from whence he derived his taste for painting, sculpture and architecture. Some of these specimens in sculpture still remain, although in an unfinished state, particularly the statue of a female figure, in the gallery of Florence. The sculptor, Falconet, having censured, on all occasons, the style of our artist, without having inspected any of his works, when he came to see a specimen, exclaimed, "I have seen Michel Angelo, he is terrific." It is beautifully remarked by an author, from whose page these incidents are taken, that the merit of Angelo consists not so much in the specimens of sculpture, architecture, and painting, although of themselves sufficient to immortalize his name, as in the general emulation and enthusiasm he excited.

On the expulsion of Pietro de Medici from Florence, in the year 1494, Angelo left his native place, apprehending the approach of calamities. He resided at Bologna, where he shone conspicuous, not only as an artist, but also as a polite scholar. Afterwards, on the reestablishment of the government under Pietro Soderini, our artist returned to Florence, and executed a statue of St. John, in marble, which is now lost, and likewise a figure of the sleeping Cupid. The president De Thou expressed himself in terms of warm admiration of this work, but on being convinced that it was not a piece of antiquity, he no longer regarded it with reverence. Angelo received an invitation from cardinal Raffaelle Riaviol to repair to Rome, where he remained for the space of a year, and executed in marble sundry splendid proofs of his genius, amongst which were Cupid and Bacchus, Madonna, and our crucified Redeemer. The date of his glory had not, however, yet arrived. On his return from Rome to Florence, he contended with Lionardo da Vinci, for the palm of sculpture. Lionardo was a veteran in glory as well as years. Their first trial was occasioned by this incident. A block of marble belonging to a Florentine artist, had remained for more than a century neglected, on which a representation of a human figure was attempted to be given of gigantic size, and which on that account was supposed to have been incurably marred and deformed. The magistrates of Florence were desirous that this •pprobrium should be converted to the ornament of their city, and applied to Lionardo and Angelo. Lionardo declined the task,

and declared that the work could not be éxecuted without sundry additional pieces of marble. Angelo engaged to form it into one entire piece, and from this he executed the colossal statue of David, with so much success, that in several parts his chisel left untouched the labours of his predecessor. Their next contest was with a change of weapons, and the pencil was substituted for the chisel. The magistrates had resolved to decorate the council hall of Florence with a representation of some of the successful battles of that republic. Lionardo and Angelo were employed with this view, and the subject was the wars of Pisa. The cartoons, or the designs for this purpose, were immediately commenced. Lionardo represented a combat of horsemen. In the varied forms and contortions of the human body, he displayed his knowledge of anatomy. Sedate courage, vindictive malevolence -hope, fear, the triumph of victory, and the despair of defeat, were all represented in the most powerful and impressive manner. The horses mingle in the combat with all the ardour of their riders. The whole is said to have been executed with a style and vigour of conception never to have been excelled. Angelo, always devoted to the study of the human figure, scorned to employ his time on other animals. He selected his story, in which he supposed a body of Florentine soldiers halting in the lines. Arno had been summoned to the battle. Here were represented the clothed, the half clothed, the naked, in a promiscuous group. One with vehement impatience is forcing his dripping fect through his wet cloathing, another calls to his companion, who is grappling the rocky sides of a river-another is buckling on his armour, and is just on the point of stooping for his sword and shield, lying ready at his feet. This spirit of emulation between these two illustrious rivals, marked a new æra in the art of painting, and the great painters who afterwards conferred such honour on their country, were formed from the study of these models. When Julius II. came to the pontifical chair, he invited Angelo to Rome, to form the design of a superb monument. This was so engrossing to our artist, that for seve ral months he brooded over it, without even tracing the outline, and the result was a plan, which for magnitude, grandeur, ele gance and ornament, has never been exceeded, in ancient or mo

dern time. Angelo engaged in this work with all the enthusiasm and fire of genius, and executed the colossal figure of Marco. This was denominated an "astonishing piece of art," but the slow process of the workmanship, did not correspond with the impetuous temper of Julius. He became cold and remiss. Angelo, irritated at this, caused it to be made known to the holy father, that when he should wish his society again, he would be found in Florence. Five successive couriers were despatched, but still the artist was implacable. An application was at last made to the magistracy of Florence, who persuaded Angelo to return to Rome, as they apprehended his holiness would declare war against them in case of his refusal. A reconciliation was thus brought about, and Angelo proceeded in his work. He executed in bronze a statue of the pontiff, in whose person he combined grandeur, majesty, courage, promptitude, and fierceness of features. After the return of Angelo from Bologna to Rome, the pope formed the design of decorating the chapel built by his uncle Sixtus, with a series of paintings, on scriptural subjects, in grandeur of design superior to any before that time produced. Angelo, diffident of his own powers, employed sundry other painters, but they fell so far short of his own lofty standard, that' he destroyed their labours, worked without any assistance, and with his own hands prepared the colours. The pope impatient of delay, enquired "when they would be executed?” “When I am able," replied the artist.-"When I am able," rejoined the pope; "thou hast a mind that I should have thee thrown from the scaffold."

This bull of the Vatican, hurried the labours of the artist. There were represented the figures of the sybils and the prophets, and over the altar piece, the great picture of the day of judgment. When Leo the Tenth was called to the pontifical throne, he entertained a design of rebuilding in a more superb manner the church of St. Lorenzo, at Florence, and sent for Angelo, who was then employed in finishing the tomb of Julius the Second. This order was reluctantly obeyed by Angelo, and he proceeded tardily with the work; and, during the pontificate of Leo, it never extended further than the basement story.

Such are some of the hasty outlines of the life of the man whom the simpering poct Hayley denominates the Homer of the pencil.

Of the character of his works in general, an eminent painter remarks, "sublimity of conception, grandeur of form, and breadth of manner, are the elements of his style. By these principles he selected or rejected the subjects of his imitation. As a painter, as a sculptor, as an architect, he attempted, and above every other man, succeeded to unite magnificence of plan, and endless variety of subordinate parts, with the utmost simplicity and breadth. His line is uniformly grand-character and beauty were admitted only as far as they could be made subservient to grandeur. The child, the female, meanness, deformity, were by him indiscriminately stamped with grandeur. A beggar rose from his hand the patriarch of beauty, the hump of his dwarf is impres sed with dignity, his infants teem with the man, his men are a race of giants. To give the appearance of the most perfect ease to the most perplexing difficulty, was the exclusive power of Angelo. He is the inventor of epic painting in that sublime circle of the Sixtine chapel, which exhibits the origin, the progress and the final dispensation of theocracy. He has personi. fied motion in the groups of the cartoons of Pisa, embodied sentiment on the monuments of St. Lorenzo, unravelled the features of meditation in the prophets and sybils of the chapel of Sixtus, and in the last judgment, with every attitude that varies the hu man body, traced the master trait of every passion that sways the human heart. Though as a sculptor, he expressed the character of flesh more perfectly than all who went before or came after him; yet he never submitted to copy an individual, Julius the Second only excepted, and in him he represented the reigning passion, rather than the man. In painting he contented himself with a negative colour, and as painter of mankind, rejected all meritricious ornament. Such, take him for all in all, was Michel Angelo, the salt of the earth; sometimes, he no doubt, had his moments of dereliction, deviated into manner or perplexed the grandeur of his forms, with futile and ostentatious anatomy; he met with an army of copyists, and it has been his fate to have been censured for their folly." After this blaze of panegyric, it will be sufficient briefly to state, that the series of frescoes he executed in the Sixtine chapel, occupied the artist for the space of twenty months, and that his last judgment, which is denominated his "immense composition," was accom