Part 4 — THE PORTRAIT GALLERY OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE. (continued 2)

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

63. Decius—Caius Messius Quintus Trajanus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 249-251.

[Born at Bubalia, in Lower Pannonia, A.D. 201. Died near Abricium, A.D. 251. Aged 50.]

The first of a long line of monarchs who traced an Illyrian ancestry. In A.D. 245, he was entrusted with an important command on the Danube. Shortly afterwards he was ordered by the Emperor Philippus to calm the rebellious soldiery of Mœsia; but, on attempting to pacify them, he was offered, with a sword to his breast, the alternative of instant death or the purple. Choosing the purple, he was opposed in the field by Philippus, who fell. After reigning thirty months, he met his death in battle against the Goths. During his short rule, the Christians were bitterly persecuted. It is difficult to form a just estimate of this Emperor’s character. He has been described as “most amiable, highly accomplished, mild, affable, and brave.” He has also been stigmatized as a monster of iniquity.

[From the gallery of the Emperors in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

64. Alexander Severus—Marcus Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 222-235.

[Born at Arce, in Phœnicia, A.D. 205-208. Died in Gaul, A.D. 235.]

Elected Emperor on the death of Elagabalus, in A.D. 222. His reign was marked by a gradual improvement in religion, morality, and politics. In A.D. 232, he drove the Persians under Artaxerxes, in defeat across the Tigris. He was about to advance against the Germans, then ravaging Gaul, when he was murdered, together with his mother Julia Mamæa, by a band of mutinous soldiers, instigated by the ferocious Maximinus, who seized the crown. His life was simple and pure; his government considerate and just. His death caused general regret.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

65. Heliogabalus or Elagabalus—Varius Avitus Bassianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 218-222.

[Born at Antioch, A.D. 204. Assassinated A.D. 222. Aged 18.]

From his earliest years a priest of the Sun in the Temple of Emesa, in Syria: but by the intrigues of his grandmother, Julia Mæsa, declared Emperor of Rome, in place of Macrinus, whom he defeated in battle, and put to death. Elagabalus—so called from his sun-worship—the priest taking the name of the God—introduced into Rome the superstitions in which he had been nurtured. By way of strengthening his power, his grandmother induced him to associate with himself, in the government, his cousin Alexander Severus. Repenting of this act, he was about to undo it, when a revolt of the Prætorians decided the question of rule by assassinating him and throwing his body into the Tiber. A more worthless carcase had never floated down the polluted river. His vices were as gross as his superstitions. He left behind him a smirched and hated name.

[All Busts of him were ordered to be destroyed by the Senate: they are consequently rare. This is from the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

66. Gallienus—Publius Licinius Valerianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 253-268.

[Born A.D. 218. Died before Milan, A.D. 268. Aged 50.]

Son of Valerian. When associated with his father in the empire, he commanded with success against the barbarians on the Rhine and Danube. In 260, Valerian was made captive by the Persians, and during the eight years of his imprisonment, his son made no effort to release him. Rome, whilst Gallienus reigned, was a prey to pestilence, internal rebellion, and the ravages of foreign nations. In A.D. 268, he laid siege to Milan, whither Aureolus, an invader of his empire, had fled for refuge. During the siege Gallienus fell—it is said by the hands of his own soldiers. His character was very bad. He was cruel, treacherous, and indolent, apathetic to public disaster, self-indulgent, frivolous, and a glutton.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

67. Gordianus III. or Pius—Marcus Antonius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 238-244.

[Born A.D. 224. Died near Castrum Circesium, in Mesopotamia, A.D. 244. Aged 20.]

An emperor, endowed with many good qualities. He was son of the Consul Junius Balbus and Metia Faustina, daughter of Gordianus Africanus. When sixteen years old he married the beautiful and virtuous daughter of Misitheus, a wise and eloquent man, whom he appointed Prefect of the Prætorians, and by whose prudent advice he was successfully guided. Upon the death of this able minister, Philip the Arabian contrived to associate himself in the government with Gordianus, who shortly afterwards fell a victim, it is supposed, to the conspiracies of his colleague.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

68. Caius Julius Verus Maximus. Roman Prince.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Aquileia, A.D. 238. Aged 18 or 21.]

Son of the Emperor Maximinus, who, on his accession to the purple in 235, raised him to the rank of Cæsar. Well educated, vain of his personal beauty, and haughty of demeanour, but not evil disposed. He was massacred with his father at Aquileia by the rebel Prætorians.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

69. Philip the Younger.—Marcus Julius Philippus II. Roman Prince.

[Born (place unknown), A.D. 237. Died A.D. 249. Aged 12.]

Son of Philip I., Emperor of Rome. When seven years old dignified with the title of Cæsar. When ten years old chosen Consul, and shared the empire under the title of Augustus. A child of singularly serious temperament. He could never be induced to laugh, and would turn away his head when his father indulged in merriment.

[From the Statue Gallery of the Vatican.]

70. Carinus—Marcus Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 283-285.

[Born probably at Rome, A.D. 249. Died in Moesia, A.D. 285. Aged 36.]

Eldest son of the Emperor Carus. Was appointed to the command of the Western Provinces, A.D. 282. In A.D. 283, on the death of his father, was associated in the government with his brother Numerianus, who was assassinated when Diocletian was proclaimed Emperor by the army in Asia. Carinus marched against Diocletian, but in the moment of triumph he was slain by one of his own officers, whose domestic happiness he had destroyed. Carinus was a brave and skilful general, but a profligate and vicious man. He was sensual and ferocious.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

71. Julian the Apostate—Flavius Claudius Julianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 361-363.

[Born at Constantinople, A.D. 331. Died in Persia, A.D. 363. Aged 32.]

Unquestionably a ruler of extraordinary capacity and power. He was the nephew of Constantine the Great, and was brought up in strict seclusion by the Christians, in order to save him from Constantius II., who, upon his accession, had murdered the male members of Julian’s family. He withdrew for a time to Athens; was thence recalled by the relenting Constantius, and invested with command in Gaul. He resided chiefly in Paris, and it is worthy of note that at a time of scarcity in that city, Julian drew his supplies of corn from England. During his stay in Gaul, the soldiers proclaimed him Emperor. He marched against Constantinople, but before he reached the city Constantius had died. Julian, created Emperor, renounced Christianity for the Paganism of Greece; hence the name which he has carried as a brand ever since. The Heathens extol this prince, the Christians blame him. His life at least was pure, and his rule sagacious; and, although he naturally hated his former co-religionists, he was no religious persecutor. After his accession to the throne he carried war into Persia, where he was slain in battle. He was a prince of profound knowledge, of great eloquence, and remarkable for philosophic calm. He professed Stoicism. He was also a writer, and many of his works, displaying reflexion and inquiring thought, have come down to us.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. A very interesting statue of Julian will be found described under No. 92, Handbook of Greek Court.]

72. Diocletian—Caius Valerius Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 284-305.

[Born in Dalmatia, A.D. 245. Died A.D. 313. Aged 68.]

At first a simple soldier, he rose by his own merit to the rank of Captain of the Palace Guard, an office which he held until the death of Numerianus, when he was declared his successor. He associated Maximianus with him in the empire, and appointed Constantius Chlorus and Galerius, Cæsars. At the instigation of Galerius he barbarously persecuted the Christians. In A.D. 305, he resigned the empire in consequence of growing infirmities, and withdrew to Salona, where he cultivated his own garden and lived in philosophical retirement. Whilst he held power, he thought less of the freedom and dignity of Rome, than of maintaining the power of the sovereign, and of securing a regular succession. His cruelty to the Christians has caused his reign to be described as “The Age of Martyrs.”

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum.]

73. Constantius Chlorus—Flavius Valerius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 305-306.

[Born A.D. 250. Died at York, in England, A.D. 306. Aged 55.]

The father of Constantine, surnamed “the Great,” who was founder of Constantinople. Constantius governed, as colleague of Diocletian, beyond the Alps, and his dominion extended over Gaul, Britain, and Spain. He died in England whilst preparing for an expedition against the Scots. He was the best of the later Roman Emperors, having a regard to the welfare of his people, and exhibiting no rapacity in his administration. In religious matters he was mild and tolerant, showing great humanity towards the Christians. He had excellent talents, and was surnamed “Chlorus,” or “the pale,” from the pallor of his countenance.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

74. Hostilianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 251 or 252.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died A.D. 251 or 252.]

Generally regarded as the second son of the Emperor Decius, whom he survived. Declared Cæsar in A.D. 249, and was afterwards adopted by Trebonianus Gallus as his colleague in the empire. Died either of poison or the plague.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

75. Volusianus—Caius Vibius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 252-254.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Interamna, in Italy, A.D. 253 or 254.]

Son of the Emperor Gallus, with whom he reigned, being elected Augustus in A.D. 252. Little is known of his life or character. When Æmilianus was chosen Emperor, he went with Gallus to oppose him; but, before a battle could be fought, father and son were slain by their own troops.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]

76*. Magnus Decentius. Roman Prince.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Sens, in Gaul, A.D. 353.]

A brother or cousin of the Emperor Flavius Magnentius. Nominated Cæsar, A.D. 351, he went into Gaul, and suffered defeat in defending that country against the Germans. He strangled himself upon hearing of the defeat and deposition of his brother by Constantius, who succeeded to the throne of Magnentius.

[For an account of a curious head of this Prince, placed in the Bas-relief gallery, see Handbook to Greek Court, No. 217.]

AVENUE IN FRONT OF ROMAN COURT.

(Numbers continuing at the end next to the Greek Court.)

77. Trajan. Roman Emperor.

For life, see No. 45.

78. Trajan. Roman Emperor.

79. Antinous. Bithynian youth.

[Died in Egypt, A.D. 132.]

Celebrated for his beauty. He was the page and companion of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, whom he accompanied to Egypt. He was drowned in the Nile, and the Emperor was inconsolable for his loss. On the spot where he died, the city of Antinœa was raised; temples and statues in Egypt and Greece were erected to his memory; and in Greece, coins were struck in his honour. The numerous representations of his beauty gave a fresh impulse to the Fine Arts, and may be compared with the works of the best periods of Grecian Sculpture.

[From the marble in the Louvre; the head bound with a fillet of vine. For account of the many beautiful statues of Antinous see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave.]

81. - Four duplicate busts removed.

82.

83.

84.

85. Antoninus Pius. Roman Emperor.

For life, see No. 47.

[From the marble in the Naples Museum.]

86. Augustus. Roman Emperor.

For life, see No. 35.

[This very beautiful Bust is from the Florence Gallery.]

87. Tiberius. Roman Emperor.

For life, see No. 37.

