MORGHEN, RAPHAEL SANZIO CAVALIERE, a famous engraver, was b. at Florence, .June 19, 1758. His first instructor in the art of engraving was his father, who, accord ing to some, was a German or the son of a German. The indications of talent that he gave were such as to induce his father to place him under Volpato at Rome. IIis prog ress then became very marked. Raphael's celebrated figures in the Vatican of " Poetry " and "Theology" were engraved by him in 1781; and he afterwards produced a suc cession of engravings of a very MO class from many of the masterpieces of art: amongst these may be enumerated his prints from Raphael's "Madonna della Seggiola;" the "Madonna del Sacco," by Andrea del Saito; the "Transfiguration," by Raphael; the "Duke of Moneado," by Vandykc; and by his burin, Da Ai' inci's "Last Supper," not withstanding its decay, has been rendered with such consummate skill, as to lessen the regret felt for the evanescent condition of the original work. He accepted an invitation ''rom the grand duke to reside at Florence, with a pdnsion of 400 scudi, and a free resi dence, under condition of keeping at public school; and received marked attentions from the emperor Napoleon, to whom he dedicated his engraving from the " Transfiguration." Morghen died at Florence on April 8, 1833. He had married it daughter of Volpato's
in 1781. His life, with ft portrait, and a catalogue of his works, was published by his pupil Niccoio Pilmarino. From this work it appears that he has engraved 73 por traits, 47 religious and 44 historical mid mythological pieces, 24 views and landscapes, and 13 vignettes, crests, etc.-201 in all. The works of Morghen will always hold a very prominent place in the history of engraving. About the middle of last century, Strange had added a new feature to the art.. by introducing, in a remarkable way, what is tech nically called by engravers "color," or the art of producing by management and variety of line a texture or quality that compensates to some extent for the want of the actual colors in a picture. This influenced the style of Volpato, Cunego, and other Italian engravers of the period, who imitated, though with no very great success, the brilliancy produced by Strange. Morghen, however, went far beyond these Italian engravers, for in his works he united much that was good in the engraving of Strange with a more correct and a purer style of drawing, and thus brought out in a high degree all the important qualities for which those masterpieces he so Acillfallyirendered are distin guished.