pope absolved him, and, to save time, he added an +absolution in _prospectu_, "for all the homicides thereafter which the +said Benvenuto might commit in the same service." On another occasion, +Cellini got into a broil, and committed a homicide that was not in the +service of the church. The friends of the deceased insisted upon condign +punishment, and presumed to make some mention to the Pope about "the +laws;" upon which the successor of St. Peter, knowing that it was easier +to hang than to replace such a man, assumed a high tone, and told the +complainants that "men who were masters of their art should not be +subject to the laws." + + + + +FRACANZANI AND SALVATOR ROSA. + + +The first accents of the "thrilling melody of sweet renown" which ever +vibrated to the heart of Salvator Rosa, came to his ear from the +kind-hearted Fracanzani, his sister's husband, and a painter of merit. +When Salvator returned home from his sketching tours among the +mountains, Fracanzani would examine his drawings, and when he saw +anything good, he would smilingly pat him on the head and exclaim, +"Fruscia, fruscia, Salvatoriello--che va buono" (_Go on, go on, +Salvator--this is good_). These simple plaudits were recalled to his +memory with pleasure, in after years, when his fame rung among the +polished circles at Rome and Florence. + + + + +POPE URBAN VIII. AND BERNINI. + + +When the Cardinal Barberini, who had been the warm friend, patron, and +protector of Bernini, was elevated to the pontificate, the latter went +to offer his congratulations to his benefactor. The Pope received him in +the most gracious manner, uttering these memorable words, "E gran +fortuna la vostra, Bernini, di vedere Papa, il Card. Maffeo Barberini; +ma assai maggiore è la nostra, che il Cav. Bernini viva nel nostro +pontificato;" (_It is a great piece of fortune for you, Bernini, to +behold the Cardinal Maffeo Barberini Pope; but how much greater is ours, +that the Cav. Bernini lives in our pontificate;_) and he immediately +charged him with the execution of those great works which have +immortalized both their names. Among the great works which he executed +in this pontificate are the Baldachin, or great altar of St. Peter's, in +bronze and gilt, under the centre of the great dome; the four colossal +statues which fill the niches under the pedatives; the pulpit and canopy +of St. Peter's; the Campanile; and the Barberini palace. For these +services, the Pope gave Bernini 10,000 crowns, besides his monthly +salary of 300, which he increased, and extended his favors to his +brothers--"a grand piece of fortune," truly. + + + + +EMULATION AND RIVALRY IN THE FINE ARTS. + + +Emulation carries with it neither envy nor unfair rivalry, but inspires +a man to surpass all others by superiority alone. Such was the emulation +and rivalry between Zeuxis and Parrhasius, which contributed to the +improvement of both; and similar thereto was that which inspired the +master-minds of Michael Angelo and Raffaelle; of Titian and Pordenone; +of Albert Durer and Lucas van Leyden; of Agostino and Annibale Caracci; +and we may add, in our own country, of Thomas Cole and Durand. The +emulation between the Caracci, though it tended to the improvement of +both, was more unfortunate in its result, as it finally engendered such +a bitter rivalry as to drive Agostino from the field, and it is said by +some that both the Caracci declined when their competition ceased. + +The confraternity of the Chartreuse at Bologna proposed to the artists +of Italy to paint a picture for them in competition, and to send designs +for selection. The Caracci were among the competitors, and the design of +Agostino was preferred before all others; this, according to several +authors, first gave rise to the jealousy between the two brothers. The +picture which Agostino painted was his celebrated Communion of St. +Jerome which Napoleon placed in the Louvre, but is now in the gallery at +Bologna. It is esteemed the masterpiece of the artist. It represents the +venerable saint, carried to the church of Bethlehem on his approaching +dissolution, where he receives the last sacrament of the Roman Church, +the Viaticum, in the midst of his disciples, while a monk writes down +his pious exhortations. Soon after the completion of this sublime +picture, the two brothers commenced the celebrated Farnese Gallery in +conjunction; but the jealous feelings which existed between them caused +continual dissentions, and the turbulent disposition of Annibale +compelled Agostino to abandon him and quit Rome. Agostino, who according +to all authorities was the best tempered of the two, from that time gave +himself up almost entirely to engraving. Annibale, though he has the +honor of having executed the immortal works in the Farnese Gallery, yet +owed much there, as elsewhere, to the acquirements and poetical genius +of Agostino. In the composition of such mythological subjects the +unlettered Annibale was totally inadequate. See vol. i., page +71 of this work. + + + + +THE NOTTE OF CORREGGIO. + + +This wonderful picture is one of the most singular and beautiful works +of that great master. Adopting an idea till then unknown to painters, he +has created a new principle of light and shade; and in the limited space +of nine feet by six, has expanded a breadth and depth of perspective +which defies description. The subject he has chosen, is the adoration of +the shepherds, who, after hearing the glad tidings of joy and salvation, +proclaimed by the heavenly host, hasten to hail the new-born King and +Saviour. On so unpromising a subject as the birth of a child, in so mean +a place as a stable, the painter has, however, thrown the air of +divinity itself. The principal light emanates from the body of the +infant, and illuminates the surrounding objects; but a secondary light +is borrowed from a group of angels above, which, while it aids the +general effect, is yet itself irradiated by the glory breaking from the +child, and allegorizing the expression of scripture, that Christ is the +true light of the world. Nor is the art, with which the figures are +represented less admirable than the management of the light. The face of +the child is skillfully hidden, by its oblique position, from the +conviction that the features of a new-born infant are ill-adapted to +please the eye; but that of the Virgin is warmly irradiated, and yet so +disposed, that in bending with maternal fondness over her offspring, it +exhibits exquisite beauty, without the harshness of deep shadows. The +light strikes boldly on the lower part of her face, and is lost in a +fainter glow on the eyes, while the forehead is thrown into shade. The +figures of Joseph and the shepherds are traced with the same skillful +pencil; and the glow which illuminates the piece is heightened to the +imagination, by the attitude of a shepherdess, bringing an offering of +doves, who shades her eyes with her hand, as if unable to sustain the +brightness of incarnate divinity. The glimmering of the rising dawn, +which shews the figures in the background, contributes to augment the +splendor of the principal glory. "The beauty, grace, and finish of the +piece," says Mengs, "are admirable, and every part is executed in a +peculiar and appropriate style." + +Opie, in his lectures, speaking of this work, justly observes, "In the +Nótte, where the light diffused over the piece emanates from the child, +he has embodied a thought at once beautiful, picturesque, and sublime; +an idea which has been seized upon with such avidity, and produced so +many imitations that no one is accused of plagiarism. The real author is +forgotten, and the public accustomed to consider this incident as +naturally a part of the subject, have long ceased to inquire, when, or +by whom, it was invented." + +The history of this picture is curious, though involved in much +obscurity. It is generally stated that while Correggio was engaged upon +the grand cupola at Parma, he generally passed the colder season, when +he could not work in fresco, in his native place. Passing through Reggio +in one of his journeys, he received a commission from Alberto Pratonero +for an altar-piece of the Nativity, which produced one of his finest +pictures, now called La Nótte. The indefatigable Tiraboschi discovered +the original contract for the work, which is dated October 14th, 1522, +and fixes the price at two hundred and eight _livre di moneta Vecchia_, +or forty-seven and a half gold ducats (about $104). It was painted for +the Pratoneri chapel in the church of S. Prospero at Reggio, but it was +not fixed in its destined place till 1530. It is said that it was +removed surreptitiously by order of Francesco I., the reigning Duke of +Modena, who substituted a copy. The same story, however, is related of +Correggio's Ancona, painted for the church of the Conventuals at +Correggio. (See vol. ii., page 257, of this work.) At all events, +the elector of Saxony subsequently purchased this gem, with +other valuable pictures, from the Ducal Gallery at Mantua, and it now +forms one of the principal ornaments of the Dresden Gallery. + + + + +THE DRESDEN GALLERY. + + +The Gallery of Dresden is well known to most amateurs from the +engravings which have been made of many of its most capital pictures. In +the works of Correggio it stands preëminent above all others; and +although some of these have suffered by injudicious cleaning, still they +are by Correggio. In the works of Titian, Raffaelle, Lionardo da Vinci, +Parmiggiano, Andrea del Sarto, the Caracci, Guido, &c., it holds also a +high place; while it is rich in the works of the Flemish and Dutch +masters. Of the works of Reubens there are, 30; of Vandyck, 18; of +Rembrandt, 15; of Paul Potter, 3; of David Teniers, jun., 24; of Philip +Wouvermans, 52; of Adrian Ostade, 6; of Gerard Douw, 16; of Francis +Mieris, 14; of Gabriel Metzu, 6; of Berghem, 9; of Adrian van de Velde, +5; of Ruysdael, 13; and others by the Dutch masters. Tho entire +collection contains 1010 Flemish and Dutch pictures, and 350 pictures of +the Italian schools, the principal part of which, particularly the +pictures of Correggio, etc., belonged formerly to the Mantua +collection, and were purchased by the Elector Augustus III., afterwards +King of Poland. + + + + +PAINTING AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. + + +The antiquity of painting, as well as of sculpture, among the Egyptians, +is sunk in fable. Yet it is certain that they made little or no progress +in either art. Plato, who flourished about 400 B.C., says that the art +of painting had been practiced by the Egyptians upwards of ten thousand +years, and that there were existing in that country paintings of that +high antiquity, which were neither inferior to, nor very different from, +those executed by the Egyptian artists in his own time. + +Before the French expedition to Egypt, a great deal had been written on +the subject of Egyptian art, without eliciting anything satisfactory. +Norden, Pococke, Bruce, and other modern travelers, speak of +extraordinary paintings found on the walls of the temples and in the +tombs at Thebes, Denderah, and other places in Upper Egypt; and +Winckelmann justly regrets that those curious remains had not been +visited by artists or persons skilled in works of art, "by whose +testimony we might have been correctly informed of their character, +style, and manoeuvre." The man at last came, and Denon, in his _Voyage +dans le Basse et Haute Egypt_, has set the matter at rest. He has given +a curious and interesting account of the paintings at Thebes, which he +reports to be as fresh in color as when they were first executed. The +design is in general stiff and incorrect; and whatever attitude is given +to the figure, the head is always in profile. The colors are entire, +without blending or degradation, as in playing cards, and the whole +exhibits the art in a very rude state. They exhibit little or no +knowledge of anatomy. The colors they used were confined to four--blue, +red, yellow, and green; and of these, the blue and red predominate. The +perfect preservation of the Egyptian paintings for so many ages is to be +attributed to the dryness of a climate where it never rains. + +The Egyptian painters and sculptors designed their figures in a style +peculiarly stiff and formal, with the legs invariably closed, except in +some instances in the tombs of the Kings at Thebes, and their arms stuck +to their sides, as if they had consulted no other models than their +bandaged mummies. The reasons why the Egyptians never made any progress +in art till the time of the Greco-Egyptian kings, were their manners and +customs, which prohibited any innovations, and compelled every one to +follow the beaten track of his cast, without the least deviation from +established rules, thus chaining down genius, and the stimulus of +emulation, honor, renown and reward. When Egypt passed under the +dominion of the Ptolemys, she made rapid progress in art, and produced +some excellent painters, sculptors, and architects, though doubtless +they were mostly of Greek origin. It is related of Ptolemy Philopator, +that he sent a hundred architects to rebuild Rhodes, when it was +destroyed by an earthquake. See vol. iii., page 1, of this work. + + + + +PAINTING AMONG THE GREEKS. + + +The origin of Painting in Greece was unknown to Pliny, to whom we are +chiefly indebted for the few fragments of the biography of Greek +artists; he could only obtain his information from Greek writers, of +whom he complains that they have not been very attentive to their +accustomed accuracy. It is certain, however, that the arts were +practiced in Egypt and in the East, many ages before they were known in +Greece, and it is the common opinion that they were introduced into that +country from Egypt and Asia, through the channel of the Phoenecian +traders. It has been a matter of admiration that the Greeks, in the +course of three or four centuries, should have attained such perfection +in every species of art that ennobles the human mind, as oratory, +poetry, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture. Two things explain +the cause--freedom of action, and certainty of reward. This is +exemplified in the whole history of the arts and sciences. The ancient +eastern nations, among whom the freedom of thought and action was +forbidden, and every man obliged to follow the trade of his caste, never +made any progress; nor will the moderns progress in those countries +till caste is done away, and every man allowed to follow the +inclinations of his genius. + +The Greeks were favored with a climate the most congenial for the +perfect development of the mental and physical powers, and beauty of +form. Every man was at liberty freely to follow his favorite pursuits. +They rewarded all who excelled in anything that was useful or beautiful, +and that with a lavish hand. The prices they paid their great artists +were truly astonishing; in comparison to which, the prices paid to the +greatest artists of modern times are small. Nor was this so great an +incentive as the admiration and the caresses they received. The man of +genius was sure of immortality and wealth. Their academic groves and +their games were the admiration and resort of all the surrounding +countries. They decreed statues to their great men who deserved well of +their country. To other powerful incentives, the Greek artists had the +advantage of the best models before them, in their gymnastic exercises +and public games, where the youth contended for the prize quite naked. +The Greeks esteemed natural qualities so highly that they decreed the +first rewards to those who distinguished themselves in feats of agility +and strength. Statues were often raised to wrestlers. Not only the first +youth of Greece, but the sons of kings and princes sought renown in the +public games and gymnastic exercises. Chrysippus and Cleanthus +distinguished themselves in these games before they were known as +philosophers. Plato appeared as a wrestler both at the Isthmian and +Pythian games; and Pythagoras carried off the prize at Elis. The passion +which inspired them was glory--the ambition of having statues erected to +their memory, in the most sacred place in Greece, to be admired by the +whole people. + +Although it is universally admitted that the Greeks carried sculpture +and architecture to such a state of perfection that they have never been +equalled by the moderns, except in imitating them, yet there is a great +contrariety of opinion among the most eminent modern writers as to their +success in painting; some, full of admiration for the works of antiquity +which have descended to us, have not hesitated to declare that the +Greeks must have been equally successful in painting, while others, +professing that we possess colors, vehicles, and science (as the +knowledge of foreshortening, perspective, and of the chiaro-scuro) +unknown to them, have as roundly asserted that they were far inferior to +the moderns in this branch, and that their pictures, could we now see +them in all their beauty, would excite our contempt. Much of this +boasted modern knowledge is, however, entirely gratuitous; the Greeks +certainly well understood foreshortening and perspective, as we have +abundance of evidence in their works, to say nothing of these being +expressly mentioned by Pliny, and that it is impossible to execute any +work of excellence without them. This erroneous opinion has sprung from +the ignorance and imperfections of _the old fathers_ of Italian art in +these particulars, and the discoveries and perfections of those more +modern. If the moderns possess any advantages over the ancients, it is +that chemistry has invented some beautiful colors unknown to them, the +invention of oil painting, and that illusion which results from a +perfect acquaintance with the principles of the chiaro-scuro; but even +here the mineral colors--the most valuable and permanent--were well +known to them; and if they had not oil colors, they had a method of +_encaustic painting_ not positively known to us, which might have +answered as good a purpose--nor are we sure they did not practice the +chiaro-scuro. Besides, the most renowned modern masters were more +celebrated in fresco than in oil painting, and the ancients well +understood painting in fresco. + +In this, as in most other disputes, it may reasonably be presumed, that +a just estimation of both will be found between the extremes. In +comparing the paintings of the moderns with those of the ancients, it +may be fairly inferred that the latter surpassed the former in +expression, in purity of design, in attitude of the figures, and in +ideal beauty. The moderns have doubtless surpassed the ancients in the +arrangement of their groups, in perspective, foreshortening and +chiaro-scuro--and in coloring. For a further disquisition on this +subject, see Vol. I. p. 22, of this work, article Apelles. + + + + +NUMISMATICS. + + +Numismatics is the science which has for its object the study of coins +and medals, especially those struck by the ancient Greeks and Romans. +The word is derived from the Greek [Greek: nomisma], or the Latin +_numus_, _coin or medal_. Numismatics is now regarded as indispensable +to archæology, and to a thorough acquaintance of the fine arts; it is +also of great assistance in philology and the explanation of the ancient +classics; it appears to have been entirely unknown to the ancients, but +since the middle of the sixteenth century, it has occupied the attention +of many learned men. + +The name of _coins_ is given to pieces of metal, on which the public +authority has impressed different marks to indicate their weight and +value, to make them a convenient medium of exchange. By the word +_medals_, when used in reference to modern times, is understood pieces +of metal similar to coins but not intended as a medium of exchange, but +struck and distributed to commemorate some important event, or in memory +of some distinguished personage. The name of medals, however, is also +given to all pieces of money which have remained from ancient times. The +term _medallion_ is given to medals of a very large size, many of them +being several inches in diameter. The parts of a coin or medal are the +two sides; first, the _obverse_ side, face or head, which contains the +portrait of the person at whose command or in whose honor it was +struck, or other figures relating to him: this portrait consists either +of the head alone, or the bust, half length, or full figure; second, the +_reverse_ contains mythological, allegorical, or historical figures. The +words around the border form the _legend_, and those in the middle the +_inscription_. The lower part of the coin, which is separated by a line +from the figures or the inscription, is the _basis_ or _exergue_, and +contains subsidiary matter, as the date, the place where the piece was +struck, etc. + +Numismatics has the same divisions as history.--Ancient Numismatics +extends to the extinction of the empire of the West; the Numismatics of +the middle ages commences with Charlemagne; and modern Numismatics with +the revival of learning. + +Medals indicate the names of provinces and cities, determine their +position, and present pictures of many celebrated places. They fix the +period of events, frequently determine their character, and enable us to +trace the series of kings. They also enable us to learn the different +metallurgical processes, the different alloys, the modes of gilding and +plating practiced by the ancients, the metals which they used, their +weight and measures, their different modes of reckoning, the names and +titles of the various kings and magistrates, and also their portraits, +their different divinities, with their attributes and titles, the +utensils and ceremonies of their worship, the costume of their +priests--in fine, everything which relates to their usages, civil, +military, and religious. Medals also acquaint us with the history of +art. They contain representations of several celebrated works of +antiquity which have been lost, the value of which may be estimated from +the ancient medals of those still existing, as the Farnese Hercules, +Niobe and her Children, the Venus of Gnidos, etc. Like gems and statues, +they enable us to trace the epochs of different styles of art, to +ascertain its progress among the most civilized nations, and its +condition among the rude. + +The ancient medals were struck or cast; some were first cast and then +struck. The first coins of Rome and other cities of Italy must have been +cast, as the hammer could not have produced so bold a relief. The copper +coins of Egypt were cast. The right of coining money has always been one +of the privileges which rulers have confined to themselves. The free +cities have inscribed only their names on their coins. The cities +subject to kings sometimes obtained permission to strike money in their +own name, but were most frequently required to add the name or image of +the king to whom they were subject. The medals of the Parthians and the +Phoenecians offer many examples of this sort. Rome, under the +republic, allowed no individual the right to coin money; no magistrate +could put his name thereon, though this honor was sometimes allowed, as +a special favor, by a decree of the Senate. We can count as numismatic +countries only those into which the Greeks and Romans carried the use +of money; though some of the oriental nations used gold and silver as a +medium of exchange, before their time it was by weight. The people in +the northern part of Europe had no money. + +The coins preserved from antiquity are estimated to be more numerous +than those we possess from the middle ages, in the proportion of a +hundred to one! Millin thinks that the number of extant ancient medals +amounts to 70,000! What a fund of the most curious and authentic +information do they contain, and what a multitude of errors have been +corrected by their means! There are valuable cabinets of medals in all +the principal cities of Europe; that of Paris is by far the richest; +Pillerin alone added to it 33,000 ancient coins and medals. The coins of +the kings of Macedon are the most ancient of any yet discovered having +portraits; and Alexander I., who commenced his reign about B.C. 500, is +the earliest monarch whose medals have yet been found. Then succeed the +sovereigns who reigned in Sicily, Caria, Cyprus, Heraclea, and Pontus. +Afterwards comes the series of kings of Egypt, Syria, the Cimmerian +Bosphorus, Thrace, Parthia, Armenia, Damascus, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, +Pergamos, Galatia, Cilicia, Sparta Pæonia, Epirus, Illyricum, Gaul, and +the Alps. This series reaches from the time of Alexander the Great to +the Christian Era, comprising a period of about 330 years. A perfect +and distinct series is formed by the Roman emperors, from the time of +Julius Cæsar to the destruction of the empire, and even still later. The +Grecian medals claim that place in a cabinet, from their antiquity, +which their workmanship might ensure them, independently of that +advantageous consideration. It is observed by Pinkerton, that an immense +number of the medals of cities, which, from their character, we might +judge to be of the highest antiquity, have a surprising strength, +beauty, and relief in their impressions. About the time of Alexander the +Great, this art appears to have attained its highest perfection. The +coins of Alexander and his father exceed in beauty all that were ever +executed, if we except those of Sicily, Magna Grecia, and the ancient +ones of Asia Minor. Sicilian medals are famous for workmanship, even +from the time of Gelo. The coins of the Syrian kings, successors to +Alexander, almost equal his own in beauty; but adequate judges confine +their high praises of the Greek mint to those coins struck before the +subjection of Greece to the Roman empire. The Roman coins, considered as +medals in a cabinet, may be divided into two great classes--the consular +and the imperial; both are numerous and valuable. In the cabinet of the +Grand Duke of Tuscany is a set of twelve medals of Antonius Pius, each +with one of the signs of the Zodiac on the reverse, and part of another +set, eight in number with as many of the labors of Hercules. + + + + +RESTORING ANCIENT EDIFICES. + + +As in comparative anatomy it is easy, from a single bone, to designate +and describe the animal to which it belonged, so in architecture it is +easy to restore, by a few fragments, any ancient building. In +consequence of the known simplicity and regularity of most antique +edifices, the task of restoration, by means of drawings and models, is +much less difficult than might be supposed. The ground work, or some +sufficient parts of it, commonly extant, shows the length and breadth of +the building, with the positions of the walls, doors and columns. A +single column, or part of a column, whether standing or fallen, with a +fragment of the entablature, furnishes data from which the remainder of +the colonnade and the height of the edifice can be made out. A single +stone from the cornice of the pediment, is sufficient to give the angle +of inclination, and consequently the height of the roof. In this way the +structure of many beautiful edifices has been accurately determined, +when in so ruinous a state as scarcely to have left one stone upon +another. + + + + +NAPOLEON'S LOVE OF ART. + + +Napoleon was not only a true lover of art, but an excellent connoisseur. +He did more to elevate the arts and sciences in France than all the +monarchs together who had preceded him. It was a part of his policy to +honor and reward every man of genius, no matter what his origin, and +thus to develop the intellect of his country. He foresaw the advantage +of making Paris the great centre of art; therefore he did not hesitate +to transport from the countries he conquered, the most renowned and +valuable works of ancient and modern times. "Paris is Rome; Paris is now +the great centre of art," said he to Canova in 1810, when that great +sculptor visited Paris at his command, and whom he endeavored to +persuade to permanently remain in his service. West, after his return to +England from Paris, where he had had several interviews with Bonaparte, +expressed his admiration of the man in such warm terms as offended the +officials of the government, and caused such opposition, that he deemed +it proper to resign the President's chair in the Royal Academy. The +truth is, it was not the conqueror, as the English pretended, but his +exalted ideas of the arts, and of their value to a country, which +captivated West, whose peaceful tenets led him to abhor war and +devastation. + +Napoleon's enlightened policy is also seen in those stupendous works +published by the French government, as the _Description de l'Egypte, ou +Recueil des Observationes et des Recherches pendant l'Expedition de +l'Armée Français_, 25 vols. in elephant folio. This work corresponds in +grandeur of its proportions to the edifices and monuments which it +describes. Everything that zeal in the cause of science, combined with +the most extensive knowledge, had been able to collect in a land +abounding in monuments of every kind, and in the rarest curiosities, is +described and illustrated in this work by a committee of savans +appointed for the purpose. It contains more than 900 engravings, and +3000 illustrative sketches. The Musée Français, and the Musée Royal, +containing 522 plates, after the gems of the world, are not less grand +and magnificent, and far more valuable contributions to art. These will +be described in a subsequent page. Such was Napoleon; deprive him of +every other glory, his love of art, and what he did for its promotion, +and the adornment of his country, would immortalize his name. + +Napoleon delighted to spend some of his leisure moments in contemplating +the master pieces of art which he had gathered in the Louvre, and that +he might go there when he pleased, without parade, he had a private +gallery constructed leading to that edifice from the Tuilleries. (See +Spooner's Dictionary of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors, and Architects, +articles West, David, Denon, Canova, etc., and vol i., page +8, of this work.) + + + + +NAPOLEON'S WORKS AT PARIS. + + +"The emperor was, most indisputably, the monarch who contributed in the +greatest degree to the embellishment of Paris. How many establishments +originated under his reign! nevertheless, on beholding them, the +observer has but a faint idea of all he achieved; since every principal +city of the empire witnessed alike the effects of his munificence and +grandeur of mind; the streets were widened, roads constructed and canals +cut; even the smallest towns experienced improvements, the result of +that expanded genius which was daily manifested. I shall, therefore, +content myself by placing before the reader a mere sketch of the works +achieved at Paris; for were it requisite to give a catalogue of all the +monuments erected during his reign, throughout the French empire, a +series of volumes would be required to commemorate those multifarious +labors."--_Ireland_. + + +_Palaces._ + +The Louvre was completely restored, which a succession of French +monarchs had not been able to accomplish. The Palace of the Luxembourg +equally embellished throughout, as well in the interior as the exterior, +and its gardens replanted. The Exchange founded. The Palace of the +University reconstructed, as well as the Gallery uniting the Palace of +the Tuilleries to that of the Louvre. + + +_Fountains._ + +The situation of the Fountain of the Innocents changed, and the whole +reërected; that of Saint Sulpicius; of the Four Nations; of Desaix in +the Place Dauphine; of Gros-Caillon; of the Quay de L'Ecole; of the +Bridge of Saint Eustatius; of the Rue Ceusder; of the Rue Popincourt; of +the Chateau D'Eau; of the Square of the Chatelet; of the Place Notre +Dame; of the Temple; and of the Elephant, in the Place of the Bastille. + + +_Acqueducts._ + +The subterranean acqueducts were constructed, which convey the water of +the Canal de L'Ourcq throughout the different quarters of Paris, from +whence a vast number of small fountains distribute them in every +direction, to refresh the streets during the summer season, and to +cleanse them in the winter; these same channels being also formed to +receive the waters which flow from the gutters in the streets. + + +_Markets._ + +That of the Innocents, the largest in Paris; the Jacobins, where +formerly stood the monastery of that name, and during the heat of the +revolution, the club so called; the Valley for the sale of Poultry; the +Market of Saint Joseph; the Halle for the sale of Wines; the Market of +Saint Martin; that of Saint Germain, and of Saint Jacques-la-Boucherie. + +_Slaughter Houses._ + +Those of the Deux Moulins; of the Invalids; of Popincourt; of Miromeuil, +and of Les Martyrs. + +As the killing of animals, for the consumption of Paris, within the +confines of the city, was deemed not only unwholesome, but very +disgusting, these buildings were erected by order of Napoleon, and have +proved of the greatest utility. The edifices are very spacious, +containing all the requisites for the purpose intended, and being also +placed in different directions and without the barriers of the city, the +eyes of the inhabitants are no longer disgusted by beholding those +torrents of blood which formerly inundated the streets, and which, in +the summer season, produced an effluvia not only disgusting to the +smell, but highly detrimental to the health of the population of the +city. + + +_Watering Places for Animals._ + +That of the School of Medicine, a superb marble structure, together with +the Abreuvoir of the Rue L'Egout, Saint Germain. + + +_Public Granary, or Halle du Blé._ + +Necessity gave rise to the noble plan of this stupendous fabric, the +idea of which was taken from the people of antiquity. + + +_Boulevard._ + +That called Bourdon was formed, occupying the environs of the spot where +the Bastille stood. + +_Bridges._ + +Those of the Arts; of the City; of Austerlitz; and of Jena. + + +_Triumphal Arches._ + +The Carousel; the Etoile; and the Arch of Louis XIV., restored. + + +_Quays._ + +Those of Napoleon; of Flowers; of Morland; and of Caténat. + + +_The Column of Austerlitz._ + +Situated in the centre of the Place Vendôme, formed of the brass +produced from the cannon which were taken from the Austrians during the +memorable campaign of 1805. + + +_Place de Victoires._ + +In the middle of this square was erected a colossal bronze statue of the +gallant General Desaix, who nobly fell at the battle of Marengo, when +leading to the charge a body of cavalry, which decided the fate of that +desperate conflict; this tribute, however, to the memory of the brave, +was removed by order of the Bourbons, on their first restoration. + + +_Squares._ + +In the middle of the Place Royale a fine basin has been constructed, +from whence plays a magnificent piece of water; the Squares of the +Apport de Paris; of the Rotunda; and of Rivoli. + + +_The Pantheon._ + +The pillars supporting the vast dome of this lofty pile, which had long +threatened the overthrow of the structure were replaced, and the +tottering foundations rendered perfect and solid. + + +_The Hotel Dieu._ + +The whole façade of this immense Hospital was reconstructed. + + +_The Canal de L'Ourcq._ + +This grand undertaking was rendered navigable, and the basin, sluices, +&c. completely finished. + + + + +THE NAPOLEON MEDALS. + + +Of the numerous means employed to commemorate the achievements of +Napoleon, the public buildings and monuments of France bear ample +witness. Indeed, Bonaparte's name and fame are so engrafted with the +arts and literature of France, that it would be impossible for the +government to erase the estimation in which he is held by the French +people. + +_A series of medals in bronze_, nearly one hundred and thirty in number, +struck at different epochs of his career, exist, each in celebration of +the prowess of the French army, or of some great act of his government: +a victory, a successful expedition, the conquest of a nation, the +establishment of a new state, the elevation of some of his family, or +his own personal aggrandizement. + +The medal commemorative of the _battle of Marengo_ bears, on one side, a +large bunch of keys, environed by two laurel branches; and, on the +reverse, Bonaparte, as a winged genius, standing on a dismounted cannon +to which four horses are attached upon the summit of Mount St. Bernard, +urges their rapid speed, with a laurel branch in one hand, whilst he +directs the reins with the other. + +That on the _peace of Luneville_ is two inches and a quarter in +diameter, with the head of the first consul in uncommonly bold relief; +the device, as mentioned in another place, is the sun arising in +splendor upon that part of the globe which represents France, and which +is overshadowed by laurels, whilst a cloud descends and obscures Great +Britain. + +The commencement of hostilities by England, after the _peace of Amiens_, +is designated by the English leopard tearing a scroll, with the +inscription, _Le Traité d'Amiens Rompu par l'Angleterre en Mai de l'An_ +1803; on the reverse, a winged female figure in breathless haste forcing +on a horse at full speed, and holding a laurel crown, inscribed, +_L'Hanovre occupé var l'Armée Francaise en Juin de l'An_ 1803; and +beneath, _Frappée avec l'Argent des Mines d'Hanovre, l'An 4 de +Bonaparte_. + +His medal, on assuming the purple, has his portrait, _Napoleon +Empereur_, by Andrieu, who executed nearly all the portraits on his +medals; on the reverse, he is in his imperial robes, elevated by two +figures, one armed, inscribed, _Le Senat et le Peuple_. + +The _battle of Austerlitz_ has, on the reverse, simply a thunderbolt, +with a small figure of Napoleon, enrobed and enthroned on the upper end +of the shaft of the thunder. + +In 1804, he struck a medal with a Herculean figure on the reverse, +confining the head of the English leopard between his knees, whilst +preparing a cord to strangle him, inscribed _En l'An XII. 2000 barques +sont construites_;--this was in condemnation of the invasion and +conquest of England. + +The reverse of the medal on the _battle of Jena_ represents Napoleon on +an eagle in the clouds, as warring with giants on the earth, whom he +blasts with thunderbolts. + +The medal on the _Confederation of the Rhine_ has, for its reverse, +numerous warriors in ancient armor, swearing with their right hands on +an altar, formed of an immense fasces, with the imperial eagle +projecting from it. + +Not the least characteristic of the series is a medal, with the usual +head _Napoleon Emp. et Roi_, on the exergue, with this remarkable +reverse, a throne, with the imperial robes over the back and across the +sceptre, which is in the chair; before the throne is a table, with +several crowns, differing in shape and dignity, and some sceptres with +them lying upon it; three crowns are on the ground, one broken and two +upside down; an eagle with a fasces hovers in the air; the inscription +is, _Souverainetés donnés_ M.DCCCVI. + +The reverses of the last four in succession, struck during the reign of +Napoleon, are, 1. The _Wolga_, rising with astonishment from his bed at +the sight of the French eagle; 2. A representation of _la Bataille de la +Moskowa, 7 Septembre, 1812_; 3. _A view of Moscow_, with the French flag +flying on the Kremlin, and an ensign of the French eagle, bearing the +letter N. loftily elevated above its towers and minarets, dated 14th +September, 1812; 4. A figure in the air, directing a furious storm +against an armed warrior resembling Napoleon, who, unable to resist the +attack, is sternly looking back, whilst compelled to fly before it--a +dead horse, cannon dismounted, and a wagon full of troops standing +still, perishing in fields of snow; the inscription is, _Retraite de +l'Armée, Novembre, 1812_. + +The workmanship of the preceding medals are admirable, but most of them +are surpassed in that respect by some to which we can do little more +than allude. + +A finely executed medal, two inches and five-eights in diameter, +represents Napoleon enthroned in his full imperial costume, holding a +laurel wreath; on the reverse is a head of _Minerva_, surrounded by +laurel and various trophies of the fine arts, with this +inscription--_Ecole Francaise des Beaux Arts à Rome, rétablie et +augmentée par Napoleon en 1803_. The reverses--of the Cathedral at +Paris--a warrior sheathing his sword (on the battle of Jena)--and +Bonaparte holding up the King of Rome, and presenting him to the +people--are amongst the most highly finished and most inestimable +specimens of art. + +Unquestionably the _worst_ in the collection is the consular medal, +which, on that account, deserves description; it is, in size, about a +half crown piece, on the exergue, over a small head of Bonaparte, is +inscribed _Bonaparte premier consul_; beneath it, _Cambacères second +consul, le Brun troisième consul de la république Francaise_; on the +reverse, _Le peuple Francais à défenseurs, cette première pierre de la +colonne nationale, posée par Lucien Bonaparte, ministre de l'interieur, +25 Messidore, An 8, 14 Juillet, 1800_.--One other medal only appears +with the name of Lucien Bonaparte; it is that struck in honor of Marshal +Turenne, upon the _Translation du corps de Turenne au Temple de Mars par +les ordres du premier Consul Bonaparte_; and is of a large size, bearing +the head of Turenne, with, beneath it, _Sa gloire appartient au peuple +Francais_. Several are in honor of General Desaix, whose memory Napoleon +held in great esteem. Those on his marriage with Marie Louise bear her +head beside his own; and a small one on that occasion has for its +reverse, a Cupid carrying with difficulty a thunderbolt. Those on the +birth of their child bear the same heads on the exergue, with the head +of an infant, on the reverse, inscribed, _Napoleon François Joseph +Charles, Rio de Rome, XX. Mars M.DCCCXI.--Ireland_. + + + + +THE ELEPHANT FOUNTAIN. + + +When Napoleon had decided that a stupendous fountain should occupy the +centre of the area where the celebrated state prison of the Bastille +stood, the several artists, employed by the government, were ordered to +prepare designs for the undertaking, and numerous drawings were in +consequence sent in for the emperor's inspection. On the day appointed, +he proceeded to examine these specimens, not one of which, however, +proved at all commensurate with the vast idea he had in contemplation; +wherefore, after pacing the chamber a few minutes, Napoleon suddenly +halted, exclaiming: "Plant me a colossal elephant there, and let the +water spout from his extended trunk!" All the artists stood astonished +at this bold idea, the propriety and grandeur of which immediately +flashed conviction upon their minds, and the only wonder of each was, +that no such thought should have presented itself to his own +imagination: the simple fact is, _there was but one Napoleon +present_!--_Communicated to Ireland by David._ + +This fountain was modeled in Plaster of Paris on the spot. It is +seventy-two feet in height; the _jet d'eau_ is through the nostrils of +his trunk; the reservoir in the tower on his back; and one of his legs +contains the staircase for ascending to the large room in the inside of +his belly. The elephant was to have been executed in bronze, with tusks +of silver, surrounded by lions of bronze, which were to spout water from +one cistern to another. + + + + +INTERESTING DRAWINGS. + + +On the sailing of the French expedition for Egypt, from Malta, under the +orders of Bonaparte, the fleet was intentionally dispersed in order to +arrive without being noticed; they had no sooner, however, left Malta, +than they learned that Nelson had penetrated their design, and was in +pursuit of them. Expecting every hour to be come up with, and being too +weak to risk a combat, it was the resolution of Bonaparte and the rest +of the illustrious persons on board the _Orient_ to blow her up, rather +than be taken prisoners; but, that the memory of those who perished +might be preserved, and their features known by posterity, Bonaparte +caused the portraits of eighteen to be taken on two sheets of paper, +which were to be rolled up, put in bottles, and committed to the waves: +the names of the persons are,-- + +_First Drawing._ + + Desaix, + Berthier, + Kleber, + Dalomieu, + Berthollet, + Bonaparte, + Caffarelli, + Brueys, + Monge. + + +_Second Drawing._ + + Rampon, + Junot, + Regnier, + Desgenettes, + Larrey, + Murat, + Lasnes, + Belliard, + Snulkanski. + +The portraits were executed in medallions, with India ink; they were +carefully preserved by the famous surgeon, Baron Larrey; and they +adorned his study at Paris till his death. + + + + +SEVRES CHINA. + + +On the river at Sévres, near Paris, a manufactory is carried on, which +produces the beautiful porcelain, commonly called Sévres, china. It is +equal to all that has been said of it, and after declining, as every +other great national establishment did, during the revolution, +flourished greatly under the peculiar patronage of the emperor Napoleon. +He made presents hence to those sovereigns of Europe with whom he was in +alliance. Napoleon had two vases made of this china, which, even at this +day, form the principal ornament of the gallery at St. Cloud. These +were made at Sévres, and are valued at 100,000 francs each. The clay +made use of was brought at a great expense from a distant part of +France, and affords an instance of how much the value of raw material +may be increased by the ingenuity of a skillful artist. + + + + +DISMANTLING OF THE LOUVRE. + + +In Scott's Paris Revisited (A. D. 1815), we have the following +interesting particulars of the removal of the celebrated pictures and +statues from this famous emporium of the fine arts. + +"Every day new arrivals of strangers poured into Paris, all anxious to +gain a view of the Louvre, before its collection was broken up; it was +the first point to which all the British directed their steps every +morning, in eager curiosity to know whether the business of removal had +commenced. The towns and principalities, that had been plundered, were +making sedulous exertions to influence the councils of the allies to +determine on a general restoration; and several of the great powers +leaned decidedly towards such a decision. + +"Before actual force was employed, representations were repeated to the +French government, but the ministers of the king of France would neither +promise due satisfaction, nor uphold a strenuous opposition. They showed +a sulky disregard of every application. A deputation from the +Netherlands formally claimed the Dutch and Flemish pictures taken during +the revolutionary wars from those countries; and this demand was +conveyed through the Duke of Wellington, as commander-in-chief of the +Dutch and Belgian armies. About the same time, also, Austria determined +that her Italian and German towns, which had been despoiled, should have +their property replaced, and Canova, the anxious representative of Rome, +after many fruitless appeals to Talleyrand, received assurances that he, +too, should be furnished with an armed force sufficient to protect him +in taking back to that venerable city, what lost its highest value in +its removal from thence. + +"Contradicting reports continued to prevail among the crowds of +strangers and natives as to the intentions of the allies, but on +Saturday, the 23d of September, all doubt was removed. On going up to +the door of the Louvre, I found a guard of one hundred and fifty British +riflemen drawn up outside. I asked one of the soldiers what they were +there for? 'Why, they tell me, sir, that they mean to take away the +pictures,' was his reply. I walked in amongst the statues below, and on +going to the great staircase, I saw the English guard hastily trampling +up its magnificent ascent: a crowd of astonished French followed in the +rear, and, from above, many of the visitors in the gallery of pictures +were attempting to force their way past the ascending soldiers, +catching an alarm from their sudden entrance. The alarm, however, was +unfounded; but the spectacle that presented itself was very impressive. +A British officer dropped his men in files along this magnificent +gallery, until they extended, two and two, at small distances, from its +entrance to its extremity. All the spectators were breathless, in +eagerness to know what was to be done, but the soldiers stopped as +machines, having no care beyond obedience to their orders. + +"The work of removal now commenced in good earnest: porters with +barrows, and ladders, and tackles of ropes made their appearance. The +collection of the Louvre might from that moment be considered as broken +up for ever. The sublimity of its orderly aspect vanished: it took now +the melancholy, confused, desolate air of a large auction room, after a +day's sale. Before this, the visitors had walked down its profound +length with a sense of respect on their minds, influencing them to +preserve silence and decorum, as they contemplated the majestic +pictures; but decency and quiet were dispelled when the signal was given +for the breaking up of the establishment. It seemed as if a nation had +become ruined through improvidence, and was selling off. + +"The guarding of the Louvre was committed by turns to the British and +Austrians, while this process lasted. The Prussians said that they had +done their own business for themselves, and would not now incur odium +for others. The workmen being incommoded by the crowds that now rushed +to the Louvre, as the news spread of the destruction of its great +collection, a military order came that no visitors should be admitted +without permission from the foreign commandant of Paris. This direction +was pretty much adhered to by the sentinels as far as the exclusion of +the French, but the words _Je suis Anglais_, were always sufficient to +gain leave to pass from the Austrians: our own countrymen were rather +more strict, but, in general, foreigners could, with but little +difficulty, procure admission. The Parisians stood in crowds around the +door, looking wistfully within it, as it occasionally opened to admit +Germans, English, Russians, &c., into a palace of their capital from +which they were excluded. I was frequently asked by French gentlemen, +standing with ladies on their arms, and kept back from the door by the +guards, to take them into their own Louvre, under my protection as an +unknown foreigner! It was impossible not to feel for them in these +remarkable circumstances of mortification and humiliation; and the +agitation of the French public was now evidently excessive. Every +Frenchman looked a walking volcano, ready to spit forth fire. Groups of +the common people collected in the space before the Louvre, and a +spokesman was generally seen, exercising the most violent +gesticulations, sufficiently indicative of rage, and listened to by the +others, with lively signs of sympathy with his passion. As the packages +came out, they crowded round them, giving vent to torrents of _pestes_, +_diables_, _sacres_, and other worse interjections. + +"Wherever an Englishman went, in Paris, at this time, whether into a +shop or a company, he was assailed with the exclamation, _'Ah! vos +compatriotes!'_ and the ladies had always some wonderful story to tell +him, of an embarrassment or mortification that had happened to _his_ +duke; of the evil designs of the Prince Regent, or the dreadful revenge +that was preparing against the injuries of France. The great gallery of +the Louvre presented every fresh day a more and more forlorn aspect; but +to the reflecting mind, it combined a number of interesting points of +view. The gallery now seemed to be the abode of all the foreigners in +the French capital:--we collected there, as a matter of course, every +morning--but it was easy to distinguish the last comers from the rest. +They entered the Louvre with steps of eager haste, and looks of anxious +inquiry; they seemed to have scarcely stopped by the way--and to have +made directly for the pictures on the instant of their reaching Paris. +The first view of the stripped walls made their countenances sink under +the disappointment, as to the great object of their journey. Crowds +collected round the _Transfiguration_--that picture which, according to +the French account, _destiny_ had always intended for the French nation: +it was every one's wish to see it taken down, for the fame which this +great work of Raffaelle had acquired, and its notoriety in the general +knowledge, caused its departure to be regarded as the consummation of +the destruction of the picture gallery of the Louvre. It was taken away +among the last. + +"Students of all nations fixed themselves round the principal pictures, +anxious to complete their copies before the workmen came to remove the +originals. Many young French girls were seen among these, perched upon +small scaffolds, and calmly pursuing their labors in the midst of the +throng and bustle. When the French gallery was thoroughly cleared of the +property of other nations, I reckoned the number of pictures which then +remained to it, and found that the total left to the French nation, of +the fifteen hundred pictures which constituted their magnificent +collection, was _two hundred and seventy-four_! The Italian division +comprehended about eighty-five specimens; these were now dwindled to +_twelve_: in this small number, however, there are some very exquisite +pictures by Raffaelle, and other great masters. Their Titians are much +reduced, but they keep the Entombment, as belonging to the King of +France's old collection, which is one of the finest by that artist. A +melancholy air of utter ruin mantled over the walls of this superb +gallery: the floor was covered with empty frames: a Frenchman, in the +midst of his sorrow, had his joke, in saying, 'Well, we should not have +left to _them_ even these!' In walking down this exhausted place, I +observed a person, wearing the insignia of the legion of honor, suddenly +stop short, and heard him exclaim, '_Ah, my God--and the Paul Potter, +too!_' This referred to the famous painting of a bull by that master, +which is the largest of his pictures, and is very highly valued. It +belonged to the Netherlands, and has been returned to them. It was said +that the emperor Alexander offered fifteen thousand pounds for it. + +"The removal of the statues was later in commencing, and took up more +time; they were still packing these up when I quitted Paris. I saw the +Venus, the Apollo, and the Laocoön removed: these may be deemed the +presiding deities of the collection. The solemn antique look of these +halls fled forever, when the workmen came in with their straw and +Plaster of Paris, to pack up. The French could not, for some time, allow +themselves to believe that their enemies would dare to deprive them of +these sacred works; it appeared to them impossible that they should be +separated from France--from _la France_--the country of the Louvre and +the Institute; it seemed a contingency beyond the limits of human +reverses. But it happened, nevertheless: they were all removed. One +afternoon, before quitting the place, I accidentally stopped longer than +usual, to gaze on the Venus, and I never saw so clearly her superiority +over the Apollo, the impositions of whose style, even more than the +great beauties with which they are mingled, have gained for it an +inordinate and indiscriminating admiration. On this day, very few, if +any of the statues had been taken away--and many said that France would +retain them, although she was losing the pictures. On the following +morning I returned, and the pedestal on which the Venus had stood for so +many years, the pride of Paris, and the delight of every observer, was +vacant! It seemed as if a soul had taken its flight from a body." + + + + +REMOVAL OF THE VENETIAN HORSES FROM PARIS. + + +"The removal of the well known horses taken from the church of St. Mark +in Venice, was a bitter mortification to the people of Paris. These had +been peculiarly the objects of popular pride and admiration. Being +exposed to the public view, in one of the most frequented situations of +Paris, this was esteemed the noblest trophy belonging to the capital; +and there was not a Parisian vender of a pail-full of water who did not +look like a hero when the Venetian horses were spoken of. + +"'Have you heard what has been determined about the horses?' was every +foreigner's question. 'Oh! they cannot mean to take the horses away,' +was every Frenchman's answer. On the morning of Thursday, the 26th of +September, 1815, however it was whispered that they had been at work all +night in loosening them from their fastening. It was soon confirmed +that this was true--and the French then had nothing left for it, but to +vow, that if the allies were to attempt to touch them in the _daylight_, +Paris would rise at once, exterminate its enemies, and rescue its honor. +On Friday morning I walked through the square; it was clear that some +considerable change had taken place; the forms of the horses appeared +finer than I had ever before witnessed. When looking to discover what +had been done, a private of the British staff corps came up, 'You see, +sir, we took away the harness last night,' said he. 'You have made a +great improvement by so doing,' I replied; 'but are the British employed +on this work?' The man said that the Austrians had requested the +assistance of our staff corps, for it included better workmen than any +they had in their service. I heard that an angry French mob had given +some trouble to the people employed on the Thursday night, but that a +body of Parisian gendarmerie had dispersed the assemblage. The Frenchmen +continued their sneers against the allies for working in the dark: fear +and shame were the causes assigned. 'If you take them at all, why not +take them in the face of day? But you are too wise to drag upon +yourselves the irresistible popular fury, which such a sight would +excite against you!' + +"On the night of Friday, the order of proceeding was entirely changed. +It had been found proper to call out a strong guard of Austrians, horse +and foot. The mob had been charged by the cavalry, and it was said that +several had their limbs broken. I expected to find the place on Saturday +morning quiet and open as usual; but when I reached its entrance, what +an impressive scene presented itself! The delicate plan--for such in +truth it was--of working by night, was now over. The Austrians had +wished to spare the feelings of the king the pain of seeing his capital +dismantled before his palace windows, where he passed in his carriage +when he went out for his daily exercise. But the acute feelings of the +people rendered severer measures necessary. My companion and myself were +stopped from entering the place by Austrian dragoons: a large mob of +Frenchmen were collected here, standing on tip-toe to catch the arch in +the distance, on the top of which the ominous sight of numbers of +workmen, busy about the horses, was plainly to be distinguished. We +advanced again to the soldiers: some of the French, by whom we were +surrounded, said, 'Whoever you are, you will not be allowed to pass.' I +confess I was for retiring--for the whole assemblage, citizens and +soldiers, seemed to wear an angry and alarming aspect. But my companion +was eager for admittance. He was put back again by an Austrian +hussar:--'_What, not the English!_' he exclaimed in his own language. +The mob laughed loudly, when they heard the foreign soldier so +addressed; but the triumph was ours; way was instantly made for us--and +an officer on duty, close by, touched his helmet as we passed. + +"The king and princes had left the Tuilleries, to be out of the view of +so mortifying a business The court of the palace, which used to be gay +with young _gardes du corps_ and equipages, was now silent, deserted, +and shut up. Not a soul moved in it. The top of the arch was filled with +people, and the horses, though as yet all there, might be seen to begin +to move. The carriages that were to take them away were in waiting +below, and a tackle of ropes was already affixed to one. The small door +leading to the top was protected by a strong guard: every one was +striving to obtain permission to gratify his curiosity, by visiting the +horses for the last time that they could be visited in this situation. +Permission, however, could necessarily be granted but to few. I was of +the fortunate number. In a minute I had climbed the narrow dark stair, +ascended a small ladder, and was out on the top, with the most +picturesque view before me that can be imagined. An English lady asked +me to assist her into Napoleon's car of victory: his own statue was to +have been placed in it, _when he came back a conqueror from his Russian +expedition!_ I followed the lady and her husband into the car, and we +found a Prussian officer there before us. He looked at us, and, with a +good humored smile, said, 'The emperor kept the English out of France, +but the English have now got where he could not! '_Ah, pauvre, +Napoleon!_' + +"The cry of the French now was, that it was abominable, execrable, to +insult the king in his palace--to insult him in the face of his own +subjects by removing the horses in the face of day! I adjourned with a +friend to dine at a _restaurateur's_, near the garden of the Tuilleries, +after witnessing what I have described. Between seven and eight in the +evening we heard the rolling of wheels, the clatter of cavalry, and the +tramp of infantry. A number of British were in the room; they all rose +and rushed to the door without hats, and carrying in their haste their +white table napkins in their hands. The horses were going past in +military procession, lying on their sides, in separate cars. First came +cavalry, then infantry, then a car; then more cavalry, more infantry, +then another car; and so on till all four passed. The drums were +beating, and the standards went waving by. This was the only appearance +of parade that attended any of the removals. Three Frenchmen, seeing the +group of English, came up to us, and began a conversation. They appealed +to us if this was not shameful. A gentleman observed, that the horses +were only going back to the place from whence the French had taken them: +if there was a right in power for France, there must also be one for +other states but the better way to consider these events was as +terminating the times of robbery and discord. Two of them seemed much +inclined to come instantly round to our opinion: but one was much more +consistent. He appeared an officer, and was advanced beyond the middle +age of life. He kept silence for a moment; and then, with strong +emphasis, said--'You have left me nothing for my children but hatred +against England; this shall be my legacy to them.'"--_Scott._ + + + + +REMOVAL OF THE STATUE OF NAPOLEON FROM THE PLACE VENDOME. + + +"What will posterity think of the madness of the French government and +the exasperation of public feeling in a nation like the French, so +uniformly proud of military glory, when very shortly after the first +arrival of their new monarch, Louis XVIII., an order was issued for +leveling with the dust that proud monument of their victories, the +famous column and statue of Napoleon in the Place Vendôme cast from +those cannon which their frequent victories over the Austrians had +placed at their disposal? The ropes attached to the neck of the colossal +brazen figure of the Emperor, wherewith the pillar was crowned, extended +to the very iron gratings of the Tuillerie gardens; thousands essayed to +move it, but all attempts were vain--the statue singly defied their +malice; upon which a second expedient was resorted to, and the carriage +horses, etc., from the royal stables were impressed into this service, +and affixed to the ropes, thus uniting their powerful force to that of +the _bipeds_: but even this proved abortive; the statue and column +braved the united shocks of man and beast, and both remained +immoveable." The statue was afterwards quietly dislodged from its +station by the regular labors of the experienced artisan. It was not +replaced till after the Revolution in 1830.--_Ireland._ + + + + +THE MUSEE FRANCAIS AND THE MUSEE ROYAL. + + +When the Allies entered Paris in 1815, they found in the gallery of the +Louvre about two thousand works of art--the gems of the world in +painting and antique sculpture--mostly the spoils of war, deposited +there by the Emperor Napoleon. The selection of these works was +entrusted to a commission, at the head of whom was the Baron Denon, who +accompanied the Emperor in all his expeditions for this purpose. The +Louvre, at this time, was the acknowledged emporium of the fine arts. +The grand determination of Napoleon to place France highest in art among +the nations, did not rest here. The design of combining in one single +series, five hundred and twenty-two line engravings from the finest +paintings and antique statues in the world, was a conception worthy of +his genius and foresight, and by its execution he conferred a lasting +favor not only on the artistic, but the civilized world, for the +originals were subsequently restored by the Allies to their rightful +owners and only about three hundred and fifty pieces remained of that +splendid collection. "These works" (the Musée Français, and the Musée +Royal), says a distinguished connoisseur, "are unquestionably the +greatest production of modern times. They exhibit a series of exquisite +engravings by the most distinguished artists, of such a magnificent +collection of painting and of sculpture as can never be again united." +These works were intended as a great treasury of art, from which not +only artists, but the whole world might derive instruction and profit. +To secure the utmost perfection in every department, no expense was +spared. The drawings for the engravers to engrave from, were executed by +the most distinguished artists, in order to ensure that every +peculiarity, perfection, and _imperfection_ in the originals should be +exactly copied, and these are pointed out in the accompanying +criticisms. These drawings alone cost the French government 400,000 +francs. + +The engravings were executed by the most distinguished engravers of +Europe, without regard to country, among whom it is sufficient to +mention Raffaelle Morghen, the Chevalier von Müller, and his son C. F. +von Müller, Bervic, Richomme, Rosaspina, Bartolozzi, Gandolfi, +Schiavonetti, the elder and younger Laurent, Massard, Girardet, Lignon, +Chatillon, Audouin, Forster, Claessens, etc. Stanley says that proof +impressions of Bervic's masterpiece, the Laocoön, have been sold in +London for thirty guineas each. There are many prints in these works +not less celebrated, and which are regarded by connoisseurs as +masterpieces of the art. + +Nor was this all. Napoleon summoned Visconti, the famous antiquary, +archæologist, and connoisseur, from Rome to Paris, to assist in getting +up the admirable descriptions and criticisms, particularly of the +ancient statues. This department was confided to Visconti, Guizot, +Clarac, and the elder Duchesne. The supervision of the engraving and +publishing department was entrusted to the Messrs. Robilliard, +Peronville, and Laurent. These works were published in numbers of four +plates, atlas folio, at the price of 96 francs each for the proofs +before the letter, and 48 francs for the prints. The first number of the +Musée Français was issued in 1803, and the last in 1811; but the Musée +Royal, which was intended to supply the deficiencies of the Musée +Français, was not completed till 1819; nevertheless, it was Napoleon's +work, though consummated in the reign of Louis XVIII. + +The Musée Français was originally published in five volumes, and +contains, besides the descriptions and criticisms on the plates, +admirable essays--1st. on the History of Painting, from its origin in +ancient times down to the time of Cimabue; 2d. on the History of +Painting in the German, Dutch, Flemish, and French schools; 3d. on the +History of Engraving; 4th. on the History of Ancient Sculpture. The +Musée Royal was published in two volumes. A second edition of the Musée +Français was published by the Messrs. Galignani, in four volumes, with +an English and French letter-press, but both greatly abridged. The +letter-press of the Musée Royal has never been rendered into English. +The plates were sold by the French government in 1836, since which time +a small edition has been printed from both works. + + + + +BOYDELL'S SHAKSPEARE GALLERY. + + +About the year 1785, Alderman J. Boydell, of London, conceived the +project of establishing a 'Shakspeare Gallery,' upon a scale of grandeur +and magnificence which should be in accordance with the fame of the +poet, and, at the same time, reflect honor upon the state of the arts in +Great Britain and throughout the world. Mr. Boydell was at this time a +man of great wealth and influence, and a patron of the fine arts, being +an engraver himself, and having accumulated his fortune mostly by +dealings in works of that character. + +He advertised for designs from artists throughout Great Britain, and +paid a guinea for every one submitted, whether accepted or not; and for +every one accepted by the committee, a prize of one hundred guineas. The +committee for selecting these designs was composed of five eminent +artists, Boydell himself being the president. The first painters of the +age were then employed to paint these pictures, among whom were Sir +Joshua Reynolds, Sir Benjamin West, Fusell, Romney, Northcote, Smirke, +Sir William Beechy, and Opie. + +Allan Cunningham, in his 'Lives of Eminent British Artists,' mentions +that Sir Joshua Reynolds was at first opposed to Boydell's project, as +impracticable on such an immense scale, and Boydell, to gain his +approbation and assistance, privately sent him a letter enclosing a +£1000 Bank of England note, and requesting him to paint two pictures at +his own price. What sum was paid by Boydell for these pictures was never +known. A magnificent building was erected in Pall Mall to exhibit this +immense collection, called the Shakspeare Gallery, which was for a long +time the pride of London. + +The first engravers of England were employed to transfer these gems to +copper, and such artists as Sharp, Bartolozzi, Earlom, Thew, Simon, +Middiman, Watson, Fyttler, Wilson, and many others, exerted their +talents for years in this great work. In some instances, the labor of +more than five years was expended on a single plate, and proof +impressions were taken for subscribers at almost every stage of the +work. At length in 1803, after nearly twenty years, the work was +completed. The price fixed (which was never reduced) was two guineas +each for the first three hundred impressions, and the subscription list +was then filled up at one guinea each, or one hundred guineas a set of +one hundred plates. + +Besides these subscriptions, large donations were made by many of the +noblemen of England, to encourage the undertaking, and to enable Boydell +to meet his enormous outlay. The cost of the whole work, from the +commencement, is said to have been about one million pounds sterling; +and although the projector was a wealthy man when he commenced it, he +died soon after its completion, a bankrupt to the amount, it is said, of +£250,000. + +After these plates were issued, Boydell petitioned Parliament to allow +him to dispose of his gallery of paintings by a lottery. The petition +was granted, and the whole collection was thus disposed of. One of the +finest of these pictures, King Lear, by Sir Benjamin West, is now in the +Boston Athenæum. + +One fact in relation to these plates gives great value to them. "All the +principal historical characters are genuine portraits of the persons +represented in the play; every picture gallery and old castle in England +was ransacked to furnish these portraits." + + + + +BRIEF SKETCH OF A PLAN FOR AN AMERICAN NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART. + + +Public Galleries of Art are now regarded by the most enlightened men, +and the wisest legislators, as of incalculable benefit to every +civilized country. (See vol. i., page 6, of this work.) +They communicate to the mind, through the eye, "the accumulated wisdom +of ages," relative to every form of beauty, in the most rapid and +captivating manner. If such institutions are important in Europe, +abounding in works of art, how much more so in our country, separated as +it is by the broad Atlantic from the artistic world, which few +comparatively can ever visit: many of our young artists, for the want of +such an institution, are obliged to grope their way in the dark, and to +spend months and years to find out a few simple principles of art. + +A distinguished professor, high in public estimation, has declared that +the formation of such an institution in this country, however important +and desirable it may be, is almost hopeless. He founds his opinion on +the difficulty of obtaining the authenticated works of the great +masters, and the enormous prices they now command in Europe. The writer +ventures to declare it as his long cherished opinion that a United +States National Gallery is entirely practicable, as far as all useful +purposes are concerned; and at a tithe of the cost of such institutions +in Europe. In the present state of the Fine Arts in our country, we +should not attempt to emulate European magnificence, but utility. The +"course of empire is westward," and in the course of time, as wealth and +taste increases, sale will be sought here, as now in England, for many +works of the highest art. It is also to be hoped that some public +benefactors will rise to our assistance. After the foundation of the +institution, it may be extended according to the taste and wants of the +country; professorships may be added, and the rarest works purchased. +When the country can and will afford it, no price should be regarded too +great for a perfect masterpiece of art, as a model in a national +collection. To begin, the Gallery should contain, + +1st. A complete library of all standard works on Art, historical and +illustrative, in every language. + +2d. A collection of the masterpieces of engraving; these should be +mounted on linen, numbered, bound, described and criticised. + +3d. A complete collection of casts of medals and antique gems, where the +originals cannot be obtained. There are about 70,000 antique medals of +high importance to art. (See Numismatics, vol. iii., p. 269, of this work.) These casts could easily be obtained through our +diplomatic agents; they should be taken in Plaster of Paris or Sulphur, +double--i.e., the reverse and obverse,--classified, catalogued, +described, and arranged in cases covered with plate glass, for their +preservation. + +4th. A collection of plaster casts of all the best works of sculpture, +particularly of the antique. Correct casts of the Elgin marbles are sold +by the British Museum at a very reasonable price, and in this case +would doubtless be presented to the institution. + +5th. A collection of Paintings. This is the most difficult part of the +project, yet practicable. Masterpieces of the art only should be +admitted, but historical authenticity disregarded. The works of the +great masters have been so closely imitated, that there are no certain +marks of authenticity, where the history of the picture cannot be +traced. (See Spooner's Dictionary of Painters, etc., Introduction, and +Table of Imitators.) Half the pictures in foreign collections cannot be +authenticated, and many of those which are, are not the best productions +of the master, nor worthy of the places they occupy. (See Mrs. Jameson's +Hand-Book to the Public Galleries in and near London; also the +Catalogues of the various Public Galleries of Europe.) Therefore, +instead of paying 5,000 or 10,000 guineas for an authenticated piece by +a certain master, as is sometimes done in Europe, competent and _true_ +men should be appointed to select capital works, executed in the style +of the great masters. Many such can be had in this country as well as in +Europe, at moderate prices. + +6th. The Institution should be located in New York, as the most +convenient place, and as the great centre of commerce, where artists +could most readily dispose of their works. For this favor, the city +would doubtless donate the ground, and her citizens make liberal +contributions. The edifice should be built fire-proof, and three +stories high--the upper with a skylight, for the gallery of paintings. +Such an institution need not be very expensive; yet it would afford the +elements for the instruction and accomplishment of the painter, the +engraver, the sculptor, the architect, the connoisseur, the +archæologist, and the public at large; it would be the means of +awakening and developing the sleeping genius of many men, to the honor, +glory, and advantage of their country, which, without it, must sleep on +forever. See vol. ii., pp. 149 and 155, and vol. iii., p. 265 +of this work. + + + + +INDEX. + + + Advantages of the Cultivation of the Fine Arts to a Country, i, 6; + Sir M. A. Shoe's Opinion, i, 6; + Sir George Beaumont's, i, 7; + West's, i, 8; + Taylor's, i, 9; + see also, i, 69; + Reynolds' Opinion, i, 204; + Napoleon's, iii, 274. + + Ætion, his picture of the Nuptials of Alexander and Roxana, ii, 184. + + Agaptos, Porticos of, ii, 185. + + Ageladus, his works, ii, 185. + + Aldobrandini Wedding, Fresco of, ii, 55. + + Allston, Washington, i, 60; + his Prayer answered, i, 61; + his success in London, i, 62; + his Death, i, 62; + Vanderlyn's letter--his Reflections on his Death, i, 63. + + American Patronage at Home and Abroad, i, 66; + Weir, Greenough, and Cooper's testimony, i, 67; + Cooper's Letter, i, 68. + + Amiconi, Jacopo, iii, 249. + + Angelo, Michael, his Early Passion for Art, i, 47; + his Mask of a Satyr, i, 48; + his Sleeping Cupid, i, 48; + Angela and Julius II, i, 50; + St. Peter's Church, i, 50; + Angelo and Lorenzo the Magnificent, i, 52; + his Cartoon of Pisa, i, 53; + his Last Judgment, i, 54; + his Coloring, i, 56; + his Grace, i, 57; + his Oil Paintings, i, 58; + his Prophets and Julius II, i, 58; + his Bon-Mots, i, 59; + Angelo and Raffaelle, i, 70-72. + + Anguisciola, Sofonisba, iii, 129; + her Early Distinction, iii, 129; + her Invitation to Spain iii, 130; + her Marriages, iii, 131; + her Residence at Genoa, her Honors, and her Intercourse with + Vandyck, iii, 132. + + Antique Sculptures in Rome, ii, 159. + + Antiquities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, ii, 43. + + Antiquity of the Fine Arts, i, 12. + + Aparicio, Canova, and Thorwaldsen, i, 236. + + Apelles, i, 18; + his Works, i, 18; + his Industry, i, 19; + his Portraits of Philip and Alexander, i, 19; + his Venus Anadyomene, i, 20; + + Apelles and the Cobbler, i, 23; + his Foaming Charger, i, 24; + his Freedom with Alexander, i, 25; + Apelles and Protogenes, i, 25; + the celebrated Contest of Lines, i, 26; + his Generosity to Protogenes, i, 28. + + Apelles of Ephesus, i, 93; + his Treatment by Ptolomy Philopator, i, 94; + his Revenge in his famous Picture of Calumny, i, 94; + Lucian's description of it, i, 94; + Raffaelle's Drawing of it, i, 95; + Proof that there were two Painters named Apelles, i, 95. + + Apollo Belvidere--West's Criticism, i, 41. + + Apollo, Colossal Etruscan, i, 90. + + Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155. + + Apollodorus the Painter, i, 162; + his Works and Style, i, 163. + + Apollodorus the Architect, i, 163; + his Worke, i, 164; + Trajan's Column, i, 164; + Apollodorus and Adrian, i, 165; + his Wicked Death, i, 165. + + Aqueducts of Ancient Rome, ii 152. + + Arch, Origin and Antiquity of the, ii. 41. + + Arches, Triumphal, ii, 157. + + Archimedes, iii, 77; + his Genius, Discoveries, and Inventions, iii, 77; + his Wonderful Machines, iii, 78; + his Death and Monument, iii, 79; + Story of his Burning Glasses proved true, iii, 79. + + Ardemans and Bocanegra--a Trial of Skill, iii, 201. + + Art, Egyptian, iii, 1-42, and iii, 263. + + Art, Grecian, derived from the Egyptian--Champollion's Opinion, iii, 1; + Origin of, iii, 265. + + Athenians, Ingratitude of, to Artists, i, 159. + + + Backhuysen, Ludolph, Sketch of his Life and Works, iii, 235. + + Banks, Thomas--his Ambition, i, 2; + his Character, i, 295; + his Genius, i, 297; + his Kindness to Young Sculptors, i, 298; + his Personal Appearance and Habits, i, 299; + Flaxman's Tribute, i, 300. + + Barry, James--his Enthusiasm, i, 2; + his Poverty, Death, and Monument, i, 3; + Johnson's Opinion of his Genius, i, 3. + + Bassano, Jacopo--singular instance of his Skill, ii, 139. + + Beaumont, Sir George--his Opinion of the Importance of the + Fine Arts, i, 7; + his Enthusiasm and munificent gift to the English National + Gallery, i, 7. + + Beauty, Ideal, as Conceived and Practiced by the Greatest + Masters, ii, 247. + + Belzoni--his Travels in Egypt, iii, 25. + + The Belzoni Sarcophagus, ii, 194. + + Bernazzano, the Zeuxis of Italy, ii, 140. + + Bernini, the Cav., i, 101; + his Precocity, i, 101; + his Bust of Charles I. and his Prediction, i, 101; + + Bernini and Louis XIV., i, 102; + his Triumphal Visit to Paris, i, 102; + the Medal struck in his Honor, i, 103; + his Works, i, 103; + his Restoration of the Verospi Hercules, i, 104; + Lanzi's Critique, i, 103; + his Love of Splendor and his Riches, i, 104; + Bernini and Urban VIII., iii, 256. + + Blake, William--his Enthusiasm, Eccentricity, and Poverty, i, 3; + his melancholy yet triumphant Death, 1, 4. + + Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, iii, 305. + + Bridge, Trajan's, across the Danube, i, 164. + + Bridge, Mandrocles', across the Bosphorus, ii, 162. + + Bridge, the Britannia Railway Tubular, iii 46; + the Tubes, iii, 47; + the Piers, iii, 48; + Construction of the Tubes, iii, 49; + Floating the Tubes, iii, 50; + Raising the Tubes, iii, 52; + the prodigious Hydraulic Presses used, iii, 53; + Bursting of one, iii, 55; + Sir Francis Head's Description, iii, 56; + Cost of the Structure, iii, 57. + + Brower, Adrian, iii, 182; + his Escape from a Cruel Master, iii, 183; + Brower, the Duke d'Aremberg, and Rubens, iii, 184; + his Death, iii, 184; + his Works, iii, 185. + + Brunelleschi, Filippo--remarkable instance of the Trials and Triumphs + of Genius, iii, 80; + his Inquiring Mind, Industry, and Discoveries, iii, 81; + his Genius, iii, 82; + his Ambition, iii, 83; + his first Visit to Rome and Assiduity, iii, 84; + Assembly of Architects to consult on the best means of raising the + Cupola of the Cathedral of Florence, iii, 85; + his Return to Rome, iii, 86; + his Invitation back to Florence, iii, 87; + his Discourse, iii, 87; + his Return to Rome, iii, 89; + grand Assemblage of Architects from all parts of Europe, iii, 90; + their Opinions and ridiculous Projects to raise the Cupola, iii, 91; + Filippo's Opposition and Discourse, iii, 92; + taken for a Madman, and driven out of the Assembly, iii, 93; + his Discourse, iii, 94; + his Arguments, and his Proposal that he who could make an Egg stand + on one end should build the Cupola, iii, 94; + his Plan submitted, iii, 96; + its Adoption, iii, 99; + Opposition encountered, iii, 101; + Lorenzo Ghiberti associated with him, iii, 101; + his Vexation and Despair, iii, 102; + Commencement of the Work, iii, 103; + Lorenzo's incapacity for such a Work, iii, 104; + Filippo's Scheme to get rid of him, iii, 105; + Lorenzo disgraced, iii, 109; + Filippo appointed Sole Architect, iii, 111; + his Industry, the wonderful Resources of his Mind, and his + triumphant Success, iii, 112; + Filippo chosen Magistrate of the City, iii, 116; + Jealousies he still encountered, iii, 118; + his Arrest, Mortifying Affront, and Triumph, iii, 118; + Grandeur and Magnificence of his Cupola, iii, 120; + his Enthusiasm, iii, 122; + Brunelleschi and Donatello, iii, 123. + + Buffalmacco, the successor of Giotto, ii, 267; + his comical Tricks to enjoy his sweetest Sleep, ii, 268; + his Employment by the Nuns of Faenza, ii, 270; + his Use of their best wine, ii, 272; + his Employment by Bishop Guido, ii, 273; + Comical Pranks of the Bishop's Monkey, ii, 274; + his Trick on the Bishop, ii, 277; + Origin of Libel Painting, ii, 278; + + Utility of ancient paintings, ii, 280; + his Commission from the Countryman, and its curious execution, ii, 282; + his Commission from the Perugians, ii, 283; + their Impertinence requited, ii, 284; + his Novel Mode of enforcing Payment, ii, 285. + + Callot, Jacques, iii, 176; + his uncontrollable Passion for Art, iii, 176; + his Patriotism, iii, 177. + + Callimachus--his invention of the Corinthian Capital, i, 152. + + Cambiaso, Luca--his Precocity and remarkable Facility of Hand, iii, 187; + his Invitation to Spain, iii, 188; + Luca and Philip II., iii, 189; + his Artistic Merits, iii, 190; + Boschini and Mengs' Opinions, iii, 190. + + Campaspe and Apelles, i, 21. + + Campus Martius, i, 91. + + Cano, Alonso, i, 230; + his Liberality, i, 231; + his Eccentricities, i, 231; + his Hatred of the Jews, i, 232; + his Ruling Passion strong in Death, i, 234; + Cano and the Intendant of the Bishop of Malaga, iii, 203; + his love of Sculpture, iii, 204. + + Canova--his Visit to his Native Place in his old age, i, 32. + + Capitol, ancient, of Rome, iii, 59. + + Capugnano and Lionello Spada, iii, 247. + + Caracci, the School of, ii, 122. + + Caracci, Annibale--his Letter to Lodovico, and his Opinion of the + Works of Correggio, i, 253; + instance of his Skill, ii, 137; + his Jealousy of Agostino, iii, 258. + + Carburi, Count--his Skill in Engineering, iii, 42. + + Caracciolo, Gio. Battista--his Intrigues, ii, 128. + + Carducci, Bartolomeo--his kind Criticism, iii, 203. + + Carlos, the Four, of the 17th Century, ii, 184. + + Caravaggio, Michael Angelo da--his Quarrelsome Disposition + and his Death, iii, 248. + + Carreño, Don Juan, and Charles II, iii, 208; + his Copy of Titian's St. Margaret, iii, 208; + his Abstraction of Mind, iii, 209. + + Castagno, Andrea del, his Treachery and Death, ii, 144. + + Castillo's Sarcasm on Alfaro, iii, 204. + + Catacombs of Egypt, iii, 12. + + Catino, the Sagro, or Emerald Dish, iii, 215. + + Cellini, Benvenute, iii, 255; + Cellini and Urban VIII; + his absolution for sins committed in the service of the + Church, iii, 255. + + Cespedes, Pablo--his Last Supper, iii, 209; + Zuccaro's Compliment to Cespedes, iii, 210. + + Chair of St. Peter, iii, 213. + + Church, St Peter's, iii, 61 + + Churches of Rome, iii, 60. + + Cimabue, Giovanni--Sketch of his Life, ii, 251; + his Style, ii, 252; + his Passion for Art, ii, 252; + his famous picture of the Virgin, ii, 253; + remarkable instance of homage to Art, ii, 254; + his Works, ii, 255; + his Death, ii, 256; + his Care of Giotto, ii, 257. + + Cloaca Maxima at Rome, ii, 42. + + Coello, Claudio, his challenge to Giordano, ii, 234. + + Column, Trajan's, i, 164. + + Column of Austerlitz, iii, 280. + + Colosseum, description of, ii, 29; + Montaigne's quaint account of its Spectacles, ii, 31. + + Colossus of the Sun at Rhodes, ii, 162. + + "Columbus and the Egg," story of, derived by him from + Brunelleschi, iii, 95. + + Contarini, Cav. Giovanni--his skill in Portraits, ii, 139. + + Contri, Antonio--his method of transferring frescos from walls to + canvass, ii, 146; + see also Palmarolis, ii, 147. + + Cooper, J. Fennimore--his Encouragement of Greenough, i, 66; + his Letter to Induce his Countrymen to Patronize their own + Artists, i, 67. + + Corenzio, Belisario--his Intrigues, ii, 128. + + Corinthian Capital, invention of, i, 152. + + Correggio--Sketch of his Life, i, 243; + his Cupola of the Church of St. John at Parma, i, 244; + his grand Cupola of the Cathedral, i, 246; + his Fate Exaggerated, i, 249; + Lanzi's Opinion, i, 251; + his Marriage and Children, i, 252; + Caracci's Opinion of Correggio, and his Letter, i, 258; + his Enthusiasm, i, 255; + his Grace, i, 255; + Correggio and the Monks, i, 256; + his Kindness--his Muleteer, i, 256; + Duke of Wellington's Correggio, i, 257; + Correggio's Ancona, i, 257; + Portraits of Correggio, i, 258; + did Correggio ever visit Rome? i, 259; + Singular History of Correggio's Adoration of the Shepherds, i, 261; + of his Education of Cupid, i, 262; + of a Magdalen, i, 264; + of a Charity, i, 265; + the celebrated Nótte of Correggio, iii, 259. + + Cortona, Pietro--Sketch of his Life, iii, 253; + Anecdotes of, iii, 254. + + + David, Jacques Louis, i, 176; + his Politics and Love of Liberty, i, 176; + David and Napoleon, i, 177; + his Banishment to Brussels, i, 177; + his famous picture of the Coronation of Napoleon, i, 178; + David and Canova, i, 179; + Napoleon's Compliments to David, i, 180; + the King of Wurtemberg's, i, 181; + List of Portraits it contained, i, 182; + its Barbarous Destruction by the Bourbons, i, 184; + David and the Duke of Wellington at Brussels, i, 184; + David and the Cardinal Caprara, i, 185; + Talma and David in his Banishment, 1, 186. + + Denon, the Baron--his description of the Necropolis of Thebes, iii, 16, + his Employment by Napoleon, iii, 802. + + Digby, Sir Kenelm--his Love Adventure in Spain, iii, 199. + + Dinocrates--his Proposal to cut Mount Athos into a Statue of Alexander + the Great, ii, 165; + Pope's Idea of its Practicability, ii, 166; + Dinocrates' Temple with an Iron Statue suspended in the air by + Loadstone, ii, 168. + + Domenichino, ii, 121; + his Dullness in his Youth, ii, 121; + Caracci's prediction of his rise to Eminence, ii, 122; + Lanzi and Mengs' Testimony of his Genius and Merits, ii, 123; + his Scourging of St. Andrew, ii, 123; + his Communion of St. Jerome, ii, 124; + his Enemies at Rome, ii, 125; + Lanzi's Account of the Decision of Posterity on his Merits, ii, 126; + his Caricatures, ii, 128; + Intrigues of the Neapolitan Triumvirate of Painters, ii, 128; + Lanzi's Account of this disgraceful Cabal, ii, 129; + his Works in the Chapel of St Januarius, and the Prices he + received, ii, 131; + his Death, ii, 132. + + Donatello, iii, 125; + Donatello and the Merchant, iii, 126; + Donatello and his unworthy Kinsmen, iii, 127; + his Death, iii, 128; + Donatello and Michael Angelo Compared, iii, 128; + Donatello and Brunelleschi, iii, 123; + Donatello and Uccello, ii, 292. + + Douw, Gerard, iii, 222; + his Style, iii, 224; + his Method of Painting, iii, 225; + his Works, iii, 226; + his Dropsical Woman, iii, 227. + + Dramatic Scenery at Rome, i, 93. + + Durer, Albert, iii, 228; + his unfortunate Marriage, iii, 229; + his Works as a Painter, iii, 229; + his Works as an Engraver, iii, 231; + his Fame and Death, iii, 233; + his Habits, iii, 234; + his Literary Works, iii, 234. + + + Egyptian Art, iii, 1, and iii, 263. + + Electioneering Pictures at Rome, i, 91. + + Emulation and Rivalry of Advantage to Artists, iii, 257. + + Engraving, Invention of Copper-Plate, i, 287. + + Era, Brightest, of Grecian Art, i, 11, and ii, 154. + + Era, Brightest, of Roman Art, ii, 152. + + Era, Brightest, of Italian Art, ii, 149. + + Eyck, John van--his Invention of Oil Painting, ii, 141. + + + Fabius Maximus--his Estimation of Art, i, 145. + + Fanaticism, Religious, destructive to Art, i, 105; + its Effects in England, i, 105. + + Figure, the Nude, i, 109; + Barry's Opinion, i, 109; + Schlegel's, i, 110. + + Fine Arts, Golden Age of, in Greece, i, 11. + + Fine Arts, Golden Age of, in Rome, ii, 152 + + Fine Arts, Golden Age of, In Italy, ii, 149. + + Finiguerra, Maso--his Invention of Copper-Plate Engraving, i, 287. + + Fiorentino, Stefano, one of the Fathers of Painting, ii, 286. + + Foreshortening, ii, 145; + its Invention, ii, 145. + + Fontana, Domenico, iii, 33; + his Removal of an Obelisk at Rome, iii, 34; + Dangers he Encountered, iii, 37; + Honors bestowed on him for his Success, iii, 40. + + Force of Habit, i, 202. + + Fornarina, La Bella, i, 75. + + Fountain, the Elephant, iii, 286. + + "Four Carlos of the 17th Century," ii, 184. + + "Four Finest Pictures at Rome," ii, 183 + + Frescos, Ancient, ii, 55; + the Aldobrandini Wedding, ii, 56. + + Fuseli, Henry--his Birth, ii, 59; + his Early Passion for Art, ii, 59; + his Literary and Poetical Taste, ii, 60; + Fuseli, Lavater, and the Unjust Magistrate, ii, 61; + his Travels and Literary Distinction, ii, 62; + his Arrival in London, ii, 63; + his Change from Literature to Painting, ii, 63; + his Visit to Italy, ii, 65; + his "Nightmare," ii, 66; + his OEdipus and his Daughters, ii, 66; + Fuseli and the Shakspeare Gallery, ii, 67; + his Hamlet's Ghost, ii, 69; + his Titania, ii, 69; + his Election as a Royal Academician, ii, 70; + Fuseli and Walpole, ii, 71; + Fuseli and Coutts, ii, 72; + Fuseli and Prof. Porson, ii, 72; + his Method of giving Vent to his Passion, ii, 73; + his Love of Terrific Subjects, ii, 73; + his Revenge on Lawrence, ii, 74; + his Estimate of Reynolds as an Historical Painter, ii, 75; + his Friendship for Lawrence, ii, 75; + Fuseli as Keeper of the Royal Academy, ii, 76; + his Jests and Oddities with the Students, ii, 77; + his Sarcasms on Northcote, ii, 78; + on various Artists, ii, 79; + his Retorts, ii, 80; + his Retort in Mr. Coutts' Banking-House, ii, 82; + his Sarcasm on Landscape and Portrait Painters, ii, 83; + his own Attainment of Happiness, ii, 84; + his Habits, ii, 84; + his Wife's Novel Method of Curing his Fits of Despondency, ii, 85; + his Personal Appearance, Sarcastic Disposition, and Quick + Temper, ii, 86; + his Near Sight, ii, 87; + his Popularity, ii, 88; + his Artistic Merits, ii, 88; + his Milton Gallery, etc., ii, 89. + + Fulton, Robert, as a Painter, i, 122; + his Love of Art, i, 123; + his Exalted Mind, i, 123; + his Account of his first Steamboat Voyage to Albany, and his + Predictions, i, 124. + + + Gallery, English National, i, 107. + + Gallery, Dresden, iii, 262. + + Gallery of the Louvre, iii, 289 and 302. + + Gallery, United States National--Suggestions for One, iii, 307. + + Galleries, Prices of, i, 112. + + Galletti, Pietro, and the Bolognese Students, ii, 184. + + Garland Twiner, i, 148. + + Gaulli, Gio. Battista--his Excellence in Portraiture, iii, 250; + his curious method of Painting the Dead, iii, 250. + + Genius, Trials of, i, 1, and iii, 80. + + Ghiberti, Lorenzo--his famous Doors of San Giovanni, i, 60, and iii, 101; + as an Architect, iii, 102. + + Giordano, Luca--his Wonderful Precocity, ii, 224; + his Enthusiasm, ii, 225; + Origin of his Nickname of _Luca-fa Presto_, ii, 226; + his Skill in copying and Imitating, ii, 226; + his Success at Naples, ii, 227; + Giordano, the Viceroy, and the Duke of Diano, ii, 228; + his Invitation to Florence--Giordano and Carlo Dolci, ii, 229; + his Invitation to the Court of Spain, ii, 230; + his Flattering Reception, ii, 230; + his Works in Spain, ii, 231; + in the Escurial, ii, 232; + his Habits, iii 233; + his first Picture at Madrid, ii, 233; + a great Favorite at Court, ii, 234; + Coello's Challenge, ii, 234; + Anecdotes, ii, 234; + Painting with his Fingers, ii, 235; + Rich Presents he Received, ii, 236; + his Return to Naples, ii, 236; + his Reception at Genoa, Florence, Rome and Naples, ii, 237; + his Personal Appearance and Character, ii, 237; + his Popularity, Love of Gain, and "Three Sorts of Pencils," ii, 238; + his Riches, ii, 238; + his Wonderful Facility of Hand, ii, 239; + his Fame and Reputation, ii, 240; + his Genius and merits, ii, 241; + his Tricks for Notoriety, his False Style and its Injurious Effects + on Art at the Time, ii, 241; + Remarkable Instance of his Rapidity of Execution in his altar-piece + of St. Francis Xavier, ii, 242. + + Giotto--Sketch of his Life, ii, 257; + his Early Passion for Art, ii, 257; + his Works, ii, 258; + as an Architect, ii, 259; + his St. Francis Stigmata, ii, 259; + his Invitation to Rome, ii, 260; + "Round as Giotto's O," ii, 261; + Story of his Living Model, ii, 262; + Giotto and the King of Naples, ii, 264; + his Bon Mots, ii, 265; + Giotto and Dante, ii, 266; + Death of Giotto ii 266. + + Giottino, ii, 286. + + Gladiator, Statue of the Dying, i, 144. + + Gladiator, Statue of the Fighting, ii, 187. + + Glass, Ancient, ii, 57; + Ancient Pictures of, ii, 58. + + Golden Age of Art in Greece, i, 11, and ii, 154. + + Golden Age of Art in Rome, ii, 152. + + Golden Age of Art in Italy, ii, 149. + + Goldsmith, Dr., and Reynolds, i, 199; + his "Deserted Village," i, 200; + his Retaliation, i, 200. + + Gomez, the Slave of Murillo, iii, 195. + + Grecian Art derived from the Egyptians, iii, 1. + + Greenough, Horatio--his Chanting Cherubs, i, 67; + Commission for his Statue of Washington for the Capitol, i, 68; + his Modesty, i, 69; + his account of the Miraculous Picture of the Virgin at + Florence, iii, 211. + + Griffier, John--his Perilous Adventure, iii, 245. + + Group of Niobe and her Children, ii, 185. + + Group of Laocoön and his Sons, ii, 187. + + Guercino--his Power of Relief, ii, 140. + + + Hals, Frank, and Vandyck, ii, 312. + + Hanneman--his picture of Peace, i, 310. + + Harpies, Curious Representations of, iii, 181. + + Heliopolis, iii, 7. + + Herculaneum--its Destruction--Antiquities and Works of Art + discovered, ii, 43. + + Hogarth--Value of his Works, i, 6; + his Genius, i, 166; + his Apprenticeship, i, 167; + his Revenge, i, 168; + his Method of Sketching an Incident, i, 168; + his Marriage, i, 168; + his Successful Expedient to get Payment, i, 169; + his Picture of the Red Sea, i, 170; + his Courtesy, i, 171; + his Absence of Mind, i, 171; + his March to Finchley, i, 172; + his unfortunate Dedication to the King, i, 172; + his Strange Manner of Selling his Pictures, i, 172; + Paltry Prices he received, i, 174; + his last Work, "the Tail-Piece," i, 175; + his Death, i, 176. + + Holbein, Hans, ii, 216; + his Portrait with the Fly, ii, 216; + his Visit to England, ii, 216; + Holbein and Henry VIII., ii, 217; + his Adventure with the Nobleman, ii, 217; + the King's Rebuke and Protection, ii, 218; + his Portrait of the Duchess of Milan, ii, 218; + his Dangerous Flattery, ii, 219; + his Portrait of Cratzer, ii, 219; + his Portraits of Sir Thomas More and his Family, ii, 220; + Bon-Mot of Sir Thomas, ii, 221. + + + Illusions in Painting, i, 228; + Singular Pictorial, ii, 137. + + Industry necessary to Success in Art--Reynold's Opinion, i, 201; + Durer's, iii, 228 and 234; + Michael Angelo's, i, 60; + Apelles', i, 19; + Da Vinci's, i, 275, 280, and 282; + Vernet's, ii, 297 and 299; + Rubens', i, 80 and 82; + Raffaelle's, i, 71; + Poussin's, iii, 150 and 161; + Gierdano's, ii, 226 and 233; + Brunelleschi's, iii, 81 and 84. + + Infelicities of Artists, i, 1-6. + + Ingenuity of Artists, iii, 178. + + Inquisition, Evil Influence of the, on Spanish Art, i, 211; + and Torreggiano, i, 2; + and Sir Anthony Moore, iii, 243. + + + Jarvis, John Wesley, i, 113; + his Eccentricity, and Lore of Jesting, Mimicking, and + Story-Telling, i, 113; + his Ludicrous Readings from Shakspeare, i, 115; + Dr. Francis' Account of him, i, 116; + the "Biggest Lie," i, 118; + Jarvis and Bishop Moore, i, 119; + and Commodore Perry, i, 119; + and the Philosopher, i, 120; + and Dr. Mitchell, i, 120; + his Habits, i, 121; + Jarvis and Sully, i, 122; + his Fondness for Notoriety, i, 122. + + Jervas, Charles, ii, 213; + Jervas and Pope, ii, 214; + and Dr. Arbuthnot, ii, 215; + his Vanity, ii, 215; + Kneller's Sarcasm, ii, 216. + + Jewelers, a hint to, iii, 179. + + Johnson, Dr.--his Friendship for Reynolds, i, 196; + his Apology for Portrait Painting, i, 197; + his Portrait, i, 198; + his Death, i, 199. + + Julian the Apostate--his Attempt to rebuild Jerusalem, ii, 160. + + Jupiter--see Temples and Statues. + + + Kirk, Thomas--his Genius, Misfortune, and untimely Death, i, 5. + + Kneller, Sir Godfrey--his Arrival in England, and great Success, i, 96; + Kneller's Portrait of Charles II., i, 99; + Kneller and James II., i, 97; + his Compliment to Louis XIV., i, 97; + his Wit and Bon-Mots, i, 98; + his Knowledge of Physiognomy, i, 99; + Kneller as a Justice of the Peace, i, 99; + his Decisions regulated by Equity rather than Law, i, 99; + Kneller and Clostermans, i, 100. + + + La Bella Fornarina, i, 75. + + Labyrinth of Egypt, iii, 11. + + Lake Moeris, iii, 9. + + Lamps, Perpetual, ii, 182. + + Laocoön, Group of the, ii, 187; + Pliny's Account of, ii, 189; + Michael Angelo's Opinion, ii, 190; + Sangallo's Account of its Discovery, ii, 190. + + Lanfranco, the Cav., ii, 91; + his Hostility to Domenichino, ii, 125. + + Lasson, M. de--his Caricature, ii, 311. + + Layard--his Nineveh and its Remains, ii, 34. + + Lebas, M.--his Removal of an Obelisk from Thebes to Paris, iii, 40. + + Louvre, Gallery of the, iii, 302; + Dismantling of, iii, 289. + + Love makes a Painter, i, 112, i, 148, i, 235, and iii, 195. + + Love of Art among the Romans, i, 146. + + Luca-fa-Presto, ii, 226. + + + Mabuse, John de, Anecdote of, iii, 246. + + Mandrocles' Bridge across the Bosphorus, ii, 162. + + March, Estéban--his Strange Method of Study, iii, 198; + his Adventure of the Fish fried in Linseed Oil, iii, 199. + + Marbles, very curious Imitations of, ii, 147. + + Marbles, the Elgin, ii, 171. + + Matsys, Quintin, i, 112; + his Love and Monument, i, 113. + + Masters, the Old, i, 111. + + Mausolus, Tomb of, ii, 161. + + Mechanics, Comparative Skill of the Ancients and Moderns in, iii, 45. + + Medals, 70,000 Ancients, iii, 272. + + Medals of Napoleon, iii, 281. + + Memphis, iii, 8. + + Messina, Antonella da, ii, 143. + + Methodius and the King of Bulgaria, iii, 206. + + Mieris and Jan Steen, Frolics of, iii, 241. + + Mignard Pierre--his Skill in imitating other Masters, i, 186; + amusing instance of, i, 187; + his Skill in Portraits, ii, 138. + + Modesty, an Overplus of, dangerous to Success, i, 307. + + Moeris, Lake of, iii, 9. + + More, Sir Anthony, iii, 242; + his Visit to Spain and great Success, iii, 242; + his Visit to England and flattering Reception, iii, 243; + More and Philip II., iii, 244; + his fortunate Escape, iii, 244; + his Success and Works, iii, 244. + + Morland, George--Sketch of his Life, ii. 197; + his wonderful Precocity, ii, 198; + his early Fame, ii, 199; + his Mental and Moral Culture under an Unnatural Parent, ii, 260; + his Escape from his Thraldom, ii, 201; + his Marriage and Temporary Reform, ii, 202; + his Social Position, ii, 203; + his unpleasant Encounter, ii, 204; + his Stay in the Isle of Wight, ii, 205; + his Novel Mode of fulfilling commissions, ii, 206; + Morland and the Pig, ii, 206; + his Pictures in the Isle of Wight, ii, 207; + his Freaks, ii, 208; + his Dread of Bailiffs, ii, 208; + his Apprehension as a Spy, ii, 209; + his Sign of the "Black Bull," ii, 210; + Morland and the Pawnbroker, ii, 211; + his Idea of a Baronetcy, ii, 212; + his Artistic Merits, ii, 212. + + Mosaics, i, 15; + ancient, ii, 55; + of the Battle of Platea, ii, 55. + + Mudo, El, and Titian's Last Supper, ii, 14. + + Murillo, i. 236; + his Visit to Madrid and Velasquez, i, 236; + his Return to Seville, i, 237; + Murillo and Iriarte, i, 238; + his Death, i, 238; + his Style, i, 239; + his Works, i, 240; + Soult's Murillos, i, 240 and 242; + Castillo's Tribute, i, 242; + his "Virgin of the Napkin," iii, 193; + his pictures in Spanish America, iii, 192; + Anecdote of an Altar-Piece in Flanders, iii, 194; + his Slave Gomez, iii, 195. + + Musée Francais and Musée Royal, iii, 302. + + + Names of Architects designated by Reptiles, ii, 156. + + Napoleon--his Love of Art, iii, 274; + his Enlightened Policy to Encourage Art, iii, 275; + his Works at Paris, iii, 276; + The Napoleon Medals, iii, 281; + the Elephant Fountain, iii, 286; + Interesting Drawing, iii, 287; + Sévres China, iii, 288; + Dismantling of the Louvre, iii, 289; + Removal of the Venetian Horses, iii, 296; + Removal of the Statue of Napoleon from the Column of + Austerlitz, iii, 301. + + Needles, Cleopatra's, iii, 42. + + Niello, Works in, i, 286. + + Nineveh and its Remains, ii, 34; + Description of the Royal Palace exhumed at Nimroud, ii, 37; + Layard's description of its interior, ii,39. + + Niobe and her Children, Group of, ii, 185; + Schlegel's Criticism, ii, 186. + + Nollekens, Joseph, i, 301; + his Visit to Rome, i, 301; + Nollekens and Garrick, i, 302; + his Talents in Bust Sculpture, i, 303; + his Bust of Johnson, i, 304; + his Liberality and Kindness to Chantrey, i, 304; + Nollekens and the Widow, i, 305; + his odd Compliments, i, 306. + + Norgate, Edward--his Visit to Italy, Mishaps, and travelling Home on + foot, i, 308. + + Northcote, James, and Fuseli, ii, 78. + + Numismatics, iii, 269; + Value of the Science to Archæology, Philology, the Fine + Arts, etc., iii, 270; + 70,000 Ancient Medals, iii, 272. + + + Obelisks, Egyptian, iii, 30; + Number of, at Rome, ii, 152; + Removal of one by Fontana, iii, 33; + Removal of one from Thebes to Paris, iii, 40; + Cleopatra's Needles, iii, 42. + + Odeon, the first at Athens, ii, 182. + + Olynthian Captive, Story of, i, 151. + + Origin of Label Painting, ii, 278. + + + Pacheco--his Opinions on Art as restricted by the Inquisition, i, 212. + + Pareda, Antonio--his Artifice to Keep up Appearances, iii, 202. + + Pareja, Juan de, the Slave of Velasquez, i, 228; + his Love of Painting and his Success, i, 229; + his Gratitude to his Master, i, 229. + + Painter, perilous adventure of a, iii, 245 + + Painter of Florence, Curious Legend of the, iii, 217 + + Painter-Friar, the Devil, and the Virgin, iii, 220. + + Painting among the Egyptians, iii, 1 and 263. + + Painting among the Greeks, i, 22, 27, and iii, 265. + + Painting among the Romans, i, 88, and ii, 152. + + Painting, Revival of, in Italy, ii, 244. + + Painting, Italian Schools of, ii, 292. + + Painting, Golden Age of, in Italy, ii, 149; + Lanzi's Philosophy of, ii, 150; + Milizia's, ii, 154. + + Painting--different Schools Compared, i, 110. + + Painting, Effects of, on the Mind, i, 147. + + Painting from Nature, i, 18. + + Painting, Oil, Invention of, ii, 141. + + Painting, oldest Oil, extant, iii, 181. + + Painting, Portrait, Johnson's Apology for, i, 197. + + Painting, Origin of Label, ii, 278. + + Paintings transferred from Walls and Panels to Canvas, ii, 146. + + Paintings, Curious, iii, 180. + + Paintings, Evanescent, i, 106. + + Palace, Nero's Golden, ii, 155. + + Palaces of Rome, iii, 65. + + Palmaroli--his Method of transferring Paintings from Walls and Panels + to Canvas, ii, 147. + + Pantoja and the Eagle, iii, 205. + + Parrhasius, i, 150; + his Demos and other Works, i, 150; + the Olynthian Captive, i, 151; + his Vanity, i, 152. + + Parthenon at Athens, ii, 170; + its Dilapidation, by the Venetians, Turks, and Lord Elgin, ii, 171. + + Pausias, i, 148; his Works and the Garland Twiner, i, 148. + + Perpetual Lamps, ii, 182. + + Pharos, Light-house of, ii, 164. + + Phidias, i, 157; + his Statue of Minerva, i, 158, and ii, 171; + Phidias and Alcamenes, i, 159; + Ingratitude of the Athenians, i, 159; + his Olympian Jupiter, i, 17, and i, 160; + his Model for the Olympian Jupiter, i, 161. + + Picture of Ialysus and his Dog, Protogenes, i, 149, and i, 281. + + Picture of Calumny, Apelles', i, 94. + + Picture of the Virgin, the Miraculous, iii, 211. + + Pictures, first brought to Rome, i, 88. + + Pictures of Glass, Ancient, ii, 58. + + Pictures, Four finest at Rome, ii, 183. + + Pillar of On, iii, 8. + + Poecile at Athens, i, 13. + + Pompeii--its Destruction; + Antiquities and Works of Art discovered, ii, 43; + Vivid Sketch of its present Appearance, etc., by an American + Traveler, ii, 46. + + Pope as a Painter--his Fame, i, 201; + his Proficiency in the Art, ii, 214; + his Idea of the Practicability of Dinocrates' Plan of cutting Mount + Athos into a Statue of Alexander the Great, ii, 166. + + Portici, the Site of Herculaneum, ii, 44 and 46. + + Portraits, Female, Rarity of, in Spain, iii, 191. + + Poussin, Nicholas--his Noble Descent, iii, 148; + his First Celebrity, iii, 149; + his first Visit to Rome, iii, 150; + his Enthusiasm and Assiduity, iii, 150; + his Distress, and the Paltry Prices he received for his + Works, iii, 151; + his Ultimate Appreciation and Success, iii, 152; + his Invitation back to Paris, iii, 153; + the King's Autograph Letter on the Occasion, iii, 153; + + Intrigues, his Disgust, and Secret Return to Rome, iii, 154; + his Modesty, unostentatious Mode of Living, and his + Generosity, iii, 155; + Poussin and Cardinal Mancini, iii, 155; + Reynolds' Critique, iii, 156; + Poussin and Marino, iii, 159; + Poussin Romanized, iii, 160; + his Habits of Study, iii, 161; + his Old Age, iii, 162; + his Master-Piece, iii, 163; + his last Work and Death, iii, 163; + his Letter to M. Felibien, iii, 164; + his Ideas of Painting, iii, 164; + Poussin and the Nobleman, iii, 165; + and Mengs, iii, 165; + and Domenichino, iii, 166; + and Salvator Rosa, iii, 166; + his Dignity, iii, 167; + Poussin, Angelo, and Raffaelle compared, iii, 168. + + Prado, Blas de, and the Emperor of Morocco, iii, 207. + + Praxiteles, i, 155; + his Works--the Venus of Cnidus and the Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155; + Praxiteles and Phryne, i, 156; + the King of Bithynia, and the Venus of Cnidus, i, 157. + + Press, Hydraulic, explained, iii 52; + its Tremendous Power and Use, iii, 53. + + Proctor, his Genius and Works, i, 4; + his Misfortunes and melancholy Death, i, 5. + + Protogenes, i, 149; + his Works, and his famous picture of Ialysus and his Dog, i, 149; + Protogenes and Demetrius Poliorcetes, i, 28, and i, 149; + and Apelles, i, 25. + + Pyramids of Egypt, iii, 19. + + Pyramid of Cephren, Perilous Ascent of, iii, 27. + + + Raffaelle, i, 70; + his ambition, i, 70; + Raffaelle and Michael Angelo, i, 71; + his Transfiguration, i, 72; + his Death, i, 74; + his Character, i, 74; + his Mistress, i, 75; + his Genius, i, 76; + his Model for his Female Saints, i, 76; + his Oil Paintings, i, 77; + his Portraits of Julius II., i, 78; + his different Manners, i, 78; + his Skill in Portraits, ii, 138; + Skull of Raffaelle in the Academy of St Luke, ii, 183. + + Ranc, Jean--his Retort, iii, 201. + + Rebuke, a Painter's just, iii, 200. + + Retort Courteous, a Painter's, iii, 201. + + Rembrandt--Sketch of his Life, iii, 170; + his Studio and Models, iii, 171; + his great Success, iii, 172; + his Deceits to sell and increase the Price of his Works, iii, 173; + his numerous Works, iii, 173; + his extraordinary Merits as an Engraver, iii, 174. + + Reynolds, Sir Joshua, i, 188; + his pleasing Manners, Fortune, and Collection of Works of Art, i, 189; + his new Style and its Success, i, 189; + his Prices, i, 191; + his Method with his Sitters, i, 192; + his Removal to Leicester Square, i, 192; + his showy Coach, i, 193; + his Table and Guests, i, 194; + the Founding of the Royal Academy, and his election as + President, i, 194; + Reynolds and Dr. Johnson, i, 195; + Johnson's Friendship for Reynolds, and his Apology for Portrait + Painting, i, 196 and 197; + the Literary Club, i, 198; + Johnson's Portrait, i, 198; + Johnson's Death, i, 199; + Reynolds and Dr. Goldsmith, i, 199; + the "Deserted Village," i, 200; + "Retaliation," i, 200; + Pope's Fan i, 201; + Reynolds' first Attempts in Art, i, 202; + Force of Habit, i, 202; + Paying the Piper, i, 203; + his Modesty and his Generosity, i, 203; + his Love of Art, i, 204; + his Critique on Rubens, i, 205; + Reynolds and Haydn, i, 206; + his Skill in Compliment, i, 207; + his Excellent Advice, i, 208; + Reynolds as Mayor of Plympton and his two Portraits, i, 208; + his Kindness of Heart, i, 209; + Burke's Eulogy, i, 209; + his Experiments and Use of Old Paintings, i, 210; + his Method of Working, i, 193; + Rubens' Last Supper, i, 206. + + Rhodes, Statues and Paintings at, ii, 164. + + Ribalta Francisco--his Love Romance and his Success, i, 235. + + Ribera, Giuseppe, (Spagnoletto,) his Early Enthusiasm, Poverty, and + Industry at Rome, ii, 133; + his Return to Naples and Marriage, ii, 134; + his Rise to Eminence, ii, 135; + his Discovery of the Philosopher's Stone, ii, 135; + his Favorite Subjects, ii. 136; + his Disposition, ii, 137; + his Intrigues, ii, 138; + Lanzi's Account of his Death, ii, 132. + + Riley, John, i, 307; + his Diffidence and Merits, i, 308. + + Rizi, Francisco--his Rebuke to Antonilez, iii, 200. + + Romans, Fondness of, for Works of Art, i, 88; + for Etruscan Sculpture, i, 90. + + Rome, Ancient, Glory of, ii, 152, and iii, 57 and 71; + first Pictures brought to Rome, i, 88; + Electioneering pictures at Rome, i, 91; + Dramatic Scenery at Rome, i, 93; + Ancient Map of Rome, ii, 160; + 100,000 Statues at Rome, ii, 152. + + Rome, Modem--its Churches, Palaces, Villas, and Treasures of + Art, iii, 60. + + Rosa, Salvator, ii, 91; + Cav. Lanfranco's Generosity, ii, 91; + Rosa at Rome and Florence, ii, 92; + his Return to Rome, ii, 93; + brightest Era of Landscape Painting, ii, 93; + his Subjects, ii, 93; + his wonderful Facility of Execution, ii, 94; + his Flagellation by the Monks, ii, 95; + Rosa and the higgling Prince, ii, 96; + his Opinion of his own Works, ii, 98; + his Banditti, ii, 98; + Rosa and Massaniello, ii, 100; + and Cardinal Sforza, ii, 100; + his Manifesto, ii, 101; + his Banishment from Rome, ii, 102; + his Secret Visit to Rome, ii, 102; + his Wit, ii, 103; + his Reception at Florence, ii, 103; + his Histrionic Powers, ii, 104; + his Reception at the Pitti Palace, ii, 105; + his Satires, ii, 92 and 105; + his Harpsichord, ii, 106; + Rare Portrait, ii, 106; + his Return to Rome, ii, 109; + his Love of Show and Magnificence, ii, 109; + his Last Works, ii, 111; + his over-weening Desire to be considered a Historical Painter, ii, 112; + Ghigi, his Physician and Rosa, ii, 113; + Lady Morgan's Account of his Death-Bed, ii, 115; + Rosa and Poussin iii, 166; + Rosa and Fracanzani, iii, 256. + + Rosada Tivoli, iii, 185; + his Works, iii, 186; + his wonderful Rapidity of Hand, iii, 186; + a Wager won, iii, 187; + his Habits and Improvidence, iii, 187. + + Rosa, Giovanni--a modern Zeuxis, ii, 139. + + Rosalba, Carriera, iii, 133; + her Modesty, and Knowledge of Tempers, iii, 133. + + Rubens, Peter Paul, i, 79; + his Visit to Italy, i, 80; + his Reception by the Duke of Mantua, i, 80; + his Enthusiasm, i, 80; + his Embassy to Spain, i, 81; + his Return to Antwerp, i, 81; + his Marriage, House, and rich collection of Works of Art, i, 81; + his Habits, Extraordinary Memory and Acquirements, i, 82; + his Detractors, i, 82; + his Magnanimity, i, 83; + the Gallery of the Luxembourg, i, 83; + Rubens sent Ambassador to the Courts of Spain and England, i, 83; + his Reception and Works at Madrid, i, 84; + his Reception and Works in England, i, 84; + his Delicacy, Address, and the Honors conferred on him on the + occasion, i, 85; + his Death, i, 85; + his Numerous Works, i, 86; + his Method of Working, i, 206. + + Ruysch, Rachel--her Life and Works, iii, 135. + + + Scagliola or Mischia, Works in, ii, 147. + + Schwarts, amusing Anecdote of, iii, 175. + + Sculpture, Invention of, i, 153; + Etruscan, i, 90; + Egyptian, iii, 1; + Grecian, i, 154 and 157. + + Sculptures, Antique, at Rome, ii, 159. + + Seymour, Anecdotes of, and the Proud Duke, ii, 223. + + Shakspeare Gallery, iii, 305. + + Sirani, Elizabeth--her Life and Works, iii, 134; + her melancholy Death, iii, 135. + + Soane, Sir John, ii, 191; + his Success and Works, ii, 192; + his Liberality and Public Munificence, ii, 192; + his Museum, ii, 193 ; + the Belzoni Sarcophagus, ii, 194; + Tasso's MS. of Gerusalemme Liberata, ii, 195; + other rare MSS., Antiquities, Works of Art, etc., ii, 195. + + Sostratus, his Light-House on the Isle of Pharos, ii, 164. + + Spagnoletto--See Ribera. + + Spain, Melancholy State of the Fine Arts in, i, 217; + Rarity of Female Portraits in, iii, 191. + + Spanish Art, Evil Effects of the Inquisition on, i, 211. + + Sphinx, the Colossal, iii, 10. + + Stabiæ--its Destruction, ii, 43. + + Statue of the Apollo Belvidere, i, 41; + of the Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155; + of the Apollo, Colossal Etruscan, i, 90. + + Statue of the Venus de Medici, i, 147. + + Statue of the Venus of Cnidus, i, 156 + + Statue of the Venus Victrix, i, 147. + + Statue of Minerva, Phidia's, i, 158, and ii, 171. + + Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Phidias', i, 160 + + Statue of the Fighting Gladiator, ii, 187. + + Statue of the Dying Gladiator, i, 144. + + Statue of Pompey the Great, ii, 159. + + Statue of Semiramis, cut out of a Mountain, ii, 167. + + Statue of Napoleon on the Column of Austerlitz, iii, 301. + + Statue, Equestrian, of Peter the Great, iii, 42. + + Statues, the Greek, i, 109. + + Statues, Sounding, iii, 6. + + Statues of Memnon, iii, 6. + + Stratagem, an Architect's, i, 309. + + Stratagem, Hogarth's, i, 169. + + Steen, Jan, iii, 238; + his Works, iii, 238; + Kugler's Critique on, iii, 240; + Frolics of Steen and Mieris, iii, 241. + + Stephenson, Robert, and the Britannia Bridge, iii, 46. + + Stuart, Charles Gilbert, i, 124; + his Visit to Scotland and Return before the Mast, i, 125; + his Visit to London, i, 125; + his Skill in Music, and its Use in Time of Need, i, 126; + his Introduction to West, i, 126; + his Portrait of West, i, 126; + his Scholarship, i, 131; + his Rule of half prepayment, i, 131; + his Powers of Perception i, 132; + Allston's Eulogium, i, 133; + his great Conversational Powers, i, 133; + his Success in Europe, i, 136; + in Ireland, i, 136; + his Return to America, i, 137; + Stuart and Washington, i, 137; + his Last Picture, i, 142; + Stuart, his Boy and his Dog, i, 142; + his Mark, i, 142. + + + Tasso's MS. of "Gerusalemme Liberata," ii, 195. + + Temple of Diana at Ephesus, i, 144. + + Temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens, ii, 168. + + Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, ii, 153, and iii, 59. + + Temple of Minerva at Athens, ii, 170. + + Temple of Carnac, iii, 5. + + Temple of Luxor, iii, 5. + + Titian--Sketch of his Life, ii, 1; + his famous picture of St. Peter the Martyr, ii, 2; + his Refusal of the Office of the Leaden Seal, ii, 4; + his different Manners, ii, 5; + his Works, ii, 6; + his Imitators, ii, 7; + his Venus, ii, 8; + Ottley's Description of it, ii, 8; + Titian and the Emperor Charles V., ii. 10; + extraordinary Friendship of Charles for Titian, his Favors and + Remarkable Sayings, ii, 11; + Charles' rebukes to his jealous Nobles, ii, 12; + Titian and Philip II., ii, 13; + his Letter of Congratulation to Philip, ii, 13; + Philip and the Titian Venus, ii, 14; + Titian's Last Supper and El Mudo, ii, 14; + his Old Age, ii, 15; + Monument to Titian, ii, 15. + + Thebes, Ancient, iii, 2. + + Theodoric the Great--his Love of Art, iii, 73. + + Torregiano--his Visit to Spain, and his Group of the Virgin and + Child, i, 1; + his Horrid Treatment and Death, i, 2. + + Torres--Sarcasm on his Imitations of Caravaggio, iii, 205. + + Transfiguration of Raffaelle, i, 72. + + Tristan, Luis, i, 229; + Tristan and Velasquez, i, 229; + Tristan and El Greco, i, 230. + + "Triumvirate of Historical Painters," i, 244. + + "Triumvirate of Landscape Painters," ii, 93. + + Triumvirate of Neapolitan Painters, Intrigues of, ii, 128. + + + Uccello, Paolo, one of the Fathers of Painting, ii, 287; + his Enthusiasm, ii, 288; + Uccello and the Monks of San Miniato, ii, 289; + his remarkable Picture of the most distinguished Artists of his + Time, ii, 290; + his Incredulity of St. Thomas, ii, 291; + Uccello and Donatello, ii, 292. + + Utility of Ancient Works, ii, 280. + + + Vanbrugh, Sir John, and his Severe Critics, ii, 221; + Reynolds' celebrated Criticism in his favor, ii, 221. + + Vase, the Portland, ii, 56. + + Vandyck, Sir Anthony--his Conduct in the School of Rubens, iii, 136; + his Visit to Italy, iii, 138; + his Return to Antwerp, iii, 139; + his Success and the Jealousy of Artists, iii, 140; + his celebrated Picture of the Elevation of the Cross, and the Canons + of Courtray, iii, 140; + his Visit to England, iii, 141; + his Success and Honors, iii, 141; + his Death and Character, iii, 142; + Remarkable Instance of his Rapidity of Execution, ii, 312. + + Velasquez, Don Diego, i, 226; + Velasquez and Rubens compared by Mrs. Jameson, i, 226; + Velasquez and Philip IV--the favors and extraordinary Honors + conferred on him, i, 227; + his Skill in Portraits, i, 227; + his Portrait of Innocent X, i, 228; + his Generosity to his Slave, i, 228. + + Velde, William van de, the Elder, iii, 143; + his Intrepidity in Painting Naval Engagements, iii, 143; + his Invitation to England and his Works, iii, 143; + Van de Velde and Charles II., iii, 145. + + Velde, William van de, the Younger, iii, 145; + his Admirable Works, iii, 146; + Present Value of his Works, iii, 147; + his numerous Drawings, and their Estimation and Value, iii, 148. + + Veneziano, Domenico, ii, 144; + his treacherous Death, ii, 144. + + Venice, Foundation of, iii, 72. + + Venetian Horses, the famous, Removal of from Paris, iii, 296. + + Venus Anadyomene, i, 2. + + Venus of Cnidus, i, 155. + + Venus de Medici, i, 147. + + Venus Victrix, i, 147. + + Venus, Titian's, ii, 8. + + Vermeyen, John C., and the Emperor Charles V., iii, 206; + his singular Dress and long Beard, iii, 207. + + Vernet, Claude Joseph, ii, 295; + his Passion for Art, and his Precocity, ii, 295; + his Enthusiasm, ii, 296; + his Sketching the Tempest, lashed to the Mast, ii, 297; + his Arrival at Rome, ii, 298; + his Industry and Poverty, ii, 299; + his "Alphabet of Tones," ii, 299; + Vernet and the Connoisseur, ii, 301; + his Success and Works, ii, 301; + Diderot's Eulogy, ii, 303; + his Passion for Music, ii, 306; + his Opinion of his own Artistic Merits, ii, 307; + Characteristic Letter to the Marquis de Marigny, ii, 309; + his Prices, ii, 310. + + Vernet, Charles, ii, 310; + his Works, ii, 310; + his rebuke to a Minister of State, ii, 311. + + Vernet, Horace--his Life, Style, and Works, ii, 16-28. + + Vieira, Francisco--his Love Romance, iii, 195; + his Success, iii, 198. + + Vinci, Lionardo da, i, 266; + Precocity of his Genius, i, 266; + his first remarkable Picture, i, 267; + the extraordinary Versatility of his Talents, i, 268; + his Works at Milan, i, 268; + his famous Battle of the Standard, i, 270; + Vinci and Leo X., i, 271; + Vinci and Francis I., i, 271; + his Death, i, 272; + his Learning, i, 272; + his Writings, i, 273; + his Sketch Books, i, 275; + his Last Supper, i, 276; + Copies of his Last Supper, i, 278; + his Discrimination, i, 279; + his Idea of Perfection in Art, i, 280; + Vinci and the Prior, i, 282; + his Drawings of the Heads in the Last Supper, i, 284; + Francis I. and the Last Supper, i, 284; + Authenticated Works of Da Vinci, i, 285. + + + Weenix, John Baptist the Elder, iii, 236; + his wonderful Facility of Hand, iii, 236. + + Weenix, the Younger, iii, 237. + + Weesop, Anecdote of, i, 310. + + West, Benjamin--his Opinion of the Value of the Fine Arts to a + Country, i, 8; + Anecdotes of West, i, 28; + his Ancestry, i, 28; + his Birth, i, 29; + his First Remarkable Feat, i, 30; + his doings with the Indians, i, 30; + his Cat's-Tail's Pencils, i, 30; + his First Picture, i, 31; + his First Visit to Philadelphia, i, 32; + his Ambition, i, 33; + his First Patrons, i, 34; + his Education, i, 35; + his Dedication to Art, i, 36; + his Early Prices, i, 38; + his Arrival at Rome, i, 39; + his Reception at Rome, i, 40; + his Criticism on the Apollo Belvidere, i, 41; + his Early Friends, i, 41; + his Course of Study, i, 42; + a Remarkable Prophecy, i, 43; + West in London--his Fondness for Skating, i, 44; + his Death of Wolfe, i, 45; + his Defense for Innovation before the King, i, 46; + Stuart's Anecdotes of West, i, 127-131. + + Wilson, Richard--his Poverty and Want of Appreciation, i, 6; + Present Value of his Works, i, 6. + + Winde William--his successful Stratagem, i, 399. + + Wissing, William--Freedom of the Times in England in the reign of + Charles II., i, 309. + + Wolf, the Bronze, "the Thunder-Stricken Nurse of Rome", i, 90. + + Wonders, the Seven, of the World, iii, 75. + + Wren, Sir Christopher, i, 290; + his Self-Command, i, 290; + his Restraints in designing his Edifices, i, 292; + the great Fire in London, i, 293; + St. Paul's Cathedral, i, 294; + his Death, i, 295; + Wren and Charles II., i, 295. + + + Zuccaro, Taddeo, iii, 250; his Poverty, Enthusiasm, and Works, iii, 251. + + Zuccaro, Federigo--his Resentment, iii, 251; Royal Criticism on his + Self-Adulation, iii, 252. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: Arnolfo had proposed to raise the cupola immediately above +the first cornice, from the model of the church in the chapel of the +Spaniards, where the cupola is extremely small. Arnolfo was followed by +Giotto in 1331. To Giotto succeeded Taddeo Gaddi, after whom, first +Andrea Orgagna, next Lorenzo di Filippo, and lastly Brunelleschi were +architects of the Cathedral.] + +[Footnote 2: The story of Columbus and the Egg is familiar to every one. +The jest undoubtedly originated with Brunelleschi, as it is attested by +many of the Italian writers; it happened in 1420, fourteen years before +Columbus was born. Toscanelli was a great admirer of Brunelleschi, whose +knowledge of the Scriptures and powers of argument were so great, that +he could successfully dispute in public assemblies, or in private with +the most learned theologians, so that Toscanelli was accustomed to say +that "to hear Filippo in argument, one might fancy one's self listening +to a second Paul." So capital a retort could hardly have failed to reach +Columbus, through his instructor, nor would he have hesitated to use it +against his antagonists under similar circumstances. Brunelleschi was +born in 1377 and died in 1444; Columbus in 1436, and died in 1506.] + +[Footnote 3: Vasari means that Lorenzo continued to receive his salary +till 1426, although Filippo had been appointed sole master of the works +in 1423, as he himself relates in the sequel.] + +[Footnote 4: How different was the treatment Ghiberti received from +Brunelleschi, when the artists presented their models for one of the +bronze doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni at Florence. The designs +of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, and Donatello, were considered the three +best; but the two latter, considering that Ghiberti was fairly entitled +to the prize, withdrew their claims in his favor, and persuaded the +syndics to adjudge the work to him. Brunelleschi was requested to +undertake the work in concert with Ghiberti, but he would not consent to +this, desiring to be first in some other art or undertaking than equal, +or perhaps secondary, in another. "Now, this was in truth," says Vasari, +"the sincere rectitude of friendship; it was talent without envy, and +uprightness of judgment in a decision respecting themselves, by which +these artists were more highly honored than they could have been by +conducting the work to the utmost summit of perfection. Happy spirits! +who, while aiding each other took pleasure in commending the labors of +their competitors. How unhappy, on the contrary, are the artists of our +day, laboring to injure each other, yet still unsatisfied, they burst +with envy, while seeking to wound others."] + +[Footnote 5: This distrust seems astonishing, after what Brunelleschi +had accomplished, but it shows the opposition and enmity he had to +encounter. In 1434, he received a mortifying affront from the Guild of +Builders. Finding that he carried on the building without thinking to +pay the annual tax due from every artist who exercised his calling, they +caused him to be apprehended and thrown into prison. As soon as this +outrage was known to the wardens, they instantly assembled with +indignation, and issued a solemn decree, commanding that Filippo should +be liberated, and that the Consuls of the Guild should be imprisoned, +which was accordingly done. Baldinucci discovered and printed the +authentic document containing the decree, which is dated August 20, +1434.] + +[Footnote 6: Masselli says that the Tuscan braccio, is the ancient Roman +foot doubled for greater convenience, and is equal to one foot nine +inches and six lines, Paris measure. The editors of the Florentine +edition of Vasari, 1846-9, remark that the measure of the whole edifice +as given by Vasari, differs from that given by Fantozzi; the latter +gives 196 braccia as its total height. Milizia says, "Brunelleschi +completed his undertaking, which surpassed in height any work of the +ancients. The lantern alone remained imperfect; but he left a model for +it, and always recommended, even in his last moments, that it should be +built of heavy marble, because the cupola being raised on four arches, +it would have a tendency to spring upwards if not pressed with a heavy +weight. The three mathematicians who have written on the cupola of St. +Peter's, have clearly demonstrated a truth differing from the opinion of +Brunelleschi, viz., that the small cupola increases, in a great degree, +the lateral pressure. The whole height of the structure from the ground +to the top, is 385 feet; that is, to the lantern 293 feet, the latter +being 68 feet 6 inches; the ball 8 feet; the cross 15 feet 6 inches. * * * + +"The plan of the dome is octangular; each side in the interior is 57 +feet, and the clear width between the sides, not measuring into the +angles, is 137 feet; the walls are 16 feet 9 inches thick; the whole +length of the church is 500 feet. The nave has four pointed arches on +each side, on piers, separating it from the side aisles. The transept +and choir have no side aisles, but are portions of an octagon, attached +to the base of the dome, giving the whole plan the figure of a cross. +The edifice has a Gothic character, and is incrusted in marble and +mosaic work." * * * + +According to Fontani, this cupola exceeds that of the Vatican, both in +height and circumference by four braccia; and although supported by +eight ribs only, which renders it much lighter than that of the Vatican, +which has sixteen flanking buttresses, it is nevertheless more solid and +firm. Thus it has never required to be supported by circling hoops of +iron, nor has it demanded the labors of the many engineers and +architects who have printed volumes upon the subject. The construction +of this cupola is remarkable in these particulars--that it is +octangular, that it is double, and built entirely on the walls, +unsupported by piers, and that there are no apparent counterforts.] + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, +Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3), by S. 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Spooner, M.D. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + div.trans-note {border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; + margin: 3em 15%; padding: 1em; text-align: center;} + + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + visibility: hidden; + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors +and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3), by S. Spooner + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3) + +Author: S. Spooner + +Release Date: May 12, 2006 [EBook #18383] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANECDOTES OF PAINTERS *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Janet Blenkinship +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<h1>ANECDOTES</h1> + +<h4>OF</h4> + +<h1>PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS</h1> + +<h3>Sculptors and Architects,</h3> + +<h4>AND</h4> + +<h3>CURIOSITIES OF ART.</h3> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>S. SPOONER, M. D.,</h2> + +<p class='center'>AUTHOR OF "A BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FINE ARTS."</p> + +<h4>IN THREE VOLUMES.</h4> + +<h3>VOL. III.</h3> + +<p class='center'>NEW YORK:<br />R. WORTHINGTON, <span class="smcap">Publisher</span>,<br />770 Broadway.</p> + +<p class='center'>COPYRIGHT, S. SPOONER, 1853.<br /> +Reëntered, G. B., 1880.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'>Egyptian Art,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Ancient Thebes,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_2'><b>2</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Temple of Carnac,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_5'><b>5</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Temple of Luxor,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_5'><b>5</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Statues of Memnon,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_6'><b>6</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Heliopolis,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_7'><b>7</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Memphis,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_8'><b>8</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lake Moeris,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_9'><b>9</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Colossal Sphinx,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_10'><b>10</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Labyrinth of Egypt,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_11'><b>11</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Catacombs of Egypt,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_12'><b>12</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Pyramids of Egypt,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_19'><b>19</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Perilous Ascent of the Pyramid of Cephren,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_27'><b>27</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Egyptian Obelisks,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_30'><b>30</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Removal of an Obelisk by Fontana,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_33'><b>33</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Removal of an Obelisk from Thebes to Paris,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_40'><b>40</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Carburi's Base for the Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_42'><b>42</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Comparative Skill of the Ancients and Moderns in Mechanics,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_45'><b>45</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Britannia Tubular Railway Bridge,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_46'><b>46</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Tubes,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_47'><b>47</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Construction of the Tubes,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_49'><b>49</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span>Floating the Tubes,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_50'><b>50</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Raising the Tubes,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_52'><b>52</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Glory of Ancient Rome,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_57'><b>57</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Capitol,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_59'><b>59</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Modern Rome,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_60'><b>60</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Foundation of Venice,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_72'><b>72</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Theodoric the Great, and his Love of the Fine Arts,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_73'><b>73</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Trials of Genius—Filippo Brunelleschi,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_80'><b>80</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Brunelleschi's Enthusiasm,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_122'><b>122</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Brunelleschi and Donatello,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_123'><b>123</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Donatello,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_125'><b>125</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Donatello and the Merchant,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_126'><b>126</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Donatello and his Kinsmen,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_127'><b>127</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Death of Donatello,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_128'><b>128</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Donatello and Michael Angelo Compared,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_128'><b>128</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sofonisba Anguisciola's Early Distinction,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_129'><b>129</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sofonisba's Visit to Rome,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_130'><b>130</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sofonisba's Marriages,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_131'><b>131</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sofonisba's Residence at Genoa, and her Intercourse with Vandyck,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_132'><b>132</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Carriera Rosalba,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_133'><b>133</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rosalba's Modesty,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_133'><b>133</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rosalba's Knowledge of Tempers,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_133'><b>133</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Elizabeth Sirani,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_134'><b>134</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Death of Elizabeth Sirani,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_135'><b>135</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rachel Ruysch,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_135'><b>135</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sir Anthony Vandyck,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_136'><b>136</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Vandyck's Visit to Italy,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_138'><b>138</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Vandyck's Return to Antwerp,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_139'><b>139</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Vandyck's Visit to England,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_141'><b>141</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>William van de Velde the Elder,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_143'><b>143</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Van de Velde and Charles II.,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_144'><b>144</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>William van de Velde the Younger,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_145'><b>145</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span>The Younger van de Velde's Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_146'><b>146</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Nicholas Poussin,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_148'><b>148</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's first Celebrity,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_149'><b>149</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's first Visit to Rome,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_150'><b>150</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Distress at Rome,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_151'><b>151</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Success at Rome,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_152'><b>152</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Invitation to Paris,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_153'><b>153</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Return to Rome,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_154'><b>154</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sir Joshua Reynolds' Critique on Poussin,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_156'><b>156</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Views of his Art,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_157'><b>157</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_158'><b>158</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Marino and Poussin,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_159'><b>159</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin Romanized,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_160'><b>160</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Habits of Study,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_161'><b>161</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Old Age,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_162'><b>162</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Last Work and Death,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_163'><b>163</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin's Ideas of Painting,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_164'><b>164</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin and the Nobleman,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_165'><b>165</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin and Mengs,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_165'><b>165</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin and Domenichino,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_166'><b>166</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin and Salvator Rosa,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_166'><b>166</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Poussin, Angelo, and Raffaelle Compared,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_168'><b>168</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rembrandt,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_170'><b>170</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rembrandt's Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_173'><b>173</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rembrandt as an Engraver,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_174'><b>174</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Anecdote of Schwarts,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_175'><b>175</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Jacques Callot,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_176'><b>176</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Callot's Patriotism,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_177'><b>177</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Ingenuity of Artists,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_178'><b>178</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Hint to Jewelers,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_179'><b>179</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Curious Paintings,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_180'><b>180</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Oldest Oil Painting Extant,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_181'><b>181</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Curious Representations of the Harpies,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_181'><b>181</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Adrian Brower,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_182'><b>182</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span>Brower, the Duke d'Aremberg, and Rubens,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_183'><b>183</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Death of Brower,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_184'><b>184</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Brower's Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_185'><b>185</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rosa da Tivoli,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_185'><b>185</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rosa da Tivoli's Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_186'><b>186</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rosa da Tivoli's Facility of Execution,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_186'><b>186</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rosa da Tivoli's Habits,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_187'><b>187</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Luca Cambiaso's Facility in Painting,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_187'><b>187</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Cambiaso's Works in Spain,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_188'><b>188</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Cambiaso's Artistic Merits,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_190'><b>190</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rarity of Female Portraits in Spain,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_191'><b>191</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Murillo's Pictures in Spanish America,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_192'><b>192</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Murillo's "Virgin of the Napkin,"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_193'><b>193</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Anecdote of an Altar-Piece by Murillo,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_194'><b>194</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Murillo and his slave Gomez,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_195'><b>195</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>An Artist's Love of Romance,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_195'><b>195</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Estéban March's Strange Method of Study,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_198'><b>198</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>March's Adventure of the Fish, fried in Linseed Oil,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_199'><b>199</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Painter's Rebuke,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_200'><b>200</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Painter's Retort Courteous,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_201'><b>201</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Ardemans and Bocanegra—A Trial of Skill,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_201'><b>201</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Painter's Artifice to "Keep up Appearances,"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_202'><b>202</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Good Natured Criticism,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_203'><b>203</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Alonso Cano and the Intendant of the Bishop of Malaga,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_203'><b>203</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Cano's Love of Sculpture,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_204'><b>204</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Castillo's Sarcasm on Alfaro,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_204'><b>204</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Torres' Imitations of Caravaggio,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_205'><b>205</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Pantoja and the Eagle,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_205'><b>205</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Painter Methodius and the King of Bulgaria,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_206'><b>206</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>John C. Vermeyen and Charles V.,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_206'><b>206</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Blas de Prado and the Emperor of Morocco,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_207'><b>207</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Don Juan Carreño,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_208'><b>208</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Carreño's Copy of Titian's St. Margaret,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_208'><b>208</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span>Carreño's Abstraction of Mind,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_209'><b>209</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Anecdote of Cespedes' Last Supper,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_209'><b>209</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Zuccaro's Compliment to Cespedes,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_210'><b>210</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Dona Barbara Maria de Hueva,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_210'><b>210</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Miraculous Picture of the Virgin,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_211'><b>211</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Chair of St. Peter,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_213'><b>213</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Sagro Catino, or Emerald Dish,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_215'><b>215</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The "Painter of Florence,"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_217'><b>217</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Legend of the Painter-Friar, the Devil, and the Virgin,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_220'><b>220</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Gerard Douw,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_222'><b>222</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Douw's Style,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_224'><b>224</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Douw's Method of Painting,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_225'><b>225</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Douw's Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_226'><b>226</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Albert Durer,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_228'><b>228</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Durer's Works as a Painter,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_229'><b>229</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Durer's Works as an Engraver,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_231'><b>231</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Durer's Fame and Death,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_233'><b>233</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Durer's Habits and Literary Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_234'><b>234</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Ludolph Backhuysen,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_235'><b>235</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>John Baptist Weenix the Elder,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_236'><b>236</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Weenix's Facility of Hand,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_236'><b>236</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>John Baptist Weenix the Younger,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_237'><b>237</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Jan Steen,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_238'><b>238</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Jan Steen's Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_238'><b>238</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Kugler's Critique on the Works of Jan Steen,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_240'><b>240</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Frolics of Mieris and Jan Steen,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_241'><b>241</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sir Anthony More,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_242'><b>242</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sir Anthony More and Philip II.,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_243'><b>243</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>More's Success and Works,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_243'><b>243</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Perilous Adventure of a Painter,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_245'><b>245</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Anecdote of John de Mabuse,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_246'><b>246</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Capugnano and Lionello Spada,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_247'><b>247</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>Michael Angelo Caravaggio—His Quarrelsome Disposition,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_248'><b>248</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Jacopo Amiconi,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_249'><b>249</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Painting the Dead,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_250'><b>250</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Taddeo Zuccaro,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_250'><b>250</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Zuccaro's Resentment,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_251'><b>251</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Royal Criticism,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_252'><b>252</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Pietro da Cortona,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_253'><b>253</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>"Know Thyself,"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_254'><b>254</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Benvenuto Cellini,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_255'><b>255</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Fracanzani and Salvator Rosa,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_256'><b>256</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Pope Urban VIII. and Bernini,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_256'><b>256</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Emulation and Rivalry in the Fine Arts,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_257'><b>257</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Nótte of Correggio,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_259'><b>259</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Dresden Gallery,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_262'><b>262</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Painting among the Egyptians,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_263'><b>263</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Painting among the Greeks,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_265'><b>265</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Numismatics,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_269'><b>269</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Restoring Ancient Edifices,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_274'><b>274</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Napoleon's Love of Art,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_274'><b>274</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Napoleon's Works at Paris,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_276'><b>276</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Napoleon Medals,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_281'><b>281</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Elephant Fountain,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_286'><b>286</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Interesting Drawing,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_287'><b>287</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sévre China,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_288'><b>288</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Dismantling of the Louvre,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_289'><b>289</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Removal of the Venetian Horses from Paris,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_296'><b>296</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Removal of the Statue of Napoleon from the Place Vendôme,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_301'><b>301</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Musée Français and the Musée Royal,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_302'><b>302</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Boydell's Shakspeare Gallery,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_305'><b>305</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Brief Sketch of a Plan for an American National Gallery of Art,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_307'><b>307</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td colspan="2"> </td></tr> +<tr><td><a href='#INDEX'><b>INDEX.