ITALIAN SCHOOL OF ENGRAVING. 



'Among thefe are feven of what the Italians term RcpoTo';, 

 during the flight into E^'ypt, three, of which the Huly 

 Family is the fiibjeft, and four, of tlie Madonna and Cliild ; 

 they are after his own compodtions, and of 4to. dimen- 

 fions. 



The remainder that are ■worthy of feleftion from the 

 works of Cantarini are, " The Beatification of the Holy 

 Virgin ;" two plates of " St. John Baptift in the ^Vildcr- 

 ncfs;" " The Martyrdom of St. Sehallian ;" " St. An- 

 thony of Padua on his Knees adoring the Infant Saviour 

 furrounded witli a Glory of Angels," in folio ; a fmall 

 print of " St. Anthony of Padua kneeling before an Altar, 

 holding the Infant Chrift in his Arms ;" " St. Bcnoit curing 

 the Demoniac," from Louis Caracci, in folio; " A 

 Guardian Angel conducing an Infant to Heaven ;" " ,Iu- 

 piler, Neptune, and Pluto, doing Homage to C?.rdiral 

 Borghefe," who is reprefented in heaven furronnded by 

 genii, who difplay the attributes of the four cardinal virtues, 

 in large folio ; this print has been millakenly called the 

 Quos ego, and it is one of the fincll engravings by Pefarefe, 

 though long attributed to Guido; " The Rape of Europa,'' 

 in foHo, a ven' fine print, and very rare ; " Mercury and 

 Argus ;" " Mars, Venus, and Cupid, at the Foot of a 

 Tree," from P. Veronefe, both in folio ; " Venus and 

 Adonis, with Cupid," in 410. ; " Love aad Fortune," in 

 4to. (connoifTcurs attribute this print to Pefarefe, though 

 it is marked •' G. Renus in. & fee."); and a frontifpiece to 

 a book, reprefeuling a coat of arms, fiipported by two 

 angels, blowing trumpets ; at the bottom is a river god 

 . leaning on an urn ; a very fpirited etching. 



Giovanni Andrea Sirani was born at Bologna in i!'>io, 

 and died in the fame city A.D. 1660. He was fuccofiively 

 the difeiple of Cavcdone and Guido, and imitated the ilyle 

 of the latter, both in painting and engraving, with fuccefs. 

 We have fome mallerly etchings from his hand, which may 



■ be regarded as original works, liiice they are from com- 

 pofitions byhimfelf; thefe he commonly marked with liis 

 initials, G.A.S. or I.A.S. The following are generally, 

 and we think juftly, efteemed among his beft produftions : — 

 " Judith, with the Head of HolofeVnes, ' half length, in the 



.background is an old woman, in folio; "The Virgin and 



■ Infant Chrift fitting on a Cufhion, with St. John at her 

 fide," in an oval (this is from Guido) ; a fmall print of 

 " St. Michael overpowering Satan," a middling-fized up- 

 right print of " A Sybil fitting on a Bank, liftening atten- 

 tively to an Angel, who is placed behind a Pedeftal," from 

 Cuido ; " The Rape of Europa," (this print is attributed 

 to Sirani, but it is not in his llyle)'; " Apollo flaying the 

 Satyr Marfyas," a fmall upright plate in an oval; " Saturn 

 fitting on the Clouds," in 410. ; " Cupid ftanding on a 

 Dolphin, (hooting an Arrow into the Sea ;" a bacchanalian 

 lubjcft of four children, one of whom holds a flalk and 

 goblet. 



Elizabeth, was the mod diftinguinied of the three 

 daughters of G. A. Sirani, who were all artifts ; and was 

 born at Bologna in the year 1638; flic learned the rudiments 

 of defign and, painting of her fathjT, and her hiftorical 

 pictures are mentioned with the greateft commendation. 

