ITALIAN SCHOOL OF ENGTIAVING. 



vnlK'St. Ambrofe, tlie Virgin, and St. Charles Borromeus, 

 'Jyipcllng," from a grand altar-piece by Carlo Maratti ; the 

 -vaulted ceiling of St. Francis Xavier .tt Naples, painted by 

 I'aul dc Matthcis, and engraved on three large plates, re- 

 prcfehting that faint overturning Idolatry, Hcrefy, and 

 Mahon^etanifm ; " Venus in the Air, faewing ^neas his 

 .<^nns falloned to a Tree," fro'.n Pouffin. 



The following arc by Pietro Aquila, from his own de- 

 ■figns : " The Adoration of the Kings," in folio ; " The 

 Fliglit into Egypt," dedicated to B. C. de Vingtimilliis, in 

 large foHo ; " A Holy Family, where St. John kiffes the 

 Feet of the Infant Chrill," half figures, in folio; "A 

 Combat of two Lions," infcribed " Spe fufcitat Iras," in 

 folio ; a portrait of Livio Odefcalchi, with ornaments, in 

 "large folio. 



From other Italian mailers, Pietro has engraven " St. 

 Jjuke," with the infcription " Fernx cum feriunt," &c. 

 after La/.aro Jjaldi, in folio; " The Sacrifice of Polixenes," 

 from P. de Corlona, in large folio ; " A Sacrifice of the 

 Nympiis of Diana oti tUeir return from the Chacc ;" " Tiie 

 llape of the Sabir.es ;" and "The Triumph of Bacchus," 

 four very much eltcemed prints, all from the fame matter, in 

 large folio ; a large fubjett on two plates of " The Battle 

 between Alexander and Darius," frcm the fame mailer; 

 •" Mofes defending the Daughters of Jethro, at the Foun- 

 tain," from Giro Ferri ; " Mofcs linking the Rock," both 

 -in large folio ; " The Holy Virgin appearing to St. Alefio, 

 ■who is repofir.g on a Bed, crowned with Stars," a large cir- 

 .cular print ; " The Veftals cherifliing the facred Fire, by 



years longer. He acquired what is often termed a com- 

 petent knowledge of drawing, at a very early age ; and !>■•- 

 fore lie was fifteen, engraved fome figures and fome heads, 

 w!.i;h he dedicated to Dr. Mead, the celebrated Erglilh 

 ph\ fician. 



The works of Zanetti confiil of etchings and engravings 

 in caiarofcuro ; and, in the eftimation of our countryman 

 Sn-itt, they " prove him to have been a man of great genius 

 ar.J fontid judgmnt." 



" Airiiled by his relation A. M. Zanetti the YoongcV; 

 and other artifts, he engraved and publiihed a large nnni- 

 ber of prints, taken from the drawings of Parmegiano, Ra- 

 phael, and otiier great painters, which he purchafed at the 

 iiile of the Arundelian ColleCliou. They are divided into two 

 fets ; and both together confiil of eighty-nine prints on 

 copper and wood, with the portrait of Zanetti, engraved by 

 Faldoni, from a painting by Rofalba." 



We come now to what mull be a reproach either on his 

 " genius," or his " jndginent," or on both. Strutt adds, 

 that " in order to render this coUefiion the more valuable, 

 he burnt the wooden blocks from which the chiarofcnros 

 were printed, and deftroyed the copper-plates, after he had 

 taken ofi" iach a number of impreffions as he thought proper, 

 which, we are informed, was by no means very large." 



Now no principled engraver dcfires that his works fiiould 

 ever become rare from any other caufe than the extcniive de-i 

 niand for them among the public ; and the fubllitution of 

 nominal for intrinfic value, is an expedient worthy only of 

 traffickers in art, and which " great genius" and " found 



the Orders of Auguilus," a large upright print, all from judgment" would equally difcl; 



Ciro Ferri ; " The Holy Virgin in Heaven with five Saints, Zanetti refidcd for fome time in London, and engraved 



-canonized by Pope Clement X." from Carlo Maratti, in here a fet of twelve ilndies of heads, figures, Src. from his 



-large folio ; " The Triumph of Chriilianity, reprefented by own drawings, which he tinted in a fpirited fiyle, and 