</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><br /><br /></p> +<h1>ANECDOTES</h1> + +<h4>OF</h4> + +<h2>PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS, SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS.</h2> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>EGYPTIAN ART.</h2> + + +<p>Champollion, the famous explorer of Egyptian antiquities, holds the +following language at the end of his fifteenth letter, dated at Thebes. +"It is evident to me, as it must be to all who have thoroughly examined +Egypt or have an accurate knowledge of the Egyptian monuments existing +in Europe, that the arts commenced in Greece by a servile imitation of +the arts in Egypt, much more advanced than is vulgarly believed, at the +period when the Egyptian colonies came in contact with the savage +inhabitants of Attica or the Peloponnesus. Without Egypt, Greece would +probably never have become the classical land of the fine arts. Such is +my entire belief on this great problem. I write these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> lines almost in +the presence of bas-reliefs which the Egyptians executed, with the most +elegant delicacy of workmanship, seventeen hundred years before the +Christian era. What were the Greeks then doing?"</p> + +<p>The sculptures of the monument of El Asaffif are ascertained to be more +than three thousand five hundred years old.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ANCIENT THEBES.</h2> + + +<p>Thebes, an ancient city and capital of Egypt, and the oldest city in the +world, was situated in Upper Egypt, on both sides of the Nile, about two +hundred and sixty miles south of Cairo. Thebes is "the city of a hundred +gates," the theme and admiration of ancient poets and historians, and +the wonder of travelers—"that venerable city," in the language of Dr. +Pocoke, "the date of whose destruction is older than the foundation of +other cities, and the extent of whose ruins, and the immensity of whose +colossal fragments still offer so many astonishing objects, that one is +riveted to the spot, unable to decide whither to direct the step, or fix +the attention." These ruins extend about eight miles along the Nile, +from each bank to the sides of the enclosing mountains, and describe a +circuit of twenty-seven miles. The most remarkable objects on the +eastern side are the temples of Carnac and Luxor; and on the western +side are the Memnonium or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> palace of Memnon, two colossal statues, the +sepulchres of the kings, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The glory of +Thebes belongs to a period prior to the commencement of authentic +history. It is recorded only in the dim lights of poetry and tradition, +which might be suspected of fable, did not such mighty witnesses remain +to attest their truth. Strabo and Diodorus Siculus described Thebes +under the name of <i>Diospolis</i> (the city of God), and gave such +magnificent descriptions of its monuments as caused the fidelity of +those writers to be called in question, till the observations of modern +travelers proved their accounts to have fallen short of the reality. At +the time of the Persian invasion under Cambyses, Memphis had supplanted +Thebes; and the Ptolemys afterwards removed the seat of empire to +Alexandria. At present, its site presents only a few scattered villages, +consisting of miserable cottages built in the courts of the temples. The +ancient structures, however, remain in a state of wonderful +preservation. Almost the whole extent of eight miles along the river is +covered with magnificent portals, obelisks decorated with most beautiful +sculptures, forests of columns, and long avenues of sphynxes and +colossal statues. The most remarkable monuments, the ruins of which +remain, are the temples of Carnac, Luxor, the Memnonium or temple of +Memnon, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The tomb of Osymandyas, the +temple of Iris, the Labyrinth, and the Catacombs lie on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> western +side of the Nile. In the interior of the mountains which rise behind +these monuments, are found objects less imposing and magnificent indeed, +but not less interesting—the tombs of the kings of Thebes. Several of +these were opened by Belzoni, and were found in great preservation, with +mummies in the sarcophagi, as well as dispersed through the chambers.</p> + +<p>Such was ancient Thebes—a city so populous that, according to ancient +writers, in times of war 10,000 soldiers issued from each of her hundred +gates, forming an army of 1,000,000 men. That these magnificent ruins +are the remains of "the city of an hundred gates,"—"the earliest +capital in the world," cannot be doubted. According to the measurements +made by the French, their distance from the sea on the north, is 680,000 +metres (850 miles), and from Elephantine on the south, 180,000 metres +(225 miles)—corresponding exactly with the 6,800 and 1,800 stadia of +Herodotus. The circumference of the ruins is about 15,000 metres (17½ +miles), agreeing with the 140 stadia given by Diodorus as the +circumference of Thebes. The origin of the name of this celebrated city, +as well as the date of its foundation, is unknown. According to +Champollion, who deciphered many of the inscriptions on these ruins, the +Egyptian name was <i>Thbaki-antepi-Amoun</i> (City of the Most High), of +which the <i>No-Ammon</i> of the Hebrews and <i>Diospolis</i> of the Greeks are +mere translations; <i>Thebæ</i>, of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> Greeks is also perhaps derived from +the Egyptian <i>Thbaki</i> (the city).</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE TEMPLE OF CARNAC.</h2> + + +<p>The largest of the temples of Thebes, and of any in Egypt, is that of +Carnac, on the site of the ancient Diospolis. Diodorus describes it as +thirteen stadia, or about a mile and a half in circumference, which +nearly agrees with the admeasurements of Denon. It has twelve principal +entrances; and the body of the temple, which is preceded by a large +court, consists of a prodigious hall or portico, the roof of which is +supported by one hundred and thirty-four columns, some twenty-six, and +others thirty feet in circumference; four beautiful obelisks then mark +the entrance to the shrine, which consists of three apartments, built +entirely of granite.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>TEMPLE OF LUXOR.</h2> + + +<p>The temple of Luxor is about one and a fourth mile above that of Carnac, +and though it is of smaller dimensions it is in a superior style of +architecture, and in more complete preservation. The entrance is thought +to surpass everything else that Egypt presents. In front are the two +finest obelisks in the world, formed of rose-colored granite, and +rising, as Denon supposes, after allowing for the portion buried in the +ground, to the height of one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> hundred feet. But the objects which most +attract attention, are the sculptures which cover the east wing of the +northern front. They represent on a grand scale, a victory gained by one +of the ancient kings of Egypt over their Asiatic enemies, consisting of +multitudes of figures, horses, and chariots, executed in the best style +of Egyptian art; the number of human figures introduced exceeds fifteen +hundred, five hundred of which are on foot, and the rest in chariots.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE STATUES OF MEMNON.</h2> + + +<p>There were many colossal statues of Memnon in Egypt, but the most +remarkable were the two in the Memnonium or palace of Memnon, at Thebes. +The largest is of rose-colored granite, and stood in the centre of the +principal court; its height was sixty-four feet, and its remains are +scattered forty feet around it. Rigaud, one of the French savans, says, +"the excavations are still visible where the wedges were placed which +divided the monument when it was thrown down by Cambyses." The trunk is +broke off at the waist, and the upper part lies prostrate on the back; +it measures six feet ten inches over the front of the head, and +sixty-two feet round the shoulders. At the entrance of the gate which +leads from the second court to the palace, is the famous colossal +sounding statue, which, according to Herodotus, Strabo, and Pausanias, +uttered a joyful sound when the sun rose, and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> mournful one when it +set. It is also related that it shed tears, and gave out oracular +responses in seven verses, and that these sounds were heard till the +fourth century after Christ. These phenomena, attested by many ancient +and modern writers, are variously accounted for by the learned, as +priestcraft, peculiar construction, escape of rarified air, &c. This +statue is in excellent preservation. The head is of rose-colored +granite, and the rest of a kind of black stone. Two other colossal +statues, about fifty feet high, are seated on the plain.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>HELIOPOLIS.</h2> + + +<p>The name of Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, was given by the Greeks to +the Egyptian <i>City of On</i>. It was situated a little to the north of +Memphis, was one of the largest cities of Egypt during the reign of the +Pharaohs, and so adorned with statues as to be esteemed one of the first +sacred cities in the kingdom. The temple dedicated to Re, was a +magnificent building, having in front an avenue of sphynxes, celebrated +in history, and adorned with several obelisks, raised by Sethosis +Rameses, B.C. 1900. By means of lakes and canals, the town, though built +on an artificial eminence, communicated with the Nile, and during the +flourishing ages of the Egyptian monarchy, the priests and scholars +acquired and taught the elements of learning within the precincts of its +temples. At the time of Strabo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> who visited this town about A. D. 45, +the apartments were still shown in which, four centuries before, Eudoxus +and Plato had labored to learn the philosophy of Egypt. Here Joseph and +Mary are said to have rested with our Saviour. A miserable village, +called <i>Metarea</i>, now stands on the site of this once magnificent city. +Near the village is the <i>Pillar of On</i>, a famous obelisk, supposed to be +the oldest monument of the kind existing. Its height is 67½ feet, and +its breadth at the base 6 feet. It is one single shaft of reddish +granite (Sienite), and hieroglyphical characters are rudely sculptured +upon it.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MEMPHIS.</h2> + + +<p>The very situation of this famous ancient city of Egypt had long been a +subject of learned dispute, till it was accurately ascertained by the +French expedition to Egypt. Numerous heaps of rubbish, of blocks of +granite covered with hieroglyphics and sculptures, of colossal +fragments, scattered over a space three or four leagues in +circumference, marks its site, a few miles south of Metarea or +Heliopolis, at a village called Moniet-Rahinet. According to Herodotus, +the foundation of Memphis was ascribed to Menes, the first king of +Egypt. It was a large, rich, and splendid city, and the second capital +of Egypt. Among its buildings were several magnificent temples, as those +of Phtha, Osiris, Serapis, etc.; its palaces were also remarkable. In +Strabo's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> time, it was next to Alexandria in size and population. +Edrisi, who visited Memphis in the 12th century, thus describes its +remains then existing: "Notwithstanding the vast extent of this city, +the remote period at which it was built, the attempts made by various +nations to destroy it and to obliterate every trace of it, by removing +the materials of which it was constructed, combined with the decay of +4,000 years, there are yet in it works so wonderful as to confound the +reflecting, and such as the most eloquent could not adequately +describe." Among the works specified by him, are a monolithic temple of +granite, thirteen and a half feet high, twelve long, and seven broad, +entirely covered, within and without, with inscriptions; and colossal +statues of great beauty, one of which was forty-five feet high, carved +out of a single block of red granite. These ruins then extended about +nine miles in every direction.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>LAKE MOERIS.</h2> + + +<p>This famous lake, according to Herodotus, with whose account Diodorus +Siculus and Mela agree, was entirely an artificial excavation, made by +king Moeris, to carry off the overflowing waters of the Nile, and +reserve them for the purposes of irrigation. It was, in the time of +Herodotus, 3,600 stadia or 450 miles in circumference, and 300 feet +deep, with innumerable canals and reservoirs. Denon, Belzoni, and other +modern travelers, describe it at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> the present time as a natural basin, +thirty or forty miles long, and six broad. The works, therefore, which +Herodotus attributes to King Moeris, must have been the mounds, dams, +canals, and sluices which rendered it subservient to the purposes of +irrigation. These, also, would give it the appearance of being entirely +the product of human industry.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE COLOSSAL SPHINX.</h2> + + +<p>The Egyptian Sphinx is represented by a human head on the body of a +lion; it is always in a recumbent position with the fore paws stretched +forward, and a head dress resembling an old-fashioned wig. The features +are like those of the ancient Egyptians, as represented on their +monuments. The colossal Sphinx, near the group of pyramids at Jizeh, +which lay half buried in the sand, was uncovered and measured by +Caviglia. It is about 150 feet long, and 63 feet high. The body is made +out of a single stone; but the paws, which are thrown out about fifty +feet in front, are constructed of masonry. The Sphinx of Sais, formed of +a block of red granite, twenty-two feet long, is now in the Egyptian +Museum in the Louvre. There has been much speculation among the learned, +concerning the signification of these figures. Winckelmann observes that +they have the head of a female, and the body of a male, which has led to +the conjecture that they are intended as emblems of the generative +powers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> of nature, which the old mythologies are accustomed to indicate +by the mystical union of the two sexes in one individual; they were +doubtless of a sacred character, as they guarded the entrance of +temples, and often formed long avenues leading up to them.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE LABYRINTH OF EGYPT</h2> + + +<p>A labyrinth, with the ancients, was a building containing a great number +of chambers and galleries, running into one another in such a manner as +to make it very difficult to find the way through the edifice. The most +famous was the Egyptian labyrinth, situated in Central Egypt, above Lake +Moeris, not far from Crocodilopolis, in the country now called <i>Fejoom</i>. +Herodotus, who visited and examined this edifice with great attention, +affirms that it far surpassed everything he had conceived of it. It is +very uncertain when, by whom, and for what purpose it was built, though +in all probability it was for a royal sepulchre. The building, half +above and half below the ground, was one of the finest in the world, and +is said to have contained 3,000 apartments. The arrangements of the work +and the distribution of the parts were remarkable. It was divided into +sixteen principal regions, each containing a number of spacious +buildings, which taken together, might be defined an assemblage of +palaces. There were also as many temples as there were gods in Egypt, +the number of which was pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>digious, besides various other sacred +edifices, and four lofty pyramids at the angles of the walls. The +entrance was by vast halls, followed by saloons, which conducted to +grand porticos, the ascent to which was by a flight of ninety steps. The +interior was decorated with columns of porphyry and colossal statues of +Egyptian gods. The whole was surrounded by a wall, but the passages were +so intricate that no stranger could find the way without a guide. The +substructions of this famous labyrinth still exist, and Milizia says, +"as they were not arched, it is wonderful that they should have been so +long preserved, with so many stupendous edifices above them." The Cretan +labyrinth was built by Dædalus on the model of the Egyptian, but it was +only a hundredth part the size; yet, according to Diodorus Siculus, it +was a spacious and magnificent edifice, divided into a great number of +apartments, and surrounded entirely by a wall. What would the ancients +say, could they see our modern imitations of their labyrinths?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE CATACOMBS OF EGYPT.</h2> + + +<p>There are numerous catacombs in Egypt, the principal of which are at +Alexandria; at Sakkara, near Cairo; at Siut, near the ancient Lycopolis +or City of the Wolf; at Gebel Silsilis, on the banks of the Nile between +Etfu and Ombos, the site of one of the principal quarries of ancient +Egypt; and at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> Thebes. Many of these are of vast extent, and were +doubtless formed by quarrying the rocks and mountains for building +materials. They consist of grottos, galleries, and chambers, penetrating +often to a considerable distance, the superincumbent mass being +supported by huge pillars of rock; or the galleries running parallel, +with masses of solid rock intervening for supports. Many of these +chambers and grottos contained multitudes of mummies, probably the +bodies of the less wealthy; many were evidently private family tombs of +wealthy individuals, some of which are of great magnificence, adorned +with sculptures, paintings, and hieroglyphics. The Arabs for centuries +have been plundering these abodes of the dead, and great numbers of the +mummies have been destroyed for fuel, and for the linen, rosin, and +asphaltum they contain, which is sold to advantage at Cairo. An immense +number of them have been found in the plain of Sakkara, near Memphis, +consisting not only of human bodies, but of various sacred animals, as +bulls, crocodiles, apes, ibises, fish, &c.; hence it is called <i>The +Plain of the Mummies</i>. Numerous caves or grottos, with contents of the +same kind, are found in the two mountainous ridges which run nearly +parallel with the Nile, from Cairo to Syene. Many of these tombs and +mummies are two or three thousand years old, and some of them perhaps +older.</p> + +<p>Among all the wonderful subterranean monuments of Egypt, the Catacombs +of Thebes are the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> most extraordinary and magnificent. These consist of +the Necropolis, or city of the dead, on the west bank of the Nile (which +was the common burial-place of the people), and the Tombs of the Kings. +The latter lie to the northwest of the city, at some distance in the +Desert. Having passed the Necropolis, the traveler enters a narrow and +rugged valley, flanked with perpendicular rocks, and ascending a narrow, +steep passage about ten feet high, which seems to have been broken down +through the rock, the ancient passage being from the Memnonium under the +hills, he comes to a kind of amphitheatre about 100 yards wide, which is +called Bab-il-Meluke—that is, the gate or court of the kings—being the +sepulchres of the kings of Thebes. In this court there are signs of +about eighteen excavations; but only nine can be entered. The hills on +each side are high, steep rocks, and the whole plain is covered with +rough stones that seem to have rolled down from them.</p> + +<p>The grottos present externally no other ornaments than a door in a +simple square frame, with an oval in the centre of the upper part, on +which are inscribed the hieroglyphical figures of a beetle, a man with a +hawk's head, and beyond the circle two figures on their knees, in the +act of adoration. Having passed the first gate, long arched galleries +are discovered, about twelve feet wide and twenty feet high, cased with +stucco, sculptured and painted; the vaults, of an elegant elliptical +figure, are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> covered with innumerable hieroglyphics, disposed with so +much taste, that notwithstanding the singular grotesqueness of the +forms, and the total absence of demi-tint or aërial perspective, the +ceilings make an agreeable whole, a rich and harmonious association of +colors. Four of five of these galleries, one within the other, generally +lead to a spacious room, containing the sarcophagus of the king, +composed of a single block of granite, about twelve feet long by eight +in breadth, ornamented with hieroglyphics, both within and without; they +are square at one end, and rounded at the other, like the splendid +sarcophagus deposited in the British Museum, and supposed by Dr. Clarke +to have contained the body of Alexander. They are covered with a lid of +the same material, and of enormous thickness, shutting with a groove; +but neither this precaution, nor these vast blocks of stone, brought +from such a distance with immense labor, have been able to preserve the +relics of the sovereigns from the attempts of avarice; all these tombs +have been violated. The figure of the king appears to have been +sculptured and painted at full length on the lid of each sarcophagus.</p> + +<p>The paintings found in these sepulchres are among the most curious and +interesting remains of Egyptian art; and they are in wonderful +preservation, the colors being as fresh as when first executed. Some of +these figures were copied by Bruce; and Denon, a member of the French +Commission<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> sent by Napoleon to examine the antiquities of Egypt, has +published a most valuable collection which have all the appearance of +spirited and characteristic resemblances. "I discovered," says he, "some +little chambers, on the walls of which were represented all kinds of +arms, such as panoplies, coats of mail, tigers' skins, bows, arrows, +quivers, pikes, javelins, sabres, helmets, and whips: in another was a +collection of household utensils, such as caskets, chests of drawers, +chairs, sofas, and beds, all of exquisite forms, and such as might well +grace the apartments of modern luxury. As these were probably accurate +representations of the objects themselves, it is almost a proof that the +ancient Egyptians employed for their furniture Indian wood, carved and +gilt, which they covered with embroidery. Besides these, were +represented various smaller articles, as vases, coffee-pots, ewers with +their basins, a tea-pot and basket. Another chamber was consecrated to +agriculture, in which were represented all its various instruments—a +sledge similar to those in use at present, a man sowing grain by the +side of a canal, from the borders of which the inundation is beginning +to retire, a field of corn reaped with a sickle, and fields of rice with +men watching them. In a fourth chamber was a figure clothed in white, +playing on a richly ornamented harp, with eleven strings."</p> + +<p>Denon observed everything with the eye of an artist. Speaking of the +Necropolis, which consists<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> of numerous double galleries of grottos, +excavated in the solid rock for nearly a mile and a half square, he +observes, "I was convinced by the magnificence both of the paintings and +sculptures, that I was among the tombs of great men and heros. The +sculpture in all is incomparably more labored and higher finished than +any I had seen in the temples; and I stood in astonishment at the high +perfection of the art, and its singular destiny to be devoted to places +of such silence and obscurity. In working these galleries, beds of a +very fine calcareous clay have occasionally been crossed, and here the +lines of the hieroglyphics have been cut with a firmness of touch and a +precision, of which marble offers but few examples. The figures have +elegance and correctness of contour, of which I never thought Egyptian +sculpture susceptible. Here, too, I could judge of the style of this +people in subjects which had neither hieroglyphic, nor historical, nor +scientific; for there were representations of small scenes taken from +nature, in which the stiff profile outlines, so common with Egyptian +artists, were exchanged for supple and natural attitudes; groups of +persons were given in perspective, and cut in deeper relief than I +should have supposed anything but metal could have been worked."</p> + +<p>The Sepulchres of the Kings of Thebes are mentioned by Diodorus Siculus +as wonderful works, and such as could never be exceeded by anything +afterwards executed in this kind. He says that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> forty-seven of them were +mentioned in their history; that only seventeen of them remained to the +time of Ptolemy Lagus; adding that most of them were destroyed in his +time. Strabo says, that above the Memnonium, the precise locality of +Denon's description, were the sepulchres of the kings of Thebes, in +grottos cut out of the rock, being about forty in number, wonderfully +executed and worthy to be seen. In these, he says, were obelisks with +inscriptions on them, setting forth the riches, power, and empire of +these kings, as far as Scythia, Bactria, India, and Ionia, their great +revenues, and their immense armies, consisting of one million of men.</p> + +<p>In Egypt, the honors paid to the dead partook of the nature of a +religious homage. By the process of embalming, they endeavored to +preserve the body from the common laws of nature; and they provided +those magnificent and durable habitations for the dead—sublime +monuments of human folly—which have not preserved but buried the memory +of their founders. By a singular fatality, the well-adapted punishment +of pride, the extraordinary precautions by which it seemed in a manner +to triumph over death, have only led to a more humiliating +disappointment. The splendor of the tomb has but attracted the violence +of rapine; the sarcophagus has been violated; and while other bodies +have quietly returned to their native dust in the bosom of their mother +earth, the Egyptian,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> converted into a mummy, has been preserved only to +the insults of curiosity, or avarice, or barbarism.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT.</h2> + + +<p>The pyramids of Egypt, especially the two largest of the group of Jizeh +or Gize, are the most stupendous masses of buildings in stone that human +labor has ever been known to accomplish, and have been the wonder of +ancient and modern times.—The number of the Egyptian pyramids, large +and small, is very considerable; they are situated on the west bank of +the Nile, and extend in an irregular line, and in groups at some +distance from each other, from the neighborhood of Jizeh, in 30° N. +Latitude, as far as sixty or seventy miles south of that place. The +pyramids of Jizeh are nearly opposite Cairo. They stand on a plateau or +terrace of limestone, which is a projection of the Lybian +mountain-chain. The surface of the terrace is barren and irregular, and +is covered with sand and small fragments of rock; its height, at the +base of the great pyramid, is one hundred and sixty four feet above the +ordinary level of the Nile, from which it is distant about five miles. +There are in this group three large pyramids, and several small ones. +Herodotus, who was born B.C. 484, visited these pyramids. He was +informed by the priests of Memphis, that the great pyramid was built by +Cheops, king of Egypt, about B.C. 900, and that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> one hundred thousand +workmen were employed twenty years in building it, and that the body of +Cheops was placed in a room beneath the bottom, surrounded by a vault, +to which the waters of the Nile were conveyed through a subterranean +tunnel. A chamber has been discovered under the centre of the pyramid, +but it is about fifty-six feet above the low-water mark of the Nile. The +second pyramid, Herodotus says, was built by Cephren or Cephrenes, the +brother and successor of Cheops, and the third by Mycerinus, the son of +Cheops. Herodotus also says that the two largest pyramids are wholly +covered with white marble; Diodorus and Pliny, that they are built of +this costly material. The account of Herodotus is confirmed by present +appearances. Denon, who accompanied the French expedition to Egypt, was +commissioned by Buonaparte to examine the great pyramid of Jizeh; three +hundred persons were appointed to this duty. They approached the borders +of the desert in boats, to within half a league of the pyramid, by means +of the canals from the Nile. Denon says, "the first impression made on +me by the sight of the pyramids, did not equal my expectations, for I +had no object with which to compare them; but on approaching them, and +seeing men at their base, their gigantic size became evident." When +Savary first visited these pyramids, he left Jizeh at one o'clock in the +morning, and soon reached them. The full moon illuminated their summits, +and they appeared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> to him "like rough, craggy peaks piercing the +clouds." Herodotus gives 800 feet as the height of the great pyramid, +and says this is likewise the length of its base, on each side; Strabo +makes it 625, and Diodorus 600. Modern measurements agree most nearly +with the latter.</p> + +<p>The pyramid of Cheops consists of a series of platforms, each of which +is smaller than the one on which it rests, and consequently presents the +appearance of steps which diminish in length from the bottom to the top. +There are 203 of these steps, and the height of them decreases, but not +regularly, the greatest height being about four feet eight inches, and +the least about one foot eight inches. The horizontal lines of the +platforms are perfectly straight, the stones are cut and fitted to each +other with the greatest accuracy, and joined with a cement of lime, with +little or no sand in it. It has been ascertained that a bed has been cut +in the solid rock, eight inches deep, to receive the lowest external +course of stones. The vertical height, measured from this base in the +rock to the top of the highest platform now remaining, is 456 feet. This +last platform is thirty two feet eight inches square, and if to this +were added what is necessary to complete the pyramid, the total height +would be 479 feet. Each side of the base, measured round the stones let +into the rock, is 763 feet 5 inches, and the perimeter of the base is +about 3,053 feet. The measurements of travelers differ somewhat, but +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> above are very nearly correct. The area of the base is 64,753 +square yards, or about 13⅓ acres. The surface of each face, not +including the base, is 25,493 square yards; and that of the four faces +is consequently 101,972 square yards, or more than 21 acres. The solid +contents of the pyramid, without making deductions for the small +interior chambers, is 3,394,307 cubic yards. Reckoning the total height +at 479 feet, the pyramid would be 15 feet higher than St. Peter's at +Rome, and 119 higher than St. Paul's, London. The entrance to the great +pyramid is on the north face, 47½ feet above the base, and on the level +of the fifteenth step from the foundation. The entrance is easily +reached by the mass of rubbish which has fallen or been thrown down from +the top. The passage to which this opening leads is 3 feet 7½ inches +square, with a downward inclination of about 26°. It is lined with slabs +of limestone, accurately joined together. This passage leads to another, +which has an ascending inclination of 27°. The descending passage is 73 +feet long, to the place where it meets the ascending one, which is 109 +feet long; at the top of this is a platform, where is the opening of a +well or shaft, which goes down into the body of the pyramid, and the +commencement of a horizontal gallery 127 feet long which leads to the +Queen's chamber, an apartment 17 feet long, 14 wide, and 12 high. +Another gallery, 132 feet long, 26½ high, and 7 wide, commences also at +this platform, and is continued in the same<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> line as the former +ascending passage, till it reaches a landing place, from which a short +passage leads to a small chamber or vestibule, whence another short +passage leads to the King's chamber, which as well as the vestibule and +intermediate passage, is lined with large blocks of granite, well +worked. The king's chamber is 34½ feet long, 17 wide, and 19¾ high. +The roof is formed of nine slabs of granite, reaching from side to side; +the slabs are therefore more than 17 feet long by 3 feet 9½ inches wide. +This chamber contains a sarcophagus of red granite; the cover is gone, +having probably been broken and carried away. The sarcophagus is 7 feet +6½ inches long, 3 feet 3 inches wide, 3 feet 8½ inches high on the +outside, the bottom being 7½ inches thick. There are no hieroglyphics +upon it. Several other chambers have been discovered above the king's +chamber, but as they are not more than three or four feet high, they +were probably intended to lessen and break the weight of the mass above, +which would otherwise fall on the King's chamber.</p> + +<p>In 1816, Captain Caviglia discovered that the entrance passage did not +terminate at the bottom of the ascending passage, but was continued +downwards in the same inclined plane of 26°, 200 feet further, and by a +short horizontal passage, opened on what appeared to be the bottom of +the well. The passage, however, continued in the same direction 23 feet +farther; then became narrower, and was continued horizontally 28 feet +more, where it opened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> into a large chamber cut out of the rock below +and under the centre of the pyramid. This chamber is about 26 by 27 +feet. Another passage leads from this chamber 55 feet, where it appears +to terminate abruptly.</p> + +<p>The well, which appeared to Mr. Davidson and Capt. Caviglia to descend +no lower than where it was intersected by the descending passage, its +depth there being 155 feet, was afterwards cleared out by the French to +the depth of near 208 feet, of which 145 feet are in the solid rock; so +that the base of the pyramid being 164 feet above the low water level of +the Nile, the present bottom of the well is 19 feet above the Nile; but +the actual bottom does not appear to have been reached. The temperature +within the body of the pyramid was found to be 81° 5', Farenheit, and in +the well it was still higher. Herodotus was informed that the chambers +cut in the solid rock, were made before the building of the pyramid was +commenced. It is evident it was intended that the pyramid should not be +entered after the body or bodies were deposited in it, as blocks of +granite were fixed in the entrances to the principal passages, in such a +manner as not only to close them, but to conceal them.—There are +evidences, however, that this pyramid was entered both by the Roman and +Arab conquerors of Egypt.</p> + +<p>The materials of all the pyramids are limestone, and, according to +Herodotus, were brought from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> the mountains near Cairo, where there are +ancient quarries of vast extent; but Belzoni is of opinion that a part +of them, for the second pyramid at least, was procured immediately on +the spot; others think that the greatest part of the materials came from +the west side of the Nile. The granite which forms the roofing of the +chambers, etc., was brought down the Nile from Syene. The stones of +which it is built, rarely exceed 9 feet in length, and 6½ in breadth; +the thickness has already been stated.</p> + +<p>The ascent to the great pyramid, though not without difficulty and +danger, is frequently accomplished, even by females.</p> + +<p>The pyramid of Cephren, the second in size, according to Belzoni, has +the following dimensions:</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Measurements-pyramid of Cephren"> +<tr><td align='left'>Side of the base,</td><td align='left'>684</td><td align='left'>feet.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Vertical height,</td><td align='left'>456</td><td align='left'>feet.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Perpendicular, bisecting the face of the pyramid,</td><td align='left'>568</td><td align='left'>feet.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Coating from the top, to where it ends,</td><td align='left'>140</td><td align='left'>feet.</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p>Belzoni, after great exertion, succeeded in opening the second pyramid, +and after traversing passages similar to those already described in the +great pyramid, reached the main chamber, which is cut in the solid rock, +and is 46 feet 3 inches long, 16 feet 3 inches wide, and 23 feet 6 +inches high. The covering is made of blocks of limestone, which meet in +an angular point, forming a roof, of the same slope as the pyramid. The +chamber contained a sarco<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>phagus, formed of granite, 8 feet long, 3 feet +6 inches wide, and 2 feet 3 inches deep, on the inside. There were no +hieroglyphics on it. Some bones were found in it, which were sent to +London, and proved to be those of a bull or an ox. From an Arabic +inscription on the wall of the chamber, it appears that some of the Arab +rulers of Egypt had entered the pyramid, and closed it again. Belzoni +also discovered another chamber in this pyramid.</p> + +<p>The pyramid of Mycernius, the third in size of the Jizeh group, is about +330 feet square at the base, and 174 feet high. This pyramid has never +been opened.</p> + +<p>There are some large pyramids at Sakkârah, one of which is next in +dimensions to the pyramid of Cheops, each side of the base being 656 +feet, and the height 339 feet. At Dashour there are also some large +pyramids, one of which has a base of 700 feet on each side, and a +perpendicular height of 343 feet; and it has 154 steps or platforms. +Another pyramid, almost as large at the base as the preceding, is +remarkable. It rises to the height of 184 feet at an angle of 70°, when +the plane of the side is changed, to one of less inclination, which +completes the pyramid. At Thebes, there are some small pyramids of sun +dried bricks. Herodotus says, "About the middle of Lake Moeris, there +are two pyramids, each rising about 300 feet above the water. The part +that is under the water is just the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> same height." It is probable that +these pyramids were built on an island in the lake, and that Herodotus +was misinformed as to the depth of the water. There are numerous +pyramids in Nubia—eighty or more—but they are generally small.</p> + +<p>The object of the Egyptians in building these pyramids, is not known. +Some writers maintain that they were as memorials, pillars, or altars +consecrated to the sun; others, that they served as a kind of gnomon for +astronomical observations; that they were built to gratify the vanity +and tyranny of kings, or for the celebration of religious mysteries; +according to Diderot, for the transmission and preservation of +historical information; and to others, for sepulchres for the +kings,—which last was the common opinion of the ancients. Some suppose +that they were intended as places for secret meetings, magazines for +corn, or lighthouses; but their structure, and great distance from the +sea, are sufficient refutations of these absurd hypotheses.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PERILOUS ASCENT OF THE PYRAMID OF CEPHREN.</h2> + + +<p>The upper part of this pyramid is still covered with the original +polished coating of marble, to the distance of 140 feet from the top +towards the base, which makes the ascent extremely difficult and +dangerous. Mr. Wilde, in his "Narrative of a Voyage to Madeira, +Teneriffe, and along the shore of the Mediterranean," published in 1840, +made the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> ascent to the top, and thus describes the adventure:</p> + +<p>"I engaged two Arabs to conduct me to the summit of the pyramid—one an +old man, and the other about forty, both of a mould, which for +combination of strength and agility, I never saw surpassed. We soon +turned to the north, and finally reached the outer casing on the west +side. All this was very laborious to be sure, though not very dangerous; +but here was an obstacle that I knew not how the Arabs themselves could +surmount, much less how I could possibly master—for above our heads +jutted out, like an eave or coping, the lower stones of the coating, +which still remain and retain a smooth, polished surface. As +considerable precaution was necessary, the men made me take off my hat, +coat, and shoes at this place; the younger then placed his raised and +extended hands against the projecting edge of the lower stone, which +reached above his chin; and the elder, taking me up in his arms as I +would a child, placed my feet on the other's shoulders, and my body flat +on the smooth surface of the stone. In this position, we formed an angle +with each other; and here I remained for upwards of two minutes, till +the older man went round, and by some other means, contrived to get over +the projection, when, creeping along the line of junction of the casing, +he took my hands, drew me up to where he was above me, and then letting +down his girdle, assisted to mount up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> the younger, but less daring and +less active of the two. We then proceeded much as follows. One of them +got on the shoulders of the other, and so gained the joining of the +stone above. The upper man then helped me in a similar action, while the +lower pushed me up by the feet. Having gained this row, we had after to +creep to some distance along the joining, to where another opportunity +of ascending was offered. In this way we proceeded to the summit; and +some idea may be formed of my feelings, when it is recollected that all +of these stones of such a span are highly polished, are set on an angle +of little less than 45°, and that the places we had to grip with our +hands and feet were often not more than two inches wide, and their +height above the ground more than 400 feet. A single slip of the foot, +and we all three must have been dashed to atoms long before we reached +the bottom. (This actually happened to an English traveler in 1850.) On +gaining the top, my guides gave vent to sundry demonstrations of +satisfaction, clapping me on the back, patting me on the head, and +kissing my hands. From this I began to suspect that something wonderful +had been achieved; and some idea of my perilous situation broke upon me, +when I saw some of my friends beneath, waving their handkerchiefs and +looking up with astonishment, as we sat perched upon the top, which is +not more than six feet square. The apex stone is off, and it now +consists of four outer slabs, and one in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> centre, which is raised up +on the end and leans to the eastward. I do not think human hands could +have raised it from its bed, on account of its size, and the confined +space they would have to work in. I am inclined to think the top was +struck by lightning, and the position of the stone thus altered by it. +The three of us had just room to sit upon the place. The descent, as +might be expected, was much more dangerous, though not so difficult. The +guides tied a long sash under my arms, and so let me slide down from +course to course of these coverings of stones, which are of a yellowish +limestone, somewhat different from the material of which the steps are +composed, and totally distinct from the rock at the base, or the coating +of the passages."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>EGYPTIAN OBELISKS.</h2> + + +<p>Obelisks belong to the oldest and most simple monuments of Egyptian +architecture, and are high four-sided pillars, diminishing as they +ascend, and terminating in a small pyramid. Herodotus speaks of them, +and Pliny gives a particular account of them. The latter mentions king +Mesphres, or Mestres, of Thebes, as the first builder of obelisks, but +does not give the time; nor is this king noticed either by Herodotus or +Diodorus. It is probable that these monuments were first built before +the time of Moses, at least two centuries before the Trojan war. There +are still several obelisks in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> Egypt; there is one erect, and another +fallen at Alexandria, between the new city and the light-house; one at +Matarea, among the ruins of old Heliopolis; one in the territory of +Fayoum, near ancient Arsinoë; eight or ten among the ruins of Thebes; +the two finest at Luxor, at the entrance of the temple, &c. These +obelisks, exclusively of the pedestals, are mostly from 50 to 100 feet +high, and of a red polished granite (sienite); a few of the later ones +are of white marble and other kinds of stone. At their base, they +commonly occupy a space of from 4½ to 12 feet square, and often more. +Some are adorned on all sides, and some on fewer, with hieroglyphics cut +in them, sometimes to the depth of two inches, divided into little +squares and sections, and filled with paint: sometimes they are striped +with various colors. Some are entirely plain and without hieroglyphics. +The foot of the obelisk stands upon a quadrangular base, commonly two or +three feet broader than the obelisk, with a socket, in which it rests. +They were commonly hewn out of a single stone, in the quarries of Upper +Egypt, and brought on canals, fed by the Nile, to the place of their +erection.</p> + +<p>The Romans carried many of them from Egypt to Rome, Arles, and +Constantinople, most of which were afterwards overturned, but have been +put together and replaced in modern times. Augustus, for instance, had +two large obelisks brought from Heliopolis to Rome, one of which he +placed in the Campus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> Martius. The other stood upon the Spina, in the +Circus Maximus, and is said to have been the same which king +Semneserteus (according to Pliny) erected. At the sack of Rome by the +barbarians, it was thrown down, and remained, broken in three pieces, +amidst the rubbish, until, in 1589, Sixtus V. had it restored by the +architect Domenico Fontana, and placed near the church Madonna del +Popolo. Under Caligula, another large obelisk was brought from +Heliopolis to Rome, and placed in the Circus Vaticanus. It has stood, +since 1586, before St. Peter's church: it is without hieroglyphics; and, +with the cross and pedestal, measures 126 feet in height. It is the only +one in Rome which has remained entire. Its weight is estimated at 10,000 +cwt. Claudius had two obelisks brought from Egypt, which stood before +the entrance of the Mausoleum of Augustus, and one of which was restored +in 1567, and placed near the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Caracalla +also procured an Egyptian obelisk for his circus, and for the Appian +Way. The largest obelisk (probably erected by Rameses) was placed by +Constantius II., in the Circus Maximus at Rome. In the fifth century, it +was thrown down by the barbarians, and lay in pieces upon the ground, +until Sixtus V., in 1588, had it raised upon the square, before St. +John's church of the Lateran, thence called the <i>Lateran obelisk</i>. It is +beautifully adorned with sculpture; its weight is 13,000 cwt.; its +height, exclusive of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> the pedestal, 140 feet; with the pedestal, 179 +feet. Several others have been erected by succeeding popes.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>REMOVAL OF AN OBELISK BY FONTANA.</h2> + + +<p>The following curious account of the removal of the obelisk in the +Circus Vaticanus to the centre of St. Peter's square, by Domenico +Fontana, is extracted from Milizia's life of that famous architect. It +shows plainly that the Egyptians must have attained great skill and +perfection in mechanics and engineering, to have been able to quarry out +obelisks at least a third larger, and convey them often several hundred +miles, to the places where they erected them.</p> + +<p>"Sixtus V. was now desirous of raising in the centre of the square of +St. Peter's the only obelisk which remained standing, but partly +interred, near the wall of the Sacristy, where was formerly the Circus +of Nero. Other pontiffs had had the same wish, but the difficulty of the +enterprise had prevented the execution.</p> + +<p>"This obelisk, or pyramid, is of red granite, called by the ancient +Romans, Marmor Thebanum (Theban marble), on account of having been +worked near Thebes, in Egypt, whence it was transported to Rome in the +time of Cæsar. Of the immense number in Rome, this is the only one +remaining entire; it is without hieroglyphics, 84 feet high, 8 feet 6 +inches wide at the base, and 5 feet 6 inches at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> top. One cubic foot +of this granite weighs about 160 pounds; so that the whole weight of the +obelisk must be somewhat less than 759,000 lbs. Of the manner in which +the Egyptians and Romans moved these enormous masses we have no idea, +and so many centuries having elapsed since such a thing had been done, +this proposition of Sixtus V. was considered so novel, that a general +assembly was called of all the mathematicians, engineers, and learned +men from various parts of Europe; and, in a congress held by the pope, +more than 500 persons presented themselves, bringing with them their +inventions; some with drawings, some with models, others with writings +or arguments.</p> + +<p>"The greater number were for removing it by means of an iron carriage +and thirty-two levers. Others invented a half wheel, on which the +obelisk was to be raised by degrees. Some proposed screws, and others +thought of carrying it upon slings.</p> + +<p>"Bartolomeo Ammanati, a Florentine architect and sculptor, sent +expressly by the grand duke, presented himself before the pope, without +either models or designs, and requested a year to consider it; for this +he was most severely reprimanded by the pontiff. Fontana exhibited his +wooden model, with a leaden pyramid, which, by means of a windlass and +crane, was raised and lowered with the greatest facility; he explained +the nature of these machines and movements, and gave a practical proof<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +of their capability by raising a small pyramid in the mausoleum of +Augustus, which was in a ruinous condition. After many disputes, +Fontana's invention was approved; but, as he had not yet acquired a name +of sufficient importance, the execution of it was committed to two +architects of renown, Giacomo della Porta and Bartolomeo +Ammanati.—These immediately commenced a scaffold in the centre of the +square where the obelisk was to stand.</p> + +<p>"Fontana being justly displeased that his own discovery should not be +entrusted to his execution, went to the pope, and respectfully +represented to him, that no one could so properly execute a design as +the inventor. Sixtus was persuaded, and committed the entire direction +of it to him. The architect then commenced his work with the utmost +celerity. He dug a square hole of 44 feet, in the piazza, 24 feet deep, +and finding the soil watery and chalky, he made it firm by strong and +massive piles. At the same time he had ropes made, three inches in +diameter, 1500 feet long, an immense quantity of cords, large iron rods +to strengthen the obelisk, and other pieces of iron for the cases of the +cranes, pins, circles, pivots, and instruments of every kind. The iron +to secure the obelisk alone amounted to 40,000 lbs., and was made in the +manufactories of Rome, Ronciglione, and Subbiaco. The beams, taken from +the woods of Nettuno, were of such a prodigious size, that each was +drawn by seven pair of buffalos. From Terracina, elm was brought,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> for +the caseing, and Holm oak for the shafts of windlass; and to prevent the +ground from giving way, it being soft and marshy, in consequence of the +great weight, he made a bed with two layers of timber, crossing each +other in a contrary direction. On this foundation he placed the castle +or carriage, which had eight columns: each of these columns was composed +of so many thick planks, that they measured 13 feet in circumference. +These were united together by thick cords, without screws, in order to +be done and undone with greater quickness. The height of the beams was +required to be 90 feet; and not any being of that length, they were +placed one on the other, and united by iron bands. These columns were +strengthened by forty-eight braces, and tied together on all sides. The +obelisk was entirely covered with double mats, to prevent its being +injured; it was then surrounded by planks, over which were placed large +rods of iron, and these embracing the thick part underneath, came +directly over the four faces of the mass, which thus became totally +encircled with these coverings. The whole pyramid thus weighed one +million and a half pounds. Fontana calculated that every windlass, with +good ropes and cranes, would be able to move 20,000 lbs. weight; and +consequently forty would move 800,000, and he gained the rest by five +levers of thick beams 52 feet long.</p> + +<p>"So novel an apparatus excited the curiosity of all Rome, and of +foreigners also, who came from dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>tant countries to see what effect +would be produced by this mass of beams, mingled with ropes, windlasses, +levers, and pulleys. In order to prevent confusion, Sixtus V. issued one +of his mandates, that on the day of its being worked, no one, except the +workmen, should enter the enclosure, on pain of death, and that no one +should make the least noise, nor even speak loud. Accordingly, on the +30th of April, 1586, the first to enter the barrier was the chief +justice and his officers, and the executioner to plant the gibbet, not +merely as a matter of ceremony. Fontana went to receive the benediction +of the pope, who, after having bestowed it, told him to be cautious of +what he did, for a failure would certainly cost him his head. On this +occasion, Sixtus felt the difference between his regard for his own +glory, and his affection for the architect. Fontana, in terror, secretly +placed horses at every gate, ready to convey him from the papal anger, +in case of an accident. At the dawn of day, two masses of the Holy Ghost +were celebrated; all the artificers made their communion, and received +the papal benediction, and before the rising of the sun all entered the +barrier. The concourse of spectators was such, that the tops of the +houses were covered, and the streets crowded. The nobility and prelates +were at the barriers, between the Swiss guards and the cavalry: all were +fixed and attentive to the proceedings; and, terrified at the sight of +the inexorable gibbet, every one was silent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> + +<p>"The architect gave an order that, at the sound of the trumpet, each +should begin working, and at that of the bell, placed in the castle of +wood, each should desist; there were more than 900 workmen, and 75 +horses. The trumpet sounded, and in an instant, men, horses, windlasses, +cranes, and levers were all in motion. The ground trembled, the castle +cracked, all the planks bent from the enormous weight, and the pyramid, +which inclined a foot towards the choir of St. Peter, was raised +perpendicularly. The commencement having prospered so well, the bell +sounded a rest. In twelve more movements the pyramid was raised almost +two feet from the ground, in such a situation that it could be placed on +the rollers, and it remained firmly fixed by means of wedges of iron and +wood. At this happy event the castle of St. Angelo discharged all its +artillery, and a universal joy pervaded the whole city.</p> + +<p>"Fontana was now convinced that the ropes were better than iron bands, +these being most broken or distorted, or expanded by the weight. On the +7th of May the pyramid was placed on the sledge—a more difficult and +tedious operation than that of raising it, it being necessary to convey +it over the piazza to the situation intended for it, which was 115 rods +from where it then stood. The level of the piazza being about 30 feet +lower, it was necessary to throw up an earthen embankment from one place +to the other, well secured by piles, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>&c. This being done, on the 13th +of June, by means of four windlasses, the pyramid was removed with the +greatest facility on the rollers, to the place of its destination. The +pope deferred its erection to the next autumn, lest the summer heats +should injure the workmen and spectators.</p> + +<p>"In the meantime the pedestal, which was interred 30 feet, was removed: +it was composed of two parts, the ogee and basement being of the same +mass, and the plinth of white marble. All the preparations were made for +this last operation on the 10th of September, with the same solemnities; +140 horses and 800 men were employed. The pope selected this day for the +solemn entrance of the duke of Luxembourg, ambassador of ceremony from +Henry III. of France, and caused the procession to enter by the Porta +Angelica, instead of the Porta del Popolo. When this nobleman crossed +the Piazza of St. Peter's, he stopped to observe the concourse of +workmen in the midst of a forest of machines, and saw, admiring, Rome +rising again by the hand of Sixtus V. In fifty-two movements the pyramid +was raised, and at the setting of the sun it was placed firm upon its +pedestal. The castle disappeared, and the artificers, intoxicated with +joy, carried Fontana on their shoulders in triumph to his own house, +amidst the sound of drums and trumpets, and the plaudits of an immense +crowd.</p> + +<p>"In placing it upright on the pedestal, Fontana considered the method +adopted by the ancients as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> the least difficult; which was to rest one +end on two globes, then draw the point round, raising it at the same +time, afterwards letting it fall perpendicularly on the pedestal. It is +conjectured that this was the practice adopted by the ancients, because +two dies alone were always covered with lead for a foot or more, and +were moreover crushed at the extremities. Sixtus V. placed a cross 7 +feet high at the top of the obelisk, which was carried in procession, +and which made the whole height 132 feet.</p> + +<p>"For this undertaking, Fontana was created a knight of the Golden Spur, +and a Roman nobleman; he had a pension of 2000 crowns, transferable to +his heirs, ten knighthoods, 5000 crowns of gold in ready money, and +every description of material used in the work, which was valued at more +than 20,000 crowns. Two bronze medals of him were struck; and the +following inscription was placed on the base of the pyramid by order of +the pope:—"</p> + +<p class='center'> +Dominicvs Fontana,<br /> +Ex. Pago. Agri. Novocomensis.<br /> +Transtvlit. Et. Erexit. +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>REMOVAL OF AN OBELISK FROM THEBES TO PARIS.</h2> + + +<p>In 1833, the French removed the smallest of the two obelisks which stood +before the propylon of the temple of Luxor to Paris, and elevated it in +the Place de la Concorde. The shaft is 76 feet high,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> and eight feet +wide on the broadest side of the base; the pedestal is 10 feet square by +16 feet high. Permission for the removal of both the obelisks having +been granted to the French government by the Viceroy of Egypt, a vessel +constructed for the purpose was sent out in March, 1831, under M. Lebas, +an eminent engineer, to whom the undertaking was confided, it being +previously determined to bring away only one, and M. Lebas found it +sufficiently difficult to bring away the smallest of the two. After +three months' labor with 800 men, the obelisk was removed on an inclined +plane into the vessel, through a hole made in the end for the purpose. +It arrived safely up the Seine to Paris, Dec. 23d, 1833. An inclined +plane of solid masonry was then constructed, leading from the river up +to a platform, also of rough masonry, level with the top of the +pedestal. The obelisk, having been placed on a kind of timber car or +sledge, was drawn up by means of ropes and capstans. One edge of the +base having been brought to its place on the pedestal, it was raised to +a perpendicular position by ropes and pulleys attached to the heads of +ten masts, five on each side. When all was ready, the obelisk was +elevated to its place under the direction of M. Lebas, in three hours, +without the least accident, Oct. 25th, 1836. It is said that Lebas had +provided himself with loaded pistols, in the firm determination to blow +out his brains in case of an accident!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> + +<p>In 1820, the Viceroy of Egypt presented to the English government the +monolith lying on the ground at Alexandria, one of the two obelisks +called Cleopatra's Needles; the other is still standing. The project of +removing it to London and erecting it in Waterloo Square, was +entertained for some time by the English government, but seems to have +been long abandoned; recently, however, an expedition is being fitted +out for the purpose.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CARBURI'S BASE FOR THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT.</h2> + + +<p>Milizia gives the following interesting account of the removal of the +immense mass of granite, which forms the pedestal or base of the +equestrian statue of Peter the Great, from the bogs of the Neva to St. +Petersburg, a distance of about fourteen miles. He also cites it as an +instance of extraordinary ingenuity and skill in mechanics. It is, +however, a much easier task to move a ponderous mass of rough, unhewn +rock, than a brittle obelisk, an hundred feet or so in length, requiring +the greatest care to preserve it from injury. It is also worthy of +mention, that in widening streets in New York, it is no uncommon thing +to see a three-story brick house set back ten or fifteen feet, and even +moved across the street, and raised an extra story into the bargain—the +story being added to the <i>bottom</i> instead of the <i>top</i> of the building. +Thus the large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> free stone and brick school-house in the First Ward, an +edifice of four lofty stories, 50 by 70 feet, and basement walls 2½ feet +thick, has been raised six feet, to make it correspond with the new +grade in the lower part of Greenwich-street. It is also no uncommon +thing to see a ship of a thousand tons, with her cargo on board, raised +out of the water at the Hydraulic Dock, to stop a leak, or make some +unexpected but necessary repairs.</p> + +<p>"In 1769, the Count Marino Carburi, of Cephalonia, moved a mass of +granite, weighing three million pounds, to St. Petersburg, to serve as a +base for the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, to be erected in the +square of that city, after the design of M. Falconet, who discarded the +common mode of placing an equestrian statue on a pedestal, where, +properly speaking, it never could be; and suggested a rock, on which the +hero was to have the appearance of galloping, but suddenly be arrested +at the sight of an enormous serpent, which, with other obstacles, he +overcomes for the happiness of the Muscovites. None but a Catherine II., +who so gloriously accomplished all the great ideas of that hero, could +have brought to perfection this extraordinary one of the artist. An +immense mass was accidentally found buried 15 feet in a bog, four miles +and a half from the river Neva and fourteen from St. Petersburg. It was +also casually that Carburi was at the city to undertake the removal of +it. Nature alone sometimes forms a mechanic, as she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> does a sovereign, a +general, a painter, a philosopher. The expense of this removal was only +70,000 rubles and the materials left after the operation were worth +two-thirds of that sum. The obstacles surmounted do honor to the human +understanding. The rock was 37 feet long, 22 high, and 21 broad, in the +form of a parallelopipedon. It was cleft by a blast, the middle part +taken away, and in the cavity was constructed a forge for the wants of +the journey. Carburi did not use cylindrical rollers for his +undertaking, these causing an attrition sufficient to break the +strongest cables. Instead of rollers he used balls composed of brass, +tin, and calamina, which rolled with their burden under a species of +boat 180 feet long, and 66 wide. This extraordinary spectacle was +witnessed by the whole court, and by Prince Henry of Prussia, a branch +from the great Frederick. Two drums at the top sounded the march; forty +stone-cutters were continually at work on the mass during the journey, +to give it the proposed form—a singularly ingenious idea. The forge was +always at work: a number of other men were also in attendance to keep +the balls at proper distances, of which there were thirty, of the +diameter of five inches. The mountain was moved by four windlasses, and +sometimes by two; each required thirty-two men: it was raised and +lowered by screws, to remove the balls and put them on the other side. +When the road was even, the machine moved 60 feet in the hour.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> The +mechanic, although continually ill from the dampness of the air, was +still indefatigable in regulating the arrangements; and in six weeks the +whole arrived at the river. It was embarked, and safely landed. Carburi +then placed the mass in the square of St. Peter's, to the honor of +Peter, Falconet, Carburi, and of Catherine, who may always, from her +actions, be classed among illustrious men. It is to be observed, that in +this operation the moss and straw that was placed underneath the rock, +became by compression so compact, that it almost equalled in hardness +the ball of a musket. Similar mechanical operations of the ancients have +been wonderfully exaggerated by their poets."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>COMPARATIVE SKILL OF THE ANCIENTS AND MODERNS IN MECHANICS.</h2> + + +<p>Many persons suppose, and maintain, that the grandeur of the monuments +of the ancients, and the great size of the stones they employed for +building purposes, prove that they understood mechanics better than the +moderns. The least knowledge in mechanics, however, will show this +opinion to be erroneous. The moderns possess powers which were unknown +to the ancients, as the screw, and the hydraulic press, the power of +which last is only limited by the strength of the machinery. The works +of the ancients show that they expended a vast deal of power and labor +to gratify the pride<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> and ambition of kings; but the moderns can do all +these things much easier, and in far less time, whenever they deem it +proper. There was nothing in ancient times to be compared with that +daring, ingenious, and stupendous monument of engineering skill—the +Britannia Tubular Bridge, across the Menai straits—projected, designed, +and built by Robert Stephenson, the famous English engineer. He had +previously built a similar but smaller structure—the Conway Tubular +Bridge.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE BRITANNIA TUBULAR RAILWAY BRIDGE.</h2> + + +<p>Had this stupendous fabric existed in ancient times, it would have been +regarded as the <i>first</i> of the seven wonders of the world. Greater and +more expensive structures have been raised, but none displaying more +science, skill, and ingenuity, and none requiring such tremendous +mechanical power to execute.</p> + +<p>The Britannia Tubular Bridge was built to conduct the Chester and +Holyhead Railway across the Menai Straits, to the island of Anglesea, in +the Irish Sea.</p> + +<p>The difficulties which the engineer had to overcome, were greatly +augmented by the peculiar form and situation of the straits. Sir Francis +Head says, "The point of the straits which it was desired to cross, +although broader than that about a mile distant; preoccupied by Mr. +Telford's suspension<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> bridge—was of course one of the narrowest that +could be selected, in consequence of which the ebbing and flowing +torrent rushes through it with such violence, that, except where there +is back water, it is often impossible for a small boat to pull against +it; besides which, the gusts of wind which come over the tops, down the +ravines, and round the sides of the neighboring mountains, are so +sudden, and occasionally so violent, that it is as dangerous to sail as +it is difficult to row; in short, the wind and the water, sometimes +playfully and sometimes angrily, seem to vie with each other—like some +of Shakspeare's fairies—in exhibiting before the stranger the utmost +variety of fantastic changes which it is in the power of each to +assume." The Menai Straits are about twelve miles long, through which, +imprisoned between the precipitous shores, the waters of the Irish Sea +and St. George's Channel are not only everlastingly vibrating, backwards +and forwards, but at the same time and from the same causes, are +progressively rising and falling 20 to 25 feet, with each successive +tide, which, varying its period of high water, every day forms +altogether an endless succession of aqueous changes.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE TUBES.</h2> + + +<p>The tubes forming the viaducts, rest upon two abutments and three piers, +called respectively the Anglesea abutment and pier, the Carnarvon +abut<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>ment and pier, and the Britannia or central pier, built upon the +Britannia rock in the middle of the straits, which gives name to the +bridge. The Anglesea abutment is 143 feet 6 inches high, 55 feet wide, +and 175 feet long to the end of the wings, which terminate in pedestals, +supporting colossal lions on either side, 25 feet 6 inches in length, 12 +feet 6 inches high, and 8 feet broad, carved out of a single block of +Anglesea marble. The space between the Anglesea abutment and pier is 230 +feet. This pier is 196 feet high, 55 feet wide, and 32 feet long. The +Carnarvon abutment and pier are of the same dimensions as those above +described, on the opposite shore. The Britannia pier is 240 feet high, +55 feet wide, and 45 feet long. This pier is 460 feet clear of each of +the two side piers. The bottom of the tubes are 124 feet above low water +mark, so that large ships can pass under them, under full sail.</p> + +<p>There are two tubes, to accommodate a double track (one would have done +in this country, but in England they do nothing by halves), and each is +1513 feet long. The total length of the bridge is 1841 feet. These tubes +are not round or oval, but nearly square at the termini; the bridge +being constructed on the principle of the arch. A section of one of the +tubes at the Britannia pier is in the form of a parallelogram, where it +is 30 feet high, gradually diminishing towards each end to 20 feet. The +tubes are riveted together into continuous hollow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> beams; they are of +the uniform width of 14 feet 8 inches throughout; they are constructed +entirely of iron, and weigh about 12,000 tons, each tube containing 5000 +tons of wrought iron, and about 1000 tons of cast iron. The tubes were +constructed each in four sections; the sections extending from the +abutments to their corresponding piers, each 250 feet long, were built +<i>in situ</i>, on immense scaffolding, made of heavy timbers for the +purpose, even with the railway; but the middle sections, each 470 feet +long, were built on piers on the Carnarvonshire shore, then floated into +the stream, and elevated to their position; each of these sections +weighed 1800 tons.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONSTRUCTION OF THE TUBES.</h2> + + +<p>The sides, bottom, and top of these gigantic tubes are formed of oblong +wrought iron plates, varying in length, width, and thickness, according +to circumstances, but of amazing size and weight. They are so arranged +as to obtain the greatest possible strength, the whole being riveted +together in the strongest manner. In addition to the 1600 tons of +wrought iron in each of the four large pieces, an additional 200 tons +was used to form lifting frames, and cast iron beams for the purpose of +attaching the tube to those huge chains by which they were elevated. The +construction of the tubes is thus described in the London Illustrated +News, from which this account is derived:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + +<p>"In order to carry out this vast work (the construction of the tubes), +eighty houses have been erected for the accommodation of the workmen, +which, being whitewashed, have a peculiarly neat and picturesque +appearance; among them are seen butcher's, grocer's, and tobacconist's +shops, supplying the wants of a numerous population. A day school, +Sunday school, and meeting-house also conspicuously figure. Workshops, +steam-engines, store-houses, offices, and other buildings meet the eye +at every turn; one is led to conclude that a considerable time has +elapsed since the works were commenced, yet it is little more than two +years ago. A stranger, on coming to the ground, is struck with wonder +when for the first time he obtains a near view of the vast piles of +masonry towering majestically above all the surrounding objects—strong +as the pillars of Hercules, and apparently as endurable—his eyes wander +instinctively to the ponderous tubes, those masterpieces of engineering +constructiveness and mathematical adjustment; he shrinks into himself as +he gazes, and is astonished when he thinks that the whole is the +developed idea of one man, and carried out, too, in the face of +difficulties which few would have dared to encounter."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>FLOATING OF THE TUBES.</h2> + + +<p>The tubes were floated to the places whence they were elevated to their +positions on eight huge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> pontoons, fitted with valves and pumps to +exhaust the water from them, when all was ready to float the prodigious +iron beams. These pontoons or boxes were each 90 feet long, 25 feet +wide, and 15 feet deep. The pontoons having been placed under one of the +tubes (sections), the floating was easily effected, and the operation is +thus described by the "Assistant Engineer."</p> + +<p>"The operation of floating the tubes (the four sections, and one only at +a time), will be commenced by closing the valves in the pontoons at low +water; as the tide rises, the pontoons will begin to float, and shortly +afterwards to bear the weight of the tube, which will at last be raised +by them entirely off its temporary supporting piers; about an hour and a +half before high water, the current running about four miles an hour, it +will be dragged out into the middle of the stream, by powerful capstans +and hawsers, reaching from the pontoons at each end, to the opposite +shore. In order to guide it into its place with the greatest possible +certainty, three large hawsers will be laid down the stream, one end of +two of them being made fast to the towers (piers) between which the tube +is intended to rest, and the other to strong fixed points on the two +shores, near to and opposite the further end of the tube platforms; in +their course, they will pass over and rest upon the pontoons, being +taken through 'cable-stoppers' which are contrivances for embracing and +gripping the hawser extended across the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> stream, and thereby retarding, +or if necessary entirely destroying, the speed induced by the current."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>RAISING THE TUBES</h2> + + +<p>The tubes of the Britannia bridge were raised by means of three +hydraulic presses of the most prodigious size, strength, weight, and +power; two of which were placed in the Britannia pier, above the points +where the tubes rest, and the other alternately on the Anglesea and +Carnarvon piers.</p> + +<p>In order that all who read these pages may understand this curious +operation, it is necessary to describe the principle of the hydraulic +press. If a tube be screwed into a cask or vessel filled with water, and +then water poured into the tube, the pressure on the bottom and sides of +the vessel will not be the contents of the vessel and tube, but that of +a column of water equal to the length of the tube and the depth of the +vessel. This law of pressure in fluids is rendered very striking in the +experiment of bursting a strong cask by the action of a few ounces of +water. This law, so extraordinary and startling of belief to those who +do not understand the reasoning upon which it is founded, has been +called the <i>Hydrostatic paradox</i>, though there is nothing in reality +more paradoxical in it, than that one pound at the long end of a lever, +should balance ten pounds at the short end. This principle has been +applied to the construction of the Hydrostatic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> or Hydraulic press, +whose power is only limited by the strength of the materials of which it +is made. Thus, with a hydraulic press no larger than a common tea-pot, a +bar of iron may be cut as easily as a slip of pasteboard. The exertion +of a single man, with a short lever, will produce a pressure of 1500 +atmospheres, or 22,500 pounds on every square inch of surface inside the +cylinder. By means of hydraulic presses, ships of a thousand tons +burthen, with cargo on board, are lifted out of the water for repairs, +and the heaviest bodies raised and moved, without any other expense of +human labor beyond the management of the engine.</p> + +<p>The tubes on the Anglesea side were raised first. The presses in the +Britannia tower were each capable of raising a weight of 1250 tons; that +in the Anglesea tower, larger than the others, 1800 tons, or the whole +weight of the tube. These presses were worked by two steam engines of 40 +horse power each, which forced the water into the cylinders, through a +tube half an inch in diameter. These steam engines were placed in the +Britannia and Anglesea piers. The press in the Anglesea pier is thus +described, the others being constructed in the same manner. The +hydraulic press stands on massive beams of wrought iron plates +constructed on the principle of the arch, placed in the tower above the +points where the tubes rest. The press consists of a huge cylinder, 9 +feet 2 inches in length, 3 feet 6 inches outside diameter, and the ram 1 +foot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> 8 inches in diameter, making the sides and bottom of the cylinder +11 inches thick; it was calculated that it would resist a pressure of +8000 or 9000 pounds to the square inch. The ram or piston was attached +to an exceedingly thick and heavy beam of cast iron, called the +cross-head, strengthened with bars of wrought iron. To the cross-head +were attached the huge chains that descended to the tubes far below, to +which they were secured, so that, as the ram was forced up 6 feet at +each stroke, the tube was raised the same distance. "The power of the +press is exerted on the tube by aid of chains, the links of which are 6 +feet in length, bolted together in sets of eight or nine links +alternately.—The ram raises the cross-head 6 feet at each stroke, and +with it the tube, when that height is attained, a lower set of chains on +the beams grip the next set of links, and thus prevent them from +slipping down, whilst the clamps on the cross-heads are unscrewed, the +upper links taken off, and the ram and cross-head lowered to take +another stroke." To guard against all chances of injury to the tubes in +case of accident to the machinery, a contrivance was adopted by which +the tubes were followed up with wedges. The importance of this +precaution was fully proved on the very first attempt to raise the tube +on the Anglesea side, when the huge cylinder broke, almost at the +commencement of the operations. The following is the engineer's +interesting report of the accident:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> + +<p>"On Friday last (August 17, 1849), at a quarter to twelve o'clock, we +commenced lifting the tube at the Anglesea end, intending to raise it +six feet, and afterwards to have raised the opposite end the same +height.</p> + +<p>"The tube rose steadily to the height of two feet six inches, being +closely followed up by inch wooden boards packed beneath it, when +suddenly, and without any warning, the bottom of the hydraulic press +gave way, separating completely from the body of the press.</p> + +<p>"The ram, cross-head, and chains descended violently on the press, with +a tremendous noise, the tube sinking down upon the wooden packing +beneath it. The bottom of the press, weighing nearly two tons and a +half, fell on the top of the tube, a depth of eighty feet.</p> + +<p>"A sailor, named Owen Parry, was ascending a rope ladder at the time, +from the top of the tube into the tower; the broken piece of press in +its descent struck the ladder and shook him off; he fell on to the tube, +a height of fifty feet, receiving a contusion of the skull, and other +injuries, of so serious a nature that he died the same evening. He was +not engaged in the raising, and had only chosen to cross the tube, as +being the nearest road from one tower to the other. An inquest was held +on the following day, and a verdict of accidental death returned. No one +actually engaged in the operation was injured, although Mr. Edwin +Clark,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> who was superintending the operation, on the top of the +cross-head, and his brother, Mr. L. Clark, who was standing beneath it, +had both a very narrow escape.</p> + +<p>"The tube is not at all injured, but some portions of the cast iron +lifting frames are broken, and require repairing; some weeks must elapse +before a new cylinder is made, and the operation continued."</p> + +<p>Sir Francis Head, when he saw one of the tubes raised, and in its place, +observed, "It seemed surprising to us that by any arrangement of +materials, it could possibly be made strong enough to support even +itself,—much less heavily laden trains of passengers and goods, flying +through it, and actually passing each other in the air at railway speed. +And the more we called reason and reflection to our assistance, the more +incomprehensible did the mystery practically appear; for the plate iron +of which the aërial gallery is composed is literally <i>not so thick</i> as +the lid, sides, and bottom which, by heartless contract, are <i>required</i> +for an elm coffin 6½ feet long, 2¼ wide, and 2 deep, of strength +merely sufficient to carry the corpse of an emaciated pauper from the +workhouse to his grave! The covering of this iron passage, 1841 feet in +length, is literally not thicker than the hide of an elephant; lastly, +it is scarcely thicker than the bark of the good old English oak,—and +if this noble sovereign, notwithstanding 'the heart' and interior +substance of which it boasts, is, even in the well-protected park in +which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> it has been born and bred, often prostrated by the storm, how +difficult is it to conceive that an attenuated aërial hollow beam, no +thicker than its mere rind, should, by human science, be constructed +strong enough to withstand, besides the weights rushing through it, the +natural gales and artificial squalls of wind to which, throughout its +entire length, and at its fearful height, it is permanently to be +exposed."</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding these "incomprehensible" speculations, the tubes are +abundantly strong to sustain the pressure of the heaviest trains, even +were they to stand still in the middle of the bridge. It is calculated +that each tube, in its weakest part, would sustain a pressure of four or +five thousand tons, "support a line of battle ship, with all her +munitions and stores on board," and "bear a line of locomotives covering +the entire bridge." The bridge was completed, and the first train passed +through it March 5th, 1850. The total cost of this gigantic structure +was only £601,865.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>GLORY OF ANCIENT ROME.</h2> + + +<p>Ancient Rome was built upon seven hills, which are now scarcely +discoverable on account of the vast quantities of rubbish with which the +valleys are filled. Pliny estimates the circumference of the city in his +time at 13,000 paces (which nearly agrees with modern measurements), and +the popu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>lation at 3,000,000. Rome was filled with magnificent public +edifices, temples, theatres, amphitheatres, circuses, naumachiæ, +porticos, basilicæ, baths, gardens, triumphal arches, columns, sewers, +aqueducts, sepulchres, public and private palaces, etc.</p> + +<p>In the time of the Cæsars, fourteen magnificent aqueducts, supported by +immense arches, conducted whole rivers into Rome, from a distance of +many miles, and supplied one hundred and fifty public fountains, one +hundred and eighteen large public baths, the artificial seas in which +naval combats were represented in the Colosseum, and the golden palace +of Nero, besides the water necessary to supply the daily use of the +inhabitants. One hundred thousand marble and bronze statues ornamented +the public squares, the temples, the streets, and the houses of the +nobility: ninety colossal statues raised on pedestals; and forty-eight +Egyptian obelisks of red granite, some of the largest size, also adorned +the city.</p> + +<p>Such was ancient Rome, "the Eternal City." Although visited for more +than a thousand years by various calamities, she is still the most +majestic of cities; the charm of beauty, dignity, and grandeur still +lingers around the ruins of ancient, as well as the splendid structures +of modern Rome, and brilliant recollections of every age are connected +with the monuments which the passing traveler meets at every step.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE CAPITOL.</h2> + + +<p>The Capitol or Citadel of ancient Rome stood on the Capitoline hill, the +smallest of the seven hills of Rome, called the <i>Saturnine</i> and +<i>Tarpeian rock</i>. It was begun B.C. 614, by Tarquinius Priscus, but was +not completed till after the expulsion of the kings. After being thrice +destroyed by fire and civil commotion, it was rebuilt by Domitian, who +instituted there the Capitoline games. Dionysius says the temple, with +the exterior palaces, was 200 feet long, and 185 broad. The whole +building consisted of three temples, which were dedicated to Jupiter, +Juno, and Minerva, and separated from one another by walls. In the wide +portico, triumphal banquets were given to the people. The statue of +Jupiter, in the Capitol, represented the god sitting on a throne of +ivory and gold, and consisted in the earliest times of clay painted red; +under Trajan, it was formed of gold. The roof of the temple was made of +bronze; it was gilded by Q. Catulus. The doors were of the same metal. +Splendor and expense were profusely lavished upon the whole edifice. The +gilding alone cost 12,000 talents (about $12,000,000), for which reason +the Romans called it the <i>Golden Capitol</i>. On the pediment stood a +chariot drawn by four horses, at first of clay, and afterwards of brass +gilded. The temple itself contained an immense quantity of the most +magnificent presents. The most important<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> state papers, and particularly +the Sibylline books were preserved in it. A few pillars and some ruins +are all that now remain of the magnificent temple of Jupiter +Capitolinus. Its site is mostly occupied by the church of the +Franciscans, and partly by the modern capitol called the <i>Campidoglio</i>, +which was erected after the design of Michael Angelo, consisting of +three buildings. From the summit of the middle one, the spectator has a +splendid view of one of the most remarkable regions in the world—the +Campagna, up to the mountains. For a description of the Colosseum, see +vol ii, page 29, of this work.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MODERN ROME.</h2> + + +<p>Modern Rome is about thirteen miles in circuit, and is divided by the +Tiber into two parts. In 1830, Rome contained 144,542 inhabitants, +35,900 houses, 346 churches, 30 monasteries, and upwards of 120 palaces. +The view of the majestic ruins; the solemn grandeur of the churches and +palaces; the recollections of the past; the religious customs; the magic +and almost melancholy tranquillity which pervades the city; the +enjoyment of the endless treasures of art—all conspire to raise the +mind of the traveler to a high state of excitement. The churches, +palaces, villas, squares, streets, fountains, aqueducts, antiquities, +ruins—in short, everything proclaims the ancient majesty and the +present greatness of Rome. Almost every church, palace, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> villa is a +treasury of art. Among the churches, St. Peter's is the most +conspicuous, and is, perhaps, the most beautiful building in the world. +Bramante began it; Sangallo and Peruzzi succeeded him; but Michael +Angelo, who erected its immense dome, which is four hundred and fifty +feet high to the top of the cross, designed the greatest part. Many +other architects were often employed upon it; Maderno finished the front +and the two towers. The erection of this edifice, from 1506 to 1614, +cost 45,000,000 Roman crowns. Before we arrive at this grand temple, the +eye is attracted by the beautiful square in front of it, surrounded by a +magnificent colonnade by Bernini, and ornamented by an Egyptian obelisk, +together with two splendid fountains. Upon entering the vestibule, +Giotto's mosaic, la Navicella, is seen. Under the portico, opposite the +great door, is Bernini's great bas relief representing Christ commanding +Peter to feed his sheep; and at the ends of the portico are the +equestrian statues of Constantine by Bernini, and of Charlemagne by +Cornachini. The union of these masterpieces has an indescribable effect. +The harmony and proportion which prevail in the interior of this august +temple are such, that, immense as it is, the eye distinguishes all the +parts without confusion or difficulty. When each object is minutely +examined, we are astonished at its magnitude, so much more considerable +than appears at first sight. The immense canopy of the high altar, +supported<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> by four bronze pillars of 120 feet in height, particularly +attracts the attention. The dome is the boldest work of modern +architecture. The cross thereon is 450 feet above the pavement. The +lantern affords the most beautiful prospect of the city and the +surrounding country. The splendid mosaics, tombs, paintings, frescos, +works in marble, gilded bronze and stucco, the new sacristy—a beautiful +piece of architecture, but not in unison with the rest—deserve separate +consideration. The two most beautiful churches in Rome next to St. +Peter's are the St. John's of the Lateran, and the Santa Maria Maggiore. +The former, built by Constantine the Great, is the parochial church of +the pope; it therefore takes precedence of all others, and is called +<i>Omnium urbis el orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput</i> (the head and mother +of all churches of the city and the world). In it is celebrated the +coronation of the popes. It contains several pillars of granite, <i>verde +antico</i>, and gilt bronze; the twelve apostles by Rusconi and Legros; and +the beautiful chapel of Corsini, which is unequalled in its proportions, +built by Alexander Galilei. The altar-piece is a mosaic from a painting +by Guido, and the beautiful porphyry sarcophagus, which is under the +statue of Clement XII., was found in the Pantheon, and is supposed to +have contained the ashes of M. Agrippa. The nave of the church of Santa +Maria Maggiore is supported by forty Ionic pillars of Grecian marble, +which were taken from a temple of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> Juno Lucina: the ceiling was gilded +with the first gold brought from Peru. We are here struck with +admiration at the mosaics; the high altar, consisting of an antique +porphyry sarcophagus; the chapel of Sixtus V., built from the designs of +Fontana, and richly ornamented; the chapel of Paul V., adorned with +marble and precious stones; the chapel of Sforza, by Michael Angelo; and +the sepulchres of Guglielmo della Porta and Algardi. In the square +before the front is a Corinthian column, which is considered a +masterpiece of its kind. The largest church in Rome next to St. Peter's +was the Basilica di San Paolo fuori delle Mura, on the road to Ostia, +burnt a few years since. The church of S. Lorenzo, without the city, +possesses some rare monuments of antiquity. The church of San Pietro in +Vincola contains the celebrated statue of Moses, by Michael Angelo. The +church of St. Agnes, in the place Navona, begun by Rainaldi and +completed by Borromini, is one of the most highly ornamented, +particularly with modern sculpture. Here is the admirable relief of +Algardi, representing St. Agnes deprived of her clothes, and covered +only with her hair. The Basilica of St. Sebastian, before the Porta +Capena, contains the statue of the dying saint, by Giorgetti, a pupil of +Algardi, and the master of Bernini. Under these churches are the +catacombs, which formerly served as places of burial. In the church of +St. Agnes, before the Porta Pia, among many other beautiful columns are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +four of porphyry, belonging to the high altar, and considered the most +beautiful in Rome. In a small chapel is a bust of the Savior by Michael +Angelo—a masterpiece. In the church of St. Augustine, there is a +picture by Raphael representing the prophet Isaiah, and an Ascension by +Lanfranco. The monastery has a rich library, called the Angelica, and +increased by the library of cardinal Passionei. The following churches +also deserve to be mentioned, on account of their architecture and works +of art; the churches of St. Ignatius, St. Cecilia, S. Andrea della +Valle, S. Andrea del Noviziato, the Pantheon (also called la Rotonda), +in which Raffaelle, Annibale Caracci, Mengs, etc., are interred. All the +364 churches of Rome contain monuments of art or antiquity. Among the +palaces, the principal is the Vatican, an immense pile, in which the +most valuable monuments of antiquity, and the works of the greatest +modern masters are preserved. Here are the museum Pio-Clementinum, +established by Clement XIV., and enlarged by Pius VI., and the +celebrated library of the Vatican. The treasures carried away by the +French have been restored. Among the paintings of this palace, the most +beautiful are Raffaelle's frescos in the <i>stanze</i> and <i>loggie</i>. The +principal oil paintings are in the <i>appartamento</i> Borgia, which also +contains the Transfiguration, by Raphael. In the Sistine chapel is the +Last Judgment by Michael Angelo. The popes have chosen the palace of +Monte Cavallo, or the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> Quirinal palace, with its extensive and beautiful +gardens, for their usual residence, on account of its healthy air and +fine prospect. The Lateran palace, which Sixtus V. had rebuilt by +Fontana, was changed, in 1693, into an alms-house. Besides these, the +following are celebrated: the palace della Cancellario, the palace de' +Conservatori, the palace of St. Mark, the buildings of the Academy, etc. +Among the private palaces, the Barberini is the largest; it was built by +Bernini, in a beautiful style. Here are the Magdalen of Guido, one of +the finest works of Caravaggio, the Paintings of the great hall, a +masterpiece of Pietro da Cortona, and other valuable paintings. Of works +of sculpture, the Sleeping Fawn, now in Munich, was formerly here; the +masterly group representing Atalanta and Meleager, a Juno, a sick Satyr +by Bernini, the bust of Cardinal Barberini by the same artist, and the +busts of Marius, Sylla, and Scipio Africanus, are in this palace. The +library is calculated to contain 60,000 printed books, and 9000 +manuscripts; a cabinet of medals, bronzes, and precious stones, is also +connected with the library. The Borghese palace, erected by Bramante, is +extensive, and in a beautiful style; the colonnade of the court is +splendid. This palace contains a large collection of paintings, rare +works of sculpture, valuable tables, and utensils of rich workmanship, +of red porphyry, alabaster, and other materials. The upper hall is +unrivalled; the great landscapes of Vernet, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> which it is adorned, +are so true to nature, that, upon entering, one imagines himself +transported into real scenes. The palace Albani, the situation of which +is remarkably fine, possesses a valuable library, a great number of +paintings, and a collection of designs by Caracci, Polidoro, Lanfranco, +Spagnoletto, Cignani, and others. The palace Altieri, one of the largest +in Rome, is in a simple style of architecture, and contains rare +manuscripts, medals, paintings, etc., and valuable furniture. In the +palace Colonna there is a rich collection of paintings by the first +masters; all the rooms are decorated with them, and particularly the +gallery, which is one of the finest in Europe. In the gardens are the +ruins of the baths of Constantine and those of the temple of Sol. The +Aldobrandini palace contains the proudest monument of ancient +painting—the Aldobrandine Wedding, a fresco purchased by Pius VII., in +1818, in which the design is admirable. The great Farnese palace, begun +from the designs of Sangallo, and completed under the direction of +Michael Angelo, is celebrated both for its beauty and its treasures of +art. The Caracci and Domenichino have immortalized themselves by their +frescos in its gallery. The Farnese Hercules, the masterly Flora, and +the urn of Cæcilia Metella, formerly adorned the court; and in the +palace itself was the beautiful group of the Farnese bull. But when the +king of Naples inherited the Farnese estate, these statues, with other +works of art, were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> carried to Naples, where they now adorn the palace +degli Studi. Not far off is the palace Corsini, where queen Christina +lived and died in 1689. It contains a valuable library and gallery. The +palace Giustiniani also had a gallery adorned with numerous valuable +statues and works of sculpture; its principal ornaments were the +celebrated statue of Minerva, the finest of that goddess now known, and +the bas-relief of Amalthæa suckling Jupiter. These treasures were +nominally bought by Napoleon, and are now in Paris. The paintings are +chiefly in the possession of the king of Prussia. In the palace Spada is +the statue of Pompey, at the foot of which Cæsar fell under the daggers +of his murderers. We have yet to mention the palace Costaguti, on +account of its fine frescos; Chigi, for its beautiful architecture, its +paintings and library; Mattei, for its numerous statues, reliefs, and +ancient inscriptions; the palace of Pamfili, built by Borromini, for its +splendid paintings and internal magnificence; that of Pamfili in the +square of Navona, with a library and gallery; Rospigliosi, upon the +Quirinal hill, etc. Among the palaces of Rome, which bear the name of +<i>villas</i>, is the Villa Medici, on the Pincian mount, on which were +formerly situated the splendid gardens of Lucullus: it once contained a +vast number of masterpieces of every kind; but the grand dukes Leopold +and Ferdinand have removed the finest works (among them, the group of +Niobe, by Scopas) to Florence. This palace,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> however, is yet worthy of +being visited. Under the portico of the Villa Negroni are the two fine +statues of Sylla and Marius, seated on the <i>sella curulis</i>. In the +extensive garden, which is three miles in circuit, some beautiful fresco +paintings have been found in the ruins of some of the houses. The Villa +Mattei, on the Cœlian mount, contains a splendid collection of +statues. The Villa Ludovisi, on the Pincian mount, not far from the +ruins of the circus and the gardens of Sallust, is one and a half miles +in circuit, and contains valuable monuments of art, particularly the +Aurora of Guercino, an ancient group of the senator Papirius and his +mother (or rather of Phædra and Hippolytus), another of Arria and Pætus, +and Bernini's rape of Proserpine. The Villa Borghese, near Rome, has a +fine but an unhealthy situation. The greatest part of the city, and the +environs as far as Frascati and Tivoli, are visible from it. It has a +garden, with a park three miles in circuit. This palace was ornamented +in its interior, and furnished with so much richness and elegance, that +it might have been considered the first edifice in Rome, next to the +capitol, particularly for its fine collection of statues. The most +remarkable among them were the Fighting Gladiator; Silenus and a Faun; +Seneca, in black marble, or rather a slave at the baths; Camillus; the +Hermaphrodite; the Centaur and Cupid; two Fauns, playing on the flute; +Ceres; an Egyptian; a statue of the younger Nero; the busts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> of Lucius +Verus, Alexander, Faustina and Verus; various relievos, among which was +one representing Curtius; an urn, on which was represented the festival +of Bacchus; another supported by the Graces; two horns of plenty, etc. +The greatest part of these has not been restored from Paris. The +exterior is ornamented with ancient reliefs. The Villa Pamfili, before +the Porta di San Pancrazio, also called Belrespiro, has an agreeable +situation, and is seven miles in circumference. The architecture is by +Algardi, but has been censured by connoisseurs. In the interior there +are some fine specimens of sculpture. Full descriptions of this and of +the Villa Borghese have been published. The Villa Albani, upon an +eminence which commands Tivoli and the Sabina, is an edifice of taste +and splendor. The cardinal Alexander Albani expended immense sums upon +it, and, during the space of fifty years, collected a splendid cabinet. +The ceiling of the gallery was painted by Mengs, and is a model of +elegance. The Villa Lante and the Villa Corsini deserve to be mentioned +on account of their fine prospects. The Villa Doria (formerly Algiati), +in which Raffaelle lived, contains three fresco paintings of this great +master. The Villa Farnese contains the remains of the palace of the +Roman emperors. The capitol contains so many and such magnificent +objects of every description, that it is impossible to enumerate them +here. We must be satisfied with mentioning the equestrian statue of +Marcus Au<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>relius, before the palace; the Captive Kings, in the court; +the <i>columna rostrata</i>; and within, the colossal statue of Pyrrhus; the +tomb of Severus; the Centaurs, of basalt; the beautiful alabaster +pillars; the masterpiece in mosaic, which once belonged to cardinal +Furietti, representing three doves on the edge of a vessel filled with +water, which is described by Pliny. The fountains are among the +principal ornaments of the squares in Rome. The fountain in the Piazza +Navona, the most splendid of them all, has been particularly admired; it +is surmounted by an obelisk, and ornamented by four colossal statues, +which represent the four principal rivers in the world. The fountain of +Paul V., near the church di San Pietro in Montorio, is in bad taste, but +furnishes such a body of water, that several mills are carried by it. +The fountain di Termini is adorned with three reliefs, representing +Moses striking water from the rock, and with a colossal statue of that +prophet, and two Egyptian lions in basalt. The splendid fountain of +Trevi supplies the best water, which it receives through an ancient +aqueduct. Among the streets, the Strada Felice and the Strada Pia, which +cross each other, are the most remarkable; among the bridges, that of +St. Angelo (formerly Pons Ælius), 300 feet in length; and among the +gates the Porta del Popolo (formerly Porta Flaminia). Of ancient +monuments, the following yet remain: the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the +column of Trajan, that of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> Antonine, the amphitheatre of Vespasian; the +mausoleum of Augustus, the mausoleum of Adrian (now the fortress of St. +Angelo); the triumphal arches of Severus, Titus, Constantine, Janus, +Nero, and Drusus; the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Stator, of Jupiter +Tonans, of Concordia, of Pax, of Antoninus and Faustina, of the sun and +moon, of Romulus, of Romulus and Remus, of Pallas, of Fortuna Virilis, +of Fortuna Muliebris, of Virtue, of Bacchus, of Vesta, of Minerva +Medica, and of Venus and Cupid; the remains of the baths of Dioclesian, +of Caracalla and Titus, etc.; the ruins of the theatre of Pompey, near +the Curia Pompeii, where Cæsar was murdered, and those of the theatre of +Marcellus; the ruins of the old forum (now called Campo Vaccino); the +remains of the old bridges; the circus Maximus; the circus of Caracalla; +the house of Cicero; the Curia Hostilia; the trophies of Marius; the +portico of Philip and Octavius; the country house and tower of Mæcenas; +the Claudian aqueduct; the monuments of the family of Aruns, of the +Scipios, of Metella (called Capo di Bove); the prison of Jugurtha +(Carcero Mamertino), in which St. Peter was imprisoned; the monument of +Caius Cestius, which is entirely uninjured, in form of a pyramid, near +which the Protestants are buried; the Cloaca Maxima, built by Tarquin, +etc. Besides the obelisk near the Porta del Popolo, that raised in the +pontificate of Pius VI., on mount Cavallo, is deserving of notice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> The +principal collections of literature and the arts have already been +noticed; but the Museo Kircheliano deserves to be particularly +mentioned; there are, besides, many private collections and monastic +libraries, which contain many valuable works. Such treasures, especially +in the arts, make Rome the great school of painters, statuaries, and +architects, and a place of pilgrimage to all lovers of the arts; and +there are here innumerable <i>studios</i> of painters and sculptors. Roman +art seems to have received a new impulse. The academy of San Luca was +established solely for the art of painting. There are also many literary +institutions in the city.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>>THE FOUNDATION OF VENICE.</h2> + + +<p>It is recorded in the archives of Padua, says Milizia, that when +Rhadagasius entered Italy, and the cruelties exercised by the Visigoths +obliged the people to seek refuge in various places, an architect of +Candia, named Eutinopus, was the first to retire to the fens of the +Adriatic, where he built a house, which remained the only one there for +several years. At length, when Alaric continued to desolate the country, +others sought an asylum in the same marshes, and built twenty-four +houses, which formed the germ of Venice. The security of the place now +induced people to settle there rapidly, and Venice soon sprung up a city +and gradually rose to be mistress of the seas. The Venetian his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>torians +inform us that the house of Eutinopus, during a dreadful conflagration, +was miraculously saved by a shower of rain, at the prayer of the +architect, who made a vow to convert it into a church; he did this, and +dedicated it to St. James, the magistrates and inhabitants contributing +to build and ornament the edifice. The church is still standing, in the +quarter of the Rialto, which is universally considered the oldest part +of Venice.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THEODORIC THE GREAT, AND HIS LOVE OF THE FINE ARTS.</h2> + + +<p>Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and afterwards also king of Italy, +was born at Amali, near Vienna, in 455, and died in 526. Though a Goth, +he was so far from delighting in the destruction of public monuments, +and works of art, that he issued edicts for their preservation at Rome +and throughout Italy, and assigned revenues for the repair of the public +edifices, for which purpose he employed the most skillful and learned +architects, particularly Aloïsius, Boëtius, and Symmachus. According to +Cassiodorus (lib. ii. Varior. Epist. xxxix.), Theodoric said: "It is +glorious to preserve the works of antiquity; and it is our duty to +restore the most useful and the most beautiful." Symmachus had the +direction of the buildings constructed or rebuilt at Rome. The king thus +wrote to him: "You have constructed fine edifices; you have, moreover,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +disposed of them with so much wisdom that they equal those of antiquity, +and serve as examples to the moderns; and all you show us is a perfect +image of the excellence of your mind, because it is not possible to +build correctly without good sense and a well cultivated understanding."</p> + +<p>In his directions to the Prefect of Rome, on the architecture of the +public edifices, Theodoric thus wrote:</p> + +<p>"The beauty of the Roman buildings requires a skillful overseer, in +order that such a wonderful forest of edifices should be preserved with +constant care, and the new ones properly constructed, both internally +and externally. Therefore we direct our generosity not only to the +preservation of ancient things, but to the investing the new ones with +the glories of antiquity. Be it known, therefore, to your illustrious +person, that for this end an architect of the Roman walls is appointed. +And because the study of the arts requires assistance, we desire that he +may have every reasonable accommodation that his predecessors have +enjoyed. He will certainly see things superior to what he has read of, +and more beautiful than he could ever have imagined. The statues still +feel their renowned authors, and appear to live: he will observe +expressed in the bronze, the veins, the muscles swollen by exertion, the +nerves gradually stretched, and the figure expressing those feelings +which act on a living subject.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It is said that the first artists in Italy were the Etruscans, and thus +posterity has given to them, as well as to Rome, almost the power of +creating man. How wonderful are the horses, so full of spirit, with +their fiery nostrils, their sparkling eyes, their easy and graceful +limbs;—they would move, if not of metal. And what shall we say of those +lofty, slender, and finely fluted columns, which appear a part of the +sublime structure they support? That appears wax, which is hard and +elegant metal; the joints in the marble being like natural veins. The +beauty of art is to deceive the eye. Ancient historians acquaint us with +only seven wonders in the world: the Temple of Diana, at Ephesus; the +magnificent sepulchre of the king Mausolus, from whence is derived the +word mausoleum; the bronze Colossus of the Sun, in Rhodes; the statue of +Jupiter Olympius, of gold and ivory, formed by the masterly hand of +Phidias, the first of architects; the palace of Cyrus, King of Media, +built by Memnon of stones united by gold; the walls of Babylon, +constructed by Semiramis of brick, pitch, and iron; the pyramids of +Egypt, the shadows of which do not extend beyond the space of their +construction. But who can any longer consider these as wonders, after +having seen so many in Rome? Those were famous because they preceded us; +it is natural that the new productions of the then barbarous ages should +be renowned. It may truly be said that all Rome is wonderful. We have +there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>fore selected a man clever in the arts, who, in seeing so many +ingenious things of antiquity, instead of remaining merely enchanted +with them, has set himself to work to investigate the reason, study +their books, and instruct himself, that he may become as learned as +those in the place of whom he is to consider himself appointed."</p> + +<p>Milizia says of Theodoric, "Is this the language of a Gothic barbarian, +the destroyer of good taste? Pericles, Alexander, Adrian, or one of the +Medici could not have reasoned better." And again, "Can these Goths be +the inventors of that architecture vulgarly called Gothic? and are these +the barbarians said to have been the destroyers of the beautiful +monuments of antiquity? Ecclesiastical history gives to the good +Christians and the jealous ecclesiastics the honor of having dismantled +temples, and disfigured statues in Italy, Greece, Asia, and Egypt. * * * +It is clear that the Goths were not the authors of that architecture +called Gothic. The Goths and barbarians who overran Italy had not any +characteristic architecture, good or bad. They brought with them neither +architects, painters, nor poets. They were all soldiers, and when fixed +in Italy employed Italian artists; but as in that country, good taste +was much on the decline, it now became more debased, notwithstanding the +efforts made by the Goths to revive it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ARCHIMEDES.</h2> + + +<p>This wonderful genius was of royal descent, and born at Syracuse about +B.C. 287. He was a relative of king Hiero, who held him in the highest +esteem and favor, though he does not appear to have held any public +office, preferring to devote himself entirely to science. Such was his +enthusiasm, that he appears at times to have been so completely absorbed +in contemplation and calculations, as to be totally unconscious of what +was passing around him. We cannot fully estimate his services to +mathematics, for want of an acquaintance with the previous state of +science; still we know that he enriched it with discoveries of the +highest importance, upon which the moderns have founded their +admeasurements of curvilinear surfaces and solids. Euclid, in his +elements, considers only the relations of some of these magnitudes to +each other, but does not compare them with surfaces and solids bounded +by straight lines. Archimedes developed the proportions necessary for +effecting this comparison, in his treatises on the sphere and cylinder, +the spheroid and conoid, and in his work on the measure of the circle. +He rose to still more abstruse considerations in his treatise on the +spiral. Archimedes is also the only one of the ancients who has left us +anything satisfactory on the theory of mechanics and hydrostatics. He +first taught the principle "that a body immersed in a fluid, loses as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +much in weight, as the weight of an equal volume of the fluid." He +discovered this while bathing, which is said to have caused him so much +joy that he ran home from the bath undressed, exclaiming, "I have found +it; I have found it!" By means of this principle, he determined how much +alloy a goldsmith had added to a crown which king Hiero had ordered of +pure gold. Archimedes had a profound knowledge of mechanics, and in a +moment of enthusiasm, with which the extraordinary performances of his +machines had inspired him, he exclaimed that he "could move the earth +with ease, by means of his machines placed on a fixed point near it." He +was the inventor of the compound pulley, and probably of the endless +screw which bears his name. He invented many surprising engines and +machines. Some suppose that he visited Egypt, and raised the sites of +the towns and villages of Egypt, and begun those mounds of earth by +means of which communication was kept up from town to town, during the +inundations of the Nile. When Marcellus, the Roman consul, besieged +Syracuse, he devoted all his talents to the defense of his native +country. He constructed machines which suddenly raised up in the air the +ships of the enemy in the bay before the city, and then let them fall +with such violence into the water that they sunk; he also set them on +fire with his burning glasses. Polybius, Livy, and Plutarch speak in +detail, with wonder and admiration, of the machines<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> with which he +repelled the attacks of the Romans. When the town was taken and given up +to pillage, the Roman general gave strict orders to his soldiers not to +hurt Archimedes, and even offered a reward to him who should bring him +alive and safe to his presence. All these precautions proved useless, +for the philosopher was so deeply engaged at the time in solving a +problem, that he was even ignorant that the enemy were in possession of +the city, and when a soldier entered his apartment, and commanded him to +follow him, he exclaimed, according to some, "Disturb not my circle!" +and to others, he begged the soldier not to "kill him till he had solved +his problem"; but the rough warrior, ignorant of the august person +before him, little heeded his request, and struck him down. This +happened B.C. 212, so that Archimedes, at his death, must have been +about 75 years old. Marcellus raised a monument over him, and placed +upon it a cylinder and a sphere, thereby to immortalize his discovery of +their mutual relations, on which he set a particular value; but it +remained long neglected and unknown, till Cicero, during his questorship +of Sicily, found it near one of the gates of Syracuse, and had it +repaired. The story of his burning glasses had always appeared fabulous +to some of the moderns, till the experiments of Buffon demonstrated its +truth and practicability. These celebrated glasses are supposed to have +been reflectors made of metal,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> and capable of producing their effect at +the distance of a bow-shot.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE TRIALS OF GENIUS.</h2> + + +<h3>FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI.</h3> + + +<p>This eminent architect was one of those illustrious men, who, having +conceived and matured a grand design, proceed, cool, calm, and +indefatigable, to put it in execution, undismayed by obstacles that seem +insuperable, by poverty, want, and what is worse, the jeers of men whose +capacities are too limited to comprehend their sublime conceptions. The +world is apt to term such men enthusiasts, madmen, or fools, till their +glorious achievements stamp them almost divinely inspired.</p> + +<p>Brunelleschi was nobly descended on his mother's side, she being a +member of the Spini family, which, according to Bottari, became extinct +towards the middle of the last century. His ancestors on his father's +side were also learned and distinguished men—his father was a notary, +his grandfather "a very learned man," and his great-grandfather "a +famous physician in those times." Filippo's father, though poor, +educated him for the legal or medical profession; but such was his +passion for art and mechanics, that his father, greatly against his +will, was compelled to allow him to follow the bent of his genius: he +accordingly placed him, at a proper age, in the Guild of the Goldsmiths, +that he might acquire the art of design. Filippo soon became a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +proficient in the setting of precious stones, which he did much better +than any old artists in the vocation. He also wrought in niello, and +executed several figures which were highly commended, particularly two +figures of Prophets, for an altar in the Cathedral of Pistoja. Filippo +next turned his attention to sculpture, and executed works in +basso-relievo, which showed an extraordinary genius. Subsequently, +having made the acquaintance of several learned men, he began to turn +his attention to the computation of the divisions of time, the +adjustment of weights, the movement of wheels, etc. He next bent his +thoughts to the study of perspective, to which, before his time, so +little attention was paid by artists, that the figures often appeared to +be slipping off the canvas, and the buildings had not a true point of +view. He was one of the first who revived the Greek practice of +rendering the precepts of geometry subservient to the painter; for this +purpose, he studied with the famous geometrician Toscanelli, who was +also the instructor, friend, and counsellor of Columbus. Filippo pursued +his investigations until he brought perspective to great perfection; he +was the first who discovered a perfectly correct method of taking the +ground plan and sections of buildings, by means of intersecting +lines—"a truly ingenious thing," says Vasari, "and of great utility to +the arts of design." Filippo freely communicated his discoveries to his +brother artists. He was imitated in mosaic by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> Benedetto da Macano, and +in painting by Masaccio, who were his pupils. Vasari says Brunelleschi +was a man of such exalted genius, that "we may truly declare him to have +been given to us by Heaven, for the purpose of imparting a new spirit to +architecture, which for hundreds of years had been lost; for the men of +those times had badly expended great treasures in the erection of +buildings without order, constructed in a most wretched manner, after +deplorable designs, with fantastic inventions, labored graces, and worse +decorations. But it then pleased Heaven, the earth having been for so +many years destitute of any distinguished mind and divine genius, that +Filippo Brunelleschi should leave to the world, the most noble, vast, +and beautiful edifice that had ever been constructed in modern times, or +even in those of the ancients; giving proof that the talent of the +Tuscan artists, although lost for a time, was not extinguished. He was, +moreover, adorned by the most excellent qualities, among which was that +of kindliness, insomuch that there never was a man of more benign and +amicable disposition; in judgment he was calm and dispassionate, and +laid aside all thought of his own interest and even that of his friends, +whenever he perceived the merits and talents of others to demand that he +should do so. He knew himself, instructed many from the stores of his +genius, and was ever ready to succor his neighbor in all his +necessities; he declared himself the confirmed enemy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> of all vice, and +the friend of those who labored in the cause of virtue. Never did he +spend his moments vainly, but, although constantly occupied in his own +works, in assisting those of others, or administering to their +necessities, he had yet always time to bestow on his friends, for whom +his aid was ever ready."</p> + +<p>In the meantime, Brunelleschi had studied architecture, and made such +progress that he had already conceived two grand projects—the one was +the revival of the good manner of ancient architecture, which was then +extinct, and the other was to discover a method for constructing the +cupola of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence, the +difficulties of which were so great that, after the death of Arnolfo di +Lapi, no architect had been found of sufficient courage and capacity to +attempt the vaulting of that cupola.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> If he could accomplish one or +both of these designs, he believed that he would not only immortalize +his own name, but confer a lasting benefit on mankind. Filippo, having +resolved to devote himself entirely to architecture in future, set out +for Rome in company with his friend Donatello, without imparting his +purpose to any one. Here his mind became so absorbed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> that he labored +incessantly, scarcely allowing himself the rest which nature required. +He examined, measured, and made careful drawings of all the edifices, +ruins, arches, and vaults of antiquity; to these he devoted perpetual +study, and if by chance he found fragments of capitals, columns, +cornices, or basements of buildings, partly buried in the earth, he set +laborers at work to lay them open to view. One day, Filippo and +Donatello found an earthen vase full of ancient coins, which caused a +report to be spread about Rome that the artists were <i>treasure-seekers</i>, +and this name they often heard, as they passed along the streets, +negligently clothed, the people believing them to be men who studied +geomancy, for the discovery of treasures. Donatello soon returned to +Florence, but Filippo pursued his studies with unremitting diligence. +Having exhausted his means, although he lived in the most frugal manner, +he contrived to supply his wants, says Milizia, by pawning his jewels, +but Vasari with greater probability, by setting precious stones for the +goldsmiths, who were his friends. "Nor did he rest," says Vasari, "until +he had drawn every description of fabric—temples, round, square, or +octagon; basilicas, aqueducts, baths, arches, the Colosseum, +amphitheatres, and every church built of bricks, of which he examined +all the modes of binding and clamping, as well as the turning of the +vaults and arches; he took note, likewise, of all the methods used for +uniting the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> stones, as well as of the means used for securing the +equilibrium and close conjunction of all the parts; and having found +that in all the larger stones there was a hole, formed exactly in the +centre of each on the under side, he discovered that this was for the +insertion of the iron instrument with which the stones are drawn up, and +which is called by us the mason's clamps (<i>la ulivella</i>), an invention, +the use of which he restored, and ever afterwards put in practice. The +different orders were next divided by his cares, each order, the Doric, +Ionic, or Corinthian being placed apart; and such was the effect of his +zeal in that study, that he became capable of entirely reconstructing +the city in his imagination, and of beholding Rome as she had been +before she was ruined. But in the year 1407 the air of the place caused +Filippo some slight indisposition, when he was advised by his friends to +try change of air. He consequently returned to Florence, where many +buildings had suffered by his absence, and for these he made many +drawings and gave numerous counsels on his return.</p> + +<p>"In the same year an assemblage of architects and engineers was gathered +in Florence, by the Superintendents of the works of Santa Maria del +Fiore, and by the Syndics of the Guild of wool-workers, to consult on +the means by which the cupola might be raised. Among these appeared +Filippo, who gave it as his opinion that the edifice above the roof must +be constructed, not after the design of Ar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>nolfo, but that a frieze, +fifteen braccia high, must be erected, with a large window in each of +its sides: since not only would this take the weight off the piers of +the tribune, but would also permit the cupola itself to be more easily +raised."</p> + +<p>The obstacles appeared so insuperable to the Superintendents and the +Syndics, that they delayed the execution of the cupola for several +years. In the meantime, Filippo secretly made models and designs for his +cupola, which perpetually occupied his thoughts. He boldly asserted that +the project was not only practicable, but that it could be done with +much less difficulty and at less expense than was believed. At length, +his boldness, genius, and powerful arguments, brought many of the +citizens to his opinion, though he refused to show his models, because +he knew the powerful opposition and influences he would have to +encounter, and the almost certain loss of the honor of building the +cupola, which he coveted above everything else. Vasari thus continues +his admirable history: "But one morning the fancy took him, hearing that +there was some talk of providing engineers for the construction of the +cupola, of returning to Rome, thinking that he would have more +reputation and be more sought for from abroad, than if he remained in +Florence. When Filippo had returned to Rome accordingly, the acuteness +of his genius and his readiness of resource were taken into +consideration, when it was remembered that in his discourses he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> had +showed a confidence and courage that had not been found in any of the +other architects, who stood confounded, together with the builders, +having lost all power of proceeding; for they were convinced that no +method of constructing the cupola would ever be found, nor any beams +that would make a scaffold strong enough to support the framework and +weight of so vast an edifice. The Superintendents were therefore +resolved to have an end of the matter, and wrote to Filippo in Rome, +entreating him to repair to Florence, when he, who desired nothing +better, returned very readily. The wardens of Santa Maria del Fiore and +the syndics of the Guild of Woolworkers, having assembled on his +arrival, set before him all the difficulties, from the greatest to the +smallest, which had been made by the masters, who were present, together +with himself, at the audience: whereupon Filippo replied in these +words—'Gentlemen Superintendents, there is no doubt that great +undertakings always present difficulties in their execution; and if none +ever did so before, this of yours does it to an extent of which you are +not perhaps even yet fully aware, for I do not know that even the +ancients ever raised so enormous a vault as this will be. I, who have +many times reflected on the scaffoldings required, both within and +without, and on the method to be pursued for working securely at this +erection, have never been able to come to a decision; and I am +confounded, no less by the breadth than the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> height of the edifice. Now, +if the cupola could be arched in a circular form, we might pursue the +method adopted by the Romans in erecting the Pantheon of Rome; that is, +the Rotunda. But here we must follow the eight sides of the building, +dove-tailing, and, so to speak, enchaining the stones, which will be a +very difficult thing. Yet, remembering that this is a temple consecrated +to God and the Virgin, I confidently trust, that for a work executed to +their honor, they will not fail to infuse knowledge where it is now +wanting, and will bestow strength, wisdom, and genius on him who shall +be the author of such a project. But how can I help you in the matter, +seeing that the work is not mine? I tell you plainly, that if it +belonged to me, my courage and power would beyond all doubt suffice to +discover means whereby the work might be effected without so many +difficulties; but as yet I have not reflected on the matter to any +extent, and you would have me tell you by what method it is to be +accomplished. But even if your worships should determine that the cupola +shall be raised, you will be compelled not only to make trial of me, who +do not consider myself capable of being the sole adviser in so important +a matter, but also to expend money, and to command that within a year, +and on a fixed day, many architects shall assemble in Florence; not +Tuscans and Italians only, but Germans, French, and of every other +nation: to them it is that such an undertaking should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> be proposed, to +the end that having discussed the matter and decided among so many +masters, the work may be commenced and entrusted to him who shall give +the best evidence of capacity, or shall display the best method and +judgment for the execution of so great a charge. I am not able to offer +you other counsel, or to propose a better arrangement than this.'</p> + +<p>"The proposal and plan of Filippo pleased the Syndics and Wardens of the +works, but they would have liked that he should meanwhile prepare a +model, on which they might have decided. But he showed himself to have +no such intention, and taking leave of them, declared that he was +solicited by letters to return to Rome. The syndics then perceiving that +their request and those of the wardens did not suffice to detain him, +caused several of his friends to entreat his stay; but Filippo not +yielding to these prayers, the wardens, one morning, ordered him a +present of money; this was on the 26th of May, 1417, and the sum is to +be seen among the expenses of Filippo, in the books of the works. All +this was done to render him favorable to their wishes; but, firm to his +resolution, he departed nevertheless from Florence and returned to Rome, +where he continued the unremitting study of the same subject, making +various arrangements and preparing himself for the completion of that +work, being convinced, as was the truth, that no other than himself +could conduct such an under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>taking to its conclusion. Nor had Filippo +advised the syndics to call new architects for any other reason, than +was furnished by his desire that those masters should be the witnesses +of his own superior genius: he by no means expected that they could or +would receive the commission for vaulting that tribune, or would +undertake the charge, which he believed to be altogether too difficult +for them. Much time was meanwhile consumed, before the architects, whom +the syndics had caused to be summoned from afar, could arrive from their +different countries. Orders had been given to the Florentine merchants +resident in France, Germany, England, and Spain, who were authorized to +spend large sums of money for the purpose of sending them, and were +commanded to obtain from the sovereigns of each realm the most +experienced and distinguished masters of the respective countries.</p> + +<p>"In the year 1420, all these foreign masters were at length assembled in +Florence, with those of Tuscany, and all the best Florentine artists in +design. Filippo likewise then returned from Rome. They all assembled, +therefore, in the hall of the wardens of Santa Maria del Fiore, the +Syndics and Superintendents, together with a select number of the most +capable and ingenious citizens being present, to the end that having +heard the opinion of each on the subject, they might at length decide on +the method to be adopted for vaulting the tribune. Being called into the +audience, the opinions of all were heard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> one after another, and each +architect declared the method which he had thought of adopting. And a +fine thing it was to hear the strange and various notions then +propounded on that matter: for one said that columns must be raised from +the ground up, and that on these they must turn the arches, whereon the +woodwork for supporting the weight must rest. Others affirmed that the +vault should be turned in cysteolite or sponge-stone (spugna), thereby +to diminish the weight; and several of the masters agreed in the opinion +that a column must be erected in the centre, and the cupola raised in +the form of a pavilion, like that of San Giovanni in Florence. Nay, +there were not wanting those who maintained that it would be a good plan +to fill the space with earth, among which small coins (quatrini) should +be mingled, that when the cupola should be raised, they might then give +permission that whoever should desire the soil might go and fetch it, +when the people would immediately carry it away without expense. Filippo +alone declared that the cupola might be erected without so great a mass +of woodwork, without a column in the centre, and without the mound of +earth; at a much lighter expense than would be caused by so many arches, +and very easily, without any framework whatever.</p> + +<p>"Hearing this, the syndics, who were listening in the expectation of +hearing some fine method, felt convinced that Filippo had talked like a +mere simpleton, as did the superintendents, and all the other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> citizens; +they derided him therefore, laughing at him, and turning away; they bade +him discourse of something else, for that this was the talk of a fool or +madman, as he was. Therefore Filippo, thinking he had cause of offence, +replied, 'But consider, gentlemen, that it is not possible to raise the +cupola in any other manner than this of mine, and although you laugh at +me, yet you will be obliged to admit (if you do not mean to be +obstinate), that it neither must nor can be done in any other manner; +and if it be erected after the method that I propose, it must be turned +in the manner of the pointed arch, and must be double—the one vaulting +within, the other without, in such sort that a passage should be formed +between the two. At the angles of the eight walls, the building must be +strengthened by the dove-tailing of the stones, and in like manner the +walls themselves must be girt around by strong beams of oak. We must +also provide for the lights, the staircases, and the conduits by which +the rain-water may be carried off. And none of you have remembered that +we must prepare supports within, for the execution of the mosaics, with +many other difficult arrangements; but I, who see the cupola raised, I +have reflected on all these things, and I know that there is no other +mode of accomplishing them, than that of which I have spoken.' Becoming +heated as he proceeded, the more Filippo sought to make his views clear +to his hearers, that they might compre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>hend and agree with him, the more +he awakened their doubts, and the less they confided in him, so that, +instead of giving him their faith, they held him to be a fool and a +babbler. Whereupon, being more than once dismissed, and finally refusing +to go, they caused him to be carried forcibly from the audience by the +servants of the place, considering him to be altogether mad. This +contemptuous treatment caused Filippo at a later period to say, that he +dared not at that time pass through any part of the city, lest some one +should say, 'See, where goes that fool!' The syndics and others forming +the assembly remained confounded, first, by the difficult methods +proposed by the other masters, and next by that of Filippo, which +appeared to them stark nonsense. He appeared to them to render the +enterprise impossible by his two propositions—first, by that of making +the cupola double, whereby the great weight to be sustained would be +rendered altogether unmanageable, and next by the proposal of building +without a framework. Filippo, on the other hand, who had spent so many +years in close study to prepare himself for this work, knew not to what +course to betake himself, and was many times on the point of leaving +Florence. Still, if he desired to conquer, it was necessary to arm +himself with patience, and he had seen enough to know that the heads of +the city seldom remained long fixed to one resolution. He might easily +have shown them a small model which he had secretly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> made, but he would +not do so, knowing the imperfect intelligence of the syndics, the envy +of the artists, and the instability of the citizens, who favored now one +and now another, as each chanced to please them. And I do not wonder at +this, because every one in Florence professes to know as much of these +matters, as do the most experienced masters, although there are very few +who really understand them; a truth which we may be permitted to affirm +without offence to those who are well informed on the subject. What +Filippo therefore could not effect before the tribunal, he began to +attempt with individuals, and talking apart now with a syndic, now with +a warden, and again with different citizens, showing moreover certain +parts of his design; he thus brought them at length to resolve on +confiding the conduct of this work, either to him or to one of the +foreign architects. Hereupon, the syndics, the wardens, and the +citizens, selected to be judges in the matter, having regained courage, +gathered together once again, and the architects disputed respecting the +matter before them; but all were put down and vanquished on sufficient +grounds by Filippo, and here it is said that the dispute of the egg +arose, in the manner following. The other architects desired that +Filippo should explain his purpose minutely, and show his model, as they +had shown theirs. This he would not do, but proposed to all the masters, +foreigners and compatriots, that he who could make an egg stand up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>right +on a piece of smooth marble, should be appointed to build the cupola, +since in doing that, his genius would be made manifest. They took an egg +accordingly, and all those masters did their best to make it stand +upright, but none discovered the method of doing so. Wherefore, Filippo, +being told that he might make it stand himself, took it daintily into +his hand, gave the end of it a blow on the plane of the marble, and made +it stand upright.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> Beholding this, the artists loudly protested, +exclaiming that they could all have done the same; but Filippo replied, +laughing, that they might also know how to construct the cupola, if they +had seen the model and design. It was thus at length resolved that +Filippo should receive the charge of conducting the work, but was told +that he must furnish the syndics and wardens with more exact +information.</p> + +<p>"He returned, therefore, to his house, and stated his whole purpose on a +sheet of paper, as clearly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> as he could possibly express it, when it was +given to the tribunal in the following terms:—'The difficulties of this +erection being well considered, magnificent signors and wardens, I find +that it cannot by any means be constructed in a perfect circle, since +the extent of the upper part, where the lantern has to be placed, would +be so vast, that when a weight was laid thereon, it would soon give way. +Now it appears to me that those architects who do not aim at giving +perpetual duration to their fabrics, cannot have any regard for the +durability of the memorial, nor do they even know what they are doing. I +have therefore determined to turn the inner part of this vault in +angles, according to the form of the walls, adopting the proportions and +manner of the pointed arch, this being a form which displays a rapid +tendency to ascend, and when loaded with the lantern, each part will +help to give stability to the other. The thickness of the vault at the +base must be three braccia and three-quarters; it must then rise in the +form of a pyramid, decreasing from without up to the point where it +closes, and where the lantern has to be placed, and at this junction the +thickness must be one braccia and a quarter. A second vault shall then +be constructed outside the first, to preserve the latter from the rain, +and this must be two braccia and a half thick at the base, also +diminishing proportionally in the form of a pyramid, in such a manner +that the parts shall have their junction at the commencement of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +lantern, as did the other, and at the highest point it must have +two-thirds of the thickness of the base. There must be a buttress at +each angle, which will be eight in all, and between the angles, in the +face of each wall, there shall be two, sixteen in all; and these sixteen +buttresses on the inner and outer side of each wall must each have the +breadth of four braccia at the base. These two vaults, built in the form +of a pyramid, shall rise together in equal proportion to the height of +the round window closed by the lantern. There will thus be constructed +twenty-four buttresses with the said vaults built around, and six strong +high arches of a hard stone (macigno), well clamped and bound with iron +fastenings, which must be covered with tin, and over these stones shall +be cramping irons, by which the vaults shall be bound to the buttresses. +The masonry must be solid, and must leave no vacant space up to the +height of five braccia and a quarter; the buttresses being then +continued, the arches will be separated. The first and second courses +from the base must be strengthened everywhere by long plates of +<i>macigno</i> laid crosswise, in such sort that both vaults of the cupola +shall rest on these stones. Throughout the whole height, at every ninth +braccia there shall be small arches constructed in the vaults between +the buttresses, with strong cramps of oak, whereby the buttresses by +which the inner vault is supported will be bound and strengthened; these +fastenings of oak shall then be covered with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> plates of iron, on account +of the staircases. The buttresses are all to be built of <i>macigno</i>, or +other hard stone, and the walls of the cupola are, in like manner, to be +all of solid stone bound to the buttresses to the height of twenty-four +braccia, and thence upward they shall be constructed of brick or of +spongite (spugne), as shall be determined on by the masters who build +it, they using that which they consider lightest. On the outside, a +passage or gallery shall be made above the windows, which below shall +form a terrace, with an open parapet or balustrade two braccia high, +after the manner of those of the lower tribunes, and forming two +galleries, one over the other, placed on a richly decorated cornice, the +upper gallery being covered. The rain-water shall be carried off the +cupola by means of a marble channel, one third of an ell broad, the +water being discharged at an outlet to be constructed of hard stone +(pietra forte), beneath the channel. Eight ribs of marble shall be +formed on the angles of the external surface of the cupola, of such +thickness as may be requisite; these shall rise to the height of one +braccia above the cupola, with cornices projecting in the manner of a +roof, two braccia broad, that the summit may be complete, and +sufficiently furnished with eaves and channels on every side; and these +must have the form of the pyramid, from their base, or point of +junction, to their extremity. Thus the cupola shall be constructed after +the method described above, and without frame<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>work, to the height of +thirty braccia, and from that height upwards, it may be continued after +such manner as shall be determined on by the masters who may have to +build it, since practice teaches us by what methods to proceed.'