160 



ANGERSTEIN A.NGLIXC. 



crown on his head, and by a multitude of mints, 

 while angels above carry in lriiiin]ih tlic symlxiN of 

 Ins |wssiim ; mid. lower down, nnotiuT rom|>aiiy of 

 anjfels sound tin- trumpets intended to awaken the 

 dead from their tombs, and call them to judgment. 

 All thN. and a vast deal more, is executed in the 

 awful style of Dante. With these scenes of fear and 

 di '-pair, of judgment and of heavenly beatitude, a 

 .vail of great height and breadth is filled, and every 

 where is displayed the most profound study, the 

 richest experience, and the, lofty spirit of a master. 

 The effect of this picture resembles that of the su- 

 blimest passages of Dante, particularly in connexion 

 with the large images of the prophets, who, like 

 warning and stern heralds of the last judgment, look 

 down from the ceiling upon the spectator, resembling 

 beings of another world, rather than images made by 

 the hand of man. Whilst this picture of the Last 

 Judgment shows the human figure in all its attitudes 

 a-ul foreshortenings, and gives us the expression of 

 astonishment, of pain, of despair, through all their 

 degrees, it may l>e considered as an inexhaustible 

 treasure for the study of the arts. A/s last considerable 

 works in paintings were two large pictures the Con- 

 version of St Paul, and the Crucifixion of St Peter, 

 in the Pauline chapel. In sculpture, he executed 

 the Descent of Christ from the Cross, four figures of 

 one piece of marble. It is reported of his Cupid in 

 marble, that it was a more perfect copy of another 

 Cupid, which he liad buried in the ground, after hav- 

 ing broken off one of its arms, in order that it might 

 pass for an antique. This perfect Cupid is as large 

 as life. A.'s statue of Bacchus was thought, by 

 Raphael, to possess equal perfection with the master- 

 pieces of Phidias and Praxiteles. As late as 1546. 

 A. was obliged to undertake the continuation of the 

 building of St Peter's. He corrected its plan, for 

 which he chose the form of the Grecian cross, and 

 reduced to order the confusion occasioned by the 

 various plans which had been successively pursued 

 in the course of its construction. But he did not 

 live long enough to see his plan executed, in which 

 many alterations were made after his death. Besides 

 this, he undertook the building of the Campidoglio 

 (Capitol) of the Farnese palace, and of many other 

 edifices. His style in architecture is distinguished 

 by grandeur and boldness, and, in his ornaments, the 

 untamed character of his imagination frequently ap- 

 pears, preferring the uncommon to the simple and 

 elegant His poems, which he considered merely 

 as pastimes, contain, likewise, convincing proofs of 

 his great genius. They are published in several 

 collections, but have also appeared singly. One of 

 the greatest historians of our time has suggested, 

 that a king of Italy, such as Machiavelli wished him, 

 and every reflecting Italian must wish him, in order 

 to unite that unhappy country, ought to be a man 

 like Michael Angelo ardent, severe, firm, and bold. 

 Micliael A., though of a lofty spirit, was not haugh- 

 ty ; he is said to have been in the habit of giving 

 models for the images of saints to the engravers in 

 wood, and the dealers in pictures and casts. His 

 prose works, consisting of lectures, speeches, cicco- 

 late, that is, humorous academical discourses, are to 

 be found in the collection of the Prose fiorentine, 

 nnd his letters in Bottari's Letters pittoriche. (See 

 the f'ita di Michelangelo B., scritta da Ascanio Con- 

 dwi, svo Discepolo ; Rome, 1553, 4 ; Florence, 1746, 

 fol., withaddit.; the last edition, Pisa, 1823, with 

 comments by the cav. de Rossi.) 



