B A S 



B A S 



tliem for the fame pei fnns. Nothing can be foii'u'. ir the fagps 

 of Greece, more auj;ull or ribl'ifc than in t^f patriarchs or 

 prophets : thtry were equally inhabitants of warm climates, 

 favourable to the difplayof thehuman figure ; and their cloath- 

 ii'g and arms wi.re nearly fimilar. Indeed it may be fafely 

 aflcrted, that tlie ban',)-rtlitvos ftheLaft Judgment by Ni- 

 colo Pifani, the Cnicitixion and Entombing of our I^ord by 

 Uonatello, and fome of the pannels in Ghiberti's gate, prove 

 tliat the Bible prefents fubjecls, and thofe almoll innumerable, 

 of greater intereft, and a; abundant in all the excellence of 

 compofition, as any to be found in the clallical authors : fucli 

 fubiedls are the proper decorations for churches and other 

 public edifices of mod importance to fociety, which fhould 

 be ptrpt tual fchools of inllrnftion. — After the choice of fub- 

 jedt, the ccconomy and maiiner of treating areiiext tobecon- 

 lidertd. And here fcveral hints may be found in Anftotle's 

 poetics, and in the conduft of the Greek tragedies, as ufeful 

 for- the compofition of a banb-relievo as a poem ; with this 

 difference, a poem embraces a fucceffion of times, but a 

 b::iro-reiievo one moment only : ai;d where this rule has been 

 trefpafied, the fame pcrfon has been introduced twice over. 

 That one moment mull reprefent an action, into which ro 

 more figures fhould be admitted than are neccflary ; becaufe 

 the increafe of number is the diftraftion and Ids of expref- 

 fion. The fentiment, tlieexprtnion, and every part fiiould be 

 as elevated and advantageous as the nature of the fubjeft will 

 admit. — Concerning the execution, the baffo-relievos of the 

 Parthenon temple of Thefeus, the others in the ruins of 

 Athens, and a few more which are truly Greek, mufl be fet 

 up as the perfetlion of what has hitherto been done : the 

 compofitions are intelligible, becaufe the figures are dillinftly 

 feen on the back-ground and not crouded one behind ano- 

 ther; the drawing of the figures is from chofen examples, 

 feelingly, forcibly, and faithfully copied ; the pathos of the 

 fubjecl is not weakened by the introduftion of building in 

 perfpeflive, or the affcftation of chiaro fcuro, wliich at- 

 tempts to introduce the diftauces of painting in baflb-relievo. 

 Agatharchus employed perfpeitive in painting fce;ies,but Phi- 

 dias and Polycletns knew that the form and exprefiion of the 

 human figure was the objtdl of their fculpture. 



Some veiy fine and extraoriuiary antique baflb-relievos 

 enrich the colledlions of England : — 



The tomb-ftone of Xanthippus, and- a man curbing a 

 horfe, both about the time of Phidia;, are in the collection 

 of Charles Townley, cfq. 



The marquis of Lanfdown has a Greek bas-rehefof Chal- 

 cas, as large as life. 



At Wilton Houfe there is a fine example of the death of 

 Melcager, and a fmall but curious Hercules and JEgle, a 

 balTo-relievo compofed of mofaic, in natural colours, which 

 is fuppofcd to be the only one of the kind. 



The celebrated Baiberini vafe, in the pofleffion of the 

 duke of Portland, is of dark blue glafs, bearing figures in 

 baflTo-relievo of white enamel orglafs'of admirable workman- 

 fliip. (See Bcllori Sepolchri Antichi, Piute 84.) Frag- 

 ments of baflb-relievos in fimilar materials have been found 

 in the ruins of the Coefars' palace in Rome, where they had 

 been fixed in the walls. 



John Hawkins, efq. the Grecian traveller, pofTefles a 

 beautiful fmall bronze baflb-relievo of Paris, Helen, and 

 two Genii, which he brought with him from Greece. 



Pfate I. I. Contains an Egyptian hieroglyphical fphinx. 

 2. An Hindoo bas-relief. 3. A Perfian bas-relief. 4. Jupiter 

 with the thunder and trident, a Greek gein of the oldeil llyle. 