</p> + +<p>"When Filippo had written the above, he repaired in the morning to the +tribunal, and gave his paper to the syndics and wardens, who took the +whole of it into their consideration; and, although they were not able +to understand it all, yet seeing the confidence of Filippo, and finding +that the other architects gave no evidence of having better ground to +proceed on,—he moreover showing a manifest security, by constantly +repeating the same things in such a manner that he had all the +appearance of having vaulted ten cupolas:—the Syndics, seeing all this, +retired apart, and finally resolved to give him the work; they would +have liked to see some example of the manner in which he meant to turn +this vault without framework, but to all the rest they gave their +approbation. And fortune was favorable to this desire: Bartolomeo +Barbadori having determined to build a chapel in Santa Felicita, and +having spoken concerning it with Filippo, the latter had commenced the +work, and caused the chapel, which is on the right of the entrance, +where is also the holy water vase (likewise by the hand of Filippo), to +be vaulted without any framework. At the same time he constructed +another, in like manner, for Stiatta Ridolfi, in the church of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> Santo +Jacopo sopr' Arno; that, namely, beside the chapel of the High Altar; +and these works obtained him more credit than was given to his words. +The consuls and wardens feeling at length assured, by the writing he had +given them, and by the works which they had seen, entrusted the cupola +to his care, and he was made principal master of the works by a majority +of votes. They would nevertheless not commission him to proceed beyond +the height of twelve braccia, telling him that they desired to see how +the work would succeed, but that if it proceeded as successfully as he +expected, they would not fail to give him the appointment for the +remainder. The sight of so much obstinacy and distrust in the syndics +and wardens was so surprising to Filippo, that if he had not known +himself to be the only person capable of conducting the work, he would +not have laid a hand upon it; but desiring, as he did, to secure the +glory of its completion, he accepted the terms, and pledged himself to +conduct the undertaking perfectly to the end. The writing Filippo had +given was copied into a book wherein the purveyor kept the accounts of +the works in wood and marble, together with the obligation into which +Filippo had entered as above said. An allowance was then made to him, +conformably with what had at other times been given to other masters of +the works.</p> + +<p>"When the commission given to Filippo became known to the artists and +citizens, some thought well<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> of it, and others ill, as always is the +case with a matter which calls forth the opinions of the populace, the +thoughtless, and the envious. Whilst the preparation of materials for +beginning to build was making, a party was formed among the artists and +citizens; and these men proceeding to the syndics and wardens, declared +that the matter had been concluded too hastily, and that such a work +ought not to be executed according to the opinion of one man only; they +added, that if the syndics and wardens had been destitute of +distinguished men, instead of being furnished with such in abundance, +they would have been excusable, but that what was now done was not +likely to redound to the honor of the citizens, seeing, that if any +accident should happen, they would incur blame, as persons who had +conferred too great a charge on one man, without considering the losses +and disgrace that might result to the public. All this considered, it +would be well to give Filippo a colleague, who might restrain his +impetuosity (furore).</p> + +<p>"Lorenzo Ghiberti had at that time attained to high credit by the +evidence of his genius, which he had given in the doors of San Giovanni; +and that he was much beloved by certain persons who were very powerful +in the government was now proved with sufficient clearness, since, +perceiving the glory of Filippo to increase so greatly, they labored in +such a manner with the syndics and wardens, under the pretext of care +and anxiety for the building,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> that Ghiberti was united with Filippo in +the work. The bitter vexation of Filippo, the despair into which he +fell, when he heard what the wardens had done, may be understood by the +fact that he was on the point of flying from Florence; and had it not +been that Donato and Luca della Robbia comforted and encouraged him, he +would have gone out of his senses. A truly wicked and cruel rage is that +of those men, who, blinded by envy, endanger the honors and noble works +of others in the base strife of ambition: it was not the fault of these +men that Filippo did not break in pieces the models, set fire to the +designs, and in one half hour destroy all the labors so long endured, +and ruin the hopes of so many years. The wardens excused themselves at +first to Filippo, encouraging him to proceed, reminding him that the +inventor and author of so noble a fabric was still himself, and no +other; but they, nevertheless, gave Lorenzo a stipend equal to that of +Filippo. The work was then continued with but little pleasure on the +part of Filippo, who knew that he must endure all the labors connected +therewith, and would then have to divide the honor and fame equally with +Lorenzo. Taking courage, nevertheless, from the thought that he should +find a method of preventing the latter from remaining very long attached +to that undertaking, he continued to proceed after the manner laid down +in the writing given to the wardens. Meanwhile the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> thought occurred to +the mind of Filippo of constructing a complete model, which, as yet, had +never been done. This he commenced forthwith, causing the parts to be +made by a certain Bartolomeo, a joiner, who dwelt near his studio. In +this model (the measurements of which were in strict accordance with +those of the building itself, the difference being of size only), all +the difficult parts of the structure were shown as they were to be when +completed; as, for example, staircases lighted and dark, with every +other kind of light, with the buttresses and other inventions for giving +strength to the building, the doors, and even a portion of the gallery. +Lorenzo, having heard of this model, desired to see it, but Filippo +refusing, he became angry, and made preparations for constructing a +model of his own, that he might not appear to be receiving his salary +for nothing, but that he also might seem to count for something in the +matter. For these models Filippo received fifty lire and fifteen soldi, +as we find by an order in the book of Migliore di Tommaso, under date of +the 3d October, 1419, while Lorenzo was paid three hundred lire for the +labor and cost of his model, a difference occasioned by the partiality +and favor shown to him, rather than merited by any utility or benefit +secured to the building by the model which he had constructed.</p> + +<p>"This vexatious state of things continued be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>neath the eyes of Filippo +until the year 1426,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> the friends of Lorenzo calling him the inventor +of the work, equally with Filippo, and this caused so violent a +commotion in the mind of the latter, that he lived in the utmost +disquietude. Various improvements and new inventions were, besides, +presenting themselves to his thoughts, and he resolved to rid himself of +his colleague at all hazards, knowing of how little use he was to the +work. Filippo had already raised the walls of the cupola to the height +of twelve braccia in both vaults, but the works, whether in wood or +stone, that were to give strength to the fabric, had still to be +executed, and as this was a matter of difficulty, he determined to speak +with Lorenzo respecting it, that he might ascertain whether the latter +had taken it into consideration. But Lorenzo was so far from having +thought of this exigency, and so entirely unprepared for it, that he +replied by declaring that he would refer that to Filippo as the +inventor. The answer of Lorenzo pleased Filippo, who thought he here saw +the means of removing his colleague from the works, and of making it +manifest that he did not possess that degree of knowledge in the matter +that was attributed to him by his friends, and implied in the favor +which had placed him in the situation he held. All the builders were now +engaged in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> the work, and waited only for directions, to commence the +part above the twelve braccia, to raise the vaults, and render all +secure. The closing in of the cupola towards the top having commenced, +it was necessary to provide the scaffolding, that the masons and +laborers might work without danger, seeing that the height was such as +to make the most steady head turn giddy, and the firmest spirit shrink, +merely to look down from it. The masons and other masters were therefore +waiting in expectation of directions as to the manner in which the +chains were to be applied, and the scaffoldings erected; but, finding +there was nothing determined on either by Lorenzo or Filippo, there +arose a murmur among the masons and other builders, at not seeing the +work pursued with the solicitude previously shown; and as the workmen +were poor persons who lived by the labor of their hands, and who now +believed that neither one nor the other of the architects had courage +enough to proceed further with the undertaking, they went about the +building employing themselves as best they could in looking over and +furbishing up all that had been already executed.</p> + +<p>"But one morning, Filippo did not appear at the works: he tied up his +head, went to bed complaining bitterly, and causing plates and towels to +be heated with great haste and anxiety, pretending that he had an attack +of pleurisy. The builders who stood waiting directions to proceed with +their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> work, on hearing this, demanded orders of Lorenzo for what they +were to do; but he replied that the arrangement of the work belonged to +Filippo, and that they must wait for him. 'How?' said one of them, 'do +you not know what his intentions are?' 'Yes,' replied Lorenzo, 'but I +would not do anything without him.'" This he said by way of excusing +himself; for as he had not seen the model of Filippo, and had never +asked him what method he meant to pursue, that he might not appear +ignorant, so he now felt completely out of his depth, being thus +referred to his own judgment, and the more so as he knew that he was +employed in that undertaking against the will of Filippo. The illness of +the latter having already lasted more than two days, the purveyor of the +works, with many of the master-builders, went to see him, and repeatedly +asked him to tell them what they should do; but he constantly replied, +'You have Lorenzo, let him begin to do something for once.' Nor could +they obtain from him any other reply. When this became known, it caused +much discussion: great blame was thrown upon the undertaking, and many +adverse judgments were uttered. Some said that Filippo had taken to his +bed from grief, at finding that he had not power to accomplish the +erection of the Cupola, and that he was now repenting of having meddled +with the matter; but his friends defended him, declaring that his +vexation might arise from the wrong he had suffered in having Lorenzo +given to him as a colleague,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> but that his disorder was pleurisy, +brought on by his excessive labors for the work. In the midst of all +this tumult of tongues, the building was suspended, and almost all the +operations of the masons and stone-cutters came to a stand. These men +murmured against Lorenzo, and said, 'He is good enough at drawing the +salary, but when it comes to directing the manner in which we are to +proceed, he does nothing; if Filippo were not here, or if he should +remain long disabled, what can Lorenzo do? and if Filippo be ill, is +that his fault?' The wardens, perceiving the discredit that accrued to +them from this state of things, resolved to make Filippo a visit, and +having reached his house, they first condoled with him on his illness, +told him into what disorder the building had fallen, and described the +troubles which this malady had brought on them. Whereupon Filippo, +speaking with much heat, partly to keep up the feint of illness, but +also in part from his interest in the work, exclaimed, 'What! is not +Lorenzo there? why does not he do something? I cannot but wonder at your +complaints.' To this the wardens replied, 'He will not do anything +without you.' Whereunto Filippo made answer, 'But I could do it well +enough without him.' This acute and doubly significant reply sufficed to +the wardens, and they departed, having convinced themselves that Filippo +was sick of the desire to work alone; they therefore sent certain of his +friends to draw him from his bed, with the intention of removing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +Lorenzo from the work. Filippo then returned to the building, but seeing +the power that Lorenzo possessed by means of the favor he enjoyed, and +that he desired to receive the salary without taking any share whatever +in the labor, he bethought himself of another method for disgracing him, +and making it publicly and fully evident that he had very little +knowledge of the matter in hand. He consequently made the following +discourse to the wardens (Operai) Lorenzo being present:—'Signori +Operai, if the time we have to live were as well secured to us as is the +certainty that we may very quickly die, there is no doubt whatever that +many works would be completed, which are now commenced and left +imperfect. The malady with which I have had the misfortune to be +attacked, might have deprived me of life, and put a stop to this work; +wherefore, lest I should again fall sick, or Lorenzo either, which God +forbid, I have considered that it would be better for each to execute +his own portion of the work: as your worships have divided the salary, +let us also divide the labor, to the end that each, being incited to +show what he knows and is capable of performing, may proceed with +confidence, to his own honor and benefit, as well as to that of the +republic. Now there are two difficult operations which must at this time +be put into course of execution—the one is the erection of scaffoldings +for enabling the builders to work in safety, and which must be prepared +both for the inside and outside of the fabric, where they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> will be +required to sustain the weight of the men, the stones and the mortar, +with space also for the crane to draw up the different materials, and +for other machines and tools of various kinds. The other difficulty is +the chain-work, which has to be constructed upon the twelve braccia +already erected, this being requisite to bind and secure the eight sides +of the cupola, and which must surround the fabric, enchaining the whole, +in such a manner that the weight which has hereafter to be laid on it +shall press equally on all sides, the parts mutually supporting each +other, so that no part of the edifice shall be too heavily pressed on or +overweighed, but that all shall rest firmly on its own basis. Let +Lorenzo then take one of these works, whichever he may think he can most +easily execute; I will take the other, and answer for bringing it to a +successful issue, that we may lose no more time.' Lorenzo having heard +this, was compelled, for the sake of his honor, to accept one or other +of these undertakings; and although he did it very unwillingly, he +resolved to take the chain work, thinking that he might rely on the +counsels of the builders, and remembering also that there was a +chain-work of stone in the vaulting of San Giovanni di Fiorenza, from +which he might take a part, if not the whole, of the arrangement. One +took the scaffolds in hand accordingly, and the other the chain-work, so +that both were put in progress. The scaffolds of Filippo were +constructed with so much ingenuity and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> judgment, that in this matter +the very contrary of what many had before expected was seen to have +happened, since the builders worked thereon with as much security as +they would have done on the ground beneath, drawing up all the requisite +weights and standing themselves in perfect safety. The models of these +scaffolds were deposited in the hall of the wardens. Lorenzo executed +the chain-work on one of the eight walls with the utmost difficulty, and +when it was finished the wardens caused Filippo to look at it. He said +nothing to them, but with some of his friends he held discourse on the +subject, declaring that the building required a very different work of +ligature and security to that one, laid in a manner altogether unlike +the method there adopted; for that this would not suffice to support the +weight which was to be laid on it, the pressure not being of sufficient +strength and firmness. He added that the sums paid to Lorenzo, with the +chain-work which he had caused to be constructed, were so much labor, +time, and money thrown away. The remarks of Filippo became known, and he +was called upon to show the manner that ought to be adopted for the +construction of such a chain-work; wherefore, having already prepared +his designs and models, he exhibited them immediately, and they were no +sooner examined by the wardens and other masters, than they perceived +the error into which they had fallen by favoring Lorenzo. For this they +now resolved to make amends;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> and desiring to prove that they were +capable of distinguishing merit, they made Filippo chief and +superintendent of the whole fabric for life, commanding that nothing +should be done in the work but as he should direct. As a further mark of +approbation, they presented him moreover with a hundred florins, ordered +by the syndics and wardens, under date of August 13, 1423, through +Lorenzo Paoli, notary of the administration of the works, and signed by +Gherardo di Messer Filippo Corsini: they also voted him an allowance of +one hundred florins for life. Whereupon, having taken measures for the +future progress of the fabric, Filippo conducted the works with so much +solicitude and such minute attention, that there was not a stone placed +in the building which he had not examined. Lorenzo on the other hand, +finding himself vanquished and in a manner disgraced, was nevertheless +so powerfully assisted and favored by his friends, that he continued to +receive his salary, under the pretext that he could not be dismissed +until the expiration of three years from that time.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Drawings and models were meanwhile continually prepared by Filippo for +the most minute portions of the building, for the stages or scaffolds +for the workmen, and for the machines used in raising the materials. +There were nevertheless several malicious persons, friends of Lorenzo, +who did not cease to torment him by daily bringing forward models in +rivalry of those constructed by him, insomuch that one was made by +Maestro Antonio da Verzelli, and other masters who were favored and +brought into notice—now by one citizen and now by another, their +fickleness and mutability betraying the insufficiency of their knowledge +and the weakness of their judgment, since having perfection within their +reach, they perpetually brought forward the imperfect and useless.</p> + +<p>"The chain-work was now completed around all the eight sides, and the +builders, animated by success, worked vigorously; but being pressed more +than usual by Filippo, and having received certain reprimands concerning +the masonry and in relation to other matters of daily occurrence, +discontents<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> began to prevail. Moved by this circumstance and by their +envy, the chiefs among them drew together and got up a faction, +declaring that the work was a laborious and perilous undertaking, and +that they would not proceed with the vaulting of the cupola, but on +condition of receiving large payments, although their wages had already +been increased and were much higher than was usual: by these means they +hoped to injure Filippo and increase their own gains. This circumstance +displeased the wardens greatly, as it did Filippo also; but the latter, +having reflected on the matter, took his resolution, and one Saturday +evening he dismissed them all. The men seeing themselves thus sent about +their business, and not knowing how the affair would turn, were very +sullen; but on the following Monday Filippo set ten Lombards to work at +the building, and by remaining constantly present with them, and saying, +'do this here' and 'do that there,' he taught them so much in one day +that they were able to continue the work during many weeks. The masons, +seeing themselves thus disgraced as well as deprived of their +employment, and knowing that they would find no work equally profitable, +sent messengers to Filippo, declaring that they would willingly return, +and recommending themselves to his consideration. Filippo kept them for +several days in suspense, and seemed not inclined to admit them again; +they were afterwards reinstated, but with lower wages than they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> had +received at first: thus where they had thought to make gain they +suffered loss, and by seeking to revenge themselves on Filippo, they +brought injury and shame on their own heads.</p> + +<p>"The tongues of the envious were now silenced, and when the building was +seen to proceed so happily, the genius of Filippo obtained its due +consideration; and, by all who judged dispassionately, he was already +held to have shown a boldness which has, perhaps, never before been +displayed in their works, by any architect, ancient or modern. This +opinion was confirmed by the fact that Filippo now brought out his +model, in which all might see the extraordinary amount of thought +bestowed on every detail of the building. The varied invention displayed +in the staircases, in the provision of lights, both within and without, +so that none might strike or injure themselves in the darkness, were all +made manifest, with the careful consideration evinced by the different +supports of iron which were placed to assist the footsteps wherever the +ascent was steep. In addition to all this, Filippo had even thought of +the irons for fixing scaffolds within the cupola, if ever they should be +required for the execution of mosaics or pictures; he had selected the +least dangerous positions for the places of the conduits, to be +afterwards constructed for carrying off the rain water, had shown where +these were to be covered and where uncovered; and had moreover contrived +different outlets and apertures, whereby the force<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> of the winds should +be diminished, to the end that neither vapors nor the vibrations of the +earth, should have power to do injury to the building: all which proved +the extent to which he had profited by his studies, during the many +years of his residence in Rome. When in addition to these things, the +superintendents considered how much he had accomplished in the shaping, +fixing, uniting, and securing the stones of this immense pile, they were +almost awe-struck on perceiving that the mind of one man had been +capable of all that Filippo had now proved himself able to perform. His +powers and facilities continually increased, and that to such an extent, +that there was no operation, however difficult and complex, which he did +not render easy and simple; of this he gave proof in one instance among +others, by the employment of wheels and counterpoises to raise heavy +weights, so that one ox could draw more than six pairs could have moved +by the ordinary methods. The building had now reached such a height, +that when a man had once arrived at the summit, it was a very great +labor to descend to the ground, and the workmen lost much time in going +to their meals, and to drink; arrangements were therefore made by +Filippo, for opening wine-shops and eating-houses in the cupola; where +the required food being sold, none were compelled to leave their labor +until the evening, which was a relief and convenience to the men, as +well as a very important advantage to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> work. Perceiving the building +to proceed rapidly, and finding all his undertakings happily successful, +the zeal and confidence of Filippo increased, and he labored +perpetually; he went himself to the ovens where the bricks were made, +examined the clay, proved the quality of the working, and when they were +baked he would select and set them apart, with his own hands. In like +manner, while the stones were under the hands of the stone-cutters, he +would look narrowly to see that they were hard and free from clefts; he +supplied the stone-cutters with models in wood or wax, or hastily cut on +the spot from turnips, to direct them in the shaping and junction of the +different masses; he did the same for the men who prepared the iron +work; Filippo likewise invented hook hinges, with the mode of fixing +them to the door-posts, and greatly facilitated the practice of +architecture, which was certainly brought by his labors to a perfection +that it would else perhaps never have attained among the Tuscans.</p> + +<p>"In the year 1423, when the utmost rejoicing and festivity was +prevailing in Florence, Filippo was chosen one of the <i>Signori</i> for the +district of San Giovanni, for the months of May and June; Lapo Niccolini +being chosen Gonfalonier for the district of Santa Croce: and if Filippo +be found registered in the Priorista as 'di Ser Brunellesce Lippi,' this +need not occasion surprise, since they called him so after his +grandfather, Lippo, instead of 'di Lapi,'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> as they ought to have done. +And this practice is seen to prevail in the Priorista, with respect to +many others, as is well known to all who have examined it, or who are +acquainted with the custom of those times. Filippo performed his +functions carefully in that office; and in others connected with the +magistracy of the city, to which he was subsequently appointed, he +constantly acquitted himself with the most judicious consideration.</p> + +<p>"The two vaults of the cupola were now approaching their close, at the +circular window where the lantern was to begin, and there now remained +to Filippo, who had made various models in wood and clay, both of the +one and the other, in Rome and Florence, to decide finally as to which +of these he would put in execution, wherefore he resolved to complete +the gallery, and accordingly made different plans for it, which remained +in the hall of wardens after his death, but which by the neglect of +those officials have since been lost. But it was not until our own days +that even a fragment was executed on a part of one of the eight sides +(to the end that the building might be completed); but as it was not in +accordance with the plan of Filippo, it was removed by the advice of +Michael Angelo Buonarotti, and was not again attempted.</p> + +<p>"Filippo also constructed a model for the lantern, with his own hand; it +had eight sides, the proportions were in harmony with those of the +cupola, and for the invention as well as variety and decora<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>tion, it was +certainly very beautiful. He did not omit the staircase for ascending to +the ball, which was an admirable thing; but as he had closed the +entrance with a morsel of wood fixed at the lower part, no one but +himself knew its position. Filippo was now highly renowned, but +notwithstanding this, and although he had already overcome the envy and +abated the arrogance of so many opponents, he could not yet escape the +vexation of finding that all the masters of Florence, when his model had +been seen, were setting themselves to make others in various manners; +nay, there was even a lady of the Gaddi family, who ventured to place +her knowledge in competition with that of Filippo. The latter, +meanwhile, could not refrain from laughing at the presumption of these +people, and when he was told by certain of his friends that he ought not +to show his model to any artist lest they should learn from it, he +replied that there was but one true model, and that the others were good +for nothing. Some of the other masters had used parts of Filippo's model +for their own, which, when the latter perceived, he remarked, 'The next +model made by this personage will be mine altogether.' The work of +Filippo was very highly praised, with the exception, that, not +perceiving the staircase by which the ball was to be attained, the model +was considered defective on that point. The superintendents determined, +nevertheless, to give him the commission for the work, but on condition +that he should show the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> staircase;<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> whereupon Filippo, removing the +morsel of wood which he had placed at the foot of the stair, showed it +constructed as it is now seen, within one of the piers, and presenting +the form of a hollow reed or blow-pipe, having a recess or groove on one +side, with bars of bronze, by means of which the summit was gradually +attained. Filippo was now at an age which rendered it impossible that he +should live to see the lantern completed; he therefore left directions, +by his will, that it should be built after the model here described, and +according to the rules which he had laid down in writing, affirming that +the fabric would otherwise be in danger of falling, since, being +constructed with the pointed arch, it required to be rendered secure by +means of the pressure of the weight to be thus added. But, though +Filippo could not complete the edifice before his death, he raised the +lantern to the height of several braccia, causing almost all the marbles +required for the completion of the building<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> to be carefully prepared +and brought to the place. At the sight of these huge masses as they +arrived, the people stood amazed, marvelling that it should be possible +for Filippo to propose the laying of such a weight on the cupola. It +was, indeed, the opinion of many intelligent men that it could not +possibly support that weight. It appeared to them to be a piece of good +fortune that he had conducted it so far, and they considered the loading +it so heavy to be a tempting of Providence. Filippo constantly laughed +at these fears, and having prepared all the machines and instruments +required for the construction of the edifice, he ceased not to employ +all his time in taking thought for its future requirements, providing +and preparing all the minutiæ, even to guarding against the danger of +the marbles being chipped as they were drawn up: to which intent the +arches of the tabernacles were built within defences of woodwork; and +for all beside the master gave models and written directions, as we have +said.</p> + +<p>"How beautiful this building is, it will itself bear testimony. With +respect to the height, from the level ground to the commencement of the +lantern, there are one hundred and fifty-four braccia;<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> body of +the lanthorn is thirty-six braccia high; the copper ball four braccia; +the cross eight braccia; in all two hundred and two braccia. And it may +be confidently affirmed that the ancients never car<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>ried their buildings +to so vast a height, nor committed themselves to so great a risk as to +dare a competition with the heavens, which this structure verily appears +to do, seeing that it rears itself to such an elevation that the hills +around Florence do not appear to equal it. And of a truth it might seem +that the heavens were envious of its height, since their lightnings +perpetually strike it. While this work was in progress, Filippo +constructed many other fabrics."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BRUNELLESCHI'S ENTHUSIASM.</h2> + + +<p>One morning, as Brunelleschi was amusing himself on the Piazza di Santa +Maria del Fiore, in company with Donatello and other artists, the +conversation happened to turn on ancient sculpture. Donatello related +that when he was returning from Rome, he had taken the road of Orvieto, +to see the remarkable façade of the Cathedral of that city—a highly +celebrated work, executed by various masters, and considered in those +days a very remarkable production. He added that as he was passing +through Cortona, he had seen in the capitular church of that city a most +beautiful antique marble vase, adorned with sculpture—a rare thing at +that time, as most of the beautiful works of antiquity have since been +brought to light. As Donatello proceeded to describe the manner in which +the artist had treated this work, the delicacy, beauty, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> perfection +of the workmanship, Filippo became inflamed with such an ardent desire +to see it, that he set off immediately, on foot, to Cortona, dressed as +he was in his mantle, hood, and wooden shoes, without communicating his +purpose to any one. Finding that Donatello had not been too lavish of +his praise, he drew the vase, returned to Florence, and surprised his +friends with the accurate drawing he had made, before they knew of his +departure, they believing that he must be occupied with his inventions. +This urn, or funeral vase, according to the Florentine editors of +Vasari, is still in the Cathedral of Cortona. The sculptures represent +the Battle of the Centaurs and Lapithæ, or as some say, a Warlike +Expedition of Bacchus. The design and workmanship are exquisite. It was +found in a field without the city, and almost close to the Cathedral.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BRUNELLESCHI AND DONATELLO.</h2> + + +<p>"Among other works," says Vasari, "Donato received an order for a +crucifix in wood, for the church of Santa Croce at Florence, on which he +bestowed extraordinary labor. When the work was completed, believing +himself to have produced an admirable thing, he showed it to Filippo di +Ser Brunellesco, his most intimate friend, desiring to have his opinion +of it. Filippo, who had expected from the words of Donato, to see a much +finer production, smiled somewhat as he regarded it, and Donato<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> seeing +this, entreated him by the friendship existing between them, to say what +he thought of it. Whereupon Filippo, who was exceedingly frank, replied +that Donatello appeared to him to have placed a clown on the cross, and +not a figure resembling that of Jesus Christ, whose person was +delicately beautiful, and in all parts the most perfect form of man that +had ever been born. Donato hearing himself censured where he had +expected praise, and more hurt than he was perhaps willing to admit, +replied, 'If it were as easy to execute a work as to judge it, my figure +would appear to thee to be Christ and not a boor; but take wood, and try +to make one thyself.' Filippo, without saying anything more, returned +home, and set to work on a crucifix, wherein he labored to surpass +Donato, that he might not be condemned by his own judgment; but he +suffered no one to know what he was doing. At the end of some months, +the work was completed to the height of perfection, and this done, +Filippo one morning invited Donato to dine with him, and the latter +accepted the invitation. Thereupon, as they were proceeding together +towards the house of Filippo, they passed by the Mercato Vecchio, where +the latter purchased various articles, and giving them to Donato, said, +'Do thou go forward with these things to the house, and wait for me +there; I'll be after thee in a moment.' Donato, therefore, having +entered the house, had no sooner done so than he saw the crucifix, which +Fi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>lippo had placed in a suitable light. Stopping short to examine the +work, he found it so perfectly executed, that feeling himself conquered, +full of astonishment, and, as it were startled out of himself, he +dropped the hands which were holding up his apron, wherein he had placed +the purchases, when the whole fell to the ground, eggs, cheese, and +other things, all broken to pieces and mingled together. But Donato, not +recovering from his astonishment, remained still gazing in amazement and +like one out of his wits when Filippo arrived, and inquired, laughing, +'What hast thou been about, Donato? and what dost thou mean us to have +for dinner, since thou hast overturned everything?' 'I, for my part,' +replied Donato, 'have had my share of dinner for to-day; if thou must +needs have thine, take it. But enough said: to thee it has been given to +represent Christ; to me, boors only.'" This crucifix now adorns the +altar of the chapel of the Gondi.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DONATELLO.</h2> + + +<p>This old Florentine sculptor was born in 1383. He was the first of the +moderns who forsook the stiff and gothic manner, and endeavored to +restore to sculpture the grace and beauty of the antique. He executed a +multitude of works in wood, marble and bronze, consisting of images, +statues, busts, basso-relievos, monuments, equestrian statues, etc.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +which gained him great reputation, and some of which are much esteemed +at the present day. He was much patronized by Cosmo de' Medici, and his +son Pietro.</p> + +<p>Among Donatello's principal works, are three statues, each three braccia +and a half high, (Vasari erroneously says four, and each five braccia +high), for the façade of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, which +faces the Campanile. They represent St. John; David, called Lo Zuccone +(so called, because bald-headed); and Solomon, or as some say, the +prophet Jeremiah. The Zuccone is considered the most extraordinary and +the most beautiful work ever produced by Donatello, who, while working +on it, was so delighted with his success, that he frequently exclaimed, +"Speak then! why wilt thou not speak?" Whenever he wished to affirm a +thing in a manner that should preclude all doubt, he would say, "By the +faith I place in my Zuccone."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DONATELLO AND THE MERCHANT.</h2> + + +<p>A rich Genoese merchant commissioned Donatello to execute his bust in +bronze, of life size. When the work was completed, it was pronounced a +capital performance, and Cosmo de' Medici, who was the friend of both +parties, caused it to be placed in the upper court of the palace, +between the battlements which overlook the street, that it might be seen +by the citizens. When the merchant,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> unacquainted with the value of such +works, came to pay for it, the price demanded appeared to him so +exorbitant that he refused to take it, whereupon the mutter was referred +to Cosmo. When the latter sought to settle the difference, he found the +offer of the merchant to be very far from the just demand of Donatello, +and turning towards him, observed that he offered too small +compensation. The merchant replied that Donatello could have made it in +a month, and would thus be gaining half a florin a day (about one +dollar). Donatello, disgusted and stung with rage, told the merchant +that he had found means in the hundredth part of an hour to destroy the +whole labor and cures of a year, and knocked the bust out of the window, +which was dashed to pieces on the pavement below, observing, at the same +time, that "it was evident he was better versed in bargaining for +horse-beans than in purchasing statues." The merchant now ashamed of his +conduct, and regretting what had happened, offered him double his price +if he would reconstruct the bust,—but Donatello, though poor, flatly +refused to do it on any terms, even at the request of Cosmo himself.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DONATELLO AND HIS KINSMAN.</h2> + + +<p>When Donatello was very sick, certain of his kinsfolk, who were well to +do in the world, but had not visited him in many years, went to condole +with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> him in his last illness. Before they left, they told him it was +his duty to leave to them a small farm which he had in the territories +of Prato, and this they begged very earnestly, though it was small and +produced a very small income. Donatello, perceiving the motive of their +visit, thus rebuked them: "I cannot content you in this matter, kinsmen, +because I resolve—and it appears to me just and proper—to leave the +farm to the poor husbandman who has always tilled it, and who has +bestowed great labor on it; not to you, who without ever having done +anything for it, or for me, but only thought of obtaining it, now come +with this visit of yours, desiring that I should leave it to you. Go! +and the Lord be with you."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DEATH OF DONATELLO.</h2> + + +<p>Donatello died on the 13th of December, 1466. He was buried with great +pomp and solemnity in the church of San Lorenzo, near the tomb of Cosmo, +as he himself had commanded (for he had purchased the right), "to the +end," as he said, "that his body might be near him when dead, as his +spirit had ever been near him when in life." Bottari observes that +another reason for his choice of San Lorenzo, may have been that many of +his works were in that church.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DONATELLO AND MICHAEL ANGELO COMPARED.</h2> + + +<p>"I will not omit to mention," says Vasari, "that the most learned and +very reverend Don Vincenzio<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> Borghini, of whom we have before spoken in +relation to other matters, has collected into a large book, innumerable +drawings of distinguished painters and sculptors, ancient as well as +modern, and among these are two drawings on two leaves opposite to each +other, one of which is by Donato, and the other by Michael Angelo +Buonarroti. On these he has with much judgment inscribed the two Greek +mottos which follow; on the drawing of Donato, "Η Δονατος Βοναρροτιξει," and on that of Michael Angelo, "Η Βοναρροτος Δονατιζει," +which in Latin ran thus: <i>Aut Donatus Bonarrotom exprimit et +refert, aut Bonarrotus Donatum</i>; and in our language they mean, 'Either +the spirit of Donato worked in Buonarroti, or that of Buonarroti first +acted in Donato.'"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SOFONISBA ANGUISCIOLA'S EARLY DISTINCTION.</h2> + + +<p>This noble lady of Cremona (born about 1530), was one of six sisters, +all amiable, and much distinguished in arts and letters. She displayed a +taste for drawing at a very early age, and soon became the best pupil in +the school of Antonio Campi. One of her early sketches, of a boy caught +with his hand in the claw of a lobster, with a little girl laughing at +his plight, was in possession of Vasari, and by him esteemed worthy of a +place in a volume which he had filled with drawings by the most famous +masters of that great age. Portraiture was her chief study; and Vasari +commends a picture<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> which he saw at her father's house, of three of the +sisters, and an ancient housekeeper of the family playing at chess, as a +work "painted with so much skill and care, that the figures wanted only +voice to appear alive." He also praises a portrait which she painted of +herself, and presented to Pope Julius III., who died in 1555, which +shows that she must have attracted the notice of princes while yet in +her girlhood. At Milan, whither she accompanied her father, she painted +the portrait of the Duke of Sessa, the Viceroy, who rewarded her with +four pieces of brocade and various rich gifts.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SOFONISBA'S VISIT TO SPAIN.</h2> + + +<p>Her name having become famous in Italy, in 1559, the King of Spain +ordered the Duke of Alba, who was then at Rome, to invite her to the +court of Madrid. She arrived there in the same year, and was received +with great distinction, and lodged in the palace. Her first work was the +portrait of the king, who was so much pleased with the performance that +he rewarded her with a diamond worth 1500 ducats, and settled upon her a +pension of 200 ducats. Her next sitters were the young queen Elizabeth +of Valois, known in Spain as Isabel of the Peace, then in the bloom of +bridal beauty, and the unhappy boy, Don Carlos. By the desire of Pope +Pius IV., she made a second portrait of the Queen, sent to his Holiness +with a dutiful letter,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> which Vasari has preserved, as well as the +gracious reply of the pontiff, who assures her that her painting shall +be placed among his most precious treasures. Sofonisba held the post of +lady-in-waiting to the queen, and was for some time governess to her +daughter, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia,—an appointment which +proves that she must have resided in Spain for some time after 1566, the +year of that princess' birth.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SOFONISBA'S MARRIAGES.</h2> + + +<p>Her royal patrons at last married their fair artist, now arrived to a +mature age, to Don Fabrizio de Moncada, a noble Sicilian, giving her a +dowry of 12,000 ducats and a pension of 1,000, besides many rich +presents in tapestries and jewels. The newly wedded pair retired to +Palermo, where the husband died some years after. Sofonisba was then +invited back to the court of Madrid, but excused herself on account of +her desire to see Cremona and her kindred once more. Embarking for this +purpose on board of a Genoese galley, she was entertained with such +gallant courtesy by the captain, Orazio Lomellini, one of the merchant +princes of the "city of Palaces," that she fell in love with him, and, +according to Soprani, offered him her hand in marriage, which he +accepted. On hearing of her second nuptials, their Catholic Majesties +added 400 crowns to her pension.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SOFONISBA'S RESIDENCE AT GENOA, AND HER INTERCOURSE WITH VANDYCK.</h2> + + +<p>After her second marriage, Sofonisba continued to pursue the art at +Genoa, where her house became the resort of all the polished and +intellectual society of the Republic. The Empress of Germany paid her a +visit on her way to Spain, and accepted a little picture,—one of the +most finished and beautiful of her works. She was also visited by her +former charge, the Infanta, then the wife of the Archduke Albert, and +with him co-sovereign of Flanders. That princess spent many hours in +conversing with her of by-gone days and family affairs; she also sat for +her portrait, and presented Sofonisba with a gold chain enriched with +jewels, as a memorial of their friendship. Thus courted in the society +of Genoa, and caressed by royalty, this eminent paintress lived to the +extreme age of ninety-three years. A medal was struck in her honor at +Bologna; artists listened reverentially to her opinions; and poets sang +her praises. Though deprived of sight in her latter years, she retained +to the last her other faculties, her love of art, and her relish for the +society of its professors. Vandyck was frequently her guest during his +residence at Genoa, in 1621; and he used to say of her that he had +learned more of the practical principles of the art from a blind woman, +than by studying all the works of the best Italian masters.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CARRIERA ROSALBA.</h2> + + +<p>This celebrated Italian paintress was born at Chiozza, near Venice, in +1675. She acquired an immense reputation, and was invited to several of +the courts of Europe. Few artists have equalled Rosalba in crayon +painting.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ROSALBA'S MODESTY.</h2> + + +<p>Notwithstanding she received so many flattering marks of distinction +from crowned heads, Rosalba's native modesty never deserted her, and she +seemed to esteem her works less than did many of her admirers, because +she was sensible how far she fell short of her idea of perfection. +"Everything I do," said she, "seems good enough to me just after I have +done it, and perhaps for a few hours afterwards, but then I begin to +discover my imperfections!" Thus it is with true merit; those who are +superficial or pretending can never find out, or never will acknowledge +their own faults.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ROSALBA'S KNOWLEDGE OF TEMPERS.</h2> + + +<p>Rosalba used to say, "I have so long been accustomed to study features, +and the expression of the mind by them, that I know people's tempers by +their faces." She frequently surprised her friends by the accuracy of +character which she read in the faces of persons who were entire +strangers to her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ELIZABETH SIRANI.</h2> + + +<p>Elizabeth Sirani was born at Bologna in 1638. She early exhibited the +most extraordinary talent for painting, which was perfectly cultivated +by her father, Gio. Andrea Sirani, an excellent disciple and imitator of +Guido. She attached herself to an imitation of the best style of Guido, +which unites great relief with the most captivating amenity. Her first +public work appeared in 1655, when she was seventeen years of age. It is +almost incredible that in a short life of not more than twenty-six or +twenty-seven years, she could have executed the long list of works +enumerated by Malvasia, copied from a register kept by herself, +amounting to upwards of one hundred and fifty pictures and portraits; +and our astonishment is increased, when we are told by the same author, +that many of them are pictures and altar-pieces of large size, and +finished with a care that excludes all appearance of negligence and +haste. There are quite a number of her works in the churches of Bologna. +Lanzi also speaks of her in terms of high commendation, and says, that +"in her smaller works, painted by commission, she still improved +herself, as may be seen by her numerous pictures of Madonnas, Magdalens, +saints, and the infant Saviour, found in the Zampieri, Zambeccari, and +Caprara palaces at Bologna, and in the Corsini and Bolognetti +collections at Rome." She received many commissions from many of the +sovereigns and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> most distinguished persons of Europe. She had two +sisters, Anna and Barbara, whom, according to Crespi, she instructed in +the art, and who possessed considerable talent. Her fame was so great, +that after her death not only the works of her sisters, but many of +those of her father, were attributed to her. Lanzi says, "She is nearly +the sole individual of the family whose name occurs in collections out +of Bologna." She also executed some spirited etchings mostly from her +own designs.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DEATH OF ELIZABETH SIRANI.</h2> + + +<p>This accomplished, amiable, and talented lady was cut off in the flower +of her life, August 29th, 1665, by poison, administered by one of her +own maids, instigated, as is supposed, by some jealous young artists. +Her melancholy death was bewailed with demonstrations of public sorrow, +and her remains were interred with great pomp and solemnity in the +church of S. Domenico, in the same vault where reposed the ashes of +Guido.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>RACHEL RUYSCH.</h2> + + +<p>This celebrated paintress of fruit and flowers was born at Amsterdam in +1664. She was the daughter of Frederick Ruisch or Ruysch, the celebrated +professor of anatomy. She early showed an extraordinary taste for +depicting fruit and flowers, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> attained to such perfection in her +art, that some have not hesitated to equal and even prefer her works to +those of John van Huysum. She grouped her flowers in the most tasteful +and picturesque manner, and depicted them with a grace and brilliancy +that rivalled nature. Descamps says that "in her pictures of fruit and +flowers, she surpassed nature herself." The extraordinary talents of +this lady recommended her to the patronage of the Elector Palatine—a +great admirer of her pictures—for whom she executed some of her +choicest works, and received for them a munificent reward. Though she +exercised her talents to an advanced age, her works are exceedingly +rare, so great was the labor bestowed upon them. She spent seven years +in painting two pictures, a fruit and a flower piece, which she +presented to one of her daughters as a marriage portion. She married +Jurian Pool, an eminent portrait painter, by whom she had ten children; +she is frequently called by his name, though she always signed her +pictures with her maiden name. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonné, vols. +vi. and ix., gives a description of only about thirty pieces by her—a +proof of their extreme rarity. They now command very high prices when +offered for sale, which rarely happens. She died in 1760, aged 86 years.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SIR ANTHONY VANDYCK.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent Flemish painter was born at Antwerp in 1599. His father +early gave him instruc<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>tion in drawing; he was also instructed by his +mother, who painted landscapes, and was very skillful in embroidery. He +studied afterwards under Henry van Balen, and made rapid progress in the +art; but attracted by the fame of Rubens, he entered the school of that +master, and showed so much ability as to be soon entrusted with the +execution of some of his instructor's designs. Some writers, among whom +D'Argenville was the first, assert that Rubens became jealous of +Vandyck's growing excellence, and therefore advised him to devote +himself to portrait painting; assigning the following anecdote as the +cause of his jealousy. During the short absences of Rubens from his +house, for the purpose of recreation, his disciples frequently obtained +access to his studio, by means of bribing an old servant who kept the +keys; and on one of these occasions, while they were all eagerly +pressing forward to view the great picture of the Descent from the Cross +(although later investigations concerning dates seem to indicate that it +was some other picture), Diepenbeck accidentally fell against the +canvas, effacing the face of the Virgin, and the Magdalen's arm, which +had just been finished, and were not yet dry. Fearful of expulsion from +the school, the terrified pupils chose Vandyck to restore the work, and +he completed it the same day with such success that Rubens did not at +first perceive the change, and afterwards concluded not to alter it. +Walpole entertains a different and more rational<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> view respecting +Rubens' supposed jealousy: he thinks that Vandyck felt the hopelessness +of surpassing his master in historical painting, and therefore resolved +to devote himself to portrait. One authority states that the above +mentioned incident only increased Rubens' esteem for his pupil, in +perfect accordance with the distinguished character for generosity and +liberality, which that great master so often evinced, and which forms +very strong presumptive evidence against so base an accusation. Besides, +his advice to Vandyck to visit Italy—where his own powers had been, as +his pupil's would be, greatly strengthened—may be considered as +sufficient to refute it entirely. They appear to have parted on the best +terms; Vandyck presented Rubens with an Ecce Homo, Christ in the Garden, +and a portrait of Helen Forman, Rubens' second wife; he was presented in +return, by Rubens, with one of his finest horses.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>VANDYCK'S VISIT TO ITALY.</h2> + + +<p>At the age of twenty, Vandyck set out for Italy, but delayed some time +at Brussels, fascinated by the charms of a peasant girl of Saveltheim, +named Anna van Ophem, who persuaded him to paint two pictures for the +church of her native place—a St. Martin on horseback, painted from +himself and the horse given him by Rubens; and a Holy Family, for which +the girl and her parents were the models.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> On arriving in Italy, he +spent some time at Venice, studying with great attention the works of +Titian; after which he visited Genoa, and painted many excellent +portraits for the nobility, as well as several pictures for the churches +and private collections, which gained him great applause. From Genoa he +went to Rome, where he was also much employed, and lived in great style. +His portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio, painted about this time, is one of +his masterpieces, and in every respect an admirable picture; it is now +in the Palazzo Pitti, at Florence, hanging near Raffaelle's celebrated +portrait of Leo X. Vandyck was known at Rome as the <i>Pittore +Cavalieresco</i>; his countrymen there being men of low and intemperate +habits, he avoided their society, and was thenceforward so greatly +annoyed by their criticisms and revilings, that he was obliged to leave +Rome about 1625, and return to Genoa, where he met with a flattering +reception, and plentiful encouragement. Invited to Palermo, he visited +that city, and painted the portraits of Prince Philibert of Savoy, the +Viceroy of Sicily, and several distinguished persons, among whom was the +celebrated paintress Sofonisba Anguisciola, then in her 92d year; but +the plague breaking out, he returned to Genoa, and thence to his own +country.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>VANDYCK'S RETURN TO ANTWERP.</h2> + + +<p>On his return to Antwerp, whither his reputation had preceded him, +Vandyck was speedily employed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> by various religious societies, and his +picture of St. Augustine for the church of the Augustines in that city, +established his reputation among the first painters of his time. He +painted other historical pictures, for the principal public edifices at +Antwerp, Brussels, Mechlin, and Ghent; but acquired greater fame by his +portraits, particularly his well known series of the eminent artists of +his time, which were engraved by Vorstermans, Pontius, Bolswert, and +others. His brilliant reputation at length roused the jealousy of his +cotemporaries, many of whom were indefatigable in their intrigues to +calumniate his works. In addition to these annoyances, the conduct of +the canons of the Collegiate church of Courtray, for whom he painted an +admirable picture of the Elevation of the Cross, proved too much for his +endurance. After he had exerted all his powers to produce a masterpiece +of art, the canons, upon viewing the picture, pronounced it a +contemptible performance, and the artist a miserable dauber; and Vandyck +could hardly obtain payment for his work. When the picture had received +high commendation from good judges, they became sensible of their error, +and requested him to execute two more works; but the indignant artist +refused the commission. Disgusted with such treatment, Vandyck readily +accepted an invitation to visit the Hague, from Frederick, Prince of +Orange, whose portrait he painted, and those of his family, the +principal personages of his court, and the foreign ambassadors.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>VANDYCK'S VISIT TO ENGLAND.</h2> + + +<p>Hearing of the great encouragement extended to the arts by Charles I., +he determined to visit England in 1629. While there, he lodged with his +friend and countryman, George Geldorp the painter, and expected to be +presented to the king; but his hopes not being realized, he visited +Paris; and meeting no better success there, be returned to his own +country, with the intention of remaining there during the rest of his +life. Charles, however, having seen a portrait by Vandyck, of the +musician, Fic. Laniere, director of the music of the king's chapel, +requested Sir Kenelm Digby to invite him to return to England. +Accordingly, in 1631, he arrived a second time at London, and was +received by the king in a flattering manner. He was lodged at +Blackfriars, among the King's artists, where his majesty frequently went +to sit for his portrait, as well as to enjoy the society of the painter. +The honor of knighthood was conferred upon him in 1632, and the +following year he was appointed painter to the king, with an annuity of +£200.</p> + +<p>Prosperity now flowed in upon the Fleming in abundance, and although he +operated with the greatest industry and facility, painting single +portraits in one day, he could hardly fulfill all his commissions. +Naturally fond of display, he kept a splendid establishment, and his +sumptuous table was frequented by persons of the highest distinc<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>tion. +He often detained his sitters to dinner, where he had an opportunity to +observe more of their peculiar characteristics, and retouched their +pictures in the afternoon. Notwithstanding his distinguished success, he +does not appear to have been satisfied with eminence in portrait +painting; and not long after his marriage with Maria Ruthven, +granddaughter of Lord Gowrie, he went to Antwerp with his lady, on a +visit to his family and friends, and thence proceeded to Paris. The fame +which Rubens had acquired by his celebrated performances at the +Luxembourg, rendered Vandyck desirous to execute the decorations at the +Louvre; but on arriving at the French capital, he found the commission +disposed of to Nicholas Poussin. He soon returned to England, and being +still desirous of executing some great work, proposed to the king +through Sir Kenelm Digby, to decorate the walls of the Banqueting House +(of which the ceiling was already adorned by Rubens), with the History +and Progress of the Order of the Garter. The sum demanded was £8000, and +while the king was treating with him for a less amount, the project was +terminated by the death of Vandyck, December 9th, 1641, aged 42 years. +He was buried with extraordinary honors in St. Paul's cathedral. His +high living had brought on the gout during his latter years, and luxury +had considerably reduced his fortune, which he endeavored to repair by +the study of alchemy. He left property amounting to about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> £20,000. In +his private character, Vandyck was universally esteemed for the urbanity +of his manners, and his generous patronage to all who excelled in any +science or art, many of whose portraits he painted gratuitously.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>WILLIAM VAN DE VELDE, THE ELDER.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent Dutch marine painter was born at Leyden, in 1610. He drew +everything after nature, and was one of the most correct, spirited, and +admirable designers of marine subjects. He made an incredible number of +drawings on paper, heightened with India ink, all of them sketched from +nature with uncommon elegance and fidelity. His talents recommended him +to the notice of the States of Holland, and Descamps says they furnished +him with a small vessel to accompany their fleets, that he might design +the different manœuvres and engagements; that he was present in +various sea-fights, in which he fearlessly exposed himself to the most +imminent danger, while making his sketches; he was present at the severe +battle between the English and Dutch fleets, under the command of the +Duke of York and Admiral Opdam, in which the ship of the latter, with +five hundred men, was blown up, and in the still more memorable +engagement in the following year, between the English under the Duke of +Albemarle, and the Dutch Admiral de Ruyter, which lasted three days. It +is said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> that during these engagements he sailed alternately between the +fleets, so as to represent minutely every movement of the ships, and the +most, material circumstances of the actions with incredible exactness +and truth. So intent was he upon his drawing, that he constantly exposed +himself to the greatest danger, without the least apparent anxiety. He +wrote over the ships their names and those of their commanders; and +under his own frail craft <i>V. Velde's Gallijodt</i>, or <i>Myn Gallijodt</i>.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>VAN DE VELDE AND CHARLES II.</h2> + + +<p>After having executed many capital pictures for the States of Holland, +Van de Velde was invited to England by Charles II., who had become +acquainted with his talents during his residence in Holland. He arrived +in London about 1675, well advanced in years, and the king settled upon +him a pension of £100 per annum until his death, in 1693, as appears +from this inscription on his tomb-stone in St. James' church: "Mr. +William van de Velde, senior, late painter of sea-fights to their +Majesties, King Charles II. and King James, died in 1693." He was +accompanied by his son, who was also taken into the service of the king, +as appears from an order of the privy seal, as follows: "Charles the +Second, by the grace of God, &c., to our dear Cousin, Prince Rupert, and +the rest of our commissioners for executing the place of Lord High +Ad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>miral of England, greeting. Whereas, we have thought fit to allow the +salary of £100 per annum unto William van de Velde the Elder, for taking +and making draughts of sea-fights; and the like salary of £100 per annum +unto William van de Velde the younger, for putting the said draughts in +color for our particular use; our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby +authorize and require you to issue your orders for the present and the +future establishment of said salaries to the aforesaid William van de +Velde the Elder and William van de Velde the Younger, to be paid unto +them, or either of them, during our pleasure, and for so doing, these +our letters shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge. Given under +our privy-seal, at our palace of Westminster, the 20th day of February, +in the 26th year of our reign."</p> + +<p>Many of the large pictures of sea-fights in England, and doubtless in +Holland, bearing the signature <i>W. van de Velde</i>, and generally +attributed to the son, were executed by him from the designs of his +father. Such are the series of twelve naval engagements and sea-ports in +the palace at Hampton Court, though signed like the best works of the +younger van de Velde; they are dated 1676 and 1682.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>WILLIAM VAN DE VELDE THE YOUNGER.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent artist was the son of the preceding, and born at Amsterdam +in 1633. He had already<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> acquired a distinguished reputation in his +native country for his admirable cabinet pictures of marine subjects, +when he accompanied his father to England, where his talents not only +recommended him to the patronage of the king, but to the principal +nobility and personages of his court, for whom he executed many of his +most beautiful works. "The palm," says Lord Orford, "is not less +disputed with Raffaelle for history, than with Van de Velde for +sea-pieces." He died in 1707.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE YOUNGER VAN DE VELDE'S WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>Like his father, the younger Van de Velde designed everything from +nature, and his compositions are distinguished by a more elegant and +tasteful arrangement of his objects, than is to be found in the +productions of any other painter of marines. His vessels are designed +with the greatest accuracy, and from the improvements which had been +made in ship-building, they are of a more graceful and pleasing form +than those of his predecessors; the cordage and rigging are finished +with a delicacy, and at the same time with a freedom almost without +example; his small figures are drawn with remarkable correctness, and +touched with the greatest spirit. In his calms the sky is sunny, and +brilliant, and every object is reflected in the glassy smoothness of the +water, with a luminous transparency peculiar to himself. In his fresh +breezes and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> squalls, the swell and curl of the waves is delineated with +a truth and fidelity which could only be derived from the most attentive +and accurate study of nature; in his storms, tempests, and hurricanes, +the tremendous conflict of the elements and the horrors of shipwreck are +represented with a truthfulness that strikes the beholder with terror.</p> + +<p>The works of the younger Van de Velde are very numerous, and the greater +part of them are in England, where Houbraken says they were so highly +esteemed that they were eagerly sought after in Holland, and purchased +at high prices to transport to London; so that they are rarely to be met +with in his native country. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonné, vol. vi. +and Supplement, describes about three hundred and thirty pictures by +him, the value of which has increased amazingly, as may be seen by a few +examples. The two marines now in the Earl of Ellesmere's collection, one +a View of the Entrance to the Texel, sold in 1766 for £80, now valued at +£1,000; the other sold in 1765 for £84, now valued at £500. A Sea-View, +formerly in the collection of Sir Robert Peel, sold in 1772 for only +£31; brought in 1828, £300. The Departure of Charles II. from Holland in +1660, sold in 1781 for £82; it brought recently, at public sale, £800. A +View off the Coast of Holland sold in 1816 for £144; it brought, in Sir +Simon Clarke's sale in 1840, £1,029. A View on the Sea-Shore, 16 inches +by 12, sold in 1726 for £9, and in 1835 for £108.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> The picture known as +<i>Le Coup de Canon</i>, sold in 1786 for £52, in 1790 for only £36, but in +1844 it brought 1,380 guineas.</p> + +<p>The drawings, and especially the sketches and studies of the younger Van +de Velde are very numerous, and prove the indefatigable pains he took in +designing his vessels, their appurtenances, and the ordonnance of his +compositions. His sketches are executed in black lead only; his more +finished drawings with the pencil or pen, and shaded with India ink. He +executed these with wonderful facility; it is recorded that he was so +rapid in his sketching, that he frequently filled a quire of paper in an +evening. Stanley says that during the years 1778 and 1780, about 8,000 +of his drawings were sold in London at public auction. Some of his +choicest drawings in India ink brought, at the sale of M. Goll de +Frankenstein at Amsterdam, in 1833, and at that of the late Baron +Verstolk de Soelen, in the same city in 1847, prices varying from £27 up +to £144 each. He inherited his father's drawings, and all these seem now +to be attributed to him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>NICHOLAS POUSSIN.</h2> + + +<p>This distinguished French painter was born at Andely, in Normandy, in +1594. He was descended from a noble family, originally of Soissons, +whose fortunes had been ruined in the disastrous civil wars in the time +of Charles IX. and Henry III.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> His father, Jean Poussin, after serving +in the army of Henry IV., settled on a small paternal inheritance at +Andely, where he cultivated a taste for literature and the sciences, and +instructed his son in the same. Young Poussin had already distinguished +himself for the solidity of his judgment, and his progress in letters, +when a natural fondness for drawing, developed by an acquaintance he had +formed with Quintin Varin, an artist of some eminence, induced him to +solict the permission of his father to adopt painting as a profession.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S FIRST CELEBRITY.</h2> + + +<p>In 1612, at the age of eighteen, Poussin went to Paris in search of +improvement, where he devoted himself to studying the best works to +which he could gain access (for the fine arts were then at a low ebb in +France) with the greatest assiduity. In 1620, according to Felibien, the +Jesuits celebrated the canonization of the founder of their order, +Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier, on which occasion they +determined to display a series of pictures by the first artists in +Paris, representing the miracles performed by their patron saints. Of +these, Poussin painted six in distemper, in an incredibly short space of +time, and when the exhibition came off, although he had been obliged to +neglect detail, his pictures excited the greatest admiration on account +of the grandeur of conception, and the ele<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>gance of design displayed in +them. They obtained the preference over all the others, and brought +Poussin immediately into notice.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S FIRST VISIT TO ROME.</h2> + + +<p>While Poussin resided at Paris, his talents, and the endowments of his +mind procured him the esteem of several men of letters and distinction, +among whom was the Cav. Marino, the celebrated Italian poet, who +happened then to be in Paris. Marino strongly urged him to accompany him +to Rome, an invitation which Poussin would gladly have accepted, had he +not then been engaged in some commissions of importance, which having +completed, he set out for Rome in 1624, where he was warmly received by +his friend Marino, who introduced him to the Cardinal Barberini. He +however derived little advantage from this favorable notice at the time, +as the Cardinal soon after left Rome on his legation to France and +Spain, and the Cav. Marino died about the same time. Poussin now found +himself a stranger, friendless and unknown in the Eternal City, in very +embarrassed circumstances; but he consoled himself with the thought that +his wants were few, that he was in the very place where he had long +sighed to be, surrounded by the glorious works of ancient and modern +art, and that he should have abundant leisure to study. Therefore, +though he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> scarcely supply his necessities by the disposal of his +works, and was often compelled to sell them for the most paltry prices, +his courage did not fail him, but rather stimulated him to the greatest +assiduity to perfect himself in the art. He lodged in the same house +with Francis du Quesnoy, called Il Fiammingo, the state of whose +finances at that time were not more flourishing than his own, and he +lived in habits of intimacy and strict friendship with that eminent +sculptor, with whom he explored, studied, and modeled the most +celebrated antique statues and bas-reliefs, particularly the Meleager in +the Vatican, from which he derived his rules of proportion. At first he +copied several of the works of Titian, and improved his style of +coloring, but he afterwards contemplated the works of Raffaelle with an +enthusiasm bordering on adoration. The admirable expression and purity +of the works of Domenichino, rendered them particularly interesting to +him, and he used to regard his Communion of St. Jerome as the second +picture at Rome, the Transfiguration by Raffaelle being the first.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S DISTRESS AT ROME.</h2> + + +<p>While Poussin was thus pursuing his studies at Rome, he was left by the +death of his friend Marino, in a state of extreme distress, and was +obliged to dispose of his paintings at the most paltry prices, to +procure the necessaries of life. Filibien<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> says that he sold the two +fine battle-pieces which were afterwards in the collection of the Duke +de Noailles for seven crowns each, and a picture of a Prophet for eight +livres. His celebrated picture of "the Ark of God among the Philistines" +brought him but sixty crowns; the original purchaser sold it not long +afterwards to the Duc de Richelieu for one thousand crowns!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S SUCCESS AT ROME.</h2> + + +<p>A brighter day now dawned upon Poussin. What had happened to him, which +would have been regarded by most young artists as the greatest +misfortune and sunk them in despondency and ruin, proved of the greatest +advantage to him. The Cardinal Barberini having returned to Rome, gave +him some commissions, which he executed in such an admirable manner as +at once established his reputation among those of the greatest artists +of the age. The first work he executed for his patron was his celebrated +picture of the Death of Germanicus, which Lanzi pronounces one of his +finest productions. He next painted the Taking of Jerusalem by Titus. +These works gave the Cardinal so much satisfaction that he procured for +him the commission to paint a large picture of the Martyrdom of St. +Erasmus, for St. Peter's, now in the pontifical palace at Monte Cavallo. +These works procured him the friendship and patronage of the Cav. del +Pozzo, for whom he painted his first set of pic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>tures, representing the +Seven Sacraments, now in the collection of the Duke of Rutland. He +afterwards painted another set of the same, with some variations, for M. +de Chantelou, formerly in the Orleans collection, now in that of the +Marquis of Stafford.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S INVITATION TO PARIS.</h2> + + +<p>In 1639, Poussin was invited to Paris by Louis XIII., who honored him on +this occasion with the following autograph letter, which was an +extraordinary and unusual homage to art:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">"Dear and well beloved</span>,</p> + +<p>"Some of our especial servants having made a report to us of the +reputation which you have acquired, and the rank which you hold among +the best and most famous painters of Italy; and we being desirous, in +imitation of our predecessors, to contribute, as much as lies in us, to +the ornament and decoration of our royal houses, by fixing around us +those who excel in the arts, and whose attainments in them have +attracted notice in the places where those arts are most cherished, do +therefore write you this letter, to acquaint you that we have chosen and +appointed you to be one of our painters in ordinary, and that, +henceforward, we will employ you in that capacity. To this effect our +intention is, that on the receipt of this present, you shall dispose +yourself to come hither, where the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> services you perform shall meet with +as much consideration as do your merits and your works, in the place +where you now reside. By our order, given to M. de Noyers, you will +learn more particularly the favor we have determined to shew you. We +will add nothing to this present, but to pray God to have you in his +holy keeping.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Given at Fontainebleau,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Jan. 15, 1639."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Poussin accepted the invitation with great reluctance, at the earnest +solicitation of his friends. On his arrival at Paris he was received +with marked distinction, appointed principal painter to the king, with a +pension, and accommodated with apartments in the Tuileries. He was +commissioned to paint an altar-piece for the chapel of St. Germain en +Laie, where he produced his admirable work of the Last Supper, and was +engaged to decorate the Gallery of the Louvre with the Labors of +Hercules. He had already prepared the designs and some of the cartoons +for these works, when he was assailed by the machinations of Simon Vouet +and his adherents; and even the landscape painter Fouquieres, jealous of +his fame, presumed to criticise his works and detract from their merit.</p> + + + +<h3>POUSSIN'S RETURN TO ROME.</h3> + + +<p>Poussin, naturally of a peaceful turn of mind, fond of retirement and +the society of a few select<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> literary friends, was disgusted with the +ostentation of the court and the cabals by which he was surrounded; he +secretly sighed for the quiet felicity he had left at Rome, and resolved +to return thither without delay. For this purpose, he solicited and +obtained leave of the king to visit Italy and settle his affairs, and +fetch his wife; but when he had once crossed the Alps, no inducement +could prevail on him to revisit his native country, or even to leave +Rome. During a period of twenty-three years after his return to Rome +from Paris, he lived a quiet, unostentatious life, and executed a great +number of pictures, which decorate the principal cabinets of Europe, and +will ever be regarded as among their most valuable ornaments. He +confined himself mostly to works of the large easel size, which were +eagerly sought after, and usually disposed of as soon as they were +executed. He never made any words about the price of his pictures, but +asked a modest and moderate price, which he always marked upon the back +of his canvas, and which was invariably paid. Many of his works were +sent to Paris, where they were valued next to the productions of +Raffaelle. He was plain and unassuming in his manners, very frugal in +his living, yet so liberal and generous that at his death he left an +estate of only 60,000 livres—about $12,000. Felibien relates an +anecdote which pleasingly illustrates his simple and unostentatious mode +of life. The Cardinal Mancini was accustomed to visit his studio<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +frequently, and on one occasion, having staid later than usual, Poussin +lighted him to the door, at which the prelate observed, "I pity you, +Monsieur Poussin, that you have not one servant." "And I," replied the +painter, "pity your Excellency much more, that you are obliged to keep +so many."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS' CRITIQUE ON POUSSIN.</h2> + + +<p>"The favorite subjects of Poussin were ancient fables; and no painter +was ever better qualified to paint such subjects, not only from his +being eminently skilled in the knowledge of the ceremonies, customs, and +habits of the ancients, but from his being so well acquainted with the +different characters which those who invented them gave to their +allegorical figures. Though Rubens has shown great fancy in his Satyrs, +Silenuses, and Fauns, yet they are not that distinct, separate class of +beings which is carefully exhibited by the ancients, and by Poussin. +Certainly, when such subjects of antiquity are represented, nothing +should remind us of modern times. The mind is thrown back into +antiquity, and nothing ought to be introduced that may tend to awaken it +from the illusion.</p> + +<p>"Poussin seemed to think that the style and the language in which such +stories are told is not the worse for preserving some relish of the old +way of painting, which seemed to give a general uniformity to the whole, +so that the mind was thrown back<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> into antiquity, not only by the +subject, but also by the execution.</p> + +<p>"If Poussin, in imitation of the ancients, represents Apollo driving his +Chariot out of the sea, by way of representing the sun rising, if he +personifies lakes and rivers, it is noways offensive in him, but seems +perfectly of a piece with the general air of the picture. On the +contrary, if the figures which people his pictures had a modern air and +countenance, if they appeared like our countrymen, if the draperies were +like cloth or silk of our manufacture, if the landscape had the +appearance of a modern one, how ridiculous would Apollo appear instead +of the sun, and an old Man or a Nymph with an urn to represent a river +or lake?" He also says, in another place, that "it may be doubted +whether any alteration of what is considered defective in his works, +would not destroy the effect of the whole."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S VIEWS OF HIS ART.</h2> + + +<p>Poussin, in his directions to artists who came to study at Rome, used to +say that "the remains of antiquity afforded him instruction that he +could not expect from masters;" and in one of his letters to M. de +Chantelou, he observes that "he had applied to painting the theory which +the Greeks had introduced into their music—the Dorian for the grave and +the serious; the Phrygian for the vehement and the passionate; the +Lydian for the soft and the ten<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>der; and the Ionian for the riotous +festivity of his bacchanalians." He was accustomed to say "that a +particular attention to coloring was an obstacle to the student in his +progress to the great end and design of the art; and that he who +attaches himself to this principal end, will acquire by practice a +reasonably good method of coloring." He well knew that splendor of +coloring and brilliancy of tints would ill accord with the solidity and +simplicity of effect so essential to heroic subjects, and that the +sublime and majestic would be degraded by a union with the florid and +the gay. The elevation of his mind is conspicuous in all his works. He +was attentive to vary his style and the tone of his color, +distinguishing them by a finer and more delicate touch, a tint more +cheerful or austere, a site more cultivated or wild, according to the +character of his subject and the impression he designed to make; so that +we are not less impressed with the beauty and grandeur of his scenery, +than with the varied, appropriate, and dignified characteristics which +distinguish his works.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>In Smith's Catalogue raisonné may be found a descriptive account of +upwards of three hundred and fifty of the works of this great artist, in +many instances tracing the history from the time they were painted, the +names of the present possessors, and the principal artists by whom they +have been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> engraved, together with many interesting particulars of the +life of the painter. There are eight of his pictures in the English +National Gallery, fourteen in the Dulwich Gallery, and many in the +possession of the nobility of England. The prices paid for those in the +National Gallery vary from 150 to 1000 guineas.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MARINO AND POUSSIN.</h2> + + +<p>Marino was born at Naples. Some political disturbances, in which he and +his family had taken part, obliged him to quit that kingdom, and he took +refuge successively in several of the petty courts of Italy. His talent +for satire involved him in various literary disputes, as well as some +political quarrels, and he never resided long in one place, until Mary +of Medicis invited him to the court of France, where he passed much of +his life, and where he wrote most of his poems, which, though licentious +both in matter and style, contain numerous beauties, and are full of +classical imagery. Marino gave Poussin an apartment in his house at +Rome, and as his own health was at that time extremely deranged, he +loved to have Poussin by the side of his couch, where he drew or +painted, while Marino read aloud to him from some Latin or Italian +author, or from his own poems, which Poussin illustrated by beautiful +drawings, most of which it is to be feared are lost; although it is +believed that there is still existing in the Massimi library, a copy of +the Ado<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>nis in Marino's hand-writing, with Poussin's drawings +interleaved. To this kind of study which he pursued with Marino, may +perhaps be attributed Poussin's predilection for compositions wherein +nymphs, and fairies, and bacchanals are the subjects—compositions in +which he greatly excelled.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN ROMANIZED.</h2> + + +<p>While the court of France was at variance with the Holy See, +considerable acrimony existed among his Holiness's troops against all +Frenchmen; consequently, wherever they met them in Rome, they instantly +attacked them with sticks and stones, and sometimes with even more +formidable weapons. It happened one day that Poussin and three or four +of his countrymen, returning from a drawing excursion, met at the +Quattro Fontane near Monte Cavallo, a company of soldiers, who seeing +them dressed in the French costume, instantly attacked them. They all +fled but Poussin, who was surrounded, and received a cut from a sabre +between the first and second finger. Passeri, who relates the anecdote, +says that the sword turned, otherwise "a great misfortune must have +happened both to him and to painting." Not daunted, however, he fought +under the shelter of his portfolio, throwing stones as he retreated, +till being recognized by some Romans who took his part, he effected his +escape to his lodgings. From that day he put on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> Roman dress, +adopted the Roman way of living, and became so much a Roman, that he +considered the city as his true home.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S HABITS OF STUDY.</h2> + + +<p>Poussin not only studied every vestige of antiquity at Rome and in its +environs, with the greatest assiduity while young, but he followed this +practice through life. It was his delight to spend every hour he could +spare at the different villas in the neighborhood of Rome, where, +besides the most beautiful remains of antiquity, he enjoyed the +unrivalled landscape which surrounds that city, so much dignified by the +noble works of ancient days, that every hill is classical, the very +trees have a poetic air, and everything combines to excite in the soul a +kind of dreaming rapture from which it would not be awakened, and which +those who have not felt it can scarcely understand.</p> + +<p>He restored the antique temples, and made plans and accurate drawings of +the fragments of ancient Rome; and there are few of his pictures, where +the subject admits of it, in which we may not trace the buildings, both +of the ancient and the modern city. In the beautiful landscape of the +death of Eurydice, the bridge and castle of St. Angelo, and the tower, +commonly called that of Nero, form the middle ground of the picture. The +castle of St. Angelo appears again in one of his pictures of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +Exposing of Moses; and the pyramid of Caius Cestius, the Pantheon, the +ruins of the Forum, and the walls of Rome, may be recognised in the +Finding of Moses, and several others of his remarkable pictures.</p> + +<p>"I have often admired," said Vigneul de Marville, who knew him at a late +period of his life, "the love he had for his art. Old as he was, I +frequently saw him among the ruins of ancient Rome, out in the Campagna, +or along the banks of the Tyber, sketching a scene which had pleased +him; and I often met him with his handkerchief full of stones, moss, or +flowers, which he carried home, that he might copy them exactly from +nature. One day I asked him, how he had attained to such a degree of +perfection as to have gained so high a rank among the great painters of +Italy? He answered, '<i>I have neglected nothing!</i>'"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S OLD AGE.</h2> + + +<p>The genius of Poussin seems to have gained vigor with age. Nearly his +last works, which were begun in 1660, and sent to Paris 1664, were the +four pictures, allegorical of the seasons, which he painted for the Duc +de Richelieu. He chose the terrestrial paradise, in all the freshness of +creation, to designate spring. The beautiful story of Boaz and Ruth +formed the subject of summer. Autumn was aptly pictured, in the two +Israelites bearing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> bunch of grapes from the Promised Land. But the +masterpiece was Winter, represented in the Deluge. This picture has +been, perhaps, the most praised of all Poussin's works. A narrow space, +and a very few persons have sufficed him for this powerful +representation of that great catastrophe. The sun's disc is darkened +with clouds; the lightning shoots in forked flashes through the air: +nothing but the roofs of the highest houses are visible above the +distant water upon which the ark floats, on a level with the highest +mountains. Nearer, where the waters, pent in by rocks, form a cataract, +a boat is forced down the fall, and the wretches who had sought safety +in it are perishing: but the most pathetic incident is brought close to +the spectator. A mother in a boat is holding up her infant to its +father, who, though upon a high rock, is evidently not out of reach of +the water, and is only protracting life a very little.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S LAST WORK AND DEATH.</h2> + + +<p>The long and honorable race of Poussin was now nearly run. Early in the +following year, 1665, he was slightly affected by palsy, and the only +picture of figures that he painted afterwards was the Samaritan Woman at +the Well, which he sent to M. de Chantelou, with a note, in which he +says, "This is my last work; I have already one foot in the grave." +Shortly afterwards he wrote the following<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> letter to M. Felibien: "I +could not answer the letter which your brother, M. le Prieur de St. +Clementin, forwarded to me, a few days after his arrival in this city, +sooner, my usual infirmities being increased by a very troublesome cold, +which continues and annoys me very much. I must now thank you not only +for your remembrance, but for the kindness you have done me, by not +reminding the prince of the wish he once expressed to possess some of my +works. It is too late for him to be well served; I am become too infirm, +and the palsy hinders me in working, so that I have given up the pencil +for some time, and think only of preparing for death, which I feel +bodily upon me. It is all over with me." He expired shortly afterwards, +aged 71 years.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN'S IDEAS OF PAINTING.</h2> + + +<p>"Painting is an imitation by means of lines and colors, on some +superfices, of everything that can be seen under the sun; its end is to +please.</p> + +<p><i>Principles that every man capable of reasoning may learn</i>:—There can +be nothing represented,</p> + + +<ul><li>Without light,</li> +<li>Without form,</li> +<li>Without color,</li> +<li>Without distance,</li> +<li>Without an instrument, or medium.</li></ul> + + +<p><i>Things which are not to be learned, and which make an essential part of +painting.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> + +<p>First, the subject must be noble. It should have received no quality +from the mere workmen; and to allow scope to the painter to display his +powers, he should choose it capable of receiving the most excellent +form. He must begin by composition, then ornament, propriety, beauty, +grace, vivacity, probability, and judgment, in each and all. These last +belong solely to the painter, and cannot be taught. The nine are the +golden bough of Virgil, which no man can find or gather, if his fate do +not lead him to it."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN AND THE NOBLEMAN.</h2> + + +<p>A person of rank who dabbled in painting for his amusement, having one +day shown Poussin one of his performances, and asked his opinion of its +merits, the latter replied, "You only want a little poverty, sir, to +make a good painter."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN AND MENGS.</h2> + + +<p>The admirers of Mengs, jealous of Poussin's title of "the Painter of +Philosophers," conferred on him the antithetical one of "the Philosopher +of Painters." Though it cannot be denied that Mengs' writings and his +pictures are learned, yet few artists have encountered such a storm of +criticism.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN AND DOMENICHINO.</h2> + + +<p>Next to correctness of drawing and dignity of conception, Poussin valued +expression in painting. He ranked Domenichino next to Raffaelle for this +quality, and not long after his arrival at Rome, he set about copying +the Flagellation of St. Andrew, painted by that master in the church of +S. Gregorio, in competition with Guido, whose Martyrdom of that Saint is +on the opposite side of the same church. Poussin found all the students +in Rome busily copying the Guido, which, though a most beautiful work, +lacks the energy and expression which distinguish the Flagellation; but +he was too sure of his object to be led away by the crowd. According to +Felibien, Domenichino, who then resided at Rome, in a very delicate +state of health, having heard that a young Frenchman was making a +careful study of his picture, caused himself to be conveyed in his chair +to the church, where he conversed some time with Poussin, without making +himself known; charmed with his talents and highly cultivated mind, he +invited him to his house, and from that time Poussin enjoyed his +friendship and profited by his advice, till that illustrious painter +went to Naples, to paint the chapel of St. Januarius.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN AND SALVATOR ROSA.</h2> + + +<p>Among the strolling parties of monks and friars, cardinals and prelates, +Roman princesses and Eng<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>lish peers, Spanish grandees and French +cavaliers which crowded the <i>Pincio</i>, towards the latter end of the +seventeenth century, there appeared two groups, which may have recalled +those of the Portico or the Academy, and which never failed to interest +and fix the attention of the beholders. The leader of one of these +singular parties was the venerable Niccolo Poussin! The air of antiquity +which breathed over all his works seemed to have infected even his +person and his features; and his cold, sedate, and passionless +countenance, his measured pace and sober deportment, spoke that +phlegmatic temperament and regulated feeling, which had led him to study +monuments rather than men, and to declare that the result of all his +experience was "to teach him to live well with all persons." Soberly +clad, and sagely accompanied by some learned antiquary or pious +churchman, and by a few of his deferential disciples, he gave out his +trite axioms in measured phrase and emphatic accent, lectured rather +than conversed, and appeared like one of the peripatetic teachers of the +last days of Athenian pedantry and pretension.</p> + +<p>In striking contrast to these academic figures, which looked like their +own "grandsires cut in alabaster," appeared, unremittingly, on the +Pincio, after sun-set, a group of a different stamp and character, led +on by one who, in his flashing eye, mobile brow, and rapid movement, all +fire, feeling, and perception—was the very personification of genius<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +itself. This group consisted of Salvator Rosa, gallantly if not +splendidly habited, and a motley gathering of the learned and witty, the +gay and the grave, who surrounded him. He was constantly accompanied in +these walks on the Pincio by the most eminent virtuosi, poets, +musicians, and cavaliers in Rome; all anxious to draw him out on a +variety of subjects, when air, exercise, the desire of pleasing, and the +consciousness of success, had wound him up to his highest pitch of +excitement; while many who could not appreciate, and some who did not +approve, were still anxious to be seen in his train, merely that they +might have to boast "<i>nos quoque</i>."</p> + +<p>From the Pincio, Salvator Rosa was generally accompanied home by the +most distinguished persons, both for talent and rank; and while the +frugal Poussin was lighting out some reverend prelate or antiquarian +with one sorry taper, Salvator, the prodigal Salvator, was passing the +evening in his elegant gallery, in the midst of princes, nobles, and men +of wit and science, where he made new claims on their admiration, both +as an artist and as an <i>improvisatore</i>; for till within a few years of +his death he continued to recite his own poetry, and sing his own +compositions to the harpsichord or lute.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POUSSIN, ANGELO, AND RAFFAELLE COMPARED.</h2> + + +<p>Poussin is, in the strict sense of the word, an historical painter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> + +<p>Michael Angelo is too intent on the sublime, too much occupied with the +effect of the whole, to tell a common history. His conceptions are epic, +and his persons, and his colors, have as little to do with ordinary +life, as the violent action of his actors have resemblance to the +usually indolent state of ordinary men.</p> + +<p>Raffaelle's figures interest so much in themselves, that they make us +forget that they are only part of a history. We follow them eagerly, as +we do the personages of a drama; we grieve, we hope, we despair, we +rejoice with them.</p> + +<p>Poussin's figures, on the contrary, tell their story; we feel not the +intimate acquaintance with themselves, that we do with the creations of +Raffaelle. His Cicero would thunder in the forum and dissipate a +conspiracy, and we should take leave of him with respect at the end of +the scene; but with Raffaelle's we should feel in haste to quit the +tumult, and retire with him to his Tusculum, and learn to love the +virtues, and almost to cherish the weaknesses of such a man.</p> + +<p>Poussin has shown that grace and expression may be independent of what +is commonly called beauty. His women have none of that soft, easy, and +attractive air, which many other painters have found the secret of +imparting, not only to their Venuses and Graces, but to their Madonnas +and Saints. His beauties are austere and dignified. Minerva and the +Muses appear to have been his models, rather<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> than the inhabitants of +Mount Cithæron. Hence subjects of action are more suited to him than +those of repose.—<i>Graham's Life of Poussin</i>.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>REMBRANDT.</h2> + + +<p>Paul Rembrandt van Rhyn, one of the most eminent painters and engravers +of the Dutch school, was the son of a miller, and was born in 1606, at a +small village on the banks of the Rhine, between Leyderdorp and Leyden, +whence he was called Rembrandt van Rhyn, though his family name was +Gerretz. It is said that his father, being in easy circumstances, +intended him for one of the learned professions, but was induced by +Rembrandt's passion for the art to allow him to follow his inclination. +He entered the school of J. van Zwaanenberg at Amsterdam, where he +continued three years, and made such surprising progress as astonished +his instructor. Having learned from Zwaanenberg all he was capable of +imparting, he next studied about six months with Peter Lastmann, and +afterwards for a short time with Jacob Pinas, from whom it is said he +acquired that taste for strong contrasts of light and shadow, for which +his works are so remarkable. He was, however, more indebted for his best +improvement to the vivacity of his own genius, and an attentive study of +nature, than to any information he derived from his instructors. On +returning home, he fitted up an attic room, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> a skylight, in his +father's mill, for a studio, where he probably pursued his labors for +several years, as he did not remove to Amsterdam till 1630. Here he +studied the grotesque figure of the Dutch boor, or the rotund contour of +the bar-maid of an ale house, with as much precision as the great +artists of Italy have imitated the Apollo Belvidere, or the Medicean +Venus. He was exceedingly ignorant, and it is said that he could +scarcely read. He was of a wayward and eccentric disposition, and sought +for recreation among the lowest orders of the people, in the amusements +of the ale-house, contracting habits which continued through life; even +when in prosperous circumstances, he manifested no disposition to +associate with more refined and intellectual society. It will readily be +perceived that his habits, disposition, and studies could not conduct +him to the noble conceptions of Raffaelle, but rather to an exact +imitation of the lowest order of nature, with which he delighted to be +surrounded. The life of Rembrandt is much involved in fable, and in +order to form a just estimate of his powers, it is necessary to take +these things into consideration. It is said by some writers, that, had +he studied the antique, he would have reached the very perfection of the +art, but Nieuwenhuys, in his review of the Lives and Works of the most +eminent painters of the Dutch and Flemish schools, in Smith's Catalogue +raisonné, vol xii. and supplement, says that he was by no means +deficient on that point. "For it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> is known that he purchased, at a high +price, casts from the antique marbles, paintings, drawings, and +engravings by the most excellent Italian masters, to assist him in his +studies, and which are mentioned in the inventory of his goods when +seized for debt."</p> + +<p>He then goes on to give a list of the works so seized. Be this as it may +he certainly never derived any advantage from them. He had collected a +great variety of old armor, sabres, flags, and fantastical vestments, +ironically terming them his antiques, and frequently introducing them +into his pictures.</p> + +<p>Rembrandt had already brought both the arts of painting and engraving to +very great perfection (in his own way), when a slight incident led him +to fame and fortune. He was induced by a friend to take one of his +choicest pictures to a picture-dealer at the Hague, who, being charmed +with the performance, instantly gave him a hundred florins for it, and +treated him with great respect. This occurrence served to convince the +public of his merit, and contributed to make the artist sensible of his +own abilities. In 1630 he went to Amsterdam, where he married a handsome +peasant girl (frequently copied in his works), and settled there for +life. His paintings were soon in extraordinary demand, and his fame +spread far and wide; pupils flocked to his studio, and he received for +the instruction of each a hundred florins a year. He was so excessively +avaricious that he soon abandoned his former care<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>ful and finished +style, for a rapid execution; also frequently retouched the pictures of +his best pupils, and sold them as his own. His deceits in dating several +of his etchings at Venice, to make them more saleable, led some of his +biographers to believe that he visited Italy, and resided at Venice in +1635 and 1636; but it has been satisfactorily proved that he never left +Holland, though he constantly threatened to do so, in order to increase +the sale of his works. As early as 1628, he applied himself zealously to +etching, and soon acquired great perfection in the art. His etchings +were esteemed as highly as his paintings, and he had recourse to several +artifices to raise their price and increase their sales. For example, he +sold impressions from the unfinished plates, then finished them, and +after having used them, made some slight alterations, and thus sold the +same works three or four times; producing what connoisseurs term +<i>variations</i> in prints. By these practices, and his parsimonious manner +of living, Rembrandt amassed a large fortune.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>REMBRANDT'S WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>His works are numerous, and are dispersed in various public and private +collections of Europe; and when they are offered for sale they command +enormous prices. There are eight of his pictures in the English National +Gallery; one of these, the Woman taken in Adultery, formerly in the +Orleans<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> collection, sold for £5000. In Smith's Catalogue raisonné is a +description of six hundred and forty pictures by him, the public and +private galleries and collections in which they were located at the time +of the publication of the work, together with a copious list of his +drawings and etchings, and much other interesting information. He left +many studies, sketches, and drawings, executed in a charming style, +which are now scarce and valuable.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>REMBRANDT AS AN ENGRAVER.</h2> + + +<p>Rembrandt holds a distinguished rank among the engravers of his country; +he established a more important epoch in this art than any other master. +He was indebted entirely to his own genius for the invention of a +process which has thrown an indescribable charm over his plates. They +are partly etched, frequently much assisted by the dry point, and +occasionally, though rarely, finished with the graver; evincing the most +extraordinary facility of hand, and displaying the most consummate +knowledge of light and shadow. His free and playful point sports in +picturesque disorder, producing the most surprising and enchanting +effects, as if by accident; yet an examination will show that his +motions are always regulated by a profound knowledge of the principles +of light and shadow. His most admirable productions in both arts are his +portraits, which are executed with unexampled expression and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> skill. For +a full description of his prints, the reader is referred to Bartsch's +Peintre Graveur.</p> + +<p>His prints are very numerous, yet they command very high prices. The +largest collection of his prints known, was made by M. de Burgy at the +Hague, who died in 1755. This collection contained 665 prints with their +variations, namely, 257 portraits, 161 histories, 155 figures, and 85 +landscapes. There are no less than 27 portraits of Rembrandt by himself.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ANECDOTE OF SCHWARTS.</h2> + + +<p>Sandrart relates the following anecdote of Christopher Schwarts, a +famous German painter, which, if true, redounds more to his ingenuity +than to his credit. Having been engaged to paint the ceiling of the Town +Hall at Munich by the day, his love of dissipation induced him to +neglect his work, so that the magistrates and overseers of the work were +frequently obliged to hunt him out at the cabaret. As he could no longer +drink in quiet, he stuffed an image of himself, left the legs hanging +down between the staging where he was accustomed to work, and sent one +of his boon companions to move the image a little two or three times a +day, and to take it away at noon and night. By means of this deception, +he drank without the least disturbance a whole fortnight together, the +inn-keeper being privy to the plot. The officers came in twice a day to +look after him, and seeing the well known stock<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>ings and shoes which he +was accustomed to wear, suspected nothing wrong, and went their way, +greatly extolling their own convert, as the most industrious and +conscientious painter in the world.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>JACQUES CALLOT.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent French engraver was born at Nancy, in Lorraine, in 1593. He +was the son of Jean Callot, a gentleman of noble family, who intended +him for a very different profession, and endeavored to restrain his +natural passion for art; but when he was twelve years old, he left his +home without money or resources, joined a company of wandering +Bohemians, and found his way to Florence, where some officer of the +court, discovering his inclination for drawing, placed him under +Cantagallina. After passing some time at Florence, he went to Rome, +where he was recognized by some friends of his family, who persuaded him +to return to his parents. Meeting with continual opposition, he again +absconded, but was followed by his brother to Turin, and taken back to +Nancy. His parents, at length finding his love of art too firmly +implanted to be eradicated, concluded to allow him to follow the bent of +his genius, and they sent him to Rome in the suite of the Envoy from the +Duke of Lorraine to the Pope. Here he studied with the greatest +assiduity, and soon distinguished himself as a very skillful engraver. +From Rome he went to Florence,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> where his talents recommended him to the +patronage of the Grand Duke Cosmo II., on whose death he returned to +Nancy, where he was liberally patronized by Henry, Duke of Lorraine. +When misfortune overtook that prince, he went to Paris, whither his +reputation had preceded him, where he was employed by Louis XIII. to +engrave the successes of the French arms, particularly the siege of the +Isle de Ré, in sixteen sheets; the siege of Rochelle, do.; and the siege +of Breda, in eight sheets. His prints are very numerous, and are highly +esteemed; Heineken gives a full list of his prints, amounting to over +fifteen hundred! The fertility of his invention and the facility of his +hand were wonderful; yet his prints are accurately designed. He +frequently made several drawings for the same plate before he was +satisfied. Watelet says that he saw four different drawings by him for +the celebrated Temptation of St. Anthony. His drawings are also greatly +admired and highly prized.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CALLOT'S PATRIOTISM.</h2> + + +<p>When Cardinal Richelieu desired Callot to design and engrave a set of +plates descriptive of the siege and fall of his native town, he promptly +refused; and when the Cardinal peremptorily insisted that he should do +it, he replied, "My Lord, if you continue to urge me, I will cut off the +thumb of my right hand before your face, for I never will con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>sent to +perpetuate the calamity and disgrace of my sovereign and protector."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>INGENUITY OF ARTISTS.</h2> + + +<p>Pliny asserts that an ingenious artist wrote the whole of the Iliad on +so small a piece of parchment that it might be enclosed within the +compass of a nut-shell. Cicero also records the same thing. This +doubtless might be done on a strip of thin parchment, and rolling it +compactly.</p> + +<p>Heylin, in his life of Charles I., says that in Queen Elizabeth's time, +a person wrote the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Pater Noster, the +Queen's name, and the date, within the compass of a penny, which he +presented to her Majesty, together with a pair of spectacles of such an +artificial make, that by their help she plainly discerned every letter. +One Francis Almonus wrote the Creed, and the first fourteen verses of +the Gospel of St. John, on a piece of parchment no larger than a penny. +In the library of St. John's College, Oxford, is a picture of Charles I. +done with a pen, the lines of which contain all the psalms, written in a +legible hand.</p> + +<p>"At Halston, in Shropshire, the seat of the Myttons, is preserved a +carving much resembling that mentioned by Walpole in his Anecdotes of +Painting, vol. ii., p. 42. It is the portrait of Charles I., full-faced, +cut on a peach-stone; above, is a crown; his face, and clothes which are +of a Vandyck dress<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> are painted; on the reverse is an eagle transfixed +with an arrow, and round it is this motto: <i>I feathered this arrow.</i> The +whole is most admirably executed, and is set in gold, with a crystal on +each side. It probably was the work of Nicholas Bryot, a great graver of +the mint in the time of Charles I."—<i>Pennant's Wales.</i></p> + +<p>In the Royal Museum at Copenhagen is a common cherry-stone, on the +surface of which are cut two hundred and twenty heads!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A HINT TO JEWELERS.</h2> + + +<p>"When the haughty and able Pope Innocent III. caused Cardinal Langton to +be elected Archbishop of Canterbury in despite of King John, and +compelled him to submit, to appease the latter and to admonish him, his +Holiness presented him with four golden rings, set with precious stones, +at the same time taking care to inform him of the many mysteries implied +in them. His Holiness begged of him (King John)," says Hume, "to +consider seriously the <i>form</i> of the rings, their <i>number</i>, their +<i>matter</i>, and their <i>color</i>. Their <i>form</i>, he said, shadowed out +eternity, which had neither beginning nor end; and he ought thence to +learn his duty of aspiring from earthly objects to heavenly, from things +temporal to things eternal. The <i>number</i>, from being a square, denoted +steadiness of mind, not to be subverted either by adversity or +prosperity, fixed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> forever on the firm base of the four cardinal +virtues. <i>Gold</i>, which is the matter, being the most precious of the +metals, signified wisdom, which is the most precious of all the +accomplishments, and justly preferred by Solomon to riches, power, and +all exterior attainments. The <i>blue color</i> of the sapphire represented +Faith; the <i>verdure</i> of the emerald, Hope; the <i>redness</i> of the ruby, +Charity; and the <i>splendor</i> of the topaz, good works." Jewelers, who +usually deal so little in sentiment in their works, may learn from this +ingenious allegory the advantage of calling up the wonder-working aid of +fancy, in forming their combinations of precious things.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CURIOUS PAINTINGS.</h2> + + +<p>In the Cathedral at Worms, over the altar, is a very old painting, in +which the Virgin is represented throwing the infant Jesus into the +hopper of a mill; while from the other side he issues, changed into +wafers or little morsels of bread, which the priests are administering +to the people.</p> + +<p>Mathison, in his letters, thus describes a picture in a church at +Constance, called the Conception of the Holy Virgin. "An old man lies on +a cloud, whence he darts a vast beam, which passes through a dove +hovering just below; at the end of the beam appears a large transparent +egg, in which egg is seen a child in swaddling clothes, with a glory +round it; Mary sits leaning in an arm-chair<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> and opens her mouth to +receive the egg!" Which are the most profane—these pictures, or the +Venus Anadyomene of Apelles, the Venus of Titian, and the Leda of +Correggio?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE OLDEST OIL PAINTING EXTANT.</h2> + + +<p>"The oldest oil painting now in existence, is believed to be one of the +Madonna and infant Jesus in her arms, with an Eastern style of +countenance. It is marked <span class="smcap">DCCCLXXXVI</span>. (886). This singular and +valuable painting formed part of the treasures of art in the old palace +of the Florentine Republic, and was purchased by the Director Bencivenni +from a broker in the street, for a few livres."</p> + +<p>The above is found quoted in many books, in proof that oil painting was +known long before the time of the Van Eycks; but all these old +<i>supposed</i> oil paintings have been proved by chemical analysis to have +been painted in distemper. See vol. ii., p. 141, of +this work.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CURIOUS REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HARPIES.</h2> + + +<p>Homer represents the Harpies as the rapacious goddesses of the storms, +residing near the Erinnyes, or the Ocean, before the jaws of hell. If +any person was so long absent from home that it was not known what had +become of him, and he was supposed to be dead, it was commonly said, +"The Harpies have carried him off." Hesiod represents<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> them as young +virgins of great beauty. The later poets and artists vied with each +other in depicting them under the most hideous forms; they commonly +represented them as winged monsters, having the face of a woman and the +body of a vulture, with their feet and fingers armed with sharp claws. +Spanheim, in his work, gives three representations of the harpies, taken +from ancient coins and works of art; they have female heads, with the +bodies and claws of birds of prey; the first has a coarse female face, +the second a beautiful feminine head, and two breasts, and the third a +visage ornamented with wreaths and a head-dress. There are various other +representations of them, one of the most remarkable of which is a +monster with a human head and the body of a vampire bat.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ADRIAN BROWER.</h2> + + +<p>This extraordinary painter was born at Haerlem, in 1608. His parents +were extremely poor, and his mother sold to the peasants bonnets and +handkerchiefs, which the young Adrian painted with flowers and birds. +These attempts were noticed by Francis Hals, a distinguished painter of +Haerlem, who offered to take the young artist into his school—which +proposal was gladly accepted. Hals, on discovering his superior genius, +separated him from all his companions, and locked him up in a garret, +that he might profit by his talents. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> pictures of Brower sold +readily at high prices, but the avaricious Hals treated him with +increased severity, lest he should become acquainted with the value of +his talents, and leave him. This cruelty excited the pity of Adrian van +Ostade, then a pupil of Hals; and he found an opportunity of advising +Brower to make his escape, which the latter effected, and fled to +Amsterdam. Soon after arriving in that city, he painted a picture of +Boors Fighting, which he gave to the landlord of the inn where he +lodged, and requested him to sell it. The host soon returned with one +hundred ducats, which he had received for the work. The artist was +amazed at such a result of his labors, but instead of exerting his +wonderful talents, he plunged into a course of dissipation. This natural +propensity to alternate work and indulgence marked his whole life, and +involved him in many extraordinary adventures.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BROWER, THE DUKE D'AREMBERG, AND RUBENS.</h2> + + +<p>When the States-General were at war with Spain, Brower started on a +visit to Antwerp, whither his reputation had already proceeded him. +Omitting to provide himself with a passport, he was arrested as a spy, +and confined in the citadel, where the Duke d'Aremberg was imprisoned. +That nobleman lived in friendship with Rubens, who often visited him in +his confinement; and the Duke, having observed the genius of Brower, +desired Rubens to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> bring a palette and pencils, which he gave to Brower, +and the latter soon produced a representation of Soldiers playing at +Cards, which he designed from a group he had seen from his prison +window. The Duke showed the picture to Rubens, who immediately exclaimed +that it was by the celebrated Brower, whose pictures he often admired; +and he offered the Duke six hundred guilders for the work, but the +latter refused to part with it, and presented the artist with a much +larger sum. Rubens lost no time in procuring his liberty, which he did +by becoming his surety, took him into his own house, and treated him +with the greatest kindness.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DEATH OF BROWER.</h2> + + +<p>Brower did not continue long in the hospitable mansion of Rubens, whose +refined and elegant manners, love of literature, and domestic happiness +were less congenial to this erratic genius than the revels of his +pot-companions. Brower soon became weary of his situation, and returned +to his vicious habits, to which he soon fell a victim in 1640, at the +early age of 32 years. He died in the public hospital at Antwerp, and +was buried in an obscure manner; but when Rubens knew it, he had the +body reinterred, with funeral pomp, in the church of the Carmelites; and +he intended also to have erected a superb monument to his memory, had he +lived to see it executed; though Sandrart says<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> there was a magnificent +one over his tomb, with an epitaph to perpetuate his honor.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BROWER'S WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>The subjects of Brower were of the lowest order, representing the +frolics of his pot companions; but his expression is so lively and +characteristic, his coloring so transparent and brilliant, and the +passions and movements of his figures are so admirably expressed, that +his works have justly elicited the applause of the world. They are +highly valued, and in consequence of his irregular life, are exceedingly +scarce. Brower also etched a few plates in a very spirited style.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ROSA DA TIVOLI.</h2> + + +<p>The name of this artist was Philip Roos, and he was born at Frankfort in +1655. He early showed a passion for painting, and exhibited such +extraordinary talents that the Landgrave of Hesse took him under his +protection, and sent him to Italy with a pension sufficient for his +support. To facilitate his studies, he established himself at Tivoli +(whence his name), where he kept a kind of menagerie, and on account of +the number and variety of the animals, his house was called <i>Noah's +Ark</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ROSA DA TIVOLI'S WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>Rosa da Tivoli's pictures usually represent pastoral subjects, with +herdsmen and cattle, or shepherds with sheep and goats, which he +frequently painted as large as life. He designed everything from nature, +not only his animals, but the sites of his landscapes, ruins, buildings, +rocks, precipices, rivers, etc. His groups are composed with great +judgment and taste, and his landscapes, backgrounds, skies, and +distances are treated in a masterly style. His cattle and animals, in +particular, are designed with wonderful truth and spirit; his coloring +is full of force, his lights and shadows are distributed with judgment +and his touch is remarkably firm and spirited.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ROSA DA TIVOLI'S FACILITY OF EXECUTION.</h2> + + +<p>Rosa da Tivoli acquired a wonderful facility in design and execution, +for which reason he was named <i>Mercurius</i> by the Bentvogel Society. A +remarkable instance of his powers is recorded by C. le Blond, then a +student at Rome. "It happened one day," says he, "that several young +artists and myself were occupied in designing from the bassi-relievi of +the Arch of Titus, when Roos passing by, was particularly struck with +some picturesque object which caught his attention, and he requested one +of the students to accommodate him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> with a crayon and paper. What was +our surprise, when in half an hour he produced an admirable drawing, +finished with accuracy and spirit."</p> + +<p>It is also related that the Imperial Ambassador, Count Martinez, laid a +wager with a Swedish general that Roos would paint a picture of +three-quarters' size, while they were playing a game at cards; and in +less than half an hour the picture was well finished, though it +consisted of a landscape, a shepherd, and several sheep and goats.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ROSA DA TIVOLI'S HABITS.</h2> + + +<p>Rosa da Tivoli unfortunately fell into extravagant and dissipated +habits, which frequently caused him great inconvenience. From his +facility, he multiplied his pictures to such an extent as greatly to +depreciate their value. It is related that he would sit down, when +pressed for money, dispatch a large picture in a few hours, and send it +directly to be sold at any price. His servant, possessing more +discretion than his master, usually paid him the highest price offered +by the dealers, and kept the pictures himself, till he could dispose of +them to more advantage.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>LUCA CAMBIASO'S FACILITY IN PAINTING.</h2> + + +<p>The most remarkable quality of this distinguished Genoese painter was +his rapidity of operation. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> began to paint when ten years old, under +the eye of his father, Giovanni Cambiaso, who evinced good taste in +setting him to copy some works by the correct and noble Mantegna. His +progress was so rapid that at the age of seventeen he was entrusted to +decorate some façades and chambers of the Doria palace at Genoa, where +he displayed his rash facility of hand by painting the story of Niobe on +a space of wall fifty palms long and of proportionate height, without +cartoons or any drawing larger than his first hasty sketch on a single +sheet of paper! While he was engaged on this work, there came one +morning some Florentine artists to look at it. Seeing a lad enter soon +after, and commence painting with prodigious fury, they called out to +him to desist; but his mode of handling the brushes and colors, which +they had imagined it was his business merely to clean or pound, soon +convinced them that this daring youngster was no other than Luca +himself; whereupon they crossed themselves, and declared he would one +day eclipse Michael Angelo.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CAMBIASO'S WORKS IN SPAIN.</h2> + + +<p>After attaining a high reputation in Italy, Cambiaso was invited to +Madrid by Philip II. of Spain. He executed there a great number of +works, among which the most important was the vault of the choir of the +Escurial church, where he painted in fresco the "Glory of the Blessed in +Heaven." In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>stead of allowing the artist to paint from his own +conceptions, the king listened to the counsels of the monks, who +"recommended that the heavenly host should be drawn up in due +theological order." A design "more pious than picturesque" being at last +agreed upon, the painter fell to work with his wonted fury, and so +speedily covered vast spaces with a multitude of figures, that the king, +according to the expressive Italian phrase, "remained stupid," not being +able to believe that the master, with only one assistant, could have +accomplished so much. Philip often visited Cambiaso while at work, and +one day remarking that the head of St. Anne among the blessed was too +youthful, the painter replied by seizing his pencil, and with four +strokes so seamed the face with wrinkles, and so entirely altered its +air, that the royal critic once more "remained stupid," hardly knowing +whether he had judged amiss, or the change had been effected by magic. +By means of thus painting at full speed, frequently without sketches, +and sometimes with both hands at once, Cambiaso clothed the vault with +its immense fresco in about fifteen months. The coloring is still fresh, +and many of the forms are fine and the figures noble; but the +composition cannot be called pleasing. The failure must be mainly +attributed to the unlucky meddling of the friars, who have marshalled</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The helmed Cherubim,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And sworded Seraphim,"</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> + +<p>with exact military precision, ranged the celestial choir in rows like +the fiddlers of a sublunary orchestra, and accommodated the congregation +of the righteous with long benches, like those of a Methodist +meeting-house! However, the king was so well pleased with the work, that +he rewarded Cambiaso with 12,000 ducats.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CAMBIASO'S ARTISTIC MERITS.</h2> + + +<p>In the earlier part of his career, the impetuosity of his genius led him +astray; he usually painted his pictures in oil or fresco without +preparing either drawing or cartoon; and his first style was gigantic +and unnatural. Subsequently, however, he checked this impetuosity, and +it was in the middle of his life that he produced his best works. His +fertility of invention was wonderful; his genius grappled with and +conquered the most arduous difficulties of the art, and he shows his +powers in foreshortening in the most daring variety. He was rapid and +bold in design, yet was selected by Boschini as a model of correctness; +hence his drawings, though numerous, are highly esteemed. His Rape of +the Sabines, in the Palazzo Imperiali at Terralba, near Genoa, has been +highly extolled. It is a large work full of life and motion, passionate +ravishers and reluctant damsels, fine horses and glimpses of noble +architecture, with several episodes heightening the effect of the main +story. Mengs declared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> he had seen nothing out of Rome that so vividly +reminded him of the chambers of the Vatican.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>RARITY OF FEMALE PORTRAITS IN SPAIN.</h2> + + +<p>Very few female portraits are found in the Spanish collections. Their +painters were seldom brought in professional contact with the beauty of +high-born women—the finest touchstone of professional skill—and their +great portrait painters lived in an age of jealous husbands, who cared +not to set off to public admiration the charms of their spouses. +Velasquez came to reside at court about the same time that Madrid was +visited by Sir Kenelm Digby, who had like to have been slain the first +night of his arrival, for merely looking at a lady. Returning with two +friends from supper at Lord Bristol's, the adventurous knight relates in +his Private Memoirs, how they came beneath a balcony where a love-lorn +fair one stood touching her lute, and how they loitered awhile to admire +her beauty, and listen to her "soul-ravishing harmony." Their delightful +contemplations, however, were soon arrested by a sudden attack from +several armed men, who precipitated themselves upon the three Britons. +Their swords were instantly drawn, and a fierce combat ensued; but the +valiant Digby slew the leader of the band, and finally succeeded in +escaping with his companions.</p> + +<p>Of the sixty-two works by Velasquez in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> Royal Gallery at Madrid, +there are only four female portraits; and of these, two represent +children, another an ancient matron, and a fourth his own wife! The Duke +of Abuquerque, who at the door of his own palace waylaid and +horsewhipped Philip IV., and his minister Olivarez, feigning ignorance +of their persons, as the monarch came to pay a nocturnal visit to the +Duchess, was not very likely to call in the court painter to take her +Grace's portrait. Ladies lived for the most part in a sort of Oriental +seclusion, amongst duennas, waiting-women, and dwarfs; and going abroad +only to mass, or to take the air in curtained carriages on the Prado. In +such a state of things, the rarity of female portraits in the Spanish +collections was a natural consequence.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MURILLO'S PICTURES IN SPANISH AMERICA.</h2> + + +<p>It is related that this great Spanish painter visited America in early +life, and painted there many works; but the later Spanish historians +have shown that he never quitted his native country; and the +circumstance of his pictures being found in America, is best accounted +for by the following narrative. After acquiring considerable knowledge +of the art under Juan del Castillo at Seville, he determined to travel +for improvement; but how to raise the necessary funds was a matter of +difficulty, for his parents had died leaving little behind them, and his +genius had not yet recommended him to the good offices<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> of any wealthy +or powerful patron. But Murillo was not to be balked of his cherished +desires. Buying a large quantity of canvas, he divided it into squares +of various sizes, which he primed and prepared with his own hands for +the pencil, and then converted into pictures of the more popular saints, +landscapes, and flower-pieces. These he sold to the American traders for +exportation, and thus obtained a sum of money sufficient for his +purpose.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MURILLO'S "VIRGIN OF THE NAPKIN."</h2> + + +<p>The small picture which once adorned the tabernacle of the Capuchin high +altar at Seville, is interesting on account of its legend, as well as +its extraordinary artistic merits. Murillo, whilst employed at the +convent, had formed a friendship with a lay brother, the cook of the +fraternity, who attended to his wants and waited on him with peculiar +assiduity. At the conclusion of his labors, this Capuchin of the kitchen +begged for some trifling memorial of his pencil. The painter was quite +willing to comply, but said that he had exhausted his stock of canvas. +"Never mind," said the ready cook, "take this napkin," offering him that +which he had used at dinner. The good-natured artist accordingly went to +work, and before evening he had converted the piece of coarse linen into +a picture compared to which cloth of gold or the finest tissue of the +East would be accounted worthless. The Vir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>gin has a face in which +thought is happily blended with maidenly innocence; and the divine +infant, with his deep earnest eyes, leans forward in her arms, +struggling as it were almost out of the frame, as if to welcome the +carpenter Joseph home from his daily toil. The picture is colored with a +brilliancy which Murillo never excelled, glowing with a golden light, as +if the sun were always shining on the canvas. This admirable work is now +in the Museum of Seville.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ANECDOTE OF AN ALTAR-PIECE BY MURILLO.</h2> + + +<p>One of Murillo's pictures, in the possession of a society of friars in +Flanders, was bought by an Englishman for a considerable sum, and the +purchaser affixed his signature and seal to the back of the canvas, at +the desire of the venders. In due time it followed him to England, and +became the pride of his collection. Several years afterwards, however, +while passing through Belgium, the purchaser turned aside to visit his +friends the monks, when he was greatly surprised to find the beautiful +work which he had supposed was in his own possession, smiling in all its +original brightness on the very same wall where he had been first +smitten by its charms! The truth was, that the monks always kept under +the canvas an excellent copy, which they sold in the manner above +related, as often as they could find a purchaser.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MURILLO AND HIS SLAVE GOMEZ.</h2> + + +<p>Sebastian Gomez, the mulatto slave of Murillo, is said to have become +enamored of art while performing the menial offices of his master's +studio. Like Erigonus, the color grinder of Nealces, or like Pareja, the +mulatto of Velasquez, he devoted his leisure to the secret study of the +principles of drawing, and in time acquired a skill with the brush +rivalled by few of the regular scholars of Murillo. There is a tradition +at Seville, that he took the opportunity one day, when the painting room +was empty, of giving the first proof of his abilities, by finishing the +head of a Virgin, that stood ready sketched on his master's easel. +Pleased with the beauty of this unexpected interpolation, Murillo, when +he discovered the author of it, immediately promoted Gomez to the use of +those colors which it had hitherto been his task to grind. "I am indeed +fortunate, Sebastian," said the good-natured artist, "for I have not +only created pictures, but a painter."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>AN ARTIST'S LOVE ROMANCE.</h2> + + +<p>Francisco Vieira, an eminent Portuguese painter, was still a child when +he became enamored of Doña Ignez Elena de Lima, the daughter of noble +parents, who lived on friendly terms with his own and permitted the +intercourse of their children.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> The thread of their loves was broken for +a while by the departure of the young wooer to Rome, in the suite of the +Marquis of Abrantes. There he applied himself diligently to the study of +painting, under Trevisani, and carried off the first prize in the +Academy of St. Luke. On returning to Portugal, although only in his 16th +year, he was immediately appointed by King John V. to paint a large +picture of the Mystery of the Eucharist, to be used at the approaching +feast of Corpus Christi; and he also painted the king's portrait.</p> + +<p>An absence of seven years had not affected Vieira's constancy, and he +took the first opportunity of flying once more to Ignez. He was kindly +received by the Lima family, at their villa on the beautiful shores of +the Tagus, and was permitted to reside there for a while, painting the +scenery, and wooing his not unwilling mistress. When the maiden's heart +was fairly won, the parents at length interfered, and the lovers found +the old adage verified, that "the course of true love never did run +smooth." Vieira was ignominiously turned out of doors, and the fair +Ignez was shut up in the convent of St. Anna, and compelled to take the +veil.</p> + +<p>The afflicted lover immediately laid his cause before the king, but +received an unfavorable answer. Nothing daunted, he then went to Rome, +and succeeded in obtaining from the Pope a commission to the Patriarch +of Lisbon, empowering him to inquire into the facts of the case; and +that prelate's report<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> being favorable, the lover was made happy with a +bull annulling the religious vows of the nun, and authorizing their +marriage. It is uncertain how long this affair remained undecided; but a +Portuguese Jesuit having warned Vieira that at home he ran the risk of +being punished by confiscation of his property, for obtaining a bull +without the consent of the civil power, he prolonged his residence at +Rome to six years, that the affair might have time to be forgotten at +Lisbon. During this period he continued to exercise his pencil with so +much success that he was elected a member of the Academy of St. Luke.</p> + +<p>After such a probation, the energy and perseverance of the lover is +almost unparalleled. He finally ventured to return to his native Tagus, +and accomplished the object of his life. Disguising himself as a +bricklayer, he skulked about the convent where Ignez lay immured, +mingling with the workmen employed there, till he found means to open a +communication with her and concert a plan of escape. He then furnished +her with male attire, and at last successfully carried her off on +horseback (though not without a severe wound from the brother of his +bride), to another bishopric, where they were married in virtue of the +Pope's bull. After residing for some time in Spain and Italy, however, +Vieira was commanded to return to Portugal, and appointed painter to the +king. Being the best artist in that kingdom, his talents soon +obliterated the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> remembrance of his somewhat irregular marriage, and +during forty years he painted with great reputation and success for the +royal palaces at Nafra and elsewhere, for the convents, and the +collections of the nobility. It will doubtless be pleasing to the fair +readers of these anecdotes, that all this long course of outward +prosperity was sweetened by the affection of his constant wife.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ESTEBAN MARCH'S STRANGE METHOD OF STUDY.</h2> + + +<p>Estéban March, a distinguished Spanish painter of the 17th century, was +eccentric in character and violent in temperament. Battles being his +favorite subjects, his studio was hung round with pikes, cutlasses, +javelins, and other implements of war, which he used in a very peculiar +and boisterous manner. As the mild and saintly Joanes was wont to +prepare himself for his daily task by prayer and fasting, so his riotous +countryman used to excite his imagination to the proper creative pitch +by beating a drum, or blowing a trumpet, and then valiantly assaulting +the walls of his chamber with sword and buckler, laying about him, like +another Don Quixote, with a blind energy that told severely on the +plaster and furniture, and drove his terrified scholars or assistants to +seek safety in flight. Having thus lashed himself into sufficient +frenzy, he performed miracles, according to Palomino, in the field of +battle-pieces, throwing off many bold and spirited pictures of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> Pharaoh +and his host struggling in the angry waters, or mailed Christians +quelling the turbaned armies of the Crescent. Few will withhold from him +the praise of Bermudez, for brilliancy of coloring, and for the skill +with which the dust, smoke, and dense atmosphere of the combat are +depicted.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MARCH'S ADVENTURE OF THE FISH FRIED IN LINSEED OIL.</h2> + + +<p>Palomino says that March had gone out one day, leaving neither meat nor +money in the house, and was absent till past midnight, when he returned +with a few fish, which he insisted on having instantly dressed for +supper. His wife said there was no oil; and Juan Conchillos, one of his +pupils, being ordered to get some, objected that all the shops were shut +up. "Then take linseed oil," cried the impetuous March, "for, <i>por +Dios</i>, I will have these fish presently fried." The mess was therefore +served with this unwonted sauce, but was no sooner tasted than it began +to act as a vigorous emetic upon the whole party, "for indeed," gravely +writes Palomino, "linseed oil, at all times of a villainous flavor, when +hot is the very devil." Without more ado, the master of the feast threw +fish and frying-pan out of the window; and Conchillos, knowing his +humor, flung the earthen chafing-dish and charcoal after them. March was +delighted with this sally, and embracing the youth, he lifted him from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +the floor, putting him in bodily fear, as he after wards told Palomino, +that he was about to follow the coal and viands into the street. As for +the poor weary wife, she thought of her crockery, and remarking in a +matter of-fact way, "What shall we have for supper now?" went to bed; +whither her husband, pleased with the frolic of spoiling his meal and +breaking the dishes, seems to have followed her in a more complacent +mood than common.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A PAINTER'S REBUKE.</h2> + + +<p>José Antonilez, a Spanish painter, studied under Francisco Rizi at +Madrid. When the latter was occupied in preparing some new scenery for +the theatre at Buon Retiro, Antonilez spoke of him as a painter of +foot-cloths—an expression which was soon communicated to his master. +Rizi immediately administered a wholesome practical rebuke, by +commanding the attendance of Antinolez on his Majesty's service, and +ordering him to execute a piece of painting in distemper. The unlucky +wag, being quite ignorant of the mode of performing the work, and too +proud to confess it, worked for a whole day, at the end of which he had +merely spoiled a large piece of canvas. "So, sir," said Rizi, quietly, +"you see painting foot-cloths is not so easy after all;" and turning to +his servant, added, "here, boy, take this canvas and carry it to the +cistern to be washed."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A PAINTER'S RETORT COURTEOUS.</h2> + + +<p>Jean Ranc, an eminent French portrait painter, was sometimes annoyed by +impertinent and vexatious criticism. Having exhausted all his talent +upon a particular portrait, the friends of the sitter refused to be +pleased, although the sitter himself appears to have been well +satisfied. In concert with the latter, Ranc concerted a plan for a +practical retort. After privately painting a copy of the picture, he cut +the head out of the canvas, and placed it in such a position that the +original could supply the opening with his own veritable face, +undetected. After all was ready, the cavilers were invited to view the +performance, but they were no better pleased. Falling completely into +the snare, the would-be critics were going on to condemn the likeness, +when the relaxing features and hearty laughter of the supposed portrait, +speedily and sufficiently avenged the painter of their fastidiousness.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ARDEMANS AND BOCANEGRA—A TRIAL OF SKILL.</h2> + + +<p>These Spanish painters contended in 1689 for the office of Master of the +Works in the Cathedral of Granada. Bocanegra was excessively vain and +overbearing, and boasted his superiority to all the artists of his time; +but Ardemans, though a stranger in Granada, was not to be daunted, and a +trial of skill, "a duel with pencils," was accordingly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> arranged between +them, which was, that each should paint the other's portrait. Ardemans, +who was then hardly twenty-five years of age, first entered the lists, +and without drawing any outline on the canvas, produced an excellent +likeness of his adversary in less than an hour. Bocanegra, quite daunted +by this feat, and discouraged by the applause accorded to his rival by +the numerous spectators, put off his own exhibition till another day, +and in the end utterly failed in his attempt to transfer the features of +his rival to canvas. His defeat, and the jeers of his former admirers, +so overwhelmed him with mortification, that he died shortly after.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A PAINTER'S ARTIFICE TO "KEEP UP APPEARANCES."</h2> + + +<p>The Spanish painter Antonio Pereda married Doña Maria de Bustamente, a +woman of some rank, and greater pretension, who would associate only +with people of high fashion, and insisted on having a duenna in constant +waiting in her antechamber, like a lady of quality. Pereda was not rich +enough to maintain such an attendant; he therefore compromised matters +by painting on a screen an old lady sitting at her needle, with +spectacles on her nose, and so truthfully executed that visitors were +wont to salute her as they passed, taking her for a real duenna, too +deaf or too discreet to notice their entrance!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A GOOD-NATURED CRITICISM.</h2> + + +<p>Bartolomeo Carducci, who was employed in the service of the Spanish +court for many years, was expressing one day his admiration of a newly +finished picture by a brother artist, when one of his own scholars drew +his attention to a badly executed foot. "I did not observe it," replied +he, "it is so concealed by the difficult excellence of this bosom and +these hands"—a piece of kindly criticism that deserves to be recorded.