JULIO ROMANO. THIS great artist, the esteemed pupil and continuator of the works of Raphael, was born at Rome in 1492. His former name was Pippi. At an early age he had the honour to superintend the works, unfinished of his master, which roused that loftiness of conception, and gave birth to those magnificent plans from which arose Mantua and the wonders of the palace Del T, as by enchantment. His happy execution, and correctness of design, rendered him worthy of this distinction. In whatever degree he was subordinate to the conceptions of Raphael, he endeavoured to imitate him in grace; but when death deprived him of his immortal guide, he at times forgot his lessons, and shewed himself dry, and frequently grotesque. Still in his compositions, and in his style, he was always sublime, majestic, and profound. The study of history, mythology, and the antique, enriched his inventive mind; but nature was overlooked. The little simplicity that pervades his works, proves to what an extent she was neglected. At the death of Raphael, who appointed him one of his executors, he was made choice of to finish the picture which this great master had left imperfect. This was alone sufficient to confirm his fame. He was solicited, by the Duke of Mantua, to quit Rome, but was urged to it by the following circumstance. He had furnished the engraver, Mark Anthony, with designs for twenty obscene prints, from the sonnets of Aretino, which the celebrity of the poet tended to circulate. The artists were accused and sought after; Mark Anthony was apprehended, and thrown into prison; and the same fate Julio would have experienced, had he continued at Rome. - But the talents of Romano were not confined to painting: As an architect and engineer, he claims our regard. He fortified the city of Mantua, preserved it from inundations, and constructed the celebrated palace of T. This monument he enriched with his paintings; and it is by these specimens in every class of picturesque imagery, that we should form a judgment of the extent of his acquirements and the force of his genius.Whatever be the subject or scenery, minute or colossal, simple or complex, terrible or pleasing, we trace a mind bent to surprize or to dazzle by poetic splendour; but sure to strike at the originality of his conception, he often neglects propriety in the conduct of his subjects, considered as a series; and in the arrangement or choice of the connecting parts, hurried into extremes by the torrent of a fancy more lyric than epic, he disdains to fill the intermediate chasms, and often leaves the task of connection to the spectator. Francis the First endeavoured to seduce him into France; but Julio could not be prevailed upon to quit Italy. Many palaces have been built after his designs in the neighbourhood of Rome, where he was appointed architect to Saint Peters, on the death of St. Gallo. On this occasion, the Duke used every possible entreaty to keep him at Mantua; but he resolved to repair to Rome, to fill the important station to which he had been elected, when he was carried off in 1546, at the age of 54. |