There is a group, in marble, in the Chigi Chapel, in the church of Santa Maria del l'opolo at Rome, representing Jonas with the sea monster, which is remarkable for the grand style of its composition, as well as for the breadth and beauty of its forms. It is attributed to a sculptor who lived in the 16th century, called Lorenzetto, but there is a tradition that the design was furnished by ltaffaelle, and that he Oren made the model from which the sculptor executed the marble figure. Michel Angelo had a very high opinion of the works of Beg garelli, a sculptor of Modena, and is said to have exclaimed, on being shown some of his models, " If this clay could but become marble, woo (gtuzi) to the antique." Jacopo Tatti, better known as Saneovino, is more deserving of celebrity as an architect than as a sculptor. [Samos-11v°, in Biota. Div.] His chief productions, in both arts, are at Veuice. Some statues on the Scala (lei Giganti (the Staircase of the Giants), at the Palace of the Doge at Venice, and some bassi.rilievi in other places, especially a bronze gate at St. Mark's, are examples of his ignorance of or indiffer ence to the true principles of design in sculpture, though it would be unjust to refuse them the merit of much elaborate execution. Many of his scholars became distinguished artists. Among them may be mentioned Nicole Tribolo, Damao Cattaneo, some of whose works are in the church of S. Antony in Padua, Bartolomeo Amtnanati, Ales sandro Vittoria, a sculptor of great merit, and probably Tonnuaso Lombardo. About this time a profusion of ornament began to be associated with works in sculpture, and led artists to neglect the simpler qualities of design for high finish and minutias of mouldings, flowers, scrolls, and other objects of minor importance. Among the ornamented works of the claque cento which are most worthy of notice, are the splendid altar candelabra in some of the Italian churches. There are some particularly fine specimens of this kind of work at Venice. Baccio Bandinelli, born in 1487, is among the distinguished contemporaries of Michel Angelo, Sansovino, and the great sculptors of that time. [Basinrste...tm, in Btoo. Div.] Although some exaggera tion iu design and defects in execution may be visible in his works, they possess qualities which claim for their author a distinguished place among modern sculptors. There are some bassi-rilievi in marble, by Bandinelli, round the screen of the high altar in the Duomo of Florence, which are admirable for their breadth and the fine treatment and disposition of their draperies. The fault of his composition gene rally, whether of one or several figures, is in its too picturesque arrangement, and in his placing his figures in somewhat forced and affected attitudes. The restoration of the right arm of the celebrated group of the Laocoon was entrusted to Bandinelli. Some critics be lieve this arm should be turned back, and that the hand or some part of the serpent should touch the bead of the figure. [LAocoox.] In Bandinellfs restoration the arm is extended.
There is a work of considerable merit, and also of some interest from the circumstances under which it was executed, in the church of S. Petronio at Bologna. It represents the story of Joseph and the wife of Potiphar, and is the production of Propertia de' ltoasi, a lady of great personal beauty, and highly accomplished in various branches of the fine arta. It is said she became enamoured of a young artist who did not return her love, and the disappointment threw her into a languishing disorder which terminated in her death. Iler last work was the besso-rilievo above mentioned. In it she represented herself as the wife of Potiphar, and the object of her affection as Joseph escaping from her. She died in the flower of her age, in the year 1530.
Benvenuto Cellini, born in Florence, in 1500, was one of the most distinguished sculptors, founders, and chasers in Italy. All his larger works are in bronze, and are preserved in his native city ; but numerous specimens of his skill in smaller productions, as medals of gold and silver, bucklers, dagger hilts, and tasteful ornaments, are in foreign collections and afford ample evidence of the superior talents of their author. The particulars of his life and the history of many of his
works are graphically told by himself, in one of the most entertaining autobiographies extant. [CELLIST, BENVENUTO, in Btoo. Div.] The list of sculptors of this school, or rather of this division of time (for each effected changes that tended to interrupt the existence or continuance of schools), must close with Guglielmo della Porta, the most skilful of all the artists of Lombardy. He was the scholarok l'ierino del "Vega. Ile was also a favourite of Michel Angelo, from whom he received a very high compliment.. Guglielmo had been employed to restore the legs of the famous Hercules (now called the Faruese) of Glycon, which he did so admirably, that when, after a time, the original legs were found, Michel Angelo was unwilling to remove Della Porta's for these which had so unexpectedly been re covered. Della l'orta executed few works. The most remarkable, as an example of the influence of the style both of Michel Angelo and of Ratfaelle, is the monument of Paul IIL, in.St. Peter's at Rome. Two recumbent statues iu this work, one a female of advanced years, repre senting Prudence, and the other, a young and beautiful woman, as Justice, are particularly fine. The latter figure is deficient in the expression and character proper to the subject, but it is a remarkable performance for the romulneas and richness of its execution, and for the knowledge of form displayed in it. This statue was originally naked ; since Della Porta's time it has been partially covered with bronze drapery. This artist effected some changes in the process of casting in bronze. [llitosze.] At the end of the 1 fith and the beginning of the 17th centuries, the sculptors aimed chiefly at fine and curious execution. The works of that time exhibit very high merit in many respects, but they are defi cient in repose and simplicity. Instead of grace, we find affectation, and mechanical skill was held in higher estimation than what may not improperly be calks' the moral qualities of art. The works of Gio vanni di Bologna, a native of Flandera, but established in Italy, offer ample illustration of this meretricious and destructive taste in sculp ture. They are full of imagination, and are executed with a boldness and ability that both surprise us and call forth our admiration, hut there is at the same time an exaggeration in the attitudes and an endeavour after picturesque effect that disappoint us. One of the most reinarkable performances of this artist is his well-known group, in marble, of the Rape of the Sabines. As a specimen of invention it is wonderful for its expression and its energy of action ; and it is impossible not to admire the courage of the sculptor who ventured to execute so daring a work in such a material; but it is open to criticism for the extravagant corkscrew contortions of the composition. Ilia famous bronze statue of Mercury is conceived in the true spirit of poetry, and is deservedly admired as one of the most elegant produc tions of modern art. The form is light, and the action gracefuL He had many imitators, who, like copiers in general, chiefly exaggerated his faults. There are few works of Stefano Maderno, but there is a aimplieity of composition and a beauty in the sentiment of his statue of St. Cecilia, that justly claim for him a place among the most worthy of the eculptors of this age. This statue was executed when he was very young. The supposed body of St. Cecilia was found in Rome, in 1599, during the pontificate of Clement VIII., and Stefano Maderno was employed to make a careful copy of it before it was removed to where it now lies, in the church of the convent dedicated to this saint in Rome. This may account in a great measure for the superiority of this work over others by the same artist. Limited by the circum stances, and by the pontiff's command to take nature as his model, he had no opportunity to introduce any of the prevailing bad taste. The result is a work of great beauty, one of the best of that age, and in certain qualities not surpassed by later artists.