"This vexatious state of things continued be[Pg 104]neath the eyes of Filippountil the year 1426,[3] the friends of Lorenzo calling him the inventorof the work, equally with Filippo, and this caused so violent acommotion in the mind of the latter, that he lived in the utmostdisquietude. Various improvements and new inventions were, besides,presenting themselves to his thoughts, and he resolved to rid himself ofhis colleague at all hazards, knowing of how little use he was to thework. Filippo had already raised the walls of the cupola to the heightof twelve braccia in both vaults, but the works, whether in wood orstone, that were to give strength to the fabric, had still to beexecuted, and as this was a matter of difficulty, he determined to speakwith Lorenzo respecting it, that he might ascertain whether the latterhad taken it into consideration. But Lorenzo was so far from havingthought of this exigency, and so entirely unprepared for it, that hereplied by declaring that he would refer that to Filippo as theinventor. The answer of Lorenzo pleased Filippo, who thought he here sawthe means of removing his colleague from the works, and of making itmanifest that he did not possess that degree of knowledge in the matterthat was attributed to him by his friends, and implied in the favorwhich had placed him in the situation he held. All the builders were nowengaged in[Pg 105] the work, and waited only for directions, to commence thepart above the twelve braccia, to raise the vaults, and render allsecure. The closing in of the cupola towards the top having commenced,it was necessary to provide the scaffolding, that the masons andlaborers might work without danger, seeing that the height was such asto make the most steady head turn giddy, and the firmest spirit shrink,merely to look down from it. The masons and other masters were thereforewaiting in expectation of directions as to the manner in which thechains were to be applied, and the scaffoldings erected; but, findingthere was nothing determined on either by Lorenzo or Filippo, therearose a murmur among the masons and other builders, at not seeing thework pursued with the solicitude previously shown; and as the workmenwere poor persons who lived by the labor of their hands, and who nowbelieved that neither one nor the other of the architects had courageenough to proceed further with the undertaking, they went about thebuilding employing themselves as best they could in looking over andfurbishing up all that had been already executed.
Elizabeth Sirani was born at Bologna in 1638. She early exhibited themost extraordinary talent for painting, which was perfectly cultivatedby her father, Gio. Andrea Sirani, an excellent disciple and imitator ofGuido. She attached herself to an imitation of the best style of Guido,which unites great relief with the most captivating amenity. Her firstpublic work appeared in 1655, when she was seventeen years of age. It isalmost incredible that in a short life of not more than twenty-six ortwenty-seven years, she could have executed the long list of worksenumerated by Malvasia, copied from a register kept by herself,amounting to upwards of one hundred and fifty pictures and portraits;and our astonishment is increased, when we are told by the same author,that many of them are pictures and altar-pieces of large size, andfinished with a care that excludes all appearance of negligence andhaste. There are quite a number of her works in the churches of Bologna.Lanzi also speaks of her in terms of high commendation, and says, that"in her smaller works, painted by commission, she still improvedherself, as may be seen by her numerous pictures of Madonnas, Magdalens,saints, and the infant Saviour, found in the Zampieri, Zambeccari, andCaprara palaces at Bologna, and in the Corsini and Bolognetticollections at Rome." She received many commissions from many of thesovereigns and[Pg 135] most distinguished persons of Europe. She had twosisters, Anna and Barbara, whom, according to Crespi, she instructed inthe art, and who possessed considerable talent. Her fame was so great,that after her death not only the works of her sisters, but many ofthose of her father, were attributed to her. Lanzi says, "She is nearlythe sole individual of the family whose name occurs in collections outof Bologna." She also executed some spirited etchings mostly from herown designs.
Difficult speak saints emmanuel torres
It is related that this great Spanish painter visited America in earlylife, and painted there many works; but the later Spanish historianshave shown that he never quitted his native country; and thecircumstance of his pictures being found in America, is best accountedfor by the following narrative. After acquiring considerable knowledgeof the art under Juan del Castillo at Seville, he determined to travelfor improvement; but how to raise the necessary funds was a matter ofdifficulty, for his parents had died leaving little behind them, and hisgenius had not yet recommended him to the good offices[Pg 193] of any wealthyor powerful patron. But Murillo was not to be balked of his cherisheddesires. Buying a large quantity of canvas, he divided it into squaresof various sizes, which he primed and prepared with his own hands forthe pencil, and then converted into pictures of the more popular saints,landscapes, and flower-pieces. These he sold to the American traders forexportation, and thus obtained a sum of money sufficient for hispurpose. 2ff7e9595c
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