Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/396

* BOTTESINI. 350 BOTTICELLI. ■was one of the greatest performers on the double bass that ever lived, and practically the only one known to fame as a concert soloist. He en- tered the Milan Conservatory, and studied double bass under Rossi and Basili, and theory under Vaccai, Piantanida, and Ray. From 1840 to 1845 he was a concert virtuoso throughout Italy. In 1840 he went to Havana, Cuba, where, during his regime as conductor, his opera Cristoforo Colombo was produced. During his residence in Cuba he made occasional visits to the United States. In 184'J he made a tour through Eng- land : for two years following was conductor at the Th™tre des Italiens, Paris; afterwards re- suming his concert tours. In 1861 he was appointed conductor at the Bellini Theatre, Palermo, and in 1803 held a similar post in Bar- celona. He established in Florence a society for the cultivation of German classical music, eon- ducted the opera at Cairo, Egypt, and at the Lyceum, London, in 1871. Ultimately he settled in Parma and became director of the conserva- tory there. His oratorio, The Oarden of Olivet, was given under the composer's direction at the Norwich (England) Musical Festival in 1887. His published works include operas, sjnnphonies, overtures, quartets, etc., but although he wrote many compositiims for the double bass, none of these appear to have been published. He died in Parma, July 7, 1889. BOTTGER, bet'Ker, Adolf (1815-70). A German translator and poet, born in Leipzig. He studied at the University of Leipzig and won high praise as a translator of the English poets, including the complete works of Byron ( 1840, and in frequent and variously arranged edi- tions), and the poems of Goldsmith (1843) and of Milton (1S4G). He also made renderings of Ossian (1847) and (1856) of Longfellow's Hiauatha. His own works, displaying often the influence of English protot^-pes, include: Ge- dichte (1846); Die Pihjcrfahrt der Blii-men- geister (1851) ; Das Buck der Sachsen (1858) ; and ycue I/irdcr und Dichtuntirn (1808). BOTTGER, BOTTCHER, or BOTTIGER, Joii.ixx Fkiedrich (1028-1719). The inventor of Saxon porcelain. He was born at Schleiz, in the Principality of Reuss-Schlciz. He was appren- ticed to an apothecary in Berlin, but became an enthusiast in the search for the philosopher's stone, and carried on extensive researches under the patronage of Prince Egon von Fiirstenberg in Dresden. As he did not succeed in making gold, he was induced to use the chemical knowl- edge he had acquired in experiments upon clays, with a view to the manufacture of pnrcclain. and factories for this purpose were erected under royal patronage, and the celebrated Meissen por- celain was the result. As a security against the revelatiiin of the art of making it. I'.iittger and his assistants were treated as prisoners, and when Saxony was invaded by Charles XII. of Sweden in 1706, they were secretly removed from Dresden to Kiinigstein. His success was not without its reward. He was appointed to super- vise the porcelain manufacture in 1708, and shortly afterwards the Meissen ])tncelain was brought out. In 1716 he entered into negotia- tions to reveal the secrets of the process, but was dis<tovered and imprisoned. BOTTICELLI, bot'ti-chel'li, S. i)RO, properly Alessa,nuuo I'lLU'EPi (c.l447-e.l510). A Flor- entine painter of the Early Renaissance. His birth at Florence is differently stated as in 1440 and 1447, his death as in 1510 and 1515. His father. Mariano Filipepi, a well-to-do cit- izen, wished to give his son a good education; but the boy's .strong will showed itself in a vio- lent distaste for learning, and his father placed him in the shop of a goldsmith named Botticello. From this master Botticelli took not only the name by which he was to become famou.s, but also the use of the gold which he afterwards turned to account in the foliage of his back- grounds, in his angels' rippling hair, and in the embroidered tissues of his virgins' robes. Before long, however, he evinced a strong desire to become a painter, and accordingly entered the studio of the Carmelite monk Fra Filippo Lippi, then at the height of his reputation. Many of his early works show a marked influence of Andrea del Verocchio, an allegorical figure of "La Fortezza," and one of them is painted in the manner of the brothers Pollajuoli. When Filip- po Lippi died, in 1409, Botticelli, then only about twenty-two years of age, was considered one of the first painters in Florence. His high reputa- tion at this time is proved by the distinguished patrons who employed him — namely, the families of Tornabuoni, V"espucci, Palmieri. Pucci. and, above all, Lorenzo de' Mediei, who from the first showed Botticelli a generous patronage which he never withdrew. At that time, also, many im- portant commissions were assigned to him. Thus, in 1475, when the Pazzi plot nearly overthrew the Jledici, Botticelli was called upon to paint the portraits of the ofl'enders, according to usage, on the walls of the Palazzo Vecchio. In 1480. to the order of the Vespucci family, he painted the fresco of Saint Augustine on the wall of the Church of the Ognissanti. Finally, about 1481, Botticelli was summoned to Rome by Sixtns IV.. to assist in painting his newly erected chapel in the Vatican. According to Vasari, he was made chief superintendent of the work ; but it is more probable that his supervision was mainly in the distribution of the spaces for the frescoes. His coworkers were Ghirlandajo, Perugino, Cosimo Rosselli, and Luca Signorelli. Botticelli himself painted a number of the twenty-four portraits of Popes in the upper niches of the chapel, and three of the twelve frescoes — namely, "The Life of Mo- ses." "The Temptation of Christ." and the "Pun- ishment of Korali. Dathan, and Abiram." These compositions illustrate both the vigor of his imagination and the limitations of his genius; for, while many of the .separate groups are strik- ingly beautiful and exhibit an extraordinary amount of life and motion, there is a want of harmony in the whole, and in several cases the figures are crowded together in confused groups. Botticelli returned to Florence about 1484, and, according to Vasari, "being a man of pro- found thought, composed a commentary on Dante's poem, illustrated the Inferno, and had it printed." The commentary has not come to light, but the first Florentine edition of Dante (published by Baldini in 1481) contains engrav- ings on cojjper to illustrate the Inferno which were made from Botticelli's drawings, and it is believed that Botticelli himsdf executed sev- eral of these plates. Moreover, ninety-six sheets of his drawings, representing all but seven cantos of the Divine Comedy, are still intact.