Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/897

* DANNECKER. 779 DANTE AJLIGHIERI. vater in tlic Public Library uf Zurich, and of the Kings l''retloriclK and William of W'urUeiu- berg. His perteiJtions of the beautiful and deli- cate, especially in the female form, are some- times considered more exquisite and trvie than those of Canova himself. His earlier works are chiefly pagan in subjects, while his later ones are Christian, and are |)crvadcd b^- a sensitive idealism. Among the former are his "Sappho," '"Psyche," and his best-lviiown work, the "Ari- adne," in Frankfort — a figure larger than life, reclining on the back of a panther. His chief work, however, is his statue of "Christ," com- pleted in 1824, after eight years' study. The original statue is in a church in Moscow, but the sculptor executed a replica, which is now at Regensburg. Consult: Clement, Painters, Sculptors, Architects, and Engravers (Boston, 1889) ; Radclifte, Schools and Masters of Sculpture (New York, 1894) ; Griineisen and Wagner, Datinecker's Werke in einer Ausicahl (Hamburg, 1841). DANNENBERG, diin'nen-berK. Hekmann (1824 — ). A German numismatist, born in Berlin. He became jiresident of the Numismatic Society in that city, and is an authority on mediteval coins, on which subject he published the standard work entitled Die deutschen Uiin- zen der siichsischen und friinkischen Kaiserzeit (3 vols.. 187f!-!1S). DANNEVIRKE, dan'nc-ver'kc (Dan., Danes' work). A wall or intrenchment, built by the Danes under King Goetrik in the time of Charles the Great, and enlarged by t^ueen Thyra in the tenth century. The Dannevirke extended from the Sclilei to the Treene, a distance of ten miles, and protected the Danes from the incursions of the Saxons and Wends. In 974 Otho II. vainly endeavored to take the Dannevirke. Later, how- ever, he burned and destroyed a part of it. Waldc- mar the Great rebuilt a section with brick and stone, in lOSO. During the Schleswig-Holstein wars the Dannevirke tell into the hands of the Prussians. April 23. 1848. and was stormed by the Austrians and Prussians in 1864. It has since been leveled. DAN RIVER. A river rising in the Blue Ridge ilountains (q.v. ), in Patrick County, Va., and flowing southeast into North Carolina. After crossing and recrossing the boundary be- tween these States five times, it combines with the Staunton River in southern Virginia to form the Roanoke River (q.v.) (Map: North Caro- lina, CI). It is 180 miles long, drains an area of 3700 square miles, and is navigable as far as CO miles above Danville. It furnishes extensive water-power at several points. D A N T A N, dax'tiiN'. Axtoixe Laurent (179S-1878). A French sculptor, born at Saint Cloud. He was a pupil of his father, a wood- carver, and of Bosio. Having won the r/raiid prix in 182G, he continued his studies in Rome, and after his return acquired reputation by a con- siderable number of ideal statues and of emi- nently characteristic portrait busts of celebrated persons, such as Beethoven. Rossini, and the actress Rachel. Especially noteworthy among his works are: "Young Bather Playing with His Dog" (1835): "Neapolitan Tambourine Girl" (1838) : "Allegorical Figure of Asia": "Colossal Statue of Saint Raphael": the statues of Admiral Vol. v.— 50. Du(nu-.nc, at Dieppe, and of the nuithematician Lajilacc at Caen. D ANT AN, .lE.VN PlEKRE (IbUO-O'J). A French sculptor, born in Paris. Ho was a pupil of Bosio, and won the prix de liOinc in sculpture. He executed busts of Si)ontini, licllini, Rossini, and Verdi, a bronze sUitue of Boieldieu (Rouen), and busts of Victor Hugo and .Marshal Canro- bert. But he is better kno«n for his caricature staUiettes of notabilities of the time. DANTAN, Joseph Edolabo (1848—). A French painter, born in Paris, son of the sculp- tor .lean Pierre Dantan. He studied in his native city under Pils and Lehman. His remarkable studies in still life, such as the cxcjuisite, soberly painted "Corner of an Aiclier" (1880). in the Luxembourg, and "An Interior at Villerville" (1883), arc better known than his more conven- tional religious and historical works, among which are: "The Trinity"; "An Episode in the Destruction of Pompeii" (18(59) : and "The Voca- tion of the Apostles Peter and Andrew" (1877). In still another, more pictorial manner, he painted "The Burial of a Child :i1 'illcrville," in the Havre Museum. DANTE ALIGHIERI, Ilul. pron. dan'ta ii'le-gya're (1265-1321). One of the greate-st poets of all times, and incomparably the greatest among the Italians. He was born in Florence in the latter part of May, 1205, and his name was originally Durante. The outward circumstances and fortunes of Dante's life are largely involved in uncertainty, and recent critical researches have tended rather to destroy long-accepted be- liefs than to add new and reliable details. Rome, Ferrara, Parma, and Verona in turn claimed the origin of his family, which was not neces- sarih' of ancient lineage, although Dante himself seems to have believed that he sprang from Roman stock and to have prided himself upon his noble blood. The first appearance, however, of the Alighieri in history was in 1147, when Cacciaguida. the poet's great-great-grandfather, fell in the Crusades. Alighiero. Dante's father, nury or may not have been a jurist, but it is cer- tain that he was an adherent of the Guelph fac- tion. Of his mother nothing is known except that her name was Bella. There is reason to suppose that she died soon after his birth, that his father soon married again, and, dying in 1275, left him with a step-mother, a brother, and two sisters. Of Dante's boyhood and edvication we know little beyond his ovi'n statement that he had "taught himself the art of bringing words into verse." It is not surely known that he was ever a ])upil of the learned Florentine Brunetto Latini. though he undoubtedly profited from the hitter's precepts and example. It is equally questionable whether he ever pursued legal studies at the University of Bologna. We are better informed regarding the social influences under which he grew up in Florence. Among his friends and intimates were the poets Guido Cavalcanti and Cino da Pistoia, who was also a jurist of note; Dino Freseobaldi and Lapo Gianni, both famed for their finished verse; the nuisician Casella, and the artist Giotto. The most significant event, however, of Dante's early youth, and the one fraught with most enduring consequences, was his meeting with the Beatrice afterwards celebrated in his poems, and believed, upon the autlioritv of Boccaccio, to have been the daughter