P/nte 11. I. Minerva fubduing Hercules, from a very 

 ancient Greek patera of bronze in the Britifli mufeum, 

 n, Apollo and Hercules contending for the tripod. 



P/iilc III. The tomb-ftone of Xa.ithippus, father of Pe. 

 ricles. 



■ Plate IV. I. A capital of a column in the weft door of 

 tlie cathedral of Carraia, repreOnting part of the hiftory 

 of Abraham ; a work of the twelfth century. 2. A beau- 

 tif il Greek bafTo-relicvo, near the time of Phidias, of Zethu* 

 a. id Arnphion comforting their mother Antiope ;. from the 

 Villa Albani. 



Basso tt y'Hio, in Lnw. See Alto. 



BASSOMPIERRE, Francis De. Marfia!, m Bij^ 

 graphy, was a dcfcendant of a diftinguiflied family in Lor- 

 raine, and born in 1579 Engaging betimes in militai-y fer- 

 vice, he rofe to the office of colonel-general of the Swifs, 

 and in 1622, to that of marflial of France. He was alfo 

 employed in a diplomatic capacity to Spain, Englai'd, and 

 Swifierland. In thefe employments he was diftinguifhed by 

 his talents and condudt, and particularly by his wit, noble 

 air, politenefo, and generoHty. He fpoke all the European 

 languages, was an adept in gallantry, and much addicted to 

 play. By his bons mots, which were (harp and fatirical, he 

 oftended cardinal Richelieu 5 who caufcd him to be confined 

 in the Baftile in 163 1, where he continued for twelve years 

 till the death of this minilter. In this retreat he paflld his 

 time in reading and writing ; and the hiftorical works which 

 he compofed were the productions of his imprifonracnt. 

 Thefe are " Memoirs, containing the hiftory of his life, and 

 of the moft remarkable occurrences at the court of France 

 from 1598 to 1631," 3 vols. i2mo. ; " An Account of his 

 Embaflies," 2 vols. l2mo.; and " Remarks on the Hittory 

 of Louis XIII. by Dupleix," I2mp. Thefe works abound 

 with curious particulars and ftrokes of fatire. After his libe- 

 ration he was reftored to his ran-k of colonel of the Swifs, 

 and was fixed upon as governor to the young king Louis- 

 XIV, but excufed himfelf on account of his age and infir- 

 mities. Towards the clofe of his life he became very cor- 

 pulent, and died of an apoplexy in 1646. Gen. Biog, 



BASSOON, in Mufic, from las fan, Fr. low found, in 

 oppofition to bauthu'u., to which it is the natural bafe. Like 

 the hautbois, it is played with a reed, and is a continuation 

 of the fcale downwards. It is compofed of four different 

 pieces or tubes, which when feparated are bound together 

 like a faggot ; hence by the Italians csWed fjgotto. It has 

 three keys of communication to open and (hut the ventages, 

 which from the length of the inftrumen',are out of the reach 

 of the fingers. It has a crook, or mouth-piece, to which 

 the reed is fixed. (See Reed.) The whole length of the in- 

 ftrument is eight feet ; but reduced to four, by being doubled 

 up like a trumpet for convenience in performance and carriage. 



6 — ?=r 



£Zi 



Its compafs is three oftaves, 



1 



from double A A in the bafe to am the fecond fpace of the 

 treble ; of which the tones and femitones are as complete as 

 on an organ, or any other keyed inftrument. Every per-, 

 former is not able to produce a lower found than double 

 EBO in the bafe, or a higher than G in the fecond fpace in 

 the treble. 



In the laft age. Miller was the favourite performer on the 

 baflbon in England at all public places ; but we have at 

 preient Mr. Holmes, a fuperior performer, at leaft in point 

 of tone, to any that we have ever heard elfewhere. A fcale 

 for this inftrument will be found in the mufical plates. 



The two Bezozzis of Turin rendered thefe kindred in- 

 ftruments, the hautbois and balToon, famous in Italy, during 

 the middle of Ujc laft centurv. See Bezozzi. 



J3ASS0JIA, 