AM.KRSTEIX, John, Julius, a distinguished patron 

 of the fine arts, was born at St Petersburg in 1735, 

 and went to England under the patronage of the late 

 Andrew Thompson, with whom he continued in part- 

 nership upwards of 50 years. A. first proposed a re- 



ward of 2000 from the fund at Lloyd's to the in- 

 ventorof ihe life-hoaK His cclelirattd collection 

 of iiaintiiK'-s has been purcliast d since his death by 

 the British government, nt. the expense of 00,000, 

 as the nucleus of a national gallery. Mr A. died at 

 Woodlands, Klackheatli, January 22, 1822. 



AM;KH.STKJN GAU.KKY. See Xutiimnl (lalliry. 



ANGLE; the inclination of two lines: J, or two 

 straight lines. Angles are measured hy urcs of a 

 circle, the centre of which is the point where both 

 the sides of the angle meet, the vertex, as it is called 

 in geometry. Every circle, large or small. is divided 

 into 3GO degrees, each degree into (H) minutes, each 

 minute into 60 seconds. It is, therefore, clear, that 

 the size of the angle lias nothing to do with the 

 length of the lines, "because only their inclination is 

 measured. An angle of 6 degrees, 2 minutes and 

 3 seconds is written thus : 6 2' 3". Angles are di- 

 vided into right angles, equal to 90, four of which 

 are equal to the whole circle ; obtuse angles, those 

 greater than 90; and acute angles, tlue which are 

 less. 2. There are, also, spherical angles and solid in - 

 gles ; the former formed by arcs, the latter by ill- 

 Whole sciences are based on the theory of angles 

 e.g., trigonometry. The calculations of the astrono 

 mer, and the measuring of distant objects, depend 

 on the science of triangles, which, in fact, is nothing 

 else but the science 01 angles. The ancients were 

 acquainted with the theory of angles. In fact, geo- 

 metry, and, one might almost say, mathematics be- 

 gan with the science of angles. 



ANGLES ; a German nation, which resided in what 

 is now the dukedom of Magdeburg, in Prussia, near 

 the Elbe, and, probably, succeeded to the former 

 seat of the Lombards, when these latter had driven 

 the Cherusci from the northern half of their country. 

 As they never approached the Rhine and the Roman 

 frontiers, we do not find their name mentioned by 

 the Roman authors, who comprehended them, with 

 many others, under the general name of Chauci and 

 Saxons, until the conquest of Britain made them 

 better known as a separate nation. In the 5th cen- 

 tury, they joined their powerful northern neighbours, 

 the Saxons, and, under the name of dnglo-Saxoitx, 

 conquered the country now called England. (See 

 Great Britain.) A part of them remained near the 

 Danish peninsula, where, to the present day, a small 

 tract of land, on the eastern coast of the duchy o 

 Sleswic, bears the name Angeln. 



ANGLBSEA, or ANGLESEY (ancient Mono) ; an island 

 and county of North Wales, in the Irish sea, sepa- 

 rated from the main land of Britain by a narrow 

 strait called Menai, over which there has been late- 

 ly erected a magnificent suspension bridge. (See 

 Menai.) The island is 24 miles long and 17 broad, 

 containing 4 market-towns and 74 parishes. Sq. 

 miles, 402 ; population, 37,045. The soil is fertile , 

 the chief products are grain and cattle. Of the for 

 mer, about 100,000 bushels are exported in favoura- 

 ble seasons. It returns two members to parliament. 



ANGLING ; the art of ensnaring fish with a hook, 

 which has been previously baited with small fish, 

 worms, flies, &c. Among no people has this art at- 

 tracted so much attention, and nowhere have so 

 many persons of all classes, both clerical and secului', 

 resorted to angling as an amusement, as in England, 

 whose literature is richer than that of any other 

 country in works relating to this sport, both in pros^ 

 and verse. A similar fondness for angling exists in 

 the United States. In both countries, in England and 

 North America, angling is followed by many sports, 

 men with a kind of passion. In England, it has 

 been thought of sufficient importance to be protected 

 by statute ; and a series of acts, from the reign of 

 Edward I. to George III., exists, relating to angling 