[This Bust is from the Berlin Museum.]

88. Claudius. Roman Emperor.

For life, see No. 38.

89. Herennius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 251.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died near Abricium, in Thrace, A.D. 251.]

Little interest is connected with the history of this emperor. In 249, he was declared Cæsar, and in 251, Augustus, as the colleague of his father Decius. In a battle fought near Abricium, between the Emperor Decius and the Goths, both he and his father were slain.

[From the Capitoline Museum.]

90. Scipio Africanus. Roman General.

For life, see No. 109.

91. Julia Mæsa. Roman Empress.

[Born at Emesa, in Syria, (date unknown). Died, probably at Rome, A.D. 223.]

Daughter to a Priest of the Sun. When her sister, Julia Domna, as wife of Septimius Severus, became Empress, Julia Mæsa resided at the Imperial Court. Her bold political intrigues placed her grandson Elagabalus on the throne. Against law, she was made a member of the Senate. She bore the title of Augusta to her death, and was afterwards deified. A woman of powerful mind, unscrupulously ambitious, but using power well.

[From the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors, in the Capitol, at Rome.]

92. Sabina.

[Died probably A.D. 137.]

Wife of the Emperor Hadrian, and grandniece of Trajan. Ill treated by her husband, by whom, it is said, she was poisoned. Others assert that in despair she put an end to her life. She was deified after her decease.

[From the original in alabaster in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

COURT OF THE ROMAN LADIES.

(Numbers commencing on the right.)

93. Livia Drusilla. Roman Empress.

[Born B.C. 56-54. Died A.D. 29.]

Married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, a Roman general; but her beauty captivating the Triumvir Octavian, afterwards Augustus, her divorce was effected, and she became the Triumvir’s wife. A consummate actress, full of craft and dissimulation, possessing great knowledge of the world, and, by an affected purity of life, maintaining to the last her influence over the mind of Augustus. She successfully intrigued for the succession in favour of Tiberius, her son by her first marriage, and, it is said, removed by poison the grandsons of Augustus, who stood in the way of her own offspring. Tiberius became Emperor, and repaid the service by base ingratitude. He removed his mother from all share in the government, declined all intercourse with her, refused to see her when she was dying, and rejoiced, in open show, at her death.

94*. Domna—Julia (Pia Felix Augusta). Roman Empress.

[Born at Emesa, in Syria, about A.D. 170. Died A.D. 217.]

A woman of humble origin, but beautiful, ambitious and crafty. She became the wife of Septimius Severus, then of the rank of general, and acquired boundless influence over his mind, persuading him that a prophecy had destined her to become the wife of an Emperor, and inciting him to labour to that end. After the death of her husband, her son Geta was murdered in her arms by his brother Caracalla; and after the successful revolt of Macrinus, being suspected of treason, she, possibly to avoid punishment, starved herself to death.

[From the marble in the Rotunda of the Vatican. This colossal head will be found No. 334, Roman Court.]

95*. Julia, daughter of Augustus.

[Born at Rome, B.C. 39. Died at Rhegium, A.D. 14. Aged 53.]

The daughter of the Roman Emperor by his third wife Scribonia. Strictly brought up, she was married at fourteen to Marcellus. Left a widow at sixteen, she was forced by her father to marry the veteran Agrippa, by whom she had three sons and two daughters. Her conduct dissolute and unrestrained. Agrippa dying, she married again Tiberius Nero (afterwards emperor) who left her in disgust. She was banished by her father until the accession of Tiberius, when she suffered still harsher exile. Consumption killed her. In spite of her vices, the people of Rome loved her for her frank and lively manner, and frequently solicited Augustus to recall her.

[For further account of this graceful Statue of Julia, see No. 229, of Handbook to Roman Court, and Nave.]

96. Agrippina—the Elder.

[Born B.C. 15. Died A.D. 33. Aged 48.]

Daughter of Vipsanius Agrippa, and wife of Cæsar Germanicus, to whom she bore nine children. Accompanied her husband in all his campaigns, and aided him by her cool foresight and energetic will: once, on the Rhine, in his absence, by her heroic resistance to the timid counsels of those about her, saving the relics of an army. On his death in Asia, she returned to Rome, whence she was banished by Tiberius, jealous of her popularity. After three years’ persecution and suffering, she died—possibly by her own hand. She had all the lofty qualities of a Roman matron—nobility of soul, purity, and a devoted love for her husband and children. Tacitus says of her, that “the cares which belong to men supplanted, in her mind, the vices common to her sex.”

[From the seated Statue, for account of which, see No. 281, of Hand-book to Roman Court, and Nave.]

97. Agrippina the Younger. Roman Empress.

[Born at Oppidum Ubiorum (Cologne), A.D. 14-17. Died at Rome, A.D. 60.]

The ruthless and dissolute daughter of noble parents—of Germanicus and Agrippina the elder. The unenviable mother of the madman, Nero. Upon the death of her second husband, whom she was accused of poisoning, she married her uncle Claudius, whom she induced to nominate Nero for his successor, excluding his own son. She poisoned her uncle-husband, and received her reward from her son, the matricide,—dying by hands commissioned by him to the murder. Tacitus speaks of some interesting memoirs of her time, written by Agrippina, to which he had access in writing his history. She was beautiful, but ambitious, and as wicked as she proved unfortunate.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

98. Valeria Messalina. Roman Empress.

[Born, uncertain. Died at Rome, A.D. 48.]

The third wife of the Emperor Claudius I. Her name has become a bye-word for profligacy. A murderess. Herself pierced through the breast by the sword of a tribune entrusted with the execution of one of her victims. The slave of lust, avarice, and ambition. Difficult to find in history a woman more blackened by crime than Valeria Messalina.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

99. Plotina—Pompeia. Roman Empress.

[Date, and place of birth and death unknown.]

The wife of the Emperor Trajan. A woman of clear, strong mind, and an exemplary purity of life and consistency of character. Childless herself, she prevailed upon her husband to adopt Hadrian, in whose reign she died. Hadrian built a temple in her honour, and composed hymns in her praise.

[From the marble in the Rotunda of the Vatican.]

100. Matidia.

[Date and place of birth unknown.]

The niece of Trajan. Declared Augusta, A.D. 113, and after death, deified.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

101. Crispina.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Capreæ, A.D. 183.]

Was married to the Roman Emperor Commodus, A.D. 177, but divorced for infidelity, banished, and put to death in her exile. She was very beautiful and ambitious.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

102. Mamæa—Julia. Roman Empress.

[Born at Emesa, in Syria (date unknown). Died in Gaul, A.D. 235.]

The mother of Alexander Severus, for whom she governed wisely during his minority. With many virtues, she possessed what, in the eyes of the Roman soldiers, was invariably considered as a great vice—she was an economist in her expenditure; and, disgusting the army by recommending retrenchments, she gave occasion to a mutiny, to which she and her son Alexander both fell victims. It is said that, whilst at Antioch, she received instruction from Origen in the Christian faith.

[From the very beautiful Bust in the Florence Gallery.]

102A. Mamæa—Julia. Roman Empress.

[The same as preceding, in advanced age.]

103. Salonina—Cornelia. Roman Empress.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died before Milan, A.D. 268.]

Supposed to have been of Greek origin. Was the wife of the Emperor Gallienus, and dignified with the title of Augusta upon his ascending the throne. She cultivated literature and philosophy, and was the protector of Plotinus the philosopher. She is described as a woman of great good sense, and exceeding benevolence. She roused him to repel the barbarians, and accompanied his army that she might attend to the wants of the soldiers. She was massacred with her husband and youngest son before Milan.

[From the marble in the Capitol at Rome.]

104. Mariniana.

[Date and place of birth and death unknown.]

Little is known respecting this Princess, who was either wife, sister, or daughter of the Emperor Valerian, and died at least four years before his Persian expedition. Some coins, having on the obverse her name and a veiled head, were struck, A.D. 254.

105. Faustina Junior—Annia Faustina.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died A.D. 175.]

The daughter of Antoninus Pius, and wife of Marcus Aurelius, whom she accompanied into Asia, and there died suddenly. One of the most abandoned and dissolute of the Roman Empresses, yet her virtuous husband preserved his first affection for her to the last; and, on the spot where she died, erected to her honour the city of Faustinopolis.

[From the Capitoline Museum, at Rome. The original is in the marble called “Paonazzetto” (peacock-stone).]

105A. Faustina.

[This bust, which is from the Florence Collection, bears the name of “Faustina, Junior.” It is a beautiful bust, well preserved, but bears little resemblance to the preceding portrait. If it really represent the same person, the work has been executed by a more flattering hand.]

106. Sabina—Poppæa. Roman Empress.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died A.D. 65.]

“She possessed,” says Tacitus, “everything but a virtuous mind.” She became the wife of the Emperor Nero, after having been his mistress; at her instigation Nero’s mother was killed by him, and his former wife, Octavia, divorced and put to death. She was herself destroyed by a brutal blow from Nero, who pronounced her eulogium at the tomb. “As he could not,” says Tacitus, “speak of her virtues, he enlarged upon her beauty.” She was deified, and honoured with a temple. Her luxurious tastes were extravagant. It is related that her mules were shod with gold; and that when she travelled, she was followed by five hundred asses, whose milk furnished a bath to preserve her complexion.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

COURT OF ROMAN GENERALS AND POETS. ADJOINING THE COURT OF ROMAN LADIES.

(Numbers commencing on the right.)

107. Lucius Junius Brutus. Roman Consul.

[Date and place of birth unknown.]

The first Consul, and one of the Founders, of the Roman Republic. Before he was elected to the Consulate in B.C. 509, he had been the main cause of the expulsion of royalty from Rome in the persons of Tarquin and his sons. He fell in battle whilst defending, as Consul, the infant Republic against the royal exiles fighting for their restoration. These are admitted facts in the life of Lucius Junius Brutus. His assumption of idiotcy during the reign of the Tarquins, in order to carry on with greater safety his patriotic designs, and his connexion with the affecting history of the devoted Lucretia, are events which in recent years have passed from the grave volume of history to the more fascinating pages of poetry. Philosophical historians permit us to sing, but no longer to believe in, the once cherished narratives of earliest Rome. The act, whether historical or merely traditionary, which the most memorably distinguishes his name, is that of ordering the execution of his two sons, convicted of conspiring for the restoration of the Tarquins.

[From the bronze in the Palazzo dei Conservatori of the Capitol at Rome.]

108. Marcellus—M. Claudius. Roman General.

[Born about B.C. 268. Died in Apulia, B.C. 208. Aged about 60.]

