141 



ROMANELLI, GIOVANNI FRANCESCO. 



ROMBOUTS, THEODORE. 



142 



with a ' Life ' by the Hon. and Rev. William Bromley Cadogan, M.A.> 

 some account of whom is contained in 'The Life and Times of the 

 Countess of Huntingdon,' vol. ii., chap. 49. 



ROMANELLI, GIOVANNI FRANCESCO, was born at Viterbo in 

 1617. He studied a short time with Domenichino, but he ia chiefly 

 known as the scholar of Pietro da Cortona ; and he was one of the 

 principal hangers-on of Bernini, who appears to have selected Roma- 

 nelli as a rival to Carlo Maratta and the school of Sacchi, and even to 

 Pietro Cortona himself. Romanelli's picture of ' The Deposition," in 

 the church of Sant' Ambrogio della Massima, gave him a temporary 

 reputation above all his rivals, which induced Pietro da Cortona to 

 paint a picture for the same church his ' San Stefano ' which, when it 

 was hung up in its place, so far eclipsed the picture of Romanelli, that 

 Bernini himself observed that it was easy to see who was the master 

 and who the scholar. Romanelli showed more delicacy of execution 

 but considerably less power than Cortona. There is a ' Presentation 

 iu the Temple ' in one of the chapels of St. Peter's, worked in mosaic, 

 from a picture by Romanelli which is iu the church of the Certosa. 

 He was twice in Paris with his patron Cardinal Barberini, and he died 

 at Viterbo in 1662, when about to set out with his family upon a third 

 visit to that capital. There is a large copy of Guido's 'Triumph of 

 Bacchus' at Hampton Court, by Romanelli. 



ROMA'NO, GIU'LIO. [GIULIO ROMANO.] 



ROMA'NUS I., an Armenian by birth, served with distinction 

 under Leo the Philosopher and his sou Constantino Porphyrogennetus, 

 who made him great admiral. Romnnus'gave his daughter Helena 

 in marriage to the emperor, who made him his colleague iu the 

 empire in 919. Romanus became in fact the real emperor, the weak 

 character of Constantino not being equal to the cares of the state. 

 His own sons however, whom he had named Csesars, conspired against 

 him, and having seized him, they confined him to a convent in 945, 

 where he died in 948. His two sons did not reap the fruit of their 

 unnatural treachery ; they were seized by order of Constantine, and 

 banished to a convent. 



ROMA'NUS II., son of Constantine Porphyrogennetus, and grand- 

 son, by his mother's side, of Romanus I., poisoned his father and 

 succeeded him in 959. He showed himself as incapable as he was 

 unworthy of the throne. After a reign of little more than four years, 

 he died in 963, it is said by some of poison administered by his wife 

 Theophana. His widow became regent and guardian of her infant 

 children, and she Boon after married Nicephorus Phocas. [NiCEPiio- 

 EUS II.] 



ROMA'NUS III., of a patrician family and senator of Constan- 

 tinople, was chosen his successor by Constantine IX., and the emperor 

 gave him in marriage his daughter Zoe, He succeeded Constantine in 

 1028. The beginning of his reign was favourable, but he afterwards 

 met with reverses, his armies having been defeated by the Saracens, 

 and he became stern, avaricious, and unpopular. His wife Zoe, much 

 younger than himself, having formed a guilty connection with an 

 obscure individual called Michael of Paphlagonia, caused her husband 

 to be murdered iu the year 1034, upon which she married Michael, and 

 placed him on the throne. 



ROMA'NUS IV., DIOGENES, of a noble family, was a soldier 

 under the reign of Constantine Ducas, and after that emperor's death 

 was chosen by his widow Eudocia for her husband and her partner on 

 the throne, 1068. [EucociA.] He passed with an army into Asia, and 

 carried on a successful war against the Turks, whom he drove beyond 

 the Euphrates. Having afterwards entered Armenia, he was defeated 

 by Alp Arslan, sultan of the Turks, and taken prisoner. He was 

 kindly treated by his conqueror, and obtained his liberty by paying a 

 heavy ransom. In the meantime a revolution had taken place at Con- 

 stantinople, where Michael, son of Constantine Ducas, had risen 

 against his mother, and shut her up in a convent. Romanus on his 

 way homewards was seized by order of Michael, was deprived of his 

 sight, and banished to the island of Priukipos, in the Sea of Marmara, 

 where he soon after died in 1071. 