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ALONSO CANO AND THE INTENDANT OF THE BISHOP OF MALAGA.</h2> + + +<p>The Bishop of Malaga, being engaged in improving his Cathedral church, +invited Cano to that city, for the purpose of designing a new tabernacle +for the high altar, and new stalls for the choir. He had finished his +plans, very much to the prelate's satisfaction, when he was privately +informed that the Intendant of the works proposed to allow him but a +very trifling remuneration. "These drawings," said Cano, "are either to +be given away, or to fetch 2,000 ducats;" and packing them up, he +mounted his mule, and took the road to Granada. The niggardly Intendant, +learning the cause of his departure, became alarmed, and sent a +messenger after him post-haste, offering him his own price for the +plans!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CANO'S LOVE OF SCULPTURE.</h2> + + +<p>Skillful as Cano was with the pencil, he loved the chisel above all his +other artistic implements. He was so fond of sculpture that, when +wearied with painting, he would take his tools, and block out a piece of +carving. A disciple one day remarking that to lay down a pencil and take +up a mallet, was a strange method of repose, he replied, "Blockhead! +don't you see that to create form and relief on a flat surface, is a +greater labor than to fashion one shape into another?"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CASTILLO'S SARCASM ON ALFARO.</h2> + + +<p>Juan de Alfaro first studied under Antonio del Castillo at Seville, and +subsequently in the school of Velasquez at Madrid. After his return to +Seville, he was wont to plume himself upon the knowledge of art which he +had acquired in the school of that great painter; and he also signed all +his pictures in a conspicuous manner, "<i>Alfaro, pinxit</i>." This was too +much for Castillo, and he accordingly inscribed his Baptism of St. +Francis, executed for the Capuchin convent, where his juvenile rival was +likewise employed, "<i>Non pinxit Alfaro</i>." Years after, Palomino became +sufficiently intimate with Alfaro, to ask him what he thought of +Castillo's sarcastic inscription. "I think," replied the unabashed +object of the jest, "that it was a great hon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>or for me, who was then a +beardless boy, to be treated as a rival by so able an artist."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>TORRES' IMITATIONS OF CARAVAGGIO.</h2> + + +<p>Matias de Torres, a Spanish painter, affected the style of Caravaggio. +His compositions were half veiled in thick impenetrable shadows, which +concealed the design, and sometimes left the subject a mystery. +Francisco de Solis was standing before one of them, in the church of +Victory at Madrid, representing a scene from the life of St. Diego, and +was asked to explain the subject depicted. "It represents," said the +witty painter, "<i>San Brazo</i>," St. Arm, nothing being distinguished but +the arm of a mendicant in the background.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PANTOJA AND THE EAGLE.</h2> + + +<p>Palomino relates that a superb eagle, of the bearded kind, having been +captured in the royal chase, near the Prado, the king (Philip III.) gave +orders to Pantoja to paint its likeness, which he did with such +truthfulness that the royal bird, on seeing it, mistook it for a real +eagle, and attacked the picture with such impetuosity that he tore it in +pieces with his beak and talons before they could secure him. The +indignant bird was then tied more carefully, and the portrait painted +over again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE PAINTER METHODIUS AND THE KING OF BULGARIA.</h2> + + +<p>Pacheco relates a remarkable effect produced by a picture from the +pencil of Methodius, who resided at Constantinople about 854. He was +invited to Nicopolis by Bogoris, king of the Bulgarians, to decorate a +banqueting-hall in his palace. That prince left the choice of his +subject to the artist, limiting him to those of a tragic or terrible +character. The sister of Bogoris, during a long captivity at +Constantinople, had become a convert to the Greek church, and greatly +desired that her brother should renounce paganism; therefore it was +probably at her instance, in this case, that Methodius painted the Last +Judgment. He succeeded in depicting the glories of the blessed and the +pains of the damned in such a fearful manner, that the heathen king was +induced in his terror to send for a Bishop, and signify his willingness +to unite with the Greek church; and the whole Bulgarian nation soon +followed his example.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>JOHN C. VERMEYEN AND CHARLES V.</h2> + + +<p>This Dutch painter was invited to Spain by Charles V., and accompanied +that monarch on his expedition to Tunis, of which he preserved some +scenes that were afterwards transferred to Brussels tapestries. He +followed the court for many years,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> and exercised his art with honor and +profit, in portrait, landscape, and sacred subjects. The palace of the +Prado was adorned with a number of his works, particularly eight +pictures representing the Imperial progresses in Germany, and Views of +Madrid, Valladolid, Naples, and London; all of which perished in the +fire of 1608. Vermeyen was an especial favorite of Charles V., who +ordered his bust to be executed in marble, "for the sake of the gravity +and nobleness of his countenance." He was very remarkable for his long +beard, which gained him the surname of <i>El Barbudo</i> or <i>Barbalonga</i>. In +fact, so very lengthy was this beard, that Descamps says the Emperor in +his playful moods used to amuse himself by treading on it, as it trailed +on the ground!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BLAS DE PRADO AND THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO.</h2> + + +<p>In 1593 the Emperor of Morocco applied to Philip II. for the loan of a +painter, to which the latter made answer that they had in Spain two +sorts of painters—the ordinary and the excellent—and desired to know +which his infidel brother preferred. "Kings should always have the +best," replied the Moor; and so Philip sent him Blas de Prado to Fez. +There he painted various works for the palace, and a portrait of the +monarch's daughter, to the great satisfaction of her father. After +keeping the artist several years in his service, the emperor finally +sent him away, with many rich gifts; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> he returned to Castile with +considerable wealth. The Academy of San Ferdinando possesses a fine work +by him, representing the Virgin and Infant seated in the clouds.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DON JUAN CARRENO</h2> + + +<p>This Spanish painter was a favorite with King Charles II. He was +painting his Majesty's portrait one day in the presence of the Queen +mother, when the royal sitter asked him to which of the knightly orders +he belonged. "To none," replied the artist, "but the order of your +Majesty's servants." "Why is this?" said Charles. The Admiral of +Castile, who was standing by, replied that he should have a cross +immediately; and on leaving the royal presence, he sent Carreño a rich +badge of Santiago, assuring him that what the king had said entitled him +to wear it. Palomino says, however, that the artist's modesty prevented +him from accepting the proffered honor. His royal master continued to +treat him with unabated regard, and would allow no artist to paint him +without Carreño's permission.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CARRENO'S COPY OF TITIAN'S ST. MARGARET.</h2> + + +<p>Palomino was one day in company with Carreño at the house of Don Pedro +de Arce, when a discussion arose about the merits of a certain copy of +Titian's St. Margaret, which hung in the room<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> After all present had +voted it execrable, Carreño quietly remarked, "It at least has the merit +of showing that no man need despair of improving in art, for I painted +it myself when I was a beginner."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CARRENO'S ABSTRACTION OF MIND.</h2> + + +<p>Being at his easel one morning with two friends, one of them, for a +jest, drank the cup of chocolate which stood untasted by his side. The +maid-servant removing the cup, Carreño remonstrated, saying that he had +not breakfasted, and on being shown that the contents were gone, +appealed to the visitors. Being gravely assured by them that he had +actually emptied the cup with his own lips, he replied, like Newton, +"Well really, I was so busy that I had entirely forgotten it."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ANECDOTE OF CESPEDES' LAST SUPPER.</h2> + + +<p>The Cathedral of Cordova still possesses his famous Supper, but in so +faded and ruinous a condition that it is impossible to judge fairly of +its merits. Palomino extols the dignity and beauty of the Saviour's +head, and the masterly discrimination of character displayed in those of +the apostles. Of the jars and vases standing in the foreground, it is +related that while the picture was on the easel, these accessories +attracted, by their exquisite finish, the attention of some visitors, to +the exclu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>sion of the higher parts of the composition, to the great +disgust of the artist. "Andres!" cried he, somewhat testily, to his +servant, "rub out these things, since after all my care and study, and +amongst so many heads, figures, hands, and expressions, people choose to +see nothing but these impertinences;" and much persuasion and entreaty +were needed to save the devoted pipkins from destruction.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ZUCCARO'S COMPLIMENT TO CESPEDES.</h2> + + +<p>The reputation which the Spanish painter Cespedes enjoyed among his +cotemporaries, is proved by an anecdote of Federigo Zuccaro. On being +requested to paint a picture of St. Margaret for the Cathedral of +Cordova, he for some time refused to comply, asking, "Where is Cespedes, +that you send to Italy for pictures?"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DONA BARBARA MARIA DE HUEVA.</h2> + + +<p>Doña Barbara Maria de Hueva was born at Madrid in 1733. Before she had +reached her twentieth year, according to Bermudez, she had acquired so +much skill in painting, that at the first meeting of the Academy of St. +Ferdinand in 1752, on the exhibition of some of her sketches, she was +immediately elected an honorary academician, and received the first +diploma issued under the royal charter. "This proud distinction," said +the president,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> "is conferred in the hope that the fair artist may be +encouraged to rival the fame of those ladies already illustrious in +art." How far this hope was realized, Bermudez has omitted to inform us.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE MIRACULOUS PICTURE OF THE VIRGIN.</h2> + + +<p>The eminent American sculptor Greenough, who has recently (1853) +departed this life, wrote several years ago a very interesting account +of a wonderful picture at Florence, from which the following is +extracted:</p> + +<p>"When you enter the church of Santissima Annunziata, at Florence, your +attention is drawn at once to a sort of miniature temple on the left +hand. It is of white marble; but the glare and flash of crimson hangings +and silver lamps scarcely allow your eye the quiet necessary to +appreciate either form or material. A picture hangs there. It is the +<i>Miraculous Annunciation</i>. The artist who was employed to paint it, had +finished all except the head of the Virgin Mary, and fell asleep before +the easel while the work was in that condition. On awakening, he beheld +the picture finished; and the short time which had elapsed, and his own +position relative to the canvas, made it clear (so says the tradition) +that a divine hand had completed a task which, to say the least, a +mortal could only attempt with despair.</p> + +<p>"Less than this has made many pictures in Italy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> the objects of +attentions which our Puritan fathers condemned as idolatrous. The +miraculous 'Annunziata' became, accordingly, the divinity of a splendid +shrine. The fame of her interposition spread far and wide, and her +tabernacle was filled with the costly offerings of the devout, the showy +tributes of the zealous. The prince gave of his abundance, nor was the +widow's mite refused; and to this day the reputation of this shrine +stands untouched among all papal devotees.</p> + +<p>"The Santissima Annunziata is always veiled, unless her interposition is +urgently demanded by the apprehension of famine, plague, cholera, or +some other public calamity. During my own residence at Florence, I have +never known the miraculous picture to be uncovered during a drought, +without the desired result immediately following. In cases of long +continued rains, its intervention has been equally happy. I have heard +several persons, rather inclined to skepticism as to the miraculous +qualities of the picture, hint that the <i>barometer</i> was consulted on +these occasions; else, say they, why was not the picture uncovered +before the mischief had gone so far? What an idea is suggested by the +bare hint!</p> + +<p>"I stood on the pavement of the church, with an old man who had himself +been educated as a priest. He had a talent for drawing, and became a +painter. As a practical painter, he was mediocre; but he was learned in +everything relating to art.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> He gradually sank from history to portrait, +from portrait to miniature, from miniature to restoration; and had the +grim satisfaction, in his old age, of mending what in his best days he +never could make—good pictures. When I knew him, he was one of the +conservators of the Royal Gallery. He led me before the shrine, and +whispered, with much veneration, the story I have related of its origin. +When I had gazed long at the picture, I turned to speak to him, but he +had left the church. As I walked through the vestibule, however, I saw +him standing near one of the pillars that adorn the façade. He was +evidently waiting for me. Me-thinks I see him now, with his face of +seventy and his dress of twenty-five, his bright black wig, his velvet +waistcoat, and glittering gold chain—his snuff-box in his hand, and a +latent twinkle in his black eyes. 'What is really remarkable in that +miraculous picture,' said he, taking me by the button, and forcing me to +bend till his mouth and my ear were exactly on a line—'What is really +remarkable about it is, that the angel who painted that Virgin, so +completely adopted the style of that epoch! Same angular, incorrect +outline! Same opaque shadows! eh? eh?' He took a pinch, and wishing me a +good appetite, turned up the Via S. Sebastiano."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER.</h2> + + +<p>"La Festra di Cattreda, or commemoration of the placing of the chair of +St. Peter, on the 18th of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> January, is one of the most striking +ceremonies, at Rome, which follow Christmas and precede the holy week. +At the extremity of the great nave of St. Peter's, behind the high +altar, and mounted upon a tribune designed or ornamented by Michael +Angelo, stands a sort of throne, composed of precious materials, and +supported by four gigantic figures. A glory of seraphim, with groups of +angels, shed a brilliant light upon its splendors. This throne enshrines +the real, plain, worm-eaten wooden chair, on which St. Peter, the prince +of the apostles, is said to have pontificated; more precious than all +the bronze, gold, and gems with which it is hidden, not only from +impious, but holy eyes, and which once only, in the flight of ages, was +profaned by mortal inspection.</p> + +<p>"The sacrilegious curiosity of the French, however, broke through all +obstacles to their seeing the chair of St. Peter. They actually removed +its superb casket, and discovered the relic. Upon its mouldering and +dusty surface were traced carvings, which bore the appearance of +letters. The chair was quickly brought into a better light, the dust and +cobwebs removed, and the inscription (for an inscription it was), +faithfully copied. The writing is in Arabic characters, and is the well +known confession of Mahometan faith—'There is but one God, and Mahomet +is his prophet.' It is supposed that this chair had been, among the +spoils of the Crusaders, offered to the church at a time when a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> taste +for antiquarian lore, and the deciphering of inscriptions, were not yet +in fashion. The story has been since hushed up, the chair replaced, and +none but the unhallowed remember the fact, and none but the audacious +repeat it. Yet such there are, even at Rome!"—<i>Ireland's Anecdotes of +Napoleon.</i></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE SAGRO CATINO, OR EMERALD DISH.</h2> + + +<p>"The church of St. Lorenzo, at Genoa, is celebrated for containing a +most sacred relic, the 'Sagro Catino,' a dish of one entire and perfect +<i>emerald</i>, said to be that on which our Saviour ate his last supper. +Such a dish in the house of a Jewish publican was a miracle in itself. +Mr. Eustace says, he looked for this dish, but found that the French, +'whose delight is brutal violence, as it is that of the lion or the +tiger,' had carried it away. And so indeed they did. But that was +nothing. The carrying off relics—the robbing of Peter to pay Paul, and +spoliating one church to enrich another—was an old trick of legitimate +conquerors in all ages; for this very '<i>dish</i>' had been carried away by +the royal crusaders, when they took <i>Cesarea</i> in Palestine, under +<i>Guillaume Embriaco</i>, in the twelfth century. In the division of spoils, +this emerald fell to the share of the <i>Genoese Crusaders</i>, into whose +holy vocation some of their old trading propensities evidently entered; +and they deemed the vulgar value, the profane price, of this treasure,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +so high, that on an emergency, they pledged it for nine thousand five +hundred livres. Redeemed and replaced, it was guarded by the <i>knights of +honor</i> called <i>Clavigeri</i>; and only escaped once a year! Millions knelt +before it, and the penalty on the bold but zealous hand that touched it +with a diamond, was a thousand golden ducats."</p> + +<p>The French seized this relic, as the crusaders had done in the twelfth +century; but instead of conveying it from the church of San Lorenzo to +the abbey of St. Denis (<i>selon les règles</i>), they most sacrilegiously +sent it to a <i>laboratory</i>. Instead of submitting it, with a traditional +story, to a <i>council of Trent</i>, they handed it over to the <i>institute of +Paris</i>; and chemists, geologists, and philosophers, were called on to +decide the fate of that relic which bishops, priests and deacons had +pronounced to be too sacred for human investigation, or even for human +touch. <i>The result of the scientific investigation was, that the emerald +dish was a piece of green glass!</i></p> + +<p>When England made the King of Sardinia a present of the dukedom of one +of the oldest republics in Europe, and restitutions were making "<i>de +part et d'autre</i>;" <i>Victor Emmanuel</i> insisted upon having his emerald +dish; not for the purpose of putting it in a cabinet of curiosities, as +they had done at Paris, to serve as a curious monument of the remote +epoch in which the art of making colored glass was known—(of its great +antiquity there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> is no doubt)—but of restoring it to its shrine at San +Lorenzo—to its guard of knights servitors—to the homage, offerings, +and bigotry of the people! with a republished assurance that this is the +invaluable <i>emerald dish</i>, the '<i>Sagro Catino</i>,' which <i>Queen Sheba</i> +offered, with other gems, to King Solomon (who deposited it, where all +gems should be, in his church), and which afterwards was reserved for a +higher destiny than even that assigned to it in the gorgeous temple of +Jerusalem. The story of the analysis by the institute of Paris is hushed +up, and those who would revive it would be branded with the odium of +blasphemy and sedition; none now remember such things, but those who are +the determined enemies of social order, or as the Genoese Royal Journal +would call them, '<i>the radicals of the age</i>.'—<i>Italy, by Lady +Morning</i>.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>"THE PAINTER OF FLORENCE."</h2> + + +<p>There is an old painting in the church of the Holy Virgin at Florence, +representing the Virgin with the infant Jesus in her arms, trampling the +dragon under her feet, about which is the following curious legend, thus +humorously described by Southey, in the Annals of the Fine Arts:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There once was a Painter in Catholic days,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Like Job who eschewed all evil,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Still on his Madonnas the curious may gaze</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With applause and amazement; but chiefly his praise</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 3em;">And delight was in painting the devil.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They were angels compared to the devils he drew,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Who besieged poor St. Anthony's cell,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such burning hot eyes, such a <i>d——mnable</i> hue,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">You could even smell brimstone, their breath was so blue</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">He painted his devils so well.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And now had the artist a picture begun,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">'Twas over the Virgin's church door;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She stood on the dragon embracing her son,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Many devils already the artist had done,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">But this must outdo all before.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The old dragon's imps as they fled through the air,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">At seeing it paused on the wing,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he had a likeness so just to a hair,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That they came as Apollyon himself had been there,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">To pay their respects to their king.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Every child on beholding it, shivered with dread,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And screamed, as he turned away quick;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Not an old woman saw it, but raising her head,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dropp'd a bead, made a cross on her wrinkles, and said,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"God help me from ugly old Nick!"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">What the Painter so earnestly thought on by day,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">He sometimes would dream of by night;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But once he was started as sleeping he lay,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twas no fancy, no dream—he could plainly survey</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">That the devil himself was in sight.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"You rascally dauber," old Beelzebub cries,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Take heed how you wrong me, again!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Though your caricatures for myself I despise,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Make me handsomer now in the multitude's eyes,</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 3em;">Or see if I threaten in vain."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now the painter was bold and religious beside,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And on faith he had certain reliance,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So earnestly he all his countenance eyed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And thanked him for sitting with Catholic pride,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And sturdily bid him defiance.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Betimes in the morning, the Painter arose,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">He is ready as soon as 'tis light;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Every look, every line, every feature he knows,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twas fresh to his eye, to his labor he goes,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And he has the wicked old one quite.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Happy man, he is sure the resemblance can't fail,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">The tip of his nose is red hot,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There's his grin and his fangs, his skin cover'd with scales</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And that—the identical curl of the tail,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Not a mark—not a claw is forgot.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He looks and retouches again with delight;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">'Tis a portrait complete to his mind!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He touches again, and again feeds his sight,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He looks around for applause, and he sees with affright,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">The original standing behind.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fool! idiot!" old Beelzebub grinned as he spoke,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And stamp'd on the scaffold in ire;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The painter grew pale, for he knew it no joke,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twas a terrible height, and the scaffolding broke;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And the devil could wish it no higher.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Help! help me, O Mary," he cried in alarm,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">As the scaffold sank under his feet,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From the canvas the Virgin extended her arm,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She caught the good painter, she saved him from harm,</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 3em;">There were thousands who saw in the street.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The old dragon fled when the wonder he spied,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And curs'd his own fruitless endeavor:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the Painter called after, his rage to deride,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shook his palette and brushes in triumph, and cried,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Now I'll paint thee more ugly than ever!"</span><br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>LEGEND OF THE PAINTER-FRIAR, THE DEVIL AND THE VIRGIN.</h2> + + +<p>Don José de Valdivielso, one of the chaplains of the gay Cardinal Infant +Ferdinand of Austria, relates the following legend in his paper on the +Tax on Pictures, appended to Carducho's Dialogos de la Pintura. A +certain young friar was famous amongst his order, for his skill in +painting; and he took peculiar delight in drawing the Virgin and the +Devil. To heighten the divine beauty of the one, and to devise new and +extravagant forms of ugliness for the other, were the chief recreations +for his leisure hours. Vexed at last by the variety and vigor of his +sketches, Beelzebub, to be revenged, assumed the form of a lovely +maiden, and crossed under this guise the path of the friar, who being of +an amorous disposition, fell at once into the trap. The seeming damsel +smiled on her shaven wooer, but though nothing loth to be won, would not +surrender her charms at a less price than certain reliquaries and jewels +in the convent treasury—a price which the friar in an evil hour +consented to pay. He admitted her at midnight within the convent walls, +and leading her to the sacristy, took from its antique cabinet the +things for which she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> had asked. Then came the moment of vengeance. +Passing in their return through the moonlit cloister as the friar stole +along, embracing the booty with one arm, and his false Duessa with the +other, the demon-lady suddenly cried out "Thieves!" with diabolical +energy, and instantly vanished. The snoring monks rushed disordered from +their cells and detected their unlucky brother making off with their +plate. Excuse being impossible, they tied the culprit to a column, and +leaving him till matins, when his punishment was to be determined, went +back to their slumbers. When all was quiet, the Devil reappeared, but +this time in his most hideous shape. Half dead with cold and terror, the +discomfited caricaturist stood shivering at his column, while his +tormentor made unmercifully merry with him; twitting him with his +amorous overtures, mocking his stammered prayers, and irreverently +suggesting an appeal for aid to the beauty he so loved to delineate. The +penitent wretch at last took the advice thus jeeringly given—when lo! +the Virgin descended, radiant in heavenly loveliness, loosened his +cords, and bade him bind the Evil One to the column in his place—an +order which he obeyed through her strength, with no less alacrity than +astonishment. She further ordered him to appear among the other monks at +table, and charged herself with the task of restoring the stolen plate +to its place. Thus the tables were suddenly turned. The friar presented +himself among his brethren in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> the morning, to their no small +astonishment, and voted with much contrition for his own condemnation—a +sentence which was reversed when they came to examine the contents of +the sacristy, and found everything correct. As to the Devil, who +remained fast bound to the pillar, he was soundly flogged, and so fell +into the pit which he had digged for another. His dupe, on the other +hand, gathered new strength from his fall, and became not only a wiser +and a better man, but also an abler artist; for the experience of that +terrible night had supplied all that was wanting to complete the ideal +of his favorite subjects. Thenceforth, he followed no more after +enticing damsels, but remained in his cloister, painting the Madonna +more serenely beautiful, and the Arch Enemy more curiously appalling +than ever.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>GERARD DOUW.</h2> + + +<p>This extraordinary artist was born at Leyden, in 1613. He was the son of +a glazier, and early exhibited a passion for the fine arts, which his +father encouraged. He received his first instruction in drawing from +Dolendo, the engraver. He was afterwards placed with Peter Kowenhoorn, +to learn the trade of a glass-stainer or painter; but disliking this +business, he became the pupil of Rembrandt when only fifteen years of +age, in whose school be continued three years. From Rembrandt he learned +the true principles of color<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>ing, to which he added a delicacy of +pencilling, and a patience in working up his pictures to the highest +degree of neatness and finish, superior to any other master. He was more +pleased with the earlier and more finished works of Rembrandt, than with +his later productions, executed with more boldness and freedom of +pencilling; he therefore conceived the project of combining the rich and +glowing colors of that master with the polish and suavity of extreme +finishing, and he adopted the method of uniting the powerful tunes and +the magical light and shadow of his instructor with a minuteness and +precision of pencilling that so nearly approached nature as to become +perfect illusion. But though his manner appears so totally different +from that of Rembrandt, yet it was to him he owed that excellence of +coloring which enabled him to triumph over all the artists of his time. +His pictures are usually of small size, with figures so exquisitely +touched, and with a coloring so harmonious, transparent, and delicate, +as to excite the astonishment and admiration of the beholder. Although +his pictures are wrought up beyond the works of any other artist, there +is still discoverable a spirited and characteristic touch that evinces +the hand of a consummate master, and a breadth of light and shadow which +is only to be found in the works of the greatest masters of the art of +chiaro-scuro. The fame acquired by Douw is a crowning proof that +excellence is not confined to any particular style or man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>ner, and had +he attempted to arrive at distinction by a bolder and less finished +pencil, it is highly probable that his fame would not have been so +great. It has been truly said that there are no positive rules by which +genius must be bounded to arrive at excellence. Every intermediate +style, from the grand and daring handling of Michael Angelo to the +laborious and patient finishing of Douw, may conduct the painter to +distinction, provided he adapts his manner to the character of the +subjects he treats.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DOUW'S STYLE.</h2> + + +<p>Douw designed everything from nature, and with such exactness that each +object appears as perfect as nature herself. He was incontestibly the +most wonderful in his finishing of all the Flemish masters, although the +number of artists of that school who have excelled in this particular +style are quite large. The pictures he first painted were portraits, and +he wrought by the aid of a concave mirror, and sometimes by looking at +the object through a frame of many squares of small silk thread. He +spent so much time in these works that, notwithstanding they were +extremely admired, his sitters became disgusted, and he was obliged to +abandon portrait painting entirely, and devote his attention to fancy +subjects, in the execution of which he could devote as much time as he +pleased. This will not appear surprising, when Sandrart informs us that, +on one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> occasion, in company with Peter de Laer, he visited Douw, and +found him at work on a picture, which they could not forbear admiring +for its extraordinary neatness, and on taking particular notice of a +broom, and expressing their surprise that he could devote so much time +in finishing so minute an object, Douw informed them that he should work +on it three days more before he should think it complete. The same +author also says that in a family picture of Mrs. Spiering, that lady +sat five days for the finishing of one of her hands, supporting it on +the arm of a chair.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DOUW'S METHOD OF PAINTING.</h2> + + +<p>His mind was naturally turned to precision and exactness, and it is +evident that he would have shown this quality in any other profession, +had he practiced another. Methodical and regular in all his habits, he +prepared and ground his own colors, and made his own brushes of a +peculiar shape, and he kept them locked up in a case made for the +purpose, that they might be free from soil. He permitted no one to enter +his studio, save a very few friends, and when he entered himself, he +went as softly as he could tread, so as not to raise the dust, and after +taking his seat, waited some time till the air was settled before he +opened his box and went to work; scarcely a breath of air was allowed to +ventilate his painting-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DOUW'S WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>Everything that came from his pencil was precious, even in his +life-time. Houbraken says that his great patron, Mr. Spiering the +banker, allowed him one thousand guilders a year, and paid besides +whatever sum he pleased to ask for his pictures, some of which he +purchased for their weight in silver; but Sandrart informs us, with more +probability, that the thousand guilders were paid to Douw by Spiering on +condition that the artist should give him the choice of all the pictures +he painted. The following description of one of Gerhard's most capital +pictures, for a long time in the possession of the family of Van Hoek, +at Amsterdam, will serve to give a good idea of his method of treating +his subjects. The picture is much larger than his usual size, being +three feet long by two feet six inches wide, inside the frame. The room +is divided into two apartments by a curtain of curiously wrought +tapestry. In one apartment sits a woman giving suck to her child; at her +side is a cradle, and a table covered with tapestry, on which is placed +a gilt lamp which lights the room. In the second apartment is a surgeon +performing an operation upon a countryman, and by his side stands a +woman holding some utensils. The folding doors on one side shows a +study, and a man making a pen by candle light; and on the other, a +school, with boys writing, and sitting at different tables. The whole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +is lighted in an agreeable and surprising manner; every object is +expressed with beauty and astonishing force. Nor does the subject appear +too crowded, for it was one of his peculiar talents to show, in a small +compass, more than other painters could do in a much larger space. His +pictures are generally confined to a few figures, and sometimes to a +single one, and when he attempted larger compositions, he was generally +less successful. The works of this artist are not numerous, from the +immense labor and time he bestowed upon a single one; and from this +circumstance, and the estimation in which they are held by the curious +collectors, they have ever commanded enormous prices. They were always +particularly admired in France, in the days of Napoleon, there were no +less than seventeen of his pictures gathered into the Louvre, most of +which were, after his downfall, restored to their original proprietors, +among which was the famous Dropsical Woman, from the collection of the +King of Sardinia. At Turin, are several pictures by Douw, the most +famous of which is the one just named—the Dropsical Woman, attended by +her physician, who is examining an urinal. This picture is wonderfully +true to nature, and each particular hair and pore of the skin is +represented. In the gallery at Florence is one of his pictures, +representing an interior by candle-light, with a mountebank, surrounded +by a number of clowns, which is exquisitely finished. The great fame of +Gerhard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> Douw, and the eager desire for his works, have given rise to +numerous counterfeits. We may safely say that there is not an original +picture by this artist in the United States. Douw died, very rich, in +1674.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ALBERT DURER.</h2> + + +<p>This extraordinary artist was born at Nuremberg in 1471. His father was +a skillful goldsmith, from Hungary, and taught his son the first +rudiments of design, intending him for his own profession; but his early +and decided inclination for the arts and sciences induced him to permit +young Durer to follow the bent of his genius. He received his first +instruction in painting and engraving from Martin Hapse. When he had +reached the age of fourteen, it was his father's intention to have +placed him under the instruction of Martin Schoen, of Colmar, the most +distinguished artist of his time in Germany, but the death of the latter +happening about that time, he became a pupil of Michael Wolgemut, in +1486, the first artist then in Nuremberg, with whom he studied +diligently four years. He also cultivated the study of perspective, the +mathematics, and architecture, in all of which he acquired a profound +knowledge. Having finished his studies, he commenced his travels in +1490, and spent four years in traveling through Germany, the +Netherlands, and the adjacent counties and provinces. On his return to +Nuremberg,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> in 1494, he ventured to exhibit his works to the public, +which immediately attracted great attention. His first work was a piece +of the Three Graces, represented by as many female figures, with a globe +over their heads. He soon after executed one of his masterpieces, a +drawing of Orpheus. About this time, to please his father, as it is +said, he married the daughter of Hans Fritz, a celebrated mechanic, who +proved a fierce Xantippe, and embittered, and some say shortened his +life. In 1506, he went to Venice to improve himself, where his abilities +excited envy and admiration. Here he painted the Martyrdom of St. +Bartholomew for the church of S. Marco, which was afterwards purchased +by the Emperor Rodolphus, and removed to Prague. He also went to +Bologna, and returned home in 1507. This journey to Italy had no effect +whatever upon his style, though doubtless he obtained much information +that was valuable to him, for at this period commenced the proper era of +his greatness.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DURER'S WORKS AS A PAINTER.</h2> + + +<p>Though Durer was most famous as an engraver, yet he executed many large +paintings, which occupy a distinguished place in the royal collections +of Germany, and other European countries. In the imperial collection at +Munich are some of the most celebrated, as Adam and Eve, the Adoration +of the Magi, the Crucifixion—a grand composition—the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> Crowning of the +Virgin, the Battle between Alexander and Darius, and many other great +works. Durer painted the Wise Men's Offering, two pictures of the +Passion of Christ, and an Assumption of the Virgin, for a monastery of +Frankfort, which proved a source of income to the monks, from the +presents they received for exhibiting them. The people of Nuremberg +still preserve, in the Town Hall, his portraits of Charlemagne and some +Emperors of the House of Austria, with the Twelve Apostles, whose +drapery is remarkable for being modern German, instead of Oriental. He +sent his own portrait to Raffaelle, painted on canvas, without any +coloring or touch of the pencil, only heightened with shades and white, +yet exhibiting such strength and elegance that the great artist to whom +it was presented expressed the greatest surprise at the sight of it. +This piece, after the death of Raffaelle, fell into the possession of +Giulio Romano, who placed it among the curiosities of the palace of +Mantua. Besides the pictures already mentioned, there is by him an Ecce +Homo at Venice, his own portrait, and two pictures representing St. +James and St. Philip, and an Adam and Eve in the Florentine Gallery. +There are also some of his works in the Louvre, and in the royal +collections in England. As a painter, it has been observed of Durer that +he studied nature only in her unadorned state, without attending to +those graces which study and art might have afforded him; but his +imagina<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>tion was lively, his composition grand, and his pencil delicate. +He finished his works with exact neatness, and he was particularly +excellent in his Madonnas, though he encumbered them with heavy +draperies. He surpassed all the painters of his own country, yet he did +not avoid their defects—such as dryness and formality of outline, the +want of a just degradation of the tints, an expression without +agreeableness, and draperies broad in the folds, but stiff in the forms. +He was no observer of the propriety of costume, and paid so little +attention to it that he appears to have preferred to drape his saints +and heroes of antiquity in the costume of his own time and country. +Fuseli observes that "the coloring of Durer went beyond his age, and in +his easel pictures it as far excelled the oil color of Raffaelle in +juice, and breadth, and handling, as Raffaelle excelled him in every +other quality."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DURER'S WORKS AS AN ENGRAVER.</h2> + + +<p>Durer derived most of his fame from his engravings, and he is allowed to +have surpassed every artist of his time in this branch of art. Born in +the infancy of the art, he carried engraving to a perfection that has +hardly been surpassed. When we consider that, without any models worthy +of imitation, he brought engraving to such great perfection, we are +astonished at his genius, and his own resources. Although engraving has +had the advan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>tage and experience of more than three centuries, it would +perhaps be difficult to select a specimen of executive excellence +surpassing his print of St. Jerome, engraved in 1514. He had a perfect +command of the graver, and his works are executed with remarkable +neatness and clearness of stroke; if we do not find in his plates that +boldness and freedom desirable in large historical works, we find in +them everything that can be wished in works more minute and finished, as +were his. To him is attributed the invention of etching; and if he was +not the inventor, he was the first who excelled in the art. He also +invented the method of printing wood-cuts in chiaro-scuro, or with two +blocks. His great mathematical knowledge enabled him to form a regular +system of rules for drawing and painting with geometrical precision. He +had the power of catching the exact expression of the features, and of +delineating all the passions. Although he was well acquainted with the +anatomy of the human figure, and occasionally designed it correctly, his +contours are neither graceful nor pleasing, and his prints are never +entirely divested of the stiff and formal taste that prevailed at the +time, both in his figures and drapery. Such was his reputation, both at +home and abroad, that Marc' Antonio Raimondi counterfeited his Passion +of Christ, and the Life of the Virgin at Venice, and sold them for the +genuine works of Durer. The latter, hearing of the fraud, was so +exasperated that he set out for Venice,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> where he complained to the +government of the wrong that had been done him by the plagiarist, but he +could obtain no other satisfaction than a decree prohibiting Raimondi +from affixing Durer's monogram or signatures to these copies in future. +Vasari says that when the prints of Durer were first brought into Italy, +they incited the painters there to elevate themselves in that branch of +art, and to make his works their models.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DURER'S FAME AND DEATH.</h2> + + +<p>The fame of Durer spread far and wide in his life-time. The Emperor +Maximillian I. had a great esteem for him, and appointed him his court +painter, with a liberal pension, and conferred on him letters of +nobility; Charles V., his successor, confirmed him in his office, +bestowing upon him at the same time the painter's coat of arms, viz., +three escutcheons, argent, in a deep azure field. Ferdinand, King of +Hungary, also bestowed upon him marked favors and liberality. Durer was +in favor with high and low. All the artists and learned men of his time +honored and loved him, and his early death in 1528 was universally +lamented.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DURER'S HABITS AND LITERARY WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>Durer always lived in a frugal manner, without the least ostentation for +the distinguished favors heaped upon him. He applied himself to his +profession with the most constant and untiring industry, which, together +with his great knowledge, great facility of mechanical execution, and a +remarkable talent for imitation, enabled him to rise to such +distinction, and to exert so powerful an influence on German art for a +great length of time. He was the first artist in Germany who practiced +and taught the rules of perspective, and of the proportions of the human +figure, according to mathematical principles. His treatise on +proportions is said to have resulted from his studies of his picture of +Adam and Eve. His principal works are <i>De Symmetria partium in rectis +formis humanorum corporum</i>, printed at Nuremberg in 1532; and <i>De +Verieitate Figurarum, et flexuris partium, et Gestibus Imaginum</i>; 1534. +These works were written in German, and after Durer's death translated +into Latin. The figures illustrating the subjects were executed by +Durer, on wood, in an admirable manner. Durer had also much merit as a +miscellaneous writer, and labored to purify and elevate the German +language, in which he was assisted by his friend, W. Pirkheimer. His +works were published in a collected form at Arnheim, in 1603, folio, in +Latin and in French. J. J. Roth wrote a life of Durer, published at +Leipsic in 1791.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>LUDOLPH BACKHUYSEN.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent painter was born in 1631. His father intended him for the +mercantile profession, but nature for a marine painter. His passion for +art induced him to neglect his employer's business, with whom his father +had placed him, and to spend his time in drawing, and in frequenting the +studios of the painters at Amsterdam. His fondness for shipping led him +frequently to the port of the city, where he made admirable drawings of +the vessels with a pen, which were much sought after by the collectors, +and were purchased at liberal prices. Several of his drawings were sold +at 100 florins each. This success induced him to paint marine subjects. +His first essays were successful, and his pictures universally admired. +While painting, he would not admit his most intimate friends to his +studio, lest his fancy might be disturbed. He hired fishermen to take +him out to sea in the most tremendous gales, and on landing, he would +run impatiently to his palette to secure the grand impressions of the +views he had just witnessed. He has represented that element in its most +terrible agitation, with a fidelity that intimidates the beholder. His +pictures on these subjects have raised his reputation even higher than +that of W. van de Velde; although the works of the later, which +represent the sea at rest, or in light breezes, are much superior, and +indeed inimitable. His pictures are dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>tinguished for their admirable +perspective, correct drawing, neatness and freedom of touch, and +remarkable facility of execution. For the burgomasters of Amsterdam, he +painted a large picture with a multitude of vessels, and a view of the +city in the distance; for which they gave him 1,300 guilders, and a +handsome present. This picture was presented to the King of France, who +placed it in the Louvre. The King of Prussia visited Backhuysen, and the +Czar Peter took delight in seeing him paint, and often endeavored to +make drawings after vessels which the artist had designed.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>JOHN BAPTIST WEENIX, THE ELDER.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent Dutch painter was born at Amsterdam in 1621. He possessed +extraordinary and varied talents. He painted history, portraits, +landscapes, sea-ports, animals, and dead game, in all which branches he +showed uncommon ability; but his greatest excellence lay in painting +Italian sea-ports, of a large size, enriched with noble edifices, and +decorated with figures representing embarkations and all the activity of +commercial industry. In these subjects he has scarcely been surpassed +except by his pupil, Nicholas Berghem.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>WEENIX'S FACILITY OF HAND.</h2> + + +<p>Houbraken relates several instances of his remarkable facility of hand. +He frequently painted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> a large landscape and inserted all the figures in +a single day—feats so much admired in Salvator Rosa, and Gaspar +Ponssin. On one occasion he commenced and finished three portraits, on +canvass, of three-quarters size, with heads as large as life, from +sun-rise to sun-set, on a summer's day. Lanzi warns all artists, +especially the youthful aspirant, not to imitate such expedition, as +they value their reputation.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>JOHN BAPTIST WEENIX, THE YOUNGER.</h2> + + +<p>Was the son of the preceding, and born at Amsterdam in 1644. Possessing +less varied talent than his father; he was unrivaled in painting all +sorts of animals, huntings, dead games, birds, flowers, and fruit. He +was appointed Court painter to the Elector Palatine, with a liberal +pension, and decorated his palace at Bernsberg with many of his choicest +works. He painted in one gallery a series of pictures representing the +Hunting of the Stag; and in another the Chase of the Wild Boar, which +gained him the greatest applause. There are many of his best works in +the Dusseldorf Gallery. He painted all kinds of birds and fowls in an +inimitable manner; the soft down of the duck, the glossy plumage of the +pigeon, the splendor of the peacock, the magnificent spread of an +inanimate swan producing a flood of light, and serving as a contrast to +all the objects around it, are so attractive that it is impossible to +contemplate one of his pictures of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> these subjects without feeling +admiration and delight at the painter's skill in rivaling nature.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>JAN STEEN.</h2> + + +<p>The life of this extraordinary artist, if we are to believe his +biographers, is soon told. He was born at Leyden in 1636. He early +exhibited a passion for art, which his father, a wealthy brewer of that +city, endeavored to restrain, and afterwards apprehending that he could +not procure a comfortable subsistence by the exercise of his pencil, +established him in his own business at Delft, where, instead of +attending to his affairs, he gave himself up to dissipation, and soon +squandered his means and ruined his establishment; his indulgent parent, +after repeated attempts to reclaim him, was compelled to abandon him to +his fate. He opened a tavern, which proved more calamitous than the +former undertaking. He gave himself up entirely to reveling and +intoxication, wrought only when his necessities compelled him, and sold +his pictures to satisfy his immediate wants, and often for the most +paltry prices to escape arrest.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>JAN STEEN'S WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>The pictures of Jan Steen usually represent merry-makings, and the +frolics and festivities of the ale-house, which he treated with a +characteristic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> expression of humorous drollery, that compensated for +the vulgarity of his subjects. He sometimes painted interiors, domestic +assemblies, conversations, mountebanks, etc., which he generally +accompanied with some facetious trait of wit or humor, admirably +rendered. Some of his works of this description are little inferior to +the charming productions of Gabriel Metzu. His compositions are +ingenious and interesting, his design is correct and spirited, his +coloring chaste and clear, and his pencil free and decided. He also had +a good knowledge of the chiaro-scuro, which enabled him to give his +figures a fine relief. His works are invariably finished with care and +diligence, and do not betray any haste or infirmity of hand or head. It +is evident that, from some untoward circumstance, his works were not +appreciated in his day, but after his death they rose amazingly in +value, and have continued to increase ever since,—a true test of a +master's merit—till now they are scarcely to be found except in royal +and noble collections and the public galleries of Europe. His pictures +were, for a long time, scarcely known out of Holland, but now they are +deservedly placed in the choicest collections. His works are very +numerous, sufficient to have continually occupied the life time of not +only a sober and industrious artist, but one possessing great facility +of hand. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonné, vol. iv. and Supplement, +gives a descriptive account of upwards of 300 genuine pictures by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +Steen, many of them compositions of numerous figures, and almost all of +them executed with the greatest care. It cannot be believed that a man +living in a state of continued dissipation and inebriety, could find +time to produce so many admirable works, displaying, as they do, a deep +study of human nature, and a great discrimination of character, or that +the hand of a habitual drunkard could operate with such beauty and +precision. Nor is it probable that a mind besotted by drink, and debased +by low intercourse, could moralize so admirably as he has done on the +evil consequences of intemperance and the indulgence of evil passions.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>KUGLER'S CRITIQUE ON THE WORKS OF JAN STEEN.</h2> + + +<p>Dr Kügler, a judicious critic, thus sums up his character as an artist: +"The works of Jan Steen imply a free and cheerful view of common life, +and he treats it with a careless humor, such as seems to deal with all +its daily occurrences, high and low, as a laughable masquerade and a +mere scene of perverse absurdity. His treatment of the subjects differed +essentially from that adopted by other artists. Frequently, indeed, they +are the same jolly drinking parties, or the meetings of boors; but in +other masters the object is, for the most part, to depict a certain +situation, either quiet or animated, whilst in Jan Steen is generally to +be found action<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> more or less developed, together with all the +reciprocal relations and interests between the characters which spring +from it. This is accompanied by great variety and force of individual +expression, such as evinces the sharpest observation. He is almost the +only artist in the Netherlands who has thus, with true genius, brought +into full play all these elements of comedy. His technical execution +suits his design; it is carefully finished, and notwithstanding the +closest attention to minute details, it is as firm and correct as it is +light and free."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>FROLICS OF MIERIS AND JAN STEEN.</h2> + + +<p>Sandrart says that Mieris had a real friendship for Jan Steen, and +delighted in his company, though he was by no means fond of drinking as +freely as Jan was accustomed to do every evening at the tavern. +Notwithstanding this, he often passed whole nights with his friend in a +joyous manner, and frequently returned very late to his lodging. One +evening, when it was very dark and almost midnight, as Mieris strolled +home from the tavern, he unluckily fell into the common sewer, which had +been opened for the purpose of cleansing, and the workmen had left +unguarded. There he must have perished, had not a cobbler and his wife, +who worked in a neighboring stall, heard his cries and instantly ran to +his relief. Having extricated Mieris, they took all possible care of +him, and procured the best refresh<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>ment in their power. The next morning +Mieris, having thanked his preservers, took his leave, but particularly +remarked the house, that he might know it another time. The poor people +were totally ignorant of the person whom they had relieved, but Mieris +had too grateful a heart to forget his benefactors, and having painted a +picture in his best manner, he brought it to the cobbler and his wife, +telling them it was a present from the person whose life they had +contributed to save, and desired them to carry it to his friend +Cornelius Plaats, who would give them the full value for it. The woman, +unacquainted with the real worth of the present, concluded she might +receive a moderate gratuity for the picture, but her astonishment was +inexpressible, when she received the sum of eight hundred florins.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SIR ANTHONY MORE.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent painter was born at Utrecht, in 1519. In 1552, he +accompanied the Cardinal Granville to Spain, who recommended him to the +patronage of the Emperor Charles V., whose portrait he painted, and that +of Prince Philip, which gave so much satisfaction to the monarch, that +he sent him to Portugal, to paint the portraits of King John III., +Catherine of Austria his Queen, and sister to Charles, and that of their +daughter, the Princess Donna Maria, then contracted to Philip; he also +painted the portrait of Donna Catalina, Charles' younger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> sister; all of +which gave entire satisfaction, and the artist was munificently +rewarded, and the honor of knighthood conferred on him. The Emperor next +despatched More to England to take the portrait of the princess Mary +previous to her marriage with Philip of Spain. On this occasion, he is +said to have employed all the flattering aids of his art, and so +captivated the courtiers of Spain, with the charms of Mary's person, +that he was employed by Cardinal Granville and several of the grandees +to make copies of it for them. He accompanied Philip to England, where +he remained till the death of Queen Mary, who highly honored him, +presented him a gold chain, and allowed him a pension of £100 a year. +The Emperor Charles V. having abdicated in favor of his son Philip II., +the latter returned to Spain, and made More his court-painter, where his +talents procured him great respect and abundant employment.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SIR ANTHONY MORE AND PHILIP II.</h2> + + +<p>Philip II. was accustomed to honor More by frequent visits to his +studio, on which occasions he treated him with extraordinary +familiarity. One day, in a moment of condescension and admiration, the +monarch jocosely slapped More on the shoulder which compliment the +painter, in an unguarded moment, playfully returned by smearing his hand +with a little carmine from his brush. The King<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> withdrew his hand and +surveyed it for a moment, seriously; the courtiers were petrified with +horror and amazement; the hand to which ladies knelt before they had the +honor to kiss it, had never before been so dishonored since the +foundation of the monarchy; at that moment the fate of More was balanced +on a hair; he saw his rashness, fell on his knees, kissed the King's +feet, and humbly begged pardon for the offence. Philip smiled, and +pardoned him, and all seemed to be well again; but the person of the +King was too sacred in those days, and the act too daring to escape the +notice of the Inquisition, from whose bigotry and vengeance the King +himself could not have shielded him. Happily for More, one of Philip's +ministers advised him of his danger, and without loss of time he set out +for Brussels, upon the feigned pretence of pressing engagements, nor +could Philip ever induce him to return to his court.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MORE'S SUCCESS AND WORKS.</h2> + + +<p>More was employed by most of the princes of Europe, who liberally +rewarded him, and at every court his paintings were beheld with +admiration and applause, but at none more than at those of Spain and +England. He acquired an ample fortune. When he was in Portugal, the +nobility of that country, in token of their esteem, presented him, in +the name of their order, a gold chain valued at a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> thousand ducats. He +closely imitated nature. He designed and painted in a bold, masculine +style, with a rich tone of coloring; he showed a good knowledge of the +chiaro-scuro, and he finished his pictures with neatness and care; his +style is said to resemble that of Hans Holbein, though not possessing +his delicacy and clearness; and there is something dry and hard in his +manner. His talents were not confined to portraits; he painted several +historical subjects in Spain for the Royal Collection, which were highly +applauded, but which were unfortunately destroyed in the conflagration +of the palace of the Prado. While he resided in Spain, he copied some +portraits of illustrious women, in a style said to approach Titian. His +own portrait, painted by himself, charmingly colored, and full of life +and nature, is in the Florentine Gallery. His best work was a picture of +the Circumcision, intended for the Cathedral at Antwerp, but he did not +live to finish it, and died there in 1575.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF A PAINTER.</h2> + + +<p>John Griffier, a Dutch painter of celebrity, went to London in 1667, +where he met with great encouragement. While there he painted many views +on the Thames, and in order to observe nature more attentively, he +bought a yacht, embarked his family, and spent his whole time on the +river. After several years he sailed for Holland in his frail craft<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> but +was wrecked in the Texel, where, after eight days of suffering, he and +his family barely escaped with their lives, having lost all his +paintings, and the fruits of his industry. This mishap cured him of his +passion for the sea.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ANECDOTE OF JOHN DE MABUSE.</h2> + + +<p>An amusing anecdote is related of this eminent painter. He was +inordinately given to dissipation, and spent all his money, as fast as +he earned it, in carousing with his boon companions. He was for a long +time in the service of the Marquess de Veren, for whom he executed some +of his most capital works. It happened on one occasion that the Emperor +Charles V. made a visit to the Marquess, who made magnificent +preparations for his reception, and among other things ordered all his +household to be dressed in white damask. When the tailor came to measure +Mabuse, he desired to have the damask, under the pretence of inventing a +singular habit. He sold it immediately, spent the money, and then +painted a paper suit, so like damask that it was not distinguished as he +walked in procession between a philosopher and a poet, other pensioners +of the Marquess; but the joke was too good to be kept, so his friends +betrayed him to the Marquess, who, instead of being displeased was +highly diverted, and asked the Emperor which of the three suits he liked +best. The Emperor pointed to that of Ma<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>buse, as excelling in whiteness +and beauty of the flowers; and when he was told of the painter's +stratagem, he would not believe it, till he had examined it with his own +hands.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CAPUGNANO AND LIONELLO SPADA.</h2> + + +<p>Lanzi relates the following amusing anecdote of Giovanni da Capugnano, +an artist of little merit, but whose assurance enabled him to attract +considerable attention in his day. "Misled by a pleasing self-delusion, +he believed himself born to become a painter; like that ancient +personage, mentioned by Horace, who imagined himself the owner of all +the vessels that arrived in the Athenian port. His chief talent lay in +making crucifixes, to fill up the angles, and in giving a varnish to the +balustrades. Next, he attempted landscape in water-colors, in which were +exhibited the most strange proportions; of houses less than the men; +these last smaller than his sheep; and the sheep again than his birds. +Extolled, however, in his own district, he determined to leave his +native mountains, and figure on a wider theatre at Bologna; there he +opened his house, and requested the Caracci, the only artists he +believed to be more learned than himself, to furnish him with a pupil, +whom he intended to polish in his studio. Lionello Spada, an admirable +wit, accepted this invitation; he went and copied designs, affecting the +utmost obsequious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>ness towards his master. At length, conceiving it time +to put an end to the jest, he left behind him a most exquisite painting +of Lucretia, and over the entrance of the chamber some fine satirical +octaves, in apparent praise, but real ridicule of Capugnano. His worthy +master only accused Lionello of ingratitude, for having acquired from +him in so short a space the art of painting so beautifully from his +designs; but the Caracci at last acquainted him with the joke, which +acted as a complete antidote to his folly."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>MICHAEL ANGELO DA CARAVAGGIO—HIS QUARRELSOME DISPOSITION.</h2> + + +<p>Caravaggio possessed a very irascible and roving disposition. At the +height of his popularity at Rome, he got into a quarrel with one of his +own young friends, in a tennis-court, and struck him dead with a racket, +having been severely wounded himself in the affray. He fled to Naples, +where he executed some of his finest pictures, but he soon got weary of +his residence there, and went to Malta. Here his superb picture of the +Grand Master obtained for him the Cross of Malta, a rich gold chain, +placed on his neck by the Grand Master's own hands, and two slaves to +attend him. All these honors did not prevent the new knight from falling +back into old habits. "<i>Il suo torbido ingegno</i>," says Bellori, plunged +him into new difficulties; he fought and wounded a noble cavalier, was +thrown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> into prison, from which he escaped almost by a miracle, and fled +to Syracuse, where he obtained the favor of the Syracusans by painting a +splendid picture of the Santa Morte, for the church of S. Lucia. In +apprehension of being taken by the Knights of Malta, he soon fled to +Messina, thence to Palermo, and returned to Naples, where hopes were +held out to him of the Pope's pardon. Here he got into a quarrel with +some military men in a public house, was wounded, and took refuge on +board a felucca, about to sail for Rome. Stopping at a small port on the +way, he was arrested by a Spanish guard, by mistake, for another person; +when released, he found the felucca gone, and in it all his property. +Traversing the burning shore, under an almost vertical sun, he was +seized with a brain fever, and continued to wander through the Pontine +Marshes till he arrived at Porto Ercoli, when he expired, aged forty +years.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>JACOPO AMICONI.</h2> + + +<p>Giacomo Amiconi, a Venetian painter, went to England, in 1729, where he +was first employed by Lord Tankerville to paint the staircase of his +palace in St. James' Square. He there represented the stories of +Achilles, Telemachus and Tiresias, which gained him great applause. When +he was to be paid, he produced his bills of the workmen for scaffolding, +materials, &c., amounting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> to £90, and asked no more, saying that he was +content with the opportunity of showing what he could do. The peer, +however, gave him £200 more. This brought him into notice, and he was +much employed by the nobility to decorate their houses.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PAINTING THE DEAD.</h2> + + +<p>Giovanni Baptista Gaulli, called Baciccio, one of the most eminent +Genoese painters, was no less celebrated for portraits than for history. +Pascoli says he painted no less than seven different Pontiffs, besides +many illustrious personages. Possessing great colloquial powers, he +engaged his sitters in the most animated conversation, and thus +transferred their features to his canvas, so full of life and +expression, that they looked as though they were about to speak to the +beholder. He also had a remarkable talent of painting the dead, so as to +obtain an exact resemblance of deceased persons whom he had never seen. +For this purpose, he drew a face at random, afterwards altering it in +every feature, by the advice and under the inspection of those who had +known the original, till he had improved it to a striking likeness.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>TADDEO ZUCCARO.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent painter was born at San Angiolo, in the Duchy of Urbino, in +1529. At a very early age he evinced a passion for art and a precocious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> +genius. After having received instruction from his father, a painter of +little note, his extraordinary enthusiasm induced him, at fourteen years +of age, to go to Rome, without a penny in his pocket, where he passed +the day in designing, from the works of Raffaelle. Such was his poverty, +that he was compelled to sleep under the loggie of the Chigi palace; he +contrived to get money enough barely to supply the wants of nature, by +grinding colors for the shops. Undaunted by difficulties that would have +driven a less devoted lover of the art from the field, he pursued his +studies with undiminished ardor, till his talents and industry attracted +the notice of Daniello da Por, an artist then in repute, who generously +relieved his wants and gave him instruction. From that time he made +rapid progress, and soon acquired a distinguished reputation, but he +died at Rome in 1566, in the prime of life.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ZUCCARO'S RESENTMENT.</h2> + + +<p>Federigo Zuccaro, the brother of Taddeo, was employed by Pope Gregory +XIII. in the Pauline chapel. While proceeding with his work, however, he +fell out with some of the Pope's officers; and conceiving himself +treated with indignity, he painted an allegorical picture of Calumny, +introducing the portraits of all those individuals who had offended him, +decorated with asses' ears. This he caused to be exhibited publicly over +the gate of St. Luke's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> church, on the festival day of that Saint. His +enemies, upon this, made such complaints that he was forced to fly from +Rome, and passing into France, he visited Flanders and England. As soon +as the pontiff was appeased, he returned to Rome, and completed his work +in the Pauline chapel, fortunate in not losing his head as the price of +such a daring exploit.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ROYAL CRITICISM.</h2> + + +<p>Federigo Zuccaro was invited to Madrid by Philip II. to execute some +frescos in the lower cloister of the Escurial, which, failing to give +satisfaction to his royal patron, were subsequently effaced, and their +place supplied by Pellegrino Tibaldi; the king nevertheless munificently +rewarded him. One day, as he was displaying a picture of the Nativity, +which he had painted for the great altar of the Escurial, for the +inspection of the monarch, he said, "Sire, you now behold all that art +can execute; beyond this which I have done, the powers of painting +cannot go." The king was silent for some time; his countenance betrayed +neither approbation nor contempt; at last, preserving the same +indifference, he quietly asked the painter what <i>those things</i> were in +the basket of one of the shepherds in the act of running? He replied +they were eggs. "It is well then, that he did not break them," said the +king, as he turned on his way—a just rebuke for such fulsome +self-adulation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PIETRO DA CORTONA.</h2> + + +<p>The name of this illustrious painter and architect was Berrettini, and +he was born at Cortona, near Florence, in 1596. At the age of fourteen +he went to Rome, where he studied the works of Raffaelle and Caravaggio +with the greatest assiduity. It is said that at first he betrayed but +little talent for painting, but his genius burst forth suddenly, to the +astonishment of those companions who had laughed at his incapacity; this +doubtless was owing to his previous thorough course of study. While yet +young, he painted two pictures for the Cardinal Sacchetti, representing +the Rape of the Sabines, and a Battle of Alexander, which gained him so +much celebrity that Pope Urban VIII. commissioned him to paint a chapel +in the church of S. Bibiena, where Ciampelli was employed. The latter at +first regarded with contempt the audacity of so young a man's daring to +attempt so important a public work, but Cortona had no sooner commenced +than Ciampelli's disgust changed to admiration of his abilities. His +success in this performance gained him the celebrated work of the +ceiling of the grand saloon in the Barberini palace, which is considered +one of the greatest productions of the kind ever executed. Cortona was +invited to Florence by the Grand Duke Ferdinand II., to paint the saloon +and four apartments in the Pitti palace, where he represented the +Clemency of Alexander<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> to the family of Darius, the Firmness of Porsena, +the Continence of Cyrus, the History of Massanissa, and other subjects. +While thus employed, the Duke, one day, having expressed his admiration +of a weeping child which he had just painted, Cortona with a single +stroke of his pencil made it appear laughing, and with another restored +it to its former state; "Prince," said he, "you see how easily children +laugh and cry." Disgusted with the intrigues of some artists jealous of +his reputation, he left Florence abruptly, without completing his works, +and the Grand Duke could never persuade him to return. On his return to +Rome, he abounded with commissions, and Pope Alexander VII. honored him +with the order of the Golden Spur. Cortona was also distinguished as an +architect. He made a design for the Palace of the Louvre, which was so +highly approved by Louis XIV. that he sent him his picture richly set in +jewels. Cortona was a laborious artist, and though tormented with the +gout, and in affluent circumstances, he continued to paint till his +death, in 1699.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>"KNOW THYSELF."</h2> + + +<p>Mario Ballassi, a Florentine painter born in 1604, studied successively +under Ligozzi, Roselli, and Passignano; he assisted the latter in the +works he executed at Rome for Pope Urban XIII. His chief talent lay in +copying the works of the great mas<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>ters, which he did to admiration. Don +Taddeo Barberini employed him to copy the Transfiguration of Raffaelle, +for the Church of the Conception, in which he imitated the touch and +expression of the original in so excellent a manner as to excite the +surprise of the best judges at Rome. At the recommendation of the +Cardinal Piccolomini, he was introduced to the Emperor Ferdinand III., +who received him in an honorable manner. Elated with his success, he +vainly imagined that if he could imitate the old masters, he could also +equal them in an original style of his own. He signally failed in the +attempt, which brought him into as much contempt as his former works had +gained him approbation.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BENVENUTO CELLINI.</h2> + + +<p>This eminent sculptor and famous medalist was in high favor with Clement +VII., who took him into his service. During the time of the Spanish +invasion, Cellini asked the Pope for absolution for certain homicides +which "he believed himself to have committed in the service of the +church." The Pope absolved him, and, to save time, he added an +absolution in <i>prospectu</i>, "for all the homicides thereafter which the +said Benvenuto might commit in the same service." On another occasion, +Cellini got into a broil, and committed a homicide that was not in the +service of the church. The friends of the deceased insisted upon condign +punishment, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> presumed to make some mention to the Pope about "the +laws;" upon which the successor of St. Peter, knowing that it was easier +to hang than to replace such a man, assumed a high tone, and told the +complainants that "men who were masters of their art should not be +subject to the laws."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>FRACANZANI AND SALVATOR ROSA.</h2> + + +<p>The first accents of the "thrilling melody of sweet renown" which ever +vibrated to the heart of Salvator Rosa, came to his ear from the +kind-hearted Fracanzani, his sister's husband, and a painter of merit. +When Salvator returned home from his sketching tours among the +mountains, Fracanzani would examine his drawings, and when he saw +anything good, he would smilingly pat him on the head and exclaim, +"Fruscia, fruscia, Salvatoriello—che va buono" (<i>Go on, go on, +Salvator—this is good</i>). These simple plaudits were recalled to his +memory with pleasure, in after years, when his fame rung among the +polished circles at Rome and Florence.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>POPE URBAN VIII. AND BERNINI.</h2> + + +<p>When the Cardinal Barberini, who had been the warm friend, patron, and +protector of Bernini, was elevated to the pontificate, the latter went +to offer his congratulations to his benefactor. The Pope received him in +the most gracious manner, uttering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> these memorable words, "E gran +fortuna la vostra, Bernini, di vedere Papa, il Card. Maffeo Barberini; +ma assai maggiore è la nostra, che il Cav. Bernini viva nel nostro +pontificato;" (<i>It is a great piece of fortune for you, Bernini, to +behold the Cardinal Maffeo Barberini Pope; but how much greater is ours, +that the Cav. Bernini lives in our pontificate;</i>) and he immediately +charged him with the execution of those great works which have +immortalized both their names. Among the great works which he executed +in this pontificate are the Baldachin, or great altar of St. Peter's, in +bronze and gilt, under the centre of the great dome; the four colossal +statues which fill the niches under the pedatives; the pulpit and canopy +of St. Peter's; the Campanile; and the Barberini palace. For these +services, the Pope gave Bernini 10,000 crowns, besides his monthly +salary of 300, which he increased, and extended his favors to his +brothers—"a grand piece of fortune," truly.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>EMULATION AND RIVALRY IN THE FINE ARTS.</h2> + + +<p>Emulation carries with it neither envy nor unfair rivalry, but inspires +a man to surpass all others by superiority alone. Such was the emulation +and rivalry between Zeuxis and Parrhasius, which contributed to the +improvement of both; and similar thereto was that which inspired the +master-minds of Michael Angelo and Raffaelle; of Titian and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> Pordenone; +of Albert Durer and Lucas van Leyden; of Agostino and Annibale Caracci; +and we may add, in our own country, of Thomas Cole and Durand. The +emulation between the Caracci, though it tended to the improvement of +both, was more unfortunate in its result, as it finally engendered such +a bitter rivalry as to drive Agostino from the field, and it is said by +some that both the Caracci declined when their competition ceased.</p> + +<p>The confraternity of the Chartreuse at Bologna proposed to the artists +of Italy to paint a picture for them in competition, and to send designs +for selection. The Caracci were among the competitors, and the design of +Agostino was preferred before all others; this, according to several +authors, first gave rise to the jealousy between the two brothers. The +picture which Agostino painted was his celebrated Communion of St. +Jerome which Napoleon placed in the Louvre, but is now in the gallery at +Bologna. It is esteemed the masterpiece of the artist. It represents the +venerable saint, carried to the church of Bethlehem on his approaching +dissolution, where he receives the last sacrament of the Roman Church, +the Viaticum, in the midst of his disciples, while a monk writes down +his pious exhortations. Soon after the completion of this sublime +picture, the two brothers commenced the celebrated Farnese Gallery in +conjunction; but the jealous feelings which existed between them caused +continual dissentions, and the turbulent disposition<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> of Annibale +compelled Agostino to abandon him and quit Rome. Agostino, who according +to all authorities was the best tempered of the two, from that time gave +himself up almost entirely to engraving. Annibale, though he has the +honor of having executed the immortal works in the Farnese Gallery, yet +owed much there, as elsewhere, to the acquirements and poetical genius +of Agostino. In the composition of such mythological subjects the +unlettered Annibale was totally inadequate. See vol. i., page +71 of this work.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE NOTTE OF CORREGGIO.</h2> + + +<p>This wonderful picture is one of the most singular and beautiful works +of that great master. Adopting an idea till then unknown to painters, he +has created a new principle of light and shade; and in the limited space +of nine feet by six, has expanded a breadth and depth of perspective +which defies description. The subject he has chosen, is the adoration of +the shepherds, who, after hearing the glad tidings of joy and salvation, +proclaimed by the heavenly host, hasten to hail the new-born King and +Saviour. On so unpromising a subject as the birth of a child, in so mean +a place as a stable, the painter has, however, thrown the air of +divinity itself. The principal light emanates from the body of the +infant, and illuminates the surrounding objects; but a secondary light +is borrowed from a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> group of angels above, which, while it aids the +general effect, is yet itself irradiated by the glory breaking from the +child, and allegorizing the expression of scripture, that Christ is the +true light of the world. Nor is the art, with which the figures are +represented less admirable than the management of the light. The face of +the child is skillfully hidden, by its oblique position, from the +conviction that the features of a new-born infant are ill-adapted to +please the eye; but that of the Virgin is warmly irradiated, and yet so +disposed, that in bending with maternal fondness over her offspring, it +exhibits exquisite beauty, without the harshness of deep shadows. The +light strikes boldly on the lower part of her face, and is lost in a +fainter glow on the eyes, while the forehead is thrown into shade. The +figures of Joseph and the shepherds are traced with the same skillful +pencil; and the glow which illuminates the piece is heightened to the +imagination, by the attitude of a shepherdess, bringing an offering of +doves, who shades her eyes with her hand, as if unable to sustain the +brightness of incarnate divinity. The glimmering of the rising dawn, +which shews the figures in the background, contributes to augment the +splendor of the principal glory. "The beauty, grace, and finish of the +piece," says Mengs, "are admirable, and every part is executed in a +peculiar and appropriate style."</p> + +<p>Opie, in his lectures, speaking of this work, justly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> observes, "In the +Nótte, where the light diffused over the piece emanates from the child, +he has embodied a thought at once beautiful, picturesque, and sublime; +an idea which has been seized upon with such avidity, and produced so +many imitations that no one is accused of plagiarism. The real author is +forgotten, and the public accustomed to consider this incident as +naturally a part of the subject, have long ceased to inquire, when, or +by whom, it was invented."</p> + +<p>The history of this picture is curious, though involved in much +obscurity. It is generally stated that while Correggio was engaged upon +the grand cupola at Parma, he generally passed the colder season, when +he could not work in fresco, in his native place. Passing through Reggio +in one of his journeys, he received a commission from Alberto Pratonero +for an altar-piece of the Nativity, which produced one of his finest +pictures, now called La Nótte. The indefatigable Tiraboschi discovered +the original contract for the work, which is dated October 14th, 1522, +and fixes the price at two hundred and eight <i>livre di moneta Vecchia</i>, +or forty-seven and a half gold ducats (about $104). It was painted for +the Pratoneri chapel in the church of S. Prospero at Reggio, but it was +not fixed in its destined place till 1530. It is said that it was +removed surreptitiously by order of Francesco I., the reigning Duke of +Modena, who substituted a copy. The same story, however, is related of +Correggio's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> Ancona, painted for the church of the Conventuals at +Correggio. (See vol. ii., page 257, of this work.) At +all events, the elector of Saxony subsequently purchased this gem, with +other valuable pictures, from the Ducal Gallery at Mantua, and it now +forms one of the principal ornaments of the Dresden Gallery.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE DRESDEN GALLERY.</h2> + + +<p>The Gallery of Dresden is well known to most amateurs from the +engravings which have been made of many of its most capital pictures. In +the works of Correggio it stands preëminent above all others; and +although some of these have suffered by injudicious cleaning, still they +are by Correggio. In the works of Titian, Raffaelle, Lionardo da Vinci, +Parmiggiano, Andrea del Sarto, the Caracci, Guido, &c., it holds also a +high place; while it is rich in the works of the Flemish and Dutch +masters. Of the works of Reubens there are, 30; of Vandyck, 18; of +Rembrandt, 15; of Paul Potter, 3; of David Teniers, jun., 24; of Philip +Wouvermans, 52; of Adrian Ostade, 6; of Gerard Douw, 16; of Francis +Mieris, 14; of Gabriel Metzu, 6; of Berghem, 9; of Adrian van de Velde, +5; of Ruysdael, 13; and others by the Dutch masters. Tho entire +collection contains 1010 Flemish and Dutch pictures, and 350 pictures of +the Italian schools, the principal part of which, particularly the +pictures of Correggio, etc., belonged formerly to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> Mantua +collection, and were purchased by the Elector Augustus III., afterwards +King of Poland.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PAINTING AMONG THE EGYPTIANS.</h2> + + +<p>The antiquity of painting, as well as of sculpture, among the Egyptians, +is sunk in fable. Yet it is certain that they made little or no progress +in either art. Plato, who flourished about 400 B.C., says that the art +of painting had been practiced by the Egyptians upwards of ten thousand +years, and that there were existing in that country paintings of that +high antiquity, which were neither inferior to, nor very different from, +those executed by the Egyptian artists in his own time.</p> + +<p>Before the French expedition to Egypt, a great deal had been written on +the subject of Egyptian art, without eliciting anything satisfactory. +Norden, Pococke, Bruce, and other modern travelers, speak of +extraordinary paintings found on the walls of the temples and in the +tombs at Thebes, Denderah, and other places in Upper Egypt; and +Winckelmann justly regrets that those curious remains had not been +visited by artists or persons skilled in works of art, "by whose +testimony we might have been correctly informed of their character, +style, and manœuvre." The man at last came, and Denon, in his <i>Voyage +dans le Basse et Haute Egypt</i>, has set the matter at rest. He has given +a curious and interesting account of the paintings at Thebes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> which he +reports to be as fresh in color as when they were first executed. The +design is in general stiff and incorrect; and whatever attitude is given +to the figure, the head is always in profile. The colors are entire, +without blending or degradation, as in playing cards, and the whole +exhibits the art in a very rude state. They exhibit little or no +knowledge of anatomy. The colors they used were confined to four—blue, +red, yellow, and green; and of these, the blue and red predominate. The +perfect preservation of the Egyptian paintings for so many ages is to be +attributed to the dryness of a climate where it never rains.</p> + +<p>The Egyptian painters and sculptors designed their figures in a style +peculiarly stiff and formal, with the legs invariably closed, except in +some instances in the tombs of the Kings at Thebes, and their arms stuck +to their sides, as if they had consulted no other models than their +bandaged mummies. The reasons why the Egyptians never made any progress +in art till the time of the Greco-Egyptian kings, were their manners and +customs, which prohibited any innovations, and compelled every one to +follow the beaten track of his cast, without the least deviation from +established rules, thus chaining down genius, and the stimulus of +emulation, honor, renown and reward. When Egypt passed under the +dominion of the Ptolemys, she made rapid progress in art, and produced +some excellent painters, sculptors, and architects, though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> doubtless +they were mostly of Greek origin. It is related of Ptolemy Philopator, +that he sent a hundred architects to rebuild Rhodes, when it was +destroyed by an earthquake. See vol. iii., page <a href='#Page_1'><b>1</b></a>, of +this work.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>PAINTING AMONG THE GREEKS.</h2> + + +<p>The origin of Painting in Greece was unknown to Pliny, to whom we are +chiefly indebted for the few fragments of the biography of Greek +artists; he could only obtain his information from Greek writers, of +whom he complains that they have not been very attentive to their +accustomed accuracy. It is certain, however, that the arts were +practiced in Egypt and in the East, many ages before they were known in +Greece, and it is the common opinion that they were introduced into that +country from Egypt and Asia, through the channel of the Phœnecian +traders. It has been a matter of admiration that the Greeks, in the +course of three or four centuries, should have attained such perfection +in every species of art that ennobles the human mind, as oratory, +poetry, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture. Two things explain +the cause—freedom of action, and certainty of reward. This is +exemplified in the whole history of the arts and sciences. The ancient +eastern nations, among whom the freedom of thought and action was +forbidden, and every man obliged to follow the trade of his caste, never +made any progress; nor will the mod<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>erns progress in those countries +till caste is done away, and every man allowed to follow the +inclinations of his genius.</p> + +<p>The Greeks were favored with a climate the most congenial for the +perfect development of the mental and physical powers, and beauty of +form. Every man was at liberty freely to follow his favorite pursuits. +They rewarded all who excelled in anything that was useful or beautiful, +and that with a lavish hand. The prices they paid their great artists +were truly astonishing; in comparison to which, the prices paid to the +greatest artists of modern times are small. Nor was this so great an +incentive as the admiration and the caresses they received. The man of +genius was sure of immortality and wealth. Their academic groves and +their games were the admiration and resort of all the surrounding +countries. They decreed statues to their great men who deserved well of +their country. To other powerful incentives, the Greek artists had the +advantage of the best models before them, in their gymnastic exercises +and public games, where the youth contended for the prize quite naked. +The Greeks esteemed natural qualities so highly that they decreed the +first rewards to those who distinguished themselves in feats of agility +and strength. Statues were often raised to wrestlers. Not only the first +youth of Greece, but the sons of kings and princes sought renown in the +public games and gymnastic exercises. Chrysippus and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> Cleanthus +distinguished themselves in these games before they were known as +philosophers. Plato appeared as a wrestler both at the Isthmian and +Pythian games; and Pythagoras carried off the prize at Elis. The passion +which inspired them was glory—the ambition of having statues erected to +their memory, in the most sacred place in Greece, to be admired by the +whole people.</p> + +<p>Although it is universally admitted that the Greeks carried sculpture +and architecture to such a state of perfection that they have never been +equalled by the moderns, except in imitating them, yet there is a great +contrariety of opinion among the most eminent modern writers as to their +success in painting; some, full of admiration for the works of antiquity +which have descended to us, have not hesitated to declare that the +Greeks must have been equally successful in painting, while others, +professing that we possess colors, vehicles, and science (as the +knowledge of foreshortening, perspective, and of the chiaro-scuro) +unknown to them, have as roundly asserted that they were far inferior to +the moderns in this branch, and that their pictures, could we now see +them in all their beauty, would excite our contempt. Much of this +boasted modern knowledge is, however, entirely gratuitous; the Greeks +certainly well understood foreshortening and perspective, as we have +abundance of evidence in their works, to say nothing of these being +expressly mentioned by Pliny, and that it is impossi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>ble to execute any +work of excellence without them. This erroneous opinion has sprung from +the ignorance and imperfections of <i>the old fathers</i> of Italian art in +these particulars, and the discoveries and perfections of those more +modern. If the moderns possess any advantages over the ancients, it is +that chemistry has invented some beautiful colors unknown to them, the +invention of oil painting, and that illusion which results from a +perfect acquaintance with the principles of the chiaro-scuro; but even +here the mineral colors—the most valuable and permanent—were well +known to them; and if they had not oil colors, they had a method of +<i>encaustic painting</i> not positively known to us, which might have +answered as good a purpose—nor are we sure they did not practice the +chiaro-scuro. Besides, the most renowned modern masters were more +celebrated in fresco than in oil painting, and the ancients well +understood painting in fresco.</p> + +<p>In this, as in most other disputes, it may reasonably be presumed, that +a just estimation of both will be found between the extremes. In +comparing the paintings of the moderns with those of the ancients, it +may be fairly inferred that the latter surpassed the former in +expression, in purity of design, in attitude of the figures, and in +ideal beauty. The moderns have doubtless surpassed the ancients in the +arrangement of their groups, in perspective, foreshortening and +chiaro-scuro—and in coloring. For a further disquisition on this +subject, see Vol. I. p. 22, of this work, article +Apelles.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>NUMISMATICS.</h2> + + +<p>Numismatics is the science which has for its object the study of coins +and medals, especially those struck by the ancient Greeks and Romans. +The word is derived from the Greek νομισμα, or the Latin +<i>numus</i>, <i>coin or medal</i>. Numismatics is now regarded as indispensable +to archæology, and to a thorough acquaintance of the fine arts; it is +also of great assistance in philology and the explanation of the ancient +classics; it appears to have been entirely unknown to the ancients, but +since the middle of the sixteenth century, it has occupied the attention +of many learned men.</p> + +<p>The name of <i>coins</i> is given to pieces of metal, on which the public +authority has impressed different marks to indicate their weight and +value, to make them a convenient medium of exchange. By the word +<i>medals</i>, when used in reference to modern times, is understood pieces +of metal similar to coins but not intended as a medium of exchange, but +struck and distributed to commemorate some important event, or in memory +of some distinguished personage. The name of medals, however, is also +given to all pieces of money which have remained from ancient times. The +term <i>medallion</i> is given to medals of a very large size, many of them +being several inches in diameter. The parts of a coin or medal are the +two sides; first, the <i>obverse</i> side, face or head, which contains the +portrait of the person at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> whose command or in whose honor it was +struck, or other figures relating to him: this portrait consists either +of the head alone, or the bust, half length, or full figure; second, the +<i>reverse</i> contains mythological, allegorical, or historical figures. The +words around the border form the <i>legend</i>, and those in the middle the +<i>inscription</i>. The lower part of the coin, which is separated by a line +from the figures or the inscription, is the <i>basis</i> or <i>exergue</i>, and +contains subsidiary matter, as the date, the place where the piece was +struck, etc.</p> + +<p>Numismatics has the same divisions as history.—Ancient Numismatics +extends to the extinction of the empire of the West; the Numismatics of +the middle ages commences with Charlemagne; and modern Numismatics with +the revival of learning.</p> + +<p>Medals indicate the names of provinces and cities, determine their +position, and present pictures of many celebrated places. They fix the +period of events, frequently determine their character, and enable us to +trace the series of kings. They also enable us to learn the different +metallurgical processes, the different alloys, the modes of gilding and +plating practiced by the ancients, the metals which they used, their +weight and measures, their different modes of reckoning, the names and +titles of the various kings and magistrates, and also their portraits, +their different divinities, with their attributes and titles, the +utensils and ceremonies of their worship, the costume of their +priests—in fine, every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>thing which relates to their usages, civil, +military, and religious. Medals also acquaint us with the history of +art. They contain representations of several celebrated works of +antiquity which have been lost, the value of which may be estimated from +the ancient medals of those still existing, as the Farnese Hercules, +Niobe and her Children, the Venus of Gnidos, etc. Like gems and statues, +they enable us to trace the epochs of different styles of art, to +ascertain its progress among the most civilized nations, and its +condition among the rude.</p> + +<p>The ancient medals were struck or cast; some were first cast and then +struck. The first coins of Rome and other cities of Italy must have been +cast, as the hammer could not have produced so bold a relief. The copper +coins of Egypt were cast. The right of coining money has always been one +of the privileges which rulers have confined to themselves. The free +cities have inscribed only their names on their coins. The cities +subject to kings sometimes obtained permission to strike money in their +own name, but were most frequently required to add the name or image of +the king to whom they were subject. The medals of the Parthians and the +Phœnecians offer many examples of this sort. Rome, under the +republic, allowed no individual the right to coin money; no magistrate +could put his name thereon, though this honor was sometimes allowed, as +a special favor, by a decree of the Senate. We can count as numismatic +coun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>tries only those into which the Greeks and Romans carried the use +of money; though some of the oriental nations used gold and silver as a +medium of exchange, before their time it was by weight. The people in +the northern part of Europe had no money.</p> + +<p>The coins preserved from antiquity are estimated to be more numerous +than those we possess from the middle ages, in the proportion of a +hundred to one! Millin thinks that the number of extant ancient medals +amounts to 70,000! What a fund of the most curious and authentic +information do they contain, and what a multitude of errors have been +corrected by their means! There are valuable cabinets of medals in all +the principal cities of Europe; that of Paris is by far the richest; +Pillerin alone added to it 33,000 ancient coins and medals. The coins of +the kings of Macedon are the most ancient of any yet discovered having +portraits; and Alexander I., who commenced his reign about B.C. 500, is +the earliest monarch whose medals have yet been found. Then succeed the +sovereigns who reigned in Sicily, Caria, Cyprus, Heraclea, and Pontus. +Afterwards comes the series of kings of Egypt, Syria, the Cimmerian +Bosphorus, Thrace, Parthia, Armenia, Damascus, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, +Pergamos, Galatia, Cilicia, Sparta Pæonia, Epirus, Illyricum, Gaul, and +the Alps. This series reaches from the time of Alexander the Great to +the Christian Era, comprising a period of about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> 330 years. A perfect +and distinct series is formed by the Roman emperors, from the time of +Julius Cæsar to the destruction of the empire, and even still later. The +Grecian medals claim that place in a cabinet, from their antiquity, +which their workmanship might ensure them, independently of that +advantageous consideration. It is observed by Pinkerton, that an immense +number of the medals of cities, which, from their character, we might +judge to be of the highest antiquity, have a surprising strength, +beauty, and relief in their impressions. About the time of Alexander the +Great, this art appears to have attained its highest perfection. The +coins of Alexander and his father exceed in beauty all that were ever +executed, if we except those of Sicily, Magna Grecia, and the ancient +ones of Asia Minor. Sicilian medals are famous for workmanship, even +from the time of Gelo. The coins of the Syrian kings, successors to +Alexander, almost equal his own in beauty; but adequate judges confine +their high praises of the Greek mint to those coins struck before the +subjection of Greece to the Roman empire. The Roman coins, considered as +medals in a cabinet, may be divided into two great classes—the consular +and the imperial; both are numerous and valuable. In the cabinet of the +Grand Duke of Tuscany is a set of twelve medals of Antonius Pius, each +with one of the signs of the Zodiac on the reverse, and part of another +set, eight in number with as many of the labors of Hercules.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>RESTORING ANCIENT EDIFICES.</h2> + + +<p>As in comparative anatomy it is easy, from a single bone, to designate +and describe the animal to which it belonged, so in architecture it is +easy to restore, by a few fragments, any ancient building. In +consequence of the known simplicity and regularity of most antique +edifices, the task of restoration, by means of drawings and models, is +much less difficult than might be supposed. The ground work, or some +sufficient parts of it, commonly extant, shows the length and breadth of +the building, with the positions of the walls, doors and columns. A +single column, or part of a column, whether standing or fallen, with a +fragment of the entablature, furnishes data from which the remainder of +the colonnade and the height of the edifice can be made out. A single +stone from the cornice of the pediment, is sufficient to give the angle +of inclination, and consequently the height of the roof. In this way the +structure of many beautiful edifices has been accurately determined, +when in so ruinous a state as scarcely to have left one stone upon +another.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>NAPOLEON'S LOVE OF ART.</h2> + + +<p>Napoleon was not only a true lover of art, but an excellent connoisseur. +He did more to elevate the arts and sciences in France than all the +mon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>archs together who had preceded him. It was a part of his policy to +honor and reward every man of genius, no matter what his origin, and +thus to develop the intellect of his country. He foresaw the advantage +of making Paris the great centre of art; therefore he did not hesitate +to transport from the countries he conquered, the most renowned and +valuable works of ancient and modern times. "Paris is Rome; Paris is now +the great centre of art," said he to Canova in 1810, when that great +sculptor visited Paris at his command, and whom he endeavored to +persuade to permanently remain in his service. West, after his return to +England from Paris, where he had had several interviews with Bonaparte, +expressed his admiration of the man in such warm terms as offended the +officials of the government, and caused such opposition, that he deemed +it proper to resign the President's chair in the Royal Academy. The +truth is, it was not the conqueror, as the English pretended, but his +exalted ideas of the arts, and of their value to a country, which +captivated West, whose peaceful tenets led him to abhor war and +devastation.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's enlightened policy is also seen in those stupendous works +published by the French government, as the <i>Description de l'Egypte, ou +Recueil des Observationes et des Recherches pendant l'Expedition de +l'Armée Français</i>, 25 vols. in elephant folio. This work corresponds in +grandeur of its proportions to the edifices and monuments which it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> +describes. Everything that zeal in the cause of science, combined with +the most extensive knowledge, had been able to collect in a land +abounding in monuments of every kind, and in the rarest curiosities, is +described and illustrated in this work by a committee of savans +appointed for the purpose. It contains more than 900 engravings, and +3000 illustrative sketches. The Musée Français, and the Musée Royal, +containing 522 plates, after the gems of the world, are not less grand +and magnificent, and far more valuable contributions to art. These will +be described in a subsequent page. Such was Napoleon; deprive him of +every other glory, his love of art, and what he did for its promotion, +and the adornment of his country, would immortalize his name.</p> + +<p>Napoleon delighted to spend some of his leisure moments in contemplating +the master pieces of art which he had gathered in the Louvre, and that +he might go there when he pleased, without parade, he had a private +gallery constructed leading to that edifice from the Tuilleries. (See +Spooner's Dictionary of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors, and Architects, +articles West, David, Denon, Canova, etc., and vol i., page +8, of this work.)</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>NAPOLEON'S WORKS AT PARIS.</h2> + + +<p>"The emperor was, most indisputably, the monarch who contributed in the +greatest degree to the em<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>bellishment of Paris. How many establishments +originated under his reign! nevertheless, on beholding them, the +observer has but a faint idea of all he achieved; since every principal +city of the empire witnessed alike the effects of his munificence and +grandeur of mind; the streets were widened, roads constructed and canals +cut; even the smallest towns experienced improvements, the result of +that expanded genius which was daily manifested. I shall, therefore, +content myself by placing before the reader a mere sketch of the works +achieved at Paris; for were it requisite to give a catalogue of all the +monuments erected during his reign, throughout the French empire, a +series of volumes would be required to commemorate those multifarious +labors."—<i>Ireland</i>.</p> + + +<p><i>Palaces.</i></p> + +<p>The Louvre was completely restored, which a succession of French +monarchs had not been able to accomplish. The Palace of the Luxembourg +equally embellished throughout, as well in the interior as the exterior, +and its gardens replanted. The Exchange founded. The Palace of the +University reconstructed, as well as the Gallery uniting the Palace of +the Tuilleries to that of the Louvre.</p> + + +<p><i>Fountains.</i></p> + +<p>The situation of the Fountain of the Innocents changed, and the whole +reërected; that of Saint<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> Sulpicius; of the Four Nations; of Desaix in +the Place Dauphine; of Gros-Caillon; of the Quay de L'Ecole; of the +Bridge of Saint Eustatius; of the Rue Ceusder; of the Rue Popincourt; of +the Chateau D'Eau; of the Square of the Chatelet; of the Place Notre +Dame; of the Temple; and of the Elephant, in the Place of the Bastille.</p> + + +<p><i>Acqueducts.</i></p> + +<p>The subterranean acqueducts were constructed, which convey the water of +the Canal de L'Ourcq throughout the different quarters of Paris, from +whence a vast number of small fountains distribute them in every +direction, to refresh the streets during the summer season, and to +cleanse them in the winter; these same channels being also formed to +receive the waters which flow from the gutters in the streets.</p> + + +<p><i>Markets.</i></p> + +<p>That of the Innocents, the largest in Paris; the Jacobins, where +formerly stood the monastery of that name, and during the heat of the +revolution, the club so called; the Valley for the sale of Poultry; the +Market of Saint Joseph; the Halle for the sale of Wines; the Market of +Saint Martin; that of Saint Germain, and of Saint Jacques-la-Boucherie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p> + +<p><i>Slaughter Houses.</i></p> + +<p>Those of the Deux Moulins; of the Invalids; of Popincourt; of Miromeuil, +and of Les Martyrs.</p> + +<p>As the killing of animals, for the consumption of Paris, within the +confines of the city, was deemed not only unwholesome, but very +disgusting, these buildings were erected by order of Napoleon, and have +proved of the greatest utility. The edifices are very spacious, +containing all the requisites for the purpose intended, and being also +placed in different directions and without the barriers of the city, the +eyes of the inhabitants are no longer disgusted by beholding those +torrents of blood which formerly inundated the streets, and which, in +the summer season, produced an effluvia not only disgusting to the +smell, but highly detrimental to the health of the population of the +city.</p> + + +<p><i>Watering Places for Animals.</i></p> + +<p>That of the School of Medicine, a superb marble structure, together with +the Abreuvoir of the Rue L'Egout, Saint Germain.</p> + + +<p><i>Public Granary, or Halle du Blé.</i></p> + +<p>Necessity gave rise to the noble plan of this stupendous fabric, the +idea of which was taken from the people of antiquity.</p> + + +<p><i>Boulevard.</i></p> + +<p>That called Bourdon was formed, occupying the environs of the spot where +the Bastille stood.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span></p> + +<p><i>Bridges.</i></p> + +<p>Those of the Arts; of the City; of Austerlitz; and of Jena.</p> + + +<p><i>Triumphal Arches.</i></p> + +<p>The Carousel; the Etoile; and the Arch of Louis XIV., restored.</p> + + +<p><i>Quays.</i></p> + +<p>Those of Napoleon; of Flowers; of Morland; and of Caténat.</p> + + +<p><i>The Column of Austerlitz.</i></p> + +<p>Situated in the centre of the Place Vendôme, formed of the brass +produced from the cannon which were taken from the Austrians during the +memorable campaign of 1805.</p> + + +<p><i>Place de Victoires.</i></p> + +<p>In the middle of this square was erected a colossal bronze statue of the +gallant General Desaix, who nobly fell at the battle of Marengo, when +leading to the charge a body of cavalry, which decided the fate of that +desperate conflict; this tribute, however, to the memory of the brave, +was removed by order of the Bourbons, on their first restoration.</p> + + +<p><i>Squares.</i></p> + +<p>In the middle of the Place Royale a fine basin has been constructed, +from whence plays a magnifi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>cent piece of water; the Squares of the +Apport de Paris; of the Rotunda; and of Rivoli.</p> + + +<p><i>The Pantheon.</i></p> + +<p>The pillars supporting the vast dome of this lofty pile, which had long +threatened the overthrow of the structure were replaced, and the +tottering foundations rendered perfect and solid.</p> + + +<p><i>The Hotel Dieu.</i></p> + +<p>The whole façade of this immense Hospital was reconstructed.</p> + + +<p><i>The Canal de L'Ourcq.</i></p> + +<p>This grand undertaking was rendered navigable, and the basin, sluices, +&c. completely finished.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE NAPOLEON MEDALS.</h2> + + +<p>Of the numerous means employed to commemorate the achievements of +Napoleon, the public buildings and monuments of France bear ample +witness. Indeed, Bonaparte's name and fame are so engrafted with the +arts and literature of France, that it would be impossible for the +government to erase the estimation in which he is held by the French +people.</p> + +<p><i>A series of medals in bronze</i>, nearly one hundred and thirty in number, +struck at different epochs of his career, exist, each in celebration of +the prowess<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> of the French army, or of some great act of his government: +a victory, a successful expedition, the conquest of a nation, the +establishment of a new state, the elevation of some of his family, or +his own personal aggrandizement.</p> + +<p>The medal commemorative of the <i>battle of Marengo</i> bears, on one side, a +large bunch of keys, environed by two laurel branches; and, on the +reverse, Bonaparte, as a winged genius, standing on a dismounted cannon +to which four horses are attached upon the summit of Mount St. Bernard, +urges their rapid speed, with a laurel branch in one hand, whilst he +directs the reins with the other.</p> + +<p>That on the <i>peace of Luneville</i> is two inches and a quarter in +diameter, with the head of the first consul in uncommonly bold relief; +the device, as mentioned in another place, is the sun arising in +splendor upon that part of the globe which represents France, and which +is overshadowed by laurels, whilst a cloud descends and obscures Great +Britain.</p> + +<p>The commencement of hostilities by England, after the <i>peace of Amiens</i>, +is designated by the English leopard tearing a scroll, with the +inscription, <i>Le Traité d'Amiens Rompu par l'Angleterre en Mai de l'An</i> +1803; on the reverse, a winged female figure in breathless haste forcing +on a horse at full speed, and holding a laurel crown, inscribed, +<i>L'Hanovre occupé var l'Armée Francaise en Juin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> de l'An</i> 1803; and +beneath, <i>Frappée avec l'Argent des Mines d'Hanovre, l'An 4 de +Bonaparte</i>.</p> + +<p>His medal, on assuming the purple, has his portrait, <i>Napoleon +Empereur</i>, by Andrieu, who executed nearly all the portraits on his +medals; on the reverse, he is in his imperial robes, elevated by two +figures, one armed, inscribed, <i>Le Senat et le Peuple</i>.</p> + +<p>The <i>battle of Austerlitz</i> has, on the reverse, simply a thunderbolt, +with a small figure of Napoleon, enrobed and enthroned on the upper end +of the shaft of the thunder.</p> + +<p>In 1804, he struck a medal with a Herculean figure on the reverse, +confining the head of the English leopard between his knees, whilst +preparing a cord to strangle him, inscribed <i>En l'An XII. 2000 barques +sont construites</i>;—this was in condemnation of the invasion and +conquest of England.</p> + +<p>The reverse of the medal on the <i>battle of Jena</i> represents Napoleon on +an eagle in the clouds, as warring with giants on the earth, whom he +blasts with thunderbolts.</p> + +<p>The medal on the <i>Confederation of the Rhine</i> has, for its reverse, +numerous warriors in ancient armor, swearing with their right hands on +an altar, formed of an immense fasces, with the imperial eagle +projecting from it.</p> + +<p>Not the least characteristic of the series is a medal, with the usual +head <i>Napoleon Emp. et Roi</i>, on the exergue, with this remarkable +reverse, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> throne, with the imperial robes over the back and across the +sceptre, which is in the chair; before the throne is a table, with +several crowns, differing in shape and dignity, and some sceptres with +them lying upon it; three crowns are on the ground, one broken and two +upside down; an eagle with a fasces hovers in the air; the inscription +is, <i>Souverainetés donnés</i> <span class="smcap">M.DCCCVI</span>.</p> + +<p>The reverses of the last four in succession, struck during the reign of +Napoleon, are, 1. The <i>Wolga</i>, rising with astonishment from his bed at +the sight of the French eagle; 2. A representation of <i>la Bataille de la +Moskowa, 7 Septembre, 1812</i>; 3. <i>A view of Moscow</i>, with the French flag +flying on the Kremlin, and an ensign of the French eagle, bearing the +letter N. loftily elevated above its towers and minarets, dated 14th +September, 1812; 4. A figure in the air, directing a furious storm +against an armed warrior resembling Napoleon, who, unable to resist the +attack, is sternly looking back, whilst compelled to fly before it—a +dead horse, cannon dismounted, and a wagon full of troops standing +still, perishing in fields of snow; the inscription is, <i>Retraite de +l'Armée, Novembre, 1812</i>.</p> + +<p>The workmanship of the preceding medals are admirable, but most of them +are surpassed in that respect by some to which we can do little more +than allude.</p> + +<p>A finely executed medal, two inches and five-eights in diameter, +represents Napoleon enthroned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> in his full imperial costume, holding a +laurel wreath; on the reverse is a head of <i>Minerva</i>, surrounded by +laurel and various trophies of the fine arts, with this +inscription—<i>Ecole Francaise des Beaux Arts à Rome, rétablie et +augmentée par Napoleon en 1803</i>. The reverses—of the Cathedral at +Paris—a warrior sheathing his sword (on the battle of Jena)—and +Bonaparte holding up the King of Rome, and presenting him to the +people—are amongst the most highly finished and most inestimable +specimens of art.</p> + +<p>Unquestionably the <i>worst</i> in the collection is the consular medal, +which, on that account, deserves description; it is, in size, about a +half crown piece, on the exergue, over a small head of Bonaparte, is +inscribed <i>Bonaparte premier consul</i>; beneath it, <i>Cambacères second +consul, le Brun troisième consul de la république Francaise</i>; on the +reverse, <i>Le peuple Francais à défenseurs, cette première pierre de la +colonne nationale, posée par Lucien Bonaparte, ministre de l'interieur, +25 Messidore, An 8, 14 Juillet, 1800</i>.—One other medal only appears +with the name of Lucien Bonaparte; it is that struck in honor of Marshal +Turenne, upon the <i>Translation du corps de Turenne au Temple de Mars par +les ordres du premier Consul Bonaparte</i>; and is of a large size, bearing +the head of Turenne, with, beneath it, <i>Sa gloire appartient au peuple +Francais</i>. Several are in honor of General Desaix, whose memory Napoleon +held in great esteem. Those on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> his marriage with Marie Louise bear her +head beside his own; and a small one on that occasion has for its +reverse, a Cupid carrying with difficulty a thunderbolt. Those on the +birth of their child bear the same heads on the exergue, with the head +of an infant, on the reverse, inscribed, <i>Napoleon François Joseph +Charles, Rio de Rome</i>, <span class="smcap">XX</span>. <i>Mars</i> <span class="smcap">M.DCCCXI</span>.—<i>Ireland</i>.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE ELEPHANT FOUNTAIN.</h2> + + +<p>When Napoleon had decided that a stupendous fountain should occupy the +centre of the area where the celebrated state prison of the Bastille +stood, the several artists, employed by the government, were ordered to +prepare designs for the undertaking, and numerous drawings were in +consequence sent in for the emperor's inspection. On the day appointed, +he proceeded to examine these specimens, not one of which, however, +proved at all commensurate with the vast idea he had in contemplation; +wherefore, after pacing the chamber a few minutes, Napoleon suddenly +halted, exclaiming: "Plant me a colossal elephant there, and let the +water spout from his extended trunk!" All the artists stood astonished +at this bold idea, the propriety and grandeur of which immediately +flashed conviction upon their minds, and the only wonder of each was, +that no such thought should have presented itself to his own +imagination: the simple fact is, <i>there was but one Napoleon +present</i>!—<i>Communicated to Ireland by David.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p> + +<p>This fountain was modeled in Plaster of Paris on the spot. It is +seventy-two feet in height; the <i>jet d'eau</i> is through the nostrils of +his trunk; the reservoir in the tower on his back; and one of his legs +contains the staircase for ascending to the large room in the inside of +his belly. The elephant was to have been executed in bronze, with tusks +of silver, surrounded by lions of bronze, which were to spout water from +one cistern to another.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>INTERESTING DRAWINGS.</h2> + + +<p>On the sailing of the French expedition for Egypt, from Malta, under the +orders of Bonaparte, the fleet was intentionally dispersed in order to +arrive without being noticed; they had no sooner, however, left Malta, +than they learned that Nelson had penetrated their design, and was in +pursuit of them. Expecting every hour to be come up with, and being too +weak to risk a combat, it was the resolution of Bonaparte and the rest +of the illustrious persons on board the <i>Orient</i> to blow her up, rather +than be taken prisoners; but, that the memory of those who perished +might be preserved, and their features known by posterity, Bonaparte +caused the portraits of eighteen to be taken on two sheets of paper, +which were to be rolled up, put in bottles, and committed to the waves: +the names of the persons are,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>—</p> + +<p><i>First Drawing</i>.</p> + + +<ul><li>Desaix,</li> +<li>Berthier,</li> +<li>Kleber,</li> +<li>Dalomieu,</li> +<li>Berthollet,</li> +<li>Bonaparte,</li> +<li>Caffarelli,</li> +<li>Brueys,</li> +<li>Monge.</li></ul> + + + +<p><i>Second Drawing</i>.</p> + + +<ul><li>Rampon,</li> +<li>Junot,</li> +<li>Regnier,</li> +<li>Desgenettes,</li> +<li>Larrey,</li> +<li>Murat,</li> +<li>Lasnes,</li> +<li>Belliard,</li> +<li>Snulkanski.</li></ul> + + +<p>The portraits were executed in medallions, with India ink; they were +carefully preserved by the famous surgeon, Baron Larrey; and they +adorned his study at Paris till his death.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>SEVRES CHINA.</h2> + + +<p>On the river at Sévres, near Paris, a manufactory is carried on, which +produces the beautiful porcelain, commonly called Sévres, china. It is +equal to all that has been said of it, and after declining, as every +other great national establishment did, during the revolution, +flourished greatly under the peculiar patronage of the emperor Napoleon. +He made presents hence to those sovereigns of Europe with whom he was in +alliance. Napoleon had two vases made of this china, which, even at this +day,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> form the principal ornament of the gallery at St. Cloud. These +were made at Sévres, and are valued at 100,000 francs each. The clay +made use of was brought at a great expense from a distant part of +France, and affords an instance of how much the value of raw material +may be increased by the ingenuity of a skillful artist.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>DISMANTLING OF THE LOUVRE.</h2> + + +<p>In Scott's Paris Revisited (A. D. 1815), we have the following +interesting particulars of the removal of the celebrated pictures and +statues from this famous emporium of the fine arts.</p> + +<p>"Every day new arrivals of strangers poured into Paris, all anxious to +gain a view of the Louvre, before its collection was broken up; it was +the first point to which all the British directed their steps every +morning, in eager curiosity to know whether the business of removal had +commenced. The towns and principalities, that had been plundered, were +making sedulous exertions to influence the councils of the allies to +determine on a general restoration; and several of the great powers +leaned decidedly towards such a decision.</p> + +<p>"Before actual force was employed, representations were repeated to the +French government, but the ministers of the king of France would neither +promise due satisfaction, nor uphold a strenuous opposition. They showed +a sulky disregard of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> every application. A deputation from the +Netherlands formally claimed the Dutch and Flemish pictures taken during +the revolutionary wars from those countries; and this demand was +conveyed through the Duke of Wellington, as commander-in-chief of the +Dutch and Belgian armies. About the same time, also, Austria determined +that her Italian and German towns, which had been despoiled, should have +their property replaced, and Canova, the anxious representative of Rome, +after many fruitless appeals to Talleyrand, received assurances that he, +too, should be furnished with an armed force sufficient to protect him +in taking back to that venerable city, what lost its highest value in +its removal from thence.</p> + +<p>"Contradicting reports continued to prevail among the crowds of +strangers and natives as to the intentions of the allies, but on +Saturday, the 23d of September, all doubt was removed. On going up to +the door of the Louvre, I found a guard of one hundred and fifty British +riflemen drawn up outside. I asked one of the soldiers what they were +there for? 'Why, they tell me, sir, that they mean to take away the +pictures,' was his reply. I walked in amongst the statues below, and on +going to the great staircase, I saw the English guard hastily trampling +up its magnificent ascent: a crowd of astonished French followed in the +rear, and, from above, many of the visitors in the gallery of pictures +were attempting to force their way past<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> the ascending soldiers, +catching an alarm from their sudden entrance. The alarm, however, was +unfounded; but the spectacle that presented itself was very impressive. +A British officer dropped his men in files along this magnificent +gallery, until they extended, two and two, at small distances, from its +entrance to its extremity. All the spectators were breathless, in +eagerness to know what was to be done, but the soldiers stopped as +machines, having no care beyond obedience to their orders.</p> + +<p>"The work of removal now commenced in good earnest: porters with +barrows, and ladders, and tackles of ropes made their appearance. The +collection of the Louvre might from that moment be considered as broken +up for ever. The sublimity of its orderly aspect vanished: it took now +the melancholy, confused, desolate air of a large auction room, after a +day's sale. Before this, the visitors had walked down its profound +length with a sense of respect on their minds, influencing them to +preserve silence and decorum, as they contemplated the majestic +pictures; but decency and quiet were dispelled when the signal was given +for the breaking up of the establishment. It seemed as if a nation had +become ruined through improvidence, and was selling off.</p> + +<p>"The guarding of the Louvre was committed by turns to the British and +Austrians, while this process lasted. The Prussians said that they had +done<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> their own business for themselves, and would not now incur odium +for others. The workmen being incommoded by the crowds that now rushed +to the Louvre, as the news spread of the destruction of its great +collection, a military order came that no visitors should be admitted +without permission from the foreign commandant of Paris. This direction +was pretty much adhered to by the sentinels as far as the exclusion of +the French, but the words <i>Je suis Anglais</i>, were always sufficient to +gain leave to pass from the Austrians: our own countrymen were rather +more strict, but, in general, foreigners could, with but little +difficulty, procure admission. The Parisians stood in crowds around the +door, looking wistfully within it, as it occasionally opened to admit +Germans, English, Russians, &c., into a palace of their capital from +which they were excluded. I was frequently asked by French gentlemen, +standing with ladies on their arms, and kept back from the door by the +guards, to take them into their own Louvre, under my protection as an +unknown foreigner! It was impossible not to feel for them in these +remarkable circumstances of mortification and humiliation; and the +agitation of the French public was now evidently excessive. Every +Frenchman looked a walking volcano, ready to spit forth fire. Groups of +the common people collected in the space before the Louvre, and a +spokesman was generally seen, exercising the most violent +gesticulations, sufficiently indicative of rage, and listened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> to by the +others, with lively signs of sympathy with his passion. As the packages +came out, they crowded round them, giving vent to torrents of <i>pestes</i>, +<i>diables</i>, <i>sacres</i>, and other worse interjections.</p> + +<p>"Wherever an Englishman went, in Paris, at this time, whether into a +shop or a company, he was assailed with the exclamation, <i>'Ah! vos +compatriotes!'</i> and the ladies had always some wonderful story to tell +him, of an embarrassment or mortification that had happened to <i>his</i> +duke; of the evil designs of the Prince Regent, or the dreadful revenge +that was preparing against the injuries of France. The great gallery of +the Louvre presented every fresh day a more and more forlorn aspect; but +to the reflecting mind, it combined a number of interesting points of +view. The gallery now seemed to be the abode of all the foreigners in +the French capital:—we collected there, as a matter of course, every +morning—but it was easy to distinguish the last comers from the rest. +They entered the Louvre with steps of eager haste, and looks of anxious +inquiry; they seemed to have scarcely stopped by the way—and to have +made directly for the pictures on the instant of their reaching Paris. +The first view of the stripped walls made their countenances sink under +the disappointment, as to the great object of their journey. Crowds +collected round the <i>Transfiguration</i>—that picture which, according to +the French account, <i>destiny</i> had always intended for the French nation: +it was every one's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> wish to see it taken down, for the fame which this +great work of Raffaelle had acquired, and its notoriety in the general +knowledge, caused its departure to be regarded as the consummation of +the destruction of the picture gallery of the Louvre. It was taken away +among the last.</p> + +<p>"Students of all nations fixed themselves round the principal pictures, +anxious to complete their copies before the workmen came to remove the +originals. Many young French girls were seen among these, perched upon +small scaffolds, and calmly pursuing their labors in the midst of the +throng and bustle. When the French gallery was thoroughly cleared of the +property of other nations, I reckoned the number of pictures which then +remained to it, and found that the total left to the French nation, of +the fifteen hundred pictures which constituted their magnificent +collection, was <i>two hundred and seventy-four</i>! The Italian division +comprehended about eighty-five specimens; these were now dwindled to +<i>twelve</i>: in this small number, however, there are some very exquisite +pictures by Raffaelle, and other great masters. Their Titians are much +reduced, but they keep the Entombment, as belonging to the King of +France's old collection, which is one of the finest by that artist. A +melancholy air of utter ruin mantled over the walls of this superb +gallery: the floor was covered with empty frames: a Frenchman, in the +midst of his sorrow, had his joke, in saying, 'Well, we should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> not have +left to <i>them</i> even these!' In walking down this exhausted place, I +observed a person, wearing the insignia of the legion of honor, suddenly +stop short, and heard him exclaim, '<i>Ah, my God—and the Paul Potter, +too!</i>' This referred to the famous painting of a bull by that master, +which is the largest of his pictures, and is very highly valued. It +belonged to the Netherlands, and has been returned to them. It was said +that the emperor Alexander offered fifteen thousand pounds for it.</p> + +<p>"The removal of the statues was later in commencing, and took up more +time; they were still packing these up when I quitted Paris. I saw the +Venus, the Apollo, and the Laocoön removed: these may be deemed the +presiding deities of the collection. The solemn antique look of these +halls fled forever, when the workmen came in with their straw and +Plaster of Paris, to pack up. The French could not, for some time, allow +themselves to believe that their enemies would dare to deprive them of +these sacred works; it appeared to them impossible that they should be +separated from France—from <i>la France</i>—the country of the Louvre and +the Institute; it seemed a contingency beyond the limits of human +reverses. But it happened, nevertheless: they were all removed. One +afternoon, before quitting the place, I accidentally stopped longer than +usual, to gaze on the Venus, and I never saw so clearly her superiority +over the Apollo, the impositions of whose style, even more than the +great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> beauties with which they are mingled, have gained for it an +inordinate and indiscriminating admiration. On this day, very few, if +any of the statues had been taken away—and many said that France would +retain them, although she was losing the pictures. On the following +morning I returned, and the pedestal on which the Venus had stood for so +many years, the pride of Paris, and the delight of every observer, was +vacant! It seemed as if a soul had taken its flight from a body."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>REMOVAL OF THE VENETIAN HORSES FROM PARIS.</h2> + + +<p>"The removal of the well known horses taken from the church of St. Mark +in Venice, was a bitter mortification to the people of Paris. These had +been peculiarly the objects of popular pride and admiration. Being +exposed to the public view, in one of the most frequented situations of +Paris, this was esteemed the noblest trophy belonging to the capital; +and there was not a Parisian vender of a pail-full of water who did not +look like a hero when the Venetian horses were spoken of.</p> + +<p>"'Have you heard what has been determined about the horses?' was every +foreigner's question. 'Oh! they cannot mean to take the horses away,' +was every Frenchman's answer. On the morning of Thursday, the 26th of +September, 1815, however it was whispered that they had been at work all +night in loosening them from their fastening.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> It was soon confirmed +that this was true—and the French then had nothing left for it, but to +vow, that if the allies were to attempt to touch them in the <i>daylight</i>, +Paris would rise at once, exterminate its enemies, and rescue its honor. +On Friday morning I walked through the square; it was clear that some +considerable change had taken place; the forms of the horses appeared +finer than I had ever before witnessed. When looking to discover what +had been done, a private of the British staff corps came up, 'You see, +sir, we took away the harness last night,' said he. 'You have made a +great improvement by so doing,' I replied; 'but are the British employed +on this work?' The man said that the Austrians had requested the +assistance of our staff corps, for it included better workmen than any +they had in their service. I heard that an angry French mob had given +some trouble to the people employed on the Thursday night, but that a +body of Parisian gendarmerie had dispersed the assemblage. The Frenchmen +continued their sneers against the allies for working in the dark: fear +and shame were the causes assigned. 'If you take them at all, why not +take them in the face of day? But you are too wise to drag upon +yourselves the irresistible popular fury, which such a sight would +excite against you!'</p> + +<p>"On the night of Friday, the order of proceeding was entirely changed. +It had been found proper to call out a strong guard of Austrians, horse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> +and foot. The mob had been charged by the cavalry, and it was said that +several had their limbs broken. I expected to find the place on Saturday +morning quiet and open as usual; but when I reached its entrance, what +an impressive scene presented itself! The delicate plan—for such in +truth it was—of working by night, was now over. The Austrians had +wished to spare the feelings of the king the pain of seeing his capital +dismantled before his palace windows, where he passed in his carriage +when he went out for his daily exercise. But the acute feelings of the +people rendered severer measures necessary. My companion and myself were +stopped from entering the place by Austrian dragoons: a large mob of +Frenchmen were collected here, standing on tip-toe to catch the arch in +the distance, on the top of which the ominous sight of numbers of +workmen, busy about the horses, was plainly to be distinguished. We +advanced again to the soldiers: some of the French, by whom we were +surrounded, said, 'Whoever you are, you will not be allowed to pass.' I +confess I was for retiring—for the whole assemblage, citizens and +soldiers, seemed to wear an angry and alarming aspect. But my companion +was eager for admittance. He was put back again by an Austrian +hussar:—'<i>What, not the English!</i>' he exclaimed in his own language. +The mob laughed loudly, when they heard the foreign soldier so +addressed; but the triumph was ours; way was instantly made for us—and +an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> officer on duty, close by, touched his helmet as we passed.</p> + +<p>"The king and princes had left the Tuilleries, to be out of the view of +so mortifying a business The court of the palace, which used to be gay +with young <i>gardes du corps</i> and equipages, was now silent, deserted, +and shut up. Not a soul moved in it. The top of the arch was filled with +people, and the horses, though as yet all there, might be seen to begin +to move. The carriages that were to take them away were in waiting +below, and a tackle of ropes was already affixed to one. The small door +leading to the top was protected by a strong guard: every one was +striving to obtain permission to gratify his curiosity, by visiting the +horses for the last time that they could be visited in this situation. +Permission, however, could necessarily be granted but to few. I was of +the fortunate number. In a minute I had climbed the narrow dark stair, +ascended a small ladder, and was out on the top, with the most +picturesque view before me that can be imagined. An English lady asked +me to assist her into Napoleon's car of victory: his own statue was to +have been placed in it, <i>when he came back a conqueror from his Russian +expedition!</i> I followed the lady and her husband into the car, and we +found a Prussian officer there before us. He looked at us, and, with a +good humored smile, said, 'The emperor kept the English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> out of France, +but the English have now got where he could not! '<i>Ah, pauvre, +Napoleon!</i>'</p> + +<p>"The cry of the French now was, that it was abominable, execrable, to +insult the king in his palace—to insult him in the face of his own +subjects by removing the horses in the face of day! I adjourned with a +friend to dine at a <i>restaurateur's</i>, near the garden of the Tuilleries, +after witnessing what I have described. Between seven and eight in the +evening we heard the rolling of wheels, the clatter of cavalry, and the +tramp of infantry. A number of British were in the room; they all rose +and rushed to the door without hats, and carrying in their haste their +white table napkins in their hands. The horses were going past in +military procession, lying on their sides, in separate cars. First came +cavalry, then infantry, then a car; then more cavalry, more infantry, +then another car; and so on till all four passed. The drums were +beating, and the standards went waving by. This was the only appearance +of parade that attended any of the removals. Three Frenchmen, seeing the +group of English, came up to us, and began a conversation. They appealed +to us if this was not shameful. A gentleman observed, that the horses +were only going back to the place from whence the French had taken them: +if there was a right in power for France, there must also be one for +other states but the better way to consider these events was as +terminating the times of robbery and discord. Two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> of them seemed much +inclined to come instantly round to our opinion: but one was much more +consistent. He appeared an officer, and was advanced beyond the middle +age of life. He kept silence for a moment; and then, with strong +emphasis, said—'You have left me nothing for my children but hatred +against England; this shall be my legacy to them.'"—<i>Scott.</i></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>REMOVAL OF THE STATUE OF NAPOLEON FROM THE PLACE VENDOME.</h2> + + +<p>"What will posterity think of the madness of the French government and +the exasperation of public feeling in a nation like the French, so +uniformly proud of military glory, when very shortly after the first +arrival of their new monarch, Louis XVIII., an order was issued for +leveling with the dust that proud monument of their victories, the +famous column and statue of Napoleon in the Place Vendôme cast from +those cannon which their frequent victories over the Austrians had +placed at their disposal? The ropes attached to the neck of the colossal +brazen figure of the Emperor, wherewith the pillar was crowned, extended +to the very iron gratings of the Tuillerie gardens; thousands essayed to +move it, but all attempts were vain—the statue singly defied their +malice; upon which a second expedient was resorted to, and the carriage +horses, etc., from the royal stables were impressed into this service, +and affixed to the ropes, thus uniting their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> powerful force to that of +the <i>bipeds</i>: but even this proved abortive; the statue and column +braved the united shocks of man and beast, and both remained +immoveable." The statue was afterwards quietly dislodged from its +station by the regular labors of the experienced artisan. It was not +replaced till after the Revolution in 1830.—<i>Ireland.</i></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE MUSEE FRANCAIS AND THE MUSEE ROYAL.</h2> + + +<p>When the Allies entered Paris in 1815, they found in the gallery of the +Louvre about two thousand works of art—the gems of the world in +painting and antique sculpture—mostly the spoils of war, deposited +there by the Emperor Napoleon. The selection of these works was +entrusted to a commission, at the head of whom was the Baron Denon, who +accompanied the Emperor in all his expeditions for this purpose. The +Louvre, at this time, was the acknowledged emporium of the fine arts. +The grand determination of Napoleon to place France highest in art among +the nations, did not rest here. The design of combining in one single +series, five hundred and twenty-two line engravings from the finest +paintings and antique statues in the world, was a conception worthy of +his genius and foresight, and by its execution he conferred a lasting +favor not only on the artistic, but the civilized world, for the +originals were subsequently restored by the Allies to their rightful +owners and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> only about three hundred and fifty pieces remained of that +splendid collection. "These works" (the Musée Français, and the Musée +Royal), says a distinguished connoisseur, "are unquestionably the +greatest production of modern times. They exhibit a series of exquisite +engravings by the most distinguished artists, of such a magnificent +collection of painting and of sculpture as can never be again united." +These works were intended as a great treasury of art, from which not +only artists, but the whole world might derive instruction and profit. +To secure the utmost perfection in every department, no expense was +spared. The drawings for the engravers to engrave from, were executed by +the most distinguished artists, in order to ensure that every +peculiarity, perfection, and <i>imperfection</i> in the originals should be +exactly copied, and these are pointed out in the accompanying +criticisms. These drawings alone cost the French government 400,000 +francs.</p> + +<p>The engravings were executed by the most distinguished engravers of +Europe, without regard to country, among whom it is sufficient to +mention Raffaelle Morghen, the Chevalier von Müller, and his son C. F. +von Müller, Bervic, Richomme, Rosaspina, Bartolozzi, Gandolfi, +Schiavonetti, the elder and younger Laurent, Massard, Girardet, Lignon, +Chatillon, Audouin, Forster, Claessens, etc. Stanley says that proof +impressions of Bervic's masterpiece, the Laocoön, have been sold in +London for thirty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> guineas each. There are many prints in these works +not less celebrated, and which are regarded by connoisseurs as +masterpieces of the art.