A Roman of high fame. At his hands Hannibal received the first check that he experienced in Italy. He subsequently besieged Syracuse, but was forced to convert the siege into a blockade in consequence of the genius displayed in the defence of the city by the great Archimedes, who rendered of no avail every engine brought against Syracuse, and inspired dread by his own instruments of war. At length Marcellus triumphed, the city was given over to pillage, and its defender perished, whilst pondering over a geometrical problem, by the hand of a common soldier. He again turned his victorious arms against Hannibal, winning fresh laurels and new honours from the state. It was whilst fighting against the Carthaginian hero that he fell, slain by a spear of the enemy. Hannibal sympathized with his fall, and paid honour to his remains. A plain, stern, unlettered soldier, brave to recklessness, rude and unpolished in manners, unyielding in temper.

[This Bust bears the name of Marcellus in the Capitoline Museum. It may be the nephew of Augustus when a child.]

109. Scipio—Publius Cornelius Africanus Major. Roman General.

[Born probably at Rome, B.C. 234. Died at Liternum, in Campania, B.C. 183. Aged 51.]

Son of Publius Cornelius Scipio, whose life he saved in the battle of the Ticinus. One of the few Roman generals who survived the fatal battle of Cannæ, and chosen with Appius Claudius to command the remains of the army. Went as Prætor or Pro-Consul to Spain at the age of 24, where he took Carthagena, gained the battle of Bœcula, and recovered the whole country. Forcing Hannibal, the victorious Carthaginian general, to carry the theatre of war to Africa, he gained the celebrated victory of Zama, which decided the long conflict between Rome and Carthage for dominion. Received the surname of Africanus in consequence, but, vexed with the ingratitude of his countrymen he withdrew to Liternum, where he died. Like Mahomet and Cromwell, he believed himself the special instrument of Heaven. He was undoubtedly the greatest man of his age, and one of the first of the Roman worthies. The affectionate friend of the poet Ennius, and the patron of literature. The Spaniards, for his virtues, would have made him king.

[From the Capitol at Rome. Many busts of this great general are in existence. They all represent him with the head and face close shaved, according to the fashion of his day, when men shaved closely after the age of forty. The authentic busts have the scar on the left side of the head, and some have a scar on each side, and some on the wrong side. No. 127 is from the bust in basalt belonging to the Rospigliosi Palace. No. 125 is from the bronze found in the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, and now in the Naples Museum.]

110. Cato—Marcus Porcius. Roman Patriot and General.

[Born B.C. 95. Died at Utica, in Africa, B.C. 46. Aged 49.]

One of the classical undying forms reared in antiquity to symbolize high moral purity, unquenchable love of liberty, and the sternest virtue. Cato answers to the idea of Roman patriotism, as Julius Cæsar to that of Roman conquest. Before this one we stand, wondering at human power; before that, subdued by the might of the highest moral excellence. Cato as a child was grave, pains-taking, resolute, tenacious; as he grew, he became strong in the love of virtue, and in his hatred of oppression. Attached to the philosophy of the Stoics, he aimed at happiness through its teaching. He had served with honour many offices in Rome when Pompey, Cæsar, and Crassus found it necessary to remove him to Cyprus, in order that his patriotism might offer no obstacle to their ambitious schemes. Returning to Rome, he was made Prætor, the highest office he ever held. At the breaking out of the civil war he was entrusted by the senate with the defence of Sicily: he afterwards joined Pompey. Subsequently to the battle of Pharsalia, at which he was not present, he sailed to Africa in search of Pompey. Suffering defeat at Thapsus, he committed self-destruction. Before the fatal act he read Plato’s Phædon several times through. His death caused great grief. It was mourned by great Cæsar himself, who grudged Cato his death, since Cato grudged him the glory of sparing his life.

[Double bust representing Cato and his daughter Porcia; it is from the Capitoline Museum, but possesses no especial authenticity.]

111. Julius Cæsar. Roman Dictator.

[Born at Rome, B.C. 100. Died there, B.C. 44. Aged 56.]

The mightiest amongst the mighty of men. At the outset of his career he served in Asia, where he won a civic wreath. Subsequently made Consul in Rome (B.C. 59); and, at the close of his term of office, appointed to the government of Gaul—which country in nine years he wholly subjugated to Roman rule. His invasion of Britain is amongst the earliest recollections of the English schoolboy. The renowned Commentaries of Julius Cæsar graphically narrate these deeds. Rousing the jealousy of Pompey, in Rome, by his splendid achievements, he marched into Italy—afterwards into Spain, in order to crush the adherents of Pompey, and then returned to Rome in triumph, to be created Dictator. As Dictator he overcame his rival in the battle of Pharsalia, in Thessaly. He performed fresh service to the state in Egypt, and going back to Rome in order to advance the social and material prosperity of his country, he fell a victim to a conspiracy, of which Brutus and Cassius were at the head. Twice had the crown been offered to him, and twice had he refused it. No Roman before his time had ever won such honour as was heaped upon his head. He suffered from epilepsy, and was very abstemious. He was tall, fair and slight—very careful of his person, concealing his baldness by a laurel crown. His was indeed a head inwreathed with palms. He was a great captain, a great statesman, a great orator—a great writer. He had innate personal intrepidity, instantaneous decision, answering celerity of action, resources to meet every emergency, consummate military skill, an unshaken presence of mind, a trust—whether in his fortune, as he said, or in himself—which still augured and still conquered success. He had also the most implicit confidence in his troops, whom he treated ever as companions and brothers in arms. Intellectual action in him was without labour. It was subtle, comprehensive, rapid, luminous, self-possessed. He dictated to five secretaries at once, on different subjects: his strokes of eloquence in the Senate, as his strokes of action in the field, were quick and irresistible. In the terrible civil war of the dissolving Republic—a war wasteful of Roman blood in the field,—thirstier for the flow of the same drear beverage by the axe and the dagger,—there, where the sole sad policy of the victor hitherto was revenge, Cæsar tried the novel art of forgiveness: although in his Gaulish conquests—when the barbarian stands before him—he looks to us, by his own reporting, sanguinary and merciless. By toil and spare diet, he hardened a feeble health for any work. A civilian, with but a taste, in youth, of war, he, at forty, stepped into command, at once a supreme commander. Recklessly licentious, yet no intellect could be keener, healthier, and more vigorous. His writings, with the simplicity of a soldier, have the clearness and precision of a grammarian. And why not, since we know that in the versatility of his genius, he wrote two books on grammar. In the history of the world, Julius Cæsar was a power. In the records of psychology a wonder.

[From the bronze in the Florence Gallery. He wore the front of his head shaven. It resembles the bronze medals of Cæsar, but is suspected to be modern. He is said to have been sensitive on account of his baldness, and this bust shows the hair combed forward to hide it. No. 111B possesses much individuality; it is from the head in basalt in the Berlin Museum, and stood constantly on the study table of Frederic the Great. No. 111A is the bust from the Poniatowsky Collection, and remarkable for having the diadem round the head. No. 125 is from the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors, in the Capitol at Rome.]

111A. - Julius Cæsar. Roman Dictator.

111B.

112. Marcus Junius Brutus. Roman General.

[Born B.C. 85. Died B.C. 42. Aged 43.]

The friend of Cicero—the fellow conspirator of Cassius—one of those who shared in the deed memorable to all time—questionable in its own—of killing Julius Cæsar. From his earliest youth, and through life, absorbed in study and self-contemplation, to the detriment of his powers as a man of action. He was much attached to Cato, whom he accompanied to Cyprus, when it was found necessary to remove the republican leaders from Rome. We are accustomed to think of Brutus—Shakspeare being greatly answerable for the thought—as standing aloof from the vulgar ambition and desires of his fellow-men; yet we find him in Cilicia (B.C. 53), growing rich by letting out money at usurious interest. In the civil war of Pompey and Cæsar he took part with Pompey; Cæsar, however, gave orders that at the battle of Pharsalia his person should be sacred. Grateful for the consideration, Brutus, upon the defeat of Pompey, asked pardon from Cæsar, which was generously accorded. In B.C. 48, appointed by Cæsar governor of Cisalpine Gaul: the inhabitants of which, delighted with his mild treatment of them, and his justice, honoured him with public monuments. Four years later he joined the conspiracy against his patron, and burdened his hand with the death of that great soldier. Then took up arms against Antony; but suffering defeat at Philippi, fell by his own sword. His reading and varied knowledge were immense: he was speculative, superstitious, and highly imaginative. His aspirations pure and noble, but his practical ability small, and his judgment imperfect and too easily led. He wrote much, his chief productions being his orations.

[From the Capitol at Rome, where it stands in the same gallery as the Dying Gladiator (No. 309) in the Nave.]

113. M. Vipsanius Agrippa. Roman General.

[Born B.C. 63. Died in Campania, B.C. 12. Aged 51.]

His victories mainly contributed to make the Emperor Augustus, whose daughter he married, master of the Roman Empire: and he was the chief support of the rising monarchical institution in Rome. He spent much money on public works, erected several public buildings, including the Pantheon and the Julian aqueduct; was a patron of the fine Arts, and dying, bequeathed his goods and his gardens to the people of Rome.

[From a Bust in the Louvre.]

114. Nero Claudius Drusus. Roman General.

[Born at Rome, B.C. 38. Died B.C. 9. Aged 29.]

A son of Livia who married the Emperor Augustus, and brother of Tiberius. Victorious in Gaul and Germany. Unflinchingly firm and severe towards all who resisted him, but generous to those who trusted and submitted to him. He married Antonia, the daughter of Marc Antony. His known desire to see the commonwealth restored endeared him to the Roman people. Died in Germany, from an injury sustained in a fall from his horse.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome. See also a statue of him, No. 222, Roman Court.]

115. Germanicus Cæsar. Roman General.

[Born B.C. 15. Died at Antioch, in Syria, A.D. 19. Aged 34.]

Son of Nero Claudius Drusus, and his wife Antonia; was adopted by Tiberius, at the request of Augustus. Occupied for a time in an exterminating war against the eastern Germans. Afterwards appointed by Tiberius supreme ruler of the eastern provinces. Died at Antioch, where, it is supposed, he was poisoned by the governor of the place. A man of sensitive feeling, temperate, and virtuous. Remarkable for the dignity of his person, for captivating eloquence, munificence, and unaffected courtesy; but credulous, nervous, and a believer in magic. Idolized by his soldiers, and popular with the multitude.

[From the marble in the Capitol, at Rome. The statue generally called by his name is described under No. 312 in the Hand-book to Roman Court and Nave.]

116. Corbulo—Cneius Domitius. Roman General.

[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Cenchreæ, in Greece, A.D. 67.]

