Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/196

Rh 176 V E R V E B fig.). Though this work was designed by Verrocchio, the actual execution of it was entrusted to his assistant, the Florentine Lor- enzetto. In 1476 Verrocchio model led and cast the fine but too real istic bronze statue of David, now in the Bargello (Flor ence) ; and in the following year he completed one of the reliefs of the magnificent silver altar-frontal of the Florentine baptis tery, that repre senting the Be heading of St John. Verrocchio s other works in the pre cious metals are now lost, but Va- sari records that he made many ela- Clay sketch for the monument of Cardinal Forteguerra, showing the kneeling portrait of the cardinal, which is not in the actual monument ; a very poor modern figure oc cupies its place. borate pieces of plate and j ewellery, such as morses for copes, as well as a series of silver statues of the Apostles for the pope s chapel in the Vatican. Between 1478 and 1483 he was occupied in making the bronze group of the Unbelief of St Thomas, which still stands in one of the external niches of Or San Michele (Florence). He received 800 florins for these two figures, which are more remarkable for the excellence of their technique than for their sculpturesque beauty. The attitudes are rather rigid, and the faces hard in expression. Yerrocchio s chief masterpiece was the colossal bronze equestrian statue of the Venetian general Bartolomeo Colleoni, which stands in the piazza of SS. Giovanni e Paolo at Venice. Verrocchio received the order for this statue in 1479, but had only completed gi the model when he died in 1488. In spite of his request that the casting should be entrusted to his pupil Lorenzo di Credi, the work was given to Ales- sandro Leopardi by the Venetian senate, and the statue was gilt and unveiled in 1496. 1 There appears to be no doubt that the model was completed by Ver rocchio himself, and that nothing more than its reproduction in bronze should be attributed to the much feebler hand of Leopardi, who, however, has set his own name alone on the belly-band of the horse ALEXANDER LEOPABDVS V. F. OPUS. This is perhaps the noblest equestrian statue in the world, being in some respects superior to the antique bronze of Marcus Aurelius in Rome and to that of Gattamelata at Padua by Donatello. The horse is designed with wonderful nobility and spirit, and the easy pose of the great general, combining perfect balance with absolute ease and security in the saddle, is a marvel of sculpturesque ability. 2 Most remarkable skill is shown by the way in which Verrocchio has exaggerated 1 See Gay, Cart. Ined., i. p. 367. - See SCULPTURE, vol. x.i. p. 568, fig. 18. the strongly marked features of the general, so that nothing of its powerful effect is lost by the lofty position of the head. 3 According to Vasari, Verrocchio was one of the first sculptors who made a practical use of casts from living and dead subjects. He is said also to have produced plastic works in terra-cotta, wood, and in wax decorated with colour. As a sculptor his chief pupil was Francesco di Simone, the son of that Simone whom Vasari wrongly calls a brother of Donatello. Another pupil was Agnolo di Polo (Paolo), who worked chiefiy in terra-cotta. Verrocchio died in Venice in 1488, and was buried in the church of St Ambrogio in Florence. (j. H. M.) VERSAILLES, a town of France, chef -lieu of the department of Seine -et-Oise and an episcopal see, lies 11 miles west-south-west of Paris, with which it is con nected by railways on both banks of the Seine and by a tramway. The town owes its existence to the palace (460 feet above the sea) built by Louis XIV. The fresh healthy air and the nearness of the town to Paris have attracted many residents, and the interest attaching to the place draws crowds of visitors. The population in 1881 was 48,012 ; in 1886 it was 49,514 (commune 49,852), including about 10,000 military. The three avenues of St Cloud, Paris, and Sceaux converge in the Place d Armes. Between them stand the former stables of the palace, now occupied by the artillery and engineers. To the south lies the quarter of Satory, the oldest part of Versailles, with the cathedral of St Louis, arid to the north the new quarter, with the church of Notre Dame. To the west a gilded iron gate and a stone balustrade shut off the great court of the palace from the Place d Armes. On either side are allegorical groups, besides statues of the statesmen Suger, Sully, Richelieu, and Colbert, the soldiers Duguesclin, Bayard, Turenne, and Conde, the sailors Duquesne, Tourville, Duguay-Trouin, and Suifren, and the marshals Jourdan, Massena, Lannes, and Mortier. At the highest point of the court there is an equestrian statue in bronze of Louis XIV., and to the right and left of this stretch the long wings of the palace, while behind it stand the central buildings one behind the other as far as the Marble Court. Here all the lines of construction meet, and here were the rooms of Louis XIV. To the north the Chapel Court and to the south the Princes Court, with vaulted passages leading to the gardens, separate the side from the central buildings. On the latter is the inscription &quot;A toutes les gloires de la France,&quot; which Louis Philippe justified by forming a collec tion of five thousand works of art (valued at 1,000,000), com memorating the great events and persons of French history. The palace chapel (1696-1710), the roof of which can be seen from afar rising above the rest of the building, was the last work of Mansard. Plan of Versailles. Opposite the altar is the king s gallery, which communicates with the rooms on the first floor of the palace. The ground-floor of the north wing on the garden side contains eleven halls of historical pictures from Clovis to Louis XIV., and on the side of the interior courts a gallery of tombs, statues, busts of kings and celebrities of France for the same period. The Halls of the Crusades open off 3 See Selvatico, Arch, e Scult. in Venczin, 1847; Cicognara, Fab- briche piu Cospicue di Venezia, 1853; and Milanesi s ed. of Vasari, iii. p. 357 sq.