ITALIAN SCHOOL OF ENGRAVING. 



Tndlass," in large folio ; " Liberality'' with two children, 

 in folio ; and " Clodiiis, difguifed as a Woman, difcovered 

 at the Houfe of Csfar,'' both from the fame matter, in large 

 folio. 



Niccolo and Antonio Billi were lirothers, and born at 

 Rome feme time about the year 17 19, or 1720. Oftlie 

 family of this name, which were long known at Rome, as 

 printfellers, and fome of whom were engravers alfo, we fliall 

 mention only tliefe brothers, who engraved many portraits 

 and devotional fiibjefts at Rome, and various plates for the 

 v.iliimes of the antiquities of Herculaneum, at Naples, exe- 

 cuted in a ftiff ftyle, without much talle. Niccolo engraved 

 many of the plates for the Mufeum Florentinum, and among 

 liis produftions are alfo the portraits of Fredericus Zuc- 

 charns, drawn by Campiglia ; John Holbein, " fe ipfc 

 pinxit.'' Pietro Leonardo Ghezzi ; John Maria Morandi ; 

 tiie cardinal Pompeo Aldrovandini, all in folio ; the cardinal 

 Jofeph Spinelli Dom. Duprae pinx. ; " The Infant Jei'us," 

 in an oval, of 4to. fize, from J. Conca ; " St. Philip of 

 Neri, kneeling before the Virgin," from S. Conca ; " A 

 Holy Family,'' half figures, from Caracci, in 4trt; and 

 « The Flight into Egypt," from Guido, in large folio. 



Carlo Gregorio, or Gregori, was born at Florence in 

 1719, and died in the fame city A.D. i/JO- He learned 

 engraving at Rome under the direftion of Giacomo Frey, 

 and worked for the grcateft part of his life in his birth- 

 place, after the celebrated painters of Florence. Part of 

 the plates from the cabinet of the marquis Gerini, and fome 

 of tiiofe in the Mufeo Fiorentino, are by him, of which 

 colleftions they conftitute the bed and greateft part. Among 

 his produftions the following may alfo be mentioned with 

 approbation, viz. the portraits of Francifco Maria, grand 

 duke of Tufcany, from Campiglia ; liis duchefs, Eleonora 

 Vincentina of Gonzague, from the fame painter ; and 

 Sebaftian Bombelli, painted by himfelf, all in folio ; the 

 ftatue of the Virgin, brought to Bologna by angels, from 

 a defign by dal Fratta ; St. Catherine Jannen, from F. 

 Bartolozzi, all of folio fize ; " L'llloria di Cefare, a cui 

 nell Egitto molte Nazoni prefentarono vari donativi — Sol- 

 dano d'Egitto," from Alexander Allovi, detto il Crup- 

 pino ; " Opus Bernardini Barbatello, detto Poccetti, quod 

 in facello S. S. Nerci & Achillei in Atrio Templi S. Mag- 

 dalense de Pazzis Florentia adfervatur ;" fourteen fubjeds 

 from the Lives of the Saints, at the church of St. Mag- 

 dalen at Florence ; thefe were engraved in conjunftion with 

 his fon Ferdinand, in large folio ; " The Virgin and other 

 holy Women at the Sepulchre," from a pifture by Raphael, 

 in the cabinet of lord Scarfdale, in folio ; St. Padio, a 

 bjlTiop of Florence, from Sig. Betti, in 410 ; St. Bonizella 

 Cacciaconti, a half figure, from Ant. Bonfigli, in 4to. ; 

 ;iiid the maufoleum of the princefs Elizabeth Charlotte of 

 Lorraine, from Jof. Chamant, in folio. 



Ferdinand Gregori was the fon of Carlo, and born in 

 tlie fame city A.D. 1740. He learned the principles of 

 drawing and engraving in his father's houfe, after whofe 

 death he travelled with Vincent Vangelilli to Paris, to 

 fi'nifii his (ludies under Wille. He afterwards returned to 

 his native country, and publidied feveral meritorious works, 

 among which vv'ere a print of " The Death of St. Louis 

 Gonzaga," after a defign by J. B. Cipriani; and a portrait 

 of Carlo Gregori, drawn and engraved by Ferdinand ; 