 She died at the early age of twenty-fix, as it is faid, by 

 poifon, adminiftered by fome that were envious of her great 

 reputation. There are many etchings by her hand, exe- 

 cuted in a flight, fpirited ftylc, but the extremities are 

 finely marked ; among which the following are the moil 

 elleemcd : a middling-fi^ed upright plate of " The Virgin 

 of Grief," furround; d with the Initruments of the Pallion, 

 and accompanied by Angels; " The» Virgin with the 

 l-nfant Jefus, whom ihe holds on a Cufiiion, with St. John," 



in a circle : this very rare and excellent print was engraved 

 by Elizabeth, at the age of nineteen, from a pidture of hef 

 own, and is reckoned her bell produt'iion ; a fmall half 

 length of " The Virgin, with her Hands crolfed on her 

 Breaft;;" "St. Enitace," magnificently habited, in the aft 

 of proftrating himfelf, flriking his breaft with his hand, 

 in folio; " The Decollation of St. John," on the fore- 

 ground is a profile of Herodias, accompanied by two of her 

 women : this print has been retouched in many parts with 

 the graver, and is not executed in the ilyle of Sirani: yet her 

 name is affixed to it, and its authenticity may therefore 

 be regarded as doubtful ; " Lucretia ftabbing herfelf," de- 

 dicated to the prelate Palcotti. 



Lorenzo Luli was born at Bologna in the year 161 2. 

 He was a favourite difeiple of Guido, who was accuflomed 

 pleafantly to call him his gentleman of tiie bed-chamber ; 

 yet the improvement of a ftudent is not always in proportion 

 to the favour of his mailer, and Loli never attained any 

 great degree of excellence as a painter ; but there are many 

 etchings by him executed in a free fpiriled ftyle, from Guido, 

 Sirani, and his own defigns, of which the following are held 

 in moft efteem : — " A Flight into Egypt," in folio; " A 

 Ho'y Family, with St. John and Elizabeth ;" anotlier 

 " Holy Family, with St. Jofeph leaning on a Pcde'tal in 

 the Background," a fmall upright ; two plates of " The 

 Madonna and Child," one a fmall upright oval ; " The Af- 

 fi'.mption," where the holy Virgin is rejjrcfented as ft;indmg 

 on a crefcent, and angels vvorfliipping (this is a rare print, and 

 one of the very be!l produftions of Lo!i) ; " St. Jerome in 

 his Cavern;" " Mary Magdalen meditating on a -Crucifix 

 and Skull," both in 410. ; the latter is perhaps the only 

 plate up<m which this artift has worked with the graver; 

 " The Holy Virgin in a Radiance of Glory," in folio ; 

 " The Recompence of Study," a fmall plate, wherein Genius 

 and tlie Sciences are reprefented as leaning on the horn of 

 Plenty; " Hercules combating the Nemean Lion," and 

 " Perfeus and Andromeda," both of the folio fize ; " Th& 

 Infant Hercules ftrangling the Serpents ;" " A fleeping 

 Cupid;" " Cupid breaking his Bow;" three fmall plates 

 of intant bacchanalians. 



Contemporary with this artifl: was Gafpar Dughet (fur- 

 named PouiTin from his very diftinguiflied brother-in-law 

 Nicholas). For the biograpliy and general merits of thefe 

 great artifts, fee the articles Dughet and Pol'.ssin. Gaf- 

 par etched a few plates with Ipirit, (though not equal to that 

 of his pencil,) among which are a fet of four landfcapes i:i 

 circles, of a fmall folio fize ; and another fet of four, fome- 

 what larger. 



Jean Dughet, the brother of Gafpar, received in ftrudlions 

 both from him and Nicholas Pouflfin, yet never attained la 

 eminence either in painting or engraving. 



The following prints from his hand are admitted into the 

 portfolios of the curiou.s, much more on account of tiic 

 original piftures by Pouffin, whence they arc taken, thaH 

 from their intrinfic merits as etchings ; namely, " The kvon 

 Sacraments," from the fet of pictures painted for the 

 Commandeur del Pozzo, which differ in many refpefts from 

 thofe which were in the royal colleftion of France, and are 

 now in the marquis of Stafford's gallery ; thefe are in folio, 

 fo large that each fubjedt is engraved on two plates. " The 

 Judgment of Solomon;" "The Birth of Bacchus;" and 

 •' Mount Parnafl'us," arc alfo in large folio. 



Pietro Tefta, fometinies called among the Italians Luc- 

 chefini, from the place of his birth, was born, of indigent 

 parents, in the year 161 I, and poverty appears to have at- 

 tended him through life, notwithtlandii g his merits. From 

 his youth lie manifelled a violent inclination to purfue the 



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