ANDREA CONTUCCI (SANSOVINO). -(1460-1529.)

Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino (1460-1529), architect and sculptor, visited Spain and-Portugal, and there are a statue of St. Mark and a bronze bas-relief executed by him at Coimbra. He carved the baptismal font in the Baptistery at Volterra, a Madonna and Child for the Cathedral at Genoa, and the group representing the Baptism of Christ over one of the gates of the Florence Baptistery, with the exception of the angel, which is said to be by Spinazzi. At Rome Contucci erected the tombs of Cardinal G. B. dells Rovere and Cardinal Ascanio Maria Sforza, behind the high altar in Santa Maria del Popolo, the various portions of which, examined apart, are very handsome, but which as a whole are wanting in harmony.

From Rome Contucci went to Loretto, where he carved the bas-reliefs on the temple enclosing the Santa Casa, which, interesting as they are, cannot be compared with the work of some of the sculptors of the early Renaissance.

Another Florentine, JACOPO DI ANTONIO TATTI (1477-1570), took the name of his master Sansovino, and became famous in Venice as Sansovino.

Then we have GIULIANO DA SAN GALLO (1445-1516), and FRANCESCO DA SAN GALLO (1493-1570). The first named was the sculptor of Sassetti's tomb in Santa Trinita, under the fresco by Ghirlandajo ; while the second was the author of the statue of the Bishop of Cortona, in the middle of the pavement of one of the chapels at the Certosa of the Val d'Emo ; of the group of the Virgin and Child and St. Anne in Or San Michele; of the tomb of Bishop Angelo Marti, on the steps of the altar of the Annunziata; of the statue of Paolo Giovio at the entrance to the basilica of San Lorenzo from the cloister; and of the monument to Piero de' Medici in the convent of Monte Casino. This latter artist was unquestionably much influenced in his style by Michael Angelo, as may be seen by comparing his work with that of the master.

BENEDETTO DA ROVEZZANO (1474-1550) erected the monuments of Piero Soderini in the Carmine Church, and of Oddo Altoviti in that of the SS. Apostoli. His tomb of San Gualberto was broken to pieces during the siege of 1530 in the sculptor's studio, all that remain being the reliefs now in the Bargello. Strange as it may seem, he was the sculptor of Lord Nelson's tomb, who died nearly three hundred years afterwards. Rovezzano went to England to erect a tomb for Cardinal Wolsey, which was afterwards selected by King Charles I. for his own burial-place. After his execution Parliament had the bronzes melted down and preserved the sarcophagus, which, a century and a half later, was by royal decree utilized for the interment of Nelson.

The last sculptor of this period was TORRIGIANO (1472-1522), who was a soldier of fortune, and who became notorious by breaking the nose of Michael Angelo in a studio quarrel. He executed different works at Rome, the tomb of Henry VIII. in Westminster Abbey, and afterwards resided m Spain, where he left behind him several works in terracotta, dying at Seville in 1522. According to tradition, he broke to pieces a statue for which one of his employers refused to pay what he deemed a fair price, and the latter, by way of vengeance, denounced him to the Inquisition as having laid sacrilegious hands upon the holy images. This story is declared by Quilliet to be untrue, but in any event Torrigiano has acquired by his attack on Michael Angelo a notoriety which his works, able as some of them are, would not have won for him.

MICHAEL ANGELO BUONAROTTI. -(1475-1564.)

Just when Florentine art was losing the towering figures which had asserted its supremacy throughout Europe, Michael Angelo was born (March 6, 1475) in the castle of Chiusi e Caprese, in the Casentino, of which place his father was Podesta. He came to Florence while quite a lad, and, like his friend Granacci the painter, entered the studio of Domenico Ghirlandajo. His first work was a picture in distemper now the property of Lady Taunton of a Virgin and Child, with St. John and Angels, which in its unfinished state betrays the influence of Ghirlandajo.

His earliest efforts were encouraged by Lorenzo the Magnificent, who gave him the run of his collections in order that he might copy from the antique ; and when that prince happened to see one day the head of a faun, now in the Uffizi, and ascertained that it was his own drawing, he invited him to reside in the Medici Palace. There he lived in the society of the most notable men of the day. Politian suggested to him the idea of "The Combat of Centaurs," now to be seen in the Casa Buonarotti. The death of Lorenzo was a cruel blow to the young sculptor, and it is said that when it occurred he abandoned his work and spent several days in a sort of lethargy.