</p> + +<p>Nor was this all. Napoleon summoned Visconti, the famous antiquary, +archæologist, and connoisseur, from Rome to Paris, to assist in getting +up the admirable descriptions and criticisms, particularly of the +ancient statues. This department was confided to Visconti, Guizot, +Clarac, and the elder Duchesne. The supervision of the engraving and +publishing department was entrusted to the Messrs. Robilliard, +Peronville, and Laurent. These works were published in numbers of four +plates, atlas folio, at the price of 96 francs each for the proofs +before the letter, and 48 francs for the prints. The first number of the +Musée Français was issued in 1803, and the last in 1811; but the Musée +Royal, which was intended to supply the deficiencies of the Musée +Français, was not completed till 1819; nevertheless, it was Napoleon's +work, though consummated in the reign of Louis XVIII.</p> + +<p>The Musée Français was originally published in five volumes, and +contains, besides the descriptions and criticisms on the plates, +admirable essays—1st. on the History of Painting, from its origin in +ancient times down to the time of Cimabue; 2d. on the History of +Painting in the German, Dutch, Flemish, and French schools; 3d. on the +History of Engraving; 4th. on the History of Ancient Sculpture. The +Musée Royal was published in two vol<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>umes. A second edition of the Musée +Français was published by the Messrs. Galignani, in four volumes, with +an English and French letter-press, but both greatly abridged. The +letter-press of the Musée Royal has never been rendered into English. +The plates were sold by the French government in 1836, since which time +a small edition has been printed from both works.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BOYDELL'S SHAKSPEARE GALLERY.</h2> + + +<p>About the year 1785, Alderman J. Boydell, of London, conceived the +project of establishing a 'Shakspeare Gallery,' upon a scale of grandeur +and magnificence which should be in accordance with the fame of the +poet, and, at the same time, reflect honor upon the state of the arts in +Great Britain and throughout the world. Mr. Boydell was at this time a +man of great wealth and influence, and a patron of the fine arts, being +an engraver himself, and having accumulated his fortune mostly by +dealings in works of that character.</p> + +<p>He advertised for designs from artists throughout Great Britain, and +paid a guinea for every one submitted, whether accepted or not; and for +every one accepted by the committee, a prize of one hundred guineas. The +committee for selecting these designs was composed of five eminent +artists, Boydell himself being the president. The first painters of the +age were then employed to paint these pic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>tures, among whom were Sir +Joshua Reynolds, Sir Benjamin West, Fusell, Romney, Northcote, Smirke, +Sir William Beechy, and Opie.</p> + +<p>Allan Cunningham, in his 'Lives of Eminent British Artists,' mentions +that Sir Joshua Reynolds was at first opposed to Boydell's project, as +impracticable on such an immense scale, and Boydell, to gain his +approbation and assistance, privately sent him a letter enclosing a +£1000 Bank of England note, and requesting him to paint two pictures at +his own price. What sum was paid by Boydell for these pictures was never +known. A magnificent building was erected in Pall Mall to exhibit this +immense collection, called the Shakspeare Gallery, which was for a long +time the pride of London.</p> + +<p>The first engravers of England were employed to transfer these gems to +copper, and such artists as Sharp, Bartolozzi, Earlom, Thew, Simon, +Middiman, Watson, Fyttler, Wilson, and many others, exerted their +talents for years in this great work. In some instances, the labor of +more than five years was expended on a single plate, and proof +impressions were taken for subscribers at almost every stage of the +work. At length in 1803, after nearly twenty years, the work was +completed. The price fixed (which was never reduced) was two guineas +each for the first three hundred impressions, and the subscription list +was then filled up at one guinea each, or one hundred guineas a set of +one hundred plates.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span></p> + +<p>Besides these subscriptions, large donations were made by many of the +noblemen of England, to encourage the undertaking, and to enable Boydell +to meet his enormous outlay. The cost of the whole work, from the +commencement, is said to have been about one million pounds sterling; +and although the projector was a wealthy man when he commenced it, he +died soon after its completion, a bankrupt to the amount, it is said, of +£250,000.</p> + +<p>After these plates were issued, Boydell petitioned Parliament to allow +him to dispose of his gallery of paintings by a lottery. The petition +was granted, and the whole collection was thus disposed of. One of the +finest of these pictures, King Lear, by Sir Benjamin West, is now in the +Boston Athenæum.</p> + +<p>One fact in relation to these plates gives great value to them. "All the +principal historical characters are genuine portraits of the persons +represented in the play; every picture gallery and old castle in England +was ransacked to furnish these portraits."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>BRIEF SKETCH OF A PLAN FOR AN AMERICAN NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART.</h2> + + +<p>Public Galleries of Art are now regarded by the most enlightened men, +and the wisest legislators, as of incalculable benefit to every +civilized country.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> (See vol. i., page 6, of this work.) +They communicate to the mind, through the eye, "the accumulated wisdom +of ages," relative to every form of beauty, in the most rapid and +captivating manner. If such institutions are important in Europe, +abounding in works of art, how much more so in our country, separated as +it is by the broad Atlantic from the artistic world, which few +comparatively can ever visit: many of our young artists, for the want of +such an institution, are obliged to grope their way in the dark, and to +spend months and years to find out a few simple principles of art.</p> + +<p>A distinguished professor, high in public estimation, has declared that +the formation of such an institution in this country, however important +and desirable it may be, is almost hopeless. He founds his opinion on +the difficulty of obtaining the authenticated works of the great +masters, and the enormous prices they now command in Europe. The writer +ventures to declare it as his long cherished opinion that a United +States National Gallery is entirely practicable, as far as all useful +purposes are concerned; and at a tithe of the cost of such institutions +in Europe. In the present state of the Fine Arts in our country, we +should not attempt to emulate European magnificence, but utility. The +"course of empire is westward," and in the course of time, as wealth and +taste increases, sale will be sought here, as now in England, for many +works of the highest art. It is also to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> hoped that some public +benefactors will rise to our assistance. After the foundation of the +institution, it may be extended according to the taste and wants of the +country; professorships may be added, and the rarest works purchased. +When the country can and will afford it, no price should be regarded too +great for a perfect masterpiece of art, as a model in a national +collection. To begin, the Gallery should contain,</p> + +<p>1st. A complete library of all standard works on Art, historical and +illustrative, in every language.</p> + +<p>2d. A collection of the masterpieces of engraving; these should be +mounted on linen, numbered, bound, described and criticised.</p> + +<p>3d. A complete collection of casts of medals and antique gems, where the +originals cannot be obtained. There are about 70,000 antique medals of +high importance to art. (See Numismatics, vol. iii., p. <a href='#Page_269'><b>269</b></a>, +of this work.) These casts could easily be obtained through our +diplomatic agents; they should be taken in Plaster of Paris or Sulphur, +double—i.e., the reverse and obverse,—classified, catalogued, +described, and arranged in cases covered with plate glass, for their +preservation.</p> + +<p>4th. A collection of plaster casts of all the best works of sculpture, +particularly of the antique. Correct casts of the Elgin marbles are sold +by the British Museum at a very reasonable price, and in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> this case +would doubtless be presented to the institution.</p> + +<p>5th. A collection of Paintings. This is the most difficult part of the +project, yet practicable. Masterpieces of the art only should be +admitted, but historical authenticity disregarded. The works of the +great masters have been so closely imitated, that there are no certain +marks of authenticity, where the history of the picture cannot be +traced. (See Spooner's Dictionary of Painters, etc., Introduction, and +Table of Imitators.) Half the pictures in foreign collections cannot be +authenticated, and many of those which are, are not the best productions +of the master, nor worthy of the places they occupy. (See Mrs. Jameson's +Hand-Book to the Public Galleries in and near London; also the +Catalogues of the various Public Galleries of Europe.) Therefore, +instead of paying 5,000 or 10,000 guineas for an authenticated piece by +a certain master, as is sometimes done in Europe, competent and <i>true</i> +men should be appointed to select capital works, executed in the style +of the great masters. Many such can be had in this country as well as in +Europe, at moderate prices.</p> + +<p>6th. The Institution should be located in New York, as the most +convenient place, and as the great centre of commerce, where artists +could most readily dispose of their works. For this favor, the city +would doubtless donate the ground, and her citizens make liberal +contributions. The edifice should be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> built fire-proof, and three +stories high—the upper with a skylight, for the gallery of paintings. +Such an institution need not be very expensive; yet it would afford the +elements for the instruction and accomplishment of the painter, the +engraver, the sculptor, the architect, the connoisseur, the +archæologist, and the public at large; it would be the means of +awakening and developing the sleeping genius of many men, to the honor, +glory, and advantage of their country, which, without it, must sleep on +forever. See vol. ii., pp. 149 and 155, and vol. iii., p. <a href='#Page_265'><b>265</b></a> +of this work.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h2> + +<div class="trans-note"> + Transcriber's Note: The Index covers all three volumes of this work. +Only the links pertinent to Volume III have been completed on this occasion. + </div> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Advantages of the Cultivation of the Fine Arts to a Country, i, 6;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sir M. A. Shoe's Opinion, i, 6;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sir George Beaumont's, i, 7;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">West's, i, 8;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Taylor's, i, 9;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">see also, i, 69;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds' Opinion, i, 204;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Napoleon's, iii, <a href='#Page_274'>274</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ætion, his picture of the Nuptials of Alexander and Roxana, ii, 184.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Agaptos, Porticos of, ii, 185.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ageladus, his works, ii, 185.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Aldobrandini Wedding, Fresco of, ii, 55.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Allston, Washington, i, 60;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Prayer answered, i, 61;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his success in London, i, 62;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 62;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vanderlyn's letter—his Reflections on his Death, i, 63.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">American Patronage at Home and Abroad, i, 66;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Weir, Greenough, and Cooper's testimony, i, 67;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cooper's Letter, i, 68.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Amiconi, Jacopo, iii, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Angelo, Michael, his Early Passion for Art, i, 47;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Mask of a Satyr, i, 48;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Sleeping Cupid, i, 48;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Angela and Julius II, i, 50;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">St. Peter's Church, i, 50;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Angelo and Lorenzo the Magnificent, i, 52;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Cartoon of Pisa, i, 53;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Last Judgment, i, 54;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Coloring, i, 56;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Grace, i, 57;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Oil Paintings, i, 58;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Prophets and Julius II, i, 58;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Bon-Mots, i, 59;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Angelo and Raffaelle, i, 70-72.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Anguisciola, Sofonisba, iii, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">her Early Distinction, iii, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">her Invitation to Spain iii, <a href='#Page_130'>130</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">her Marriages, iii, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">her Residence at Genoa, her Honors, and her Intercourse with</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vandyck, iii, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Antique Sculptures in Rome, ii, 159.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Antiquities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, ii, 43.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Antiquity of the Fine Arts, i, 12.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Aparicio, Canova, and Thorwaldsen, i, 236.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apelles, i, 18;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, i, 18;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Industry, i, 19;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portraits of Philip and Alexander, i, 19;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Venus Anadyomene, i, 20;</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apelles and the Cobbler, i, 23;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Foaming Charger, i, 24;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Freedom with Alexander, i, 25;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Apelles and Protogenes, i, 25;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the celebrated Contest of Lines, i, 26;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Generosity to Protogenes, i, 28.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apelles of Ephesus, i, 93;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Treatment by Ptolomy Philopator, i, 94;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Revenge in his famous Picture of Calumny, i, 94;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lucian's description of it, i, 94;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Raffaelle's Drawing of it, i, 95;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Proof that there were two Painters named Apelles, i, 95.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apollo Belvidere—West's Criticism, i, 41.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apollo, Colossal Etruscan, i, 90.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apollodorus the Painter, i, 162;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works and Style, i, 163.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Apollodorus the Architect, i, 163;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Worke, i, 164;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Trajan's Column, i, 164;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Apollodorus and Adrian, i, 165;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Wicked Death, i, 165.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Aqueducts of Ancient Rome, ii 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arch, Origin and Antiquity of the, ii. 41.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arches, Triumphal, ii, 157.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Archimedes, iii, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Genius, Discoveries, and Inventions, iii, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Wonderful Machines, iii, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death and Monument, iii, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Story of his Burning Glasses proved true, iii, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ardemans and Bocanegra—a Trial of Skill, iii, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Art, Egyptian, iii, <a href='#Page_1'>1-42</a>, and iii, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Art, Grecian, derived from the Egyptian—Champollion's Opinion, iii, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Origin of, iii, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Athenians, Ingratitude of, to Artists, i, 159.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Backhuysen, Ludolph, Sketch of his Life and Works, iii, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Banks, Thomas—his Ambition, i, 2;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Character, i, 295;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Genius, i, 297;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Kindness to Young Sculptors, i, 298;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Personal Appearance and Habits, i, 299;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Flaxman's Tribute, i, 300.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Barry, James—his Enthusiasm, i, 2;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Poverty, Death, and Monument, i, 3;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Johnson's Opinion of his Genius, i, 3.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bassano, Jacopo—singular instance of his Skill, ii, 139.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beaumont, Sir George—his Opinion of the Importance of the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Fine Arts, i, 7;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">his Enthusiasm and munificent gift to the English National</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Gallery, i, 7.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beauty, Ideal, as Conceived and Practiced by the Greatest</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Masters, ii, 247.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Belzoni—his Travels in Egypt, iii, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Belzoni Sarcophagus, ii, 194.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bernazzano, the Zeuxis of Italy, ii, 140.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bernini, the Cav., i, 101;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Precocity, i, 101;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Bust of Charles I. and his Prediction, i, 101;</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bernini and Louis XIV., i, 102;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Triumphal Visit to Paris, i, 102;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Medal struck in his Honor, i, 103;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, i, 103;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Restoration of the Verospi Hercules, i, 104;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanzi's Critique, i, 103;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Love of Splendor and his Riches, i, 104;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Bernini and Urban VIII., iii, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Blake, William—his Enthusiasm, Eccentricity, and Poverty, i, 3;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his melancholy yet triumphant Death, i, 4.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, iii, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bridge, Trajan's, across the Danube, i, 164.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bridge, Mandrocles', across the Bosphorus, ii, 162.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bridge, the Britannia Railway Tubular, iii <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Tubes, iii, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Piers, iii, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Construction of the Tubes, iii, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Floating the Tubes, iii, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Raising the Tubes, iii, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the prodigious Hydraulic Presses used, iii, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Bursting of one, iii, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sir Francis Head's Description, iii, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cost of the Structure, iii, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brower, Adrian, iii, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Escape from a Cruel Master, iii, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Brower, the Duke d'Aremberg, and Rubens, iii, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, iii, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, iii, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brunelleschi, Filippo—remarkable instance of the Trials and Triumphs</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of Genius, iii, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Inquiring Mind, Industry, and Discoveries, iii, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Genius, iii, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Ambition, iii, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his first Visit to Rome and Assiduity, iii, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Assembly of Architects to consult on the best means of raising the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cupola of the Cathedral of Florence, iii, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Invitation back to Florence, iii, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Discourse, iii, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">grand Assemblage of Architects from all parts of Europe, iii, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">their Opinions and ridiculous Projects to raise the Cupola, iii, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Filippo's Opposition and Discourse, iii, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">taken for a Madman, and driven out of the Assembly, iii, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Discourse, iii, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Arguments, and his Proposal that he who could make an Egg stand</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">on one end should build the Cupola, iii, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Plan submitted, iii, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">its Adoption, iii, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Opposition encountered, iii, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lorenzo Ghiberti associated with him, iii, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Vexation and Despair, iii, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Commencement of the Work, iii, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lorenzo's incapacity for such a Work, iii, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Filippo's Scheme to get rid of him, iii, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lorenzo disgraced, iii, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Filippo appointed Sole Architect, iii, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Industry, the wonderful Resources of his Mind, and his</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">triumphant Success, iii, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Filippo chosen Magistrate of the City, iii, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Jealousies he still encountered, iii, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Arrest, Mortifying Affront, and Triumph, iii, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Grandeur and Magnificence of his Cupola, iii, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enthusiasm, iii, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Brunelleschi and Donatello, iii, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Buffalmacco, the successor of Giotto, ii, 267;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his comical Tricks to enjoy his sweetest Sleep, ii, 268;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Employment by the Nuns of Faenza, ii, 270;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Use of their best wine, ii, 272;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Employment by Bishop Guido, ii, 273;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Comical Pranks of the Bishop's Monkey, ii, 274;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Trick on the Bishop, ii, 277;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Origin of Libel Painting, ii, 278;</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Utility of ancient paintings, ii, 280;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Commission from the Countryman, and its curious execution, ii, 282;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Commission from the Perugians, ii, 283;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">their Impertinence requited, ii, 284;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Novel Mode of enforcing Payment, ii, 285.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Callot, Jacques, iii, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his uncontrollable Passion for Art, iii, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Patriotism, iii, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Callimachus—his invention of the Corinthian Capital, i, 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cambiaso, Luca—his Precocity and remarkable Facility of Hand, iii, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Invitation to Spain, iii, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Luca and Philip II., iii, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Artistic Merits, iii, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Boschini and Mengs' Opinions, iii, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Campaspe and Apelles, i, 21.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Campus Martius, i, 91.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cano, Alonso, i, 230;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Liberality, i, 231;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Eccentricities, i, 231;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Hatred of the Jews, i, 232;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Ruling Passion strong in Death, i, 234;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cano and the Intendant of the Bishop of Malaga, iii, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his love of Sculpture, iii, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Canova—his Visit to his Native Place in his old age, i, 32.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Capitol, ancient, of Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Capugnano and Lionello Spada, iii, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Caracci, the School of, ii, 122.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Caracci, Annibale—his Letter to Lodovico, and his Opinion of the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Works of Correggio, i, 253;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">instance of his Skill, ii, 137;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Jealousy of Agostino, iii, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carburi, Count—his Skill in Engineering, iii, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Caracciolo, Gio. Battista—his Intrigues, ii, 128.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carducci, Bartolomeo—his kind Criticism, iii, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carlos, the Four, of the 17th Century, ii, 184.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Caravaggio, Michael Angelo da—his Quarrelsome Disposition</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and his Death, iii, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carreño, Don Juan, and Charles II, iii, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Copy of Titian's St. Margaret, iii, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Abstraction of Mind, iii, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Castagno, Andrea del, his Treachery and Death, ii, 144.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Castillo's Sarcasm on Alfaro, iii, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Catacombs of Egypt, iii, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Catino, the Sagro, or Emerald Dish, iii, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cellini, Benvenute, iii, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cellini and Urban VIII;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his absolution for sins committed in the service of the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Church, iii, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cespedes, Pablo—his Last Supper, iii, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Zuccaro's Compliment to Cespedes, iii, <a href='#Page_210'>210</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chair of St. Peter, iii, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Church, St Peter's, iii, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Churches of Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cimabue, Giovanni—Sketch of his Life, ii, 251;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Style, ii, 252;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Passion for Art, ii, 252;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his famous picture of the Virgin, ii, 253;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">remarkable instance of homage to Art, ii, 254;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, ii, 255;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, ii, 256;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Care of Giotto, ii, 257.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cloaca Maxima at Rome, ii, 42.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Coello, Claudio, his challenge to Giordano, ii, 234.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Column, Trajan's, i, 164.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Column of Austerlitz, iii, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Colosseum, description of, ii, 29;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Montaigne's quaint account of its Spectacles, ii, 31.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Colossus of the Sun at Rhodes, ii, 162.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Columbus and the Egg," story of, derived by him from</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Brunelleschi, iii, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Contarini, Cav. Giovanni—his skill in Portraits, ii, 139.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Contri, Antonio—his method of transferring frescos from walls to</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">canvass, ii, 146;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">see also Palmarolis, ii, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cooper, J. Fennimore—his Encouragement of Greenough, i, 66;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Letter to Induce his Countrymen to Patronize their own</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Artists, i, 67.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Corenzio, Belisario—his Intrigues, ii, 128.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Corinthian Capital, invention of, i, 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Correggio—Sketch of his Life, i, 243;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Cupola of the Church of St. John at Parma, i, 244;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his grand Cupola of the Cathedral, i, 246;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Fate Exaggerated, i, 249;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanzi's Opinion, i, 251;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Marriage and Children, i, 252;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Caracci's Opinion of Correggio, and his Letter, i, 258;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enthusiasm, i, 255;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Grace, i, 255;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Correggio and the Monks, i, 256;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Kindness—his Muleteer, i, 256;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Duke of Wellington's Correggio, i, 257;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Correggio's Ancona, i, 257;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Portraits of Correggio, i, 258;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">did Correggio ever visit Rome? i, 259;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Singular History of Correggio's Adoration of the Shepherds, i, 261;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of his Education of Cupid, i, 262;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of a Magdalen, i, 264;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of a Charity, i, 265;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the celebrated Nótte of Correggio, iii, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cortona, Pietro—Sketch of his Life, iii, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Anecdotes of, iii, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">David, Jacques Louis, i, 176;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Politics and Love of Liberty, i, 176;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">David and Napoleon, i, 177;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Banishment to Brussels, i, 177;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his famous picture of the Coronation of Napoleon, i, 178;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">David and Canova, i, 179;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Napoleon's Compliments to David, i, 180;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the King of Wurtemberg's, i, 181;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">List of Portraits it contained, i, 182;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">its Barbarous Destruction by the Bourbons, i, 184;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">David and the Duke of Wellington at Brussels, i, 184;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">David and the Cardinal Caprara, i, 185;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Talma and David in his Banishment, i, 186.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Denon, the Baron—his description of the Necropolis of Thebes, iii, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Employment by Napoleon, iii, <a href='#Page_302'>302</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Digby, Sir Kenelm—his Love Adventure in Spain, iii, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dinocrates—his Proposal to cut Mount Athos into a Statue of Alexander</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Great, ii, 165;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pope's Idea of its Practicability, ii, 166;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dinocrates' Temple with an Iron Statue suspended in the air by</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Loadstone, ii, 168.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Domenichino, ii, 121;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Dullness in his Youth, ii, 121;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Caracci's prediction of his rise to Eminence, ii, 122;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanzi and Mengs' Testimony of his Genius and Merits, ii, 123;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Scourging of St. Andrew, ii, 123;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Communion of St. Jerome, ii, 124;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enemies at Rome, ii, 125;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanzi's Account of the Decision of Posterity on his Merits, ii, 126;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Caricatures, ii, 128;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Intrigues of the Neapolitan Triumvirate of Painters, ii, 128;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanzi's Account of this disgraceful Cabal, ii, 129;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works in the Chapel of St Januarius, and the Prices he</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">received, ii, 131;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, ii, 132.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Donatello, iii, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Donatello and the Merchant, iii, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Donatello and his unworthy Kinsmen, iii, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, iii, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Donatello and Michael Angelo Compared, iii, <a href='#Page_128'>128</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Donatello and Brunelleschi, iii, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Donatello and Uccello, ii, 292.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Douw, Gerard, iii, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Style, iii, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Method of Painting, iii, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, iii, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Dropsical Woman, iii, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dramatic Scenery at Rome, i, 93.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Durer, Albert, iii, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his unfortunate Marriage, iii, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works as a Painter, iii, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works as an Engraver, iii, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Fame and Death, iii, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Habits, iii, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Literary Works, iii, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Egyptian Art, iii, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>, and iii, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Electioneering Pictures at Rome, i, 91.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Emulation and Rivalry of Advantage to Artists, iii, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Engraving, Invention of Copper-Plate, i, 287.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Era, Brightest, of Grecian Art, i, 11, and ii, 154.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Era, Brightest, of Roman Art, ii, 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Era, Brightest, of Italian Art, ii, 149.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eyck, John van—his Invention of Oil Painting, ii, 141.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fabius Maximus—his Estimation of Art, i, 145.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fanaticism, Religious, destructive to Art, i, 105;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">its Effects in England, i, 105.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Figure, the Nude, i, 109;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Barry's Opinion, i, 109;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Schlegel's, i, 110.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fine Arts, Golden Age of, in Greece, i, 11.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fine Arts, Golden Age of, in Rome, ii, 152</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fine Arts, Golden Age of, In Italy, ii, 149.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Finiguerra, Maso—his Invention of Copper-Plate Engraving, i, 287.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fiorentino, Stefano, one of the Fathers of Painting, ii, 286.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Foreshortening, ii, 145;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">its Invention, ii, 145.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fontana, Domenico, iii, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Removal of an Obelisk at Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dangers he Encountered, iii, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Honors bestowed on him for his Success, iii, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Force of Habit, i, 202.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fornarina, La Bella, i, 75.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fountain, the Elephant, iii, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Four Carlos of the 17th Century," ii, 184.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Four Finest Pictures at Rome," ii, 183</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frescos, Ancient, ii, 55;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Aldobrandini Wedding, ii, 56.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fuseli, Henry—his Birth, ii, 59;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Early Passion for Art, ii, 59;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Literary and Poetical Taste, ii, 60;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fuseli, Lavater, and the Unjust Magistrate, ii, 61;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Travels and Literary Distinction, ii, 62;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Arrival in London, ii, 63;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Change from Literature to Painting, ii, 63;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to Italy, ii, 65;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his "Nightmare," ii, 66;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Œdipus and his Daughters, ii, 66;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fuseli and the Shakspeare Gallery, ii, 67;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Hamlet's Ghost, ii, 69;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Titania, ii, 69;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Election as a Royal Academician, ii, 70;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fuseli and Walpole, ii, 71;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fuseli and Coutts, ii, 72;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fuseli and Prof. Porson, ii, 72;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Method of giving Vent to his Passion, ii, 73;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Love of Terrific Subjects, ii, 73;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Revenge on Lawrence, ii, 74;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Estimate of Reynolds as an Historical Painter, ii, 75;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Friendship for Lawrence, ii, 75;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fuseli as Keeper of the Royal Academy, ii, 76;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Jests and Oddities with the Students, ii, 77;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Sarcasms on Northcote, ii, 78;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">on various Artists, ii, 79;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Retorts, ii, 80;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Retort in Mr. Coutts' Banking-House, ii, 82;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Sarcasm on Landscape and Portrait Painters, ii, 83;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his own Attainment of Happiness, ii, 84;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Habits, ii, 84;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Wife's Novel Method of Curing his Fits of Despondency, ii, 85;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Personal Appearance, Sarcastic Disposition, and Quick</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Temper, ii, 86;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Near Sight, ii, 87;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Popularity, ii, 88;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Artistic Merits, ii, 88;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Milton Gallery, etc., ii, 89.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fulton, Robert, as a Painter, i, 122;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Love of Art, i, 123;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Exalted Mind, i, 123;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Account of his first Steamboat Voyage to Albany, and his</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Predictions, i, 124.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gallery, English National, i, 107.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gallery, Dresden, iii, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gallery of the Louvre, iii, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a> and <a href='#Page_302'>302</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gallery, United States National—Suggestions for One, iii, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Galleries, Prices of, i, 112.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Galletti, Pietro, and the Bolognese Students, ii, 184.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Garland Twiner, i, 148.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gaulli, Gio. Battista—his Excellence in Portraiture, iii, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his curious method of Painting the Dead, iii, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Genius, Trials of, i, 1, and iii, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ghiberti, Lorenzo—his famous Doors of San Giovanni, i, 60, and iii, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">as an Architect, iii, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Giordano, Luca—his Wonderful Precocity, ii, 224;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enthusiasm, ii, 225;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Origin of his Nickname of <i>Luca-fa Presto</i>, ii, 226;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Skill in copying and Imitating, ii, 226;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success at Naples, ii, 227;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Giordano, the Viceroy, and the Duke of Diano, ii, 228;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Invitation to Florence—Giordano and Carlo Dolci, ii, 229;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Invitation to the Court of Spain, ii, 230;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Flattering Reception, ii, 230;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works in Spain, ii, 231;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">in the Escurial, ii, 232;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Habits, iii <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his first Picture at Madrid, ii, 233;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">a great Favorite at Court, ii, 234;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Coello's Challenge, ii, 234;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Anecdotes, ii, 234;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Painting with his Fingers, ii, 235;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rich Presents he Received, ii, 236;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Naples, ii, 236;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Reception at Genoa, Florence, Rome and Naples, ii, 237;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Personal Appearance and Character, ii, 237;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Popularity, Love of Gain, and "Three Sorts of Pencils," ii, 238;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Riches, ii, 238;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Wonderful Facility of Hand, ii, 239;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Fame and Reputation, ii, 240;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Genius and merits, ii, 241;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Tricks for Notoriety, his False Style and its Injurious Effects</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">on Art at the Time, ii, 241;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Remarkable Instance of his Rapidity of Execution in his altar-piece</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of St. Francis Xavier, ii, 242.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Giotto—Sketch of his Life, ii, 257;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Early Passion for Art, ii, 257;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, ii, 258;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">as an Architect, ii, 259;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his St. Francis Stigmata, ii, 259;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Invitation to Rome, ii, 260;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Round as Giotto's O," ii, 261;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Story of his Living Model, ii, 262;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Giotto and the King of Naples, ii, 264;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Bon Mots, ii, 265;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Giotto and Dante, ii, 266;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Death of Giotto ii 266.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Giottino, ii, 286.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gladiator, Statue of the Dying, i, 144.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gladiator, Statue of the Fighting, ii, 187.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Glass, Ancient, ii, 57;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ancient Pictures of, ii, 58.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Golden Age of Art in Greece, i, 11, and ii, 154.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Golden Age of Art in Rome, ii, 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Golden Age of Art in Italy, ii, 149.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Goldsmith, Dr., and Reynolds, i, 199;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his "Deserted Village," i, 200;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Retaliation, i, 200.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gomez, the Slave of Murillo, iii, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grecian Art derived from the Egyptians, iii, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Greenough, Horatio—his Chanting Cherubs, i, 67;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Commission for his Statue of Washington for the Capitol, i, 68;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Modesty, i, 69;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his account of the Miraculous Picture of the Virgin at</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Florence, iii, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Griffier, John—his Perilous Adventure, iii, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Group of Niobe and her Children, ii, 185.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Group of Laocoön and his Sons, ii, 187.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Guercino—his Power of Relief, ii, 140.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hals, Frank, and Vandyck, ii, 312.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hanneman—his picture of Peace, i, 310.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Harpies, Curious Representations of, iii, <a href='#Page_181'>181</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Heliopolis, iii, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Herculaneum—its Destruction—Antiquities and Works of Art</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">discovered, ii, 43.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hogarth—Value of his Works, i, 6;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Genius, i, 166;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Apprenticeship, i, 167;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Revenge, i, 168;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Method of Sketching an Incident, i, 168;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Marriage, i, 168;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Successful Expedient to get Payment, i, 169;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Picture of the Red Sea, i, 170;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Courtesy, i, 171;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Absence of Mind, i, 171;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his March to Finchley, i, 172;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his unfortunate Dedication to the King, i, 172;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Strange Manner of Selling his Pictures, i, 172;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Paltry Prices he received, i, 174;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his last Work, "the Tail-Piece," i, 175;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 176.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Holbein, Hans, ii, 216;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portrait with the Fly, ii, 216;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to England, ii, 216;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Holbein and Henry VIII., ii, 217;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Adventure with the Nobleman, ii, 217;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the King's Rebuke and Protection, ii, 218;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portrait of the Duchess of Milan, ii, 218;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Dangerous Flattery, ii, 219;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portrait of Cratzer, ii, 219;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portraits of Sir Thomas More and his Family, ii, 220;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Bon-Mot of Sir Thomas, ii, 221.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Illusions in Painting, i, 228;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Singular Pictorial, ii, 137.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Industry necessary to Success in Art—Reynold's Opinion, i, 201;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Durer's, iii, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a> and <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Michael Angelo's, i, 60;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Apelles', i, 19;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Da Vinci's, i, 275, 280, and 282;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vernet's, ii, 297 and 299;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rubens', i, 80 and 82;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Raffaelle's, i, 71;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Poussin's, iii, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a> and <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Gierdano's, ii, 226 and 233;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Brunelleschi's, iii, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a> and <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Infelicities of Artists, i, 1-6.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ingenuity of Artists, iii, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Inquisition, Evil Influence of the, on Spanish Art, i, 211;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Torreggiano, i, 2;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Sir Anthony Moore, iii, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jarvis, John Wesley, i, 113;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Eccentricity, and Lore of Jesting, Mimicking, and</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Story-Telling, i, 113;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Ludicrous Readings from Shakspeare, i, 115;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dr. Francis' Account of him, i, 116;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the "Biggest Lie," i, 118;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Jarvis and Bishop Moore, i, 119;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Commodore Perry, i, 119;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and the Philosopher, i, 120;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Dr. Mitchell, i, 120;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Habits, i, 121;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Jarvis and Sully, i, 122;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Fondness for Notoriety, i, 122.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jervas, Charles, ii, 213;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Jervas and Pope, ii, 214;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Dr. Arbuthnot, ii, 215;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Vanity, ii, 215;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kneller's Sarcasm, ii, 216.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jewelers, a hint to, iii, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Johnson, Dr.—his Friendship for Reynolds, i, 196;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Apology for Portrait Painting, i, 197;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portrait, i, 198;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 199.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Julian the Apostate—his Attempt to rebuild Jerusalem, ii, 160.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jupiter—see Temples and Statues.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Kirk, Thomas—his Genius, Misfortune, and untimely Death, i, 5.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Kneller, Sir Godfrey—his Arrival in England, and great Success, i, 96;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kneller's Portrait of Charles II., i, 99;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kneller and James II., i, 97;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Compliment to Louis XIV., i, 97;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Wit and Bon-Mots, i, 98;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Knowledge of Physiognomy, i, 99;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kneller as a Justice of the Peace, i, 99;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Decisions regulated by Equity rather than Law, i, 99;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kneller and Clostermans, i, 100.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">La Bella Fornarina, i, 75.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Labyrinth of Egypt, iii, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lake Moeris, iii, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lamps, Perpetual, ii, 182.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Laocoön, Group of the, ii, 187;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pliny's Account of, ii, 189;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Michael Angelo's Opinion, ii, 190;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sangallo's Account of its Discovery, ii, 190.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lanfranco, the Cav., ii, 91;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Hostility to Domenichino, ii, 125.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lasson, M. de—his Caricature, ii, 311.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Layard—his Nineveh and its Remains, ii, 34.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lebas, M.—his Removal of an Obelisk from Thebes to Paris, iii, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Louvre, Gallery of the, iii, <a href='#Page_302'>302</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dismantling of, iii, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Love makes a Painter, i, 112, i, 148, i, 235, and iii, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Love of Art among the Romans, i, 146.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Luca-fa-Presto, ii, 226.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mabuse, John de, Anecdote of, iii, <a href='#Page_246'>246</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mandrocles' Bridge across the Bosphorus, ii, 162.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">March, Estéban—his Strange Method of Study, iii, <a href='#Page_198'>198</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Adventure of the Fish fried in Linseed Oil, iii, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Marbles, very curious Imitations of, ii, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Marbles, the Elgin, ii, 171.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Matsys, Quintin, i, 112;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Love and Monument, i, 113.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Masters, the Old, i, 111.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mausolus, Tomb of, ii, 161.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mechanics, Comparative Skill of the Ancients and Moderns in, iii, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Medals, 70,000 Ancients, iii, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Medals of Napoleon, iii, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Memphis, iii, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Messina, Antonella da, ii, 143.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Methodius and the King of Bulgaria, iii, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mieris and Jan Steen, Frolics of, iii, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mignard Pierre—his Skill in imitating other Masters, i, 186;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">amusing instance of, i, 187;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Skill in Portraits, ii, 138.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Modesty, an Overplus of, dangerous to Success, i, 307.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Moeris, Lake of, iii, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">More, Sir Anthony, iii, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to Spain and great Success, iii, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to England and flattering Reception, iii, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">More and Philip II., iii, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his fortunate Escape, iii, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success and Works, iii, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Morland, George—Sketch of his Life, ii. 197;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his wonderful Precocity, ii, 198;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his early Fame, ii, 199;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Mental and Moral Culture under an Unnatural Parent, ii, 260;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Escape from his Thraldom, ii, 201;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Marriage and Temporary Reform, ii, 202;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Social Position, ii, 203;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his unpleasant Encounter, ii, 204;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Stay in the Isle of Wight, ii, 205;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Novel Mode of fulfilling commissions, ii, 206;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Morland and the Pig, ii, 206;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Pictures in the Isle of Wight, ii, 207;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Freaks, ii, 208;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Dread of Bailiffs, ii, 208;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Apprehension as a Spy, ii, 209;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Sign of the "Black Bull," ii, 210;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Morland and the Pawnbroker, ii, 211;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Idea of a Baronetcy, ii, 212;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Artistic Merits, ii, 212.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mosaics, i, 15;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ancient, ii, 55;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of the Battle of Platea, ii, 55.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mudo, El, and Titian's Last Supper, ii, 14.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Murillo, i. 236;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to Madrid and Velasquez, i, 236;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Seville, i, 237;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Murillo and Iriarte, i, 238;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 238;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Style, i, 239;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, i, 240;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Soult's Murillos, i, 240 and 242;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Castillo's Tribute, i, 242;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his "Virgin of the Napkin," iii, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his pictures in Spanish America, iii, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Anecdote of an Altar-Piece in Flanders, iii, <a href='#Page_194'>194</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Slave Gomez, iii, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Musée Francais and Musée Royal, iii, <a href='#Page_302'>302</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Names of Architects designated by Reptiles, ii, 156.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Napoleon—his Love of Art, iii, <a href='#Page_274'>274</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enlightened Policy to Encourage Art, iii, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works at Paris, iii, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The Napoleon Medals, iii, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Elephant Fountain, iii, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Interesting Drawing, iii, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sévres China, iii, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dismantling of the Louvre, iii, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Removal of the Venetian Horses, iii, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Removal of the Statue of Napoleon from the Column of</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Austerlitz, iii, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Needles, Cleopatra's, iii, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Niello, Works in, i, 286.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nineveh and its Remains, ii, 34;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Description of the Royal Palace exhumed at Nimroud, ii, 37;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Layard's description of its interior, ii, 39.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Niobe and her Children, Group of, ii, 185;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Schlegel's Criticism, ii, 186.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nollekens, Joseph, i, 301;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to Rome, i, 301;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nollekens and Garrick, i, 302;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Talents in Bust Sculpture, i, 303;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Bust of Johnson, i, 304;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Liberality and Kindness to Chantrey, i, 304;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nollekens and the Widow, i, 305;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his odd Compliments, i, 306.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Norgate, Edward—his Visit to Italy, Mishaps, and travelling Home on</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">foot, i, 308.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Northcote, James, and Fuseli, ii, 78.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Numismatics, iii, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Value of the Science to Archæology, Philology, the Fine</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Arts, etc., iii, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">70,000 Ancient Medals, iii, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Obelisks, Egyptian, iii, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Number of, at Rome, ii, 152;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Removal of one by Fontana, iii, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Removal of one from Thebes to Paris, iii, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cleopatra's Needles, iii, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Odeon, the first at Athens, ii, 182.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Olynthian Captive, Story of, i, 151.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Origin of Label Painting, ii, 278.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pacheco—his Opinions on Art as restricted by the Inquisition, i, 212.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pareda, Antonio—his Artifice to Keep up Appearances, iii, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pareja, Juan de, the Slave of Velasquez, i, 228;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Love of Painting and his Success, i, 229;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Gratitude to his Master, i, 229.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painter, perilous adventure of a, iii, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painter of Florence, Curious Legend of the, iii, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painter-Friar, the Devil, and the Virgin, iii, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting among the Egyptians, iii, <a href='#Page_1'></a> and <a href='#Page_263'>263</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting among the Greeks, i, 22, 27, and iii, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting among the Romans, i, 88, and ii, 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, Revival of, in Italy, ii, 244.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, Italian Schools of, ii, 292.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, Golden Age of, in Italy, ii, 149;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanzi's Philosophy of, ii, 150;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Milizia's, ii, 154.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting—different Schools Compared, i, 110.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, Effects of, on the Mind, i, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting from Nature, i, 18.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, Oil, Invention of, ii, 141.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, oldest Oil, extant, iii, <a href='#Page_181'>181</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, Portrait, Johnson's Apology for, i, 197.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Painting, Origin of Label, ii, 278.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Paintings transferred from Walls and Panels to Canvas, ii, 146.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Paintings, Curious, iii, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Paintings, Evanescent, i, 106.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Palace, Nero's Golden, ii, 155.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Palaces of Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Palmaroli—his Method of transferring Paintings from Walls and Panels</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">to Canvas, ii, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pantoja and the Eagle, iii, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Parrhasius, i, 150;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Demos and other Works, i, 150;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Olynthian Captive, i, 151;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Vanity, i, 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Parthenon at Athens, ii, 170;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">its Dilapidation, by the Venetians, Turks, and Lord Elgin, ii, 171.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pausias, i, 148; his Works and the Garland Twiner, i, 148.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Perpetual Lamps, ii, 182.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pharos, Light-house of, ii, 164.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Phidias, i, 157;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Statue of Minerva, i, 158, and ii, 171;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Phidias and Alcamenes, i, 159;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ingratitude of the Athenians, i, 159;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Olympian Jupiter, i, 17, and i, 160;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Model for the Olympian Jupiter, i, 161.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Picture of Ialysus and his Dog, Protogenes, i, 149, and i, 281.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Picture of Calumny, Apelles', i, 94.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Picture of the Virgin, the Miraculous, iii, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pictures, first brought to Rome, i, 88.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pictures of Glass, Ancient, ii, 58.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pictures, Four finest at Rome, ii, 183.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pillar of On, iii, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pœcile at Athens, i, 13.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pompeii—its Destruction;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Antiquities and Works of Art discovered, ii, 43;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vivid Sketch of its present Appearance, etc., by an American</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Traveler, ii, 46.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pope as a Painter—his Fame, i, 201;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Proficiency in the Art, ii, 214;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Idea of the Practicability of Dinocrates' Plan of cutting Mount</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Athos into a Statue of Alexander the Great, ii, 166.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Portici, the Site of Herculaneum, ii, 44 and 46.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Portraits, Female, Rarity of, in Spain, iii, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Poussin, Nicholas—his Noble Descent, iii, <a href='#Page_148'>148</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his First Celebrity, iii, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his first Visit to Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enthusiasm and Assiduity, iii, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Distress, and the Paltry Prices he received for his</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Works, iii, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Ultimate Appreciation and Success, iii, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Invitation back to Paris, iii, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">the King's Autograph Letter on the Occasion, iii, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>;</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Intrigues, his Disgust, and Secret Return to Rome, iii, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Modesty, unostentatious Mode of Living, and his</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Generosity, iii, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Poussin and Cardinal Mancini, iii, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds' Critique, iii, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Poussin and Marino, iii, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Poussin Romanized, iii, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Habits of Study, iii, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Old Age, iii, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Master-Piece, iii, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his last Work and Death, iii, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Letter to M. Felibien, iii, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Ideas of Painting, iii, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Poussin and the Nobleman, iii, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Mengs, iii, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Domenichino, iii, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Salvator Rosa, iii, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Dignity, iii, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Poussin, Angelo, and Raffaelle compared, iii, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prado, Blas de, and the Emperor of Morocco, iii, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Praxiteles, i, 155;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works—the Venus of Cnidus and the Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Praxiteles and Phryne, i, 156;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the King of Bithynia, and the Venus of Cnidus, i, 157.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Press, Hydraulic, explained, iii <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">its Tremendous Power and Use, iii, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Proctor, his Genius and Works, i, 4;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Misfortunes and melancholy Death, i, 5.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Protogenes, i, 149;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, and his famous picture of Ialysus and his Dog, i, 149;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Protogenes and Demetrius Poliorcetes, i, 28, and i, 149;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Apelles, i, 25.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pyramids of Egypt, iii, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pyramid of Cephren, Perilous Ascent of, iii, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Raffaelle, i, 70;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his ambition, i, 70;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Raffaelle and Michael Angelo, i, 71;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Transfiguration, i, 72;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 74;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Character, i, 74;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Mistress, i, 75;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Genius, i, 76;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Model for his Female Saints, i, 76;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Oil Paintings, i, 77;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portraits of Julius II., i, 78;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his different Manners, i, 78;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Skill in Portraits, ii, 138;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Skull of Raffaelle in the Academy of St Luke, ii, 183.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ranc, Jean—his Retort, iii, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rebuke, a Painter's just, iii, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Retort Courteous, a Painter's, iii, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rembrandt—Sketch of his Life, iii, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Studio and Models, iii, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his great Success, iii, <a href='#Page_172'>172</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Deceits to sell and increase the Price of his Works, iii, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his numerous Works, iii, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his extraordinary Merits as an Engraver, iii, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Reynolds, Sir Joshua, i, 188;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his pleasing Manners, Fortune, and Collection of Works of Art, i, 189;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his new Style and its Success, i, 189;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Prices, i, 191;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Method with his Sitters, i, 192;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Removal to Leicester Square, i, 192;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his showy Coach, i, 193;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Table and Guests, i, 194;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Founding of the Royal Academy, and his election as</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">President, i, 194;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds and Dr. Johnson, i, 195;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Johnson's Friendship for Reynolds, and his Apology for Portrait</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Painting, i, 196 and 197;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Literary Club, i, 198;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Johnson's Portrait, i, 198;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Johnson's Death, i, 199;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds and Dr. Goldsmith, i, 199;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the "Deserted Village," i, 200;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Retaliation," i, 200;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pope's Fan i, 201;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds' first Attempts in Art, i, 202;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Force of Habit, i, 202;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Paying the Piper, i, 203;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Modesty and his Generosity, i, 203;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Love of Art, i, 204;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Critique on Rubens, i, 205;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds and Haydn, i, 206;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Skill in Compliment, i, 207;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Excellent Advice, i, 208;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds as Mayor of Plympton and his two Portraits, i, 208;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Kindness of Heart, i, 209;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Burke's Eulogy, i, 209;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Experiments and Use of Old Paintings, i, 210;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Method of Working, i, 193;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rubens' Last Supper, i, 206.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rhodes, Statues and Paintings at, ii, 164.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ribalta Francisco—his Love Romance and his Success, i, 235.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ribera, Giuseppe, (Spagnoletto,) his Early Enthusiasm, Poverty, and</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Industry at Rome, ii, 133;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Naples and Marriage, ii, 134;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Rise to Eminence, ii, 135;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Discovery of the Philosopher's Stone, ii, 135;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Favorite Subjects, ii. 136;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Disposition, ii, 137;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Intrigues, ii, 138;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanzi's Account of his Death, ii, 132.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Riley, John, i, 307;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Diffidence and Merits, i, 308.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rizi, Francisco—his Rebuke to Antonilez, iii, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Romans, Fondness of, for Works of Art, i, 88;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">for Etruscan Sculpture, i, 90.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rome, Ancient, Glory of, ii, 152, and iii, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a> and <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">first Pictures brought to Rome, i, 88;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Electioneering pictures at Rome, i, 91;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dramatic Scenery at Rome, i, 93;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ancient Map of Rome, ii, 160;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">100,000 Statues at Rome, ii, 152.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rome, Modem—its Churches, Palaces, Villas, and Treasures of</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Art, iii, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rosa, Salvator, ii, 91;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cav. Lanfranco's Generosity, ii, 91;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rosa at Rome and Florence, ii, 92;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Rome, ii, 93;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">brightest Era of Landscape Painting, ii, 93;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Subjects, ii, 93;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his wonderful Facility of Execution, ii, 94;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Flagellation by the Monks, ii, 95;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rosa and the higgling Prince, ii, 96;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Opinion of his own Works, ii, 98;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Banditti, ii, 98;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rosa and Massaniello, ii, 100;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and Cardinal Sforza, ii, 100;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Manifesto, ii, 101;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Banishment from Rome, ii, 102;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Secret Visit to Rome, ii, 102;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Wit, ii, 103;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Reception at Florence, ii, 103;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Histrionic Powers, ii, 104;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Reception at the Pitti Palace, ii, 105;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Satires, ii, 92 and 105;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Harpsichord, ii, 106;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rare Portrait, ii, 106;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Rome, ii, 109;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Love of Show and Magnificence, ii, 109;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Last Works, ii, 111;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his over-weening Desire to be considered a Historical Painter, ii, 112;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ghigi, his Physician and Rosa, ii, 113;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lady Morgan's Account of his Death-Bed, ii, 115;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rosa and Poussin iii, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rosa and Fracanzani, iii, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rosada Tivoli, iii, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, iii, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his wonderful Rapidity of Hand, iii, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">a Wager won, iii, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Habits and Improvidence, iii, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rosa, Giovanni—a modern Zeuxis, ii, 139.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rosalba, Carriera, iii, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">her Modesty, and Knowledge of Tempers, iii, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rubens, Peter Paul, i, 79;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to Italy, i, 80;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Reception by the Duke of Mantua, i, 80;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enthusiasm, i, 80;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Embassy to Spain, i, 81;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Antwerp, i, 81;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Marriage, House, and rich collection of Works of Art, i, 81;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Habits, Extraordinary Memory and Acquirements, i, 82;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Detractors, i, 82;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Magnanimity, i, 83;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Gallery of the Luxembourg, i, 83;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rubens sent Ambassador to the Courts of Spain and England, i, 83;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Reception and Works at Madrid, i, 84;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Reception and Works in England, i, 84;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Delicacy, Address, and the Honors conferred on him on the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">occasion, i, 85;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 85;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Numerous Works, i, 86;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Method of Working, i, 206.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ruysch, Rachel—her Life and Works, iii, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scagliola or Mischia, Works in, ii, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Schwarts, amusing Anecdote of, iii, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sculpture, Invention of, i, 153;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Etruscan, i, 90;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Egyptian, iii, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Grecian, i, 154 and 157.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sculptures, Antique, at Rome, ii, 159.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seymour, Anecdotes of, and the Proud Duke, ii, 223.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shakspeare Gallery, iii, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sirani, Elizabeth—her Life and Works, iii, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">her melancholy Death, iii, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soane, Sir John, ii, 191;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success and Works, ii, 192;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Liberality and Public Munificence, ii, 192;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Museum, ii, 193 ;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the Belzoni Sarcophagus, ii, 194;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Tasso's MS. of Gerusalemme Liberata, ii, 195;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">other rare MSS., Antiquities, Works of Art, etc., ii, 195.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sostratus, his Light-House on the Isle of Pharos, ii, 164.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spagnoletto—See Ribera.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spain, Melancholy State of the Fine Arts in, i, 217;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rarity of Female Portraits in, iii, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spanish Art, Evil Effects of the Inquisition on, i, 211.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sphinx, the Colossal, iii, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stabiæ—its Destruction, ii, 43.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of the Apollo Belvidere, i, 41;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of the Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of the Apollo, Colossal Etruscan, i, 90.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of the Venus de Medici, i, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of the Venus of Cnidus, i, 156</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of the Venus Victrix, i, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of Minerva, Phidia's, i, 158, and ii, 171.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Phidias', i, 160</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of the Fighting Gladiator, ii, 187.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of the Dying Gladiator, i, 144.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of Pompey the Great, ii, 159.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of Semiramis, cut out of a Mountain, ii, 167.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue of Napoleon on the Column of Austerlitz, iii, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statue, Equestrian, of Peter the Great, iii, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statues, the Greek, i, 109.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statues, Sounding, iii, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Statues of Memnon, iii, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stratagem, an Architect's, i, 309.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stratagem, Hogarth's, i, 169.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Steen, Jan, iii, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, iii, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kugler's Critique on, iii, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Frolics of Steen and Mieris, iii, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stephenson, Robert, and the Britannia Bridge, iii, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stuart, Charles Gilbert, i, 124;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to Scotland and Return before the Mast, i, 125;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to London, i, 125;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Skill in Music, and its Use in Time of Need, i, 126;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Introduction to West, i, 126;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portrait of West, i, 126;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Scholarship, i, 131;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Rule of half prepayment, i, 131;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Powers of Perception i, 132;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Allston's Eulogium, i, 133;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his great Conversational Powers, i, 133;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success in Europe, i, 136;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">in Ireland, i, 136;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to America, i, 137;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Stuart and Washington, i, 137;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Last Picture, i, 142;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Stuart, his Boy and his Dog, i, 142;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Mark, i, 142.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tasso's MS. of "Gerusalemme Liberata," ii, 195.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Temple of Diana at Ephesus, i, 144.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens, ii, 168.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, ii, 153, and iii, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Temple of Minerva at Athens, ii, 170.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Temple of Carnac, iii, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Temple of Luxor, iii, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Titian—Sketch of his Life, ii, 1;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his famous picture of St. Peter the Martyr, ii, 2;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Refusal of the Office of the Leaden Seal, ii, 4;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his different Manners, ii, 5;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, ii, 6;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Imitators, ii, 7;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Venus, ii, 8;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ottley's Description of it, ii, 8;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Titian and the Emperor Charles V., ii. 10;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">extraordinary Friendship of Charles for Titian, his Favors and</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Remarkable Sayings, ii, 11;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Charles' rebukes to his jealous Nobles, ii, 12;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Titian and Philip II., ii, 13;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Letter of Congratulation to Philip, ii, 13;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Philip and the Titian Venus, ii, 14;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Titian's Last Supper and El Mudo, ii, 14;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Old Age, ii, 15;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Monument to Titian, ii, 15.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thebes, Ancient, iii, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Theodoric the Great—his Love of Art, iii, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Torregiano—his Visit to Spain, and his Group of the Virgin and</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Child, i, 1;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Horrid Treatment and Death, i, 2.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Torres—Sarcasm on his Imitations of Caravaggio, iii, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Transfiguration of Raffaelle, i, 72.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tristan, Luis, i, 229;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Tristan and Velasquez, i, 229;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Tristan and El Greco, i, 230.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Triumvirate of Historical Painters," i, 244.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Triumvirate of Landscape Painters," ii, 93.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Triumvirate of Neapolitan Painters, Intrigues of, ii, 128.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Uccello, Paolo, one of the Fathers of Painting, ii, 287;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enthusiasm, ii, 288;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Uccello and the Monks of San Miniato, ii, 289;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his remarkable Picture of the most distinguished Artists of his</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Time, ii, 290;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Incredulity of St. Thomas, ii, 291;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Uccello and Donatello, ii, 292.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Utility of Ancient Works, ii, 280.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vanbrugh, Sir John, and his Severe Critics, ii, 221;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Reynolds' celebrated Criticism in his favor, ii, 221.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vase, the Portland, ii, 56.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vandyck, Sir Anthony—his Conduct in the School of Rubens, iii, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to Italy, iii, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Return to Antwerp, iii, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success and the Jealousy of Artists, iii, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his celebrated Picture of the Elevation of the Cross, and the Canons</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of Courtray, iii, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Visit to England, iii, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success and Honors, iii, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death and Character, iii, <a href='#Page_142'>142</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Remarkable Instance of his Rapidity of Execution, ii, 312.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Velasquez, Don Diego, i, 226;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Velasquez and Rubens compared by Mrs. Jameson, i, 226;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Velasquez and Philip IV—the favors and extraordinary Honors</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">conferred on him, i, 227;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Skill in Portraits, i, 227;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Portrait of Innocent X, i, 228;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Generosity to his Slave, i, 228.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Velde, William van de, the Elder, iii, <a href='#Page_143'>143</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Intrepidity in Painting Naval Engagements, iii, <a href='#Page_143'>143</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Invitation to England and his Works, iii, <a href='#Page_143'>143</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Van de Velde and Charles II., iii, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Velde, William van de, the Younger, iii, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Admirable Works, iii, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Present Value of his Works, iii, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his numerous Drawings, and their Estimation and Value, iii, <a href='#Page_148'>148</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Veneziano, Domenico, ii, 144;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his treacherous Death, ii, 144.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venice, Foundation of, iii, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venetian Horses, the famous, Removal of from Paris, iii, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venus Anadyomene, i, 2.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venus of Cnidus, i, 155.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venus de Medici, i, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[Pg xix]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venus Victrix, i, 147.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venus, Titian's, ii, 8.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vermeyen, John C., and the Emperor Charles V., iii, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his singular Dress and long Beard, iii, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vernet, Claude Joseph, ii, 295;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Passion for Art, and his Precocity, ii, 295;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Enthusiasm, ii, 296;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Sketching the Tempest, lashed to the Mast, ii, 297;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Arrival at Rome, ii, 298;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Industry and Poverty, ii, 299;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his "Alphabet of Tones," ii, 299;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vernet and the Connoisseur, ii, 301;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success and Works, ii, 301;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Diderot's Eulogy, ii, 303;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Passion for Music, ii, 306;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Opinion of his own Artistic Merits, ii, 307;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Characteristic Letter to the Marquis de Marigny, ii, 309;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Prices, ii, 310.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vernet, Charles, ii, 310;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works, ii, 310;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his rebuke to a Minister of State, ii, 311.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vernet, Horace—his Life, Style, and Works, ii, 16-28.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vieira, Francisco—his Love Romance, iii, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Success, iii, <a href='#Page_198'>198</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vinci, Lionardo da, i, 266;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Precocity of his Genius, i, 266;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his first remarkable Picture, i, 267;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the extraordinary Versatility of his Talents, i, 268;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Works at Milan, i, 268;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his famous Battle of the Standard, i, 270;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vinci and Leo X., i, 271;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vinci and Francis I., i, 271;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 272;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Learning, i, 272;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Writings, i, 273;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Sketch Books, i, 275;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Last Supper, i, 276;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Copies of his Last Supper, i, 278;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Discrimination, i, 279;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Idea of Perfection in Art, i, 280;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vinci and the Prior, i, 282;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Drawings of the Heads in the Last Supper, i, 284;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Francis I. and the Last Supper, i, 284;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Authenticated Works of Da Vinci, i, 285.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weenix, John Baptist the Elder, iii, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his wonderful Facility of Hand, iii, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weenix, the Younger, iii, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weesop, Anecdote of, i, 310.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">West, Benjamin—his Opinion of the Value of the Fine Arts to a</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Country, i, 8;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Anecdotes of West, i, 28;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Ancestry, i, 28;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Birth, i, 29;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his First Remarkable Feat, i, 30;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his doings with the Indians, i, 30;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Cat's-Tail's Pencils, i, 30;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his First Picture, i, 31;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his First Visit to Philadelphia, i, 32;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Ambition, i, 33;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his First Patrons, i, 34;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Education, i, 35;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Dedication to Art, i, 36;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Early Prices, i, 38;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Arrival at Rome, i, 39;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Reception at Rome, i, 40;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Criticism on the Apollo Belvidere, i, 41;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Early Friends, i, 41;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Course of Study, i, 42;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">a Remarkable Prophecy, i, 43;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">West in London—his Fondness for Skating, i, 44;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death of Wolfe, i, 45;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Defense for Innovation before the King, i, 46;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Stuart's Anecdotes of West, i, 127-131.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wilson, Richard—his Poverty and Want of Appreciation, i, 6;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Present Value of his Works, i, 6.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[Pg xx]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Winde William—his successful Stratagem, i, 399.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wissing, William—Freedom of the Times in England in the reign of</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Charles II., i, 309.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wolf, the Bronze, "the Thunder-Stricken Nurse of Rome", i, 90.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wonders, the Seven, of the World, iii, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wren, Sir Christopher, i, 290;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Self-Command, i, 290;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Restraints in designing his Edifices, i, 292;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">the great Fire in London, i, 293;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">St. Paul's Cathedral, i, 294;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">his Death, i, 295;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Wren and Charles II., i, 295.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Zuccaro, Taddeo, iii, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>; his Poverty, Enthusiasm, and Works, iii, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Zuccaro, Federigo—his Resentment, iii, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>; Royal Criticism on his</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Self-Adulation, iii, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>.</span><br /><br /> +<br /> +</p> + + + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Arnolfo had proposed to raise the cupola immediately above +the first cornice, from the model of the church in the chapel of the +Spaniards, where the cupola is extremely small. Arnolfo was followed by +Giotto in 1331. To Giotto succeeded Taddeo Gaddi, after whom, first +Andrea Orgagna, next Lorenzo di Filippo, and lastly Brunelleschi were +architects of the Cathedral.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The story of Columbus and the Egg is familiar to every one. +The jest undoubtedly originated with Brunelleschi, as it is attested by +many of the Italian writers; it happened in 1420, fourteen years before +Columbus was born. Toscanelli was a great admirer of Brunelleschi, whose +knowledge of the Scriptures and powers of argument were so great, that +he could successfully dispute in public assemblies, or in private with +the most learned theologians, so that Toscanelli was accustomed to say +that "to hear Filippo in argument, one might fancy one's self listening +to a second Paul." So capital a retort could hardly have failed to reach +Columbus, through his instructor, nor would he have hesitated to use it +against his antagonists under similar circumstances. Brunelleschi was +born in 1377 and died in 1444; Columbus in 1436, and died in 1506.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Vasari means that Lorenzo continued to receive his salary +till 1426, although Filippo had been appointed sole master of the works +in 1423, as he himself relates in the sequel.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> How different was the treatment Ghiberti received from +Brunelleschi, when the artists presented their models for one of the +bronze doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni at Florence. The designs +of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, and Donatello, were considered the three +best; but the two latter, considering that Ghiberti was fairly entitled +to the prize, withdrew their claims in his favor, and persuaded the +syndics to adjudge the work to him. Brunelleschi was requested to +undertake the work in concert with Ghiberti, but he would not consent to +this, desiring to be first in some other art or undertaking than equal, +or perhaps secondary, in another. "Now, this was in truth," says Vasari, +"the sincere rectitude of friendship; it was talent without envy, and +uprightness of judgment in a decision respecting themselves, by which +these artists were more highly honored than they could have been by +conducting the work to the utmost summit of perfection. Happy spirits! +who, while aiding each other took pleasure in commending the labors of +their competitors. How unhappy, on the contrary, are the artists of our +day, laboring to injure each other, yet still unsatisfied, they burst +with envy, while seeking to wound others."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> This distrust seems astonishing, after what Brunelleschi +had accomplished, but it shows the opposition and enmity he had to +encounter. In 1434, he received a mortifying affront from the Guild of +Builders. Finding that he carried on the building without thinking to +pay the annual tax due from every artist who exercised his calling, they +caused him to be apprehended and thrown into prison. As soon as this +outrage was known to the wardens, they instantly assembled with +indignation, and issued a solemn decree, commanding that Filippo should +be liberated, and that the Consuls of the Guild should be imprisoned, +which was accordingly done. Baldinucci discovered and printed the +authentic document containing the decree, which is dated August 20, +1434.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Masselli says that the Tuscan braccio, is the ancient Roman +foot doubled for greater convenience, and is equal to one foot nine +inches and six lines, Paris measure. The editors of the Florentine +edition of Vasari, 1846-9, remark that the measure of the whole edifice +as given by Vasari, differs from that given by Fantozzi; the latter +gives 196 braccia as its total height. Milizia says, "Brunelleschi +completed his undertaking, which surpassed in height any work of the +ancients. The lantern alone remained imperfect; but he left a model for +it, and always recommended, even in his last moments, that it should be +built of heavy marble, because the cupola being raised on four arches, +it would have a tendency to spring upwards if not pressed with a heavy +weight. The three mathematicians who have written on the cupola of St. +Peter's, have clearly demonstrated a truth differing from the opinion of +Brunelleschi, viz., that the small cupola increases, in a great degree, +the lateral pressure. The whole height of the structure from the ground +to the top, is 385 feet; that is, to the lantern 293 feet, the latter +being 68 feet 6 inches; the ball 8 feet; the cross 15 feet 6 inches. * * * +</p><p> +"The plan of the dome is octangular; each side in the interior is 57 +feet, and the clear width between the sides, not measuring into the +angles, is 137 feet; the walls are 16 feet 9 inches thick; the whole +length of the church is 500 feet. The nave has four pointed arches on +each side, on piers, separating it from the side aisles. The transept +and choir have no side aisles, but are portions of an octagon, attached +to the base of the dome, giving the whole plan the figure of a cross. +The edifice has a Gothic character, and is incrusted in marble and +mosaic work." * * * +</p><p> +According to Fontani, this cupola exceeds that of the Vatican, both in +height and circumference by four braccia; and although supported by +eight ribs only, which renders it much lighter than that of the Vatican, +which has sixteen flanking buttresses, it is nevertheless more solid and +firm. Thus it has never required to be supported by circling hoops of +iron, nor has it demanded the labors of the many engineers and +architects who have printed volumes upon the subject. The construction +of this cupola is remarkable in these particulars—that it is +octangular, that it is double, and built entirely on the walls, +unsupported by piers, and that there are no apparent counterforts.</p></div> + +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, +Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3), by S. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3) + +Author: S. Spooner + +Release Date: May 12, 2006 [EBook #18383] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANECDOTES OF PAINTERS *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Janet Blenkinship +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + ANECDOTES + + OF + + PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS + + Sculptors and Architects, + + AND + + CURIOSITIES OF ART. + + BY + + S. SPOONER, M. D., + + AUTHOR OF "A BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FINE ARTS." + + IN THREE VOLUMES. + + VOL. III. + + NEW YORK: R. WORTHINGTON, PUBLISHER, 770 Broadway. + + COPYRIGHT, S. SPOONER, 1853. + + Reentered, G. B., 1880. + + + + + + CONTENTS. + + Egyptian Art, 1 + Ancient Thebes, 2 + The Temple of Carnac, 5 + Temple of Luxor, 5 + The Statues of Memnon, 6 + Heliopolis, 7 + Memphis, 8 + Lake Moeris, 9 + The Colossal Sphinx, 10 + The Labyrinth of Egypt, 11 + The Catacombs of Egypt, 12 + The Pyramids of Egypt, 19 + Perilous Ascent of the Pyramid of Cephren, 27 + Egyptian Obelisks, 30 + Removal of an Obelisk by Fontana, 33 + Removal of an Obelisk from Thebes to Paris, 40 + Carburi's Base for the Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great, 42 + Comparative Skill of the Ancients and Moderns in Mechanics, 45 + The Britannia Tubular Railway Bridge, 46 + The Tubes, 47 + Construction of the Tubes, 49 + Floating the Tubes, 50 + Raising the Tubes, 52 + Glory of Ancient Rome, 57 + The Capitol, 59 + Modern Rome, 60 + The Foundation of Venice, 72 + Theodoric the Great, and his Love of the Fine Arts, 73 + Archimedes, 77 + The Trials of Genius--Filippo Brunelleschi, 80 + Brunelleschi's Enthusiasm, 122 + Brunelleschi and Donatello, 123 + Donatello, 125 + Donatello and the Merchant, 126 + Donatello and his Kinsmen, 127 + Death of Donatello, 128 + Donatello and Michael Angelo Compared, 128 + Sofonisba Anguisciola's Early Distinction, 129 + Sofonisba's Visit to Rome, 130 + Sofonisba's Marriages, 131 + Sofonisba's Residence at Genoa, and her Intercourse with Vandyck, 132 + Carriera Rosalba, 133 + Rosalba's Modesty, 133 + Rosalba's Knowledge of Tempers, 133 + Elizabeth Sirani, 134 + Death of Elizabeth Sirani, 135 + Rachel Ruysch, 135 + Sir Anthony Vandyck, 136 + Vandyck's Visit to Italy, 138 + Vandyck's Return to Antwerp, 139 + Vandyck's Visit to England, 141 + William van de Velde the Elder, 143 + Van de Velde and Charles II., 144 + William van de Velde the Younger, 145 + The Younger van de Velde's Works, 146 + Nicholas Poussin, 148 + Poussin's first Celebrity, 149 + Poussin's first Visit to Rome, 150 + Poussin's Distress at Rome, 151 + Poussin's Success at Rome, 152 + Poussin's Invitation to Paris, 153 + Poussin's Return to Rome, 154 + Sir Joshua Reynolds' Critique on Poussin, 156 + Poussin's Views of his Art, 157 + Poussin's Works, 158 + Marino and Poussin, 159 + Poussin Romanized, 160 + Poussin's Habits of Study, 161 + Poussin's Old Age, 162 + Poussin's Last Work and Death, 163 + Poussin's Ideas of Painting, 164 + Poussin and the Nobleman, 165 + Poussin and Mengs, 165 + Poussin and Domenichino, 166 + Poussin and Salvator Rosa, 166 + Poussin, Angelo, and Raffaelle Compared, 168 + Rembrandt, 170 + Rembrandt's Works, 173 + Rembrandt as an Engraver, 174 + Anecdote of Schwarts, 175 + Jacques Callot, 176 + Callot's Patriotism, 177 + Ingenuity of Artists, 178 + A Hint to Jewelers, 179 + Curious Paintings, 180 + The Oldest Oil Painting Extant, 181 + Curious Representations of the Harpies, 181 + Adrian Brower, 182 + Brower, the Duke d'Aremberg, and Rubens, 183 + Death of Brower, 184 + Brower's Works, 185 + Rosa da Tivoli, 185 + Rosa da Tivoli's Works, 186 + Rosa da Tivoli's Facility of Execution, 186 + Rosa da Tivoli's Habits, 187 + Luca Cambiaso's Facility in Painting, 187 + Cambiaso's Works in Spain, 188 + Cambiaso's Artistic Merits, 190 + Rarity of Female Portraits in Spain, 191 + Murillo's Pictures in Spanish America, 192 + Murillo's "Virgin of the Napkin," 193 + Anecdote of an Altar-Piece by Murillo, 194 + Murillo and his slave Gomez, 195 + An Artist's Love of Romance, 195 + Esteban March's Strange Method of Study, 198 + March's Adventure of the Fish, fried in Linseed Oil, 199 + A Painter's Rebuke, 200 + A Painter's Retort Courteous, 201 + Ardemans and Bocanegra--A Trial of Skill, 201 + A Painter's Artifice to "Keep up Appearances," 202 + A Good Natured Criticism, 203 + Alonso Cano and the Intendant of the Bishop of Malaga, 203 + Cano's Love of Sculpture, 204 + Castillo's Sarcasm on Alfaro, 204 + Torres' Imitations of Caravaggio, 205 + Pantoja and the Eagle, 205 + The Painter Methodius and the King of Bulgaria, 206 + John C. Vermeyen and Charles V., 206 + Blas de Prado and the Emperor of Morocco, 207 + Don Juan Carreno, 208 + Carreno's Copy of Titian's St. Margaret, 208 + Carreno's Abstraction of Mind, 209 + Anecdote of Cespedes' Last Supper, 209 + Zuccaro's Compliment to Cespedes, 210 + Dona Barbara Maria de Hueva, 210 + The Miraculous Picture of the Virgin, 211 + The Chair of St. Peter, 213 + The Sagro Catino, or Emerald Dish, 215 + The "Painter of Florence," 217 + Legend of the Painter-Friar, the Devil, and the Virgin, 220 + Gerard Douw, 222 + Douw's Style, 224 + Douw's Method of Painting, 225 + Douw's Works, 226 + Albert Durer, 228 + Durer's Works as a Painter, 229 + Durer's Works as an Engraver, 231 + Durer's Fame and Death, 233 + Durer's Habits and Literary Works, 234 + Ludolph Backhuysen, 235 + John Baptist Weenix the Elder, 236 + Weenix's Facility of Hand, 236 + John Baptist Weenix the Younger, 237 + Jan Steen, 238 + Jan Steen's Works, 238 + Kugler's Critique on the Works of Jan Steen, 240 + Frolics of Mieris and Jan Steen, 241 + Sir Anthony More, 242 + Sir Anthony More and Philip II., 243 + More's Success and Works, 243 + Perilous Adventure of a Painter, 245 + Anecdote of John de Mabuse, 246 + Capugnano and Lionello Spada, 247 + Michael Angelo Caravaggio--His Quarrelsome Disposition, 248 + Jacopo Amiconi, 249 + Painting the Dead, 250 + Taddeo Zuccaro, 250 + Zuccaro's Resentment, 251 + Royal Criticism, 252 + Pietro da Cortona, 253 + "Know Thyself," 254 + Benvenuto Cellini, 255 + Fracanzani and Salvator Rosa, 256 + Pope Urban VIII. and Bernini, 256 + Emulation and Rivalry in the Fine Arts, 257 + The Notte of Correggio, 259 + The Dresden Gallery, 262 + Painting among the Egyptians, 263 + Painting among the Greeks, 265 + Numismatics, 269 + Restoring Ancient Edifices, 274 + Napoleon's Love of Art, 274 + Napoleon's Works at Paris, 276 + The Napoleon Medals, 281 + The Elephant Fountain, 286 + Interesting Drawing, 287 + Sevre China, 288 + Dismantling of the Louvre, 289 + Removal of the Venetian Horses from Paris, 296 + Removal of the Statue of Napoleon from the Place Vendome, 301 + The Musee Francais and the Musee Royal, 302 + Boydell's Shakspeare Gallery, 305 + Brief Sketch of a Plan for an American National Gallery of Art, 307 + + + + +ANECDOTES + +OF + +PAINTERS, ENGRAVERS, SCULPTORS, AND ARCHITECTS. + + + + +EGYPTIAN ART. + + +Champollion, the famous explorer of Egyptian antiquities, holds the +following language at the end of his fifteenth letter, dated at Thebes. +"It is evident to me, as it must be to all who have thoroughly examined +Egypt or have an accurate knowledge of the Egyptian monuments existing +in Europe, that the arts commenced in Greece by a servile imitation of +the arts in Egypt, much more advanced than is vulgarly believed, at the +period when the Egyptian colonies came in contact with the savage +inhabitants of Attica or the Peloponnesus. Without Egypt, Greece would +probably never have become the classical land of the fine arts. Such is +my entire belief on this great problem. I write these lines almost in +the presence of bas-reliefs which the Egyptians executed, with the most +elegant delicacy of workmanship, seventeen hundred years before the +Christian era. What were the Greeks then doing?" + +The sculptures of the monument of El Asaffif are ascertained to be more +than three thousand five hundred years old. + + + + +ANCIENT THEBES. + + +Thebes, an ancient city and capital of Egypt, and the oldest city in the +world, was situated in Upper Egypt, on both sides of the Nile, about two +hundred and sixty miles south of Cairo. Thebes is "the city of a hundred +gates," the theme and admiration of ancient poets and historians, and +the wonder of travelers--"that venerable city," in the language of Dr. +Pocoke, "the date of whose destruction is older than the foundation of +other cities, and the extent of whose ruins, and the immensity of whose +colossal fragments still offer so many astonishing objects, that one is +riveted to the spot, unable to decide whither to direct the step, or fix +the attention." These ruins extend about eight miles along the Nile, +from each bank to the sides of the enclosing mountains, and describe a +circuit of twenty-seven miles. The most remarkable objects on the +eastern side are the temples of Carnac and Luxor; and on the western +side are the Memnonium or palace of Memnon, two colossal statues, the +sepulchres of the kings, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The glory of +Thebes belongs to a period prior to the commencement of authentic +history. It is recorded only in the dim lights of poetry and tradition, +which might be suspected of fable, did not such mighty witnesses remain +to attest their truth. Strabo and Diodorus Siculus described Thebes +under the name of _Diospolis_ (the city of God), and gave such +magnificent descriptions of its monuments as caused the fidelity of +those writers to be called in question, till the observations of modern +travelers proved their accounts to have fallen short of the reality. At +the time of the Persian invasion under Cambyses, Memphis had supplanted +Thebes; and the Ptolemys afterwards removed the seat of empire to +Alexandria. At present, its site presents only a few scattered villages, +consisting of miserable cottages built in the courts of the temples. The +ancient structures, however, remain in a state of wonderful +preservation. Almost the whole extent of eight miles along the river is +covered with magnificent portals, obelisks decorated with most beautiful +sculptures, forests of columns, and long avenues of sphynxes and +colossal statues. The most remarkable monuments, the ruins of which +remain, are the temples of Carnac, Luxor, the Memnonium or temple of +Memnon, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The tomb of Osymandyas, the +temple of Iris, the Labyrinth, and the Catacombs lie on the western +side of the Nile. In the interior of the mountains which rise behind +these monuments, are found objects less imposing and magnificent indeed, +but not less interesting--the tombs of the kings of Thebes. Several of +these were opened by Belzoni, and were found in great preservation, with +mummies in the sarcophagi, as well as dispersed through the chambers. + +Such was ancient Thebes--a city so populous that, according to ancient +writers, in times of war 10,000 soldiers issued from each of her hundred +gates, forming an army of 1,000,000 men. That these magnificent ruins +are the remains of "the city of an hundred gates,"--"the earliest +capital in the world," cannot be doubted. According to the measurements +made by the French, their distance from the sea on the north, is 680,000 +metres (850 miles), and from Elephantine on the south, 180,000 metres +(225 miles)--corresponding exactly with the 6,800 and 1,800 stadia of +Herodotus. The circumference of the ruins is about 15,000 metres (171/2 +miles), agreeing with the 140 stadia given by Diodorus as the +circumference of Thebes. The origin of the name of this celebrated city, +as well as the date of its foundation, is unknown. According to +Champollion, who deciphered many of the inscriptions on these ruins, the +Egyptian name was _Thbaki-antepi-Amoun_ (City of the Most High), of +which the _No-Ammon_ of the Hebrews and _Diospolis_ of the Greeks are +mere translations; _Thebae_, of the Greeks is also perhaps derived from +the Egyptian _Thbaki_ (the city). + + + + +THE TEMPLE OF CARNAC. + + +The largest of the temples of Thebes, and of any in Egypt, is that of +Carnac, on the site of the ancient Diospolis. Diodorus describes it as +thirteen stadia, or about a mile and a half in circumference, which +nearly agrees with the admeasurements of Denon. It has twelve principal +entrances; and the body of the temple, which is preceded by a large +court, consists of a prodigious hall or portico, the roof of which is +supported by one hundred and thirty-four columns, some twenty-six, and +others thirty feet in circumference; four beautiful obelisks then mark +the entrance to the shrine, which consists of three apartments, built +entirely of granite. + + + + +TEMPLE OF LUXOR. + + +The temple of Luxor is about one and a fourth mile above that of Carnac, +and though it is of smaller dimensions it is in a superior style of +architecture, and in more complete preservation. The entrance is thought +to surpass everything else that Egypt presents. In front are the two +finest obelisks in the world, formed of rose-colored granite, and +rising, as Denon supposes, after allowing for the portion buried in the +ground, to the height of one hundred feet. But the objects which most +attract attention, are the sculptures which cover the east wing of the +northern front. They represent on a grand scale, a victory gained by one +of the ancient kings of Egypt over their Asiatic enemies, consisting of +multitudes of figures, horses, and chariots, executed in the best style +of Egyptian art; the number of human figures introduced exceeds fifteen +hundred, five hundred of which are on foot, and the rest in chariots. + + + + +THE STATUES OF MEMNON. + + +There were many colossal statues of Memnon in Egypt, but the most +remarkable were the two in the Memnonium or palace of Memnon, at Thebes. +The largest is of rose-colored granite, and stood in the centre of the +principal court; its height was sixty-four feet, and its remains are +scattered forty feet around it. Rigaud, one of the French savans, says, +"the excavations are still visible where the wedges were placed which +divided the monument when it was thrown down by Cambyses." The trunk is +broke off at the waist, and the upper part lies prostrate on the back; +it measures six feet ten inches over the front of the head, and +sixty-two feet round the shoulders. At the entrance of the gate which +leads from the second court to the palace, is the famous colossal +sounding statue, which, according to Herodotus, Strabo, and Pausanias, +uttered a joyful sound when the sun rose, and a mournful one when it +set. It is also related that it shed tears, and gave out oracular +responses in seven verses, and that these sounds were heard till the +fourth century after Christ. These phenomena, attested by many ancient +and modern writers, are variously accounted for by the learned, as +priestcraft, peculiar construction, escape of rarified air, &c. This +statue is in excellent preservation. The head is of rose-colored +granite, and the rest of a kind of black stone. Two other colossal +statues, about fifty feet high, are seated on the plain. + + + + +HELIOPOLIS. + + +The name of Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, was given by the Greeks to +the Egyptian _City of On_. It was situated a little to the north of +Memphis, was one of the largest cities of Egypt during the reign of the +Pharaohs, and so adorned with statues as to be esteemed one of the first +sacred cities in the kingdom. The temple dedicated to Re, was a +magnificent building, having in front an avenue of sphynxes, celebrated +in history, and adorned with several obelisks, raised by Sethosis +Rameses, B.C. 1900. By means of lakes and canals, the town, though built +on an artificial eminence, communicated with the Nile, and during the +flourishing ages of the Egyptian monarchy, the priests and scholars +acquired and taught the elements of learning within the precincts of its +temples. At the time of Strabo who visited this town about A. D. 45, +the apartments were still shown in which, four centuries before, Eudoxus +and Plato had labored to learn the philosophy of Egypt. Here Joseph and +Mary are said to have rested with our Saviour. A miserable village, +called _Metarea_, now stands on the site of this once magnificent city. +Near the village is the _Pillar of On_, a famous obelisk, supposed to be +the oldest monument of the kind existing. Its height is 671/2 feet, and +its breadth at the base 6 feet. It is one single shaft of reddish +granite (Sienite), and hieroglyphical characters are rudely sculptured +upon it. + + + + +MEMPHIS. + + +The very situation of this famous ancient city of Egypt had long been a +subject of learned dispute, till it was accurately ascertained by the +French expedition to Egypt. Numerous heaps of rubbish, of blocks of +granite covered with hieroglyphics and sculptures, of colossal +fragments, scattered over a space three or four leagues in +circumference, marks its site, a few miles south of Metarea or +Heliopolis, at a village called Moniet-Rahinet. According to Herodotus, +the foundation of Memphis was ascribed to Menes, the first king of +Egypt. It was a large, rich, and splendid city, and the second capital +of Egypt. Among its buildings were several magnificent temples, as those +of Phtha, Osiris, Serapis, etc.; its palaces were also remarkable. In +Strabo's time, it was next to Alexandria in size and population. +Edrisi, who visited Memphis in the 12th century, thus describes its +remains then existing: "Notwithstanding the vast extent of this city, +the remote period at which it was built, the attempts made by various +nations to destroy it and to obliterate every trace of it, by removing +the materials of which it was constructed, combined with the decay of +4,000 years, there are yet in it works so wonderful as to confound the +reflecting, and such as the most eloquent could not adequately +describe." Among the works specified by him, are a monolithic temple of +granite, thirteen and a half feet high, twelve long, and seven broad, +entirely covered, within and without, with inscriptions; and colossal +statues of great beauty, one of which was forty-five feet high, carved +out of a single block of red granite. These ruins then extended about +nine miles in every direction. + + + + +LAKE MOERIS. + + +This famous lake, according to Herodotus, with whose account Diodorus +Siculus and Mela agree, was entirely an artificial excavation, made by +king Moeris, to carry off the overflowing waters of the Nile, and +reserve them for the purposes of irrigation. It was, in the time of +Herodotus, 3,600 stadia or 450 miles in circumference, and 300 feet +deep, with innumerable canals and reservoirs. Denon, Belzoni, and other +modern travelers, describe it at the present time as a natural basin, +thirty or forty miles long, and six broad. The works, therefore, which +Herodotus attributes to King Moeris, must have been the mounds, dams, +canals, and sluices which rendered it subservient to the purposes of +irrigation. These, also, would give it the appearance of being entirely +the product of human industry. + + + + +THE COLOSSAL SPHINX. + + +The Egyptian Sphinx is represented by a human head on the body of a +lion; it is always in a recumbent position with the fore paws stretched +forward, and a head dress resembling an old-fashioned wig. The features +are like those of the ancient Egyptians, as represented on their +monuments. The colossal Sphinx, near the group of pyramids at Jizeh, +which lay half buried in the sand, was uncovered and measured by +Caviglia. It is about 150 feet long, and 63 feet high. The body is made +out of a single stone; but the paws, which are thrown out about fifty +feet in front, are constructed of masonry. The Sphinx of Sais, formed of +a block of red granite, twenty-two feet long, is now in the Egyptian +Museum in the Louvre. There has been much speculation among the learned, +concerning the signification of these figures. Winckelmann observes that +they have the head of a female, and the body of a male, which has led to +the conjecture that they are intended as emblems of the generative +powers of nature, which the old mythologies are accustomed to indicate +by the mystical union of the two sexes in one individual; they were +doubtless of a sacred character, as they guarded the entrance of +temples, and often formed long avenues leading up to them. + + + + +THE LABYRINTH OF EGYPT + + +A labyrinth, with the ancients, was a building containing a great number +of chambers and galleries, running into one another in such a manner as +to make it very difficult to find the way through the edifice. The most +famous was the Egyptian labyrinth, situated in Central Egypt, above Lake +Moeris, not far from Crocodilopolis, in the country now called _Fejoom_. +Herodotus, who visited and examined this edifice with great attention, +affirms that it far surpassed everything he had conceived of it. It is +very uncertain when, by whom, and for what purpose it was built, though +in all probability it was for a royal sepulchre. The building, half +above and half below the ground, was one of the finest in the world, and +is said to have contained 3,000 apartments. The arrangements of the work +and the distribution of the parts were remarkable. It was divided into +sixteen principal regions, each containing a number of spacious +buildings, which taken together, might be defined an assemblage of +palaces. There were also as many temples as there were gods in Egypt, +the number of which was prodigious, besides various other sacred +edifices, and four lofty pyramids at the angles of the walls. The +entrance was by vast halls, followed by saloons, which conducted to +grand porticos, the ascent to which was by a flight of ninety steps. The +interior was decorated with columns of porphyry and colossal statues of +Egyptian gods. The whole was surrounded by a wall, but the passages were +so intricate that no stranger could find the way without a guide. The +substructions of this famous labyrinth still exist, and Milizia says, +"as they were not arched, it is wonderful that they should have been so +long preserved, with so many stupendous edifices above them." The Cretan +labyrinth was built by Daedalus on the model of the Egyptian, but it was +only a hundredth part the size; yet, according to Diodorus Siculus, it +was a spacious and magnificent edifice, divided into a great number of +apartments, and surrounded entirely by a wall. What would the ancients +say, could they see our modern imitations of their labyrinths? + + + + +THE CATACOMBS OF EGYPT. + + +There are numerous catacombs in Egypt, the principal of which are at +Alexandria; at Sakkara, near Cairo; at Siut, near the ancient Lycopolis +or City of the Wolf; at Gebel Silsilis, on the banks of the Nile between +Etfu and Ombos, the site of one of the principal quarries of ancient +Egypt; and at Thebes. Many of these are of vast extent, and were +doubtless formed by quarrying the rocks and mountains for building +materials. They consist of grottos, galleries, and chambers, penetrating +often to a considerable distance, the superincumbent mass being +supported by huge pillars of rock; or the galleries running parallel, +with masses of solid rock intervening for supports. Many of these +chambers and grottos contained multitudes of mummies, probably the +bodies of the less wealthy; many were evidently private family tombs of +wealthy individuals, some of which are of great magnificence, adorned +with sculptures, paintings, and hieroglyphics. The Arabs for centuries +have been plundering these abodes of the dead, and great numbers of the +mummies have been destroyed for fuel, and for the linen, rosin, and +asphaltum they contain, which is sold to advantage at Cairo. An immense +number of them have been found in the plain of Sakkara, near Memphis, +consisting not only of human bodies, but of various sacred animals, as +bulls, crocodiles, apes, ibises, fish, &c.; hence it is called _The +Plain of the Mummies_. Numerous caves or grottos, with contents of the +same kind, are found in the two mountainous ridges which run nearly +parallel with the Nile, from Cairo to Syene. Many of these tombs and +mummies are two or three thousand years old, and some of them perhaps +older. + +Among all the wonderful subterranean monuments of Egypt, the Catacombs +of Thebes are the most extraordinary and magnificent. These consist of +the Necropolis, or city of the dead, on the west bank of the Nile (which +was the common burial-place of the people), and the Tombs of the Kings. +The latter lie to the northwest of the city, at some distance in the +Desert. Having passed the Necropolis, the traveler enters a narrow and +rugged valley, flanked with perpendicular rocks, and ascending a narrow, +steep passage about ten feet high, which seems to have been broken down +through the rock, the ancient passage being from the Memnonium under the +hills, he comes to a kind of amphitheatre about 100 yards wide, which is +called Bab-il-Meluke--that is, the gate or court of the kings--being the +sepulchres of the kings of Thebes. In this court there are signs of +about eighteen excavations; but only nine can be entered. The hills on +each side are high, steep rocks, and the whole plain is covered with +rough stones that seem to have rolled down from them. + +The grottos present externally no other ornaments than a door in a +simple square frame, with an oval in the centre of the upper part, on +which are inscribed the hieroglyphical figures of a beetle, a man with a +hawk's head, and beyond the circle two figures on their knees, in the +act of adoration. Having passed the first gate, long arched galleries +are discovered, about twelve feet wide and twenty feet high, cased with +stucco, sculptured and painted; the vaults, of an elegant elliptical +figure, are covered with innumerable hieroglyphics, disposed with so +much taste, that notwithstanding the singular grotesqueness of the +forms, and the total absence of demi-tint or aerial perspective, the +ceilings make an agreeable whole, a rich and harmonious association of +colors. Four of five of these galleries, one within the other, generally +lead to a spacious room, containing the sarcophagus of the king, +composed of a single block of granite, about twelve feet long by eight +in breadth, ornamented with hieroglyphics, both within and without; they +are square at one end, and rounded at the other, like the splendid +sarcophagus deposited in the British Museum, and supposed by Dr. Clarke +to have contained the body of Alexander. They are covered with a lid of +the same material, and of enormous thickness, shutting with a groove; +but neither this precaution, nor these vast blocks of stone, brought +from such a distance with immense labor, have been able to preserve the +relics of the sovereigns from the attempts of avarice; all these tombs +have been violated. The figure of the king appears to have been +sculptured and painted at full length on the lid of each sarcophagus. + +The paintings found in these sepulchres are among the most curious and +interesting remains of Egyptian art; and they are in wonderful +preservation, the colors being as fresh as when first executed. Some of +these figures were copied by Bruce; and Denon, a member of the French +Commission sent by Napoleon to examine the antiquities of Egypt, has +published a most valuable collection which have all the appearance of +spirited and characteristic resemblances. "I discovered," says he, "some +little chambers, on the walls of which were represented all kinds of +arms, such as panoplies, coats of mail, tigers' skins, bows, arrows, +quivers, pikes, javelins, sabres, helmets, and whips: in another was a +collection of household utensils, such as caskets, chests of drawers, +chairs, sofas, and beds, all of exquisite forms, and such as might well +grace the apartments of modern luxury. As these were probably accurate +representations of the objects themselves, it is almost a proof that the +ancient Egyptians employed for their furniture Indian wood, carved and +gilt, which they covered with embroidery. Besides these, were +represented various smaller articles, as vases, coffee-pots, ewers with +their basins, a tea-pot and basket. Another chamber was consecrated to +agriculture, in which were represented all its various instruments--a +sledge similar to those in use at present, a man sowing grain by the +side of a canal, from the borders of which the inundation is beginning +to retire, a field of corn reaped with a sickle, and fields of rice with +men watching them. In a fourth chamber was a figure clothed in white, +playing on a richly ornamented harp, with eleven strings." + +Denon observed everything with the eye of an artist. Speaking of the +Necropolis, which consists of numerous double galleries of grottos, +excavated in the solid rock for nearly a mile and a half square, he +observes, "I was convinced by the magnificence both of the paintings and +sculptures, that I was among the tombs of great men and heros. The +sculpture in all is incomparably more labored and higher finished than +any I had seen in the temples; and I stood in astonishment at the high +perfection of the art, and its singular destiny to be devoted to places +of such silence and obscurity. In working these galleries, beds of a +very fine calcareous clay have occasionally been crossed, and here the +lines of the hieroglyphics have been cut with a firmness of touch and a +precision, of which marble offers but few examples. The figures have +elegance and correctness of contour, of which I never thought Egyptian +sculpture susceptible. Here, too, I could judge of the style of this +people in subjects which had neither hieroglyphic, nor historical, nor +scientific; for there were representations of small scenes taken from +nature, in which the stiff profile outlines, so common with Egyptian +artists, were exchanged for supple and natural attitudes; groups of +persons were given in perspective, and cut in deeper relief than I +should have supposed anything but metal could have been worked." + +The Sepulchres of the Kings of Thebes are mentioned by Diodorus Siculus +as wonderful works, and such as could never be exceeded by anything +afterwards executed in this kind. He says that forty-seven of them were +mentioned in their history; that only seventeen of them remained to the +time of Ptolemy Lagus; adding that most of them were destroyed in his +time. Strabo says, that above the Memnonium, the precise locality of +Denon's description, were the sepulchres of the kings of Thebes, in +grottos cut out of the rock, being about forty in number, wonderfully +executed and worthy to be seen. In these, he says, were obelisks with +inscriptions on them, setting forth the riches, power, and empire of +these kings, as far as Scythia, Bactria, India, and Ionia, their great +revenues, and their immense armies, consisting of one million of men. + +In Egypt, the honors paid to the dead partook of the nature of a +religious homage. By the process of embalming, they endeavored to +preserve the body from the common laws of nature; and they provided +those magnificent and durable habitations for the dead--sublime +monuments of human folly--which have not preserved but buried the memory +of their founders. By a singular fatality, the well-adapted punishment +of pride, the extraordinary precautions by which it seemed in a manner +to triumph over death, have only led to a more humiliating +disappointment. The splendor of the tomb has but attracted the violence +of rapine; the sarcophagus has been violated; and while other bodies +have quietly returned to their native dust in the bosom of their mother +earth, the Egyptian, converted into a mummy, has been preserved only to +the insults of curiosity, or avarice, or barbarism. + + + + +THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT. + + +The pyramids of Egypt, especially the two largest of the group of Jizeh +or Gize, are the most stupendous masses of buildings in stone that human +labor has ever been known to accomplish, and have been the wonder of +ancient and modern times.