ITALIAN SCHOOL OF ENGRAVING. 



" Peace, laying the Inftruments of War at the Feet ot 



Camillo Procaccini was born at Bologna in the year 

 IJ46, and died at Milan in 1626. He very probably 

 learned the principles of painting from his father Ercole 

 Procaccini. Huber pronounces him the precnrfor of the 

 Caracci, and calls our attention to the fubhmity of his con- 

 ceptions, and the grandeur of his tafte. He refided chiefly 

 at Milan, where he painted a great number of pifturcs, and 

 died in that city at the advanced age of eighty. He amufed 

 himfelf much with etching, which he performed in a bold, 

 mafterly ftyle. The heads of his figures are often admirable, 

 and the other extremities very finely marked. Among 

 others, the following etchings are the produdion of his 

 needle : — " A Repofe of the Holy Family," in which 

 Jofeph is reprefented in the front, a fore-(hortened figure 

 lying upon the ground, and leaning upon the faddle of 

 the afs, a middling-fized plate, lengthways ; another " Holy 

 Family,'' in which Jofeph is reprefented giving an orange 

 to the Infant Chrilt, a fmall upright ; another " Repofe,"' 

 where the Virgin is reprefented fuckling the Infant Jefus, 

 in folio ; " St. Francis receiving the Stigmatics," dated 

 .1592, in folio ; (Juftin Sadler has engraved the fame fub- 

 jecl. ] " The Transfiguration of our Saviour," a large 

 upright plate, of which it is very difficult to find a good 

 impredion. 



Julius Crefar Procaccini, the brother of CamiUo, men- 

 tioned in the preceding article, v.as bom at Bologna in the 

 year 154S, and died at Milan in the year 1626. He learned 

 ihe principles of painting of his father, but completed his 

 ftudies under the Caraccii. He excelled in hillorical com- 

 pofition, and his works are very much efteemed. He etched 

 for his occafional amufement, but we have never feen more 

 than a fingle fmall plate by him, of whiv.h the fubjeft is 

 " The Virgin and Child.' 



Bernardino PalFer-^ or PafTeri, was born at Rome fome 

 time about the year 1542, and refided there inoft part of 

 his life. In painting he pofTeffed fome talent, and appears 

 to have imitated the Zuccheri, but the attitudes of his 

 figures are, to a certain degree, forced and uneafy. In the 

 Abecedario he is called an univerfal engraver, but for what 

 reafon is not known, unlel's it means, that he occafionally 

 ^iraftifed all the branches of that art which were then in 

 vogue. It is certain that he has engraved a confiderabte 

 number of prints, which, in general, he firft etched, and 

 afterwards finilhed with the graver, in a bold, eafy, and 

 loofe ilyle. His works prove him to have been a man of 

 cbility, but his drawing is not alv.ays correal, nor are the 

 characiers of his heads always beautiful, or well chofen. 

 He often figned his nam.e at length ; and fometimes ufed a 

 monogram, which will be found among thofe in Plate II. 

 of the /lalian School. The following are the names of a 

 few of Ills works, which are by no means uncommon: — 

 " A H.>ly Family," where the Virgin is reprefented with 

 a Bohemian boimet, dated 1383, in 410. ; " The Life of St. 

 Bruno," reprefented on feveral middhng-fized upright 

 plites, in 4to. ; and a confiderable number of Holy Fa- 

 milies, Madonnas, and other pious fubjects. 



Ventura Salimbene, called Bevilaqua, was born at Sienna 

 jn the year 1555, and died in the fame city in 1613. He 

 learned the rudiments of his art of his father, Angelus Sa- 

 limbene, who was tlic difciple of F. Zucchero. He was 

 half brother to Francefco Vanni, whofe ilyle of painting 

 he imitated ; at Rome he chiefly worked in the library of 

 tJie Vatican, and the church of St. John de Lateran. We 

 have feveral flight etchings by this artitl, in a bold, mafterly 

 lijle, and among them the following, all from his own 



compofitions : — " The Marriage of the Virgin," a fma! 

 upright plate, dated 1590; "The Salutation of the Vir- 

 gin,"' in folio, IJ91 ; a large folio plate of " God appear- 

 ing to the Virgin feated in the Clouds, furrounded by An- 

 gels ;" " St. Agnes," a half-length figure in 4to. ; " The 

 Baptifm of our Saviour," and " Jefus Chrift appearing to 

 St. Catherine of Sienna," both in fmall folio. 