One of the most celebrated generals of his age, and brother-in-law of Caligula. He composed some military memoirs after the manner of Cæsar’s Commentaries, but they have not been preserved. He was a good disciplinarian, and cautious as well as brave. He commanded against the Parthians, and was victorious in every engagement. After Nero’s accession, he continued faithful to his new master, who summoned him to Greece, and for his fidelity greeted him with an order for execution on his landing at Cenchreæ. He stabbed himself with his own sword. His daughter Domitia Longina, celebrated for her beauty and vices, was the wife of the Emperor Domitian.

[From the marble in the Gallery of Philosophers, of the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

117. Decimus Clodius Ceionius Septimius Albinus. Roman General.

[Born at Adrumetum, in Africa. Date not known. Died at Lugdunum (Lyons), in Gaul, A.D. 197.]

Entered the army at an early age, and served with distinction under Marcus Aurelius. Held a command in Gaul, and afterwards in Britain, under Commodus. After the murder of Pertinax, the successor of Commodus, Clodius was proclaimed Emperor in Britain by the British legions, and shared the purple with Septimius Severus. Subsequently discarded by Severus, he put himself at the head of his legions, and met his colleague in battle at Lugdunum, in Gaul, where he fell. He was of great beauty and strength, and was called by his father “Albinus,” on account of the great whiteness of his skin. A skilful general, but severe: styled by some, the “Catiline” of his time.

[From the gallery of the Emperors, in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

118. Terence—Publius Terentius. Latin Comic Poet.

[Born at Carthage, B.C. 195. Died (place uncertain), B.C. 159. Aged 36.]

The second and last of the Latin comic poets—Plautus being the first—whose plays have descended to our time. He was the slave of a Roman senator, who, having regard to his talents and handsome person, gave him his liberty: on which occasion the freedman assumed his patron’s name—Terentius. In person, he was thin and of the middle height, with an olive complexion. Terence is the one Latin writer in whom the stateliness and the lofty strength, seemingly inherent in the language of Rome, at once ceases: and the tongue which we had deemed fit only to be spoken by the Kings of the world,—-by the Fathers convened in the temple of Capitoline Jove,—gently condescends to the hearts and the hearths of men. In the six preserved comedies of his—both by the delineation of the characters, and by the strain of their speaking—we feel ourselves in the familiar presence of known humanity. Not but that the manner implies delicate choice and thoughtful art; but its easy, natural air deceives the belief in the actual study. The words rise up from the heart, to drop from the lip. In the dialogue of Terence, the barrier that hitherto has stood inflexibly between the modern and the antique world has fallen. We are at home in the Roman theatre. To great purity, grace, tenderness, the style adds, even in description, or narrative, or continuous argument, that utter simplicity and obviousness of the sense, which is found in the most trivial uses of speech.

[From the marble in the Stanza dei Filosofi of the Capitol, at Rome. On the right shoulder is sculptured the histrionic mask, a curious fancy of the artist, which may have been suggested by the custom in Egyptian portraiture, of carving the name in a small “cartouche” on the shoulder, a practice alluded to in the scriptures.]

119. Quintus Hortensius. Roman Orator.

[Born B.C. 113. Died B.C. 49. Aged 64.]

He employed his great oratorical powers in the defence of Sylla, and of the aristocratic party to which he had attached himself. Cicero styled him “rex judiciorum.” He defended Verres against Cicero: and the triumph of Cicero on that occasion threw Hortensius ever after into the second rank. He acquired great wealth, and lived luxuriously. His oratory was of the florid kind, and greatly aided by gesticulation; he had a retentive memory, and a sweetly sonorous voice.

[From the marble in the Villa Albani, Rome. The Bust is inscribed with his name. It was found together with the bust of Isocrates (No. 15).]

120. Cicero—Marcus Tullius. Roman Orator.

[Born at Arpinum, B.C. 106. Died at Formiae, B.C. 43. Aged 63.]

The acknowledged greatest name in Roman eloquence. A man diligent in accomplishing himself by various study, and wonderfully gifted with the power of clothing thought in copious and musical words. He is less distinguished as an original thinker. He frequented the schools of the philosophers, but seemed in heart more dedicated to the worldly ambition of power and fame than to the studious zeal of truth. He courted popularity, and lived in anticipated immortality. He was an ambiguous partisan, waiting to be directed by victory to the side which he should embrace. He loved to throw an air of philosophical reflexion over questions of human affairs; and his expression of these reflexions is felt even to this day as singularly felicitous. We quote his words, because we can find no apter expression yet for the permanent thoughts. His writings show him undisguisedly vain. After the assassination of the great Julius (B.C. 44), he became the leader of the republican party, and in his celebrated “Philippics” denounced Antony as the foe of his country. This was his ruin. On the formation of the Triumvirate of Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, he was included in the proscriptions; his head was cut off, and fixed upon the Rostra which had so frequently resounded with his eloquence. His greatest political achievement was the detection and sudden overthrow of the revolutionary conspiracy headed by Catiline (B.C. 63), his brilliant denunciations of whom we listen to in our boyhood. Kind and pure in his life, but without true greatness of character, and with many moral weaknesses.

[From the marble in the Vatican. Considered to be the most faithful portrait of this renowned orator. No. 120A is from the Gallery of Philosophers of the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

120A. Cicero—Marcus Tullius. Roman Orator.

121. Virgil—Publius Virgilius Maro. Latin Poet.

[Born at Andes, near Mantua, in Cisalpine Gaul, B.C. 70. Died at Brundusium, in Italy, B.C. 19. Aged 51.]

The district in which Virgil was born not being then included in Italy, he did not enjoy the native rights of a Roman citizen; and when Augustus divided the lands in Cisalpine Gaul amongst his victorious veteran soldiers, Virgil was ejected from his small patrimonial farm. Upon his petitioning the emperor, however, the farm was restored to him. He was the friend of Horace, whom he introduced to Mæcenas. Besides poetry, he cultivated medicine and agriculture. He was tall, dark, rustic in appearance, and feeble in body. He was drawn by the power of genius from the obscure shade of a peasant’s life, to be the favoured poet and friend of an emperor. In his verse the native majesty of the language appears more perfectly tempered, than in any other, with grace and sweetness. Virgil is the most pathetic of the Roman poets: the heart speaks in his verse. He has the soul of the beautiful, like an earlier Raffaelle in song. His poem on Husbandry—the most finished work of his muse—is written with a cleaving of soul to the native theme. The purport of the poem was to recall the luxurious Romans to the simple and vigorous way of life of their ancestors, who lived cultivating the earth. If the rural earth and free nature could have been endeared to the voluptuous masters of the world by the charm of musical words, the Georgics might have done this. We ourselves feel the pouring of a purer atmosphere into the corrupted city. The epic poem of Virgil, “The Æneid,” relating the transplantation of a Trojan colony from the flames of falling Troy, to found (in Italy) future Rome, derives a high poetical cast from the prophetic spirit that overshadows it. Both “The Georgics” and the “Æneid” express love in the soul of the poet—love for the scenes and vocation, in which he was born—love of Rome, which he will purify or will glorify.

[From the marble in the Stanza dei Filosofi of the Capitol, at Rome. The portraits of Virgil have been verified by Bellori. The tomb of Virgil is a well-known object of interest near Naples. It is now an ivy-grown, but venerated ruin, although so late as 1326 it was nearly perfect.]

122. Seneca—Lucius Annæus. Philosopher.

[Born at Corduba (Cordova), in Spain, about A.D. 2. Died at Rome, A.D. 68. Aged 66.]

The tutor of young Domitius, afterwards the Emperor Nero, by whom he was condemned and sentenced to self-destruction—-probably that Nero might secure his great possessions. Seneca underwent his punishment with great firmness and philosophic calm. He was a writer of many works, and Quintilian says that he corrupted the taste of his age by an affected though elegant style. Many of his epistles and moral and physical treatises are extant. His philosophy was Stoical, with modifications; his manner of writing is antithetical, and apparently laboured. He rejected the superstitions of his country, and was a monotheist.

[From the marble in the Berlin Museum. In the Florence collection there are three Busts of him. The portrait of Seneca was identified as early as the sixteenth century by a medallion engraved with his name, possessed by Cardinal Mattei. A Bust in bronze was found at Herculaneum.]

122*. Livy—Titus Livius. Roman Historian.

[Born at Petavium (Padua), B.C. 59. Died A.D. 17. Aged 76.]

Little is known of the life of this famous historian, save that he enjoyed the patronage and friendship of Augustus, and established a wide and instantaneous fame in his own time. The great and only extant work of Livy is his History of Rome. It originally consisted of 142 books: 35 only have come down to us—of the remainder we have merely short summaries. Livy is an admirable weaver together, without sifting criticism, of received records and traditions. His reader glides on the stream of his flowing narration. His style is lucid, animated, picturesque. But in the annals of the warlike republic—that setter up and putter down of kings—that mistress of the nations—we look for and desire, more stern and majestic strength;—a profounder disclosure of the heroic political wisdom, which steadily advanced in building up the most memorable empire in the world.

[Bust yet to come.]

(Leaving the Court of Roman Generals, we proceed to the Nave. The numbers of the Portrait Gallery continue into the Nave from left to right.)

123. Hadrian. Roman Emperor.

For life, see No. 46.

124. Livia Drusilla. Roman Empress.

For life, see No. 93.

[A fine statue of Livia will be seen in the vestibule adjoining the Court of the Generals, No. 237.]

125. Julius Cæsar. Roman Dictator.

For life, see No. 111.

126. Scipio Africanus. Roman General.

For life, see No. 109.

127. Scipio Africanus. Roman General.

For life, see No. 109.

128. Decimus Cœlius Balbinus. Roman Statesman and Emperor, A.D. 238.

[Date, and place of birth unknown.]

A man of Consular dignity, who had governed in nearly all the peaceful provinces of the Empire, and was esteemed and beloved by all ranks; when, upon the death of the Gordiani in Africa, he was selected as one of the Emperors to oppose the ferocious Maximinus—Pupienus being the other. Soon after the death of Maximinus, both Balbinus and Pupienus were murdered by the Prætorians, who remembered to their disadvantage the prodigal liberality of their lately-slain tyrant. They reigned only four months. Balbinus was celebrated for his oratory and poetry.

[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]

THE ITALIAN PORTRAITS.

INTRODUCTION.

