GIOVANNI COSTA—HIS LIFE AND 
ART: 1904 
“ March to the tune of the voice of her, 
Breathing the balm of her breath, 
Loving the light of her skies. 
Blessed is he on whose eyes 
Dawns but her light as he dies. 
Blessed are ye that make choice of her 
Equal to life and to death.”— A. Swinburne. 
Costa’s name and art are not unknown in this country. 
He often visited these shores, and, as he always said, 
found his best patrons in England. Many of our 
leading painters, George Mason and Burne-Jones, Sir 
Laurence Alma-Tadema and Mr. Watts were among 
his friends and admirers. One of them, Lord Leigh¬ 
ton, lived on terms of affectionate intimacy with him 
for nearly half a century. Costa, on his part, ex¬ 
erted considerable influence on several English artists. 
He was one of the first to recognise Mason’s talent 
and had a large share in the development of that 
master’s style. Besides this, he formed a small school 
of his own in England, and numbered among his 
pupils the late Matthew Ridley Corbet, A.R.A., Lord 
Carlisle, Mr. Walter James, and others, whose re¬ 
fined and poetic landscapes are often seen in our chief 
exhibitions. Costa himself was a regular contributor 
to the summer shows at Burlington House, the Gros- 
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