BUONAROTTI, MICHELANGELO (Ital.). Sculptor, Painter, Architect and Poet, born at Castel Caprese, near Arezzo in Tuscany, on the 16th of March 1475, died in his eighty-ninth year at Rome, on the 17th of February, 1564. He was the greatest artist of the Renaissance period, and Lorenzo the Magnificent, his celebrated patron, is said to have often consulted him before purchasing antique gems and coins. Michelangelo's title to figure amongst medallists is supported by a Portrait-medallion of himself, cast by his own hand; there is no doubt that others exist, which for want of his signature, cannot be attributed to him ; one of Binto Altoviti, by Cellini, has been attributed to him. His principal works are : Sleeping Cupid ; — Mary weeping over the Body of Christ (now in St. Peter s at Rome) ; — David (a colossal statue for the Piazza Granduca, Florence); — The cartoon of Pisa (a famous painting entitled " Surprise of Pisan soldiers while bathing"); — Bronze statue of Julius II. ; — Ceiling of the Sistine chapel at Rome, the great triumph of his life : the frescoes of the "Prophets and Sibyls" and the "History of the Creation and Fall of Man"; — Family mausoleum of the Medici ; — Fresco of the " Last Judgment " on the altar-wall of the Sistine chapel ; — Great mausoleum of Pope Julius II., of which one of the principal figures is the seated statue of Moses, which is considered the sculptor's master-piece, and in praise of which a contemporary poet wrote the following sonnet : Chi é costui che in si gran pietra scolto Siede giganti e le piú illustri e conte Opre dell' arte avanza, e a vive e pronte Le labre si che le parole ascolto ? Questi é Mosé ; ben m'el dimostra in folto Onor del mento e il doppio raggio in fronte ; Questi é Mosé quando scendea dal monte E gran parte del Nume avea nel volto. Tal era allor che le sonanti e vaste Acque ei sospese a se d'intorno o tale Quando il mar-chiuse e no é tomba altrui. E voi, sue turbe, un rio vitello alzaste ! Alzato avete imago a questo equale, Ch'era men fallo l'adorar costui. Michelangelo drew the plan of St. Peter's, but did not live to complete the dome, the model of which he had made in 1558. His body was buried in the church of Santa Croce, at Florence. Cellini, Caradosso, Cesati, and all the great medallists and glyptists of the first half of the sixteenth century were advised by Michelangelo and received encouragement from him. Bibliography. — The Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography. — A. Durand, Médailles et jetons des Numismates, Genéve, 1865.
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
BOWER, GEORGE
BOWER or BOWERS, GEORGE (Brit.). Medallist, who worked in London from 1650 to 1689, and was appointed in 1664 Engraver to the Royal Mint and Embosser in Ordinary. His death is placed before March 1689- 1690. The following medals were engraved by this artist : Restoration of Charles II., 1660; — Another, R. VIDEO, same subject ; — Marriage of Charles II. and Catherine of Braganza (6 different types) ; — Charles II. and Catherine, 1662, the best of Bower's productions; — Holland, Disputes with 166...
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BOWER or BOWERS, GEORGE (Brit.). Medallist, who worked in London from 1650 to 1689, and was appointed in 1664 Engraver to the Royal Mint and Embosser in Ordinary. His death is placed before March 1689- 1690. The following medals were engraved by this artist : Restoration of Charles II., 1660; — Another, R. VIDEO, same subject ; — Marriage of Charles II. and Catherine of Braganza (6 different types) ; — Charles II. and Catherine, 1662, the best of Bower's productions; — Holland, Disputes with 166...
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BOWCHER, FRANK
BOWCHER, FRANK (Brit.). The artistic advance made by the modern French School of Medallists is represented in this country by the work of a young artist of indisputable talent, Mr. Frank Bowcher. He is a clever exponent of the art which Roty, Chaplain, Bottée, Dupuis, and their colleagues have brought in recent years to such perfection . Gifted with an uncommon faculty for creation, a genuine artistic feeling and manipulative dexterity, he knows how to impart to his portraits warmth, expression ...
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BOWCHER, FRANK (Brit.). The artistic advance made by the modern French School of Medallists is represented in this country by the work of a young artist of indisputable talent, Mr. Frank Bowcher. He is a clever exponent of the art which Roty, Chaplain, Bottée, Dupuis, and their colleagues have brought in recent years to such perfection . Gifted with an uncommon faculty for creation, a genuine artistic feeling and manipulative dexterity, he knows how to impart to his portraits warmth, expression ...
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BRAEMT, JOSEPH PIERRE
BRAEMT, JOSEPH PIERRE (Belg.). Medallist and Coin-engraver; born at Ghent in 1796 ; died at Brussels on the 2. December 1864. He studied under Verhulot, Galle and Bosio. One of his first productions of note was the great seal of the Academy of Ghent and a medal commemorating the foundation of this institution. In 1819, he received a pension from the Government ; for a number of years, he filled the post of Chief-engraver at the Brussels Mint. The following medals were engraved by this artist : 1...
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BRAEMT, JOSEPH PIERRE (Belg.). Medallist and Coin-engraver; born at Ghent in 1796 ; died at Brussels on the 2. December 1864. He studied under Verhulot, Galle and Bosio. One of his first productions of note was the great seal of the Academy of Ghent and a medal commemorating the foundation of this institution. In 1819, he received a pension from the Government ; for a number of years, he filled the post of Chief-engraver at the Brussels Mint. The following medals were engraved by this artist : 1...
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BRAKENHAUSEN, FERDINAND
BRAKENHAUSEN, FERDINAND (Germ.). Sculptor and Medallist of Berlin, born in 1835, died in 1895. By this artist are a number of cast Portrait-medallions, in the style of sixteenth century masters : Hermann Dannenberg, and his wife, 1884 ; — Johann Brakenhausen ; — Prince Bismarck; — Landgerichtsrath Hesse; — Warnecke; — Golz; — Von der Mülbe; — Bellermann, painter; — Privy Councillor Hoyer; — Julius Count Oeynhausen ; — Van Moers, 1885 ; — Helene Brakenhausen ; — Portrait of the artist himself, &...
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BRAKENHAUSEN, FERDINAND (Germ.). Sculptor and Medallist of Berlin, born in 1835, died in 1895. By this artist are a number of cast Portrait-medallions, in the style of sixteenth century masters : Hermann Dannenberg, and his wife, 1884 ; — Johann Brakenhausen ; — Prince Bismarck; — Landgerichtsrath Hesse; — Warnecke; — Golz; — Von der Mülbe; — Bellermann, painter; — Privy Councillor Hoyer; — Julius Count Oeynhausen ; — Van Moers, 1885 ; — Helene Brakenhausen ; — Portrait of the artist himself, &...
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