ROMANZOV, or RUMIANCOV, NICHOLAUS, COUNT, was the 

 son of the Russian field-marshal Romanzov who became celebrated by 

 his victories over the Turks under the reign of Catherine II. He was 

 born in 1753, and appointed Russian minister at Frankfurt-on-the- 

 Maiu in 1785. Under the Emperor Alexander he was nominated 

 minister of commerce. He introduced many liberal measures into his 

 department, and it was owing to his exertions that the first Russian 

 expedition round the world, under Krusenstern and Lisianski, wai 

 sent out in 1803. In 1807 he was appoiuted minister for foreign 

 affairs, and soon afterwards chancellor of the empire. He accompanied 

 the Emperor Alexander to the interview with Napoleon at Erfurt in 

 1808, concluded the treaty of peace with Sweden in 1809, and that of 

 peace and alliance with Spain in 1812, by which Russia formally 

 acknowledged the constitution of the Cortes of Cadiz. In 1814 he 

 left public life, and devoted his time and fortune to the promotion oi 

 literature, science, and education in his own country. Many important 

 works were published at his expense, as for instance the ' Diplomatic 

 Code of Russia at Moscow ; ' the ' History of the Byzantine writer Leo 

 Diaconus,' edited by Professor Hase at Paris, and a Russian translation 

 at St. Petersburg; the ' History of the Mongols and Tatars by Abul- 

 ghazi,' which was printed for the first time in the original Tatar al 

 Kazan, 1825; and many other important publications relating not 



only to the political history of Russia, but also to that of its manners, 

 customs, literature, and art. The scientific expedition round the 

 world by Captain Kotzebue in the years 1815-18 was undertaken and 

 the account of it was published at the expense of Romanzov. He 

 established on his estate of Homel in the government of Mohiloff, 

 under the direction of an Englishman, Mr. Heard, the first Lancastrian 

 and industrial schools in Russia. This patriotic individual died in 

 1826. He had never been married. 



ROMBERG, ANDREAS and BERNHARD, eminent German com- 

 posers, were the eldest sons of brothers who enjoyed a considerable 

 share of reputation as instrumental performers during the middle and 

 latter part of the last century. 



ANDREAS was born at Osnabruck in 1767; BERNHAK.D in 1770. Both 

 held appointments in the royal chap'el of the Elector of Cologne, at 

 Bonn, about the year 1790. Andreas was distinguished by his superior 

 performance on the violin ; Bernhard as an almost unrivalled player 

 on the violoncello ; and both by their compositions, even at that early 

 period of their career. The progress of the French armies at the com- 

 mencement of the revolutionary war drove the two cousins to Ham- 

 burg, where their talents immediately procured them engagements. 

 In 1795 they quitted that city, and visited many parts of Germany 

 and Italy, establishing their reputation, wherever they presented them- 

 selves, as professors of the first class. They returned to Hamburg in 

 1797, where the elder remained; but the younger left that city two ' 

 years after, and proceeded alone through England, and Spain to Lisbon, 

 aud subsequently obtained a good situation in the royal chapel at 

 Berlin. Andreas in the meantime turned his attention more exclu- 

 sively to composition, and produced four operettas; he also set 

 Schiller's Ode to music. For the church he wrote a 'Dixit Domi- 

 nus' and a 'Te Deum,' each for four voices, and a 'Pater Noster' for 

 three, besides many psalms. For the chamber or concert-room he 

 composed much music, among other things Schiller's 'Song of the 

 Bell' ('Das Lied von der Glocke'), which is well known to connois- 

 seurs in every part of Europe. He also produced two full operas, 

 'Die Grossmuth der Scipio ' ('The Magnanimity of Scipio'), and 

 ' Die Ruinen von Paluzzi ' (' The Ruins of Paluzzi'), the drama of the 

 latter from Mrs. Radcliffe's ' Italian.' 



Bernhard, while in Berlin, wrote two operettas and much instru- 

 mental music, particularly for the violoncello. Both cousins indeed 

 were for a time chiefly known as authors by their compositions for 

 their respective instruments. Their posthumous fame is mainly 

 attributable to their symphonies and overtures, the best of which 

 have become familiar to the amateurs of this country by the admirable 

 performance of them at the concerts of the Philharmonic Society. 



Andreas Romberg died in 1821, and leaving a family in embarrassed 

 circumstances, a concert for their benefit was generously got up in 

 London by the Philharmonic Society, which afforded them temporary 

 relief. Bernhard was appointed a professor at the Conservatoire 

 de Musique at Paris in 1801, and created Chevalier of the Legion of 

 Honour, but retired from the former office two years later. He came to 

 London a second time in 1814, when the Allied Sovereigus visited this 

 country, and gave a concert, by which he was no gainer either in purse 

 or reputation ; for imprudently, not to say presumptuously, fixing his 

 tickets of admission at a guinea, his auditors were few, and his own 

 performance too plainly announced either the decay of his powers, or 

 that he had not kept pace with others in the improvements of his art. 

 He died in 1841. 



ROMBOUTS, THEODORE, was born at Antwerp in 1597, and 

 studied painting under Abraham Jansens until he was twenty years of 

 age, when he went to Rome, aud was soon known as one of the most 

 promising young artists of his time. He obtained from a nobleman 

 in that city a commission to execute a series of twelve pictures of 

 subjects from the Old Testament, which, when completed, added 

 greatly to his reputation. After residing at Rome a few years, and 

 gaining constant employment, he was invited to Florence by the 

 Grand-Duke of Tuscany, and executed for that prince several large 

 historical works for the palace. After an absence of eight years, 

 Rombouts returned to Flanders, and established himself in his native 

 city in 1625. He was soon engaged to paint in the churches, and his 

 pictures excited universal admiration. He was thus induced to believe 

 that he could rival Rubens, who was then in the full exercise of his 

 astonishing powers. Rombouts made the trial, and though he did not 

 succeed, his failure was unattended by disgrace. If his works do not 

 possess the magnificence of his great competitor in their conception, 

 nor his splendour and breadth of effect in their execution, they must 

 be admitted to show a readiness of invention, a correctness of design, 

 an animation of expression, a warmth and brilliancy of colouring, and 

 a surprising facility of touch, which would have placed him, at another 

 time and under other circumstances, at the head of his profession. 

 The works which he executed in competition with Rubens were, ' St. 

 Francis receiving the Stigmata ; ' the ' Sacrifice of Abraham in the 

 Church of the Recolets; ' and ' Themis with the Attributes of Justice,' in 

 the town-house of Ghent. The 'Taking Down from the Cross,' in the 

 cathedral of the same city, is a composition which proves that Rombouts 

 possessed most of the qualities of a great master. In order to gain 

 money however he did not hesitate to paint familiar subjects, such as 

 concerts, assemblies, and merry-makings, which, though executed with 

 taste and freedom, are far inferior to his other works. He also painted 