Our Italian collection is formed, chiefly, from the busts of the Capitoline Museum, at Rome, where Pius VII., in 1820, founded a portrait gallery of celebrated Italians, to which he gave the name of the Protomoteca. This gallery contains about 70 busts, and though dedicated especially to the honour of Italians, still finds room for some of the distinguished foreigners who derived much of their eminence from studying at Rome. These are Nicolas Poussin of France, Raffaelle Mengs the Bohemian, Winckelmann the German antiquary, Angelica Kauffman, the most accomplished painter of her sex, and Giuseppe Suée, a French painter. The busts of living men are not admitted, and the honour of joining the famous company is awarded by the Academy of Rome, assisted by men learned or skilled in any special science or art.

The series is a very complete one, and begins as early as the XIIIth century. It is to be regretted that so few of these busts have been done from the life; although it must be understood that none is the work of mere imagination, some authenticated portrait having in every case furnished a model. Most of these busts are the work of sculptors of the time of Canova, and many of them were executed at his expense, and presented to the collection. In general, it will be remarked that a certain grandeur prevails in the treatment of the heads, an element that seems to belong, naturally, to the works of the best Italian artists, whether in painting or sculpture. Even where existing casts from the face prove to us that in these busts there has been a certain departure from the real features, we see it has been done only to afford a more exalted idea of the person, and to give the stamp of that nobleness and dignity which characterize the finest efforts of portraiture. A comparison of the busts of Galileo, Nos. 185 and 185A, and of Michael Angelo, Nos. 143 and 143A, will illustrate this point.

There is also in the Capitoline Museum, a large collection of antique portrait busts, embracing many of the ancient philosophers, poets, and Roman Emperors, a selection from which, as we have already stated, is found in the Greek and Roman Courts.

In the Vatican (the palace of the Pope, at Rome), a splendid edifice, which has, from time to time, been constructed and enlarged by various eminent architects, and decorated by the greatest painters of the world, are preserved many chefs d’œuvre of art that are to be seen in no other place. The collection of the Vatican includes many portraits of every kind; but one portion of the vast structure is exclusively devoted to portrait-statues and busts. This is a spacious and magnificent apartment called the Rotonda, paved with antique mosaics, and surrounded with antique statues and busts on pedestals of the rarest marbles. Adjoining this saloon is another noble gallery, built by Pius VII. which contains many statues of the Greek sages, and of other illustrious men.

In the Florence gallery there is a most interesting series of portraits of painters by their own hands—a unique and unrivalled collection, begun by the Cardinal Leopold, the brother of Ferdinand II., and increased by the addition of the portraits from the collection of the Abbé Pazzi, purchased by the Grand Duke Leopold in 1765. Besides these paintings, there is a collection of more than 4,000 engraved gems and cameos, amongst which are many antique portraits. There are also about 100 antique portrait busts, of which the rarest and best preserved are Cicero, Marc Antony, Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Caligula, Galba, and Otho. As the visitor will observe, several of these are in our portrait gallery.

The Naples collection, besides many fine works of antiquity of every kind, has contributed in the most important manner to the subject of antique portraiture. It contains the invaluable relics found at Herculaneum and Pompeii: and amongst these have, from time to time, appeared portrait busts, statues, and even pictures with names upon them, by which busts elsewhere have been recognised. There are in this Museum, about 200 portraits in marble and bronze, from which our collection has been enriched.

(The portraits of Italians begin immediately behind the Statue of Rubens, in the great Transept, on the east side of the Nave.)

ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS.

129. Niccola Pisano. Sculptor and Architect.

[Born at Pisa, in Italy, 1205-7. Died at Sienna, in Italy, about 1290.]

The early reviver of Sculpture in Italy; memorable for being the first Italian artist who quitted the dry, stiff, traditional forms which had long prevailed, and founded a school based upon Truth and Nature. His finest productions preceded those of Cimabue; and it was said of him that “he was the first to see the light and to follow it.” His great work is the marble pulpit, with bas-reliefs from Scripture, in the Baptistery at Pisa.

[By Alessandro d’Este. Vasari mentions a Bust of him by his son Giovanni, from which this may have been taken.]

130. Andrea di Cione, better known by his surname Orcagna or Orgagna. Painter, Sculptor, Architect.

[14th century.]

Precise time of his birth unknown; it appears that he died about 1370. Executed several works in his three vocations. The dignified grandeur and admirable grouping of the figures in his paintings were at a later period copied or adopted, even by Michael Angelo and Raffaelle. Orcagna was a good as well as a great man. His chief works still exist, though in a half-ruined state, in the Campo Santo at Pisa, and in the Strozzi Chapel, and the Or-San-Michele at Florence.

[This Bust is by the Cav. Massimiliano Laboureur. There is, however, a mezzo-relievo, by his own hand, behind the altar in Or-San-Michele, at Florence, which contains his portrait. He is there represented as an Apostle, shaven, and wearing a hood.]

131. Filippo Brunelleschi. Sculptor and Architect.

[Born at Florence, 1377. Died there, 1446. Aged 69.]

The self-taught constructor of the Cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore, at Florence, which, though smaller than that of St. Peter’s at Rome, surpasses it in elegance and lightness. A builder of churches, palaces, and fortifications. Michael Angelo declared that it was difficult to imitate and impossible to excel him. Small and insignificant in person, but of commanding genius. With many competitors, his goodness and prudence preserved him from enmity.

[His tomb is next to that of Giotto, in the Cathedral at Florence, and bears an epitaph by Aretino. This bust was done by Alessandro d’Este. It is no doubt taken from that in the Church of Sta. Maria del Fiore, at Florence, which was done from the life, in marble, by his pupil, Il Buggiano. In 1830, statues of him and Arnolfo, his fellow architect, were placed in the new chapter-house: they are by Luigi Pompaloni, a Florentine.]

132. Lorenzo Ghiberti, or Lorenzo di Cione. Sculptor.

[Born at Florence, 1378. Died, 1455. Aged 77.]

One of the most memorable of the great Italian artists of the fifteenth century. At the age of 23, he competed with Brunelleschi and Donatello for the execution of the side doors of San Giovanni at Florence. His two rivals confessed themselves vanquished and retired in his favour. These gates were twenty-one years in course of completion, and are divided into 20 panels, each containing a bas-relief cast in bronze, from a subject in the New Testament. Another twenty years were spent in producing the central doors of the same Baptistery, representing in ten compartments the principal events of the Old Testament. Of these, Michael Angelo said they were beautiful enough to stand at the entrance of Paradise. A reproduction of these gates occupies the centre of the south end of the Renaissance Court. Ghiberti modelled and cast statues, worked in gold, painted on glass, and wrote a MS. history of Ancient and Modern Artists.

[Buried in Sta. Croce, Florence; his tomb is now lost. This Bust is by Carlo Finelli. There is an interesting portrait of him by his own hand, amongst the heads on his celebrated gates in the Renaissance Court. The two heads in the centre, between the upper corners of the second panels from the ground, are portraits of Ghiberti and Bartoluccio, the caster; the right-hand one, with the bald head, being Ghiberti. In the original gates his name is inscribed near the head, with the words,—

“Laurentii Cionis de Ghibertis mirâ arte fabricatum.”]

133. Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi; called by his contemporaries Donatello. Sculptor.

[Born at Florence, 1386. Died there, 1468. Aged 83.]

He was the generous competitor and friend of Lorenzo Ghiberti. Employed and patronized by Cosmo de’ Medici. Was one of the first Italian sculptors who gave to their figures freedom of movement and force of expression. A very fine work of this artist is the equestrian statue of Gattamelata, in the city of Padua. A cast from it will be found in the Gothic and Renaissance Sculpture Court. The character of Donatello was remarkable for simplicity and generosity; he took no thought for himself, and was devoted wholly to his art.

[This Bust is by Giovanni Ceccarini.]

134. Fra Angelico da Fiesole; called also Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, and Il Beato. Painter.

[Born at Vicchio, in Tuscany, 1387. Died at Rome, 1455. Aged 67.]

This charming painter of the early Florentine school became, when a youth, a friar of the Dominican order. Began by illuminating missals; afterwards enlarged his style, and executed frescos. The finest of these are in the church of San. Marco, and in the chapel of Nicholas V. at Rome. His works are distinguished by simple grace, tenderness of colour, and the most profound religious feeling. He excelled particularly in painting angels.

[This Bust is by Leandro Biglioschi; but there is a life-size bust of him upon his tomb, in Minerva di Roma.]

135. Tommaso Guidi, also called Massaccio. Painter.

[Born at San-Giovanni, in the Val d’ Arno, 1402. Died at Florence, 1443. Aged 41.]

Massaccio-Tomasaccio (big or heavy Tom) was a nickname given to him when a boy. A devoted student of the works of Brunelleschi and Donatello. He lived for the most part in Rome and Florence, and died in the last-named city. Time has destroyed the greater number of his works. His frescos, which still remain in the Brancacci chapel of the Carmelite church in Florence, representing the history of St. Peter, are remarkable for their freedom, and for the absence of the conventionalities of the early mediæval painters. Some of his noble figures became models for the later Florentines, and were imitated by Raffaelle himself. He excelled his contemporaries in the nude form, and gave to his draperies a style unknown before, adapting them naturally and gracefully to the human shape.

[By Carlo Finelli.]

136. Andrea Mantegna. Painter and Engraver.

[Born at Padua, in Italy, 1430. Died at Mantua, in Italy, 1506. Aged 76.]

This painter is celebrated among the early artists of Italy, and belongs to the Paduan school of art. His chef-d’œuvre, the Madonna della Vittoria, in the Louvre, is grandly treated, and remarkable for its admirable finish. His cartoons of the triumphs of Cæsar are at Hampton Court; the composition is grand and spirited, and knowledge of the antique is blended with a feeling for nature. To Mantegna is attributed the art of engraving with the burin, and also the invention of the art of foreshortening figures, especially on ceilings. Distinguished for his good and amiable qualities.

[He was buried in the Church of S. Agnese, in Mantua. His tomb is in one of the chapels, and bears his statue, in bronze. This bust is by Rainaldo Rinaldi.]

137. Luca Signorelli. Painter.

[Born at Cortona, in Tuscany, 1440. Died 1521. Aged 81.]

An ancestor of Vasari, the author of “Lives of the Painters,” and a distinguished painter of the early Tuscan school. Assisted in the works of the Sistine Chapel at Rome; and his pictures there, according to Vasari, are superior to those of his contemporaries. His great frescos in the Cathedral of Orvieto, representing the Day of Judgment and the History of Antichrist, are his principal works. His productions show too great anxiety to mark the form with anatomical correctness. In this he was the precursor of Michael Angelo; and Fuseli has frequently imitated him. As a man he was upright, sincere, and kind-hearted. He lived and decorated himself with great splendour.