Religion fitting on the Clouds, receiving the Homage of which, according to Strutt, do him great honour, 



the four Quarters of the World," in lai-ge folio; "The He alfo engraved in aquafortis another fet of twelve plates, 



Virgin filtmg to St. Luke for her Portrait," in folio, all of which the fubjecls are animals and figures, after Callig- 



from Carlo Maratti ; " I>eath and the Holy Virgin, with lione ; a fet of the llatues wh;ch adorn the library and palace 



the .Apoftles," from J. Morandi, in large folio; the Bible of St. Mark at Venice ; and a fet confiiling of eighty plates 



of Raphael, infcribed " Imagines Veteris ac Novi Tefta- of the engraved gems of antiquity. Flis cypher will be 



menu, a Raphaeie ,S mft. Urbin. in Vaticano picloe Jo. Jac. 

 ■de Rubeis fumitibu?," in fifty-five leaves. Cefare Fantetti 

 -drew and engraved the firft thirty-fix fubjeds, and the 

 fortieth ; all the others are by P. Aqnila. The Farnefe 

 Gallery, with the ftatues and ornaments, and a defcription 

 in verfe by J. P. Bellori, in twenty-five leaves, of large folio 

 ii'/.e ; a room in the Farnefe palace, with the ornaments and 

 ■infcriptions, in thirteen plates, of folio iizc ; " The Af- 

 Jembly of the Gods," pain'ed in the garden of the jirince 

 Borghefe near Rome, called " The Villa Pinciana," en- 

 li'-ied " Dcorum Concilium ab F.quite Joanno Lanfranco 

 J'armenfi, turn Spirantibns ad vivum Imagimbus, tum mo- 

 jiocromatibus atque Oruamentis Ai tis," &c. on nine large 

 folio plates. 



Marco Ricci, the celebrated painter of landfcape and 

 j-nhied edifices, (for whofe biography and general merits, fee 

 the article Ricci,) performed fome etc-hings about this 

 period, of v.hich the bell are a fet of twenty-three, en- 

 titled " Varia Marci Ricci Piftoris pnellantifiiini Experi- 

 inenta ab ipfiimct auclore invents delineata a! que incifa et a 

 rna Carolo Orfolini Veneto incil'ore," &c. anno 1730, 

 printed on folio paper, but of different fixes and fliapes. 

 They are feeble in chiarofcuj-o, and though not entirely 

 tafteiefs, difplaj no great knowledge of the art of eii- 

 .graving. .- . , 



Antonio Maria Zanetti was of a noble Venetian family, 

 torn in the year i(;oo, and died in his native city in 17^7, 

 AWXjrding to iiuber ; but acfordiiig to Strutt, lie lived tea 



found in Plate HI. of the monograms of the Ildl'i,-. 

 grnvers. 



Zanetti the Younger was nephew to him of whom ve 

 have jull clofed the account, and was born at Venice A.D. 

 1720; but the year of his demife has not been mentiov^ed. 

 He engraved in the tafte and llyle of liis uncle, whom he 

 affitted in his work after the ftatues at the palace of St. 

 Mark, as well as in that after the drawings by Raphael, 

 &c. which once formed part of the Arundelian Collection. 

 And in the year 1760 he publiflied an excellent work, 

 adorned with eighty plates, engraved by himfelf, and in. 

 titled " Varie Pittore a frefco de principal! Macilri Vene- 

 ziani," &c. 



Francefco FontibafTo was born at Venice A.D. i^Si. 

 He learned drawing in the Roman academy, and ihidied for 

 a time under Seb. Ricci, whofe llyle of painting he imitated 

 with no inconfiderable degree of fuccefs, in tlie pictures 

 which he painted for the Duodo palace, and the church of 

 St. Salvador. In the year 1769 he travelled to Petcrlbnrg, 

 with the view of bettering his fortune, wliere prefumptively 

 he died, for we do not hear of his return- 

 He etched feveral plates ivilh mediocre, but painter-like 

 ability, among which are a fet of fevcn whimfical fubjeits 

 from his own compofitions, in fmall folio ; and " The Holy 

 Virgin appearing to St Gregory at prayer,^' an upright of 

 the middle fize, from Seb. Ricci. 



Carlo Carloni, or Carlone, was born at the village of 

 Scaria, iu the Milaiicfe terxitory, AD. lObG, and died at 



his 