Pietro de' Medici showed him equal favor, but he missed that polished and brilliant society in which the most learned men of the day had discussed the loftiest and most recondite questions. Wishing to remain neutral in the struggle about to break out between the people and the family of his patrons, Michael Angelo determined to quit Florence, and accordingly repaired to Venice just before the entrance of Charles VIII. From Venice, where there is no trace of his presence, he went to Bologna, where he executed the statue of an angel kneeling, holding a candelabrum, before the altar of the shrine of San Domenico. At Bologna he pursued his studies, and copied the bas-reliefs of Jacopo Bella Quercia on the portal of San Petroilins; these drawings he afterwards used for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Sketching only the main outlines of his mighty career, we find that from Bologna he returned to Florence, where he enjoyed the patronage of Lorenzo, son of Piero Francesco of the younger Medici branch, and did the statue of Cupid, which was sold to the Cardinal di San Giorgio as a work of antiquity after being hidden in the ground and Jigged up again. He went to Rome about the matter of the Cupid, where he executed another one now in the South Kensington Museum and a statue of Bacchus for a Roman gentleman named Jacopo Gallo. He was then one-and-twenty, and from this period dates his beautiful Pieta, now in St. Peter's, to which he appended his name because he heard some one remark that it was by Cristoforo Solari.

His first stay at Rome was not a very long one, and when he returned to Florence he signed an agreement with Cardinal Piccolomini for some very extensive works, which do not appear to have been executed, as no trace of them is to be found. It was about this time (1503) that he utilized the large block of Carrara marble which the building committee of the Duomo had on hand, and which he converted into the beautiful statue of David, afterwards placed on the Ringhiera of the Palazzo dells Signoria. The Madonna and Child," now in the Bargello, dates from the same period, as does the " Holy Family" in the Tribune, a harsh and unpleasing picture, which has doubtless been spoilt by the ravages of time.

The celebrated cartoon of the "Battle of Pisa," now entirely destroyed, but which contemporary chroniclers describe in such glowing terms, also dates from about the same period.

His fame as an artist was growing greater every day, and Pope Julius II. invited him to come and plan the mausoleum which he contemplated erecting during his lifetime in St. Peter's. After a good deal of discussion as to the best site it was decided to pull down the venerable basilica of St. Peter's and rebuild it. Michael Angelo prepared a very ambitious plan, included in it being the erection of no fewer than forty statues. The Pope was so anxious to see the work begun that he sent him to Carrara to superintend the cutting out of the marbles, and here he remained six months. Upon his return he fitted up a studio near the Vatican, and the Pope, who had a temporary bridge made leading from his apartments to this studio, often came to see how the work progressed. It was here that he made the rough sketches for his Moses "in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, his Two Prisoners," and the statue of Victory for the tomb of Julius. When he had been nine months at this work the Pope changed his mind, and upon his asking for payment he was so rudely treated by the officials that he wrote to the Pope, " Driven out of your palace this morning by the ex: press orders of your Holiness, I take the liberty of saying that if you happen to require me at any future time, you will have to look for me elsewhere than at Rome." This was no idle threat, as he set out forthwith for Florence, and though messengers on horseback were sent after him refused to return. Upon his arrival at Florence three official requests were addressed to the Signoria, asking them to compel him to come back, and the Florentines were afraid that the Pope, who was then marching at the head of his army against Bologna and Perugia in revolt, would declare war against the city. Michael Angelo was thinking of starting for Constantinople, as the Sultan had asked him to come and throw a bridge from the suburbs of Pera to the opposite shore of the Bosphorus ; but just then the Pope entered Bologna, and sent the Cardinal Legate to the Signoria with power to negotiate for the great artist's return. An interview between the Pope and the sculptor then followed, and it was during this interview that the former vented his displeasure upon one of the Monsignori, who, without meaning any harm, remarked that Michael Angelo had erred through ignorance, because men of that sort do not understand anything outside their calling." The outcome of the reconciliation was the erection of the bronze statue of the Pope on the Piazza of Bologna, the sculptor obeying the Pope's behest to "put a sword, not a book, in my hand, for I have no pretensions to learning." This statue was destroyed by the populace when Bentivoglio was restored by the French troops.

It was Julius II., also, who conceived the idea of having the Sistine Chapel decorated with frescoes, though Michael Angelo insisted that he was a good sculptor, but a poor painter. Nevertheless, this work, which he brought to a conclusion in two years, has immortalized his name as a painter. With little regard to method, and devoting his whole attention to the conception and form of the work, he succeeded in achieving a masterpiece that may, without exaggeration, be termed sublime. It is said that being unacquainted with the material processes of fresco painting, he sent for some very skilful artists from Siena, and having mastered their secret, shut himself up, and would not allow even the Pope to see what he was doing until All Saints' Day, 1509, when the work being half completed Julius was admitted to judge of the effect and was struck dumb with wonder and admiration. The chapel, commenced in 1508, was not open to the public until 1513, when the Pope died, although it had been completed the previous year.