[By Pietro Pierantoni.]

138. Francesco Lazzari Bramante. Architect, Painter, Poet.

[Born at Castel Durante, in Italy, 1444. Died at Rome, 1514. Aged 70.]

Memorable as the architect employed by Julius II. and Leo X. to rebuild the church of St. Peter’s, at Rome, and to construct the famous Loggie of the Vatican, afterwards completed and adorned by Raffaelle. Bramante was a bold and original genius, but vain, impetuous, and impatient. As a consequence of his recklessness, most of his works have speedily decayed.

[By Alessandro d’Este. Bramante was buried in the crypt of S. Peter’s, at Rome, called the “Grotte Vaticane.”]

139. Pietro Perugino, or Pietro Vanucci della Pieve. Painter.

[Born at Pieve, in Italy, 1446. Died there or at Perugia, 1524. Aged 78.]

Immortal as the instructor of Raffaelle, and himself a celebrated painter of the Umbrian school. He was opposed to the more modern style of which Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and his own great pupil Raffaelle, are the renowned masters. His pictures are religious, earnest, and graceful, but wanting in variety of character. In his best pictures, his colouring is excellent, and the expression of his heads very beautiful, but his numerous works are of very unequal value and merit. Vasari has branded this painter as avaricious, eccentric, sordid, and irreligious. Modern writers have attempted to rescue him from the harsh verdict pronounced by his early biographer.

[By Raimondo Trentanove.]

140. Domenico Ghirlandaio. Painter.

[Born at Florence, 1449—51. Died sometime between 1490 and 1498.]

The son of a goldsmith who adopted the name Ghirlandaio (the garland-maker) on account of his skill in making the gold and silver ornaments worn by Florentine girls. The first work of Domenico was a portrait of Amerigo Vespucci who had the honour of giving his name to America. Devoted to his art, preferring honour and glory to riches. Painted in fresco, in tempera, and in mosaic, but excelled in the first. In his sacred historical pictures, he introduced portraits of remarkable persons as spectators, which gives them a peculiar value. He was the early instructor of Michael Angelo, and his finest works are in the churches of Florence.

[By Massimiliano Laboureur. His portrait, by his own hand, is in one of the pictures of the Choir of S. Maria Novella, at Florence.]

141. Leonardo da Vinci. Painter.

[Born at Vinci, in Tuscany, 1452. Died at Amboise, in France, 1519. Aged 67.]

One of the greatest names of the fifteenth century. His genius was all but universal, and his faculty of acquiring knowledge of all kinds, prodigious. He is most generally known and appreciated as a painter; but he was also a distinguished writer, a man of general science, an architect, an engineer, an accomplished musician, and a discoverer in Natural Philosophy. As painter he was the pupil of Andrea Verrochio, and the founder of the Milan school. It was at Milan that he painted his great and universally known picture, of the “Last Supper.” From 1504 to 1515, he travelled through Italy as architect and engineer to Cæsar Borgia, Duke of Valentino. He is the undoubted head of the highest development of art, in which the most elevated subjects were represented in the noblest Form. Every branch and attribute of Fine Art was intimately known to him. In the expression of the passions, his eye and mind were quick and eager; and he investigated every phase of life to its minutest modifications. He was familiar with the spirit of the humblest ranks, and could stamp divine subjects with a beauty and sentiment which only the very highest genius is competent to attain. There was great rivalry between Leonardo and Michael Angelo.—A Titanic emulation! The faculties of both were mighty and analogous; their grasp similarly broad and powerful. Leonardo passed his last years in France, protected by Francis I., who showered favours upon this gifted man. A story is current that the painter died in the arms of the monarch, but there appears no good foundation for the statement.

[From the marble, by Filippo Albaccini. The bust resembles the painted portraits, of which there are several of undoubted accuracy and truth, painted by himself, at Florence, Venice, Paris, and Milan. The works of Leonardo on Anatomy and Painting are still invaluable to students in art. His treatise on Painting was first printed at Paris in 1651. The MS. was in a curious hand-writing, and written backwards with the left hand.]

142. Fra Bartolomeo, or Baccio della Porta. Painter.

[Born at Savignano, in Italy, 1469. Died 1517. Aged 49.]

At an early age he carefully studied the works of Leonardo da Vinci, and the effect of the study is visible in his own productions. Whilst his fame was growing, he became deeply influenced by the preaching of Savonarola, at whose instigation he publicly burnt some of his finest studies of the undraped figure. In 1500, Bartolomeo assumed the habit of a Dominican friar, and forsook painting. But after the lapse of four years he resumed his art, made the acquaintance of Raffaelle at Florence, and the influence of these two eminent painters on each other was mutually advantageous. Among the finest works of Fra Bartolomeo are, the large picture of St. Mark, esteemed in painting equal to the “Moses” of Michael Angelo in sculpture, and the “Madonna della Misericordia.” He was the inventor of the lay figure, which he was the first to employ. His style is characterized by calm seriousness, unaffected dignity, and grace. The religious expression of his holy figures reveals conscious elevation, not mere sentimentality; and in his Madonnas holiness is always exquisitely blended with beauty. But Bartolomeo lacked inward power. Sometimes he is cold and formal; at others, impetuous and wanting in repose. The colouring of flesh is peculiarly soft in his pictures, and his draperies are excellent.

[By Domenico Manera. In the last work of Bartolomeo, which is now in the Uffizzi, at Florence, representing the patron saints of Florence, and others, he has introduced his own portrait.]

143. Michael Angelo Buonarotti. Sculptor, Painter, Architect.

[Born at Caprese, in Tuscany, 1474. Died at Rome, 1563. Aged 89.]

A demigod in art. All learning and all knowledge came to Michael Angelo, perhaps even more than to Leonardo da Vinci, his mighty contemporary, as a rightful inheritance, to be magnificently accepted and sumptuously enjoyed. Poet, musician, sculptor, architect, engineer, painter, anatomist, man of science—his titles to renown are inexhaustible. His genius was universal, his grasp boundless. All his works, of whatever kind, bear the broad, deep stamp of his haughty, masculine spirit, and constitute the immortal expression of strength, energy, and sublimest passion. The feeling of Michael Angelo was strong, intense, grand, penetrating; his thought as clear as it was profound. His life is a series of conquests in the world of intellect. Domenico Ghirlandaio has the honour of claiming Buonarotti for his pupil. By Ghirlandaio the stripling was introduced to Lorenzo de’ Medici, who, as well as his successor, became the steady friend of the great artist. Upon the expulsion of the Medici, he went to Bologna, thence to Florence, and thence again, upon the invitation of the Pope, to Rome. In 1503, commissioned to paint one end of the great Hall of Council, Leonardo da Vinci being intrusted with the other. Never before had two such spirits met to contend for glory. His statue of Moses, and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, were produced under Pope Julius II. Under Leo X., and Adrian, works of equal power issued from his inspired brain. In 1546, he was commanded by the Pope to undertake the direction of the works at St. Peter’s. He consented only upon condition that he received no salary, and laboured “for the love of God alone.” For seventeen years he prosecuted the pious service, and raised the sacred edifice as far as the base of the cupola. The undying memorials of his chisel and pencil speak the intellectual supremacy of the man beyond all words of praise. They will command wonder, delight, admiration, respect, and awe, whilst the world lasts. There is nothing factitious, no studied allurement, no imposture in his work. It is all true, simple, sublime. Michael Angelo, in 1530, directed in person the defence of Florence, and erected its fortifications—which yet exist—when that city was besieged, and, after a year of heroic defence, taken by the army of Charles V. The fall of Florence, at this time, witnessed the last breath of Italian independence. Look on his face! You see many furrowed lines there, and a potent brow. The features and expression betray irascibility of temper, jealous self-consciousness, towering sense of power. Michael Angelo had all these. He was a lion aware of his strength. What if he used it as a lion, at times vehemently, and regardless of the pain inflicted upon others! He was also a staunch friend, disinterested, liberal, temperate, upright, conscientious. The ancients had their Titans. Michael Angelo too is the son of Heaven and Earth.

[This Bust is from the marble by Alessandro d’Este, and one of those contributed to the Capitoline Museum, at the expense of Canova, when he was President of the Academy of Saint Luke, at Rome. It conveys an idea of coarseness which would hardly seem to belong to Michael Angelo’s natural expression, marked as it is with power and energy. It will be remembered how his nose was broken by a blow from his fellow-student, Torrigiano. He was buried in Sta. Croce, at Florence, his noble monument there being designed and executed under the superintendence of Vasari, the historian of the painters. It consists of a sarcophagus, supported by three figures, representing Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, and surmounted by his bust (of which No. 143A is a cast) and three crowns, with the motto “tergeminis tollit honoribus.” This tomb and the bust were executed by three sculptors, Domenico Lorenzi, a pupil of Bandinelli, Valerio Cioli, and Giovanni dell’ Opera. There is, in the Capitoline Museum a bust of Michael Angelo, said to be by his own hand; the head is of bronze, and the rest of marble; and in the same place a painted portrait of him, by Andrea del Sarto. Vasari mentions an alto-relievo of him in bronze, by Danielo Ricciarelli, and a medal (“a very close resemblance”) by Cav. Lioni, which was abundantly copied and distributed in his honour.]

143A. Michael Angelo Buonarotti. Sculptor, Painter, Architect.

144. Titian, or, Tiziano Vecellio. Painter.

[Born at Pieve di Cadore, in Lombardy, 1477. Died at Venice, 1576. Aged 99.]

In the works of Titian, Venetian art reached its culminating point. He was the pupil of Bellini; but the disciple soon surpassed his master. Titian first instituted the custom of painting full-length portraits, and his pictures of this kind, of which he painted many, have never been surpassed. In the representation of undraped female forms he also displayed the hand of a master. In softness, transparency, and delicacy of colouring, he stands alone. All his figures seem to express a high consciousness and enjoyment of existence. He was followed, throughout his career, with great honours. Charles V., whose portrait he painted, made him Count Palatine, and he received invitations from other crowned heads. He died of the plague in Venice, and was buried with great ceremony, at a time when raging pestilence had suspended the ordinary rites of burial. Towards the close of his life his subjects were chiefly religious.

[He was buried at the Chiesa delle Frazi, at Venice. This Bust is by Alessandro d’Este. There is in the Church of St. John and St. Paul, at Venice, a fine bust of Titian, which stands by the side of that of Palma Vecchio; it was placed there forty-five years after his death, by Palma il Giovine. There is little doubt that this and its companion of Palma were the work of Jacops Albarelli, the intimate friend of Palma Giovine, whose bust he also executed. Ridolfi mentions a Bust of the great painter, by his friend Jacopo Sansovino. There is, in the Vienna Gallery, a superb portrait of him, by his own hand.]