--The number of the Egyptian pyramids, large +and small, is very considerable; they are situated on the west bank of +the Nile, and extend in an irregular line, and in groups at some +distance from each other, from the neighborhood of Jizeh, in 30 deg. N. +Latitude, as far as sixty or seventy miles south of that place. The +pyramids of Jizeh are nearly opposite Cairo. They stand on a plateau or +terrace of limestone, which is a projection of the Lybian +mountain-chain. The surface of the terrace is barren and irregular, and +is covered with sand and small fragments of rock; its height, at the +base of the great pyramid, is one hundred and sixty four feet above the +ordinary level of the Nile, from which it is distant about five miles. +There are in this group three large pyramids, and several small ones. +Herodotus, who was born B.C. 484, visited these pyramids. He was +informed by the priests of Memphis, that the great pyramid was built by +Cheops, king of Egypt, about B.C. 900, and that one hundred thousand +workmen were employed twenty years in building it, and that the body of +Cheops was placed in a room beneath the bottom, surrounded by a vault, +to which the waters of the Nile were conveyed through a subterranean +tunnel. A chamber has been discovered under the centre of the pyramid, +but it is about fifty-six feet above the low-water mark of the Nile. The +second pyramid, Herodotus says, was built by Cephren or Cephrenes, the +brother and successor of Cheops, and the third by Mycerinus, the son of +Cheops. Herodotus also says that the two largest pyramids are wholly +covered with white marble; Diodorus and Pliny, that they are built of +this costly material. The account of Herodotus is confirmed by present +appearances. Denon, who accompanied the French expedition to Egypt, was +commissioned by Buonaparte to examine the great pyramid of Jizeh; three +hundred persons were appointed to this duty. They approached the borders +of the desert in boats, to within half a league of the pyramid, by means +of the canals from the Nile. Denon says, "the first impression made on +me by the sight of the pyramids, did not equal my expectations, for I +had no object with which to compare them; but on approaching them, and +seeing men at their base, their gigantic size became evident." When +Savary first visited these pyramids, he left Jizeh at one o'clock in the +morning, and soon reached them. The full moon illuminated their summits, +and they appeared to him "like rough, craggy peaks piercing the +clouds." Herodotus gives 800 feet as the height of the great pyramid, +and says this is likewise the length of its base, on each side; Strabo +makes it 625, and Diodorus 600. Modern measurements agree most nearly +with the latter. + +The pyramid of Cheops consists of a series of platforms, each of which +is smaller than the one on which it rests, and consequently presents the +appearance of steps which diminish in length from the bottom to the top. +There are 203 of these steps, and the height of them decreases, but not +regularly, the greatest height being about four feet eight inches, and +the least about one foot eight inches. The horizontal lines of the +platforms are perfectly straight, the stones are cut and fitted to each +other with the greatest accuracy, and joined with a cement of lime, with +little or no sand in it. It has been ascertained that a bed has been cut +in the solid rock, eight inches deep, to receive the lowest external +course of stones. The vertical height, measured from this base in the +rock to the top of the highest platform now remaining, is 456 feet. This +last platform is thirty two feet eight inches square, and if to this +were added what is necessary to complete the pyramid, the total height +would be 479 feet. Each side of the base, measured round the stones let +into the rock, is 763 feet 5 inches, and the perimeter of the base is +about 3,053 feet. The measurements of travelers differ somewhat, but +the above are very nearly correct. The area of the base is 64,753 +square yards, or about 13-1/3 acres. The surface of each face, not +including the base, is 25,493 square yards; and that of the four faces +is consequently 101,972 square yards, or more than 21 acres. The solid +contents of the pyramid, without making deductions for the small +interior chambers, is 3,394,307 cubic yards. Reckoning the total height +at 479 feet, the pyramid would be 15 feet higher than St. Peter's at +Rome, and 119 higher than St. Paul's, London. The entrance to the great +pyramid is on the north face, 471/2 feet above the base, and on the level +of the fifteenth step from the foundation. The entrance is easily +reached by the mass of rubbish which has fallen or been thrown down from +the top. The passage to which this opening leads is 3 feet 71/2 inches +square, with a downward inclination of about 26 deg.. It is lined with slabs +of limestone, accurately joined together. This passage leads to another, +which has an ascending inclination of 27 deg.. The descending passage is 73 +feet long, to the place where it meets the ascending one, which is 109 +feet long; at the top of this is a platform, where is the opening of a +well or shaft, which goes down into the body of the pyramid, and the +commencement of a horizontal gallery 127 feet long which leads to the +Queen's chamber, an apartment 17 feet long, 14 wide, and 12 high. +Another gallery, 132 feet long, 261/2 high, and 7 wide, commences also at +this platform, and is continued in the same line as the former +ascending passage, till it reaches a landing place, from which a short +passage leads to a small chamber or vestibule, whence another short +passage leads to the King's chamber, which as well as the vestibule and +intermediate passage, is lined with large blocks of granite, well +worked. The king's chamber is 341/2 feet long, 17 wide, and 193/4 high. +The roof is formed of nine slabs of granite, reaching from side to side; +the slabs are therefore more than 17 feet long by 3 feet 91/2 inches wide. +This chamber contains a sarcophagus of red granite; the cover is gone, +having probably been broken and carried away. The sarcophagus is 7 feet +61/2 inches long, 3 feet 3 inches wide, 3 feet 81/2 inches high on the +outside, the bottom being 71/2 inches thick. There are no hieroglyphics +upon it. Several other chambers have been discovered above the king's +chamber, but as they are not more than three or four feet high, they +were probably intended to lessen and break the weight of the mass above, +which would otherwise fall on the King's chamber. + +In 1816, Captain Caviglia discovered that the entrance passage did not +terminate at the bottom of the ascending passage, but was continued +downwards in the same inclined plane of 26 deg., 200 feet further, and by a +short horizontal passage, opened on what appeared to be the bottom of +the well. The passage, however, continued in the same direction 23 feet +farther; then became narrower, and was continued horizontally 28 feet +more, where it opened into a large chamber cut out of the rock below +and under the centre of the pyramid. This chamber is about 26 by 27 +feet. Another passage leads from this chamber 55 feet, where it appears +to terminate abruptly. + +The well, which appeared to Mr. Davidson and Capt. Caviglia to descend +no lower than where it was intersected by the descending passage, its +depth there being 155 feet, was afterwards cleared out by the French to +the depth of near 208 feet, of which 145 feet are in the solid rock; so +that the base of the pyramid being 164 feet above the low water level of +the Nile, the present bottom of the well is 19 feet above the Nile; but +the actual bottom does not appear to have been reached. The temperature +within the body of the pyramid was found to be 81 deg. 5', Farenheit, and in +the well it was still higher. Herodotus was informed that the chambers +cut in the solid rock, were made before the building of the pyramid was +commenced. It is evident it was intended that the pyramid should not be +entered after the body or bodies were deposited in it, as blocks of +granite were fixed in the entrances to the principal passages, in such a +manner as not only to close them, but to conceal them.--There are +evidences, however, that this pyramid was entered both by the Roman and +Arab conquerors of Egypt. + +The materials of all the pyramids are limestone, and, according to +Herodotus, were brought from the mountains near Cairo, where there are +ancient quarries of vast extent; but Belzoni is of opinion that a part +of them, for the second pyramid at least, was procured immediately on +the spot; others think that the greatest part of the materials came from +the west side of the Nile. The granite which forms the roofing of the +chambers, etc., was brought down the Nile from Syene. The stones of +which it is built, rarely exceed 9 feet in length, and 61/2 in breadth; +the thickness has already been stated. + +The ascent to the great pyramid, though not without difficulty and +danger, is frequently accomplished, even by females. + +The pyramid of Cephren, the second in size, according to Belzoni, has +the following dimensions: + + Side of the base, 684 feet. + Vertical height, 456 " + Perpendicular, bisecting the face of + the pyramid, 568 " + Coating from the top, to where it + ends, 140 " + +Belzoni, after great exertion, succeeded in opening the second pyramid, +and after traversing passages similar to those already described in the +great pyramid, reached the main chamber, which is cut in the solid rock, +and is 46 feet 3 inches long, 16 feet 3 inches wide, and 23 feet 6 +inches high. The covering is made of blocks of limestone, which meet in +an angular point, forming a roof, of the same slope as the pyramid. The +chamber contained a sarcophagus, formed of granite, 8 feet long, 3 feet +6 inches wide, and 2 feet 3 inches deep, on the inside. There were no +hieroglyphics on it. Some bones were found in it, which were sent to +London, and proved to be those of a bull or an ox. From an Arabic +inscription on the wall of the chamber, it appears that some of the Arab +rulers of Egypt had entered the pyramid, and closed it again. Belzoni +also discovered another chamber in this pyramid. + +The pyramid of Mycernius, the third in size of the Jizeh group, is about +330 feet square at the base, and 174 feet high. This pyramid has never +been opened. + +There are some large pyramids at Sakkarah, one of which is next in +dimensions to the pyramid of Cheops, each side of the base being 656 +feet, and the height 339 feet. At Dashour there are also some large +pyramids, one of which has a base of 700 feet on each side, and a +perpendicular height of 343 feet; and it has 154 steps or platforms. +Another pyramid, almost as large at the base as the preceding, is +remarkable. It rises to the height of 184 feet at an angle of 70 deg., when +the plane of the side is changed, to one of less inclination, which +completes the pyramid. At Thebes, there are some small pyramids of sun +dried bricks. Herodotus says, "About the middle of Lake Moeris, there +are two pyramids, each rising about 300 feet above the water. The part +that is under the water is just the same height." It is probable that +these pyramids were built on an island in the lake, and that Herodotus +was misinformed as to the depth of the water. There are numerous +pyramids in Nubia--eighty or more--but they are generally small. + +The object of the Egyptians in building these pyramids, is not known. +Some writers maintain that they were as memorials, pillars, or altars +consecrated to the sun; others, that they served as a kind of gnomon for +astronomical observations; that they were built to gratify the vanity +and tyranny of kings, or for the celebration of religious mysteries; +according to Diderot, for the transmission and preservation of +historical information; and to others, for sepulchres for the +kings,--which last was the common opinion of the ancients. Some suppose +that they were intended as places for secret meetings, magazines for +corn, or lighthouses; but their structure, and great distance from the +sea, are sufficient refutations of these absurd hypotheses. + + + + +PERILOUS ASCENT OF THE PYRAMID OF CEPHREN. + + +The upper part of this pyramid is still covered with the original +polished coating of marble, to the distance of 140 feet from the top +towards the base, which makes the ascent extremely difficult and +dangerous. Mr. Wilde, in his "Narrative of a Voyage to Madeira, +Teneriffe, and along the shore of the Mediterranean," published in 1840, +made the ascent to the top, and thus describes the adventure: + +"I engaged two Arabs to conduct me to the summit of the pyramid--one an +old man, and the other about forty, both of a mould, which for +combination of strength and agility, I never saw surpassed. We soon +turned to the north, and finally reached the outer casing on the west +side. All this was very laborious to be sure, though not very dangerous; +but here was an obstacle that I knew not how the Arabs themselves could +surmount, much less how I could possibly master--for above our heads +jutted out, like an eave or coping, the lower stones of the coating, +which still remain and retain a smooth, polished surface. As +considerable precaution was necessary, the men made me take off my hat, +coat, and shoes at this place; the younger then placed his raised and +extended hands against the projecting edge of the lower stone, which +reached above his chin; and the elder, taking me up in his arms as I +would a child, placed my feet on the other's shoulders, and my body flat +on the smooth surface of the stone. In this position, we formed an angle +with each other; and here I remained for upwards of two minutes, till +the older man went round, and by some other means, contrived to get over +the projection, when, creeping along the line of junction of the casing, +he took my hands, drew me up to where he was above me, and then letting +down his girdle, assisted to mount up the younger, but less daring and +less active of the two. We then proceeded much as follows. One of them +got on the shoulders of the other, and so gained the joining of the +stone above. The upper man then helped me in a similar action, while the +lower pushed me up by the feet. Having gained this row, we had after to +creep to some distance along the joining, to where another opportunity +of ascending was offered. In this way we proceeded to the summit; and +some idea may be formed of my feelings, when it is recollected that all +of these stones of such a span are highly polished, are set on an angle +of little less than 45 deg., and that the places we had to grip with our +hands and feet were often not more than two inches wide, and their +height above the ground more than 400 feet. A single slip of the foot, +and we all three must have been dashed to atoms long before we reached +the bottom. (This actually happened to an English traveler in 1850.) On +gaining the top, my guides gave vent to sundry demonstrations of +satisfaction, clapping me on the back, patting me on the head, and +kissing my hands. From this I began to suspect that something wonderful +had been achieved; and some idea of my perilous situation broke upon me, +when I saw some of my friends beneath, waving their handkerchiefs and +looking up with astonishment, as we sat perched upon the top, which is +not more than six feet square. The apex stone is off, and it now +consists of four outer slabs, and one in the centre, which is raised up +on the end and leans to the eastward. I do not think human hands could +have raised it from its bed, on account of its size, and the confined +space they would have to work in. I am inclined to think the top was +struck by lightning, and the position of the stone thus altered by it. +The three of us had just room to sit upon the place. The descent, as +might be expected, was much more dangerous, though not so difficult. The +guides tied a long sash under my arms, and so let me slide down from +course to course of these coverings of stones, which are of a yellowish +limestone, somewhat different from the material of which the steps are +composed, and totally distinct from the rock at the base, or the coating +of the passages." + + + + +EGYPTIAN OBELISKS. + + +Obelisks belong to the oldest and most simple monuments of Egyptian +architecture, and are high four-sided pillars, diminishing as they +ascend, and terminating in a small pyramid. Herodotus speaks of them, +and Pliny gives a particular account of them. The latter mentions king +Mesphres, or Mestres, of Thebes, as the first builder of obelisks, but +does not give the time; nor is this king noticed either by Herodotus or +Diodorus. It is probable that these monuments were first built before +the time of Moses, at least two centuries before the Trojan war. There +are still several obelisks in Egypt; there is one erect, and another +fallen at Alexandria, between the new city and the light-house; one at +Matarea, among the ruins of old Heliopolis; one in the territory of +Fayoum, near ancient Arsinoe; eight or ten among the ruins of Thebes; +the two finest at Luxor, at the entrance of the temple, &c. These +obelisks, exclusively of the pedestals, are mostly from 50 to 100 feet +high, and of a red polished granite (sienite); a few of the later ones +are of white marble and other kinds of stone. At their base, they +commonly occupy a space of from 41/2 to 12 feet square, and often more. +Some are adorned on all sides, and some on fewer, with hieroglyphics cut +in them, sometimes to the depth of two inches, divided into little +squares and sections, and filled with paint: sometimes they are striped +with various colors. Some are entirely plain and without hieroglyphics. +The foot of the obelisk stands upon a quadrangular base, commonly two or +three feet broader than the obelisk, with a socket, in which it rests. +They were commonly hewn out of a single stone, in the quarries of Upper +Egypt, and brought on canals, fed by the Nile, to the place of their +erection. + +The Romans carried many of them from Egypt to Rome, Arles, and +Constantinople, most of which were afterwards overturned, but have been +put together and replaced in modern times. Augustus, for instance, had +two large obelisks brought from Heliopolis to Rome, one of which he +placed in the Campus Martius. The other stood upon the Spina, in the +Circus Maximus, and is said to have been the same which king +Semneserteus (according to Pliny) erected. At the sack of Rome by the +barbarians, it was thrown down, and remained, broken in three pieces, +amidst the rubbish, until, in 1589, Sixtus V. had it restored by the +architect Domenico Fontana, and placed near the church Madonna del +Popolo. Under Caligula, another large obelisk was brought from +Heliopolis to Rome, and placed in the Circus Vaticanus. It has stood, +since 1586, before St. Peter's church: it is without hieroglyphics; and, +with the cross and pedestal, measures 126 feet in height. It is the only +one in Rome which has remained entire. Its weight is estimated at 10,000 +cwt. Claudius had two obelisks brought from Egypt, which stood before +the entrance of the Mausoleum of Augustus, and one of which was restored +in 1567, and placed near the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Caracalla +also procured an Egyptian obelisk for his circus, and for the Appian +Way. The largest obelisk (probably erected by Rameses) was placed by +Constantius II., in the Circus Maximus at Rome. In the fifth century, it +was thrown down by the barbarians, and lay in pieces upon the ground, +until Sixtus V., in 1588, had it raised upon the square, before St. +John's church of the Lateran, thence called the _Lateran obelisk_. It is +beautifully adorned with sculpture; its weight is 13,000 cwt.; its +height, exclusive of the pedestal, 140 feet; with the pedestal, 179 +feet. Several others have been erected by succeeding popes. + + + + +REMOVAL OF AN OBELISK BY FONTANA. + + +The following curious account of the removal of the obelisk in the +Circus Vaticanus to the centre of St. Peter's square, by Domenico +Fontana, is extracted from Milizia's life of that famous architect. It +shows plainly that the Egyptians must have attained great skill and +perfection in mechanics and engineering, to have been able to quarry out +obelisks at least a third larger, and convey them often several hundred +miles, to the places where they erected them. + +"Sixtus V. was now desirous of raising in the centre of the square of +St. Peter's the only obelisk which remained standing, but partly +interred, near the wall of the Sacristy, where was formerly the Circus +of Nero. Other pontiffs had had the same wish, but the difficulty of the +enterprise had prevented the execution. + +"This obelisk, or pyramid, is of red granite, called by the ancient +Romans, Marmor Thebanum (Theban marble), on account of having been +worked near Thebes, in Egypt, whence it was transported to Rome in the +time of Caesar. Of the immense number in Rome, this is the only one +remaining entire; it is without hieroglyphics, 84 feet high, 8 feet 6 +inches wide at the base, and 5 feet 6 inches at the top. One cubic foot +of this granite weighs about 160 pounds; so that the whole weight of the +obelisk must be somewhat less than 759,000 lbs. Of the manner in which +the Egyptians and Romans moved these enormous masses we have no idea, +and so many centuries having elapsed since such a thing had been done, +this proposition of Sixtus V. was considered so novel, that a general +assembly was called of all the mathematicians, engineers, and learned +men from various parts of Europe; and, in a congress held by the pope, +more than 500 persons presented themselves, bringing with them their +inventions; some with drawings, some with models, others with writings +or arguments. + +"The greater number were for removing it by means of an iron carriage +and thirty-two levers. Others invented a half wheel, on which the +obelisk was to be raised by degrees. Some proposed screws, and others +thought of carrying it upon slings. + +"Bartolomeo Ammanati, a Florentine architect and sculptor, sent +expressly by the grand duke, presented himself before the pope, without +either models or designs, and requested a year to consider it; for this +he was most severely reprimanded by the pontiff. Fontana exhibited his +wooden model, with a leaden pyramid, which, by means of a windlass and +crane, was raised and lowered with the greatest facility; he explained +the nature of these machines and movements, and gave a practical proof +of their capability by raising a small pyramid in the mausoleum of +Augustus, which was in a ruinous condition. After many disputes, +Fontana's invention was approved; but, as he had not yet acquired a name +of sufficient importance, the execution of it was committed to two +architects of renown, Giacomo della Porta and Bartolomeo +Ammanati.--These immediately commenced a scaffold in the centre of the +square where the obelisk was to stand. + +"Fontana being justly displeased that his own discovery should not be +entrusted to his execution, went to the pope, and respectfully +represented to him, that no one could so properly execute a design as +the inventor. Sixtus was persuaded, and committed the entire direction +of it to him. The architect then commenced his work with the utmost +celerity. He dug a square hole of 44 feet, in the piazza, 24 feet deep, +and finding the soil watery and chalky, he made it firm by strong and +massive piles. At the same time he had ropes made, three inches in +diameter, 1500 feet long, an immense quantity of cords, large iron rods +to strengthen the obelisk, and other pieces of iron for the cases of the +cranes, pins, circles, pivots, and instruments of every kind. The iron +to secure the obelisk alone amounted to 40,000 lbs., and was made in the +manufactories of Rome, Ronciglione, and Subbiaco. The beams, taken from +the woods of Nettuno, were of such a prodigious size, that each was +drawn by seven pair of buffalos. From Terracina, elm was brought, for +the caseing, and Holm oak for the shafts of windlass; and to prevent the +ground from giving way, it being soft and marshy, in consequence of the +great weight, he made a bed with two layers of timber, crossing each +other in a contrary direction. On this foundation he placed the castle +or carriage, which had eight columns: each of these columns was composed +of so many thick planks, that they measured 13 feet in circumference. +These were united together by thick cords, without screws, in order to +be done and undone with greater quickness. The height of the beams was +required to be 90 feet; and not any being of that length, they were +placed one on the other, and united by iron bands. These columns were +strengthened by forty-eight braces, and tied together on all sides. The +obelisk was entirely covered with double mats, to prevent its being +injured; it was then surrounded by planks, over which were placed large +rods of iron, and these embracing the thick part underneath, came +directly over the four faces of the mass, which thus became totally +encircled with these coverings. The whole pyramid thus weighed one +million and a half pounds. Fontana calculated that every windlass, with +good ropes and cranes, would be able to move 20,000 lbs. weight; and +consequently forty would move 800,000, and he gained the rest by five +levers of thick beams 52 feet long. + +"So novel an apparatus excited the curiosity of all Rome, and of +foreigners also, who came from distant countries to see what effect +would be produced by this mass of beams, mingled with ropes, windlasses, +levers, and pulleys. In order to prevent confusion, Sixtus V. issued one +of his mandates, that on the day of its being worked, no one, except the +workmen, should enter the enclosure, on pain of death, and that no one +should make the least noise, nor even speak loud. Accordingly, on the +30th of April, 1586, the first to enter the barrier was the chief +justice and his officers, and the executioner to plant the gibbet, not +merely as a matter of ceremony. Fontana went to receive the benediction +of the pope, who, after having bestowed it, told him to be cautious of +what he did, for a failure would certainly cost him his head. On this +occasion, Sixtus felt the difference between his regard for his own +glory, and his affection for the architect. Fontana, in terror, secretly +placed horses at every gate, ready to convey him from the papal anger, +in case of an accident. At the dawn of day, two masses of the Holy Ghost +were celebrated; all the artificers made their communion, and received +the papal benediction, and before the rising of the sun all entered the +barrier. The concourse of spectators was such, that the tops of the +houses were covered, and the streets crowded. The nobility and prelates +were at the barriers, between the Swiss guards and the cavalry: all were +fixed and attentive to the proceedings; and, terrified at the sight of +the inexorable gibbet, every one was silent. + +"The architect gave an order that, at the sound of the trumpet, each +should begin working, and at that of the bell, placed in the castle of +wood, each should desist; there were more than 900 workmen, and 75 +horses. The trumpet sounded, and in an instant, men, horses, windlasses, +cranes, and levers were all in motion. The ground trembled, the castle +cracked, all the planks bent from the enormous weight, and the pyramid, +which inclined a foot towards the choir of St. Peter, was raised +perpendicularly. The commencement having prospered so well, the bell +sounded a rest. In twelve more movements the pyramid was raised almost +two feet from the ground, in such a situation that it could be placed on +the rollers, and it remained firmly fixed by means of wedges of iron and +wood. At this happy event the castle of St. Angelo discharged all its +artillery, and a universal joy pervaded the whole city. + +"Fontana was now convinced that the ropes were better than iron bands, +these being most broken or distorted, or expanded by the weight. On the +7th of May the pyramid was placed on the sledge--a more difficult and +tedious operation than that of raising it, it being necessary to convey +it over the piazza to the situation intended for it, which was 115 rods +from where it then stood. The level of the piazza being about 30 feet +lower, it was necessary to throw up an earthen embankment from one place +to the other, well secured by piles, &c. This being done, on the 13th +of June, by means of four windlasses, the pyramid was removed with the +greatest facility on the rollers, to the place of its destination. The +pope deferred its erection to the next autumn, lest the summer heats +should injure the workmen and spectators. + +"In the meantime the pedestal, which was interred 30 feet, was removed: +it was composed of two parts, the ogee and basement being of the same +mass, and the plinth of white marble. All the preparations were made for +this last operation on the 10th of September, with the same solemnities; +140 horses and 800 men were employed. The pope selected this day for the +solemn entrance of the duke of Luxembourg, ambassador of ceremony from +Henry III. of France, and caused the procession to enter by the Porta +Angelica, instead of the Porta del Popolo. When this nobleman crossed +the Piazza of St. Peter's, he stopped to observe the concourse of +workmen in the midst of a forest of machines, and saw, admiring, Rome +rising again by the hand of Sixtus V. In fifty-two movements the pyramid +was raised, and at the setting of the sun it was placed firm upon its +pedestal. The castle disappeared, and the artificers, intoxicated with +joy, carried Fontana on their shoulders in triumph to his own house, +amidst the sound of drums and trumpets, and the plaudits of an immense +crowd. + +"In placing it upright on the pedestal, Fontana considered the method +adopted by the ancients as the least difficult; which was to rest one +end on two globes, then draw the point round, raising it at the same +time, afterwards letting it fall perpendicularly on the pedestal. It is +conjectured that this was the practice adopted by the ancients, because +two dies alone were always covered with lead for a foot or more, and +were moreover crushed at the extremities. Sixtus V. placed a cross 7 +feet high at the top of the obelisk, which was carried in procession, +and which made the whole height 132 feet. + +"For this undertaking, Fontana was created a knight of the Golden Spur, +and a Roman nobleman; he had a pension of 2000 crowns, transferable to +his heirs, ten knighthoods, 5000 crowns of gold in ready money, and +every description of material used in the work, which was valued at more +than 20,000 crowns. Two bronze medals of him were struck; and the +following inscription was placed on the base of the pyramid by order of +the pope:--" + + Dominicvs Fontana, + Ex. Pago. Agri. Novocomensis. + Transtvlit. Et. Erexit. + + + + +REMOVAL OF AN OBELISK FROM THEBES TO PARIS. + + +In 1833, the French removed the smallest of the two obelisks which stood +before the propylon of the temple of Luxor to Paris, and elevated it in +the Place de la Concorde. The shaft is 76 feet high, and eight feet +wide on the broadest side of the base; the pedestal is 10 feet square by +16 feet high. Permission for the removal of both the obelisks having +been granted to the French government by the Viceroy of Egypt, a vessel +constructed for the purpose was sent out in March, 1831, under M. Lebas, +an eminent engineer, to whom the undertaking was confided, it being +previously determined to bring away only one, and M. Lebas found it +sufficiently difficult to bring away the smallest of the two. After +three months' labor with 800 men, the obelisk was removed on an inclined +plane into the vessel, through a hole made in the end for the purpose. +It arrived safely up the Seine to Paris, Dec. 23d, 1833. An inclined +plane of solid masonry was then constructed, leading from the river up +to a platform, also of rough masonry, level with the top of the +pedestal. The obelisk, having been placed on a kind of timber car or +sledge, was drawn up by means of ropes and capstans. One edge of the +base having been brought to its place on the pedestal, it was raised to +a perpendicular position by ropes and pulleys attached to the heads of +ten masts, five on each side. When all was ready, the obelisk was +elevated to its place under the direction of M. Lebas, in three hours, +without the least accident, Oct. 25th, 1836. It is said that Lebas had +provided himself with loaded pistols, in the firm determination to blow +out his brains in case of an accident! + +In 1820, the Viceroy of Egypt presented to the English government the +monolith lying on the ground at Alexandria, one of the two obelisks +called Cleopatra's Needles; the other is still standing. The project of +removing it to London and erecting it in Waterloo Square, was +entertained for some time by the English government, but seems to have +been long abandoned; recently, however, an expedition is being fitted +out for the purpose. + + + + +CARBURI'S BASE FOR THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. + + +Milizia gives the following interesting account of the removal of the +immense mass of granite, which forms the pedestal or base of the +equestrian statue of Peter the Great, from the bogs of the Neva to St. +Petersburg, a distance of about fourteen miles. He also cites it as an +instance of extraordinary ingenuity and skill in mechanics. It is, +however, a much easier task to move a ponderous mass of rough, unhewn +rock, than a brittle obelisk, an hundred feet or so in length, requiring +the greatest care to preserve it from injury. It is also worthy of +mention, that in widening streets in New York, it is no uncommon thing +to see a three-story brick house set back ten or fifteen feet, and even +moved across the street, and raised an extra story into the bargain--the +story being added to the _bottom_ instead of the _top_ of the building. +Thus the large free stone and brick school-house in the First Ward, an +edifice of four lofty stories, 50 by 70 feet, and basement walls 21/2 feet +thick, has been raised six feet, to make it correspond with the new +grade in the lower part of Greenwich-street. It is also no uncommon +thing to see a ship of a thousand tons, with her cargo on board, raised +out of the water at the Hydraulic Dock, to stop a leak, or make some +unexpected but necessary repairs. + +"In 1769, the Count Marino Carburi, of Cephalonia, moved a mass of +granite, weighing three million pounds, to St. Petersburg, to serve as a +base for the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, to be erected in the +square of that city, after the design of M. Falconet, who discarded the +common mode of placing an equestrian statue on a pedestal, where, +properly speaking, it never could be; and suggested a rock, on which the +hero was to have the appearance of galloping, but suddenly be arrested +at the sight of an enormous serpent, which, with other obstacles, he +overcomes for the happiness of the Muscovites. None but a Catherine II., +who so gloriously accomplished all the great ideas of that hero, could +have brought to perfection this extraordinary one of the artist. An +immense mass was accidentally found buried 15 feet in a bog, four miles +and a half from the river Neva and fourteen from St. Petersburg. It was +also casually that Carburi was at the city to undertake the removal of +it. Nature alone sometimes forms a mechanic, as she does a sovereign, a +general, a painter, a philosopher. The expense of this removal was only +70,000 rubles and the materials left after the operation were worth +two-thirds of that sum. The obstacles surmounted do honor to the human +understanding. The rock was 37 feet long, 22 high, and 21 broad, in the +form of a parallelopipedon. It was cleft by a blast, the middle part +taken away, and in the cavity was constructed a forge for the wants of +the journey. Carburi did not use cylindrical rollers for his +undertaking, these causing an attrition sufficient to break the +strongest cables. Instead of rollers he used balls composed of brass, +tin, and calamina, which rolled with their burden under a species of +boat 180 feet long, and 66 wide. This extraordinary spectacle was +witnessed by the whole court, and by Prince Henry of Prussia, a branch +from the great Frederick. Two drums at the top sounded the march; forty +stone-cutters were continually at work on the mass during the journey, +to give it the proposed form--a singularly ingenious idea. The forge was +always at work: a number of other men were also in attendance to keep +the balls at proper distances, of which there were thirty, of the +diameter of five inches. The mountain was moved by four windlasses, and +sometimes by two; each required thirty-two men: it was raised and +lowered by screws, to remove the balls and put them on the other side. +When the road was even, the machine moved 60 feet in the hour. The +mechanic, although continually ill from the dampness of the air, was +still indefatigable in regulating the arrangements; and in six weeks the +whole arrived at the river. It was embarked, and safely landed. Carburi +then placed the mass in the square of St. Peter's, to the honor of +Peter, Falconet, Carburi, and of Catherine, who may always, from her +actions, be classed among illustrious men. It is to be observed, that in +this operation the moss and straw that was placed underneath the rock, +became by compression so compact, that it almost equalled in hardness +the ball of a musket. Similar mechanical operations of the ancients have +been wonderfully exaggerated by their poets." + + + + +COMPARATIVE SKILL OF THE ANCIENTS AND MODERNS IN MECHANICS. + + +Many persons suppose, and maintain, that the grandeur of the monuments +of the ancients, and the great size of the stones they employed for +building purposes, prove that they understood mechanics better than the +moderns. The least knowledge in mechanics, however, will show this +opinion to be erroneous. The moderns possess powers which were unknown +to the ancients, as the screw, and the hydraulic press, the power of +which last is only limited by the strength of the machinery. The works +of the ancients show that they expended a vast deal of power and labor +to gratify the pride and ambition of kings; but the moderns can do all +these things much easier, and in far less time, whenever they deem it +proper. There was nothing in ancient times to be compared with that +daring, ingenious, and stupendous monument of engineering skill--the +Britannia Tubular Bridge, across the Menai straits--projected, designed, +and built by Robert Stephenson, the famous English engineer. He had +previously built a similar but smaller structure--the Conway Tubular +Bridge. + + + + +THE BRITANNIA TUBULAR RAILWAY BRIDGE. + + +Had this stupendous fabric existed in ancient times, it would have been +regarded as the _first_ of the seven wonders of the world. Greater and +more expensive structures have been raised, but none displaying more +science, skill, and ingenuity, and none requiring such tremendous +mechanical power to execute. + +The Britannia Tubular Bridge was built to conduct the Chester and +Holyhead Railway across the Menai Straits, to the island of Anglesea, in +the Irish Sea. + +The difficulties which the engineer had to overcome, were greatly +augmented by the peculiar form and situation of the straits. Sir Francis +Head says, "The point of the straits which it was desired to cross, +although broader than that about a mile distant; preoccupied by Mr. +Telford's suspension bridge--was of course one of the narrowest that +could be selected, in consequence of which the ebbing and flowing +torrent rushes through it with such violence, that, except where there +is back water, it is often impossible for a small boat to pull against +it; besides which, the gusts of wind which come over the tops, down the +ravines, and round the sides of the neighboring mountains, are so +sudden, and occasionally so violent, that it is as dangerous to sail as +it is difficult to row; in short, the wind and the water, sometimes +playfully and sometimes angrily, seem to vie with each other--like some +of Shakspeare's fairies--in exhibiting before the stranger the utmost +variety of fantastic changes which it is in the power of each to +assume." The Menai Straits are about twelve miles long, through which, +imprisoned between the precipitous shores, the waters of the Irish Sea +and St. George's Channel are not only everlastingly vibrating, backwards +and forwards, but at the same time and from the same causes, are +progressively rising and falling 20 to 25 feet, with each successive +tide, which, varying its period of high water, every day forms +altogether an endless succession of aqueous changes. + + + + +THE TUBES. + + +The tubes forming the viaducts, rest upon two abutments and three piers, +called respectively the Anglesea abutment and pier, the Carnarvon +abutment and pier, and the Britannia or central pier, built upon the +Britannia rock in the middle of the straits, which gives name to the +bridge. The Anglesea abutment is 143 feet 6 inches high, 55 feet wide, +and 175 feet long to the end of the wings, which terminate in pedestals, +supporting colossal lions on either side, 25 feet 6 inches in length, 12 +feet 6 inches high, and 8 feet broad, carved out of a single block of +Anglesea marble. The space between the Anglesea abutment and pier is 230 +feet. This pier is 196 feet high, 55 feet wide, and 32 feet long. The +Carnarvon abutment and pier are of the same dimensions as those above +described, on the opposite shore. The Britannia pier is 240 feet high, +55 feet wide, and 45 feet long. This pier is 460 feet clear of each of +the two side piers. The bottom of the tubes are 124 feet above low water +mark, so that large ships can pass under them, under full sail. + +There are two tubes, to accommodate a double track (one would have done +in this country, but in England they do nothing by halves), and each is +1513 feet long. The total length of the bridge is 1841 feet. These tubes +are not round or oval, but nearly square at the termini; the bridge +being constructed on the principle of the arch. A section of one of the +tubes at the Britannia pier is in the form of a parallelogram, where it +is 30 feet high, gradually diminishing towards each end to 20 feet. The +tubes are riveted together into continuous hollow beams; they are of +the uniform width of 14 feet 8 inches throughout; they are constructed +entirely of iron, and weigh about 12,000 tons, each tube containing 5000 +tons of wrought iron, and about 1000 tons of cast iron. The tubes were +constructed each in four sections; the sections extending from the +abutments to their corresponding piers, each 250 feet long, were built +_in situ_, on immense scaffolding, made of heavy timbers for the +purpose, even with the railway; but the middle sections, each 470 feet +long, were built on piers on the Carnarvonshire shore, then floated into +the stream, and elevated to their position; each of these sections +weighed 1800 tons. + + + + +CONSTRUCTION OF THE TUBES. + + +The sides, bottom, and top of these gigantic tubes are formed of oblong +wrought iron plates, varying in length, width, and thickness, according +to circumstances, but of amazing size and weight. They are so arranged +as to obtain the greatest possible strength, the whole being riveted +together in the strongest manner. In addition to the 1600 tons of +wrought iron in each of the four large pieces, an additional 200 tons +was used to form lifting frames, and cast iron beams for the purpose of +attaching the tube to those huge chains by which they were elevated. The +construction of the tubes is thus described in the London Illustrated +News, from which this account is derived: + +"In order to carry out this vast work (the construction of the tubes), +eighty houses have been erected for the accommodation of the workmen, +which, being whitewashed, have a peculiarly neat and picturesque +appearance; among them are seen butcher's, grocer's, and tobacconist's +shops, supplying the wants of a numerous population. A day school, +Sunday school, and meeting-house also conspicuously figure. Workshops, +steam-engines, store-houses, offices, and other buildings meet the eye +at every turn; one is led to conclude that a considerable time has +elapsed since the works were commenced, yet it is little more than two +years ago. A stranger, on coming to the ground, is struck with wonder +when for the first time he obtains a near view of the vast piles of +masonry towering majestically above all the surrounding objects--strong +as the pillars of Hercules, and apparently as endurable--his eyes wander +instinctively to the ponderous tubes, those masterpieces of engineering +constructiveness and mathematical adjustment; he shrinks into himself as +he gazes, and is astonished when he thinks that the whole is the +developed idea of one man, and carried out, too, in the face of +difficulties which few would have dared to encounter." + + + + +FLOATING OF THE TUBES. + + +The tubes were floated to the places whence they were elevated to their +positions on eight huge pontoons, fitted with valves and pumps to +exhaust the water from them, when all was ready to float the prodigious +iron beams. These pontoons or boxes were each 90 feet long, 25 feet +wide, and 15 feet deep. The pontoons having been placed under one of the +tubes (sections), the floating was easily effected, and the operation is +thus described by the "Assistant Engineer." + +"The operation of floating the tubes (the four sections, and one only at +a time), will be commenced by closing the valves in the pontoons at low +water; as the tide rises, the pontoons will begin to float, and shortly +afterwards to bear the weight of the tube, which will at last be raised +by them entirely off its temporary supporting piers; about an hour and a +half before high water, the current running about four miles an hour, it +will be dragged out into the middle of the stream, by powerful capstans +and hawsers, reaching from the pontoons at each end, to the opposite +shore. In order to guide it into its place with the greatest possible +certainty, three large hawsers will be laid down the stream, one end of +two of them being made fast to the towers (piers) between which the tube +is intended to rest, and the other to strong fixed points on the two +shores, near to and opposite the further end of the tube platforms; in +their course, they will pass over and rest upon the pontoons, being +taken through 'cable-stoppers' which are contrivances for embracing and +gripping the hawser extended across the stream, and thereby retarding, +or if necessary entirely destroying, the speed induced by the current." + + + + +RAISING THE TUBES + + +The tubes of the Britannia bridge were raised by means of three +hydraulic presses of the most prodigious size, strength, weight, and +power; two of which were placed in the Britannia pier, above the points +where the tubes rest, and the other alternately on the Anglesea and +Carnarvon piers. + +In order that all who read these pages may understand this curious +operation, it is necessary to describe the principle of the hydraulic +press. If a tube be screwed into a cask or vessel filled with water, and +then water poured into the tube, the pressure on the bottom and sides of +the vessel will not be the contents of the vessel and tube, but that of +a column of water equal to the length of the tube and the depth of the +vessel. This law of pressure in fluids is rendered very striking in the +experiment of bursting a strong cask by the action of a few ounces of +water. This law, so extraordinary and startling of belief to those who +do not understand the reasoning upon which it is founded, has been +called the _Hydrostatic paradox_, though there is nothing in reality +more paradoxical in it, than that one pound at the long end of a lever, +should balance ten pounds at the short end. This principle has been +applied to the construction of the Hydrostatic or Hydraulic press, +whose power is only limited by the strength of the materials of which it +is made. Thus, with a hydraulic press no larger than a common tea-pot, a +bar of iron may be cut as easily as a slip of pasteboard. The exertion +of a single man, with a short lever, will produce a pressure of 1500 +atmospheres, or 22,500 pounds on every square inch of surface inside the +cylinder. By means of hydraulic presses, ships of a thousand tons +burthen, with cargo on board, are lifted out of the water for repairs, +and the heaviest bodies raised and moved, without any other expense of +human labor beyond the management of the engine. + +The tubes on the Anglesea side were raised first. The presses in the +Britannia tower were each capable of raising a weight of 1250 tons; that +in the Anglesea tower, larger than the others, 1800 tons, or the whole +weight of the tube. These presses were worked by two steam engines of 40 +horse power each, which forced the water into the cylinders, through a +tube half an inch in diameter. These steam engines were placed in the +Britannia and Anglesea piers. The press in the Anglesea pier is thus +described, the others being constructed in the same manner. The +hydraulic press stands on massive beams of wrought iron plates +constructed on the principle of the arch, placed in the tower above the +points where the tubes rest. The press consists of a huge cylinder, 9 +feet 2 inches in length, 3 feet 6 inches outside diameter, and the ram 1 +foot 8 inches in diameter, making the sides and bottom of the cylinder +11 inches thick; it was calculated that it would resist a pressure of +8000 or 9000 pounds to the square inch. The ram or piston was attached +to an exceedingly thick and heavy beam of cast iron, called the +cross-head, strengthened with bars of wrought iron. To the cross-head +were attached the huge chains that descended to the tubes far below, to +which they were secured, so that, as the ram was forced up 6 feet at +each stroke, the tube was raised the same distance. "The power of the +press is exerted on the tube by aid of chains, the links of which are 6 +feet in length, bolted together in sets of eight or nine links +alternately.--The ram raises the cross-head 6 feet at each stroke, and +with it the tube, when that height is attained, a lower set of chains on +the beams grip the next set of links, and thus prevent them from +slipping down, whilst the clamps on the cross-heads are unscrewed, the +upper links taken off, and the ram and cross-head lowered to take +another stroke." To guard against all chances of injury to the tubes in +case of accident to the machinery, a contrivance was adopted by which +the tubes were followed up with wedges. The importance of this +precaution was fully proved on the very first attempt to raise the tube +on the Anglesea side, when the huge cylinder broke, almost at the +commencement of the operations. The following is the engineer's +interesting report of the accident: + +"On Friday last (August 17, 1849), at a quarter to twelve o'clock, we +commenced lifting the tube at the Anglesea end, intending to raise it +six feet, and afterwards to have raised the opposite end the same +height. + +"The tube rose steadily to the height of two feet six inches, being +closely followed up by inch wooden boards packed beneath it, when +suddenly, and without any warning, the bottom of the hydraulic press +gave way, separating completely from the body of the press. + +"The ram, cross-head, and chains descended violently on the press, with +a tremendous noise, the tube sinking down upon the wooden packing +beneath it. The bottom of the press, weighing nearly two tons and a +half, fell on the top of the tube, a depth of eighty feet. + +"A sailor, named Owen Parry, was ascending a rope ladder at the time, +from the top of the tube into the tower; the broken piece of press in +its descent struck the ladder and shook him off; he fell on to the tube, +a height of fifty feet, receiving a contusion of the skull, and other +injuries, of so serious a nature that he died the same evening. He was +not engaged in the raising, and had only chosen to cross the tube, as +being the nearest road from one tower to the other. An inquest was held +on the following day, and a verdict of accidental death returned. No one +actually engaged in the operation was injured, although Mr. Edwin +Clark, who was superintending the operation, on the top of the +cross-head, and his brother, Mr. L. Clark, who was standing beneath it, +had both a very narrow escape. + +"The tube is not at all injured, but some portions of the cast iron +lifting frames are broken, and require repairing; some weeks must elapse +before a new cylinder is made, and the operation continued." + +Sir Francis Head, when he saw one of the tubes raised, and in its place, +observed, "It seemed surprising to us that by any arrangement of +materials, it could possibly be made strong enough to support even +itself,--much less heavily laden trains of passengers and goods, flying +through it, and actually passing each other in the air at railway speed. +And the more we called reason and reflection to our assistance, the more +incomprehensible did the mystery practically appear; for the plate iron +of which the aerial gallery is composed is literally _not so thick_ as +the lid, sides, and bottom which, by heartless contract, are _required_ +for an elm coffin 61/2 feet long, 21/4 wide, and 2 deep, of strength +merely sufficient to carry the corpse of an emaciated pauper from the +workhouse to his grave! The covering of this iron passage, 1841 feet in +length, is literally not thicker than the hide of an elephant; lastly, +it is scarcely thicker than the bark of the good old English oak,--and +if this noble sovereign, notwithstanding 'the heart' and interior +substance of which it boasts, is, even in the well-protected park in +which it has been born and bred, often prostrated by the storm, how +difficult is it to conceive that an attenuated aerial hollow beam, no +thicker than its mere rind, should, by human science, be constructed +strong enough to withstand, besides the weights rushing through it, the +natural gales and artificial squalls of wind to which, throughout its +entire length, and at its fearful height, it is permanently to be +exposed." + +Notwithstanding these "incomprehensible" speculations, the tubes are +abundantly strong to sustain the pressure of the heaviest trains, even +were they to stand still in the middle of the bridge. It is calculated +that each tube, in its weakest part, would sustain a pressure of four or +five thousand tons, "support a line of battle ship, with all her +munitions and stores on board," and "bear a line of locomotives covering +the entire bridge." The bridge was completed, and the first train passed +through it March 5th, 1850. The total cost of this gigantic structure +was only L601,865. + + + + +GLORY OF ANCIENT ROME. + + +Ancient Rome was built upon seven hills, which are now scarcely +discoverable on account of the vast quantities of rubbish with which the +valleys are filled. Pliny estimates the circumference of the city in his +time at 13,000 paces (which nearly agrees with modern measurements), and +the population at 3,000,000. Rome was filled with magnificent public +edifices, temples, theatres, amphitheatres, circuses, naumachiae, +porticos, basilicae, baths, gardens, triumphal arches, columns, sewers, +aqueducts, sepulchres, public and private palaces, etc. + +In the time of the Caesars, fourteen magnificent aqueducts, supported by +immense arches, conducted whole rivers into Rome, from a distance of +many miles, and supplied one hundred and fifty public fountains, one +hundred and eighteen large public baths, the artificial seas in which +naval combats were represented in the Colosseum, and the golden palace +of Nero, besides the water necessary to supply the daily use of the +inhabitants. One hundred thousand marble and bronze statues ornamented +the public squares, the temples, the streets, and the houses of the +nobility: ninety colossal statues raised on pedestals; and forty-eight +Egyptian obelisks of red granite, some of the largest size, also adorned +the city. + +Such was ancient Rome, "the Eternal City." Although visited for more +than a thousand years by various calamities, she is still the most +majestic of cities; the charm of beauty, dignity, and grandeur still +lingers around the ruins of ancient, as well as the splendid structures +of modern Rome, and brilliant recollections of every age are connected +with the monuments which the passing traveler meets at every step. + + + + +THE CAPITOL. + + +The Capitol or Citadel of ancient Rome stood on the Capitoline hill, the +smallest of the seven hills of Rome, called the _Saturnine_ and +_Tarpeian rock_. It was begun B.C. 614, by Tarquinius Priscus, but was +not completed till after the expulsion of the kings. After being thrice +destroyed by fire and civil commotion, it was rebuilt by Domitian, who +instituted there the Capitoline games. Dionysius says the temple, with +the exterior palaces, was 200 feet long, and 185 broad. The whole +building consisted of three temples, which were dedicated to Jupiter, +Juno, and Minerva, and separated from one another by walls. In the wide +portico, triumphal banquets were given to the people. The statue of +Jupiter, in the Capitol, represented the god sitting on a throne of +ivory and gold, and consisted in the earliest times of clay painted red; +under Trajan, it was formed of gold. The roof of the temple was made of +bronze; it was gilded by Q. Catulus. The doors were of the same metal. +Splendor and expense were profusely lavished upon the whole edifice. The +gilding alone cost 12,000 talents (about $12,000,000), for which reason +the Romans called it the _Golden Capitol_. On the pediment stood a +chariot drawn by four horses, at first of clay, and afterwards of brass +gilded. The temple itself contained an immense quantity of the most +magnificent presents. The most important state papers, and particularly +the Sibylline books were preserved in it. A few pillars and some ruins +are all that now remain of the magnificent temple of Jupiter +Capitolinus. Its site is mostly occupied by the church of the +Franciscans, and partly by the modern capitol called the _Campidoglio_, +which was erected after the design of Michael Angelo, consisting of +three buildings. From the summit of the middle one, the spectator has a +splendid view of one of the most remarkable regions in the world--the +Campagna, up to the mountains. For a description of the Colosseum, see +vol ii, page 29, of this work. + + + + +MODERN ROME. + + +Modern Rome is about thirteen miles in circuit, and is divided by the +Tiber into two parts. In 1830, Rome contained 144,542 inhabitants, +35,900 houses, 346 churches, 30 monasteries, and upwards of 120 palaces. +The view of the majestic ruins; the solemn grandeur of the churches and +palaces; the recollections of the past; the religious customs; the magic +and almost melancholy tranquillity which pervades the city; the +enjoyment of the endless treasures of art--all conspire to raise the +mind of the traveler to a high state of excitement. The churches, +palaces, villas, squares, streets, fountains, aqueducts, antiquities, +ruins--in short, everything proclaims the ancient majesty and the +present greatness of Rome. Almost every church, palace, and villa is a +treasury of art. Among the churches, St. Peter's is the most +conspicuous, and is, perhaps, the most beautiful building in the world. +Bramante began it; Sangallo and Peruzzi succeeded him; but Michael +Angelo, who erected its immense dome, which is four hundred and fifty +feet high to the top of the cross, designed the greatest part. Many +other architects were often employed upon it; Maderno finished the front +and the two towers. The erection of this edifice, from 1506 to 1614, +cost 45,000,000 Roman crowns. Before we arrive at this grand temple, the +eye is attracted by the beautiful square in front of it, surrounded by a +magnificent colonnade by Bernini, and ornamented by an Egyptian obelisk, +together with two splendid fountains. Upon entering the vestibule, +Giotto's mosaic, la Navicella, is seen. Under the portico, opposite the +great door, is Bernini's great bas relief representing Christ commanding +Peter to feed his sheep; and at the ends of the portico are the +equestrian statues of Constantine by Bernini, and of Charlemagne by +Cornachini. The union of these masterpieces has an indescribable effect. +The harmony and proportion which prevail in the interior of this august +temple are such, that, immense as it is, the eye distinguishes all the +parts without confusion or difficulty. When each object is minutely +examined, we are astonished at its magnitude, so much more considerable +than appears at first sight. The immense canopy of the high altar, +supported by four bronze pillars of 120 feet in height, particularly +attracts the attention. The dome is the boldest work of modern +architecture. The cross thereon is 450 feet above the pavement. The +lantern affords the most beautiful prospect of the city and the +surrounding country. The splendid mosaics, tombs, paintings, frescos, +works in marble, gilded bronze and stucco, the new sacristy--a beautiful +piece of architecture, but not in unison with the rest--deserve separate +consideration. The two most beautiful churches in Rome next to St. +Peter's are the St. John's of the Lateran, and the Santa Maria Maggiore. +The former, built by Constantine the Great, is the parochial church of +the pope; it therefore takes precedence of all others, and is called +_Omnium urbis el orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput_ (the head and mother +of all churches of the city and the world). In it is celebrated the +coronation of the popes. It contains several pillars of granite, _verde +antico_, and gilt bronze; the twelve apostles by Rusconi and Legros; and +the beautiful chapel of Corsini, which is unequalled in its proportions, +built by Alexander Galilei. The altar-piece is a mosaic from a painting +by Guido, and the beautiful porphyry sarcophagus, which is under the +statue of Clement XII., was found in the Pantheon, and is supposed to +have contained the ashes of M. Agrippa. The nave of the church of Santa +Maria Maggiore is supported by forty Ionic pillars of Grecian marble, +which were taken from a temple of Juno Lucina: the ceiling was gilded +with the first gold brought from Peru. We are here struck with +admiration at the mosaics; the high altar, consisting of an antique +porphyry sarcophagus; the chapel of Sixtus V., built from the designs of +Fontana, and richly ornamented; the chapel of Paul V., adorned with +marble and precious stones; the chapel of Sforza, by Michael Angelo; and +the sepulchres of Guglielmo della Porta and Algardi. In the square +before the front is a Corinthian column, which is considered a +masterpiece of its kind. The largest church in Rome next to St. Peter's +was the Basilica di San Paolo fuori delle Mura, on the road to Ostia, +burnt a few years since. The church of S. Lorenzo, without the city, +possesses some rare monuments of antiquity. The church of San Pietro in +Vincola contains the celebrated statue of Moses, by Michael Angelo. The +church of St. Agnes, in the place Navona, begun by Rainaldi and +completed by Borromini, is one of the most highly ornamented, +particularly with modern sculpture. Here is the admirable relief of +Algardi, representing St. Agnes deprived of her clothes, and covered +only with her hair. The Basilica of St. Sebastian, before the Porta +Capena, contains the statue of the dying saint, by Giorgetti, a pupil of +Algardi, and the master of Bernini. Under these churches are the +catacombs, which formerly served as places of burial. In the church of +St. Agnes, before the Porta Pia, among many other beautiful columns are +four of porphyry, belonging to the high altar, and considered the most +beautiful in Rome. In a small chapel is a bust of the Savior by Michael +Angelo--a masterpiece. In the church of St. Augustine, there is a +picture by Raphael representing the prophet Isaiah, and an Ascension by +Lanfranco. The monastery has a rich library, called the Angelica, and +increased by the library of cardinal Passionei. The following churches +also deserve to be mentioned, on account of their architecture and works +of art; the churches of St. Ignatius, St. Cecilia, S. Andrea della +Valle, S. Andrea del Noviziato, the Pantheon (also called la Rotonda), +in which Raffaelle, Annibale Caracci, Mengs, etc., are interred. All the +364 churches of Rome contain monuments of art or antiquity. Among the +palaces, the principal is the Vatican, an immense pile, in which the +most valuable monuments of antiquity, and the works of the greatest +modern masters are preserved. Here are the museum Pio-Clementinum, +established by Clement XIV., and enlarged by Pius VI., and the +celebrated library of the Vatican. The treasures carried away by the +French have been restored. Among the paintings of this palace, the most +beautiful are Raffaelle's frescos in the _stanze_ and _loggie_. The +principal oil paintings are in the _appartamento_ Borgia, which also +contains the Transfiguration, by Raphael. In the Sistine chapel is the +Last Judgment by Michael Angelo. The popes have chosen the palace of +Monte Cavallo, or the Quirinal palace, with its extensive and beautiful +gardens, for their usual residence, on account of its healthy air and +fine prospect. The Lateran palace, which Sixtus V. had rebuilt by +Fontana, was changed, in 1693, into an alms-house. Besides these, the +following are celebrated: the palace della Cancellario, the palace de' +Conservatori, the palace of St. Mark, the buildings of the Academy, etc. +Among the private palaces, the Barberini is the largest; it was built by +Bernini, in a beautiful style. Here are the Magdalen of Guido, one of +the finest works of Caravaggio, the Paintings of the great hall, a +masterpiece of Pietro da Cortona, and other valuable paintings. Of works +of sculpture, the Sleeping Fawn, now in Munich, was formerly here; the +masterly group representing Atalanta and Meleager, a Juno, a sick Satyr +by Bernini, the bust of Cardinal Barberini by the same artist, and the +busts of Marius, Sylla, and Scipio Africanus, are in this palace. The +library is calculated to contain 60,000 printed books, and 9000 +manuscripts; a cabinet of medals, bronzes, and precious stones, is also +connected with the library. The Borghese palace, erected by Bramante, is +extensive, and in a beautiful style; the colonnade of the court is +splendid. This palace contains a large collection of paintings, rare +works of sculpture, valuable tables, and utensils of rich workmanship, +of red porphyry, alabaster, and other materials. The upper hall is +unrivalled; the great landscapes of Vernet, with which it is adorned, +are so true to nature, that, upon entering, one imagines himself +transported into real scenes. The palace Albani, the situation of which +is remarkably fine, possesses a valuable library, a great number of +paintings, and a collection of designs by Caracci, Polidoro, Lanfranco, +Spagnoletto, Cignani, and others. The palace Altieri, one of the largest +in Rome, is in a simple style of architecture, and contains rare +manuscripts, medals, paintings, etc., and valuable furniture. In the +palace Colonna there is a rich collection of paintings by the first +masters; all the rooms are decorated with them, and particularly the +gallery, which is one of the finest in Europe. In the gardens are the +ruins of the baths of Constantine and those of the temple of Sol. The +Aldobrandini palace contains the proudest monument of ancient +painting--the Aldobrandine Wedding, a fresco purchased by Pius VII., in +1818, in which the design is admirable. The great Farnese palace, begun +from the designs of Sangallo, and completed under the direction of +Michael Angelo, is celebrated both for its beauty and its treasures of +art. The Caracci and Domenichino have immortalized themselves by their +frescos in its gallery. The Farnese Hercules, the masterly Flora, and +the urn of Caecilia Metella, formerly adorned the court; and in the +palace itself was the beautiful group of the Farnese bull. But when the +king of Naples inherited the Farnese estate, these statues, with other +works of art, were carried to Naples, where they now adorn the palace +degli Studi. Not far off is the palace Corsini, where queen Christina +lived and died in 1689. It contains a valuable library and gallery. The +palace Giustiniani also had a gallery adorned with numerous valuable +statues and works of sculpture; its principal ornaments were the +celebrated statue of Minerva, the finest of that goddess now known, and +the bas-relief of Amalthaea suckling Jupiter. These treasures were +nominally bought by Napoleon, and are now in Paris. The paintings are +chiefly in the possession of the king of Prussia. In the palace Spada is +the statue of Pompey, at the foot of which Caesar fell under the daggers +of his murderers. We have yet to mention the palace Costaguti, on +account of its fine frescos; Chigi, for its beautiful architecture, its +paintings and library; Mattei, for its numerous statues, reliefs, and +ancient inscriptions; the palace of Pamfili, built by Borromini, for its +splendid paintings and internal magnificence; that of Pamfili in the +square of Navona, with a library and gallery; Rospigliosi, upon the +Quirinal hill, etc. Among the palaces of Rome, which bear the name of +_villas_, is the Villa Medici, on the Pincian mount, on which were +formerly situated the splendid gardens of Lucullus: it once contained a +vast number of masterpieces of every kind; but the grand dukes Leopold +and Ferdinand have removed the finest works (among them, the group of +Niobe, by Scopas) to Florence. This palace, however, is yet worthy of +being visited. Under the portico of the Villa Negroni are the two fine +statues of Sylla and Marius, seated on the _sella curulis_. In the +extensive garden, which is three miles in circuit, some beautiful fresco +paintings have been found in the ruins of some of the houses. The Villa +Mattei, on the Coelian mount, contains a splendid collection of +statues. The Villa Ludovisi, on the Pincian mount, not far from the +ruins of the circus and the gardens of Sallust, is one and a half miles +in circuit, and contains valuable monuments of art, particularly the +Aurora of Guercino, an ancient group of the senator Papirius and his +mother (or rather of Phaedra and Hippolytus), another of Arria and Paetus, +and Bernini's rape of Proserpine. The Villa Borghese, near Rome, has a +fine but an unhealthy situation. The greatest part of the city, and the +environs as far as Frascati and Tivoli, are visible from it. It has a +garden, with a park three miles in circuit. This palace was ornamented +in its interior, and furnished with so much richness and elegance, that +it might have been considered the first edifice in Rome, next to the +capitol, particularly for its fine collection of statues. The most +remarkable among them were the Fighting Gladiator; Silenus and a Faun; +Seneca, in black marble, or rather a slave at the baths; Camillus; the +Hermaphrodite; the Centaur and Cupid; two Fauns, playing on the flute; +Ceres; an Egyptian; a statue of the younger Nero; the busts of Lucius +Verus, Alexander, Faustina and Verus; various relievos, among which was +one representing Curtius; an urn, on which was represented the festival +of Bacchus; another supported by the Graces; two horns of plenty, etc. +The greatest part of these has not been restored from Paris. The +exterior is ornamented with ancient reliefs. The Villa Pamfili, before +the Porta di San Pancrazio, also called Belrespiro, has an agreeable +situation, and is seven miles in circumference. The architecture is by +Algardi, but has been censured by connoisseurs. In the interior there +are some fine specimens of sculpture. Full descriptions of this and of +the Villa Borghese have been published. The Villa Albani, upon an +eminence which commands Tivoli and the Sabina, is an edifice of taste +and splendor. The cardinal Alexander Albani expended immense sums upon +it, and, during the space of fifty years, collected a splendid cabinet. +The ceiling of the gallery was painted by Mengs, and is a model of +elegance. The Villa Lante and the Villa Corsini deserve to be mentioned +on account of their fine prospects. The Villa Doria (formerly Algiati), +in which Raffaelle lived, contains three fresco paintings of this great +master. The Villa Farnese contains the remains of the palace of the +Roman emperors. The capitol contains so many and such magnificent +objects of every description, that it is impossible to enumerate them +here. We must be satisfied with mentioning the equestrian statue of +Marcus Aurelius, before the palace; the Captive Kings, in the court; +the _columna rostrata_; and within, the colossal statue of Pyrrhus; the +tomb of Severus; the Centaurs, of basalt; the beautiful alabaster +pillars; the masterpiece in mosaic, which once belonged to cardinal +Furietti, representing three doves on the edge of a vessel filled with +water, which is described by Pliny. The fountains are among the +principal ornaments of the squares in Rome. The fountain in the Piazza +Navona, the most splendid of them all, has been particularly admired; it +is surmounted by an obelisk, and ornamented by four colossal statues, +which represent the four principal rivers in the world. The fountain of +Paul V., near the church di San Pietro in Montorio, is in bad taste, but +furnishes such a body of water, that several mills are carried by it. +The fountain di Termini is adorned with three reliefs, representing +Moses striking water from the rock, and with a colossal statue of that +prophet, and two Egyptian lions in basalt. The splendid fountain of +Trevi supplies the best water, which it receives through an ancient +aqueduct. Among the streets, the Strada Felice and the Strada Pia, which +cross each other, are the most remarkable; among the bridges, that of +St. Angelo (formerly Pons AElius), 300 feet in length; and among the +gates the Porta del Popolo (formerly Porta Flaminia). Of ancient +monuments, the following yet remain: the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the +column of Trajan, that of Antonine, the amphitheatre of Vespasian; the +mausoleum of Augustus, the mausoleum of Adrian (now the fortress of St. +Angelo); the triumphal arches of Severus, Titus, Constantine, Janus, +Nero, and Drusus; the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Stator, of Jupiter +Tonans, of Concordia, of Pax, of Antoninus and Faustina, of the sun and +moon, of Romulus, of Romulus and Remus, of Pallas, of Fortuna Virilis, +of Fortuna Muliebris, of Virtue, of Bacchus, of Vesta, of Minerva +Medica, and of Venus and Cupid; the remains of the baths of Dioclesian, +of Caracalla and Titus, etc.; the ruins of the theatre of Pompey, near +the Curia Pompeii, where Caesar was murdered, and those of the theatre of +Marcellus; the ruins of the old forum (now called Campo Vaccino); the +remains of the old bridges; the circus Maximus; the circus of Caracalla; +the house of Cicero; the Curia Hostilia; the trophies of Marius; the +portico of Philip and Octavius; the country house and tower of Maecenas; +the Claudian aqueduct; the monuments of the family of Aruns, of the +Scipios, of Metella (called Capo di Bove); the prison of Jugurtha +(Carcero Mamertino), in which St. Peter was imprisoned; the monument of +Caius Cestius, which is entirely uninjured, in form of a pyramid, near +which the Protestants are buried; the Cloaca Maxima, built by Tarquin, +etc. Besides the obelisk near the Porta del Popolo, that raised in the +pontificate of Pius VI., on mount Cavallo, is deserving of notice. The +principal collections of literature and the arts have already been +noticed; but the Museo Kircheliano deserves to be particularly +mentioned; there are, besides, many private collections and monastic +libraries, which contain many valuable works. Such treasures, especially +in the arts, make Rome the great school of painters, statuaries, and +architects, and a place of pilgrimage to all lovers of the arts; and +there are here innumerable _studios_ of painters and sculptors. Roman +art seems to have received a new impulse. The academy of San Luca was +established solely for the art of painting. There are also many literary +institutions in the city. + + + + +THE FOUNDATION OF VENICE. + + +It is recorded in the archives of Padua, says Milizia, that when +Rhadagasius entered Italy, and the cruelties exercised by the Visigoths +obliged the people to seek refuge in various places, an architect of +Candia, named Eutinopus, was the first to retire to the fens of the +Adriatic, where he built a house, which remained the only one there for +several years. At length, when Alaric continued to desolate the country, +others sought an asylum in the same marshes, and built twenty-four +houses, which formed the germ of Venice. The security of the place now +induced people to settle there rapidly, and Venice soon sprung up a city +and gradually rose to be mistress of the seas. The Venetian historians +inform us that the house of Eutinopus, during a dreadful conflagration, +was miraculously saved by a shower of rain, at the prayer of the +architect, who made a vow to convert it into a church; he did this, and +dedicated it to St. James, the magistrates and inhabitants contributing +to build and ornament the edifice. The church is still standing, in the +quarter of the Rialto, which is universally considered the oldest part +of Venice. + + + + +THEODORIC THE GREAT, AND HIS LOVE OF THE FINE ARTS. + + +Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and afterwards also king of Italy, +was born at Amali, near Vienna, in 455, and died in 526. Though a Goth, +he was so far from delighting in the destruction of public monuments, +and works of art, that he issued edicts for their preservation at Rome +and throughout Italy, and assigned revenues for the repair of the public +edifices, for which purpose he employed the most skillful and learned +architects, particularly Aloisius, Boetius, and Symmachus. According to +Cassiodorus (lib. ii. Varior. Epist. xxxix.), Theodoric said: "It is +glorious to preserve the works of antiquity; and it is our duty to +restore the most useful and the most beautiful." Symmachus had the +direction of the buildings constructed or rebuilt at Rome. The king thus +wrote to him: "You have constructed fine edifices; you have, moreover, +disposed of them with so much wisdom that they equal those of antiquity, +and serve as examples to the moderns; and all you show us is a perfect +image of the excellence of your mind, because it is not possible to +build correctly without good sense and a well cultivated understanding." + +In his directions to the Prefect of Rome, on the architecture of the +public edifices, Theodoric thus wrote: + +"The beauty of the Roman buildings requires a skillful overseer, in +order that such a wonderful forest of edifices should be preserved with +constant care, and the new ones properly constructed, both internally +and externally. Therefore we direct our generosity not only to the +preservation of ancient things, but to the investing the new ones with +the glories of antiquity. Be it known, therefore, to your illustrious +person, that for this end an architect of the Roman walls is appointed. +And because the study of the arts requires assistance, we desire that he +may have every reasonable accommodation that his predecessors have +enjoyed. He will certainly see things superior to what he has read of, +and more beautiful than he could ever have imagined. The statues still +feel their renowned authors, and appear to live: he will observe +expressed in the bronze, the veins, the muscles swollen by exertion, the +nerves gradually stretched, and the figure expressing those feelings +which act on a living subject. + +"It is said that the first artists in Italy were the Etruscans, and thus +posterity has given to them, as well as to Rome, almost the power of +creating man. How wonderful are the horses, so full of spirit, with +their fiery nostrils, their sparkling eyes, their easy and graceful +limbs;--they would move, if not of metal. And what shall we say of those +lofty, slender, and finely fluted columns, which appear a part of the +sublime structure they support? That appears wax, which is hard and +elegant metal; the joints in the marble being like natural veins. The +beauty of art is to deceive the eye. Ancient historians acquaint us with +only seven wonders in the world: the Temple of Diana, at Ephesus; the +magnificent sepulchre of the king Mausolus, from whence is derived the +word mausoleum; the bronze Colossus of the Sun, in Rhodes; the statue of +Jupiter Olympius, of gold and ivory, formed by the masterly hand of +Phidias, the first of architects; the palace of Cyrus, King of Media, +built by Memnon of stones united by gold; the walls of Babylon, +constructed by Semiramis of brick, pitch, and iron; the pyramids of +Egypt, the shadows of which do not extend beyond the space of their +construction. But who can any longer consider these as wonders, after +having seen so many in Rome? Those were famous because they preceded us; +it is natural that the new productions of the then barbarous ages should +be renowned. It may truly be said that all Rome is wonderful. We have +therefore selected a man clever in the arts, who, in seeing so many +ingenious things of antiquity, instead of remaining merely enchanted +with them, has set himself to work to investigate the reason, study +their books, and instruct himself, that he may become as learned as +those in the place of whom he is to consider himself appointed." + +Milizia says of Theodoric, "Is this the language of a Gothic barbarian, +the destroyer of good taste? Pericles, Alexander, Adrian, or one of the +Medici could not have reasoned better." And again, "Can these Goths be +the inventors of that architecture vulgarly called Gothic? and are these +the barbarians said to have been the destroyers of the beautiful +monuments of antiquity? Ecclesiastical history gives to the good +Christians and the jealous ecclesiastics the honor of having dismantled +temples, and disfigured statues in Italy, Greece, Asia, and Egypt. * * * +It is clear that the Goths were not the authors of that architecture +called Gothic. The Goths and barbarians who overran Italy had not any +characteristic architecture, good or bad. They brought with them neither +architects, painters, nor poets. They were all soldiers, and when fixed +in Italy employed Italian artists; but as in that country, good taste +was much on the decline, it now became more debased, notwithstanding the +efforts made by the Goths to revive it." + + + + +ARCHIMEDES. + + +This wonderful genius was of royal descent, and born at Syracuse about +B.C. 287. He was a relative of king Hiero, who held him in the highest +esteem and favor, though he does not appear to have held any public +office, preferring to devote himself entirely to science. Such was his +enthusiasm, that he appears at times to have been so completely absorbed +in contemplation and calculations, as to be totally unconscious of what +was passing around him. We cannot fully estimate his services to +mathematics, for want of an acquaintance with the previous state of +science; still we know that he enriched it with discoveries of the +highest importance, upon which the moderns have founded their +admeasurements of curvilinear surfaces and solids. Euclid, in his +elements, considers only the relations of some of these magnitudes to +each other, but does not compare them with surfaces and solids bounded +by straight lines. Archimedes developed the proportions necessary for +effecting this comparison, in his treatises on the sphere and cylinder, +the spheroid and conoid, and in his work on the measure of the circle. +He rose to still more abstruse considerations in his treatise on the +spiral. Archimedes is also the only one of the ancients who has left us +anything satisfactory on the theory of mechanics and hydrostatics. He +first taught the principle "that a body immersed in a fluid, loses as +much in weight, as the weight of an equal volume of the fluid." He +discovered this while bathing, which is said to have caused him so much +joy that he ran home from the bath undressed, exclaiming, "I have found +it; I have found it!" By means of this principle, he determined how much +alloy a goldsmith had added to a crown which king Hiero had ordered of +pure gold. Archimedes had a profound knowledge of mechanics, and in a +moment of enthusiasm, with which the extraordinary performances of his +machines had inspired him, he exclaimed that he "could move the earth +with ease, by means of his machines placed on a fixed point near it." He +was the inventor of the compound pulley, and probably of the endless +screw which bears his name. He invented many surprising engines and +machines. Some suppose that he visited Egypt, and raised the sites of +the towns and villages of Egypt, and begun those mounds of earth by +means of which communication was kept up from town to town, during the +inundations of the Nile. When Marcellus, the Roman consul, besieged +Syracuse, he devoted all his talents to the defense of his native +country. He constructed machines which suddenly raised up in the air the +ships of the enemy in the bay before the city, and then let them fall +with such violence into the water that they sunk; he also set them on +fire with his burning glasses. Polybius, Livy, and Plutarch speak in +detail, with wonder and admiration, of the machines with which he +repelled the attacks of the Romans. When the town was taken and given up +to pillage, the Roman general gave strict orders to his soldiers not to +hurt Archimedes, and even offered a reward to him who should bring him +alive and safe to his presence. All these precautions proved useless, +for the philosopher was so deeply engaged at the time in solving a +problem, that he was even ignorant that the enemy were in possession of +the city, and when a soldier entered his apartment, and commanded him to +follow him, he exclaimed, according to some, "Disturb not my circle!" +and to others, he begged the soldier not to "kill him till he had solved +his problem"; but the rough warrior, ignorant of the august person +before him, little heeded his request, and struck him down. This +happened B.C. 212, so that Archimedes, at his death, must have been +about 75 years old. Marcellus raised a monument over him, and placed +upon it a cylinder and a sphere, thereby to immortalize his discovery of +their mutual relations, on which he set a particular value; but it +remained long neglected and unknown, till Cicero, during his questorship +of Sicily, found it near one of the gates of Syracuse, and had it +repaired. The story of his burning glasses had always appeared fabulous +to some of the moderns, till the experiments of Buffon demonstrated its +truth and practicability. These celebrated glasses are supposed to have +been reflectors made of metal, and capable of producing their effect at +the distance of a bow-shot. + + + + +THE TRIALS OF GENIUS. + + +FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI. + + +This eminent architect was one of those illustrious men, who, having +conceived and matured a grand design, proceed, cool, calm, and +indefatigable, to put it in execution, undismayed by obstacles that seem +insuperable, by poverty, want, and what is worse, the jeers of men whose +capacities are too limited to comprehend their sublime conceptions. The +world is apt to term such men enthusiasts, madmen, or fools, till their +glorious achievements stamp them almost divinely inspired. + +Brunelleschi was nobly descended on his mother's side, she being a +member of the Spini family, which, according to Bottari, became extinct +towards the middle of the last century. His ancestors on his father's +side were also learned and distinguished men--his father was a notary, +his grandfather "a very learned man," and his great-grandfather "a +famous physician in those times." Filippo's father, though poor, +educated him for the legal or medical profession; but such was his +passion for art and mechanics, that his father, greatly against his +will, was compelled to allow him to follow the bent of his genius: he +accordingly placed him, at a proper age, in the Guild of the Goldsmiths, +that he might acquire the art of design. Filippo soon became a +proficient in the setting of precious stones, which he did much better +than any old artists in the vocation. He also wrought in niello, and +executed several figures which were highly commended, particularly two +figures of Prophets, for an altar in the Cathedral of Pistoja. Filippo +next turned his attention to sculpture, and executed works in +basso-relievo, which showed an extraordinary genius. Subsequently, +having made the acquaintance of several learned men, he began to turn +his attention to the computation of the divisions of time, the +adjustment of weights, the movement of wheels, etc. He next bent his +thoughts to the study of perspective, to which, before his time, so +little attention was paid by artists, that the figures often appeared to +be slipping off the canvas, and the buildings had not a true point of +view. He was one of the first who revived the Greek practice of +rendering the precepts of geometry subservient to the painter; for this +purpose, he studied with the famous geometrician Toscanelli, who was +also the instructor, friend, and counsellor of Columbus. Filippo pursued +his investigations until he brought perspective to great perfection; he +was the first who discovered a perfectly correct method of taking the +ground plan and sections of buildings, by means of intersecting +lines--"a truly ingenious thing," says Vasari, "and of great utility to +the arts of design." Filippo freely communicated his discoveries to his +brother artists. He was imitated in mosaic by Benedetto da Macano, and +in painting by Masaccio, who were his pupils. Vasari says Brunelleschi +was a man of such exalted genius, that "we may truly declare him to have +been given to us by Heaven, for the purpose of imparting a new spirit to +architecture, which for hundreds of years had been lost; for the men of +those times had badly expended great treasures in the erection of +buildings without order, constructed in a most wretched manner, after +deplorable designs, with fantastic inventions, labored graces, and worse +decorations. But it then pleased Heaven, the earth having been for so +many years destitute of any distinguished mind and divine genius, that +Filippo Brunelleschi should leave to the world, the most noble, vast, +and beautiful edifice that had ever been constructed in modern times, or +even in those of the ancients; giving proof that the talent of the +Tuscan artists, although lost for a time, was not extinguished. He was, +moreover, adorned by the most excellent qualities, among which was that +of kindliness, insomuch that there never was a man of more benign and +amicable disposition; in judgment he was calm and dispassionate, and +laid aside all thought of his own interest and even that of his friends, +whenever he perceived the merits and talents of others to demand that he +should do so. He knew himself, instructed many from the stores of his +genius, and was ever ready to succor his neighbor in all his +necessities; he declared himself the confirmed enemy of all vice, and +the friend of those who labored in the cause of virtue. Never did he +spend his moments vainly, but, although constantly occupied in his own +works, in assisting those of others, or administering to their +necessities, he had yet always time to bestow on his friends, for whom +his aid was ever ready." + +In the meantime, Brunelleschi had studied architecture, and made such +progress that he had already conceived two grand projects--the one was +the revival of the good manner of ancient architecture, which was then +extinct, and the other was to discover a method for constructing the +cupola of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence, the +difficulties of which were so great that, after the death of Arnolfo di +Lapi, no architect had been found of sufficient courage and capacity to +attempt the vaulting of that cupola.[1] If he could accomplish one or +both of these designs, he believed that he would not only immortalize +his own name, but confer a lasting benefit on mankind. Filippo, having +resolved to devote himself entirely to architecture in future, set out +for Rome in company with his friend Donatello, without imparting his +purpose to any one. Here his mind became so absorbed that he labored +incessantly, scarcely allowing himself the rest which nature required. +He examined, measured, and made careful drawings of all the edifices, +ruins, arches, and vaults of antiquity; to these he devoted perpetual +study, and if by chance he found fragments of capitals, columns, +cornices, or basements of buildings, partly buried in the earth, he set +laborers at work to lay them open to view. One day, Filippo and +Donatello found an earthen vase full of ancient coins, which caused a +report to be spread about Rome that the artists were _treasure-seekers_, +and this name they often heard, as they passed along the streets, +negligently clothed, the people believing them to be men who studied +geomancy, for the discovery of treasures. Donatello soon returned to +Florence, but Filippo pursued his studies with unremitting diligence. +Having exhausted his means, although he lived in the most frugal manner, +he contrived to supply his wants, says Milizia, by pawning his jewels, +but Vasari with greater probability, by setting precious stones for the +goldsmiths, who were his friends. "Nor did he rest," says Vasari, "until +he had drawn every description of fabric--temples, round, square, or +octagon; basilicas, aqueducts, baths, arches, the Colosseum, +amphitheatres, and every church built of bricks, of which he examined +all the modes of binding and clamping, as well as the turning of the +vaults and arches; he took note, likewise, of all the methods used for +uniting the stones, as well as of the means used for securing the +equilibrium and close conjunction of all the parts; and having found +that in all the larger stones there was a hole, formed exactly in the +centre of each on the under side, he discovered that this was for the +insertion of the iron instrument with which the stones are drawn up, and +which is called by us the mason's clamps (_la ulivella_), an invention, +the use of which he restored, and ever afterwards put in practice. The +different orders were next divided by his cares, each order, the Doric, +Ionic, or Corinthian being placed apart; and such was the effect of his +zeal in that study, that he became capable of entirely reconstructing +the city in his imagination, and of beholding Rome as she had been +before she was ruined. But in the year 1407 the air of the place caused +Filippo some slight indisposition, when he was advised by his friends to +try change of air. He consequently returned to Florence, where many +buildings had suffered by his absence, and for these he made many +drawings and gave numerous counsels on his return. + +"In the same year an assemblage of architects and engineers was gathered +in Florence, by the Superintendents of the works of Santa Maria del +Fiore, and by the Syndics of the Guild of wool-workers, to consult on +the means by which the cupola might be raised. Among these appeared +Filippo, who gave it as his opinion that the edifice above the roof must +be constructed, not after the design of Arnolfo, but that a frieze, +fifteen braccia high, must be erected, with a large window in each of +its sides: since not only would this take the weight off the piers of +the tribune, but would also permit the cupola itself to be more easily +raised." + +The obstacles appeared so insuperable to the Superintendents and the +Syndics, that they delayed the execution of the cupola for several +years. In the meantime, Filippo secretly made models and designs for his +cupola, which perpetually occupied his thoughts. He boldly asserted that +the project was not only practicable, but that it could be done with +much less difficulty and at less expense than was believed. At length, +his boldness, genius, and powerful arguments, brought many of the +citizens to his opinion, though he refused to show his models, because +he knew the powerful opposition and influences he would have to +encounter, and the almost certain loss of the honor of building the +cupola, which he coveted above everything else. Vasari thus continues +his admirable history: "But one morning the fancy took him, hearing that +there was some talk of providing engineers for the construction of the +cupola, of returning to Rome, thinking that he would have more +reputation and be more sought for from abroad, than if he remained in +Florence. When Filippo had returned to Rome accordingly, the acuteness +of his genius and his readiness of resource were taken into +consideration, when it was remembered that in his discourses he had +showed a confidence and courage that had not been found in any of the +other architects, who stood confounded, together with the builders, +having lost all power of proceeding; for they were convinced that no +method of constructing the cupola would ever be found, nor any beams +that would make a scaffold strong enough to support the framework and +weight of so vast an edifice. The Superintendents were therefore +resolved to have an end of the matter, and wrote to Filippo in Rome, +entreating him to repair to Florence, when he, who desired nothing +better, returned very readily. The wardens of Santa Maria del Fiore and +the syndics of the Guild of Woolworkers, having assembled on his +arrival, set before him all the difficulties, from the greatest to the +smallest, which had been made by the masters, who were present, together +with himself, at the audience: whereupon Filippo replied in these +words--'Gentlemen Superintendents, there is no doubt that great +undertakings always present difficulties in their execution; and if none +ever did so before, this of yours does it to an extent of which you are +not perhaps even yet fully aware, for I do not know that even the +ancients ever raised so enormous a vault as this will be. I, who have +many times reflected on the scaffoldings required, both within and +without, and on the method to be pursued for working securely at this +erection, have never been able to come to a decision; and I am +confounded, no less by the breadth than the height of the edifice. Now, +if the cupola could be arched in a circular form, we might pursue the +method adopted by the Romans in erecting the Pantheon of Rome; that is, +the Rotunda. But here we must follow the eight sides of the building, +dove-tailing, and, so to speak, enchaining the stones, which will be a +very difficult thing. Yet, remembering that this is a temple consecrated +to God and the Virgin, I confidently trust, that for a work executed to +their honor, they will not fail to infuse knowledge where it is now +wanting, and will bestow strength, wisdom, and genius on him who shall +be the author of such a project. But how can I help you in the matter, +seeing that the work is not mine? I tell you plainly, that if it +belonged to me, my courage and power would beyond all doubt suffice to +discover means whereby the work might be effected without so many +difficulties; but as yet I have not reflected on the matter to any +extent, and you would have me tell you by what method it is to be +accomplished. But even if your worships should determine that the cupola +shall be raised, you will be compelled not only to make trial of me, who +do not consider myself capable of being the sole adviser in so important +a matter, but also to expend money, and to command that within a year, +and on a fixed day, many architects shall assemble in Florence; not +Tuscans and Italians only, but Germans, French, and of every other +nation: to them it is that such an undertaking should be proposed, to +the end that having discussed the matter and decided among so many +masters, the work may be commenced and entrusted to him who shall give +the best evidence of capacity, or shall display the best method and +judgment for the execution of so great a charge. I am not able to offer +you other counsel, or to propose a better arrangement than this.' + +"The proposal and plan of Filippo pleased the Syndics and Wardens of the +works, but they would have liked that he should meanwhile prepare a +model, on which they might have decided. But he showed himself to have +no such intention, and taking leave of them, declared that he was +solicited by letters to return to Rome. The syndics then perceiving that +their request and those of the wardens did not suffice to detain him, +caused several of his friends to entreat his stay; but Filippo not +yielding to these prayers, the wardens, one morning, ordered him a +present of money; this was on the 26th of May, 1417, and the sum is to +be seen among the expenses of Filippo, in the books of the works. All +this was done to render him favorable to their wishes; but, firm to his +resolution, he departed nevertheless from Florence and returned to Rome, +where he continued the unremitting study of the same subject, making +various arrangements and preparing himself for the completion of that +work, being convinced, as was the truth, that no other than himself +could conduct such an undertaking to its conclusion. Nor had Filippo +advised the syndics to call new architects for any other reason, than +was furnished by his desire that those masters should be the witnesses +of his own superior genius: he by no means expected that they could or +would receive the commission for vaulting that tribune, or would +undertake the charge, which he believed to be altogether too difficult +for them. Much time was meanwhile consumed, before the architects, whom +the syndics had caused to be summoned from afar, could arrive from their +different countries. Orders had been given to the Florentine merchants +resident in France, Germany, England, and Spain, who were authorized to +spend large sums of money for the purpose of sending them, and were +commanded to obtain from the sovereigns of each realm the most +experienced and distinguished masters of the respective countries. + +"In the year 1420, all these foreign masters were at length assembled in +Florence, with those of Tuscany, and all the best Florentine artists in +design. Filippo likewise then returned from Rome. They all assembled, +therefore, in the hall of the wardens of Santa Maria del Fiore, the +Syndics and Superintendents, together with a select number of the most +capable and ingenious citizens being present, to the end that having +heard the opinion of each on the subject, they might at length decide on +the method to be adopted for vaulting the tribune. Being called into the +audience, the opinions of all were heard one after another, and each +architect declared the method which he had thought of adopting. And a +fine thing it was to hear the strange and various notions then +propounded on that matter: for one said that columns must be raised from +the ground up, and that on these they must turn the arches, whereon the +woodwork for supporting the weight must rest. Others affirmed that the +vault should be turned in cysteolite or sponge-stone (spugna), thereby +to diminish the weight; and several of the masters agreed in the opinion +that a column must be erected in the centre, and the cupola raised in +the form of a pavilion, like that of San Giovanni in Florence. Nay, +there were not wanting those who maintained that it would be a good plan +to fill the space with earth, among which small coins (quatrini) should +be mingled, that when the cupola should be raised, they might then give +permission that whoever should desire the soil might go and fetch it, +when the people would immediately carry it away without expense. Filippo +alone declared that the cupola might be erected without so great a mass +of woodwork, without a column in the centre, and without the mound of +earth; at a much lighter expense than would be caused by so many arches, +and very easily, without any framework whatever. + +"Hearing this, the syndics, who were listening in the expectation of +hearing some fine method, felt convinced that Filippo had talked like a +mere simpleton, as did the superintendents, and all the other citizens; +they derided him therefore, laughing at him, and turning away; they bade +him discourse of something else, for that this was the talk of a fool or +madman, as he was. Therefore Filippo, thinking he had cause of offence, +replied, 'But consider, gentlemen, that it is not possible to raise the +cupola in any other manner than this of mine, and although you laugh at +me, yet you will be obliged to admit (if you do not mean to be +obstinate), that it neither must nor can be done in any other manner; +and if it be erected after the method that I propose, it must be turned +in the manner of the pointed arch, and must be double--the one vaulting +within, the other without, in such sort that a passage should be formed +between the two. At the angles of the eight walls, the building must be +strengthened by the dove-tailing of the stones, and in like manner the +walls themselves must be girt around by strong beams of oak. We must +also provide for the lights, the staircases, and the conduits by which +the rain-water may be carried off. And none of you have remembered that +we must prepare supports within, for the execution of the mosaics, with +many other difficult arrangements; but I, who see the cupola raised, I +have reflected on all these things, and I know that there is no other +mode of accomplishing them, than that of which I have spoken.' Becoming +heated as he proceeded, the more Filippo sought to make his views clear +to his hearers, that they might comprehend and agree with him, the more +he awakened their doubts, and the less they confided in him, so that, +instead of giving him their faith, they held him to be a fool and a +babbler. Whereupon, being more than once dismissed, and finally refusing +to go, they caused him to be carried forcibly from the audience by the +servants of the place, considering him to be altogether mad. This +contemptuous treatment caused Filippo at a later period to say, that he +dared not at that time pass through any part of the city, lest some one +should say, 'See, where goes that fool!' The syndics and others forming +the assembly remained confounded, first, by the difficult methods +proposed by the other masters, and next by that of Filippo, which +appeared to them stark nonsense. He appeared to them to render the +enterprise impossible by his two propositions--first, by that of making +the cupola double, whereby the great weight to be sustained would be +rendered altogether unmanageable, and next by the proposal of building +without a framework. Filippo, on the other hand, who had spent so many +years in close study to prepare himself for this work, knew not to what +course to betake himself, and was many times on the point of leaving +Florence. Still, if he desired to conquer, it was necessary to arm +himself with patience, and he had seen enough to know that the heads of +the city seldom remained long fixed to one resolution. He might easily +have shown them a small model which he had secretly made, but he would +not do so, knowing the imperfect intelligence of the syndics, the envy +of the artists, and the instability of the citizens, who favored now one +and now another, as each chanced to please them. And I do not wonder at +this, because every one in Florence professes to know as much of these +matters, as do the most experienced masters, although there are very few +who really understand them; a truth which we may be permitted to affirm +without offence to those who are well informed on the subject. What +Filippo therefore could not effect before the tribunal, he began to +attempt with individuals, and talking apart now with a syndic, now with +a warden, and again with different citizens, showing moreover certain +parts of his design; he thus brought them at length to resolve on +confiding the conduct of this work, either to him or to one of the +foreign architects. Hereupon, the syndics, the wardens, and the +citizens, selected to be judges in the matter, having regained courage, +gathered together once again, and the architects disputed respecting the +matter before them; but all were put down and vanquished on sufficient +grounds by Filippo, and here it is said that the dispute of the egg +arose, in the manner following. The other architects desired that +Filippo should explain his purpose minutely, and show his model, as they +had shown theirs. This he would not do, but proposed to all the masters, +foreigners and compatriots, that he who could make an egg stand upright +on a piece of smooth marble, should be appointed to build the cupola, +since in doing that, his genius would be made manifest. They took an egg +accordingly, and all those masters did their best to make it stand +upright, but none discovered the method of doing so. Wherefore, Filippo, +being told that he might make it stand himself, took it daintily into +his hand, gave the end of it a blow on the plane of the marble, and made +it stand upright.[2] Beholding this, the artists loudly protested, +exclaiming that they could all have done the same; but Filippo replied, +laughing, that they might also know how to construct the cupola, if they +had seen the model and design. It was thus at length resolved that +Filippo should receive the charge of conducting the work, but was told +that he must furnish the syndics and wardens with more exact +information. + +"He returned, therefore, to his house, and stated his whole purpose on a +sheet of paper, as clearly as he could possibly express it, when it was +given to the tribunal in the following terms:--'The difficulties of this +erection being well considered, magnificent signors and wardens, I find +that it cannot by any means be constructed in a perfect circle, since +the extent of the upper part, where the lantern has to be placed, would +be so vast, that when a weight was laid thereon, it would soon give way. +Now it appears to me that those architects who do not aim at giving +perpetual duration to their fabrics, cannot have any regard for the +durability of the memorial, nor do they even know what they are doing. I +have therefore determined to turn the inner part of this vault in +angles, according to the form of the walls, adopting the proportions and +manner of the pointed arch, this being a form which displays a rapid +tendency to ascend, and when loaded with the lantern, each part will +help to give stability to the other. The thickness of the vault at the +base must be three braccia and three-quarters; it must then rise in the +form of a pyramid, decreasing from without up to the point where it +closes, and where the lantern has to be placed, and at this junction the +thickness must be one braccia and a quarter. A second vault shall then +be constructed outside the first, to preserve the latter from the rain, +and this must be two braccia and a half thick at the base, also +diminishing proportionally in the form of a pyramid, in such a manner +that the parts shall have their junction at the commencement of the +lantern, as did the other, and at the highest point it must have +two-thirds of the thickness of the base. There must be a buttress at +each angle, which will be eight in all, and between the angles, in the +face of each wall, there shall be two, sixteen in all; and these sixteen +buttresses on the inner and outer side of each wall must each have the +breadth of four braccia at the base. These two vaults, built in the form +of a pyramid, shall rise together in equal proportion to the height of +the round window closed by the lantern. There will thus be constructed +twenty-four buttresses with the said vaults built around, and six strong +high arches of a hard stone (macigno), well clamped and bound with iron +fastenings, which must be covered with tin, and over these stones shall +be cramping irons, by which the vaults shall be bound to the buttresses. +The masonry must be solid, and must leave no vacant space up to the +height of five braccia and a quarter; the buttresses being then +continued, the arches will be separated. The first and second courses +from the base must be strengthened everywhere by long plates of +_macigno_ laid crosswise, in such sort that both vaults of the cupola +shall rest on these stones. Throughout the whole height, at every ninth +braccia there shall be small arches constructed in the vaults between +the buttresses, with strong cramps of oak, whereby the buttresses by +which the inner vault is supported will be bound and strengthened; these +fastenings of oak shall then be covered with plates of iron, on account +of the staircases. The buttresses are all to be built of _macigno_, or +other hard stone, and the walls of the cupola are, in like manner, to be +all of solid stone bound to the buttresses to the height of twenty-four +braccia, and thence upward they shall be constructed of brick or of +spongite (spugne), as shall be determined on by the masters who build +it, they using that which they consider lightest. On the outside, a +passage or gallery shall be made above the windows, which below shall +form a terrace, with an open parapet or balustrade two braccia high, +after the manner of those of the lower tribunes, and forming two +galleries, one over the other, placed on a richly decorated cornice, the +upper gallery being covered. The rain-water shall be carried off the +cupola by means of a marble channel, one third of an ell broad, the +water being discharged at an outlet to be constructed of hard stone +(pietra forte), beneath the channel. Eight ribs of marble shall be +formed on the angles of the external surface of the cupola, of such +thickness as may be requisite; these shall rise to the height of one +braccia above the cupola, with cornices projecting in the manner of a +roof, two braccia broad, that the summit may be complete, and +sufficiently furnished with eaves and channels on every side; and these +must have the form of the pyramid, from their base, or point of +junction, to their extremity. Thus the cupola shall be constructed after +the method described above, and without framework, to the height of +thirty braccia, and from that height upwards, it may be continued after +such manner as shall be determined on by the masters who may have to +build it, since practice teaches us by what methods to proceed.' + +"When Filippo had written the above, he repaired in the morning to the +tribunal, and gave his paper to the syndics and wardens, who took the +whole of it into their consideration; and, although they were not able +to understand it all, yet seeing the confidence of Filippo, and finding +that the other architects gave no evidence of having better ground to +proceed on,--he moreover showing a manifest security, by constantly +repeating the same things in such a manner that he had all the +appearance of having vaulted ten cupolas:--the Syndics, seeing all this, +retired apart, and finally resolved to give him the work; they would +have liked to see some example of the manner in which he meant to turn +this vault without framework, but to all the rest they gave their +approbation. And fortune was favorable to this desire: Bartolomeo +Barbadori having determined to build a chapel in Santa Felicita, and +having spoken concerning it with Filippo, the latter had commenced the +work, and caused the chapel, which is on the right of the entrance, +where is also the holy water vase (likewise by the hand of Filippo), to +be vaulted without any framework. At the same time he constructed +another, in like manner, for Stiatta Ridolfi, in the church of Santo +Jacopo sopr' Arno; that, namely, beside the chapel of the High Altar; +and these works obtained him more credit than was given to his words. +The consuls and wardens feeling at length assured, by the writing he had +given them, and by the works which they had seen, entrusted the cupola +to his care, and he was made principal master of the works by a majority +of votes. They would nevertheless not commission him to proceed beyond +the height of twelve braccia, telling him that they desired to see how +the work would succeed, but that if it proceeded as successfully as he +expected, they would not fail to give him the appointment for the +remainder. The sight of so much obstinacy and distrust in the syndics +and wardens was so surprising to Filippo, that if he had not known +himself to be the only person capable of conducting the work, he would +not have laid a hand upon it; but desiring, as he did, to secure the +glory of its completion, he accepted the terms, and pledged himself to +conduct the undertaking perfectly to the end. The writing Filippo had +given was copied into a book wherein the purveyor kept the accounts of +the works in wood and marble, together with the obligation into which +Filippo had entered as above said. An allowance was then made to him, +conformably with what had at other times been given to other masters of +the works. + +"When the commission given to Filippo became known to the artists and +citizens, some thought well of it, and others ill, as always is the +case with a matter which calls forth the opinions of the populace, the +thoughtless, and the envious. Whilst the preparation of materials for +beginning to build was making, a party was formed among the artists and +citizens; and these men proceeding to the syndics and wardens, declared +that the matter had been concluded too hastily, and that such a work +ought not to be executed according to the opinion of one man only; they +added, that if the syndics and wardens had been destitute of +distinguished men, instead of being furnished with such in abundance, +they would have been excusable, but that what was now done was not +likely to redound to the honor of the citizens, seeing, that if any +accident should happen, they would incur blame, as persons who had +conferred too great a charge on one man, without considering the losses +and disgrace that might result to the public. All this considered, it +would be well to give Filippo a colleague, who might restrain his +impetuosity (furore). + +"Lorenzo Ghiberti had at that time attained to high credit by the +evidence of his genius, which he had given in the doors of San Giovanni; +and that he was much beloved by certain persons who were very powerful +in the government was now proved with sufficient clearness, since, +perceiving the glory of Filippo to increase so greatly, they labored in +such a manner with the syndics and wardens, under the pretext of care +and anxiety for the building, that Ghiberti was united with Filippo in +the work. The bitter vexation of Filippo, the despair into which he +fell, when he heard what the wardens had done, may be understood by the +fact that he was on the point of flying from Florence; and had it not +been that Donato and Luca della Robbia comforted and encouraged him, he +would have gone out of his senses. A truly wicked and cruel rage is that +of those men, who, blinded by envy, endanger the honors and noble works +of others in the base strife of ambition: it was not the fault of these +men that Filippo did not break in pieces the models, set fire to the +designs, and in one half hour destroy all the labors so long endured, +and ruin the hopes of so many years. The wardens excused themselves at +first to Filippo, encouraging him to proceed, reminding him that the +inventor and author of so noble a fabric was still himself, and no +other; but they, nevertheless, gave Lorenzo a stipend equal to that of +Filippo. The work was then continued with but little pleasure on the +part of Filippo, who knew that he must endure all the labors connected +therewith, and would then have to divide the honor and fame equally with +Lorenzo. Taking courage, nevertheless, from the thought that he should +find a method of preventing the latter from remaining very long attached +to that undertaking, he continued to proceed after the manner laid down +in the writing given to the wardens. Meanwhile the thought occurred to +the mind of Filippo of constructing a complete model, which, as yet, had +never been done. This he commenced forthwith, causing the parts to be +made by a certain Bartolomeo, a joiner, who dwelt near his studio. In +this model (the measurements of which were in strict accordance with +those of the building itself, the difference being of size only), all +the difficult parts of the structure were shown as they were to be when +completed; as, for example, staircases lighted and dark, with every +other kind of light, with the buttresses and other inventions for giving +strength to the building, the doors, and even a portion of the gallery. +Lorenzo, having heard of this model, desired to see it, but Filippo +refusing, he became angry, and made preparations for constructing a +model of his own, that he might not appear to be receiving his salary +for nothing, but that he also might seem to count for something in the +matter. For these models Filippo received fifty lire and fifteen soldi, +as we find by an order in the book of Migliore di Tommaso, under date of +the 3d October, 1419, while Lorenzo was paid three hundred lire for the +labor and cost of his model, a difference occasioned by the partiality +and favor shown to him, rather than merited by any utility or benefit +secured to the building by the model which he had constructed. + +"This vexatious state of things continued beneath the eyes of Filippo +until the year 1426,[3] the friends of Lorenzo calling him the inventor +of the work, equally with Filippo, and this caused so violent a +commotion in the mind of the latter, that he lived in the utmost +disquietude. Various improvements and new inventions were, besides, +presenting themselves to his thoughts, and he resolved to rid himself of +his colleague at all hazards, knowing of how little use he was to the +work. Filippo had already raised the walls of the cupola to the height +of twelve braccia in both vaults, but the works, whether in wood or +stone, that were to give strength to the fabric, had still to be +executed, and as this was a matter of difficulty, he determined to speak +with Lorenzo respecting it, that he might ascertain whether the latter +had taken it into consideration. But Lorenzo was so far from having +thought of this exigency, and so entirely unprepared for it, that he +replied by declaring that he would refer that to Filippo as the +inventor. The answer of Lorenzo pleased Filippo, who thought he here saw +the means of removing his colleague from the works, and of making it +manifest that he did not possess that degree of knowledge in the matter +that was attributed to him by his friends, and implied in the favor +which had placed him in the situation he held. All the builders were now +engaged in the work, and waited only for directions, to commence the +part above the twelve braccia, to raise the vaults, and render all +secure. The closing in of the cupola towards the top having commenced, +it was necessary to provide the scaffolding, that the masons and +laborers might work without danger, seeing that the height was such as +to make the most steady head turn giddy, and the firmest spirit shrink, +merely to look down from it. The masons and other masters were therefore +waiting in expectation of directions as to the manner in which the +chains were to be applied, and the scaffoldings erected; but, finding +there was nothing determined on either by Lorenzo or Filippo, there +arose a murmur among the masons and other builders, at not seeing the +work pursued with the solicitude previously shown; and as the workmen +were poor persons who lived by the labor of their hands, and who now +believed that neither one nor the other of the architects had courage +enough to proceed further with the undertaking, they went about the +building employing themselves as best they could in looking over and +furbishing up all that had been already executed. + +"But one morning, Filippo did not appear at the works: he tied up his +head, went to bed complaining bitterly, and causing plates and towels to +be heated with great haste and anxiety, pretending that he had an attack +of pleurisy. The builders who stood waiting directions to proceed with +their work, on hearing this, demanded orders of Lorenzo for what they +were to do; but he replied that the arrangement of the work belonged to +Filippo, and that they must wait for him. 'How?' said one of them, 'do +you not know what his intentions are?' 'Yes,' replied Lorenzo, 'but I +would not do anything without him.'" This he said by way of excusing +himself; for as he had not seen the model of Filippo, and had never +asked him what method he meant to pursue, that he might not appear +ignorant, so he now felt completely out of his depth, being thus +referred to his own judgment, and the more so as he knew that he was +employed in that undertaking against the will of Filippo. The illness of +the latter having already lasted more than two days, the purveyor of the +works, with many of the master-builders, went to see him, and repeatedly +asked him to tell them what they should do; but he constantly replied, +'You have Lorenzo, let him begin to do something for once.' Nor could +they obtain from him any other reply. When this became known, it caused +much discussion: great blame was thrown upon the undertaking, and many +adverse judgments were uttered. Some said that Filippo had taken to his +bed from grief, at finding that he had not power to accomplish the +erection of the Cupola, and that he was now repenting of having meddled +with the matter; but his friends defended him, declaring that his +vexation might arise from the wrong he had suffered in having Lorenzo +given to him as a colleague, but that his disorder was pleurisy, +brought on by his excessive labors for the work. In the midst of all +this tumult of tongues, the building was suspended, and almost all the +operations of the masons and stone-cutters came to a stand. These men +murmured against Lorenzo, and said, 'He is good enough at drawing the +salary, but when it comes to directing the manner in which we are to +proceed, he does nothing; if Filippo were not here, or if he should +remain long disabled, what can Lorenzo do? and if Filippo be ill, is +that his fault?' The wardens, perceiving the discredit that accrued to +them from this state of things, resolved to make Filippo a visit, and +having reached his house, they first condoled with him on his illness, +told him into what disorder the building had fallen, and described the +troubles which this malady had brought on them. Whereupon Filippo, +speaking with much heat, partly to keep up the feint of illness, but +also in part from his interest in the work, exclaimed, 'What! is not +Lorenzo there? why does not he do something? I cannot but wonder at your +complaints.' To this the wardens replied, 'He will not do anything +without you.' Whereunto Filippo made answer, 'But I could do it well +enough without him.' This acute and doubly significant reply sufficed to +the wardens, and they departed, having convinced themselves that Filippo +was sick of the desire to work alone; they therefore sent certain of his +friends to draw him from his bed, with the intention of removing +Lorenzo from the work. Filippo then returned to the building, but seeing +the power that Lorenzo possessed by means of the favor he enjoyed, and +that he desired to receive the salary without taking any share whatever +in the labor, he bethought himself of another method for disgracing him, +and making it publicly and fully evident that he had very little +knowledge of the matter in hand. He consequently made the following +discourse to the wardens (Operai) Lorenzo being present:--'Signori +Operai, if the time we have to live were as well secured to us as is the +certainty that we may very quickly die, there is no doubt whatever that +many works would be completed, which are now commenced and left +imperfect. The malady with which I have had the misfortune to be +attacked, might have deprived me of life, and put a stop to this work; +wherefore, lest I should again fall sick, or Lorenzo either, which God +forbid, I have considered that it would be better for each to execute +his own portion of the work: as your worships have divided the salary, +let us also divide the labor, to the end that each, being incited to +show what he knows and is capable of performing, may proceed with +confidence, to his own honor and benefit, as well as to that of the +republic. Now there are two difficult operations which must at this time +be put into course of execution--the one is the erection of scaffoldings +for enabling the builders to work in safety, and which must be prepared +both for the inside and outside of the fabric, where they will be +required to sustain the weight of the men, the stones and the mortar, +with space also for the crane to draw up the different materials, and +for other machines and tools of various kinds. The other difficulty is +the chain-work, which has to be constructed upon the twelve braccia +already erected, this being requisite to bind and secure the eight sides +of the cupola, and which must surround the fabric, enchaining the whole, +in such a manner that the weight which has hereafter to be laid on it +shall press equally on all sides, the parts mutually supporting each +other, so that no part of the edifice shall be too heavily pressed on or +overweighed, but that all shall rest firmly on its own basis. Let +Lorenzo then take one of these works, whichever he may think he can most +easily execute; I will take the other, and answer for bringing it to a +successful issue, that we may lose no more time.' Lorenzo having heard +this, was compelled, for the sake of his honor, to accept one or other +of these undertakings; and although he did it very unwillingly, he +resolved to take the chain work, thinking that he might rely on the +counsels of the builders, and remembering also that there was a +chain-work of stone in the vaulting of San Giovanni di Fiorenza, from +which he might take a part, if not the whole, of the arrangement. One +took the scaffolds in hand accordingly, and the other the chain-work, so +that both were put in progress. The scaffolds of Filippo were +constructed with so much ingenuity and judgment, that in this matter +the very contrary of what many had before expected was seen to have +happened, since the builders worked thereon with as much security as +they would have done on the ground beneath, drawing up all the requisite +weights and standing themselves in perfect safety. The models of these +scaffolds were deposited in the hall of the wardens. Lorenzo executed +the chain-work on one of the eight walls with the utmost difficulty, and +when it was finished the wardens caused Filippo to look at it. He said +nothing to them, but with some of his friends he held discourse on the +subject, declaring that the building required a very different work of +ligature and security to that one, laid in a manner altogether unlike +the method there adopted; for that this would not suffice to support the +weight which was to be laid on it, the pressure not being of sufficient +strength and firmness. He added that the sums paid to Lorenzo, with the +chain-work which he had caused to be constructed, were so much labor, +time, and money thrown away. The remarks of Filippo became known, and he +was called upon to show the manner that ought to be adopted for the +construction of such a chain-work; wherefore, having already prepared +his designs and models, he exhibited them immediately, and they were no +sooner examined by the wardens and other masters, than they perceived +the error into which they had fallen by favoring Lorenzo. For this they +now resolved to make amends; and desiring to prove that they were +capable of distinguishing merit, they made Filippo chief and +superintendent of the whole fabric for life, commanding that nothing +should be done in the work but as he should direct. As a further mark of +approbation, they presented him moreover with a hundred florins, ordered +by the syndics and wardens, under date of August 13, 1423, through +Lorenzo Paoli, notary of the administration of the works, and signed by +Gherardo di Messer Filippo Corsini: they also voted him an allowance of +one hundred florins for life. Whereupon, having taken measures for the +future progress of the fabric, Filippo conducted the works with so much +solicitude and such minute attention, that there was not a stone placed +in the building which he had not examined. Lorenzo on the other hand, +finding himself vanquished and in a manner disgraced, was nevertheless +so powerfully assisted and favored by his friends, that he continued to +receive his salary, under the pretext that he could not be dismissed +until the expiration of three years from that time.[4] + +"Drawings and models were meanwhile continually prepared by Filippo for +the most minute portions of the building, for the stages or scaffolds +for the workmen, and for the machines used in raising the materials. +There were nevertheless several malicious persons, friends of Lorenzo, +who did not cease to torment him by daily bringing forward models in +rivalry of those constructed by him, insomuch that one was made by +Maestro Antonio da Verzelli, and other masters who were favored and +brought into notice--now by one citizen and now by another, their +fickleness and mutability betraying the insufficiency of their knowledge +and the weakness of their judgment, since having perfection within their +reach, they perpetually brought forward the imperfect and useless. + +"The chain-work was now completed around all the eight sides, and the +builders, animated by success, worked vigorously; but being pressed more +than usual by Filippo, and having received certain reprimands concerning +the masonry and in relation to other matters of daily occurrence, +discontents began to prevail. Moved by this circumstance and by their +envy, the chiefs among them drew together and got up a faction, +declaring that the work was a laborious and perilous undertaking, and +that they would not proceed with the vaulting of the cupola, but on +condition of receiving large payments, although their wages had already +been increased and were much higher than was usual: by these means they +hoped to injure Filippo and increase their own gains. This circumstance +displeased the wardens greatly, as it did Filippo also; but the latter, +having reflected on the matter, took his resolution, and one Saturday +evening he dismissed them all. The men seeing themselves thus sent about +their business, and not knowing how the affair would turn, were very +sullen; but on the following Monday Filippo set ten Lombards to work at +the building, and by remaining constantly present with them, and saying, +'do this here' and 'do that there,' he taught them so much in one day +that they were able to continue the work during many weeks. The masons, +seeing themselves thus disgraced as well as deprived of their +employment, and knowing that they would find no work equally profitable, +sent messengers to Filippo, declaring that they would willingly return, +and recommending themselves to his consideration. Filippo kept them for +several days in suspense, and seemed not inclined to admit them again; +they were afterwards reinstated, but with lower wages than they had +received at first: thus where they had thought to make gain they +suffered loss, and by seeking to revenge themselves on Filippo, they +brought injury and shame on their own heads. + +"The tongues of the envious were now silenced, and when the building was +seen to proceed so happily, the genius of Filippo obtained its due +consideration; and, by all who judged dispassionately, he was already +held to have shown a boldness which has, perhaps, never before been +displayed in their works, by any architect, ancient or modern. This +opinion was confirmed by the fact that Filippo now brought out his +model, in which all might see the extraordinary amount of thought +bestowed on every detail of the building. The varied invention displayed +in the staircases, in the provision of lights, both within and without, +so that none might strike or injure themselves in the darkness, were all +made manifest, with the careful consideration evinced by the different +supports of iron which were placed to assist the footsteps wherever the +ascent was steep. In addition to all this, Filippo had even thought of +the irons for fixing scaffolds within the cupola, if ever they should be +required for the execution of mosaics or pictures; he had selected the +least dangerous positions for the places of the conduits, to be +afterwards constructed for carrying off the rain water, had shown where +these were to be covered and where uncovered; and had moreover contrived +different outlets and apertures, whereby the force of the winds should +be diminished, to the end that neither vapors nor the vibrations of the +earth, should have power to do injury to the building: all which proved +the extent to which he had profited by his studies, during the many +years of his residence in Rome. When in addition to these things, the +superintendents considered how much he had accomplished in the shaping, +fixing, uniting, and securing the stones of this immense pile, they were +almost awe-struck on perceiving that the mind of one man had been +capable of all that Filippo had now proved himself able to perform. His +powers and facilities continually increased, and that to such an extent, +that there was no operation, however difficult and complex, which he did +not render easy and simple; of this he gave proof in one instance among +others, by the employment of wheels and counterpoises to raise heavy +weights, so that one ox could draw more than six pairs could have moved +by the ordinary methods. The building had now reached such a height, +that when a man had once arrived at the summit, it was a very great +labor to descend to the ground, and the workmen lost much time in going +to their meals, and to drink; arrangements were therefore made by +Filippo, for opening wine-shops and eating-houses in the cupola; where +the required food being sold, none were compelled to leave their labor +until the evening, which was a relief and convenience to the men, as +well as a very important advantage to the work. Perceiving the building +to proceed rapidly, and finding all his undertakings happily successful, +the zeal and confidence of Filippo increased, and he labored +perpetually; he went himself to the ovens where the bricks were made, +examined the clay, proved the quality of the working, and when they were +baked he would select and set them apart, with his own hands. In like +manner, while the stones were under the hands of the stone-cutters, he +would look narrowly to see that they were hard and free from clefts; he +supplied the stone-cutters with models in wood or wax, or hastily cut on +the spot from turnips, to direct them in the shaping and junction of the +different masses; he did the same for the men who prepared the iron +work; Filippo likewise invented hook hinges, with the mode of fixing +them to the door-posts, and greatly facilitated the practice of +architecture, which was certainly brought by his labors to a perfection +that it would else perhaps never have attained among the Tuscans. + +"In the year 1423, when the utmost rejoicing and festivity was +prevailing in Florence, Filippo was chosen one of the _Signori_ for the +district of San Giovanni, for the months of May and June; Lapo Niccolini +being chosen Gonfalonier for the district of Santa Croce: and if Filippo +be found registered in the Priorista as 'di Ser Brunellesce Lippi,' this +need not occasion surprise, since they called him so after his +grandfather, Lippo, instead of 'di Lapi,' as they ought to have done. +And this practice is seen to prevail in the Priorista, with respect to +many others, as is well known to all who have examined it, or who are +acquainted with the custom of those times. Filippo performed his +functions carefully in that office; and in others connected with the +magistracy of the city, to which he was subsequently appointed, he +constantly acquitted himself with the most judicious consideration. + +"The two vaults of the cupola were now approaching their close, at the +circular window where the lantern was to begin, and there now remained +to Filippo, who had made various models in wood and clay, both of the +one and the other, in Rome and Florence, to decide finally as to which +of these he would put in execution, wherefore he resolved to complete +the gallery, and accordingly made different plans for it, which remained +in the hall of wardens after his death, but which by the neglect of +those officials have since been lost. But it was not until our own days +that even a fragment was executed on a part of one of the eight sides +(to the end that the building might be completed); but as it was not in +accordance with the plan of Filippo, it was removed by the advice of +Michael Angelo Buonarotti, and was not again attempted. + +"Filippo also constructed a model for the lantern, with his own hand; it +had eight sides, the proportions were in harmony with those of the +cupola, and for the invention as well as variety and decoration, it was +certainly very beautiful. He did not omit the staircase for ascending to +the ball, which was an admirable thing; but as he had closed the +entrance with a morsel of wood fixed at the lower part, no one but +himself knew its position. Filippo was now highly renowned, but +notwithstanding this, and although he had already overcome the envy and +abated the arrogance of so many opponents, he could not yet escape the +vexation of finding that all the masters of Florence, when his model had +been seen, were setting themselves to make others in various manners; +nay, there was even a lady of the Gaddi family, who ventured to place +her knowledge in competition with that of Filippo. The latter, +meanwhile, could not refrain from laughing at the presumption of these +people, and when he was told by certain of his friends that he ought not +to show his model to any artist lest they should learn from it, he +replied that there was but one true model, and that the others were good +for nothing. Some of the other masters had used parts of Filippo's model +for their own, which, when the latter perceived, he remarked, 'The next +model made by this personage will be mine altogether.' The work of +Filippo was very highly praised, with the exception, that, not +perceiving the staircase by which the ball was to be attained, the model +was considered defective on that point. The superintendents determined, +nevertheless, to give him the commission for the work, but on condition +that he should show the staircase;[5] whereupon Filippo, removing the +morsel of wood which he had placed at the foot of the stair, showed it +constructed as it is now seen, within one of the piers, and presenting +the form of a hollow reed or blow-pipe, having a recess or groove on one +side, with bars of bronze, by means of which the summit was gradually +attained. Filippo was now at an age which rendered it impossible that he +should live to see the lantern completed; he therefore left directions, +by his will, that it should be built after the model here described, and +according to the rules which he had laid down in writing, affirming that +the fabric would otherwise be in danger of falling, since, being +constructed with the pointed arch, it required to be rendered secure by +means of the pressure of the weight to be thus added. But, though +Filippo could not complete the edifice before his death, he raised the +lantern to the height of several braccia, causing almost all the marbles +required for the completion of the building to be carefully prepared +and brought to the place. At the sight of these huge masses as they +arrived, the people stood amazed, marvelling that it should be possible +for Filippo to propose the laying of such a weight on the cupola. It +was, indeed, the opinion of many intelligent men that it could not +possibly support that weight. It appeared to them to be a piece of good +fortune that he had conducted it so far, and they considered the loading +it so heavy to be a tempting of Providence. Filippo constantly laughed +at these fears, and having prepared all the machines and instruments +required for the construction of the edifice, he ceased not to employ +all his time in taking thought for its future requirements, providing +and preparing all the minutiae, even to guarding against the danger of +the marbles being chipped as they were drawn up: to which intent the +arches of the tabernacles were built within defences of woodwork; and +for all beside the master gave models and written directions, as we have +said. + +"How beautiful this building is, it will itself bear testimony. With +respect to the height, from the level ground to the commencement of the +lantern, there are one hundred and fifty-four braccia;[6] the body of +the lanthorn is thirty-six braccia high; the copper ball four braccia; +the cross eight braccia; in all two hundred and two braccia. And it may +be confidently affirmed that the ancients never carried their buildings +to so vast a height, nor committed themselves to so great a risk as to +dare a competition with the heavens, which this structure verily appears +to do, seeing that it rears itself to such an elevation that the hills +around Florence do not appear to equal it. And of a truth it might seem +that the heavens were envious of its height, since their lightnings +perpetually strike it. While this work was in progress, Filippo +constructed many other fabrics." + + + + +BRUNELLESCHI'S ENTHUSIASM. + + +One morning, as Brunelleschi was amusing himself on the Piazza di Santa +Maria del Fiore, in company with Donatello and other artists, the +conversation happened to turn on ancient sculpture. Donatello related +that when he was returning from Rome, he had taken the road of Orvieto, +to see the remarkable facade of the Cathedral of that city--a highly +celebrated work, executed by various masters, and considered in those +days a very remarkable production. He added that as he was passing +through Cortona, he had seen in the capitular church of that city a most +beautiful antique marble vase, adorned with sculpture--a rare thing at +that time, as most of the beautiful works of antiquity have since been +brought to light. As Donatello proceeded to describe the manner in which +the artist had treated this work, the delicacy, beauty, and perfection +of the workmanship, Filippo became inflamed with such an ardent desire +to see it, that he set off immediately, on foot, to Cortona, dressed as +he was in his mantle, hood, and wooden shoes, without communicating his +purpose to any one. Finding that Donatello had not been too lavish of +his praise, he drew the vase, returned to Florence, and surprised his +friends with the accurate drawing he had made, before they knew of his +departure, they believing that he must be occupied with his inventions. +This urn, or funeral vase, according to the Florentine editors of +Vasari, is still in the Cathedral of Cortona. The sculptures represent +the Battle of the Centaurs and Lapithae, or as some say, a Warlike +Expedition of Bacchus. The design and workmanship are exquisite. It was +found in a field without the city, and almost close to the Cathedral. + + + + +BRUNELLESCHI AND DONATELLO. + + +"Among other works," says Vasari, "Donato received an order for a +crucifix in wood, for the church of Santa Croce at Florence, on which he +bestowed extraordinary labor. When the work was completed, believing +himself to have produced an admirable thing, he showed it to Filippo di +Ser Brunellesco, his most intimate friend, desiring to have his opinion +of it. Filippo, who had expected from the words of Donato, to see a much +finer production, smiled somewhat as he regarded it, and Donato seeing +this, entreated him by the friendship existing between them, to say what +he thought of it. Whereupon Filippo, who was exceedingly frank, replied +that Donatello appeared to him to have placed a clown on the cross, and +not a figure resembling that of Jesus Christ, whose person was +delicately beautiful, and in all parts the most perfect form of man that +had ever been born. Donato hearing himself censured where he had +expected praise, and more hurt than he was perhaps willing to admit, +replied, 'If it were as easy to execute a work as to judge it, my figure +would appear to thee to be Christ and not a boor; but take wood, and try +to make one thyself.' Filippo, without saying anything more, returned +home, and set to work on a crucifix, wherein he labored to surpass +Donato, that he might not be condemned by his own judgment; but he +suffered no one to know what he was doing. At the end of some months, +the work was completed to the height of perfection, and this done, +Filippo one morning invited Donato to dine with him, and the latter +accepted the invitation. Thereupon, as they were proceeding together +towards the house of Filippo, they passed by the Mercato Vecchio, where +the latter purchased various articles, and giving them to Donato, said, +'Do thou go forward with these things to the house, and wait for me +there; I'll be after thee in a moment.' Donato, therefore, having +entered the house, had no sooner done so than he saw the crucifix, which +Filippo had placed in a suitable light. Stopping short to examine the +work, he found it so perfectly executed, that feeling himself conquered, +full of astonishment, and, as it were startled out of himself, he +dropped the hands which were holding up his apron, wherein he had placed +the purchases, when the whole fell to the ground, eggs, cheese, and +other things, all broken to pieces and mingled together. But Donato, not +recovering from his astonishment, remained still gazing in amazement and +like one out of his wits when Filippo arrived, and inquired, laughing, +'What hast thou been about, Donato? and what dost thou mean us to have +for dinner, since thou hast overturned everything?' 