Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 3.djvu/516

508 he afterwards executed another, but with two blocks only, representing the Tiburtine Sybil, who is showing the Infant Christ on the lap of his Mother to the Emperor Octavian: it was this artist who executed the nude figure seated, and with his back turned to the spectator, the grace of attitude in which has been so much admired: there is an oval picture of the Madonna lying down, moreover, with many others also by the same master, but which were printed and sent forth after his death by Joannicolò Vicentino: the most admirable works of this kind produced after the death of Parmigiano were, however, those by Domenico Beccafumi, as will be related at length in the life of that artist.

Nor is the invention tobe considered other than commendable, whereby the execution of engravings with more facility than is possible to the burin has been rendered feasible, although the works produced by that invention are not so clear as are those performed with the graver, I mean, engravings with aqua-fortis, first covering the copper-plate with a coat of wax, varnish, or oil-colour, and then designing the subject to be engraved with a sharply-pointed instrument; this cuts through the wax, varnish, or oil-colour, as the case may be, when the aqua-fortis being poured over all, corrodes the copper in such sort that the strokes of the drawing remain hollowed, and impressions may then be taken from it. In this manner Francesco Parmigian executed many small pictures which are very graceful; the Birth of Christ among others, and Our Saviour lying dead, with the Maries weeping over him. He likewise engraved one of the pieces of arras made after the designs of Raphael for the chapel of the Palace, with many other things.

Following this master, Battista, a painter of Vicenza, and Battista del Moro of Verona, published fifty plates, exhibiting landscapes, which are varied and beautiful. In Flanders also the picture of the Riberal Arts was engraved