145. Benvenuto Tisio, commonly called Garofalo. Painter.

[Born at Garofalo, 1481. Died at Ferrara, in Italy, 1559. Aged 78.]

A distinguished painter of the Ferrarese school. The sight of Raffaelle’s works, in the Sistine Chapel, determined him to follow art, and he became a friend of the great artist himself, though in style most unlike him—brilliant but mannered. On festival days it was his custom to work without payment at a convent in Ferrara, “for the love of God.” Blind for the last few years of his life—cheerful in disposition, and resigned under affliction.

[By Massimiliano Laboureur. In the Louvre are two portraits said to be of Garofalo, but they are of doubtful authenticity. This bust is probably done from a picture.]

146. Raffaelle Sanzio, commonly called Raffaelle. Painter.

[Born at Urbino, in Italy, 1483. Died at Rome, 1520. Aged 37.]

The founder of the Roman school of painting. He was the son of a painter, and the pupil of Perugino, whom his first style resembles, and whom he quickly surpassed. He was already eminent in his art at the age of seventeen. In 1506, he first saw Michael Angelo’s great and celebrated “Cartoon of Pisa,” and a closer study of anatomy and form is manifest in his works after this time. In 1508, in the pontificate of Julius II., he was invited to Rome, where he continued until his death, painting his exquisite frescos in the Vatican. Whilst executing these works, Michael Angelo was completing the Sistine chapel, and a rivalry arose between these two consummate artists, which was never extinguished. Raffaelle was a sculptor and architect as well as painter. In 1514, he directed the works at St. Peter’s, and was subsequently very zealous in superintending the exhumation of the remains of antique art, and in designing a restoration of ancient Rome. In the midst of his fine labours, he contracted a fever and died. In his works, beauty of Form is the expression of the utmost elevation of mind and perfect purity of soul. Some of Raffaelle’s cartoons on scriptural subjects are at Hampton Court Palace. Several of his pictures are in France, obtained by Francis I., who tried in vain to allure Raffaelle to his capital. His “Transfiguration,” in the Vatican, left unfinished at his death, and carried in his own funeral procession, is considered by some the finest picture in the world. It was finished by his pupil, Giulio Romano. Little or nothing is known of his private life, save that his nature was sweet and gracious, and that all men loved him. He was of a slender frame, and five feet seven inches high. His skull was beautifully formed.

[Raffaelle was buried in the Pantheon at Rome, now called Sta. Maria Ritonda. His tomb was ordered by himself, and executed by Lorenzo Lotti, who, it is said, restored one of the ancient tabernacles there at Raffaelle’s request, and added an altar, with a figure of the Virgin. Upon this monument there is a bust of him by Paolo Naldini, a sculptor who lived in the early part of the 17th century. The tomb was opened in 1833, and the remains were found entire, so that the skull long exhibited in the Academy of S. Luke as that of Raffaelle was proved to be a fabulous relic. Portraits of Raffaelle are to be found in several celebrated pictures; in the Duomo and Sacristy of Siena, in the Borghese Gallery at Rome, and one by his own hand in the picture of St. Luke; but the most authentic one, and that which alone possesses the beautiful expression of his remarkable countenance, is the picture by himself in the Gallery of Portraits of Painters by their own hands at Florence. This bust is from one probably by Carlo Maratta, a great admirer and copier of Raffaelle’s works, and who presented it to the Capitoline Museum. There was in 1791, in the Spada Palace at Rome, a portrait of Raffaelle when 12 years old, by himself. (See “Martyn’s Tour in Italy,” p. 242.)]

147. Michele Sanmicheli. Architect.

[Born at Verona, in Italy, 1484. Died there, 1559. Aged 75.]

His works were chiefly fortifications. At the age of seventeen, he went to Rome to study the remains of its ancient architecture, and there gained the friendship of Buonarotti, Bramante, Sansovino, and Sangallo. For Pope Clement VII. he fortified, with Sangallo, the cities of Parma and Placentia. In 1527, entered the service of the Venetians, and for them, at Verona, first employed angular bastions, which he invented. The principle being generally adopted, Sanmicheli was employed to fortify many of the Italian cities, as well as the islands of Candia and Corfu. He then strengthened his native city with fortifications, and adorned it with palaces and other works. One of these, the Capella di Guareschi, is a masterpiece of architecture.

[Bust by Domenico Manera.]

148. Fra Sebastiano del Piombo, sometimes called Sebastiano Veneziano. Painter.

[Born at Venice, 1485. Died at Rome, 1547. Aged 62.]

The pupil of Bellini and Giorgione. At Rome he competed with Raffaelle, and gained the friendship and approval of Michael Angelo, some of whose designs he executed,—amongst others that of the “Raising of Lazarus”—a picture now in our National Gallery. Besides painting in oils and fresco, he invented a method of painting on stone, which was much admired. His portraits are celebrated, and he excelled in beauty of colouring. It is said that he was slow of execution, and not a lover of his art, which he deserted for other pleasures when he attained competency. His principal works are in Venice and Rome. He was called Fra del Piombo (Monk of the Signet), from the office of sealer of briefs, which he held in the Pope’s Chancery.

[By Massimiliano Laboureur.]

149. Giovanni da Udine, or Giovanni di Nani. Painter.

[Born at Udine, in Italy, 1487. Died at Rome, 1564. Aged 77.]

A pupil of Raffaelle, whose style he so thoroughly imitated that it is difficult to distinguish his work from that of his master, whenever he acted as his assistant. In this capacity he was the chief painter of the Loggie of the Vatican. Some ancient grottos having been discovered near Rome, he detected the composition of their stucco ornaments; and so successfully imitated the material, that he may be called the inventor of modern stucco work. Excelled in painting birds, fruits, and animals.

[By Massimiliano Laboureur.]

150. Andrea del Sarto, or Andrea Vannuchi. Painter.

[Born at Florence, 1488. Died there, 1530. Aged 42.]

Called Del Sarto, from the trade of his father, who was a tailor. Long trouble followed his early and unfortunate marriage. Visited France, where he painted pictures for Francis I., who loaded him with gifts, and commissioned him to buy works of art in Florence. Spent the money entrusted to him, and bought neither pictures nor statues for his illustrious patron. Disgraced, neglected, and poor, he died deserted by his wife. This painter—whose works are admirable in design and colour, and remarkable for the elegance and majesty of the figures, is deficient in elevation and refinement of expression. His own character was morally weak and degraded.

[By Antonio D’Este. A monument was erected to him by Raffaelle da Monti Lupo at the expense of Domenico Conti, the heir of Andrea, in the Church of the Servites. It was removed by the authorities, but in 1606 a Prior had another tomb erected in the cloister, between the Madonna del Sacco and another of his frescos. A life-size bust in marble, by Giovanni Caccini, surmounts this tomb.]

151. Marcantonio Raimondi. Engraver.

[Born at Bologna, in Italy, about 1489. Died there, about 1537.]

The most celebrated of all the early engravers. The first impression from any engraved metal plate is dated 1454. Within sixty years, Marcantonio had carried the art to perfection. At Rome he was patronized for some years by Raffaelle, who employed him to engrave some of his most exquisite designs. The finest works of Marcantonio now bear a very high value for their beauty and rarity. Unhappily he was a bad man. He began his career as an artist by using his skill to pirate some of the works of Albert Durer. After Raffaelle’s death, he was banished from Rome by Clement VII. for gross immorality, fled to Bologna, fell into poverty, and is supposed to have died assassinated.

[By Massimiliano Laboureur. The best specimens of Marcantonio’s engraving are in the Imperial collection at Vienna.]

152. Correggio, or Antonio Allegri. Painter.

[Born at Correggio, in Italy, 1493 or 1494. Died there, 1534. Aged 40 or 41.]

Of his private life and character little is known, but his works are justly admired throughout the civilized world, while his frescos in the cupola of the Cathedral at Parma have earned for him undying fame. He painted in oil and fresco. In our National Gallery we have several of his admirable productions. As an artist, remarkable for exquisite sensibility. “In his compositions,” says Kugler, “all is life and motion. All his pictures express the overflowing consciousness of life; the impulse of love and pleasure.” Delicate in perception, with great quickness, subtlety, and depth of feeling. His forms not always beautiful, but his treatment of light and shade masterly, and almost unique.

[There is no bust of Correggio from the life; this is by Philippo Albacini, and no doubt from some authentic painted portrait.]

153. Polidoro Caldare da Caravaggio. Painter.

[Born at Caravaggio, in Lombardy, 1495. Died at Messina, 1543. Aged 48.]

Was employed by Raffaelle to assist him in the Vatican, having been originally a mason. Afterwards became distinguished as an ornamental painter. He was assassinated by his servant for the sake of his money.

[He was buried in the Cathedral at Messina. The Bust is by Massimiliano Laboureur.]

154. Giulio Romano, or Giulio Pippi de’ Giannuzzi. Architect and Painter.

[Born at Rome, 1499. Died at Mantua, 1546. Aged 47.]

A pupil of Raffaelle, by whom he was employed on works at the Vatican. Invited by the Marquis of Mantua to the city of that name, where he was raised to the rank of nobility, provided with a house, a salary of 500 gold ducats, board for himself and his pupils, a horse, and some yards of silk velvet and cloth for clothing. Built many palaces in Mantua, and painted much in fresco. His later works are wanting in grace and purity, and display wildness and even coarseness. Yet he has a memorable name as one of the Roman school of art.

[This bust is by Alessandro d’Este.]

155. Andrea Palladio. Architect.

[Born at Vicenza, in Italy, 1518. Died there, 1580. Aged 62.]

He largely and accurately studied and described the Roman style of architecture, and adapted it to modern purposes with admirable success. Inigo Jones may be called his disciple; and the Banquetting House at Whitehall is a good example of the style called Palladian. He was small in stature, and agreeable in countenance. His most celebrated buildings are at Venice, Verona, and Vicenza.

[This bust is by Leandro Biglioschi.]

156. Paolo Cagliari, called Veronese. Painter.

[Born at Verona, 1528. Died at Venice, 1588. Aged 60.]

One of the great masters of the Venetian school of painting, whose principle was the study and imitation of nature, but whose peculiar excellence was colour, which the leaders of the school carried to the highest point of perfection. The works of Veronese are remarkable for splendour of colour, for the clear and transparent treatment of shadows, and for comprehensive keeping and harmony. He represented festivals and banquets suggested by Sacred History. The “Marriage at Cana,” now in the Louvre at Paris, is a magnificent example of his style. He was a man of courteous manners and generous disposition, and left a family of sons and brothers, who pursued the same calling.