'I, for my part,' +replied Donato, 'have had my share of dinner for to-day; if thou must +needs have thine, take it. But enough said: to thee it has been given to +represent Christ; to me, boors only.'" This crucifix now adorns the +altar of the chapel of the Gondi. + + + + +DONATELLO. + + +This old Florentine sculptor was born in 1383. He was the first of the +moderns who forsook the stiff and gothic manner, and endeavored to +restore to sculpture the grace and beauty of the antique. He executed a +multitude of works in wood, marble and bronze, consisting of images, +statues, busts, basso-relievos, monuments, equestrian statues, etc. +which gained him great reputation, and some of which are much esteemed +at the present day. He was much patronized by Cosmo de' Medici, and his +son Pietro. + +Among Donatello's principal works, are three statues, each three braccia +and a half high, (Vasari erroneously says four, and each five braccia +high), for the facade of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, which +faces the Campanile. They represent St. John; David, called Lo Zuccone +(so called, because bald-headed); and Solomon, or as some say, the +prophet Jeremiah. The Zuccone is considered the most extraordinary and +the most beautiful work ever produced by Donatello, who, while working +on it, was so delighted with his success, that he frequently exclaimed, +"Speak then! why wilt thou not speak?" Whenever he wished to affirm a +thing in a manner that should preclude all doubt, he would say, "By the +faith I place in my Zuccone." + + + + +DONATELLO AND THE MERCHANT. + + +A rich Genoese merchant commissioned Donatello to execute his bust in +bronze, of life size. When the work was completed, it was pronounced a +capital performance, and Cosmo de' Medici, who was the friend of both +parties, caused it to be placed in the upper court of the palace, +between the battlements which overlook the street, that it might be seen +by the citizens. When the merchant, unacquainted with the value of such +works, came to pay for it, the price demanded appeared to him so +exorbitant that he refused to take it, whereupon the mutter was referred +to Cosmo. When the latter sought to settle the difference, he found the +offer of the merchant to be very far from the just demand of Donatello, +and turning towards him, observed that he offered too small +compensation. The merchant replied that Donatello could have made it in +a month, and would thus be gaining half a florin a day (about one +dollar). Donatello, disgusted and stung with rage, told the merchant +that he had found means in the hundredth part of an hour to destroy the +whole labor and cures of a year, and knocked the bust out of the window, +which was dashed to pieces on the pavement below, observing, at the same +time, that "it was evident he was better versed in bargaining for +horse-beans than in purchasing statues." The merchant now ashamed of his +conduct, and regretting what had happened, offered him double his price +if he would reconstruct the bust,--but Donatello, though poor, flatly +refused to do it on any terms, even at the request of Cosmo himself. + + + + +DONATELLO AND HIS KINSMAN. + + +When Donatello was very sick, certain of his kinsfolk, who were well to +do in the world, but had not visited him in many years, went to condole +with him in his last illness. Before they left, they told him it was +his duty to leave to them a small farm which he had in the territories +of Prato, and this they begged very earnestly, though it was small and +produced a very small income. Donatello, perceiving the motive of their +visit, thus rebuked them: "I cannot content you in this matter, kinsmen, +because I resolve--and it appears to me just and proper--to leave the +farm to the poor husbandman who has always tilled it, and who has +bestowed great labor on it; not to you, who without ever having done +anything for it, or for me, but only thought of obtaining it, now come +with this visit of yours, desiring that I should leave it to you. Go! +and the Lord be with you." + + + + +DEATH OF DONATELLO. + + +Donatello died on the 13th of December, 1466. He was buried with great +pomp and solemnity in the church of San Lorenzo, near the tomb of Cosmo, +as he himself had commanded (for he had purchased the right), "to the +end," as he said, "that his body might be near him when dead, as his +spirit had ever been near him when in life." Bottari observes that +another reason for his choice of San Lorenzo, may have been that many of +his works were in that church. + + + + +DONATELLO AND MICHAEL ANGELO COMPARED. + + +"I will not omit to mention," says Vasari, "that the most learned and +very reverend Don Vincenzio Borghini, of whom we have before spoken in +relation to other matters, has collected into a large book, innumerable +drawings of distinguished painters and sculptors, ancient as well as +modern, and among these are two drawings on two leaves opposite to each +other, one of which is by Donato, and the other by Michael Angelo +Buonarroti. On these he has with much judgment inscribed the two Greek +mottos which follow; on the drawing of Donato, "[Greek: E Donatos +Bonarrotixei]," and on that of Michael Angelo, "[Greek: E Bonarrotos +Donatixei]," which in Latin ran thus: _Aut Donatus Bonarrotom exprimit et +refert, aut Bonarrotus Donatum_; and in our language they mean, 'Either +the spirit of Donato worked in Buonarroti, or that of Buonarroti first +acted in Donato.'" + + + + +SOFONISBA ANGUISCIOLA'S EARLY DISTINCTION. + + +This noble lady of Cremona (born about 1530), was one of six sisters, +all amiable, and much distinguished in arts and letters. She displayed a +taste for drawing at a very early age, and soon became the best pupil in +the school of Antonio Campi. One of her early sketches, of a boy caught +with his hand in the claw of a lobster, with a little girl laughing at +his plight, was in possession of Vasari, and by him esteemed worthy of a +place in a volume which he had filled with drawings by the most famous +masters of that great age. Portraiture was her chief study; and Vasari +commends a picture which he saw at her father's house, of three of the +sisters, and an ancient housekeeper of the family playing at chess, as a +work "painted with so much skill and care, that the figures wanted only +voice to appear alive." He also praises a portrait which she painted of +herself, and presented to Pope Julius III., who died in 1555, which +shows that she must have attracted the notice of princes while yet in +her girlhood. At Milan, whither she accompanied her father, she painted +the portrait of the Duke of Sessa, the Viceroy, who rewarded her with +four pieces of brocade and various rich gifts. + + + + +SOFONISBA'S VISIT TO SPAIN. + + +Her name having become famous in Italy, in 1559, the King of Spain +ordered the Duke of Alba, who was then at Rome, to invite her to the +court of Madrid. She arrived there in the same year, and was received +with great distinction, and lodged in the palace. Her first work was the +portrait of the king, who was so much pleased with the performance that +he rewarded her with a diamond worth 1500 ducats, and settled upon her a +pension of 200 ducats. Her next sitters were the young queen Elizabeth +of Valois, known in Spain as Isabel of the Peace, then in the bloom of +bridal beauty, and the unhappy boy, Don Carlos. By the desire of Pope +Pius IV., she made a second portrait of the Queen, sent to his Holiness +with a dutiful letter, which Vasari has preserved, as well as the +gracious reply of the pontiff, who assures her that her painting shall +be placed among his most precious treasures. Sofonisba held the post of +lady-in-waiting to the queen, and was for some time governess to her +daughter, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia,--an appointment which +proves that she must have resided in Spain for some time after 1566, the +year of that princess' birth. + + + + +SOFONISBA'S MARRIAGES. + + +Her royal patrons at last married their fair artist, now arrived to a +mature age, to Don Fabrizio de Moncada, a noble Sicilian, giving her a +dowry of 12,000 ducats and a pension of 1,000, besides many rich +presents in tapestries and jewels. The newly wedded pair retired to +Palermo, where the husband died some years after. Sofonisba was then +invited back to the court of Madrid, but excused herself on account of +her desire to see Cremona and her kindred once more. Embarking for this +purpose on board of a Genoese galley, she was entertained with such +gallant courtesy by the captain, Orazio Lomellini, one of the merchant +princes of the "city of Palaces," that she fell in love with him, and, +according to Soprani, offered him her hand in marriage, which he +accepted. On hearing of her second nuptials, their Catholic Majesties +added 400 crowns to her pension. + + + + +SOFONISBA'S RESIDENCE AT GENOA, AND HER INTERCOURSE WITH VANDYCK. + + +After her second marriage, Sofonisba continued to pursue the art at +Genoa, where her house became the resort of all the polished and +intellectual society of the Republic. The Empress of Germany paid her a +visit on her way to Spain, and accepted a little picture,--one of the +most finished and beautiful of her works. She was also visited by her +former charge, the Infanta, then the wife of the Archduke Albert, and +with him co-sovereign of Flanders. That princess spent many hours in +conversing with her of by-gone days and family affairs; she also sat for +her portrait, and presented Sofonisba with a gold chain enriched with +jewels, as a memorial of their friendship. Thus courted in the society +of Genoa, and caressed by royalty, this eminent paintress lived to the +extreme age of ninety-three years. A medal was struck in her honor at +Bologna; artists listened reverentially to her opinions; and poets sang +her praises. Though deprived of sight in her latter years, she retained +to the last her other faculties, her love of art, and her relish for the +society of its professors. Vandyck was frequently her guest during his +residence at Genoa, in 1621; and he used to say of her that he had +learned more of the practical principles of the art from a blind woman, +than by studying all the works of the best Italian masters. + + + + +CARRIERA ROSALBA. + + +This celebrated Italian paintress was born at Chiozza, near Venice, in +1675. She acquired an immense reputation, and was invited to several of +the courts of Europe. Few artists have equalled Rosalba in crayon +painting. + + + + +ROSALBA'S MODESTY. + + +Notwithstanding she received so many flattering marks of distinction +from crowned heads, Rosalba's native modesty never deserted her, and she +seemed to esteem her works less than did many of her admirers, because +she was sensible how far she fell short of her idea of perfection. +"Everything I do," said she, "seems good enough to me just after I have +done it, and perhaps for a few hours afterwards, but then I begin to +discover my imperfections!" Thus it is with true merit; those who are +superficial or pretending can never find out, or never will acknowledge +their own faults. + + + + +ROSALBA'S KNOWLEDGE OF TEMPERS. + + +Rosalba used to say, "I have so long been accustomed to study features, +and the expression of the mind by them, that I know people's tempers by +their faces." She frequently surprised her friends by the accuracy of +character which she read in the faces of persons who were entire +strangers to her. + + + + +ELIZABETH SIRANI. + + +Elizabeth Sirani was born at Bologna in 1638. She early exhibited the +most extraordinary talent for painting, which was perfectly cultivated +by her father, Gio. Andrea Sirani, an excellent disciple and imitator of +Guido. She attached herself to an imitation of the best style of Guido, +which unites great relief with the most captivating amenity. Her first +public work appeared in 1655, when she was seventeen years of age. It is +almost incredible that in a short life of not more than twenty-six or +twenty-seven years, she could have executed the long list of works +enumerated by Malvasia, copied from a register kept by herself, +amounting to upwards of one hundred and fifty pictures and portraits; +and our astonishment is increased, when we are told by the same author, +that many of them are pictures and altar-pieces of large size, and +finished with a care that excludes all appearance of negligence and +haste. There are quite a number of her works in the churches of Bologna. +Lanzi also speaks of her in terms of high commendation, and says, that +"in her smaller works, painted by commission, she still improved +herself, as may be seen by her numerous pictures of Madonnas, Magdalens, +saints, and the infant Saviour, found in the Zampieri, Zambeccari, and +Caprara palaces at Bologna, and in the Corsini and Bolognetti +collections at Rome." She received many commissions from many of the +sovereigns and most distinguished persons of Europe. She had two +sisters, Anna and Barbara, whom, according to Crespi, she instructed in +the art, and who possessed considerable talent. Her fame was so great, +that after her death not only the works of her sisters, but many of +those of her father, were attributed to her. Lanzi says, "She is nearly +the sole individual of the family whose name occurs in collections out +of Bologna." She also executed some spirited etchings mostly from her +own designs. + + + + +DEATH OF ELIZABETH SIRANI. + + +This accomplished, amiable, and talented lady was cut off in the flower +of her life, August 29th, 1665, by poison, administered by one of her +own maids, instigated, as is supposed, by some jealous young artists. +Her melancholy death was bewailed with demonstrations of public sorrow, +and her remains were interred with great pomp and solemnity in the +church of S. Domenico, in the same vault where reposed the ashes of +Guido. + + + + +RACHEL RUYSCH. + + +This celebrated paintress of fruit and flowers was born at Amsterdam in +1664. She was the daughter of Frederick Ruisch or Ruysch, the celebrated +professor of anatomy. She early showed an extraordinary taste for +depicting fruit and flowers, and attained to such perfection in her +art, that some have not hesitated to equal and even prefer her works to +those of John van Huysum. She grouped her flowers in the most tasteful +and picturesque manner, and depicted them with a grace and brilliancy +that rivalled nature. Descamps says that "in her pictures of fruit and +flowers, she surpassed nature herself." The extraordinary talents of +this lady recommended her to the patronage of the Elector Palatine--a +great admirer of her pictures--for whom she executed some of her +choicest works, and received for them a munificent reward. Though she +exercised her talents to an advanced age, her works are exceedingly +rare, so great was the labor bestowed upon them. She spent seven years +in painting two pictures, a fruit and a flower piece, which she +presented to one of her daughters as a marriage portion. She married +Jurian Pool, an eminent portrait painter, by whom she had ten children; +she is frequently called by his name, though she always signed her +pictures with her maiden name. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonne, vols. +vi. and ix., gives a description of only about thirty pieces by her--a +proof of their extreme rarity. They now command very high prices when +offered for sale, which rarely happens. She died in 1760, aged 86 years. + + + + +SIR ANTHONY VANDYCK. + + +This eminent Flemish painter was born at Antwerp in 1599. His father +early gave him instruction in drawing; he was also instructed by his +mother, who painted landscapes, and was very skillful in embroidery. He +studied afterwards under Henry van Balen, and made rapid progress in the +art; but attracted by the fame of Rubens, he entered the school of that +master, and showed so much ability as to be soon entrusted with the +execution of some of his instructor's designs. Some writers, among whom +D'Argenville was the first, assert that Rubens became jealous of +Vandyck's growing excellence, and therefore advised him to devote +himself to portrait painting; assigning the following anecdote as the +cause of his jealousy. During the short absences of Rubens from his +house, for the purpose of recreation, his disciples frequently obtained +access to his studio, by means of bribing an old servant who kept the +keys; and on one of these occasions, while they were all eagerly +pressing forward to view the great picture of the Descent from the Cross +(although later investigations concerning dates seem to indicate that it +was some other picture), Diepenbeck accidentally fell against the +canvas, effacing the face of the Virgin, and the Magdalen's arm, which +had just been finished, and were not yet dry. Fearful of expulsion from +the school, the terrified pupils chose Vandyck to restore the work, and +he completed it the same day with such success that Rubens did not at +first perceive the change, and afterwards concluded not to alter it. +Walpole entertains a different and more rational view respecting +Rubens' supposed jealousy: he thinks that Vandyck felt the hopelessness +of surpassing his master in historical painting, and therefore resolved +to devote himself to portrait. One authority states that the above +mentioned incident only increased Rubens' esteem for his pupil, in +perfect accordance with the distinguished character for generosity and +liberality, which that great master so often evinced, and which forms +very strong presumptive evidence against so base an accusation. Besides, +his advice to Vandyck to visit Italy--where his own powers had been, as +his pupil's would be, greatly strengthened--may be considered as +sufficient to refute it entirely. They appear to have parted on the best +terms; Vandyck presented Rubens with an Ecce Homo, Christ in the Garden, +and a portrait of Helen Forman, Rubens' second wife; he was presented in +return, by Rubens, with one of his finest horses. + + + + +VANDYCK'S VISIT TO ITALY. + + +At the age of twenty, Vandyck set out for Italy, but delayed some time +at Brussels, fascinated by the charms of a peasant girl of Saveltheim, +named Anna van Ophem, who persuaded him to paint two pictures for the +church of her native place--a St. Martin on horseback, painted from +himself and the horse given him by Rubens; and a Holy Family, for which +the girl and her parents were the models. On arriving in Italy, he +spent some time at Venice, studying with great attention the works of +Titian; after which he visited Genoa, and painted many excellent +portraits for the nobility, as well as several pictures for the churches +and private collections, which gained him great applause. From Genoa he +went to Rome, where he was also much employed, and lived in great style. +His portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio, painted about this time, is one of +his masterpieces, and in every respect an admirable picture; it is now +in the Palazzo Pitti, at Florence, hanging near Raffaelle's celebrated +portrait of Leo X. Vandyck was known at Rome as the _Pittore +Cavalieresco_; his countrymen there being men of low and intemperate +habits, he avoided their society, and was thenceforward so greatly +annoyed by their criticisms and revilings, that he was obliged to leave +Rome about 1625, and return to Genoa, where he met with a flattering +reception, and plentiful encouragement. Invited to Palermo, he visited +that city, and painted the portraits of Prince Philibert of Savoy, the +Viceroy of Sicily, and several distinguished persons, among whom was the +celebrated paintress Sofonisba Anguisciola, then in her 92d year; but +the plague breaking out, he returned to Genoa, and thence to his own +country. + + + + +VANDYCK'S RETURN TO ANTWERP. + + +On his return to Antwerp, whither his reputation had preceded him, +Vandyck was speedily employed by various religious societies, and his +picture of St. Augustine for the church of the Augustines in that city, +established his reputation among the first painters of his time. He +painted other historical pictures, for the principal public edifices at +Antwerp, Brussels, Mechlin, and Ghent; but acquired greater fame by his +portraits, particularly his well known series of the eminent artists of +his time, which were engraved by Vorstermans, Pontius, Bolswert, and +others. His brilliant reputation at length roused the jealousy of his +cotemporaries, many of whom were indefatigable in their intrigues to +calumniate his works. In addition to these annoyances, the conduct of +the canons of the Collegiate church of Courtray, for whom he painted an +admirable picture of the Elevation of the Cross, proved too much for his +endurance. After he had exerted all his powers to produce a masterpiece +of art, the canons, upon viewing the picture, pronounced it a +contemptible performance, and the artist a miserable dauber; and Vandyck +could hardly obtain payment for his work. When the picture had received +high commendation from good judges, they became sensible of their error, +and requested him to execute two more works; but the indignant artist +refused the commission. Disgusted with such treatment, Vandyck readily +accepted an invitation to visit the Hague, from Frederick, Prince of +Orange, whose portrait he painted, and those of his family, the +principal personages of his court, and the foreign ambassadors. + + + + +VANDYCK'S VISIT TO ENGLAND. + + +Hearing of the great encouragement extended to the arts by Charles I., +he determined to visit England in 1629. While there, he lodged with his +friend and countryman, George Geldorp the painter, and expected to be +presented to the king; but his hopes not being realized, he visited +Paris; and meeting no better success there, be returned to his own +country, with the intention of remaining there during the rest of his +life. Charles, however, having seen a portrait by Vandyck, of the +musician, Fic. Laniere, director of the music of the king's chapel, +requested Sir Kenelm Digby to invite him to return to England. +Accordingly, in 1631, he arrived a second time at London, and was +received by the king in a flattering manner. He was lodged at +Blackfriars, among the King's artists, where his majesty frequently went +to sit for his portrait, as well as to enjoy the society of the painter. +The honor of knighthood was conferred upon him in 1632, and the +following year he was appointed painter to the king, with an annuity of +L200. + +Prosperity now flowed in upon the Fleming in abundance, and although he +operated with the greatest industry and facility, painting single +portraits in one day, he could hardly fulfill all his commissions. +Naturally fond of display, he kept a splendid establishment, and his +sumptuous table was frequented by persons of the highest distinction. +He often detained his sitters to dinner, where he had an opportunity to +observe more of their peculiar characteristics, and retouched their +pictures in the afternoon. Notwithstanding his distinguished success, he +does not appear to have been satisfied with eminence in portrait +painting; and not long after his marriage with Maria Ruthven, +granddaughter of Lord Gowrie, he went to Antwerp with his lady, on a +visit to his family and friends, and thence proceeded to Paris. The fame +which Rubens had acquired by his celebrated performances at the +Luxembourg, rendered Vandyck desirous to execute the decorations at the +Louvre; but on arriving at the French capital, he found the commission +disposed of to Nicholas Poussin. He soon returned to England, and being +still desirous of executing some great work, proposed to the king +through Sir Kenelm Digby, to decorate the walls of the Banqueting House +(of which the ceiling was already adorned by Rubens), with the History +and Progress of the Order of the Garter. The sum demanded was L8000, and +while the king was treating with him for a less amount, the project was +terminated by the death of Vandyck, December 9th, 1641, aged 42 years. +He was buried with extraordinary honors in St. Paul's cathedral. His +high living had brought on the gout during his latter years, and luxury +had considerably reduced his fortune, which he endeavored to repair by +the study of alchemy. He left property amounting to about L20,000. In +his private character, Vandyck was universally esteemed for the urbanity +of his manners, and his generous patronage to all who excelled in any +science or art, many of whose portraits he painted gratuitously. + + + + +WILLIAM VAN DE VELDE, THE ELDER. + + +This eminent Dutch marine painter was born at Leyden, in 1610. He drew +everything after nature, and was one of the most correct, spirited, and +admirable designers of marine subjects. He made an incredible number of +drawings on paper, heightened with India ink, all of them sketched from +nature with uncommon elegance and fidelity. His talents recommended him +to the notice of the States of Holland, and Descamps says they furnished +him with a small vessel to accompany their fleets, that he might design +the different manoeuvres and engagements; that he was present in +various sea-fights, in which he fearlessly exposed himself to the most +imminent danger, while making his sketches; he was present at the severe +battle between the English and Dutch fleets, under the command of the +Duke of York and Admiral Opdam, in which the ship of the latter, with +five hundred men, was blown up, and in the still more memorable +engagement in the following year, between the English under the Duke of +Albemarle, and the Dutch Admiral de Ruyter, which lasted three days. It +is said that during these engagements he sailed alternately between the +fleets, so as to represent minutely every movement of the ships, and the +most, material circumstances of the actions with incredible exactness +and truth. So intent was he upon his drawing, that he constantly exposed +himself to the greatest danger, without the least apparent anxiety. He +wrote over the ships their names and those of their commanders; and +under his own frail craft _V. Velde's Gallijodt_, or _Myn Gallijodt_. + + + + +VAN DE VELDE AND CHARLES II. + + +After having executed many capital pictures for the States of Holland, +Van de Velde was invited to England by Charles II., who had become +acquainted with his talents during his residence in Holland. He arrived +in London about 1675, well advanced in years, and the king settled upon +him a pension of L100 per annum until his death, in 1693, as appears +from this inscription on his tomb-stone in St. James' church: "Mr. +William van de Velde, senior, late painter of sea-fights to their +Majesties, King Charles II. and King James, died in 1693." He was +accompanied by his son, who was also taken into the service of the king, +as appears from an order of the privy seal, as follows: "Charles the +Second, by the grace of God, &c., to our dear Cousin, Prince Rupert, and +the rest of our commissioners for executing the place of Lord High +Admiral of England, greeting. Whereas, we have thought fit to allow the +salary of L100 per annum unto William van de Velde the Elder, for taking +and making draughts of sea-fights; and the like salary of L100 per annum +unto William van de Velde the younger, for putting the said draughts in +color for our particular use; our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby +authorize and require you to issue your orders for the present and the +future establishment of said salaries to the aforesaid William van de +Velde the Elder and William van de Velde the Younger, to be paid unto +them, or either of them, during our pleasure, and for so doing, these +our letters shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge. Given under +our privy-seal, at our palace of Westminster, the 20th day of February, +in the 26th year of our reign." + +Many of the large pictures of sea-fights in England, and doubtless in +Holland, bearing the signature _W. van de Velde_, and generally +attributed to the son, were executed by him from the designs of his +father. Such are the series of twelve naval engagements and sea-ports in +the palace at Hampton Court, though signed like the best works of the +younger van de Velde; they are dated 1676 and 1682. + + + + +WILLIAM VAN DE VELDE THE YOUNGER. + + +This eminent artist was the son of the preceding, and born at Amsterdam +in 1633. He had already acquired a distinguished reputation in his +native country for his admirable cabinet pictures of marine subjects, +when he accompanied his father to England, where his talents not only +recommended him to the patronage of the king, but to the principal +nobility and personages of his court, for whom he executed many of his +most beautiful works. "The palm," says Lord Orford, "is not less +disputed with Raffaelle for history, than with Van de Velde for +sea-pieces." He died in 1707. + + + + +THE YOUNGER VAN DE VELDE'S WORKS. + + +Like his father, the younger Van de Velde designed everything from +nature, and his compositions are distinguished by a more elegant and +tasteful arrangement of his objects, than is to be found in the +productions of any other painter of marines. His vessels are designed +with the greatest accuracy, and from the improvements which had been +made in ship-building, they are of a more graceful and pleasing form +than those of his predecessors; the cordage and rigging are finished +with a delicacy, and at the same time with a freedom almost without +example; his small figures are drawn with remarkable correctness, and +touched with the greatest spirit. In his calms the sky is sunny, and +brilliant, and every object is reflected in the glassy smoothness of the +water, with a luminous transparency peculiar to himself. In his fresh +breezes and squalls, the swell and curl of the waves is delineated with +a truth and fidelity which could only be derived from the most attentive +and accurate study of nature; in his storms, tempests, and hurricanes, +the tremendous conflict of the elements and the horrors of shipwreck are +represented with a truthfulness that strikes the beholder with terror. + +The works of the younger Van de Velde are very numerous, and the greater +part of them are in England, where Houbraken says they were so highly +esteemed that they were eagerly sought after in Holland, and purchased +at high prices to transport to London; so that they are rarely to be met +with in his native country. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonne, vol. vi. +and Supplement, describes about three hundred and thirty pictures by +him, the value of which has increased amazingly, as may be seen by a few +examples. The two marines now in the Earl of Ellesmere's collection, one +a View of the Entrance to the Texel, sold in 1766 for L80, now valued at +L1,000; the other sold in 1765 for L84, now valued at L500. A Sea-View, +formerly in the collection of Sir Robert Peel, sold in 1772 for only +L31; brought in 1828, L300. The Departure of Charles II. from Holland in +1660, sold in 1781 for L82; it brought recently, at public sale, L800. A +View off the Coast of Holland sold in 1816 for L144; it brought, in Sir +Simon Clarke's sale in 1840, L1,029. A View on the Sea-Shore, 16 inches +by 12, sold in 1726 for L9, and in 1835 for L108. The picture known as +_Le Coup de Canon_, sold in 1786 for L52, in 1790 for only L36, but in +1844 it brought 1,380 guineas. + +The drawings, and especially the sketches and studies of the younger Van +de Velde are very numerous, and prove the indefatigable pains he took in +designing his vessels, their appurtenances, and the ordonnance of his +compositions. His sketches are executed in black lead only; his more +finished drawings with the pencil or pen, and shaded with India ink. He +executed these with wonderful facility; it is recorded that he was so +rapid in his sketching, that he frequently filled a quire of paper in an +evening. Stanley says that during the years 1778 and 1780, about 8,000 +of his drawings were sold in London at public auction. Some of his +choicest drawings in India ink brought, at the sale of M. Goll de +Frankenstein at Amsterdam, in 1833, and at that of the late Baron +Verstolk de Soelen, in the same city in 1847, prices varying from L27 up +to L144 each. He inherited his father's drawings, and all these seem now +to be attributed to him. + + + + +NICHOLAS POUSSIN. + + +This distinguished French painter was born at Andely, in Normandy, in +1594. He was descended from a noble family, originally of Soissons, +whose fortunes had been ruined in the disastrous civil wars in the time +of Charles IX. and Henry III. His father, Jean Poussin, after serving +in the army of Henry IV., settled on a small paternal inheritance at +Andely, where he cultivated a taste for literature and the sciences, and +instructed his son in the same. Young Poussin had already distinguished +himself for the solidity of his judgment, and his progress in letters, +when a natural fondness for drawing, developed by an acquaintance he had +formed with Quintin Varin, an artist of some eminence, induced him to +solict the permission of his father to adopt painting as a profession. + + + + +POUSSIN'S FIRST CELEBRITY. + + +In 1612, at the age of eighteen, Poussin went to Paris in search of +improvement, where he devoted himself to studying the best works to +which he could gain access (for the fine arts were then at a low ebb in +France) with the greatest assiduity. In 1620, according to Felibien, the +Jesuits celebrated the canonization of the founder of their order, +Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier, on which occasion they +determined to display a series of pictures by the first artists in +Paris, representing the miracles performed by their patron saints. Of +these, Poussin painted six in distemper, in an incredibly short space of +time, and when the exhibition came off, although he had been obliged to +neglect detail, his pictures excited the greatest admiration on account +of the grandeur of conception, and the elegance of design displayed in +them. They obtained the preference over all the others, and brought +Poussin immediately into notice. + + + + +POUSSIN'S FIRST VISIT TO ROME. + + +While Poussin resided at Paris, his talents, and the endowments of his +mind procured him the esteem of several men of letters and distinction, +among whom was the Cav. Marino, the celebrated Italian poet, who +happened then to be in Paris. Marino strongly urged him to accompany him +to Rome, an invitation which Poussin would gladly have accepted, had he +not then been engaged in some commissions of importance, which having +completed, he set out for Rome in 1624, where he was warmly received by +his friend Marino, who introduced him to the Cardinal Barberini. He +however derived little advantage from this favorable notice at the time, +as the Cardinal soon after left Rome on his legation to France and +Spain, and the Cav. Marino died about the same time. Poussin now found +himself a stranger, friendless and unknown in the Eternal City, in very +embarrassed circumstances; but he consoled himself with the thought that +his wants were few, that he was in the very place where he had long +sighed to be, surrounded by the glorious works of ancient and modern +art, and that he should have abundant leisure to study. Therefore, +though he could scarcely supply his necessities by the disposal of his +works, and was often compelled to sell them for the most paltry prices, +his courage did not fail him, but rather stimulated him to the greatest +assiduity to perfect himself in the art. He lodged in the same house +with Francis du Quesnoy, called Il Fiammingo, the state of whose +finances at that time were not more flourishing than his own, and he +lived in habits of intimacy and strict friendship with that eminent +sculptor, with whom he explored, studied, and modeled the most +celebrated antique statues and bas-reliefs, particularly the Meleager in +the Vatican, from which he derived his rules of proportion. At first he +copied several of the works of Titian, and improved his style of +coloring, but he afterwards contemplated the works of Raffaelle with an +enthusiasm bordering on adoration. The admirable expression and purity +of the works of Domenichino, rendered them particularly interesting to +him, and he used to regard his Communion of St. Jerome as the second +picture at Rome, the Transfiguration by Raffaelle being the first. + + + + +POUSSIN'S DISTRESS AT ROME. + + +While Poussin was thus pursuing his studies at Rome, he was left by the +death of his friend Marino, in a state of extreme distress, and was +obliged to dispose of his paintings at the most paltry prices, to +procure the necessaries of life. Filibien says that he sold the two +fine battle-pieces which were afterwards in the collection of the Duke +de Noailles for seven crowns each, and a picture of a Prophet for eight +livres. His celebrated picture of "the Ark of God among the Philistines" +brought him but sixty crowns; the original purchaser sold it not long +afterwards to the Duc de Richelieu for one thousand crowns! + + + + +POUSSIN'S SUCCESS AT ROME. + + +A brighter day now dawned upon Poussin. What had happened to him, which +would have been regarded by most young artists as the greatest +misfortune and sunk them in despondency and ruin, proved of the greatest +advantage to him. The Cardinal Barberini having returned to Rome, gave +him some commissions, which he executed in such an admirable manner as +at once established his reputation among those of the greatest artists +of the age. The first work he executed for his patron was his celebrated +picture of the Death of Germanicus, which Lanzi pronounces one of his +finest productions. He next painted the Taking of Jerusalem by Titus. +These works gave the Cardinal so much satisfaction that he procured for +him the commission to paint a large picture of the Martyrdom of St. +Erasmus, for St. Peter's, now in the pontifical palace at Monte Cavallo. +These works procured him the friendship and patronage of the Cav. del +Pozzo, for whom he painted his first set of pictures, representing the +Seven Sacraments, now in the collection of the Duke of Rutland. He +afterwards painted another set of the same, with some variations, for M. +de Chantelou, formerly in the Orleans collection, now in that of the +Marquis of Stafford. + + + + +POUSSIN'S INVITATION TO PARIS. + + +In 1639, Poussin was invited to Paris by Louis XIII., who honored him on +this occasion with the following autograph letter, which was an +extraordinary and unusual homage to art: + + +"DEAR AND WELL BELOVED, + +"Some of our especial servants having made a report to us of the +reputation which you have acquired, and the rank which you hold among +the best and most famous painters of Italy; and we being desirous, in +imitation of our predecessors, to contribute, as much as lies in us, to +the ornament and decoration of our royal houses, by fixing around us +those who excel in the arts, and whose attainments in them have +attracted notice in the places where those arts are most cherished, do +therefore write you this letter, to acquaint you that we have chosen and +appointed you to be one of our painters in ordinary, and that, +henceforward, we will employ you in that capacity. To this effect our +intention is, that on the receipt of this present, you shall dispose +yourself to come hither, where the services you perform shall meet with +as much consideration as do your merits and your works, in the place +where you now reside. By our order, given to M. de Noyers, you will +learn more particularly the favor we have determined to shew you. We +will add nothing to this present, but to pray God to have you in his +holy keeping. + + "Given at Fontainebleau, + Jan. 15, 1639." + + +Poussin accepted the invitation with great reluctance, at the earnest +solicitation of his friends. On his arrival at Paris he was received +with marked distinction, appointed principal painter to the king, with a +pension, and accommodated with apartments in the Tuileries. He was +commissioned to paint an altar-piece for the chapel of St. Germain en +Laie, where he produced his admirable work of the Last Supper, and was +engaged to decorate the Gallery of the Louvre with the Labors of +Hercules. He had already prepared the designs and some of the cartoons +for these works, when he was assailed by the machinations of Simon Vouet +and his adherents; and even the landscape painter Fouquieres, jealous of +his fame, presumed to criticise his works and detract from their merit. + + + +POUSSIN'S RETURN TO ROME. + + +Poussin, naturally of a peaceful turn of mind, fond of retirement and +the society of a few select literary friends, was disgusted with the +ostentation of the court and the cabals by which he was surrounded; he +secretly sighed for the quiet felicity he had left at Rome, and resolved +to return thither without delay. For this purpose, he solicited and +obtained leave of the king to visit Italy and settle his affairs, and +fetch his wife; but when he had once crossed the Alps, no inducement +could prevail on him to revisit his native country, or even to leave +Rome. During a period of twenty-three years after his return to Rome +from Paris, he lived a quiet, unostentatious life, and executed a great +number of pictures, which decorate the principal cabinets of Europe, and +will ever be regarded as among their most valuable ornaments. He +confined himself mostly to works of the large easel size, which were +eagerly sought after, and usually disposed of as soon as they were +executed. He never made any words about the price of his pictures, but +asked a modest and moderate price, which he always marked upon the back +of his canvas, and which was invariably paid. Many of his works were +sent to Paris, where they were valued next to the productions of +Raffaelle. He was plain and unassuming in his manners, very frugal in +his living, yet so liberal and generous that at his death he left an +estate of only 60,000 livres--about $12,000. Felibien relates an +anecdote which pleasingly illustrates his simple and unostentatious mode +of life. The Cardinal Mancini was accustomed to visit his studio +frequently, and on one occasion, having staid later than usual, Poussin +lighted him to the door, at which the prelate observed, "I pity you, +Monsieur Poussin, that you have not one servant." "And I," replied the +painter, "pity your Excellency much more, that you are obliged to keep +so many." + + + + +SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS' CRITIQUE ON POUSSIN. + + +"The favorite subjects of Poussin were ancient fables; and no painter +was ever better qualified to paint such subjects, not only from his +being eminently skilled in the knowledge of the ceremonies, customs, and +habits of the ancients, but from his being so well acquainted with the +different characters which those who invented them gave to their +allegorical figures. Though Rubens has shown great fancy in his Satyrs, +Silenuses, and Fauns, yet they are not that distinct, separate class of +beings which is carefully exhibited by the ancients, and by Poussin. +Certainly, when such subjects of antiquity are represented, nothing +should remind us of modern times. The mind is thrown back into +antiquity, and nothing ought to be introduced that may tend to awaken it +from the illusion. + +"Poussin seemed to think that the style and the language in which such +stories are told is not the worse for preserving some relish of the old +way of painting, which seemed to give a general uniformity to the whole, +so that the mind was thrown back into antiquity, not only by the +subject, but also by the execution. + +"If Poussin, in imitation of the ancients, represents Apollo driving his +Chariot out of the sea, by way of representing the sun rising, if he +personifies lakes and rivers, it is noways offensive in him, but seems +perfectly of a piece with the general air of the picture. On the +contrary, if the figures which people his pictures had a modern air and +countenance, if they appeared like our countrymen, if the draperies were +like cloth or silk of our manufacture, if the landscape had the +appearance of a modern one, how ridiculous would Apollo appear instead +of the sun, and an old Man or a Nymph with an urn to represent a river +or lake?" He also says, in another place, that "it may be doubted +whether any alteration of what is considered defective in his works, +would not destroy the effect of the whole." + + + + +POUSSIN'S VIEWS OF HIS ART. + + +Poussin, in his directions to artists who came to study at Rome, used to +say that "the remains of antiquity afforded him instruction that he +could not expect from masters;" and in one of his letters to M. de +Chantelou, he observes that "he had applied to painting the theory which +the Greeks had introduced into their music--the Dorian for the grave and +the serious; the Phrygian for the vehement and the passionate; the +Lydian for the soft and the tender; and the Ionian for the riotous +festivity of his bacchanalians." He was accustomed to say "that a +particular attention to coloring was an obstacle to the student in his +progress to the great end and design of the art; and that he who +attaches himself to this principal end, will acquire by practice a +reasonably good method of coloring." He well knew that splendor of +coloring and brilliancy of tints would ill accord with the solidity and +simplicity of effect so essential to heroic subjects, and that the +sublime and majestic would be degraded by a union with the florid and +the gay. The elevation of his mind is conspicuous in all his works. He +was attentive to vary his style and the tone of his color, +distinguishing them by a finer and more delicate touch, a tint more +cheerful or austere, a site more cultivated or wild, according to the +character of his subject and the impression he designed to make; so that +we are not less impressed with the beauty and grandeur of his scenery, +than with the varied, appropriate, and dignified characteristics which +distinguish his works. + + + + +POUSSIN'S WORKS. + + +In Smith's Catalogue raisonne may be found a descriptive account of +upwards of three hundred and fifty of the works of this great artist, in +many instances tracing the history from the time they were painted, the +names of the present possessors, and the principal artists by whom they +have been engraved, together with many interesting particulars of the +life of the painter. There are eight of his pictures in the English +National Gallery, fourteen in the Dulwich Gallery, and many in the +possession of the nobility of England. The prices paid for those in the +National Gallery vary from 150 to 1000 guineas. + + + + +MARINO AND POUSSIN. + + +Marino was born at Naples. Some political disturbances, in which he and +his family had taken part, obliged him to quit that kingdom, and he took +refuge successively in several of the petty courts of Italy. His talent +for satire involved him in various literary disputes, as well as some +political quarrels, and he never resided long in one place, until Mary +of Medicis invited him to the court of France, where he passed much of +his life, and where he wrote most of his poems, which, though licentious +both in matter and style, contain numerous beauties, and are full of +classical imagery. Marino gave Poussin an apartment in his house at +Rome, and as his own health was at that time extremely deranged, he +loved to have Poussin by the side of his couch, where he drew or +painted, while Marino read aloud to him from some Latin or Italian +author, or from his own poems, which Poussin illustrated by beautiful +drawings, most of which it is to be feared are lost; although it is +believed that there is still existing in the Massimi library, a copy of +the Adonis in Marino's hand-writing, with Poussin's drawings +interleaved. To this kind of study which he pursued with Marino, may +perhaps be attributed Poussin's predilection for compositions wherein +nymphs, and fairies, and bacchanals are the subjects--compositions in +which he greatly excelled. + + + + +POUSSIN ROMANIZED. + + +While the court of France was at variance with the Holy See, +considerable acrimony existed among his Holiness's troops against all +Frenchmen; consequently, wherever they met them in Rome, they instantly +attacked them with sticks and stones, and sometimes with even more +formidable weapons. It happened one day that Poussin and three or four +of his countrymen, returning from a drawing excursion, met at the +Quattro Fontane near Monte Cavallo, a company of soldiers, who seeing +them dressed in the French costume, instantly attacked them. They all +fled but Poussin, who was surrounded, and received a cut from a sabre +between the first and second finger. Passeri, who relates the anecdote, +says that the sword turned, otherwise "a great misfortune must have +happened both to him and to painting." Not daunted, however, he fought +under the shelter of his portfolio, throwing stones as he retreated, +till being recognized by some Romans who took his part, he effected his +escape to his lodgings. From that day he put on the Roman dress, +adopted the Roman way of living, and became so much a Roman, that he +considered the city as his true home. + + + + +POUSSIN'S HABITS OF STUDY. + + +Poussin not only studied every vestige of antiquity at Rome and in its +environs, with the greatest assiduity while young, but he followed this +practice through life. It was his delight to spend every hour he could +spare at the different villas in the neighborhood of Rome, where, +besides the most beautiful remains of antiquity, he enjoyed the +unrivalled landscape which surrounds that city, so much dignified by the +noble works of ancient days, that every hill is classical, the very +trees have a poetic air, and everything combines to excite in the soul a +kind of dreaming rapture from which it would not be awakened, and which +those who have not felt it can scarcely understand. + +He restored the antique temples, and made plans and accurate drawings of +the fragments of ancient Rome; and there are few of his pictures, where +the subject admits of it, in which we may not trace the buildings, both +of the ancient and the modern city. In the beautiful landscape of the +death of Eurydice, the bridge and castle of St. Angelo, and the tower, +commonly called that of Nero, form the middle ground of the picture. The +castle of St. Angelo appears again in one of his pictures of the +Exposing of Moses; and the pyramid of Caius Cestius, the Pantheon, the +ruins of the Forum, and the walls of Rome, may be recognised in the +Finding of Moses, and several others of his remarkable pictures. + +"I have often admired," said Vigneul de Marville, who knew him at a late +period of his life, "the love he had for his art. Old as he was, I +frequently saw him among the ruins of ancient Rome, out in the Campagna, +or along the banks of the Tyber, sketching a scene which had pleased +him; and I often met him with his handkerchief full of stones, moss, or +flowers, which he carried home, that he might copy them exactly from +nature. One day I asked him, how he had attained to such a degree of +perfection as to have gained so high a rank among the great painters of +Italy? He answered, '_I have neglected nothing!_'" + + + + +POUSSIN'S OLD AGE. + + +The genius of Poussin seems to have gained vigor with age. Nearly his +last works, which were begun in 1660, and sent to Paris 1664, were the +four pictures, allegorical of the seasons, which he painted for the Duc +de Richelieu. He chose the terrestrial paradise, in all the freshness of +creation, to designate spring. The beautiful story of Boaz and Ruth +formed the subject of summer. Autumn was aptly pictured, in the two +Israelites bearing the bunch of grapes from the Promised Land. But the +masterpiece was Winter, represented in the Deluge. This picture has +been, perhaps, the most praised of all Poussin's works. A narrow space, +and a very few persons have sufficed him for this powerful +representation of that great catastrophe. The sun's disc is darkened +with clouds; the lightning shoots in forked flashes through the air: +nothing but the roofs of the highest houses are visible above the +distant water upon which the ark floats, on a level with the highest +mountains. Nearer, where the waters, pent in by rocks, form a cataract, +a boat is forced down the fall, and the wretches who had sought safety +in it are perishing: but the most pathetic incident is brought close to +the spectator. A mother in a boat is holding up her infant to its +father, who, though upon a high rock, is evidently not out of reach of +the water, and is only protracting life a very little. + + + + +POUSSIN'S LAST WORK AND DEATH. + + +The long and honorable race of Poussin was now nearly run. Early in the +following year, 1665, he was slightly affected by palsy, and the only +picture of figures that he painted afterwards was the Samaritan Woman at +the Well, which he sent to M. de Chantelou, with a note, in which he +says, "This is my last work; I have already one foot in the grave." +Shortly afterwards he wrote the following letter to M. Felibien: "I +could not answer the letter which your brother, M. le Prieur de St. +Clementin, forwarded to me, a few days after his arrival in this city, +sooner, my usual infirmities being increased by a very troublesome cold, +which continues and annoys me very much. I must now thank you not only +for your remembrance, but for the kindness you have done me, by not +reminding the prince of the wish he once expressed to possess some of my +works. It is too late for him to be well served; I am become too infirm, +and the palsy hinders me in working, so that I have given up the pencil +for some time, and think only of preparing for death, which I feel +bodily upon me. It is all over with me." He expired shortly afterwards, +aged 71 years. + + + + +POUSSIN'S IDEAS OF PAINTING. + + +"Painting is an imitation by means of lines and colors, on some +superfices, of everything that can be seen under the sun; its end is to +please. + +_Principles that every man capable of reasoning may learn:_--There can +be nothing represented, + + Without light, + Without form, + Without color, + Without distance, + Without an instrument, or medium. + +_Things which are not to be learned, and which make an essential part of +painting._ + +First, the subject must be noble. It should have received no quality +from the mere workmen; and to allow scope to the painter to display his +powers, he should choose it capable of receiving the most excellent +form. He must begin by composition, then ornament, propriety, beauty, +grace, vivacity, probability, and judgment, in each and all. These last +belong solely to the painter, and cannot be taught. The nine are the +golden bough of Virgil, which no man can find or gather, if his fate do +not lead him to it." + + + + +POUSSIN AND THE NOBLEMAN. + + +A person of rank who dabbled in painting for his amusement, having one +day shown Poussin one of his performances, and asked his opinion of its +merits, the latter replied, "You only want a little poverty, sir, to +make a good painter." + + + + +POUSSIN AND MENGS. + + +The admirers of Mengs, jealous of Poussin's title of "the Painter of +Philosophers," conferred on him the antithetical one of "the Philosopher +of Painters." Though it cannot be denied that Mengs' writings and his +pictures are learned, yet few artists have encountered such a storm of +criticism. + + + + +POUSSIN AND DOMENICHINO. + + +Next to correctness of drawing and dignity of conception, Poussin valued +expression in painting. He ranked Domenichino next to Raffaelle for this +quality, and not long after his arrival at Rome, he set about copying +the Flagellation of St. Andrew, painted by that master in the church of +S. Gregorio, in competition with Guido, whose Martyrdom of that Saint is +on the opposite side of the same church. Poussin found all the students +in Rome busily copying the Guido, which, though a most beautiful work, +lacks the energy and expression which distinguish the Flagellation; but +he was too sure of his object to be led away by the crowd. According to +Felibien, Domenichino, who then resided at Rome, in a very delicate +state of health, having heard that a young Frenchman was making a +careful study of his picture, caused himself to be conveyed in his chair +to the church, where he conversed some time with Poussin, without making +himself known; charmed with his talents and highly cultivated mind, he +invited him to his house, and from that time Poussin enjoyed his +friendship and profited by his advice, till that illustrious painter +went to Naples, to paint the chapel of St. Januarius. + + + + +POUSSIN AND SALVATOR ROSA. + + +Among the strolling parties of monks and friars, cardinals and prelates, +Roman princesses and English peers, Spanish grandees and French +cavaliers which crowded the _Pincio_, towards the latter end of the +seventeenth century, there appeared two groups, which may have recalled +those of the Portico or the Academy, and which never failed to interest +and fix the attention of the beholders. The leader of one of these +singular parties was the venerable Niccolo Poussin! The air of antiquity +which breathed over all his works seemed to have infected even his +person and his features; and his cold, sedate, and passionless +countenance, his measured pace and sober deportment, spoke that +phlegmatic temperament and regulated feeling, which had led him to study +monuments rather than men, and to declare that the result of all his +experience was "to teach him to live well with all persons." Soberly +clad, and sagely accompanied by some learned antiquary or pious +churchman, and by a few of his deferential disciples, he gave out his +trite axioms in measured phrase and emphatic accent, lectured rather +than conversed, and appeared like one of the peripatetic teachers of the +last days of Athenian pedantry and pretension. + +In striking contrast to these academic figures, which looked like their +own "grandsires cut in alabaster," appeared, unremittingly, on the +Pincio, after sun-set, a group of a different stamp and character, led +on by one who, in his flashing eye, mobile brow, and rapid movement, all +fire, feeling, and perception--was the very personification of genius +itself. This group consisted of Salvator Rosa, gallantly if not +splendidly habited, and a motley gathering of the learned and witty, the +gay and the grave, who surrounded him. He was constantly accompanied in +these walks on the Pincio by the most eminent virtuosi, poets, +musicians, and cavaliers in Rome; all anxious to draw him out on a +variety of subjects, when air, exercise, the desire of pleasing, and the +consciousness of success, had wound him up to his highest pitch of +excitement; while many who could not appreciate, and some who did not +approve, were still anxious to be seen in his train, merely that they +might have to boast "_nos quoque_." + +From the Pincio, Salvator Rosa was generally accompanied home by the +most distinguished persons, both for talent and rank; and while the +frugal Poussin was lighting out some reverend prelate or antiquarian +with one sorry taper, Salvator, the prodigal Salvator, was passing the +evening in his elegant gallery, in the midst of princes, nobles, and men +of wit and science, where he made new claims on their admiration, both +as an artist and as an _improvisatore_; for till within a few years of +his death he continued to recite his own poetry, and sing his own +compositions to the harpsichord or lute. + + + + +POUSSIN, ANGELO, AND RAFFAELLE COMPARED. + + +Poussin is, in the strict sense of the word, an historical painter. + +Michael Angelo is too intent on the sublime, too much occupied with the +effect of the whole, to tell a common history. His conceptions are epic, +and his persons, and his colors, have as little to do with ordinary +life, as the violent action of his actors have resemblance to the +usually indolent state of ordinary men. + +Raffaelle's figures interest so much in themselves, that they make us +forget that they are only part of a history. We follow them eagerly, as +we do the personages of a drama; we grieve, we hope, we despair, we +rejoice with them. + +Poussin's figures, on the contrary, tell their story; we feel not the +intimate acquaintance with themselves, that we do with the creations of +Raffaelle. His Cicero would thunder in the forum and dissipate a +conspiracy, and we should take leave of him with respect at the end of +the scene; but with Raffaelle's we should feel in haste to quit the +tumult, and retire with him to his Tusculum, and learn to love the +virtues, and almost to cherish the weaknesses of such a man. + +Poussin has shown that grace and expression may be independent of what +is commonly called beauty. His women have none of that soft, easy, and +attractive air, which many other painters have found the secret of +imparting, not only to their Venuses and Graces, but to their Madonnas +and Saints. His beauties are austere and dignified. Minerva and the +Muses appear to have been his models, rather than the inhabitants of +Mount Cithaeron. Hence subjects of action are more suited to him than +those of repose.--_Graham's Life of Poussin_. + + + + +REMBRANDT. + + +Paul Rembrandt van Rhyn, one of the most eminent painters and engravers +of the Dutch school, was the son of a miller, and was born in 1606, at a +small village on the banks of the Rhine, between Leyderdorp and Leyden, +whence he was called Rembrandt van Rhyn, though his family name was +Gerretz. It is said that his father, being in easy circumstances, +intended him for one of the learned professions, but was induced by +Rembrandt's passion for the art to allow him to follow his inclination. +He entered the school of J. van Zwaanenberg at Amsterdam, where he +continued three years, and made such surprising progress as astonished +his instructor. Having learned from Zwaanenberg all he was capable of +imparting, he next studied about six months with Peter Lastmann, and +afterwards for a short time with Jacob Pinas, from whom it is said he +acquired that taste for strong contrasts of light and shadow, for which +his works are so remarkable. He was, however, more indebted for his best +improvement to the vivacity of his own genius, and an attentive study of +nature, than to any information he derived from his instructors. On +returning home, he fitted up an attic room, with a skylight, in his +father's mill, for a studio, where he probably pursued his labors for +several years, as he did not remove to Amsterdam till 1630. Here he +studied the grotesque figure of the Dutch boor, or the rotund contour of +the bar-maid of an ale house, with as much precision as the great +artists of Italy have imitated the Apollo Belvidere, or the Medicean +Venus. He was exceedingly ignorant, and it is said that he could +scarcely read. He was of a wayward and eccentric disposition, and sought +for recreation among the lowest orders of the people, in the amusements +of the ale-house, contracting habits which continued through life; even +when in prosperous circumstances, he manifested no disposition to +associate with more refined and intellectual society. It will readily be +perceived that his habits, disposition, and studies could not conduct +him to the noble conceptions of Raffaelle, but rather to an exact +imitation of the lowest order of nature, with which he delighted to be +surrounded. The life of Rembrandt is much involved in fable, and in +order to form a just estimate of his powers, it is necessary to take +these things into consideration. It is said by some writers, that, had +he studied the antique, he would have reached the very perfection of the +art, but Nieuwenhuys, in his review of the Lives and Works of the most +eminent painters of the Dutch and Flemish schools, in Smith's Catalogue +raisonne, vol xii. and supplement, says that he was by no means +deficient on that point. "For it is known that he purchased, at a high +price, casts from the antique marbles, paintings, drawings, and +engravings by the most excellent Italian masters, to assist him in his +studies, and which are mentioned in the inventory of his goods when +seized for debt." + +He then goes on to give a list of the works so seized. Be this as it may +he certainly never derived any advantage from them. He had collected a +great variety of old armor, sabres, flags, and fantastical vestments, +ironically terming them his antiques, and frequently introducing them +into his pictures. + +Rembrandt had already brought both the arts of painting and engraving to +very great perfection (in his own way), when a slight incident led him +to fame and fortune. He was induced by a friend to take one of his +choicest pictures to a picture-dealer at the Hague, who, being charmed +with the performance, instantly gave him a hundred florins for it, and +treated him with great respect. This occurrence served to convince the +public of his merit, and contributed to make the artist sensible of his +own abilities. In 1630 he went to Amsterdam, where he married a handsome +peasant girl (frequently copied in his works), and settled there for +life. His paintings were soon in extraordinary demand, and his fame +spread far and wide; pupils flocked to his studio, and he received for +the instruction of each a hundred florins a year. He was so excessively +avaricious that he soon abandoned his former careful and finished +style, for a rapid execution; also frequently retouched the pictures of +his best pupils, and sold them as his own. His deceits in dating several +of his etchings at Venice, to make them more saleable, led some of his +biographers to believe that he visited Italy, and resided at Venice in +1635 and 1636; but it has been satisfactorily proved that he never left +Holland, though he constantly threatened to do so, in order to increase +the sale of his works. As early as 1628, he applied himself zealously to +etching, and soon acquired great perfection in the art. His etchings +were esteemed as highly as his paintings, and he had recourse to several +artifices to raise their price and increase their sales. For example, he +sold impressions from the unfinished plates, then finished them, and +after having used them, made some slight alterations, and thus sold the +same works three or four times; producing what connoisseurs term +_variations_ in prints. By these practices, and his parsimonious manner +of living, Rembrandt amassed a large fortune. + + + + +REMBRANDT'S WORKS. + + +His works are numerous, and are dispersed in various public and private +collections of Europe; and when they are offered for sale they command +enormous prices. There are eight of his pictures in the English National +Gallery; one of these, the Woman taken in Adultery, formerly in the +Orleans collection, sold for L5000. In Smith's Catalogue raisonne is a +description of six hundred and forty pictures by him, the public and +private galleries and collections in which they were located at the time +of the publication of the work, together with a copious list of his +drawings and etchings, and much other interesting information. He left +many studies, sketches, and drawings, executed in a charming style, +which are now scarce and valuable. + + + + +REMBRANDT AS AN ENGRAVER. + + +Rembrandt holds a distinguished rank among the engravers of his country; +he established a more important epoch in this art than any other master. +He was indebted entirely to his own genius for the invention of a +process which has thrown an indescribable charm over his plates. They +are partly etched, frequently much assisted by the dry point, and +occasionally, though rarely, finished with the graver; evincing the most +extraordinary facility of hand, and displaying the most consummate +knowledge of light and shadow. His free and playful point sports in +picturesque disorder, producing the most surprising and enchanting +effects, as if by accident; yet an examination will show that his +motions are always regulated by a profound knowledge of the principles +of light and shadow. His most admirable productions in both arts are his +portraits, which are executed with unexampled expression and skill. For +a full description of his prints, the reader is referred to Bartsch's +Peintre Graveur. + +His prints are very numerous, yet they command very high prices. The +largest collection of his prints known, was made by M. de Burgy at the +Hague, who died in 1755. This collection contained 665 prints with their +variations, namely, 257 portraits, 161 histories, 155 figures, and 85 +landscapes. There are no less than 27 portraits of Rembrandt by himself. + + + + +ANECDOTE OF SCHWARTS. + + +Sandrart relates the following anecdote of Christopher Schwarts, a +famous German painter, which, if true, redounds more to his ingenuity +than to his credit. Having been engaged to paint the ceiling of the Town +Hall at Munich by the day, his love of dissipation induced him to +neglect his work, so that the magistrates and overseers of the work were +frequently obliged to hunt him out at the cabaret. As he could no longer +drink in quiet, he stuffed an image of himself, left the legs hanging +down between the staging where he was accustomed to work, and sent one +of his boon companions to move the image a little two or three times a +day, and to take it away at noon and night. By means of this deception, +he drank without the least disturbance a whole fortnight together, the +inn-keeper being privy to the plot. The officers came in twice a day to +look after him, and seeing the well known stockings and shoes which he +was accustomed to wear, suspected nothing wrong, and went their way, +greatly extolling their own convert, as the most industrious and +conscientious painter in the world. + + + + +JACQUES CALLOT. + + +This eminent French engraver was born at Nancy, in Lorraine, in 1593. He +was the son of Jean Callot, a gentleman of noble family, who intended +him for a very different profession, and endeavored to restrain his +natural passion for art; but when he was twelve years old, he left his +home without money or resources, joined a company of wandering +Bohemians, and found his way to Florence, where some officer of the +court, discovering his inclination for drawing, placed him under +Cantagallina. After passing some time at Florence, he went to Rome, +where he was recognized by some friends of his family, who persuaded him +to return to his parents. Meeting with continual opposition, he again +absconded, but was followed by his brother to Turin, and taken back to +Nancy. His parents, at length finding his love of art too firmly +implanted to be eradicated, concluded to allow him to follow the bent of +his genius, and they sent him to Rome in the suite of the Envoy from the +Duke of Lorraine to the Pope. Here he studied with the greatest +assiduity, and soon distinguished himself as a very skillful engraver. +From Rome he went to Florence, where his talents recommended him to the +patronage of the Grand Duke Cosmo II., on whose death he returned to +Nancy, where he was liberally patronized by Henry, Duke of Lorraine. +When misfortune overtook that prince, he went to Paris, whither his +reputation had preceded him, where he was employed by Louis XIII. to +engrave the successes of the French arms, particularly the siege of the +Isle de Re, in sixteen sheets; the siege of Rochelle, do.; and the siege +of Breda, in eight sheets. His prints are very numerous, and are highly +esteemed; Heineken gives a full list of his prints, amounting to over +fifteen hundred! The fertility of his invention and the facility of his +hand were wonderful; yet his prints are accurately designed. He +frequently made several drawings for the same plate before he was +satisfied. Watelet says that he saw four different drawings by him for +the celebrated Temptation of St. Anthony. His drawings are also greatly +admired and highly prized. + + + + +CALLOT'S PATRIOTISM. + + +When Cardinal Richelieu desired Callot to design and engrave a set of +plates descriptive of the siege and fall of his native town, he promptly +refused; and when the Cardinal peremptorily insisted that he should do +it, he replied, "My Lord, if you continue to urge me, I will cut off the +thumb of my right hand before your face, for I never will consent to +perpetuate the calamity and disgrace of my sovereign and protector." + + + + +INGENUITY OF ARTISTS. + + +Pliny asserts that an ingenious artist wrote the whole of the Iliad on +so small a piece of parchment that it might be enclosed within the +compass of a nut-shell. Cicero also records the same thing. This +doubtless might be done on a strip of thin parchment, and rolling it +compactly. + +Heylin, in his life of Charles I., says that in Queen Elizabeth's time, +a person wrote the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Pater Noster, the +Queen's name, and the date, within the compass of a penny, which he +presented to her Majesty, together with a pair of spectacles of such an +artificial make, that by their help she plainly discerned every letter. +One Francis Almonus wrote the Creed, and the first fourteen verses of +the Gospel of St. John, on a piece of parchment no larger than a penny. +In the library of St. John's College, Oxford, is a picture of Charles I. +done with a pen, the lines of which contain all the psalms, written in a +legible hand. + +"At Halston, in Shropshire, the seat of the Myttons, is preserved a +carving much resembling that mentioned by Walpole in his Anecdotes of +Painting, vol. ii., p. 42. It is the portrait of Charles I., full-faced, +cut on a peach-stone; above, is a crown; his face, and clothes which are +of a Vandyck dress are painted; on the reverse is an eagle transfixed +with an arrow, and round it is this motto: _I feathered this arrow._ The +whole is most admirably executed, and is set in gold, with a crystal on +each side. It probably was the work of Nicholas Bryot, a great graver of +the mint in the time of Charles I."--_Pennant's Wales._ + +In the Royal Museum at Copenhagen is a common cherry-stone, on the +surface of which are cut two hundred and twenty heads! + + + + +A HINT TO JEWELERS. + + +"When the haughty and able Pope Innocent III. caused Cardinal Langton to +be elected Archbishop of Canterbury in despite of King John, and +compelled him to submit, to appease the latter and to admonish him, his +Holiness presented him with four golden rings, set with precious stones, +at the same time taking care to inform him of the many mysteries implied +in them. His Holiness begged of him (King John)," says Hume, "to +consider seriously the _form_ of the rings, their _number_, their +_matter_, and their _color_. Their _form_, he said, shadowed out +eternity, which had neither beginning nor end; and he ought thence to +learn his duty of aspiring from earthly objects to heavenly, from things +temporal to things eternal. The _number_, from being a square, denoted +steadiness of mind, not to be subverted either by adversity or +prosperity, fixed forever on the firm base of the four cardinal +virtues. _Gold_, which is the matter, being the most precious of the +metals, signified wisdom, which is the most precious of all the +accomplishments, and justly preferred by Solomon to riches, power, and +all exterior attainments. The _blue color_ of the sapphire represented +Faith; the _verdure_ of the emerald, Hope; the _redness_ of the ruby, +Charity; and the _splendor_ of the topaz, good works." Jewelers, who +usually deal so little in sentiment in their works, may learn from this +ingenious allegory the advantage of calling up the wonder-working aid of +fancy, in forming their combinations of precious things. + + + + +CURIOUS PAINTINGS. + + +In the Cathedral at Worms, over the altar, is a very old painting, in +which the Virgin is represented throwing the infant Jesus into the +hopper of a mill; while from the other side he issues, changed into +wafers or little morsels of bread, which the priests are administering +to the people. + +Mathison, in his letters, thus describes a picture in a church at +Constance, called the Conception of the Holy Virgin. "An old man lies on +a cloud, whence he darts a vast beam, which passes through a dove +hovering just below; at the end of the beam appears a large transparent +egg, in which egg is seen a child in swaddling clothes, with a glory +round it; Mary sits leaning in an arm-chair and opens her mouth to +receive the egg!" Which are the most profane--these pictures, or the +Venus Anadyomene of Apelles, the Venus of Titian, and the Leda of +Correggio? + + + + +THE OLDEST OIL PAINTING EXTANT. + + +"The oldest oil painting now in existence, is believed to be one of the +Madonna and infant Jesus in her arms, with an Eastern style of +countenance. It is marked DCCCLXXXVI. (886). This singular and +valuable painting formed part of the treasures of art in the old palace +of the Florentine Republic, and was purchased by the Director Bencivenni +from a broker in the street, for a few livres." + +The above is found quoted in many books, in proof that oil painting was +known long before the time of the Van Eycks; but all these old +_supposed_ oil paintings have been proved by chemical analysis to have +been painted in distemper. See vol. ii., p. 141, of this work. + + + + +CURIOUS REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HARPIES. + + +Homer represents the Harpies as the rapacious goddesses of the storms, +residing near the Erinnyes, or the Ocean, before the jaws of hell. If +any person was so long absent from home that it was not known what had +become of him, and he was supposed to be dead, it was commonly said, +"The Harpies have carried him off." Hesiod represents them as young +virgins of great beauty. The later poets and artists vied with each +other in depicting them under the most hideous forms; they commonly +represented them as winged monsters, having the face of a woman and the +body of a vulture, with their feet and fingers armed with sharp claws. +Spanheim, in his work, gives three representations of the harpies, taken +from ancient coins and works of art; they have female heads, with the +bodies and claws of birds of prey; the first has a coarse female face, +the second a beautiful feminine head, and two breasts, and the third a +visage ornamented with wreaths and a head-dress. There are various other +representations of them, one of the most remarkable of which is a +monster with a human head and the body of a vampire bat. + + + + +ADRIAN BROWER. + + +This extraordinary painter was born at Haerlem, in 1608. His parents +were extremely poor, and his mother sold to the peasants bonnets and +handkerchiefs, which the young Adrian painted with flowers and birds. +These attempts were noticed by Francis Hals, a distinguished painter of +Haerlem, who offered to take the young artist into his school--which +proposal was gladly accepted. Hals, on discovering his superior genius, +separated him from all his companions, and locked him up in a garret, +that he might profit by his talents. The pictures of Brower sold +readily at high prices, but the avaricious Hals treated him with +increased severity, lest he should become acquainted with the value of +his talents, and leave him. This cruelty excited the pity of Adrian van +Ostade, then a pupil of Hals; and he found an opportunity of advising +Brower to make his escape, which the latter effected, and fled to +Amsterdam. Soon after arriving in that city, he painted a picture of +Boors Fighting, which he gave to the landlord of the inn where he +lodged, and requested him to sell it. The host soon returned with one +hundred ducats, which he had received for the work. The artist was +amazed at such a result of his labors, but instead of exerting his +wonderful talents, he plunged into a course of dissipation. This natural +propensity to alternate work and indulgence marked his whole life, and +involved him in many extraordinary adventures. + + + + +BROWER, THE DUKE D'AREMBERG, AND RUBENS. + + +When the States-General were at war with Spain, Brower started on a +visit to Antwerp, whither his reputation had already proceeded him. +Omitting to provide himself with a passport, he was arrested as a spy, +and confined in the citadel, where the Duke d'Aremberg was imprisoned. +That nobleman lived in friendship with Rubens, who often visited him in +his confinement; and the Duke, having observed the genius of Brower, +desired Rubens to bring a palette and pencils, which he gave to Brower, +and the latter soon produced a representation of Soldiers playing at +Cards, which he designed from a group he had seen from his prison +window. The Duke showed the picture to Rubens, who immediately exclaimed +that it was by the celebrated Brower, whose pictures he often admired; +and he offered the Duke six hundred guilders for the work, but the +latter refused to part with it, and presented the artist with a much +larger sum. Rubens lost no time in procuring his liberty, which he did +by becoming his surety, took him into his own house, and treated him +with the greatest kindness. + + + + +DEATH OF BROWER. + + +Brower did not continue long in the hospitable mansion of Rubens, whose +refined and elegant manners, love of literature, and domestic happiness +were less congenial to this erratic genius than the revels of his +pot-companions. Brower soon became weary of his situation, and returned +to his vicious habits, to which he soon fell a victim in 1640, at the +early age of 32 years. He died in the public hospital at Antwerp, and +was buried in an obscure manner; but when Rubens knew it, he had the +body reinterred, with funeral pomp, in the church of the Carmelites; and +he intended also to have erected a superb monument to his memory, had he +lived to see it executed; though Sandrart says there was a magnificent +one over his tomb, with an epitaph to perpetuate his honor. + + + + +BROWER'S WORKS. + + +The subjects of Brower were of the lowest order, representing the +frolics of his pot companions; but his expression is so lively and +characteristic, his coloring so transparent and brilliant, and the +passions and movements of his figures are so admirably expressed, that +his works have justly elicited the applause of the world. They are +highly valued, and in consequence of his irregular life, are exceedingly +scarce. Brower also etched a few plates in a very spirited style. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI. + + +The name of this artist was Philip Roos, and he was born at Frankfort in +1655. He early showed a passion for painting, and exhibited such +extraordinary talents that the Landgrave of Hesse took him under his +protection, and sent him to Italy with a pension sufficient for his +support. To facilitate his studies, he established himself at Tivoli +(whence his name), where he kept a kind of menagerie, and on account of +the number and variety of the animals, his house was called _Noah's +Ark_. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI'S WORKS. + + +Rosa da Tivoli's pictures usually represent pastoral subjects, with +herdsmen and cattle, or shepherds with sheep and goats, which he +frequently painted as large as life. He designed everything from nature, +not only his animals, but the sites of his landscapes, ruins, buildings, +rocks, precipices, rivers, etc. His groups are composed with great +judgment and taste, and his landscapes, backgrounds, skies, and +distances are treated in a masterly style. His cattle and animals, in +particular, are designed with wonderful truth and spirit; his coloring +is full of force, his lights and shadows are distributed with judgment +and his touch is remarkably firm and spirited. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI'S FACILITY OF EXECUTION. + + +Rosa da Tivoli acquired a wonderful facility in design and execution, +for which reason he was named _Mercurius_ by the Bentvogel Society. A +remarkable instance of his powers is recorded by C. le Blond, then a +student at Rome. "It happened one day," says he, "that several young +artists and myself were occupied in designing from the bassi-relievi of +the Arch of Titus, when Roos passing by, was particularly struck with +some picturesque object which caught his attention, and he requested one +of the students to accommodate him with a crayon and paper. What was +our surprise, when in half an hour he produced an admirable drawing, +finished with accuracy and spirit." + +It is also related that the Imperial Ambassador, Count Martinez, laid a +wager with a Swedish general that Roos would paint a picture of +three-quarters' size, while they were playing a game at cards; and in +less than half an hour the picture was well finished, though it +consisted of a landscape, a shepherd, and several sheep and goats. + + + + +ROSA DA TIVOLI'S HABITS. + + +Rosa da Tivoli unfortunately fell into extravagant and dissipated +habits, which frequently caused him great inconvenience. From his +facility, he multiplied his pictures to such an extent as greatly to +depreciate their value. It is related that he would sit down, when +pressed for money, dispatch a large picture in a few hours, and send it +directly to be sold at any price. His servant, possessing more +discretion than his master, usually paid him the highest price offered +by the dealers, and kept the pictures himself, till he could dispose of +them to more advantage. + + + + +LUCA CAMBIASO'S FACILITY IN PAINTING. + + +The most remarkable quality of this distinguished Genoese painter was +his rapidity of operation. He began to paint when ten years old, under +the eye of his father, Giovanni Cambiaso, who evinced good taste in +setting him to copy some works by the correct and noble Mantegna. His +progress was so rapid that at the age of seventeen he was entrusted to +decorate some facades and chambers of the Doria palace at Genoa, where +he displayed his rash facility of hand by painting the story of Niobe on +a space of wall fifty palms long and of proportionate height, without +cartoons or any drawing larger than his first hasty sketch on a single +sheet of paper! While he was engaged on this work, there came one +morning some Florentine artists to look at it. Seeing a lad enter soon +after, and commence painting with prodigious fury, they called out to +him to desist; but his mode of handling the brushes and colors, which +they had imagined it was his business merely to clean or pound, soon +convinced them that this daring youngster was no other than Luca +himself; whereupon they crossed themselves, and declared he would one +day eclipse Michael Angelo. + + + + +CAMBIASO'S WORKS IN SPAIN. + + +After attaining a high reputation in Italy, Cambiaso was invited to +Madrid by Philip II. of Spain. He executed there a great number of +works, among which the most important was the vault of the choir of the +Escurial church, where he painted in fresco the "Glory of the Blessed in +Heaven." Instead of allowing the artist to paint from his own +conceptions, the king listened to the counsels of the monks, who +"recommended that the heavenly host should be drawn up in due +theological order." A design "more pious than picturesque" being at last +agreed upon, the painter fell to work with his wonted fury, and so +speedily covered vast spaces with a multitude of figures, that the king, +according to the expressive Italian phrase, "remained stupid," not being +able to believe that the master, with only one assistant, could have +accomplished so much. Philip often visited Cambiaso while at work, and +one day remarking that the head of St. Anne among the blessed was too +youthful, the painter replied by seizing his pencil, and with four +strokes so seamed the face with wrinkles, and so entirely altered its +air, that the royal critic once more "remained stupid," hardly knowing +whether he had judged amiss, or the change had been effected by magic. +By means of thus painting at full speed, frequently without sketches, +and sometimes with both hands at once, Cambiaso clothed the vault with +its immense fresco in about fifteen months. The coloring is still fresh, +and many of the forms are fine and the figures noble; but the +composition cannot be called pleasing. The failure must be mainly +attributed to the unlucky meddling of the friars, who have marshalled + + "The helmed Cherubim, + And sworded Seraphim," + +with exact military precision, ranged the celestial choir in rows like +the fiddlers of a sublunary orchestra, and accommodated the congregation +of the righteous with long benches, like those of a Methodist +meeting-house! However, the king was so well pleased with the work, that +he rewarded Cambiaso with 12,000 ducats. + + + + +CAMBIASO'S ARTISTIC MERITS. + + +In the earlier part of his career, the impetuosity of his genius led him +astray; he usually painted his pictures in oil or fresco without +preparing either drawing or cartoon; and his first style was gigantic +and unnatural. Subsequently, however, he checked this impetuosity, and +it was in the middle of his life that he produced his best works. His +fertility of invention was wonderful; his genius grappled with and +conquered the most arduous difficulties of the art, and he shows his +powers in foreshortening in the most daring variety. He was rapid and +bold in design, yet was selected by Boschini as a model of correctness; +hence his drawings, though numerous, are highly esteemed. His Rape of +the Sabines, in the Palazzo Imperiali at Terralba, near Genoa, has been +highly extolled. It is a large work full of life and motion, passionate +ravishers and reluctant damsels, fine horses and glimpses of noble +architecture, with several episodes heightening the effect of the main +story. Mengs declared he had seen nothing out of Rome that so vividly +reminded him of the chambers of the Vatican. + + + + +RARITY OF FEMALE PORTRAITS IN SPAIN. + + +Very few female portraits are found in the Spanish collections. Their +painters were seldom brought in professional contact with the beauty of +high-born women--the finest touchstone of professional skill--and their +great portrait painters lived in an age of jealous husbands, who cared +not to set off to public admiration the charms of their spouses. +Velasquez came to reside at court about the same time that Madrid was +visited by Sir Kenelm Digby, who had like to have been slain the first +night of his arrival, for merely looking at a lady. Returning with two +friends from supper at Lord Bristol's, the adventurous knight relates in +his Private Memoirs, how they came beneath a balcony where a love-lorn +fair one stood touching her lute, and how they loitered awhile to admire +her beauty, and listen to her "soul-ravishing harmony." Their delightful +contemplations, however, were soon arrested by a sudden attack from +several armed men, who precipitated themselves upon the three Britons. +Their swords were instantly drawn, and a fierce combat ensued; but the +valiant Digby slew the leader of the band, and finally succeeded in +escaping with his companions. + +Of the sixty-two works by Velasquez in the Royal Gallery at Madrid, +there are only four female portraits; and of these, two represent +children, another an ancient matron, and a fourth his own wife! The Duke +of Abuquerque, who at the door of his own palace waylaid and +horsewhipped Philip IV., and his minister Olivarez, feigning ignorance +of their persons, as the monarch came to pay a nocturnal visit to the +Duchess, was not very likely to call in the court painter to take her +Grace's portrait. Ladies lived for the most part in a sort of Oriental +seclusion, amongst duennas, waiting-women, and dwarfs; and going abroad +only to mass, or to take the air in curtained carriages on the Prado. In +such a state of things, the rarity of female portraits in the Spanish +collections was a natural consequence. + + + + +MURILLO'S PICTURES IN SPANISH AMERICA. + + +It is related that this great Spanish painter visited America in early +life, and painted there many works; but the later Spanish historians +have shown that he never quitted his native country; and the +circumstance of his pictures being found in America, is best accounted +for by the following narrative. After acquiring considerable knowledge +of the art under Juan del Castillo at Seville, he determined to travel +for improvement; but how to raise the necessary funds was a matter of +difficulty, for his parents had died leaving little behind them, and his +genius had not yet recommended him to the good offices of any wealthy +or powerful patron. But Murillo was not to be balked of his cherished +desires. Buying a large quantity of canvas, he divided it into squares +of various sizes, which he primed and prepared with his own hands for +the pencil, and then converted into pictures of the more popular saints, +landscapes, and flower-pieces. These he sold to the American traders for +exportation, and thus obtained a sum of money sufficient for his +purpose. + + + + +MURILLO'S "VIRGIN OF THE NAPKIN." + + +The small picture which once adorned the tabernacle of the Capuchin high +altar at Seville, is interesting on account of its legend, as well as +its extraordinary artistic merits. Murillo, whilst employed at the +convent, had formed a friendship with a lay brother, the cook of the +fraternity, who attended to his wants and waited on him with peculiar +assiduity. At the conclusion of his labors, this Capuchin of the kitchen +begged for some trifling memorial of his pencil. The painter was quite +willing to comply, but said that he had exhausted his stock of canvas. +"Never mind," said the ready cook, "take this napkin," offering him that +which he had used at dinner. The good-natured artist accordingly went to +work, and before evening he had converted the piece of coarse linen into +a picture compared to which cloth of gold or the finest tissue of the +East would be accounted worthless. The Virgin has a face in which +thought is happily blended with maidenly innocence; and the divine +infant, with his deep earnest eyes, leans forward in her arms, +struggling as it were almost out of the frame, as if to welcome the +carpenter Joseph home from his daily toil. The picture is colored with a +brilliancy which Murillo never excelled, glowing with a golden light, as +if the sun were always shining on the canvas. This admirable work is now +in the Museum of Seville. + + + + +ANECDOTE OF AN ALTAR-PIECE BY MURILLO. + + +One of Murillo's pictures, in the possession of a society of friars in +Flanders, was bought by an Englishman for a considerable sum, and the +purchaser affixed his signature and seal to the back of the canvas, at +the desire of the venders. In due time it followed him to England, and +became the pride of his collection. Several years afterwards, however, +while passing through Belgium, the purchaser turned aside to visit his +friends the monks, when he was greatly surprised to find the beautiful +work which he had supposed was in his own possession, smiling in all its +original brightness on the very same wall where he had been first +smitten by its charms! The truth was, that the monks always kept under +the canvas an excellent copy, which they sold in the manner above +related, as often as they could find a purchaser. + + + + +MURILLO AND HIS SLAVE GOMEZ. + + +Sebastian Gomez, the mulatto slave of Murillo, is said to have become +enamored of art while performing the menial offices of his master's +studio. Like Erigonus, the color grinder of Nealces, or like Pareja, the +mulatto of Velasquez, he devoted his leisure to the secret study of the +principles of drawing, and in time acquired a skill with the brush +rivalled by few of the regular scholars of Murillo. There is a tradition +at Seville, that he took the opportunity one day, when the painting room +was empty, of giving the first proof of his abilities, by finishing the +head of a Virgin, that stood ready sketched on his master's easel. +Pleased with the beauty of this unexpected interpolation, Murillo, when +he discovered the author of it, immediately promoted Gomez to the use of +those colors which it had hitherto been his task to grind. "I am indeed +fortunate, Sebastian," said the good-natured artist, "for I have not +only created pictures, but a painter." + + + + +AN ARTIST'S LOVE ROMANCE. + + +Francisco Vieira, an eminent Portuguese painter, was still a child when +he became enamored of Dona Ignez Elena de Lima, the daughter of noble +parents, who lived on friendly terms with his own and permitted the +intercourse of their children. The thread of their loves was broken for +a while by the departure of the young wooer to Rome, in the suite of the +Marquis of Abrantes. There he applied himself diligently to the study of +painting, under Trevisani, and carried off the first prize in the +Academy of St. Luke. On returning to Portugal, although only in his 16th +year, he was immediately appointed by King John V. to paint a large +picture of the Mystery of the Eucharist, to be used at the approaching +feast of Corpus Christi; and he also painted the king's portrait. + +An absence of seven years had not affected Vieira's constancy, and he +took the first opportunity of flying once more to Ignez. He was kindly +received by the Lima family, at their villa on the beautiful shores of +the Tagus, and was permitted to reside there for a while, painting the +scenery, and wooing his not unwilling mistress. When the maiden's heart +was fairly won, the parents at length interfered, and the lovers found +the old adage verified, that "the course of true love never did run +smooth." Vieira was ignominiously turned out of doors, and the fair +Ignez was shut up in the convent of St. Anna, and compelled to take the +veil. + +The afflicted lover immediately laid his cause before the king, but +received an unfavorable answer. Nothing daunted, he then went to Rome, +and succeeded in obtaining from the Pope a commission to the Patriarch +of Lisbon, empowering him to inquire into the facts of the case; and +that prelate's report being favorable, the lover was made happy with a +bull annulling the religious vows of the nun, and authorizing their +marriage. It is uncertain how long this affair remained undecided; but a +Portuguese Jesuit having warned Vieira that at home he ran the risk of +being punished by confiscation of his property, for obtaining a bull +without the consent of the civil power, he prolonged his residence at +Rome to six years, that the affair might have time to be forgotten at +Lisbon. During this period he continued to exercise his pencil with so +much success that he was elected a member of the Academy of St. Luke. + +After such a probation, the energy and perseverance of the lover is +almost unparalleled. He finally ventured to return to his native Tagus, +and accomplished the object of his life. Disguising himself as a +bricklayer, he skulked about the convent where Ignez lay immured, +mingling with the workmen employed there, till he found means to open a +communication with her and concert a plan of escape. He then furnished +her with male attire, and at last successfully carried her off on +horseback (though not without a severe wound from the brother of his +bride), to another bishopric, where they were married in virtue of the +Pope's bull. After residing for some time in Spain and Italy, however, +Vieira was commanded to return to Portugal, and appointed painter to the +king. Being the best artist in that kingdom, his talents soon +obliterated the remembrance of his somewhat irregular marriage, and +during forty years he painted with great reputation and success for the +royal palaces at Nafra and elsewhere, for the convents, and the +collections of the nobility. It will doubtless be pleasing to the fair +readers of these anecdotes, that all this long course of outward +prosperity was sweetened by the affection of his constant wife. + + + + +ESTEBAN MARCH'S STRANGE METHOD OF STUDY. + + +Esteban March, a distinguished Spanish painter of the 17th century, was +eccentric in character and violent in temperament. Battles being his +favorite subjects, his studio was hung round with pikes, cutlasses, +javelins, and other implements of war, which he used in a very peculiar +and boisterous manner. As the mild and saintly Joanes was wont to +prepare himself for his daily task by prayer and fasting, so his riotous +countryman used to excite his imagination to the proper creative pitch +by beating a drum, or blowing a trumpet, and then valiantly assaulting +the walls of his chamber with sword and buckler, laying about him, like +another Don Quixote, with a blind energy that told severely on the +plaster and furniture, and drove his terrified scholars or assistants to +seek safety in flight. Having thus lashed himself into sufficient +frenzy, he performed miracles, according to Palomino, in the field of +battle-pieces, throwing off many bold and spirited pictures of Pharaoh +and his host struggling in the angry waters, or mailed Christians +quelling the turbaned armies of the Crescent. Few will withhold from him +the praise of Bermudez, for brilliancy of coloring, and for the skill +with which the dust, smoke, and dense atmosphere of the combat are +depicted. + + + + +MARCH'S ADVENTURE OF THE FISH FRIED IN LINSEED OIL. + + +Palomino says that March had gone out one day, leaving neither meat nor +money in the house, and was absent till past midnight, when he returned +with a few fish, which he insisted on having instantly dressed for +supper. His wife said there was no oil; and Juan Conchillos, one of his +pupils, being ordered to get some, objected that all the shops were shut +up. "Then take linseed oil," cried the impetuous March, "for, _por +Dios_, I will have these fish presently fried." The mess was therefore +served with this unwonted sauce, but was no sooner tasted than it began +to act as a vigorous emetic upon the whole party, "for indeed," gravely +writes Palomino, "linseed oil, at all times of a villainous flavor, when +hot is the very devil." Without more ado, the master of the feast threw +fish and frying-pan out of the window; and Conchillos, knowing his +humor, flung the earthen chafing-dish and charcoal after them. March was +delighted with this sally, and embracing the youth, he lifted him from +the floor, putting him in bodily fear, as he after wards told Palomino, +that he was about to follow the coal and viands into the street. As for +the poor weary wife, she thought of her crockery, and remarking in a +matter of-fact way, "What shall we have for supper now?" went to bed; +whither her husband, pleased with the frolic of spoiling his meal and +breaking the dishes, seems to have followed her in a more complacent +mood than common. + + + + +A PAINTER'S REBUKE. + + +Jose Antonilez, a Spanish painter, studied under Francisco Rizi at +Madrid. When the latter was occupied in preparing some new scenery for +the theatre at Buon Retiro, Antonilez spoke of him as a painter of +foot-cloths--an expression which was soon communicated to his master. +Rizi immediately administered a wholesome practical rebuke, by +commanding the attendance of Antinolez on his Majesty's service, and +ordering him to execute a piece of painting in distemper. The unlucky +wag, being quite ignorant of the mode of performing the work, and too +proud to confess it, worked for a whole day, at the end of which he had +merely spoiled a large piece of canvas. "So, sir," said Rizi, quietly, +"you see painting foot-cloths is not so easy after all;" and turning to +his servant, added, "here, boy, take this canvas and carry it to the +cistern to be washed." + + + + +A PAINTER'S RETORT COURTEOUS. + + +Jean Ranc, an eminent French portrait painter, was sometimes annoyed by +impertinent and vexatious criticism. Having exhausted all his talent +upon a particular portrait, the friends of the sitter refused to be +pleased, although the sitter himself appears to have been well +satisfied. In concert with the latter, Ranc concerted a plan for a +practical retort. After privately painting a copy of the picture, he cut +the head out of the canvas, and placed it in such a position that the +original could supply the opening with his own veritable face, +undetected. After all was ready, the cavilers were invited to view the +performance, but they were no better pleased. Falling completely into +the snare, the would-be critics were going on to condemn the likeness, +when the relaxing features and hearty laughter of the supposed portrait, +speedily and sufficiently avenged the painter of their fastidiousness. + + + + +ARDEMANS AND BOCANEGRA--A TRIAL OF SKILL. + + +These Spanish painters contended in 1689 for the office of Master of the +Works in the Cathedral of Granada. Bocanegra was excessively vain and +overbearing, and boasted his superiority to all the artists of his time; +but Ardemans, though a stranger in Granada, was not to be daunted, and a +trial of skill, "a duel with pencils," was accordingly arranged between +them, which was, that each should paint the other's portrait. Ardemans, +who was then hardly twenty-five years of age, first entered the lists, +and without drawing any outline on the canvas, produced an excellent +likeness of his adversary in less than an hour. Bocanegra, quite daunted +by this feat, and discouraged by the applause accorded to his rival by +the numerous spectators, put off his own exhibition till another day, +and in the end utterly failed in his attempt to transfer the features of +his rival to canvas. His defeat, and the jeers of his former admirers, +so overwhelmed him with mortification, that he died shortly after. + + + + +A PAINTER'S ARTIFICE TO "KEEP UP APPEARANCES." + + +The Spanish painter Antonio Pereda married Dona Maria de Bustamente, a +woman of some rank, and greater pretension, who would associate only +with people of high fashion, and insisted on having a duenna in constant +waiting in her antechamber, like a lady of quality. Pereda was not rich +enough to maintain such an attendant; he therefore compromised matters +by painting on a screen an old lady sitting at her needle, with +spectacles on her nose, and so truthfully executed that visitors were +wont to salute her as they passed, taking her for a real duenna, too +deaf or too discreet to notice their entrance! + + + + +A GOOD-NATURED CRITICISM. + + +Bartolomeo Carducci, who was employed in the service of the Spanish +court for many years, was expressing one day his admiration of a newly +finished picture by a brother artist, when one of his own scholars drew +his attention to a badly executed foot. "I did not observe it," replied +he, "it is so concealed by the difficult excellence of this bosom and +these hands"--a piece of kindly criticism that deserves to be recorded. + + + + +ALONSO CANO AND THE INTENDANT OF THE BISHOP OF MALAGA. + + +The Bishop of Malaga, being engaged in improving his Cathedral church, +invited Cano to that city, for the purpose of designing a new tabernacle +for the high altar, and new stalls for the choir. He had finished his +plans, very much to the prelate's satisfaction, when he was privately +informed that the Intendant of the works proposed to allow him but a +very trifling remuneration. "These drawings," said Cano, "are either to +be given away, or to fetch 2,000 ducats;" and packing them up, he +mounted his mule, and took the road to Granada. The niggardly Intendant, +learning the cause of his departure, became alarmed, and sent a +messenger after him post-haste, offering him his own price for the +plans! + + + + +CANO'S LOVE OF SCULPTURE. + + +Skillful as Cano was with the pencil, he loved the chisel above all his +other artistic implements. He was so fond of sculpture that, when +wearied with painting, he would take his tools, and block out a piece of +carving. A disciple one day remarking that to lay down a pencil and take +up a mallet, was a strange method of repose, he replied, "Blockhead! +don't you see that to create form and relief on a flat surface, is a +greater labor than to fashion one shape into another?" + + + + +CASTILLO'S SARCASM ON ALFARO. + + +Juan de Alfaro first studied under Antonio del Castillo at Seville, and +subsequently in the school of Velasquez at Madrid. After his return to +Seville, he was wont to plume himself upon the knowledge of art which he +had acquired in the school of that great painter; and he also signed all +his pictures in a conspicuous manner, "_Alfaro, pinxit_." This was too +much for Castillo, and he accordingly inscribed his Baptism of St. +Francis, executed for the Capuchin convent, where his juvenile rival was +likewise employed, "_Non pinxit Alfaro_." Years after, Palomino became +sufficiently intimate with Alfaro, to ask him what he thought of +Castillo's sarcastic inscription. "I think," replied the unabashed +object of the jest, "that it was a great honor for me, who was then a +beardless boy, to be treated as a rival by so able an artist." + + + + +TORRES' IMITATIONS OF CARAVAGGIO. + + +Matias de Torres, a Spanish painter, affected the style of Caravaggio. +His compositions were half veiled in thick impenetrable shadows, which +concealed the design, and sometimes left the subject a mystery. +Francisco de Solis was standing before one of them, in the church of +Victory at Madrid, representing a scene from the life of St. Diego, and +was asked to explain the subject depicted. "It represents," said the +witty painter, "_San Brazo_," St. Arm, nothing being distinguished but +the arm of a mendicant in the background. + + + + +PANTOJA AND THE EAGLE. + + +Palomino relates that a superb eagle, of the bearded kind, having been +captured in the royal chase, near the Prado, the king (Philip III.) gave +orders to Pantoja to paint its likeness, which he did with such +truthfulness that the royal bird, on seeing it, mistook it for a real +eagle, and attacked the picture with such impetuosity that he tore it in +pieces with his beak and talons before they could secure him. The +indignant bird was then tied more carefully, and the portrait painted +over again. + + + + +THE PAINTER METHODIUS AND THE KING OF BULGARIA. + + +Pacheco relates a remarkable effect produced by a picture from the +pencil of Methodius, who resided at Constantinople about 854. He was +invited to Nicopolis by Bogoris, king of the Bulgarians, to decorate a +banqueting-hall in his palace. That prince left the choice of his +subject to the artist, limiting him to those of a tragic or terrible +character. The sister of Bogoris, during a long captivity at +Constantinople, had become a convert to the Greek church, and greatly +desired that her brother should renounce paganism; therefore it was +probably at her instance, in this case, that Methodius painted the Last +Judgment. He succeeded in depicting the glories of the blessed and the +pains of the damned in such a fearful manner, that the heathen king was +induced in his terror to send for a Bishop, and signify his willingness +to unite with the Greek church; and the whole Bulgarian nation soon +followed his example. + + + + +JOHN C. VERMEYEN AND CHARLES V. + + +This Dutch painter was invited to Spain by Charles V., and accompanied +that monarch on his expedition to Tunis, of which he preserved some +scenes that were afterwards transferred to Brussels tapestries. He +followed the court for many years, and exercised his art with honor and +profit, in portrait, landscape, and sacred subjects. The palace of the +Prado was adorned with a number of his works, particularly eight +pictures representing the Imperial progresses in Germany, and Views of +Madrid, Valladolid, Naples, and London; all of which perished in the +fire of 1608. Vermeyen was an especial favorite of Charles V., who +ordered his bust to be executed in marble, "for the sake of the gravity +and nobleness of his countenance." He was very remarkable for his long +beard, which gained him the surname of _El Barbudo_ or _Barbalonga_. In +fact, so very lengthy was this beard, that Descamps says the Emperor in +his playful moods used to amuse himself by treading on it, as it trailed +on the ground! + + + + +BLAS DE PRADO AND THE EMPEROR OF MOROCCO. + + +In 1593 the Emperor of Morocco applied to Philip II. for the loan of a +painter, to which the latter made answer that they had in Spain two +sorts of painters--the ordinary and the excellent--and desired to know +which his infidel brother preferred. "Kings should always have the +best," replied the Moor; and so Philip sent him Blas de Prado to Fez. +There he painted various works for the palace, and a portrait of the +monarch's daughter, to the great satisfaction of her father. After +keeping the artist several years in his service, the emperor finally +sent him away, with many rich gifts; and he returned to Castile with +considerable wealth. The Academy of San Ferdinando possesses a fine work +by him, representing the Virgin and Infant seated in the clouds. + + + + +DON JUAN CARRENO + + +This Spanish painter was a favorite with King Charles II. He was +painting his Majesty's portrait one day in the presence of the Queen +mother, when the royal sitter asked him to which of the knightly orders +he belonged. "To none," replied the artist, "but the order of your +Majesty's servants." "Why is this?" said Charles. The Admiral of +Castile, who was standing by, replied that he should have a cross +immediately; and on leaving the royal presence, he sent Carreno a rich +badge of Santiago, assuring him that what the king had said entitled him +to wear it. Palomino says, however, that the artist's modesty prevented +him from accepting the proffered honor. His royal master continued to +treat him with unabated regard, and would allow no artist to paint him +without Carreno's permission. + + + + +CARRENO'S COPY OF TITIAN'S ST. MARGARET. + + +Palomino was one day in company with Carreno at the house of Don Pedro +de Arce, when a discussion arose about the merits of a certain copy of +Titian's St. Margaret, which hung in the room After all present had +voted it execrable, Carreno quietly remarked, "It at least has the merit +of showing that no man need despair of improving in art, for I painted +it myself when I was a beginner." + + + + +CARRENO'S ABSTRACTION OF MIND. + + +Being at his easel one morning with two friends, one of them, for a +jest, drank the cup of chocolate which stood untasted by his side. The +maid-servant removing the cup, Carreno remonstrated, saying that he had +not breakfasted, and on being shown that the contents were gone, +appealed to the visitors. Being gravely assured by them that he had +actually emptied the cup with his own lips, he replied, like Newton, +"Well really, I was so busy that I had entirely forgotten it." + + + + +ANECDOTE OF CESPEDES' LAST SUPPER. + + +The Cathedral of Cordova still possesses his famous Supper, but in so +faded and ruinous a condition that it is impossible to judge fairly of +its merits. Palomino extols the dignity and beauty of the Saviour's +head, and the masterly discrimination of character displayed in those of +the apostles. Of the jars and vases standing in the foreground, it is +related that while the picture was on the easel, these accessories +attracted, by their exquisite finish, the attention of some visitors, to +the exclusion of the higher parts of the composition, to the great +disgust of the artist. "Andres!" cried he, somewhat testily, to his +servant, "rub out these things, since after all my care and study, and +amongst so many heads, figures, hands, and expressions, people choose to +see nothing but these impertinences;" and much persuasion and entreaty +were needed to save the devoted pipkins from destruction. + + + + +ZUCCARO'S COMPLIMENT TO CESPEDES. + + +The reputation which the Spanish painter Cespedes enjoyed among his +cotemporaries, is proved by an anecdote of Federigo Zuccaro. On being +requested to paint a picture of St. Margaret for the Cathedral of +Cordova, he for some time refused to comply, asking, "Where is Cespedes, +that you send to Italy for pictures?" + + + + +DONA BARBARA MARIA DE HUEVA. + + +Dona Barbara Maria de Hueva was born at Madrid in 1733. Before she had +reached her twentieth year, according to Bermudez, she had acquired so +much skill in painting, that at the first meeting of the Academy of St. +Ferdinand in 1752, on the exhibition of some of her sketches, she was +immediately elected an honorary academician, and received the first +diploma issued under the royal charter. "This proud distinction," said +the president, "is conferred in the hope that the fair artist may be +encouraged to rival the fame of those ladies already illustrious in +art." How far this hope was realized, Bermudez has omitted to inform us. + + + + +THE MIRACULOUS PICTURE OF THE VIRGIN. + + +The eminent American sculptor Greenough, who has recently (1853) +departed this life, wrote several years ago a very interesting account +of a wonderful picture at Florence, from which the following is +extracted: + +"When you enter the church of Santissima Annunziata, at Florence, your +attention is drawn at once to a sort of miniature temple on the left +hand. It is of white marble; but the glare and flash of crimson hangings +and silver lamps scarcely allow your eye the quiet necessary to +appreciate either form or material. A picture hangs there. It is the +_Miraculous Annunciation_. The artist who was employed to paint it, had +finished all except the head of the Virgin Mary, and fell asleep before +the easel while the work was in that condition. On awakening, he beheld +the picture finished; and the short time which had elapsed, and his own +position relative to the canvas, made it clear (so says the tradition) +that a divine hand had completed a task which, to say the least, a +mortal could only attempt with despair. + +"Less than this has made many pictures in Italy the objects of +attentions which our Puritan fathers condemned as idolatrous. The +miraculous 'Annunziata' became, accordingly, the divinity of a splendid +shrine. The fame of her interposition spread far and wide, and her +tabernacle was filled with the costly offerings of the devout, the showy +tributes of the zealous. The prince gave of his abundance, nor was the +widow's mite refused; and to this day the reputation of this shrine +stands untouched among all papal devotees. + +"The Santissima Annunziata is always veiled, unless her interposition is +urgently demanded by the apprehension of famine, plague, cholera, or +some other public calamity. During my own residence at Florence, I have +never known the miraculous picture to be uncovered during a drought, +without the desired result immediately following. In cases of long +continued rains, its intervention has been equally happy. I have heard +several persons, rather inclined to skepticism as to the miraculous +qualities of the picture, hint that the _barometer_ was consulted on +these occasions; else, say they, why was not the picture uncovered +before the mischief had gone so far? What an idea is suggested by the +bare hint! + +"I stood on the pavement of the church, with an old man who had himself +been educated as a priest. He had a talent for drawing, and became a +painter. As a practical painter, he was mediocre; but he was learned in +everything relating to art. He gradually sank from history to portrait, +from portrait to miniature, from miniature to restoration; and had the +grim satisfaction, in his old age, of mending what in his best days he +never could make--good pictures. When I knew him, he was one of the +conservators of the Royal Gallery. He led me before the shrine, and +whispered, with much veneration, the story I have related of its origin. +When I had gazed long at the picture, I turned to speak to him, but he +had left the church. As I walked through the vestibule, however, I saw +him standing near one of the pillars that adorn the facade. He was +evidently waiting for me. Me-thinks I see him now, with his face of +seventy and his dress of twenty-five, his bright black wig, his velvet +waistcoat, and glittering gold chain--his snuff-box in his hand, and a +latent twinkle in his black eyes. 'What is really remarkable in that +miraculous picture,' said he, taking me by the button, and forcing me to +bend till his mouth and my ear were exactly on a line--'What is really +remarkable about it is, that the angel who painted that Virgin, so +completely adopted the style of that epoch! Same angular, incorrect +outline! Same opaque shadows! eh? eh?' He took a pinch, and wishing me a +good appetite, turned up the Via S. Sebastiano." + + + + +THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER. + + +"La Festra di Cattreda, or commemoration of the placing of the chair of +St. Peter, on the 18th of January, is one of the most striking +ceremonies, at Rome, which follow Christmas and precede the holy week. +At the extremity of the great nave of St. Peter's, behind the high +altar, and mounted upon a tribune designed or ornamented by Michael +Angelo, stands a sort of throne, composed of precious materials, and +supported by four gigantic figures. A glory of seraphim, with groups of +angels, shed a brilliant light upon its splendors. This throne enshrines +the real, plain, worm-eaten wooden chair, on which St. Peter, the prince +of the apostles, is said to have pontificated; more precious than all +the bronze, gold, and gems with which it is hidden, not only from +impious, but holy eyes, and which once only, in the flight of ages, was +profaned by mortal inspection. + +"The sacrilegious curiosity of the French, however, broke through all +obstacles to their seeing the chair of St. Peter. They actually removed +its superb casket, and discovered the relic. Upon its mouldering and +dusty surface were traced carvings, which bore the appearance of +letters. The chair was quickly brought into a better light, the dust and +cobwebs removed, and the inscription (for an inscription it was), +faithfully copied. The writing is in Arabic characters, and is the well +known confession of Mahometan faith--'There is but one God, and Mahomet +is his prophet.' It is supposed that this chair had been, among the +spoils of the Crusaders, offered to the church at a time when a taste +for antiquarian lore, and the deciphering of inscriptions, were not yet +in fashion. The story has been since hushed up, the chair replaced, and +none but the unhallowed remember the fact, and none but the audacious +repeat it. Yet such there are, even at Rome!"--_Ireland's Anecdotes of +Napoleon._ + + + + +THE SAGRO CATINO, OR EMERALD DISH. + + +"The church of St. Lorenzo, at Genoa, is celebrated for containing a +most sacred relic, the 'Sagro Catino,' a dish of one entire and perfect +_emerald_, said to be that on which our Saviour ate his last supper. +Such a dish in the house of a Jewish publican was a miracle in itself. +Mr. Eustace says, he looked for this dish, but found that the French, +'whose delight is brutal violence, as it is that of the lion or the +tiger,' had carried it away. And so indeed they did. But that was +nothing. The carrying off relics--the robbing of Peter to pay Paul, and +spoliating one church to enrich another--was an old trick of legitimate +conquerors in all ages; for this very '_dish_' had been carried away by +the royal crusaders, when they took _Cesarea_ in Palestine, under +_Guillaume Embriaco_, in the twelfth century. In the division of spoils, +this emerald fell to the share of the _Genoese Crusaders_, into whose +holy vocation some of their old trading propensities evidently entered; +and they deemed the vulgar value, the profane price, of this treasure, +so high, that on an emergency, they pledged it for nine thousand five +hundred livres. Redeemed and replaced, it was guarded by the _knights of +honor_ called _Clavigeri_; and only escaped once a year! Millions knelt +before it, and the penalty on the bold but zealous hand that touched it +with a diamond, was a thousand golden ducats." + +The French seized this relic, as the crusaders had done in the twelfth +century; but instead of conveying it from the church of San Lorenzo to +the abbey of St. Denis (_selon les regles_), they most sacrilegiously +sent it to a _laboratory_. Instead of submitting it, with a traditional +story, to a _council of Trent_, they handed it over to the _institute of +Paris_; and chemists, geologists, and philosophers, were called on to +decide the fate of that relic which bishops, priests and deacons had +pronounced to be too sacred for human investigation, or even for human +touch. _The result of the scientific investigation was, that the emerald +dish was a piece of green glass!_ + +When England made the King of Sardinia a present of the dukedom of one +of the oldest republics in Europe, and restitutions were making "_de +part et d'autre_;" _Victor Emmanuel_ insisted upon having his emerald +dish; not for the purpose of putting it in a cabinet of curiosities, as +they had done at Paris, to serve as a curious monument of the remote +epoch in which the art of making colored glass was known--(of its great +antiquity there is no doubt)--but of restoring it to its shrine at San +Lorenzo--to its guard of knights servitors--to the homage, offerings, +and bigotry of the people! with a republished assurance that this is the +invaluable _emerald dish_, the '_Sagro Catino_,' which _Queen Sheba_ +offered, with other gems, to King Solomon (who deposited it, where all +gems should be, in his church), and which afterwards was reserved for a +higher destiny than even that assigned to it in the gorgeous temple of +Jerusalem. The story of the analysis by the institute of Paris is hushed +up, and those who would revive it would be branded with the odium of +blasphemy and sedition; none now remember such things, but those who are +the determined enemies of social order, or as the Genoese Royal Journal +would call them, '_the radicals of the age_.'--_Italy, by Lady +Morning_. + + + + +"THE PAINTER OF FLORENCE." + + +There is an old painting in the church of the Holy Virgin at Florence, +representing the Virgin with the infant Jesus in her arms, trampling the +dragon under her feet, about which is the following curious legend, thus +humorously described by Southey, in the Annals of the Fine Arts: + + There once was a Painter in Catholic days, + Like Job who eschewed all evil, + Still on his Madonnas the curious may gaze + With applause and amazement; but chiefly his praise + And delight was in painting the devil. + + They were angels compared to the devils he drew, + Who besieged poor St. Anthony's cell, + Such burning hot eyes, such a _d----mnable_ hue, + You could even smell brimstone, their breath was so blue + He painted his devils so well. + + And now had the artist a picture begun, + 'Twas over the Virgin's church door; + She stood on the dragon embracing her son, + Many devils already the artist had done, + But this must outdo all before. + + The old dragon's imps as they fled through the air, + At seeing it paused on the wing, + For he had a likeness so just to a hair, + That they came as Apollyon himself had been there, + To pay their respects to their king. + + Every child on beholding it, shivered with dread, + And screamed, as he turned away quick; + Not an old woman saw it, but raising her head, + Dropp'd a bead, made a cross on her wrinkles, and said, + "God help me from ugly old Nick!" + + What the Painter so earnestly thought on by day, + He sometimes would dream of by night; + But once he was started as sleeping he lay, + 'Twas no fancy, no dream--he could plainly survey + That the devil himself was in sight. + + "You rascally dauber," old Beelzebub cries, + "Take heed how you wrong me, again! + Though your caricatures for myself I despise, + Make me handsomer now in the multitude's eyes, + Or see if I threaten in vain." + + Now the painter was bold and religious beside, + And on faith he had certain reliance, + So earnestly he all his countenance eyed, + And thanked him for sitting with Catholic pride, + And sturdily bid him defiance. + + Betimes in the morning, the Painter arose, + He is ready as soon as 'tis light; + Every look, every line, every feature he knows, + 'Twas fresh to his eye, to his labor he goes, + And he has the wicked old one quite. + + Happy man, he is sure the resemblance can't fail, + The tip of his nose is red hot, + There's his grin and his fangs, his skin cover'd with scales + And that--the identical curl of the tail, + Not a mark--not a claw is forgot. + + He looks and retouches again with delight; + 'Tis a portrait complete to his mind! + He touches again, and again feeds his sight, + He looks around for applause, and he sees with affright, + The original standing behind. + + "Fool! idiot!" old Beelzebub grinned as he spoke, + And stamp'd on the scaffold in ire; + The painter grew pale, for he knew it no joke, + 'Twas a terrible height, and the scaffolding broke; + And the devil could wish it no higher. + + "Help! help me, O Mary," he cried in alarm, + As the scaffold sank under his feet, + From the canvas the Virgin extended her arm, + She caught the good painter, she saved him from harm, + There were thousands who saw in the street. + + The old dragon fled when the wonder he spied, + And curs'd his own fruitless endeavor: + While the Painter called after, his rage to deride, + Shook his palette and brushes in triumph, and cried, + "Now I'll paint thee more ugly than ever!" + + + + +LEGEND OF THE PAINTER-FRIAR, THE DEVIL AND THE VIRGIN. + + +Don Jose de Valdivielso, one of the chaplains of the gay Cardinal Infant +Ferdinand of Austria, relates the following legend in his paper on the +Tax on Pictures, appended to Carducho's Dialogos de la Pintura. A +certain young friar was famous amongst his order, for his skill in +painting; and he took peculiar delight in drawing the Virgin and the +Devil. To heighten the divine beauty of the one, and to devise new and +extravagant forms of ugliness for the other, were the chief recreations +for his leisure hours. Vexed at last by the variety and vigor of his +sketches, Beelzebub, to be revenged, assumed the form of a lovely +maiden, and crossed under this guise the path of the friar, who being of +an amorous disposition, fell at once into the trap. The seeming damsel +smiled on her shaven wooer, but though nothing loth to be won, would not +surrender her charms at a less price than certain reliquaries and jewels +in the convent treasury--a price which the friar in an evil hour +consented to pay. He admitted her at midnight within the convent walls, +and leading her to the sacristy, took from its antique cabinet the +things for which she had asked. Then came the moment of vengeance. +Passing in their return through the moonlit cloister as the friar stole +along, embracing the booty with one arm, and his false Duessa with the +other, the demon-lady suddenly cried out "Thieves!" with diabolical +energy, and instantly vanished. The snoring monks rushed disordered from +their cells and detected their unlucky brother making off with their +plate. Excuse being impossible, they tied the culprit to a column, and +leaving him till matins, when his punishment was to be determined, went +back to their slumbers. When all was quiet, the Devil reappeared, but +this time in his most hideous shape. Half dead with cold and terror, the +discomfited caricaturist stood shivering at his column, while his +tormentor made unmercifully merry with him; twitting him with his +amorous overtures, mocking his stammered prayers, and irreverently +suggesting an appeal for aid to the beauty he so loved to delineate. The +penitent wretch at last took the advice thus jeeringly given--when lo! +the Virgin descended, radiant in heavenly loveliness, loosened his +cords, and bade him bind the Evil One to the column in his place--an +order which he obeyed through her strength, with no less alacrity than +astonishment. She further ordered him to appear among the other monks at +table, and charged herself with the task of restoring the stolen plate +to its place. Thus the tables were suddenly turned. The friar presented +himself among his brethren in the morning, to their no small +astonishment, and voted with much contrition for his own condemnation--a +sentence which was reversed when they came to examine the contents of +the sacristy, and found everything correct. As to the Devil, who +remained fast bound to the pillar, he was soundly flogged, and so fell +into the pit which he had digged for another. His dupe, on the other +hand, gathered new strength from his fall, and became not only a wiser +and a better man, but also an abler artist; for the experience of that +terrible night had supplied all that was wanting to complete the ideal +of his favorite subjects. Thenceforth, he followed no more after +enticing damsels, but remained in his cloister, painting the Madonna +more serenely beautiful, and the Arch Enemy more curiously appalling +than ever. + + + + +GERARD DOUW. + + +This extraordinary artist was born at Leyden, in 1613. He was the son of +a glazier, and early exhibited a passion for the fine arts, which his +father encouraged. He received his first instruction in drawing from +Dolendo, the engraver. He was afterwards placed with Peter Kowenhoorn, +to learn the trade of a glass-stainer or painter; but disliking this +business, he became the pupil of Rembrandt when only fifteen years of +age, in whose school be continued three years. From Rembrandt he learned +the true principles of coloring, to which he added a delicacy of +pencilling, and a patience in working up his pictures to the highest +degree of neatness and finish, superior to any other master. He was more +pleased with the earlier and more finished works of Rembrandt, than with +his later productions, executed with more boldness and freedom of +pencilling; he therefore conceived the project of combining the rich and +glowing colors of that master with the polish and suavity of extreme +finishing, and he adopted the method of uniting the powerful tunes and +the magical light and shadow of his instructor with a minuteness and +precision of pencilling that so nearly approached nature as to become +perfect illusion. But though his manner appears so totally different +from that of Rembrandt, yet it was to him he owed that excellence of +coloring which enabled him to triumph over all the artists of his time. +His pictures are usually of small size, with figures so exquisitely +touched, and with a coloring so harmonious, transparent, and delicate, +as to excite the astonishment and admiration of the beholder. Although +his pictures are wrought up beyond the works of any other artist, there +is still discoverable a spirited and characteristic touch that evinces +the hand of a consummate master, and a breadth of light and shadow which +is only to be found in the works of the greatest masters of the art of +chiaro-scuro. The fame acquired by Douw is a crowning proof that +excellence is not confined to any particular style or manner, and had +he attempted to arrive at distinction by a bolder and less finished +pencil, it is highly probable that his fame would not have been so +great. It has been truly said that there are no positive rules by which +genius must be bounded to arrive at excellence. Every intermediate +style, from the grand and daring handling of Michael Angelo to the +laborious and patient finishing of Douw, may conduct the painter to +distinction, provided he adapts his manner to the character of the +subjects he treats. + + + + +DOUW'S STYLE. + + +Douw designed everything from nature, and with such exactness that each +object appears as perfect as nature herself. He was incontestibly the +most wonderful in his finishing of all the Flemish masters, although the +number of artists of that school who have excelled in this particular +style are quite large. The pictures he first painted were portraits, and +he wrought by the aid of a concave mirror, and sometimes by looking at +the object through a frame of many squares of small silk thread. He +spent so much time in these works that, notwithstanding they were +extremely admired, his sitters became disgusted, and he was obliged to +abandon portrait painting entirely, and devote his attention to fancy +subjects, in the execution of which he could devote as much time as he +pleased. This will not appear surprising, when Sandrart informs us that, +on one occasion, in company with Peter de Laer, he visited Douw, and +found him at work on a picture, which they could not forbear admiring +for its extraordinary neatness, and on taking particular notice of a +broom, and expressing their surprise that he could devote so much time +in finishing so minute an object, Douw informed them that he should work +on it three days more before he should think it complete. The same +author also says that in a family picture of Mrs. Spiering, that lady +sat five days for the finishing of one of her hands, supporting it on +the arm of a chair. + + + + +DOUW'S METHOD OF PAINTING. + + +His mind was naturally turned to precision and exactness, and it is +evident that he would have shown this quality in any other profession, +had he practiced another. Methodical and regular in all his habits, he +prepared and ground his own colors, and made his own brushes of a +peculiar shape, and he kept them locked up in a case made for the +purpose, that they might be free from soil. He permitted no one to enter +his studio, save a very few friends, and when he entered himself, he +went as softly as he could tread, so as not to raise the dust, and after +taking his seat, waited some time till the air was settled before he +opened his box and went to work; scarcely a breath of air was allowed to +ventilate his painting-room. + + + + +DOUW'S WORKS. + + +Everything that came from his pencil was precious, even in his +life-time. Houbraken says that his great patron, Mr. Spiering the +banker, allowed him one thousand guilders a year, and paid besides +whatever sum he pleased to ask for his pictures, some of which he +purchased for their weight in silver; but Sandrart informs us, with more +probability, that the thousand guilders were paid to Douw by Spiering on +condition that the artist should give him the choice of all the pictures +he painted. The following description of one of Gerhard's most capital +pictures, for a long time in the possession of the family of Van Hoek, +at Amsterdam, will serve to give a good idea of his method of treating +his subjects. The picture is much larger than his usual size, being +three feet long by two feet six inches wide, inside the frame. The room +is divided into two apartments by a curtain of curiously wrought +tapestry. In one apartment sits a woman giving suck to her child; at her +side is a cradle, and a table covered with tapestry, on which is placed +a gilt lamp which lights the room. In the second apartment is a surgeon +performing an operation upon a countryman, and by his side stands a +woman holding some utensils. The folding doors on one side shows a +study, and a man making a pen by candle light; and on the other, a +school, with boys writing, and sitting at different tables. The whole +is lighted in an agreeable and surprising manner; every object is +expressed with beauty and astonishing force. Nor does the subject appear +too crowded, for it was one of his peculiar talents to show, in a small +compass, more than other painters could do in a much larger space. His +pictures are generally confined to a few figures, and sometimes to a +single one, and when he attempted larger compositions, he was generally +less successful. The works of this artist are not numerous, from the +immense labor and time he bestowed upon a single one; and from this +circumstance, and the estimation in which they are held by the curious +collectors, they have ever commanded enormous prices. They were always +particularly admired in France, in the days of Napoleon, there were no +less than seventeen of his pictures gathered into the Louvre, most of +which were, after his downfall, restored to their original proprietors, +among which was the famous Dropsical Woman, from the collection of the +King of Sardinia. At Turin, are several pictures by Douw, the most +famous of which is the one just named--the Dropsical Woman, attended by +her physician, who is examining an urinal. This picture is wonderfully +true to nature, and each particular hair and pore of the skin is +represented. In the gallery at Florence is one of his pictures, +representing an interior by candle-light, with a mountebank, surrounded +by a number of clowns, which is exquisitely finished. The great fame of +Gerhard Douw, and the eager desire for his works, have given rise to +numerous counterfeits. We may safely say that there is not an original +picture by this artist in the United States. Douw died, very rich, in +1674. + + + + +ALBERT DURER. + + +This extraordinary artist was born at Nuremberg in 1471. His father was +a skillful goldsmith, from Hungary, and taught his son the first +rudiments of design, intending him for his own profession; but his early +and decided inclination for the arts and sciences induced him to permit +young Durer to follow the bent of his genius. He received his first +instruction in painting and engraving from Martin Hapse. When he had +reached the age of fourteen, it was his father's intention to have +placed him under the instruction of Martin Schoen, of Colmar, the most +distinguished artist of his time in Germany, but the death of the latter +happening about that time, he became a pupil of Michael Wolgemut, in +1486, the first artist then in Nuremberg, with whom he studied +diligently four years. He also cultivated the study of perspective, the +mathematics, and architecture, in all of which he acquired a profound +knowledge. Having finished his studies, he commenced his travels in +1490, and spent four years in traveling through Germany, the +Netherlands, and the adjacent counties and provinces. On his return to +Nuremberg, in 1494, he ventured to exhibit his works to the public, +which immediately attracted great attention. His first work was a piece +of the Three Graces, represented by as many female figures, with a globe +over their heads. He soon after executed one of his masterpieces, a +drawing of Orpheus. About this time, to please his father, as it is +said, he married the daughter of Hans Fritz, a celebrated mechanic, who +proved a fierce Xantippe, and embittered, and some say shortened his +life. In 1506, he went to Venice to improve himself, where his abilities +excited envy and admiration. Here he painted the Martyrdom of St. +Bartholomew for the church of S. Marco, which was afterwards purchased +by the Emperor Rodolphus, and removed to Prague. He also went to +Bologna, and returned home in 1507. This journey to Italy had no effect +whatever upon his style, though doubtless he obtained much information +that was valuable to him, for at this period commenced the proper era of +his greatness. + + + + +DURER'S WORKS AS A PAINTER. + + +Though Durer was most famous as an engraver, yet he executed many large +paintings, which occupy a distinguished place in the royal collections +of Germany, and other European countries. In the imperial collection at +Munich are some of the most celebrated, as Adam and Eve, the Adoration +of the Magi, the Crucifixion--a grand composition--the Crowning of the +Virgin, the Battle between Alexander and Darius, and many other great +works. Durer painted the Wise Men's Offering, two pictures of the +Passion of Christ, and an Assumption of the Virgin, for a monastery of +Frankfort, which proved a source of income to the monks, from the +presents they received for exhibiting them. The people of Nuremberg +still preserve, in the Town Hall, his portraits of Charlemagne and some +Emperors of the House of Austria, with the Twelve Apostles, whose +drapery is remarkable for being modern German, instead of Oriental. He +sent his own portrait to Raffaelle, painted on canvas, without any +coloring or touch of the pencil, only heightened with shades and white, +yet exhibiting such strength and elegance that the great artist to whom +it was presented expressed the greatest surprise at the sight of it. +This piece, after the death of Raffaelle, fell into the possession of +Giulio Romano, who placed it among the curiosities of the palace of +Mantua. Besides the pictures already mentioned, there is by him an Ecce +Homo at Venice, his own portrait, and two pictures representing St. +James and St. Philip, and an Adam and Eve in the Florentine Gallery. +There are also some of his works in the Louvre, and in the royal +collections in England. As a painter, it has been observed of Durer that +he studied nature only in her unadorned state, without attending to +those graces which study and art might have afforded him; but his +imagination was lively, his composition grand, and his pencil delicate. +He finished his works with exact neatness, and he was particularly +excellent in his Madonnas, though he encumbered them with heavy +draperies. He surpassed all the painters of his own country, yet he did +not avoid their defects--such as dryness and formality of outline, the +want of a just degradation of the tints, an expression without +agreeableness, and draperies broad in the folds, but stiff in the forms. +He was no observer of the propriety of costume, and paid so little +attention to it that he appears to have preferred to drape his saints +and heroes of antiquity in the costume of his own time and country. +Fuseli observes that "the coloring of Durer went beyond his age, and in +his easel pictures it as far excelled the oil color of Raffaelle in +juice, and breadth, and handling, as Raffaelle excelled him in every +other quality." + + + + +DURER'S WORKS AS AN ENGRAVER. + + +Durer derived most of his fame from his engravings, and he is allowed to +have surpassed every artist of his time in this branch of art. Born in +the infancy of the art, he carried engraving to a perfection that has +hardly been surpassed. When we consider that, without any models worthy +of imitation, he brought engraving to such great perfection, we are +astonished at his genius, and his own resources. Although engraving has +had the advantage and experience of more than three centuries, it would +perhaps be difficult to select a specimen of executive excellence +surpassing his print of St. Jerome, engraved in 1514. He had a perfect +command of the graver, and his works are executed with remarkable +neatness and clearness of stroke; if we do not find in his plates that +boldness and freedom desirable in large historical works, we find in +them everything that can be wished in works more minute and finished, as +were his. To him is attributed the invention of etching; and if he was +not the inventor, he was the first who excelled in the art. He also +invented the method of printing wood-cuts in chiaro-scuro, or with two +blocks. His great mathematical knowledge enabled him to form a regular +system of rules for drawing and painting with geometrical precision. He +had the power of catching the exact expression of the features, and of +delineating all the passions. Although he was well acquainted with the +anatomy of the human figure, and occasionally designed it correctly, his +contours are neither graceful nor pleasing, and his prints are never +entirely divested of the stiff and formal taste that prevailed at the +time, both in his figures and drapery. Such was his reputation, both at +home and abroad, that Marc' Antonio Raimondi counterfeited his Passion +of Christ, and the Life of the Virgin at Venice, and sold them for the +genuine works of Durer. The latter, hearing of the fraud, was so +exasperated that he set out for Venice, where he complained to the +government of the wrong that had been done him by the plagiarist, but he +could obtain no other satisfaction than a decree prohibiting Raimondi +from affixing Durer's monogram or signatures to these copies in future. +Vasari says that when the prints of Durer were first brought into Italy, +they incited the painters there to elevate themselves in that branch of +art, and to make his works their models. + + + + +DURER'S FAME AND DEATH. + + +The fame of Durer spread far and wide in his life-time. The Emperor +Maximillian I. had a great esteem for him, and appointed him his court +painter, with a liberal pension, and conferred on him letters of +nobility; Charles V., his successor, confirmed him in his office, +bestowing upon him at the same time the painter's coat of arms, viz., +three escutcheons, argent, in a deep azure field. Ferdinand, King of +Hungary, also bestowed upon him marked favors and liberality. Durer was +in favor with high and low. All the artists and learned men of his time +honored and loved him, and his early death in 1528 was universally +lamented. + + + + +DURER'S HABITS AND LITERARY WORKS. + + +Durer always lived in a frugal manner, without the least ostentation for +the distinguished favors heaped upon him. He applied himself to his +profession with the most constant and untiring industry, which, together +with his great knowledge, great facility of mechanical execution, and a +remarkable talent for imitation, enabled him to rise to such +distinction, and to exert so powerful an influence on German art for a +great length of time. He was the first artist in Germany who practiced +and taught the rules of perspective, and of the proportions of the human +figure, according to mathematical principles. His treatise on +proportions is said to have resulted from his studies of his picture of +Adam and Eve. His principal works are _De Symmetria partium in rectis +formis humanorum corporum_, printed at Nuremberg in 1532; and _De +Verieitate Figurarum, et flexuris partium, et Gestibus Imaginum_; 1534. +These works were written in German, and after Durer's death translated +into Latin. The figures illustrating the subjects were executed by +Durer, on wood, in an admirable manner. Durer had also much merit as a +miscellaneous writer, and labored to purify and elevate the German +language, in which he was assisted by his friend, W. Pirkheimer. His +works were published in a collected form at Arnheim, in 1603, folio, in +Latin and in French. J. J. Roth wrote a life of Durer, published at +Leipsic in 1791. + + + + +LUDOLPH BACKHUYSEN. + + +This eminent painter was born in 1631. His father intended him for the +mercantile profession, but nature for a marine painter. His passion for +art induced him to neglect his employer's business, with whom his father +had placed him, and to spend his time in drawing, and in frequenting the +studios of the painters at Amsterdam. His fondness for shipping led him +frequently to the port of the city, where he made admirable drawings of +the vessels with a pen, which were much sought after by the collectors, +and were purchased at liberal prices. Several of his drawings were sold +at 100 florins each. This success induced him to paint marine subjects. +His first essays were successful, and his pictures universally admired. +While painting, he would not admit his most intimate friends to his +studio, lest his fancy might be disturbed. He hired fishermen to take +him out to sea in the most tremendous gales, and on landing, he would +run impatiently to his palette to secure the grand impressions of the +views he had just witnessed. He has represented that element in its most +terrible agitation, with a fidelity that intimidates the beholder. His +pictures on these subjects have raised his reputation even higher than +that of W. van de Velde; although the works of the later, which +represent the sea at rest, or in light breezes, are much superior, and +indeed inimitable. His pictures are distinguished for their admirable +perspective, correct drawing, neatness and freedom of touch, and +remarkable facility of execution. For the burgomasters of Amsterdam, he +painted a large picture with a multitude of vessels, and a view of the +city in the distance; for which they gave him 1,300 guilders, and a +handsome present. This picture was presented to the King of France, who +placed it in the Louvre. The King of Prussia visited Backhuysen, and the +Czar Peter took delight in seeing him paint, and often endeavored to +make drawings after vessels which the artist had designed. + + + + +JOHN BAPTIST WEENIX, THE ELDER. + + +This eminent Dutch painter was born at Amsterdam in 1621. He possessed +extraordinary and varied talents. He painted history, portraits, +landscapes, sea-ports, animals, and dead game, in all which branches he +showed uncommon ability; but his greatest excellence lay in painting +Italian sea-ports, of a large size, enriched with noble edifices, and +decorated with figures representing embarkations and all the activity of +commercial industry. In these subjects he has scarcely been surpassed +except by his pupil, Nicholas Berghem. + + + + +WEENIX'S FACILITY OF HAND. + + +Houbraken relates several instances of his remarkable facility of hand. +He frequently painted a large landscape and inserted all the figures in +a single day--feats so much admired in Salvator Rosa, and Gaspar +Ponssin. On one occasion he commenced and finished three portraits, on +canvass, of three-quarters size, with heads as large as life, from +sun-rise to sun-set, on a summer's day. Lanzi warns all artists, +especially the youthful aspirant, not to imitate such expedition, as +they value their reputation. + + + + +JOHN BAPTIST WEENIX, THE YOUNGER. + + +Was the son of the preceding, and born at Amsterdam in 1644. Possessing +less varied talent than his father; he was unrivaled in painting all +sorts of animals, huntings, dead games, birds, flowers, and fruit. He +was appointed Court painter to the Elector Palatine, with a liberal +pension, and decorated his palace at Bernsberg with many of his choicest +works. He painted in one gallery a series of pictures representing the +Hunting of the Stag; and in another the Chase of the Wild Boar, which +gained him the greatest applause. There are many of his best works in +the Dusseldorf Gallery. He painted all kinds of birds and fowls in an +inimitable manner; the soft down of the duck, the glossy plumage of the +pigeon, the splendor of the peacock, the magnificent spread of an +inanimate swan producing a flood of light, and serving as a contrast to +all the objects around it, are so attractive that it is impossible to +contemplate one of his pictures of these subjects without feeling +admiration and delight at the painter's skill in rivaling nature. + + + + +JAN STEEN. + + +The life of this extraordinary artist, if we are to believe his +biographers, is soon told. He was born at Leyden in 1636. He early +exhibited a passion for art, which his father, a wealthy brewer of that +city, endeavored to restrain, and afterwards apprehending that he could +not procure a comfortable subsistence by the exercise of his pencil, +established him in his own business at Delft, where, instead of +attending to his affairs, he gave himself up to dissipation, and soon +squandered his means and ruined his establishment; his indulgent parent, +after repeated attempts to reclaim him, was compelled to abandon him to +his fate. He opened a tavern, which proved more calamitous than the +former undertaking. He gave himself up entirely to reveling and +intoxication, wrought only when his necessities compelled him, and sold +his pictures to satisfy his immediate wants, and often for the most +paltry prices to escape arrest. + + + + +JAN STEEN'S WORKS. + + +The pictures of Jan Steen usually represent merry-makings, and the +frolics and festivities of the ale-house, which he treated with a +characteristic expression of humorous drollery, that compensated for +the vulgarity of his subjects. He sometimes painted interiors, domestic +assemblies, conversations, mountebanks, etc., which he generally +accompanied with some facetious trait of wit or humor, admirably +rendered. Some of his works of this description are little inferior to +the charming productions of Gabriel Metzu. His compositions are +ingenious and interesting, his design is correct and spirited, his +coloring chaste and clear, and his pencil free and decided. He also had +a good knowledge of the chiaro-scuro, which enabled him to give his +figures