Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 1.djvu/335

Rh figure of SanBastiano, the height of which is three braccia. It is in full relief, and very beautiful, the drawing being good, the attitude graceful, the execution delicate, and the whole carefully finished. In the church wherein the remains of San Romolo are said to be deposited, there is also a work by this sculptor—an altar-table, with three exceedingly beautiful figures in three niches, with a similar altar-table in the church of San Michele, whereon are likewise three figures in marble. There is, besides, a statue of the Madonna outside this church, which clearly proves the effort made by Matteo to equal Jacopo, his master.

Another disciple of Jacopo della Quercia was the Bolognese Niccolo, who completed, among other works, the, beneath which reposes the body of San Domenico, an undertaking commenced at Bologna by Niccolo Pisano, but which that master left unfinished. This monument, richly covered with figures and stories, was brought to perfection by Niccolo of Bologna, who not only derived great profits therefrom, but also received that name of honour, “Master Niccolo dell’ Area,” which he ever afterwards retained. The sculptor concluded his work in the year 1460, and having finished it, he adorned the façade of the palace, wherein is now the residence of the legate of Bologna, with a statue of the Madonna in bronze, four braccia high, which he fixed in its place in the year 1478. This artist was, in brief, a truly able master, .and a worthy disciple of the Sienese, Jacopo della Quercia.

At the same time with Jacopo della Quercia, and attached to the same pursuit of sculpture, in which he was equally