[By Domenico Manera.]

157. Giovanni Pierluigi, surnamed Di Palestrina. Musical Composer.

[Born 1524. Died 1594. Aged 70.]

Palestrina is justly described in his epitaph as “Musicæ Princeps.” He was the greatest musician of his time, and the creator of Church music. Before his day the music of profane, and even immoral songs, had been allied with church masses. He reformed the custom by the production of a sacred composition that ravished every hearer. In 1555, he was Musical Director to the Church of St. John Lateran. Ten years afterwards, he was named Composer to the Pontifical Chapel. But he was in straitened circumstances throughout his career. His music continues a model at this hour. He had a singular capacity for apprehending the poetic character of his subject.

158. Annibale Carracci. Painter.

[Born at Bologna, 1560. Died at Rome, 1609. Aged 49.]

One of the three Carracci who founded a new school of painting (the Bolognese school), the fundamental principles of which were the study of nature, and a close imitation of the great masters. At Rome, painted the gallery of the Farnese palace with mythological frescos, which display masterly drawing, excellent arrangement of draperies, and an agreeable, clear colouring. Produced landscapes as well as historical works. His facility in drawing marvellous. Amongst the pupils of the Carracci school were Domenichino, Guercino, and Guido Reni.

[The author of this bust is not known. It was executed at the expense of Carlo Maratta.]

159. Domenichino, also called Domenico Zampieri. Painter.

[Born at Bologna, 1581. Died at Naples, 1641. Aged 60.]

A famous painter of the Bolognese school. A pupil of the Carracci. At Rome, painted some frescos, and other pictures, but was poorly paid. His life one series of misfortunes. His fame and skill excited the jealousy of the Roman and Neapolitan artists, who destroyed his paintings, mixed deleterious compounds with his colours, and—it is believed—at last poisoned him. His works occasionally reveal artlessness, and a clear conception of nature, but he never escapes from the trammels of the imitative school of the Carracci. His great work, the “Communion of St. Jerome,” pronounced by Poussin only inferior to the Transfiguration of Raffaelle. Yet for this picture, Domenichino received fifty scudi—about ten guineas. In person, stout and short—hence his name, Domenichino (little Dominic). Passionately fond of music, and devoted to study and tranquillity. Whilst he painted, he would have his house as quiet and as noiseless as a monastery.

[By Alessandro d’Este. There is another bust of him in the Louvre by Mlle. Charpentier.]

160. Pietro di Cortona, or Pietro Berettini. Painter.

[Born at Cortona, 1596 or 1609. Died at Rome, probably about 1669.]

A painter of the modern and degenerate school of art, who lived and worked at Florence and Rome. So stupid in his youth, that he was called “Ass’s Head.” Was employed to paint a ceiling in the Barberini palace—perhaps the largest picture ever undertaken by a single artist. At Florence he executed the ceilings of the Pitti palace.

[This bust is by Pietro Pierantoni.]

161. Arcangelo Corelli. Violinist and Composer.

[Born at Fusignano, near Bologna, 1653. Died at Rome, 1713. Aged 60.]

Corelli’s playing was distinguished by the most perfect sweetness and smoothness. Of execution, as now understood, he had none. But he possessed grace, finish, and an exquisite power of expression. His works still keep their ground as an indispensable study for all who would acquire a broad and artist-like style of playing. He was a modest and unaffected man, and enjoyed an equable temper, which not even the rough outbursts of Handel could disconcert. He had also humour. He would lay down his violin if folks talked whilst he was playing, and apologize for interrupting the conversation.

[Corelli was buried in the Pantheon at Rome. The author of this bust is not mentioned; it was executed at the cost of Cardinal Ottoboni, Corelli’s constant friend and patron.]

162. Ludovico Antonio Muratori. Antiquary.

[Born at Vignola, in Italy, 1672. Died at Modena, in Italy, 1750. Aged 78.]

Contributed much valuable material towards the History of Italy in the Middle Ages. Librarian to the Duke of Modena for the space of fifty years.

[By Adamo Tadolino.]

163. Benedetto Marcello. Writer and Musician.

[Born at Venice, 1686. Died at Brescia, in Italy, 1739. Aged 53.]

A lawyer and public officer; he was also a distinguished poet, and a musical composer of a high order. His most celebrated work is a Paraphrase of the first fifty Psalms, arranged for one, two, three, or four voices; it is remarkable for great tenderness, united with the religious feeling, and vehemence of style, which have obtained for the author from his fond countrymen the appellation of the Pindar and Michael Angelo of musicians. He also composed sonnets, madrigals, and dramatic pieces.

[By Domenico Manera.]

164. Giambatista Piranesi. Engraver.

[Born at Rome, 1707. Died there, 1778. Aged 71.]

An excellent and laborious artist. Has produced a great work in sixteen volumes upon the antiquities and curiosities of Rome. Has never been surpassed for his skill in representing architectural ruins and restorations. He also displays singular powers of invention, and his fancy subjects show consummate execution. He acquired great and widely extended fame during his life.

[By Antonio d’Este.]

165. Giovanni Paisiello. Musical Composer.

[Born at Tarento, in Italy, 1741. Died at Naples, 1816. Aged 75.]

A dramatic composer of extraordinary fertility. His works remarkable for their number, rather than for their eminence. He was the son of a veterinary surgeon. In 1777, he came to St. Petersburgh, upon the invitation of Queen Catharine, and remained there, in great honour, during eight years. In 1802, he answered Napoleon’s summons to Paris, and composed the mass and other music for the coronation, in 1804. Shortly after this event, he retired to Naples, where, in consequence of his many political tergiversations, he fell into disgrace, and closed a brilliant career in neglect and chagrin. His character as a man is not pleasing. He was jealous, unscrupulous, mean, and cringing.

[By Pietro Pierantoni.]

166. Niccolo Zingarelli. Musician.

[Born at Naples, 1752. Died 1837. Aged 85.]

The author of several operas no longer performed. One, his most celebrated work, “Romeo and Juliet,” still represented in France and Germany, and rendered popular in England by Pasta’s personation of Romeo. The last of the Italian composers for the church. His oratorio of “The Destruction of Jerusalem,” a noble composition, written in the classical style of the old ecclesiastical school. During his later years he led the life of a recluse.

167. Domenico Cimarosa. Musical Composer.

[Born at Aversa, near Naples, 1755. Died at Venice, 1801. Aged 47.]

A cobbler’s son and a baker’s apprentice. It was the duty of the lad to fetch daily a batch of dough from the house of Aprili, the great singing master of his time: and the musical sounds always ringing through the house touched his spirit and elicited his genius. Aprili caught him listening at the keyholes, and considerately sent him to a free musical school in Naples. At the age of 19, Cimarosa quitted the Conservatorio, and immediately afterwards wrote his first work—the music to a farce called “Baroness Stramba.” From this time forward his compositions for the theatre were incessant, and invariably successful. In 1787, Catharine of Russia invited him to St. Petersburgh, whither he went; but his health failing, he betook him, in 1792, to Vienna, and there entered the service of the Emperor Leopold. In his 38th year, after he had written 70 operas and dramatic works, he composed his masterpiece, “Il Matrimonio Segreto.” The Emperor of Austria was so delighted with the performance, that after supping the composer and the singers, he took the whole of them back to the theatre, and made them sing the opera through again. The operas of Mozart, then dying a few miles off, had fallen at the same theatre upon cold and unfeeling ears. Few compositions of Cimarosa are known at the present day, though his innumerable productions were highly popular whilst he lived. His music exhibits some originality and a prodigal flow and variety of ideas. His scoring is peculiarly brilliant, and his comic powers were great.

[By Canova.]

168. Antonio Canova. Sculptor.

[Born at Passagno, in Upper Italy, 1757. Died at Venice, 1822. Aged 65.]

One of the most celebrated of modern sculptors. When five years old, evinced a taste for his art, and at fourteen was a pupil of Tonetto, a sculptor at Venice. From Venice went to Rome, where he executed many works. A favourite of Buonaparte, whose portrait, for the colossal statue of the Emperor (in the possession of the Duke of Wellington) he modelled at Paris, and from which was taken the bust No. . He had no pupils; for he used to say that “the master’s compositions were the best instructors.” His works are very numerous; casts from some of the most celebrated are to be found in the court of modern Italian Sculpture. His imaginative pieces more successful than his portraits, although many of these are master-pieces of art. In execution he was unrivalled; but his taste is not always pure. In person Canova was below the middle height, his eyes full of expression, and the general character of his face indicative of good-nature. He was much beloved at Rome as the generous friend of his brother artists.

[From the colossal marble bust by his own hand, in the Protomoteca of the Capitol at Rome.]

169. Gasparo Spontini. Musician.

[Born at Majolatti, in the Roman States, 1778. Died there, 1851. Aged 73.]

Educated at Naples, and at the early age of seventeen commenced his musical career as the composer of an opera, which was rapidly followed by sixteen more. In 1803, he went to Paris, and continued composing operas. In 1807, appointed musical Director to the Empress Josephine; and in 1808, produced with great success his best work, “La Vestale.” From 1810 to 1820, Director of the Italian Opera in Paris. Then invited to Berlin, where he wrote some more operas, and remained until the death of the late king in 1840. The greater part of the music composed by Spontini is forgotten. He was eclipsed by the genius of Rossini, but he had remarkable ability as a dramatic composer. His instrumentation was original, and his music abounds in melody.

[By Rauch, 1827. From the marble on the Monument to Spontini, at Tesi, in Italy.]

170. Niccolo Paganini. Violinist.

[Born at Genoa, 1784. Died at Nice, 1840. Aged 56.]

The greatest of modern fiddlers, who performed in the principal cities of Europe, and acquired more fame and money by playing on one string, than any of the brotherhood ever gained on all four. He looked like a magician, and his playing justified his looks.

[By Dantan, 1837.]

171. Maria Felicitas Malibran. Actress.

[Born in Paris, 1808. Died at Manchester, 1836. Aged 28.]

A wonderfully gifted dramatic genius, too soon cut off by death. In France, England, Germany and Italy, she created enthusiastic admiration, as much by her histrionic powers, as by her efforts as a songstress. She was a child of nature, and as benevolent as she was richly endowed with intellectual gifts. She made the noblest uses of the earnings of her industry, and was beloved by her fellow artists for the unaffected goodness of her heart. No actress of her time equalled her for truth and passion. Whatever art was in her, lay concealed. It never came to view. Her acting assailed the feelings of men, and took them prisoner. Escape was its own punishment.