Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3)

In 1833, the French removed the smallest of the two obelisks which stood before the propylon of the temple of Luxor to Paris, and elevated it in the Place de la Concorde. The sh...

Poussin, in his directions to artists who came to study at Rome, used to say that "the remains of antiquity afforded him instruction that he could not expect from masters;" and...

"But one morning, Filippo did not appear at the works: he tied up his head, went to bed complaining bitterly, and causing plates and towels to be heated with great haste and anx...

The very situation of this famous ancient city of Egypt had long been a subject of learned dispute, till it was accurately ascertained by the French expedition to Egypt. Numerou...

Sandrart relates the following anecdote of Christopher Schwarts, a famous German painter, which, if true, redounds more to his ingenuity than to his credit. Having been engaged...

"When you enter the church of Santissima Annunziata, at Florence, your attention is drawn at once to a sort of miniature temple on the left hand. It is of white marble; but the...

"Among other works," says Vasari, "Donato received an order for a crucifix in wood, for the church of Santa Croce at Florence, on which he bestowed extraordinary labor. When the...

This extraordinary artist was born at Nuremberg in 1471. His father was a skillful goldsmith, from Hungary, and taught his son the first rudiments of design, intending him for h...

John Griffier, a Dutch painter of celebrity, went to London in 1667, where he met with great encouragement. While there he painted many views on the Thames, and in order to obse...

"The beauty of the Roman buildings requires a skillful overseer, in order that such a wonderful forest of edifices should be preserved with constant care, and the new ones prope...

The small picture which once adorned the tabernacle of the Capuchin high altar at Seville, is interesting on account of its legend, as well as its extraordinary artistic merits....

The materials of all the pyramids are limestone, and, according to Herodotus, were brought from the mountains near Cairo, where there are ancient quarries of vast extent; but Be...

The antiquity of painting, as well as of sculpture, among the Egyptians, is sunk in fable. Yet it is certain that they made little or no progress in either art. Plato, who flour...

"On the night of Friday, the order of proceeding was entirely changed. It had been found proper to call out a strong guard of Austrians, horse and foot. The mob had been charged...

Ancient Rome was built upon seven hills, which are now scarcely discoverable on account of the vast quantities of rubbish with which the valleys are filled. Pliny estimates the...

Hearing of the great encouragement extended to the arts by Charles I., he determined to visit England in 1629. While there, he lodged with his friend and countryman, George Geld...

In the middle of this square was erected a colossal bronze statue of the gallant General Desaix, who nobly fell at the battle of Marengo, when leading to the charge a body of ca...

"In the year 1420, all these foreign masters were at length assembled in Florence, with those of Tuscany, and all the best Florentine artists in design. Filippo likewise then re...

Phidias, i, 157; his Statue of Minerva, i, 158, and ii, 171; Phidias and Alcamenes, i, 159; Ingratitude of the Athenians, i, 159; his Olympian Jupiter, i, 17, and i, 160; his Mo...

Brunelleschi, Filippo--remarkable instance of the Trials and Triumphs of Genius, iii, 80; his Inquiring Mind, Industry, and Discoveries, iii, 81; his Genius, iii, 82; his Ambiti...

Egyptian Art, 1 Ancient Thebes, 2 The Temple of Carnac, 5 Temple of Luxor, 5 The Statues of Memnon, 6 Heliopolis, 7 Memphis, 8 Lake Moeris, 9 The Colossal Sphinx, 10 The Labyrin...

According to Fontani, this cupola exceeds that of the Vatican, both in height and circumference by four braccia; and although supported by eight ribs only, which renders it much...