For an account of the merits of Antonio Tempefta, as a 

 painter, fee the article Tempesta, Antonio. Fertile and 

 vigorous in his invention, and various and verfatile in his ar- 

 tiilical powers, he took up the pencil or the etching point 

 with equal facility, and alraoft with equal fuccefs. Though 

 he delighted in cavalcades, battles, proceffions, and fuch 

 other fubjetts as called forth his copious powers of compo- 

 fition, his prints are exceedingly numerous, amounting, ac- 

 cording to Le Gomte, to eighteen hundred, and according to 

 Mariette, to no fewer than two thoufand ! 



Tempelta's ilyle of etching, in perfett unifon with the 

 general character <;f liis art, was bold and free ; the hghts 

 are kept broad on his fingle figures ; his figures are often 

 grouped with grandeur, and he poiTclles a certain ardent 

 livelinefs of e.xpreifion, both in his human figures and ani- 



From this aggregate of his merits, fome dcduftions 

 muit, however, be made. The mufcles of his horfes, which 

 frequently occur in his battles and hunting pieces, are ge- 

 nerally overcharged ; his draperies are not elegantly drawn ; 

 his lights and (hades are not collected into broad mafles, fo 

 as to give unity of effect to his cliiarofcuro, and his etchings 

 are often coarfely corroded, fo as to deftroy the clearnefs and 

 value of the middle tints. 



Tempefta did not always mark his i)rints with the fame 

 cypher. We have collefted his various marks, and they will be 

 found in our Plate II. of the monograms, &c. of the Italian 

 Engravers. The following lift is feletled from the beft cata- 

 logues of his works : — " Our Saviour crucified between the 

 two Thieves," in large folio, very rare ; a fet of middling- 

 fized plates, lengthways, the fubjefts of which are taken 

 from the Old Tellament, and commonly known under the 

 name of " Tempefta's Bible ;" a fet of a hundred and fifty 

 prints, from " Ovid's Metamorphofu," in 410. ; a folio 

 print of " Diana and AAxon ;" " The Entry of Alexan- 

 der into Babylon," of the fame fize ; a fet of twenty-four 

 pieces, entitled, "Vita S. Antonii Abbatis, See."' in 410. ; 

 •' The Labours of Hercules,'' in thirteen plates of octavo 

 dimenfions, comprifing a frontifpiece and dedication ; " The 

 Four Ages of the World," reprefented by the manner of 

 living at thofe different periods ; four hunting pieces, 

 namely, a flag hunt, a hare hunt, a wolf hunt, and a wild- 

 boar hunt, in oftavo ; another fet of chaces ; another fet 

 of four of field fports ; two fubjedls of battles between the 

 armies of the ancients, in folio ; two more, of modern bat- 

 tles ; another battle, dedicated to the duke of Gra\'ina, 

 dated 1 600 ; another fet of fix battles, with a frontifpiece, 

 infcribed " Facunda quam fit — oliens ex. Tempeftus f. de 

 Wit ex. ;'■ all of folio dimenfions. 



Of the illuftrious family of the Cai'acci, we have already 

 written as painters, fee the articles Caracci Lodqvico, 

 Agostino, and Annibal. It remains to add fome ac- 

 count of their merits as engravers, and to point out their 

 beft produQions in this art to the notice of connoilfeurs 

 and coUedors. 



Lodovico has left us a few fmall prints from his own 

 compofitions. His pradice was to etch his dcfigns, and 

 employ the graver in giving them a few finiftiing touches : 

 hence his plates are flight, free, and mafterly ; with the ex- 

 tremities of his figures tolerably well defined, and ftill better 

 underftood : 