a fine relief. His works are invariably finished with care and +diligence, and do not betray any haste or infirmity of hand or head. It +is evident that, from some untoward circumstance, his works were not +appreciated in his day, but after his death they rose amazingly in +value, and have continued to increase ever since,--a true test of a +master's merit--till now they are scarcely to be found except in royal +and noble collections and the public galleries of Europe. His pictures +were, for a long time, scarcely known out of Holland, but now they are +deservedly placed in the choicest collections. His works are very +numerous, sufficient to have continually occupied the life time of not +only a sober and industrious artist, but one possessing great facility +of hand. Smith, in his Catalogue raisonne, vol. iv. and Supplement, +gives a descriptive account of upwards of 300 genuine pictures by +Steen, many of them compositions of numerous figures, and almost all of +them executed with the greatest care. It cannot be believed that a man +living in a state of continued dissipation and inebriety, could find +time to produce so many admirable works, displaying, as they do, a deep +study of human nature, and a great discrimination of character, or that +the hand of a habitual drunkard could operate with such beauty and +precision. Nor is it probable that a mind besotted by drink, and debased +by low intercourse, could moralize so admirably as he has done on the +evil consequences of intemperance and the indulgence of evil passions. + + + + +KUGLER'S CRITIQUE ON THE WORKS OF JAN STEEN. + + +Dr Kuegler, a judicious critic, thus sums up his character as an artist: +"The works of Jan Steen imply a free and cheerful view of common life, +and he treats it with a careless humor, such as seems to deal with all +its daily occurrences, high and low, as a laughable masquerade and a +mere scene of perverse absurdity. His treatment of the subjects differed +essentially from that adopted by other artists. Frequently, indeed, they +are the same jolly drinking parties, or the meetings of boors; but in +other masters the object is, for the most part, to depict a certain +situation, either quiet or animated, whilst in Jan Steen is generally to +be found action more or less developed, together with all the +reciprocal relations and interests between the characters which spring +from it. This is accompanied by great variety and force of individual +expression, such as evinces the sharpest observation. He is almost the +only artist in the Netherlands who has thus, with true genius, brought +into full play all these elements of comedy. His technical execution +suits his design; it is carefully finished, and notwithstanding the +closest attention to minute details, it is as firm and correct as it is +light and free." + + + + +FROLICS OF MIERIS AND JAN STEEN. + + +Sandrart says that Mieris had a real friendship for Jan Steen, and +delighted in his company, though he was by no means fond of drinking as +freely as Jan was accustomed to do every evening at the tavern. +Notwithstanding this, he often passed whole nights with his friend in a +joyous manner, and frequently returned very late to his lodging. One +evening, when it was very dark and almost midnight, as Mieris strolled +home from the tavern, he unluckily fell into the common sewer, which had +been opened for the purpose of cleansing, and the workmen had left +unguarded. There he must have perished, had not a cobbler and his wife, +who worked in a neighboring stall, heard his cries and instantly ran to +his relief. Having extricated Mieris, they took all possible care of +him, and procured the best refreshment in their power. The next morning +Mieris, having thanked his preservers, took his leave, but particularly +remarked the house, that he might know it another time. The poor people +were totally ignorant of the person whom they had relieved, but Mieris +had too grateful a heart to forget his benefactors, and having painted a +picture in his best manner, he brought it to the cobbler and his wife, +telling them it was a present from the person whose life they had +contributed to save, and desired them to carry it to his friend +Cornelius Plaats, who would give them the full value for it. The woman, +unacquainted with the real worth of the present, concluded she might +receive a moderate gratuity for the picture, but her astonishment was +inexpressible, when she received the sum of eight hundred florins. + + + + +SIR ANTHONY MORE. + + +This eminent painter was born at Utrecht, in 1519. In 1552, he +accompanied the Cardinal Granville to Spain, who recommended him to the +patronage of the Emperor Charles V., whose portrait he painted, and that +of Prince Philip, which gave so much satisfaction to the monarch, that +he sent him to Portugal, to paint the portraits of King John III., +Catherine of Austria his Queen, and sister to Charles, and that of their +daughter, the Princess Donna Maria, then contracted to Philip; he also +painted the portrait of Donna Catalina, Charles' younger sister; all of +which gave entire satisfaction, and the artist was munificently +rewarded, and the honor of knighthood conferred on him. The Emperor next +despatched More to England to take the portrait of the princess Mary +previous to her marriage with Philip of Spain. On this occasion, he is +said to have employed all the flattering aids of his art, and so +captivated the courtiers of Spain, with the charms of Mary's person, +that he was employed by Cardinal Granville and several of the grandees +to make copies of it for them. He accompanied Philip to England, where +he remained till the death of Queen Mary, who highly honored him, +presented him a gold chain, and allowed him a pension of L100 a year. +The Emperor Charles V. having abdicated in favor of his son Philip II., +the latter returned to Spain, and made More his court-painter, where his +talents procured him great respect and abundant employment. + + + + +SIR ANTHONY MORE AND PHILIP II. + + +Philip II. was accustomed to honor More by frequent visits to his +studio, on which occasions he treated him with extraordinary +familiarity. One day, in a moment of condescension and admiration, the +monarch jocosely slapped More on the shoulder which compliment the +painter, in an unguarded moment, playfully returned by smearing his hand +with a little carmine from his brush. The King withdrew his hand and +surveyed it for a moment, seriously; the courtiers were petrified with +horror and amazement; the hand to which ladies knelt before they had the +honor to kiss it, had never before been so dishonored since the +foundation of the monarchy; at that moment the fate of More was balanced +on a hair; he saw his rashness, fell on his knees, kissed the King's +feet, and humbly begged pardon for the offence. Philip smiled, and +pardoned him, and all seemed to be well again; but the person of the +King was too sacred in those days, and the act too daring to escape the +notice of the Inquisition, from whose bigotry and vengeance the King +himself could not have shielded him. Happily for More, one of Philip's +ministers advised him of his danger, and without loss of time he set out +for Brussels, upon the feigned pretence of pressing engagements, nor +could Philip ever induce him to return to his court. + + + + +MORE'S SUCCESS AND WORKS. + + +More was employed by most of the princes of Europe, who liberally +rewarded him, and at every court his paintings were beheld with +admiration and applause, but at none more than at those of Spain and +England. He acquired an ample fortune. When he was in Portugal, the +nobility of that country, in token of their esteem, presented him, in +the name of their order, a gold chain valued at a thousand ducats. He +closely imitated nature. He designed and painted in a bold, masculine +style, with a rich tone of coloring; he showed a good knowledge of the +chiaro-scuro, and he finished his pictures with neatness and care; his +style is said to resemble that of Hans Holbein, though not possessing +his delicacy and clearness; and there is something dry and hard in his +manner. His talents were not confined to portraits; he painted several +historical subjects in Spain for the Royal Collection, which were highly +applauded, but which were unfortunately destroyed in the conflagration +of the palace of the Prado. While he resided in Spain, he copied some +portraits of illustrious women, in a style said to approach Titian. His +own portrait, painted by himself, charmingly colored, and full of life +and nature, is in the Florentine Gallery. His best work was a picture of +the Circumcision, intended for the Cathedral at Antwerp, but he did not +live to finish it, and died there in 1575. + + + + +PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF A PAINTER. + + +John Griffier, a Dutch painter of celebrity, went to London in 1667, +where he met with great encouragement. While there he painted many views +on the Thames, and in order to observe nature more attentively, he +bought a yacht, embarked his family, and spent his whole time on the +river. After several years he sailed for Holland in his frail craft but +was wrecked in the Texel, where, after eight days of suffering, he and +his family barely escaped with their lives, having lost all his +paintings, and the fruits of his industry. This mishap cured him of his +passion for the sea. + + + + +ANECDOTE OF JOHN DE MABUSE. + + +An amusing anecdote is related of this eminent painter. He was +inordinately given to dissipation, and spent all his money, as fast as +he earned it, in carousing with his boon companions. He was for a long +time in the service of the Marquess de Veren, for whom he executed some +of his most capital works. It happened on one occasion that the Emperor +Charles V. made a visit to the Marquess, who made magnificent +preparations for his reception, and among other things ordered all his +household to be dressed in white damask. When the tailor came to measure +Mabuse, he desired to have the damask, under the pretence of inventing a +singular habit. He sold it immediately, spent the money, and then +painted a paper suit, so like damask that it was not distinguished as he +walked in procession between a philosopher and a poet, other pensioners +of the Marquess; but the joke was too good to be kept, so his friends +betrayed him to the Marquess, who, instead of being displeased was +highly diverted, and asked the Emperor which of the three suits he liked +best. The Emperor pointed to that of Mabuse, as excelling in whiteness +and beauty of the flowers; and when he was told of the painter's +stratagem, he would not believe it, till he had examined it with his own +hands. + + + + +CAPUGNANO AND LIONELLO SPADA. + + +Lanzi relates the following amusing anecdote of Giovanni da Capugnano, +an artist of little merit, but whose assurance enabled him to attract +considerable attention in his day. "Misled by a pleasing self-delusion, +he believed himself born to become a painter; like that ancient +personage, mentioned by Horace, who imagined himself the owner of all +the vessels that arrived in the Athenian port. His chief talent lay in +making crucifixes, to fill up the angles, and in giving a varnish to the +balustrades. Next, he attempted landscape in water-colors, in which were +exhibited the most strange proportions; of houses less than the men; +these last smaller than his sheep; and the sheep again than his birds. +Extolled, however, in his own district, he determined to leave his +native mountains, and figure on a wider theatre at Bologna; there he +opened his house, and requested the Caracci, the only artists he +believed to be more learned than himself, to furnish him with a pupil, +whom he intended to polish in his studio. Lionello Spada, an admirable +wit, accepted this invitation; he went and copied designs, affecting the +utmost obsequiousness towards his master. At length, conceiving it time +to put an end to the jest, he left behind him a most exquisite painting +of Lucretia, and over the entrance of the chamber some fine satirical +octaves, in apparent praise, but real ridicule of Capugnano. His worthy +master only accused Lionello of ingratitude, for having acquired from +him in so short a space the art of painting so beautifully from his +designs; but the Caracci at last acquainted him with the joke, which +acted as a complete antidote to his folly." + + + + +MICHAEL ANGELO DA CARAVAGGIO--HIS QUARRELSOME DISPOSITION. + + +Caravaggio possessed a very irascible and roving disposition. At the +height of his popularity at Rome, he got into a quarrel with one of his +own young friends, in a tennis-court, and struck him dead with a racket, +having been severely wounded himself in the affray. He fled to Naples, +where he executed some of his finest pictures, but he soon got weary of +his residence there, and went to Malta. Here his superb picture of the +Grand Master obtained for him the Cross of Malta, a rich gold chain, +placed on his neck by the Grand Master's own hands, and two slaves to +attend him. All these honors did not prevent the new knight from falling +back into old habits. "_Il suo torbido ingegno_," says Bellori, plunged +him into new difficulties; he fought and wounded a noble cavalier, was +thrown into prison, from which he escaped almost by a miracle, and fled +to Syracuse, where he obtained the favor of the Syracusans by painting a +splendid picture of the Santa Morte, for the church of S. Lucia. In +apprehension of being taken by the Knights of Malta, he soon fled to +Messina, thence to Palermo, and returned to Naples, where hopes were +held out to him of the Pope's pardon. Here he got into a quarrel with +some military men in a public house, was wounded, and took refuge on +board a felucca, about to sail for Rome. Stopping at a small port on the +way, he was arrested by a Spanish guard, by mistake, for another person; +when released, he found the felucca gone, and in it all his property. +Traversing the burning shore, under an almost vertical sun, he was +seized with a brain fever, and continued to wander through the Pontine +Marshes till he arrived at Porto Ercoli, when he expired, aged forty +years. + + + + +JACOPO AMICONI. + + +Giacomo Amiconi, a Venetian painter, went to England, in 1729, where he +was first employed by Lord Tankerville to paint the staircase of his +palace in St. James' Square. He there represented the stories of +Achilles, Telemachus and Tiresias, which gained him great applause. When +he was to be paid, he produced his bills of the workmen for scaffolding, +materials, &c., amounting to L90, and asked no more, saying that he was +content with the opportunity of showing what he could do. The peer, +however, gave him L200 more. This brought him into notice, and he was +much employed by the nobility to decorate their houses. + + + + +PAINTING THE DEAD. + + +Giovanni Baptista Gaulli, called Baciccio, one of the most eminent +Genoese painters, was no less celebrated for portraits than for history. +Pascoli says he painted no less than seven different Pontiffs, besides +many illustrious personages. Possessing great colloquial powers, he +engaged his sitters in the most animated conversation, and thus +transferred their features to his canvas, so full of life and +expression, that they looked as though they were about to speak to the +beholder. He also had a remarkable talent of painting the dead, so as to +obtain an exact resemblance of deceased persons whom he had never seen. +For this purpose, he drew a face at random, afterwards altering it in +every feature, by the advice and under the inspection of those who had +known the original, till he had improved it to a striking likeness. + + + + +TADDEO ZUCCARO. + + +This eminent painter was born at San Angiolo, in the Duchy of Urbino, in +1529. At a very early age he evinced a passion for art and a precocious +genius. After having received instruction from his father, a painter of +little note, his extraordinary enthusiasm induced him, at fourteen years +of age, to go to Rome, without a penny in his pocket, where he passed +the day in designing, from the works of Raffaelle. Such was his poverty, +that he was compelled to sleep under the loggie of the Chigi palace; he +contrived to get money enough barely to supply the wants of nature, by +grinding colors for the shops. Undaunted by difficulties that would have +driven a less devoted lover of the art from the field, he pursued his +studies with undiminished ardor, till his talents and industry attracted +the notice of Daniello da Por, an artist then in repute, who generously +relieved his wants and gave him instruction. From that time he made +rapid progress, and soon acquired a distinguished reputation, but he +died at Rome in 1566, in the prime of life. + + + + +ZUCCARO'S RESENTMENT. + + +Federigo Zuccaro, the brother of Taddeo, was employed by Pope Gregory +XIII. in the Pauline chapel. While proceeding with his work, however, he +fell out with some of the Pope's officers; and conceiving himself +treated with indignity, he painted an allegorical picture of Calumny, +introducing the portraits of all those individuals who had offended him, +decorated with asses' ears. This he caused to be exhibited publicly over +the gate of St. Luke's church, on the festival day of that Saint. His +enemies, upon this, made such complaints that he was forced to fly from +Rome, and passing into France, he visited Flanders and England. As soon +as the pontiff was appeased, he returned to Rome, and completed his work +in the Pauline chapel, fortunate in not losing his head as the price of +such a daring exploit. + + + + +ROYAL CRITICISM. + + +Federigo Zuccaro was invited to Madrid by Philip II. to execute some +frescos in the lower cloister of the Escurial, which, failing to give +satisfaction to his royal patron, were subsequently effaced, and their +place supplied by Pellegrino Tibaldi; the king nevertheless munificently +rewarded him. One day, as he was displaying a picture of the Nativity, +which he had painted for the great altar of the Escurial, for the +inspection of the monarch, he said, "Sire, you now behold all that art +can execute; beyond this which I have done, the powers of painting +cannot go." The king was silent for some time; his countenance betrayed +neither approbation nor contempt; at last, preserving the same +indifference, he quietly asked the painter what _those things_ were in +the basket of one of the shepherds in the act of running? He replied +they were eggs. "It is well then, that he did not break them," said the +king, as he turned on his way--a just rebuke for such fulsome +self-adulation. + + + + +PIETRO DA CORTONA. + + +The name of this illustrious painter and architect was Berrettini, and +he was born at Cortona, near Florence, in 1596. At the age of fourteen +he went to Rome, where he studied the works of Raffaelle and Caravaggio +with the greatest assiduity. It is said that at first he betrayed but +little talent for painting, but his genius burst forth suddenly, to the +astonishment of those companions who had laughed at his incapacity; this +doubtless was owing to his previous thorough course of study. While yet +young, he painted two pictures for the Cardinal Sacchetti, representing +the Rape of the Sabines, and a Battle of Alexander, which gained him so +much celebrity that Pope Urban VIII. commissioned him to paint a chapel +in the church of S. Bibiena, where Ciampelli was employed. The latter at +first regarded with contempt the audacity of so young a man's daring to +attempt so important a public work, but Cortona had no sooner commenced +than Ciampelli's disgust changed to admiration of his abilities. His +success in this performance gained him the celebrated work of the +ceiling of the grand saloon in the Barberini palace, which is considered +one of the greatest productions of the kind ever executed. Cortona was +invited to Florence by the Grand Duke Ferdinand II., to paint the saloon +and four apartments in the Pitti palace, where he represented the +Clemency of Alexander to the family of Darius, the Firmness of Porsena, +the Continence of Cyrus, the History of Massanissa, and other subjects. +While thus employed, the Duke, one day, having expressed his admiration +of a weeping child which he had just painted, Cortona with a single +stroke of his pencil made it appear laughing, and with another restored +it to its former state; "Prince," said he, "you see how easily children +laugh and cry." Disgusted with the intrigues of some artists jealous of +his reputation, he left Florence abruptly, without completing his works, +and the Grand Duke could never persuade him to return. On his return to +Rome, he abounded with commissions, and Pope Alexander VII. honored him +with the order of the Golden Spur. Cortona was also distinguished as an +architect. He made a design for the Palace of the Louvre, which was so +highly approved by Louis XIV. that he sent him his picture richly set in +jewels. Cortona was a laborious artist, and though tormented with the +gout, and in affluent circumstances, he continued to paint till his +death, in 1699. + + + + +"KNOW THYSELF." + + +Mario Ballassi, a Florentine painter born in 1604, studied successively +under Ligozzi, Roselli, and Passignano; he assisted the latter in the +works he executed at Rome for Pope Urban XIII. His chief talent lay in +copying the works of the great masters, which he did to admiration. Don +Taddeo Barberini employed him to copy the Transfiguration of Raffaelle, +for the Church of the Conception, in which he imitated the touch and +expression of the original in so excellent a manner as to excite the +surprise of the best judges at Rome. At the recommendation of the +Cardinal Piccolomini, he was introduced to the Emperor Ferdinand III., +who received him in an honorable manner. Elated with his success, he +vainly imagined that if he could imitate the old masters, he could also +equal them in an original style of his own. He signally failed in the +attempt, which brought him into as much contempt as his former works had +gained him approbation. + + + + +BENVENUTO CELLINI. + + +This eminent sculptor and famous medalist was in high favor with Clement +VII., who took him into his service. During the time of the Spanish +invasion, Cellini asked the Pope for absolution for certain homicides +which "he believed himself to have committed in the service of the +church." The Pope absolved him, and, to save time, he added an +absolution in _prospectu_, "for all the homicides thereafter which the +said Benvenuto might commit in the same service." On another occasion, +Cellini got into a broil, and committed a homicide that was not in the +service of the church. The friends of the deceased insisted upon condign +punishment, and presumed to make some mention to the Pope about "the +laws;" upon which the successor of St. Peter, knowing that it was easier +to hang than to replace such a man, assumed a high tone, and told the +complainants that "men who were masters of their art should not be +subject to the laws." + + + + +FRACANZANI AND SALVATOR ROSA. + + +The first accents of the "thrilling melody of sweet renown" which ever +vibrated to the heart of Salvator Rosa, came to his ear from the +kind-hearted Fracanzani, his sister's husband, and a painter of merit. +When Salvator returned home from his sketching tours among the +mountains, Fracanzani would examine his drawings, and when he saw +anything good, he would smilingly pat him on the head and exclaim, +"Fruscia, fruscia, Salvatoriello--che va buono" (_Go on, go on, +Salvator--this is good_). These simple plaudits were recalled to his +memory with pleasure, in after years, when his fame rung among the +polished circles at Rome and Florence. + + + + +POPE URBAN VIII. AND BERNINI. + + +When the Cardinal Barberini, who had been the warm friend, patron, and +protector of Bernini, was elevated to the pontificate, the latter went +to offer his congratulations to his benefactor. The Pope received him in +the most gracious manner, uttering these memorable words, "E gran +fortuna la vostra, Bernini, di vedere Papa, il Card. Maffeo Barberini; +ma assai maggiore e la nostra, che il Cav. Bernini viva nel nostro +pontificato;" (_It is a great piece of fortune for you, Bernini, to +behold the Cardinal Maffeo Barberini Pope; but how much greater is ours, +that the Cav. Bernini lives in our pontificate;_) and he immediately +charged him with the execution of those great works which have +immortalized both their names. Among the great works which he executed +in this pontificate are the Baldachin, or great altar of St. Peter's, in +bronze and gilt, under the centre of the great dome; the four colossal +statues which fill the niches under the pedatives; the pulpit and canopy +of St. Peter's; the Campanile; and the Barberini palace. For these +services, the Pope gave Bernini 10,000 crowns, besides his monthly +salary of 300, which he increased, and extended his favors to his +brothers--"a grand piece of fortune," truly. + + + + +EMULATION AND RIVALRY IN THE FINE ARTS. + + +Emulation carries with it neither envy nor unfair rivalry, but inspires +a man to surpass all others by superiority alone. Such was the emulation +and rivalry between Zeuxis and Parrhasius, which contributed to the +improvement of both; and similar thereto was that which inspired the +master-minds of Michael Angelo and Raffaelle; of Titian and Pordenone; +of Albert Durer and Lucas van Leyden; of Agostino and Annibale Caracci; +and we may add, in our own country, of Thomas Cole and Durand. The +emulation between the Caracci, though it tended to the improvement of +both, was more unfortunate in its result, as it finally engendered such +a bitter rivalry as to drive Agostino from the field, and it is said by +some that both the Caracci declined when their competition ceased. + +The confraternity of the Chartreuse at Bologna proposed to the artists +of Italy to paint a picture for them in competition, and to send designs +for selection. The Caracci were among the competitors, and the design of +Agostino was preferred before all others; this, according to several +authors, first gave rise to the jealousy between the two brothers. The +picture which Agostino painted was his celebrated Communion of St. +Jerome which Napoleon placed in the Louvre, but is now in the gallery at +Bologna. It is esteemed the masterpiece of the artist. It represents the +venerable saint, carried to the church of Bethlehem on his approaching +dissolution, where he receives the last sacrament of the Roman Church, +the Viaticum, in the midst of his disciples, while a monk writes down +his pious exhortations. Soon after the completion of this sublime +picture, the two brothers commenced the celebrated Farnese Gallery in +conjunction; but the jealous feelings which existed between them caused +continual dissentions, and the turbulent disposition of Annibale +compelled Agostino to abandon him and quit Rome. Agostino, who according +to all authorities was the best tempered of the two, from that time gave +himself up almost entirely to engraving. Annibale, though he has the +honor of having executed the immortal works in the Farnese Gallery, yet +owed much there, as elsewhere, to the acquirements and poetical genius +of Agostino. In the composition of such mythological subjects the +unlettered Annibale was totally inadequate. See vol. i., page +71 of this work. + + + + +THE NOTTE OF CORREGGIO. + + +This wonderful picture is one of the most singular and beautiful works +of that great master. Adopting an idea till then unknown to painters, he +has created a new principle of light and shade; and in the limited space +of nine feet by six, has expanded a breadth and depth of perspective +which defies description. The subject he has chosen, is the adoration of +the shepherds, who, after hearing the glad tidings of joy and salvation, +proclaimed by the heavenly host, hasten to hail the new-born King and +Saviour. On so unpromising a subject as the birth of a child, in so mean +a place as a stable, the painter has, however, thrown the air of +divinity itself. The principal light emanates from the body of the +infant, and illuminates the surrounding objects; but a secondary light +is borrowed from a group of angels above, which, while it aids the +general effect, is yet itself irradiated by the glory breaking from the +child, and allegorizing the expression of scripture, that Christ is the +true light of the world. Nor is the art, with which the figures are +represented less admirable than the management of the light. The face of +the child is skillfully hidden, by its oblique position, from the +conviction that the features of a new-born infant are ill-adapted to +please the eye; but that of the Virgin is warmly irradiated, and yet so +disposed, that in bending with maternal fondness over her offspring, it +exhibits exquisite beauty, without the harshness of deep shadows. The +light strikes boldly on the lower part of her face, and is lost in a +fainter glow on the eyes, while the forehead is thrown into shade. The +figures of Joseph and the shepherds are traced with the same skillful +pencil; and the glow which illuminates the piece is heightened to the +imagination, by the attitude of a shepherdess, bringing an offering of +doves, who shades her eyes with her hand, as if unable to sustain the +brightness of incarnate divinity. The glimmering of the rising dawn, +which shews the figures in the background, contributes to augment the +splendor of the principal glory. "The beauty, grace, and finish of the +piece," says Mengs, "are admirable, and every part is executed in a +peculiar and appropriate style." + +Opie, in his lectures, speaking of this work, justly observes, "In the +Notte, where the light diffused over the piece emanates from the child, +he has embodied a thought at once beautiful, picturesque, and sublime; +an idea which has been seized upon with such avidity, and produced so +many imitations that no one is accused of plagiarism. The real author is +forgotten, and the public accustomed to consider this incident as +naturally a part of the subject, have long ceased to inquire, when, or +by whom, it was invented." + +The history of this picture is curious, though involved in much +obscurity. It is generally stated that while Correggio was engaged upon +the grand cupola at Parma, he generally passed the colder season, when +he could not work in fresco, in his native place. Passing through Reggio +in one of his journeys, he received a commission from Alberto Pratonero +for an altar-piece of the Nativity, which produced one of his finest +pictures, now called La Notte. The indefatigable Tiraboschi discovered +the original contract for the work, which is dated October 14th, 1522, +and fixes the price at two hundred and eight _livre di moneta Vecchia_, +or forty-seven and a half gold ducats (about $104). It was painted for +the Pratoneri chapel in the church of S. Prospero at Reggio, but it was +not fixed in its destined place till 1530. It is said that it was +removed surreptitiously by order of Francesco I., the reigning Duke of +Modena, who substituted a copy. The same story, however, is related of +Correggio's Ancona, painted for the church of the Conventuals at +Correggio. (See vol. ii., page 257, of this work.) At all events, +the elector of Saxony subsequently purchased this gem, with +other valuable pictures, from the Ducal Gallery at Mantua, and it now +forms one of the principal ornaments of the Dresden Gallery. + + + + +THE DRESDEN GALLERY. + + +The Gallery of Dresden is well known to most amateurs from the +engravings which have been made of many of its most capital pictures. In +the works of Correggio it stands preeminent above all others; and +although some of these have suffered by injudicious cleaning, still they +are by Correggio. In the works of Titian, Raffaelle, Lionardo da Vinci, +Parmiggiano, Andrea del Sarto, the Caracci, Guido, &c., it holds also a +high place; while it is rich in the works of the Flemish and Dutch +masters. Of the works of Reubens there are, 30; of Vandyck, 18; of +Rembrandt, 15; of Paul Potter, 3; of David Teniers, jun., 24; of Philip +Wouvermans, 52; of Adrian Ostade, 6; of Gerard Douw, 16; of Francis +Mieris, 14; of Gabriel Metzu, 6; of Berghem, 9; of Adrian van de Velde, +5; of Ruysdael, 13; and others by the Dutch masters. Tho entire +collection contains 1010 Flemish and Dutch pictures, and 350 pictures of +the Italian schools, the principal part of which, particularly the +pictures of Correggio, etc., belonged formerly to the Mantua +collection, and were purchased by the Elector Augustus III., afterwards +King of Poland. + + + + +PAINTING AMONG THE EGYPTIANS. + + +The antiquity of painting, as well as of sculpture, among the Egyptians, +is sunk in fable. Yet it is certain that they made little or no progress +in either art. Plato, who flourished about 400 B.C., says that the art +of painting had been practiced by the Egyptians upwards of ten thousand +years, and that there were existing in that country paintings of that +high antiquity, which were neither inferior to, nor very different from, +those executed by the Egyptian artists in his own time. + +Before the French expedition to Egypt, a great deal had been written on +the subject of Egyptian art, without eliciting anything satisfactory. +Norden, Pococke, Bruce, and other modern travelers, speak of +extraordinary paintings found on the walls of the temples and in the +tombs at Thebes, Denderah, and other places in Upper Egypt; and +Winckelmann justly regrets that those curious remains had not been +visited by artists or persons skilled in works of art, "by whose +testimony we might have been correctly informed of their character, +style, and manoeuvre." The man at last came, and Denon, in his _Voyage +dans le Basse et Haute Egypt_, has set the matter at rest. He has given +a curious and interesting account of the paintings at Thebes, which he +reports to be as fresh in color as when they were first executed. The +design is in general stiff and incorrect; and whatever attitude is given +to the figure, the head is always in profile. The colors are entire, +without blending or degradation, as in playing cards, and the whole +exhibits the art in a very rude state. They exhibit little or no +knowledge of anatomy. The colors they used were confined to four--blue, +red, yellow, and green; and of these, the blue and red predominate. The +perfect preservation of the Egyptian paintings for so many ages is to be +attributed to the dryness of a climate where it never rains. + +The Egyptian painters and sculptors designed their figures in a style +peculiarly stiff and formal, with the legs invariably closed, except in +some instances in the tombs of the Kings at Thebes, and their arms stuck +to their sides, as if they had consulted no other models than their +bandaged mummies. The reasons why the Egyptians never made any progress +in art till the time of the Greco-Egyptian kings, were their manners and +customs, which prohibited any innovations, and compelled every one to +follow the beaten track of his cast, without the least deviation from +established rules, thus chaining down genius, and the stimulus of +emulation, honor, renown and reward. When Egypt passed under the +dominion of the Ptolemys, she made rapid progress in art, and produced +some excellent painters, sculptors, and architects, though doubtless +they were mostly of Greek origin. It is related of Ptolemy Philopator, +that he sent a hundred architects to rebuild Rhodes, when it was +destroyed by an earthquake. See vol. iii., page 1, of this work. + + + + +PAINTING AMONG THE GREEKS. + + +The origin of Painting in Greece was unknown to Pliny, to whom we are +chiefly indebted for the few fragments of the biography of Greek +artists; he could only obtain his information from Greek writers, of +whom he complains that they have not been very attentive to their +accustomed accuracy. It is certain, however, that the arts were +practiced in Egypt and in the East, many ages before they were known in +Greece, and it is the common opinion that they were introduced into that +country from Egypt and Asia, through the channel of the Phoenecian +traders. It has been a matter of admiration that the Greeks, in the +course of three or four centuries, should have attained such perfection +in every species of art that ennobles the human mind, as oratory, +poetry, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture. Two things explain +the cause--freedom of action, and certainty of reward. This is +exemplified in the whole history of the arts and sciences. The ancient +eastern nations, among whom the freedom of thought and action was +forbidden, and every man obliged to follow the trade of his caste, never +made any progress; nor will the moderns progress in those countries +till caste is done away, and every man allowed to follow the +inclinations of his genius. + +The Greeks were favored with a climate the most congenial for the +perfect development of the mental and physical powers, and beauty of +form. Every man was at liberty freely to follow his favorite pursuits. +They rewarded all who excelled in anything that was useful or beautiful, +and that with a lavish hand. The prices they paid their great artists +were truly astonishing; in comparison to which, the prices paid to the +greatest artists of modern times are small. Nor was this so great an +incentive as the admiration and the caresses they received. The man of +genius was sure of immortality and wealth. Their academic groves and +their games were the admiration and resort of all the surrounding +countries. They decreed statues to their great men who deserved well of +their country. To other powerful incentives, the Greek artists had the +advantage of the best models before them, in their gymnastic exercises +and public games, where the youth contended for the prize quite naked. +The Greeks esteemed natural qualities so highly that they decreed the +first rewards to those who distinguished themselves in feats of agility +and strength. Statues were often raised to wrestlers. Not only the first +youth of Greece, but the sons of kings and princes sought renown in the +public games and gymnastic exercises. Chrysippus and Cleanthus +distinguished themselves in these games before they were known as +philosophers. Plato appeared as a wrestler both at the Isthmian and +Pythian games; and Pythagoras carried off the prize at Elis. The passion +which inspired them was glory--the ambition of having statues erected to +their memory, in the most sacred place in Greece, to be admired by the +whole people. + +Although it is universally admitted that the Greeks carried sculpture +and architecture to such a state of perfection that they have never been +equalled by the moderns, except in imitating them, yet there is a great +contrariety of opinion among the most eminent modern writers as to their +success in painting; some, full of admiration for the works of antiquity +which have descended to us, have not hesitated to declare that the +Greeks must have been equally successful in painting, while others, +professing that we possess colors, vehicles, and science (as the +knowledge of foreshortening, perspective, and of the chiaro-scuro) +unknown to them, have as roundly asserted that they were far inferior to +the moderns in this branch, and that their pictures, could we now see +them in all their beauty, would excite our contempt. Much of this +boasted modern knowledge is, however, entirely gratuitous; the Greeks +certainly well understood foreshortening and perspective, as we have +abundance of evidence in their works, to say nothing of these being +expressly mentioned by Pliny, and that it is impossible to execute any +work of excellence without them. This erroneous opinion has sprung from +the ignorance and imperfections of _the old fathers_ of Italian art in +these particulars, and the discoveries and perfections of those more +modern. If the moderns possess any advantages over the ancients, it is +that chemistry has invented some beautiful colors unknown to them, the +invention of oil painting, and that illusion which results from a +perfect acquaintance with the principles of the chiaro-scuro; but even +here the mineral colors--the most valuable and permanent--were well +known to them; and if they had not oil colors, they had a method of +_encaustic painting_ not positively known to us, which might have +answered as good a purpose--nor are we sure they did not practice the +chiaro-scuro. Besides, the most renowned modern masters were more +celebrated in fresco than in oil painting, and the ancients well +understood painting in fresco. + +In this, as in most other disputes, it may reasonably be presumed, that +a just estimation of both will be found between the extremes. In +comparing the paintings of the moderns with those of the ancients, it +may be fairly inferred that the latter surpassed the former in +expression, in purity of design, in attitude of the figures, and in +ideal beauty. The moderns have doubtless surpassed the ancients in the +arrangement of their groups, in perspective, foreshortening and +chiaro-scuro--and in coloring. For a further disquisition on this +subject, see Vol. I. p. 22, of this work, article Apelles. + + + + +NUMISMATICS. + + +Numismatics is the science which has for its object the study of coins +and medals, especially those struck by the ancient Greeks and Romans. +The word is derived from the Greek [Greek: nomisma], or the Latin +_numus_, _coin or medal_. Numismatics is now regarded as indispensable +to archaeology, and to a thorough acquaintance of the fine arts; it is +also of great assistance in philology and the explanation of the ancient +classics; it appears to have been entirely unknown to the ancients, but +since the middle of the sixteenth century, it has occupied the attention +of many learned men. + +The name of _coins_ is given to pieces of metal, on which the public +authority has impressed different marks to indicate their weight and +value, to make them a convenient medium of exchange. By the word +_medals_, when used in reference to modern times, is understood pieces +of metal similar to coins but not intended as a medium of exchange, but +struck and distributed to commemorate some important event, or in memory +of some distinguished personage. The name of medals, however, is also +given to all pieces of money which have remained from ancient times. The +term _medallion_ is given to medals of a very large size, many of them +being several inches in diameter. The parts of a coin or medal are the +two sides; first, the _obverse_ side, face or head, which contains the +portrait of the person at whose command or in whose honor it was +struck, or other figures relating to him: this portrait consists either +of the head alone, or the bust, half length, or full figure; second, the +_reverse_ contains mythological, allegorical, or historical figures. The +words around the border form the _legend_, and those in the middle the +_inscription_. The lower part of the coin, which is separated by a line +from the figures or the inscription, is the _basis_ or _exergue_, and +contains subsidiary matter, as the date, the place where the piece was +struck, etc. + +Numismatics has the same divisions as history.--Ancient Numismatics +extends to the extinction of the empire of the West; the Numismatics of +the middle ages commences with Charlemagne; and modern Numismatics with +the revival of learning. + +Medals indicate the names of provinces and cities, determine their +position, and present pictures of many celebrated places. They fix the +period of events, frequently determine their character, and enable us to +trace the series of kings. They also enable us to learn the different +metallurgical processes, the different alloys, the modes of gilding and +plating practiced by the ancients, the metals which they used, their +weight and measures, their different modes of reckoning, the names and +titles of the various kings and magistrates, and also their portraits, +their different divinities, with their attributes and titles, the +utensils and ceremonies of their worship, the costume of their +priests--in fine, everything which relates to their usages, civil, +military, and religious. Medals also acquaint us with the history of +art. They contain representations of several celebrated works of +antiquity which have been lost, the value of which may be estimated from +the ancient medals of those still existing, as the Farnese Hercules, +Niobe and her Children, the Venus of Gnidos, etc. Like gems and statues, +they enable us to trace the epochs of different styles of art, to +ascertain its progress among the most civilized nations, and its +condition among the rude. + +The ancient medals were struck or cast; some were first cast and then +struck. The first coins of Rome and other cities of Italy must have been +cast, as the hammer could not have produced so bold a relief. The copper +coins of Egypt were cast. The right of coining money has always been one +of the privileges which rulers have confined to themselves. The free +cities have inscribed only their names on their coins. The cities +subject to kings sometimes obtained permission to strike money in their +own name, but were most frequently required to add the name or image of +the king to whom they were subject. The medals of the Parthians and the +Phoenecians offer many examples of this sort. Rome, under the +republic, allowed no individual the right to coin money; no magistrate +could put his name thereon, though this honor was sometimes allowed, as +a special favor, by a decree of the Senate. We can count as numismatic +countries only those into which the Greeks and Romans carried the use +of money; though some of the oriental nations used gold and silver as a +medium of exchange, before their time it was by weight. The people in +the northern part of Europe had no money. + +The coins preserved from antiquity are estimated to be more numerous +than those we possess from the middle ages, in the proportion of a +hundred to one! Millin thinks that the number of extant ancient medals +amounts to 70,000! What a fund of the most curious and authentic +information do they contain, and what a multitude of errors have been +corrected by their means! There are valuable cabinets of medals in all +the principal cities of Europe; that of Paris is by far the richest; +Pillerin alone added to it 33,000 ancient coins and medals. The coins of +the kings of Macedon are the most ancient of any yet discovered having +portraits; and Alexander I., who commenced his reign about B.C. 500, is +the earliest monarch whose medals have yet been found. Then succeed the +sovereigns who reigned in Sicily, Caria, Cyprus, Heraclea, and Pontus. +Afterwards comes the series of kings of Egypt, Syria, the Cimmerian +Bosphorus, Thrace, Parthia, Armenia, Damascus, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, +Pergamos, Galatia, Cilicia, Sparta Paeonia, Epirus, Illyricum, Gaul, and +the Alps. This series reaches from the time of Alexander the Great to +the Christian Era, comprising a period of about 330 years. A perfect +and distinct series is formed by the Roman emperors, from the time of +Julius Caesar to the destruction of the empire, and even still later. The +Grecian medals claim that place in a cabinet, from their antiquity, +which their workmanship might ensure them, independently of that +advantageous consideration. It is observed by Pinkerton, that an immense +number of the medals of cities, which, from their character, we might +judge to be of the highest antiquity, have a surprising strength, +beauty, and relief in their impressions. About the time of Alexander the +Great, this art appears to have attained its highest perfection. The +coins of Alexander and his father exceed in beauty all that were ever +executed, if we except those of Sicily, Magna Grecia, and the ancient +ones of Asia Minor. Sicilian medals are famous for workmanship, even +from the time of Gelo. The coins of the Syrian kings, successors to +Alexander, almost equal his own in beauty; but adequate judges confine +their high praises of the Greek mint to those coins struck before the +subjection of Greece to the Roman empire. The Roman coins, considered as +medals in a cabinet, may be divided into two great classes--the consular +and the imperial; both are numerous and valuable. In the cabinet of the +Grand Duke of Tuscany is a set of twelve medals of Antonius Pius, each +with one of the signs of the Zodiac on the reverse, and part of another +set, eight in number with as many of the labors of Hercules. + + + + +RESTORING ANCIENT EDIFICES. + + +As in comparative anatomy it is easy, from a single bone, to designate +and describe the animal to which it belonged, so in architecture it is +easy to restore, by a few fragments, any ancient building. In +consequence of the known simplicity and regularity of most antique +edifices, the task of restoration, by means of drawings and models, is +much less difficult than might be supposed. The ground work, or some +sufficient parts of it, commonly extant, shows the length and breadth of +the building, with the positions of the walls, doors and columns. A +single column, or part of a column, whether standing or fallen, with a +fragment of the entablature, furnishes data from which the remainder of +the colonnade and the height of the edifice can be made out. A single +stone from the cornice of the pediment, is sufficient to give the angle +of inclination, and consequently the height of the roof. In this way the +structure of many beautiful edifices has been accurately determined, +when in so ruinous a state as scarcely to have left one stone upon +another. + + + + +NAPOLEON'S LOVE OF ART. + + +Napoleon was not only a true lover of art, but an excellent connoisseur. +He did more to elevate the arts and sciences in France than all the +monarchs together who had preceded him. It was a part of his policy to +honor and reward every man of genius, no matter what his origin, and +thus to develop the intellect of his country. He foresaw the advantage +of making Paris the great centre of art; therefore he did not hesitate +to transport from the countries he conquered, the most renowned and +valuable works of ancient and modern times. "Paris is Rome; Paris is now +the great centre of art," said he to Canova in 1810, when that great +sculptor visited Paris at his command, and whom he endeavored to +persuade to permanently remain in his service. West, after his return to +England from Paris, where he had had several interviews with Bonaparte, +expressed his admiration of the man in such warm terms as offended the +officials of the government, and caused such opposition, that he deemed +it proper to resign the President's chair in the Royal Academy. The +truth is, it was not the conqueror, as the English pretended, but his +exalted ideas of the arts, and of their value to a country, which +captivated West, whose peaceful tenets led him to abhor war and +devastation. + +Napoleon's enlightened policy is also seen in those stupendous works +published by the French government, as the _Description de l'Egypte, ou +Recueil des Observationes et des Recherches pendant l'Expedition de +l'Armee Francais_, 25 vols. in elephant folio. This work corresponds in +grandeur of its proportions to the edifices and monuments which it +describes. Everything that zeal in the cause of science, combined with +the most extensive knowledge, had been able to collect in a land +abounding in monuments of every kind, and in the rarest curiosities, is +described and illustrated in this work by a committee of savans +appointed for the purpose. It contains more than 900 engravings, and +3000 illustrative sketches. The Musee Francais, and the Musee Royal, +containing 522 plates, after the gems of the world, are not less grand +and magnificent, and far more valuable contributions to art. These will +be described in a subsequent page. Such was Napoleon; deprive him of +every other glory, his love of art, and what he did for its promotion, +and the adornment of his country, would immortalize his name. + +Napoleon delighted to spend some of his leisure moments in contemplating +the master pieces of art which he had gathered in the Louvre, and that +he might go there when he pleased, without parade, he had a private +gallery constructed leading to that edifice from the Tuilleries. (See +Spooner's Dictionary of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors, and Architects, +articles West, David, Denon, Canova, etc., and vol i., page +8, of this work.) + + + + +NAPOLEON'S WORKS AT PARIS. + + +"The emperor was, most indisputably, the monarch who contributed in the +greatest degree to the embellishment of Paris. How many establishments +originated under his reign! nevertheless, on beholding them, the +observer has but a faint idea of all he achieved; since every principal +city of the empire witnessed alike the effects of his munificence and +grandeur of mind; the streets were widened, roads constructed and canals +cut; even the smallest towns experienced improvements, the result of +that expanded genius which was daily manifested. I shall, therefore, +content myself by placing before the reader a mere sketch of the works +achieved at Paris; for were it requisite to give a catalogue of all the +monuments erected during his reign, throughout the French empire, a +series of volumes would be required to commemorate those multifarious +labors."--_Ireland_. + + +_Palaces._ + +The Louvre was completely restored, which a succession of French +monarchs had not been able to accomplish. The Palace of the Luxembourg +equally embellished throughout, as well in the interior as the exterior, +and its gardens replanted. The Exchange founded. The Palace of the +University reconstructed, as well as the Gallery uniting the Palace of +the Tuilleries to that of the Louvre. + + +_Fountains._ + +The situation of the Fountain of the Innocents changed, and the whole +reerected; that of Saint Sulpicius; of the Four Nations; of Desaix in +the Place Dauphine; of Gros-Caillon; of the Quay de L'Ecole; of the +Bridge of Saint Eustatius; of the Rue Ceusder; of the Rue Popincourt; of +the Chateau D'Eau; of the Square of the Chatelet; of the Place Notre +Dame; of the Temple; and of the Elephant, in the Place of the Bastille. + + +_Acqueducts._ + +The subterranean acqueducts were constructed, which convey the water of +the Canal de L'Ourcq throughout the different quarters of Paris, from +whence a vast number of small fountains distribute them in every +direction, to refresh the streets during the summer season, and to +cleanse them in the winter; these same channels being also formed to +receive the waters which flow from the gutters in the streets. + + +_Markets._ + +That of the Innocents, the largest in Paris; the Jacobins, where +formerly stood the monastery of that name, and during the heat of the +revolution, the club so called; the Valley for the sale of Poultry; the +Market of Saint Joseph; the Halle for the sale of Wines; the Market of +Saint Martin; that of Saint Germain, and of Saint Jacques-la-Boucherie. + +_Slaughter Houses._ + +Those of the Deux Moulins; of the Invalids; of Popincourt; of Miromeuil, +and of Les Martyrs. + +As the killing of animals, for the consumption of Paris, within the +confines of the city, was deemed not only unwholesome, but very +disgusting, these buildings were erected by order of Napoleon, and have +proved of the greatest utility. The edifices are very spacious, +containing all the requisites for the purpose intended, and being also +placed in different directions and without the barriers of the city, the +eyes of the inhabitants are no longer disgusted by beholding those +torrents of blood which formerly inundated the streets, and which, in +the summer season, produced an effluvia not only disgusting to the +smell, but highly detrimental to the health of the population of the +city. + + +_Watering Places for Animals._ + +That of the School of Medicine, a superb marble structure, together with +the Abreuvoir of the Rue L'Egout, Saint Germain. + + +_Public Granary, or Halle du Ble._ + +Necessity gave rise to the noble plan of this stupendous fabric, the +idea of which was taken from the people of antiquity. + + +_Boulevard._ + +That called Bourdon was formed, occupying the environs of the spot where +the Bastille stood. + +_Bridges._ + +Those of the Arts; of the City; of Austerlitz; and of Jena. + + +_Triumphal Arches._ + +The Carousel; the Etoile; and the Arch of Louis XIV., restored. + + +_Quays._ + +Those of Napoleon; of Flowers; of Morland; and of Catenat. + + +_The Column of Austerlitz._ + +Situated in the centre of the Place Vendome, formed of the brass +produced from the cannon which were taken from the Austrians during the +memorable campaign of 1805. + + +_Place de Victoires._ + +In the middle of this square was erected a colossal bronze statue of the +gallant General Desaix, who nobly fell at the battle of Marengo, when +leading to the charge a body of cavalry, which decided the fate of that +desperate conflict; this tribute, however, to the memory of the brave, +was removed by order of the Bourbons, on their first restoration. + + +_Squares._ + +In the middle of the Place Royale a fine basin has been constructed, +from whence plays a magnificent piece of water; the Squares of the +Apport de Paris; of the Rotunda; and of Rivoli. + + +_The Pantheon._ + +The pillars supporting the vast dome of this lofty pile, which had long +threatened the overthrow of the structure were replaced, and the +tottering foundations rendered perfect and solid. + + +_The Hotel Dieu._ + +The whole facade of this immense Hospital was reconstructed. + + +_The Canal de L'Ourcq._ + +This grand undertaking was rendered navigable, and the basin, sluices, +&c. completely finished. + + + + +THE NAPOLEON MEDALS. + + +Of the numerous means employed to commemorate the achievements of +Napoleon, the public buildings and monuments of France bear ample +witness. Indeed, Bonaparte's name and fame are so engrafted with the +arts and literature of France, that it would be impossible for the +government to erase the estimation in which he is held by the French +people. + +_A series of medals in bronze_, nearly one hundred and thirty in number, +struck at different epochs of his career, exist, each in celebration of +the prowess of the French army, or of some great act of his government: +a victory, a successful expedition, the conquest of a nation, the +establishment of a new state, the elevation of some of his family, or +his own personal aggrandizement. + +The medal commemorative of the _battle of Marengo_ bears, on one side, a +large bunch of keys, environed by two laurel branches; and, on the +reverse, Bonaparte, as a winged genius, standing on a dismounted cannon +to which four horses are attached upon the summit of Mount St. Bernard, +urges their rapid speed, with a laurel branch in one hand, whilst he +directs the reins with the other. + +That on the _peace of Luneville_ is two inches and a quarter in +diameter, with the head of the first consul in uncommonly bold relief; +the device, as mentioned in another place, is the sun arising in +splendor upon that part of the globe which represents France, and which +is overshadowed by laurels, whilst a cloud descends and obscures Great +Britain. + +The commencement of hostilities by England, after the _peace of Amiens_, +is designated by the English leopard tearing a scroll, with the +inscription, _Le Traite d'Amiens Rompu par l'Angleterre en Mai de l'An_ +1803; on the reverse, a winged female figure in breathless haste forcing +on a horse at full speed, and holding a laurel crown, inscribed, +_L'Hanovre occupe var l'Armee Francaise en Juin de l'An_ 1803; and +beneath, _Frappee avec l'Argent des Mines d'Hanovre, l'An 4 de +Bonaparte_. + +His medal, on assuming the purple, has his portrait, _Napoleon +Empereur_, by Andrieu, who executed nearly all the portraits on his +medals; on the reverse, he is in his imperial robes, elevated by two +figures, one armed, inscribed, _Le Senat et le Peuple_. + +The _battle of Austerlitz_ has, on the reverse, simply a thunderbolt, +with a small figure of Napoleon, enrobed and enthroned on the upper end +of the shaft of the thunder. + +In 1804, he struck a medal with a Herculean figure on the reverse, +confining the head of the English leopard between his knees, whilst +preparing a cord to strangle him, inscribed _En l'An XII. 2000 barques +sont construites_;--this was in condemnation of the invasion and +conquest of England. + +The reverse of the medal on the _battle of Jena_ represents Napoleon on +an eagle in the clouds, as warring with giants on the earth, whom he +blasts with thunderbolts. + +The medal on the _Confederation of the Rhine_ has, for its reverse, +numerous warriors in ancient armor, swearing with their right hands on +an altar, formed of an immense fasces, with the imperial eagle +projecting from it. + +Not the least characteristic of the series is a medal, with the usual +head _Napoleon Emp. et Roi_, on the exergue, with this remarkable +reverse, a throne, with the imperial robes over the back and across the +sceptre, which is in the chair; before the throne is a table, with +several crowns, differing in shape and dignity, and some sceptres with +them lying upon it; three crowns are on the ground, one broken and two +upside down; an eagle with a fasces hovers in the air; the inscription +is, _Souverainetes donnes_ M.DCCCVI. + +The reverses of the last four in succession, struck during the reign of +Napoleon, are, 1. The _Wolga_, rising with astonishment from his bed at +the sight of the French eagle; 2. A representation of _la Bataille de la +Moskowa, 7 Septembre, 1812_; 3. _A view of Moscow_, with the French flag +flying on the Kremlin, and an ensign of the French eagle, bearing the +letter N. loftily elevated above its towers and minarets, dated 14th +September, 1812; 4. A figure in the air, directing a furious storm +against an armed warrior resembling Napoleon, who, unable to resist the +attack, is sternly looking back, whilst compelled to fly before it--a +dead horse, cannon dismounted, and a wagon full of troops standing +still, perishing in fields of snow; the inscription is, _Retraite de +l'Armee, Novembre, 1812_. + +The workmanship of the preceding medals are admirable, but most of them +are surpassed in that respect by some to which we can do little more +than allude. + +A finely executed medal, two inches and five-eights in diameter, +represents Napoleon enthroned in his full imperial costume, holding a +laurel wreath; on the reverse is a head of _Minerva_, surrounded by +laurel and various trophies of the fine arts, with this +inscription--_Ecole Francaise des Beaux Arts a Rome, retablie et +augmentee par Napoleon en 1803_. The reverses--of the Cathedral at +Paris--a warrior sheathing his sword (on the battle of Jena)--and +Bonaparte holding up the King of Rome, and presenting him to the +people--are amongst the most highly finished and most inestimable +specimens of art. + +Unquestionably the _worst_ in the collection is the consular medal, +which, on that account, deserves description; it is, in size, about a +half crown piece, on the exergue, over a small head of Bonaparte, is +inscribed _Bonaparte premier consul_; beneath it, _Cambaceres second +consul, le Brun troisieme consul de la republique Francaise_; on the +reverse, _Le peuple Francais a defenseurs, cette premiere pierre de la +colonne nationale, posee par Lucien Bonaparte, ministre de l'interieur, +25 Messidore, An 8, 14 Juillet, 1800_.--One other medal only appears +with the name of Lucien Bonaparte; it is that struck in honor of Marshal +Turenne, upon the _Translation du corps de Turenne au Temple de Mars par +les ordres du premier Consul Bonaparte_; and is of a large size, bearing +the head of Turenne, with, beneath it, _Sa gloire appartient au peuple +Francais_. Several are in honor of General Desaix, whose memory Napoleon +held in great esteem. Those on his marriage with Marie Louise bear her +head beside his own; and a small one on that occasion has for its +reverse, a Cupid carrying with difficulty a thunderbolt. Those on the +birth of their child bear the same heads on the exergue, with the head +of an infant, on the reverse, inscribed, _Napoleon Francois Joseph +Charles, Rio de Rome, XX. Mars M.DCCCXI.--Ireland_. + + + + +THE ELEPHANT FOUNTAIN. + + +When Napoleon had decided that a stupendous fountain should occupy the +centre of the area where the celebrated state prison of the Bastille +stood, the several artists, employed by the government, were ordered to +prepare designs for the undertaking, and numerous drawings were in +consequence sent in for the emperor's inspection. On the day appointed, +he proceeded to examine these specimens, not one of which, however, +proved at all commensurate with the vast idea he had in contemplation; +wherefore, after pacing the chamber a few minutes, Napoleon suddenly +halted, exclaiming: "Plant me a colossal elephant there, and let the +water spout from his extended trunk!" All the artists stood astonished +at this bold idea, the propriety and grandeur of which immediately +flashed conviction upon their minds, and the only wonder of each was, +that no such thought should have presented itself to his own +imagination: the simple fact is, _there was but one Napoleon +present_!--_Communicated to Ireland by David._ + +This fountain was modeled in Plaster of Paris on the spot. It is +seventy-two feet in height; the _jet d'eau_ is through the nostrils of +his trunk; the reservoir in the tower on his back; and one of his legs +contains the staircase for ascending to the large room in the inside of +his belly. The elephant was to have been executed in bronze, with tusks +of silver, surrounded by lions of bronze, which were to spout water from +one cistern to another. + + + + +INTERESTING DRAWINGS. + + +On the sailing of the French expedition for Egypt, from Malta, under the +orders of Bonaparte, the fleet was intentionally dispersed in order to +arrive without being noticed; they had no sooner, however, left Malta, +than they learned that Nelson had penetrated their design, and was in +pursuit of them. Expecting every hour to be come up with, and being too +weak to risk a combat, it was the resolution of Bonaparte and the rest +of the illustrious persons on board the _Orient_ to blow her up, rather +than be taken prisoners; but, that the memory of those who perished +might be preserved, and their features known by posterity, Bonaparte +caused the portraits of eighteen to be taken on two sheets of paper, +which were to be rolled up, put in bottles, and committed to the waves: +the names of the persons are,-- + +_First Drawing._ + + Desaix, + Berthier, + Kleber, + Dalomieu, + Berthollet, + Bonaparte, + Caffarelli, + Brueys, + Monge. + + +_Second Drawing._ + + Rampon, + Junot, + Regnier, + Desgenettes, + Larrey, + Murat, + Lasnes, + Belliard, + Snulkanski. + +The portraits were executed in medallions, with India ink; they were +carefully preserved by the famous surgeon, Baron Larrey; and they +adorned his study at Paris till his death. + + + + +SEVRES CHINA. + + +On the river at Sevres, near Paris, a manufactory is carried on, which +produces the beautiful porcelain, commonly called Sevres, china. It is +equal to all that has been said of it, and after declining, as every +other great national establishment did, during the revolution, +flourished greatly under the peculiar patronage of the emperor Napoleon. +He made presents hence to those sovereigns of Europe with whom he was in +alliance. Napoleon had two vases made of this china, which, even at this +day, form the principal ornament of the gallery at St. Cloud. These +were made at Sevres, and are valued at 100,000 francs each. The clay +made use of was brought at a great expense from a distant part of +France, and affords an instance of how much the value of raw material +may be increased by the ingenuity of a skillful artist. + + + + +DISMANTLING OF THE LOUVRE. + + +In Scott's Paris Revisited (A. D. 1815), we have the following +interesting particulars of the removal of the celebrated pictures and +statues from this famous emporium of the fine arts. + +"Every day new arrivals of strangers poured into Paris, all anxious to +gain a view of the Louvre, before its collection was broken up; it was +the first point to which all the British directed their steps every +morning, in eager curiosity to know whether the business of removal had +commenced. The towns and principalities, that had been plundered, were +making sedulous exertions to influence the councils of the allies to +determine on a general restoration; and several of the great powers +leaned decidedly towards such a decision. + +"Before actual force was employed, representations were repeated to the +French government, but the ministers of the king of France would neither +promise due satisfaction, nor uphold a strenuous opposition. They showed +a sulky disregard of every application. A deputation from the +Netherlands formally claimed the Dutch and Flemish pictures taken during +the revolutionary wars from those countries; and this demand was +conveyed through the Duke of Wellington, as commander-in-chief of the +Dutch and Belgian armies. About the same time, also, Austria determined +that her Italian and German towns, which had been despoiled, should have +their property replaced, and Canova, the anxious representative of Rome, +after many fruitless appeals to Talleyrand, received assurances that he, +too, should be furnished with an armed force sufficient to protect him +in taking back to that venerable city, what lost its highest value in +its removal from thence. + +"Contradicting reports continued to prevail among the crowds of +strangers and natives as to the intentions of the allies, but on +Saturday, the 23d of September, all doubt was removed. On going up to +the door of the Louvre, I found a guard of one hundred and fifty British +riflemen drawn up outside. I asked one of the soldiers what they were +there for? 'Why, they tell me, sir, that they mean to take away the +pictures,' was his reply. I walked in amongst the statues below, and on +going to the great staircase, I saw the English guard hastily trampling +up its magnificent ascent: a crowd of astonished French followed in the +rear, and, from above, many of the visitors in the gallery of pictures +were attempting to force their way past the ascending soldiers, +catching an alarm from their sudden entrance. The alarm, however, was +unfounded; but the spectacle that presented itself was very impressive. +A British officer dropped his men in files along this magnificent +gallery, until they extended, two and two, at small distances, from its +entrance to its extremity. All the spectators were breathless, in +eagerness to know what was to be done, but the soldiers stopped as +machines, having no care beyond obedience to their orders. + +"The work of removal now commenced in good earnest: porters with +barrows, and ladders, and tackles of ropes made their appearance. The +collection of the Louvre might from that moment be considered as broken +up for ever. The sublimity of its orderly aspect vanished: it took now +the melancholy, confused, desolate air of a large auction room, after a +day's sale. Before this, the visitors had walked down its profound +length with a sense of respect on their minds, influencing them to +preserve silence and decorum, as they contemplated the majestic +pictures; but decency and quiet were dispelled when the signal was given +for the breaking up of the establishment. It seemed as if a nation had +become ruined through improvidence, and was selling off. + +"The guarding of the Louvre was committed by turns to the British and +Austrians, while this process lasted. The Prussians said that they had +done their own business for themselves, and would not now incur odium +for others. The workmen being incommoded by the crowds that now rushed +to the Louvre, as the news spread of the destruction of its great +collection, a military order came that no visitors should be admitted +without permission from the foreign commandant of Paris. This direction +was pretty much adhered to by the sentinels as far as the exclusion of +the French, but the words _Je suis Anglais_, were always sufficient to +gain leave to pass from the Austrians: our own countrymen were rather +more strict, but, in general, foreigners could, with but little +difficulty, procure admission. The Parisians stood in crowds around the +door, looking wistfully within it, as it occasionally opened to admit +Germans, English, Russians, &c., into a palace of their capital from +which they were excluded. I was frequently asked by French gentlemen, +standing with ladies on their arms, and kept back from the door by the +guards, to take them into their own Louvre, under my protection as an +unknown foreigner! It was impossible not to feel for them in these +remarkable circumstances of mortification and humiliation; and the +agitation of the French public was now evidently excessive. Every +Frenchman looked a walking volcano, ready to spit forth fire. Groups of +the common people collected in the space before the Louvre, and a +spokesman was generally seen, exercising the most violent +gesticulations, sufficiently indicative of rage, and listened to by the +others, with lively signs of sympathy with his passion. As the packages +came out, they crowded round them, giving vent to torrents of _pestes_, +_diables_, _sacres_, and other worse interjections. + +"Wherever an Englishman went, in Paris, at this time, whether into a +shop or a company, he was assailed with the exclamation, _'Ah! vos +compatriotes!'_ and the ladies had always some wonderful story to tell +him, of an embarrassment or mortification that had happened to _his_ +duke; of the evil designs of the Prince Regent, or the dreadful revenge +that was preparing against the injuries of France. The great gallery of +the Louvre presented every fresh day a more and more forlorn aspect; but +to the reflecting mind, it combined a number of interesting points of +view. The gallery now seemed to be the abode of all the foreigners in +the French capital:--we collected there, as a matter of course, every +morning--but it was easy to distinguish the last comers from the rest. +They entered the Louvre with steps of eager haste, and looks of anxious +inquiry; they seemed to have scarcely stopped by the way--and to have +made directly for the pictures on the instant of their reaching Paris. +The first view of the stripped walls made their countenances sink under +the disappointment, as to the great object of their journey. Crowds +collected round the _Transfiguration_--that picture which, according to +the French account, _destiny_ had always intended for the French nation: +it was every one's wish to see it taken down, for the fame which this +great work of Raffaelle had acquired, and its notoriety in the general +knowledge, caused its departure to be regarded as the consummation of +the destruction of the picture gallery of the Louvre. It was taken away +among the last. + +"Students of all nations fixed themselves round the principal pictures, +anxious to complete their copies before the workmen came to remove the +originals. Many young French girls were seen among these, perched upon +small scaffolds, and calmly pursuing their labors in the midst of the +throng and bustle. When the French gallery was thoroughly cleared of the +property of other nations, I reckoned the number of pictures which then +remained to it, and found that the total left to the French nation, of +the fifteen hundred pictures which constituted their magnificent +collection, was _two hundred and seventy-four_! The Italian division +comprehended about eighty-five specimens; these were now dwindled to +_twelve_: in this small number, however, there are some very exquisite +pictures by Raffaelle, and other great masters. Their Titians are much +reduced, but they keep the Entombment, as belonging to the King of +France's old collection, which is one of the finest by that artist. A +melancholy air of utter ruin mantled over the walls of this superb +gallery: the floor was covered with empty frames: a Frenchman, in the +midst of his sorrow, had his joke, in saying, 'Well, we should not have +left to _them_ even these!' In walking down this exhausted place, I +observed a person, wearing the insignia of the legion of honor, suddenly +stop short, and heard him exclaim, '_Ah, my God--and the Paul Potter, +too!_' This referred to the famous painting of a bull by that master, +which is the largest of his pictures, and is very highly valued. It +belonged to the Netherlands, and has been returned to them. It was said +that the emperor Alexander offered fifteen thousand pounds for it. + +"The removal of the statues was later in commencing, and took up more +time; they were still packing these up when I quitted Paris. I saw the +Venus, the Apollo, and the Laocooen removed: these may be deemed the +presiding deities of the collection. The solemn antique look of these +halls fled forever, when the workmen came in with their straw and +Plaster of Paris, to pack up. The French could not, for some time, allow +themselves to believe that their enemies would dare to deprive them of +these sacred works; it appeared to them impossible that they should be +separated from France--from _la France_--the country of the Louvre and +the Institute; it seemed a contingency beyond the limits of human +reverses. But it happened, nevertheless: they were all removed. One +afternoon, before quitting the place, I accidentally stopped longer than +usual, to gaze on the Venus, and I never saw so clearly her superiority +over the Apollo, the impositions of whose style, even more than the +great beauties with which they are mingled, have gained for it an +inordinate and indiscriminating admiration. On this day, very few, if +any of the statues had been taken away--and many said that France would +retain them, although she was losing the pictures. On the following +morning I returned, and the pedestal on which the Venus had stood for so +many years, the pride of Paris, and the delight of every observer, was +vacant! It seemed as if a soul had taken its flight from a body." + + + + +REMOVAL OF THE VENETIAN HORSES FROM PARIS. + + +"The removal of the well known horses taken from the church of St. Mark +in Venice, was a bitter mortification to the people of Paris. These had +been peculiarly the objects of popular pride and admiration. Being +exposed to the public view, in one of the most frequented situations of +Paris, this was esteemed the noblest trophy belonging to the capital; +and there was not a Parisian vender of a pail-full of water who did not +look like a hero when the Venetian horses were spoken of. + +"'Have you heard what has been determined about the horses?' was every +foreigner's question. 'Oh! they cannot mean to take the horses away,' +was every Frenchman's answer. On the morning of Thursday, the 26th of +September, 1815, however it was whispered that they had been at work all +night in loosening them from their fastening. It was soon confirmed +that this was true--and the French then had nothing left for it, but to +vow, that if the allies were to attempt to touch them in the _daylight_, +Paris would rise at once, exterminate its enemies, and rescue its honor. +On Friday morning I walked through the square; it was clear that some +considerable change had taken place; the forms of the horses appeared +finer than I had ever before witnessed. When looking to discover what +had been done, a private of the British staff corps came up, 'You see, +sir, we took away the harness last night,' said he. 'You have made a +great improvement by so doing,' I replied; 'but are the British employed +on this work?' The man said that the Austrians had requested the +assistance of our staff corps, for it included better workmen than any +they had in their service. I heard that an angry French mob had given +some trouble to the people employed on the Thursday night, but that a +body of Parisian gendarmerie had dispersed the assemblage. The Frenchmen +continued their sneers against the allies for working in the dark: fear +and shame were the causes assigned. 'If you take them at all, why not +take them in the face of day? But you are too wise to drag upon +yourselves the irresistible popular fury, which such a sight would +excite against you!' + +"On the night of Friday, the order of proceeding was entirely changed. +It had been found proper to call out a strong guard of Austrians, horse +and foot. The mob had been charged by the cavalry, and it was said that +several had their limbs broken. I expected to find the place on Saturday +morning quiet and open as usual; but when I reached its entrance, what +an impressive scene presented itself! The delicate plan--for such in +truth it was--of working by night, was now over. The Austrians had +wished to spare the feelings of the king the pain of seeing his capital +dismantled before his palace windows, where he passed in his carriage +when he went out for his daily exercise. But the acute feelings of the +people rendered severer measures necessary. My companion and myself were +stopped from entering the place by Austrian dragoons: a large mob of +Frenchmen were collected here, standing on tip-toe to catch the arch in +the distance, on the top of which the ominous sight of numbers of +workmen, busy about the horses, was plainly to be distinguished. We +advanced again to the soldiers: some of the French, by whom we were +surrounded, said, 'Whoever you are, you will not be allowed to pass.' I +confess I was for retiring--for the whole assemblage, citizens and +soldiers, seemed to wear an angry and alarming aspect. But my companion +was eager for admittance. He was put back again by an Austrian +hussar:--'_What, not the English!_' he exclaimed in his own language. +The mob laughed loudly, when they heard the foreign soldier so +addressed; but the triumph was ours; way was instantly made for us--and +an officer on duty, close by, touched his helmet as we passed. + +"The king and princes had left the Tuilleries, to be out of the view of +so mortifying a business The court of the palace, which used to be gay +with young _gardes du corps_ and equipages, was now silent, deserted, +and shut up. Not a soul moved in it. The top of the arch was filled with +people, and the horses, though as yet all there, might be seen to begin +to move. The carriages that were to take them away were in waiting +below, and a tackle of ropes was already affixed to one. The small door +leading to the top was protected by a strong guard: every one was +striving to obtain permission to gratify his curiosity, by visiting the +horses for the last time that they could be visited in this situation. +Permission, however, could necessarily be granted but to few. I was of +the fortunate number. In a minute I had climbed the narrow dark stair, +ascended a small ladder, and was out on the top, with the most +picturesque view before me that can be imagined. An English lady asked +me to assist her into Napoleon's car of victory: his own statue was to +have been placed in it, _when he came back a conqueror from his Russian +expedition!_ I followed the lady and her husband into the car, and we +found a Prussian officer there before us. He looked at us, and, with a +good humored smile, said, 'The emperor kept the English out of France, +but the English have now got where he could not! '_Ah, pauvre, +Napoleon!_' + +"The cry of the French now was, that it was abominable, execrable, to +insult the king in his palace--to insult him in the face of his own +subjects by removing the horses in the face of day! I adjourned with a +friend to dine at a _restaurateur's_, near the garden of the Tuilleries, +after witnessing what I have described. Between seven and eight in the +evening we heard the rolling of wheels, the clatter of cavalry, and the +tramp of infantry. A number of British were in the room; they all rose +and rushed to the door without hats, and carrying in their haste their +white table napkins in their hands. The horses were going past in +military procession, lying on their sides, in separate cars. First came +cavalry, then infantry, then a car; then more cavalry, more infantry, +then another car; and so on till all four passed. The drums were +beating, and the standards went waving by. This was the only appearance +of parade that attended any of the removals. Three Frenchmen, seeing the +group of English, came up to us, and began a conversation. They appealed +to us if this was not shameful. A gentleman observed, that the horses +were only going back to the place from whence the French had taken them: +if there was a right in power for France, there must also be one for +other states but the better way to consider these events was as +terminating the times of robbery and discord. Two of them seemed much +inclined to come instantly round to our opinion: but one was much more +consistent. He appeared an officer, and was advanced beyond the middle +age of life. He kept silence for a moment; and then, with strong +emphasis, said--'You have left me nothing for my children but hatred +against England; this shall be my legacy to them.'"--_Scott._ + + + + +REMOVAL OF THE STATUE OF NAPOLEON FROM THE PLACE VENDOME. + + +"What will posterity think of the madness of the French government and +the exasperation of public feeling in a nation like the French, so +uniformly proud of military glory, when very shortly after the first +arrival of their new monarch, Louis XVIII., an order was issued for +leveling with the dust that proud monument of their victories, the +famous column and statue of Napoleon in the Place Vendome cast from +those cannon which their frequent victories over the Austrians had +placed at their disposal? The ropes attached to the neck of the colossal +brazen figure of the Emperor, wherewith the pillar was crowned, extended +to the very iron gratings of the Tuillerie gardens; thousands essayed to +move it, but all attempts were vain--the statue singly defied their +malice; upon which a second expedient was resorted to, and the carriage +horses, etc., from the royal stables were impressed into this service, +and affixed to the ropes, thus uniting their powerful force to that of +the _bipeds_: but even this proved abortive; the statue and column +braved the united shocks of man and beast, and both remained +immoveable." The statue was afterwards quietly dislodged from its +station by the regular labors of the experienced artisan. It was not +replaced till after the Revolution in 1830.--_Ireland._ + + + + +THE MUSEE FRANCAIS AND THE MUSEE ROYAL. + + +When the Allies entered Paris in 1815, they found in the gallery of the +Louvre about two thousand works of art--the gems of the world in +painting and antique sculpture--mostly the spoils of war, deposited +there by the Emperor Napoleon. The selection of these works was +entrusted to a commission, at the head of whom was the Baron Denon, who +accompanied the Emperor in all his expeditions for this purpose. The +Louvre, at this time, was the acknowledged emporium of the fine arts. +The grand determination of Napoleon to place France highest in art among +the nations, did not rest here. The design of combining in one single +series, five hundred and twenty-two line engravings from the finest +paintings and antique statues in the world, was a conception worthy of +his genius and foresight, and by its execution he conferred a lasting +favor not only on the artistic, but the civilized world, for the +originals were subsequently restored by the Allies to their rightful +owners and only about three hundred and fifty pieces remained of that +splendid collection. "These works" (the Musee Francais, and the Musee +Royal), says a distinguished connoisseur, "are unquestionably the +greatest production of modern times. They exhibit a series of exquisite +engravings by the most distinguished artists, of such a magnificent +collection of painting and of sculpture as can never be again united." +These works were intended as a great treasury of art, from which not +only artists, but the whole world might derive instruction and profit. +To secure the utmost perfection in every department, no expense was +spared. The drawings for the engravers to engrave from, were executed by +the most distinguished artists, in order to ensure that every +peculiarity, perfection, and _imperfection_ in the originals should be +exactly copied, and these are pointed out in the accompanying +criticisms. These drawings alone cost the French government 400,000 +francs. + +The engravings were executed by the most distinguished engravers of +Europe, without regard to country, among whom it is sufficient to +mention Raffaelle Morghen, the Chevalier von Mueller, and his son C. F. +von Mueller, Bervic, Richomme, Rosaspina, Bartolozzi, Gandolfi, +Schiavonetti, the elder and younger Laurent, Massard, Girardet, Lignon, +Chatillon, Audouin, Forster, Claessens, etc. Stanley says that proof +impressions of Bervic's masterpiece, the Laocooen, have been sold in +London for thirty guineas each. There are many prints in these works +not less celebrated, and which are regarded by connoisseurs as +masterpieces of the art. + +Nor was this all. Napoleon summoned Visconti, the famous antiquary, +archaeologist, and connoisseur, from Rome to Paris, to assist in getting +up the admirable descriptions and criticisms, particularly of the +ancient statues. This department was confided to Visconti, Guizot, +Clarac, and the elder Duchesne. The supervision of the engraving and +publishing department was entrusted to the Messrs. Robilliard, +Peronville, and Laurent. These works were published in numbers of four +plates, atlas folio, at the price of 96 francs each for the proofs +before the letter, and 48 francs for the prints. The first number of the +Musee Francais was issued in 1803, and the last in 1811; but the Musee +Royal, which was intended to supply the deficiencies of the Musee +Francais, was not completed till 1819; nevertheless, it was Napoleon's +work, though consummated in the reign of Louis XVIII. + +The Musee Francais was originally published in five volumes, and +contains, besides the descriptions and criticisms on the plates, +admirable essays--1st. on the History of Painting, from its origin in +ancient times down to the time of Cimabue; 2d. on the History of +Painting in the German, Dutch, Flemish, and French schools; 3d. on the +History of Engraving; 4th. on the History of Ancient Sculpture. The +Musee Royal was published in two volumes. A second edition of the Musee +Francais was published by the Messrs. Galignani, in four volumes, with +an English and French letter-press, but both greatly abridged. The +letter-press of the Musee Royal has never been rendered into English. +The plates were sold by the French government in 1836, since which time +a small edition has been printed from both works. + + + + +BOYDELL'S SHAKSPEARE GALLERY. + + +About the year 1785, Alderman J. Boydell, of London, conceived the +project of establishing a 'Shakspeare Gallery,' upon a scale of grandeur +and magnificence which should be in accordance with the fame of the +poet, and, at the same time, reflect honor upon the state of the arts in +Great Britain and throughout the world. Mr. Boydell was at this time a +man of great wealth and influence, and a patron of the fine arts, being +an engraver himself, and having accumulated his fortune mostly by +dealings in works of that character. + +He advertised for designs from artists throughout Great Britain, and +paid a guinea for every one submitted, whether accepted or not; and for +every one accepted by the committee, a prize of one hundred guineas. The +committee for selecting these designs was composed of five eminent +artists, Boydell himself being the president. The first painters of the +age were then employed to paint these pictures, among whom were Sir +Joshua Reynolds, Sir Benjamin West, Fusell, Romney, Northcote, Smirke, +Sir William Beechy, and Opie. + +Allan Cunningham, in his 'Lives of Eminent British Artists,' mentions +that Sir Joshua Reynolds was at first opposed to Boydell's project, as +impracticable on such an immense scale, and Boydell, to gain his +approbation and assistance, privately sent him a letter enclosing a +L1000 Bank of England note, and requesting him to paint two pictures at +his own price. What sum was paid by Boydell for these pictures was never +known. A magnificent building was erected in Pall Mall to exhibit this +immense collection, called the Shakspeare Gallery, which was for a long +time the pride of London. + +The first engravers of England were employed to transfer these gems to +copper, and such artists as Sharp, Bartolozzi, Earlom, Thew, Simon, +Middiman, Watson, Fyttler, Wilson, and many others, exerted their +talents for years in this great work. In some instances, the labor of +more than five years was expended on a single plate, and proof +impressions were taken for subscribers at almost every stage of the +work. At length in 1803, after nearly twenty years, the work was +completed. The price fixed (which was never reduced) was two guineas +each for the first three hundred impressions, and the subscription list +was then filled up at one guinea each, or one hundred guineas a set of +one hundred plates. + +Besides these subscriptions, large donations were made by many of the +noblemen of England, to encourage the undertaking, and to enable Boydell +to meet his enormous outlay. The cost of the whole work, from the +commencement, is said to have been about one million pounds sterling; +and although the projector was a wealthy man when he commenced it, he +died soon after its completion, a bankrupt to the amount, it is said, of +L250,000. + +After these plates were issued, Boydell petitioned Parliament to allow +him to dispose of his gallery of paintings by a lottery. The petition +was granted, and the whole collection was thus disposed of. One of the +finest of these pictures, King Lear, by Sir Benjamin West, is now in the +Boston Athenaeum. + +One fact in relation to these plates gives great value to them. "All the +principal historical characters are genuine portraits of the persons +represented in the play; every picture gallery and old castle in England +was ransacked to furnish these portraits." + + + + +BRIEF SKETCH OF A PLAN FOR AN AMERICAN NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART. + + +Public Galleries of Art are now regarded by the most enlightened men, +and the wisest legislators, as of incalculable benefit to every +civilized country. (See vol. i., page 6, of this work.) +They communicate to the mind, through the eye, "the accumulated wisdom +of ages," relative to every form of beauty, in the most rapid and +captivating manner. If such institutions are important in Europe, +abounding in works of art, how much more so in our country, separated as +it is by the broad Atlantic from the artistic world, which few +comparatively can ever visit: many of our young artists, for the want of +such an institution, are obliged to grope their way in the dark, and to +spend months and years to find out a few simple principles of art. + +A distinguished professor, high in public estimation, has declared that +the formation of such an institution in this country, however important +and desirable it may be, is almost hopeless. He founds his opinion on +the difficulty of obtaining the authenticated works of the great +masters, and the enormous prices they now command in Europe. The writer +ventures to declare it as his long cherished opinion that a United +States National Gallery is entirely practicable, as far as all useful +purposes are concerned; and at a tithe of the cost of such institutions +in Europe. In the present state of the Fine Arts in our country, we +should not attempt to emulate European magnificence, but utility. The +"course of empire is westward," and in the course of time, as wealth and +taste increases, sale will be sought here, as now in England, for many +works of the highest art. It is also to be hoped that some public +benefactors will rise to our assistance. After the foundation of the +institution, it may be extended according to the taste and wants of the +country; professorships may be added, and the rarest works purchased. +When the country can and will afford it, no price should be regarded too +great for a perfect masterpiece of art, as a model in a national +collection. To begin, the Gallery should contain, + +1st. A complete library of all standard works on Art, historical and +illustrative, in every language. + +2d. A collection of the masterpieces of engraving; these should be +mounted on linen, numbered, bound, described and criticised. + +3d. A complete collection of casts of medals and antique gems, where the +originals cannot be obtained. There are about 70,000 antique medals of +high importance to art. (See Numismatics, vol. iii., p. 269, of this work.) These casts could easily be obtained through our +diplomatic agents; they should be taken in Plaster of Paris or Sulphur, +double--i.e., the reverse and obverse,--classified, catalogued, +described, and arranged in cases covered with plate glass, for their +preservation. + +4th. A collection of plaster casts of all the best works of sculpture, +particularly of the antique. Correct casts of the Elgin marbles are sold +by the British Museum at a very reasonable price, and in this case +would doubtless be presented to the institution. + +5th. A collection of Paintings. This is the most difficult part of the +project, yet practicable. Masterpieces of the art only should be +admitted, but historical authenticity disregarded. The works of the +great masters have been so closely imitated, that there are no certain +marks of authenticity, where the history of the picture cannot be +traced. (See Spooner's Dictionary of Painters, etc., Introduction, and +Table of Imitators.) Half the pictures in foreign collections cannot be +authenticated, and many of those which are, are not the best productions +of the master, nor worthy of the places they occupy. (See Mrs. Jameson's +Hand-Book to the Public Galleries in and near London; also the +Catalogues of the various Public Galleries of Europe.) Therefore, +instead of paying 5,000 or 10,000 guineas for an authenticated piece by +a certain master, as is sometimes done in Europe, competent and _true_ +men should be appointed to select capital works, executed in the style +of the great masters. Many such can be had in this country as well as in +Europe, at moderate prices. + +6th. The Institution should be located in New York, as the most +convenient place, and as the great centre of commerce, where artists +could most readily dispose of their works. For this favor, the city +would doubtless donate the ground, and her citizens make liberal +contributions. The edifice should be built fire-proof, and three +stories high--the upper with a skylight, for the gallery of paintings. +Such an institution need not be very expensive; yet it would afford the +elements for the instruction and accomplishment of the painter, the +engraver, the sculptor, the architect, the connoisseur, the +archaeologist, and the public at large; it would be the means of +awakening and developing the sleeping genius of many men, to the honor, +glory, and advantage of their country, which, without it, must sleep on +forever. See vol. ii., pp. 149 and 155, and vol. iii., p. 265 +of this work. + + + + +INDEX. + + + Advantages of the Cultivation of the Fine Arts to a Country, i, 6; + Sir M. A. Shoe's Opinion, i, 6; + Sir George Beaumont's, i, 7; + West's, i, 8; + Taylor's, i, 9; + see also, i, 69; + Reynolds' Opinion, i, 204; + Napoleon's, iii, 274. + + AEtion, his picture of the Nuptials of Alexander and Roxana, ii, 184. + + Agaptos, Porticos of, ii, 185. + + Ageladus, his works, ii, 185. + + Aldobrandini Wedding, Fresco of, ii, 55. + + Allston, Washington, i, 60; + his Prayer answered, i, 61; + his success in London, i, 62; + his Death, i, 62; + Vanderlyn's letter--his Reflections on his Death, i, 63. + + American Patronage at Home and Abroad, i, 66; + Weir, Greenough, and Cooper's testimony, i, 67; + Cooper's Letter, i, 68. + + Amiconi, Jacopo, iii, 249. + + Angelo, Michael, his Early Passion for Art, i, 47; + his Mask of a Satyr, i, 48; + his Sleeping Cupid, i, 48; + Angela and Julius II, i, 50; + St. Peter's Church, i, 50; + Angelo and Lorenzo the Magnificent, i, 52; + his Cartoon of Pisa, i, 53; + his Last Judgment, i, 54; + his Coloring, i, 56; + his Grace, i, 57; + his Oil Paintings, i, 58; + his Prophets and Julius II, i, 58; + his Bon-Mots, i, 59; + Angelo and Raffaelle, i, 70-72. + + Anguisciola, Sofonisba, iii, 129; + her Early Distinction, iii, 129; + her Invitation to Spain iii, 130; + her Marriages, iii, 131; + her Residence at Genoa, her Honors, and her Intercourse with + Vandyck, iii, 132. + + Antique Sculptures in Rome, ii, 159. + + Antiquities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, ii, 43. + + Antiquity of the Fine Arts, i, 12. + + Aparicio, Canova, and Thorwaldsen, i, 236. + + Apelles, i, 18; + his Works, i, 18; + his Industry, i, 19; + his Portraits of Philip and Alexander, i, 19; + his Venus Anadyomene, i, 20; + + Apelles and the Cobbler, i, 23; + his Foaming Charger, i, 24; + his Freedom with Alexander, i, 25; + Apelles and Protogenes, i, 25; + the celebrated Contest of Lines, i, 26; + his Generosity to Protogenes, i, 28. + + Apelles of Ephesus, i, 93; + his Treatment by Ptolomy Philopator, i, 94; + his Revenge in his famous Picture of Calumny, i, 94; + Lucian's description of it, i, 94; + Raffaelle's Drawing of it, i, 95; + Proof that there were two Painters named Apelles, i, 95. + + Apollo Belvidere--West's Criticism, i, 41. + + Apollo, Colossal Etruscan, i, 90. + + Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155. + + Apollodorus the Painter, i, 162; + his Works and Style, i, 163. + + Apollodorus the Architect, i, 163; + his Worke, i, 164; + Trajan's Column, i, 164; + Apollodorus and Adrian, i, 165; + his Wicked Death, i, 165. + + Aqueducts of Ancient Rome, ii 152. + + Arch, Origin and Antiquity of the, ii. 41. + + Arches, Triumphal, ii, 157. + + Archimedes, iii, 77; + his Genius, Discoveries, and Inventions, iii, 77; + his Wonderful Machines, iii, 78; + his Death and Monument, iii, 79; + Story of his Burning Glasses proved true, iii, 79. + + Ardemans and Bocanegra--a Trial of Skill, iii, 201. + + Art, Egyptian, iii, 1-42, and iii, 263. + + Art, Grecian, derived from the Egyptian--Champollion's Opinion, iii, 1; + Origin of, iii, 265. + + Athenians, Ingratitude of, to Artists, i, 159. + + + Backhuysen, Ludolph, Sketch of his Life and Works, iii, 235. + + Banks, Thomas--his Ambition, i, 2; + his Character, i, 295; + his Genius, i, 297; + his Kindness to Young Sculptors, i, 298; + his Personal Appearance and Habits, i, 299; + Flaxman's Tribute, i, 300. + + Barry, James--his Enthusiasm, i, 2; + his Poverty, Death, and Monument, i, 3; + Johnson's Opinion of his Genius, i, 3. + + Bassano, Jacopo--singular instance of his Skill, ii, 139. + + Beaumont, Sir George--his Opinion of the Importance of the + Fine Arts, i, 7; + his Enthusiasm and munificent gift to the English National + Gallery, i, 7. + + Beauty, Ideal, as Conceived and Practiced by the Greatest + Masters, ii, 247. + + Belzoni--his Travels in Egypt, iii, 25. + + The Belzoni Sarcophagus, ii, 194. + + Bernazzano, the Zeuxis of Italy, ii, 140. + + Bernini, the Cav., i, 101; + his Precocity, i, 101; + his Bust of Charles I. and his Prediction, i, 101; + + Bernini and Louis XIV., i, 102; + his Triumphal Visit to Paris, i, 102; + the Medal struck in his Honor, i, 103; + his Works, i, 103; + his Restoration of the Verospi Hercules, i, 104; + Lanzi's Critique, i, 103; + his Love of Splendor and his Riches, i, 104; + Bernini and Urban VIII., iii, 256. + + Blake, William--his Enthusiasm, Eccentricity, and Poverty, i, 3; + his melancholy yet triumphant Death, 1, 4. + + Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, iii, 305. + + Bridge, Trajan's, across the Danube, i, 164. + + Bridge, Mandrocles', across the Bosphorus, ii, 162. + + Bridge, the Britannia Railway Tubular, iii 46; + the Tubes, iii, 47; + the Piers, iii, 48; + Construction of the Tubes, iii, 49; + Floating the Tubes, iii, 50; + Raising the Tubes, iii, 52; + the prodigious Hydraulic Presses used, iii, 53; + Bursting of one, iii, 55; + Sir Francis Head's Description, iii, 56; + Cost of the Structure, iii, 57. + + Brower, Adrian, iii, 182; + his Escape from a Cruel Master, iii, 183; + Brower, the Duke d'Aremberg, and Rubens, iii, 184; + his Death, iii, 184; + his Works, iii, 185. + + Brunelleschi, Filippo--remarkable instance of the Trials and Triumphs + of Genius, iii, 80; + his Inquiring Mind, Industry, and Discoveries, iii, 81; + his Genius, iii, 82; + his Ambition, iii, 83; + his first Visit to Rome and Assiduity, iii, 84; + Assembly of Architects to consult on the best means of raising the + Cupola of the Cathedral of Florence, iii, 85; + his Return to Rome, iii, 86; + his Invitation back to Florence, iii, 87; + his Discourse, iii, 87; + his Return to Rome, iii, 89; + grand Assemblage of Architects from all parts of Europe, iii, 90; + their Opinions and ridiculous Projects to raise the Cupola, iii, 91; + Filippo's Opposition and Discourse, iii, 92; + taken for a Madman, and driven out of the Assembly, iii, 93; + his Discourse, iii, 94; + his Arguments, and his Proposal that he who could make an Egg stand + on one end should build the Cupola, iii, 94; + his Plan submitted, iii, 96; + its Adoption, iii, 99; + Opposition encountered, iii, 101; + Lorenzo Ghiberti associated with him, iii, 101; + his Vexation and Despair, iii, 102; + Commencement of the Work, iii, 103; + Lorenzo's incapacity for such a Work, iii, 104; + Filippo's Scheme to get rid of him, iii, 105; + Lorenzo disgraced, iii, 109; + Filippo appointed Sole Architect, iii, 111; + his Industry, the wonderful Resources of his Mind, and his + triumphant Success, iii, 112; + Filippo chosen Magistrate of the City, iii, 116; + Jealousies he still encountered, iii, 118; + his Arrest, Mortifying Affront, and Triumph, iii, 118; + Grandeur and Magnificence of his Cupola, iii, 120; + his Enthusiasm, iii, 122; + Brunelleschi and Donatello, iii, 123. + + Buffalmacco, the successor of Giotto, ii, 267; + his comical Tricks to enjoy his sweetest Sleep, ii, 268; + his Employment by the Nuns of Faenza, ii, 270; + his Use of their best wine, ii, 272; + his Employment by Bishop Guido, ii, 273; + Comical Pranks of the Bishop's Monkey, ii, 274; + his Trick on the Bishop, ii, 277; + Origin of Libel Painting, ii, 278; + + Utility of ancient paintings, ii, 280; + his Commission from the Countryman, and its curious execution, ii, 282; + his Commission from the Perugians, ii, 283; + their Impertinence requited, ii, 284; + his Novel Mode of enforcing Payment, ii, 285. + + Callot, Jacques, iii, 176; + his uncontrollable Passion for Art, iii, 176; + his Patriotism, iii, 177. + + Callimachus--his invention of the Corinthian Capital, i, 152. + + Cambiaso, Luca--his Precocity and remarkable Facility of Hand, iii, 187; + his Invitation to Spain, iii, 188; + Luca and Philip II., iii, 189; + his Artistic Merits, iii, 190; + Boschini and Mengs' Opinions, iii, 190. + + Campaspe and Apelles, i, 21. + + Campus Martius, i, 91. + + Cano, Alonso, i, 230; + his Liberality, i, 231; + his Eccentricities, i, 231; + his Hatred of the Jews, i, 232; + his Ruling Passion strong in Death, i, 234; + Cano and the Intendant of the Bishop of Malaga, iii, 203; + his love of Sculpture, iii, 204. + + Canova--his Visit to his Native Place in his old age, i, 32. + + Capitol, ancient, of Rome, iii, 59. + + Capugnano and Lionello Spada, iii, 247. + + Caracci, the School of, ii, 122. + + Caracci, Annibale--his Letter to Lodovico, and his Opinion of the + Works of Correggio, i, 253; + instance of his Skill, ii, 137; + his Jealousy of Agostino, iii, 258. + + Carburi, Count--his Skill in Engineering, iii, 42. + + Caracciolo, Gio. Battista--his Intrigues, ii, 128. + + Carducci, Bartolomeo--his kind Criticism, iii, 203. + + Carlos, the Four, of the 17th Century, ii, 184. + + Caravaggio, Michael Angelo da--his Quarrelsome Disposition + and his Death, iii, 248. + + Carreno, Don Juan, and Charles II, iii, 208; + his Copy of Titian's St. Margaret, iii, 208; + his Abstraction of Mind, iii, 209. + + Castagno, Andrea del, his Treachery and Death, ii, 144. + + Castillo's Sarcasm on Alfaro, iii, 204. + + Catacombs of Egypt, iii, 12. + + Catino, the Sagro, or Emerald Dish, iii, 215. + + Cellini, Benvenute, iii, 255; + Cellini and Urban VIII; + his absolution for sins committed in the service of the + Church, iii, 255. + + Cespedes, Pablo--his Last Supper, iii, 209; + Zuccaro's Compliment to Cespedes, iii, 210. + + Chair of St. Peter, iii, 213. + + Church, St Peter's, iii, 61 + + Churches of Rome, iii, 60. + + Cimabue, Giovanni--Sketch of his Life, ii, 251; + his Style, ii, 252; + his Passion for Art, ii, 252; + his famous picture of the Virgin, ii, 253; + remarkable instance of homage to Art, ii, 254; + his Works, ii, 255; + his Death, ii, 256; + his Care of Giotto, ii, 257. + + Cloaca Maxima at Rome, ii, 42. + + Coello, Claudio, his challenge to Giordano, ii, 234. + + Column, Trajan's, i, 164. + + Column of Austerlitz, iii, 280. + + Colosseum, description of, ii, 29; + Montaigne's quaint account of its Spectacles, ii, 31. + + Colossus of the Sun at Rhodes, ii, 162. + + "Columbus and the Egg," story of, derived by him from + Brunelleschi, iii, 95. + + Contarini, Cav. Giovanni--his skill in Portraits, ii, 139. + + Contri, Antonio--his method of transferring frescos from walls to + canvass, ii, 146; + see also Palmarolis, ii, 147. + + Cooper, J. Fennimore--his Encouragement of Greenough, i, 66; + his Letter to Induce his Countrymen to Patronize their own + Artists, i, 67. + + Corenzio, Belisario--his Intrigues, ii, 128. + + Corinthian Capital, invention of, i, 152. + + Correggio--Sketch of his Life, i, 243; + his Cupola of the Church of St. John at Parma, i, 244; + his grand Cupola of the Cathedral, i, 246; + his Fate Exaggerated, i, 249; + Lanzi's Opinion, i, 251; + his Marriage and Children, i, 252; + Caracci's Opinion of Correggio, and his Letter, i, 258; + his Enthusiasm, i, 255; + his Grace, i, 255; + Correggio and the Monks, i, 256; + his Kindness--his Muleteer, i, 256; + Duke of Wellington's Correggio, i, 257; + Correggio's Ancona, i, 257; + Portraits of Correggio, i, 258; + did Correggio ever visit Rome? i, 259; + Singular History of Correggio's Adoration of the Shepherds, i, 261; + of his Education of Cupid, i, 262; + of a Magdalen, i, 264; + of a Charity, i, 265; + the celebrated Notte of Correggio, iii, 259. + + Cortona, Pietro--Sketch of his Life, iii, 253; + Anecdotes of, iii, 254. + + + David, Jacques Louis, i, 176; + his Politics and Love of Liberty, i, 176; + David and Napoleon, i, 177; + his Banishment to Brussels, i, 177; + his famous picture of the Coronation of Napoleon, i, 178; + David and Canova, i, 179; + Napoleon's Compliments to David, i, 180; + the King of Wurtemberg's, i, 181; + List of Portraits it contained, i, 182; + its Barbarous Destruction by the Bourbons, i, 184; + David and the Duke of Wellington at Brussels, i, 184; + David and the Cardinal Caprara, i, 185; + Talma and David in his Banishment, 1, 186. + + Denon, the Baron--his description of the Necropolis of Thebes, iii, 16, + his Employment by Napoleon, iii, 802. + + Digby, Sir Kenelm--his Love Adventure in Spain, iii, 199. + + Dinocrates--his Proposal to cut Mount Athos into a Statue of Alexander + the Great, ii, 165; + Pope's Idea of its Practicability, ii, 166; + Dinocrates' Temple with an Iron Statue suspended in the air by + Loadstone, ii, 168. + + Domenichino, ii, 121; + his Dullness in his Youth, ii, 121; + Caracci's prediction of his rise to Eminence, ii, 122; + Lanzi and Mengs' Testimony of his Genius and Merits, ii, 123; + his Scourging of St. Andrew, ii, 123; + his Communion of St. Jerome, ii, 124; + his Enemies at Rome, ii, 125; + Lanzi's Account of the Decision of Posterity on his Merits, ii, 126; + his Caricatures, ii, 128; + Intrigues of the Neapolitan Triumvirate of Painters, ii, 128; + Lanzi's Account of this disgraceful Cabal, ii, 129; + his Works in the Chapel of St Januarius, and the Prices he + received, ii, 131; + his Death, ii, 132. + + Donatello, iii, 125; + Donatello and the Merchant, iii, 126; + Donatello and his unworthy Kinsmen, iii, 127; + his Death, iii, 128; + Donatello and Michael Angelo Compared, iii, 128; + Donatello and Brunelleschi, iii, 123; + Donatello and Uccello, ii, 292. + + Douw, Gerard, iii, 222; + his Style, iii, 224; + his Method of Painting, iii, 225; + his Works, iii, 226; + his Dropsical Woman, iii, 227. + + Dramatic Scenery at Rome, i, 93. + + Durer, Albert, iii, 228; + his unfortunate Marriage, iii, 229; + his Works as a Painter, iii, 229; + his Works as an Engraver, iii, 231; + his Fame and Death, iii, 233; + his Habits, iii, 234; + his Literary Works, iii, 234. + + + Egyptian Art, iii, 1, and iii, 263. + + Electioneering Pictures at Rome, i, 91. + + Emulation and Rivalry of Advantage to Artists, iii, 257. + + Engraving, Invention of Copper-Plate, i, 287. + + Era, Brightest, of Grecian Art, i, 11, and ii, 154. + + Era, Brightest, of Roman Art, ii, 152. + + Era, Brightest, of Italian Art, ii, 149. + + Eyck, John van--his Invention of Oil Painting, ii, 141. + + + Fabius Maximus--his Estimation of Art, i, 145. + + Fanaticism, Religious, destructive to Art, i, 105; + its Effects in England, i, 105. + + Figure, the Nude, i, 109; + Barry's Opinion, i, 109; + Schlegel's, i, 110. + + Fine Arts, Golden Age of, in Greece, i, 11. + + Fine Arts, Golden Age of, in Rome, ii, 152 + + Fine Arts, Golden Age of, In Italy, ii, 149. + + Finiguerra, Maso--his Invention of Copper-Plate Engraving, i, 287. + + Fiorentino, Stefano, one of the Fathers of Painting, ii, 286. + + Foreshortening, ii, 145; + its Invention, ii, 145. + + Fontana, Domenico, iii, 33; + his Removal of an Obelisk at Rome, iii, 34; + Dangers he Encountered, iii, 37; + Honors bestowed on him for his Success, iii, 40. + + Force of Habit, i, 202. + + Fornarina, La Bella, i, 75. + + Fountain, the Elephant, iii, 286. + + "Four Carlos of the 17th Century," ii, 184. + + "Four Finest Pictures at Rome," ii, 183 + + Frescos, Ancient, ii, 55; + the Aldobrandini Wedding, ii, 56. + + Fuseli, Henry--his Birth, ii, 59; + his Early Passion for Art, ii, 59; + his Literary and Poetical Taste, ii, 60; + Fuseli, Lavater, and the Unjust Magistrate, ii, 61; + his Travels and Literary Distinction, ii, 62; + his Arrival in London, ii, 63; + his Change from Literature to Painting, ii, 63; + his Visit to Italy, ii, 65; + his "Nightmare," ii, 66; + his OEdipus and his Daughters, ii, 66; + Fuseli and the Shakspeare Gallery, ii, 67; + his Hamlet's Ghost, ii, 69; + his Titania, ii, 69; + his Election as a Royal Academician, ii, 70; + Fuseli and Walpole, ii, 71; + Fuseli and Coutts, ii, 72; + Fuseli and Prof. Porson, ii, 72; + his Method of giving Vent to his Passion, ii, 73; + his Love of Terrific Subjects, ii, 73; + his Revenge on Lawrence, ii, 74; + his Estimate of Reynolds as an Historical Painter, ii, 75; + his Friendship for Lawrence, ii, 75; + Fuseli as Keeper of the Royal Academy, ii, 76; + his Jests and Oddities with the Students, ii, 77; + his Sarcasms on Northcote, ii, 78; + on various Artists, ii, 79; + his Retorts, ii, 80; + his Retort in Mr. Coutts' Banking-House, ii, 82; + his Sarcasm on Landscape and Portrait Painters, ii, 83; + his own Attainment of Happiness, ii, 84; + his Habits, ii, 84; + his Wife's Novel Method of Curing his Fits of Despondency, ii, 85; + his Personal Appearance, Sarcastic Disposition, and Quick + Temper, ii, 86; + his Near Sight, ii, 87; + his Popularity, ii, 88; + his Artistic Merits, ii, 88; + his Milton Gallery, etc., ii, 89. + + Fulton, Robert, as a Painter, i, 122; + his Love of Art, i, 123; + his Exalted Mind, i, 123; + his Account of his first Steamboat Voyage to Albany, and his + Predictions, i, 124. + + + Gallery, English National, i, 107. + + Gallery, Dresden, iii, 262. + + Gallery of the Louvre, iii, 289 and 302. + + Gallery, United States National--Suggestions for One, iii, 307. + + Galleries, Prices of, i, 112. + + Galletti, Pietro, and the Bolognese Students, ii, 184. + + Garland Twiner, i, 148. + + Gaulli, Gio. Battista--his Excellence in Portraiture, iii, 250; + his curious method of Painting the Dead, iii, 250. + + Genius, Trials of, i, 1, and iii, 80. + + Ghiberti, Lorenzo--his famous Doors of San Giovanni, i, 60, and iii, 101; + as an Architect, iii, 102. + + Giordano, Luca--his Wonderful Precocity, ii, 224; + his Enthusiasm, ii, 225; + Origin of his Nickname of _Luca-fa Presto_, ii, 226; + his Skill in copying and Imitating, ii, 226; + his Success at Naples, ii, 227; + Giordano, the Viceroy, and the Duke of Diano, ii, 228; + his Invitation to Florence--Giordano and Carlo Dolci, ii, 229; + his Invitation to the Court of Spain, ii, 230; + his Flattering Reception, ii, 230; + his Works in Spain, ii, 231; + in the Escurial, ii, 232; + his Habits, iii 233; + his first Picture at Madrid, ii, 233; + a great Favorite at Court, ii, 234; + Coello's Challenge, ii, 234; + Anecdotes, ii, 234; + Painting with his Fingers, ii, 235; + Rich Presents he Received, ii, 236; + his Return to Naples, ii, 236; + his Reception at Genoa, Florence, Rome and Naples, ii, 237; + his Personal Appearance and Character, ii, 237; + his Popularity, Love of Gain, and "Three Sorts of Pencils," ii, 238; + his Riches, ii, 238; + his Wonderful Facility of Hand, ii, 239; + his Fame and Reputation, ii, 240; + his Genius and merits, ii, 241; + his Tricks for Notoriety, his False Style and its Injurious Effects + on Art at the Time, ii, 241; + Remarkable Instance of his Rapidity of Execution in his altar-piece + of St. Francis Xavier, ii, 242. + + Giotto--Sketch of his Life, ii, 257; + his Early Passion for Art, ii, 257; + his Works, ii, 258; + as an Architect, ii, 259; + his St. Francis Stigmata, ii, 259; + his Invitation to Rome, ii, 260; + "Round as Giotto's O," ii, 261; + Story of his Living Model, ii, 262; + Giotto and the King of Naples, ii, 264; + his Bon Mots, ii, 265; + Giotto and Dante, ii, 266; + Death of Giotto ii 266. + + Giottino, ii, 286. + + Gladiator, Statue of the Dying, i, 144. + + Gladiator, Statue of the Fighting, ii, 187. + + Glass, Ancient, ii, 57; + Ancient Pictures of, ii, 58. + + Golden Age of Art in Greece, i, 11, and ii, 154. + + Golden Age of Art in Rome, ii, 152. + + Golden Age of Art in Italy, ii, 149. + + Goldsmith, Dr., and Reynolds, i, 199; + his "Deserted Village," i, 200; + his Retaliation, i, 200. + + Gomez, the Slave of Murillo, iii, 195. + + Grecian Art derived from the Egyptians, iii, 1. + + Greenough, Horatio--his Chanting Cherubs, i, 67; + Commission for his Statue of Washington for the Capitol, i, 68; + his Modesty, i, 69; + his account of the Miraculous Picture of the Virgin at + Florence, iii, 211. + + Griffier, John--his Perilous Adventure, iii, 245. + + Group of Niobe and her Children, ii, 185. + + Group of Laocooen and his Sons, ii, 187. + + Guercino--his Power of Relief, ii, 140. + + + Hals, Frank, and Vandyck, ii, 312. + + Hanneman--his picture of Peace, i, 310. + + Harpies, Curious Representations of, iii, 181. + + Heliopolis, iii, 7. + + Herculaneum--its Destruction--Antiquities and Works of Art + discovered, ii, 43. + + Hogarth--Value of his Works, i, 6; + his Genius, i, 166; + his Apprenticeship, i, 167; + his Revenge, i, 168; + his Method of Sketching an Incident, i, 168; + his Marriage, i, 168; + his Successful Expedient to get Payment, i, 169; + his Picture of the Red Sea, i, 170; + his Courtesy, i, 171; + his Absence of Mind, i, 171; + his March to Finchley, i, 172; + his unfortunate Dedication to the King, i, 172; + his Strange Manner of Selling his Pictures, i, 172; + Paltry Prices he received, i, 174; + his last Work, "the Tail-Piece," i, 175; + his Death, i, 176. + + Holbein, Hans, ii, 216; + his Portrait with the Fly, ii, 216; + his Visit to England, ii, 216; + Holbein and Henry VIII., ii, 217; + his Adventure with the Nobleman, ii, 217; + the King's Rebuke and Protection, ii, 218; + his Portrait of the Duchess of Milan, ii, 218; + his Dangerous Flattery, ii, 219; + his Portrait of Cratzer, ii, 219; + his Portraits of Sir Thomas More and his Family, ii, 220; + Bon-Mot of Sir Thomas, ii, 221. + + + Illusions in Painting, i, 228; + Singular Pictorial, ii, 137. + + Industry necessary to Success in Art--Reynold's Opinion, i, 201; + Durer's, iii, 228 and 234; + Michael Angelo's, i, 60; + Apelles', i, 19; + Da Vinci's, i, 275, 280, and 282; + Vernet's, ii, 297 and 299; + Rubens', i, 80 and 82; + Raffaelle's, i, 71; + Poussin's, iii, 150 and 161; + Gierdano's, ii, 226 and 233; + Brunelleschi's, iii, 81 and 84. + + Infelicities of Artists, i, 1-6. + + Ingenuity of Artists, iii, 178. + + Inquisition, Evil Influence of the, on Spanish Art, i, 211; + and Torreggiano, i, 2; + and Sir Anthony Moore, iii, 243. + + + Jarvis, John Wesley, i, 113; + his Eccentricity, and Lore of Jesting, Mimicking, and + Story-Telling, i, 113; + his Ludicrous Readings from Shakspeare, i, 115; + Dr. Francis' Account of him, i, 116; + the "Biggest Lie," i, 118; + Jarvis and Bishop Moore, i, 119; + and Commodore Perry, i, 119; + and the Philosopher, i, 120; + and Dr. Mitchell, i, 120; + his Habits, i, 121; + Jarvis and Sully, i, 122; + his Fondness for Notoriety, i, 122. + + Jervas, Charles, ii, 213; + Jervas and Pope, ii, 214; + and Dr. Arbuthnot, ii, 215; + his Vanity, ii, 215; + Kneller's Sarcasm, ii, 216. + + Jewelers, a hint to, iii, 179. + + Johnson, Dr.--his Friendship for Reynolds, i, 196; + his Apology for Portrait Painting, i, 197; + his Portrait, i, 198; + his Death, i, 199. + + Julian the Apostate--his Attempt to rebuild Jerusalem, ii, 160. + + Jupiter--see Temples and Statues. + + + Kirk, Thomas--his Genius, Misfortune, and untimely Death, i, 5. + + Kneller, Sir Godfrey--his Arrival in England, and great Success, i, 96; + Kneller's Portrait of Charles II., i, 99; + Kneller and James II., i, 97; + his Compliment to Louis XIV., i, 97; + his Wit and Bon-Mots, i, 98; + his Knowledge of Physiognomy, i, 99; + Kneller as a Justice of the Peace, i, 99; + his Decisions regulated by Equity rather than Law, i, 99; + Kneller and Clostermans, i, 100. + + + La Bella Fornarina, i, 75. + + Labyrinth of Egypt, iii, 11. + + Lake Moeris, iii, 9. + + Lamps, Perpetual, ii, 182. + + Laocooen, Group of the, ii, 187; + Pliny's Account of, ii, 189; + Michael Angelo's Opinion, ii, 190; + Sangallo's Account of its Discovery, ii, 190. + + Lanfranco, the Cav., ii, 91; + his Hostility to Domenichino, ii, 125. + + Lasson, M. de--his Caricature, ii, 311. + + Layard--his Nineveh and its Remains, ii, 34. + + Lebas, M.--his Removal of an Obelisk from Thebes to Paris, iii, 40. + + Louvre, Gallery of the, iii, 302; + Dismantling of, iii, 289. + + Love makes a Painter, i, 112, i, 148, i, 235, and iii, 195. + + Love of Art among the Romans, i, 146. + + Luca-fa-Presto, ii, 226. + + + Mabuse, John de, Anecdote of, iii, 246. + + Mandrocles' Bridge across the Bosphorus, ii, 162. + + March, Esteban--his Strange Method of Study, iii, 198; + his Adventure of the Fish fried in Linseed Oil, iii, 199. + + Marbles, very curious Imitations of, ii, 147. + + Marbles, the Elgin, ii, 171. + + Matsys, Quintin, i, 112; + his Love and Monument, i, 113. + + Masters, the Old, i, 111. + + Mausolus, Tomb of, ii, 161. + + Mechanics, Comparative Skill of the Ancients and Moderns in, iii, 45. + + Medals, 70,000 Ancients, iii, 272. + + Medals of Napoleon, iii, 281. + + Memphis, iii, 8. + + Messina, Antonella da, ii, 143. + + Methodius and the King of Bulgaria, iii, 206. + + Mieris and Jan Steen, Frolics of, iii, 241. + + Mignard Pierre--his Skill in imitating other Masters, i, 186; + amusing instance of, i, 187; + his Skill in Portraits, ii, 138. + + Modesty, an Overplus of, dangerous to Success, i, 307. + + Moeris, Lake of, iii, 9. + + More, Sir Anthony, iii, 242; + his Visit to Spain and great Success, iii, 242; + his Visit to England and flattering Reception, iii, 243; + More and Philip II., iii, 244; + his fortunate Escape, iii, 244; + his Success and Works, iii, 244. + + Morland, George--Sketch of his Life, ii. 197; + his wonderful Precocity, ii, 198; + his early Fame, ii, 199; + his Mental and Moral Culture under an Unnatural Parent, ii, 260; + his Escape from his Thraldom, ii, 201; + his Marriage and Temporary Reform, ii, 202; + his Social Position, ii, 203; + his unpleasant Encounter, ii, 204; + his Stay in the Isle of Wight, ii, 205; + his Novel Mode of fulfilling commissions, ii, 206; + Morland and the Pig, ii, 206; + his Pictures in the Isle of Wight, ii, 207; + his Freaks, ii, 208; + his Dread of Bailiffs, ii, 208; + his Apprehension as a Spy, ii, 209; + his Sign of the "Black Bull," ii, 210; + Morland and the Pawnbroker, ii, 211; + his Idea of a Baronetcy, ii, 212; + his Artistic Merits, ii, 212. + + Mosaics, i, 15; + ancient, ii, 55; + of the Battle of Platea, ii, 55. + + Mudo, El, and Titian's Last Supper, ii, 14. + + Murillo, i. 236; + his Visit to Madrid and Velasquez, i, 236; + his Return to Seville, i, 237; + Murillo and Iriarte, i, 238; + his Death, i, 238; + his Style, i, 239; + his Works, i, 240; + Soult's Murillos, i, 240 and 242; + Castillo's Tribute, i, 242; + his "Virgin of the Napkin," iii, 193; + his pictures in Spanish America, iii, 192; + Anecdote of an Altar-Piece in Flanders, iii, 194; + his Slave Gomez, iii, 195. + + Musee Francais and Musee Royal, iii, 302. + + + Names of Architects designated by Reptiles, ii, 156. + + Napoleon--his Love of Art, iii, 274; + his Enlightened Policy to Encourage Art, iii, 275; + his Works at Paris, iii, 276; + The Napoleon Medals, iii, 281; + the Elephant Fountain, iii, 286; + Interesting Drawing, iii, 287; + Sevres China, iii, 288; + Dismantling of the Louvre, iii, 289; + Removal of the Venetian Horses, iii, 296; + Removal of the Statue of Napoleon from the Column of + Austerlitz, iii, 301. + + Needles, Cleopatra's, iii, 42. + + Niello, Works in, i, 286. + + Nineveh and its Remains, ii, 34; + Description of the Royal Palace exhumed at Nimroud, ii, 37; + Layard's description of its interior, ii,39. + + Niobe and her Children, Group of, ii, 185; + Schlegel's Criticism, ii, 186. + + Nollekens, Joseph, i, 301; + his Visit to Rome, i, 301; + Nollekens and Garrick, i, 302; + his Talents in Bust Sculpture, i, 303; + his Bust of Johnson, i, 304; + his Liberality and Kindness to Chantrey, i, 304; + Nollekens and the Widow, i, 305; + his odd Compliments, i, 306. + + Norgate, Edward--his Visit to Italy, Mishaps, and travelling Home on + foot, i, 308. + + Northcote, James, and Fuseli, ii, 78. + + Numismatics, iii, 269; + Value of the Science to Archaeology, Philology, the Fine + Arts, etc., iii, 270; + 70,000 Ancient Medals, iii, 272. + + + Obelisks, Egyptian, iii, 30; + Number of, at Rome, ii, 152; + Removal of one by Fontana, iii, 33; + Removal of one from Thebes to Paris, iii, 40; + Cleopatra's Needles, iii, 42. + + Odeon, the first at Athens, ii, 182. + + Olynthian Captive, Story of, i, 151. + + Origin of Label Painting, ii, 278. + + + Pacheco--his Opinions on Art as restricted by the Inquisition, i, 212. + + Pareda, Antonio--his Artifice to Keep up Appearances, iii, 202. + + Pareja, Juan de, the Slave of Velasquez, i, 228; + his Love of Painting and his Success, i, 229; + his Gratitude to his Master, i, 229. + + Painter, perilous adventure of a, iii, 245 + + Painter of Florence, Curious Legend of the, iii, 217 + + Painter-Friar, the Devil, and the Virgin, iii, 220. + + Painting among the Egyptians, iii, 1 and 263. + + Painting among the Greeks, i, 22, 27, and iii, 265. + + Painting among the Romans, i, 88, and ii, 152. + + Painting, Revival of, in Italy, ii, 244. + + Painting, Italian Schools of, ii, 292. + + Painting, Golden Age of, in Italy, ii, 149; + Lanzi's Philosophy of, ii, 150; + Milizia's, ii, 154. + + Painting--different Schools Compared, i, 110. + + Painting, Effects of, on the Mind, i, 147. + + Painting from Nature, i, 18. + + Painting, Oil, Invention of, ii, 141. + + Painting, oldest Oil, extant, iii, 181. + + Painting, Portrait, Johnson's Apology for, i, 197. + + Painting, Origin of Label, ii, 278. + + Paintings transferred from Walls and Panels to Canvas, ii, 146. + + Paintings, Curious, iii, 180. + + Paintings, Evanescent, i, 106. + + Palace, Nero's Golden, ii, 155. + + Palaces of Rome, iii, 65. + + Palmaroli--his Method of transferring Paintings from Walls and Panels + to Canvas, ii, 147. + + Pantoja and the Eagle, iii, 205. + + Parrhasius, i, 150; + his Demos and other Works, i, 150; + the Olynthian Captive, i, 151; + his Vanity, i, 152. + + Parthenon at Athens, ii, 170; + its Dilapidation, by the Venetians, Turks, and Lord Elgin, ii, 171. + + Pausias, i, 148; his Works and the Garland Twiner, i, 148. + + Perpetual Lamps, ii, 182. + + Pharos, Light-house of, ii, 164. + + Phidias, i, 157; + his Statue of Minerva, i, 158, and ii, 171; + Phidias and Alcamenes, i, 159; + Ingratitude of the Athenians, i, 159; + his Olympian Jupiter, i, 17, and i, 160; + his Model for the Olympian Jupiter, i, 161. + + Picture of Ialysus and his Dog, Protogenes, i, 149, and i, 281. + + Picture of Calumny, Apelles', i, 94. + + Picture of the Virgin, the Miraculous, iii, 211. + + Pictures, first brought to Rome, i, 88. + + Pictures of Glass, Ancient, ii, 58. + + Pictures, Four finest at Rome, ii, 183. + + Pillar of On, iii, 8. + + Poecile at Athens, i, 13. + + Pompeii--its Destruction; + Antiquities and Works of Art discovered, ii, 43; + Vivid Sketch of its present Appearance, etc., by an American + Traveler, ii, 46. + + Pope as a Painter--his Fame, i, 201; + his Proficiency in the Art, ii, 214; + his Idea of the Practicability of Dinocrates' Plan of cutting Mount + Athos into a Statue of Alexander the Great, ii, 166. + + Portici, the Site of Herculaneum, ii, 44 and 46. + + Portraits, Female, Rarity of, in Spain, iii, 191. + + Poussin, Nicholas--his Noble Descent, iii, 148; + his First Celebrity, iii, 149; + his first Visit to Rome, iii, 150; + his Enthusiasm and Assiduity, iii, 150; + his Distress, and the Paltry Prices he received for his + Works, iii, 151; + his Ultimate Appreciation and Success, iii, 152; + his Invitation back to Paris, iii, 153; + the King's Autograph Letter on the Occasion, iii, 153; + + Intrigues, his Disgust, and Secret Return to Rome, iii, 154; + his Modesty, unostentatious Mode of Living, and his + Generosity, iii, 155; + Poussin and Cardinal Mancini, iii, 155; + Reynolds' Critique, iii, 156; + Poussin and Marino, iii, 159; + Poussin Romanized, iii, 160; + his Habits of Study, iii, 161; + his Old Age, iii, 162; + his Master-Piece, iii, 163; + his last Work and Death, iii, 163; + his Letter to M. Felibien, iii, 164; + his Ideas of Painting, iii, 164; + Poussin and the Nobleman, iii, 165; + and Mengs, iii, 165; + and Domenichino, iii, 166; + and Salvator Rosa, iii, 166; + his Dignity, iii, 167; + Poussin, Angelo, and Raffaelle compared, iii, 168. + + Prado, Blas de, and the Emperor of Morocco, iii, 207. + + Praxiteles, i, 155; + his Works--the Venus of Cnidus and the Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155; + Praxiteles and Phryne, i, 156; + the King of Bithynia, and the Venus of Cnidus, i, 157. + + Press, Hydraulic, explained, iii 52; + its Tremendous Power and Use, iii, 53. + + Proctor, his Genius and Works, i, 4; + his Misfortunes and melancholy Death, i, 5. + + Protogenes, i, 149; + his Works, and his famous picture of Ialysus and his Dog, i, 149; + Protogenes and Demetrius Poliorcetes, i, 28, and i, 149; + and Apelles, i, 25. + + Pyramids of Egypt, iii, 19. + + Pyramid of Cephren, Perilous Ascent of, iii, 27. + + + Raffaelle, i, 70; + his ambition, i, 70; + Raffaelle and Michael Angelo, i, 71; + his Transfiguration, i, 72; + his Death, i, 74; + his Character, i, 74; + his Mistress, i, 75; + his Genius, i, 76; + his Model for his Female Saints, i, 76; + his Oil Paintings, i, 77; + his Portraits of Julius II., i, 78; + his different Manners, i, 78; + his Skill in Portraits, ii, 138; + Skull of Raffaelle in the Academy of St Luke, ii, 183. + + Ranc, Jean--his Retort, iii, 201. + + Rebuke, a Painter's just, iii, 200. + + Retort Courteous, a Painter's, iii, 201. + + Rembrandt--Sketch of his Life, iii, 170; + his Studio and Models, iii, 171; + his great Success, iii, 172; + his Deceits to sell and increase the Price of his Works, iii, 173; + his numerous Works, iii, 173; + his extraordinary Merits as an Engraver, iii, 174. + + Reynolds, Sir Joshua, i, 188; + his pleasing Manners, Fortune, and Collection of Works of Art, i, 189; + his new Style and its Success, i, 189; + his Prices, i, 191; + his Method with his Sitters, i, 192; + his Removal to Leicester Square, i, 192; + his showy Coach, i, 193; + his Table and Guests, i, 194; + the Founding of the Royal Academy, and his election as + President, i, 194; + Reynolds and Dr. Johnson, i, 195; + Johnson's Friendship for Reynolds, and his Apology for Portrait + Painting, i, 196 and 197; + the Literary Club, i, 198; + Johnson's Portrait, i, 198; + Johnson's Death, i, 199; + Reynolds and Dr. Goldsmith, i, 199; + the "Deserted Village," i, 200; + "Retaliation," i, 200; + Pope's Fan i, 201; + Reynolds' first Attempts in Art, i, 202; + Force of Habit, i, 202; + Paying the Piper, i, 203; + his Modesty and his Generosity, i, 203; + his Love of Art, i, 204; + his Critique on Rubens, i, 205; + Reynolds and Haydn, i, 206; + his Skill in Compliment, i, 207; + his Excellent Advice, i, 208; + Reynolds as Mayor of Plympton and his two Portraits, i, 208; + his Kindness of Heart, i, 209; + Burke's Eulogy, i, 209; + his Experiments and Use of Old Paintings, i, 210; + his Method of Working, i, 193; + Rubens' Last Supper, i, 206. + + Rhodes, Statues and Paintings at, ii, 164. + + Ribalta Francisco--his Love Romance and his Success, i, 235. + + Ribera, Giuseppe, (Spagnoletto,) his Early Enthusiasm, Poverty, and + Industry at Rome, ii, 133; + his Return to Naples and Marriage, ii, 134; + his Rise to Eminence, ii, 135; + his Discovery of the Philosopher's Stone, ii, 135; + his Favorite Subjects, ii. 136; + his Disposition, ii, 137; + his Intrigues, ii, 138; + Lanzi's Account of his Death, ii, 132. + + Riley, John, i, 307; + his Diffidence and Merits, i, 308. + + Rizi, Francisco--his Rebuke to Antonilez, iii, 200. + + Romans, Fondness of, for Works of Art, i, 88; + for Etruscan Sculpture, i, 90. + + Rome, Ancient, Glory of, ii, 152, and iii, 57 and 71; + first Pictures brought to Rome, i, 88; + Electioneering pictures at Rome, i, 91; + Dramatic Scenery at Rome, i, 93; + Ancient Map of Rome, ii, 160; + 100,000 Statues at Rome, ii, 152. + + Rome, Modem--its Churches, Palaces, Villas, and Treasures of + Art, iii, 60. + + Rosa, Salvator, ii, 91; + Cav. Lanfranco's Generosity, ii, 91; + Rosa at Rome and Florence, ii, 92; + his Return to Rome, ii, 93; + brightest Era of Landscape Painting, ii, 93; + his Subjects, ii, 93; + his wonderful Facility of Execution, ii, 94; + his Flagellation by the Monks, ii, 95; + Rosa and the higgling Prince, ii, 96; + his Opinion of his own Works, ii, 98; + his Banditti, ii, 98; + Rosa and Massaniello, ii, 100; + and Cardinal Sforza, ii, 100; + his Manifesto, ii, 101; + his Banishment from Rome, ii, 102; + his Secret Visit to Rome, ii, 102; + his Wit, ii, 103; + his Reception at Florence, ii, 103; + his Histrionic Powers, ii, 104; + his Reception at the Pitti Palace, ii, 105; + his Satires, ii, 92 and 105; + his Harpsichord, ii, 106; + Rare Portrait, ii, 106; + his Return to Rome, ii, 109; + his Love of Show and Magnificence, ii, 109; + his Last Works, ii, 111; + his over-weening Desire to be considered a Historical Painter, ii, 112; + Ghigi, his Physician and Rosa, ii, 113; + Lady Morgan's Account of his Death-Bed, ii, 115; + Rosa and Poussin iii, 166; + Rosa and Fracanzani, iii, 256. + + Rosada Tivoli, iii, 185; + his Works, iii, 186; + his wonderful Rapidity of Hand, iii, 186; + a Wager won, iii, 187; + his Habits and Improvidence, iii, 187. + + Rosa, Giovanni--a modern Zeuxis, ii, 139. + + Rosalba, Carriera, iii, 133; + her Modesty, and Knowledge of Tempers, iii, 133. + + Rubens, Peter Paul, i, 79; + his Visit to Italy, i, 80; + his Reception by the Duke of Mantua, i, 80; + his Enthusiasm, i, 80; + his Embassy to Spain, i, 81; + his Return to Antwerp, i, 81; + his Marriage, House, and rich collection of Works of Art, i, 81; + his Habits, Extraordinary Memory and Acquirements, i, 82; + his Detractors, i, 82; + his Magnanimity, i, 83; + the Gallery of the Luxembourg, i, 83; + Rubens sent Ambassador to the Courts of Spain and England, i, 83; + his Reception and Works at Madrid, i, 84; + his Reception and Works in England, i, 84; + his Delicacy, Address, and the Honors conferred on him on the + occasion, i, 85; + his Death, i, 85; + his Numerous Works, i, 86; + his Method of Working, i, 206. + + Ruysch, Rachel--her Life and Works, iii, 135. + + + Scagliola or Mischia, Works in, ii, 147. + + Schwarts, amusing Anecdote of, iii, 175. + + Sculpture, Invention of, i, 153; + Etruscan, i, 90; + Egyptian, iii, 1; + Grecian, i, 154 and 157. + + Sculptures, Antique, at Rome, ii, 159. + + Seymour, Anecdotes of, and the Proud Duke, ii, 223. + + Shakspeare Gallery, iii, 305. + + Sirani, Elizabeth--her Life and Works, iii, 134; + her melancholy Death, iii, 135. + + Soane, Sir John, ii, 191; + his Success and Works, ii, 192; + his Liberality and Public Munificence, ii, 192; + his Museum, ii, 193 ; + the Belzoni Sarcophagus, ii, 194; + Tasso's MS. of Gerusalemme Liberata, ii, 195; + other rare MSS., Antiquities, Works of Art, etc., ii, 195. + + Sostratus, his Light-House on the Isle of Pharos, ii, 164. + + Spagnoletto--See Ribera. + + Spain, Melancholy State of the Fine Arts in, i, 217; + Rarity of Female Portraits in, iii, 191. + + Spanish Art, Evil Effects of the Inquisition on, i, 211. + + Sphinx, the Colossal, iii, 10. + + Stabiae--its Destruction, ii, 43. + + Statue of the Apollo Belvidere, i, 41; + of the Apollo Sauroctonos, i, 155; + of the Apollo, Colossal Etruscan, i, 90. + + Statue of the Venus de Medici, i, 147. + + Statue of the Venus of Cnidus, i, 156 + + Statue of the Venus Victrix, i, 147. + + Statue of Minerva, Phidia's, i, 158, and ii, 171. + + Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Phidias', i, 160 + + Statue of the Fighting Gladiator, ii, 187. + + Statue of the Dying Gladiator, i, 144. + + Statue of Pompey the Great, ii, 159. + + Statue of Semiramis, cut out of a Mountain, ii, 167. + + Statue of Napoleon on the Column of Austerlitz, iii, 301. + + Statue, Equestrian, of Peter the Great, iii, 42. + + Statues, the Greek, i, 109. + + Statues, Sounding, iii, 6. + + Statues of Memnon, iii, 6. + + Stratagem, an Architect's, i, 309. + + Stratagem, Hogarth's, i, 169. + + Steen, Jan, iii, 238; + his Works, iii, 238; + Kugler's Critique on, iii, 240; + Frolics of Steen and Mieris, iii, 241. + + Stephenson, Robert, and the Britannia Bridge, iii, 46. + + Stuart, Charles Gilbert, i, 124; + his Visit to Scotland and Return before the Mast, i, 125; + his Visit to London, i, 125; + his Skill in Music, and its Use in Time of Need, i, 126; + his Introduction to West, i, 126; + his Portrait of West, i, 126; + his Scholarship, i, 131; + his Rule of half prepayment, i, 131; + his Powers of Perception i, 132; + Allston's Eulogium, i, 133; + his great Conversational Powers, i, 133; + his Success in Europe, i, 136; + in Ireland, i, 136; + his Return to America, i, 137; + Stuart and Washington, i, 137; + his Last Picture, i, 142; + Stuart, his Boy and his Dog, i, 142; + his Mark, i, 142. + + + Tasso's MS. of "Gerusalemme Liberata," ii, 195. + + Temple of Diana at Ephesus, i, 144. + + Temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens, ii, 168. + + Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, ii, 153, and iii, 59. + + Temple of Minerva at Athens, ii, 170. + + Temple of Carnac, iii, 5. + + Temple of Luxor, iii, 5. + + Titian--Sketch of his Life, ii, 1; + his famous picture of St. Peter the Martyr, ii, 2; + his Refusal of the Office of the Leaden Seal, ii, 4; + his different Manners, ii, 5; + his Works, ii, 6; + his Imitators, ii, 7; + his Venus, ii, 8; + Ottley's Description of it, ii, 8; + Titian and the Emperor Charles V., ii. 10; + extraordinary Friendship of Charles for Titian, his Favors and + Remarkable Sayings, ii, 11; + Charles' rebukes to his jealous Nobles, ii, 12; + Titian and Philip II., ii, 13; + his Letter of Congratulation to Philip, ii, 13; + Philip and the Titian Venus, ii, 14; + Titian's Last Supper and El Mudo, ii, 14; + his Old Age, ii, 15; + Monument to Titian, ii, 15. + + Thebes, Ancient, iii, 2. + + Theodoric the Great--his Love of Art, iii, 73. + + Torregiano--his Visit to Spain, and his Group of the Virgin and + Child, i, 1; + his Horrid Treatment and Death, i, 2. + + Torres--Sarcasm on his Imitations of Caravaggio, iii, 205. + + Transfiguration of Raffaelle, i, 72. + + Tristan, Luis, i, 229; + Tristan and Velasquez, i, 229; + Tristan and El Greco, i, 230. + + "Triumvirate of Historical Painters," i, 244. + + "Triumvirate of Landscape Painters," ii, 93. + + Triumvirate of Neapolitan Painters, Intrigues of, ii, 128. + + + Uccello, Paolo, one of the Fathers of Painting, ii, 287; + his Enthusiasm, ii, 288; + Uccello and the Monks of San Miniato, ii, 289; + his remarkable Picture of the most distinguished Artists of his + Time, ii, 290; + his Incredulity of St. Thomas, ii, 291; + Uccello and Donatello, ii, 292. + + Utility of Ancient Works, ii, 280. + + + Vanbrugh, Sir John, and his Severe Critics, ii, 221; + Reynolds' celebrated Criticism in his favor, ii, 221. + + Vase, the Portland, ii, 56. + + Vandyck, Sir Anthony--his Conduct in the School of Rubens, iii, 136; + his Visit to Italy, iii, 138; + his Return to Antwerp, iii, 139; + his Success and the Jealousy of Artists, iii, 140; + his celebrated Picture of the Elevation of the Cross, and the Canons + of Courtray, iii, 140; + his Visit to England, iii, 141; + his Success and Honors, iii, 141; + his Death and Character, iii, 142; + Remarkable Instance of his Rapidity of Execution, ii, 312. + + Velasquez, Don Diego, i, 226; + Velasquez and Rubens compared by Mrs. Jameson, i, 226; + Velasquez and Philip IV--the favors and extraordinary Honors + conferred on him, i, 227; + his Skill in Portraits, i, 227; + his Portrait of Innocent X, i, 228; + his Generosity to his Slave, i, 228. + + Velde, William van de, the Elder, iii, 143; + his Intrepidity in Painting Naval Engagements, iii, 143; + his Invitation to England and his Works, iii, 143; + Van de Velde and Charles II., iii, 145. + + Velde, William van de, the Younger, iii, 145; + his Admirable Works, iii, 146; + Present Value of his Works, iii, 147; + his numerous Drawings, and their Estimation and Value, iii, 148. + + Veneziano, Domenico, ii, 144; + his treacherous Death, ii, 144. + + Venice, Foundation of, iii, 72. + + Venetian Horses, the famous, Removal of from Paris, iii, 296. + + Venus Anadyomene, i, 2. + + Venus of Cnidus, i, 155. + + Venus de Medici, i, 147. + + Venus Victrix, i, 147. + + Venus, Titian's, ii, 8. + + Vermeyen, John C., and the Emperor Charles V., iii, 206; + his singular Dress and long Beard, iii, 207. + + Vernet, Claude Joseph, ii, 295; + his Passion for Art, and his Precocity, ii, 295; + his Enthusiasm, ii, 296; + his Sketching the Tempest, lashed to the Mast, ii, 297; + his Arrival at Rome, ii, 298; + his Industry and Poverty, ii, 299; + his "Alphabet of Tones," ii, 299; + Vernet and the Connoisseur, ii, 301; + his Success and Works, ii, 301; + Diderot's Eulogy, ii, 303; + his Passion for Music, ii, 306; + his Opinion of his own Artistic Merits, ii, 307; + Characteristic Letter to the Marquis de Marigny, ii, 309; + his Prices, ii, 310. + + Vernet, Charles, ii, 310; + his Works, ii, 310; + his rebuke to a Minister of State, ii, 311. + + Vernet, Horace--his Life, Style, and Works, ii, 16-28. + + Vieira, Francisco--his Love Romance, iii, 195; + his Success, iii, 198. + + Vinci, Lionardo da, i, 266; + Precocity of his Genius, i, 266; + his first remarkable Picture, i, 267; + the extraordinary Versatility of his Talents, i, 268; + his Works at Milan, i, 268; + his famous Battle of the Standard, i, 270; + Vinci and Leo X., i, 271; + Vinci and Francis I., i, 271; + his Death, i, 272; + his Learning, i, 272; + his Writings, i, 273; + his Sketch Books, i, 275; + his Last Supper, i, 276; + Copies of his Last Supper, i, 278; + his Discrimination, i, 279; + his Idea of Perfection in Art, i, 280; + Vinci and the Prior, i, 282; + his Drawings of the Heads in the Last Supper, i, 284; + Francis I. and the Last Supper, i, 284; + Authenticated Works of Da Vinci, i, 285. + + + Weenix, John Baptist the Elder, iii, 236; + his wonderful Facility of Hand, iii, 236. + + Weenix, the Younger, iii, 237. + + Weesop, Anecdote of, i, 310. + + West, Benjamin--his Opinion of the Value of the Fine Arts to a + Country, i, 8; + Anecdotes of West, i, 28; + his Ancestry, i, 28; + his Birth, i, 29; + his First Remarkable Feat, i, 30; + his doings with the Indians, i, 30; + his Cat's-Tail's Pencils, i, 30; + his First Picture, i, 31; + his First Visit to Philadelphia, i, 32; + his Ambition, i, 33; + his First Patrons, i, 34; + his Education, i, 35; + his Dedication to Art, i, 36; + his Early Prices, i, 38; + his Arrival at Rome, i, 39; + his Reception at Rome, i, 40; + his Criticism on the Apollo Belvidere, i, 41; + his Early Friends, i, 41; + his Course of Study, i, 42; + a Remarkable Prophecy, i, 43; + West in London--his Fondness for Skating, i, 44; + his Death of Wolfe, i, 45; + his Defense for Innovation before the King, i, 46; + Stuart's Anecdotes of West, i, 127-131. + + Wilson, Richard--his Poverty and Want of Appreciation, i, 6; + Present Value of his Works, i, 6. + + Winde William--his successful Stratagem, i, 399. + + Wissing, William--Freedom of the Times in England in the reign of + Charles II., i, 309. + + Wolf, the Bronze, "the Thunder-Stricken Nurse of Rome", i, 90. + + Wonders, the Seven, of the World, iii, 75. + + Wren, Sir Christopher, i, 290; + his Self-Command, i, 290; + his Restraints in designing his Edifices, i, 292; + the great Fire in London, i, 293; + St. Paul's Cathedral, i, 294; + his Death, i, 295; + Wren and Charles II., i, 295. + + + Zuccaro, Taddeo, iii, 250; his Poverty, Enthusiasm, and Works, iii, 251. + + Zuccaro, Federigo--his Resentment, iii, 251; Royal Criticism on his + Self-Adulation, iii, 252. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: Arnolfo had proposed to raise the cupola immediately above +the first cornice, from the model of the church in the chapel of the +Spaniards, where the cupola is extremely small. Arnolfo was followed by +Giotto in 1331. To Giotto succeeded Taddeo Gaddi, after whom, first +Andrea Orgagna, next Lorenzo di Filippo, and lastly Brunelleschi were +architects of the Cathedral.] + +[Footnote 2: The story of Columbus and the Egg is familiar to every one. +The jest undoubtedly originated with Brunelleschi, as it is attested by +many of the Italian writers; it happened in 1420, fourteen years before +Columbus was born. Toscanelli was a great admirer of Brunelleschi, whose +knowledge of the Scriptures and powers of argument were so great, that +he could successfully dispute in public assemblies, or in private with +the most learned theologians, so that Toscanelli was accustomed to say +that "to hear Filippo in argument, one might fancy one's self listening +to a second Paul." So capital a retort could hardly have failed to reach +Columbus, through his instructor, nor would he have hesitated to use it +against his antagonists under similar circumstances. Brunelleschi was +born in 1377 and died in 1444; Columbus in 1436, and died in 1506.] + +[Footnote 3: Vasari means that Lorenzo continued to receive his salary +till 1426, although Filippo had been appointed sole master of the works +in 1423, as he himself relates in the sequel.] + +[Footnote 4: How different was the treatment Ghiberti received from +Brunelleschi, when the artists presented their models for one of the +bronze doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni at Florence. The designs +of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, and Donatello, were considered the three +best; but the two latter, considering that Ghiberti was fairly entitled +to the prize, withdrew their claims in his favor, and persuaded the +syndics to adjudge the work to him. Brunelleschi was requested to +undertake the work in concert with Ghiberti, but he would not consent to +this, desiring to be first in some other art or undertaking than equal, +or perhaps secondary, in another. "Now, this was in truth," says Vasari, +"the sincere rectitude of friendship; it was talent without envy, and +uprightness of judgment in a decision respecting themselves, by which +these artists were more highly honored than they could have been by +conducting the work to the utmost summit of perfection. Happy spirits! +who, while aiding each other took pleasure in commending the labors of +their competitors. How unhappy, on the contrary, are the artists of our +day, laboring to injure each other, yet still unsatisfied, they burst +with envy, while seeking to wound others."] + +[Footnote 5: This distrust seems astonishing, after what Brunelleschi +had accomplished, but it shows the opposition and enmity he had to +encounter. In 1434, he received a mortifying affront from the Guild of +Builders. Finding that he carried on the building without thinking to +pay the annual tax due from every artist who exercised his calling, they +caused him to be apprehended and thrown into prison. As soon as this +outrage was known to the wardens, they instantly assembled with +indignation, and issued a solemn decree, commanding that Filippo should +be liberated, and that the Consuls of the Guild should be imprisoned, +which was accordingly done. Baldinucci discovered and printed the +authentic document containing the decree, which is dated August 20, +1434.] + +[Footnote 6: Masselli says that the Tuscan braccio, is the ancient Roman +foot doubled for greater convenience, and is equal to one foot nine +inches and six lines, Paris measure. The editors of the Florentine +edition of Vasari, 1846-9, remark that the measure of the whole edifice +as given by Vasari, differs from that given by Fantozzi; the latter +gives 196 braccia as its total height. Milizia says, "Brunelleschi +completed his undertaking, which surpassed in height any work of the +ancients. The lantern alone remained imperfect; but he left a model for +it, and always recommended, even in his last moments, that it should be +built of heavy marble, because the cupola being raised on four arches, +it would have a tendency to spring upwards if not pressed with a heavy +weight. The three mathematicians who have written on the cupola of St. +Peter's, have clearly demonstrated a truth differing from the opinion of +Brunelleschi, viz., that the small cupola increases, in a great degree, +the lateral pressure. The whole height of the structure from the ground +to the top, is 385 feet; that is, to the lantern 293 feet, the latter +being 68 feet 6 inches; the ball 8 feet; the cross 15 feet 6 inches. * * * + +"The plan of the dome is octangular; each side in the interior is 57 +feet, and the clear width between the sides, not measuring into the +angles, is 137 feet; the walls are 16 feet 9 inches thick; the whole +length of the church is 500 feet. The nave has four pointed arches on +each side, on piers, separating it from the side aisles. The transept +and choir have no side aisles, but are portions of an octagon, attached +to the base of the dome, giving the whole plan the figure of a cross. +The edifice has a Gothic character, and is incrusted in marble and +mosaic work." * * * + +According to Fontani, this cupola exceeds that of the Vatican, both in +height and circumference by four braccia; and although supported by +eight ribs only, which renders it much lighter than that of the Vatican, +which has sixteen flanking buttresses, it is nevertheless more solid and +firm. Thus it has never required to be supported by circling hoops of +iron, nor has it demanded the labors of the many engineers and +architects who have printed volumes upon the subject. The construction +of this cupola is remarkable in these particulars--that it is +octangular, that it is double, and built entirely on the walls, +unsupported by piers, and that there are no apparent counterforts.] + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, +Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3), by S. 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