ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 
century the Christian traditions of mediaeval ages 
still influenced the form of sepulchral monuments, 
and found expression in the statues of angels watching 
by the dead man’s bier, and in the bas-reliefs of the 
Annunciation and the Resurrection that were carved 
on altar-tombs. But by the close of the century a 
change of style became evident, and the increasing 
realism of the age made itself felt in this branch of 
monumental art. To represent the dead as nearly 
as possible as they appeared in their last sleep, clad 
in the robes or armour in which they were carried to 
their burial, became the sculptor’s aim, the object 
upon which his highest skill was lavished. Then 
Lodovico Sforza, in his grief and remorse at his 
wife’s death, bade II Gobbo carve the fair face and 
form of the young duchess wearing the rich brocades 
and jewels in which she had been borne to her last 
resting-place. Then Amadeo’s skilful hand designed 
the marble effigy of the dead girl Medea, in the 
Colleoni Chapel at Bergamo, with the short locks 
curling over her innocent brow, and the string of 
pearls at her throat. Then, too, Agostino Busti 
represented the youthful victor of Ravenna, Gaston 
de Foix, lying on a mortuary couch in full armour, 
clasping his sword to his heart, as he died on the 
battlefield which he had won for France. 
The same spirit moved the Venetian sculptor when 
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