 "The Virgin fuckling the Infant Jefus," from Carlo Ma- 

 ratti, in folio ; " A fleeping Venus," from Guido, in 

 large folio; "St. Sebaftian faftcned to a Tree," a half 

 figure, from the fami; painter ; " VenuS difcovering Cupid 

 moun'edon a Dolphin," from J. Cafanova, both in folio ; 

 two marble groups from Cellini, a Florentine fculptor, after 



the defigns of Allegranti, in large folio ; " A IToIy Fa- 

 mily,'' from a painting in frefco, by Andrea del S.u-to, in 

 fmall folio, with a very good efted ; and " St. Slcrilien 

 ftoned,'' from Louis Cardi, (whofe pidure has a grand clia- 

 rafter, which is TCry well preferved in the engraving,) uf 

 folio fize. 



Antonio Jofeph Barbazza, wai born at Rome A.D. 

 1720. The life and works of this artifl are very obfcure, 

 and we can only fpecify, that he was a member of the Bo- 

 lognefe Academy, and travelled to Spain in 1771. His 

 piftures are lefs num.erous than either his drawings or en- 

 gravings, which are much efteemed by connoiiTeurs. Among 

 his prnits, four large heads from nature, in the ilyle of pen 

 and ink drawings, are juftly intitled to high praifi for their 

 truth and originality ; a group of muficians, among wh(3m 

 is a caricature of M. Perez, of mufical celebrity, in 4to. ; 

 the plates for tlie book of father Bianchini, intitled " Ifto- 

 rica Ecclefiailica," in 410. ; and fome plates for the work 

 of Monaldir.i, who pnbliflied new editions of Virgil, and 

 other of the claffic authors of antiquity. 



Jean Elias Morghen was a native of Germany. He was 

 born in the year 1 71 2, travelled to Italy in his youth, and 

 remained tliere during the greater part of his l.fe, refiding 

 for the moft part at Florence. He made all the drawings, 

 and engraved moft of the plates, for the work which was 

 executed under the patronage of the marquis Gerini, after 

 the piftures of Francefchini and other celebrated mafters, 

 which decorate the ducal palace of Tufcany. He alfo en- 

 graved and publifhed, in 1767, " The Antiquities of Pxf- 

 tum," on fix plates, after drawings by Antonio Jol'eg. 



Philip Morghen was the fon and pupil of Jean Eiias, and 

 was born in Italy, probably at Florence, in the year 1740. 

 He went, either for profeffional improvement or employ, to 

 Naples, where he executed a great number of the plates for 

 the antiquities of Herculaneum, including the portrait of the 

 king of Naples, which ferves as a frontifpicce to the work. 



Philip alfo engraved a fet of twelve folio plates of llatues 

 at Florence, called the Apoftles of Bandinelli, and thirty- 

 one views of ruined edifices in and about the city of Naples. 



His fon, or his nephew Raphael Morghen, who has fig- 

 nahzed himfelf by the produdtion of Da Vinci's Lall Sup- 

 per, and other meritorious works, and who ilill lives and en- 

 graves at Florence, will become the worthy theme of future 

 hiftorians of the Italian fchool of engraving. 



Francefco Londonio (whofe name and merits appear to 

 have been unaccountably overlooked by our countryman 

 Strutt) was born at Milan A. D. 172J. He began his 

 career in art with the ftudy of hillorical painting, but foon 

 abandoned the hei-oifm and duplicity of man, for the honetly 

 of the brute creation, and particularly attached himfelf to 

 the painting and etching of domellicated animals, in both of 

 which arts lie was eminently fuccefsful. 



In the year 1769 he travelled to Rome, Genoa, Naples, 

 and other parts of Italy, and diu-ing his ftay in the latter 

 city, he made occafional journies to tlie furroundmg villages, 

 and ftudied nature with great attention, particularly thofe 

 ruftic and unfophifticated aCnons and fcenes, which were 

 congenial with the fimplicity of his own habits and feelings. 

 Here he palfed the greater part of his time in etching and 

 engraving, and here, as is believed, he died of an apoplexy 

 in the year 17S3. 



Londonio engraved a great number of rural and paftoral 

 fnbjefts, confining for the moft part of peafantry and cattle, 

 \vith the accompaniments of pidurefque banks, trees, and 

 water, in a ftyle which, though original, and evidently the 

 offspring of his own obfervation and feeling, bears ftrong re- 

 femblancc to the beft etchings of Ecrghem and Viffcher ; 



ufing 



